Play Ball

We had so much fun at Papa's house today. All the family ate after church - this is our usual every other Sunday. But then we went out in the front yard to play ball. Even baby Sydney got in on the action. Some of my best memories growing up were the times spent with my cousins. Now, Rocco is making some childhood memories he'll treasure for a long time. Memories with his cousins!

Enjoying the Country

In the country. That's where we live. Way out far from the city. It took a while to get used to. Growing up I lived in a neighborhood, and I could be on the interstate within 5 minutes. Major stores and several restaurants were close by. Then, when I married Jason, I had to grow accustomed to living out in the sticks. If you go outside and holler, your neighbors probably won't hear you. Then again they are there when you need them. And, yes ...it takes a while to get to Walmart. Going out to eat is a decision we make only when we're up for the 20 minute drive, and if you ever really need to go anywhere big you'd have to drive a good 45 minutes to reach an interstate...but I love it. We have a pond on our land, and we can fish anytime we want. There are trails for riding golf carts or four wheelers. It's not odd to get behind a tractor while driving home from work. I pass cotton fields, pastures with horses, and green acres covered with deer or turkey. And they say you can find some really good looking cowboys out in the country, too!

Since today was our last day to really enjoy playing outside before spring break came to an end, Rocco and I decided to have some fun outside. We went for a ride on our golf cart all through the trails. I took this picture of the view. That's our house behind the trees in the top right corner. I love this view. It's one of my favorite spots to overlook.

While we were on our ride, our neighbor told us that he would like to give Rocco a horseback ride for his upcoming birthday. We gladly took him up on the offer. It was a beautiful day for it!

Rocco was a natural. He rode a gentle horse named Liberty. This is the same horse that he rode when the Carlson family were visiting with us. This was his first ride, however, outside the coral. Mr. Allen took him for a long ride all the way around the pasture and through the trails behind his house. Rocco really liked that part because it looked like a "secret hiding spot". Mr. Allen led Liberty and I walked beside Rocco. Little cowboy just sat up tall, all relaxed, and never quit grinning. Carolyn happened to be working down at papa's house that day, so she joined us. Here he is enjoying the trails.

After the ride, Rocco fed Liberty some apples. Then, we were off to see the baby goats. This little fella was just 3 days old and very curious about Rocco.

Within a few short minutes, Rocco had a new friend who wouldn't stop nibbling on him!

Yes, we had ourselves a big time at our neighbors. We finally decided it was time to move on and go back to the trails in our golf cart.

We met Jason as he was coming home. He had some work to do on the farm equipment.

So we hung out with him and just enjoyed spending time as a family...living out in the country.

That afternoon we had a family picnic by our pond, and we went fishing with live minnows. I hooked three and they all got away. Jason and Rocco caught all the fish!

Spring Break 2011

This entire week of Spring Break Rocco and I have just enjoyed spending time together. Jason was gone Mon - Wed on a trip to the Yucatan to scout out a mission trip for our church youth. This meant we had a few fun nights with nana at our house!

Our morning would begin around 8:30 or 9am. As soon as he woke up he would say, "Mario?" And to be honest, we played that game way too much this week. He quickly learned how to use his game controller. In fact, he helped me beat the cartoon dragons at the castle levels on several occasions. If he thought the levels were too hard he would just put himself in a bubble. At other times I'd carry him on my shoulders. I was Mario; he was Luigi.

Other than that, we played in his upstairs playroom for a few hours. We'd just go from one toy to the next, stating how we hadn't played with this or that in a long while. It was good to play CARS again. The most fun thing we did was a game I made up with Mater the Greater's launch toy. We put tiny cars inside and shot them across the playroom, trying to made them land in different buckets. We laughed and laughed at this game, especially when I did the funny voices for the cars who feared their perilous fate.

We also rode the golf cart on our land. That's the wonderful thing about living in the country. You can go outside with no make-up, in your pajama pants if you want, and just ride around the trails. As Rocco and I were circling the house at a pretty fast speed, he raised his arms up and said, "Spring Break - In the House - And everywhere else!" He loved the fact that he didn't have school. He still says he's not ready to go back.

Our small park in town is absolutely a beautiful place. It's so peaceful there. We went one day and pretty much had the entire place to ourselves. He wore his helmet as he rode his scooter; I had to help push him a little on his bicycle. It was a great workout for both of us. When we finished the scooter, bicycle, and playing on the swings/ slides, we refreshed ourselves with fresh spring water. He told me, "Mommy, we are living it up!"

The park has a nice pond with fish and several ducks. The birds are like pets; they'll come right up to you for food. Rocco and I fed them a few peanut butter crackers, and they lapped it right up. I believe the most fun we had at the park was a simple game Rocco made up. A very small waterfall proved to be the perfect place to race sticks. He loved watching them go over the dip. He got really tickled at the globs of algae that trickled over the edge. We called them slime balls and gave them all names. The big one was "Granddaddy slime ball" and the little one was "Sydney or Daelyn slime ball." Pretty much everyone in our family came over that rushing water in the form of slime. Oh the fun you can have with a little imagination!

He also got a small science lesson out of it. I found that it was the perfect time to talk about buds (which he thought was funny because it sounds like butt). He's such a boy - but he does take it all in like a sponge.

We've also talked about God this week. We worked on his Team Kid Bible verse. He can say it for you Rocco style. "And this is the commandment we have from God. If you love God you will also love others." This is from I John 4:21. Great verse! Oh, if we could just apply it the world would be a better place! I've also talked to Rocco a great deal about telling the truth. I've told him that Jesus is the Truth, and He wants us to tell the truth. The devil is a liar and God's enemy. Rocco knows that there can only be one God and the Devil can't be Him. He also knows - this is Rocco's lingo now - that one day God will punish the Devil for being mean by "burning his bootie." And, finally, he knows that Jesus is on our side and that He is much stronger than the Devil so we have nothing to worry about.

Good Behavior Party

Rocco's good behavior earned him the privilege of attending the school party this afternoon. The big highlight was snowcones. As you can see, most of the kids had blue or red tongues and lips. They danced around to music in the school gym. Check out Rocco with one of his buddies, Zack.

I really enjoy Rocco attending the same school in which I work. I'm able to see him experience so many different activities throughout the school year. I'm so blessed.

Mom's Breakfast

This morning was a special event at school. Mom's Breakfast. This was my first one to ever attend as a mom. I was super excited to spend it with my Rocco. They served biscuits, gravy, sausage, eggs, and peaches. It was pouring down rain this morning, but to my surprise it was still very crowded. Just shows how much a mama really cares - rain or shine we'll support our kids!

Dr. Seuss at School

During the month of March, we have an event called Read Across America. Rocco's class celebrated by reading books like The Cat in the Hat. Every day of the week had a different dress up theme. On Wednesday, the school dressed up like their favorite Dr. Seuss character. Most kids were Thing 1 or Thing 2 or the Cat in the Hat. Rocco was a pirate. Don't ask me which book that comes from, but he sure did like it! That's what he wanted to dress up as. He just didn't understand why he couldn't take his sword to school. What's a pirate without one?

Four Years and Eleven Months Old

Our little toddler is turning more into a big boy each day. He does big things now, like play video games. Our newest thing is Mario Brothers on the Wii. He knows his mama is a sucker for it. One night when he asked me to play with him, I told him to ask his daddy. He said, "Well, daddy is not really a fan of it." That's true. Mario has become a mama and son activity. It's a cool game because we can play it together, and when it gets too hard for him my character can carry him on my shoulders. I love playing with him because he laughs the whole time. Some of the video guys look like they're wearing diapers. "Mommy. My little man cracks me up." We both just laugh and laugh.

He continues to like music with a good beat. We went to a youth rally one night, and he jammed on his daddy's shoulders as the band played. His favorite music right now is a Christian group called Casting Crowns. We'll be going down the road (in my new Honda Accord!) and he'll say, "Casting Crowns, mom!" Once I put it on his favorite song, "Until the Whole World Hears", he'll say, "Now that's what I'm talkin' bout!" Then, he'll start rocking his head up and down as he sings the words. Since we traded in my Tahoe, Rocco can't watch videos/DVD's anymore while we're traveling. He wants to listen to some "rock and roll".

He still likes to snack, especially after school and right before bed. The latter drives Jason crazy. When it's bedtime, Rocco will start wanting a little snack. "Son, it's time for bed not time to eat." I know one day after school he ate a lot of gold fish crackers. I told him to stop or he wouldn't eat much supper. His reply? "Well, mom they will move over to the left side of my stomach, and my supper can go on the other side."

We are so blessed with our little man. He's full of life and so much joy. He's learning a lot about God and the Bible through Team Kid and Sunday School at church. One day when he was helping me prepare for my lesson, he saw a flannelgraph character. It was an angel dressed in dark gray with a mean face. "Look, mom! He's mean! Who is he?" I told him it was the devil. "Who is the devil?" This was our first conversation about the enemy. He didn't seem to understand why the devil didn't like God or why he was mean. He is still so young and innocent, so many things yet to learn. He will quickly tell you what a missionary is and without a doubt he knows that Jesus loves him more than anyone else.

Tee ball starts up again this month. Jason is the team's coach. I'm looking forward to this season!