Boyett Blog

What does Columbus Day mean to you?

2011-10-10T12:39:00.000-05:00

Wikipedia:
Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492, as an official holiday.

For the Boyett' family; We are very thankful that Columbus founded America, BUT, for us, Columbus Day is a reminder of the day Nathan was diagnosed with cancer.
Nate had been sick for a couple of weeks prior, running fevers, ear infections, viral infections and so on. But the Sunday night before the Columbus day holiday, we noticed the enlargement of his abdomen. Constipation was our first thought, so we treated that immediately. The enlargement did not go away.
The following day, Columbus day October 12, 2009. Matt had the day off because of the holiday and I was at work. I called to make another appointment at the pediatrician and our scheduled time was 3:00. Matt and I decided we didn't want to wait that long and decided to meet at the ER.
*Side note: If you ever think that your life can't be turned upside down in a matter of seconds....you really need to understand that it CAN happen to you! When I left for work the morning of October 12, 2009, I never dreamed that I wouldn't come home for 6 weeks.
Back to the story, after 5 hours of test after test, we had a tentative diagnosis of a Wilms Tumor.
Some parts of these moments are very clear, and some parts are very foggy. I remember looking him in the face and saying, "I don't know what that means." I remember his reply very clear, "cancer, cancer of the kidney and you will be leaving shortly to go to Memphis, TN to St. Jude." With that one sentence, our lives changed forever. My baby was 1 month from being 3 years old. There is no way this could be happening. I got dizzy. I felt faint. I had to lay down on a gurney. I asked for water. All in the span of 5 seconds. I can't speak for Matt, he was dealing in his own way. I just know that after the initial shock, I remember Matt and I sitting on the gurney side by side saying, let's go to Memphis and fight this with all we have. The next day, we were in an ambulance on our way to Memphis. I can't say I remember the ride, because I was still an emotional wreck. I sat up front while my baby and nurses were in the back. They would tell me he was ok. I dont' think I even spoke to the driver the whole way. We got to Memphis, 2 days later Nathan had a 5 hour surgery to remove the one and half pound tumor along with his left kidney. He has the scar to prove it and he is not shy about showing you!
Today is Columbus Day, observed. In 2 days it is October 12. The date of diagnosis. You never forget the diagnosis date. One year to the date October 12, 2010, Matt and I established Nate's Giving Fund. It is a non-profit that is up and running with tax exemption and all. We are still in the fund raising process. This fund is aimed to help people financially while their child is receiving treatment for a life threatening disease/disorder.

In 2 days October 12, 2011 is 2 years past diagnosis date. On this day 2 years ago, we had no idea where we would be in 2 weeks, 2 months, or 2 years. But, we sure know where we are today. And we give all the thanks and glory to God for allowing us to be here today.
We know how blessed we are, we count our blessings everyday. We try so hard not to let the things that really don't matter in the way of what does matter.

This past weekend Nathan and Coach Matt's T-ball team (Meridianville Storm) took home the Madison County Champion Trophy. It was amazing. It was a blessing to have Nathan to play on a t-ball team that Matt coaches. We count our blessings everyday. No one is promised tomorrow. And we know all too well how true that is.

vikki~

Champions x 6

2011-10-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

Mattie's softball team has won 6 straight championships in a row.

USFA EXPRESS FALL CLASSIC II
CHAMPIONS Cullman, AL

USFA THUNDERBOLT INVITATIONAL
CHAMPIONS Trussville, AL

NSA PENCIL CITY CLASSIC
CHAMPIONS Shelbyville, TN

USFA GALLATIN FRIENDLY CHAMPIONS Gallatin, TN

TSFA FALL FRENZY
CHAMPIONS Ringgold, GA

USGF 3 OUT THROW DOWN
CHAMPIONS

Pics below are from this past weekend;
USFA EXPRESS FALL CLASSIC II
CHAMPIONS Cullman, AL

But this pictures says it ALL!

What's going on in our world...

2011-09-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry friends and family, all 2 of you that read, I am doing a horrible job of keeping up my bloggin'.
But with a few minutes on my hands and a few things on my mind, here goes.

First, it's time for Nathan's next check up. September 22nd to be exact. Please keep him and all of us in your prayers. Please pray that he remains cancer free forever.....
He is getting excitded for the upcoming trip, he LOVES going to Memphis. He actually asked if his sister could come this time. So, I guess sister is going to make the trip with us. She seems to think we have a plethora of fun while she is not with us. Matt and I are only letting her come since Nathan will not have anymore CT scans and he won't be restricted from food; because sister just can't handle the fact that if he don't eat, we don't eat.

Second, Nathan is loving Pre-K. His school, teachers and class are fantastic. It is such a good feeling to know he is happy. Mattie is diggin' 3rd grade as well. She's got some awesome teachers and friends as well.

Third, Mattie is still having loads of fun playing softball. It is amazing how much she practices, plays, sweats, thursts, falls/slides, gets hit with balls, and gets hits at the plate. She is such a happy kid, but very attached to her parents which can be good and can be bad.
Nathan is loving his co-ed T-ball team this season, (I think) I have learned that he does not like for a girl to take the ball away from him, and I sure don't blame him. I think I would enjoy watching them play anything...we'll maybe not chess.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a gallbladder attach, 2 days later I was in surgery having my gallbladder removed. It's amazing how some people can keep theirs their whole life and mine gave up at the ripe age of 36.5.

Matt is Nathan's T-ball coach again, so between Alabama Football, Rockets03 Softball and the Meridianville Storm, he stays pretty busy. He is an awesome dad! Do I get any points for that plug, Matt?

Every weekend in October is booked up with Softball.

November 19th is the St. Jude Walk-A-Thon at Madison Square Mall, so be on the lookout for my ~~begging,~~ asking for donations.

Also in November we will go on Nathan's Make-A-Wish Disney Cruise...we are so excited.

I'll end with a few pictures.

Vikki

Nathan and Jayden

First day of school

Balance is the Key

2011-03-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

Balance between home/work, balance between husband/children, balance between child 1/child 2. I feel like I am in a constant state of balance with a pole on top of my head steadying a plate and a plate on each hand/elbow/knee, you get the idea. Which one needs how much attention and at what point. I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the facts.

This upcoming weekend will be a new test of balance for the Boyett family.....
Up until this point, the only separation we have experienced is when we were in Memphis and Mattie was at home with Mimi & PopPop, which was hard, but manageable and Mattie understood given the circumstance and as a 6 year old, she was getting to do what she wanted to do. Win/Win situation.

Saturday, Nathan will have his first T-ball Opening Day and mini-game. I of course don't want to miss it, and Matt is the coach (so he can't miss it). Mattie has a tournament in Georgia 2 hours away. Dilemma. Also, Saturday night, Nathan has his annual "Cancer Survivor Dinner" and Matt and I really don't want him to miss that! So, it looks like I will ~~beg~~ ask a teammate to take Mattie with them. I will stay to watch opening day. I will then drive to Georgia to hopefully catch at least 2 of the 4 games Mattie has. Matt and Nathan stay to go to the dinner. I know Matt hates to miss the tourney and I hate to miss the dinner.
I know you are probably thinking, what's the big deal? And your right, it's really not a big deal. But, we have tried VERY hard to KEEP THE BALANCE. I don't want Mattie to ever feel like her game is not as important as Nathan's, or, anything involving cancer takes presidence over anything else. I know, as they get older, they will understand more, but until then, it is what it is.
Hence, Balance is the Key....

One year and a half

2011-03-17T12:37:00.000-05:00

Yes, I am well aware that I have been on a blogging hiatus for a year and a half. We had some issues going on between then and now to say the least. I did blog on caringbridge.com during Nathan's diagnosis, treatment and checkup schedule and I hope I was able to keep everyone updated. I will continue to post on caringbridge about upcoming scans and results and I will probably put the same info on here as well. (Next Scan May 9th)

I just wanted to re-start blogging here because we are trying to live each day as normal as possible. We have been so blessed by God and we are so grateful. We are so busy with our lives, going places, doing things and just having fun and enjoying being with our friends and family.

Mattie is so involved in church activities and travel softball. We went to Birmingham last weekend for a 2 day tournament. Won 2 games and lost 2. The girls did great! She plays for North Alabama Rockets 03 (2003 was the year all the girls were born). They were the only 03 team in the tournament. The other teams were 2002, so they did very well to say the least! Next tournament March 26.

Now that I am looking at the calendar, I remember my very first blog which was on my birthday in 2008 (go here to see). Anyway, my birthday is in 2 days, maybe I have some sort of self-reflecting disorder that peeks around my birthday, who knows? I just read that post and CANNOT believe 3 years has passed that fast.

And because we felt like we have to much spare time, Matt decided to coach Nathan's first T-ball team, The Giants. He has had one practice and loves it. Of course, he has been at the ballpark since he was born. After his first practice he told all his family members that he hit the ball over the fence, what he didn't tell them was he was about 5 feet away from the fence and it was a wiffle ball....gotta love that kid.

So, that about sums up what we are up to at the present time. If you ever wonder what we are doing during the week; church, ball, ball, church, ball, ball, ball. But, we love it and there is nothing we would rather be doing.

Crazy Hair Day for Dr. Seuss' Birthday, had to leave early due to pink eye.

Oh and by the way; I have the cutest niece ever! She and Nathan have so much fun together!

Nathan's CaringBridge Site Link

2009-10-21T08:52:00.001-05:00

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathanboyett

With Love,
The Boyett's

Boyett Beach Trip 2009

2009-08-12T07:38:00.076-05:00

Since Mattie's summer care program was closed the week before school started, I decided that we would squeeze in a quick trip to the beach, coming home the day before school starts. I know, I keep trying for that "mother of the year" award. My thoughts were that she could sleep on the way home (which she did) and we would get home early enough to rest and relax before the next day (which we did).

So here is a very heavy picture post of the Boyett Beach Trip 2009.....

But first, I just need to know how we went from this in 2006
to this, 2007
to this,2008
to this, 2009....someone stop making time go by so fast!!!

During this post, you will notice that my children are budding photographers, their subject? themselves. Mattie has the camera...
I know the children get this from their father, you don't know how many pictures we have of Matt taking pictures of himself. Look at her big brown eyes, the get me every time.
Quick story...we are getting in the car to head to the beach. Mattie shuts the door on Nathan's head, well, she hit him in the head while shutting the door...same thing really. Got the same results, a big knot and a whole lotta crying. We got out of the car, put ice on Nate's head, calmed him down for getting hit, calmed Mattie down for hitting him. We got back in the car and headed to the beach. At this point, mom was still not calm.

Yeah....we made it to the beach after 2 children asking 1 trillion times, how many more miles? Like they even know how long a mile is!
Nathan and I are not what you would call "sun people". Our blue eyes and fair skin are not a fan of the sun. Unlike Mattie and Daddy.
Also, Nathan and I are not big "sand" people, we are constantly trying to get the sand off our stuff. Why do we go to the beach then, because it's fun.
Say cheese brother!
Here is our "sun goddess"...she could and would stay outside 24/7.
Nate, on the other hand, would, but could not, because of his beautiful, ivory skin. (just like momma)
Ok, here is Miss Poser. Getting geared up for a seafood dinner.
Again, Miss Poser.
Here is NOT Mr. Poser.
If I had a penny for all the times I hear, "hey mom, take my picture", I would be wealthy.
And if I had a penny for every time I said, "hey Nathan, smile for the camera, I would be really wealthy.
Ah, yes, sister at her finest, also known as Miss Modest.
Funny story...Nathan wants to ride the train. So Matt scurries up to the train with Nathan and they both hop on. The "conductor" comes to Matt and says, "sir, you can't ride the train, you are too big". I am still laughing as I type this.
Mattie and Nathan on the Ferris wheel for kids.
Someone has had a long, fun day and is now getting tired. Me too son.
Oh, look mom, I got my second wind.....I am on the swing now.
Nathan is thinking, "why do y'all insist on making me pose? You know I am NOT Mr. Poser.
At the pool....Mom only got to sit out of the pool a couple of minutes before I had to get back in to play, also known as, splash mom in the face.
Nathan's photog skills...
Mattie's photog skills....
Why does she think we need pictures of the TV with Phineas and Pherb?
Seriously???
My 2 babies....bout to eat dinner and go school shopping at the outlets! Woo Hoo...fun for Mommy!
Monkey see...
Monkey do...
Proof, Matt eats oysters on the half shell. UMMM they are soooo good.
Love when the kids get a under shot of mom.
Ok, it could be worse.
Mattie's shot.
Nathan's series of shots.....I don't know if we didn't realize he had the camera or what?

I guess we finally realized it and took the camera away from him and this is what he thought about it.
My most favorite picture of the whole trip!
Hello...meet Mr. and Miss. Poser
Or meet, Mr. Mommy's hair in his ear. He has done this since birth, why, I do not know.

Nathan going for Mattie's hair. no words necessary.
Ah, mommy and daughter.
This is my other favorite.
When did she grow up so fast?
Brother in the sand.
Oh, yes, The Boyett Family Photo Opt. Some poor stranger felt sorry for us and offered to take our picture.
Good Lookin' family, if I do say so myself.
This was my idea. I thought it was neat.
Deep Thoughts by Mattie......
Sweet Feet.
Love it.
Nathan's favorite part of the beach, smashing sandcastles.
Treasured Moments.
Great Memories...
The loves of my life.
Mom, can you get this sand off my hand?
Mom, can you take another picture of me?
My babies...

A beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day.
Ice Cream to end a wonderful vacation!
Vikki~

First Day of First Grade

2009-08-10T12:50:00.009-05:00

Well, here it is, the First Day of First grade. Mattie was nervous and excited and so was mommy!
Nathan had to get his picture made too...

He wanted to go to school with Mattie

AW, he does love his sister.

Miss Mattie sitting at her desk.

Enough already with the pictures, mom!

My baby girls desk.

Mattie and her teacher.

We got back from the beach yesterday, so I will post some pictures as soon as I can get back into the swing of things.

Vikki~

Mattie's 6th Birthday

2009-06-29T15:39:00.013-05:00

Mattie had a bowling birthday. Little did I know it was going to set me back about 2hundy. But having an awesome birthday is Priceless.
Having pizza and cake.

PopPop and Nathan

Mom, Clint and Emily

Mom & Me

Included in the 2hundy, you get a Real Bowling Pin that all the guests get to sign! Whoo Hoo! So worth it :o)

Little Miss Priss had a ball at the bowling alley.

Big Daddy, Emily & Nathan

Mattie opening gifts from her friends. She loved all her gifts but she said her most favorite gift this year was from her little brother. He got her a whoopie cushion. It's the small things in life, right?

I think she had a great birthday party. Then the whoopie cushion broke. Life almost ended. I bought her another one. Life is good now.

Vikki~

Hollywood

2009-06-29T14:39:00.002-05:00

Disneyland 2009

2009-06-29T08:11:00.090-05:00

I don't even know where to begin with is post, because so much fun was had by the Boyett family. Our first encounter or funny story happened just after we arrived at the Huntsville International Airport. We made it through security pretty good and we were waiting on our flight. Of course, as usual, Nathan had to go potty. Matt took him to potty and when they returned I could see a look on Matt's face that I don't see very often. I said what happened, did he wet his pants, you know a mother's constant concern. Matt said, no, that there was a man in the stall next to Matt and Nathan and all of a sudden for no apparent reason, Nathan smashed down on the guys foot. I said did you say anything, he said NO, we just ran out of the bathroom. So of course this sets the tone for the whole trip.

Waiting for our first flight. I'm not sure if this is before of after the bathroom incident.

Oh, how sweet and innocent.
Nathan enjoyed the flights, when the engine would roar, Nathan would yell, "Here we gooooo"

This is before she thought she was going to throw up....thank you Dramamine.
The hum of the engine put him to sleep 3 of the 4 flights.
Breakfast with Pluto and Goofy. Goofy is in the blue shirt...just kidding honey.
Lego-land, world, something....

Matt was pretty thankful the feel asleep on the Freeway. At one point he had to potty, so I had to let him go in a cup on the freeway. Another try at that Mother of the Year award.

We just think getting stuck on the parkway is awful.
Sight seeing....

Who woulda thunk?

See the Hollywood sign way back there?
The Warner Brothers Studio

Who thought Los Angeles and Huntsville, Al?

Bubba Gump himself! just kidding again honey.

Leave it to Matt to spot something Alabama.

Santa Monica Beach....water was freezing!

While I was in class, Matt took the kids all around Los Angeles. What a brave soul.

Dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Nathan was terrified when the storm started and of the monkey's.
See the look of terror on his face.

Family photo in the gazebo.
ESPN ZONE...
Have you ever seen such a thing? A tv screen, that's what took him so long.
When Nathan gets the camera
Meeting Mickey for the first time.
All tuckered out.

Can you belive she just turned 6? She acts 16.
Brother is not as cool...
When Matt gets the camera.
Can you tell which one is Matt and which one is Mr. Freeze? (kidding again)
The one and only time they did not fight during the WHOLE trip.
Mr. and Mrs. Incredible

Can we say soaked?
Momma not too happy here, soaking wet.
Pixar Parade was awesome!

Best $12.00 spent the entire vacation. A stroller for Mattie. They should call it WALK-Disneyland. Chill bumps.

Downtown Disney

LAX, saying goodbye to California.

One more short story. When we got to LAX after a very long drive going in circles due to the GPS system, we finally made it to the rental car place and to LAX. We were a family of four among a million people. We got in line to check our bags, mine weighed 53lbs, the limit is 50lbs. I had to take some out of mine and put them in Mattie's suitcase. We are outside at curbside check-in. Cars are zooming past us, we are trying to keep Mattie and Nathan from being hit by numerous buses. Hundreds of people are in line behind us. So, I finish moving stuff from one suitcase to another. We have 3 suitcases, 3 backpacks, a laptop bag, my purse, a carseat, a booster seat and a stroller. Matt picks up my suitcase to hand it to the bag checker and he had forgot to zip it back up. All of my belongings fall out of my suitcase onto the sidewalk of LAX. Can you just imagine? Whew, what a vacation! It was the greatest one yet! We had a blast and can't wait for our next excursion!

Vikki~

Mattie T-Ball Spring 2009

2009-06-05T08:57:00.002-05:00

Nathan's Preschool Pictures

2009-05-28T08:59:00.003-05:00

My Babies

2009-05-27T08:48:00.009-05:00

Sister posing, so you know what that means?

Brother had to do a pose too.

Sitting on mommy's new swing that she got for Mother's Day.

2009

2008
My babies....are growing up.

Vikki~

Memories

2009-05-27T08:29:00.011-05:00

I have great memories as a child. One of my favorite memories is when my Nannie let me play in the rain. I must have been 4 or 5. So, me being a mommy who wants only great memories for her children thought it would be fun for my rigid self to let my kids play in the rain. When I first suggested it, my rigid daughter said, "uh, mom, we will get wet, duh?" My reply, "that is the idea Mattie". So with much coaxing from me to convince my kids to actually stand in the rain, they finally did it and had so much fun. Note the apprehension in the first couple of photos.

"Mom, are you sure this is ok?"
Singing in the rain....
Side note** We are potty training, so when Nathan's shorts/undies got we he thought he needed to take them off.

That's why nature boy has on no clothes in the pool.

Great memories....

Vikki~

Swine Flu Lock-Down

2009-05-04T10:33:00.002-05:00

Leave it to me to make the best use of the Swine Flu Lock-Down. Schools were closed Thursday, Friday and all "extra" activities were cancelled on Saturday (T-ball). Therefore, I took this as a prime opportunity to get down to the nitty-gritty of potty training.
Day One: had more accidents than not. Stood anywhere and relieved himself, #1 and #2.
Day Two: had fewer accidents, made it to the potty half of the time for #1, none of the time for #2.
Day Three: had one accident, made it to the potty all of time for #1, half of the time for #2.
Day Four: had no accidents neither #1 or #2. He also went potty at Poseys, and at Mimi & Pop-Pop's.

I am so proud of my little man.

Rome and Munich 2009

2009-05-04T09:46:00.052-05:00

The title of my post cracks me up. Like yes, that was the trip I took in 2009, because I took so many trips to Rome and Munich, I may get them confused. Maybe it's just funny to me. Anyway, here are the photos from the trip. I took like 96 photos in Rome and only 5 in Munich, not as much to see there.

Flying in to Rome, Italy.
On the street right outside the hotel.
The Spanish Steps.
again...
me on top of Spanish Steps.

different view of Spanish Steps. again...
and again....
I really like these stores...Prada.
Jimmy Choo.
I would consider and alley, this is a main street in Rome.

Burberry. FENDI.

A monument of some sort, note the detail of the handcrafted work in the next photo.
amazing. Pantheon.

Swiss guard that guards the popes that have gone on....
Me and my bosses.
Trevi Fountain.
again...
I have no idea where we were eating.
but it was SO good.

just a few of the ga-zillion motor-scooters in Rome.
Historical building.
Monument. not sure...but pretty.
Ruins of old Rome.
which way? oh, that way Cesear, thanks.
Another main street.

I am fascinated by nuns.
The Colosseum.
Ruins.
Ruins.
I had never seen a real Maching Gun. A guard guarding the US Embassy. What a view!

Breathtaking. Hm, what is going on here in Vatican City?
Something must be going on....so I better have my picture taken.
Oh, don't worry, it's just the POPE!!!!!!!!!
El Popa again.

View from the top terrace of the hotel.
One last shot of Rome before I go....
The Swiss Alps flying from Rome to Munich.
A historical thing...
downtown Munich.
I just thought this was neat advertisment....I am such the target audience. If I knew what it said, I might have bought something.
There were clocks everywhere.

The hotel.

I told you, not much to see in Germany. I am so very grateful for the experience and I promise I did get some real work done while I was there.

Until next time

~Vikki

Spring Photo

2009-04-27T14:48:00.003-05:00

Here is my baby girl's spring photo! I can't believe Kindergarten is almost over.

I just got back from a business trip to Rome, Italy and Munich, Germany. I am in the process of uploading my pictures. I will post a blog soon with pictures from my trip!

Easter 2009

2009-04-13T12:50:00.002-05:00

I hope every one had a nice Easter. We had a great time, we went to church, then had some lunch and the has some egg hunting of course!

Here is my attempt at Easter Egg Cakes...

Take 1
Take 2

Take 3

How about standing up?

I'm sure I will pay for this one day :o)

Mattie loves having her picture made!

Typical Boyett children

again...

Mommy and babies

Daddy and babies

Nathan being Nathan

Egg Hunting!
Serious...
Not Serious...
Example of "sugar high"
Our Easter bunny brought Alabama jerseys and lots of bubbles!
Vikki~

Boys will be boys

2009-04-09T10:20:00.004-05:00

Last night at church, Nathan went to follow his daddy outside. I don't think Matt knew he was following him. The glass door shut, and I guess Nathan thought the glass to the right side of the door meant the door was open and BAM he ran smack into the glass pane. Luckily, the glass shattered on the inside of a double pane window and no glass came tumbling down. And we are counting our blessings that we did not end up in the ER and Nathan only suffered a small bloody nose. He kept saying, "that glass hit me in the head". My response, "uh, no, son, your head hit that glass". Boys will be boys!

Vikki~

Fun Day

2009-04-07T12:57:00.005-05:00

After opening day, we were able to work around the house outside. Mattie and Nathan entertained themselves pretty good while Matt and I did a few things. All of a sudden we heard the "music truck", what I used to tell her before she found out there was a man inside selling ice cream, (thanks mom). Anyhow...Mattie and Nathan hear the music and she starts begging for ice cream and instead of my usual answer of no, I said, "you can use your money you got from the tooth fairy". She thought that was a great idea and she offered to buy her brother one too.

Vikki~

It's that time again...T-Ball Opening Day

2009-04-07T08:15:00.011-05:00

Saturday was opening day for the 2009 spring baseball/softball season. Luckily the weather was decent unlike today and yesterday. The events included a walk-out for each team introducing their players. Then there is a one inning scrimmage where each team gets to bat all their players. I just have to brag a moment, Mattie smacked the ball to the outfield, it was a GREAT hit. She loves hearing how great she is, and I sure don't mind telling her one bit.

Here are some pictures from the day:

Vikki~

Before and After

2009-04-06T14:09:00.006-05:00

Who would have thought to have your baby teeth pulled by the dentist? Well, that was the case with Miss Mattie. I started noticing white dots behind her not very loose front bottom baby teeth. After a couple of days I realized they were her permanent teeth coming in with no regards to her baby teeth that were still in her mouth. I called the dentist and got some over the phone advice. He said, if the baby teeth were not practically falling out of her mouth, then the permanent teeth coming in could cause the semi-loose baby teeth gums to tighten up around the baby teeth thus causing two sets of teeth. Oh, no, we cannot have that. So off the the dentist last Thursday to let the dentist check out the situation. He confirmed we had to get the baby teeth out that day.

He wants to keep a close eye on the top baby teeth because we may have the same situation when that time comes.

Before:

After:

Wow, I can't believe we hit the lost tooth milestone, even if it was medically assisted. But what I really can't believe is that she got $10 bucks from the tooth-fairy!

Vikki~

Spring Break Week

2009-03-23T14:09:00.005-05:00

Last week was spring break. Mattie was out of school. Never before had Matt and I had to worry about childcare during this week because she has always been in daycare and thankfully they are open year round. So, to remedy the situation and not have to ask Pop-Pop, you know the grandfather with no job (per Mattie), I mean, the grandfather who is retired. Matt and I decided to split the week. He took off Monday and Tuesday. I took off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in which Thursday was my birthday. It was a year ago, on my birthday, that I started here. Where O where does the time go? But I digress.
On Monday of spring break, Mattie and daddy headed to the Huntsville Public Library. Way to go dad, first day out of school and lets head to the library, the closest thing to school possible. On top of that, Matt said the air was out and it was a very stuffy situation. Mattie checked out 2 books, and my first thought was...who is going to have to take them back, um, that would be me. Thanks again dad.
So Tuesday rolled around and I am not recalling what they did on that day, probably went to every sport store in this town. I remember meeting them for lunch at Jason's Deli, one of Mattie's favorite spots. She is a salad freak.
Moving into my days with said daughter. Wednesday, we went shopping of course. We ended up at the mall and there, before our very own eyes, was bungee jumping. Well, not really, but the kind where they put you in a harness and attach you to some poles and you jump on a trampoline and such. So, after years of begging, today was the day momma said YES. It's spring break for crying out loud. She gets all hooked up and they raise her into the air, higher and higher, and I see "the" look on her face. I see her lip start to quiver and I quickly notify the boy in charge to "bring-er down a bit". Whew...that was a close call, and for 3 minutes she jumped until her heart was content or until the 3 minute time limit was up. We headed out to eat lunch with Matt and mom had rocked the day for a measly 6 bucks.
Thursday was another day that mom rocked. It was my birthday and I treated myself and Mattie to a pedicure. Of course she did choose the most awful purple polish with purple glitter on top, but it's spring break for crying out loud. She sat in the massage chair like she had done it a million times before. We had a great time, but I think I have created a monster. She fell in love with pedicures and she suggests we do this all the time.
Friday, Mattie and I did what she loves to do best of all, we went bowling. For some reason or another, the child loves to bowl no matter if it's on the Wii or at a real bowling alley, although the 2 are worlds apart. So, yet again, mom rocked the day with bowling and Chuck E. Cheese. Don't ask, because I don't know why in the world I let her talk me into going to that place. But she loves it and I love her, so that's what we did. As for brother, he got picked up early everyday right after his nap and we headed home so we could get some great playtime in with him. It was an awesome week, even if I do say so myself.

Until next time~
Vikki

Happy Birthday Emily

2009-03-12T12:45:00.004-05:00

Today, my niece Emily turned 2 years old. Her mommy and daddy (my brother Clint) took cupcakes to the daycare for Emily and her class. These are the pictures I got on my phone from Clint.

Happy Birthday Sweet Emily, your Aunt Vikki loves you SO VERY much!

Where does the time go? Stroll down memory lane...

2009-03-12T12:27:00.010-05:00

I just ran across some pictures that my mom took (with her phone) the day of Nathan's surgery, he was only 4 weeks old. That day/whole time frame is somewhat of a blur to me, so I am very thankful for these pictures.

At about the 3 week old mark, Nathan started "projectile vomiting", literally across the room. After a week of trying to eliminate other things that it could have been from, he was diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis. A thickening of the muscle between the stomach and intestine, so his milk was unable to pass through his system therefore it got backed-up as far back as it could be held, then you know what happened next. I am very thankful that is situation was not life threatening or a long-term problem. But every time I look at his scar on top of his belly button, I am reminded of my 4 week old baby. I can't believe he is already two. I just don't know where the time goes. I sure wish I could slow it down.

Well, I can't leave out YOU KNOW WHO...and I really can't believe she is coming up on the 6 year old mark. We have loose teeth, what a major milestone. Here are a few pictures of Mattie, day one.

I don't know the reason for my stroll down memory lane. Maybe because I am about to turn another year older and I just can't wrap my brain around how fast I have reached this point in my life. I am not old by any means, but my eyes get wider as I get older, just trying to take it all in. I am very blessed and very thankful for where I am in my life, and I give all the praise and glory to God.
Until next time~
Vikki

Camera Clean-Off

2009-03-09T14:15:00.016-05:00

OK, it's been a while since I posted a blog with pictures. Somehow life is flying by very fast and I do good to take the pictures let alone, download them, edit them, and upload them to blogger, you get the idea. And, I am NOT one to want a bunch of pictures on my camera. I like to take a batch, upload them and order hard copies of them so I can delete them off my camera, again, you get the idea. So without further delay...

Nathan wearing mommy's boots after a long day at work.
Can we say future football player?
Until then....

Mattie on a balance beam at The Little Gym for a birthday party.
Mattie/Mommy pose
My precious Niece, Emily. She spent the night with us this weekend.
Nathan and Emily are 4 months apart.
Emily playing in the playhouse.

Mattie being her typical primadonna self. Another shot of Emily having fun in the house.
Look, ma, I'm a big boy about to jump off of these bricks. Just check out the drool and pappy (pacifier).
Until next time~
Vikki

Weekend Update

2009-03-02T11:52:00.002-06:00

I just know everyone is anxiously awaiting to hear how the Jonas Brothers 3D movie turned out. Well, we dropped off brother at Mimi & pop-pop's house because we have learned from a past experience that a 2 year old is not so much in favor of keeping the 3D glasses on the entire movie and not that interested in watching a fuzzy movie either. So off to the show, mommy, daddy & Mattie. We get there pretty early and make our popcorn purchase and head to our seats. After seeing the advertisements roll through several times, it was showtime. Mattie was mesmerized, I was enjoying the entertainment and the 3D experience and I think Matt was enjoying his eyes being closed, pretty good for a $15.00 nap. Yes, tickets to a 3D movie are 15.00 each, so 45.00 for tickets and 15.50 for a medium popcorn and 2 large cokes = 60.50 for 3 people to go to a matinee....go figure? We enjoyed our one-on-one time with Mattie and loved how excited she gets about stuff like this. Props to daddy again, for taking one for the team. Mattie will always remember her daddy doing these things with her. Moments she will cherish and treasure forever.
So we head to get Mr. Nathan and stop by the house to pick up some items to drop off at a consignment sale.
We drop off the items and decide to run a few errands.
First stop: cell phone store. If anyone has ever been in a cell phone store with 100 other customers and 2 small kids. I feel sorry for you. We put our name on the list...I think we were customer 99 or something. To waste time, we are looking at all the phones, Matt is trying to decide which one he wants. I am picking up phones, Matt is picking up phones, and all of a sudden the loudest siren I have ever heard is sounding. I look around and see Mattie's face covered up by her hands. And I knew that instant, she sounded the alarm. EVERYONE in the store was looking at us. I have Nathan on my hip, he has my hair, and Mattie crying and everyone still starring. Matt and I apologized to the manager and he assured us that it was not her fault, and that it was a faulty wire and it had sounded several times before on the same day. That is all fine and good, but it did not take the embarrassment away. And with that, we left the cell phone store.
After the crying stopped and we convinced her that they did not think she was stealing the phone, we had worked up an appetite. We enter an eating establishment. We are waiting in line. I am looking up at the menu behind the cashiers. In the corner of my eye, I see Mattie lean down and put her face in Nathan's face. I hear a slap, and I am sure Nathan took both hands and slapped her face together with his hands, because I hear her piercing cry again. So, I take Nathan's cheeks in my hand and scold him on how he should not slap his sister's cheeks. Mattie is still crying, so I look at her and blood is pouring out of her mouth. Huh? Did he slap her that hard? So Mattie and I sprint to the bathroom leaving an unsuspecting daddy clueless to what is going on. He had been staring at the menu the whole time. When we got to the restroom, I see one of Mattie's front bottom teeth protruding out, so I did what I thought was best in the time frame I had to think, I just pushed it back in. We got a cold, wet paper towel, the bleeding stopped and life is good again. Except for the constant reminding from Mattie that Nathan knocked her teeth loose. She had no idea the extent of the situation. So, again, we get Mattie to stop crying. She decides that she cannot eat. We did not order her anything per her request. So who ate all of Nathan's, Mattie did. OK, 2nd situation handled. Why do the Boyett's ever leave the house?
Moving right in to Sunday. The day of the snow. The kids really wanted to go play in the snow. Matt and I assured them as soon as we got home from church, they could play as much as they would like. As soon as Mattie left the church building, she started crying, there was no more snow. Ok, mom and dad will take the blame for this one. That just didn't turn out like we thought it would. Sorry kids.
So, here we are at the beginning of the work/school week, in which who knows what will hold......

Until next time~
Vikki

Update

2009-02-26T13:45:00.003-06:00

I know I have not posted in quite sometime. There really has not been a whole lot going on lately (thank goodness). Since seeing the Imagination movers, we have celebrated Valentines day. In which my dear husband got me 2 dozen of the most beautiful multi-colored roses that lasted over a week. That is if I kept Nathan away from them because the way he enjoyed them was not by smelling them but by pulling the petals off hand fulls at a time. And to repay my husband with a heartfelt Valentine's Day gift was none other that a Romantic Craftsman Chainsaw. Nothing says I love you like a chainsaw, right? I am to practical to let a gift giving holiday go by without making a useful, logical purchase. We needed a chainsaw people, it's time to cut back our trees. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful husband who accepts my practicality. (I also got him a Wii game, I'm not that bad of a wife).

We also celebrated Matt's grandmother's 80th birthday. I almost could not enjoy the party because my dear son followed me around the whole time saying, "shirt off", so finally I gave in and took the child's shirt off. You know at my age, why fight the small stuff. Some may not agree with the battles I choose to fight, but this one was not one of them. I am the mommy, I can do what I want. In the meantime of dealing with the "wanna be streaker", Mattie had her hands in the ham the ENTIRE party. Not only is she a ham, she loves to eat ham. She can eat a package of lunch meat ham in one sitting if allowed. So you could imagine how excited she was that no one was paying much attention to how much ham she was eating. Although mommy knew.

The same week of the birthday party, Mattie came home from school with a sore throat. I got my flashlight out and did my motherly assessment, yep, it's strep. And, yep, it's 5:00pm. So off we go to the walk in clinic. Strep was confirmed and she was restricted to stay home one day of school. Fast forward a week, and mommy wakes up and can't hardly swallow. I head back to the walk in clinic and strep was confined. I was restricted to stay home one day. During my confinement to the house, I was doing laundry and bent over to pick up clothes and pulled a muscle in my back. So now, my throat hurt and my back hurt. I need to give kudos to my husband. He did everything in his power to let me rest alone. He took the kids out to eat, he took them to church, he took them to the grocery store. He even took Mattie to a play that we had tickets for. He is sure that he has enough point to last him a while. Thanks again Matt.

So, here we are a week later and we all seem to be on the up and up. Hopefully we will stay that way for a while. Mattie is signed up for Spring T-Ball and she can't wait. And as bad as I hate to admit it, I really can't wait either. There is just something about a ball field that I really like. I am sure toward the end of the season, I will have made a change of heart. Until then, it will be fun.

Coming up this weekend, Jonas Brothers 3D movie. I know Matt just can't wait.

The Imagination Movers

2009-02-09T09:15:00.018-06:00

Yet, again, the Boyett's have been super busy. Now that we have had all the windows in our house replaced, we have moved on, and Matt and cousin Josh tore down our deck last Saturday. All last week was dealing with a contractor to have a patio poured, and today the contractor plans to finish with our steps (hopefully). Whew....We seem to always be doing something around the house, so in a effort to have some fun with the kids, we loaded up and headed to Birmingham yesterday to see The Imagination Movers. We had so much fun watching the kids. Nathan was so funny, he didn't really realize that we were actually going to see them in person, and when they came out on stage, it was like a light bulb came on...."Oh, this is what they were talking about". He was basically in shock that they were right in front of us and not on TV.

Having pictures taken on the stage before the show starts

Popcorn is a must for my children at ANY event!
Not sure why Nathan is making this face....

This is Dave...Mattie's favorite, she got to give him a high-five!

After the show, we got in line for a meet-n-greet.
Waiting patiently, or not so patiently.

We thought it was pretty cool! If you ever get a chance to go, it was a great show. I told them that mom and dad had more fun than the kids!!!
On the ride home after a big meal at Cracker Barrel.

We've Come A Long Way

2009-01-19T10:06:00.004-06:00

On this day, 7 years ago, Matt and I were married. And it has been truly harmonious since then. Do you hear the sarcasm? just kidding. We got engaged on July 15th 2001, the day my parents were married. Almost 6 months to the day we were wed. You may ask, why January, but to others it is simple. No way, no how, was I to get married in the months August (beginning of football season) through November (end of football season), that does leave 8 other months, but why dilly-dally? I had plenty of time to plan, so, we got married January 19th 2002. I chose the 19th because my birthday is March 19th and I thought it could help Matt remember. I am just as thoughtful now as I was then....

It was not a huge to-do, but it was just right for us. We talk about it year after year, and there is not one thing we would go back and change. In a chapel with 90-100 of our closest family and friends. We joke about it now, but neither one of us spoke the whole limo ride back to the house.

At that time, my mother had gotten married 6 months prior and she and Big Daddy bought a house and moved. She then, graciously, let Matt and I live in her house until we saved money and found a place of our own. 9 months later we moved 6 houses away from my parents and 3 miles away from Matt's parents. We love where we live and love the fact it is so close to our babysitters :o) We had been married for 10 months and been in our house 2 weeks and we found out I was pregnant. Matt's "Great" Aunt hired a housekeeper for us for while I was pregnant, and after Mattie was born I asked her to continue to come to the house, and she still comes...Basically, I have not had to clean the house since we moved in 6 years ago. HAHAHA! I am just as spoiled now, as I was then.

And before I knew it, when Mattie was 3 1/2 years old, here comes trouble, I mean, hear comes Nathan. He is not trouble, he is just ALL BOY!
So, here we are, 7 years, a house, 2 kiddos later and so happy. We thank God everyday for being so blessed with family, friends, health and happiness.
Happy Anniversary Matt. I love you, and thank you for the last 7 years and I look forward to the next 70!

California Here We Come....

2009-01-15T12:48:00.003-06:00

Wow, I am really slacking on my "bloggin" these days. I guess The Boyett's have been so busy and time is getting away, but to top it off, I have been busier at work, hence the lack of computer time. Can you actually believe that, I have been working at work. What a concept!

This will be more frequent due to my expanding job duties that I will go into at a later date. But for now, to get ready for my future, I am enrolled in several online classes and being sent to a week long training seminar in Anaheim California. Yes, home of Disneyland. The great thing about it, is I am able to take the family along. So, while I am getting my learn on, Matt and the kids will be tooling around California in the rental car. I am so jealous But we will stay in California 2extra days to venture to Disneyland and such. Our great adventure does not take place until June, so we will all be anxiously waiting for the day to arrive.

Matt continues to remind me that he is claustrophobic and gets motion sick, isn't he going to be such a pleasure to travel with along with the children? Yes, we will be the fanny-pack wearing family with a car seat strapped to daddy's back at LAX....sure hope we see someone famous. I cannot believe how much we will have to pack and go through security with. (Anyone have any advice for flying with children, please let me know).

Anyway, that is our big news at the moment. Mattie has been informed and cannot wait the long 5 months until we go. Luckily we will be so busy with T-Ball during the spring and summer, the time should go by just as fast as it always does.
Nathan on the other hand thinks going to see Mickey Mouse means to watch it on T.V., so there is no problem containing his excitement.

Until next time~

Vikki

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-01-02T08:38:00.013-06:00

Long time no blog :o) We have been extremely busy during this holiday season. But not to the extent of making it unpleasant or stressful. It was my goal this year to have a fun and relaxing holiday especially for the kids. Not rushing from one place to another and not over scheduling ourselves. School has been out of session for 2 weeks. I took a week off during Christmas to stay with the kids and Matt took the 2nd week. In the meantime we have worked ourselves silly doing things around the house that have needed to be done, but we are never home to do them. Things like, stripping kitchen wall paper including Sheetrock, therefore, spackeling the whole kitchen and sanding...what a mess of white powder. The kids especially liked this job, they liked throwing the powder in the air and pretending it was snow. That took a while to clean up...still cleaning it up, actually. Then we painted the kitchen, hung decorations, window treatments and 2 chandeliers. Matt put together 2 TV stands and a bookcase. We got Nathan a "big boy" bed, a full sizer....that he has yet to sleep in. At least his room looks cute. We have cleaned out cabinets, closets, drawers and the garage. I absolutely LOVE doing this kind of stuff...I know, I am a freak of nature. To ring in the new year, I was polishing my kitchen cabinets as the ball dropped!

OK, before I bore you to death with more of my proud accomplishments, I will share some pictures from Christmas. We have talked a lot about how Blessed we are and how Thankful we are for everyone in our lives and all that we were able to give and receive.

The Sunday before Christmas, going to Church

Christmas Eve, Mattie and Nathan writing letters to Santa

Getting the cookies ready for Santa
Did someone have a cookie for themself?
Christmas Morning....let the fun begin!
WOW...look at all this stuff Santa brought me!
Santa ate his cookies and left Mattie and Nathan a note too!
Christmas morning after all the fun!
Helping daddy put together one of the TV stands

Wishing you and yours all the best in 2009!

Recent Photos

2008-12-18T14:58:00.010-06:00

My sweet baby boy's school pictures

Riding along in my automobile.....

My older sister's not too thrilled.....

Riding along in my automobile.....again.

Nightly routine.....snacks are a must!

Can you tell they are excited for Christmas????

Roll Tide!

2008-12-04T09:17:00.006-06:00

I am a few days late posting the pictures from last Saturday when Matt, Mattie, myself and Matt's family went to the Iron Bowl. I don't have too many pictures to share but having to hold Mattie during the whole first quarter while she was asleep with aggravating drizzling rain coming down on my face may have something to do with why.

One tired momma.

Thanksgiving Holiday

2008-12-02T13:43:00.010-06:00

The Boyett family had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. In my usual effort to maximize the value of my time I scheduled a quick photo session to get our Christmas Cards made....that was the only thing I was going to buy. I scheduled this studio in particular to get my pictures the same day because I am running out of time. I made the appointment for Wed. the day before Thanksgiving along with every other mother in the Tennessee Valley and surrounding areas. We had to wait a REALLY long time but the kids were great and I ended up getting a few more shots than I had planned.

My sweet babies.....

Thursday night after the family festivities the 4 of us put up our Christmas tree with only minimal breakage, one snow globe (sorry pop-pop) and one candy cane ornament. We listened to Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas CD, one of my most favorite childhood memories (thanks mom).

Ho Ho Ho.....

2008-11-24T16:05:00.003-06:00

Did you ever have a really good thought or intention that just didn't quite get executed the way you thought it should have? That has seemed to happen every year that Mattie and now Nathan get their picture made with Santa. My thought is always to go on Sunday afternoon after lunch...get it, we (they) are already dressed nice and neat for a picture with Ole St. Nick. Well, we headed for lunch and then to the mall thinking we would time it just right so that we would smile and be headed home for Sunday afternoon naps. We walked up to the big purple chair (why purple), to not see Kris Kringle sitting there with a sign that reads..."will be back in 30 minutes"...huh? GOOD THING, I have a friend that was visiting the ville and she met us at the mall so we were able to chat and goo and gah over her 4 month old baby girl. So by the time Ho Ho Ho gets back in his chairy chair chair...the line is growing faster and faster. We have to wait about 15 minutes in line...how did that happen? By this time...it is WAAAAY past nap time and Nathan is kind of showing signs that he might sit in Santa's lap.....HA! Not so much! I started to sit him down and he hung on me like a koala bear in it's favorite tree. Guess what....they want mom in the picture....uh, NO! So, I sit Nathan on my lap and lean as far as possible so the picture lady can cut me out and fake a happy photo. We make our outrageous purchase and head home with screaming, tired children. Oh the joys of the holiday's.....

Birthday

2008-11-18T08:13:00.013-06:00

This weekend, between football games (of course), we squeezed in a little something for Nathan to celebrate his birthday. Although it is not a ideal time to have a birthday right smack in the middle of football season, God didn't seem to care or take this into consideration when he sent us Nathan. I tried to think long and hard about having him a huge get together but because of the situation, it just didn't work out. I did not want to make anyone feel obligated to come therefore we didn't have the usual Boyett Birthday Bash. We did however, make Nathan feel special on this day.

I made the cake.....this is as creative as I get.....

The Birthday Boy.......
Brother and Sister.....
Nathan and his Elmo leather jacket.....
Nathan loves Football!!!!!!!!
This is his "chick" magnet wagon.....
Bro and Sis rocking out...
Happy Birthday my baby boy....
It's my birthday, I can stick my finger in the cake if I want to!
Riding his Harley tricycle.....
Well, it wasn't much, but that didn't change the fact that my baby boy turned 2.

Where oh where does the time go?

My Baby Is Turning 2.

2008-11-13T10:39:00.014-06:00

Friday is Nathan's Birthday but with schedules and a parent-teacher meeting, Open House and basketball opening night I was unable to do his "school" party on Friday. So, we worked it in any way we could. The neat thing is, Mattie had her 2 year old party in the same room, sitting in the same chair. But, Nathan was not very excited about having his party......

It didn't help that they had all just woke up from nap

The teachers go all out decorating for such a special occasion
My niece Emily, waiting patiently for the cookie cake.

Nathan never looked up while we sang "Happy Birthday"
Ok, he looked up like this.....
Nathan was no so sure about what was going on.... Emily knew what to do....
It's not a party unless there are cheese puffs......
My Baby Is Turning 2.

Nathan will have a "Football" party this weekend....more to come.....

Christmas/Holiday Spirit

2008-11-10T10:25:00.003-06:00

To get you into Christmas/Holiday Spirit....

A commercial came on T.V., singing "Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la, la la la la.

So Matt, Mattie, Nathan and myself started singing the one verse over and over.

Later on Mattie started singing the verse by herself which went like this....

Deck the halls with Thousand Island, fa la la la la, la la la la.

I don't know if that was really what she thought the lyrics were, or her funny spin on rhyming and her witty humor.

My Little Monkey....My Little Man

2008-11-04T10:53:00.002-06:00

Strep Throat

2008-11-04T10:46:00.006-06:00

After the last trick-or-treater left our house. Violet Incredible layed down on the couch and went to sleep. While Matt was carrying her upstairs he noticed she was running a fever. She woke up early Saturday morning burning up. We made our trip to the doctor to find out she had strep throat. She was sick all day Saturday and Sunday. But she is feeling much better now. She does not get sick often but when she does, she is down for the count.

Finally feeling better.....

Halloween 2008

2008-11-04T08:50:00.012-06:00

How sweet is this???
My brother Clint, his wife Amy and Meow Meow....Emily
My sweet sweet Nannie....
Mattie and her friend Addison.
Uncle Adam, Aunt Carrie and Dash Incredible holding down the stairs!
Did someone say cheese????

Mattie, Nathan, Nikolas and Emily Another great
Halloween 2008!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-04T08:34:00.012-06:00

Carving Pumpkins, in theory, is always so exciting to me. Then the actual event occurs and it is mass chaos. Seed are flying everywhere, guts are falling to the floor. Kids screaming with dirty hands wiping it on everyone and everything. But this is what memories are made of. Let the fun begin.....

Not so sure.....
Daddy makes it all better.....
Playing with pumpkin guts....an all time favorite
Mattie is getting the job done....
Finished product...still not 100% sure.

Best Friends

2008-10-27T10:42:00.007-05:00

Mattie started to daycare at 3 months old. When she was 8 months old, I put her in a different daycare. That's when Mattie met Mykal. At 12 months old Mattie and Mykal changed daycare centers together. They recently graduated from Pre-Kindergarten together.

Although they do not go to the same school now, I hear Mykal's name at least several times a week. She either asks me what he is doing or tells me a funny story about when they played together. It must be hard to go from seeing your best buddy everyday for 5 years @ 9 hours a day to never seeing them. I had planned to take Mattie to watch Mykal's football game on Saturday, but it was cancelled. So, I got with his mother and scheduled a play date at Chuck E Cheese. They had so much fun seeing each other.

Fall Festival 2008

2008-10-27T10:27:00.010-05:00

There's nothing like getting 2 kids dressed in their Halloween costumes while in a car. That's what we had to do last Thursday night. Nathan's school had it's fall festival and with Mattie being in big girl school it was an ordeal as usual. Nathan and I waited in town while Matt got off work and picked Mattie up. We met for dinner and headed to the festival. It was rather chilly so instead of the kids getting dressed in the parking lot, I opted for the car. Not really a good idea on my part but we managed. I thought the kids were so cute I just had to take a couple of photos in our dressing room (AKA the car) This is how that went:

Here they are inside the school being made to pose for yet another picture......they should be used to this by now.....

Stop, say cheese....again.

Here are a few pictures of my precious niece who had a great time at the festival too!

Look at that sweet face!!!

Kindergarten Sock Hop

2008-10-23T08:52:00.011-05:00

Yesterday, the Kindergarten classes celebrated their 50th day of school. The girls wore poodle skirts and the boys wore jeans and white t-shirts to commemorate this occasion.

Hula hooping can really turn a hair-do into a hair-don't

On your mark, get set, go..... She stopped long enough for a pose
I don't think her daddy was too happy with this situation.....
or this one.....
Not a fan of root beer floats...
Happier because I told her she didn't have to drink it......
Oh the joys of growing up. I just wished it didn't have to happen so fast......

~vikki~

Roll Tide!

2008-10-20T10:13:00.015-05:00

We made the trip to Tuscaloosa for the game on Saturday. We had a great time and of course Mattie had a blast.

until she got tired of walking.....
but "Big Al" made it all better.....

Mattie said she couldn't believe there were 104 people there.....

The first take of this picture, I accidentally cut off the "G", so we had to do a re-take.
Mattie slept through the second quarter, when she woke up she asked me, "how did I sleep with all this noise?"
Mattie got some "A" earrings as her souvenir. The next morning was Sunday and she wore her houndstooth outfit with accompanying "Alabama" accessories. She really wanted me to get a picture of her new earrings. The first try, she looked at the picture and was disappointed you couldn't really see them, so we made a second attempt. By the third attempt she was determined I was going to get a good shot of the earrings. See how the photo shoot went:

Tate Farms...again....

2008-10-13T10:44:00.015-05:00

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Tate Farms! Mattie just had her Kindergarten Field Trip there last week and we felt like Nathan should get to go too. And since Alabama had an off day, we were able to go, So, Saturday morning we headed out to Tate Farms. We were supposed to meet up with some friends (which we never found each other). Note to self - don't dress your children in orange next year, it's a very popular color! It was difficult to keep up with my kiddos especially because they would run in different directions with all the other kids dressed in orange.
We spent tons of cash....(that's the part I don't like) But as usual, we had a blast.
Here are a few pictures to prove it!

Family Fun Day at the Zoo

2008-10-09T13:32:00.020-05:00

Since it's fall break, Matt and I decided to try to plan something fun for the kids to do. We planned to drive to Birmingham Tuesday night and spend the night and get up the next day and go to the Birmingham Zoo. The plan was perfect in theory....
We left town when Matt got off work and headed south. I knew we were in for a long ride when Mattie kept asking about the distance and how long it would take us to get there. And, the kids had already finished looking at the books and playing with the toys I brought after the first 5 minutes of the drive. We get to Birmingham, finally, and we stop to eat at Johnny Rocket's. Nathan was his normal, awful, terrible 2 self. Then we checked into our hotel and the first thing Mattie wanted to do was swim in the indoor/outdoor pool. Matt was not interested in swimming at all. So Mattie and I head down to the pool and hot tub. With it being an indoor/outdoor pool the outdoor water comes into the indoor part, therefore, the water was freezing. So Mattie and I opted for the hot tub, and it was enough to satisity the princess. We relaxed in the hot tub for all of about 10 minutes and she was ready to get out. We headed back to our "condo" as Mattie kept calling it, which it was just a short walk down the hall to our room. Mattie and I got changed and she reminded me that the lady at the front desk said they had free popcorn and cokes in the lobby until 10:00, so Mattie, Nathan and I headed to the lobby. The hotel lobby staff had just made fresh baked cookies, this is what family fun is all about!
So, we get tucked in and off to sleep we go. The next morning we wake up to HEAVY rainfall. The poor kids just looked out the window hoping and praying for it to stop.

Trying to entertain 2 kids in a hotel room is not for the weak. The phonebook was a big hit....I just hope the next person that stays there does not need to look anything up. Finally, we had had enough in the room, so, we get in the car and head to the mall. We were able to pass the time away until the rain stopped and we headed to the zoo.....

**note to self, do not let husband be in charge of the camera, or you will get a gorrila butt shot.
He redeemed himself with this photo.....(my favorite on of the whole trip)

**took back the redemption..... beautiful animals, but all Mattie would say is, "it stinks out here, can we ride the train now?"

Anyhoo...that was the zoo. Who knows what next fall break has in store.

One last thought that sums up the whole trip:

$103 for hotel stay

$50 for zoo tickets and train ride

and a ton of $ on all kinds of other stuff.....

and this is the thanks we get......PRICELESS

Way To Go Charger's

2008-10-09T13:23:00.009-05:00

Mattie's T-ball team got 2nd place in the championship. I was so thankful that
the 2nd place team got a trophy and a medal. It save a whole lot of tears and a whole lot of explaining......

It was a proud moment for daddy to be able to put Mattie's medal around her neck!

Kindergarten Field Trip

2008-10-09T12:44:00.010-05:00

I said to Mattie, "what was your most favorite part of you first field trip ever?", she replied, "the bus ride".....of course.

Mattie's first field trip was AWESOME!!! She was so proud to have her mother as a chaperone.

Not so fond of the "petting zoo" part of the field trip.

Mrs. East's Kindergarten class of 2008

Some pictures and a video

2008-10-01T08:32:00.006-05:00

Sometimes you just want to watch tv in your diaper and shoes

Mattie learning to ride her bike without training wheels

Kellogg's Ta Ta's

2008-09-09T08:25:00.003-05:00

Spaghetti Night....

2008-09-09T08:05:00.006-05:00

I Love Long Weekends

2008-09-02T12:38:00.024-05:00

The feeling Sunday night, knowing you don't have to go to work/school the next day is such a great feeling.

Friday night was Mattie's first tball game of the season. She played AWESOME!! They lost the game but it was so fun to watch. Although I do more screaming than watching. Matt is head coach along with KT and I keep "the book". It gets very intense, and oh so fun (and frustrating) :o)

Saturday morning we were back at the ball park for the second game of the season and boy was it hot. Mattie again played AWESOME, I can't believe how much she has improved since the beginning of spring season. She was hitting the ball to the outfield and catching anything that was hit her way playing short-stop and second. They lost by one run.

Of course Saturday night was Alabama's first game of the season so we had to get the kiddos ready...

Sunday was Church and we went to the movies Sunday afternoon, to see a 3-D movie. It was fun, Nathan really didn't want to keep the glasses on...but he didn't seem to mind the fuzzy screen, so I didn't press the issue. Mattie never moved a muscle, she is a T.V/Movie junkie.

Monday was another "free day" as Mattie calls days we don't have to go to work, school or church. So, we went to the river. Mom had her camper parked and we took the boat and had a super, fun filled day with the family. Mattie and her dramatic demeanor, said that it was the best day of her life.

If there was ever a question?

2008-08-18T10:26:00.011-05:00

It seems as if I haven't posted since Mattie's first day of school, which was a whole week ago. Mattie is doing AWESOME at school. She loves every minute of it. I'm sure this excitement and enthusiasm will not last forever since she has about 13+ years to go....but I love seeing her so happy! Nathan is doing great too, growing and talking more and more everyday.
That was happy momma talking, let me tell you about not so happy momma.....
Friday, I traded in my car and made the "deal" and needed to wait on Matt to accompany me to sign papers. We were supposed to meet the guy back at the dealership to sign papers in the afternoon. We were assured it would only take about 15 minutes to sign and close the deal. We arrive, Matt, Vikki, Mattie and Nathan. The whole happy family. It's 4:30, so we have to entertain the children mildly for a few minutes waiting for our name to be called. A few minutes turned into a lot of minutes. 45 minutes of chasing after Nathan, trying to appease a whining 5 year old and keep my nerves under control. Finally a nice car salesman who had been watching us the ENTIRE time, said, "did anyone tell you about the children's playroom?" I wanted to shout, "does it look like anyone told us????" So the whole family heads to the "playroom" where there are books, toys, chalk/chalk board wall, TV, DVDs....the works also known as Heaven on Earth. We were in the room about 15-20 minutes when it was time for us to sign papers. Of course now, we have to drag the kids out of the "fun room". We sit down and the "finance guy" says we will be recording the signing process due to arbitration. OK, but all he is going to hear on the recording is Nathan crying because we have to leave the playroom and drag him to a stranger's office for mommy and daddy to sign boring papers. So as Nathan is SCREAMING at the top of his lungs the guy tells me that our payment is going to be a tad bit more than we thought. Huh? I basically lost it. I tell Matt to take Nathan out of the room (I should have sent Mattie out too). My emotions took control, so I start crying....Mattie starts crying....oh, the poor guy and the person who will have to listen to the transcripts of our encounter. Anyway, I tell the guy that I am NOT happy about the "new" monthly payment and that I will not be purchasing the car. This is when Mattie really turns up the heat on this guy...crying uncontrollably. By this time, I have just unloaded on this guy about how I had made a "deal" and I could not believe how they could allow this to happen. They guy tells me that he would get on the phone with the appropriate people and give me a call in the morning and let me know if they could work with me on the deal.
So, Saturday morning starts a whole other story.
The guy calls and the deal is in my favor so we need to sign papers.
My brother and (at that time) fiancee were on vacation and were getting married on that day. My mother had been keeping their daughter up until she was to be heading to the beach for the wedding on that Saturday. So Emily got to come to Aunt Vikki's house at 6:00am Saturday morning, the day I am to sign papers for the new car. There was no way on this green earth that I was going to take my kids back to the dealership let alone 3 kids. So, I had to call in reinforcement....the in-laws! Thanks to MiMi and PopPop for taking care of the troops while Matt and I signed papers which again we were told it would take 15 minutes. We were gone 2 hours. How do they figure their time calculations.....have they ever sold a car before? Even I know it takes longer than 15 minutes. I guess I am still a bit bitter.....
When we got home from the dreaded dealership, Matt and Mattie abandon me to go get Mattie a new T-Softball glove, which she starts practice for the fall league this week and Matt is a head coach....what are we thinking?
So, I try my best to get them both asleep at the same time, do I succeed? NOPE. One goes down, one gets up. Then we take all 3 to a Family Fun Day at our church. The kids were actually very good I must say. So home it was for bed, bath, and......beyond and to gear up for taking all 3 to church on Sunday. I don't remember much about church this past Sunday, I think I blocked it out because it was so stressful and chaotic. The kids looked awesome in their outfits, but looks can be so deceiving. Matt ended up taking Nathan out of church to the quiet room and I took Emily to the nursery and Mattie was sitting with a friend (thank goodness).
After church was nap time, in which one was awake while the other one slept and vice versa. So to answer the most popular question of the weekend, Are y'all gonna have another one? Matt and I officially state, that if we ever had entertained the thought of the possibility of having another one, this weekend proved that we are not mentally stable enough, therefore, we will state for the record, NO.
Sunday afternoon rolled around and Clint and Amy, the newlyweds, came to pick up Miss. Thang. I got to see pictures of their wedding on the beach which were totally awesome. I am so happy for you guys and I love you both very much! I will post pictures when I get some...hint, hint.
So, as far as weekends go, this was a doozie!

Mattie's 1st day of Kindergarten

2008-08-08T10:21:00.008-05:00

Well, it's official, I am the proud mother of a super-excited kindergartner!

Here are a few photos of this morning.

One blessed mommy

2008-08-05T14:09:00.008-05:00

I am so blessed because I am the mother of these 2 awesome kiddos and I get to look at these faces everyday!!!

Cool as the other side of the pillow....

2008-07-24T08:21:00.001-05:00

This has been such a long and expensive week. In the last post, I mentioned that the a/c units had to be replaced. First I would like to send out a big "thank you" to pop-pop for hanging at the house while the units were being replaced. And let him know, that Mattie said, "that would be a good job for pop-pop since he don't have one", hehehe.
So, they replaced the downstairs unit on Tuesday and what a moment of rejoicing when we came home from work/school that day. I think the temp outside was around 101 and it was a nice 72 degrees in the house. How did people do it before central heating and air, oh yeah, that was before global warming, right? Then Wednesday they replaced the upstairs unit and we slept as cool as the other side of the pillow!

A week without a/c in the Alabama summer.
Thousands of dollars to replace a/c units.
Being cool and comfortable, priceless.

We are looking forward to the weekend, although it will be a very busy one.
Saturday, we have, T-ball registration, 2 birthday parties and a wedding.

Traveling

2008-07-21T10:10:00.009-05:00

Where does the time go? I haven't posted since July 8th, what's up with that? I guess the Boyett's have been busy so let me re-cap.
Sunday July 13th, Matt, Mattie and Nathan took me to the airport for my 9:55 departure to Atlanta which was my connection to Washington Reagan National Airport. We arrived at the Huntsville International Airport approx. 7:30 am. The family and I sat together and enjoyed our last few minutes together as I would be gone 3 days. I could see the desperation in Matt's face. But Mattie and Nathan didn't seem to be bothered with my impending departure. Mattie was only concerned as to what snack I would buy her. Nathan just enjoyed running and being in a new place. Well, it was 8:30 and it was time to say goodbye. Mattie, told me later she "almost" cried, and thankfully she didn't because I don't know that I could have made the trip. So Matt gathered up the children and headed down the escalator, the kids were very excited to ride. They were going to church and I was going to Washington, D.C.. I made my way to security and on to my gate. We loaded the plan, at about 9:30 am and were told that there were storms in ATL. Oh joy. So we sat there for 2 hours waiting for our "window" as they call it, to go. It looks like we are about to take off and low and behold, we miss the "window". We sit there another hour. They tell us if we want to get off and get some air, that we would not be leaving for quite sometime, if ever. I knew I was not going to make my connection in ATL. So I get off the plane to figure out my plans. Thankfully, I had been upgraded to first class, so I was first off the plane and the first one in line at the dreaded counter. The lady took my boarding pass and typed on the computer what seemed like forever. She said all the connecting flights were book full. The only flight that would get me to Washington was the 6:00pm direct flight. I took it. Buy this time it was about 1:30. How can anyone sit in an airport for that long? I called Matt to come get me. I was a stressed mess, worrying so much about if the 6:00 flight would get cancelled due to weather. I had to be at a conference @ 7:00am the next day. A couple hours past and Matt took me back to the airport, I went through security only to get patted down....I know I looked bad, but I didn't think I looked that bad! Anyway, it's 5:30 and we are boarding the plane. The captain comes on and immediately says, we have a 45 minute delay. OH MY GOODNESS, ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? So, I say for 45 minutes reading a book, finally we took flight and I arrived at 10:00. My driver picked me up and took me to the hotel where a colleague was waiting on me. It only took me 14 hours to get to my destination. After being in class for 8 hours straight, we were able to sightsee a little which I am thankfull for. I survived the flights, the conference and I am very glad to be home. Matt and the children survived too, although the downstairs air went out while I was gone and since then, both a/c units are having to be replaced this week. I'm not so sure we will survive that.

Home of The President of the United States of America another of the white house
beautiful WWII memorial
breath taking...
side of Lincoln Memorial while we were taking a taxi back to the hotel

Happy belated 4th of July

2008-07-08T10:48:00.001-05:00

We had a great 4th of July. We spent the day at Uncle Adam and Aunt Carrie's house swimming and grilling. We got home just in time for some ice cream and a few snap-n-pops. It is so cheap to entertain my kids at this age. Although, our neighbors obviously spent way more than we did and we got to enjoy a real firework show for free!

Random Silliness

2008-07-08T10:30:00.001-05:00

It is never a dull moment at the Boyett household.
Did you know that Mattie didn't even know we had a piano or what it did until she was about 3 years old? The second born on the other hand, knows exactly what it is and how to do it.....often. But, it's just to cute...... unless it's bed time.

Do we have any pictures of Nathan not covered in drool?

Yeah, he is going to kill me for this one! Sorry son, your sister did it!
Here is another one of my angels, my niece Emily. She is playing with the artificial food and I think it made her hungry!

Yeah, he is going to kill me too! My silly baby brother. I sure know how Mattie feels when she says, "mom, sometimes it's just hard being a big sister."

Nathan's first "Professional" haircut

2008-07-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

Parenting Lesson #259 learned; ring-pop suckers and haircuts are not a good combo!

Funny Story

2008-07-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

The kids and I were on our way to school one morning, when out of the blue I said, "do you kiddos know I love you more than ANYTHING in this whole wide world?" Mattie, with all seriousness, said, "do you love us more than these high gas prices?"
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????? Where do they come up with this stuff??????

Summer Fun

2008-07-08T08:45:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures to demonstrate Summer Fun

The 12 Days of Mattie's Birthday

2008-06-25T07:50:00.000-05:00

The 12 days of Mattie's birthday started Friday, with cupcakes and juice boxes, for her friends at school. Then, Friday night, my mother had a cookout for the June Birthday's which included; Clint (17th), Josh (20th), Mattie (22nd), Nikolas (27th) and Sherry (28th). Josh was asked what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. He was a big fan of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so that's what he chose. Unfortunately, Publix does not offer this as an option. Not wanting to disappoint my baby cousin, I made one for him.

The next morning, 10:00-12:00 to be exact, Mattie had a party at "Jump Z@ne". A huge building with many inflatable bounce houses with slides and such. A great party place for parents. I didn't have to do anything except sing Happy Birthday! It was great and the kids had a blast.

When her Jump party was over, Mattie asked to have a "special day" with mommy and daddy. Nathan was at Mimi and PopPop's because we knew we could not keep up with him at the Jump place. Therefore, Mattie knew how to work it to her advantage.
When we left the Jump Place, we went to Ch**burger Ch**burger for lunch. Then we took her to a place in the mall where you build your own "bear". Too bad for Mattie that she has been raised as an Alabama fan embedded into her blood and it was clear that there was no choice about which bear, turtle, monkey to make, obviously it would be an elephant. She was asked what she would like to name her elephant and thought for a moment, and said, "Ella". How clever was that? Ella the Elephant. Matt and I were truly impressed with her logical, yet fitting choice. Especially if you have ever heard the names of her other stuffed friends or baby dolls.

Although it is all about Mattie (as usual), I have to post a picture of the baby boy after we picked him up. His new thing is, every time he sees a camera pointed at him, he says, "cheese".

Then we decided to go see Matt's great Aunt Peggy. It has been a while since we last saw her and thought she might like to see Miss Thang on her Birthday.

Now we head home for an evening of playing with stuff we got for the big 5th birthday and get ready for the final celebration the next day. Pictured below are the chef's outfit that goes with our new E@sy B@ke Oven and H@nnah Mont@nna stools.

The next day was Sunday, which was the actual day of Mattie's birth. Oh the memories overjoy me on this day. Since it was Sunday, I thought I would have a small gathering after church and have a "Pizza Party". I decided to be creative again, and I made a cake that looked like a pizza. I put it in a pizza box. How fun is that?

So, there you have it. Yes, my child had 4 birthday parties, yes, she is spoiled. She is one light of my life and I can't believe she is 5 years old. Off to Kindergarten in just a few weeks. Where oh where does the time go?

Better Late Than Never

2008-06-23T14:37:00.000-05:00

We have been so busy with planning, and processing Mattie's birthday Part(ies), that I missed doing a Father's Day Post. I wanted you all to see the pictures of Father's Day before church, especially Nathan wearing mommy's heels (sorry Matt)....I will be working to post a "Mattie's Birthday" post very soon.

Home from Vacation.....

2008-06-17T09:49:00.000-05:00

And what a vacation it was. Let me preface by saying I love my children and my husband very much, and every time I am asked how was vacation, I reply with, "vacation is like childbirth, you forget how painful they are from one to another." Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful time going to the pool, beach, zoo, race car track, restaurants, ice cream shops, souvenir shops, you get the idea. It was the daily dinner-time meltdowns of a 1 1/2 year old and an 4 year old that almost caused mamma and daddy to meltdown, well, we had our share.

It just never failed, we would play all day with these wonderful, fun-loving children full of laughter and joy. Then, it would be time to get dressed for dinner (mommy and daddy's favorite part of the trip). Mom would get ready and then daddy would get ready and in the meantime, the kiddos would watch T.V. and actually be still for 30 minutes or so, and before you knew it, the 4 year old would be fast asleep. You may ask, why did she not take a nap during the day? And, I would love to answer with a great response, but I don't have one. The baby did take a nap or two during the day, so his meltdowns were not sleeplessness related.

So, waking up a dozing 4 year old to hear crying, whining, and mumble-jumble words, I asked myself, where is that other child that was so happy just an hour ago?

We manage to get to the restaurant and the 4 year old reverts back to who she was a while ago, talking and having a decent time. Then brother decides it's time for him to show his stuff.

The problem with him is, he REFUSES to sit in a highchair. You may say, you can make him. And I may say, no I can't. It is very dangerous b/c most restaurant highchairs don't have buckles, therefore Mr. Houdini is able to escape and fall backwards onto his head. Thus, leaving mommy and daddy to hold him during meals.
Again, I love my children and my husband very much, but this does not make for a fun family dining event.
Aside from the dinnertime drama, we had a Wonderful Family Vacation as you can see in the following pictures....

~vikki~

Out of the mouths of babes.....

2008-06-03T07:55:00.000-05:00

On our way home from school yesterday, Mattie and I were in deep conversation about her future school career. She was asking me what she would be doing when she finishes Lynn Fanning, Meridianville Middle and Hazel Green High School. I told her then she would go to college. I asked her if she wanted to go to the Lion school (UNA, we recently visited and saw Leo the Lion) or Alabama Roll Tide school. She decided she would go to Alabama Roll Tide school so she could see a real live elephant. Then she got this really puzzled look on her face and said, "mom, that is going to be a long ride to school everyday". I said, "baby, you will live at the Roll Tide School". I was not prepared for what happened next. Big, Huge, Crocodile tears welled up in her eyes, her lip started quivering as I watched in the rear view mirror. She said, "you mean I wont live with you and daddy anymore?" I tried changed the direction of the conversation as I held back my own Crocodiles, and said, "when you finish college you can live next door to mommy and daddy. Little did I know, I was making the situation worse. She said, "yeah, if Mr. Ryan and Ms. Dana move I can live there with my husband". I said, "of course you can. This did not satisfy her at all as I could see the tears continue to fall. I said, "how about this, when you finish college and get married, then you and your husband can live at mommy and daddy's house?" (I was trying anything by now to settle her little mind) She thought for a moment and said, "yeah, that sounds good". As I watched her in my rear view mirror, I could see the wheels continuing to turn as she pondered on this "plan". We got home and I helped her get our of the car and I said to her, "Mattie, baby, don't you ever worry about this again. Everything will work out just fine." I finally saw some comfort again in her face. And I was emotionally drained. Whew...what a ride. But this does raise a concern that Matt and I have had since she has been sleeping in our bed for 5 years. Does this mean she AND her husband will sleep with us forever, and what about Nathan and his wife??????
~vikki~

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame

2008-06-02T10:38:00.000-05:00

Matt's great-uncle Don Mincher was inducted in to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame this past Saturday night. What an honor it was to be there to witness such a special, momentous occasion for someone whom I have heard his name all of my life. Little did I know I would marry into the family and get to know and love him and the family first hand. I have a special place in my heart for Uncle Don because I know how much my late grandfather, John Gaught, adored him. They played baseball together for many years. I have been told that there are stories I am allowed to hear, and stories I am not allowed to hear.....I can only imagine with those fellows got into in years past. Here are a few photos from the evening..... Uncle Don and the lovely Aunt Pat Matt, Barry Kraus (former Alabama player that had the boys speechless) and Adam
A rare photo opt...mommy and daddy only....

Speaking of which, I must give props to my mother and Steve (big daddy) for babysitting the kids overnight. I know it was a daunting task, but you guys did a great job and I look forward to you offering to keep both of them again real soon.....between swimming, screaming, baths and buddy the dog getting loose having to chase him down the road with both kids AND getting them ready for Church the next morning. I don't forsee that invitation to watch them coming anytime too soon.......

Again, Matt and I thank you for a child-free evening.
~vikki~

Video Post Attempt

2008-05-29T10:14:00.000-05:00

Here is a short video that I didn't know I was videoing with my *new* camera. But, I love Nathan's little laugh. I bet I have watched this a million times....enjoy...this is our nightly Pop-Corn and TV routine....I just wanted to see if I could actually post a video.....

School Pictures 2008

2008-05-29T08:48:00.000-05:00

Weekend Wrap-Up

2008-05-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

I love 3 day weekends. I was thinking of how much more productive I think I would be, if I worked 4 and was off 3. Wouldn't that be the perfect schedule? O'well, I don't think my wish will ever come true, so I continue. Friday night, Mattie spent the night with her Mimi & PopPop, who also had their grand-dog, Brodie. Mattie claims Brodie woke her up too early Saturday morning, I got a real kick out of that, because this is the child that has never slept past 6:30am in her life. While Mattie was gone, we did a few things around the house. It was also PopPop's birthday, so we all went to dinner Saturday night. Then we came home and played outside. Some had fun, and some didn't.......

Nathan took the Frisbee...

He just wanted to play too...

Sunday was Church, then Mattie and I headed to a friends house in Florence. We had only gotten as far as Madison, Alabama when my co-pilot started asking, "Are we there yet?", I knew I was in for a long ride. Soon thereafter, she fell asleep...whew.
While we were in Florence, I showed her around the town, where I used to live, where her daddy used to live, she was very unimpressed. She did find some interest in Leo the Lion. But he was just laying around in his cage, she really would have rather seen some real live Lion action moves, like in the movie The Lion King she just recently saw for the first time. Even though, she enjoyed seeing him.
When we got home, Nathan and Daddy had just woken up from their routine nap.

It just seemed like the perfect time to play in the sprinkler...or was it????

A wet diaper is just not fun at all....a tush only a mother could love!

Nathan preferred playing in the sink rather than the sprinkler.

On Monday, we decided we would venture to Monte Sano Park for some R&R...who am I kidding? We told Mattie the plan around 9:00am to deter her from wanting to go swimming at Nana's Pool, in which the water was freezing! So, starting at 9:15am she was ready to pack our lunch for the picnic. We made tye-dyed T-shirts and played, this lasted until about 10:30. We packed lunch, drinks, snacks, forks, fruit, it seemed like we had it all, except when we were eating, we quickly discovered we forgot napkins. Luckily, I am always a baby wipe ahead of the game. 1st crisis averted. Crisis #2, Nathan got down from the picnic table and headed to the playground, about 3 steps away from the table, he fell onto a large log and scrapped his usual injury site, his forehead. He got calmed down and approximately 1 minute later, crises #3 occurs. Mattie went down the slide for the first time, and scrapped her elbow AND knee. You would have thought, life as she knew it, was over. I would like to tell you she quickly got over her boo boo but still this morning before school we had to doctor the boo boos again with Strawberry Shortcake band-aids.

Obviously before the "log incident" and after a cheese stick...

Before skinning the elbow AND knee

aaaawwww how sweet......sporting the tye-dyed shirts we made :0)Am I always behind the camera?
Action photos.....
Fun times, fun times.....

~vikki~

Graduation 2008

2008-05-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

Mattie had her Pre-Kindergarten Graduation last evening. She woke up yesterday and said, "mom, today is my special day". She has been so excited these past few weeks practicing her "Welcome" speech, which was verbatim, "Welcome to the Pre-K Graduation". I can't tell you how many times I have heard that phrase. She did an awesome job speaking in front of a semi-large crowd. I think I was more nervous than she was, but that's pretty typical of me. The graduating class sang songs, presented a book project that they have been working on, and a rose to their parents. They received awards and diplomas. It was a very special occasion that made the children feel special. On the way home, she asks, "mom, will I graduate from every grade?". She was really hoping that was the case. She really like receiving gifts and flowers for graduation. "No Mattie, you will graduate from Kindergarten, 8th grade, High School and College". She dropped the conversation with a very puzzled look on her face and I didn't proceed either. I really didn't want to try to answer her famous question, "Why?"
Here are a few highlights from the evening plus a few others just because......

Such an intellect

Studying her diploma

Performing for the audience, one of her favorite pastimes...

Mattie and her best buddy since 8 months old

Proud mommy moment

That's why she was wired last night....2 pieces of cake!

Her daycare director.....an awesome lady!

Mattie with Mimi and PopPop, proud grandparents!
Mr. Handsome

No so sure whats going on here....don't think I want to know.....
Mr. Cool................

~vikki~

Another Great Weekend

2008-05-12T12:26:00.000-05:00

Why can't the work week go by as fast as the weekend?
We had another great weekend although it started out pretty iffy.... Saturday morning we started getting ready for Mattie's game which started @ 12:00. Right before Mattie put on her uniform, the phone rings....I am totally unprepared for Coach C to tell Matt that the other team has called and forfeited. So, Matt yells upstairs "the game is cancelled", you can only imagine my response, "WHAT" and he yells "the other team forfeited". Of course Mattie has no idea what that means, I can see the look on her face, total confusion. I know she is thinking, it's not raining, why is our game cancelled. So, I explain what forfeit means. And with the innocence of a child, she said, "maybe the team is on vacation at the beach", and with the innocence of a mother, I reply, "yeah, maybe". So, my next thought is, how do I entertain the children today??? My mind says, you can take them to the park, then my mind says, NO. Then I remember we have had tickets to the Tennessee Aquarium. We got the tickets and planned on going a couple of weeks ago, but there were threats of tornado's so we stayed home that day. Since then, we have not had a free Saturday with T-Ball. So, here was our chance for a "road trip". Matt asked Mattie, "do you want to go to the aquarium today?" her response, "can we take snacks?" He shakes his head and says, "yes Mattie, you can take snacks." Not really the response we were looking for, but that's just Mattie. So she heads downstairs and packs her backpack with who knows what......and were off to see the fish! Matt says this would be a mini trip to see how it would be when we go to the beach in June. Well, let me tell you, by the time we pulled out of the driveway and I got the DVD player going (in which I had to have my head upside down) and getting the kiddos a snack and juice and one screaming for what the other one had... I think I will just send Matt and the kids to the beach....I was exhausted and we were still in our neighborhood!
I got a new digital camera for Mother's Day, hence all the pictures......

The Stingray's were the first exhibit to see. Beautiful creatures, but not a big fan as one of their own killed the Crocodile Hunter...it was a sad but brief moment...moving on.....

Notice, Mattie's not so sure I like these birds squawking behind my head look.

Nathan, not really sure what we are doing. Why did we just drive and hour and half?

The Penguins were my favorite, I think I loved them so much because they walk just like Nathan does....it is sooooooooo cute. Here is Mattie, in the ultimate tourist photo pose and the camera bag around her neck and all......

Eye to eye with a penguin.....there's a first time for everything....

Nathan trying to pet the baby alligator's, thank goodness for the glass wall separating the two!

I love this picture......

Having a mother son moment.....wonder where that kid's mother is????

Outside of the aquarium there are little wading creeks. Mattie was having a fit to stick her feet in the water. I agreed to let her get her FEET wet only. I left Matt with the kids while I ran to restroom.

Upon my return, from my half second bathroom break....

A child with soaking wet shorts...... she had a blast and that's all that matters to me!

Other shots with my new camera.....

Nathan drinking his sister's juice while she was asleep on the ride home.

My silly boy, he gets that from his daddy....

Typical weekend movie night at the Boyett household. Movie night goes hand in hand with Popcorn!

And last but not least, check out the drop of drool on my blue eyed baby boy.....

~vikki~