WATCH OUT TAYLOR SWIFT

I just had to put this video of Brooke on here. She gets so embarrassed about seeing or hearing any video of her and would be really upset to know it was on here, but I just couldn't resist.

I began singing "You are My Sunshine" to her when she was just a baby. For the last few years we have been singing this at bedtime and then saying the same prayer afterwards.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for this day.

Thank you for our family.

Please watch over us and everybody we love,

And help us to have a good day tomorrow.

And please remember us.

In Your name we pray,

Amen.

At first, Brooke was singing pretty and quitely and would whisper the prayer. She sounded so sweet. Then she found her groove and was in the zone. She had been singing like this for a few minutes before I finally found the camera. I just knew she would stop once I started recording, but surprisingly she just kept going. She is so painfully shy to most people and I just couldn't believe she was singing like this. She would have never done this if Cole or Nathan were home.

She couldn't see me because I was in the kitchen with the camera pointed around the corner. I figured she would come and find me but she never did. It was pretty difficult to keep the camera still and keep from laughing at the same time. Once she sat up and saw me she flipped out and ran to her room screaming. It took a few minutes to calm her down, but the video was so worth it. I love her.

Watch out Taylor Swift!

By the way, probably best if you don't mention you saw this to Brooke.

JAXX GAME & FIREWORKS

Jackson has a minor league double A baseball team for the Seattle Mariners called the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx. The stadium is nothing fancy compared to the Texas Rangers or even the Grand Prairie Air Hogs, but it seems to be pretty special for this town. We got the tickets almost 2 weeks in advance since it was part of Cole's birthday and we wanted to make sure we got good seats. Evidently, everyone just buys tickets right before the game because the guy said he gave us the best seats in the house. Right behind home plate, Row 1 Seats 1-4.Advertisements generally include, beer, news, etc. I thought it was funny that they had one for divorce lawyers...Especially in the section of baseball, beer, and sports talk. Maybe the lawyers thought it was a good combo for a bitter subject in some marriages.
I guess they don't get the privalege of showing their entire face until they make it to the majors.

They had lots of silly games to entertain the fans in between every other inning. I think Brooke enjoyed that much more than the actual game.
Every Saturday night that the Jaxx are in town, they do a fireworks show after the game. We didn't expect it to be much, but it was actually pretty good. They played lots of good music and did a lot more fireworks than we anticipated. I tried to take a few pictures so I missed the first couple minutes on the video. They also let the kids run the bases after the fireworks. Brooke wanted to do it, too. Her feet were moving so fast in her flip flops trying to keep up with Cole but he sped off and left her behind. She didn't like that too much once she rounded third base.

The video didn't show it too clearly but Brooke was balling and screaming towards the end because Cole left her. She had such a good time during the game and actually clapped and cheered for the right team. I hated for it all to end on a bad note.

It would've been nice to see a homerun, but the Jaxx did win the game 3-1.

For some reason Nathan decided to buy the kids a little baseball bat. Awesome! Just what we need...A scar on the other eye! The kids got their little bats signed by Ribbee after the game. I don't even know what this mascot is supposed to be. Brooke liked him from a distance but wasn't getting another inch closer to that thing.

COLE'S 7th BIRTHDAY

Cole was so excited to see the presents sitting there when he woke up in the morning. After breakfast he got to choose one to open before he went to school.

Right before Cole left for school he got a phone call from his first grade teacher in Texas. School starts 15 minutes earlier there, so she had the whole class waiting on speaker phone. Cole was shocked when he heard Mrs. Jacobs' voice and had the biggest smile on his face. They sang Happy Birthday to him and one by one said "Hi" and their name. He got a little sad when she said they missed him and he said he missed them, too. Nathan and I were both a little misty eyed the whole time. It was so sweet for the kids and Mrs. Jacobs to think of Cole but yet so sad because he had to leave all of his friends behind. I really wish I had recorded the phone call but I wasn't quite prepared. Thanks Mrs. Jacobs...That was so thoughtful and a very special part of the day!

Nana sent a Hannah Montana doll for Brooke.

We all went and had lunch with Cole at school. We brought him the oh so yummy McDonald's and cookies to share with his class. They all sang Happy Birthday to him, too.

We already had plans to go to the baseball game on Saturday night, so we told Cole we were just going to watch a movie and have a family party at home. We surprised him after school at took him to the fabulous Chuck E Cheese's. He was very excited and happy about that. The Chuck E Cheese's here is maybe half the size of the one in Grand Prairie...And it's on the corner of a strip center. I was a little disappointed in it but the kids didn't care. They had lots of fun...Including Nathan who played games the whole time, too.

Nathan started shooting with his left hand to give Cole a chance to catch up with him, but he still couldn't let him win...Even on his birthday.

Cole wanted to watch this movie on the Disney Channel called Hatching Pete. It had been advertised for about a month and he would not let us forget that it was premiering on his birthday. So, after Chuck E Cheese we picked up dinner and then they all watched the movie while I finished up Cole's cake.

As usual, I had some drama with cake. I don't know why I make such a big deal about the cake, but I just really want it to be special. The problem is that I don't really know how to properly manage my time and execute the ideas I have in my head so it turns in to this big ordeal...Every time. I actually did buy the right icing this time, but when I went to put it in the bag, the box of bags was empty. I've used ziploc bags before, but for some reason it just wasn't working for me this time. The bags kept busting causing an icing explosion. Even though he thought I was being ridiculously OCD about it all, Nathan did try to help me fix it. I ended up rushing up to Hobby Lobby 15 minutes before closing. The stupid thing about it is that the cake was completely iced with chocolate, but I just had to have the white detailing on there. It really wasn't necessary since it was nearly 8 pm and Cole was still waiting for the rest of his presents, but I just couldn't let it go. He wasn't having a big party with lots of people so I really wanted him to at least be able to have a special cake.

The movie was over and it was finally cake & present time.

Nana got this shirt for Cole. ..Very fitting.

We gave Brooke some things, too. Cake and present time was over. I enjoyed cleaning up the kitchen and all the cake mess by myself.

THE LONGHORNS PLAY HERE, TOO

Here is a recap of the Longhorns game played on a nice spring day at Stone Springs Stadium in Jackson, TN.

Stretching before the big game.

Wait...Who's the quarterback?

Blue 42, red 98...

Set HUT HUT!!

Trick play...It's a hand off instead!

Seeing some frustration from the quarterback. She wants a running back not a receiver. She does the diva thing and quits.

Quick pose for the paparazzi. Gotta keep the fans happy.

Could use a little more practice, but overall a nice 3 minute demonstration of the Texas Longhorns in Tennessee. Way to represent kids!

BOOM BOOM CLAP

We went to see Hannah Montana the Movie today. I think it has been about 3 years since we have gone to the movies together as a family. Usually Grandma or Nana takes Cole and Brooke to see the kid movies, but we actually all wanted to see this one.

I have to say that it was pretty good. The music was great and very catchy. I found myself tearing up several times. The movie is mostly about remembering where you came from and realizing what is important. It was so ironic that it centered around Tennessee...Our new home. That's not where we come from but it's where we are now and where we need to be for the time being. It strangely made us both feel a little better about it all.

If we were in Texas, Nathan and I probably would have never gone to see this at the theatre since the kids would've talked Grandma into it. It was nice to be there just the four of us and see our time together already being spent more wisely. In such a short time, this skinny little rectangle state has already proven to bond us closer together as a family...And that's awesome.

One of the songs called the Hoedown Showdown starts out "Boom boom clap. Boom dee clap dee clap. Boom boom clap. Boom dee clap dee clap." It's so cute but it stays in your head for hours.

Here is a link for any kids that might want to see videos or hear songs from the movie.
http://disneymusic.disney.go.com/albums/hannahmontanathemovie.html?int_cmp=wdr_hmmovie_wdr_home__Intl

EASTER SUNDAY & SUCH

The Easter Bunny left the kids gifts on the back porch. They were super excited because they didn't know if he would actually come to Tennessee and bring them something.

Nathan has to be at work at 5:30 am on Sundays so, we went to church for the first time in TN by ourselves. I was so close to not going because I was running late, as usual, I didn't want to go without Nathan, and I didn't make Brooke any special hair bows. But I had to go because it was Easter Sunday and it was important to be at church...So off we went.
We walked in right on time and sat at the end of half empty pew in the far corner. They did the normal intros and announcements and then a young college girl sang a song that brought tears to my eyes. Her voice was beautiful and the song was very fitting for Easter morning. After that I had a hard time holding the tears back because it made it even more clear that I wasn't in a place I called home. Instead of being jam packed and sweating in a pew with my whole family, I was sitting alone with a germ infested stranger hacking and sniffling near by. The kids decided to go off to children's church so then I was able to really listen and focus on the sermon. However, the preacher sounded like Ross Perot and I just kept picturing the old presidential skits from Saturday Night Live..."Not gonna do it!" I should've gotten more out of the sermon, but it was just so distracting to me. I do remember him referencing the movie City Slickers. He started quoting lines from the career day scene, and I immediately thought of my dad...That made me smile. Brooke took this picture of Dixie while they were playing in Cole's room. She wants that dog to be with her all the time. I think Dixie was staring down the door and waiting to mad dash out of there when it opened.

We waited for Nathan to get home from work to do the egg hunt. It was raining by that time so we did it in the house in the midst of all the boxes. I hadn't even found their baskets yet, so they had to use grocery bags, but at least they were the nicer bags. The kids didn't care...They just wanted candy.
Grandma and Grandpa sent Easter cards to the kids and I thought it would be sweet to record Cole reading them out loud. Cole has gotten pretty good at reading....A little monotone but still great for a 6 year old who has never really cared to put much effort into reading. It's hard to see in the picture and the video, but Brooke has on bright pink makeup that she thought was so beautiful. She had it on when we picked up Cole from school and he immediately said, "Uhh Brooke...You have something on your cheek there." I had to quickly mention how pretty it was to prevent her from getting upset. She is such a Diva.

The video below was taken from a webcam and the kids could see themselves. That's why Brooke starts drawing all the attention even though the purpose is to hear Cole reading. It's really cute though. I hope you appreciate it because it took about 4 hours to load this video... You're welcome. : )

The kids were so excited to spend their money on whatever they wanted. Brooke got a Barbie and some clothes and Cole got a video game, of course. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!