she did it!

Lauren insisted on wearing her new rain boots (despite the lack of rain) and her mask she made the other day....to HOME DEPOT. I told Matt to make sure to take a picture if she really goes in the store that way.

Please Enjoy!

Vacation 2010: Take One

We had so much fun on vacation and took a ba-zillion pictures (that's a word...just ask my children) so over the next few days I will be sorting through them and posting them in small bunches. Not much dialogue but plenty of photos.

Take One: ATL - LAX - BOISE, Idaho!

I'm surprised this ugly plane was able to take us from LAX to Boise!

Cousin Madison, Tyler and Lauren at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Lauren, the Idaho Potato, Grandma Jan and Madison
ready to board the Thunder Mountain Line

Tyler and Grandma Jan

chugging along the river

beautiful Idaho!

Daddy and Lauren

the whole crew
heading back on the train

swimming? in Madison's pool

good times

a little bit of Monkey Business
(indoor playground)

Daddy's all Monkeyed Out

lunch at Donnie Mac's
trailor park decor but good food
Lauren had the can of Spagettios w/ a side of Cheetos
Classic!

Touring the historical Idaho State Penitentiary

it wasn't long before Lauren needed a "time-out"

in case "time-out" doesn't work

More of Idaho and the rest of the West to come...as soon as I find out where the next group of pictures are stored. Stay tuned!

We're Back and Better than Ever

We arrived home safe and sound early (1am) Sunday morning. Our flight was delayed twice but eventually we made it home from vacation. Did you even know we were on vacation?

We left the deep South for the great Northwest and visited Idaho, Oregon, California and enjoyed a quick but lucrative stop in Reno, Nevada before heading back home. It was the best vacation ever. I highly recommend taking 3 weeks off in a row. It really rejuvenates the soul (or whichever cliche speaks to you the most.)

I haven't yet sorted through all the great pictures we took but we did jump right back into things with Doctor visits for both L and T this Monday morning.

Lauren measured up at 46 lbs and 47 inches. She falls into the 65th percentile. (Doc says she'll probably be around 5'6" tall.)

And Tyler was 42 lbs and 43 inches tall. He's in the 85th percentile. (with a projected height of 6'1")

While Lauren had only one immunization today (in which she did not shed a tear) my poor son had FOUR! He was a trooper for the first two but the second two really took their toll.

Here are his battle scars.

This is the face he made while getting the s-h-o-t-s.

We found these t-shirts in a dumpster.
just kidding!
GO Broncos
(GO easy on my Ducks!)

I loved everything about vacation but I'm SO glad to be back into my own kitchen. We ate delicious home cooked meals for the most part but we also ate more fast food than my body can handle. No more chicken nuggets and french fries for a long long time. Tonight we had...

Tomato-and-Corn Pizza
(before the oven)

(after the oven)
topped with torn basil

the crust was burnt because I made my own pizza dough instead of using Boboli but the flavor was fantastic. Lauren and Tyler both ate their entire serving.
I served it with a green salad and dinner was complete.

Tomorrow I'll be working on the pictures from vacation. More posts to come. G'night Y'all.

Today

The Other Day:

I made a pie.
(and I have a burn on my hand to prove it)
Blackberries, Raspberries and Strawberries were on sale and I had some pre-made pie crusts to use up before our three week hiatus out of town...so I made a pie.
Nothing special but since I Made a Pie
I had to document it.

Today:
We hosted playgroup at the pool.
No pool pictures today.
(Please check out a previous Pool Day post because the pictures are about the same.)

After the pool Lauren went to Lea's house to play while Tyler opted to run some errands with me.
We went to Five Different Stores and Tyler was such a trooper.
When we finally got home he was eager to watch some TV.

Yo Gabba Gabba on the Tee Vee
and a strategically placed bag of carrots.

SUCKER!!
(see the above picture...he ate quite a few!)

When Daddy got home from work Tyler was Gabba Gabba'd out and ready to play.
Here's what happens when Tyler asks Daddy to play Barbies with him.
The Barbies throw a townhouse party.

Please notice the Barbie straddling the roof

and the one hanging from the chandelier
in front of Ken doing a handstand.

Testosterone and Barbies can only last so long before it's time to put on the "Punch Guy" Outfit and make Mincemeat out of Daddy.

Today was a Good Day!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there...biological or not.

We celebrated our Father's Day st Six Flags Over Georgia....in the sticky 90-something degree weather. WOW! It was hot, Hot and HOT but we still had a good time. We went with Frederick and Maria and their daughter Lea.

Lauren

Tyler
(someday I'll learn how to turn the pictures around)

Lea

Lea's in there somewhere.

Me and Maria

the trio

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of Matt on this Father's Day. That's a shame because he is The Best Father EVER! (I know a lot of people claim this but I'm actually being truthful!) We Love You Daddy!!!!

And since it's Father's Day, of course, I have to mention my own father.

I saw this poem recently (on the internet) and thought I'd post it even though it doesn't exactly capture the relationship I had with my Dad. For example, if I gave him roses he wouldn't know what to do with them (other than give them to my Mom to take care of) and like my husband he would have thought them to be a waste of money. =) But the last few lines are very true to my heart.
Happy Father's Day, Dad.

If roses grow in Heaven Lord
Please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my father’s arms
and tell him they’re from me.
Tell him I love him and miss him,
and when he turns to smile,
Place a kiss upon his cheek
and hold him for a while.
Because remembering him is easy,
I do it everyday,
But there is an ache within my heart
That will never go away.

And like I said before...Happy Father's Day to all you fathers and father figures out there.

Baby, It's Hot Outside

When it gets this hot outside (May and June have been sizzling) we take our entertainment indoors.

Lauren had her dance recital.
She was a Rodeo Girl.
They tap danced to this song.
She wore a cowgirl hat on stage so don't give me any flack about her scraggly hair-do.
Tyler likes his naps on hot days.
He prefers to take them on the sofa despite all the commotion.

While Daddy installed the new heavy duty TV wall mount...

Tyler slept through the whole thing.

When he woke up he and Lauren did some Wii Yoga.

It's great for the body and the mind.

When they aren't playing at Lea's house, Lea is playing at ours.
We escape the heat with help from the sprinkler.

and then we "chill"

serious "chilling"

the Jeeps create a nice breeze in Rabbit Speed

the Jeeps aren't afraid of hills nor sprinklers

Eventually the heat wins and everyone naps.

I woke him up at 5:30pm.
How will he ever go to bed at 8 o'clock now?

Tilt your head sideways for this next one.
Since Tyler napped so long we all watched a Netflix-via the-Wii movie that night.

Annie (rated PG...don't tell!)
The only thing the kids took from this movie was Miss Hannigan's "Kill, Kill, Kill" line.
I hear it all the time now.
(maybe they aren't ready for PG movies)

Last night I coerced Mr. Mike to watch our kiddos while Matt and I joined some friends for the Wine About the Economy event in downtown Newnan. We had fun tasting different wines while checking out the local merchants. We ended the evening with a delicious dinner at Ten East Washington. My $75 coupon (I bought for only $9) from Restaurant.com made it even more enjoyable/affordable.

Today we went with Dave and Troy to see Toy Story 3 in 3-D!!
This was my first 3-D movie and it rocked!
Tyler loved it

and so did Lauren.

Well, I really can't stay
(but baby it's hot outside)
I've got to go away
(but baby it's hot outside)

This evening is going to be relaxing and very low-key.
Matt and I will play around with our new Direct TV we had installed the other day and then we will go to bed...by 10pm at the latest.

Stay cool, y'all.

Happy Father's Day tomorrow...we have 6 Flags of Fun planned.