Mother's Day Love

Happy Mother's Day!!!!
I have several pictures that I want to share, but not many words are coming to mind tonight. We've all been a little under the weather this week, but it's just a mix of allergies and exhaustion. We are looking forward to seeing all of our family soon. Rusty has lots of tricks to show off!

This was last Sunday. There was no hope of that shirt staying tucked in.



Tying his tie :o)

A little puppeteer

The outside of the house is really starting to look nice. We are going to paint it this summer. Every time we go down the road I'm scouting houses to see what color we should paint it.
This is the front of the house now.


Russ in the process of moving the stepping stones. Isn't he amazing?

This is the best before picture I had. Russ dug out all of those thick shrubs and dug up the stepping stones. Looks better don't you think?

Our first sign of home-grown vegetation!!!

These are some shots from the Spring Play--which was a blast as always!
I wish the curtain was open so you could see the set. Russ made an incredible steering wheel for the steamboat. (The name of the play was "Showtime On The Showboat") He used a wagon wheel and screwed in table legs for handles. Patch the Pirate would have been envious!

Working on Captain Lucy.

Samir was a ventriloquist.

Rufus Bilge - the villian!

Backstage--the girls are watching the people come in.

I love this picture because this sums up what the last few minutes before a production are like. Some students have a MILLION last minute questions, (the girls standing up--the Flower Sisters) some are looking over their lines, and some just don't care -- those usually do surprisingly well.

Hi there! I don't have long to post (I'm actually finishing this in the morning before we go to school.) I wanted to share the clip of Rusty swinging and I had a few other shots I thought ya'll might enjoy. The Spring Play is tonight and I'm excited but running down a mental list constantly to make sure that everything is done. Hope everyone has a happy weekend!

Still enjoying the bunny, but after this time it was laid to rest.

Rusty sportin his new hair cut. Dad, I think he looks just like you here.

(Mom, this is the dress I bought with that gift card.) Notice the rabbit ears--we still haven't had the cable hooked up. We actually do just fine with 3 channels--especially this busy part of the year plus it saves us money. I also can't decide where to put that shelf that is next to the fireplace. In fact, I still haven't hung my pictures and things on the walls. When is summer coming?

Rusty loves his new yard swing!

Rusty says for everyone to come and play with him. He will let you push him until your arms fall off!

Lots of Chocolate!

So Rusty grows a little more every day and is turning into quite the little boy. He LOVES to sing, dance, talk, play outside, get dirty and EAT! He is so sweet--he will give kisses, and he is trying to blow kisses. Yesterday, Russ cut up some banana and put it on his plate. Rusty looked at it, bowed his head, and jabbered very softly, then he raised his head and immediately started eating. Russ goes, "He just prayed!" We were so shocked, but it was absolutely precious. It amazes me what they pick up on, and it also challenges me to make sure we are teaching him the right things.

On the same hand, his mischievous side is coming alive. (Even as I type this, he just picked up Daddy's cup and spilled it all over him while thinking he could drink it. Russ is letting him play with the ice, too.) He likes to get into the toilet paper and rip it into itty bitty pieces. And whatever you do, don't leave anything containing cookies anywhere near him!

He is fun and an absolute joy. I wouldn't trade him for anything.

On the school side of things we are getting closer to the end. Our piano competition was last week and our recital was last night. Those are two big checkmarks on the calendar. Next is my Spring Play next Friday. The week of that play my stress level rises to the very top (!), but it is one of my favorite nights. At the end we all go out and bow and the students are so proud and happy and it is just one of the neatest things to see all of our work come to fruition. I say that to help remind myself, too.

Can't you see how Rusty has grown?...

The bunny is about to meet his doom...

I let him play with it awhile, then he got a taste and it was all over...

I believe this was after an Oreo. He eats his veggies real well, too--chocolate just makes better pictures!

Enjoying Spring Break in St. Augustine

We did have a good time on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in St. Augustine, though things didn't work out exactly as we had planned. The weather didn't cooperate with us as well as we hoped. It was very windy both days, but at least it wasn't intolerably hot.

St. Augustine is less than two hours away. It's a neat city with many historical sites. (Including where Russ and I got engaged. :o) It is actually the city where Ponce De Leon found what he thought was the "Fountain of Youth." We didn't make it to see that, but we did visit the fort (There is a Spanish name for the fort, but I've already forgotten it.) which we all enjoyed.

I love driving by this lighthouse. I want to go inside it someday. I was proud of this picture, I got it from the car while going down the road.

The gate entering the fort.

This is from the top of the fort. (I loved the way the clouds looked, too.)



This was the outside of the fort.

This is apparently the oldest schoolhouse in North America.

All we could handle of the beach was about a half hour picnic lunch. It was soooo windy.

Fortunately, we all did get to relax in the hotel some. Russ still hasn't stopped going with the house. Today he is rearranging the walkway that leads to the front door and we are planting some new plants tomorrow to replace the ones he dug up earlier this week.

I'm not necessarily ready for school next Monday, but I am mentally ready to just finish out the year. This is a good time of the year for me. The yearbooks will be coming in a couple of weeks and the Spring Play is 3 weeks away (Yikes!) It means busy times, but it is very fulfilling to see all of this come together at the end of the year.

Oh, yes, I told Mom I would post Rusty listening to me sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." It's something only a mother would love...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANNY JONES!

Well, Granny, our video turned out darker than we meant for it to. Rusty woke up at about 5:30 this morning and we were in the hotel room at St. Augustine when we made this video clip. I just used my little camera. In case you can't see, he did in fact give you a big smile at the end.

We also wanted to post some other pictures that show how wonderful of a granny, mother, sister, friend you are...

We miss you very much, but hope your birthday was very special.

I will post pictures from our trip tomorrow or Friday. Love you!

A Growing Boy

Russ' parents did a good job of saving mementos from Russ' childhood. My mother saved some blankets, but since I had a baby sister, I imagine she took all of my clothes. (How early that started...) Anyhow, for Easter this year Rusty wore a pair of Russ' shoes and they fit him perfectly! They were precious and even matched his outfit.

I was unpacking more the other day and I came across this little pair of Wrangler blue jeans that Russ' dad had given me. I remember thinking at Christmas that he wouldn't be into them for awhile yet and I sort of put that at the back of my mind. Well, since Christmas Rusty's belly has been expanding rapidly! I panicked when I found them and I knew I had to put them on him and take pictures right away. It was a good thing, because they may have not fit him the next morning! I wish you could have seen Rusty's face. He looked at me like, "Mom, why are squeezing me into these very uncomfortable pants." I knew a shirt was out of the question. :o) He did look adorable.

I have enjoyed having the washer and dryer in the garage more than I could ever tell you. I'm sure the "new" will wear out soon enough, but right now I just love to put clothes in my washing machine. Rusty loves to play with the baskets.

We are gearing up for a great Spring Break and maybe the house will be all set up by the end of it. I don't think Russ has sat down in two weeks. He's constantly painting, changing out light switches, and digging up bushes. So, I promise to post pictures of it at the end of Spring Break. Take care, everyone!