Summer Nights...

Caleb, the soccer player, for some strange reason has decided he loves tennis and wants to play all the time. He cannot get enough of his new sport! So, the other night he drug the whole family out to the tennis courts near our house for a night of fun! It was a beautiful evening, but was super muggy so we didn't stay long. I did manage to get a few action shots of the new tennis pro though!

I loved watching Caleb try to teach Lydia, the lefty, to hit the ball!


Levi's doing pretty good too!


Here's the pro in action!


Wimbledon, here we come!


Watch the video below to see how Lydia spent most of her night on the tennis court. She just learned how to do this a few days ago and is now jumping the fire out of her new pink and purple jump ropes! Pause my music on the left so you can hear her.

We're Back!

Well, we finished up the school year and I now have a 1st-grader, 6th-grader and freshman in high school at home to drive me crazy all summer! I had to teach the last few days of school, then we packed like crazy for 2 days, then left for our annual 10-day trip to the beach with all my family.

We had a great time with perfect weather, good food, fun family time and NO OIL!!! Thank goodness we were there in May! I'm getting 2 kids packed and ready for 2 different camps so I haven't had time to make a photo album of our trip yet. I always love to do that so the kids can get on here and look back at it through the year when they're missing the beach! So, check back in a few days. Here's a little teaser for now tho!

Dreaming...

It's official--I think the Strickland family is TOO busy and this momma is tired! Here's a list of what we've been up to the last few weeks. And why there's been no time to update our blog or cook or clean, etc.!

**Caleb's soccer games in St. Louis (he scored a goal last weekend as defender!)
**Hours of "The Sound of Music" play practice for Caleb
**Caleb got his braces off
**Both boys have been MAP testing at school
**Levi's Boy Scout meetings and upcoming campout
**Levi's track practices and meets
**Lori's root canal that won't quit hurting
**Mark's out-of-town trips for work
**Helping to get a bond issue passed for our schools
**Lori's still subbing for first-grade
**Organizing the sale of 3,000 tickets for Caleb's school musical
**Easter and family get-togethers
**Lydia's new haircut
**Lori trying to figure out the world of extreme-couponing

I could keep going on, but I'm sure you're worn out and bored by now so I'll quit. It looks like it will be this way for about 4 more weeks until school gets out, then we're all dreaming of this...our beach vacation! Can't wait!

Daddy/Daughter Dance 2010

Arrow of Light Ceremony

Last weekend, Levi received his Arrow of Light Award which is a pretty big deal in the Boy Scout world. This means he has completed every requirement in Cub Scouts and is now bridging over to become a Boy Scout. He's only been in scouting for a couple years so this is all new to us. He is now part of a new troop of guys that are in 5th grade through high school. They have some pretty cool outings planned, he's already been to Space Camp in Huntsville with them. And he's got his eye on the Eagle and is ready to work hard to earn it in the next few years. Here's a few photos of the ceremony. Great job, Levi! We are proud of you!

Walking across the bridge to receive his award.

Levi with his arrow to hang in his room! Not sure what Mark was explaining!


All the grandparents came to cheer Levi on!
Caleb had passed his soccer referee test this same day, so here's both boys with the patches they earned!

My new favorite song for this season of life...

Valentine's Fun...

Valentine's Day is almost here and we've been busy celebrating the whole month. Here's a few photos of our fun:



Our valentine flag in the snow we had a few weeks ago. For a snow day project the kids made this banner out of stuff we found in the scrapbooking box.



Last weekend, we had a heart-shaped cheese pizza from Papa Murphy's. It tasted much better than it looks in this photo!



This is our mailbox on the kitchen table where we've been writing love notes to each other all month. Lydia is really getting into this and writes about 10 each day that all say the exact same thing. I'm having to pretty much make the boys write some. They think they're getting too old for this kind of stuff.



And finally, the kids were out of school today so Lydia helped me make blueberry heart muffins for breakfast.

We (heart) Valentine's Day at our house!