I'm Still Here...

I think!

WOW

We have been so busy since school has been out but at

the same time we have not gotten a thing done!

Austin has been to camp twice and I 

think most of his summer running is over!

On Sunday, June 30th we took him

to Camp Boxwell in Lebanon, Tennessee for 

Boy Scout Camp.

Loading up the car before church...he was so 

excited that I was taking his picture every step of the way!

We met the rest of his troop and drove up to Boxwell

and dropped him off for the week.

They were getting all of their gear together and meeting

"Mongoose" their site manager for the week.

We followed them down to camp.

He was even MORE excited that I kept taking photos...

hee hee hee...He only thought he was getting rid of 

me for the week!

Jackson had fun checking out their tent and seeing where we

were sending his big brother off to for the week.

We decided to stay and watch the boys take their swimming 

test.  Each boy has to jump in and swim certain distances

to see if they are a non-swimmer, beginning swimmer or full swimmer.

Austin had told us before he waked to the docks that

he was not going to try the swim test and just be a 

non-swimmer this week.  We tried to talk him into

trying, but we were not getting very far...

but he jumped in and did the entire test!

Full Swimmer for the week!

Whoo Hoo!

We watched until he got his arm band with the other

boys and then Scott, Jackson and I headed home.

We returned back on Friday, July 5th to pick him up!

I was so happy to see my little camper!

We decided against staying for the closing campfire.

It had been raining for two days straight and there

was more rain on the way.

Austin had a lot of fun, but was ready to come home

at the same time!  He told us stories all the way home about 

what happened this year at camp.

Great summer memories made indeed!

Bustin' Up Around Here

When you own a house, you always have a 

"To-Do" list a mile long.  It seems the older our house

gets, the longer that list grows...

We decided it was time to tackle one of our BIG

projects on our list...

The Front Porch Steps

As you can see, our sidewalk has settled away from the garage wall

and in turn was making our steps fall forward and away from the house.

It's a little hard to see in this photo,

(I was trying to get a few 'before' shots

before Scott got a little Jackhammer happy!)

but there was a gap in the top step that was 

big enough for me to put my hand in.

You can see on this photo that the steps had moved down 

almost an entire brick row...

Scott thought about trying to break out each brick,

one by one, and save them for a future project...

Then he pulled out the Jackhammer to see 

how hard it would be to tackle the sidewalk.

Did I mention that he decided to try all of this one night

about 9:30  PM...I'm sure my neighbors loved him!

He quickly discovered that this was going to be one tough

job...

He then thought he would see how the Jackhammer would

work on the brick steps...and quickly decided that trying to 

save the bricks was for the birds!

Bright, but not too early the next morning he was at it!

Uncle Rick came over to lend a hand and Austin and his 

friend Andrew went to work as well...

By lunch they had the steps almost done.

Many, many buckets of broken up bricks were

taken one by one to the trailer and then hauled off

to a spot down the road and unloaded.

After they finished the steps, they called it a day...

And they were right back at it the next morning...

Scott quickly discovered what should have been a 3-4 inch sidewalk

had been poured anywhere from 5-10 inches thick...

No wonder our concrete bill was so high when we built!

Jackson decided he would get in on the action

and went with the guys to unload a trailer full

of busted up concrete.

They were almost done with the sidewalk,

but after hanging on to a Jackhammer for two

days straight, Scott decided he was done for the day.

The barn-swallows we also ready for him to be done.

They were quite upset that he was so close to one of their nests! 

Finally, they finished up Sunday afternoon and

were ready for the brick mason to come and do his work.

Bright and early last Tuesday morning they came to 

pour a new sidewalk.

A few hours later I had a new front sidewalk.

Now we had to wait a couple of days for it to dry so they could come

and add the steps.

Friday they came and started working on adding my steps back on.

I snuck out while they were on a lunch break to take a quick picture

of their progress...it's one thing for me to stand over Scott's shoulder and 

take photos of every little step he takes,

but I was not sure how total strangers would feel about

me snapping a shot every 5 minutes...

And here they are...all finished...and not falling off

the house!! Whoo Hoo!!!

So happy to have this project DONE!

Scott and I both agreed that after walking up the new steps

we realized just how bad the old steps had gotten...

Now to clean up a little bit of the mess they made...

the concrete guys splattered concrete on my

front porch planters and the 

barn-swallows have made a mess

on my porch...

Like I said...a "To Do" list with a house...

never seems to get done!

School is OUT for SUMMER!!!!

WHOO HOO!!!!!

We made it through another year with flying colors!

Before Austin's last day, the calendar was FULL of last minute

stuff to do...

Austin had his Awards Day last week

and he took home the 

President's Academic Award.

This is an award from the President

of the United States to students that test 

in the 85th percentile or higher on their

standardized test and maintain an A average

over the last three years through

6th, 7th and 8th grade.

He seemed less than excited...

hee hee hee

While he was not excited,

we were very proud of his accomplishments.

The same week,

Jackson has his big Kindergarten interview.

He was excited!

He was telling me that now that he is 5

it's time for him to go to school.

Marching up to the front door,

ready to go...

He waited patiently outside his new

Kindergarten room until Mrs. Nave was

ready for him.

While we waited, our friend, Mrs. Davis

was subbing in the Science room across the hall.

She brought Jackson in her room and showed him the fish...

and the turtles...he was having a lot of fun.

Then he headed across the hall to see Mrs. Nave and 

show her what all he could do...

he was acting a little silly and didn't show her what all he could do,

but I think he is going to be just fine next year...

I hope...

Austin and his friend, Andrew, had a cooking presentation

they had to do in their Young Living class.

Before they cooked for the class,

they practiced at home.

The boys decided on a breakfast menu.

Austin cooked an omelet and Andrew cooked Sausage. 

They both did a really good job!

I was a pretty proud Momma when he fixed his

omelet...Ham, cheese and onion Omelet...YUM!

Andrew cooked up a yummy batch of sausage

and we had breakfast!

They did a great job and only had one point taken off

because we forgot to put a stick of butter in Austin's supplies so

he had to run and ask Mrs. Flossie for some butter from 

the kitchen...

They fixed enough sausage and omelets for 

their entire class to have a taste.

They have been doing this all month long.

They have had lots of yummy food to try 

while everyone was working on their cooking skills.

We rounded out the end of the year with a 

class cook out last night

at Big Spring Park

down town.

Austin and the guys getting up a quick game of tough football...

The dad's got to grilling!

And eventually their entire class joined in on the game...

boys and girls!

They had a great time and it was a great end to a great year!

Let the 

SUMMER FUN

begin!!!

A-Day Weekend and One Last Roll

For those of you who are unaware of the 

southern obsession that is 

SEC Football,

this past weekend was time

for teams all across the south to come

out and play their Spring games.

Everyone can come out and check out the team

and get excited about the upcoming 

Football Season!

A-Day as it is known for 

Auburn and Alabama as well

was set for this past Saturday...

The car was loaded up and we were

on our way to see the Tigers play/

Looked like we were leaving for a week,

but I promise we just went for the weekend!

We hung out in Kerri's condo where she lived until this past

December.  If you have a child heading to Auburn University

this fall and are looking for a cute place for them to live...

I can hook you up!

Jackson was trying to tell Aunt Leisa the "new" rules for checkers

but I don't think she was buying it.

And of course...they were AUBURN checkers!!

We headed out to A-Day and hung out with 83,401 of our

family and friends for a BEAUTIFUL afternoon on the Plains!

This was not Jackson's first trip to Auburn, but it was his first trip

into Jordan-Hare Stadium.  He was a little in awe and not 

really sure what was going on.

Aunt Leisa was so happy to finally have Jackson with her at a game.

The weather was perfect for watching a little football!

By the end of the game Jackson was getting the idea.

We also concluded that before he actually goes back for a 

regular season game...some ear protectors will be purchased!

The stadium was fairly calm and quiet compared to a regular season game,

yet he kept saying it was too loud...gonna have to work on this boy! 

Jackson was not really interested in having his picture made! 

Too much going on to stop for a photo!

I was able to snap a quick one with Kerri

not long after we sat down.

Another reason for our visit this weekend was to go for 

One Last Roll at Toomer's Corner.

If you don't know about the story of Toomer's Corner

you can read about it

here.

All 83,401 from the stadium walked to Toomer's Corner 

for One Last Roll and joined in with about 20,000 people that were 

not in the stadium!

Toilet paper draped the trees up and down College Street to

the Corner!  It was amazing!

The Trees with their final rolling

blowing gently in the breeze.

Today, what is left of the trees

is being taken down.

Austin was carefully planning out his final roll...

and off his roll went to land in the trees.

Aunt Leisa was trying to tell Jackson where to aim and was also

standing by to grab the roll when it hit the ground

to try it again.

Jackson watching as his roll hit a poor man in the back of the head...

who picked it up and handed it right back to him and told him to 

try again!

With as many people as were crammed in to the streets surrounding the corner...

no one was pushy.  No one was angry when they got hit with a roll of TP.

Everyone was as friendly as could be.  College students were handing out rolls

to every little kid they passed.  Everyone was cheering and having a good time.

Little ones were having a blast playing in all of the paper on the ground.

Jackson and this little girl has a blast taking turns throwing paper

back and forth!

Jackson waiting to be dumped with paper!

He was having a BLAST!

I took this photo as we walked away from 

Toomer's Corner.

It was so pretty all dressed in white.

Jackson was having so much fun and we were hoping

that no one in Lee County, Alabama needed toilet paper for, 

well, the intended use of toilet paper....

because it was all swinging in the breeze at Toomer's Corner!

We stopped in Toomer's Drugs for some fresh squeezed Lemonade

and then headed back to the condo.

It was such a fun day and a little sad, too.

I can't wait to see what traditions are to come for

the little Tiger fans like Jackson...

but as Coach Gus says...

It's a New Day...

We are ready to get on the Gus Bus and 

see where the Tigers take us this year...

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL???

We Are!

WAR EAGLE!!!