Walker Valley Football Camp

Ethan attended the Walker Valley High School football camp this week. (This is the school I teach at.) He has been begging to play football for the last couple months. I decided to let him play this year. I decided he would either get crushed and never ask to play again or it would toughen him up. I was surprised that he did very well.

On the last day of camp, they had several contests and gave the boys a chance to win a medal. Ethan won the throwing contest (he threw the football the farthest) and the obstacle course. He could only win one medal to make it fair, which was fine with him. I may have a little quarterback on my hands.

I need to thank Coach Lockerby for giving Tyler and me camp t-shirts also. Thanks Ted!

A Downtown 4th

We went to downtown Chattanooga for the 4th of July. (Ok, actually it was the third.) I want to buy a condo downtown and retire there. It is so amazing! The boys spent some time sliding down the big hill on cardboard. We walked to the aquarium and looked at the sharks and penguins. We ate at the Big River Grill for dinner. We ended the night by meeting my brother and his family at the Chattanooga Lookouts game for baseball and fireworks. The kids had a great time. They got to go sit on the field and watch the fireworks after the game.
Tommy Lasorda at the Game

Fun with Grandpa and Grandma

Tyler squirting Papa

My parents came to Tennessee to spend park of their summer vacation with us. We hung out at my brother's pool. Tyler is vicious when it comes to water war. He thinks it is funny to shoot people with the water cannon. Ethan continues to improve his swimming ability, but will never be a fish. It was nice to see the boys spending time with their cousins.

Cousin Joy and Ethan

We also went to the Knoxville Zoo. It was such a beautiful day! I kept telling my parents it isn't always hot in Tennessee. Thankfully, they had a chance to enjoy the nice day for themselves. It was in the 80's and there was a nice breeze. The zoo had so much shade and the animals were pretty active.

Papa with the Grandkids (Papa is the one not dressed like a lion)

Me, Jenny, Joy, Justin, Chris (my brother), Ethan, Papa, Mama, and Tyler

My Heart Breaks

I learned today that one of my students passed away yesterday. He was swimming at Lake Tellico and drowned. His grandfather also drowned trying to save him. His father is in the hospital having just had surgery for cancer. This is a student who I worked closely with to help. My heart is hurt.

I have been teaching for 10 years and this is the first student I have lost. I have been in schools when other students have passed away, but they have never been my students. I look back and wonder if an opportunity presented itself for me to share the gospel. I know this is touchy territory for a teacher, but my responsibility towards my students is so much more important than any law limiting my words. I pray that God will remind me of this and create those moments for ministry in my classroom.

Please say a prayer for the family.

Tyler's Last Game

Tyler had his final baseball game on Saturday. He informed me before the game that he only received a trophy if his team won the game. I decided not to tell him that everyone got a trophy. If he thinks he has to win to receive a reward, that is fine with me. He did really well. I have decided that four years old is a little early for baseball. We might take next year off.

Moo Fest

Saturday was National Moo Fest day at the Mayfield Dairy in Athens, TN. If you are not from the south, then you are not familiar with Mayfield milk or ice cream. They operate out of TN and distribute to the surrounding states. After taking the tour, we realized that it is the only dairy using the technology to remove the funny taste and smell from milk that comes from the cow's diet. No wonder I love their milk and ice cream so much and it is so expensive!

The dairy was nice but the festival was a little 'salt of the earth'. There was a milk chugging contest, a moo contest, and a milking contest, none of which we participate in while we were there. I did allow the boys to get their hair painted. Tyler decided to go with blue since it matched his baseball uniform. (He is on the Dodgers.) Ethan went with red and orange stripes and I teased him that he looked like orphan Annie.

We ended the trip with a huge scoop of ice ice cream. While we were there we met families from Lousiana and another family RVing their way to Alaska! What a small world. I'm still not sure why they stopped in Athens, TN.
Yes, that is Ethan eating an ice cream cone. He is allergic to dairy. He was born with this allergy and spent a night in the hospital as an infant because we were not aware of it. When he was a toddler, I fed him some pasta that I didn't know had cheese in it and he broke out in hives and his eyes swelled shut. After a mad rush to the emergency room and a lot of Benedryl, he recovered. The doctor said he may grow out of it, and praise the Lord, he almost has overcome it. After finishing the entire cone, he did complain of a tightness in his chest and difficulty breathing, but no hives or physical swelling. I monitored him closely and after about an hour he was fine. We are still not ready to dive into a glass of milk or have him eat it without one of his parents there, but this is a huge step for him.

Memorial Day Tournament

Ethan had a baseball tournament in Knoxville for Memorial Day. On Saturday, we played a team that pulls kids from all over the southeast. They were amazing! When the first three kids up to bat hit the ball over the fence, we knew we were in trouble. Ethan was the only one on his team to score a run. It was quite a humbling experience.

The second game was much better. Ethan's team won by 7 runs. Ethan played third base for the entire tournament.

We came back on Sunday and lost the final game. Ethan did have two great catches at third for two outs in one inning. I have to remind Ethan that the teams we play are at least a year older. It is hard to find a 7 year old select team. We are looking forward to next year.

The highlight of my day was watching Tyler hang out with his pals Trevor and Sloan. Their older brothers play in the organization with Ethan.
Tyler hanging out with the "big kids." This is the 10 year old D3 Stingers team.

Summer is Here

The last day of school for me was Friday. Since Monday was a holiday for everyone, it didn't feel like the official start of summer. Today was the first day off for me. Chris and I asked our neighbor to babysit and went to Atlanta with another couple to see the Bodies exhibit. The exhibit was offering a free day for teachers so one of the history teachers at Walker Valley and his wife went with us. They introduced us to a great mexican restaurant in Atlanta.



The exhibit was well worth the trip. We had the chance to see many bodies stripped to their muscles and organs. It was amazing! I highly recomment the trip if you are ever near one. The picture above is from the website. They didn't allow cameras in the exhibit. Hope I didn't gross anyone out with the picture.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Ethan was supposed to have a tournament in Knoxville last weekend. It rained out of course. We have had so much rain this year. The crazy part is that it is supposed to be sunny all of this week and rain this weekend. The tournament, of course, is rescheduled for this weekend. Hopefully we get to play. Ethan was so disappointed when he found out that he started crying. He just wants to play. He is supposed to play short stop this weekend. He is really excited. Last time he was on the pitcher's mound, he took a bad hop to the shin and ended up with a nice bruise. Being the sensitive mom that I am, I shouted, "Walk it off!" from the bleachers. I'm sure my kid will have a ton of issues! One of the team moms put together this picture of the boys looking tough.

Still Here

It has been a while since I have posted. I can't blame anyone but myself. It is the end of the school year and things are piling up around here. My high school had graduation last night and it was excellent. Shout out to Mr. Mann for reading the names so quickly! We were done with all of the seniors in 15 minutes. There was a thunder storm threatening overhead and lightning striking all around so he didn't have a choice.

Tyler is doing well in baseball. It is more of a social time for him and his friends. I constantly have to yell at him to stop playing in the dirt. He was awarded the game ball at the end of the last game. He told me before the game that he was going to hit the ball over the fence. We had to settle for past the pitcher's mound.


Ethan has a tournament in Knoxville this weekend. I am looking forward to it since my parents are driving down to watch him play. They have never seen him playing with his new select team. It is so much different when all the kids can hit the ball, catch the ball, and throw the ball. Pictures from that will follow.