The Fruits of Our Labor!

Here is the garden....it has grown by leaps and bounds!! Everything is really taking off....we have baby strawberries all over and can not wait for the tomatoes to start blooming!! Hard to believe most of the garden was started from seeds, inside in the middle of February....pretty amazing!

So far we have beets and peas....Shawn and I have pickled 7 jars of beets and that has hardly made a dent in the beet row! As for the peas....we have had them 3 nights.....and we have more that need to be picked! I think I will be freezing those....I'm pretty sure the boys are on a pea strike!

Happy Birthday Shawn!

Shawn being way more low key than Grady, opted for a single birthday party! We went fishing on Shawn's actual birthday, so we had his birthday dinner and dessert a day later! Of course, the only thing Shawn is not low key on is his choice of birthday dinner!!! It usually consists of items I have never heard of and have no clue where to find them! Well, a few days before his birthday he saw a cooking show where they were making filet stuffed with a blue cheese butter concoction....so we gave it a whirl!! It turned out fantastic! We also had bacon ranch potatoes, asiago cheese bread and asparagus with tarragon! For dessert....of course, staying non-conventional, we had vanilla custard! Note: It is very difficult to stand candles in custard! We finished off the birthday bash with presents!!! I think Shawn had a pretty great day....not as great as if I would just live the day like any other, but since I won't let any one's day just pass by...I think it was pretty good! Hope you had a fantastic birthday, Shawn!!

Him and his new man tool...a drill press! He was actually really surprised....I don't think he thought I would actually get the right thing!

Happy Birthday Grady!!

Our baby officially turned 6 last week!! He is such a blessing to our little family......we would be soooo bored without him!!! A little dose of Grady and your bad day instantly vanishes...something about his sweet little smile and quirky little sayings and you can forget all of your troubles! God knew what he was doing 6 years ago when he gave the 3 of us Grady.....3 calm, quiet people definitely need a kick....and he was just the spice we all needed!

He actually had 3 birthday celebrations...yep, he's spoiled! His first was the party at school, then he had one at home and yesterday we ended the trifecta of birthday bliss with a friend party! He enjoyed every minute of the attention...I know, hard to believe!!

A Big Boy Bike!!!

A re-enactment of the blowing of the candles...Mom was a little too slow on the actual event!

Lovin' us some black frosting!!

Grady and his buddies enjoying the ice cream cake on the 90 degree day!

Kysen and Jake standing by in case Grady needed any assistance...Love those two!

So, for Grady's party we had outdoor fun stations....they included water balloon target throw, outdoor bowling, horse shoes, ring toss, croquet, and an obstacle course!! Everyone had a great time and I'm sure they all slept great that night! Thanks for sharing Grady's day!

Grady's First Sleepover!

Last Saturday night, Grady had his first sleepover!!! He went to his buddy, Kysen's house for an all-nighter! Katrina, Kysen's Mom, and I had already worked out which one of us would bring Grady home in the middle of the night...but you know, that little stinker made it all night! We were both shocked when I arrived on Sunday morning! The boys had a blast....they played flashlight tag, Wii, went McDonald's PlayLand, Bakugan and Legos....and the best part, donuts for breakfast! Sounds like a pretty fantastic first sleepover to me! In a couple of weeks, Kysen is going to give it a go over here.....we'll see if he can make it all night! I'll let you know how that goes!!!

Happy 60th Anniversary!

Last weekend, we had the pleasure of sharing a very special anniversary with Shawn's Grandparents!! They celebrated 60 wonderful years of marriage! WOW! Grandpa and Grandma Koop are just what I would imagine love should look like after that many years to perfect it.....they have so much love and respect for each other and have always kept the Lord first in their lives. Shawn and I are very lucky to have an example like them to follow......so Shawn here is to 47 more years!

Our Little Graduate!

Yesterday was Grady's Kindergarten Graduation! We are so proud of that little stinker! It is so hard to believe he will be in 1st Grade next year!! He has come so far this year.....he reads and writes beautifully, he has calmed waayyy down, he has become quite the social butterfly, and if he had an ounce of shyness....he has completely lost that! He has grown up so much...I was looking back at pictures from the beginning of the school year....he has changed so much....not our little baby anymore! Congratulations Grady.....you big first grader, you!

The Life Cycle of a Fox

Yes, for inquiring minds....Gabe is now our resident expert on the Life Cycle of a Fox! This was his final assignment for Science and Writing....and not to be biased...but I think he did a pretty fantastic job!

This a diaorama of the den of fox...complete with little baby foxes! In addition to the diaorama and poster, Gabe also made a brochure explaining the entire life cycle.....So, if you have a question about the fox life cycle.....I know just who you could ask!

Happy Early Birthday, Grady!

Last Friday, we celebrated Grady's Birthday with his Kindergarten class!!! We had juice and dirt worm donuts...they were a hit!! Grady had Happy Birthday sung to him and he wore the Birthday Boy Cowboy Hat around all day! A pretty great way to start off his birthday....a few weeks early!

Standing with his buddies, Wyatt and Kysen while having Happy Birthday sung to him!

Giving the Birthday Boy some loving!!

One Lucky Lady!

Not only did God put the most wonderful man in my path for me to marry....He then went and blessed me with 2 of the sweetest boys! So, Sunday was Mother's Day--and I was spoiled rotten....but I'll be honest.....My guys make my life seem like a never ending Mother's Day!!! I love you guys.....Thank you for loving me....through all of my girly, crazy moments!

I don't know how I got so lucky.....but, I am certainly happy I did!!!

Where does it go??!!

Time...my time, more specifically....where in the world does it go?! I do not work outside of the home, so I don't have that excuse...my boys are not babies, so I don't have that excuse...I am not in school, so I don't have that excuse---sheesh!

So, since my last update....life has definitely not slowed down! As the school year winds down, it seems to only be getting busier! I have to laugh, the other day I was trying to coordinate with my sis and b.i.l. when to get new brakes on the Army, and for the life of me, I didn't have a spare evening to get the vehicle to him! Then my sis says, well at least once the boys are out of school for the summer that will free up some time. At the time I totally agreed, but then I sat down and started thinking about all of the plans we have for summer already....and I started to wonder if life really will ever s l o w d o w n!

So, what are we up to right now and what do we have in the works? Well.....the boys both started baseball last week...that will last until the middle of July. Both boys are signed up for a 4 day wrestling camp in June, Kid's college toward the end of July, Gabe has signed up for a Strength and Agility Program through Augusta High that will last all summer, there are a couple of plays we would like to go to at the Children's Theatre, vacationing in Chicago the last week of June, VBS the 3rd week of June and this morning our bible study group decided we would give a summer study a whirl....and at some point I would like to head to Dallas for a long weekend to hang with my Aunt and Uncle. And, all of that has to be worked in around the humongous garden and yard that seems to always need mowed! Whew, I'm tired!

Complain, complain....I know I do this to myself! I would hate to get bored!

So, that is what is in the works....lately, we have been accomplishing stuff around the house! We have planted more veggies in the garden along with a pear, apple, cherry and plum tree and some flowers! Shawn finished my picnic table and we have been enjoying every meal we can outside! After dinner most every night, we have been practicing baseball without the fear of losing a ball over the fence or putting out a neighbor's window.....yes, definitely a perk to living in the country! Both boys have improved tremendously! And, we spent the last couple of weekends in Fredonia celebrating Easter! Shawn has been working, but thankfully had 2 weekends off in a row....definitely a plus having him around! Gabe has finished up with his testing in school and now seems to be coasting along to the end of the school year! Grady has been doing end of the year testing as well and managed to write his numbers to 360 last week....he assured us he could have gone much further, but Mrs. Nusz told him that was plenty far....she really only needed him to write to 100! We are very proud of both of the boys! I am having a hard time believing that next year I will have a 5th grader! Oh My Goodness...you know what that means...in just over a year....If all goes as planned!.....I will have a MIDDLE SCHOOLER!!! What in the stink....how can that be?!

Alright, I've picked myself up off the ground.....so, where in the world does time go...heck, I don't have a clue....but, if you find any extra hours or for that matter years laying around, they are probably mine...go ahead and FedEx them back...as you can see I am in dire need of them!

Happy Day Everyone!

Amanda