Important Life Lesson Learned at Camp #3:

An emphasis is placed on making good choices in all aspects of our lives. In life, making good choices often means rewards. Conversely, making poor choices often means being punished. Campers had many opportunities to make good choices and it's nice to see Mason with a plate full of a good choice.

Important Life Lesson Learned at Camp #2:

Taekwondo isn't usually considered a team sport, but many aspects of training, and even some demonstrations, rely on teamwork. Each camper was given the opportunity to hop into a canoe with a partner, or two. I was pleasantly surprised, while sifting through the hundreds of photos taken, that Mason ventured into a canoe and was able to maneuver it with a camper around his age. Great teamwork!

Important Life Lesson Learned at Camp #1:

Self control is an important, acquired personality trait that is emphasized heavily in the martial arts. Taekwondo is no exception. While at Camp Strong Rock, Mason and his fellow campers were given many opportunities to exhibit leadership qualities including self control. Oh, the agony!

Fruits of Our Labor...

Okay, so we didn't exactly labor over these, but I'm still excited about it! At our closing, the sellers let us know that there was a fig tree and a peach tree in our back yard. They knew the peach tree had fruited, but they weren't sure about the fig tree.

Check it out! It's budding! Granted there are only a handful of buds, but it's budding!

The peach tree, on the other hand, is covered in fruit buds. Oh my....fresh Georgia peaches....from my back yard! Excuse me, I'm drooling.

The 1st Beach Trip of the Season...

Mason and I drove to Dothan, Alabama to spend one last weekend with my sister before her move to Iowa. She's northward bound to do her residency for the next 5 years and she wanted one last hoorah at the beach before slipping into the depths of perpetual cold up north.

Mason was showing off his Taekwondo moves in the soft sand. We'll post this one at his school on the bulletin board labeled "Kicks Around the World". Panama City isn't considered an exotic location in Georgia; but to us Kansans, it's exciting to be on the beach...no matter which one!

It was cool on the beach...too cool and windy for this gal to get down to only a bathing suit. We had a great time flying the kite, picking shells, avoiding the freezing water and visiting Tiffani. Oddly, despite the chill, Mason and I managed to get terribly sunburned. Ouch!

I'm saddened that Tiffani is no longer a mere 4 hours away, but grateful she has received the opportunity to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a doctor. Now, if only she could come up with a cure for sunburns!

My Friend's Dog...

Mackenzie is an amazing dog! She does more tricks than any other dog I know and recognizes as many commands as my 7-year old – only she actually follows the commands. Amazing! She wasn't sure about the camera...

...but warmed up to the idea with a little help from a squeaky toy and a command from Mack, her owner. Mack, will you take Callie and train her? Amazing dog. Amazing.

Birthday Wishes...

Another year has come, and gone, and my baby is no longer a baby. We celebrated his 7th birthday a little more low-key than his 6th. I did something I thought I would never do – I purchased his birthday cake. The days leading up to his birthday were quite hectic and this little guy called out to me in the bakery section of Publix. Too cute!

Brian had the honor of creating the fire hazard...

...and Mason anxiously waited to blow out the candles.

He wouldn't tell us what he wished for. I suppose tradition dictates that he not tell us what he wished for anyway. I hope it came true.

Brian wanted the cake all for himself, but Mason fought him off!

Mason raked in the loot this year. Grandma and Grandpa sent a Nintendo DSi and a game. He LOVES it! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Each year that passes, I find it more difficult to imagine Mason growing up, but every year his birthday is a hard reminder that childhood is a precious thing. Although we celebrate occasions with cake and presents, we try to celebrate each day as it comes and goes. Happy birthday, baby!

Happy 7th Birthday!

Seven years ago at 5:45 am, you barged into our lives, stirred up some trouble and stole our hearts. Happy 7th birthday to our baby.

Hiiiiiyah!

Mason participated in an intra-school tournament this past weekend and ten schools from around the Atlanta area competed. The juniors were divided into groups according to their age and belt rank. The form Mason learned for the tournament, and his upcoming belt testing, is called Choong Jung #1. You can see a video of it here (click).

There are 44 moves in Choong Jung #1 and it is the form brown belts must learn to move on to the next belt during testing. This is a very difficult form for a purple belt, but Mason handled it very well.

So well, in fact, that he placed first among 11 other students competing! This is the first time he had earned a medal at a tournament.

He received a bye in the first round of sparring, won his second match and lost the third. That was enough for him to secure 3rd place in sparring. Not too shabby for a little guy!

Brian and I are beaming with pride. Can you see my glow?

The boys compared their medals (which, oddly, are identical except for the lanyard).

I think he's hooked on tournaments now that he's done well and earned medals.

Mason discovered that, if you work hard, you are rewarded. Give yourself, and your competitors, a round of applause!

Snow in Atlanta?!

Atlantans had been preparing for the forecasted 3-4" of snow all week. Bread and milk were hard to come by and, on Friday, the flurries began at 1:30 as predicted. I left the office to pick Mason up from school around 3pm and, at 5pm we finally made it home. Never in my life would I have thought that going 12 miles would take 2 hours. Welcome to Atlanta traffic.

Mason and I bundled up and headed into the snow.

Boys do boy things...especially when fresh, white snow is involved.

Our neighbors are from New York and, apparently, New Yorkers had to find some way to keep their hands from getting cold during snowball fights. Introducing the snowball maker 3000...for the perfectionist in all of us.



Mother Nature is at her finest when undisturbed by humans.

The day after the snow storm, we all headed to the dam at the lake to have some fun. The walking trail was particularly beautiful...

...the snow was very heavy on the pine trees. Every now and then a clump would fall from the branches and plop right on someone's head.

I knew I held onto that toboggan for some reason. I had my doubts we would ever use it in Atlanta, but we get to pull it out of the closet once or twice a year.

Some of the neighbor kids had long sleds for more passengers. They happily oblige letting the little kids ride because they know that more weight makes you go faster and further.

Callie enjoyed chasing after the kids as they went down the hill.

When you live in the South, and snow is scarce, you find genius ways of improvising. Snowboard? Who needs a snowboard when you can use a skateboard with no wheels? Awesome!

It's cold, can we go home? Maybe just one more shove down the hill first.


The weatherman is calling for more snow tonight. Maybe we'll get to do this again!

My Baby...

Okay, so he's not a baby any more. Please let me be in denial for a little longer.

Our Cup Runeth Over...

Avid readers of my blog will recall the covert operation to recover Bear from being lost forever (read about it here). That was a rough day, but all turned out well in the end. I go back to that day, sometimes, when Mason brings Bear along on errands or a vacation.

Mason's classroom assignment today: write a true story. Mason chose to write about the day his friend was nearly lost...

Mason's memory never ceases to amaze me. The only detail that wasn't accurate is the restaurant. His version of the story nearly brought tears to my eyes and truly makes me understand his relationship with Bear. They will be friends for many years to come.

Water Drainage 101:

Mom always told me to marry a carpenter, auto-mechanic or plumber because you're always going to need to have something fixed on your car or around the house. I never was good at following sound advice, but I did marry a golf course superintendent. How is being married to a golf course superintendent a good thing, you ask?

We've lived in our house since August and I love being a homeowner. I love that I can paint my living room walls hot pink, if I wanted. I love that Mason has a safe place to play and plenty of room to do so. Since moving in, however, I have dreaded the rain...

Our driveway and front walk meet at the bottom of a slope. When it rained, water collected. When it rained hard or for several days, water really collected. I would often have to walk through ankle-deep water to get into my car on those days. Mason needed a life vest and rescue boat. Poor kid.

After some gentle persuasion (or not-so-gentle) and some suggestions from his landscaping buddy, Kirk, Brian agreed to take on the daunting task of fixing this problem. One day, I came home to a yard devoid of grass and a rather long trench dug into the ground. I'm glad Brian gave me the head's up to use the garage door so we didn't fall into the hole.

Brian, our guest blogger, will now describe the process in technical terms...

The first step of the process was to install a catch basin to divert the water away from our driveway/sidewalk. After securing the basin with cement, I'm quite sure that no amount of water will move it.

One critical component of all drainage devices is the simple matter of making sure the water can run down-hill. In the distance you can see that I, the wonderful and multi-talented husband (not to mention handsome), am using a transit to ensure the water will flow from top to bottom. This is a photo of Cortni "helping".

For our yard, I decided to use a bubbler emitter on the end of the drain to let the water out of the pipe. This emitter will allow the pipe to completely fill with water and slowly drain out and spread evenly throughout the yard.

Once everything was in place, dirt is moved back on top to cover up the masterpiece.

Of course it helps if the dirt is packed in. Here you can see I am using a fancy tool to do the required job – my feet.

The process didn't come without difficulties though. The builders who built our house decided to dispose of excess bricks and rocks in the front yard and incorporate them into the soil. Oh well, nothing is easy right?

Our builders also decided they would save some money in the building process by covering our clean-out spout with an empty tub of butter. Very professional!

Once the drain was installed, I thought it would be a good idea to test it out by running water through the pipe.

As you might be able to tell, it worked! Job well done!

I Scream, You Scream...

...for S'mores. Okay, so there isn't a rhyme for s'mores and I didn't want to think of one. So there.

When we were looking for a house to purchase last summer, a fireplace was not even on my list of requirements. I still feel like having a fireplace, that doesn't warm the entire house, is a waste of wall space and limits my choices for furniture placement. But, I'm liking the ambiance it creates on a cold winter day and that Mason can make s'mores any time we have graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows.

I find that, on evenings as cold as it has been, I am disappointed to come home and not find a fire in the fireplace. Who would have thought? Plus, I enjoy the smile on Mason's face when he discovers a package of chocolate bars in the pantry.