An Earth Day Birthday!

With all of the excitement surrounding Sam's birthday, it's kinda hard to keep focus on the importance of Earth Day, too. But, I do think we did a pretty good job! First of all, let me throw out some tidbits about the day...

* The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970.

* April 22 is the first official day of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and of Fall in the Southern hemisphere and was chosen to be Earth Day for this reason.

* Earth Day originated in the U.S. but is now celebrated in more than 175 countries every year.

* And most importantly, Earth Day shares the calendar with the birthday of the handsome, Sam Moore!

So what did we do to celebrate? Well, let's take a look...

I have limited planting space in my yard, but I do have the perfect spot for an herb garden! So, the kids and I planted some basil, bee balm, dill, peppers and oregano! Can't wait to watch it all grow!

I was a volunteer in Sam's class for the day. We built sculptures out of recyclable items then headed out to the playground to pick up litter. Here's a pic of Sam in action.

Miss Lily tried her hand at gardening and obviously has quite the green thumb! Her grass is growing like a weed. (Is that an oxymoron?)

And one thing that we do on a regular basis, and I'll brag that my children are an active part of, is recycling! I have this basket by the door and everything that is recyclable is placed in here to take out to the big container. And, for sure, they know what does or doesn't go in there!

So, all in all, Earth Day was a success! Even if we had to take a few breaks here and there to wish Sam a happy birthday!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle~
Laurie

P.S. I have another experiment on the horizon...we just have to eat the chips first! (Keep watching, Deedee!)

Eight is Great!

So says Sam!

Our blond haired cutie turned 8 yesterday....which is just unbelievable! I feel like I was spoon feeding him and teaching him his ABC's last week. But, no...no spoon feeding here. He's too busy with school, scouts, friends, flag football, Wii, DSi, etc. And he loves the computer! In his spare time, you can find him typing stories on my laptop. Here is one that he typed about himself.... (with his spelling mistakes and all!)

"My name is Sam. And i like chili. I have 1 sister and 21 friends! I have blond hair and blue eyes. I have so many toys that I want to donate some. I was born in Tenesee. My birthday is April. It's on the 22. And for school I go to Crabapple Crossing Elementary. The abreveation for it is CCES. The S is for school. Those are some facts about me."


Sam requested La Parrilla for his birthday dinner, because he wanted to wear the sombrero and have them sing to him!

As for me, I guess I better go make some chili!

Happy Birthday my favorite blond haired, blue eyed boy~
Laurie

P.S. Tonight, we will be hosting a sleep-over for Sam and his buddies. NOT all 21 of them! :-)

Breakin' it!

This week has been Spring Break for the kids and what a wonderful week it has been!

We started off the break by visiting Alabama to celebrate Easter. Heading to Opelika always has it's surprises and this trip was not any different. The surprise? Well, I'll let the picture speak for itself...


And who fell in love immediately?!?

I definitely had to double check the van before we left to make sure Sam hadn't hidden one of these feathered creatures to take back with us! And there is always a fishing competition to be had! It looks like John won this one, hands down!


The weather this week was just perfect! Mid 80's from Sunday through Wed., so what else were we gonna do, but turn on the pool heater and jump in! On Monday, Sam and Lily swam while I potted plants and got the yard looking like Spring!


Then on Tuesday, we hosted some of the neighborhood families and John took the day off and played with (tossed around) the kids!


Wednesday, my brother and his kids spent the day with us and once again we hung by the pool! A perfect three days! Thursday brought some rain and let us be lazy in the house; then Friday took us to the park!

Oh, here is Sam with his "lady friends" on Saturday night. He really knows how to woo the women!


For the final day of Spring Break, we packed up a picnic and headed to the local greenway for the kids to ride bikes. This weather is 100% perfect to take the Jeep out for a spin and the kids love it! After the kids worked off their lunch, we stopped in for "Happy Hour"! No, not at the local watering hole...at Sonic! You know, where from 2 - 4 all slushes are half price! What a deal!
And Sonic, you are more than welcome to use this photo...I just need the royalties from all of the slushes these two cuties will help you sell!

Let the 6 week countdown to Summer begin~
Laurie

Who is fighting for your freedom?

Do you ever sit and think, that at this very moment, while you are sitting at your computer, reading my blog, drinking a bottled water, there are people shooting guns, tossing grenades, and launching bombs all to protect our country and our freedoms?!?!? Then, do you ever try to put a face to these heroes? I know most of us have the image of the young man with a fresh crew cut, who wasn't successful at his first try at college and decided he'd join the armed forces and give school another try later down the road. Well, let me share a new image with you. One that is very humbling, but very inspiring as well....meet Kelly Avery.


Kelly is the daughter of one of my neighbors. She is 24 years old and the mother to a precious one year old little boy! Wow, how does that change your image? Kelly and her husband are both in the U.S. Army. In October, Kelly began her 12 month tour of Iraq, which meant she had to leave her 6 month old son and her husband to face the ugly war on terrorism. With Kelly's husband also in the Army, he has weekends where he is on duty on base. So, on these weekends, the precious little one gets to stay with his Grandma! (Wow, you know that saying,"It takes a village..."?!? This is definitely a prime example!)

Two weeks ago, Donna, Kelly's mom, called me to tell me that Kelly would be going home for a two week leave and she asked if I could help coordinate a "welcome home" for Kelly. How wonderful is that?!?!? So, I got my mind going and started making phone calls and our wonderful neighborhood stepped up and welcomed Kelly home with open arms! I asked everyone to hang their American flags and to make signs to put in their yards. We also got yellow balloons and tied them to everyone's mailbox. (A big thank you to my peeps - Sandy, Susan and Michelle for helping me do this at 7:00 in the morning!)



What an honor to be able to coordinate this and to be able to help out a neighbor. Donna was so excited to see her daughter and to see her daughter hold her baby again! And oh, by the way, this incredible homecoming was caught on video and in the news! Check these out...

The Revue and News

11Alive news

So I'll end this with a BIG thank you to all of the men and women who are out there - right now - or have been or will be - who are fighting for this life of freedom that we have. I am humbled and appreciate the sacrifices they are making for me - who they don't know!

Free~
Laurie