Where have I been?

Last week someone mentioned to me that I had not updated the blog lately.  I guess I had not really thought about it.  After all, it is summer.  Those of us who teach take summer very serious.  To think someone actually thought that I would THINK or even WRITE during the summer is ridiculous!  Seriously though, today I looked back and was surprised that it has been over a month.  So, I got out my trusty camera and arranged the pictures by date to see what exactly I've been doing since the last update.  Here's what you've missed out on with the Dickerson Family!

First, I made a whirlwind trip to NYC that went from idea to leave for NYC and return home from NYC in about a week. It was crazy...but memorable and fun. Friday night I met a good friend from high school and we had dinner and saw Billy Elliot on Broadway. Here we are on the big screen in Times Square. Can you find us?

Then, on Saturday I fought my way through Penn Station to find my parents as they made their arrival from New Jersey on the train. Later that evening we were out checking out Rockefeller Center. Aren't they just too cute?

Friday evening we enjoyed the the Brooze Brothers performance in downtown Henderson. The girls and their friends managed to almost take over the stage.

On July 4, we went to Nanny and Pa's house to see the fireworks. Fortunately for us, they have spectacular viewing opportunities from the backyard so we don't have to pay the money or fight the traffic to see the fireworks in the city of Tyler. Pa even provided a stage for the girls for this annual event.

Here, Kennedy sings Taylor Swift...

And then Taylor sings...

And then BADkid follows and repeats EVERYTHING she has ever seen her sisters do...

And of course, the host, hostess, and 2 grandkids. There was a rumble of thunder (or 200) and Kennedy took cover in the house.

Although I've lived here most of my life, I had never been through the Tyler Rose Garden. One day the girls and I had about an hour to kill and took a tour. Here are the oldest 2 checking out the ponds, etc before they were distracted with the roses.

It was H.O.T. I don't remember exactly, but think somewhere in the range of 102 or 103 with 99% humidity. Blake said

And, we had the BIG event of the summer...Kennedy went to overnight camp for the first time. She was amazingly brave. We took her to camp and dropped her off to spend six nights without her knowing a single person there.

While Kennedy was gone to camp, Taylor and I cooked. Here we are with our super cute aprons!

And, we played in the rain...and small pond that our new back porch created. I would never say "I told you so" but I suggested we might need gutters. Bob said we didn't. Would anyone else like to offer up an opinion?

Blake learned to love other people's shoes and boots. This was the night of her surgery (just tubes).

Oh, and it was FINALLY time to go back and get Kennedy from camp. Here's the goofy daddy and Blake sliding down from the giant tree house at Pine Cove Camp.

Last week was Mimi's birthday. I had my 3 and my brother's 2 kids helping prepare for the surprise party. Here you can see everyone getting ready to work hard on the cake.

Blake worked herself up to this...before we even opened the box of cake mix...

We had to have decorations.

I'd never tell the world how old my mom is, but I will say we bought a box of 80 candles and used all of them but 24! (love you mom!)

We are under a burn ban in East Texas. Glad this small forest fire didn't get out of control.

This picture just makes me smile. I vaguely remember my dad being a grouch when I was a kid. Somehow I think that my kids don't see him in the same light.

We have a new artist in the neighborhood. She's one of those "all natural" kind of artists.

Although we've been super busy, it seems that we do spend a lot of time just being at home. The big girls enjoy reading to the BADkid when she'll let them hold the book and turn the pages when they finish reading a page rather than when she gets an itch to turn the page.

And for some reason, none of us can keep up with our shoes!

So, although technically I'm off for the summer, I've been busy every single day. It's been super hot, super busy, super fun, and super challenging!

Life on Mimi and Pop's Farm

Here's what started it all. Yes, I know. It really is gross to see your mom and dad kiss. But, aren't they just adorable? They truly are great people, parents, and examples for us younger folk!

My cousin Ashley came out to Mom and Dad's house on Thanksgiving to take some family pictures. She did such an awesome job! (Thanks Ashley!) She's going to do some of just our family one day soon. We scheduled a session over the week of Thanksgiving but had a H-U-G-E unexpected surprise. More about that later...but enjoy the show!


This is the crew. Mom and Dad with the grandkids on the tractor (minus Addy and Ayden). Standing is Trisha, Steven (my little brother), Me, Chad, Stacey, and Keith (my older brother).



Here's what happens when Popsi thinks no one is looking! Kennedy and Taylor L-O-V-E to ride the tractor with my Daddy!



This is one of my favorite pictures of the day...very creative and combines two of my loves...my kids and the Tractor!



And then there was this cow...

Her name, according to my kids, is "Crooked Horn Betsy". Crooked Horn Betsy has been on the farm a long time. She is quite gentle. Several months ago my daddy got a crazy cow that destroyed a lot of farm equipment type stuff. I didn't grow up on the farm, so I don't know the proper terminology. But, the cow was crazy and my daddy said on more than one occasion that he should've just shot her where she was standing! I don't allow profanity on my blog or I would quote his top 10 things to say about the crazy cow. After months of Joe vs. Cow, which included penning her long enough for her to destroy the corral and ruining a friendship between my dad and the "friend" who sold him this gentle cow, my dad hired a "real cowboy". This "real cowboy" was hired to come out to the farm with his dogs to haul the crazy cow some cows to the sale. Now, if you know my daddy even a little, you can just imagine how difficult it was for the tightwad to part with even a penny for something like this. However, his health was at risk. His heart and my mom's ears couldn't take it any longer...and it was getting expensive replacing fence panels, etc. One morning back in September or October, the two cowboys showed up with their many, many dogs and began rounding up cows. Yes, Chad, myself, mom, dad, and the girls were all outside on the porch watching what proved to be a pretty uneventful cattle round up. Dad had discussed selling several of the older cows. One of the ones on the list of "probably" for going to the sale was "Crooked Horn Betsy". Taylor was clueless about this development until she noticed the cows being herded into the corral. Very politely she said,"Popsi, I know you're not gonna sell Crooked Horn Betsy, are you?" I'm not real sure what happened after that. Six weeks later, guess who's still on the Akin Farm?



Yeah, her name is Betsy!

The people in my pictures...

Each year on the first day of school, I am reminded how lucky I am. I knew growing up that we had something special going on in our home, but I wasn't real sure what that was. I knew that my mom and dad loved each of the three of us individually and collectively. I knew that my mom would come running to the school in a heartbeat if we needed and/or forgot something from home. I also knew that even when she got mad because we missed the bus, she was glad to take us to school. (right, mom?) I knew that my dad would turn 14 shades of red if anyone offered any form of emotion toward him. I knew that my when my daddy walked by and "stepped" on me while lying in the floor that he really was saying, "I love you". Like I said, I knew we had some things going on that some of my other friends didn't have. However, I had NO idea that there were kids in the world who didn't have ANY of those things going on in their homes.

I never thought, "when I grow up, I want to be a teacher". But, I'm grown up, and I thank God that I am a teacher! I don't have all the answers, and I can't fix all the problems with my students. I CAN go to work every day and love them. I can smile at them. I can cheer for them at their sporting events. I can answer their questions about the people in the pictures on my desk. I bet a lot of people have never even considered the questions/comments high school kids ask about the pictures on the teachers' desks. Here are some comments from this picture on my desk...

Wow, Mrs.D, you look like your mom!

Aw, aren't your parents cute?

Dang! They look like they love each other with their arms around each other!

What do your kids call your mom? My (insert name from grandmother) never came to Easter when I was a kid.

The list goes on and on.

I am so thankful for a mom and a dad who love each other. As an adult, I can see faults in both of my parents (small ones though) and have an even greater appreciation for their willingness to love each other through all of the hard times. As a parent, I can see how easy it would have been for them to give up on each other and the three of us. (I know, some of you still think I'm perfect. But, I'm not!) But, my parents did it. Well, more accurately, my parents DO it. They love each other and love us, our spouses, and our kids. Thanks mom and dad for loving me and teaching me how to be a family even when things are tough. Thank you for giving me what so many of my students only see in my pictures.