A Fun Family Night...even if it is at 2 am!

For those of you who didn't realize, today is the official release date for the second Transformers movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. But as with all the big movie releases, the theaters will do 12:01 am showings the night before for the hard core fans, those who just can't stand not to see it first. If you can't tell where I'm going with this, I'll just go ahead and tell you, I am one of those obnoxious people. I will buy my tickets online to make sure its not sold out when I get there, I will arrive at least an hour early to stand in line with my fellow geeks, excitedly talking about how great the trailers were, and what I expect to happen...I'll even drag my family along with me.

When I say that I love the first Transformers movie, I don't think people realize to what extent. I will literally stop whatever I'm doing and sit and watch the movie if I see it come on tv. It doesn't even matter what part its on, or the fact that I've seen it close to 100 times, it remains one of my favorites. We own it on both DVD and BluRay, and even have it recorded on both Tivos. Yes, I realize its a bit of an obsession, one that will definately carry over to the second one as well. But the good thing is, I have my children who were just as excited as I was while standing outside the Paradiso, to obsess along with me!

I won't go into too much detail about the movie since I realize there are lots of you who aren't as hardcore as I am and haven't seen it yet, but I can promise you, it is awesome! The graphics are unbelievable. And did I mention the new Corvette Stingray that makes even those of us who wouldn't know the difference between a V8 and lawnmower engine, drool?

As if a midnight movie wasn't enough excitement for one night, we also threw in a Redbirds game with Nana and Papa beforehand (yea, I like to pack in a weeks worth of events all in one night obviously). Thankfully, the Memphis weather that has literally been hot enough that you can use your seatbelt as a branding iron, cooled down so we could really enjoy the night. Even better, the Redbirds beat Omaha 6-3!

So was it worth it? Driving downtown, back home, and then back to East Memphis? A midnight showing with an 11 and 8 year old? Not getting home till 3 am? A morning that would not only require coffee, but demand it? I think I can speak for all four of us when I say, absolutely!

Proceed with Caution

I say that because the images you are about to see may shock, scare and/or cause extreme laughter (or crying if your name is Nana).

Caleb definitely has his own sense of style, as I'm sure many of you have witnessed. For instance, he loves socks...all socks. But they have to be colorful ones, striped ones, ones with designs. Nothing to plain for my boy! When its time to dress himself, I honestly think he tries to find the most mismatched items just to make things more interesting. Boring is not a word in his vocabulary. So when it comes to hairstyles, you can't expect anything different.

During a recent visit by our friends Cary and Shalein, Caleb jumped on the opportunity to ask Ms. Shalein to cut his hair. In a mohawk...a tall one. Let me just say, he has been asking for one for years now, and for the most part, we've been able to appease him with a faux hawk each summer....obviously, it wasn't going to work this time. Given the okay, out came the clippers, off came the hair and emerged my little rocker boy.

While I'm sure alot of parents out there may not approve, and we might get a few weird looks at Kroger from the older community, I'd just like to say, my little boy is on cloud nine! He wakes up in the morning asking if he can put more gel in it, then smiles everytime he walks past a mirror. My outlook is, it's just hair, it grows back, and more than likely this is just a phase. But when he's older, and looks back at the pictures, hopefully he'll smile and think "man I had a cool mom!" :-)

Wordless Wednesdays

So I've seen this alot on other peoples blogs, and since I'm trying to get into more of a routine on here, I thought I would give it a go...although, I basically just defeated the whole purpose of "wordless" huh?

Look at us go!!!!

I know it's been a while since my last post, so I'm setting a new goal while I'm out of school, to keep this updated more often, and hopefully, it'll become more routine for when I go back...in 5 weeks (who thought summer school was a good idea?!?!?). May was an extremely crazy month for us, and there's lots I want to update everyone on, but I'll start with a biggie.

Macon finished 5th grade this year, with it being his last at Lakeland Elementary. He's been there every year since Kindergarten, so leaving it will be bittersweet. While he's growing up and moving on, he'll once again be the low man on the totem pole at his new school. And after seeing some of the older boys in the higher grades, I'm hoping his hormones kick in (I'm sure I'll eat these words later) so that he won't be the "little" guy when August rolls around. Although, I'm sure Reagan (his 5'4" girlfriend) wouldn't mind helping him out ;-). I'm so extremely proud of him and all his accomplishments for the last six years, and can only hope that he continues on this road of success. He finished out the year with having been on Honor Roll every quarter of his school days thus far. He was awarded the Presidential Award, which is based on TCAP scores and grades, recieving a certificate signed by President Obama and a Presidential pin. Having been chosen as an Lakeland Ambassador at the beginning of the year, he was recognized for the duties he performed throughout the year, which included helping with the new kindergartners, leading school tours to new parents and students, and being available to the Principal and Vice Principal. He was a member of the Recorder Ensemble and Art Club, and also recieved awards for his participation in both. I cannot even begin to say how proud of him we are. And although I catch myself being hard on him sometimes, I know in my heart that he's a really smart kid and he continues to prove it over and over.



Caleb also did a great job finishing up the 2nd grade. Heading in, Caleb was not an avid reader, and had the least bit of interest in becoming one. After a bit of pushing, he picked up a chapter book and took off with it! Every quarter, Caleb was at the top of his class in AR (Advanced Reader) in either points or percentage! He also completed the year on Honor Roll, and recieved the Citizenship Award for having good conduct! He's excited about starting 3rd grade, and learning division, as he was the class champion of Multiplication Math Challenge! I know he'll do a wonderful job!!!!


And last but not least, I completed another semester at University of Memphis this May! Inching my way closer to graduation, and even better by doing it on the DEAN'S LIST!!!! I'm proud to say, this was my second letter recognizing my good grades since returning last fall! I've also signed up for a couple of summer classes (completed one already with an A) and then will return full time again in the August. How awesome am I?!?!? :-)