Schools out for summer!!

Schools out and it's been great!  I haven't had to get up at 6:30 every morning to carpool kids to school!  Today we went to the zoo and now we are just hanging out at home.  I think I can get used  to this (I'm sure I'll be changing my mind by the end of summer).  School doesn't start in Virginia until September so we are going to have a long summer.  

This year Samantha received two awards; one in reading and one in citizenship.  She also got straight A's and E's on her report card the entire year!  What a good student.  Ryan had his preschool graduation and now will join the ranks and head to public school.  They are both nervous for next year because it will be a new school, but I'm hoping things will go smoothly for them.  

We haven't sold our house yet and it seems to be a big weight on our shoulders, but hopefully sooner than later it will happen.  We have someone looking tonight.  Wish us luck!  

  

Samantha with her awards

Ryan and his best pal Todd

Ryan and his favorite teacher, Miss Cheryl.  Oh she was wonderful!

Zoo and field day

Last Saturday we went to Ponderosa Zoo for Samantha's final Girl Scout activity.  It's out in the middle of nowhere and there are some unusual animals to see and/or pet.  Like the Zonky (zebra and donkey mixed).

Ryan got a little close to the camel and the camel thought he might have a taste!

Pony rides!

Carter found a friend

Here Samantha is saying the Girl scout pledge before bridging from Daisies to Brownies.  We're hoping to find a good troop in Virginia for her to join and meet some new girls.

 

Samantha's class had field day and Ryan couldn't resist joining in!  

This is Samantha and her best friend Braylie.  She is so sad that we have to move and is always asking Aaron if he can quit his job so we can stay in Tennessee.  I had to explain to her that if dad did that, we would lose our house, and car and live on the street, but she doesn't seem to mind. 

Class picture

poison ivy and crazy pupils

Poison Ivy has struck Samantha again!  She had it last fall and the poor girl got it this time on her face, legs and hand.  This picture was taken a few days after the worst of it.  Her face was so swollen and looks like she has a horrible case of pimples.  She started getting the rash in Virginia (we found a home to rent by the way) and by the time we got home it was so bad!  I took her in to the doctor and she is now on steriods.  Poor girl!

I had to show this picture of Carter and his crazy pupils.  If you click on the picture you will really see what I'm talking about.  He already has different sized pupils to begin with, but this was after I took him to the ophthalmologist.  The drops made his eyes wig even more!  It's back to normal now and apparently the unequal pupils are his normal thing.  So if he ever ends up in the ER we have to have proof that his pupils are naturally uneven so they won't do a big workup on him.

By the way, our house hasn't sold yet, but there are more people looking.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Porch Monkeys

I thought these pictures of Aaron and Carter were so cute.  They were true porch monkeys last night.  The weather was amazing and Aaron says it was one of his favorite moments.  You have to see Carter eating a popsicle; it's the cutest thing watching him smack his lips.  

Easter sunday

OK, I am now catching up on the past month.  Here goes:

We had a fun and busy Easter this year.  Aaron and I had to speak at church so that made for kind of a stressful day (well, until we were done speaking).  Then after church we came home, changed our clothes and cleaned the house for someone to come look at the house that afternoon.  We then went to our friends house for that hour then came home to start our festivities!  We had an easter egg hunt for Samantha and Ryan then they hid eggs for Aaron and me.  When Carter woke up, Samantha and Ryan "hid" eggs for him in the grass and helped him find them.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed spending it together.  

And by the way, we found out that the people who were coming over to look at the house never showed up!  Not cool to kick us out on a holiday!

We Heart Dollywood

Our family got season passes to Dollywood and went for the first time this year.  It was forecasted to rain, but we went anyway.  Well, it didn't rain until that evening and it wasn't crowded at all!  It was a great day.  Carter even rode a few rides.

Samantha was a little embarrassed riding on the baby rides, but she had fun with Carter!

Primary Talent Show

The kids had a primary talent show last month.  Ryan did handstands and Samantha sang "You're a grand old flag"  They both did great and it was very entertaining to see all that talent in our primary.