Spring Into Summer?

The high temp reached 80 degrees in Nashville yesterday (already!), so we broke out the sprinkler. It was still a little on the cold side.

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Bigger Is Better

I'm testing a new blog layout, so bear with me! Big photos make me happy, so I'm trying to figure it out.

Here's the view from my kitchen window on a recent spring afternoon. It makes washing dishes a little more bearable.

Just ignore the dirt on the windowsill.

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Soaking Up Spring

Spring is my favorite time of year, and we've been basking in these perfect days. Here's a rundown of some stuff we've been up to:

Tee ball is in full swing. Here's my view Parker's tee-ball practice when Sawyer comes along..

Sometimes he'll stay in one place and watch the big kids.

The tree in front of our house is amazing for just a week or so at the very beginning of spring.

Sawyer and I visited Parker's school this week to help with the spring egg hunt. It was a gorgeous day.

Then we went into the class and hung out with the kids during the party. The big kids are all so great with Sawyer.

Random photo: We're making some progress with the vegetables. Sawyer will eat corn if it's on the cob.

We've spent a LOT of time just hanging in the backyard - blowing bubbles, sifting sand, lying in the grass.

Parker and I painted spring pictures Friday while Sawyer napped.

My sister Susie and her boyfriend Terry sent a big box of gifts as a surprise: new jammies for Parker, bristle blocks for Sawyer, a gorgeous apron for me and a lavender sachet that has my whole living room smelling like spring. My family rocks.

Today we dyed eggs with our neighbor friends, Ethan and Amanda.

Parker didn't need that little wire egg holder. His hands were much more convenient.

Sawyer spent the day running around barefoot in the grass. We'll be doing plenty more of that.

"If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall." ~Nadine Stair

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Chunk o' Love

I'm just experiencing a little late-night nostalgia about how fast my kids are growing. Looking through some old photos, I came across my all-time favorite shot of Sawyer. He was about three months old here. A chunk o' love, proudly displayed by his big brother.



Just a little something to make you smile.

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Spring = Tee Ball

Parker had his first practice last Saturday, and we have another one tonight. The weather has been great so far, and it's been fun to sit in the grass in the sun and watch our little guys bat, throw and catch (or not). They're so little, so excited - and so easily distracted. It's hilarious to watch all the kids in the outfield digging little holes in the dirt.

Parker did a great job hitting the ball without the tee, and he can throw the ball from short-stop to first base, no problem. I know I'm biased, but he seems to have a knack for it. Baseball may not turn out to be his sport, but this learning phase - finding out what he likes, what he doesn't - is all part of the adventure. We're lucky to have two of Parker's good friends on the team (their moms are good friends of mine), which makes the whole experience even more entertaining.

Here's the coach giving Parker some pointers.


A solid hit!

Parker and Connor waiting to bat


Erica playing with her youngest son, Parker (not to be confused with my big Parker). Amy is in the foreground.

Erica with little Parker

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Thinking of C.P.

Last weekend, we traveled to Indianapolis to visit our dear family friend, C.P. Lester. He is my husband's best friend from DeWitt, Ark., and he is terminally ill in the hospital with stage four renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). We just packed up and went, and I'm so grateful we did. We were able to visit him and talk with him in the ICU before he had to go on a ventilator.

I should say that he just learned about the cancer a couple weeks ago, and it came as a shock - especially because it was so advanced. It just puts things in perspective and makes you want to stop and embrace life. Cliche, I know, but so true.

C.P. goes way, way back in the Denton family. Jerod's mom was his theater teacher, and C.P. helped babysit my husband when he was growing up. He has been like an uncle to my boys. He is my most loyal blog reader, a champion of all things having to do with my children. He always remembers birthdays and holidays - little things that mean so much. He has spent week-long beach vacations with us for the past seven years, and - well, he has just been there. He has a grumpy demeanor and a most generous heart.

We didn't take the kids to the hospital to see him. I'm at peace with that decision, although I was unsure at the time. I just know that I want Parker to remember happy times with C.P. - not a hospital bed and tubes.

My thoughts are with C.P. now, and I'm just so glad we did the inconvenient thing - the right thing - by loading up the kids and the car and driving on up there. I wish we could do more.

We love you, Ceepers. Please stay strong and keep fighting.

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Garage of Shame (or, How I Spent My Birthday)

Today is my 39th birthday, and how did I spend it? Cleaning out the Garage of Shame.


Don't get me wrong. I chose to do this. I've been meaning to clean this thing out for five years, and I finally had the chance. It turned out to be a strangely appropriate way to spend the day. As I sifted through the many boxes stacked along the back wall, it was like going through layers of my life.

I found my diary from sixth grade. My old basketball photos and trophies. Photographs of my high school friends, then college. Sketches from my college art classes, which are surprisingly good. (I started out with a minor in art before deciding it was too impractical. So now I write for a living.)

The photos slowed me down, and there was no way I could throw a single one away. Photos of spring break ski trips. Jerod's trip to Amsterdam. Our New Hampshire years and all the backpacking.

Here are a couple of my favorites. This was so typical of our weekends in New Hampshire. Jerod and I just took off into the mountains and camped. That was about 10 years ago, I think - we were probably 27 or 28 years old. Here he is staring into the fire...

And here are our friends Jason and Trish, somewhere on top of a mountain in Vermont. We hung out together a lot - backpacking, hiking, going out to dinner. Trish was also one of my running buddies, although she kicked my butt every time. Those were great years. Trish and Jason are still up there, hiking and skiing and snowboarding - now with their two athletic kids.


Back in the garage, I also found a ton of my old newspaper clips, along with some thank-you notes from people I had written about. Those mementos brought back worlds of memories.

So you see, it was fitting to take a little trip back in time on this day, the beginning of the last year of my thirties. It reminded me of some important things we used to do for fun, and it led to a decision: This is the summer for camping with the boys. As crazy as that sounds, I think it is time.

Here are some other things we've been up to:


Play-Doh with the neighbors on a spring-like day



This is what my living room looks like lately.



Here's Miss Angie giving Parker a haircut. (That's me in the background with my iPhone).

A trip to the zoo yesterday...

Sawyer fed a donkey at the petting zoo...


And here's a shot from a week or so ago, before the snow melted. Our friend Mathias came to play, and Parker and Mathias practiced slaying dragons in the bushes.

P.S. I did make progress on the garage. It's now only kind of shameful. I'll post the after pics as soon as we organize a little more.

Also, Jerod came home early bearing a birthday dinner and a gift certificate for some new running shoes. Which reminds me that I'm meeting my neighbor/running buddy at 5:15 a.m., and I'm up way too late.

Thanks for reading. Good night!

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