Babysitting

Have I mentioned yet how much I'm enjoying being a local aunt? I have 3 other precious nieces but they live hundreds of miles away (one as far as New Zealand). One of the benefits of being around is I get to bug Kristin every other day to see if she needs anything, like relief from holding Olivia all the time. This kind of sacrificial volunteering pays off because yesterday I got to babysit for the second time! We tell secrets, I tell her jokes and she has explosions in her diaper, which Joshua thinks is her joke. We have a great time together! She's a sweetie -- I love her.

Oops

I was proudly showing Greg my "bragging" post and all he noticed was that I misspelled surprise. As a matter of fact I have probably misspelled misspell. I am sorrie if I hav trubled enyone or distrakted thim frum my messij. Thanx.

Camping & Fishing

An amazing coincidence between Greg & I is the different ways we may have crossed paths when we were teens and several states apart. Our family was in Orlando, Florida yet we gave up Disney for camping in the Ozarks. Greg lived there and his family did the same type of vacationing (might have something to do with the fact that both our families were, um, poor). Anyway, we still have so much fun camping with his family and now that we're close its so easy! My in-laws make it even easier these days with their posh trailer and pontoon fishing boat. The boys were out fishing on that boat every evening and every morning this trip and Josh is learning to hang in there like a pro. I love it. In our comatose tv and video game world, this is what I think shapes a happier kid. Josh is learning how to drive a boat, bait a hook, cast a line and real it in (please don't ask if they ever catch fish - this is a humiliating subject). With my Dad he even gets lessons on flying airplanes! I'm just so thankful for these opportunities. My boy is growing to be a man and he has a great "cloud of men" in his family to show him how.

My Birthday Suprise

Can I brag on my husband a second? I know every married person has read 'The Five Love Languages' and can name them all by heart but I'm afraid Mr. Chapman left out the 6th and most important one which is being suprised. This happens to be mine, I think. When Greg and I first got married the extent of thoughtful suprise was the latest Camaro he would find. "But we can enjoy this together," he would assure me.... Here we are 11 years later, though, and I'm here to encourage you that things do change for the better! Case in point, my birthday. Thinking we were on our way to a quiet little cookout with Greg's sister Becky and her husband David, I was thrilled when I walked in the door and the whole family was there screaming "SUPRISE!!". Ben and Becca traveled 2 hours, and for Brad and Kristin (who traveled an hour) this was their first real venture out since Olivia was born. Each of them over the previous days had called to tell me what other thing they were going to be doing on Sunday (our cookout day). All lies, lies, lies. Greg put them all up to it. Isn't he sweet? He jumped through all the right hoops and it meant alot to me - filled my love tank right up! Poor Camaro...her tank is empty.

My Little Slugger

I'm loving baseball! A Broadway show couldn't be more entertaining than watching 6 & 7-year-olds play this game (by the way, Greg was just in NY and walked all over Broadway but I didn't have the foresight to send him with our camera. Dern!). Anyway, yes, its a hoot to watch the little guys slide into home every time whether its necessary or not (and its never necessary), just to come short a few feet and still have to get up and walk the rest of the way to home plate. I was a very proud mother the other night to watch my son run ALL the bases regardless of the fact that the second and third basemen stayed put (like they were suppose to). I was dugout Mom the other night which is the equivilent of being a zookeeper in the monkey exhibit. I was in charge of making sure they didn't swing on the fencing or steal each others bananas. You wouldn't believe how much fun it is to say, "Campbell, you're up next!", and see the cutest grins. I wanted to kiss each one on the head and say "Be careful", but monkeys don't like that sort of thing, I know.

What I Love About Boys

"Mom, I'm going out bug hunting," Joshua tells me this morning. Ok honey, good luck, we're all counting on you! And off he goes for all the necessary equipment: bug house, bug tweezers, magnifying glass (for examining, not burning) and, of course - never knowing how far one will have to travel -scooter. The search was originally for a roly poly under a rock somewhere. After the disappointing loss of a reported blue spider, hopes rose again with the discovery of an ant! If YOU had a magnifying glass you would see this ant on his wrist. I had another 'what I love about boys' moment several weeks ago when I picked him up from school. He was so distracted by what was in his hand that he almost didn't make it into the right car. When he finally climbed up into the front seat with me I noticed his pants were caked with dirt. Fascinated, he opened his hand to show me the one-legged cricket he found on the playground. "Did you cause this or...?" I thought, but he was digging in his pocket to show me something else. "I found an awful good digging stick too!" he proudly displayed. So that explains the pants. I don't know what happened to the cricket but the that awful good digging stick is still on the top of his drawer. I can't toss it out...

The Banks Cottage

It occurred to me that our blog is called "The Banks Cottage" but we had no picture of it - so here it is! It's such a nice day that we want to be outside even if the allergies are killing us. We've been out alot lately, getting the yard how we want it. The backyard had no landscaping whatsoever, just wall-to wall grass, so that's where we've started (and I do mean started - this is going to take awhile). Don't you love before and after photos? They fascinate me, whatever they are - room remodels, hair & makeup, weight-loss accomplishments, renovated town squares, LiLo out of rehab - you name it. If its an improvement, I like it! And, whereas, I don't expect 'Cottage Living' to come do a photo shoot for their magazine, I do have a couple of before & afters of our landscaping attempts. Behold: Phase I!

before...

...after

before...

...after

One thing I've determined will NOT happen next winter is for me to look out my window and just see grey (grass, fence, rooftops, sky...) and hence, fall into depression. So, we're planting pine trees! This one Josh got from school, the others will be mature and not planted by me.

One thing I've determined will NOT happen next winter is for me to look out the window and just see grey (grass, fence, rooftops, sky...) and hence, fall into depression. So we're planting a few pine trees! This one Josh got from school, the others will be mature and not planted by me.

This is my favorite. We added this window box and made these shutters for the little window looking out on our back patio. If you ever go to southern Germany you'll see every little home, no matter how poor, adorned like this. I fell in love with the look when I visited long ago and never got over it.

Brad & Kristin

I meant to post this picture yesterday before the picture of Olivia but I forgot. For anyone who was wondering, Kristin is Greg's sister. She was 16 or 17 when I met Greg and I instantly loved her. She was homecoming queen (the night before our wedding) and no one who knows her would wonder why. She's beautiful AND has personality! She's funny, confident and so humble. She cares for people to a fault sometimes as she would sooner starve than have you go without something. If I'm stretching any of this at all, I can tell you, its on the conservative side. I'm proud to call her my sister-in-love (thank you Marlita for that better term) and look forward to the rest of our lives being Moms together!

Welcome Olivia Ruth!

FINALLY...another member of the Banks Family! Mother's Day ended with all of us heading down to the hospital to wait with Brad & Kristin for the arrival of their daughter. We were all a little bleary-eyed by 5:30 in the morning but hearing that first cry outside the door was worth it all! Joshua has waited 7 years to have a cousin on this side of the family and he was smitten with Olivia when he came to visit later. He just can't stop giggling over her! Today he read her the first chapter of 'Frog and Toad Are Friends' and wants to tell her about Jesus soon. He's hoping she will want Jesus in her heart when she's about 2.

We already love you, Olivia Ruth. Welcome to a big-hearted family!

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was different this year. We were used to spending it just the 3 of us but since we moved, we also got to be with Greg's mom this time. In classic mother form, the time spent with her was all she needed. In my heart, I was in a dual universe that also included a day with my own special mother in faroff Orlando. Shelley and Nancy, you two are irreplacable and so appreciated!

As I opened the door of my bedroom Sunday morning, my boys yelled at me to get back in bed! Ok, I quickly obeyed. After catching up on a few pages of my Southern Living magazine I was suprised with a sweet tray of breakfast and thoughtfulness, complete with fresh-cut roses and a homemade card! I did hear that my original card was going to be decorated with speedometers and RPM meters but my intuitive husband redirected that idea.

After a perfect day like this you would think there could nothing more, BUT, stayed tuned....!

Like Father Like Son

Uncle Brad and Aunt Kristin know their nephew Joshua pretty darn well. For his birthday they gave him a gift bag full of cleaning supplies - yes, cleaning supplies. Why? Well, I guess the picture explains it. How many times has Daddy been out spiffing up the Camaro while Josh is just left with a thing of Windex for HIS ride? Now he has the deluxe 'spit & shine' package all to himself. I can't wait to get a shot soon of both of them at work. It's something I'll never quite understand but I sure do love them!

Grillin' Greg

Grilling Greg

Neighborhood Posse

Birthday Boy!

Our Family

We celebrated Joshua's 7th birthday today. It was a beautiful day for a backyard cookout for our new neighborhood friends. Josh has had no problem acclimating himself to his new surroundings and recruiting new buddies. Their parents have also become good friends for us. So it was fun for everyone to get us all together. Because I suffer from a lack of creativity, I handed each boy a watergun as they arrived and, even though I did actually have some other things planned, they spent the whole time thrilled with shooting each other. See what you girl families are missing?