James had a vocabulary parade in class and had to dress up like a vocabulary word. He chose "reflection" and his costume turned out so cute! (And easy!)
The eggs in the class incubator hatched, so I brought in a broody hen to adopt them for the few days they were staying in the classroom.
A friend at church organized a girl's trip to the temple. My mom happened to be in town for my birthday so it was nice to go with her too.
We went out to lunch after going to the temple and the waiter brought me a birthday treat!
Later that afternoon someone posted on facebook that they had a wild beehive taking up residence in their backyard and could someone come and move them. So we packed up the truck and went to go get them. It was amazing! They had created an entire hive, complete with honeycomb rows, inside a decorative rhino head.
James came along to help.
You could see the bees inside through the rhino's eyes. It was crazy!
Once we turned the rhino on its side we could see all the bees and the honeycomb. It was so cool to see!
The inside of the rhino head after Anthony cut out all the comb and put it into a bee box.
The bees were so confused, a lot of them went to the outside of the rhino head.
We got home with the bees late at night, so Anthony parked the truck under a tree away from the house so that we wouldn't get swarmed getting out of the truck.
The next day Anthony rubberbanded the honeycomb onto beehive frames.
We have the friendliest deer that are hanging around in the pasture behind our house! They aren't even bothered by us anymore, they just stay there even if we are outside.
We have a few determined chickens that have made a nest on Anthony's workbench in the shed and will go in there every day to lay their eggs. I don't mind it, I'd rather they do that than go off and lay their eggs in the woods where I can't find them.
We had some friends come over to play and they had a blast in the swing:
Valentine's Day was very exciting for Rett! Those preschool valentines are no joke, he ended up with so much candy and so many treat bags!
These valentines had a code you could scan with your phone to see the character in 3D:
Someone with a pet veiled chameleon came in to show him off to Rett's preschool class. He was so cool! The kids loved watching him walk around and seeing him change colors. I can definitely see why Anthony wants us to get one.
Playing on Daddy:
Our new trail camera caught three deer in our yard eating acorns!
A day after his baptism, James decided to give himself a haircut while Anthony and I were taking a nap. I couldn't believe it!! I thought he was way too old to cut his own hair, but I was wrong! I took the clippers and cut his hair shorter so that it wasn't so noticeable. Crazy kid!
A view of the chickens from the RV:
We had a family home evening about the Beatitudes, so I gave Rett the job of writing down the characteristics and James the job of writing the blessings. It was adorable how excited they were to write on the dry erase board, like they were the teachers!
Anthony finally shot his first wild pig! He has been out hunting for them a few times, but hadn't been successful. A friend helped him butcher it, and we still have some of it in the freezer. Now we have to figure out the best way to prepare it since it is a lot chewier than conventional pork.
James turned 8!!! I still can't believe it!! I couldn't resist this huge 8 balloon from dollar general. It was so fun!
In the morning before school, I let him open up his present from Rett. It was full of Rett's favorite things, but James was happy with it anyway!
In the afternoon I took chocolate chip cookies in to James's classroom and got to be there for his birthday trips around the sun. His teacher has a tradition in her classroom that when it is someone's birthday, they walk around a candle (representing the sun) with months of the years laid out as rays on the floor. As they walk around for each year, they show a picture on the board of a milestone from that year. I sent her the pictures before hand so she could show them. Then I told a little bit about James for each year. It was so special! (It also happened to be the 100th day of school, so everyone was dressed up like old men and women)
Holding the earth and getting ready to walk around the sun:
Another year:
And another one:
And another!
Even older now:
Almost!
Last trip!
After eating their treat it was time for recess, so we went outside to play. Their school is doing construction so they don't have a playground right now. Instead they play on the field with all kinds of fun lawn toys. The huge bowling set is a crowd favorite!
After recess they had a few science experiments to do. James got to do one on paper airplanes and testing out different shapes and designs. He didn't want to stop to go home!
We let James choose what he wanted for dinner, he requested ribs and pork chops!! So we had a meat filled, yummy dinner!
The only thing James asked for for his birthday was this cart that goes with his hoverboard to turn it into a go-cart. He loves it!
I finally got to give him this camera drone I bought on clearance over a year ago. He was so excited about it but once we opened it up and tried to use it we realized it was broken. Dang it!
Ribs from the grill!
The day after his birthday it was time for James's baptism! We were so excited and I spent the entire week wondering how in the world he could be old enough to be baptized! These were the invitations we gave out to friends and posted on our ward's Facebook page.
Anthony and James dressed and ready for the baptism to start:
During the actual baptism, James had to go under the water three times because his foot kept coming up and pushing his toes out of the water! I was starting to get worried because we had prepared him for going under the water one time (he hates putting his face in water) but he took it like a champ. He even had people tell him afterwards that he is lucky, most people only get baptized once but he got to do it three times!
It was a wonderful program, both grandmothers gave the talks, I led the music and friends from the ward who have watched James grow up and taught him in primary were there. Anthony performed his confirmation and gave him such a beautiful blessing. I wrote down everything I could remember in his baptism memory book. Such a special day!
Funny picture!
Later that night my mom wanted to take everyone out to dinner, so we went to our favorite Mexican place. We could live off the chips and salsa they bring to your table before your dinner!
Anthony has been a registered nurse for 11 years. He received his Master's Degree in Nursing from the University of South Florida and is currently working as an adult nurse practitioner at a private family practice. He also is a committed saltwater aquarium enthusiast and is a die-hard fisherman:)
I got my bachelor's degree in psychology and my master's degree in rehabilitation counseling from UF. After working a year and a half at USF with Student Affairs, running their academic testing center for students with disabilities, I am currently a stay at home mom and chief family officer.
We have two little boys, James and Everett and we love being parents!!
Anthony and I met in January 2005 when he moved to Gainesville to work at Shands. We were both in the same family home evening group in the singles ward. (Accident? I don't think so!) After we got to know each other, we were pretty much inseparable. We had so much in common and we felt like we had always known each other. Anthony proposed to me in July 2005 by sending me on a scavenger hunt around town to our different dating milestones (our first date, our first kiss, etc..). The scavenger hunt ended with him down on one knee with an engagement ring! We were sealed December 17, 2005 in the Orlando Florida Temple.
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference" -Robert Frost
"Progress means not just changing, but changing for the better." -C.S. Lewis
"Remember, sometimes those that start out the slowest end up going farthest." -Elder Joseph B. Worthlin
"David saw himself as a shepherd, but the Lord saw him as a king of Israel. Joseph of Egypt served as a slave, but the Lord saw him as a seer. Mormon wore the armor of a soldier, but the Lord saw him as a prophet. We are sons and daughters of an immortal, loving, and all-powerful Father in Heaven. We are created as much from the dust of eternity as we are from the dust of the earth. Every one of us has potential we can scarcely imagine."-Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin "In the private sanctuary of one's own conscience lies that spirit, that determination to cast off the old person and to measure up to the stature of true potential." -President Thomas S. Monson
Family Pictures
My brother's graduation
Anthony as a kid. Look at that grin!
Me as a kid. I was going to be a ballerina of course!
