Day 31 ~ Daffodil

I snapped these shots before I drove off for school today.  These are about the only flowers that bloom in my yard.  We are not yard people.  Let me just say, "I'm sorry" to all the neighbors now.  And, yesterday was the first day since I started "Project 365" that I did not take a picture of anything at all!  Hopefully my slacker feeling is over and I won't skip any more days.  

Day 29 ~ Another Hutter

Mark got a message from his cousin Travis today.  Travis lives in the Orlando area and was passing through our area because of work.  We met him for lunch.  It was really good to catch up a little bit. It had been a little over 8 years since we had seen him.  The last time we saw Travis and his parents (Mark's Uncle Mike and Aunt Gay) was when we took the kids to Orlando for Thanksgiving of 2003.  I took this picture with my phone of Travis, Mark, and Will today.

The following picture is from the last time we saw Travis.  He used to be a bull rider and we were lucky that he was riding bulls in the area while we were there.  The kids got so into it that we bought them the cowboy hats they are wearing.  Will has grown just a bit since then...

Travis, if you read this, thanks again for sending Mark that message today.  We will absolutely not wait 8 years to see you again!  

Day 28 ~ Vulcan Park with the Family

I was the first one up in our house today just like every other day and while I was drinking coffee I was thinking of everything that needed to be done around the house.  Laundry is stacked up, the living room looks like it snowed in there because Roxy destroyed a stuffed animal and all the stuffing was everywhere, grocery shopping, etc.  That was how I planned to spend the day until I took Roxy out and realized that it was going to be a gorgeous day!  So, I planned to wake up my family and declare today a bonding day!  We had brunch at "Over Easy" and then headed to Vulcan Park.  

This is part of the Iron wall in the Vulcan museum.

Will and Erin 

Will and Erin were so great about me taking so many pictures of them.  

View of Birmingham from the observation deck of the Vulcan

LOVE this one!  

 Part of an American flag display, I would have taken a picture of the whole thing but it had a tv showing a video right in the middle.

I remember the Vulcan holding this light when I was growing up.  It would be green if there were no traffic fatalities that day but would be red if there were.

This is the door to the stairs at the bottom of Vulcan.  The kids were going to take all 159 stairs but the stairs were closed.  

 It was so windy on the observation deck!

You can tell it was windy because my hair is jacked up!

The sign says "No Running on Stair Steps".  Don't Worry!

 

Could be my favorite picture of the day!

Will had never been to Vulcan Park and Erin had not been since she was a year old.  The park has been renovated since then.  I remember going for the first time when I was about 3 years old.  It was a great family day!  I better get them while I can!!

Day 27 ~ A Great Way to End the Work Week

I told Mark this morning that I really wanted him to pick up some steaks on the way home tonight and grill them for dinner.  It had been a long time since we had a good home cooked steak.  Well, he granted me my wish!  It's been a long week and a stressful day and I am very thankful that he took care of dinner tonight and it was DELICIOUS!  He also surprised me with a piece of chocolate cake from Zoe's Kitchen.  He knows it is my favorite!  I am too stuffed to eat the cake right now!

Day 26 ~ Beanie Babies

Tanya (my teaching partner) came across some reading strategies that involve animals to help the children remember them.  We decided it would be a good idea to have a stuffed animal that goes along with each strategy to help the kids visualize.  I told her about all the Beanie Babies that were taking up space in my attic.  So, this afternoon I went on the Beanie Baby hunt!  And look what I found!  (the only one I needed and couldn't find was the eagle, and  I know we had that one!) 

How many of us bought every one of these that we could find and got caught up in the craze of buying them before they went into retirement?  We just knew these little cuties were going to be worth lots of money one day....  WHATEVER!  You almost can't give them away now.  As I was putting them all on the table to take pictures, I was remembering ones that we owned that weren't in the huge black garbage bag where I found all of these.  Who knows where those got off to? During the Beanie Baby hay day, Mark traveled all over the state for his job. He would bring the kids new ones all the time.  His dad would send the kids new ones from Florida.  When Will was a baby, Erin completely covered him in beanie babies while he was in his bouncy seat once and he didn't like it at all.  I have a picture of her sitting next to him and he is screaming his head off.  HAHA!   Erin used to go through phases where she would sleep with all the cats or carry around of the dogs.  When she was 4, she was Dorothy from The Wizard of OZ for Halloween and carried the  Scotty dog with her.  

This is the "Erin" bear.  She stayed in a plastic case for a long time.  

These are the "teeny beanie babies" that were the prize in McDonald's Happy Meals.  

I think a lot of these are going to find a new home in our classroom.  I just wish I had all the money we spent on these things now!  

Day 25 ~ Memories...

When I got home this evening, I was trying to think of what I wanted to take a picture of for my "Project 365".  One of my goals for this project is to get a really great picture of at least one sunset and that's what I was looking for when I took Roxy out in the back yard.  Sadly, today is not the day for that sunset.  But, my subject was staring me right in the face....

Our play set is almost 13 years old.  Will was a little over 2 years old and Erin was almost 5 years old when we had it built. It has seen it's fair share of climbing, swinging, imagining, and pretend play!  But now, it just looks lonely and depressed! (and just a bit run down...)  Sometimes I can look out there on a sunny day and relive in my mind Will's 9th birthday party when we had an Easter egg hunt and his whole baseball team plus more boys were hanging off this thing while they waited for their turn at bat in their backyard baseball game.  Or, Erin and the Mollica girls from down the street swinging as high as they could while they sing to the top of their lungs the current hit from Britney Spears or Kelly Clarkson or something they made up themselves. We haven't torn it down yet because for years, we were hoping someone would be able to take it apart and re-build it at their house and let their kids enjoy it like our kids and their friends did but now, it isn't safe.  

It was a Backyard Adventures original...

It is now covered with moss and lichen.  

This is what the carpenter bees have done to it over the years.

This is the rock climbing wall which was one of the highest selling points for the kids at the time of purchase.

I think that maybe, just maybe, we haven't torn it down because we don't want to look out there and not see it anymore.

Now, here she is in all her glory!!  This is the day in May of 1999 when the builders arrived from Backyard Adventures...

WOW, we had lots more grass back then!  I don't think grass will ever grow again where the swings were.

The finished product and the first swing!!  The kids were so little!!  =(

 

We had to buy a bucket swing for Will!  He is wearing what he called his "honking boots" instead of "hiking boots" in this picture.

This is how we passed the time while waiting on the workers to finish.  Will's first word was "ball".  NO LIE!!  Should have known then that we would be spending our springs, summers, and falls at baseball parks around the state!

Day 24 ~ What season is it?

This was what my car thermometer read at 4:30 this afternoon.  It is JANUARY 24th!!  Call me crazy, but I like it when the temperature matches the season...  I am afraid we will be paying for this warm afternoon tomorrow when more storms arrive.  I am also worried that it will be SUPER cold next month when tennis and baseball start.  Oh well, can't do nothing about the weather!!  

Day 23 ~ Making a Mess

Can you guess what this is?  It looks like orange paint or orange play doh.  Well, it is......... melted candy corn!  Why am I melting candy corn?  Will and I are making home made Butterfingers!  It was his idea.  First thing you do is melt the candy corn in the microwave.  Will was in charge of that.  Then you mix peanut butter in with the melted candy corn and spread the mixture in a pan lined with wax paper.

You let it cool for an hour and then cut it into strips or chunks with a pizza cutter.  

Melt chocolate chips and dip the mixture to cover.  Then place them on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. 

Let them cook and harden.  And then they are ready to eat!  I will let you know how they taste.  I am not going to tell you what Will said they look like at this stage...... you can just imagine!!  

Will and I are the only ones home tonight.  I have enjoyed spending this time with him and after starting this day with the horrible storms that took so much from some,  I am thankful we are able to do this.    

Day 22 ~ Roxy helps with the dishes

Roxy is a short dog...most Corgis are!  It isn't very often that there is food down on her level.  But, almost every time I load the dish washer, she snags herself a little tasty treat as she licks off whatever is lingering on the silverware.

I am just waiting on her to cut her tongue on a knife....

This picture is not great quality because there is a light out in the kitchen and I had to take it with my phone.  AND, my camera, my baby, my love, is sick!  It is telling me that there is not card in it when there is....NOOO!!!  Hopefully it is just the card and NOT the camera! 

Day 21 ~ A New Crayon Shape!

I was innocently strolling through the Valentine's section at Target today when I spied this little jewel...

I think I am a little obsessed with the heart crayons I have been making because I instantly thought about making crayons using this cookie pan.  And when I saw that the pan was only $6.99 and knowing that I had more crayons at home, in my cart it went!  This time I used a box cutter to split the paper on the crayons and the peeling went much faster.  I only cut my fingers twice...  I watched "The Help" again while getting the crayons ready and I cried at all the same parts just as much as the first time.

I think each one of our students will get a heart crayon AND one of these.  

Day 20 ~ Sweet Emma

Emma is our precious niece.  She will be 2 in March.  Tonight we got to have dinner with her and Mark's side of the family to celebrate Mark's mom's birthday.  To keep Emma entertained before the food came, her parents introduced her to Angry Birds!  She was hooked!  

Oh, and there were cupcakes!  Emma got to have one after she said, "Peeas!" 

The cupcake was soooo good!!  She charmed us all night with her dancing, talking, and hamming it up for the camera!   We don't see her enough and we need to do something about that!