My FIFTH grader!!!!

My baby girl is now a fifth grader.

A fifth grader.

I have said this many times about the things in my life and I will say it again in the future many times. But here I say....

How did this happen???

I vaguely remember the time before she was born. My life then was apparently more uneventful than even I realized. I always got into bed on time. I always got up on time. I got ready and went to work on time. I had no idea how boring I was.

And then, she drifted into our world.....

She has given me lots in her short 10 years. I often tell her that she made me a Mom. And it's true. Without her, I wouldn't have become who I am today. Yes, I would have probably had other children, but she is my favorite daughter and I tell her that often as well. (She often reminds me that she is my only daughter :D)

Anyway, she finished the 4th grade on May 26, 2010, and after a kind of rough year, she pulled off a report card with ALL A's!!!! Way to go, girl!!!! SO proud of you!

And boy, was she glad it was over......

Yes, she is 10. Yes, I let her get hightlights. No, I don't like them as much as I had hoped. Yes, she looks WAY too old. Will I let her get them again? Who knows really.....

And shortly into the summer, we already required a visit from the Tooth Fairy. He didn't get my text the night he was needed, but got it late and visited during the next day while we were gone to Abilene. Maybe next time, he will be on time! :)

Conversations with an almost 4 yr old....

Byron sneezes, coughs, and sputters.

Mommy: "Byron, it sounds like you needs some medicine."

Byron: "NO, I don't like medicine!"

Mommy: "But you are all stopped up and a decongestant will make you feel better."

Byron: "But I don't like jake-contestants!!!"

What happened at the breakfast table this morning...

These were so cute! I just couldn't resist! I love this boy SO SO much!!! Boy, does he like to eat!!!

A Day at the park

It is SO wonderful to have Christian friends. It is even better to have Christian girlfriends. One better than that is to have Christian girlfriends with boys your kids ages that are willing to invite you to go along when they plan an outing to the park! Yes, it is a public park, but it is still nice to feel wanted! :)

So, of course, I had to take pictures! Here we are: Jami and Jaxon West, Amy, Landon and Eli Grigsby, and Byron and myself. We had a great time and this was even before it got so painfully hot!

A little snacktime

Jaxon!

Byron always calls her "Amy Grigsby". It is never just Amy. So cute! And Collin likes her to....but she did have food....

I can't wait to see what these boys become. Their daddies grew up together and now here they are.....that is so cool.

Jaxon again!

There was an intense fascination with the ducks and geese...

...so we started feeding them goldfish. They liked it and it drew a bigger crowd!

It is very hard to get 5 boys all together and looking in the same direction for one simple picture. I admire families with multiple children whether all the same age or different ages if they are able to get a decent picture ever!

And of course, there has to be a picture of the mommies! (Don't hate me, girls! We have to document ourselves too!) Thanks for a great time in the park!!!

Visiting Daddy.....

First of all, I just had to put this picture up. CollinMac has become so attached to this puppy dog. He just lights up when he sees it and fell asleep with it. For the record: 1) No. He does not go to sleep on his own in his own bed....ever. He must be rocked completely to sleep before attempting to lay him down. If he knows you are trying to separate yourself from him, he will awaken immediately and you are back in it for the long haul. 2) I wouldn't have it any other way. As sleep deprived as I am at times, there is absolutely no way I can put him in his bed to cry it out. For those of you that do, more power to you. It is not for me.
So now, on to the trip to Daddy's office. More often than not, we are bugging Dad while he tries to work, so we don't show up very often. But there is this fantastic gift shop in Roscoe, and we needed to shop for Mother's Day and Abby was out of school, so I loaded up the kids and off we went to Daddy's work to shop and eat lunch. We got our shopping done just as Daddy got a phone call where he was needed elsewhere and we ended up having to take him back to the office and eat alone. Oh well....we got the shopping done! And I LOVE pictures of kids visiting their dads at the office, so I snapped away.....

Byron in chargeCollin looked out every window....and there are LOTS!

Abby was fascinated with Dad's dual computers....

Collin was too, I guess....

Who knows where Byron was for this shot! But Collin is desperately trying to escape!!!

He got away and was able to get to the computer....

...but then he got caught!!!

The office is arranged in a circle and the kids could have gone round and round all day. That would have sent Daddy to the hospital with high blood pressure or a stroke.....

Abby loved the sliding glass window. I am SO anxious to see what her profession ends up being....

Another window.....

Child Labor

Abby in charge!!!

Basically, a day in the life of the Tates!!!

Just a few pictures.....

I have lots of pictures from Friday that I want to post, but the camera is in the car and I don't really want to go get it right now, so I am going to post a few other random pictures. I just like to do this to show off my kids, really. So, let the braggin session begin....

Collin apparently needed to be "helped" find where the camera was.
CollinMac got a cookie...

...and thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

I just had to take these next two pictures. The two people were in Kevin's EMT class (which just wrapped up! WOOHOO! insert Happy Dance here!!!) and had come to the house to make up some skills training that they had missed in class. Kevin had "Fred the head" on the kitchen table to help them do....something. Please don't ask me what. I was sitting in the living room and my two oldest children were SO still and attentive, I HAD to capture it on film. They are never this still and alert! Do we see a bright future???

Collin discovered that crawling in the cabinets is a good way to play!!! After Abby and Byron figured out what he had done, two cabinets were cleared out and occupied by little ones! And only one door got pulled off the hinges!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there!!!!

We have become a country song....

He watched the whole process with this kind of intensity....

Tate, Son & Son farm meeting

Take a little time to smell the geraniums...

...specifically, "International Harvester".

I always teased that we were the Chevy truck commercials. You know the ones. You sit in your nice clean living room watching the commercial where the truck drives through the middle of nowhere, bumping and chugging along splashing through all of the puddles. All the while, you are thinking to yourself, "Why would they make such a commercial?! No one really does that!" I am here to witness to you. I have done that. Well, not ME driving. Just me the passenger. And it wasn't even just for fun. It was for an actual purpose--getting to a campsite on someone's land, driving down the turn rows checking the crop, taking lunch to the field, etc. Not just the edge of the field. Right over all of the cotton stalks scraping the under side of your car through the middle of the field. Ok, so I HAVE done it.

But now, we are also on the radio.

Over the weekend, a 1460 International Combine was delivered to our place. My children are the sons (and daughter) of a 3rd generation farmer. Probably more than that, but sadly, I am not up on my husband's lineage. We will someday have two boys in the county 4H. We make alot of hay around here. Our almost 4 yr old already has a patch that he is responsible for and knows exactly what to do with. He just needs a little help from Dad running the equipment. ;) We help Dad move a lot of equipment and, on occasion, cause a traffic jam behind us, but generally always try to stay out of the way when possible. My husband is a hardworking, God fearing combine driver. My husband knows all the flaws that song possesses too. And tells me everytime the song comes on.....

So, whether you know it or not, the commercials and the songs really are based on real life. The creators of either may or may not know it, but these things do happen.

And, whether driving a truck, a tractor, a combine or a four wheeler, these are the very best things in life to experience.....