Good Job Pujols...

Tyler was with Chris watching the All Star game this summer and Albert Pujols (pronounced Poo-holes) made a bad play. Chris said, "Good job, Pujols!" Now Tyler says it all the time in his most sarcastic voice. I have to admit it is pretty funny even though it sounds so bad.

I told my students at school this story to help them understand Tyler (even I don't understand Tyler). They thought it was hilarious and decided it should become the next popular saying. Now everytime one of us makes a mistake someone in the class says "Good job, Pujols!" We all laugh. I can't wait til I get a call from another teacher about this or even a parent.

I told Tyler yesterday that his new phrase was the cool thing at Walker Valley. He admited that his phrase was kinda funny. I then explained it was funny but we had to be careful where we said it because not everyone would understand it. Tyler said, "I can't say it at my school because it is a Jesus school." I did my best not to laugh. Will Tyler still be this funny when he is 16?

Another Way to Shine

Ethan is #21

Ethan had his first football game Thursday night. He plays for the Clemson Tigers. The game had two overtimes and ended with no score. The boys played great. Ethan was called for a holding penalty and still denies grabbing the other kid's jersey. Oh well. Ethan is a decent blocker, but he is small. He had to block a kid at least a foot taller than him with a good 30 pounds on him. I guess I got so use to seeing Ethan as the stellar ball player and it is difficult to watch him sit on the bench at times due to his size. The highlight of the game for me was the end. The coach spoke with the team and then asked for a volunteer to close in prayer. Ethan shot his hand up to volunteer. He prayed a wonderful prayer and I have to say as his mom, I was moved. Ethan shines, even if it's not on the field.

Ethan praying.

Ethan turned 8

Ethan celebrated his 8th birthday on August 1st. Since he had a big party last year, we celebrated as a family (not to mention that I was already back to school at this time). We went to Gatlinburg for the day and visited the upside down WonderWorks. It reminded me a lot of COSI in Columbus. The boys had a blast but it was very crowded. We stood in line for 30 minutes so the boys could pitch to a computer image of Barry Bonds. During our entire time in line, not a single person struck out Barry Bonds. It was funny to watch these hard core dads get up there and wind up like a real pitcher. Chris finally got up to bat after the boys and let it go. He actually struck out Barry Bonds. (Ok, the computer Barry Bonds.) The people standing in line started applauding him. I had to laugh. Seriously people, it is an oversized video game. Chris seemed pretty pleased with himself.

We came home and ate cake and played the Wii. Ethan asked for two new baseball games and he got both of them. (Thanks grandma and grandpa.) He just had to have the Biggs 2 because it has the updated rosters and his old Biggs 1 is not as good. Oh well!

I am still amazed that I have an 8 year old. He started 3rd grade. It's all going too fast.

Is My Head Still Attached?

I have been in school since July 30th. The students started back on August 5th. Where did the summer go? I got a promotion this year (feels like a demotion right now) to head of the math department or department chair. I came back to a set of new teaching standards and a shortage of textbooks for the entire math department. This is definitely not easy. I am forced to make decisions, so it is teaching me a great skill.

I have wonderful students so far. (Chris reminds me it has only been a week.) I have an honors class and I bask in the glow that is created by the desire to learn that emanates from each student. I hope I can stay on top of things and keep them challenged.

My own kids, Ethan and Tyler, love school so far. (Once again, only a week in...) Ethan is in third grade at N.Lee and loves his new teacher. He is playing football this fall and is super excited to start tackling next week. Tyler attends a new school this year. He is in PreK at First Baptist and loves that he has a real cafeteria and gym. He is also playing football but his involves flags and no tackling.

I promise to update pictures of Ethan's birthday and the end of summer once my school year falls into a routine and I get caught up with all the work. (Yeah right!)

Spirit Wars

Our church had a kid's crusade this week. The theme was Spirit Wars and modeled after Star Wars. Tyler was so excited. The boys got to bring their life savers to church each night. The last night the children's pastor allowed them to pose with the characters. Ethan was too excited to play at the carnival outside so he passed on the photos. Tyler was in awe of Darth Vader (who our pastor called Darkend Vader and Yoda was No-da.) Our church did a nice job and the boys loved it!

Family

We had the opportunity to spend time with Chris' family in South Carolina. The boys love going to their papa's and mama's house with the horses. The boys rode horses, 4 wheelers, and the motorcycle. Papa took turns taking them on the cool Harley. Tyler could only ride around the house, so he was crushed when Ethan got to take several longer trips. It stinks being the youngest!

Chris' mom organized a family shoot. This was no small task with 8 grandchildren. Tyler had a meltdown half way through the photo shoot and I'm embarrassed to admit that I lost my cool. Note to others: Yelling at your kids to smile does not make them smile, nor does it make them stop crying. You would think after two children I would know this. If you are interested in seeing some of the great photos of the Caldwell group, check out the photographer's blog: http://lchaimphoto.blogspot.com/2009/07/caldwell-family.html. There is an extra cute picture of Tyler's meltdown.

We had a great time with all of the cousins. Thanks Caldwell's for a great time! We love you!

The Beach

We spent our last full day of vacation at the Isle of Palms Beach. It is in Charleston. I loved it! It was not busy and not a tourist trap. When we first arrived, Chris attempted to dig a hole and set up our umbrella. After a strong wind knocked it over, we realized it wasn't deep enough. He tried to force it in the ground and it snapped in two. He insisted I could tough it out without the umbrella, but I refused. Thankfully, they rented umbrellas for $10 and came and dug the hole for us. The lifeguard also said they would have dug the hole for our umbrella if we had only asked her. Oh well!

Ethan loved the big waves. He would stand in the water and taunt them shouting "Bring it on!" (He is kind of a dork, but so cute!) Tyler loved the water but wanted to be with daddy the whole time. I spent my afternoon reading under the umbrella. It was fantastic! There was a great breeze.

We spent five hours on the beach and left with sunburns. Chris' shoulders were so red and blistered the next day. He forgot to put on sunscreen! Tyler's face burned in spite of the sunscreen and his red nose is now peeling. The boys are already asking to go back to the beach. I think Florida would be nice next time!

Charleston and Fort Sumter

On day two of our vacation we took a ferry out to Fort Sumter. Chris was in history heaven. He read every plaque! The boys loved the cannons and we had to stop at every gun and sword to admire it. We spent some time at swinging on the wharf and watching the large ships go by. My favorite part of downtown Charleston was hunting down two letterboxes hidden in the city. (Thanks Julie for the idea.) Letterboxes are hidden all over the country. There are hints posted online to find them. We found two of them and stamped the enclosed books and used their stamps to mark our own letterbox album. The boys were so excited that they actually existed. It was like a treasure hunt.

We stayed all day downtown and went on a Ghost Tour of the dungeon at night. The boys loved hearing the ghost stories and walking by the graveyards. Ethan even captured a picture of a ghost in the dungeon. (The guide told him they appear as orbs on your picture. I'm sure I have hundred pictures of ghosts in my pictures, I just thought it was bad lighting!) I had to take a picture of the sign below that we found in one of the graveyards.

We ended our day at the Pirates restaurant. The boys were exhausted, but we had the beach to look forward to the next day!

Vacation in the Swamp
(Do you hear banjo music?)

We went to Charleston, South Carolina for our summer vacation. Our first official vacation day was spent at Cyprus Gardens. This is where the swamp scene for the movie The Patriot was filmed. We took a canoe out into the swamp with the boys. Ethan was terrified at first. I have to admit I was a little nervous when a large alligator swam along side the canoe about ten yards from us. We saw two large alligators and a baby sunning itself on a log. It was beautiful! The water was black and the weather was not as hot or as humid as I expected it to be there.

After spending the afternoon at Cypress Gardens, we drove into to Charleston to our Cabin. It was rustic but perfect for the boys. We stayed on an intercoastal waterway about fifteen feet from the bank. The water would rise with the tides. It was amazing. The boys watched the fiddler crabs play on the banks during the low tied and caught a couple large crabs during high tides. We also took a canoe out and let the boys fish. I was not too happy with all the bugs around, but the boys were happy. The boys also loved the old, iron bathtub. (There was a shower also or I would have gone crazy!)

Half Way to 70...

Chris turned 35 yesterday (or as he said, half way to 70). Since we are going on vacation on Friday we kept the celebration low key. We went to Sir Goony's Golf and drove the go carts. Tyler loved it! Chris and Ty got the fast go cart while Ethan and I had the slow car.

After Sir Goony's, we ate dinner at Big River Grille. I love the fish tacos! The waiter promised not to sing to Chris (he hates that). After dinner we saw Star Trek on the IMAX screen. This is the third time Chris and I have seen the new star trek and the second time for the boys. It was amazing on the large screen. It was a great day!