Karson's 3rd Birthday Party

Karson had his 3rd birthday party this weekend. I cannot believe the little guy is already 3 years old! It is amazing how fast they grow up! He had a "Lightening McQueen" party. The kids spent most of their time playing on the waterslide and in the pool. We had a great time!

My soapbox for today!

Did anyone hear the story about what Micahel Savage said on his radio show this week? He was discussing autism and said it was a "fraud" and was a result of lack of parental discipline. He went on to say "I'll tell you what autism is, in 99% of the cases, it is a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out." He said most of these children don't have a father around to tell them to stop screaming and acting like an idiot!

I was absolutely OUTRAGED!!! For those of you who don't know, I teach elementary aged kids with autism. Last year I ended to school year with 17 3rd-5th grade boys in my class. This year I will start with 15 4th and 5th grade boys! I absolutely LOVE my kids, even when they are screaming having their and meltdowns! For anyone to say that autism is a "fraud" completely shows their ignorance! I have been so angry about his comments ever since I heard them on the news! I understand that you have freedom of speech, but Savage crossed the line! I absolutely cannot believe that anyone would be so ignorant to believe such a thing! These parents did not choose to have a child with autism and it is not a result of their parenting that their children have autism! Okay, that is my soapbox for the day!

Bored!

I have been so bored lately! Living off of a teachers salary, and the outrageous gas prices have kept us close to home most of the summer. Matt and I have gotten into a routine of getting up, going to the gym, eating lunch, and playing Gin Rummy! That's is typically what our day consists of! Maybe it is a sign that I am ready to go back to school, but I know that once we do go back in a week I will long for the boring days of summer again! Matt has his first panel interview with the City of Smryna fire department next Friday morning, so please keep him in your prayers!! Since he has already passed his physical and written test for Smyrna, the panel interview should be one of the last really difficult parts of the process! Who knew that it would take over 6 months to get on with the fire department?

Remembering UGA

Glory, Glory to old Georgia! As you may already know, the loved UGA VI passed away due to congestive heart failure at the end of June. One of my college roommates just sent me a link to a video honoring him. I have spent a really long time trying to figure out how to upload the video on to the blog, but just can't seem to figure it out. I have attached the link for you to see! It really is a tribute to UGA VI! He will be missed around Sanford Stadium this fall! GOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC EM!

http://ugaphoto.alumni.uga.edu/multimedia/UGAVI/

You won't believe this!

You really aren't going to believe this! Last night, Matt and I were eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant, when a lady came over to our table and asked if we drove a small black pick-up truck, we said no and she went on. Then our waiter asked if we drove a Honda mini-van, again, we said no. We asked him what was going on and he said the black truck had rolled into the van. Once we finished eating, we were walking out and realized the black truck was right behind my Jeep so we weren't going to be able to go anywhere until it was moved. As we got closer, we realized it was not just behind my jeep but it had NAILED my Jeep!!! The owner of the black truck walked out of the grocery store about 15 minutes later and said "Oops, I guess it popped out of gear!" Can you believe that? I am telling you, we have the absolute worst luck of anyone!!! We just had to laugh about it! I mean, my car got hit in the parking lot by an unmanned rolling truck! UNBELIEVABLE! At least the guy had insurance and no one was hurt!

4th of July Fun!

We started out our 4th of July morning by going to the Dunwoody parade with Cathy, Anna, and Cate. It is the largest 4th of July parade in the state of Georgia. There are always a lot of veterns, politicians, and local businesses that participate in the parade. It is so fun to see the kids running after candy and cheering for those who have fought for our freedom and independence! We missed having Haley, Owen, and Cooper at the parade with us this year!

After the parade, we came back home and had a cookout with my family. We ate hamburgers, hotdogs, brownies, and chocolate pie. It was yummy! Afterwards, Kylie and Karson had fun throwing "Snap-its" on the ground. As it started to get dark, mom, Kale, Matt, and I headed to Lake Lanier to watch the fireworks that are shot off from the water park. The kids really wanted to go watch the fireworks with us, but with Kamden being so small, we didn't think it would be a good idea taking him out on the lake with all of the craziness! Just as we pulled out boat out of the dock, the skies got dark. We drove all the way out to where we wanted to watch them from and the lightening started to strike. There were hundreds of boats sitting around waiting on the fireworks to start, and no one seemed the least bit scared of the lightening. My thought was, what is the chance that we would be the one boat struck out of all the ones out there. Then I remembered what crummy luck Matt and I have and decided that we better start back towards the dock to wait it out. Finally the lightening passed and the fireworks began. There were people all over the lake setting them off. It was our first time watching them light up the lake, but it won't be our last!

After spending a day with Anna, Cate, Kylie, Karson, and Kamden I love being "Aunt Kimmie and Uncle Matt" even more! We really missed celebrating the 4th with Owen and Cooper this year! They are great kids too! It really is great to be able to have kids around to play with and entertain, but not to have to do the tough parenting stuff. Our time will come!

4th of July week

I didn't have summer school this week, so we have been on the go most of the week. We spent Monday and Tuesday night at Matt's parents house, dog and Granny sitting while his mom was in Utah visiting Matt's sister, Haley and her family (Chris, Owen (4 years old), and Cooper (2 years old). Haley had surgery on her finger, so his mom flew out to Park City while she recovered. While we were house sitting, Harley enjoyed riding up and down the driveway in the kids wagon! He has such a hard time breathing, especially when it is hot out, so he enjoyed being pulled in the wagon. Yes, we are obsessed with our dogs!

We spent Wednesday and Thursday on Lake Lanier catching some rays and some fish with my brother, Kale. I absolutely love being on the lake as the sun is going down. It is so relaxing and peaceful out there on the open water.

I will post more pictures tomorrow of our exciting 4th of July!