Welcome to Crazytown!

This week has been CRAZY! I have hardly had time to eat and sleep, much less blog...sorry! Here are a few things that have been going on...

Last Saturday, we went with our friends, the Carpenter's, to the metropolis of Fayette, Alabama for "Balloon Blast 2006". Fayette is only about an hour's drive from Tuscaloosa, so it was a fun little outing. When we got there we let the kids jump in a few moonwalks (or jump houses, depending on what part of the country you are from) and Riley got to ride a horse, named "Star" and a pony, named "Spot". You could not wipe the smile off of her face...she was in heaven. Tim & I were in shock. We couldn't believe that our unadventurous child that doesn't like to take risks, went with a stranger into a pen with 5 strange animals she had never laid eyes on before, actually talked to the unfamiliar people and animals and was happy doing it. Because of weather uncertainties, we were not able to see the hot air balloons take off (the reason for the whole event/trip), but they did do what they call the "Glow". This is where they just blow them up for everyone to see, but do not leave the ground. We ate at Lisa's Bar-b-que, which was very good...awesome fried okra and baked beans, and then headed home.



On Tuesday, Riley and I got to keep baby Clayton while Tesney had a dentist appointment. He is so precious and sweet. Riley had a ball reading books to him and talking to him, and I got a quick baby fix. Walker slept through the whole extravaganza, completely. That's probably a good thing...I think he would have been a little jealous.

I help organize our church's School Supply Drive, every July. We attach supply lists on the front of paper grocery sacks, our members pick up the sacks, shop for the needed supplies, and return the filled sacks. After we get in all the supplies, we look at what we still need and use any donation money given and head to Walmart for a last minute run. We then sort all the supplies and put them out on tables, setting it up like a store. We send out invitations to hundreds of families around town and ask them to come "shop" (it's all free) for their children's school supplies and eat free pancakes with us. Last year we gave 394 children school supplies and fed around 500 people pancakes. It is one of our church's biggest projects, and a much needed one. Many of these people can't even buy food for their families, much less buy school supplies. Being a former teacher, I know how important it is for children to come to school prepared to learn. So, I say all that to say, the last few weeks have been spent planning, planning and more planning for the big day. We have made the announcements, sent out most of the invitations, put the volunteer sign-up lists in classrooms, etc., and we still have a ton to do. Our children wanted to get in on the action, so they decided to have a lemonade stand. Carrye Ann, Caroline, Anna Leigh, Mary Helen, & Riley (from left to right in pic below) set up in front of Winn Dixie yesterday (Thursday) afternoon. They sold lemonade, chocolate chip cookies (which Riley & I made), and brownies. They made a whopping $400 in about 2 1/2 hours!!! Glisa, Christie, and I (their moms) were so proud of them. Anna Leigh did most of the talking (she is 9), and the other girls dipped ice, poured lemonade, & handed out cookies. Many people just gave donations when they heard why we were doing the sale. At the end of the evening, the girls were exhausted, but learned a lot about the generosity of others. We took the girls to Walmart, and let them pick out the supplies to donate. We used a calculator so they could see how much we had spent. Our buggy contained a lot of girly notebooks and folders, but they earned the money, so they got to spend it. Thanks to everyone from church that stopped by and sent people our way!!!

Riley's birthday is today and her party will be tomorrow. She wanted a gymnastics party, so that's what she is getting. This is probably the easiest party I have ever done. We are only having cake, ice cream, and potato chips (for the sweet/salty people), and drinks. I can't even set up the party room until 15 minutes before party time....it's about to kill me. That's o.k., it's just a party, right? Her present from us is an old school desk that I have repainted, along with some notebooks, markers, crayons, art paper, and of course a book. Since Kindergarten is less than two weeks away (AAAGGGHHHH!), I thought the desk would be a great place for her to do school work at.

Anyway, a lot going on at the Dreyfus house. Update and pictures from the party coming soon!