The Road Home

Near the end of the school year, the boys and I spotted a creature following a group of middle schoolers home. Unfortunately for him, this four-legged reptile did not belong on the sidewalk. He belonged in a pond! We watched and laughed as the soft-shelled turtle waddled down the pavement. We knew we needed to help before he ventured into the street. I handed Travis the keys and asked him to grab a sheet from inside the house. He raced back out, throwing the sheet at my feet. Soon, the neighbors across the street pulled up in their driveway. I tried to act brave. All I had to do was place the sheet over the turtle, pick it up, and set it back in the pond behind my neighbor's house. Easy! So I tossed the sheet over the turtle and screamed. My onlookers giggled. I bent down to pick it up. Scream. Again. Scream. I called to my neighbors for assistance. Apparently, her and her daughter were no braver. It was up to me. I put my hands under its belly and snatched it up. Boy, was it heavy! It was like carrying a flattened bowling ball. As we walked, the turtle tried to poke its head out from under the sheet. I repeated, "Please don't bite me. Please don't bite me," until I let him go in the water. He immediately swam out to the middle of the pond. I was happy to help. The boys were proud. Just add HERO to my list of titles. That's right...I saved a turtle!

SOLD!

In January, our tenant notified us that she would be moving out of our townhome. She had been a wonderful tenant so immediately fear set in. Would we luck out on another great renter? Unconvinced, we decided to sell. We cleaned it up and set a FOR SALE sign in the front yard. Just two and a half weeks later, we had an offer we were willing to move forward with. We didn't make a small fortune as Jeremy has hoped. (Maybe next time he'll listen to his wife and sell when the prices are high. Hee! Hee!) But thanks to our AWESOME realtor, our townhome is now in the hands of its new owner and we no longer have to worry about the responsibilities of being landlords. We'll miss our first little place and all the memories we enjoyed there, especially the birth of our two boys, but as they say 'time goes on'. Besides, the boys have told us that they much prefer this house because it has a pool. Imagine that!

QUIET TIME = READING TIME

Travis surrounded by his books and his best friend Bear.

Tyler engrossed in his 'Star Wars' book.

When my children faded out of their long nap stages, I went through withdraw. I NEEDED some TIME to myself. Thus, Quiet Time was initiated in our home. Accurately named, Quiet Time meant no talking, no laughing, no t.v., no noise...just quiet...basically leaving two choices: take a nap or read a book. At first, the boys chose to just lay in their beds and eventually, one, sometimes both, would drift off into a slumber. We now have less frequent quiet times around our house. They are not daily as first implemented. They look different too now that they are both in school. So long sleep...hello books! Summertime is here and I am just LOVING Quiet Time. I love watching these two precious little guys grow up and of course, as a teacher, I LOVE watching them read during Quiet Time.

Soccer Season

Jeremy helped coach Travis's team.

For two months our children were forced to try yet another sport for fun. This time it was soccer. And for the first time, our kids were on separate teams. Tyler started out mimicking one of my favorite book characters, Ferdinand the Bull, at the start of the season. If you are unfamiliar with the story, Ferdinand the bull does not wish to fight as a bull should. Instead, he would rather sit in the lovely green grass and smell the flowers. Luckily, it only took a few practices before our "Little Ferdinand" was done sitting in the middle of the field picking at the grass. By the end of the season, Tyler had found his niche...defense. He patiently waited for the ball to come into his zone...then BOOM! It was headed towards his own team's goal. Travis, on the other hand, played a wicked offense! He chased the ball aggressively up and down the field but was careful not to hog the ball. He scored several goals throughout the season, including all the goals for his team in his first game. Influenced by our kids' desire to share the same name, both teams named themselves "Blue Lightning". GO BLUE LIGHTNING!!!

The Blessing of Baptism

Daddy and Tyler (dressed in the same fashionable jumpsuits)Mommy and Tyler

On March 28th, Tyler was baptized. We are so proud of him! He has always been such a happy, easy-going, and loving boy. He is a great example to his younger brother and best friend, Travis. We are blessed daily to have his special spirit in our home.

Air Fest 2010

Last time we went to the air show at MacDill Airforce Base, it took us 2.5 hours to get there from Tampa. Hello...the base is in Tampa!!! This year we bravely returned. We quickly arrived on base and parked. Almost there, right? WRONG! This time we waited in a 45 minute line to get past security. Fortunately, we were not seen as threats and were welcomed inside. Once inside, we enjoyed touring the aircrafts and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the parachuters and Blue Angels. Our friend, Jarin Thayn, sang the national anthem. Though we didn't witness it, Jarin most likely would have missed his shining moment if Jeremy hadn't knocked on his door at 6:00 or so in the morning and woke him up. See...it all worked out and was a beautiful day!

Eight is GREAT!

Tyler's new bike. Playing with matches.
Tyler's turn.

Tyler celebrated his 8th birthday in March. We went to Walmart and had him help us pick out a new bike for himself. He also got an Airhog toy that hovers over your hand like magic! Jeremy had the boys aid in the lighting of the cake. Travis lit the last candle and blew out his match. His Big Bad Wolf blow also blew all the candles out on the cake. Tyler wasn't upset at all. It just meant they got to light the candles again! Hee!

From the Heart

Unlike last year, my valentine was home for Valentine's Day this year. He planned a special relaxing evening at home for us while his mom and dad watched the boys. The night included a heart-shaped pizza from Papa John's and a movie called Love Happens. It was just my kind of night with just my kind of guy.

Perspective

Travis loves to express himself through art and words. In a class of 18 students, it is always easy to identify Travis's artwork. It is full of color and happiness. I love that Travis draws his mommy with big, bright blue eyes and a little body (at least someone sees that). He colors on red lipstick and red rosy cheeks because moms wear make-up ya know.

The final detail is a blue candy cane (his favorite color) that mommy holds to, of course, give to her sweet little boy Travis. Well, that's what he explained anyway.

In this picture, Travis sees his daddy as carefree, running with the birds outside. Surpisingly, he also sees daddy with a lot of hair on top of his head. (Funny because Tyler always draws daddy with just a little hair on the sides of his head.) It's just a matter of perspective!

Travis is very much a "daddy's boy".

He loves playing with his grown-up self every chance he gets. Seeing him express his love for daddy in words and pictures is "priceless". Apparently one of the coolest things he gets to do is ride on daddy's shoulders...a mere 6 foot 4 inches off the ground!

Why wouldn't life look a whole lot more spectacular up there (especially to this little boy who adores his daddy)?