2nd Grade

You are going to be a world changer! 

I was super proud of this!  Mase was voted on by his peers to be the first quarter Terrific Kid. I love the way your peers see you!  Hard working, Kind, and a Leader.  

Summer 2018

Offshore fishing at St. Pete - Two things you were really into this summer were sharks and fishing... I can't believe you actually caught a shark! 

My little beach babe

You worked so hard at baseball and improved so much!   

Your daddy sure loved cheering you on in All Stars! 

You were super excited about this big bass! 

Countless hours fishing at the pond.

I'm not sure who was more excited to visit Hogan's Beach Shop...

Our trip to the beach was filled with a lot of cousin time.

Great trip to St. Pete Beach!

Go Benton Tigers!  

We spent a lot of time at the ball park watching you dominate the field.  

We did a couple of family Jeep rides this summer exploring Louisiana and looking for 'gators.

Mason was pretty excited about this one!

Benton Baseball 2018

Our first Baseball season is wrapping up (machine pitch)!  It's been a great season and it's been so fun to see Mason grow as a ball player!  He has made HUGE strides and is a leader on his team.  This year, he played pitcher and got a lot of action!

Mason did so well, he got invited to try out for the Benton All Stars team -- and MADE IT!  Looks like we have a lot more baseball in our future!

Discovering Arkansas on the ATV Trails

This weekend, we took a little getaway with some friends to do some ATV'ing deep in Arkansas.  It was great to unplug (no cell or internet access) and spend time as a family!  We love the beach, so getting down and dirty in the heart of Arkansas was a new experience for the Moss 3.  We made some great memories, including getting completely separated and lost from our friends.  It should be noted that Julie was running through every worst case scenario (counting daylight, how cold we would get when we were stranded and ran out of gas, etc.) and Mase and Richard just kept their cool and enjoyed the journey.  

Mase loved speeding through the giant mud puddles and even got to drive a bit! 

So much dust!   

We went with our new friends and neighbors the Grantham's.  

The view at the top of the mountain was breathtaking! 

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas from the Moss Family
Richard, Julie, Mason and Darth

It's been a great Christmas season!  We decided to spend Christmas in Missouri this year - While we are adjusting to Louisiana, Missouri is still our home.

"Over the river and through the woods, to grandmothers house we go"

We first spent a few days with the Gillispie family.  We went to Silver Dollar City, had a traditional Christmas dinner and just enjoyed hanging out with family.  We also did some target practice with one of Mason's Christmas presents, an airsoft beebee gun, but not before going over gun safety rules with Papa Jack.

Silver Dollar City with GG

Papa Jack is having Mason read the rules of gun safety.

On Christmas Eve, we went to Joplin to spend with Uncle Brad, Aunt Gala and all the cousins.  Mase loved the Christmas Eve sleepover.  Christmas morning was spent opening presents and listening to squeals of delight as the kids played with their new toys.  We had a blast being around family for the holidays.

The kids stayed up late on Christmas Eve... The grown ups were up even later! 

Love this crew!  Christmas 2017

Mason's big gifts this year were his airsoft beebee gun and a red hoverboard.  Mason quickly got the hang of the hoverboard.  It took Richard a bit longer.  

Christmas 2017
Mason 7 years old

Halloween 2017

7 years old... Yes, this costume looks very familiar, because he wore it trick or treating last year, too.  #Mommyfail on so many levels.  1. That Mason really wanted to be a character named Bendy - but since we just moved, I had no time to put that costume together 2. I don't even know who Bendy is 3. Yes, that's our sweet 7 year old in a Deadpool costume.  Don't judge.  Mase is a sweet boy who likes to pretend he's bad.  It's quite comical, because this kid has such a tender heart...  

Mase trick or treating in the new neighborhood.  He had a great time, even after the rain started.

Deadpool!  

Announcing Big Changes for the Moss Family

It's official... the Moss 3 (4 if you count Darth) are Louisiana bound!
Richard has been with Lowe's for 19 years and was promoted to be the Market Director over 11 stores in northern Louisiana and Texas.  He's worked hard for this promotion and so far he is absolutely loving his new job!  Mason and I love that he will be off every weekend and week nights.

Truth: It's hard to leave Joplin.  Richard and I both consider Joplin "home".  We loved being close to family.  Mason absolutely adored his first grade teacher at Cecil Floyd, Mrs. Thieland.
We've been getting settled in our new home in Bossier City, Louisiana.  We haven't met many people yet, but everyone seems very nice.  It's certainly been an adjustment... But we are looking forward to this new opportunity.  Ever since Lowe's has been talking to Richard about promoting, we've prayed that God leads our family exactly where he wants us.  Honestly, Louisiana wasn't on our radar, but now that we are here, it feels right.

We are so proud of this big kid!  Starting a new school in the middle of the school year isn't easy.  This kid put on a very brave face, marched in that classroom and got right to work... Just like his Daddy.  Mossmen are strong - Mase is no exception.

Mase got to miss several days of school during the move.
His trusty sidekick, Darth, was a really good listener. 

First day of school in Louisiana.  Isn't he adorable in his little uniform?!