It's a Girl!

We are very happy to announce the newest addition to our family. Meet Luna, an 8 week old American Bulldog pup. As we were driving to PetSmart with her and were deciding on a name, Kai looked down at her and noticed she had a crescent moon on the back of her neck. We immediately decided on Luna and she has proved to be a night owl, er dog. We took her to my mom and dad's to meet Lyric. Lyric loves puppies and would lay down and watch Luna sleep waiting for her to wake up. Kai loves his new companion. He takes her for walks and feeds her every morning without me having to ask. We are just smitten. Now if she would just get over the newborn, chewing, barking, whining stage.

Steel Anniversary

This year we celebrated our 11th Wedding Anniversary! We both almost forgot about it since September has gone by so fast. I decided on Wednesday that I would take Kai and Ben to Pearl River's small county fair and rodeo. I had Ben drive down and meet me at the hospital so my coworkers could meet Kai. Let me tell you, he does not meet a stranger and made a beeline for Ms. Sue's candy jar. He also gave a little demonstration of his 9 step basic. I also was surprised to get these: I hardly ever get flowers, so I was glad that Ben remembered I am not a fan of traditional red roses. Kai said we were "the best mommy and daddy ever" for taking him to the fair where he popped several balloons with darts and rode a rickety roller coaster and wobbly farris wheel. I can't wait until Kai is tall enough to go to Six Flags. The rodeo was a lot of fun. Very patriotic and entertaining. Kai was a little concerned for the calves that were roped and tied so fast, but he was one of the first kids to run out to the arena to chase one for a prize. He didn't catch it (none of them did) but he was chosen for a little dance competition that the rodeo clown conducted. So funny. I swear he gets his dance moves from Napoleon Dynamite. When we left, Kai made the statement that he had the best day of his life. He is easy to please. We had a great time and are still waiting until Ben and I have time off at the same time so we can go to our anniversary dinner. Steel was the anniversary gift of choice...I think fair rides and rodeos fit into that category.

Taekwondo Testing Day

Kai had his first testing experience last month. He let me know right away that he was nervous that morning, so that made me nervous. So nervous, that I forgot to record it. Oh, well. I got a couple of pictures of him warming up
and the group shot. Turns out, he did fine and got his stripes. Most importantly, we both now know what to expect for future testing days. I am so glad that Kai really enjoys this sport and wants to stick with it. He wishes he could go to class every day of the week. He is so eager to take the next steps to test for his yellow belt.

...And the Living Is Easy.

At the start of the summer, we decided to take a trip down to Gulfport to see what we could see. Since we are only an hour away, I thought it would be great if things were rebuilt enough to be able to up and go for day trips if we got the urge. I wasn't disappointed. Further towards Biloxi, the beaches are clean, uncrowded, and parking is easily accessible. There is also putt-putt, go-carts, and a children's museum with a tv studio and huge treehouse.

Definitely worth a trip back.
I took Kai and Leigha to Gulf Shores to spend the 4th of July with Summer and Matthew and his family. We had a great time at the beach, shopping, and eating. All I need for a good vacation.
(I saw this bench in Fairhope and thought it was amazing, so I had to get a picture.)
The following weekend, we took the kids to Collins to the waterpark there. I love that place. Kai still wasn't tall enough to ride the really cool waterslides, but he didn't seem to mind much. I decided to soak up some vitamin D while Ben and the kids were on the lazy river, but got distracted by my toes.
So sparkly!
We also decided to put Kai in Taekwondo this summer and he absolutely loves it. He will test for his yellow belt soon and is working hard to get to that point. We are so pleased with his instructor. Such an awesome guy and an excellent teacher.


We moved into our new house in August and I am so excited about it. We have tons more space and a huge backyard with a big pear tree. We only had one weekend to move and it took the full weekend to do it because it rained the entire time. It was a miserable weekend complete with injuries. All is well now, but it is taking a lot of time getting settled in and getting things were they need to be. I took a new job right around the time we moved, so it is taking a little longer for me to get the motivation to get everything finished.
School for Kai started a couple of weeks after we moved as well. I was worried about his new school, who would be in his class this year, and of course who his teacher would be. Turns out, Kai loves 2nd grade more than 1st grade! His teacher is absolutely wonderful. He has three friends in his class this year and gets to play with his best friend at recess. He walked to his class on his second day on his own. He would've gone on the first day, but I wanted to walk him in on his first day. No denying it, he is growing up and is actually finally growing into his teeth. We are finally getting into our groove and already talking about Halloween! I am so excited about Kai's choice this year! More about this in the next post.

Teardrops and Moonbeams

Losing an amazing friend this year to brain cancer has been one of the hardest things to wrap my head around and this blog will prove to be the hardest to write. My husband met Brian Moon at work years and years ago. He and his sweet wife quickly became close friends of ours-even spending my birthday without them seemed incomplete. We considered them family, still do, and always will. They loved Kai even before he was born, attended every birthday party, and brought him goodies to church. Telling Kai that his buddy had gone to heaven was incredibly heart-breaking. It was something I never want to have to do again but in reality I know that is impossible. In preparing Kai for our trip to South Carolina to attend the funeral, I didn't think to prepare myself. Ben and I laughed and cried for eight hours over our precious and often hilarious memories of Brian, but having to face he was gone was something I was not ready for. I drew strength from his wonderful wife, our family and friends, and my husband. I decided to really start living, to take chances, to make sure my friends and family know how much they mean to me-every day, to be more spontaneous, to enjoy the little things and the big things, and to know what it is to love unconditionally. After all, we aren't promised tomorrow but can live for today.

Smells That Make Me Happy

I know this is a rather odd thing to post about but, I've been feeling creative lately and thought I would share. This post was inspired by the journal my mom kept for me when I was five. Most of these scents are from my childhood and are linked to memories about people and/or places I adored as a kid. Others are smells that I just can't get enough of.

Burning Leaves

Freshly Cut Grass

Bamboo Shoots

HushPuppies Shoes

Horse Sweat

Honeysuckle

Hamburger Helper


Popcorn Cooked on the Stovetop



Sea Spray

Wet Pavement

Playdough

Legacy


Puppy Breath

Lucky Number

I have a seven year old. When did that happen? Just kidding. I knew it was coming. I have savored every stinking minute of the past seven years with my beautiful creation of a human being. (Well, I had a little help with the creation part.) He still amazes me. He continues to make me laugh and smile. His reasoning baffles me on occasion. I love him more than I've ever loved anything. Yes, more than driving a stick shift, more than steak, more than music, and even more than Tim Tebow's face. He had a great pizza and cupcake party this year. We decided on Kids In My Kitchen because it wasn't jumpers, or ChuckECheese, or at my house. It was different and fun, and the kids got to create and learn. (And I didn't have to clean up before or after!) Many places are now catering to the birthday child's mom, planning, hosting, even mailing invitations for you. I should have let them do that last part because invitees got their invites two days before the party. I am having issues with my postal carrier, Barbara. Anyhoo, it was great. The kids had fun and the pizza was delicious!

Pizza Dough Recipe
4 Tbsp dry active yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
2 cups warm water
4 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp salt
Preheat oven to 475
Add yeast and sugar to half of the water and let dissolve.
Make pile of some of the flour and salt and leave a well in the center. Pour in all yeast mixture. Mix all together with a fork. Pour rest of water and mix in the rest of the flour to make moist dough. Pat dough out and knead for 2-3 minutes. Let dough rest while making tomato sauce.

Easy Tomato Sauce
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
3 gloves fresh garlic
4 leaves fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
Process all in a blender to a smooth puree.

Pat out or roll to 1/4" thickness. They should look homemade and rustic. Top with tomato sauce and your favorite toppings, the simpler the better. Bake for 7-10 minutes on cookie sheet.

Pow Wow With Some Little Warriors

I promised I wouldn't miss Pow Wow Day this year. It actually fell on Kai's birthday so I was extra happy to take off work to be with Kai and his class for a day of fun and sunshine. The kids were all so excited and the weather was just beautiful. First up were Sack Races.


Kai and his buddy, Landon, won 3rd place in Beach Ball Buddies.

Tug-o-War was a class favorite. They won the first round only to face defeat in the second. Great effort all around.

Next were the Dixie Cup Relay and Water Balloon Relay where the balloons were thrown onto the crowd when the relay was over. Those water balloons were awfully wobbly!

At the end of the day, everyone gathered to listen to some steelpan music and ended in the longest limbo line ever. It was a great day and I'm glad I didn't miss it!