On the way to school this morning, Josh told me that he saw on a "mom and dad show" (Tony had the news on this morning) that some planes flew into some big buildings. He wanted to know why. So what has always been one of my favorite parts of the day turned into a simplified story of evil and hate. I thought it was important to be as honest as I could be with a 5-year-old, but I also didn't want to scare him. So when the story was done, we started to count flags. Flags on houses, buildings, lamp posts, cars, schools. And then I told him a simplified story of love, sacrifice, honor and duty. I hope it's the one he remembers.
No-Bake Nutter Butter Nutella Pie
This morning, we celebrated completing the 31 days of caring for an amphibian for Sam's merit badge. We didn't kill the toad. In fact, I think he enjoyed living with our family.
This is Sam's pet toad he has to take care of for 30 days...a merit badge require-ment. I swore I would have nothing to do with him. I don't even know his name. Because I get attached and then am destroyed when they die. But yesterday, he looked hungry so I went to PetSmart and bought him some crickets. And gave him my apple cutter cover to put his water in. 
We had a nice, quiet 4th of July at our house! First thing in the morning, Sam and I took our lawn chairs and headed to downtown Prattville to get some good seats in the shade so we could watch the parade (Tony and the little ones met up with us just before the parade started). I love a good parade, and although it was small, the kids made quite the candy haul and we got to enjoy a little patriotic fervor.
In the afternoon, Tony took the kids bowling while I used the quiet time get get a little rest. When they got home it was showers, dinner and off to bed. Just as the kids were getting into bed, the neighbors in the cul-de-sac starting setting of fireworks and the kids could hear them popping and got all excited. So we went and sat in the front yard and watched for a bit. After a minute or two, I told the kids to get in the car and we drove downtown and found a parking spot to watch the actual Prattville fireworks display. The kids LOVED it...
Since our return from Brazil, I haven't felt very well. Not like myself. Not much energy. KInda blue. But when I started to bruise every time I bumped into something and my hair started falling out, I worried. I got an appointment at the clinic and they ran some blood work. My numbers all came back very wonky. So my PCM sent me the next morning to a hematologist who ran some more tests and diagnosed me as being extremely anemic. I've been borderline forever, but for some unknown reason, my iron levels had tanked. He wanted to run some more tests and set me up with a 2 week follow-up appointment and I started taking oral iron. When they got my labs back, I got a call from the clinic and they were very concerned. Concerned enough not to wait the 2 weeks and start me on weekly iv iron treatments for 8 weeks. 
Last night was Military Appreciation Night at Riverwalk Stadium! Tony had to attend a church broadcast, but I decided to take the kids anyway. The stadium (although a lot smaller than Turner Field) is new and clean and so much FUN! Right as we walked in, they have a booth with stickers for the kids who are attending a Biscuits game for the first time. Such a fun idea. We got to the game a little early to find our seats and grab some ballpark dinner...pretzels, corn dogs, hot dogs and fries. 
Because it was Military Appreciation Night, the local recruiters and guys from the base played a big part in the pre-game. The OTS candidates came onto the field followed by 145 new recruits that took the Oath of Enlistment from Lt. General Fadok, the President and Commander of Air University. An Air Force major sang the National Anthem and then there was a 21 gun salute, and a flyover by two F-15's.
Such a fun night cheering for our Biscuits and celebrating our military heritage. Go Dough!
We took advantage of the long Memorial Day weekend to road trip it to Atlanta! We got up on Friday morning, packed our bags, and headed out. We didn't tell the kids anything except that we would be sleeping at a hotel and that the hotel had a pool.
Our hotel was in downtown Atlanta. Looking out our window, we had a gorgeous view of Centennial Olympic Park.
After we got checked in at the hotel, we walked 2 short blocks to the Georgia Aquarium. We saw amazing fish and water mammals, watched a 4D movie, saw an amazing dolphin show, and got to pet bonnet head sharks!!
On Saturday morning, the kids and I went to World of Coca-Cola...just across the square from the Georgia Aquarium. We saw all sorts of Coke memorabilia, watched another 4D movie, saw the Coke polar bear and did some serious taste-testing of Coke products from around the world! We ended the tour at the Coke Freestyle machine where we customized our own drink, collected our souvenir glass bottle of Coke and headed back to the hotel to meet up with Tony.
Saturday afternoon, we drove to Turner Field to watch the Braves play the Washington Nationals! We lucked out with very shady seats and a great view of the field. The kids had a pretty good time and we stayed up until the 7th inning and then headed back to the hotel. We were exhausted after such a fun day! We ordered pizza, and off to bed.
The next morning, we hit the hotel pool, enjoyed a huge breakfast in the hotel lobby, packed up and headed home. We got home late afternoon on Sunday, and took ALL Monday to recover!!
My niece is graduating from high school this Spring and for a graduation gift, my sister-in-law suggested a Subway gift card. Perfect!! The only thing is, sending a gift card is boring. Seriously boring. But I remember seeing these adorable gift card monsters by Basic Grey and decided to try to recreate one with supplies I had on hand. And this is how my version of the gift card monster turned out. Tony said he thought it was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen. 
I think he's kinda cute.
This past week, Sam was officially inducted into the National Junior Beta Club at school. He had actually been participating since Christmas, but this was the official induction ceremony with candle lighting, certificates, oaths and pins. In order to be eligible, you have to carry a perfect 4.0 GPA. They meet once a month, but also work on activities and perform service for the local community. We're so proud of him!
And this is a little boy who thought Sam was getting way too many pictures taken of only him...
As requested, here is my dad's caramel popcorn recipe that I made and took to the Castle season finale at the Lee's house last night. Not disappointed, my friends. In the popcorn OR Castle.
I am also in love with Hershey Kiss stickers! I found the stickers and the matching tags here (you just send her your email and she immediately sends the files to your inbox). 
I bought four $1 store canisters and filled them with Hershey Kisses with the school-themed stickers on the bottom. Added a tag and some ribbon and done!
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!
We just came in from observing the moon almost at perigee with the kids in the front yard. Before tonight, I actually had no idea what that meant!! Now we know that when the moon reaches perigee (and it will a little after 11:35 tonight), it will be at its closest point to the earth this year. A minute after reaching perigee, the moon becomes full and will be called a "supermoon." 
After we finished eating, we hit the hammocks in the courtyard and literally "hung out" for a while. I love that we are both in this photo! 
I talked Tony into staying downstairs (didn't take much convincing) so I could pack in peace. We checked out and stowed our bags at the porter station and checked email, played Angry Birds and a couple games of pool in the lobby. The whole reason we hung around the hotel is that on Saturday, they have a huge traditional feijoada lunch at the outdoor restaurant. It was the only time we had it while in Brazil...so delish!! 
We also had breaded and fried bananas and glorious desserts! For these special lunches, they have a local band play traditional Bahian music. They must have been having a birthday party of some sort, because the whole time we were eating lunch, we were entertained by singing and dancing older ladies. It was so fun to see them enjoying the day in beautiful Salvador. 
This last picture is the wait staff at the restaurant. We loved that they were dressed in Traditional Bahia dress. They loved to chat in Portuguese with Tony!!
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