Care Package

Thank you Mam Mam, Grandaddy, and Buck!!

{Carly was really excited about her package full of treats. The note said treats for your lunch!}

{A box full of what Carly thinks of as "junk" food. Carly was in heaven. Whales, animal crackers, cashews, pringles, cheetos, fruit roll ups. There are some really cute straws and a flower shaped freeze pack to keep her food cold. The problem lies is deciding what to pack in our lunch tomorrow :) }

I gotta have one of those!

Carly went to S's house yesterday

"Happy Birthday S"

His house is really cool because there is lots of room to roam as compared to most other friends who live in subdivisions. And S appeals to Carly's tomboy side of loving any activity that requires that you get dirty :) Carly and S always play really hard. There is a pool, a trampoline, a swingset, a pond, horses, and on & on. On yesterday's visit was a new rope swing. I wasn't there so there are no pictures of Carly and S on his swing.

But, here are a couple of snaps of Carly on her brand new rope swing.

...

...

TGIF

It is Friday afternoon. There is no school tomorrow, no homework tonight, no errands to run, no activities to go to. There is time to play, veg out, and an unplanned stop at the Sonic.

There is no sign of that tired, grumpy, emotional monster that had taken over my child the last 2 days.

Last Night

If you have a daughter,

I know where you were last night!

...

I don't remember being so caught up in popular culture but I'm sure I was at some point. I remember my sister and her friends' excitement over New Kids on the Block. But, it is a whole new level of enticement now. Disney is the master at marketing. But there is no doubting my daughter had the bug. She was so caught up in the excitement!

...

{Carly in the middle. The smiles were this big all night!}

{I moved the furniture around so there could be more room for dancing. That was a good idea}

{There was lots of this. Kenny was surprised about how "touchy" they were. I reminded him that they were girls and if we had boys they would have been wrestling. He understood.}

...

{Carly's reaction to the end because after close calls in 1 and 2 Troy and Gabriella finally kiss! Isn't she precious.}

1st day

{First day of 2nd grade.}

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{Great morning.

Kenny made breakfast for the school girl -

biscuits, grits and bacon}

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{Catching up with friends.}

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{Meeting Dad at Mexico for lunch.}

teachers

It's back-to-school time and no one knows that more than teachers. I grew up in a family full of teachers and am now surrounded by more teachers as family and friends. Teachers have always had a special place in my life but now I see them in a whole new light as a part of my child's life. We have had 4 amazing teachers the past 4 years that now hold a special place in my heart for all they have done for my child. Not the least of which is making her feel loved. Because my mom is a teacher, back-to-school was a special time in our house. It held as many traditions as many holidays. I love the start of school - new clothes, new shoes, new school supplies, new teacher, new classroom -- the excitement of starting something new but with traditions so it is not so scary.

Thanks to all those teachers who give their all so all "their" kids are excited with the anticipation of a new start.

..........

{Some "teacher" good mail that I sent out this week.}

Carly's first day of 2nd grade is tomorrow. She is excited about her new teacher and a little apprehensive of making new friends. I went to parent's night on Friday and labeled all her supplies and wrote her a note for the first day. I met her new teacher Miss M(who Carly is going to love). As she talked about herself and the year to come, you could tell she was excited. She is young, full of fresh ideas and excitement for what she does. I know we are going to have a great year.

{Miss M's back-to-school basket. It turned out really cute. It is full of lime green and red treats! Carly helped me choose some fun things such as books, snacks (including red & green jelly beans), school supplies, personalized stickers (thanks to Doodlebugs), and a Sonic card (Carly said, "you gotta have Sonic " :) Carly is excited about taking it tomorrow.}

Tomorrow, after I get Carly settled & take lots of pictures, I will drop in at our church. We are having a back-to-school prayer time. I made my prayer list last week and have already been praying for the new school year. I made a list because I was trying not to forget anyone. A tall order considering all the teachers in my life. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have remembered everyone.

Happy Birthday, Nona!

......

We hope you had a great birthday.

We love you.....KO, KS, and CM

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........

Happy Birthday Renee'

(aka Jessie's girl)

We had a great time last night -

thanks again for sharing your birthday fun with us!

more summer fun

summertime

Jump Back-to-School

Jump Back to School is the latest service project by the woman's civic group I am a member of.

JA throws a back-to-school party at a local park, giving out backpacks full of supplies and new tennis shoes to a list of kids and families provided by our Dept of Children Services. Here is the link to the article that was in the newspaper http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/desoto/article/0,1426,MCA_451_5659720,00.html

Great job to the ladies who worked on this project

and helped pull off a great day!

For more information about JA of Desoto County, check out our website www.jadesoto.org

Side Trip

On my "in the near future" to-do list is to stay at The Alluvian in Greenwood (http://www.thealluvian.com/),

eat a fabulous dinner at the resturant, visit the spa, and possibly take a cooking class at the Viking school. That could not be accomplished today. But, Carly and I did make a side-trip to downtown Greenwood to check out the area. I wanted to wander around with my camera and take pictures of the old buildings and beautiful churches. That was not on Carly's list. A compromise was a visit to TurnRow bookstore (http://www.turnrowbooks.com/). This has also been on my to do list. I have seen it written about in magazines and articles about visiting authors/artist. Not only do I love bookstores especially independent bookstores, but also that nostalgia of the Mississippi Delta. As we say frequently, "the Delta is a great place to be from." TurnRow Books was everything I expected it to be. A fabulous old, but restored building, shelves and shelves of books including lots of local authors, local art and photography, and a feeling of "come-on-in-and-stay-awhile". It even has a screened veranda, although it was much too hot to sit in a rocker and enjoy it today. In every corner, there was a comfy sofa, antique wing chair, or bench. I quite possibly could have spent the rest of the day there - curled up in an oversized chair with a stack of photography books. And although, Carly did enjoy herself for awhile(suprisingly,they had a nice children's section), she did not intend to spend all day there. I can already invision the next time.

post note....while there I found something to add to my Christmas list (hint, hint)

Mississippi by Ken Murphy,

an awesome book of photography - just in case anyone was looking for that special gift :)

trouble

Check out what Kenny bought ME. Okay maybe it was for us, but I was sure I was going to be the most frequent if not the only user. But each afternoon this week, I have found Carly looking a lot like this.

Kenny said like mother, like daughter. I would have punched him in the arm, but I just smiled. He did buy the hammock which ROCKS and well, maybe, he is right :)