baseball & bears

Baseballs and bears were a great combination for the Davis family over Mother's Day Weekend.We enjoyed the Cardinal game even though they lost terribly. But being together in a stadium atmosphere still made for a great night.

 Of course the teacher in me somehow wants to turn everything into a thematic  unit for my boys.

So the week before we headed out and took a quick trip to the library in search of zoo & baseball books. As well as a few quick and easy crafts and goody bags for the road. 

*creating their lions*

 *enjoying their selections of books from the library*

 

*they loved the capsules that turned into zoo animals*

 The boys enjoyed the snack bar more than the game. They were fixing drinks and snacks for us and of course Meg got involved and fixed them a tip jar. I don't even think they knew there was a game going on but they had so much fun. Kase called it his restaurant.

*this is how they traveled then entire walk back to the hotel*

I found a zoo scavenger hunt on pinterest that the boys loved!! Kase was determined to mark off all of the animals on his chart so he led the way around the zoo.

 *This past year in preschool Kase had made some binoculars out of toilet paper rolls. He and Knox put these to great use on this trip!*

*the boys were intrigued with the arch*

We finished the weekend off  at Fitz bottling company for supper. They had the absolute best floats!!

logan

The first day of school is filled with so many emotions for parents, students and teachers alike. Last year on the first day of school in walked not only a new student to first grade but also  a new student to the school.

 From North Carolina a blonde hair nervous little boy gripping his lunch box anxiously waited to meet his classmates. At first glance I could tell this little boy was kind, and loved by his family. His mom joined him that morning to help calm his nerves and her nerves about starting a new school.

It didn't take long for both he and his mom to fit right into our classroom, school and community. Through football at recess and sharing his school supplies with others Logan quickly found his way into the hearts of his classmates and me his teacher.  His mom played a large part in his class by volunteering 2 days a week and showing his classmates that she cared and loved each one of them as well as Logan. It was obvious to see the wonderful  traits in this family were contagious and such a great example to our class and community.  Traits that his classmates described on awards day last year when describing their classmate. Traits like, giver, encourager, best friend, funny, caring and so many more. 

 A year has passed since we have had to say good-bye to this precious child. Some days it feels like years ago, while others it feels like yesterday. One thing that is true is that we will never forget Logan Simpson. He touched so many people then and still now. His family has taken this tragedy and through the pain have given God the glory, and have never lost sight of their faith. They have been such an example to me and the community. I am blessed and so humbled in getting to know him, being able to call him my student, and building a relationship with his family.

When my students walked into the classroom this year, I thought of Logan. When I tearfully watched them load the bus, I thought of Logan. When I tuck my boys in bed at night, I think of Logan. We are not promised tomorrow, but are promised eternal life through Jesus Christ. This world is not our home! I will see Logan again but next time it will be in such a better place. 
Thank you Lord for placing Logan and his family in my life to be such an example. Mostly thank you for letting us serve you and knowing that these trials on this earth are temporary. 

fruit filled fun

A picturesque garden is something that my Grandaddy Joe can pride himself on. One glance at his garden makes me want to cook healthier, can, and freeze anything I can get my hands on.

 His garden feeds several families and I for one love taking advantage of it.

Strawberries have been the treat around my house lately and we have loved it

. I had the best little strawberry washer and topper around. Our assembly line sped up our jam making process.

We also enjoyed our individual strawberry shortcakes on our picnic.
As well as fresh strawberry and banana milkshakes on our movie night, and homemade strawberry ice cream with Scotty's family. 

We didn't stop at strawberries this year. We branched out to cherries as well.

 Who knew picking cherries was one of the stickiest jobs around. Picking and pitting cherries is a lot more time consuming so we stopped at just enough to make a few fresh deserts.

We seemed to have been in a fruit mood @ our house that spilt over into some treats for Kase's teachers (thanks pinterest.)

By the way our flowers are still living! I know it hasn't been that long since we planted them but I can kill things pretty quickly. Of course Target dollar spot has helped us make them a little more fun to water with the boys new watering cans as well as a little more decorative with cute signs and bird houses.

batter up & tee it up

We are back into full "swing" of t ball season (no pun intended)!  

It was our turn to bring the team snacks so with Kase's help we had fun picking out and putting together fun snack bags for his teammates. 

In t ball sometimes it is more fun to watch the parents than the kids. When they need a little help getting up the confidence to run the bases, we do it with them! The slow pace of t ball can make me crazy, but they are so cute and it is such a fun way to teach our kids about sportsmanship, teamwork, and following instruction. 

Knox thinks he should be out there with Kase, but he is learning his role of cheering him on, and of course enjoying snacks. 

As if t ball and 3 hours of swimming wasn't enough in one day, my boys were ready to tee it up!

 This is usually Scotty's domain but since he was not home the boys coaxed me into showing them what their mom can do on the golf course. Sadly enough it wasn't much even though Kase cheered me on saying "good hit momma!" 

I could tell Scotty had them in training. They knew when to be quiet, where to sit on the tee box when someone was teeing off, and even how to pull the flag. 

But since we had the course to ourselves and Scotty was not along we did all kinds of things that make him crazy when it comes to golfing. 
Like playing in flip-flops and playing with the brightest golf balls we could find. 

I learned on this little outing how literal my 4 year old really is. When referring to the green, he looked around and let me know it was all green. Also that a tee box doesn't really look like a box, and how his hot pink ball wasn't hot at all. 

Days like these are my favorite, and what a better way to end then meeting up with Scotty and having ice cream for supper!