Hoppy Easter Everyone

With over 1,600 hidden Easter eggs, the kids at Community celebrated our 8th annual egg hunt at my parents house last Sunday. Originally the hunt was scheduled for (last) Saturday, but we had to change it with my Mamaw's birthday party which worked out really well because last Saturday was nasty outside but Sunday's weather was perfect.

A couple of years ago, my mom decided to do something different with the primary kids who still wanted to participate but were to old to hunt with the little ones. She put together a scavenger hunt with clues and prize eggs--600 eggs were hidden for the older kids. This year Isaac got to participate. Mom said he and Evan took off gathering as many Easter eggs as they could find not real sure about the whole scavenger hunt thing--until she explained it to them. She told them if they found everything on the list, the got to select a prize. They immediately got to work gathering all the things on their list.

Checking their list twice =).

Karson, Cassidy and Annabel. These young ladies have grown in to such lovely young ladies.

Karson and Elizabeth hard at work collecting clues. Karson had no interest in hunting for Easter eggs this year. She had her eyes on the prize--a Barbie doll which she won.

Miles having a big time hunting for eggs with the younger kids. He got LOADS of candy this year and enjoyed his loot. He also had an egg hunt at school on Thursday, but I'm never able to get pics. of him there since I teach and all. He came home with lots of Easter goodies from EEP.

The Easter, oops, I mean SPRING party at Plano was on Friday. Isaac had his egg hunt in the gym. His teachers sent a note home the day before requesting each child send in 12 eggs filled with candy. They said they were going to number each egg and give the kids a number to hunt for. One thing I can say is that the hunt didn't go quickly. Isaac was #13. It took forever to find all his numbered eggs, but he sure had fun looking for them. I missed the beginning of it because Karson also had her wax museum that afternoon so the events overlapped a bit.

#13, #13, where are you???

Isaac and his buddies Jaxon and Nathan.

Isaac has switched tables (I guess all the kids have been moved around) and is now close to the two women he adores. Rebeccah is right across from him and Crystal is right next him. Rebeccah has shot him down a couple of time and has made it clear that she is NOT interested in him. To his left is Crystal who has down syndrome. Crystal cannot communicate, but that doesn't stop Isaac from trying his best to get her to chat it up with him. He adores her. Matt said he leaned down to talk to Crystal at the party and Isaac said, "Dad she doesn't talk. All she says is bah, bah, bah." (while moving his hands in the air, I guess like she does). Isaac sure loves Rebeccah and Crystal =).

Getting ready to do some singing.

Getting three Easter baskets together is no easy task (and can become quite costly). I decided to get a picture of the kids baskets the night before Easter as I NEVER manage to get a good photo of the goods when the kids are tearing through them Easter morning--plus, I am half awake.

Karson's basket complete with Peeps, a baby bottle pop, nerds rope, Nestle Crunch bars, chocolate bunnies, rainblow gum and airhead extremes.

I had to get most of Isaac's goods at the gas station. The boy loves orange tic tacs and banana laffy taffy more than any kid I know. I also got him LOTS of gum--he can go through a couple of packs in one week EASY.

Miles is ALL about gummy candy of any sorts--his basket had sour worms and crabby patties. He also loves Reese's cups--is there anything better than a Reese's mini.??? YUM.

I asked Karson Easter-eve if she would like for me to do a clue game to lead her to her Easter basket. She, of course, said yes. Then, she got this confused look on her face and said, "well, will the Easter bunny know where to put it?" Now don't get me wrong, I love that my kids are completely gullible about believing just about anything Matt and I say, but come on, Karson is super SHARP. I assumed by now the Easter bunny wasn't something she REALLY believed in. I said, "Karson, honey, do you really believe there is a bunny who goes around and delivers baskets to kids on Easter?" My sweet, honest, innocent child looked like a deer in the headlights and didn't have a response. Does she still believe? I have no idea. I don't think she would say either way??? Love that kid.

Isaac was the first one up Easter morning. I had Miles's basket out for him to enjoy when he got up but had hidden Karson and Isaac's baskets for the clue game. Matt was also up when Isaac came into the den and asked where his basket was. Matt said, "buddy, I don't think you got one this year." Isaac starts blinking his eyes real heavy when he's about to cry--he started doing it and said, "but I wanted one." Matt told him about the clue game, and about that time, all of us were waking up. He and Karson got to work quickly and found all their clues and FINALLY their goodies. (Sorry for all the underwear shots, but this is how my boys roll)

Miles picked gummy worms as his first choice of sweet.

Karson was able to snag a great picture of Matt and I.

Our traditional family pics. around the fireplace.

Karson couldn't wait to get to church. She, Elizabeth and Abby Kate had the same Easter dresses on. My sweet sister bought Karson hers at Strausburg last year so they could all match. All three of our beauties in their yellow. What's that jump rope rhyme? Cinderella dressed in yella', went upstairs to meet her fella'....

The zoo crew at church in all their splendor. It truly was a glorious day. Our dear friend Haley Caffey was baptized by her dad Brad during service that morning. We're very excited for them! Hope everyone has a HOPPY holiday like we did!

Amelia

If there is one thing Karson LOVES, it's school, especially when a PROJECT is involved. She along with all the 2nd graders were assigned to a historical figure to present in a wax museum today at school. The project assignment came home last Wednesday and she was READY to get to work immediately. Her character was/is Amelia Earhart. I asked her about the character and why she chose her to which she responded that she didn't. All the characters were assigned to different kids, and the she proceeded to tell me EVERYONE'S character (even some in the other 2nd grade classes). Although I was tickled with her character, I wasn't sure how we'd pull off the costume. If I had known about the project a couple of weeks ago, I could've gotten some cheap aviator gear (helmet and goggles) off of Amazon. SO, I knew we'd have to improvise and figure something out. The first big thing on the "to do" list was the tri-fold poster. I told Karson I thought it would be a cool idea to spray paint it gray and make it look like an airplane since the kids were also supposed to have props. I got a can from Dollar General along with some cheap pinwheels to use as propellers. Karson did some painting and I did some--spray paint triggers aren't the easiest to use. Karson's penmanship could use some help--finger spaces and letter height aren't high on her perfectionist list. BUT, this project was/is hers so she did all the writing (sometimes in pencil first). All the kids were asked to answer five questions about their character: (1) What made your character important to American history (2) When was your character born (3) Did anything special happen to your character that affected what they did in life (4) If you could talk to your character, what question would you have for them (5) What was the most interesting thing you learned about your character?

Viola, our finished poster board. We worked on it almost nightly. Last Friday night when the boys were itching to spend the night with Pap and Nana and go see the movie RIO, guess who didn't want to go and said she had homework to do. You guessed it, my Karson. She has loved every minute of this project (secretly, I have too). She and I are so similar, it's scary. I'm glad my daughter is organized, pays attention to detail, wants to stay on task and complete it, perfectly. I think those are wonderful traits to inherit--who cares if we're both a bit neurotic =). At least we can admit it! The costume did present some problems. I knew we didn't have the helmet, goggles, bomber jacket or white scarf which meant we had to figure SOMETHING out. We had brown boots and tight fitting pants (which I believe Amelia often sported). We improvised with the helmet and goggles. I got the hood off her brown Columbia jacket and covered some old goggles with brown foam & hot glue. We still needed a jacket and scarf which meant a trip to Goodwill with my fingers crossed. We scored big and found a green bomber jacket (Candies brand which I believe is nice) and a white scarf of all things. Actually there were a couple of white scarves which surprised me.

The finished Amelia in all her glory.

The wax museum was interesting. I met many different characters from history. Here are a couple of our closest pals (from other 2nd grade classes) with their projects:

Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton and Laura Ingalls Wilder (aka Kaylee, Emma and Elizabeth Ann).
And my sweet Amelia with her class--Jackie Robinson, Babe Ruth, Helen Keller, Abraham Lincoln, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Albert Einstein and Pocahontas.

A Birthday to Remember

HAPPY 80th MAMAW POGUE

I'm sure I've mentioned before that my dad comes from a large family. He was the first of six kids. Growing up with 13 FIRST cousins, I thought my family was HUGE. And, I guess in a lot of ways it was, until I met Matt. His family is even HUGE-ER. His mom is the first of five and his dad is the third of six children. He has even more cousins than I do. Plus, he's one of five children in his own family. I can't wait for the day that the Deaton brothers (and wives) expand our family even more, and my children have loads of first cousins like I did. Funny side note, Matt's youngest FIRST cousin is Miles's age. His Mamaw has a great grandchild and grandchild the same age.

At any rate, large families are awesome, PERIOD. I love being with my extended family (and Matt's). Most of my family, however, lives in Louisville so I don't get to see them as often as I would like. And, we're not kids anymore. Most of them are married and many of them have children of their own. This makes our gatherings even more exciting. The picture above is all of us Pogue cousins (missing is my cousin Brittany who lives in Germany, my cousin Brad and my cousin, Michael, who passed a couple of years ago). The picture below is all of us with our spouses (some are missing there as well).

On Saturday, we went to Louisville to celebrate my Mamaw's 80th birthday which was a surprise party. My aunts organized a party extravaganza at the church they all attend, Okolona Church. Wanna know how they got Mamaw there? They told her that she and my uncle David were playing in a corn hole tournament. If there is ONE thing my family loves to do, it's COMPETE. You name it...skiing, fishing, cards (rook, hand & foot, shanghai rummy, etc.), washers, softball, and now CORN HOLE. Mamaw is a pro. at corn hole and could probably beat just about anyone. I have a cousin-in-law who actually competes in tournaments--didn't know such a thing even existed. She's was up for the challenge and didn't suspect a thing when she saw so many cars in the church parking lot. She was so CUTE walking into the party (unsuspectingly) with her corn hole bags. Everyone yelled "surprise" and started singing to her. She was completely caught off guard. EVERYONE was there including old friends and neighbors. It was such a wonderful party.

My aunt Sharon also organized a family photo scrapbook. I have never done a scrapbook page in my life but enjoyed putting my page together SO MUCH. I can see how people get addicted to scrapbooking. I must admit though that I'm a computer person and prefer to do all my designing on the ol' desktop. But, this book was A-mazing. I loved looking through it and know Mamaw will cherish it.

Mamaw and Papaw and all their stinkers =).

Me and Kenton. My nephew Evan took the first picture. I must admit, I like being cut off from the double chin on down. Kenton is the life of the party. I seriously doubt he's ever had a bad day in his life. I laugh and have the best time cutting up with him. Sure wish he would move back to BG (he lived here while he was at WKU).

Me and my beautiful cousin Kim. She also blogs (check out her link sometime).

Me and Memaw. Bless her heart, she was trying her best to learn who belonged with who and who's kids were who's and all that good stuff. Like I said, my extended family is large and expanding by the minute with marriages, babies, etc.

Mike, Miles and Matt or the three MMM's.

My Mamaw is one of the kindest people I know. I had the opportunity to live with her and Papaw one summer during my junior year at Western. I took an internship at the Courier Journal. My grandparents took such great care of me. We went to church together. She was always wanting to feed me. We'd go down and visit my uncle Mark (who was pretty ill with cancer at the time) together. We'd entertain the other cousins with movies (everyone lives really close). It was a special summer. Mamaw and I like to write each other too. I love getting letters from her and love sending them. I'm thankful that she raised such a wonderful son LINDLE who has been a great father to me. I can see her gentle spirit in him when he wants to help those in need and expects nothing back. He is not materialistic and would give anyone anything they needed. He's loud (all of us Pogue's are) and has the best sense of humor JUST like HER. I'm very lucky having all my grandparents and so very thankful for their influence in my life. I wrote this scripture on my scrapbook page "He had made everything beautiful in its time." Eccles. 3:11 My Mamaw is one beautiful person inside and out.

Tee-ball and Rebounds

Miles is our ONLY child playing a sport this spring. Woot, woot! Karson and Isaac had no interest in it this year. I am SO very thankful for that. The idea of running from ball field to ball field, game to game, on Saturday is not the way I want to spend my weekend. I received a phone call from Miles's coach a few weeks back--a woman coach. She was so kind over the phone, and I am grateful for the task she has taken on (working with 4 year old boys with bats scares me). Miles had his first practice on Thursday night. On the way there, he brilliantly stated "I'm going to get LOTS of rebounds at my practice."

He was so stinkin' cute out on the field warming up with his teammates. I really don't have high expectations for this age group (and expressed that to his coach during our conversation--I could tell she was relieved I said that), but they all looked pretty good. I was SUPER excited to see that his buddy Jonah was on our team. Jonah's big brother Donovan and Isaac are the best of buds, and I'm pretty crazy about his mom Amanda--very sweet gal! Karson and Isaac didn't make it to the first practice, but I was sure to bring them to Saturdays practice (plus, Matt was golfing) as I knew Isaac and Donovan would have a blast together.

WELL, let me JUST tell you about Saturdays practice which has NOTHING to do with Miles. His practices are at Cumberland Trace Elementary which has two ball fields--a top field and a bottom field. The top field is where our practice is, and there is a huge parking lot right next to it. I decided to bring Karson and Isaac's Razor's so they could have a WIDE OPEN space to ride during practice. I phoned Amanda ahead of time so Donovan could bring his scooter along too, and they could all ride together. Fun? You bet. WRONG. Within minutes, Karson's scooter went off the sidewalk into the grass--I witnessed the fall. She bounced up immediately and said "I'm all right, I'm all right." But I knew she wasn't. It was a CRASH and BURN kind of fall. When I got over to her, her leg was ripped up like a sausage and her hand was cut. Fortunately, I had wipes in the van and my BFF Amanda was racing to her car to get us some band aids (great gal, like I said). As soon as we got Karson fixed up, WHAMMO, Isaac takes a spill and had a cut on the back of his leg. Are you KIDDING ME? Once the kids were mended, Karson had to go and sit for a while but Isaac was back at it. Karson's leg still looks terrible, and she says it really hurts to bend it. The question is, do I take the Razor's to the next practice or not??? Things that make you go hummmmm....

Country Pines and NO WHINES

We decided to spend a couple of days this Spring Break in the Smoky Mountains. Our kids have never experienced all the frills that area has to offer, and it's fairly close to home which makes travel easy. Matt and I spent hours searching for the "right" cabin to accommodate our brood. We found the perfect fit (and price) with Country Pines in Pigeon Forge.

We toyed with the idea of going to the Wilderness of the Smokies which is a giant, indoor waterpark. The more we thought about it though, it just wasn't ideal. Matt and I wanted to be able to relax on vacation, and the idea of getting into a swimsuit, being COLD, chasing 3 kids around, appealed to me NONE. Plus, if we spent loads of money at Wilderness, we wouldn't be able to do any of the other fun activities. We decided a cabin with a HOT TUB was the solution. Our kids loved their new home! When we pulled into Pigeon Forge, Karson said, "If we lived here, we would have a paradise everyday." The kids were in heaven from the moment we pulled in the driveway of C.P.

The hot tub is where the majority of their time was spent.

Karson and Miles snuggling in their king sized bed.

We did venture out into Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, but honestly, I think the kids would've been content staying at the cabin the whole time. In fact, many times when we were out, they asked repeatedly if we could go back. On Monday night we made our way over to MagiQuest (the children had to pick out mythical names Karson = Clover, Isaac = Cobra, and Miles = Monster). This experience was definitely Karson's favorite. She loved all the quests and hunting for the right answers. I did too, but it was hard wrangling all three kids on a time crunch. You only have an hour and a half on your first visit which goes by FAST when you're trying to figure things out. Plus, it didn't help having two incredibly SLOW tagalongs.

Like everything in Pigeon Forge, this was a costly experience, but well worth it. And, if you hang onto your wand (and receipt, both will be challenging), you can play anywhere there is a MagiQuest and pick up where you left off. The charge is also minimal.

On Tuesday, we decided to take the kids into Gatlinburg. Monday night it had stormed really bad like it did in Bowling Green, and the effect on Gatlinburg was pretty extreme. As we were heading into G-burg, we noticed lots of fire trucks, police officers, EMT, rescue people, etc. Later in the day we heard that a plant basin wall had collapsed and killed two workers. It also was leaking raw sewage into the Little Pigeon River. How sad! Also, as we were making our way in, we saw workers cleaning up an area where part of the mountain had slid down onto the road at the entrance. Quite a storm!

We decided to take the kids to Ripley's Aquarium which Matt and I have decided will be our LAST trip to this venue. We've been one other time to a Ripley's Aquarium in Myrtle Beach, but the kids were younger and didn't remember much. I like aquariums, but this one was a bit on the crowded side. It was dark, packed with people moving 1 inch at a time and simply not enough action to keep the kids occupied. Don't get me wrong, they liked it, but I would rather spend money at a zoo or a LARGER aquarium like the one in Chattanooga or Newport.

Sharks and tropical fish, very neat to view.

Clowning around in the play area. This was a definite highlight. It was a wide open, bright space with lots of things for the kids to do and play on.

There was a new exhibit called the Penguin Playhouse. I could've spent all my time here. Penguins are fun to watch and quite comical.

After the aquarium, we went to Aunt Mahalia's Candy shop for some goodies. Matt and I both got a scrumptious caramel apple. We decided to pound the pavement and window shop. We made our way to the big, water ball at Ripley's and over to the SkyLift. After that we were pretty worn out and made our way back to the car. We decided to order a pizza from Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Besides the Mellow Mushroom (to-go order), we ate all of our meals at the cabin not because we're cheap but because we are smart. Very few children I know want to go to a nice sit-down resturant and eat. And, I don't like throwing money away on food they will barely eat. PBJ's, chicken fingers, macaroni, spaghetti and cereal are the key to satisfied children in our home =). Plus, I wanted to avoid fast food if at all possible--we eat it WAY to much at home.

On Wednesday, we made our way over to Wonderworks. The kids had been super excited about visiting this place. I was too, but again, like the aquarium, it just wasn't that impressive once we got inside. The Louisville Science Center and I suspect the Adventure Science Center in Nashville beat this attraction, hands down. There was very little for Miles to do and he cost as much as the older kids did (which didn't seem fair to me as he couldn't do most of the things). Everyone had fun though, and that's the point.

Watching my kids climb the rock wall was quite impressive. They both made it ALL THE WAY to the top and never fell. Since the line was a mile long, I witnessed MANY climbs and very few of them (older children and adults) made it to the very top. My little monkey's scaled the wall quickly. I highly doubt I would've been able to.

I love how Isaac is waving to everyone in the crowd on his way down. Turkey.

Enjoying the exhibits.

This exhibit was called Mind Bender. Two people challenged each other with a moving ball at the center. Whoever was the most relaxed, won. It was neat because your brain waves showed up on a monitor. Miles beat Karson, I beat Isaac, and Karson beat Matt. Wednesday was our last full day in Pigeon Forge, so I decided to take Karson and Isaac back to MagiQuest that night to continue their journey. Matt and Miles decided to play mini golf.

No journey to the Smoky Mountains is complete without an air brushed t-shirt. We had a marvelous time in the mountains and are looking forward to visiting there again real soon. Since we left Pigeon Forge on Thursday morning that gave us a couple of days to relax at home which was incredibly nice. Miles had his first tee ball practice Thursday night. On Friday, the kids went over to Meme's for the morning and Matt and I went to Mammoth Cave and hiked Green River Bluff. Later that day, Matt and Pap took Miles to the lake. He loves doing stuff like that. Our break actually felt LONG since we broke the week up. I cannot WAIT to have my babies home for summer break. This weather has gotten me pumped up for summer days at Beech Bend and relaxing in the lazy river!