Happenings...

Sadly, I don't update my blog enough to title it with something cute and catchy. Rather, most posts these days are "updates" or "this and thats." Here's another on of those...

STORM DAMAGE
Yes...damage :( It was a sad, sad day. Adam and I were sitting in the living room eating dinner (where all good eating takes place, right?) and we had heard that a storm was coming from the meteorologist every 2 minutes. He was mainly talking about a cell that was far north of us, but there was one coming our way too. We didn't think too much about it.

When the storm blew in, Adam and I went and stood on the front porch to watch (safe...I know). All of the sudden, the wind turned white (I suppose from the moisture in the air) and shingles went flying past us ( like something from The Wizard of Oz). Adam quickly told me to get inside.

We went to the windows at the back of the house (much safer....ha) to watch what was happening. I was shocked when our VERY large, heavy, wooden playset fell forward. My first thought was "That stinks. Now I am going to have to help Adam put this stupid thing back up...and it is so heavy." We moved this playset with us when we came to Midlothian, and it took several grown, strong, men with large muscles to help move it. No more than 2 minutes later, I heard Adam saying "Don't hit the house, don't hit the house" and looked in time to see our VERY large, heavy, wooden playset ROLLING across the backyard. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. It rolled probably 3 times, and stopped one roll short of hitting the house.

Needless to say, it is destroyed. The leg pieces are broken in half, and much of it is splintered. I am so sad. I loved this playhouse. Braden loved his playhouse. Adam had JUST filled the bottom in with sand, and Braden had just mastered climbing the ladder and sliding down the slide. My nieces loved the tree house at the top, and Kendyll cried through much of her dinner that night when Chelsea told her about the unfortunate fate of our playset. I just keep saying
"I am so sad." Here are some pictures...

This is the bottom/side of where it currently sits...

Here you can see how far it rolled. The sandbox used to be directly under the treehouse part. The green thing in front of the treehouse is the slide, and the mess to the right of it is the swings and monkey bars. I am so sad.

We also had a lot of roof damage. We will most likely be getting a new roof in the near future. The adjuster is supposed to come out tomorrow. Here are some roof pictures...

CANTON
Here's a quick picture (okay...4 quick pictures) of my sweet niece Abby Kate on her first Canton trip with us. We had so much fun, and everyone just ooohed and ahhhed over this sweet baby girl.

MY TEAM

We just took this picture Monday night, so I thought I would give a shout out to my team. These are the FABULOUS third grade teachers at J.A. Vitovsky Elementary. I cannot say enough about how wonderful these girls are...and how they make each day so fun. Any teacher out there can attest to the value of a great team! These girls are like a 2nd family. Barb and Dana (on the far right) and Kelly, who moved this year, drove to Dallas last December the night I had Braden just to see me (well...really him.) We have shared many joys, and some sad moments too. If one of us cries...we all do. Barb (in the brown) will make you feel like the funniest person ever! She laughs at all of my jokes, and is a super friend. She and her husband can crack anyone up. They are so funny! Dana (in the denim jacket) has deemed herself "Aunt Dana" to Braden, and has kept him several times when we needed a babysitter at the last minute. She and her husband, Alex, let me eat dinner with them before EVERY football game when Adam was coaching and we rode together to games. She jokes that she is old enough to be my mom...but is more like a great friend!! Deanna (in the middle) is our resident pshychologist...seriously. She is getting her masters in School Psychology, and will drop EVERYTHING at the drop of a hat to listen to you. And Cathleen ( on the left of me) came to us in February when Kelly had to leave. Talk about rolling with the punches...this girl is one tough cookie and has become one of us with ease. SO...here's a "HOLLA" to the fabulous third grade teachers. Love you girls!!

BRADEN

What would a post be without a Braden story? Monday morning before we left the house, I wrote Ms. Janet her check. Braden grabbed a pen and refused to give it up. I didn't feel like fighting him much, and figured he couldn't get the pen open anyway, and continued on our way. When we got to Ms. Janet's, I opened the door to get him out...and SURPRISE!! He figured out the pen. What a mess!!

Here is a guilty face...

and a closer look at his artwork...

He was quite proud.