A Tribute to Maggie May

We buried our family dog, Maggie May, at her home.

When she died, we planted a tree in her memory but couldn't bring ourselves to put her ashes in the ground quite yet.  But now that Papa and Mimi are moving on, we felt it was time and the right thing do - leave her at the place she knew.  So in a brief "ceremony" with a bit of reminiscing, we buried her box under her tree so she will always be "home."

Exploring Papa and Mimi's!

Much of our weekend was spent back and forth between Papa and Mimi's old house and their new house.  The kids had a blast exploring and "helping"!

Sassy's discovered a love for climbing (or being lifted into!) trees!

There was some bike riding...

 ...and pulling!

We posed for a few pictures...

...and had a rare moment of playing nicely together!

Lots of memories were revisited and new ones made...it was great to be a little part of Papa and Mimi's newest adventure!!!

A Day With Uncle J!

We all know he's a bit special...but we love him anyway!!!!

 Bringing the first box of Yuengling into the new house.

 Discovering a new way to water the flowers!

Posing!

Easter With The Sprouts

Because of all the moving and traveling, we were limited in the time we got to spend with Pop-Pop and Memaw...so we had a pre-Easter celebration on Thursday. It included a lot of time outside, seeing cousins and an aunt and uncle, eating hot dogs and hamburgers, a bit of giggling, some egg hunting, and lots of good quality family time!

It all ended with Bruiser curling up with Chimmy - the crankiest, oldest dog you could meet...who never curls up and sleeps with anyone!

Hoppy Easter! (A Picture Collage!)

A Family Kind of Weekend

We headed down to Pennsylvania for Easter weekend yesterday and added in the twist of helping Papa and Mimi celebrate their new house!

It was a beautiful spring evening when we arrived...green grass, warm temperatures, and a pretty setting sun.  We enjoyed an hour or so outside, stretching off the car ride itchies!  It was an adventure searching for all the signs of spring in the yard.

A baby Easter bunny even hopped by for a visit to see if everyone was behaving...can you see him peeking out?

Then this morning we headed over to Papa and Mimi's new house after their closing to explore and celebrate.  It was fun sharing their adventure and checking out all the new places to play and enjoy!

A secret house!

Papa and Mimi's new house.

Planting some flowers for Mimi...with lots of help from little hands!

Sassy is the proud recipient of the first time-out at the new house.  As she sat there and screamed "I yisten!  I yisten!", Mommy and Daddy were glad to note that the steps at the new house work just as well as the steps at the old house!

And I just couldn't resist Sassy's expression on our car ride to Pop-Pop's house...she is ALL attitude!

Once we left Papa and Mimi's house, we headed to Pop-Pop and Memaw's house for an early Easter celebration.  We spent some more time playing outside, enjoying a rarely-used sandbox...which Bruiser left in a cloud of dust as he left it, a bit like Pig-Pen!  We held some brand-new cuddly puppies, explore an amazing greenhouse, purchased some flowers, and played at the playground.  Now we are just waiting for Memaw to arrive home from work as quickly as she can! 

Tomorrow we head back to Papa and Mimi's, pick up a moving truck, haul some boxes, empty one kitchen and fill  another, and thoroughly exhaust ourselves...isn't that what vacation is for????



Wordless Wednesday!

Bruiser Moments

Last night Daddy decided to teach Bruiser (who is actively potty training) how to pee on a tree in the yard.  Yes, that would be the man I married...the man with a PhD...making brilliant parenting decisions!  Anyway, when I asked Bruiser to tell Papa and Mimi what Daddy taught him, he responded with "Daddy taught me how to pee in the yard like a squirrel!"

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When I asked Bruiser to use the potty before bed last night he burst into tears - "I need to go outside to go potty, Mama!"

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This morning Daddy went into Bruiser's room to wake him up and Bruiser handed him a pair of his own (Daddy's) boxers and said "Here, Daddy, these are too big."

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I was in the kitchen making dinner when Bruiser came running in from the living room, making a bee-line to the bathroom.  I asked what he was doing and he said "There is an outside bug inside.  I'll get it, Mama!"  He grabbed some toilet paper, ran back to the living room and squashed the bug.

It's Reading Week for Tater!

This week at Tater's school (and Mommy's too!), it is Reading Week.  There are lots of fun activities planned for the students and Tater is loving every minute of it!  Monday was a day to spend decorating your classroom door with your favorite book or characters.  Tater's class created an ocean and filled it with lots of Rainbow fish (picture to come!).  Then today the students wore "readable" t-shirts or t-shirts with some kind of writing on them.  Tater added in the hat when I wasn't there to catch her...because it had writing on it!

Maybe the most exciting thing about Reading Week are the visitors that come into the classroom to share their love of reading with the students.  We have parents, school administrators, other teachers and aides, politicians, and even local celebrities.  Today, Sassy and I went into Tater's room!



We chose an oldie but goodie - Harold and the Purple Crayon.  About half the children were familiar with it and all were mesmerized!  When we left, we left a blank book so they could create their own purple crayon drawings and a bag full of purple crayons.  I love being a teacher...but I love being able to be "mommy" even more!

Spring Fling

Tater headed out tonight to our elementary school's Spring Fling.  She was so excited to get fancied up and go "dance"!  Our wonderful friend and her daughter offered to take Tater as a part of their family so I didn't have to subject myself to the chaos on my anniversary!  I love our friends!