oh happy day!

Little jokester... He purposely kept blinking while I was trying to get a picture... then he couldn't hold it in any longer and just busted out giggling.

linking up with Saturday Snapshot...

trying new things isn't always a good thing

Did I mention I love being a mom?

So I decided to go back to some old standbys.  The "before we had kids" standbys.  And try some new things too.  Recipes that is.

I was loving it.  Although I knew the kids weren't quite digging it.  And my sweet little Calvin wanted to let me know how much he was missing his favorites.  But he didn't want to tell me in person.  So he left me a little sticky note stuck to the oven door.

Got a chuckle out of that one!

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a perfect little bike ride

The first of the season.

Tires aired.  check.
Training wheels on.  check.  (summer project around here to get rid of those.)
Helmets.  uncheck.  whoops.  (a little rusty on remembering that.)  next time.

A beautiful day and time for a ride.  You notice Katie is wearing pants.  Not that she goes around with nothing on.  She just rarely wears pants.  She's my girly girl.  You know, dress or skirt.  But she decided wearing a skirt on a bike was a bad idea.

We ventured around the neighborhood to one of our favorite destinations.  Oh yes.  What a novelty.  Whenever we start out for a walk or a ride the kids shout "to the fish mailbox!" And down the street, around the block, up a hill, under some trees we go.

What's your favorite bike riding destination?  Please share... I'd love to hear ;)

a perfect little field trip

I love being a stay at home mom.  And the perk this week?  Field trip day, baby.  Calvin's 3rd grade took a little trip to a farmstead.  Mahaffie Farmstead and Stage Coach Stop.  Just to get a little view of life back in the day.

At each station, the kids got a brief explanation and maybe a bit of hands on experience.  Here, it was a ride in a stagecoach.  How cool is that?  I even took a little ride.

You notice I'm smiling?  That's before the ride.  Our little guide said it wasn't that rough of a ride.  That there are "bumpers" to keep you from swaying.  Okay, maybe from swaying but it was bumpy.  Very bumpy.

 

Making the most of those muscles!

And how fun is this?  Writing with old fashioned pen and ink.  I love what's on Calvin's mind.  The last day of school :)
So last night as we were visiting about the day, the field trip and all the fun, I asked Calvin "What did you learn today?"  His response "That a school bus has to stop at the train tracks."
God love him.

a perfect game of dodgeball (complete with a half time show)

I had so much fun with the kiddos today.  We played.  Just played.  And what did we play?

Dodgeball 

This mama isn't a dodgeball expert by any means.  I'm not much of a dodger.  Or a thrower.  But I do love playing with my kids.  When Calvin was a little guy he would want to play football in the basement.  Over and over and over again.  We'd pick team names, have a kickoff, four downs, you name it.  I'd pretend tackle him and start kissing him on the neck where he would reply in that sweet preschool voice "Mom, there's no kissing in football!"

So, moving on a few years later we still play games.  Today we giggled and joked and changed up the dodgeball rules.  Then Katie decided she needed to put on a half time show (or two).  So Calvin and I took a little break and watched her routine.  Complete with a black cat costume.  Oh my.  That Katie.

the basketball game... rock chalk jayhawk?

So, we arrived at the basketball game and as you can see in the pics, no more barbie tat for Katie.  Whew!

We have a divided house here in the Dillon home.  Some of us cheer red and blue.  Some of us cheer purple.  We won't mention any names.  Anywhoo, the KU seniors came to Louisburg to take on our high school seniors in a little basketball game.

Then afterward, we all enjoyed a bit of BBQ.  Since Jim helped organize this deal, the kids and I got to join in.  Calvin was as shy as can be.  "No pictures mom!" Katie on the otherhand made her rounds.  First up?  Ms. Houchen.

Then a gal from KU who helped organize their end of things

("This is a first!"  she said. "Nobody usually wants a picture with me!")

Then, finally onto the more of the, shall we say, stars of the show?

Tyrel Reed - (He said he liked Katie's outfit, although self admittedly not really being into fashion, "it looked pretty cool", he said)

Brady Morningstar

Mario Little

Finally, Calvin decided he'd take a picture so he joined in with little sis for a group shot.  Gotta love it :)