John Patrick Graduates Pre-school

John Patrick and his diploma
JP and Uncle Charlie...Aunt Holly had to work
The Lyon Family
JP and Paw Paw
Gee and JP

John Patrick graduated from Preschool at Parkway Heights last night. It was amusing and interesting to say the least. They did a little show of what they learned from counting to 100 to saying abc's and reading. JP lead the pledge. After all was over we headed to McDonald's which was JP's choice. The boys played and then we headed home.

Graduation Time at the Lyon Household

Uncle Charlie and Aunt Holly with the graduate
Luke and PawPaw
Luke and Gee
Dancin' at Crescent City

Luke and John Patrick before the program
Luke holding up the "I"
Our graduate!
Daddy and the graduate
Mom and the graduate

Luke graduated from kindergarten last night. He was so excited for us to all see he and his classmates sing their songs and do their program. This is the first of two graduations for us this week. JP's is Thursday! After the program we went and ate at Luke's favorite...Crescent City Grill...he loves the corn and crab bisque and the crab claws geutreaux. Our boys are growing fast.

Luke lost his first tooth (teeth)!

Luke so proud of his missing teeth!
He really wanted to show everybody all the blood he lost. I was not very excited about this picture but he was so insistent.

Last night after Luke's game he told his dad and I that his lose tooth felt like it was coming out. So, Greg proceeds to pull it on the baseball field. It didn't work out and Luke was sitting there with a bleeding mouth and a dangling tooth. Of course, Greg thought it would be fine. I called Dr. Chan (Chandler Humphries 601-450-3368 Call for appointments in Columbia and Hattiesburg)and he said come on over and he would take care of it. Luke and I went to Chan and Kim's house and in his kitchen he pulled not one but two teeth! Luke didn't even feel it and was so excited because he was thinking it was going to be so painful. Chan was so sweet to do that but he is a great dentist for our boys and they really do good with him. I realize that this is not normal for losing teeth but the whole trauma from trying to pull it at the ballfield to a crying child...I am so lucky to have a great friend and dentist in Chan!

Luke wanted to make sure all our friends saw his missing teeth. So I took some pictures to share. Also the tooth fairy visited last night and left Luke a $20 bill! He couldn't believe it. I think that when the tooth fairy stopped by the ATM "she" forgot how much to leave. But Greg and I explained that he probably got that much because he lost two at one time and that it would be more like a $1 a tooth from now on! On another note, JP said he saw "her" come into their room last night. He said that she had a green glowy dress on and a wand! I love the imagination children have.....well Luke graduates from kindergarten tonight so we have another busy day ahead of us.

Weekend Fun!

John Patrick at the ballpark Friday night being funny

Luke poses by a statue at the ballpark
After the game Friday night...
John Patrick and Gee after his last game
Jaime and Kate at Shadow Ridge
Luke making us laugh saturday night on the porch

This weekend really began on Thursday night for us. Greg and I went out to eat with some friends at Outback and then on to Shuckers. It was kinda a going away dinner for Robert, who left Sunday for Egypt. He works there every other month. It was a fun time and unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share from that.


Friday Luke had a ballgame and Greg skipped his BFL fishing tournament to be there. Luke was so excited his Dad was there! We ate Magic Tomatoe, this new italian place in Oak Grove, for supper and it was excellent! I would highly recommend to everyone to try it out. Their calzones are amazing but 2 people can eat one and both be full. They also have Chicago deep dish pizza and some great pasta dishes.


Saturday morning bright and early we headed to the ballpark for both boys to play. My mom met us there because Dad and Charlie were playing in the MidSouth 4 ball. JP had his last regular season game at 9am and Luke played at 10 am. After their games Mom took them to BooBoo's house (my aunt) to swim for a little while. We eventually met up with Miss Jaime at Shadow Ridge Pool and hung out til late in the afternoon. Everybody headed over to ur house for supper and we had fun on the prch visiting and watching the boys dance!


After church, we did some yard work and I wish I had a picture but Greg, Sloan and LUke burnt my natural area down in the front so that we could get rid of all the poison ivy and prep it for sod or new pinestraw. I got a bit panicky about the fire being so close to the house but everything turned out good. We then headed to the country club for the boys to swim and watch the boston v detroit game at the tiki bar by the pool. David,Phillip and Christy met us out there. The boys loved the new slide at the pool and playing with their friends. We finally got home around 9 and we were all worn out. Now on to this week.....both boys graduate and we leave for 10 days at the beach on Saturday!!!

John Patrick and the Rangers Play Again!

UNCLE CHARLIE AND JOHN PATRICK
GETTING READY TO BAT
RUNNING IN TO SCORE A RUN!!!
SO EXCITED AFTER RUNNING INTO HOME!
John Patrick had a ballgame last night vs the Yankees. Daddy coached and Uncle Charlie helped Mom cheer for him. Luke wasn't able to make it because his pal Harrison had a birthday party at the theater to watch SPEEDRACER. Luke had a great time but John Patrick wanted lots of pictures taken so brother could see him. JP is in that stage of wanting brother always included and involved. He doesn't want his brother to miss out on anything. It was funny...when we went to pick up Luke at our friends the Prices house he had gotten JP a favor bag from the party!! I guess it is true that these brothers will always take care of each other. That makes Greg and I happy and feel good for sure.

Happy Birthday Luke

Happy Birthday Luke!
All the kids getting ready for Luke to go down to pitch!
Luke getting ready for his pitch

On Saturday we celebrated Luke's 7th birthday at Pete Taylor Park during the Southern Miss v Memphis game. Luke had a lot of his friends attend with their families. We surprised Luke with the help of Southern Miss by letting him throw out the first pitch of the game. He did such a good job! He threw from the pitching mound and threw it straight into the catcher's glove. People complimented us all day on how well he threw it.

On the mound....Luke Lyon

Check out that form

Job Well Done!

Luke's Team Wins!!

Luke Lyon #9
Last night was an exciting night for Luke and his teammates. Since moving to Hattiesburg, Luke has been put on expansion teams due to the fact its his first year in the league. His team is a great little group of kids, however, their experience level is not equal. Last night against a very good Pine Belt Trophy team they won 15-14! Greg was the "pitcher" and only had 2 strikeouts the whole night...thank goodness. Luke had 2 triples and a single driving in 7 runs. He was so excited ! We brought cupcakes to the game to celebrate with his team his birthday (May 10).

The picture above is from a game last week and when Luke still was into the whole at your knee pants. We did get rid of the porn like tight pants after week one but as you see him above is where we were until this week. This week he wants loose and long pants like Southern Miss players. We are excited about his birthday Saturday...I can't believe he will be 7!!!

Chillin in his shades at the suite planning his birthday party!

Congratulations!

Jessica and Kate

Jessica and Alex's Wedding May 2006

Jessica and Alex are going to have the best Christmas Eve EVER!

A Celebration of Strong Women

Lisa and Kate

Today was the Celebration of Strong Women presented by Wesley and Comcast at Lake Terrace Converntion Center. I had nominated my friend Lisa Gatwood for one of the awards and since she is a nurse at Wesley she was not eligible but they asked that she and I attend the ceremony in honor of her nomination. I nominated Lisa because of alot of things but mainly because she has taken on so much this past year and been so successful! She works full time, goes to school full time to become a nurse practitioner and is the mother of 3. All of her children are very active in school and church and she coordinates all of this with ease. I say ease but she gets it done. They do not go without and always make their practices, parties, etc. At today's ceremony program thing they read a poem and I wanted to share it with you to share with any strong women in your life.

A STRONG WOMAN....

by Susan Light

is a mother, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a partner, a neighbor, a best friend for life.

She may live down the street. You'll know her when you meet.

What makes her so special? What gives her this power? Its her caring for others each day, and each hour.

Strong women are persistent. Her spark makes us smile. When facing a challenge, she goes the extra mile.

She's someone we seek out for inspiration and belief. Her light shines like a beacon even in grief.

She may be quite dynamic, or a quiet soul. Regardless of demeanor happiness is her goal.

She leads us by example with style and charm and grace. Always there to lend a hand with a smiling face.

A STRONG WOMAN is a mentor who shares her time with love, knowing she makes a difference with guidance from above.

She can be a defender standing up for what she believes. She keeps the flame of hope alive as a champion who achieves.

A STRONG WOMAN shows great promise. She is a joy to nurture. Her roots are firmly grounded as she looks forward to the future.

Well, back to work for me... the baseball game for Luke! I am sure I will have some pics to share tomorrow. Have a great rest of the day and be sure to say thank you to that special strong woman in your life

T-Ball

JP looking at his coach...Daddy Greg

John Patrick had a game last night and here are some pics from his game. He is really enjoying playing but they are all so silly out there. Four year olds aren't real interested in playing an hour long game that is for sure!

Biloxi - Bocepus - Beer -Blackjack

Greg & Kate in line for beer...Greg is obviously trying to watch concert while we wait!

K

Kate & Katie after surviving the Coast Coliseum crowd and parking!

Lynrd Skynrd

Jamie, Christy, Kate, & Katie

Robert, Greg, Howard & Phillip

This past weekend Greg and I went to the coast for the Lynrd Skynrd and Hank Williams Jr concert. My mom came over around lunch Saturday and we headed out. My mom couldn't believe I was going to this concert and warned Greg and I that there would be different people there and that they might even be using drugs! ha ha ha We found that pretty humorous since this would not be the first concert we had ever attended and the fact that my mom talked to us like we were two 18 year olds! It was sweet though.

When we arrived at our hotel to my surprise we ran into other people we knew. We already had a group of 10 meeting us there so that just made the day/night more fun. We watched the Kentucky Derby before dinner in the lobby bar - LAVA- and then went up and ate at Farraday's at Isle of Capri. It was really good and then we headed to the coliseum. We were in traffic for what seemed like days but I think it was only about an hour.

The show was great and both acts were entertaining. However, it took 30- 45 minutes to get a beer and the crowd around us included many interesting people. A girl that had on no underwear and kept standing in front of Greg and I lifting her skirt, a guy that was "from Auburn Alabama" as he kept telling us that was evidently the boyfriend to the stripper girl and he enjoyed throwing things while unbuttoning his shirt, and of course a wide array of characters that were swooning and singing all the words to all the songs.

After the concert, we headed to Hard Rock to meet up with the rest of our group AND for Greg to catch the last part of the basketball games. We went to their new bar Roadhouse LIVE which was pretty nice. I met up with my friend Reggie's host there and he took Christy and I on a private tour of the VIP areas. Everybody (minus me, Katie and Jamie) gambled but nobody really won especially at the Blackjack tables.We eventually made it back to our hotel and left the next morning.

Mom had the boys all ready to see us. They were full of stories and things to tell us! She had taken them to McDonald's , Painted Zebra, McAlister's, Uncle Charlie's, church and according to JP they were headed next to the beach! (he thinks we are going to the beach every day since someone mentioned it was this month)

Mayor's Prayer Breakfast

Mayor Dupree's Prayer Breakfast 2008

National Day of Prayer

Lake Terrace Convention Center Hattiesburg, MS

Deuce McAllister - Ole Miss Rebel - New Orleans Saint
Deuce sat and talked with anyone that wanted to speak, get an autograph or picture. There were over 600 people in attendance and I was very impressed by his composure and presence.

Kerry Morris, Kerry Stringer, Deuce and Me

After all was said and done, Deuce took a picture with us so we didn't have to lean over the table. He also spoke to us a little while about things and of course we mentioned Big Buck Sports! Just a note, I am not a marshmallow! I just thought cleavage was inappropriate at a prayer breakfast so I wore that jacket which I now regret!


Well, today started off pretty busy. I had to be up at 5 in order to make it to the Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at 6:30 this morning. That is not my strong suit but I made it happen. My "loving" brother arrived bright and early at 6:00am to stay with boys and get them to school. Which is where I will begin...every morning Luke asks for money and JP asks if it is Show and Tell so he can take his DS to school and every morning Luke only gets his $.50 and JP gets a "no, it's Friday" As I sat listening to the program at Lake Terrace, I received the text in order for Luke and JP from their Uncle Charlie! It is good to see that they are consistent and that my brother was wise enough to question them.

Back to the prayer breakfast, it was held by Mayor Johnny Dupree (Hattiesburg) with Deuce McAllister as the keynote speaker. Many ministers and choral groups preformed throughout the morning. Then came Deuce...he is a very good speaker and humorous at times. He called the NFL ...The "not for long" league....which got some laughs. But a point he made that I whole heartedly agreed with was his last statements. He challenged Hattiesburg and the state of Mississippi to get their education systems straightened out NOW! He said that there are many paths we can choose to take but that if children don't get the education they deserve then their path choices become very limited and it affects not just the child but the community as a whole.



In this my first day of fulfilling my blog commitment, I challenge everyone that reads this to make a difference in their part of the country by donating their time, money and/or goods to a school or group to help children succeed. Do it today....online, by phone or in person. Stop by a school at lunch and ask "How can I help?" or go online and donate money. There is something that we can all give. I hope that this has urged at least one of you to make a difference. That was something else that Deuce said...he said that if him speaking and sharing touched one then that makes a difference. Touch One and you have the ability to touch many.



Have a great Thursday!