Mercer Baseball

Our friend JB James threw out the first pitch at the last Mercer Bears baseball game. JB is home from St. Jude's and doing well. In June, JB will return for a week of tests to see if he is officially in "remission." Just before this game, JB went with his mom and sister to San Francisco to shoot a St. Jude's commercial with Robin Williams! This Nov/Dec, JB and two of his friends from St. Jude's will be in a fund-raising commercial with the funny man himself. According to Candi (JB's mom & my friend), Robin Williams is as nice a person as you could possible imagine. He did all his voices for the kids -- from Aladdin to Mrs Doubtfire. So cool.

Mercer went on to win the conference and advance to the top 48 teams in the country. They lost to Georgia Tech, beat Elon, and ultimately lost to Alabama. It was a good run! Go Bears!

Evan's last day of PreK at Springdale

Evan and his assistant teacher, Mrs. Jones.

Kindergarten, here we come. Evan is ready!

MTH website

An update on our previous post:

The Magic Tree House website now shows Evan and Alex as picture #1. Too funny! Click here.

Update: 6/13/10 -- the boys are no longer picture #1, but they are still on the site!

The Maiden Voyage

We celebrated the maiden voyage of our canoe this afternoon on Lake Juliette (just down the road from the location of the 1991 movie "Fried Green Tomatoes"). The weather was absolutely perfect, and the lake was beautiful. Here are some of our favorite pictures (attached & below).

With this crew, we're lucky we made it back to shore.

Getting some last minute coaching. "Remember boys, daddy does not want to get wet."

Everybody is still smiling!

Back on shore, we (or actually just Evan) decided to do some swimming off of the dock.
He loved it!

Headed home after a great afternoon.

The Magic Treehouse

We are on book #21 of the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborne. The boys love these stories. Each volume takes Jack and Annie to a different historical time and place. Readers are invited to upload pictures to the fan-page holding their favorite volume. Below is our entry: the boys with Jack, Annie, and Volume 18, "Buffalo before Breakfast."

Happy Birthday, Grampa!

Happy 86th Birthday, Grampa!
We love you!!

The New Canoe

The Evan.

The "I Love you Mommy."
Green Machine.
Mystery Machine.
The River Turtle.
Old Betsy.
Green Hornet.
The Jolly Green Canoe.

These are just a few of the names that have been suggested for our new canoe. None have stuck. Go figure!

As I was taking this picture (above) of the canoe on top of the mini van, I thought to myself, "Is this really my life?" Later in the evening, as Will was scrolling through the pictures, he chuckled and said, "Ever think this is what your family would look like?"

~~~~~

Here are a few shots of paddling in the back yard, and a pic of the hanger-contraption that Will built for storing the canoe in the garage.

Jackpot

Spotted today at 9:00 am.
After 4 days in a row of searching, the boys finally spotted the alligator at Ocmulgee.

I was happy to have been far, far away, sitting on a St. Simons beach.

Snakes

Last week we learned that alligators had been spotted in the swamp at Ocmulgee National Monument. Naturally, we've been there three times in the last week to catch a glimpse. We have yet to spot an alligator, but it also seems to be a very good (bad?) year for snakes. Last Friday, saw a copperhead (pictured below). Luckily we were in the car. On Thursday, Evan and Will spotted a king snake (pictured at left). The boys are having a harder time convincing Ani that we need to go alligator spotting.

Field Day

Evan and his great little friend, Kate

The PreK Class at Springdale, usually an after-thought, did not officially participate in Field Day, but instead watched the Kindergartners play tug-of-war. Evan and a few of his friends, eventually tired of only watching others have all the fun, started up their own races. His teacher stepped in and helped with the impromptu races and the kids had a blast. It was a hot day, so after about an hour in the sun, it was time for sno cones, cotton candy, and a return to the classroom.

Mothers Day Tea w/ Alex

Alex's preschool class had lots of fun surprises for the Moms this morning. They sang the sweetest little song, recited a poem, and presented us with a handmade card. The whole event was very special. And yes, I cried.

Here are the lyrics to their song.

(to the tune of I've been working on the railroad)

I've been having fun at Preschool
Learning all year long
I can tell you all about it
Just listen to my song
We've been learning shapes and colors
Letters and numbers, too
We have learned to share with others
And now our year is through.

Body Language

Several nights ago, Evan ate something that did not agree with him. Thankfully, he made it to the sink in time, despite the top-bunk stairs and various toy obstacles between his bed and the bathroom. He was better almost immediately, but at some point during the ordeal he complained this to Will:

E: My ribs are trying to tell me something.
W: What are they telling you?
E: I don't know. I don't understand body language.

Quote of the Day

A comment from Evan to Alex:

"Alex, your stomach is not the boss. Your brain is the boss."