July 18, 2010

Keep reading below - but be sure to read the headers. I've just spent well over an hour trying to catch up on 6 months of blogging. I had barely posted all the fun we've had and how busy we've stayed, so i wanted to make sure i updated, albeit very briefly! Month by month from January on. You might even want to scroll down, start with January and work your way back up so you are "in order."

We've got 3 weeks of summer vacation left and it is going by far too quickly for my liking! We had a staycation this week and it was so great to get all our bedrooms cleaned out and organized (including closets) and also take two fantastic day-trips!

It is unbelievable to me how quickly my days with my "little" kids are passing! They are growing up way too fast for me to really like! We've had sleepovers and trips to the lake with friends, many days of swimming, and lots of playdates this summer. But most of all, we've just enjoyed being together --- that is if you forget all the sibling bickering that goes on constantly! THAT i won't miss when school is back in session!

Anyhow, enjoy "catching up" with us. Blessings to each of you taking time to read this!

June 2010

We kicked off June with lots of fun. Jeff had the camera, so i have no pictures of Molly and myself, but Griffin and Jeff went to Auburn for two games of the College World Series. They saw Auburn vs. Jacksonville State and Clemson vs. Southern Miss. Griffin got two autographs of guys that signed with the major leagues the week after the world series! Camden stayed with Khaki and Papa and Molly and I went to the cabin - thanks to the Brauns! Jeff and Griffin picked up Camden and met us at the cabin when they were done with their overnight in Auburn. .. when Griffin naps, you know he MUST be tired!
Taking the field:

(Griff and Jeff had purchased tickets to both games, but did a little spiritwear shopping when they arrived in Auburn). While at J&M Bookstore, the girl working the register asked if they had tickets to which Jeff replied yes. She then told them that was too bad because the owner had been given tickets, but also had a tee time he didn't want to miss, so he had 2nd row seats to Clemson game! She was kind enough to "exchange" their tickets for the better seats and what a thrill that was to sit right the Clemson dugout!
Camden is just like the rest of the men in this family and L-O-V-E-S ribs! TASTY!
BIG BITE!
As i mentioned in a previous post . . . we love spring/summer fruit! Taking a bite out of our first watermelon of the season!
Camden has already learned how to enjoy every last DROP!
Jeff has to travel just a few times each year, so we kept busy while he was in Seattle for business. We visited the new Babyland General and met some new friends:

The doll in the blue and white dress sitting next to Molly is my doll that i "adopted" in 1981! I was only 5 years old. She is one of the "original" dolls. If you visit, check out the cases in the lobby of "originals" and you'll see why Molly is not allowed to play with Pauline very often!
Griffin despised having to visit with all those babydolls, but he found a special place "all his own" so we had to stop for a photo-op!After Babyland and a little further in the car, we made it to Unicoi State Park! We have a favorite swimming hole and picnic area that we try to visit a few times each year and we always take pictures so we can see how the kids grow! Doesn't matter what time of year it is, or how old they are, they (we) still love the creek! Lots of memories are held in this small section of the creek! Birthday celebrations, father's days, and just trips just for fun!!!
Shew, doesn't matter if it's winter or the dead of summer - the water is still C-O-L-D!
Skipping rocks!
As of these pictures, we felt like summer had just started, but now that it's the middle of July, i can't believe summer is so close to being over! Makes me so very sad! We WILL make the most of these last three weeks!

May 2010

Completely out of order (I am so frustrated with how blogger is loading pictures), but at least you'll be able to see what happened in May.

May 25th: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!! YAY! We can't wait for summer to start - can't you tell by Griffin's face?

I hosted a few luncheons, picnics, receptions, etc in the month of may. This is a pic of all the supplies i purchased (and thankfully was reimbursed for) during the month of May! A hot dog lunch for 100+ 4 and 5 year olds, a school-wide picnic for 240 children and their families, a retirement reception, and a team party/cookout (oh yea, wasn't reimbursed for that one though), and supplies for a graduation for 100+ 4 and 5 year olds!

Griffin accepting his trophy from "the coach" after a great spring baseball season! This is our back deck!
Batting during a travel-ball game! No trophies involved here, just F-U-N!
After the pool was kind-of finished:
Jeff enjoying the fruits of his labor:
A dance recital and two precious friends (visit this one here) enjoying their rewards for a great performance!
WHY was spongebob squarepants the theme song for Molly's recital dance? My LEAST favorite cartoon of just about anything on TV! And yellow - not her best color!
Teacher appreciation/Mother's Day gifts! Bird feeders that we made out of bowls, saucers, and spoons. They must be "covered" or refilled after rain or else, but darn, aren't they cute?
Just a little taste of one of the many construction issues we faced during pool construction! And as i post all these pictures, i will say, we were told and promised that our pool would be FINISHED by May 27th - "at the latest" and it is July 18th and it is still not finished! Can you say FRUSTRATED???

April 2010

It's April which means FRESH FRUIT! We love spring and summer in our house for all the yummy things it brings to our table! We avoid vegetables at all costs if we can get our 5 with fruit only! Washington Farms is a short drive from here, so we visited them on several occasions and picked our own strawberries! They are absolutely the best in the world to go straight from the vine to our mouths. There's even a few animals to visit when you're done picking!

A baby cow that tried her best to lick Camden some kisses!: Camden broke all rules (as usual) and ate as many strawberries as he picked! The fields are huge and it wasn't crowded anytime we went, so he'd tromp up and down the rows and just snack away!
Hidden by vines! Gotta love that toe-head!
Evidence of the crime:
A little trip to American Girl to spend some money she had saved since Christmas! A Just Like Me Doll was the selection of the day! (Sorry the pics are out of order. Drives me crazy, but the loading process isn't cooperating so great tonight!)

Griffin and his loot! He thoroughly enjoyed this!
Molly and her prize pick! She loved the long stem!
Concentrating hard on which one is just-ripe!
"Whadya think mom?"

March 2010

March brought a huge snow! A school-cancelling kind of snow! Snowballs, sledding, friends, and lots of hot cocoa were all part of the fun! And lots of boot and mitten-drying too! Camden (and all the kids - big and little alike)loved it!

February 2010

February Fun!!! We had an action packed February! You would think with being out of baseball season, we would slow down, but no such luck in this house!

A father-daughter dance at the school! What a special night that included corsages and dancing, and well. . . yes, even dad being left on the sidelines while Molly hung out with friends!
VALENTINE'S FOR EVERYONE: I think we made a total of 58 of valentine's, plus a special valentine for lots of special teachers. I forgot to take a picture of the teacher valentine's, but i bet they upped our total to at least 70! That was a fun couple of days of crafting!

Molly's:
Camden's:
Griffin's:
Even a snowfall, that required TASTING:

January 2010

After a busy Christmas season, January was kind of quiet! We celebrated a 2nd birthday -- choo-choo style!
And visited the aquarium with our annual passes -- always a favorite for the TWO year old!! He loves trains and fish!

A Big Event!

Look what happened in our house last night!

At barely 2 1/2 this makes his "mom" (as she is already called) a little sad! Where is the "mommy," the crib, the itty-bitty-ness? He did however, still require his "bee banbeck" (bee blanket) and paci to go to sleep, and that makes his MOMMY a lot happy! He's the last, so he better stay little a bit longer! He earned a cookie monster tattoo for his success and i'd say sleeping until 9am is success when you're only 2 1/2!