Life in Mississippi

I love being back in the South. It is February and my kids can go outside and play in shorts...even after the sun sets. Not to mention Katy can get a little evening swinging in.



Life is good here at the Tyson house. Matt is enjoying his course at Keesler, and we have even gotten used to the EARLY start time. Matt and Beth both love their schools and have made plenty of friends. They have finished their winter swim lessons, and are now getting into the swings of thing with t-ball. We live in a tiny little town, with just a small military presence. It makes me kind of sad, because I feel like all their classmates and teammates will grow up together. Meanwhile, we will be long gone. I have no idea where we will be when it comes time for our kiddos to graduate from high school. We knew it was going to be like this when we started our family though, and it is one reason we had four, and had them closely together. My hope is that no matter how often we move, and where we end up, that they will always have each other.

Best Friends

Then....


And now....

Back to Homeschooling

We are going to let the kiddos finish out the school year here, but when we move to Maryland next year I am going to go ahead and homeschool Beth and Matt for first grade and kindergarten. I guess our adventure in public schools has proved to be short lived! I just really miss the freedom we had at home. Right now our schedule is me driving, driving, driving....and Beth's schedule is school, homework, a short playtime, then dinner, bath, and bed. I miss all the free time we had to do things as a family before. In any case, I am not sorry I sent them for this half of the year. They are enjoying it, and it has given me a lot more time to spend with just my little girls. I'm planning on taking the summer off, and then I think we will all be ready to pick back up with the schooling in September. This also means I can stop worrying about finding a half decent school in D.C. or Maryland, and that is a HUGE relief.

Happy Mardi Gras

Our first Mardi Gras season has officially begun! Yes, it is a full season here on the Gulf Coast - not just one day as I had previously believed.

Yesterday we went and bought our first King Cake. It was sooo good! The filling was made of cherries and cream cheese, and a little plastic baby was baked inside. Little Matt got the baby in his slice, so he was the king for the day. It reminded me of when my Grandma used to bake a dime into our birthday cakes for good luck. I think I am going to be brave and try to bake my own King Cake this week...I want to give the girls a chance to find the baby as well.


We also attended a Mardi Gras parade over in Ocean Springs. The kids had so much fun! They look they have lived here all their lives, what with all the beads and little New Orleans Saints flags. Not to mention it was like eighty degrees. Not too shabby for February!





Carrie's first moon pie. It landed right in her lap - what good luck!


Katy Ann was unimpressed by all the activity.


Still to come is the Mardi Gras parade at Beth's school, the children's bike parade in Biloxi, and two days of school vacation. It's pretty awesome getting to live in new places and experience new things.

T-Ball

Baseball season is almost here! Beth and Matt are all signed up for t-ball, and they are so excited. This week it has rained everyday and has been in the 30's and 40's....that's chilly for Mississippi. The thought of spending warm spring afternoons at the baseball field, cheering on B and M, and watching the little girls play in the grass sounds excellent about right now.

Happy 6th Birthday Sweet Beth

You are growing up too fast. We love your sweet personality, happy smile, and contagious laughter. I love watching you pretend to be Claws the cat, Baldy the Eagle, and Oma the Ostrich. What a crazy girl you are!

Big changes in the Tyson house

We decided to let the two older kids try going to school for the rest of the year. It seemed like a good time to give it a try, since we will once again be moving and starting fresh next school year.

Beth is in kindergarten, and she LOVES it. It is a nice school, but I'm still not really sold on it just yet. What can I say? I'm picky! I think the combination of having a teaching degree myself, and also moving frequently and getting to see all kinds of different schools, has given me a very specific set of expectations. Things are definitely a lot different than Connecticut here, that's for sure! The kindergarten is pretty advanced academically, so I feel like we are doing some catch up work. I wouldn't say she's behind actually, it's more just that I was a teaching a greater variety of material, and in a different order. In any case, she is enjoying all the elective classes and being with all her new friends. She is my little social butterfly! She is also a night owl, which worried me since this school starts at 7am. (Can you believe it?) So far though she has gotten up and gotten ready like a champ though. I myself have to get up by 5:30 to get showered, dressed, and a (very large) cup of coffee. Big Matt leaves for work at 5:15. Let's just say that we are having to learn to go to bed early.



Little Matt was of course jealous that Beth was off to school, so I enrolled him part time in a Christian preschool program. It is very play based, which is perfect for him.


I really miss having my Beth girl and Bubba home during the mornings. It has been nice having so much time to devote to my little girls though. I feel like I have gone back in time to when Matt and Beth were my toddler and baby, and I spent all morning reading board books, pushing the stroller, and playing on the living room floor. The two of them are so cute together, and are really starting to enjoy each other's company. Carrie also potty trained the first day Matt was off to preschool. Just like that....no accidents! They are all growing up so fast on me. :) I'm slowly finding things for us to do in the area as well. The local library has a story hour and craft time that we like to visit, and I've also found a nice children's museum. We've had to stay indoors because believe it or not, it has gotten COLD here. Highs are only in the 30's. I want those 70 degree tempertures we had when we arrived last month to come back - those made me feel like I was on vacation somewhere tropical.