Yes, teaching someone to tie his shoes IS that bad...

So here in the Shelby County School district, teachers are not required to teach kids how to tie their shoes.  This is completely ridiculous in my opinion because it seems to me that is a skill that would benefit the teachers more than anyone...or maybe I am just bitter because that meant that I had to do it myself...nahhhhh. But I was determined that Jacob should master this skill before entering 1st grade.  However, the following scenario will further demonstrate my point of how frustrating it is to pass this life lesson on to someone: I actually offered both Hallie and Abigail $MONEY$ to be the one to teach him (I even asked Hallie's boyfriend-I know, I am ashamed, but seriously, what young person isn't hard-up for extra cash???) ....and guess what-none of them even ATTEMPTED to try.  So there you go.  Here is a video of our progress so far (just ignore the alcoholic beverage in the background, haha, just kidding):

Random lego video...because he is so talented...

More Summer Fun...

Exploding our volcano...

Little monkeys...

They made a fort...

Swimming!  Morgan says that the purple in her swimsuit makes her blue eyes "pop"

Mom of an almost 7 Year Old Means...

Being the mom of a boy means...

Being ready at any given moment to be in awe of 

lego building skills...

Walking into the bathroom and finding Lucky Charms (just in case I guess???)...

Having your living room turned into Legoland, even though the boy has a bedroom AND a playroom...

Not needing an IPOD because a lego radio is WAY cooler...

Having your house redecorated by the lego master...

Making sure you have lots of buckets around to mix "ingredients" to make an "experiment" (note the "bucket" moms...if someone in your household drinks coffee, this is how you save money)...

Also having lots of jars around to catch bugs (again, notice the money saving effort-this is a Dole fruit jar)...

Finding new chatchkes throughout your house (that's right, shout out to The Nanny)...

Asking yourself:  does the headless lego man need to freshen his breath??

Realizing you just thought you knew what good reading material was...

I love my boy!!

The Best Day EVER!

We recently got to go to the beach and it was Jacob's first time (at one month shy of turning 7-this was a decision I made a long time ago that turned out to be a good one, just ask my cousin Melissa...) and he had a great time. In fact, each day he proclaimed, "this is the best day ever!"  He loves some waves. I thought he would be wary of the ocean, and although he definitely had his limits as to how far he would go out (which was fine with me) he barely stayed out long enough to build a sand castle. Here are the pics:

 We stopped in Eufala, AL on the way to visit Jon's sister. Her 3 boys are all grown up and moved out, but she still had all of their legos. She asked Jacob as he was getting out of the car if he was having lego withdrawal and he enthusiastically replied "YES!" He was in heaven.

 At  the condo in Florida with Abby and cousin Reed.

 Abby and her cousin Bianca

 Abby with cousins Reed, Bianca, and Elio

 Me with my sister-in-law Judy.

 So I had gotten a pic of Hallie out of my wallet and was totally planning on holding it up during this picture...can't believe I forgot. So disgusting having my mom's memory!!

 Love this one...

 But love this one the best!!! Abby is so good with Jacob. They did not argue the whole trip. Really. Even during the 8 hour car trip.

 Sportin' the shades

 Cousins Conrad and Elio are out in the water.

 Throwing seaweed at me...

 Buried!

 Abby with cousin Conrad who works at our Sonic now. Continuing the family tradition!

 Jacob is out in the ocean with a new friend he met...

The finished product!

 We shared a condo with Jon's brother's family and a friend of his. So we all cozied up in one room. We brought air mattresses for Abby and Jake. It was fun. Luckily, we all have similar sleeping habits: we stay up till about 10 or 11 and get up no later than 8 or 8:30...even Abby.

 Jon and Jacob stayed in one night while the rest of us went out.  They put together a lego set. Truly, everyone was a winner in this situation.

 At a restaurant where the pager was a lobster. Cute.

 Jacob designed this pic...

 Pretending to get eaten by the alligator statue.  Jacob actually tried alligator at this restaurant and liked it!!

Jacob's souvenirs: a giant fake diamond, a mardi-gras type mask, and a wood carved tiki thingy that he said was the lost treasure from Indiana Jones. Whatever...