I Love Halloween!

Halloween has come and gone. Can you tell I miss it so already! I never loved Halloween oh so much before I had kids (as a teacher it can be a nightmare) and now that I have 2 little ones to force to decide which character to be (after MUCH discussion), hunting for a costume that they don't hate AND is the right size, buying so much candy for everyone else's kids that it should be illegal, and surviving 2 or more parties (including one at the preschool where I teach-did I mention, 2 YEAR OLDS)......I SOOOOO don't love Halloween. I almost used the H-word (rhymes with wait) but that would be bad. So bad. Oh well, here are the pics that my ever-so-eager children posed for in their "Super Mario" ( & Luigi) gear.

First, some pics from our church's fall festival.

Going up the "BIG" slide...

"The Big Slide"...it is Rocket City folks



Conner going down the "little" slide



Aidan going....somewhere



They're not fighting...not them





The gang from church...notice Mario & Luigi in the back





Right before Trick or Treating....
Yes, this is their "Luigi Time" pose

One final shot...cute aren't they?

It's Pumpkin Time!

So here we are...it's finally autumn here. Gone are the 100 degree days (Yay) Here are the ragweed and harvest days (Yuck) and it's time for kids across the globe to get sugared up beyond belief-that's right-it's Halloween (almost). We spent the first day of October at the nearest Pumpkin patch here in the TN Valley (Huntsville to you outsiders) Tate Farms. To call it a pumpkin patch is kind of like calling Disney World an amusement park. Tate Farms is a pumpkin buying, hayride riding (ha ha), corn train chugging, pillow jumping, corn crib crawling, giant slide sliding, constant jungle gym-ming, kind of place. We spent 4 hours there, and didn't waste any time eating or resting. Here are some pics of our day and how the boys expelled some much overloaded energy.


Yes folks, this is a jumping pillow. We bought armbands for the kids ($10 for both) for them to bounce all day...I think we came back 3 more times after this...much more crowded as day wore on. Watch Aidan's hang time!
Much more subdued time in the haybale maze. John and I (along with an experienced helper) stood on a platform to help guide the boys out of the maze. Okay, to help Aidan out of the maze, Conner just followed big brother. Imagine that.

Next was a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. No, we didn't bring this one home (have you met John?) but the boys enjoyed finding the largest ones and trying to lift them. Check out Conner's face..oh yeah...having a great time.

After the 4 giant corn cribs, 3/4 story high slide, corn train rides, more pillow jumping, it was time to buy an Aidan-sized and a Conner-sized pumpkin. Then we posed for some pics and headed home. Yes, Conner slept all afternoon. Mom/Dad wanted to also.

Our little pumpkins...

Yes, even the Smurfs were there.

We LOVE Tate Farms!

I Still Got It!

This is a toot your horn kind of post...I passed both tests needed for my Bama teaching license on the first try! It's been well over a decade (15 years, I think) since I had to take any kind of a test...and in TN I barely passed their teaching tests when I took them. So of course I was extremely nervous to take these tests-both having reading parts-and be able to pass them. I have not been in a classroom as a student in 14 years, and wasn't sure if I still had the stuff to conquer it. I did do the pre-test practice and, did okay on it. Then it was test day:)

My first test was for my subject-Elementary Education. I was to report on time (7:30am) and it was 2 hours of straight testing. Well, the Praxis people (or AL A&M) were running late and we didn't actually start the test until 9:30. They also wouldn't let us leave early, even if we were done, so by 11:30, I was tired and hungry...and feeling bad for John being at home with the boys on his own. Oh well.

The next Saturday was my teaching in Alabama test, the test Bama requires everyone to take to obtain a license-that involved math, reading, and writing phone messages (yes you read that correctly. You do a lot of phone messaging as a teacher:)) Anyways....This was 3 tests in one, 45 minutes each, and the writing messages was at the end...way too tired to do well on that part. So I did my best and then left town to go see to my Ma who had knee surgery earlier that week.

Now the waiting began. 4 weeks. 4 long weeks. 4 very long weeks.

And then the mail came-a large white envelop marked "Praxis ETS". My fingers trembled (yes they did) as I opened it while waiting for Aidan in car-rider line. Inside was another large this time blue envelope...uh oh. Did I do something wrong? I opened up the blue envelope and discovered...


Again, hate to brag...but this is pretty cool, even for me:)

After the shock wore off, I picked up Aidan and headed home to see if I could download my scores...I did. I scored 194 out of 200, missing only a handful of questions on the entire test (reading area too!) I proudly showed John the certificate (to which he had a standard guy response "Cool") and then called my Ma to tell her. She of all people understands how scared I was re-entering the student arena.

A couple of weeks later I received the AL teacher test scores ...no fancy certificate there-but I did pass all areas (even the writing part-barely) and should soon receive an official AL teaching license. After all the headaches in Clarksville with teaching, you would think I wouldn't be looking forward to getting back into the lion's den...but to tell you the truth...I can't wait!

Summer, Where did You Go?

It's been a while since I posted anything-so I thought I'd recap our summer so far-and it hit me...School starts in less than 2 weeks! AAAAHHHHH!

I start back next Wednesday for inservice, the boys start back Aug. 8-oh, forgot to tell you...I got a job! Not a full-time teaching job (AL won't give me a license yet) but a preschool teaching job-fun story. Really-sorry Bama friends reading this-most of you were there when it all went down-

...a few weeks ago I went to a moms-out-breakfast (love those!) and while we were chatting, our church's preschool director (who I didn't know too well yet) was talking about not having enough teachers for this year. Eavesdropping-I casually asked about what kind of teacher she was looking for-and one thing lead to another, and...wait for it...she offered me a job! I loved John's reaction when I came home-"you got a job at the restaurant?" Starting Aug. 8 I'll be co-teaching 2 year olds at Twickenham Kids and Conner will go also to their PreK program. It's a drive (35 miles each day) but since I'm working, that should cover the gas. It's funny, I wasn't looking for a job, but now that it's happening-it was just what I needed-funny how He knows what we need, even when we don't-gotta love it!

Ok, nuf said about that...Our summer! The boys and I have spent some time at the movies (love the dollar theater), Kidventure, playdates, Point Mallard, but mostly at home. I felt guilty about keeping them so busy at the beginning of summer break-I've kind of left the calendar empty the past few weeks. Honestly-I'm hoping one will say "I'm bored" and then I can remind them school's almost here-hasn't happened yet, but you never know.

Right now, I'm hoping for a cooling trend in the weather (whatever that is-I don't remember) and a routine to form as school starts. Can't believe Aidan will be in 3rd grade and Conner has only 1 more year until Kindergarten...where has the time gone? Bigger question: How can I make it slow down, even a little. If you have an answer to that-let me know:)

Has It Been Two Years?

Today marks 2 years that I left my hometown, the only place I had ever called home. I was born there, I met my husband there, I went to college there, we married there, my children were born there and as far as I was concerned, I planned to push up daisies there. As someone who has hardly moved in her life (only once by the time I was 21, and only 4 more times after that) it was hard to move to a new town, with no friends, no family, no church (at least for a while) and I'm not the most go out and meet people kind of gal. My best friend in Clarksville is only my best friend due to her unwillingness to leave me alone. Really-I'm not a people person. I could count my close friends on one hand and my acquaintances on the other. So when John told me he found this great job and a great town-you can guess my reaction "How does long distance marriage sound?" Okay, I only said it in my own head...but it almost came out of my mouth. Me? Moving? To ALABAMA? You've GOT to be kidding me. Who will the boys play with? Who will be their friends? Who will be my friend?

Now it's 2 years later. Even though I'm still not much for meeting new people-I have new friends. Words cannot describe the joy I felt when enrolling Conner last year at his new preschool and one of his teachers says-"I know you...didn't you used to live in Clarksville?" New friend-1. Then after an exhausting search for a new church that would meet mine, John's and the kids' needs, 2 yes-2 people invited us to their small group. New friends 2 & 3. After deciding Twickenham would be our church home, we were then introduced to more people, all with preschool and school age kids...new friends 4, 5, 6,...and then John made me go to a women's retreat this past March...new friends 7, 8, 9, 10, etc. You get the picture.

Two years after I thought my social life was beyond resurrecting, I now have playdates, birthday parties, Bible studies, Girl's Breakfast outs, and I even feel comfortable enough having people over to hang out. Yes-Miss Anti-Social Me! Even John "hangs out" with his new friends and if you know him-That in and of itself is AMAZING.

Okay-my TN family/friends. I miss you. I do. I know I seem happy down here in Sweet Home Alabama (and I really, really, really am happy!!!!!) But I do miss you. I have to be honest, I do not miss Clarksville. If there was any way I could convince all of you to move down here....I would.

But since I know you all won't-I'll keep coming north for a visit. I almost said "coming home" for a visit. But that's just it. 2 years later...I am home.

I Can't Believe He's Eight!

It all started with this. He was supposed to be a 9 pound, 2 foot giant "monster" that had tormented my body for eight and a half months. But then, on June 27, 2003, at 8:58pm, after 7 hours of labor a little angel was born instead. He weighed only 6 pounds 10 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long. He was tiny. He was beautiful. He was the way I became a mother-my most treasured job so far. He was Aidan Robert Sims, and he was perfect.



This is him now. He's 8. Yes, 8 years old today. This picture was taken at his birthday party last Saturday at Kidventure here in Huntsville. I cannot believe that my baby is a belching, ball-playing, bike-riding boy. He has grown into in intelligent, loving, caring, fun, curious, sometimes too serious, compassionate, kind eight year old boy. I could not be more proud of him than I at this moment, except to hope for my pride to grow as he does into a young, christian man.

Okay, enough mushy mom-stuff...

Aidan chose for his party this year to have it at Kidventure. This is a local play-place in Huntsville. We've been regulars there since we moved here 2 years ago (2 years-WOW). It has inflatables, a wooden pirate ship, skeeball, basketball, air hockey, climbing walls, and an infant play area. The kids LOVE it. Best of all, there is a parent rest area with wi-fi, and quiet, but you can see your kids-and they have paid workers to help supervise the kids-YAY. For parties, you have the place to yourself and they help with gift opening and clean--up. We love them!

Anyways, here are some pics of the kids playing...

Aidan and the boys
Conner and Cooper on Pirate ship
Jevan and Cohen on the plane
The big boys in the spinner-sort of

Everyone had a really good time. Aidan received lots of great presents, but I'm a little impartial to one...

John and I got him a basketball goal.
A real one...he LOVES it!

As I spend this day reminding my self that he's still my "baby" while I try to constantly fill his ever-empty stomach...I will think back to how fast time really flies. It seems like yesterday we were picking out preemie clothes, waking him for a midnight feeding, bribing him with cheerios to crawl, and I could hold him in one arm. Now I can't even pick him up. As he grows I realize how precious time is and how thankful I am that God blessed me with witnessing not one but 2 angels becoming young men and I pray for their lives to continue in the same way and that they always are who He wants them to be.

Storms, Surgery, School's Out!

I wasn't sure what to title this post. I've been a bad blogger again...haven't posted in a while. Hope my many (the 2 or 3 of you) followers forgive me. I have a really good excuse. Really. I do. Okay, I don't, but we have been busy. Let me fill you in on life the past 6/7 weeks.

First, as stated in my last post (Texas), the Sims crew spent Easter in Longview, TX to help John's grandfather celebrate his 90th birthday. We had a good time, but spent 4 straight days on the road, 3 nights in hotels, and no normal schedule for the boys. If you know our boys, they NEED a schedule. Anyways...

Then, 3 days after returning from the crazy trip, our family spent about 12 hours off and on in our bathroom hiding from the many tornadoes that ripped up Alabama. Our house was spared, but just a few miles to the west and north, there was nothing left but destruction. Also, due to the enormous devastation, power lines to the area were destroyed, cutting our power for 5 days. We headed north to Clarksville (that's our hometown) to rest and have a semi-vacation until power was restored and Huntsville returned to normal....

The Tuesday after the storms, the day after we returned home and had power, I had my surgery. I had a robot-assisted hysterectomy (or as John puts it-major abdominal surgery). I only had to stay in the hospital one night and John took off the rest of the week to play nurse maid. I felt more normal after 3-4 days, but couldn't drive for 2 weeks, so Ma came to be my driver and spoiling grandma for a while.

As the school year ended (a week later thanks to snow-did I mention it snows in Alabama..) our lives started to look normal again. Conner had to be re-potty-trained, my house had to be re-cleaned and re-organized thanks to me out of commission for a few weeks. Just as summer started up...VBS called. Oh yeah, I moved down here almost 2 years ago, I still teach VBS in Clarksville. Go figure. So the boys (the little ones) and I stayed up north for a week singing songs about hippos and pirates (they're in the Bible-right?) and spending time with good friends-some of whom have actually visited us already!

Now we're in the swing of things. Lazy mornings that don't begin until 6:00am. Sounds of children playing (that means screaming, "he hit me", "no, I didn't-he hit me". Good times. Only 8 more weeks. Did I just say that out loud? Yes, fellow teachers-I have become the thing that I hate. I have become the parent that wants children to ALWAYS be in school. This time next year I'll be praying for the school year to slow. But for now, I'm praying for rain, cooler weather, and brotherly love to overtake my boys. 2 out of 3 ain't bad, is it?

Everything's Bigger in Texas!

This year for Easter we headed west for the great state of Texas! John's family is from there (he'll claim he's a Texan-though only lived there a few months) and his grandfather still lives there in Longview-near LA border. His grandfather-PopDaddy as we call him-turned 90 this year and so the ENTIRE family decided to try and make the trip Easter weekend. The party was at John's Aunt Brenda's house and she had the perfect place for 11 children to play in. A dirt patch! At one time, all 11 great-grandchildren age 3-11 were in the dirt together. We didn't get a picture of them all-but here's some of them.



It was a HOT, HOT day, even for Texas and the shade kept the play area nice and cool as Good Friday drew to a close. There was no stopping our boys, as you can see, they had dirt everywhere-and as the tub at the hotel that night knows, they had dirt ever-y-where! Even places a mommy shouldn't know about!

Conner after a few hours in the dirt

Since it was Easter weekend, Brenda (and a few other grandmothers I think) planned an Easter Egg hunt for the kiddos. Each child had a bucket full of eggs, that were hidden after dinner. The other moms and I kept the kids playing in the front yard while the daddies hid the eggs. Then we unleashed the beasts: yes I described that as I saw it. A few moms and dads helped the littler ones (Conner and Cousin Cohen) find the hardly hidden ones. As you see, Conner did quite well for himself.

Aidan had a pretty full bucket also. I think all the kids did. We had some pretty tired puppies that night after a bath. So glad there was a big tub, it was kind of less white when we were done with it. Our boys slept well and ate a huge breakfast the next morning, ready for more!


Since our boys wake early-wonder who they get that from-we headed to one of John's favorite parks he played at when he visited as a child. The boys played a while and posed for some pics on a fountain that wasn't working at the time.


Aren't they cute? Yes they know it! We had them promise to not get as dirty this time at Brenda's since we would be heading home that afternoon (actually only to Jackson, MS for another hotel stop halfway) and they tried to stay clean-but boys will be boys and Sims boys will be Sims boys-so we borrowed Brenda's tub for a quick wash down before we left. We all enjoyed a good lunch and then tried to get some good pictures with PopDaddy since we all have such busy lives now and don't get to make the 10 hour (or more for some) very often. Here He is with all 11 great-grandchildren.

Front: Conner, Aidan, Carter
Middle: Laura, Emily, PopDaddy, Shane, Grace, Ethan, Cooper
Back:Youngest Cohen, Oldest Samantha

Here's the Grandchildren
Jason, John, Steven, PopDaddy, Mark, Karen

And the daughters
Brenda, Carol (G'ma to us), PopDaddy, Jane

After 4 days of driving 20 hours total, 3 hotel nights, oodles of snacks and drinks and 2 very tired boys and 2 extremely tired parents-we made it home. John took off Monday to rest before the crazy week. Only we didn't know how crazy it would become. For those that read this and aren't in Bama, this was the week of the tornadoes. Our family was spared any damage or injury, but so many others weren't. We are so blessed to have our health and home and are blessed to have such a wonderful family to go visit. Looking back at TX, not one fight between any of the kids, not one fight with our 2 the entire trip, not one grumble, not one melt-down and that folks, is a record. I am so blessed to have my family and thank God every day and night for sending them my way.

Boogie Fever

Conner was given Just Dance Kids (Wii) for his 4th birthday so we had family Wii time when we returned from our cold picnic party in TN. We knew Aidan would be into it since he loves music and has pretty good rhythm...but Conner has never really been into dancing-or playing Wii. But we tried it, and you'll have to see the results for yourself...





This was the first song (ABC's - the sound didn't record so well) and they both just went for it. As soon as Aidan figured out you get a score for it...oh my-his competitive side took over. Conner didn't want to hold the controller so he didn't get a score (except when Daddy helped). Here's some pics to show their other awesome moves...

Conner is Finally Four!!!

Four years ago...
This is the face I saw after 41 weeks of "cooking" and 5 hours of labor. My first thought-he doesn't look anything like his brother. And he didn't. He didn't act like him either. Whereas Aidan was by the clock, by the book, follow the letter of the law of babies...Conner Lee was nothing by the clock, nothing by any book I'd ever read, and letter of the law-how many of those can I break? His personality is as big as his cheeks. When he's sad, he's REALLY sad. When he's mad he's REALLY, REALLY mad. When he's happy, he's REALLY happy. That's the joy of Conner Lee. He just bubbles over whatever is inside him. And we love him so much for that.



We had his first Alabama party this past Saturday here at our house. His friends from our small group at church attended and played hard in the 90 degree heat outside. It was a M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Clubhouse kind of party with hot-dog, hot-dog, hot diggity dogs for lunch. Then the kids played, opened gifts, played, ate cake, played and played some more. We're heading north for a half-way meet with the TN family this next Saturday and I'm sure he'll enjoy seeing everyone then too. Here are some pics from the party:

Conner (Yes, wearing his "Go Tide" shirt)
with his friends & Aidan
enjoying his present from Mom & Dad

Conner and Joshua (love the Mickey ears)
playing with his new sand table

The C-man looking happy but a bit
tired after his fun, fun day.

To all our friends-thank you so much
for helping make Conner's turning 4
something we'll always remember.
This has been a big year for him
and he has so many people in his life
that helped make him who he is now.
May God bless all of you:)

It's Fun Being a Wolf!

Well, Aidan is enjoying his first year in scouts. He has been a wolf scout this year and had a fun year so far. John takes him to his den meetings, so I miss out on most of what he does. We made his first Pinewood Derby race a family affair. If you've never been to one, it is an experience. Imagaine 100 boys (ages 4ish-10) all running around pausing every now and then to watch their car, and always wanting a snack all at the same time. Aidan did well for his first time, although he didn't place or win any awards, his car looked cool and didn't come in last!

Here he is in the pack watching the races.

He designed the car himself "Checkerboard"

The entire Cub Scout Pack (4 dens put together) had a blue/gold banquet on Feb. 22. John had to be in DC, so I got to attend! It was my first boy scout event to go to (besides the races) and I was thoroughly impressed with Aidan and his pack. He received some awards that night. He earned the wolf patch, since he has completed the tasks for becoming a bear next year. He also earned a basketball beltloop and a heritages beltloop for studying China.

Aidan posing with his Wolf Badge!


Holding his 2 earned beltloops.

Just enjoying the ceremony.

Aidan contiunes to learn new skills every week as they now work on more fun activities (I'm sure camping will happen at some point) until they start on the Bear Trail when he's in 3rd grade. Did I just say that-3rd grade? He can't be that old. Must be somebody else's kid.

March Madness (in February)

As we all get ready for "The Dance" (NCAA Bball tourney-guys)...I reflect on Aidan's first basketball season. His last game was a week ago and as we end this sports endeavor, I wanted to share how proud I am of him and what he has learned in his first year on the court.




Aidan was on the Nuggets (think Denver) 7U team. Trust me, no NBA prospects here, but the coaches were awesome and Aidan learned a lot. That's Aidan's head behind Coach Slaughter-listening to every word I'm sure.




Aidan is #4 here watching as a teammate goes after a loose ball. He was very good at defense and was one of the fastest on the team at sprints. He didn't get the ball much, but blocked some shots, and helped his team a bunch.



Here he is in defense mode. Always paying attention and ready with his hands up. How could he not with Conner on the sidelines yelling "Hands Up!!!" the entire game (even when we were on offense).

The coaches were excellent as helping the new players like Aidan learn as they go. At the beginning, Aidan could hardly reach the basket when he took shots and could not dribble and run at all. By the end he could make baskets and dribble, pass, catch, rebound, and go after loose balls. He always got to play at least 2 quarters and LOVED playing. He made his first basket during our end of season tournament and his face was lit up like a rocket! Sorry, no pics of that, mom and dad were busy yelling like crazy!!!!



Here's his team and individual picture. Doesn't he look old? Can't believe he'll be 8 this summer.

As this sports season slows down, Aidan has decided to take a break from sports-no baseball or soccer anytime soon. We'll be waiting for the next great adventure as we journey to find what we like to do.

Here's some older pics to remember his other travels in sports.

Fall of 2007, Age 4

Spring 2010, Age 6