Toby Mac

The kids have loved Toby Mac and his music for years.  So when we saw that he was coming to Charlotte, we took the opportunity to scoop up tickets to give them for Christmas.  Of course, we wanted to give them in a unique and fun manner, and we all love Survivor, so Mike and I (mostly Mike) came up with a Survivor challenge for Katey and Seth to complete in order to reveal their big gift.

First they each had to untangle a little key that was wound round and round and round the DVD rack.  Katey was speedy at this task, but Seth hung in there and eventually they both were off to the next task.  The keys unlocked small bags containing letter pieces:

After tearing into the bags the kids had to unscramble the letters.  This proved to be no easy task.

Both of them got the first bag unscrambled pretty quickly:  'Going to'

The next bag was much more challenging: 'See Toby Mac'  

The gift that Katey got Seth for Christmas (with *maybe* a little hinting from Mom) was the new Toby Mac CD.  So we had that playing while the kids were working.  Mike and I were trying hard to not bust out laughing as we were, unbeknownst to them, calling out hints left and right.  "Wow, this song is really great!  Toby Mac is a great artist!" and "I bet he would be fun to see in person."  We kept saying "Toby Mac" over and over and over.  And finally they got it:

And the kids were EXCITED!!  

But, they had to wait until February for the concert.  As the date drew closer Katey and Seth were getting more and more excited.  They each got to invite a friend to come along and then spend the night afterward.  

The concert was a lot of fun!  It was 4 hours of pure energy and volume!  We got to see, not only Toby Mac, but also Hollyn, Colton Dixon, Britt Nicole, Building 429, Capital Kings and Finding Favour.  Of course Toby Mac was the BEST! 

Spiders

I feel a great need to write down the events that transpired today.  Hopefully Future Seth will like that I am doing this instead of hating me for it...

It was 1:00 PM.  The phone rang and on the other end was a voice that no mother likes hearing:  The voice of the School Nurse. 

Our school nurse informed me that Seth was in her office because he claimed to have been bitten by a spider on the playground and his finger felt numb and hot to him.  Seth told her he was bitten by a Daddy Longlegs.  Her response?  "Well, that is good because they are not poisonous!"  His response?  "Yes they are.  They don't normally bite people but they are the most poisonous spiders alive."  Hence the call to me.

After I stopped laughing, I let the nurse know that she was indeed correct and they are not poisonous.  She told me there were no marks on his finger at all - that it was unlikely that he was bitten by anything, let alone a poisonous spider.  I asked her to give Seth an ice pack for his finger and send him back to class.  Before she did that she had Seth talk to me and I reassured him that I had just recently looked this information up (which I had) and that he was in no danger whatsoever.

Seriously, I chuckled about this for another hour until Seth got home from school - and then I was sad.  My poor son had worked himself into a small panic and was really afraid something was wrong - he was even nervous that he was going to die.  :-(  I pulled up several websites all showing the same information - Daddy Longlegs (or what we call Daddy Longlegs around here) are not venomous and don't even have the means to bite people.  Seth was skeptical until we saw that the cast from Mythbusters had tested the poison theory and they declared the myth busted - the spiders are not venomous.  It was at this point that Seth relaxed and ran outside to play.  He hasn't complained about his finger since.

A Kid's Paradise...

Katey was wandering around the living room this evening, brushing her hair and giving us a glimpse into her creative and dreaming mind.  I'm not sure how the exposition began, but she was describing what a Kid's Paradise would be like according to her.  I began typing the list as I realized what she was saying.

So, without further ado, A Kid's Paradise...according to Katey:

Bunk beds

You can visit any website, any time you want

Super fast wi-fi...I mean SUPER fast!

Any food you want to eat, any time

Every movie

Any phone you want – you can even have multiple phones, and an iPod touch

Technology galore!

All your belongings are there with you and you can stay in touch with your parents

A whole lot of instruments and you can have video chat lessons (so I can still learn piano)

Did I already mention vending machines that NEVER run out of food and they are all FREE!

Everyone has their own room and you can move it anywhere you want at any time - and there are 2 sets of bunk beds, at least, for every kid!

I love that Katey included that kids can stay in touch with their parents...and Mrs. Alison will be pleased to hear that piano can still be taught.  This girl has big dreams!!

Fun in Ohio

Just after summer started the kids and I headed to Ohio for a visit.  While we missed Mike terribly (and deserted him on Father's day, no less!), our trip with action-packed and filled with lots of fun.

Shannon and Jason have their pool all set-up and opened so we (read:the kids) spent a lot of time out in the chilly water having a blast! 

On Father's Day we went to church and were privileged to witness Gabriella's baptism!  As if that weren't wonderful enough, I was filled to the brim with joy to also be surrounded by Dad, Granny and Papaw.  Apart from weddings, I think this was the first time I had been at church with Papaw (who has just recently accepted Christ and been baptized himself!).  What a morning to celebrate! 

Jason baptizing Gabriella

Dad and his girls.  Aubrey insisted we wear the same dress!

Later that day Sara and the kids came to spend the night and following day with us.  It is always so good to be with our dear friends and our time together is too short.  But, the kids LOVED being together and I loved being able to catch up with Sara.

The rest of our trip was spent enjoying time with family.  Emily came over with Laken and Evvy (no pictures of that - bad me!) and it was so fun to see how much they have grown over the last 6 months.  We spent lots of time with Granny and Papaw, and headed up to see Grandma Brown one day as well. 

Whew!  There was a lot of action packed into a short trip.  As always, we were sad to leave, but happy to be returning home to see Mike.

The Last Day of School

It's tradition!

Last day of 6th Grade!

Last day of 3rd Grade!

Picture Perfect

Our Katey.  Our smart, sweet, loving, scattered and wonderful Katey.  Looking over this last school year, there is so much that has just screamed, "Katey!"

She started Middle School.  Mom was a nervous wreck - I remember Middle School and all the insecurities that came with it.  But, Katey was not me.  She headed in, full force, and loved it!  There was much talk of lockers being butterflied (pad locks turned around to make it tough to open them), kids who didn't do what they were supposed to (and Katey making sure teachers were aware of such transgressions), annoying classmates, great friends made, and the Battle of the Books team adventure. 

But there was one thing that happened in particular that made Mike and I just shake our heads, smile, and proclaim that this event was a perfect way to sum up Katey.

School was winding down, and Katey came home on June 1st fit to be tied.  In her best 'outraged' voice she hit the door exclaiming that she had won an award at school that day but NO ONE had told her she was receiving it and NO ONE made sure she was at the awards ceremony to receive it.  Her award was the Best Overall Language Arts Student in her team of teachers (about 150 students).  The awards ceremony was a big deal - parents were invited and the kids who were getting awards were able to leave class to be a part of the ceremony.  Mike and I had no idea, as we were not notified.

I began trying to calm Katey down and started questioning her.  "Did you get an envelope in the last week or two to bring home to us?"  No.  "Did any of your teachers mention to you that you should be at the ceremony?"  No.  "Are you sure?"  YES!  At first I was pretty ticked off at her teachers...and then I asked to see her school folders.

It took several minutes to wade through past homework and school work, progress reports and miscellaneous stuff, but then I found it.

A letter dated May 23, notifying us that Katey was receiving an award and asking for an RSVP to the ceremony.  Oops.  Katey was mystified.  She had no recollection of being given that letter or it being in her folder. 

So there it is.  A picture-perfect illustration of our Katey.  The best overall language arts student who didn't pass along an invitation and didn't even realize she was getting the award.  What a fitting way to end 6th grade...and because she has such a good temperament, we all laughed about it once the mystery was solved.  :-)

Our bright scholar with her award!

 

All Things Seth

Seth in pictures

Mustache Day at school!

Seth received an award for being on the Honor Roll all year!

Tie-Dye t-shirts for his class to wear on Field Day

Watching TV and snuggling with Daddy

Super Hero Day at school - Seth went as Thor