First Day of School

Davis started 1st grade this year, and Wilson started preschool. My boys are growing up too fast!

I love their guts!

Wilson picked out his backpack. It is so him! I'm just surprised Davis didn't want one too since he is infatuated with dinosaurs. He went with Batman instead. I guess Batman is way cooler.

My big boy in his 1st grade desk.

I walked over to pre-k and snapped a picture of Wilson taking his first nap in school. Before he went to sleep he told his teachers to stop all that yacking so he could go to sleep. We had talk when we got home about things he can and cannot say to his teachers.

Have I ever said how lucky I am to work where my kids go to school?

Pinterest...My New Obsession

Pinterest is a new obsession of mine, and I'm ashamed to admit the reason I'm been neglecting my blog this summer. Everytime I get on my computer to blog, I stop by Pinterest first and end up spending way too much time there. I signed up for it earlier this summer and immediately became addicted. If you aren't familiar with it, it is a site that allows you to organize and share things you find from around the web on a virtual pinboard. I use it to organize recipes I want to try, home ideas, DIY projects, gift ideas, ideas for teaching, and a whole bunch of others. Each time you pin something you can give it a description and Pinterest does the rest and automatically sites the source and provides a trail to get back to the source. It keeps me virtually organized. Check it out and you can start pinning for yourself and you can also follow me.

Weekend in Memphis

I attended a Christian conference in Southhaven, MS Friday night and Saturday morning with some friends. Ben decided to bring the boys and meet me in Memphis for the weekend. This would be our last getaway before we headed back to school and harvest began.

Ben and the boys drove in Friday night and he took them to his favorite Memphis BBQ restaurant, the Rendezvous.

Saturday morning Ben took the boys to the Memphis Zoo while they waited for me to get out of my conference.

Davis and Wilson loved the birds

Saturday afternoon we took the family to a Redbirds game.

Wilson enjoyed cotton candy, popcorn, and ice cream for dinner that night.

I know...parents of the year!

Popcorn can be counted as a vegetable, right?

It was extremely hot. Memphis in July isn't much to be desired.

But we managed to have fun!

Leaving the park, I tried to take a boys standing at the entrance.
Can you find them?


Before we left Memphis Sunday morning, we stopped for brunch at Brother Juniper's. Ben had read about it on roadfood.com and I am so glad that he did. It was excellent!

Goobers waiting at the coffee bar in Brother Juniper's
Just a little FYI, Rachael Ray made a stop there for breakfast on one of her shows.

Fig Picking at Granny's

The boys and I traveled north to Lake Providence to pick figs so Granny could make us some more fig preserves

Wilson started off strong.

Both boys were meticulous in choosing just the right figs.

Perhaps Wilson was too picky. This was all he managed to pick and then he was done. Looking at his face, I guess he was ashamed.

Davis was a bit more productive. Nonetheless we picked enough for 8 jars. I hope it lasts until next summer. Thank you Granny!

Lake Fun

As we pulled up to the camp one night the boys spotted two armadillos and jumped out to catch them. Unfortunately, they got away.

Tree Climbing

Even Daddy can climb trees

I'm not sure what this face is about. I think Ben told him to kiss the fish.

The boys finally like swimming in the lake this summer.

Trying out our new kayak that Pop Pop gave us.

Feeding the fish and turtles as Netterville's Landing

Wilson is serious about lizard catching.

No one is allowed to move or talk when he is hunting lizards.

4th of July Weekend

Fried Friday at Netterville's Landing

Fourth of July Fun and Food at the VandeVens

Sweet babies

Goon Squad

Water Slide fun

Our Entertainment-Bradley Bridges

Wilson's favorite ,the jumper, only because he was scared of the water slide that we later bribed him to slide down. He then proclaimed he was getting one for Christmas and then refused to slide down it again.

Hanging upside down

Both of our boys were scared to ride the tube even though they did it last year. We made them do it anyway. I know, we're bad parents forcing our children to have fun.

We were going so slow we couldn't even catch a breeze in the boat, and Davis is giving the thumbs down signal to slow down. I guess this won't be the summer we teach him how to water ski.

Life's A Beach

This year we took our vacation with the Herrings in St. George Island, Florida. Ben isn't really a beach person, but Wilson claimed with his sad puppy dog eyes that he had never been to the beach before (which he had..he was one) so he caved. I let Ben pick the place, and what a cute little place it was. St. George Island is a 22 mile barrier island without the usual highrises that are stacked on the beach like sardines. Another perk is Apalachicola, a quaint little town with trendy shops, restaurants, and restored hotels and B & B's, which was only a fifteen minute drive from the island. I only wish we had spent more time there. I really can't say enough about this place. If you want to learn more about it, visit their website.


Here was our home away from home.

The kids went crabbing the first night.
Feeding the seagulls from our balcony was one of the kids favorite things to do.

This video shows a seagull snatching a piece of bread from Wilson's head.

Now that the boys are a little older, our beach trip was much more enjoyable with the boys than the last. I remember Wilson crying because he couldn't walk in the sand or because he couldn't keep the sand off of him and Davis crying because the waves knocked him down or he got salt water in his eyes. Also this was our first beach trip without diapers. :)

Heath and Vance

Ben brought crab traps and rented a kayak to anchor them a short distance from the beach. This picture is of Wilson and him kayaking out to trap to check it for crabs.

Kylie and Mary Clark found a sea star. The boys took turns holding it before we let it go.

Another great thing about the house we rented was that they had just installed a pool.

Ben was our chef for the week when we weren't dining out. One negative thing about St. George Island is that they don't have a lot of restaurants and the one's they do have were just mediocre.

The boys dining Al Fresco

I do want to point out that the restaurants in Apalach were much better than on the island. Apalachicola is noted for having some of the finest oysters. This was Ben's lunch from Boss Oyster in Apalachicola. I don't recall the name of the dish, but it sure was pretty.

This was my lunch , shrimp and grits. I'm not a seafood lover, but I will go all wild and crazy every now and then. When in Rome... It was excellent might I add.

Photo op by the Apalachicola Bay. The only camera I had was the one on my phone. I discovered the day before we left that my Canon point and shoot was no longer working. I guess dropping it will do that.

Bird watching was another great thing about this area.

Enjoying some gelato in Apalachicola

I neglected to take any of the cliche' khaki and white pictures on the beach of the boys. This is the best I did.

I promise we do feed him.

Our house from the beach.

Sadly, this is the only blue crab we trapped other than a baby that escaped. The man we rented the kayak from said we would have had better luck in the bay.

Our last day on the beach we found a sea turtle nest that had been marked off. I wish we could have stayed around to see them hatch. Ben and I actually spotted a sea turtle one morning while we were kayaking. It was one of the highlights of my trip. Unfortunately since we were in the kayak I didn't have my phone to take a picture.

St. George Island lighthouse

We stopped by on our way home and unfortunately they hadn't opened yet so we didn't get the chance to climb to the top.
Like I said, I can't say enough good things about this place. If you ever visit there, be sure to go to the state park. I didn't have my camera when we went so I don't have any pictures of it either. The seashells on the beach were much more abundant and the beaches were just beautiful. I hope we go back one day soon.