The Bright Eyed Brunette

Well, today was the day....Back to School for the 2013-2014 school year!  My kids are a little ab-normal in the fact that they were super pumped to to back to school!  I think they were missing their friends and getting a little bored. Three backpacks, filled with school supplies and ready for school! Trey's is on the left...the tacky camo one that he has had his heart set on since the end of last year! Makena's is in the middle and  Carlie's is on the right.  They fit their personalities for sure. This was the only picture I took this morning. I'm hoping that my mom and dad got a better one. I can't believe I have a 2nd, 6th, and 7th grader! Everybody was so excited that they got up and got ready in record time this morning.  Nanny, Pop, and Grammy came over to take pictures and give them a good send off.  I got to work on their first day of school and I love that.  Everything went great all day.  The kids were all in a good...

We started off our Friday by going to the kids' Open House at School!  It was really exciting because Makena had a new teacher for us to meet :)  Trey and Carlie still had the same teacher from last year, but they were excited too! When we got home we rested and played the Wii for a while, then decided we would have a Back to School pizza party (just for our family).  Carlie made the cake and Makena frosted it. It might not have been the prettiest, but it was good! For dinner, we also decided to make some homemade pizzas.  Again, they were not so pretty, but tasted great! Since the weather was so nice and cool, we decided to go out and have a bonfire and roast some marshmallows.  After watching Duck Dynasty a little too much, Trey was wanting to make some Mallow Dogs, but thankfully we didn't have any hot dog buns! Trey with his marshmallow, stick, and wearing his headlight. He was having a blast! Trey and Makena trying to get the...

Here is just a little foreword...she was in a very bad mood and didn't want to take any pictures...AT ALL! This is the best I could do with what I had to work with!!  Love you anyway, Makena :) This is my favorite of the TWO that I took! Told you she wasn't in the mood, and I was tired of arguing with her!  Maybe I'll catch her another day....when she's in the mood!  I love my M&M! Beth

All I can say about these pictures is WOW!  I guess I just realized that she is looking way too teenager-ish!  It seems just like yesterday I was having to practically drag her into Pre-School and now she is about to enter the 7th grade!!  I'm so proud of her and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her :) Beth

Carl was having too much fun on Trey's digger! Shh...they were kind of playing together! Since Carl took down the old swing set, the kids have resorted to taking turns swinging on the tree swing. This really isn't an issue because most of the time they don't even want to swing...of course when they do it's all at once!! His Daddy pushed him this high..I wasn't a fan of it! Oh, my little shirtless boy! We grilled out some yummy burgers and dogs! Then some of us went walking.  I chose to sit in my chair and take pictures instead. Our cat, Salem, just chillin' Until Snoopy attacked (playfully) him! Saturday we had another fun family day.  Carl had to work that morning, but got back home by 8:30.  The heat has been so extreme this past week. I feel terrible that he has to work out in it.  It was still hot today but we were able to keep cool in the pool while Carl mowed the yard :) I'm trying to enjoy the nex...

I have tried to write this post about 5 times and for one reason or the other I just didn't have it in me to post it (and then I couldn't decide what to title it so you get both: Reflections/Confessions). This has been a summer of reflection for me.  Reflecting on this past school year and what I want my (our) goals and aspirations to be for this new school year...which begins in just 5 days! I've spent a lot of time thinking and praying about our schooling--whether or not to home school or go back to our private school.  I'll be the first to admit (confessions coming ) that I wasn't happy with how our school year went last year.  It wasn't any one thing in-particular; just a bunch of stuff.  Grades were never an issue.  For some reason my kids are smart (ha!)!  We had two All A Honor Roll students and one A's and B's Honor Roll-er.  I just wasn't happy and that was trickling down to my kids. So after much reflection something hit me like a ton of...

It was extremely hot on this particular day, and the girls didn't want to come and join in on our photo shoot, but their time is coming!  Trey had a lot of fun picking out where he wanted to have his picture made. Here are a few more: I look at these pictures and I really can't believe he (my baby) will be 8 in 29 more days!  And yes, he has already started the countdown!!  He's growing  up so fast and like a typical male, he knows everything...just ask him!!  Deep down he's still a Mama's boy though :) I'm thankful everyday that I get to experience the girl and boy side of life! Beth

The past two weekends at our house have been spent doing yard work--BOO!  But thankfully, Carl hasn't been too busy on Saturdays and we've been able to get some things done that have been pushed to the back burner.  Of course the best part of working hard all day is grilling out and relaxing in the evening!  We've been eating pretty good :) Here are a few pictures from this past weekend: Trey loves to help with anything outside and especially anything with his Daddy! I'm not sure if you can see his little head in the drivers seat of the truck up there, but this is the old farm truck that Carl brought the tractor home with and all weekend long Trey kept saying that this was going to be his truck when he "gets big".  I'm sure by that time, he will not want it! And the bottom picture are the beans that Trey and Makena helped Carl plant, so we always refer to that field as Trey and Makena's beans :)   The humidity was extremely high on Satur...