Survivor

A little too much survivor time in our house led Ryan to persuade me into purchasing a coconut for him to eat.



Everyone became excited and wanted to be the first to try the scrumptious coconut milk.



Cody grabbed the biggest 1/2 and began guzzling...only it wasn't as delicious as the survivor competitors made it out to be. He immediately spit it out(I wish I would have gotten a picture). We then tried the coconut itself, which didn't prove to be any more scrumptious.


(ryan spitting it out)

The coconut is not a sweet eat, but because it is usually an ingredient included in many desserts it is thought to be a sweet treat...OR if you've been on an island for 30 days, anything will taste good.

Coconut anyone??



I wonder what fun eats the next season of Survivor will bring...

Art Show

Last night was the 1st grade art show. This year they set it up to resemble a real life museum where the children acted as curators, showing their parents all of the exhibits full of everything they have created throughout the year. We received a program upon our arrival, and Ryan knew just where we were suppose to go.


---Self Portrait--


Welcome to the Tropics - Orchids in a mix of cut paper and crayon.


Wonderful Sea Creatures - Swimmy - Working together - Fish in the Flow


Woodlands - Leaf pictures and twigs


Designs in Nature - Beautiful Butterflies


Arctic animals done in oil pastels


Clay sea creatures and wild animals

I was able to help the art teacher this year, so it was great to see all of the projects the children were able to put together for their art show.
It was a fun evening. We celebrated at Dairy Queen(they were a proud sponsor:)).



NICE WORK RYAN!!

Great Gifts - Mother's Day

Besides, "what's for dinner?" this is the most frequently asked question, so I was thrilled to receive this handy magnet for Mother's day. Now there will be no more excuses..."I didn't know they needed to be unloaded," and there will be no more questions, "clean or dirty?" Just look at the sign & go from there!

Thank you Andy & Janelle!!

I also got a sweet card from Ryan...



On the inside was a fill in the blank "greeting"...



My mom is the most wonderful mom in the world! Her name is Sharlee. She's as pretty as a Rose. I like it when she wears church clothes. She is 40(not quite.) She has green eyes and blonde(not quite) hair. She weighs 102 pounds and is 6 feet tall(not quite). Her favorite food is salad. In the good old days when she was little, she used to make fun of football players(not sure where that came from). I think Mom is funny when she tickles me. But I know she's really angry when she growls. I wouldn't trade my mom for $100.00. I love my Mom because she is pretty. Love, Ryan

I had a wonderful dinner and clean- up crew, which made for a very Happy Mother's Day!

New Life

I am always amazed and strengthened by Stephanie Nielson of Nie Nie Dialogues when I read her blog. She continues to be such source of daily inspiration for me, reminding me of what it means to be a mother and to enjoy the privilege of raising a family.

Strawberries

Saturday we went and picked strawberries at the farm. They were so much bigger than last year & more plentiful for the picking.





Ryan came along to help, and we were able to pick 6 buckets in less than 30 minutes.



We've already went through 2 strawberry shortcakes and 3 quarts of freezer jam! I might have to make another trip to the farm.

jumpin

Against Casey's better judgment we purchased a trampoline. Ryan was thrilled...



Cody and Kaitlyn asked why? Cody wanted to make sure we remembered his birthday was coming up & Kaitlyn reminded us she needs a cell phone. I guess they thought it was just for Ryan.
The truth is that I've wanted a trampoline for years, but I could never convince Casey it was worth the risk. We've had two children break their arms riding bikes, and we still continued to allow them to ride, so after much discussion and a phone call to our insurance(to make sure it wouldn't increase our premiums) Casey finally agreed to take the risk and buy a trampoline.

It didn't take long for everyone to join in on the fun with games like popcorn & tootsie roll(don't look Casey).





It has been fun to watch them together on the trampoline.

Easter Weekend

We spent Easter in Calhoun with Andy, Janelle and Seth. We had a wonderful weekend full of..

Colored Eggs





Egg hunting





Trampoline jumping





playing in the wildflower sprinkler (it was mid 80's all weekend.)







It was a fun weekend but went by way too fast. We'll have to do it again soon!