December 2010 Update

Well, the first thing we did this month was say goodbye to Grandma Stewart on the 3rd, as she was off to the frozen wonderland of Idaho yet again. We’ve been having days in the 70’s and enjoying our Texas Christmas. We had a great time with Grandma here, as we always do…

On the 4th, I took the kids to a Christmas Open House at a nearby nursery. The day was complete with Santa, train rides, inflatable bouncer, and food including hot dogs, chips, water, roasted corn, hot chocolate & popcorn. The best thing was….it was ALL free! I know they do a pumpkin patch at Halloween time, but I have yet to take the kids. Now that I know how awesome it is, I will be sure to take them next year.


That same evening we spent some time with our good friends at beautiful Brackenridge Park, where my friend Maggie took some photos of us. She always does such a great job and I love how the pics turned out! Here are a few of my faves.











Austin had his Christmas piano recital on the 6th. His new teacher (Sis. Kjar) holds her recitals in the chapel at our church, so that was a first for him. He was able to play “Calypso Rhumba” on the baby grand!


Carson & Jackson had their first trip to the dentist on the 9th, which went marvelously well for both of them. I wasn’t surprised about Carson liking it, but Jackson surprised me by not crying at all when she was prying her fingers in there to look around. He was also recuperating from an ear infection. What a trooper!

Rhett and I have both been busy in the ward choir, preparing for our upcoming Christmas performances. We will be singing 2 numbers this Sunday (19th), along with both of us being asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting that day. Our topic is “Keeping Christ in Christmas”. It’s been nice to focus on that version of Christmas and not get caught up into the commercialism of the season. Then, on the 26th we will be doing a music and spoken word Sacrament Meeting, which involves me singing a solo of “Away in a Manger”. It’s been fun to have Rhett joining me in choir. It’s been since before Austin was born since he was able to be involved.

Well, there’s not much else to say…except that we will be adding to our family in 2011. Yay!!! I am expecting our 5th child in early July, however I already have my c-section date picked out, so if all goes well, on Friday, June 24th we will be delighted new parents once again. We are definitely crossing our fingers for a girl, so any extra fingers that can be crossed for us would be appreciated. We’ll keep you all updated on how things progress.

We hope you all have a marvelous holiday season filled with love, peace and joy. We love & miss all of you that are far away, but think of you often.

Happy Holidays!
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson, Jackson and Baby Z.

November 2010 Update

Well, it’s been 2 months since I last posted, so there’s a lot of catching up to do!

Rhett spent 4 days up in Dallas for Management Training in September. He was treated very well, as they stayed at a really nice hotel and ate at 5 star restaurants or country clubs every day. As of today, Rhett has been with his new company (American Income Life) for 8 months. He recently got a new boss, who’s trying to get things up and running a little better than the previous one. Rhett was recently assigned his own office, and now has to wear suits to work every day. Good thing he has 3 of them. The life of being in Management!

I have been busy taking care of a household of boys as a single mom most of the time, since Rhett’s job takes him away from us so much. I hate to say it, but I’ve pretty much just grown accustomed to him not being around. Hopefully that won’t last very much longer. Please!!!

Primary is going really well. I have received several compliments about my Presidency & how we run things. We had our annual Primary Program on September 26th and it was marvelous! We had so many compliments from people saying it was the best one they’d ever seen. I was shocked!

I started having scrap nights at our house once a month, just to change the atmosphere and also to make it so the boys are not home alone as much on those nights, or so that I don’t have to drag them along.

Three friends and I have a kid swap that we’re doing on Tuesdays. It gives us each a couple of hours each week to be kid free, then once every 4 weeks we have 8 kids age 4 & under at our place. It’s kinda crazy, but worth it.

The biggest thing that has happened with me is that I had a needed surgery on September 27th. I have had a growth on the back of my tongue since early January, and it was finally removed. None of the several doctors that I saw ever thought it was cancer, but they wanted it to come off just to be safe. It ended up being a benign Pyogenic Granuloma. My ENT said it could grow back, but they’ll just cut it off again. Fun for me!

Austin has started taking piano lessons again. I’m trying another teacher again (this is his 3rd). I just want him to like it and so far it’s just something else that he “has to do” and doesn’t enjoy it. His new teacher likes letting the kids play fun songs that they know and enjoy, and she says he’s doing really well, so we’ll see how it goes. So far he’s having mixed feelings. If it doesn’t work this time I’m not going to make him continue.

Austin and I went to an orientation at Driscoll Middle School that he’ll be attending next year. He had so much fun touring it and trying to figure out which locker he wants. He’s very excited, but I’m shocked that I have a child old enough for middle school!!!

Logan is doing very well in school this year. Only a couple of folder marks for behavior this year vs. only a couple of smiley faces for behavior last year. He loves learning and is excelling in every subject. He is in the Gifted & Talented program again this year and we are very proud of his accomplishments. He still loves to draw & write and is starting to read really well.

Carson is enjoying our weekly outings to the park, and the kid swap group each week. He wakes up almost every morning and asks if he can have a friend come over or go to a friend’s house. Luckily on those certain days he gets his wish!

Carson & Jackson at the park!

Jackson keeps me smiling. He is such a happy toddler, and loves to play with his brothers and friends, and in the Nursery at church. He keeps me on my toes trying to keep him out of stuff, but for the most part I just love having him around. In the mornings Carson will get Jackson out of his crib, and he will come downstairs, climb up onto the bed with me and cuddle. I love that boy!!!

The 3 big boys have been bitten by the bike-riding bug lately and constantly want to be outside riding either their bikes or scooters. Unfortunately we only have one bike with training wheels, so Logan & Carson have to take turns. I think that training wheels for the other bike will be on my next shopping list!

I recently took the boys to the Zoo for the first time in more than 4 years. I remember being pregnant with Carson the last time we went. Too long! We had a wonderful time and the weather couldn't have been nicer. Carson & Jackson especially had fun at the petting zoo, where they fed & brushed "Brian" the goat. Afterwards we all had a great ride on the Zoo train through Brackenridge park. What a wonderful day with my boys!!!

Atop the elephant statue

Brushing "Brian" the goat

On the Zoo train

Our ward had a fun Halloween Party on October 30th, complete with a chili & dessert cook-off, pumpkin carving contest, 2 haunted houses, inflatable jumpers, a ghost craft, cupcake walk and last but not least, a Trunk or Treat. I made Rhett, Logan & Carson some Rubik’s cube costumes, which was fun. Austin came up with his own “warrior” costume, Jackson loves dogs – hence the puppy costume from Sam’s club, and I made a black cat costume for myself with items from Hobby Lobby. Very little money, but a lot of time was spent on costumes this year. We all had a great time, then got to relax on Sunday and not answer the door or go out ourselves. It was a great “Mormon Halloween”.

These sure took a lot of time to make!

The whole family dressed up! Carson & Logan won a prize for their costumes in the Primary age category.

That’s about all from us this time. We look forward to having my Mom come again for a visit in 2 weeks. We love it when Grandma comes!!! She’ll be here for Thanksgiving, which will be a nice treat for us. We look forward to the holidays & wish we could see all of you. We love & miss you!!!

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

September 2010 Update

What a great month August was!

We had a super fun weekend with our friends from the good old days in Hobbs, NM. Brad & Whitney and their family came for a visit. It’s such a great feeling to know that even if you grow apart by many miles or 6 + years in time, the friendship is just as strong as ever. We loved every minute of their visit….and the kids had a great time too!


Whitney & Maren - BFF's!


Brad & Rhett (and Jackson)


Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson Zimmerman
Grace, Abby, Olivia & Wilson Henderson



Rhett was promoted to Manager at his company, American Income Life, which means he’s working more hours now. He is now helping with recruiting, interviewing and training new employees. He also gets paid a higher commission % now, so we’re looking forward to that. He’s been there 6 months, and continues to LOVE it!


School started on August 23rd. Fifth grade for Austin, and First grade for Logan. They both like school and I’m glad to have the peace & quiet that the day tends to bring with them gone. No arguing or fighting!


Austin & Grace - age 10, friends since they were 1 yr old!


Logan & Olivia - age 6


Logan & Austin - First day of 1st and 5th Grades



Carson & Jackson play together well and can easily be entertained with Blue’s Clues on the free On Demand channel. They are both part of a kid swap group that a few of us have started on Tuesdays. Five moms take turns hosting 10 kids at their house, then we have 4 weeks with no kids for 2 ½ hours. Oh, what can I get done??? Today it was called sleeping in!


Carson & Wilson - age 4


Jackson loves to play in the backyard!


He was too tired for even one more cheese puff!



August also brought many changes in our ward Primary. First, we got a new Bishopric counselor to oversee our needs…so there was some orientation needed there. Then we had a super fun End-of-Summer swim party at the Bishop’s house. Everyone had a great time! It helps that they have the best backyard ever!!! We’ve also been dealing with many staffing changes and continue to work towards our annual Primary Program on September 26th.

With the rain & wind today the temps finally dipped below 90. The humidity level was up of course, but with the lower temps it was so nice! What a great day to curl up with a good book. Unfortunately I just finished the series I was reading (Fablehaven…that I would recommend. Really fun!) and I haven’t gotten the book yet that I want to read next. The power was out for 3 ½ hours and I couldn’t even run the dishwasher or do laundry….or even get the ironing done! So, I sat & made bracelets. Thanks Hermine!!!

Well, I guess that’s about it. Hope you all have a great September.
We love you all!

Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

August 2010 Update

Rhett recently had some interesting things happen with his new job. He works for American Income Life, selling life insurance. Another company, Liberty National (owned by the same corporation – Torchmark) recruited him to work for them. The job sounded like there would be better opportunities, including better pay, so Rhett switched companies. While he was waiting for his agent # to be assigned (so that he could start selling) his boss from AIL told him that he didn’t think Torchmark allowed agents to jump from one company to another, that they have a 6 month waiting period in between. So, Rhett contacted Torchmark and found out that it’s actually a 1 year waiting period!!! Luckily, his boss at AIL still wanted him….so to make a long story short, Rhett still has a job.

As for me, I’ve been busy with kids and Primary now that the swim team season is over. We’ve made some big changes in Primary lately and had some massive staffing needs, but I think we’re on top of all that now. I also got a new 1st counselor recently and it’s nice to have a fully functioning Presidency again! We’re now gearing up for our annual Primary Sacrament Meeting Program. Our ward is pushing this as the biggest event of the year in helping with Missionary Work. We’re all going to be inviting our friends, neighbors, teachers, etc. to come listen to us sing about Jesus Christ. So, you’re all invited on Sunday, September 26th @ 11:00am.

I’ve recently started getting into some home projects that have been neglected. Every 6 months we have a bulky/brush pickup that the city does. They come around with a big claw and trucks and pick up all the tree limbs, fence boards, etc. that people are getting rid of. Well, that begins this week, so over the weekend we did a lot of needed yard work. We now have a decent sized pile of brush in our front yard waiting for the trucks. I painted the kitchen almost a year ago, but never finished the baseboards, windowsill and door/door frame. So, that was another project that got finished over the weekend. Now I have the windowsills in the office and living room to do, and the trim on the stairway and upstairs bathroom to finish. I have probably only 1/3 of our house painted so far…..so many more rooms to go!!!

A friend in our ward asked me if I would make paracord survival bracelets for him to sell. So, that’s something that I’ve been doing in my spare time (while watching TV in the evenings mostly). They are woven bracelets that are made from parachute cord that can be unwoven and used for many outdoor survival needs. There is about 16+ feet of nylon cord in each, along with 7 strands of thin cord inside that can be used to make fishing line, traps, etc. I think they are pretty cool! It’s something easy to do that can help me earn some extra cash.



On July 9th Austin participated in his Second Swim Team Championships Swim Meet. We’re very proud of the accomplishments he’s made in swimming this year.

His first event was Butterfly, coming in 5th of 18 swimmers with a time of 20.99 seconds.
Second event was Freestyle, coming in 14th of 37 swimmers with a time of 19.03 seconds.
His third event was Individual Medley (his first year doing this). He came in 10th of 10 swimmers with a time of 1 minute 52 seconds. Earlier in the season his times on IM were 2.19 and 2.12, so he REALLY made some major improvement there!
Fourth event was a Freestyle Relay, coming in 10th of 13 teams with a time of 1.16.91.



On July 21st we celebrated Austin’s 10th birthday. We tried to make it the best day ever!!!….since he hasn’t had a real birthday party since he was 3. He had his favorite breakfast - French toast, opened presents, went shopping to spend his birthday money, we went swimming as a family, then he had 5 friends come over in the evening for pizza, cake, fun & games, and to watch his favorite movie – “Percy Jackson & the Olympians : The Lightning Thief”. All in all, he had a great day!



On July 12th we celebrated Logan’s 6th birthday with a HUGE party! It happened to be the end-of-year swim party for swim team that day, so we had a potluck dinner and swimming…and Logan came home with 2 trophies. One for participating on the team, and another for being the Boys age 6 & under “most improved swimmer”. Way to go Logan!



When we got home we had birthday cake with some friends, the Clayton family. Logan also got to go shopping to spend his birthday money. He chose a “Thomas & Friends” building to add to his ever-expanding train collection, and a gumball machine.



Carson has had a lot of opportunities to “swim” this year, and we are excited to get him on the swim team next year. He is not afraid of the water by any means and with his floaties on he is very good at both freestyle and backstroke already. I’m sure he’ll be a great addition to the team next year! Carson is having a fun time with his brothers home this summer. I’m sure he’ll be sad to see them off to school again in a few weeks...although I know I’ll be totally fine with that!!!



Jackson is now 19 months and just too cute for words! I can’t get enough of that little guy. His personality is blossoming and it’s so fun to watch him learn. He talks quite a bit when he’s home, mimicking things people say or do, but when he’s out of his “element” he clams up. Several people have asked me if he ever says anything. He sure does! Jackson has also become quite the climber, which we have to keep an eye on. We’ve also recently had some close calls with him on the stairs, wanting to come down without turning around. He is just testing his limits I guess…he definitely keeps me on my toes! Jackson recently had his very first haircut at 18 ½ months. Our kids have all been born with very little hair, but Jackson wins the prize for going the longest before his first haircut.



Well, I guess that’s another month summed up for us. We look forward to school starting, cooler weather and hopefully visits from some of you!

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

June 2010 Update

Happy Summer Everyone!

Rhett hasn’t had much going on except work….as usual. He is busy trying to build up his Life Insurance clientele. We see him a lot more now than when he first started this new job, so it’s much easier to plan around his schedule. He is really enjoying what he does, so that makes it all worth it! And…..he took the TX State Insurance Exam and passed, so he’s a fully licensed agent now. Woohoo!!!

As for me, Primary has been kicking my bootie lately!!! I’ve had some major issues to deal with recently that have been VERY stressful. Hopefully we’re over those hurdles now and I’m looking forward to smooth sailing from here. So far this Summer I’ve been busy with Shockwaves Swim Team practices, meets (timing at each so far), and dealing with household chores that don’t seem to last longer than a few minutes. Oh, and I celebrated yet another milestone on June 7th….my 36th birthday. It was uneventful as usual, but I received an overwhelming amount of well wishes on my day from many friends and family. I truly am blessed with wonderful family, friends, and neighbors.



Austin has been doing great in his swimming this season!!! We’ve had 3 swim meets so far, and he has placed 1st & 2nd in almost all of his events, and a 3rd here and there. Austin started doing 100 Meter Individual Medley this year, which he is excelling at. For those who don’t know, that’s 4 lengths of the pool doing all four strokes (Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle). He dropped 7 seconds on his time yesterday! Austin is becoming so helpful. Whether it’s helping with Jackson, chores, or babysitting his brothers for short periods, he is doing a great job! Austin attended Cub Scout Day camp June 15-18th at McGimsey Camp here in town. It’s a 140-acre scout camp in the middle of San Antonio. He had a great time, swimming (of course), fishing, BB gun shooting, archery, hiking, arts & crafts and rock climbing. Austin loves being a Cub Scout!



Logan FINALLY swam in his first meet yesterday…25 Meter Freestyle. He has been on the swim team for 2 seasons now, and we were so excited for him to finally participate in a meet. He came in last place, but we were just so glad that he finished. Yay Logan!!! Logan continues to love to draw. Most times I find him at the table complete with pen or pencil, crayons and paper drawing some pretty amazing things.



Carson turned 4 on June 2nd. He had a very special visitor come for his big day. Grandma Stewart flew in that day from Idaho. He was so excited! She recently had surgery on her shoulder to repair a torn rotator cuff, so she came to TX to rehabilitate. Austin had his first swim meet that day, so we didn’t have much of a party, but we did have cake & ice cream and he opened some presents. It was a good time!



Jackson has been teething again and such a grump, then about 2 weeks ago one of his teeth finally came through and he’s a completely happy-go-lucky guy again. Thank goodness!!! He is learning to talk as he likes to mimic anything you do or say. He knows to point to several body parts when asked, and his favorite is the belly button! He loves to babble and makes up the cutest “words”. We are enjoying him so much during this stage of his development. He also learned recently that running gets him places much faster than walking, so here we go!



It was great to have my Mom here for almost 3 weeks. She was able to heal quite a lot. The first day she came was a week after surgery and I had to do pretty much everything for her. By the time she left yesterday I only had to help with a couple of minor things. While she was here she wanted to accomplish 3 goals: get a perm, get a pedicure, and heal from surgery. Mission accomplished! I gave her the perm and pedicure (complete with cute little purple flowers on her toes), and the healing happened on its own. One fun thing we did while she was here was go to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. She had never been, and was awed by the talent of both the performers and the animals. I’m not sure what her favorite part was, but I know she thought the elephants were amazing!

Well, another month is almost upon us. We are having a great Summer so far, and look forward to much fun in the time remaining. Austin will be going on to 5th grade and Logan will be in 1st when school starts again. We’ll just enjoy our time together while we have it. Hope you all have a great Summer also!

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

May 2010 Update

Well, with all the rain we’ve had this Winter and Spring, we are truly enjoying all the beautiful wildflowers that are everywhere! Texas is definitely a beautiful place to live. This picture was taken on our street at the entrance to our subdivision. Pretty!!!



Rhett is working a lot with his new job. He’s gone pretty much all the time, except for some random times of the day that he gets to come home for lunch, etc. He’s definitely trying really hard to make this new job selling life insurance a success for our family. Rhett is also now studying for the Texas State Insurance Exam, which he has to take by the end of May. Right now he is working off of a temporary license. One night while I was hosting Scrap Night at our house he called from a client’s home saying that he had locked his keys in his car. I ended up going out and saving him at 10:00 at night in the middle of nowhere-ville San Antonio. Definitely a place I’ve never been before, or want to visit again! We later found out that our roadside assistance plan that we have on our cell phones includes “lock out” service, so next time he’s on his own. Rhett continues to teach Primary, and it’s nice that he’s not working on Sundays anymore. At least we get to see him one day a week uninterrupted.

As for me, I’ve been busy lately (as usual) with a hundred things going on. I recently completed 400 homemade birthday cards for our Bishopric to send out to our ward members (I already gave him 100).




BEFORE

painted the boys bathroom (no more pencil Spiderman drawings on the wall)


AFTER



and pulled off the first of many Primary Activities with our new Presidency. On April 10th we had a Cub Scout Fundraiser Spaghetti Dinner and Primary Talent Show. The event was well attended, and we had a great show. Austin played “The Star Spangled Banner” on the piano, and Logan & Carson danced to “Beat It” by Michael Jackson. Well…more like Carson danced around (including the moonwalk) while Logan stood there with stage fright. Everyone is still laughing about their dance! All of the boys also displayed some artwork that they had done. It was a great time for all! As for my extracurricular activities, I’m in charge of the Scrapbooking focus group that we have twice a month, I head up the once weekly “park day” outing, I’ve been working out 3 times a week with some ladies in our ward, just started a “kid swap” 4 days a week for Carson, attend Ward and Stake choir practices, Ward Council meetings, take care of my family and home….and try to fit some Primary Presidency meetings in the midst of all this. Did I miss anything???

Austin has been busy also. He has been studying for the math & reading TAKS tests that were this past week, has been participating in the Wetmore Chorale (school choir), finished his year of piano lessons, lost another tooth on April 23rd, got registered for the “Shockwaves” swim team again (which starts on May 17th), decided he wants to earn money to pay for (at least half) of a Spurs basketball camp next summer that he wants to attend, just finished his antibiotics for a double ear infection, and participated in the Cub Scout Pack 424 Pinewood Derby this week. He was 4th seed going into the races, but wasn’t as victorious as last year when he placed 2nd overall. His car looked awesome though (“Bumblebee” from the Transformers movie), and everyone had a great time as usual. This week Austin was chosen at school to be a morning “Patrol” for next year, which means he’s on a team of 5th graders in charge of making sure all the traffic (vehicles and pedestrians) are safe getting to & from the school. It’s an honor reserved for kids showing academic stability, good citizenship and positive leadership qualities. Way to go Austin!!!

Logan continues to show improvement at school in his conduct as well as his reading capabilities. He is also a very good artist and recently 2 of his pieces were chosen to be in the North East Independent School District “Young Masters” Art Show (Austin was chosen to participate in this same event in Kindergarten also).

During “Fiesta” (a big, week-long party in San Antonio) the Kindergarteners hold a fiesta parade and walk through the school with their homemade “floats”. Logan wanted a bus, and this is what he got. I had a little fun with my Cricut! Logan is also registered for his 2nd year on the “Shockwaves” swim team. We have new coaches this year, and when we got home from registering, Logan had a sad look on his face. I asked him what was wrong. He said “I miss her!” I asked him who, and he said “JJ”. She was his coach from last year that spent so much one-on-one time with him trying to get him to swim. She will definitely be missed!













Carson is CRAZY about Transformers! He is constantly talking about them, transforming the ones we got the boys’ for Christmas, watching You Tube videos of people talking about how to transform their transformers, etc, etc, etc. He is sort of obsessed I guess you could say. Oh, well. They all go through some sort of phase I guess. Carson also loves playing basketball with Austin. We have an over-the-door hoop upstairs in the playroom. They also brought in the Little Tykes hoop from outside so that they could have a full court. They will spend hours playing an entire game, including time-outs, half times, breaks (with Gatorade as their drink of choice). They even have a timer (from my kitchen) and a scoreboard (marker board easel). They are especially lucky when they can talk Logan into being the official, scorekeeper, timer, or all of the above. They even have to wear their jerseys just like the pros. Austin actually has Spurs shorts and a jersey. Carson is the “Carson City Hoops”. It’s quite entertaining! Carson is also enjoying the “kid swap” that we started last week. Four mom’s in our ward take turns one day each week watching 5 kids. Which then gives each of us three days without our 4 year olds and one day watching all of them. Quite a good deal I think!

Jackson is still getting new teeth, most recently his molars. There are always more to come though, so he’s been grouchy off and on lately because of that. He also started this new thing where he loves to “squeal” if he doesn’t get his way or something he wants. It’s especially annoying when we’re in the middle of Sacrament Meeting. One of the cutest things he’s done lately is learn how to fold his arms when we have family prayer. He just started doing it one day, none of us even showed him how. Now, whenever we say “fold your arms”, he does it quicker than anyone else. Very cute! Jackson will be 16 months old tomorrow. Where has the time gone? My baby is growing up so fast.






We were hoping to be able to see some of you this Summer, but with Rhett’s loss of job, and a slow financial start to the new one, we will not be able to go on any vacations this Summer. Bummer of a Summer for us!

Well, that’s all from us for now. Have a great month!
Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson

PS. GO SPURS GO!!!!!

April 2010 Update

I found this free blog background and just had to have it for this month because I just took some new pics of the boys in the Bluebonnets. It's been 3 years since I last saw them....thanks to the drought we've been having. Now everything is covered in wildflowers. It's so pretty!!!

Well, another month is gone…and what do we have to show for it??? Let’s see…

Rhett loves his new job. Me, not so much. It’s a difficult schedule to work around, so I’m hoping it will get better. Rhett is enjoying the challenge of selling life insurance and he’s doing pretty good at it too. He probably drives between 50-80 miles each day, has a new laptop, bought a GPS and uses his cell phone constantly. He NEVER even had one before this past Christmas when I gave it to him, now we need to get him a different (better) one because of his work needs. Luckily we can write it off as a business expense!!!

My life is hectic, crazy, depressing some days, busy, fun, happy, enjoyable, and exhausting (sometimes all at once!). I am enjoying my calling as Primary President and have our first quarterly Activity coming up. The Cub Scout Fundraiser Spaghetti Dinner and Primary Talent Show is on April 10th. It’s a fun night to look forward to! Something not so exciting is that I found out on Thursday that I need surgery. And, to top it off I don’t have health insurance! I have a growth on the back of my tongue. The ENT said he’s never seen anything like it in his 15 years, doesn’t know what it is….but knows it needs to come off. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for it.



Austin missed 2 ½ days of school this week due to a nagging fever. He got feeling better though just in time to go to Cub Scouts on Thursday night to get his Pinewood Derby car cut. Now we spend the month sanding, painting, weighing and making it the best we can for the Derby on the 29th. Austin decided his car this year is going to be a Chevy Camaro painted just like “Bumblebee” from Transformers. It should be fun! Last year Austin came in 2nd place in the Derby, so we’re hoping he does good again this year.



Logan is FINALLY doing better in school. At our Parent/Teacher conference his teacher and I decided that Logan needs a sketch pad handy at all times that he can get out and draw whenever he’s done with his work…or even as a reward for being good. In his teacher’s words “he is a gifted artist”. One day he was being a little bothersome, so she told him to draw a picture of anything he wanted. She said he stopped & thought for just a second, then started drawing a bunch of circles, then circles within the circles. He ended up drawing a whole page full of donuts, complete with pink, brown or white icing and sprinkles. Wow! Mrs. Lucas is going to be entering another of Logan’s drawings in the “Young Masters” art show in our school district. Exciting! (Austin had the same experience in Kinder).



Carson keeps me on my toes. He has so much energy…luckily we’ve been going to a park once a week so he can run off some steam. I measured the boys today and Carson grew 1 ½ inches in the last 6 months. He is now officially the same height Logan was last year at this same time…and they’re 2 years apart. For the most part all of the other kids wear clothes from how old they were last year. Carson however, isn’t even 4 yet and already all the 4T clothes are getting too small. This is something new for me! It’s nice to know at least one of our kids got Rhett’s height genes.



Jackson is soooooo CUTE!!! I can’t get over how cute he is. He just keeps me smiling all the time (well mostly). It’s so nice that he has free reign of the house now…although we have to keep certain doors shut or he loves to make messes. He tends to stick close to Carson and they play together great while the other boys are at school. He’s even been venturing in the backyard with the boys lately. He mostly sticks to the patio, but goes exploring a little too. He is teething again, so he’s been a little under the weather. He already has both top and one of his bottom molars, and he’s getting the other bottom one now. Poor baby! Jackson LOVES his Daddy!!! He gives a big smile when Daddy comes home, and cries every time Rhett leaves. Don’t get me wrong, he loves his Mom too, but has a special place for Dad. We just can’t get enough of him!!!

We FINALLY got our backyard fence fixed to the point that our dog Addie can’t jump over it anymore…..or so we thought. About 2 days after getting the last boards & lattice up, she was wandering around out in the street. It happened 3 or 4 times again, so once again she’s tied up on the patio. Dumb dog! Why don’t you just stay in!?!?!

Once again we’re grateful for wonderful family and friends….and love hearing from all of you! Until next time…

Love – Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Jackson