Hot! Hot! Hot!

We don't have a swimming pool here, but we do have a great hot tub! Pete turned the heater off and it works fine as a small makeshift pool in the summer. The girls played for 2 hours this afternoon nearly skirmish free. I watched from the screened porch under the ceiling fan. It was crazy hot outside today. My daddy, over 60, still works on the farm like he's 35. I think that's because he grew up without air conditioning.  I about died watering the plants on my front porch!

Pete had to work today and I took the girls into town for hair cuts and errands. I do occasionally get stir crazy out here in the sticks but it doesn't happen often! I really enjoy waking up whenever I want, wearing my nightgown until lunch and spending time with my girls since during the school year the spare time is so hard to come by. I know I'm getting older because I find crowds to be stressful and suffocating sometimes. Luckily around here you won't find a crowd even in town! I much prefer the sticks. 

Memorial Day

 

The girls have had a great weekend. Pete has worked on the farm most of the weekend, but since we could use the extra money, we don't mind too much!  We're thankful that it's busy around here. The economy seems to still be in the tank in most places! Addie was excited to wear her "patriotic dress" today. The kid has a dress for almost every occasion and it matters not whether we're going somewhere special. We never left the farm today, but she had to wear that dress. After lunch she added the cowboy boots to the ensemble. Doesn't get much more American than that does it?

Luckily the guys got out of the field long enough tonight to grill out. Ali Grace is becoming an expert in the art of onion rings. They were delicious tonight! She did a great job!

 

I'm very thankful that I was fortunate enough to be born into a country like this! I also recognize that without our brave men and women in the military, this life we know would not be possible. A special shout out to my brother in law, David, and his family who are about to move yet again from Fort Stewart, GA to Fort Lee, VA  I don't know how in the world they move so often and remain sane. I'm glad there are people out there willing to do it! God bless them and their families and God bless America! 

The Bennetts are Officially on Summer Break!

Addie Belle finished K5  at EBA two weeks ago tomorrow. Ali Grace finished 4th grade at EBA a week ago. I finished post planning at LMS yesterday and Pete just finished HIS last day of post-planning at Jenkins County High today. We are ALL on summer break y'all! Teaching is a tough, thankless job. It will push you to the brink of insanity sometimes. However, I feel blessed to live in a family of teachers. Especially since our ENTIRE family has the summer off!  Asking for anything else would be plain greedy!

My sister in law, Beth, had no one to watch Colten today since her grandmother is in the hospital. So, my mom went up to Hartwell to watch Colten for a couple days. There was no way Nanny was getting out of that driveway without Addie in the car with her! Addie adores her cousin Colten! She packed her bags last night and this morning took off down the driveway to Nanny's house to catch her ride north!!

Aunt Beth took these pictures in the park today!

Ali Grace is spending the night with her friend Jordan so Pete and I are enjoying one of those evenings where you eat chips and salsa for supper and watch mindless TV. Love it! Happy Summer everyone!

Woo hoo for Summer!

We're all really antsy around here getting ready for summer to set into full swing! Addie had a great time swimming with her friend Mary Will at her pond house known affectionately as the "Hodge Podge Lodge".

I still have a few days left of post-planning and a few workshop days here and there, but after Wednesday we are really going to gear up for summer! First up on the summer calendar, can't wait to see the Giles crew from Effingham! They were our neighbors when we bought our very first house in Delarae. Seems like eons ago in some ways and just like yesterday in others.  They are coming up to spend a couple days on the farm and I can't wait to con Keith into cooking up something tasty! He is a fabulous cook! I'm hoping for something like shrimp scampi... hint hint Keith!

Get the Girl a Glock!

I've always wondered if the situation arose, if I'd be able to actually shoot someone. Today I did confirm that in fact I could mow down someone if I had to. It all turned out to be a big misunderstanding and the guys who almost died were "kidding around". Just suffice it to say lil sista wasn't kiddin' around a bit.

In other news, the girls enjoyed the day at home. They played in the sandpile and ended up filthy.

Addie tickled me today insisting she could still wear her size 5 slim jeans. Yeah not so much. They were skin tight but she wore them anyway.  Ali and Addie both played and laughed most of the day. Only a few sisterly skirmishes so the day was nice after all the drama from the morning. We cheered on Animal Kingdom in the Preakness Stakes, but it wasn't meant to be. No Triple Crown winner this year!  :(

Ali had a great last day of school yesterday and we cannot wait to get our summer on!

Winding Down the School Year

No pictures today. Sorry Gran and Papa! I've taken a break from blogging for a few days because it takes every ounce of energy I have to get through the last week of school! Middle schoolers are nuts on a regular day, much less the LAST week of school. Tomorrow is the last day and it's been a great week so far, but I have to clean out a classroom and move into an office soon. I have a tremendous amount of work to do and while most teachers wait until the next year to set up their classroom, I cannot enjoy my summer until I know my room is ready to go for next year. OCD. I know.

Ali Grace has mixed feelings about the school year ending. She has made some great friends this year and she will miss them. We have a great summer planned though and I am looking forward to having a blast with Pete and the girls!

Pete went off to the firing range this afternoon so I'm taking it his last few days of school have been more stressful than mine!

My Cup Runneth Over...

Today was a great day to be a farm girl! My dad hitched up the horse trailer and went off to get a horse he'd bought from a friend of ours. She's beautiful isn't she? 

We had a brand new baby born last night, a colt. 

Ali Grace has had a great time monopolizing her grandparents' time in Addie's absence. She romped around the farm all day from horses to puppies to bicycle. She and her friend Jordan consumed an enormous amount of blackberries fresh from the bush. Nothing says summer like a berry stained face!

Being a teacher is tough and sometimes it's hard to see the positive things because the negatives often overwhelm you. I think God must have seen my frustration because this past week I've had messages from students who are graduating from college, I've had students get unbelievable test scores at school, and today I got a surprise visit from two former students from Effingham. They stopped by on their way to Athens and it was so good to see them. I won't put Frances' picture here because she "had no makeup on".  :) But I had to put Chad's! They were both great students... some of the best. We had a GREAT time back then. They're both great examples of imperfect people who've done a great job with the hand they were dealt. They've both hit rough patches in the road here and there, but they've persevered and I'm so proud of them.  Yes this past week my cup runneth over. 

Bitty Baby Graduates K5

Blogger was down last night and I wasn't able to blog.   :(  Addie's graduation went wonderfully well. The three princesses here were so sweet. They sang "A Whole New World".  In this picture, Addie seems to be really into the song!

 Addie's class recited Psalm 100.  They were just precious!  I held it together just fine until the final verse "For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."  Ahh the waterworks started.  :)

 Isn't this just the cutest bunch?? 

 Ali Grace is enjoying the evening without her little sister around bugging her! Addie went home with Gran today to spend a few days. Ali had field day today and she came home looking like a field hand. She's gotten soaked in the water events. Then she was participating in the pennies in the grain event and had grain dust caked in her ears. She also had popsicle stains all over her face and shirt! She had one heck of a good time! 

Change is good...

Well I guess now is a good time to say.... next year I will only be teaching part time. The other part of my day I will be a math instructional coach at my school. I am excited and overwhelmed at the same time. Benjamin Franklin said, "When you're finished changing, you're finished."  I suppose he was right. I've tossed around several options over the past few months. I have a traveler's soul I think. I just can't be happy in one position for any length of time or I get bored and stagnant. I've been teaching school for 13 years and I've taught every grade 6 through 12. I've taught everything from agriculture to science to social studies to math. Most teachers like to stay in their comfort zones and I wish a thousand times over that I could be that way. I just can't. I need to shake it up about every 3 or 4 years. I thought really hard about changing schools this year since Pete is in a different district. However, I felt like this opportunity came about for a reason and I'm taking it as a sign that I'm meant to stay in Jefferson County at Louisville Middle.  I am REALLY looking forward to working with teachers next year. It will definitely be a new role for me and the challenge is just what I need at this point in my career.  I had gotten really discouraged this past year and I hope God will use me in this new position to mentor new teachers, encourage veterans and reinvigorate myself as well. I will be teaching a lab connections class trying to do some hands on math and science instruction for the first part of the day and then I will work with teachers the other half. Sounds exciting doesn't it?? I really am happy about the new challenges ahead!

In other news, Addie continues to be beyond excited about her graduation tomorrow night. She is absolutely giddy about her grandparents coming into town tomorrow.  After graduation, Addie's first year at Edmund Burke Academy will come to a close. Sniffle. Sniffle.  She will be leaving with Pete's mom and dad and going back to Jesup for a few days. Addie adores Gran and Papa. I will miss her but I'm looking forward to spending a little time with Ali Grace over the next week and I am positive that Addie will have a blast! Know what the best thing about summer break is? NO HOMEWORK! Yay for family time again!!

Counting Down...

The week before school is out always wears me to a frazzle. We have final exams, Honors day, elementary tours, etc. It's all enough to send me running into traffic. Luckily we only have seven and a half days left until summer break. We're just trying to keep a lid on the frying pan!

Ali Grace got this new shirt in the mail yesterday, courtesy of her Daddy. She is a HUGE Mythbusters fan and when Pete saw this shirt he had to have it for Ali Grace. Check it out!

Nut here, is graduating K5 on Thursday and her Big Buddy, Lauren, gave her a graduation gift complete with these silly accessories. Addie loves them but was somewhat disappointed that I wouldn't let her wear them with her graduation gown on Thursday night!

After she got out of the shower and put one of her daddy's tee shirts on, she wanted me to take her picture with her "accessories". 

 

Tonight was bunko night so I think in the future, I'll just take a blogging vacation on those days! I took no pictures today and other than a GREAT time with some great girlfriends tonight, I don't have much to blog about. Addie's K5 graduation is on Thursday so I found this picture of her taken a few years ago when her hair was much curlier. Her sass hasn't changed a lot though!   She really is growing up fast!

 

Remembering the childless on Mother's Day

I had a fabulous day today.  Low key, beautiful weather, great friends and best of all... I was able to share it with my children and my own mother.  Like Valentine's Day though, we should be thankful for our mothers every day. Y'all know I never get too excited about Hallmark holidays. 

The weather was so nice and cool this morning and Ali Grace wanted to ride so we walked over and saddled up. She is such a graceful rider and I could sit on the fence and watch her all day. 

Nanny and Poppy came over for dinner tonight. 

Addie, in her own Laura Ingalls kind of way, put boots on with her dress and gathered the eggs. 

Okay.. one more Ali Grace picture...

I've read hundreds of Mother's Day comments on facebook today and I couldn't help but remember a blog post by my friend Amber about inadvertently hurting people with our posts. While motherhood is a wonderful thing to celebrate, I really do feel like it is important to remember those women who for whatever reason are childless. I cannot imagine how painful it must be to endure Mother's Day at church, in the mall, in restaurants and everywhere else when you have been unable to have children of your own. I cannot pretend to understand what that must be like. Even though Pete and I lost a pre-term baby, we had 2 other healthy children to cushion that horrible blow. I don't know if we'd have dealt with it nearly as well had we not had Ali Grace and Addie Belle. I don't know why crack heads and flat out incompetent people are allowed to have healthy children while wonderful capable women cannot. I can't explain it. I have three friends who are struggling with infertility right now. One will be having a hysterectomy soon, eliminating any chance that she will have any biological children. They have both crossed my mind several times today and I prayed that they would find peace amidst all the hoopla. You know who you are.... just wanted you to know I was thinking of you today.  : )

A Derby and a Dust Bowl

This morning, Pete, Royce and Brian were dragging but Uncle Carlos was anxious to head to the country club for the golf tournament. Uncle Carlos is over twice their age, and honestly, twice the golfer.

Bailey waved good bye to the golfers this morning...

Ali Grace was so cute in her golf get up.  She loves playing golf with her daddy!

 They had a good day on the course, but didn't win anything! Boo!

Cohen and Addie played their hearts out all day long without a single cross word!

We grilled ribs for supper and Addie chowed down!

Cohen and Addie looked forward to the bonfire all day!

Everyone enjoyed the roasted marshmallows!

My Derby pick didn't win, and the race itself was less than exciting. However, a house full of company made this day just about perfect! The dirt magnets had a BLAST!