to be a kid

remember how fun going to a festival was when we were little kids. not a care in the world? the kids and i hooked up with our 'deployment buddies' - theresa and elias - and went to a local festival this past saturday. theresa's husband, eric, is a pilot in the us army and is currently keeping us safe through his efforts in afghanistan. theresa and i ran a 5k first, then the kids had a blast riding rides, petting the animals and just goofing around. oh to be a kid again!

strawberries

we ventured out to the local strawberry farm down the street here in clarksville on tuesday. we had a blast! ty was so funny - he kept picking up the strawberries that had fallen on the ground, he was so proud of himself. kadence was on a mission to find the biggest strawberry! kambel loooooooves strawberries, so she didn't care, as long as we left with some. what a fun way to pass some time!

only 48 more days. 48!

john 3:16

nice job sweetie!

sing-a-longs

hope this makes you smile...

sweet smells

look at this lily i got last week. wow! i have never had a lily inside, don't know much about it, but it is HUGE and the smell is amazing. the scent is so strong, if i am sitting at the table i have to move the flowers so i don't get a head ache! wow!! there are a total of three stems with two blooms on each stem. kambel has had a blast watching them open. me too.

are we there yet

this weekend my little brother, zach, graduated from ball state university - majoring in computer science with a minor in physics. geek. congratulations zach! we are so proud of you. of course we had to take the journey (about 5.5 hours to the hotel) to celebrate with him. we left clarksville right in the middle of tornado sirens sounding! we were chasing the storm right out of town - in fact, not 45 minutes into the drive we passed two 'storm chaser' trucks, equipment running and all!! but that was no sign for the drive ahead. the kids were perfect. i was so excited they did so well.

saturday we spent the day at the hotel with the heated (i didn't think it was heated) indoor pool, uncle b and cousin averie. we had a blast! blue lips and all, the kids loved the pool. after a bite to eat we ventured to muncie for the open house for uncle zach and to see aunt amy and cousin cami. kadence and kambel were in heaven playing with all cami's dora the explorer things. heaven. ty liked the dress up shoes too.

the graduate opening gifts

all the kids having a blast in cami's room - thanks sweetie!

all the shutters' grandbabies (one is still in the oven) together

after one more day of visiting with uncle b, aunt bug, averie and uncle zach, aunt amy and cami, we were back on the road. not before a little mother's day surprise. aunt amy and uncle zach schemed with the gray kids and surprised me with a bag full of smell goods from bath and body works. it was so sweet... and i smell soooooo good!

enjoy the pictures! i am working on getting a few funny videos up, but for some reason they wont upload like i want them too!

hard labor

this past saturday i was able to coordinate childcare for a full day off. well not really. my military wives bible study group did a day of community service. we all built a house!! we worked on a habitat for humanity home for about 8 hours. crazy work. crazy. talk about lifting, nailing, cutting... what a day! it was beautiful outside, we all worked so hard, it was quite rewarding. we literally built an entire house, the exterior walls, interior walls, trusses, roof... no messing around here! here are a few pictures. the chick in the white hat (theresa) ran the boston marathon and did awesome! way to go theresa!