Summer Lovin'....

Not like the kind of lovin' from Grease...I mean we are lovin' summer, but that title may not have had the same type of power to make you want to read more. (Always the teacher...)

We are enjoying summer! I have been professionally developed, and now am a certifiable advanced CFG coach. If you don't know what that means, don't feel bad...I'm not always completely certain either! :) I do know I spent a couple of days networking with colleagues in other buildings discussing ways to raise student achievement, which is of course a passion of mine.

I am also being allowed to sleep in until 7:30ish, with some good snuggle time after the peeling open of eyelids. I am usually awakened by a small voice asking "Do I dot skoo doday" or..."Do I dot baseball doday?"(Matthew) or "Mama...what doin?" (Ruby) or a much louder, bossier voice saying "Wate up Mama!" followed by an ear piercing repeat of "Wate up!!!!!" I'll have to leave you to guess who wakes me up in that fashion. :)

Of course summer means staying up late, which means I feel no more refreshed than usual, but the relaxed pace of summer makes things so much more bearable.

Our favorite summer thing to do is to get ice cream! (Thus explaining my waist line....) Here's Clara being told, "Find your shoes, so we can go get some ice cream"

Here's the crew enjoying ice cream...

And perhaps my favorite picture so far this summer....my Ruby showing us all that life is meant to be enjoyed. (Notice she has not one but TWO ice cream cones in her hands!) Either that or she is teaching us the life lesson of "Don't set your ice cream cone down if you don't want your sister to eat it..." Either way, I still love this picture!

God is good. All the time.

Feeling Blue....

I was looking forward to a visit from my bff....and so were my kids...but now she's not coming down state. Well, she is, but not to MY house for a few nights like she was going to. My kids are totally bummed, and I have to admit that I've been pretty crabby as well.



Here is the MIA BFF....and her dd10

Don't they just look fun????

If Noah says "Sure is a bummer that Mimi's not coming....sigh sigh, I sure was looking forward to seeing dd10" I think I may scream! He continued on..."I got mail from dd10, but it's not as fun as a visit." Ricky asked if Mimi was mad at me...to which I answered..."I don't THINK so" but now I'm paranoid. Matthew just cried and suggested that we get in the van and go get her. Ahhh kids...nothing like rubbing a little salt into a raw wound!

I took them to the zoo to cheer them up, but they just wanted me to buy them stuff. Which I did, but they forgot is was supposed to help them get over their Mimi sadness and still grumped later in the evening... which made me even grumpier!

I did tell my hubby that I would still be going out on Saturday night with my dear sister for a margarita...no need to waste a perfectly good offer on my hubby's part to stay with my kids for an evening! Who knows...maybe I'll even have two!

God is good. All the time... (Even when your bff isn't coming to town.)

Happy Birthday to You! An Ode to My Sister....

I would scan a picture but I can't figure out how to make the stupid scanner work. Sorry....

My sister is a sassy gal

the kind that makes you think

she's always quick to help you out

she'll be there in a wink

She has a twinkle in her eye

that makes you stop and wonder

what she's up to or what she'll say...

or what she'll turn up under

She's loads of fun and skinny too

my sister is the best

I love her very much you see

she's withstood every test

She buys my kids

all sorts of crap, the stuff we can't afford

when my kids go to Bubba's house

they certainly are never bored

So even though we sometimes fight

okay, well maybe we brawl

I love my quality sister sis

she's tops amongst them all!

Happy birthday to my Sister Sis. I love you....

xoxo

Quality and Kids

Happy Father's Day...An ode to my hubby....

Sometimes he drives me crazy

because he's such a grump...

and I'll never be in a magazine

with this kind of baby "bump"

He's rough around the edges

but his heart is made of gold

I never feel as safe as when

I'm in his bear hug hold

So on this Hallmark holiday

(that would be his favorite phrase)

I hope he knows how much he's loved

on this and every day!

Happy Father's Day to my Knight in Dirty Carharts....I love you!!!!

Where's Grandpa Tim When You Need Him?

We have a pair of crazy ducks that roam our neighborhood. They drive poor Puppy Cakes crazy, but much to the delight of my children, they graced us with their presence in our front yard the other day! Be warned...my video-ing could turn your stomach...and for the record, the half naked guy walking down the driveway is my NEIGHBOR...not my husband!!

Okay, I just watched the video again and felt compelled to add the following information. The kids are throwing bread, not rocks at the ducks, and the other blonde child is not mine (but might as well be for as often as he is at our house!)

I had a wonderful time tonight. I went to a party with friends, no children, (or husbands!!) and I was able to actually hold a conversation without anyone climbing into my lap or stealing food from my plate! Good friends, good food, a truly lovely evening!! What a great start to the summer!

Ruby is still up, (speaking of climbing into laps...) so I'll cut this short. I'll also try to not be a blog slacker. :0) Look for more posts soon!

God is good. All the time.

This place is a zoo!! And other random things we've been doing....

Well, school has finally finished (okay, it was last Friday!) and as you can see by the video above, Matthew's last few days were more fun than I ever remember school being! Matthew had such a fun time at his water party, that it was all he talked about for days. The conversation usually started with "Oh man...it was so fun...you should have been there!" Brian heard so much about it that he told Matthew he'd do his best to be at the next water party next year. Matthew told him he needs to ask Ms. Debra when it is so he can put it on the calendar. :) Matthew was so busy having fun, that I was able to shoot some candid film of him before he noticed I was there!

This time of year also brings the end of baseball season. Ricky's team had their last game on Saturday, Noah had his last night (a 10-3 victory!!) and Matthew has his last game this Saturday! We'll all be breathing a collective sigh of relief, for as much as we love the hustle and bustle, the absence of baseball will allow us to do things like cook dinner, (my kids have been living on sunflower seeds and hot dogs) mow the lawn, read the paper, clean the house...(oh wait...there must be summer baseball somewhere!!) etc. Noah actually starts a double elimination tournament tomorrow, but seeing as they are in 4th place with only five teams, I'm thinking we'll be out of this thing pretty quick! I'll post some pics of him in action at the tournament. I think he's getting a Mohawk tomorrow. Several boys on his team got them, and they got good hits...he's thinking it might work for him!

Ricky and Dylan Ham it up at the last game....

Ms. Debra made it to a game! Lucky Matthew 3 of his 4 teachers came to cheer him on!!

Alyssa blew into town, and is staying with us until the 17th. The kids really enjoy having her around, and spend most of their time trying to make up for lost pester your sister time. Poor Alyssa! I don't think Tuesday can come soon enough for her!

We had family day today and went to the zoo. It was quite fun aside from the kids arguing and Brian and I threatening to leave "right now" if (insert any Boyer child name here) didn't straighten up! Thankfully they all in turn heeded our warnings, and everyone left happy and with a zoo souvenir (or two) in hand! Here's a few of my favorite pictures...

My boys on the train...
Clara taking it all in... Alyssa trying to convince Ruby to RIDE in the wagon...not pull it! (Didn't work...) Ricky and the Elephant...he liked this exhibit the best because of the "gigantic poop", which thankfully was not in the eye of the camera!!

I have more pics, but I will spare you dear reader until the next post, which I plan on calling "Where is Grandpa Tim When you Need Him?!" Why you wonder???? You'll just have to check back soon to see!

God is good. All the time.