Prom, Prom, Prom. . . And did I Mention the Prom. . .

Photo parade of the Prom.  I guess I over did my share on Facebook with my Prom pictures but I am sure when others children did Prom they did the same.  This was my sweet Big T's first Prom and there will not be another like it.  So pardon the parade of photos. 

These are my favorite pictures that I took.  These two are very photogenic and we had a great day.  They also had a wonderful time at the Prom.  Everywhere we went that day everyone said how wonderful they looked.   I know because the hubbs and I drove them everywhere.  We did not chaperone the Prom though.

Football and Food. . . Always go Together . . .

Enjoyed sometime with family on Sunday with lots of appetizers and what else but, football.  I have not entertained like that since we had the boys and I have to say it was kind of nice.  I made several different appetizers and we enjoyed eating and watching the games.  The hubbs and I used to do that quite often with friends and family  before the boys came along and maybe even right after they were born.   The boys got older and were involved in sports and Church and we never seemed to have the time to "entertain" like we did before the kids.
I remember one time in particular before we were even married that I fixed a big pot of my infamous chili and appetizers for an afternoon of football.  We had all the hubbs friends over to eat and watch the games and it was a lot of fun.  It snowed that day and after eating all that chili they went out to go sledding.  I skipped the sledding that day. 
Here is what we had on Sunday for our little get together:

Deviled eggs with a little horseradish and sour cream, scrabble (chex mix), cream cheese with red pepper jelly and crackers, and a bean dip called Texas Trash that I found on Pinterest, along with olives,  and last but not least chicken soft tacos.

St Lucia, West Indies Winners Trip

We got delayed in Miami, we will catch a ride home tomorrow morning.  We slept in the airport, not the brightest idea for someone with a bad back. We got home this morning around 1000.
My hubby, after being laid off two years ago and re hired, came in top 14 in sales and won this amazing trip.  We were off to St Lucia, just me and the hubbs. We stayed at the Sugar Beach resort that rests between two volcanos called the Pitons.  We had the most amazing time and I was pampered in ways I could not have begun to imagine.  We resided in a true paradise for a few days and experienced breathtaking views at every turn. We were immersed in the West Indies culture.  This is an experience I will treasure forever.
The hubbs company truly went all out for their top sales people. We received gifts daily, whether it was new Ray Bans or new flip flops or gift cards, there was always something.  We enjoyed excursions:  deep sea fishing, snorkeling,  or the spa.  We had lavish dinner receptions and all day cocktails provided beach and pool side.
On one of our boat tours around the island we got a little history lesson from two local fisherman. They shared the history of the island and some salacious tells of some Hollywood stories. Mat Damon reserved the entire resort for his family one time and even bought out the local fisherman for a week to keep the beach private.  They showed us the resort where several episodes of The Bachelor were filmed.  They also showed us a bat cave where thousands of fruit bats lived. According to our guides they use bat guano (poo) to make mascara. Our guides said, "you have to get shitty to get pretty."  Mick Jagger, Oprah Winfrey,  and George Forman also have homes in St Lucia.  That is all for the Hollywood news.
It is going to be very hard to go back to my regular life.  The hustle and bustle of taking care of two growing boys and holding down the house hold.  I will hold this last week in my mind forever.

Our morning view from our Villa

The Hubbs and I with a little smooch and the two Pitons in the background after our boat tour 

This is the Great House where we had breakfast 

Our dinner view from the beach bar. 

Observations on the Week. . . . and Laser Tag

I am not as young as I think I am.  I went to a team building event for work yesterday, laser tag.  Yes, you saw that correctly it is not a type O.  I played laser tag.  I think I held my own, considering we were playing kids fifteen and under.  LOL!!!!  Yes, it is ok to laugh, I did.  When we arrived there was a group of kids signing up and I had no idea we would be playing against kids.  They divided our group and their group up so that we were fairly even on numbers.  These kids were good too, they were great shots.
Once we are all geared up, they walked us to the playing area.   This was set up really cool, they had  all sorts of things for you to duck and hide behind:  wall barriers, the camouflage netting, and sand bag bunker areas.  Considering I have never played this before and I do not play these types of video games I feel like I did pretty good.  It was terribly hot but we had plenty of water and there was a little bit of a breeze yesterday.  
The age factor kicked in when they pitted the kids against the adults.  They beat us pretty quick.  I was completely exhausted but, it was a good exhausted.  This particular venue has other options for parties and groups.  They have haunted trails, escape rooms, and zip lines.  The boys have been to a birthday party here before and played laser tag and they had a blast.   This was a team building sponsored by my work and it was very cool.

Warrior Mama  LOL!!!

On my observations for the week, I must tell you how completely proud I am of my oldest son.  I am very proud of both of my boys but especially of Sprat this week.  My husband and I are quite conservative and I think both of our boys are the same.  I know that Sprat is for sure, he had arguments daily, with his history teacher this past year over different historical events.   While he has been in DC this week they have been to several different events and heard many speakers on varying subjects.  This particular speaker was talking to them on how all of the college mascots should be changed so that they are not offensive to others.  Did I also mention that Sprat is very vocal in his opinions?  When this speaker started in on how the Florida State Seminole mascot was offensive to the Seminole Indians, that flew all over my Sprat.  He did voice his knowledge of this particular mascot issue and according to my husband, he let this speaker have it.  Did you know that the powers that be of Florida State consulted with one of the leaders of the tribe and asked their permission to have a student ride out on the field dressed as Chief Osceola during games before this became a tradition?  The tribe was honored to have this done and the ladies of the tribe designed and created  the first regalia for the rider.  Chairman of the Tribal Council told CNN, nobody will tell us to change the name and they better go some place else with all of that.  I am not sure exactly what Sprat said but, I know that he knows this for a fact.  Proud my child stood for what he knows to be true.  

Stay tuned a lot more going on these next months. . .

The Weeks Ahead. . .

Crazy week with work and the boys, Sprat is spending the week in Washington DC with our Church for Youth Convo.  He has had his eyes opened on a few things.  They are going to be very busy these next few days seeing the sights and having Bible study.  They are staying at a local University, so he is getting a taste of dorm life.  Four or more boys sharing a bathroom and bad mattresses.  I do request prayers for their group while they are there.  All of the craziness going on in the world today and people trying to hurt or kill innocent people.
On a lighter note, Big T and the hubbs went fishing yesterday and had a good time.  They caught seven.  I was working.  Big T and the hubbs have a few other plans this week while Sprat is out of town.
We are also getting ready for a much needed trip to the beach in a few weeks.  I cannot wait and we are taking Basil with  us.  That should make for a very interesting trip, with the boys and the B.  Lots of things planned around that trip too.  I have found a few ghost tours and a light house or two to see.  We have not been to the beach in at least two years partly due to the hubbs getting laid off.
For all of my Dave Ramsey followers out there we are going fully paid in cash, no credit cards on this trip at all.  Loving being debt free, especially since we are going to be sending one to college next year.  Sprat will be applying to college and lots and lots of scholarships in these next few weeks too.
Sprat is finishing up his psychology class, his first college course.
Stay tuned lots of changes and adventures to come. . .

The Ghost Tour. . .

I was looking for inexpensive things to do around town and found a ghost tour.  We have done a couple over the years, Big T is big fan of true and historic ghost tells.  Our first ghost tour experience was at the beach and it was a ghost/pirate tour, it was fabulous.  I love the ones that incorporate some history in them and the one we did on Monday night did just that.  It also helps to have a good guide that knows his or her stuff.  As I was finding the information to get this tour scheduled I was very sad to find out they would no longer be doing them.
Sprat asked one of his good friends to go along and the hubbs even went a little reluctantly.  It is always interesting to meet the other people in your group too.  We were of course very early and were just hanging out on the street corner talking and Sprat and his friend were playing Pokeman Go.  We met the people that run another ghost tour in an adjacent city and they invited us to come and do their tour some time.  Their tour involves a lot of Revolutionary war and Civil war history.  Our guide for this tour was very interesting and the reason he is leaving is that he is moving back to his home town.  He was a great orator and he really got into character with his actions and clothing, he knew his history of our area too.  We also had a lady and her two daughters from out of town in our group too.  I did not know it at the time but apparently the young girls were attracted to the boys, there was one Sprat's age and the other was around Big T's age.  According to Big T and my hubby the older girl could not keep her eyes off of Sprat and his friend.  Ahhhh young love, found on the ghost tour.
This was a walking tour and we went around this one particular neighborhood.  There were several tells of accidental death and hauntings by ghosts that did not realize they were dead.  One in particular was the haunting of a bed and breakfast that my hubby and I stayed in when we were newly wed.  I was so glad we did not know that story when we stayed there, I think it would have changed things just a bit.
One story involved a young man disobeying his father by taking his father's car to go on a date.  The age old tale of young love and wild abandon that ends in tragedy.  This one ended with a bit of a mystery and that bothered Sprat, he wanted to know the end of the story.  Our guide told him it was a mystery and we moved on to the next corner and the next tale.
We ended our tour back where we had begun and our guide asked if there was anything more that we wanted to know.  Sprat piped up and asked about the story that had caught his fancy before, and the guide obliged the best he could.  Come to find out that story was actually a compilation of a couple of different stories but the end was fact and was more recent than the other stories.  Our guide also shared that the trio that was with us for our tour from the neighboring town will be taking over this tour when he leaves.  I was very glad to hear that, I just hope that they take as much care in telling the true historic stories that our guide did.

This is our tour guide

This is the bed and breakfast

Another shot of the B & B

Throwback Thursday. . .

A little stroll down memory lane.

My three favorite fellas on Father's Day 2011

The Hubbs and Sprat at the Fair 2011

The Beach with Sprat and Big T 2013

My fellas 2013

Crisp, Beautiful, Monday. . .

Watched two wild baseball games yesterday after a beautiful Baptism and Confirmation at our Church.  Our youth group is growing and that is so wonderful to see.  Our youth choir, the Grateful Choir sang the National Anthem at a minor league baseball game yesterday.  They do an awesome job, we did not get to see them though because Sprat had a double header at the same time.  Sprat's team is off to a rough start this year but they came on strong yesterday and pulled two amazing wins. We had some unusual plays, to end the first game we had a triple play that began and ended at home plate.  Yes, it was a legit triple play.  Blooper fell right in front of the plate and a force out at home to start.  Catcher throws to first and gets the batter out, then for some reason the kid that was on third came on home, so first baseman throws to get that kid out at home.  Triple play!  Awesome!!  Wish I had it on video because it was crazy!    Sprat made two great plays, one at first base and another at third.  He did a  super stretch and a pirouette to tag the kid out at first.  They had a kid in a run down between home and third and Sprat stretched and got the kid out but the umpire called him safe and while Sprat was still laying on the ground at third the umpire looked back at him and smiled and said, "I know he was out and I missed it."  I do not think many umpires would admit that one but this guy has been an umpire where our kids play for many years and he has watched our kids grow up and I guess he felt a little guilty.   The very next batter the kid tried it again and this time Sprat got him out.  Sprat played first, third and he pitched three innings in the first game.  He loves playing ball.
I know that was a lot of play by play but these were two really exciting games.  
It was a wonderful day.

What are We Living For???

What are we living for?  I know that seems like a harsh question but it is an honest one.  Are you living to work, play, grow, or just be?  A friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday about as parents are we living in the moment or are we just living to get to the next moment?   I guess what I am asking is are we living and enjoying while it is going on or are we pushing for the next season or thing to come our way?  This is definitely one to mull over a bit since one of my boys is finishing his sophomore year.   We had a little lull after football season this year and I must say it was nice not to feel like I had to rush out the door as often.   I am going to try and live in the moment more this year and not rush so much to get to the next thing.  My boys are growing fast enough as it is and goodness knows I do not want to rush them off too soon.   I will be trying to slow things down a bit, I want to enjoy my time with the boys before they go off to college.
Sprat got aggravated with me the other day because I rubbed his arm.  It sort of hurt my feelings because he jerked away from me like I had some sort of disease.  I am a touchy person, I touch people when I talk to them.  I also touch my kids, it is kind of how I say "I love you" when we are out in public and I do not want to embarrass them.  When he pulled away it really hurt me.  I did not say anything at the time because we were out in public but later that night I did tell him he had hurt my feelings.  He had no idea that is what I was doing.  I hope that now he knows he want be so ugly about his mama touching his arm.   I also run my fingers through their hair but he has gotten so tall I cannot reach his head without stretching.
My goal this year will be to enjoy my little moments with my boys and make great memories with them so that when they do have a family of their own they can tell their kids about their crazy fun mama that tried her best to make life fun.  

Wonderful Weekend. . .

Jam packed weekend; lacrosse, photography class, and school work.  Big T had two games on Saturday and they won them both.  Big T is still learning the ins and outs of it all but he is having a blast.  He loves playing defense and they let him use a D pole this weekend and he loved it.  The D pole is longer than a regular lacrosse stick.  It was a little awkward at first but then he got the hang of it.
I loved my photography class.  I learned how to use most of my buttons on Big T's camera and I took some great pictures at Big T's game.  I cannot wait to get some of Sprat pitching this year in baseball. I could have read the instruction manual to learn most of what they taught in my class but it sure was nice to have a person to walk you through what you should and should not do.  I think this guy explained everything very well, he gave practical explanations on why and how to get the best pictures.   I signed up for the next course they are offering for the intermediate photography too.  I am taking these classes through the continuing education department at the community college.  I highly recommend that you check out what your community college has to offer.  My sister-in-law has taken stained glass courses at ours too, she made some beautiful stained glass works.
Big T got to go to the Charlotte Hornets game on Friday night with his class.  He had not been to a professional basketball game before, we have been to a few college games in the past.  He loved it, he kept commenting on how small he thought the basketball court was.  I guess it looked bigger to him on television.   It was a great weekend with beautiful weather.   Below are some of my pictures from Big T's game.

We never stop learning, even as adults we are always learning.  Sometimes we have to refresh our skills to help our kids with school work.  Then you have to hear, Mom that is not how the teacher said to do it.  That is my favorite,  especially since we are still fighting common core stupidity.
We are learning a new sport,  Sprat has been trying to help his brother with passing skills.  We had a great Saturday watching Big T play Lacrosse.   After watching a game, Sprat has decided he might want to try it next year.  We watched several games on Saturday and some of the older kids got a little rough.  That was when Sprat said he was interested.   Big T's team won both their games and he had a blast.   We are looking forward to the season. Below are some of the pictures I took, I am learning how to use Big T's camera.   Big T is #42 in black.

Happy Leap Day. .

I meant to share this yesterday but, you know how Monday goes, we were all over the place.

Four years ago on leap day I had the kids write down what they thought they would be like in four years.  I sealed them in an envelope so we could open them today.  I think I will have them do this again today and speculate what they will be like in four years.  
They both described how they would be physically; taller, more facial hair, and playing sports.  Bless my dear sweet Sprat, he is going to be just like his daddy, the hairless wonder.  According to my hubby, he was a junior in college before he really shaved.  

I would like to get the boys to do this again and maybe put a little more thought into it.   Sprat already said, well in four more years I will not be here.  I am not sure exactly where he thinks he will be.  This will always be his home and I hope he will always come back, at least to visit.  

You want your kids to be independent but then you want them to need you just a little every now and then.  You want them to know that they are loved and always welcome in your home.  The way Sprat talks you would think I am going to change the locks on the doors or maybe even move after they go to college and not tell him where we moved.   You know I am not going to do either of those things.  I did have one friend that her parents did move after she went off to college and the house they moved into did not have a room for her.  My room at my moms still looks the same and so does my sisters and my brothers.  Although my sisters' room does have a baby crib in it now so when we brought the grand-babies they would have a place to sleep.  

I do have plans for the boys rooms when they do leave the nest but I am not rushing them out the door.   I think one of them will become a fabulous library and reading/craft room.   Shhhh!!  please do not tell them.  

Practice Pinnie and Shooter Shirt. . . LAX

Big T started Lacrosse practice last night and I am learning all sorts of new lingo.  I have always been a ball field mom but a Lacrosse field is a whole other animal.   For instance a "practice pinnie" I thought was some sort of thing to practice your stick movement, like a practice ball or something.  It is in fact a practice jersey.  Ha ha ha ha!!   A "shooter shirt" is the shirt that goes under their pads and jersey for game days.  Yes, they wear pads in Lacrosse similar to football pads but much smaller.  I have so much to learn about this sport.  I am so glad that Big T is branching out and trying something new.  He had a blast last night at practice.  He only knows one other kid on his team so he will have a chance to make new friends.  
The night they did their evaluations there was one kid that was kinda mean to Big T.   He sort of picked on Big T because he had never played Lacrosse before and did not really know what he was doing.  T was a little bothered by it but he let it slide.  As it turns out this kid is on his team and last night he came up to Big T and apologized for the way he had acted the night before.  I was very impressed and so was Big T, so he is already learning some very important lessons.  I know it must have been very hard for that kid to apologize to Big T but I applaud both he and his parents.  This kid is setting a wonderful example for everyone.   I think I am going to like Lacrosse.  
Both of the boys are still going to play football but while Sprat is playing baseball, Big T will be playing Lacrosse.  Stay tuned I am sure I will have some more funny things to tell you about this new experience.

Wild Weekend. . .

We had a crazy busy weekend; Big T is getting ready to try his hand at Lacrosse, we had a tubing trip with our Church, and I had school.   Our tubing trip was a lot a fun, we had good weather and I think all the kids had a good time.   We ended up taking two buses because we had such a crowd going.  I did not tube this time but I did the last time we went.  With my back going out at Christmas I figured I would end up in traction if I tried it this time.  I watched and took pictures of everyone.   The weather was really great and I am sure that is why it was so crowded.  We went to Winter Place  www.winterplace.com they have tubing, skiing, and snow boarding.   Sprat is on the far left lane in the orange Miami bogon.

Unusual Christmas Gift Giving

I am always telling tells on myself here and today is no different.  When my nieces and nephew were early teens they were so hard to buy for.  I hated giving money because I felt like I was being lazy as the gift giver.  Now that I have my own teens, I realize that giving money is actually a good thing.  As the gift giver you just do not know what these kids are in to or wanting.  Their interests change so fast from day to day. 
My hubby and I decided one year that if we were going to give money we were going to make it interesting.  Here are two things we did for/ to our nieces and nephews. 
The hubby started telling his nieces and nephew that all they were going to get from us was a bag of nuts for Christmas.  Everytime we saw them he would mention this.  We took walnuts and cracked them so that they came apart in perfect halves.  I dug out the goodie inside.  We folded dollar bills very tightly and placed one dollar in each nut and glued the nut back together.   We gave them twenty one dollar nuts and one five dollar nut.  We threw in a few real nuts just to throw them off.  We put them in a stocking with a nutcracker and a Christmas ornament.
Christmas day when we were ready to open gifts, hubby passed out the stockings.  You would have thought we had given them underwear.  We planned for this, so hubby said he wanted a nut, he took one out and cracked it open.  When he pulled the dollar out they just about lost it.  You have never seen three kids cracking nuts like crazy.   Ahhh the memories.
When Sprat had come along we decided to take things to the next level.   I made chocolate pudding and we put their Christmas money in a ziplock baggie and tapped it to the inside of a diaper then covered it with the chocolate pudding.  I folded it up as if it were a dirty diaper and put it in a Christmas bag.   Well, you can imagine the looks and words that were exchanged.  It was all done in love and fun and once they realized it was in fact only pudding we all had a good laugh. 
So, if you are giving money do it in an interesting way. 

Today. . .

Taking Big T to school early this morning for the technology club and what did we see?  A beautiful rainbow. . .  It was not a typical rainbow,  it had a lot of yellow in it and at one point it looked as though it was doubled.  Very cool.   We lost sight of it  for a bit but, then when I pulled into the school there it was again.  Big T pointed it out and said, that is a sign it is going to be a good day. 
When I picked him up I asked him if he had had a good day.  He said, yes but I sure am tired. 
I was so worried about him going to the middle school and now I kinda feel silly.  He seems to be doing really well.  He was picked for technology club, which to him is a big deal.  He likes his teachers and the kids in his class and I have already told you about the little girls buying him pudding.  Yes, they are still buying it.  He seems to be doing well with his grades too.  I am very proud of him.  He is stepping out of his comfort zone.

Mission Camp Begins

The boys are off to  Mission camp today.  Dear hubby and I helped fix lunch for the send off at Church.   We served breakfast for lunch.  We had bacon, fixed by dear hubby, eggs, pancakes, sausage, biscuits, and grits an gravey by me.  We also had some fresh strawberries.   Great lunch!
The kids will be staying at the Church and working on the Labyrinth.   They are straightening the stones and weeding.  They also mentioned putting together a time capsule.  I think they are going to have lots of fun.   Will post more of what they are doing later this week. 

Crazy at the Beach

We have enjoyed the beach this week.  Today we spent an overcast day playing mini golf and driving gocarts.   We also visited the Aquarium.   Always love the Aquarium and seeing all the exhibits.  We did come back to the beach and play  in the waves.  The boys rode waves and played in the ocean the rest of the evening.
It has been nice and relaxing time but we all miss the Sweet B.  We must find a place here so next time she can go with us.  I think she would love the beach.  

School Time Getting Closer. . .

I cannot believe  we only have a month left of Summer vacation.   Sprat has been consumed by high school football work outs and I have had Big T consumed by math.  I hope I have done enough to keep their brains alive through the summer break.  I had such big plans for them and feel I have only completed half of what was on my wish list. 
I always try to make summer fun and educational.   I want them to have fond memories of our summers together.  I have great memories of my family vacations and summer time fun.  We always went to Florida for vacation.   We had a boat there so we went deep sea fishing  and snorkeling.   It was a lot of  fun.  I remember one day my dad and brother dropped my sister, mom, and I off and we rode the raft to the beach.  Dad and my brother went on to do some diving.  They got fussed at  for bringing the boat to close to shore.
I hope my kids will have fun times they can tell their kids about.

Summer work outs. . .

I have decided that if Big T is to survive in middle school he is going to have to be on top of things.  I have also decided that for my kids sake I am going to be teaching them a few things at home this summer.  Big T is all for it, Sprat is a little reluctant.  They both had good years in test scores and grades but I still feel there are some things they are not getting.   Big T and I have been working on Spanish and math.  Sprat is working on his honors English book that he has to read and  take notes on for a test the first day of school.   We are all looking into History from a Christian perspective.  So I guess we are all getting a little work out this summer to keep our brains sharp.  I would love to hear from those reading what they are doing with their kiddos this summer to keep them sharp for next school year.
I do have some field trips planned to some different places in the area also.