Friday Five for June 20-22

I recently saw a post on instagram where the mom listed how many summers she had left with the children pictured before they turned 18 (insert waves of emotion here). I have 16 summers left with my son at home (Lord willing) and if they are anything like the past 2 they will fly by. I know it's hot, I know you are tired, I know you get tired of playing referee sometimes but let's put that to the side and make some memories this weekend with family (and maybe if you play hard enough you will get a nap!). If you don't have kids, grab your significant other and/or your friends or do something fun by yourself. However you choose to spend the time - make the most of your summer weekend. "The days are long but the years are short" is a bittersweet truth that is always a great reminder for me :) 

There are plenty of options here in Middle Tennessee for some summer fun so check out the five that I picked :

Movies Under the Stars - 
06-21-2014 to 06-22-2014 8:30pm (Friday and Saturday night) Mulan
06-23-2014 to 06-28-2014 8:30pm Mary Poppins (my all time FAVORITE movie!)
Bring your whole family (along with blankets and/or lawn chairs) to this free event and make some great memories! Begins at 8:30 p.m.
Monday: Cason Lane Trailhead
Tuesday: Cannonsburgh Village
Thursday: Siegel Neighborhood Park
Friday: Mitchell Neilson Primary
Saturday: Hobgood Elementary School.
Admission: Free
For more information, please call Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department, (615) 890-533, email recreation@murfreesborotn.gov, or checkout their facebook page for more great events.

2014 RC-Moon Pie Festival and 10 MILE Run (20th Anniversary)
Saturday, June 21 | 7:00 am until 5:00 pm
One of Tennessee’s favorite 10 Mile Runs starts the day off with its beautiful hillsides encompassing the challenging, certified course. This certified run has become a major running competition with 1,000 runners entering each year vying for Moon Pie trophies. The day continues with games, contests, a parade, coronation of the RC King and Queen, Governor Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam, and the Moon Pie King and Queen, actor/musician Mark Collie and the original Miss Moon Pie Florence Hall. There will be 100 art and craft booths, live entertainment, cloggers, country and bluegrass music, and 20 food booths featuring such Southern fares as Tennessee Smoked Barbecue, hand squeezed lemonade, and deep fat fried Moon Pies! A day of fun for young and old celebrating THREE southern traditions: RC Colas, Moon Pies and Historic Bell Buckle, Tennessee - close to home but a world away. Visit the website http://bellbucklechamber.com/events/rc-moon-pie-festival-and-10-mile-run-2014/ for more information and a detailed schedule of all events.

Main Street Saturday Market
Every Saturday until the late fall 8:00 am-12pm
Downtown Murfreesboro Public Square (specifically the Courthouse)
Vendors will be on the west, north and south side of the historic Rutherford County Courthouse offering fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, and flowers. Great time to do some shopping, too! Location:
For more information, please call (615) 895-1887 or visit http://www.downtownmurfreesboro.com

YMCA Corporate Dodgeball Tournament
Saturday, June 21 7:45 AM
Rutherford County Family YMCA (205 North Thompson Lane Murfreesboro, TN 37129)
The tournament will be held on June 21st with 250 participants representing local corporations and businesses. Collectively, over the past 12 years, the corporate Dodgeball tournament has raised over $250,000 to support the needs in our community through all of our outreach programs. (This is a fun spectator event for the family- especially older kids!)

photo from Discovery Center email (sign up to find out about events!)

Citizen Science at the Discovery Center 
Saturday, June 21 | 2:00-4:00 pm
The Discovery Center (502 S.E. Broad Street Murfeesboro. TN 37130)
Become a citizen scientist! Join us and our resident naturalists as we learn all about the Summer Solstice and other Signs of Summer! (Included with admission)

photo from Discovery Center email (sign up to find out about events!)

Member Only Night at the Discovery Center
Saturday, June 21 | 5:30 – 8:30 pm
The Discovery Center (502 S.E. Broad Street Murfeesboro. TN 37130)
Celebrate the longest day of the year with an evening of fun and excitement! We’ll have astronomy themed activities to celebrate the summer solstice and you’ll be able to explore the Discovery Center’s newest exhibit, Makerspace!
(615) 890-2300

I hope you all have a fabulously fun summer weekend! Enjoy!

Friday Five June 6-8

I don't know about you, but June came faster than ever before this year! And with it comes quite a bit of fun summer activities. Check out the five that I picked for this weekend:

Movies Under the Stars - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (rated PG)
06-02-2014 to 06-07-2014 8:30pm
Bring your whole family (along with blankets and/or lawn chairs) to this free event and make some great memories! Begins at 8:30 p.m.
Monday: Cason Lane Trailhead
Tuesday: Cannonsburgh Village
Thursday: Siegel Neighborhood Park
Friday: Mitchell Neilson Primary
Saturday: Hobgood Elementary School.
Admission: Free
For more information, please call Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department, (615) 890-533, email recreation@murfreesborotn.gov, or checkout their facebook page for more great events

Moonlight & Magnolias
June 6th at 7pm (Cocktails at 6pm)
Jefferson Manor at 455 West Jefferson Pike Murfreesboro, TN 37129
COST: $75

The Discovery Center’s Secret Garden Party has long been a favorite summer social. Secret Garden Party chair Jill Converse and the party committee promise a fabulous event filled with “Moonlight and Magnolias”. In addition to fine food from Five Senses Restaurant and cocktails, party-goers will have the opportunity to bid on silent auction items including some surprise destinations!

Proceeds from the Secret Garden Party will support the educational programs of the Discovery Center, where more than 120,000 visitors come each year to experience the interactive children’s museum and nature center that inspires exploration, enhances learning, and builds confidence through diverse programs and exhibits.
http://explorethedc.org/garden/ for more information

Main Street's Friday Night Live Concert Series
06-06-2014 6:30 pm-9:30 pm
Public Square, Downtown Murfreesboro
With the great shops, fabulous food vendors, amazing music, and more this monthly event is a summer favorite! Don't forget your lawn chair :)
Admission: Free
For more information, please call (615) 895-1887 or visit http://www.downtownmurfreesboro.com

Main Street Saturday Market
06-07-2014 8:00 am-12pm
Downtown Murfreesboro Public Square (specifically the Courthouse)
Vendors will be on the west, north and south side of the historic Rutherford County Courthouse offering fresh fruits, vegetables, breads, meats, and flowers. Great time to do some shopping, too! Location:
For more information, please call (615) 895-1887 or visit http://www.downtownmurfreesboro.com

photo from website http://www.samdavishome.org/

Saturday Morning Stories at the Museum (Sam Davis Home)
06-07-2014 to 06-07-2014
Historic Sam Davis Home and Plantation 1399 Sam Davis Road Smyrna, TN 37167
Help your child connect with history! Cozy up for the reading of a story in the Sam Davis Home Visitor Center and participate in a related craft. Story time begins at 11:00 a.m. and is free of charge. No reservation required. For children up to 10 years of age and their caregivers. Regular admission rates apply for museum and house tours.
For more information, please call (615) 459-2341 or visit http://www.samdavishome.org


I hope you all have a wonderful, memory filled weekend! Enjoy!

The Gift of Appreciation

I don't know about you, but raising my little people with an aptitude for appreciation is huge. It's a constant battle when excess is everywhere and kids in 3rd grade have their own iPhones and iPads and mine…well, they don't. Now, I hold no judgement for those of you who may be in that group with littles and electronics, mine are not deprived, they just have to share with me & B. From a young age I've taught them that there are people in this world who are less fortunate, that we should appreciate what and who we have, that we don't just say "yes ma'am" and "no sir" because we are Southern but because it shows respect and appreciation. And yeeeeeess…..I've been known to talk about the starving children in Africa when everyone is complaining about dinner….or the child in India who has to walk a mile for clean water….Just keeping' it real.  Needless to say, it's a constant teaching process and we just use our every day for these lessons. Each day with children provides LOTS of opportunity - can I get an "Amen?" ;)

When the school year started coming to an end I knew we wanted to do something for each of the kids' teacher as a "Thank You" gift. This year was the first year I had all three children in school. Ryder was in 2nd grade and Lincoln & Ruby Jane went into Kindergarten which was the first time they would be away from me AND each other in separate classrooms. Yea, I was kind of a mess the first week, but that is as long as it lasted because everyone was having so.much.fun! The kids were excited to go every day to see their teachers and friends. Let me tell you, if you don't already, start praying for your child's teachers, pray for your children's behavior. I truly believe PRAYER is what made a world of difference this school year. With every Parent/Teacher conference I had a confirming answer to prayer -whether it was my child's behavior, friend interaction or classroom dynamics. It was AWESOME!

Recently, I was shown the new line of custom mugs at Tiny Prints and I knew this would be a perfect fit for what I wanted to do for all of the teachers. I know all of our teachers are coffee/tea drinkers so I was already on a hunt for personalized mugs and Tiny prints had just what I had been searching for! Ya'll know we love great finds around here so with all of the fun designs I just have to share! I was able to select a design that really fit each teacher's aesthetic & personalize each one. Once we received our mugs I took this as a teaching opportunity for the kids, I wanted them to think for themselves of reasons why they appreciate their teacher. What does the teacher do that you like? Is she funny? Is she patient? We wrote down all of the things that we appreciate about the teacher on individual pieces of colorful paper, then folded them up to fill the mug. We then added a little tag to each mug that said "Thank you for filling our cup this year." Our teachers fill our little ones with so much goodness - we wanted to give that back in some small way. Once we were finished we wanted the presentation of the gift to be thoughtful as well. So, I busted out the brown paper - the best wrapping option EVER - and we got to thinkin'….Ryder's teacher always sent notes home asking for pencils for the class so we laughed about attaching pencils as the bow - and we did! Ruby Jane's teacher always sent notes home on her drawings that were so sweet and encouraging, so RJ drew a picture of her and her teacher. Lincoln's teacher is a sassy teacher who loves sparkle so we used glitter crayons as her decoration. Add a little washi tape (hello, I'm addicted) and twine and there ya go!

The teachers LOVED everything from the mug to the wrapping paper and really enjoyed the notes of appreciation. Gifts do not have to be expensive to be thoughtful and loved. My most cherished gifts are the rocks and sticks my sons give me and the drawings my daughter creates. I hope as you're wrapping up your school year, no matter your means of showing your appreciation, you take the time to really love on your child's teacher. I'm sure we can all think of at least one teacher we all loved as a child, their job is not easy, but they give so much in caring for our little ones! It takes a village friends!