It used to be a date....now it's a get-together...

J-man spent some fun time with mama Friday night. These fun, little precious nights together used to be our "dates," but this time he let me know that dates are for girlfriends and boyfriends, and we now have "get-togethers" instead. LOL! We went to the cheap $2.00 movies to see Nanny McPhee (little "c" and big "P" as she says several times in the movie....ha!ha!). We both really enjoyed the movie and he looked at me at the end when the children's dad returned from war and was clearly touched by the happy ending...oh, my precious little man. For the price of admission AND concessions, we still paid less than the big, fancy theater in town. Then, we walked to Starbuck's and enjoyed a salted caramel hot chocolate for me and a kid's hot chocolate for J-man (they make them the perfect warm temperature for the little people's mouths). After tossing pennies in the fountain outside and making wishes, we headed home for bed because Jarrett had to get up early for his Saturday morning bowling league...nighty, night!

Spelunking at Carter Caves...

Jarrett's class is studying habitats for their science unit and he decided to choose a cave as his habitat. So, mama and dad decided to take him to Carter Caves in Kentucky to enrich his understanding of everything cave-ish! As we traveled to the state park with The Ant Bully playing in the background, the GPS took us on the longest possible route to the welcome center, including a couple miles on a gravel road that seemed to be made more for horse-drawn wagons than vehicles. At least we experienced some "country" scenery. Finally, we pulled into the welcome center with some time to spare before the cave tour, so we checked out the gift shop. I got a little creeped out when I looked up to see the "ghostly" figure in the middle window at the top of the building. Turns out it was a cardboard cut-out...pheeewww!

We had a fun time picking out little treasures for my Jarrett to take home. He found a pouch of polished rocks that he thought was uber-cool and a super groovy spelunking hat to guide him through the cave. Problem was, he left it in the van...oh well! I also snapped a funny pic of him trying on the raccoon hat, but we didn't take it home because mama is a little creeped out by the whole idea of killing an animal for commercial benefit. He also found some color-changing pencils that he "really needed."  

Eventually, we trekked the additional 3.4 miles to the cave entrance to meet our very knowledgeable tour guide, Derek. My Jarrett was too shy to get a photo op with Derek although mama tried really hard to talk him into it. The tour took about 1.5 hours and we navigated about 225 steps through the 3/4 mile cave. It was really cool and Jarrett said he "had butterflies in his belly" when we started out because he needed to "overcome his fear." Apparently it didn't take long, however, because he was the most well-behaved kid there and asked the tour guide very good questions. Mama and dad were proud. Here are some of the pics mama snapped on the tour.

A cluster of bats hanging from the cave ceiling and a lonely little bat separated from his bat family

Daddy and Jarrett deep under the earth in Cascade Cave

A 30 foot underground waterfall...thus, the "Cascade Cave"

Jarrett walking on a bridge between the caves

Cave Diamonds that fascinated Jarrett

 Jarrett and other tourists looking over the "Reflecting Pool"

Jarrett learned many facts about the cave habitat and saw spiders, crickets, salamanders and bats oh my! After our fun and educational visit to Carter Caves, the family relaxed and enjoyed a scrumptious meal at Cheddars before we headed home to watch Marshall take on Bowling Green. What a day!

So much to do in so little time...

Wow! The school weeks seem to end before they even begin. I can't believe how fast Jarrett's Monday-Friday flies! When we get home, it's dinner, homework, a quick family activity (if we're lucky), bath, prepare for the next day, and in the bed fred. This week, Jarrett squeezed in a few fun evening activities before we hit the hay. We caught a fun volleyball game at mama's school and our team won. Yay! We also went to the library to check out some books because Jarrett is a reader now...whoo hoo! He loved the "crooked tree" that he discovered and wanted his picture with it...so cute.

Of course we also had to spend a little Boss time, so we took him on a walk to check his "pee" mail. Ha Ha. We walk past this memorial arch almost daily and I finally snapped a pic of my Jarrett in front of this local landmark.

As always, so little time and so much to do...

The annual family reunion at Bulltown

On Saturday, we drove to Bulltown to attend the annual family reunion. The day was a comfortable top-10er at a perfect 75 degrees with gorgeous sun and a light breeze...spectacular!! Thanks to Aunt Sissy for scoping out the perfect picnic shelter spot, a picturesque setting overlooking Burnsville Lake. Jarrett had a blast playing with his cousins on the "private" playground that accompanied the reserved picnic shelter.

The enormous spread of food was as impressive as the weather. Dad, the grillmaster, cooked up some good ole dogs and hamburgers to go with the tables and tables of salads, desserts, side dishes and more. Here is Dad sharing a secret with Jarrett after his grilling mission was complete...

We really appreciate all the hard work that went into preparing such an occasion. Jarrett made lasting memories with family, played horseshoes and saw his first Katydid bug....ooooooo!!

All the "wonderland" at Billy Bob's...

Today we got to hang loosy goosy with Auntie and cousins Kate and Arin at Billy Bob's Wonderland, and boy was it won-der-ful. Jarrett probably ran five miles through the fluorescent extravaganza.

Not only did he squeeze all the monies worth of tokens he could out of any willing adult, he ate pizza, fries and cake while downing cupfuls of Dr. Peppa baby!

At the end of the day, he can count his blessings to have such precious little cousins to love. Miss Kate, the princess indeed, is always ready for a good time with her big cousin. She's all girl with plenty of might to hold her own. Arin, the big ol' baby boy, is such a personality too. After a big belly full of baby food and pizza crust, he knows how to relax and go with the flow.

Oh, and can you say prizes? Oh yeah! J$ made out of there with flashing sunglasses, tattoos, girly bracelets for Kate, and a spider that crawls down the wall! Oh baby!!!!!!

School's Back "From" Summer...

Today was Jarrett's first day of 1st grade and he was so excited that he could not get to sleep last night. He even hung is backpack on the doorknob because he didn't "want to forget it!!" Ha!Ha! He finally fell asleep after a billion questions and a sweet bedtime story. Here is my Jarrett...or J Money...as we affectionately call him sometimes...before Mama woke him up for school.

Since Mama is a teacher, Daddy takes J$ to school each day and picks him up in the afternoon. Daddy snapped a couple cute pics on their way to school this morning. He's such a "poser" for pics...love him! He's rockin' his school outfit with his new, super-cool Lego backpack.

 

 

When I came home from school myself this evening, he was waiting for me at the door to shout to the world that this was, "the best day of my life!" So cute! He was pumped about the new lockers and new desks as this is the opening year of the completely renovated school building and it is just gorgeous. He's a lucky little boy to attend a state-of-the-art, beautiful, charming, and inspiring new school. Thanks so much Mrs. J for a wonderful first day!! Just a few minutes ago he said, "I can't wait 'til tomorrow." When I asked why, he said, "because I want to go back to school! I love school!" Mrs. J is definitely a good one! I don't know what she did to him, but it wiped him out..and he's not a napper! He's out and snoring with his leg hiked up on Boss. Love them.

Summer...it's a wrap!

Jarrett's summer vacation is quickly coming to a close. He will be starting 1st grade in one week. He's turned into such a big boy this summer (literally and figuratively....ha!ha!...have ya seen his mama and daddy?) His reading and math skills have soared because his teacher mama made him work on "homework" this summer. He is almost toothless, so mama had to look into the possibility of a liquid diet. Joking...he still has a few teeth left in his mouth and his "man" teeth are starting to pop through. Jarrett was a ring bearer this summer and mama says the cutest one ever!!!!! He helped nurse Boss, his 13 year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, back to health because he had an achy tooth. And, the big and, he made it through our misable bathroom remodel...it was tough! The good news is that Jarrett played with Legos and Transformers for many wonderful hours and learned to swim. All in all, we had a very blessed summer...accident free and we're refreshed and ready to start the school year. Good luck my baby with your 1st grade year!