Easter

The Bunny came to Memaw and Pawpaw Chestney's house. Pawpaw has come up with a scavenger hunt the past two years and this year was no different. The kids love the scavenger hunts. They start off with one clue and that clue sends them to their team colored eggs with another clue, etc., until they get to their official Easter prize.

The cousins: Jenna, Justin, Erin, little Gracie, Amanda, and Hobbie.

Gracie was able to have her egg hunt before the bigger kids had their scavenger hunt. At first she was not sure what she was looking for then Jenna started helping her out. Gracie is going to have a baby sister in June.

Pawpaw helping Erin and Jenna with their clue.

Team Green: Jimmy and Justin. Justin usually goes with Jimmy a)because he can not read the clue, and b) if he gets tired of running Jimmy will give him a piggy back ride.

Team Yellow: Erin and Jenna, who could finally read they clues themselves.

One of the prizes the kids got were kits. This is Mandy driving golfie, as the kids call it, down the driveway while Jimmy tries to get his kit up in the air. His kit made it up by the time they got the the end of the driveway and it flew for about ten minutes.

Team Blue: Mandy and Hobbie are always teamed together.

Hobbie got some model rockets from the Easter Bunny. I think dad was just as excited about them as much as he was. We shot them off a couple of times before we had our wonderful dinner that Memaw made.

Justin playing with his balloons that he got as one of his prizes.

Happy Birthday Hobbie

Hobbie turned 10 years old on April 23rd. I did not think he was going to make it to be 10. I no, I no, I have a lot more to come.

Since he is now in the double digits we had his big bash at the Nascar Speedpark at the St. Louis Mills Mall. He invited four boys from his class, a neighbor boy, and all of his cousins were there. They all had a great time. The fun started at 3:00pm and we did not leave the mall until around 8:00pm. The plan was to drop all of the boys off at home, but somehow they did a little scheming on the way home and they all ended up spending the night. Not a problem! Eight kids 11 years and under, anyone could do it. I will tell you a little secret....Nascar Speedpark, pizza, Wii, and then a movie = exhaustion.

They had so much to do at the speedpark: rides for the little kids (like Justin, the bigger kids could also ride them if they wanted to), indoor and outdoor go-cart track, rock climbing walls, laser tag, arcade, they also have bumper boats, but they were not open yet for the year. When we go to the mall it looked like it was going to rain. The outside go-carts were open at the time, but while we were doing birthday cake and presents it had started to rain and they closed the track. It was closed for only a little while. When they were waiting in line for laser tag it had stopped raining and they reopened the track. Hobbie was playing an arcade game and these are all of the tickets he won with that one game.

Hobbie thinking he is "the man" while everyone sings 'Happy Birthday' to him. With him is Eric from school, his cousins Amanda and Macenzie and his sister Erin.

Dad passing the presents for Hobbie to open. Big Hobbies brother, Jim, on the far right.

At the end of the day I believe everyone had a good time.

Spring Break

Spring Break pictures FINALLY! It has taken me forever to get these on hear. So much has been going on as you will see later.

For Spring Break we met my mom and dad in Destin, Florida. We left on Friday when I got off work and drove through the night, with a little 2 hour cat nap at a rest area. We got to Topsail National Reserve Campground Saturday afternoon. Of course, the first thing the kids want to do is go to the beach. After seeing everyone it was about supper time so we went down to the beach to take a walk. Little Hobbie was tired and did not feel like going to the beach just then so he stayed back with Grandma and Grandpa.

This is Hobbie, Justin, and Erin at the end of the boardwalk. They stayed dry for a while, but that did not last long at all. It was nice to walk and stretch your legs from being in the car for hours.


Sunday we went to the beach to go swimming. It was an overcast day, windy and around 70 degrees. It was to cold for me to go swimming, but my crazy kids did not hesitate to get into the water.

See mom, they don't fight all of the time.


Erin dug a huge hole in the sand and then decided that Justin needed to bury her. Hobbie helped a little also, who could possibly pass up the opportunity to bury your sister.

You could rent bikes at the campground. Hobbie and Erin were able to get their own bike. They did not have any bikes with training wheels, but they did have a bike with a kid seat on the back. Justin was a little too big for it, but it worked out nicely. I made Hobbie ride the bike with Justin, because I am not the most coordinated person on a bike to begin with. I would have crashed and scabbed us both up. I rode my dad's bike around. The kids had a blast riding all over the campground, and we would ride them down to the beach.

This is my mom and dad's camper. The were such nice sites.

Erin and Hobbie, coming back from the beach.

Erin posing for her mommy.

Monday was cooler, but the kids still wanted to go down to the beach. The sun was out, but it was only around 65 degrees and very windy. They played in the water a little bit, but eventually got out and just played in the sand making tunnels. It was still a great day on the beach.

Erin and dad did take a crack at boogie boarding. Hobbie said the water was fine once you got in it. That is what everybody says. The only reason it is fine once you get in the water, because you are numb from the cold.

I love this picture of them looking and talking to each other. Hobbie is a wonderful dad and I love these moments.

Erin has taken up my hobby of scrapbooking and she took this picture of us. She did a great job.

On Wednesday we left Destin and went to Gulf Breeze to visit Jeff and Myrts family. Jeff is Hobbies brother, he was not there, he is over in Iraq again. Above is Emma, Branden, Tucker, Erin, Hobbie, Justin, and Alex.

Since it was going to be Easter we died eggs and decorated sugar cookies. Cousin Emma made her daddy an egg with his call sign "Cooter" on it.

Emma and Erin at Peg Leg Pete's, were we ate dinner.

On our way home to break up the time we stopped to visit Elvis at Graceland. I went as a kid, but Hobbie had never been there. It was nice to get away for a little while. Usually you need a vacation when you get back from your vacation. This trip was very relaxing. I did not feel like we were constantly going and going.

For the love of horses

What does the horse say when he falls?.....Help! I've fallen and I can't GIDDY-UP! He, He, He, Yuck, Yuck, Yuck! Ok ok ok, it was pretty corny, but you've gotta love Laffy Taffy jokes!

Erin started riding lessons with a new instructor at a different barn and LOVES it. She liked the other barn she was at also, but her instructor moved out of town and they quit giving lessons there right before Christmas. She started back at the new place a month ago and is having a wonderful time. She is learning how to ride Western style right now. Everyday her teacher gives her a choice weather she wants to ride with a saddle or ride bareback. She always chooses bareback. She also always gets to brush and get the horse ready before she rides her, which she really loves to do. I think this place is a really good fit for her. She enjoys it so much. She is riding bareback in this picture. So serious, listening to her teacher.



Of course since it is out in the country with a few barns full of horses, there will be cats. This is the only reason Jutin loves to come watch Erin ride, is to see the cats. There are quit a few of them, but only a handful that will let you pick them up.

The Dogwood trees were just starting to bloom when I took this picture. There is one right behind Justin with white blooms, but they did not show up very well. Awesome picture of Justin though. Which is really the only thing that counts. I came across a blog by Karen Russell http://karenrussell.typepad.com/ who teaches photography classes on-line and also gives pointers on her blog for better pictures. It is a pretty neat blog. The pics of Justin was me trying out some manual settings on my camera. If I can brag on myself a little, I think this one came out pretty good. It helps to have really cute subjects too.

I hope everyone had a great Easter last weekend. My family went to Destin, Florida last week for spring break. I will have pictures from that once my ancient dial-up internet gets them uploaded. Talk to ya then.

Funny story follow-up

Tuesday when Hobbie came home from school I asked him if he found out who wrote the love note and he said that it was Summer. I asked him if she had told him herself and he said no. Then the big question was....then how do you know it was really Summer? Well, Samantha asked Summer if she wrote the note and she told Samantha that she didn't, but when Summer answered that question Austin saw her with her fingers crossed behind her back. Aaaahhhh, the days when you can cross your fingers and your fib doesn't count. It is such a wonderful thing to hear little stories like this from your kids and then remember that you went through the same exact thing when you were their age.

Being the scrap booking mom that I am, I asked Hobbie if he still had that note. I thought it would make a cute page about his first anonymous love note and the story behind it. He took it back to school to show his best-friend Josh. Derek and Eric also wanted to see it and then Samantha snatched it away from Derek. Samantha got caught reading it and it was taken away buy their teacher. The end of the note. Never to be seen again. Well, I never got caught passing notes it class. No, No, No, not me.

We are leaving to go down to Destin, Florida to stay with my parents for a few days and then visit with my sister-in-law for a couple of days in Gulf Breeze. I will have pictures when I get back. Have a good weekend.

Two cute stories....

The other day Justin was watching Power Rangers Jungle Fury on DVD. If anybody knows the Power Rangers you know how they come in all sorts of groups, and Jungle Fury just happens to be one of the new group of kids that will save the world from the evil spirit Dai Shi and his side kick Camille. Anyway, Justin was watching the movie and he told me he wanted to go out to Walmart and get the Jungle Fury Mega Zord. I told him he did not need to get another toy (especially another Power Ranger). He proceeded to start BEGGING for it, he just will not be able to survive without it! He came up with the idea that he could get it for his birthday, which is in October, so I told him that it was going to be a long time for his birthday, so he started crying. I suggested that maybe the Easter Bunny would bring it. He said the Easter Bunny could not bring it because he did not have an egg big enough for the Mega Zord. I told him that the bunny probably would have an egg to fit. He suddenly turned off the water works turned around and looked at me and his dad and said that he might have an egg big enough, but it was also going to have to be square yeah know. He is too funny, that he was able to come up with the concept that not only was the egg going to have to be big, but it was also going to have to be square to fit the box.

Hobbie came home from school on Monday with a love note in his book bag. This is what it said, "You are so cute, I can't stand how cute you are. From your lover". Needless to say I was a little surprised that my almost ten year old is getting a LOVE note. I asked him who he thought it was from and he thought the hand writing looked like Summer's, who is a girl in his class. Before he went to bed on Monday he asked me if his black Spider Man shirt was clean so he could were it to school the next day. Of course it was not, so I told him that I would wash it. Being the wonderful mother that I am, I fell asleep watching 'Medium' and did not get to wash the shirt. Tuesday morning I pulled out a red shirt for him to wear. He asked about the black shirt and I told him I had fallen asleep and did not get a chance to wash it, but I had the red shirt. He looked a little disappointed about the shirt so I asked him why he wanted the black one. He said that he wanted it because it matched his black jacket and it made him look nice. I do believe the love note had a little affect on him. We talked about the red shirt and he decided that the red shirt would be ok with his black jacket because it had some black stripes down the sleeves. I asked about the note today when he got home from school and he said that he did not have it anymore. He said that his friend Josh wanted to see it, then it went to Derek, to Eric, Samantha took it from Eric to read, then Samantha got caught with it by their teacher and that was the end of the note. Of course I am thinking that he is way to young to have Love notes in his book bag (he, he:) ), but his dad thinks he is now the stud of the 4th grade class.

Hope you got a little chuckle from these stories. Erin is breathing down my thoat to get on the Webkins site. Ta, Ta!

Spring Snow

It had snowed for the final time (hopefully) Saturday night. It snowed about two inches and the kids were not to impressed with it. It had rained a lot before the snow finally did come so the ground was pretty wet and muddy the next morning. It did not take long for it to melt when the sun did come out, because it was not that cold. Our power kept going off for a couple of seconds and then pop back on. It did this four times while the kids were trying to watch the "Cars" movie. Finally the power went off and stayed off for a while. The kids were so fed up with it ( they got tired of having to start the movie over and over) that they went outside to jump on the trampoline for a few hours. I was excited, because it did not even start getting dark until 7:30, but you sure do loose track of time when the days start getting longer. Before you know it it is 7:30 and nobody has ate dinner yet. OOPS! No wonder they were complaining that they were hungry. Then you have to hurry up and take baths and eat and then off to bed because you have school in the morning. Oh well, they had a great time playing outside. I hope it is getting warmer where you are at, and have a good day.

Scrapbooking Weekend!

This past weekend was my Spring scrapbooking weekend with all of my friends at Camp Wartburg in Waterloo, IL. My good friend Trisha is a Creative Memories consultant and she hosts, along with her down line Shelly, weekend crops. There is always one in the Spring and one in the Fall. They always start on Friday at 4:00pm and end on Sunday at 4:00pm. You eat, little bit of sleep, a little bit of wine tasting and crop the weekend away with friends. It was a wonderful time. The weather was great and I got 32 pages done, which is not as many as I usually can get, but I still got quit a bit done. It is difficult for me to do it at home so I love these weekend trips.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Justin and I went to go see Mickey Mouse! My mom and dad are retired and go to Fort Myers for the winter, so we have to visit and go see Mickey. My older two kids went three years ago to Disney World. Now it was Justin's turn.

We got on the big plane in St. Louis and went to Fort Myers on Saturday, 2-21. We stayed the night with my parents and then on Sunday morning we all drove to Orlando, it was only a three hour drive, which was not bad at all. We stayed at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel on the park grounds. It was a beautiful hotel. When we got settled into the hotel we then walked to Downtown Disney, which is a huge outdoor mall. Justin's favorite place there was probably the Lego store. It is amazing all the figures they have made with the Lego's.

Justin in front of the hotel.

One of the Lego creations in the water.

Some more Lego guys that are in the store. There were so many more.

Justin was so excited about the whole thing. The big day has finally come! On Monday we went to Magic Kingdom! He was totally in aaawwww. We rode lots of rides, saw some shows, saw a parade, and most of all he got his character signatures. The main signatures he wanted was Chip-n-Dale and Mickey-n-Minnie. We got them and then some. The weather was wonderful, mid 70's. It did get a little chilly when the sun went down.

"Look mom it's Chip-n-Dale!"

I love this picture. We are on the side of the main street watching the parade. Priceless.

The next day we drove back to Fort Myers to mom and dads house. We stayed there another night and then flew back home Wednesday evening. We had a great visit. I think we wore Grandma and Grandpa out at Magic Kingdom. I believe my parents will go to Disney again, but when we go to the parks we are on our own. They have had their fun.

I hope everyone had a good time watching the Super Bowl. We did not go anywhere to watch it we just stayed home. We wanted the Cardinals to win, Kurt Warner was due. It was pretty good though. Hobbie came home from school sick yesterday. I was at work and so was Hobbie. Usually Memah or Papaw pick them up, but since it was 1:00 Uncle Jeff left to shop and went to go get him. Hobbie said he did throw-up at school and later he ran a fever. Basically after some Tylenol he slept all evening and night. He still did not feel good in the morning so I kept him home today. He was complaining of having a headache and his throat was hurting. The secretary as school said that strep was going around there, UUUUGGGHHH! Thank goodness there are no white bumps on his throat. I was just at the doctor with Justins earache. Soon we all will probably have the crud. Looking forward to that:)

SNOW!

It has finally snowed! Everybody was so excited to have a few inches of snow that you could actually play in. Justin was about to drive me crazy with our 1/8 inch of snow here and there. He kept wanting to go out side and play in the snow and make snow angels. I kept telling him that if he went outside to make snow angels he would just be making mud angels. There just was not enough snow for any length of time. It is a good thing that at least 5 inches is deep enough to make snow angels because he was going out regardless. They also went sledding with dad pulling them behind with the tractor. Only in Jersey County do you sled behind a John Deere. What a great way to spend a day away from school.