The Brooks Family

Happy ♥ Day!

2012-02-14T09:53:00.003-06:00

The kids really look forward to their Valentine parties at school. They also really like 'making' their Valentines. I think it is so much more fun for the kids to make something or create their own cards. I hope I can cultivate the creativity in them while they are growing up so they do the same when they have kids. (Thanks, Mom!)

Payton really got into it this year and loved being my helper! She kept asking me what she could do, or what's next? So we got busy last night finishing up the class valentines.

Filling her cups for classmates...

Handwriting her name on her cards... (notice the lefty, not my Firehouse sub?!)

RJ's completed Valentine card... (he was at practice, but helped when he got home.)

Payton's completed Valentine card

Night Out!

2012-02-14T09:43:00.000-06:00

We celebrated our Valentine's Day date night a little early this year with great friends... first, we headed to our local japanese steakhouse for a great dinner. They were even taking volunteers for the 'egg roll' trick.

Next, we headed to the local painting place "Community Canvas" for a couples night Valentine painting. This seems to be an annual event with us, since we have gone 3 out of the last 4 years. And, the best part is you get to leave with a unique painting created by you! We have all of our paintings all over our house. You would be surprised how much the guys get into it and how worried us girls get at what they are doing... (we sit facing each other so you can't see the other half of the painting until the end when they are put together!)

The boys getting ready to paint... our artist "Quiche" in the yellow jacket - she's great!

Roby always has fun and turns out is a really good painter!

My half of the painting...

The big reveal....

FINISHED!

Party Pictures

2012-02-07T14:06:00.000-06:00

So here are the much anticipated party pictures from the big rockin' 4 year celebration!

Happy Birthday Payton!

She was so looking forward to her cake and candles!

Lalaloopsy inspired cake made by Too Nice To Slice

She loved being the center of attention...

Pinterest inspired birthday banner made from burlap

The big surprise... the Lalaloopsy playhouse!

The Big 4!

2012-02-06T09:54:00.000-06:00

It's official! We now have a 4 year old in the house! We celebrated from first thing in the morning till late afternoon for this little girl's birthday. She had a great day and said she enjoyed opening the presents the most. GO figure. The lalaloopsy party was fun and mama is so glad all that party stressing is behind us for another year.

Morning of with her new lalaloopsy mermaid doll

Day after... on the way to school with another lalaloopsy doll

Looks like fun!

2012-02-02T09:33:00.001-06:00

The Color Run

So I just found this race that looks like it would be so much fun! It’s called “The Color Run”! Have you heard of it? It is coming to a city near me! Go to the website and see if one is coming near you. It looks crazy, exciting, fun, a mess… everything you can think of. I hope I can rally up a group to come with me. Running with friends is the best!

So mark it down... Atlanta, GA, March 31, I'm there!

Pinkeye

2012-02-02T09:24:00.000-06:00

We are being hit by the yucky infection pinkeye this week. Just really hoping it is all better and not passed along to others by the big birthday party this weekend! But, she did get to spend some quality time with daddy! Comments I heard from the day: she is very talkative and she asked a hundred times "when is mommy coming home?"

Nothing like going to the doctor in our ballet clothes...

The next morning... still really pink

Day 2: better but still pink... and no spreading to other eye (yet?)

(keeping fingers crossed about that one)

Secret trip

2012-01-27T07:55:00.001-06:00

It's that time of year again... circus time! We took the kids this year, decided the night before, bought the tickets, and kept it a secret until we got there. They were so curious where we were going! (You can imagine the questions we heard!)

We met a clown!

In our seats ready for the show to start...

The clowns were very funny and kept everyone laughing (especially RJ)...

The motorcycle riders were a great part of the show

Payton loved this girl was wearing pink...

Of course, the elephants were unbelievable! They even had a baby elephant!

Closing of the show...

The ride home....

Routines.

2012-01-19T12:15:00.000-06:00

I must say I do like routines. I do like knowing what is coming next. On the other hand, I also love surprises and trying new things (I guess as long as I'm comfortable with them.?) Make sense? My oldest child is much like me in that he 'works' better with routines and guidelines in place.

So while we loved being away for the extended Marathon weekend with our family, we (meaning momma) also looked forward to getting back into the routines.

So here's to another routine, structured, fun-filled week...

Saturday mornings full of basketball...

Tuesdays at Ballet... she is loving chocolate milk lately!

Loving my necklace from a friend...

Our afternoon rides home from school together... (a favorite - to hear about their day)

Play time at home... working with Lego's

Play time for this one - painting nails and putting fake nails on!

Legoland

2012-01-11T14:02:00.001-06:00

No pain, no gain... my plan was to walk the soreness out of my legs I guess!! Next, we headed to Legoland for the day. There are only two official Legoland theme parks in the US. One in California and one just opened in October 2011 in Florida. Lucky for us, my parents live right smack dab in the middle of everything... so we headed out for another fun filled day!

The kids honestly enjoyed Legoland more than Disney... tons of interactive things for the kids to do and the lines were not nearly as long. Plus, there was so much to see and just awe at the amazement of everything made out of legos!! RJ loved the roller coaster rides... it was so fun to see their excitement at the sight of each new adventure.

RJ was so excited when the first thing he saw was this huge Brachiosaurus as we entered...

These lego 2 clowns were too cute with my own clowns

RJ loved the triceratops

A lion's head that roars when you put your head inside!

The kids greeting the Lego man after the ski show.

Lego Christmas Tree

Kids on the camel made out of legos

Lego Darth Vader

Nothing better than a good ole' sword fight!! RJ had a shield and

Payton had a crown... even match, right?

Magic Kingdom

2012-01-11T13:46:00.000-06:00

Did I mention I just finished my first ever marathon?! So, Melanie, what are you going to do now?!

"GO TO DISNEY WORLD!"

I knew the kids and my husband would be so disappointed if I dragged them all the way to Disney World but then didn't even get to go in the park, so off we went to spend the rest of Sunday at Magic Kingdom. (Super cool to know that I had just ran through there a few hours before!) Even though my legs were screaming at me to sit down, I knew if I stopped I probably wouldn't get back up! :) So off we went! (After a quick BO check.... ha!! I teased Payton all day she would have to check my armpits for me!)

My most super awesome cousin ever, Susanne and her husband Joe, joined us at the park and used her Disney 'pull' to get us all passes into the park for the day. HUGE THANKS! The kids were super excited to spend the day with Mickey Mouse.

Susanne and RJ riding the rockets in Tomorrow Land

Roby and RJ on Dumbo the elephant

The Celebration show in front of Cinderella's Castle

Of course, the kids had to pick out their own mouse ears

(I loved the shirts Roby got the kids to wear!)

Payton with Mickey and Minnie... a very unusual moment... photo with them together!

Disney Marathon 2012

2012-01-11T13:14:00.002-06:00

(Race recap: FIRST MARATHON!!)

(I couldn't even see the start of the race until a good 15-20 mins after the first start)

What an experience! This past weekend I was able to enjoy a wonderful time with my family and complete an ultimate goal I've had for myself for as long as I can remember. I finished my first marathon, the Disney Marathon on January 8, 2012. (Check out running page for race results!)

We visited the Fitness Expo on Saturday at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex to pick up my race packet and final race instructions. What a scene! Tons of people milling around... you could definitely feel the anticpation in the air.

Sunday morning, we woke to an alarm at 2:30 am... (so couldn't believe this myself, doubt already setting in). The race officials asked for all runners to be on site by 4:00 am... in corrals by 5:00 am... oh my! Nervous, doesn't even begin to describe how I felt. I think I was just numb by this point and just kind of going through the motions... after the 20+ minute walk to the starting lines and finding my corral it wasn't long before the first wave was starting! The fireworks shot out at the start of each corral... definitely a wake-up... the atmosphere was crazy... ladies (and men) in tutu's, costumes, crazy hats and contraptions... you name it, it was there to be seen! So fun! Before I knew it we were off...

The best part of the entire race was running through all the parks at Disney World. A great distraction that helped the miles fly by! Probably the most fun moment for me was running through Cinderella's Castle at Magic Kingdom! Plus, Disney characters were en route all along the race which made it fun for everyone to see.

Mile 18 - 20 were T O U G H.

The last 6 miles was all heart, guts, pride, adrenaline (what was left), not really sure, but I knew I had to finish... there was no turning back now. Everything was hurting... but it didn't matter. There was NO GIVE UP. The last two miles I just kept thinking of seeing my husband and burying myself in his arms. I just had to make it to him and everything would be ok. I did just that... and it was an absolutley magical feeling! My kids and parents met us at the finish line... another amazing feeling to have my family there with me to support and encourage me!

Now to figure out what's next?! Yes, I will definitely run another marathon... I want to improve my time and plus, it was actually a fun experience. Makes all those miles and all those early, freezing Saturday morning long runs so worth it!

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-11T12:24:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! We celebrated the start to the new year with family and friends... a wonderful way to kick off the new year to come.

Lights

2012-01-11T12:20:00.000-06:00

I love the glow of Christmas tree lights in a dark house... seems so warm, cozy, and loving. I tried to get this picture of the kids in front of the tree for days... 2 of my favorite things!

Christmas... better late than never...

2012-01-11T12:18:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

(even though my calendar says 2012, in mind I can't just skip over time... everything has to be in order... so we are playing a little catch-up!)

Kids reading our Elf note from Candy Cane since he had to go back to North Pole with Santa...

We always have a round of family pictures before the grubbing starts... my brother, Mom and Dad stayed with us on Christmas Eve.

RJ and Payton

Mimi and Papa with RJ and Payton

Nana with her grandkids

The other Brooks side: Wes, Summer, Sawyer and Skylar

Christmas Eve - the kids open presents from Nana

Christmas morning - RJ trying out his new T-Rex bike

Payton was busy digging through her stocking

Christmas program

2011-12-16T11:36:00.000-06:00

Another year, another wonderful Christmas program at our daycare facility! This has been a tradition in our family since big brother graduated from the same daycare also. Payton did a great job singing with her friends and was super excited when the teacher surprised them with skittles after their performance. Sometimes I think this child would do anything for candy... especially skittles and starburst!

Payton and one of her teachers, Miss Taryn

Payton and Colbie

The three musketeers.... these girls are always together!

Payton and Tia... been together since they were in the baby room!

Payton and Jackson... these two use to lay on the floor and play together all day!

Swamp People

2011-12-16T11:07:00.001-06:00

Of course, I am talking about the hottest show on TV! But my favorite characters are not the ones everyone else likes... Troy, Landry... no, of course not. My favorite are the two old brothers who live off the Louisana bayou land. Glenn and Mitchell. They still live in the house their grandparents lived in. And everything they eat has either been raised by them or killed by them. Enough said. So you can imagine my excitement when my husband surprised me with this most awesome t-shirt!

Breakfast with Santa 2011

2011-12-12T09:37:00.001-06:00

We made it out to have Breakfast with Santa again this year... put on by a local high school. It's always a lot of fun for the kids to get to interact with Santa, Mrs. Claus and all kinds of christmas characters. RJ was much more into the characters last year but more into playing with his friends this year. Payton had to warm up to the idea of the characters, then she was ready to take pictures.

RJ and friends at Breakfast with Santa

Mrs. Claus reading all the kids a christmas story

Payton and an elf

Payton, Jenna, Jasey, and RJ

Payton and gingerbread man - had to remind her about the story...

"Run, run as fast as you can; you can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man."

The Grinch was nice... he gave out copies of the book Mrs. Claus read to all the kids.

Payton and Frosty the snowman

RJ and friends showing off their nice/naughty coins from Santa

Party, blood, lasers and more!

2011-12-12T09:02:00.000-06:00

I guess it's inevitable when about 15 boys ages ranging from 6 - 10 get together there is going to be a lot of noise, laughs, fun, and a little blood. We celebrated RJ's 7th birthday party this year with one of his best friends, Trace. They had a laser tag party! The boys all loved it.

And we almost made it through the party with no major problems. Until... a laser gun to the head left a gash in one of the birthday boys... Trace. But, he was the most amazing tough boy I've seen... his mom is a nurse so she checked him out, got the wound to stop bleeding and we went on with cake, pinata and presents. (He did have to end up getting 3 staples, but at least he got to enjoy his party!)

Love the reaction of boy on left... he was ready to blow candles too!

Lego Pinata.... that the boys destroyed!

Party boys... notice Trace's left collar of shirt... post injury and still smiling!

Playing in the jumpy's before we left... can see the blood on Trace's shirt a little better in this one.

Lego cake and cupcakes

More birthdays...

2011-12-12T08:34:00.000-06:00

This past week we started celebrating RJ's birthday a little early! Tuesday night we headed to the Lego Store in a local mall to create a Lego nutcraker and also for mom to get some birthday shopping taken care of. We went with RJ's friend Trace who is also celebrating a birthday. It was a fun night for these soon to be 7-year-olds!

The line was a little more than we expected...

The birthday boys checking out the new Legos...

Finally in the store. The boys were assigned a table and a store helper to build their creation.

The nutcracker is complete!

Welcome back Candy Cane!

2011-12-07T11:52:00.000-06:00

Our elf, Candy Cane has been very busy since he returned to us on Dec. 1. And the kids couldn't be happier about it! It is the best way to get them out of the bed in the morning... so much easier than a simple, "Good Morning." Instead, "Let's see what Candy Cane did last night" seems to rocket propel them out of bed!

Here are a few places we have caught Candy Cane:

making his own snow slide...

replacing stockings with kids underwear...

toilet papering our tree...

leaving movies for the kids...

making his very own zip line in our kitchen...

20

2011-12-05T08:57:00.000-06:00

No, not the number as age wise... I mean, I wish.

That number never looked so intimidating before. I mean, come on, I ran 18 miles last Saturday and felt great. This weekend, not so great, but I did finish the big 20 mark. A definite first for me and only one more long run before the big race... just a little over a month away. Nerves are starting now as I think about it.

So that is how my birthday morning started. Bright and early and cold... seriously, running with frost on the the ground isn't the most ideal temps for this native Floridian. But, again, I did it. At times, really rethinking this goal of mine, but I'm hoping the feeling I have when crossing that finish line will make all this fade away. Kind of like having babies... you remember the sweet moments not the painful ones. And the good so outweighs the little bit of bad you have to go through...

When I came home this is what I found...

Another moment that was special to me. My two little ones singing happy birthday.

So sweet.

After some recovery time... we headed here for my birthday dinner. I've been wanting to go for months.

So good. Hubs wasn't all that impressed... forgot Chipotle doesn't serve queso dip. This guy of mine is a fool for some queso. But I loved it. Perfect birthday dinner for me. Then on to some shopping and cheesecake for us from Cheesecake Factory... but I guess I was too excited to eat it because I forgot to take pictures! It was delicious nonetheless.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well.

Alabama v. Auburn

2011-11-30T14:16:00.000-06:00

Lots going on today... 18 miles done! (milestone for me: longest distance ever run) Then on to the big Alabama v. Auburn game. We were able to eat up some Thanksgiving leftovers and enjoy some fun football sides as well. I made a new caramel apple dip that was a huge hit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-30T13:31:00.000-06:00

We hosted lots of family and friends over Thanksgiving! It was a fun, long weekend. A nice break from school and our daily routines. Sorry for the lack of quality pictures but after cooking and stressing for days I was glad to just get everything out and be able to sit down!

Weekend company

2011-11-22T14:16:00.000-06:00

We were so excited to have a visit from good friends from California over the weekend, along with time spent with our now-local friends. It was fun to spend time with Wes and Kelby and kids who are here to visit Wes' family and also to have Amy and Pat and kids along for the fun.

Friday night, all the girls + RJ stayed in with yummy potato soup, fixing hair, playing, making cupcakes and running around like crazy. Saturday we were able to hang out more, enjoy a girls trip to Target, and lunch all together before Wes and Kelby had to make their way to his family.

Family photos

2011-11-18T09:52:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to recently run into my favorite photographer of Jennifer Lee Portraits at a local arts and crafts show. I was able to view our proofs yesterday from the shoot and I was so pleased! They are wonderful pictures and I love the way she was able to capture this time in our life. Here is one of the family proofs that she released on facebook. The rest are just as beautiful. I'm so excited to send out our Christmas cards this year.

Intro to Wrestling

2011-11-15T13:46:00.000-06:00

We are both, as parents, newbies when it comes to the world of wrestling. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Ric Flair fan and all, WOOOOO!, but when it comes to the actual sport of real wrestling (sorry Nature Boy) I know nothing. RJ has decided he wants to give it a try. We are excited that he wants to participate. We were first clued in to the wrestling interest when RJ started asking us to have wrestle matches. We finally convinced him that it would be much easier to wrestle someone his own size than us.

First wrestling practice

Ear repair

2011-11-15T13:24:00.000-06:00

RJ has had ear problems since he was little. We have battled numerous ear infections and tubes starting before his first birthday. I was really hoping that breastfeeding for 9 months was going to knock out these types of problems. No such luck. A couple of weeks ago while taking a shower some water got in his ear and he was miserable all night, along with us. A visit to our ENT revealed a hole in his ear that had not closed up when the previous tube fell out. Usually this happens on it's own, in our case, it did not. Surgery was scheduled to repair the hole. They had to take a skin graf from behind his ear to fill the hole. Fun times 10. Yeah, RJ thought so too. And on his day off from school and ours. But it's over, everything seemed to have gone well. One more visit to ENT this week and hopefully we will be done with our ear problems. Keeping fingers crossed.

But he did get to wear a lovely ear muff thingie home and all night after surgery. RJ did NOT like that. He even woke up at 4 am asking if he could go ahead and take it off.

Pre-surgery... after the relaxing juice... he was a champ!

Just waking up from the anethesia... we were so happy to finally get to see him.

Finally getting to leave... we were so ready to get outta there!

Later that night... he was feeling much better and ready to show off the muscles.

Ballerina

2011-11-09T10:25:00.000-06:00

We had the privilege of watching our little girl in her ballet class yesterday. Normally, the door is closed (with no windows) so I can only see her progress in what she is willing to show me (or remember!) It was a treat to get to see her dance... right up until she froze. Not sure if it was all the parents in the class that suddenly made her so shy, but she had to come sit with me the rest of class. But we did get to see a few minutes of her dancing and that was worth it. Now to worry about how she will do for the recital...

Rest in Peace

2011-11-09T09:38:00.001-06:00

Rest in Peace

Aaron "Tootie" Harris

February 19, 1993 - November 1, 2011

It's been a rough week. We lost this special young man on November 1. Our school, faculty and community have not been the same since. We will miss him so much... it's like a part of the school (the happy, smiling, laughing part) is now missing.

Weekend fun around the house

2011-10-31T13:59:00.000-05:00

No big plans this weekend... which is always nice for me to hear! Especially after a crazy week of dress up days and halloween parties.

Friday night started with a girls trip (just me and Payton) to watch a former player in last home match of the season followed by a little shopping.

RJ enjoyed his new Angry Birds game all weekend

New running shoes... sorry, Nike time to move over. Make room for Saucony. They made it through my 12 miler on Saturday... so far so good.

Scooter time outside on a beautiful afternoon

Followed by a little tackle/tickle time while lil' sis while napping

Still practicing our shoe tying skills and collecting fall leaves and acorns

Trunk or Treat

2011-10-31T13:50:00.000-05:00

We hosted our first "trunk" this year at the church Trunk or Treat event! It was a great night for all the kids and families involved. Our theme was "Jaws" and we even had the Jaws theme music playing through the car which really made the whole theme come together.

All the girls together

RJ the Ninja, Payton as a mermaid

The "Jaws" Trunk

RJ and friend Caleb enjoying the Trunk or Treat

You never who is sneaking up behind you....

Pumpkin patch 2011

2011-10-31T12:13:00.000-05:00

We visited Full Moon Farm again this year for our annual pumpkin patch visit. The kids had a great time, and thankfully it was not quite as dusty as last year. The kids enjoyed meeting up with friends, riding the (dusty and quite bumpy)) Pumpkin Express, playing on the bounces, traveling through the corn maze, and feeding the baby goats and pot belly pigs.

26.2

2011-10-21T11:12:00.000-05:00

I did it. I finally did it. I have signed up to run a marathon. The Disney Marathon 2012. I must admit I get butterflies still just thinking about it. I am in Week 2 of my training plan. I'm excited about the possibility of tackling a life-long goal of mine. I can't even imagine how I will feel the day of the race!

Still, 26 miles sounds like so much.

The training plan is a major help. When I have something planned out for me it is so much easier to accomplish. I love the feeling of making that little check mark... marking those miles off my list.
So, if anyone is in Orlando the weekend of January 7-8 feel free to come out and cheer me on! I've even heard Disney shoots off fireworks at the beginning of the race. How cool?! Plus, Disney characters are out and about all during the race. So fun. Back to the training...

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-10-17T12:55:00.000-05:00

Thanks so much for spending this past week with us! We had a great time. I appreciate all your help around the house with my projects... painting Payton's room, cleaning out the garage and all of our day-to-day tasks! We will miss you!

We hope you have a wonderful birthday! We love you!

(Photo courtesy: Payton Brooks, age 3, styling: Payton Brooks, age 3)

Learning new tricks...

2011-10-05T10:33:00.000-05:00

Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks? Not that I like referring to myself as 'old' or as a 'dog' but still... you get the picture. I've been trying to learn new ways to fix Miss Payton's hair than just the regular old ponytail. So... I've been practicing. I have learned how to fishtail braid. It might be my newest favorite! It looks super cute and isn't hard at all. Hardest part is getting my little 3 year old to feel like cooperating early in the morning!

Weekends

2011-09-22T07:01:00.000-05:00

Friday nights this time of year means football around here. So just about any Friday night you can find us at one of our local schools cheering on the teams. The kids love football games mostly because of the band and the concession stands!

Payton cheering on the yellow jackets!

RJ taking care of cousin Skylar - he told his friends he had to stop playing to take care of her!

Payton and Skylar loving sitting and playing with Nana

An early end to a Saturday volleyball tournament means a perfect afternoon for mama. A napping daughter and Florida football on the TV!

My life right now...

2011-09-15T13:28:00.000-05:00

Hectic
Exhausting
Unbalanced
Fun
Early mornings/late nights
Less time with family
Crazy
Always playing catch-up
Homework/reading/spelling tests
Less sleep than I would like
Full of volleyball
Grades/Lesson Plans
Dance/Flag football/baseball
Rewarding

This picture really doesn't seem all that special. But to me it is. You see from June to October every year for the past 11 years my life is always a little out of the ordinary. At the moment this picture was taken I was beyond frustrated with my team but was snapped back to reality when my 3 year old daughter ran in from her ballet class to give me a big hug. It was so precious. And I have to admit... she gives the best hugs... a big tight squeeze every time. It was just what I needed. A big thank you goes out to my family and friends for all the help on game nights, practices and all the in between!

Slumber Party!

2011-09-13T11:57:00.000-05:00

This weekend the kids were thrilled to have Madison spend the night with us! Lots of dress up from the girls, playing outside on the playground, some Wii games, playtime in the fort, early morning Waffle House followed by trip to park all added up to lots of fun for these kids.

Fall is coming fast...

2011-09-09T12:45:00.000-05:00

The temps here this week are definitely beginning to feel like my favorite time of year... Fall! It has been so nice and cool in the mornings and evenings. Definitely makes those long days in the gym for games so much nicer. Fall also means football! RJ has started flag football this year for the first time. He's learning more and more every day but at least he knows the biggest thing - get the flag!! He's pretty quick and likes to run (yay... for me, I can't wait to go on runs with him) so he likes chasing around other boys trying to get that flag. Special thanks to Amy for taking the pics for me while I was coaching a volleyball match.

The cheering section

RJ getting the hand-off from Trace

Drew breaking away from the pack

RJ cutting off the other team

Love this shot of the boys celebrating together!

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-08T09:33:00.001-05:00

Tuesday was officially the big day for Roby - the big 36!! We celebrated dinner on Sunday night with a big group of family and friends at Fuji, our local japanese steakhouse. It was a fun night. The kids even learned to use chopsticks. Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! We love you!

We have fish!

2011-09-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

We are now proud pet owners! RJ has been on a kick that he wanted a pet, and I mean relentlessly asking about a pet. We've been through the dog thing... not again. So after such a great start to 1st grade we decided on a fish tank. We have always talked about wanting one in our house so this was the perfect time.
It really is pretty to look at... and soothing, especially at night. We have added our first four fish after waiting three days to make sure the water was just right. The kids picked out the fish and were so excited about it!
Our fish: 2 silver-tipped sharks, 1 angelfish, and 1 silver dollar fish.

La la la la la la... Sing a happy song!

2011-08-29T10:36:00.000-05:00

We have been over run with little blue people!!! The kids saw the Smurfs movie twice and we have been collecting the figurines from McDonald's ever since. After many order of chicken nuggets later, we finally have collected all of the 16 characters. It took a little help from our smurf fairy Amy and a very sweet McDonald's employee that kept Papa and Smurfette for us! (I think she was just getting tired of us asking for them... ha!) The kids were so excited to have all the characters!

Inspiration

2011-08-24T12:08:00.001-05:00

One of my very favorite blogs these days is J's Everyday Fashion. She has so many good tips about styling, how to mix up outfits, shopping tips, etc. It is simply a wealth of clothing and fashion goodness! Another bonus, she works her closet on a budget so most of her pieces are very affordable and she is very open about where her items come from. I have gotten many ideas and inspiration from her outfits and I really love her style. I even went way out of my comfort zone by mixing black and brown recently... this is major for me. I hope I pulled off as well as J did.
Thanks J!

Yes, I know I need to work on my lighting and photo, but this is with a self-timer at work. Gotta do what you gotta do.

Superstar

2011-08-18T09:30:00.001-05:00

I'm really hoping I'm not jinxing him, but my big 1st grader has been on Superstar for 8 straight days! This is a huge accomplishment for him. We are excited about his great start to the school year and decided he needed a little incentive to keep up the good work. Nothing works better for encouragement than an M&M McFlurry!

Gymnastics

2011-08-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

New experiences for Miss Payton today! She has entered the stage of dance and gymnastics. We are taking two classes this year... ballet and gymnastics. She was a little nervous at the beginning of the gymnastics class but had mastered it by 5 minutes in. Plus, we get to take it with sweet Bella. Payton loved it! Lots of jumping and rolling so far. Today we will tackle ballet.

"My Girls"

2011-08-14T20:38:00.001-05:00

What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon... surrounded by my current and former volleyball girls! It is so fun to see these girls that I have coached and watch grow up into young women... kinda feel like a proud mama!

Off to a running start...

2011-08-11T09:59:00.000-05:00

The month of August has started off with a bang! It seems like the days are all blurs of school work, homework, practices, papers, laundry, packing and repacking bags for each day... and then repeat! We started off the month with a visit from Mimi and Papa. Then quickly got right back into the swing of school routines, had 1st grade orientation, some fishing, sunday school promotion, a road race, school shopping, and a birthday for Nana. *Warning: picture heavy!

Visit with Mimi and Papa

RJ's favorite fishing spot... the bridge at the golf course

Getting ready for his first mile race

Finishing the Woodstock 2011 5k - time 24:57

RJ with his medal for finishing the Kidstock 2011, time - 8:49

Big kid bible from OFBC for promotion into 1st grade class

Backpack blessing at OFBC

First day - 3 yr old class with Ms. Mary

RJ's snack for first day of 1st grade

Orientation with his teacher at DES

Nana's birthday dinner at O'Charleys

starting Fall baseball practice with his baseball buds - Trace and Judd

First day of 1st grade... walking in like a pro!

Family Golf Outings

2011-07-28T22:42:00.000-05:00

We have been playing lots of golf lately... by we, I really mean daddy is playing, mommy is riding in the golf cart and the kids are sometimes playing golf with daddy and usually just being silly! Gotta love the summertime!

These two photos below are edited using the Instagram photo app! I love that app!

Swimming milestones...

2011-07-13T22:49:00.000-05:00

We have been swimming nonstop these past few days... even though we have had to dodge the rainstorms. The kids are learning new tricks each and every day. RJ has mastered jumping in by himself, yes, he is 6, but believe me this is H*U*G*E for him. Mind you, this is in the shallow end where he can touch... small steps lead to big steps, right? Payton has learned to jump in, go under, and swim with her face in the water. They are both doing great at their own skills... so fun to watch their accomplishments.

Go Braves!

2011-07-07T23:28:00.001-05:00

We had a great time at the Braves game on Sunday afternoon… very, very hot and humid, a little rainy but still lots of fun! The best part… definitely seeing the kids running the bases on Turner Field after the game. Such a fun moment for all of them!

T-ball crew at Turner Field

Homer making an appearance in the party room prior to the game

Payton loved all the action going on at the field

Our family at Turner Field

RJ trying out his pitching arm…

Payton running bases at Turner Field… she is in the red shirt rounding first base!

RJ coming home at Braves Turner Field

“I ran the bases at Turner Field” shirts the kids got… they were so excited!

Beach or bust.

2011-07-07T23:18:00.001-05:00

We finally made it on our vacation. Rain threatened most of the week during the last t-ball tournament to drag it out and in turn make us miss about three days of our beach vacation… but thankfully, things worked out for us and we were able to start our vacation on time. We headed to Gulf Shores again this summer, our favorite vacation spot. This year, we were excited to have one of my best girlfriends’ family along with us for the trip. It was a blast!

Game over.

2011-07-07T23:02:00.001-05:00

T-ball season has officially ended for us. We had a blast with all the kids on our regular season team and also on our all-star team. But we are also happy for a break from practices, games, organizing so many different players… we finished up the all-star tournament 3rd but had some wonderful experiences along the way.

All Stars

2011-06-16T14:39:00.000-05:00

The summer baseball season known as All Stars is now underway. I must admit going into this whole baseball thing I was rather naive. I didn't realize how much time, organization and commitment would also come along with it. I should have known since my husband is coaching a team, but I really thought it isn't that big a deal... it's just t-ball, right? Wrong... we are now beginning our third day of 4 nights of games in a row. All leading up to a week long tournament next week with 12 teams.

But, on the other hand, it is fun. It is fun to see the kids improve, play, practice, make new friends and learn about the game of baseball. Leaving for the beach in a couple of weeks will be pretty fun also! ;)

Time is flying by...

2011-06-13T23:02:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that three weeks of summer vacation has already flown by! We have just returned from a short visit to Florida to visit family and also to see good ole' Mickey Mouse.

Daisy Duck with Payton and RJ

Mom, me and the kids

Our view the morning of... the "princess castle" as Payton calls it.

Donald Duck in Frontierland with the kids

Woody shaking hands with RJ at the Celebration Parade

Sleeping Beauty with RJ and Payton

Belle and the kids

Cinderella with the kids

Uncle Richie with RJ and Payton

The crew after the fish fry courtesy of Richie. RJ and Payton are lucky enough to have two sets of great-grandparents. The kids think it was pretty cool they have 3 Papa's in the house... Papa, Papa Winker, and Papa Blue.

Cousin Abby also came over to play!

Graduation Day!

2011-05-27T13:39:00.000-05:00

It's here... our little boy is a kindergarten graduate! To say it is hard to believe is an understatement. I have the feeling that all the other years will now be a blur of memories. I want to enjoy each and every year with my kids while they are in school. We are so proud of RJ... he has made so many improvements in so many areas and has learned a ton. He is a great reader and had the highest math score in his class.

My favorite thing so far this year... RJ has been writing in a journal at school very often during the week. He usually draws pictures to go along with his journaling! How about that... my son is scrapbooking at age 6 and doesn't even know it! It is the most precious thing I have seen. It's all in his own handwriting with his own drawings, ideas and words. I absolutely love it! It is something I will treasure until I am ready to give it back to him... right now... Mom is keeping it safe and sound. (I'll post some pics soon of my favorite pages!)

Look at that smile... he was so proud!

RJ with his diploma

Mrs. Brooks and RJ - we will miss her so much. She is a wonderful teacher!

RJ and Daddy

Mommy and RJ

Closing Ceremony

2011-05-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

The team got to celebrate one more time all together! They were super excited about the

League Champ t-shirt they received along with medals and a big trophy!

Fun, Summer, and Baseball

2011-05-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

This time of year we love being outside! We had a wonderfully busy weekend. The regular season games for tball ended on Saturday... with two more wins for our team. League Champs! Yay! It has been an overall fun experience... we were lucky to have a great group of parents and kids to work with. We also have an all-star in the family (shhhh!.... he doesn't know until tonight at the closing ceremony). Which means we will be playing baseball for the just about the entire month of June.

After the games on Saturday morning... the kids were so excited to head over to Madison's birthday party! It is so fun to see them get excited about going to see our dear friends - Pat, Amy, Madison and Bella. Madison's party was so much fun... the kids had a blast.

On Sunday afternoon we celebrated the end of tball with a team party. There was silly string, pool, whipped cream pies, baseball, trophies and lots of fun!

Before....

Ready, aim, fire!

After....

Slip-n-slide

2011-05-19T22:34:00.000-05:00

Today after t-ball practice the coaches rolled out the slip-n-slides... I can not even begin to tell you how excited the kids were! They had a blast!

Baseball and ice cream

2011-05-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

What happens when the ice cream truck makes an appearance at tball practice?! Ha... you guessed it... practice is basically over! Good thing we had him come at the end of practice! It was the perfect treat for the kids... they were sooo excited.

Oh no....

2011-05-15T14:38:00.000-05:00

**Update: We are not sure what happened to the birds, but I'm hoping it is not the obvious! We found a little serpent coming out of the bird nest... we were all mortified! We used a golf club to knock down the nest and this little guy (well, about 2 foot long) fell out of the nest! This little rascal slithered his way into the bird nest much to our dismay. We still have not figured out how he got into the nest...

Notice the bulge in the belly?! OMG! We were shocked!

Why I take pictures...

2011-05-11T11:16:00.000-05:00

Borrowed from Melanie Mauer's photography page

Baby birds

2011-05-11T10:55:00.001-05:00

We are the proud hosts of baby birds yet again this spring! The kids are so excited to check on them daily... at least 3 or 4 times. I'm not sure what kind of bird we have... but she has taken over our light fixture yet again in our entryway right at the front door. We just don't have the heart to take down her nest she works so hard to make. It is the same time as last year... it may be a fun tradition for the kids to see new baby birds each spring.

We have officially counted 4 babies, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is another one
tucked away inside this tiny nest.

PS - Payton wanted to share her fruit snacks with the birds this morning, but we decided it would be better to let mama bird handle the meals! Gotta love the mind of a 3-yr-old.

Teacher Appreciation Week

2011-05-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

RJ was super excited to get his teacher something this week. He also gets to celebrate with the fact that he is the Star Student this week. He gets to bring 1) a book, 2) a toy and 3) a snack to share with his classmates. It should be a fun day and he gets to invite someone special for lunch – so Daddy will be going with him. He also made a card for his teacher all on his own. He decided on the picture he drew and wrote the card by himself.

He was excited to read the card to Daddy…

Of course it has a dinosaur on the front chasing Mrs. Brooks and she is yelling, Ahhhhh!

The card reads: “I love you. Thanks for beyeing are tesher. I like the stations. I like are school.” (The only word I helped him with was stations.)

Inside we are placing a gift card to Hobby Lobby.

Oreo Crunch Muffins

2011-05-05T22:02:00.001-05:00

I’m always up for trying something new… especially when it comes to cooking and baking. I was intrigued when I came across this recipe from The Teenage Taste – Oreo Crunch Muffins (not to mention this is a teenager coming up with her own recipes.) They were easy to make and delicious! I will definitely be making these more often.

My Fab Five's

2011-05-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

My Fab Five's for this week:

1. Yes, these are left from Easter and they are delicious! I'm not a fan of jelly beans,

but you can't pry sweetarts out of my hands!! I've been munching on these things non-stop.

2. Guess this is my early Mother's Day present... I have made the switch back to the iPhone.

Roby's phone was no longer operational... wouldn't ring, dropped calls, dropped everything so since

we were both eligibile for an upgrade, my sweet and thoughtful husband came home with this

beauty for me also - pink case and all!

3. After 2 days of being outside at track meets all day... I thought it was just allergies again,

but doesn't seem so... I'm trying anything these days...

4. Running is still my release. Release from everything, turn on the music and just go.

I'm enjoying the benefits of the exercise and the feelings after, it also seems to make me

want to be all around a more healthy person. (...even healthy people eat jelly beans, right?)

5. This is by far my favorite meal, snack, comfort food... all of the above.

First, I have never been an oatmeal fan. But, recently I have been reading a ton of running blogs

and you wouldn't believe how much these ladies talk about their food and take pictures of their food!

Many of these ladies talk about eating oatmeal as their go-to breakfast or food to eat after a run.

That is where I discovered the best peanut butter ever!

The company: Peanut Butter & Co. - Dark Chocolate Dreams - is out of the this world...

now I'm going to share my secret recipe...

1 packet Brown Sugar & Maple oatmeal (just what was handy at our house because hubby likes it)

1 scoop dark chocolate dreams

1 handful of chocolate cheerios

Make oatmeal as directed then add in the toppings... absolutely wonderful!

I have recently added White Chocolate Wonderful to my collection...

tried it last night as my post-dinner snack... pretty scrumptious too!

Devastation

2011-04-29T06:20:00.001-05:00

We all have heard this word so much in just the past 2 days... it is probably the only word that can even begin to describe the scene here in Alabama. April 27, 2011 a date not many southerners will soon forget. The day of devastation across Alabama and most of the south. The death toll has climbed to over 200... a number that seems almost unbelievable. So many prayers going up for all the families and friends of tornado victims across the state.

Here in Calhoun County we had 6 deaths. Many local communities were hit very hard, homes wiped out, schools damaged, property destroyed. It's a sad time. I heard a tornado victim whose house wiped out say this morning, "I've cried enough tears, I can't do anything about my house... it's gone. That's in God's hands and I'm ok with that." What faith, what courage, what spirit she has. Just hoping we can all have that spirit.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful weekend! Our weekend started with some much needed attention to our yard. After two truck loads of mulch and new plants we still are not completely finished but we are close. The result feels and looks great.... more pics when we are finished.

Then, of course it was time to color the eggs...

Easter basket time... Payton's is filled with Dora stuff

RJ's is filled with dinosaur stuff...

Easter morning... what a lovely surprise... the kids slept till 8:15! This never happens at our house. I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come. Wake up, breakfast then off to church.

Family Easter picture 2011

We enjoy hosting friends and family and I guess you could say the Easter weekend helped us kick off our party hosting season! The house was filled with friends, family and lots of kids... so wonderful to have a full house on a special weekend.

Easter Crew 2011

Happy Good Friday!

2011-04-22T08:30:00.002-05:00

We have big plans for the Easter weekend! We are looking forward to getting our yard 'up to snuff'... which means a fresh cut, new plants, and new mulch!! (yay, for an aching back on Sunday!!) We will also be hosting an Easter gathering complete with egg hunt and cookout. So excited about the upcoming weekend.

Happy Easter!!

Payton is super excited about dying eggs and having a Easter egg hunt at her school today!

How fast things can change...

2011-04-20T09:10:00.002-05:00

Warning: Long post ahead

This past week the stress level has been a little high around our house. Our son was able to enjoy his Spring Break for the most part. It all started on Monday night when he smashed his finger between the car door and the rail on our golf cart. His finger immediately looked so funny and abnormal that we took him to the ER, afraid he had broken it. We were in the process of running out to grab a quick dinner for all of us. So by the time we reached the ER and I went to get our 3 yr old daughter out of the car I realized she didn't have any shoes on. Fun times. This is about 8:30 which normally means bedtime for our kids. We ended up only having to stay a couple of hours, had an x-ray and a temporary cast put on for precaution and referred to an orthopedic doctor. No real answers yet.

Tuesday we were able to schedule an appointment with the best orthopedic in our area. Thank goodness we have friends who are trainers, nurses and otherwise have 'connections.' We saw the orthopedic Tuesday afternoon. We are still thinking possibly a broken finger or something. My mind is already thinking about how this is going to affect him in school, left hand... so wouldn't affect writing.... my first thoughts. Then we heard something that had not even factored into our minds.... words like cancer, tumor, benign, bone deformity, deformed tissues, enchondroma, MRI, bone scan. It was all like a tornado hit us. The doctor thought this was not something that was the result of the door accident, but something that had been there all along. Smashing it in the door just helped us notice it more. The doctor told us not to worry (yeah, right!) he didn't think it was cancerous. But we were scheduled to have a bone scan and MRI done in 3 days to rule out the possibility of any type of growing tissue or 'activity' going on in his hand or anywhere else.

Notice the middle finger and the 'bump' right past the knuckle towards the hand...

Honestly, those days were a blur. Roby and RJ spent everyday together from the time he woke up to the moment he went to sleep. They played golf, baseball, went to movies, had lunches and breakfasts together at RJ's favorite spots... it was like our head was in the clouds. I didn't want to believe the doctor and thought he must be just sending us on a wild goose chase.

Lunch at Fuji's eating hammerhead sharks (shrimp cut by the chef)

Golf with Daddy

Friday morning, we took off we were there early and ready to face whatever it was together. First up was the injection of the radioactive chemical for the bone scan. Now, our son, has a deathly fear of needles and or blood. The nurses were great with him, especially Joan, who took very good care of him and was very patient and kind to him. We will remember her caring spririt. We finally got the injection done after two sticks and three nurses having to hold RJ still. Joan made him a bunny bandaid...

We had to wait 2 hours for the chemical to take effect throughout his body so we knocked out the MRI during that time and even got to go get some breakfast at the Waffle House, another RJ favorite. I have never had an MRI so I wasn't sure what to expect either. The loud noises, the tunnel, the not knowing when it's going to end... all very stressful and I'm an adult, much less for a 6 yr old boy with lots of energy that has to keep his hand still for 30 mins with his body half way in this tunnel. We made it through, with a few tears, but he did it.

We got to take a break and head out for breakfast while still waiting for the time for the bone scan. The bone scan was somewhat easier than the MRI but it was still hard trying to get a very active 6 yr old boy to be still. He first went through the open tunnel for the bone scan for his entire body then we had to concentrate on his hands. He had to keep both hands still for what seemed like an hour. It may have only been 30 or 40 mins but it took forever.

DONE! Friday afternoon we let him go swim with a friend and just have fun! Secretly, I would have loved to have him all to myself, snuggle up and watch a movie (Jurassic Park is our new fave) but he deserved to be a kid and have fun after all that craziness this morning. We were still super stressed all weekend. I just kind of put it out of my mind. I couldn't even fathom the possibilities of bad news. I couldn't let myself go there.

Roby had a doctor friend of his at the hospital read the radiologist report on Sunday for us and we finally had some relief - no cancer. Diagnosed as fibrous dysplasia - a bone deformity. It can be severe and painful, but it seems as though the problem RJ has is isolated and painfree. It is something we will have to watch and keep an eye on, but no action needed for now. He can do anything and everything he was doing before all this craziness started. We met with the orthopedic on Tuesday to confirm the test results.

RJ was very concerned as you can tell.

We are so thankful and so blessed to have two healthy children. I realize there are children and families with so much more severe problems than we have experienced. My heart goes out to those families. But it is like you always hear, you never really can understand these feelings until they happen to you and your loved ones. We merely peaked in the door at a much bigger issue than we had ever dreamed of. We are more aware of our blessings and have been shaken to the core and back again.

Things to remember (about the weekend):

2011-04-18T08:37:00.000-05:00

Got this idea from Ali Edwards blog today...

Things I want to remember about this weekend:

family game time on Saturday morning of Dinosaur Strike
watching the kids dance to entertain us in the living room
listening to Payton sing along with the 'Cat in the Hat' movie
the drawing RJ made of our family or (femele as he spells it - he's doing great sounding out words)
a fun chat with a best friend about fun preggo happenings
playing outside t.o.g.e.t.h.e.r
a run on Saturday (6 miles)
the new "whiny" rule we put in place for the kids
a birthday party for a very special 2 yr old friend
kids excited about going back to children's church
had some sad news that reminds me to enjoy every little second of our time together
watching 'Rio' together (which means our 3 yr old made it through the whole movie)
having all the laundry finished before Sunday night at 10pm! Yay!

Spring is here

2011-04-06T22:56:00.000-05:00

At least our front door now sends the message "Spring is here!" The wreath was pretty easy to put together once I made myself sit down and work on it from start to finish. Making the flowers was a fun part also.

The race

2011-04-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

The big day finally came and went! It was exciting, challenging, hard, fun and nerve-wracking all at the same time. The morning started out pretty early. I was up at 5 am and out the door by 5:30 am. Official race started at 7:30am but the officials asked everyone running to be parked by 6:30am. We got to park on the infield of the track! Pretty cool. These pictures are heading into the actual track area and the tunnel taking you down to the track and infield area (we also ran down this tunnel around mile 8).

Once inside and parked it was all butterflies from there on... did I train enough? Will I be able to even finish? Can I make my goal time (2 hr)?What if my back gives out half-way through? All kinds of stuff goes through your mind before the actual race begins.

Once the race started I felt good... it was fun to be in this swarm of people, just running. The course was great. This is my first half-marathon, but I think it will also definitely be my favorite race. We got to run all around the speedway... we started on the race track, then ventured out through the campgrounds, up into the grandstands, then around the top of the race track (what a view!), then finally back down through the tunnel into the track again to finish on the racetrack.

My official time was 2 hr and 5 mins. Just missed my goal by 5 mins... but I'm still pleased with my first ever race of this distance. I'm hoping to get faster and faster. I've learned some "do's" and "dont's" along the way. I guess you could say, I'm hooked. Official results here.

I'm so thankful that my family came to support me.

It was so fun to see my kids and husband waiting for me at the finish line!

Dinosaur love

2011-03-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

After completing a dinosaur unit at school... my little boy has fallen in love with all things dinosaur. He was a fan of T-Rex before, but now he knows so many more. He wants to look more up on the computer, he has learned what a herbivore and carnivore are, he knows so many dinosaur names (more than I have ever heard of) and has started drawing them. Quite well... I must say. He worked hard on some pictures last night to give his friend at school today. I secretly wanted to keep them and store them safe in our scrapbook but I figured a picture would do. After all, it was a very generous and kind thought for him to draw it for his friend.
Definitely don't want to discourage that attitude!

This is a brachiosaurus eating off a tree, because it is a herbivore.

(And yes, I had to look up that dinosaur to make sure I spelled it correctly!)

There is a little dinosaur at the bottom but I can't remember the name he told me for anything.

This a T-Rex and a Stegosaurs in a battle...

When it rains...

2011-03-28T14:17:00.000-05:00

For your viewing pleasure... it's been a rainy, yucky weekend here so the kids were busy having a dance party!

My new addicition...

2011-03-28T14:13:00.001-05:00

One of those things that you never think can happen... well, for myself that would be sushi.

Yep.

I know. Pretty crazy stuff.

We have a local Japanese steakhouse that we are quite fond of here in town. I have not really been brave enough to try out the sushi menu even though lots of friends have gotten on board. I bit the bullet. I did it.
I did the one thing I keep begging my picky 6-yr-old to do... just try one bite.
So I did.

And I LIKED IT!

Now, keep in mind, we are just talking about the easy stuff...
California Roll, off the COOKED sushi section.

Don't give me too much credit... when I start ordering off the RAW sushi menu
then it will be something to celebrate!

The hubby was headed to Fuji on Friday for lunch so I talked him into bringing me some sushi!!

Totally made my day and got me through those last dreaded hours of a long school week.

A new strap...

2011-03-25T11:55:00.001-05:00

Fashion for the camera? Yes, please! Cover the boring old Canon strap out for a seriously, cute and hip camera strap. Double Yes!! I am loving my new Shey B camera strap. The hardest part was picking out the design. She has so many designs... and they are all adorable. Here are some of my favorites:

And the one I chose...
taken with my phone because it was a little hard taking the picture of the strap once it was on. I was just in such a hurry to put on the new stylin' strap that I forgot to snap a quick picture until it was already on.
I love it!

Picture day

2011-03-24T22:25:00.001-05:00

The season is almost officially underway... we have practiced, we have the uniforms, we have the equipment, and now taken the pictures. Official 1st game on Monday. The countdown is on...

Spring break (for at least one)

2011-03-23T09:10:00.001-05:00

This school year we didn't end up having the same week off for spring break. :( There went the plans of heading to the beach or to Florida. So I actually got to have some time off to myself, which was great! I could follow our normal routine but without all the getting ready part on my end and then enjoy a nice leisurely breakfast with the hubs or go for a morning run. It was wonderful. We have enjoyed some absolutely beautiful weather so we were able to spend most of our free time outside. But, unfortunately now the pollen has started taking over the south and as a result my nose has turned into a leaky faucet.

Yes, he appears to be telling me I'm a loser... the funny things you see during tball practice!

Not only making brownies, but m&m brownies... yum... or at least the kids thought so. Totally their idea... promise!

She was definitely the loudest singer in her daycare program. And she was right smack-dab in the front. Not really sure if this qualifies as singing or yellling?!

He won first place in the home run derby (tball division) for a relay for life event. He was thrilled!

Surprise lunch with mommy at school... already a stud, sitting with two girls.

Payton having her turn at the home run derby... she did great! And loved hearing everyone cheer for her.

Oh, yes, she has inherited her brother's love for silly faces.

Asleep in bed with a baseball in one hand and the tv remote in the other. Seriously, this is not staged. He has been falling asleep like this (with arms up above his head) since he was a baby.

Dino Dan is his new favorite show.

My view one afternoon... nice and peaceful couple of hours, reading magazines and

enjoying my spring break.

10 miles.

2011-03-14T22:54:00.000-05:00

I've read it's called the 'runner's rite of passage.' Whatever it is called... it felt pretty good to make it the 10 miles. So I'm just hoping the race will be even more satisfying.

My goal for the day was to start off at 9 miles and then see how I felt from there. Once I got started I was feeling pretty good so I decided to go for it. The run was going pretty smoothly until somewhere around mile 9.5. There were just a few aches and pains from the hips that last half a mile but overall it all felt pretty good. My training runs don't go above 10 miles so I'm hoping this extra week I have before the race will help me prepare with some extra mileage. So I'll be going for another 10 miler this weekend then tapering off before the race.

Dance party.

2011-03-08T09:02:00.000-06:00

It's never too late for a dance party. Yes, they probably should have been in bed by now, but around here it's never too late for a little dancing. Especially when these two are showing off their moves! She was excited to try on a new bathing suit and just had to dance. Sorry for the blurriness... obviously, I'm still a work in progress when it comes to photography!

Danger Zone.

2011-03-08T08:52:00.000-06:00

One of the many things about this little boy that I love is his imagination. Since he was old enough to roll his hot wheels and Thomas the Train toys around he has always been able to occupy his mind with his own stories, his own adventures, his own thoughts. He has spent countless hours lining up train tracks, ramps, and obstacle courses for his toys. Just the other day I went upstairs to our bonus room that now houses the train table only to almost step all over the track he had assembled that reached across the entire room! So I really shouldn't have been surprised when I walked in his room this weekend to put away clothes to find his toys in mid-combat. Oh, sorry, a battle as I was corrected.

Yes, I know the room is a wreck... but that just means he has been playing. (Right?)

Happiness is....

2011-02-28T10:57:00.000-06:00

Happiness for us is...

Petal Chic

2011-02-27T22:19:00.000-06:00

I stumbled across this lovely a few days ago and am in the process of narrowing down my hat purchase... not too easy when you see all the fabulous designs. I'm really feeling the Harlow design, but the Abby, Gracie, Eva and Avery are coming in sooo close. And you can pick your own hat color! Now if hats were just in my dress code at work I would be all set!!

Practice time.

2011-02-25T11:37:00.000-06:00

This is our view 3 days a week. I must admit... I have been waiting for this since the kiddos were born. Call me crazy, but I have been looking forward to doing homework with them, taking them to practice, having snacks ready for them, taking action shots of them... I've been waiting for all of this. But, I do have to work on my action shots... I'm investigating and playing around with the shutter speed setting on my camera this weekend to help with those blurry shots. A new lens would be nice but that's not happening for now.

What have we been up to?

2011-02-23T21:33:00.000-06:00

The spring sports season is officially upon us. We are underway with t-ball and track season. We are currently practicing baseball three times a week. Track season has also officially started with practice during the week also. Not sure how we are going to do all this when little Miss Payton decides to start dancing or playing ball. But, oh what fun it is. I enjoy watching tball practice... something I never thought I would say... me, enjoying watching a game I'm usually not the least bit interested in. And, it's fun juggling all of our family activities. I'm really cherishing this time we can all be together doing something. Pretty soon we will be split up, going in all different directions. So this is where you can find us three days a week....

More, decent pictures to come when I can actually remember to bring my camera instead of relying on my phone...

Circus Waffles?!

2011-02-17T19:17:00.000-06:00

Oh, Yes!

I couldn't believe it when I came across this at Urban Outfitters a few days ago. Let me explain... my kids L.O.V.E. waffles. I mean really truly ♥ waffles. We are never without that Leggos box in our freezer. That is the quick and easy solution to breakfast on the weekends when mommy wants to just sleep a few more minutes but the kids are begging for breakfast.

I'm keeping this little baby a surprise for Saturday morning breakfast. Guess I'm going to have to go sleep a little earlier than usual on Friday night so I'll be ready to get up and get cooking the kids some circus waffles! I know they will love being able to eat a clown waffle, a lion waffle and the elephant waffle! Maybe I should go ahead and make the waffle batter early so I can get just a few more minutes of sleep...

The Little Things.

2011-02-17T18:59:00.000-06:00

Sometimes... it doesn't take much.

Sometimes... it's just a hug, or maybe it's just a tender squeeze to help dry up those tears of frustration.

Sometimes... it's a fun tickle time with mommy or daddy.

Sometimes... it's just some snuggle time on the couch watching a favorite TV show. Sometimes...it's putting together a puzzle, over and over.

Sometimes... it's reading a book.

Sometimes... it's just the little things that mean the most.

It usually doesn't take much to make kids happy and to see that wonderful smile.

For my kids... all of the above will usually work.

But some days... some days, they need a little help...

around here, that comes in the form of an

M&M McFlurry!

Play Ball!

2011-02-16T20:21:00.000-06:00

We are geared up t-ball around here! Seems like everyday we are outside practicing catching, fielding, hitting or throwing... RJ loves it (and of course, that makes Daddy so happy). I love the wonderful weather we are having... but I know this weather too well... we are bound for another cold spell. So we are enjoying it as much as we can now. Payton even has her own pink and purple ball and glove. And not to be outdone by her brother's snazzy new baseball equipment she also has her own Jenny Finch bat!

♥ Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

2011-02-15T20:29:00.001-06:00

We officially celebrated Valentine's Day on Saturday night... so I was surprised when I received these beautiful flowers on Valentine's Day! If you have seen the movie "No Strings Attached" then you will understand the 'congrats' balloon! It was a really funny romantic comedy that Roby and I saw a couple of weeks ago. I am a lucky girl with a very sweet and thoughtful husband.

Hope you had a special day with your loved ones!

Project Life.

2011-02-14T14:11:00.000-06:00

I've recently recruited two friends (but would love to have more... hint, hint) of mine to join my in my Project Life journey! I'm so excited. Just to clear up some questions that are still floating out there... here are some pictures of my past albums.

The original version is on the left (2009) and last year's kit is on the right (2010). I started both (well, all three including this year) on January 1. But it really doesn't matter when you start... that is just another wonderful thing about this project... it's totally customizable to your life.

The opening page for 2009. I love the albums... very nice quality and holds up well with all the pages.

The page protectors have 8 slots (4 on each page) to make a one-week spread. The extra slot is for you to record the week or dates - however your prefer. Those cards, page protectors and journaling cards are all included in the kit. Don't you just love my little girl sitting and looking at the pages?! Both of my kids love seeing themselves in the albums.

Close-up of one half of a week... the month dividers are also included.

Another shot of the album.

A close up of another week... (we were potty-training during this time!)

My albums are out in plain view. This is our front door entry way. Eventually I would love to have built-ins put in on either side of our fireplace... a perfect place for shelves to house our family albums. But for now... I like having them out and accessible for guests and even the kids. My album I am working on this year is out on our dining room table so it is easier to maintain and keeps things fresh on my mind. Plus, if it's out in the open for all to see that is just more motivation for me to keep it up-to-date. Yes, I have fallen behind... mostly on the journaling... I don't have a problem taking pictures at all. I look forward to the entire process... I'm trying to challenge myself to look outside the box more... not only use photos. I've recently included in my current album some of my son's school artwork and a super note from his teacher.

Valentine creation.

2011-02-13T15:14:00.000-06:00

For our Valentine's date night we headed to our local paint bar... The Community Canvas. We have done it a couple of times before. Two years ago we did a painting of a heart that was pieced together to make a whole. Turned out really good and the experience was so fun. We decided to give it another try. I love making things so it was right up my alley. Here are the step by step photos... my camera battery died after the first two pictures of the night (not good planning on my end.) So please excuse the quality of the phone pictures, but something is better than nothing.

Mingling and getting ready to get started.

The girls on one side, the boys on the other side...

Our paint palette... we could pick our own background colors.

First step - painting the background and blending the colors.

So grainy... sorry. Our trees put together....

Our finsihed product!

The new home for our painting... just inside the front door.

Roby added his own special touch to his side of the tree... very sweet.

♥ Classroom treats

2011-02-08T21:56:00.001-06:00

♥ It's on the way, around the bend... Valentine's Day! We were busy last night making RJ's class Valentines. We combined a couple of projects into a simple and easy pack for his classmates. The parts all came from different websites. The sucker valentine idea came from eighteen25. The froggy tic-tac-toe printout came from It's always a party at the Parker's. RJ enjoyed putting the whole pack together and even writing the labels out for his classmates. Hope his friends like them!

Wrapping it up.

2011-02-07T22:34:00.000-06:00

What a big birthday weekend we had! Not sure if this little girl will remember much of her 3rd birthday 10 years from now but she really enjoyed herself this weekend. We followed up her party on Friday night with her very first manicure and pedicure! She loved it. She was definitely shy at first, this was a whole new experience for her. But within just a few minutes she was loving all the fun! We ventured to a new nail spot just for kids. Payton chose her own nail colors... for her fingers - blue with sparkles, for her toes, light pink! It was a lot of fun!

Big brother was having his own fun with Dad. T-ball is just starting... along with all the equipment, tryouts, and clinics. RJ is having a great time learning all kinds of new things about baseball. Not sure why he needed a helmet to draw on the new art board though?

On to the final event of the weekend... cake #2. I promise she really did like her Dora cupcake-cake!

Happy Birthday Payton!

2011-02-04T23:37:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Payton's birthday tonight. This little girl was so excited about her party. I think her brother might have been a little more excited than she was about the party. They had a lot of fun playing, jumping, running and basically just bouncing around for 2 hours followed by a sugar high from cake and ice cream. But the fun is not over. Tomorrow Payton will receive her first manicure and pedicure and possible facial! It is at a local nail shop just for kids. Should be lots of fun!

3.

2011-02-03T22:50:00.000-06:00

The big day is coming. We are in birthday prep mode. Cupcakes made for class. DONE. Gift bags filled for party. DONE. T-shirt made by momma for party. DONE. Gifts bought. DONE. Gifts wrapped? Oh, crap... not done! Cake ordered. DONE.
My baby girl about to turn the big 3?! Not sure I'm ready for this... even though sometimes it sounds like she is already 10. Our little 'pooh' is such a big girl and has an amazing personality with a smile and a laugh that can melt your heart.

She was all hands-on helping me every step of the way tonight...

Half-Marathon.

2011-02-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

It's out there. April 3. I'm going for it. The Talladega Half-Marathon.

I've always wanted to run in a marathon. So first step is to train for a half-marathon and see how I do. Problem? It's cold and winter. This native Floridian doesn't do cold weather very well, especially when it comes to running in it. So here I am running upwards of 60+ laps around our high school gym. Fun times. I'm not a treadmill runner either. I love running outside. So this weather is really killing me. I'm really, really hoping for some warmer temps soon. Like last weekend, 68-70 on Saturday and Sunday... perfect!!! Problem with Alabama weather... you never know what you are gonna get. Tornados, rain, sleet, ice, snow, sun... we got it all!!

Back to the running... I've logged over 32 miles so far. I'm almost to the end of my week 2 training schedule. I'm really starting to feel the benefits. I've always ran... just 2-3 miles... usually all I had time for. But now I'm really challenging myself out of my comfort running zone and I like it. I've gotten faster already. I'm excited. I actually look forward to my running days!

Weekends

2011-01-30T13:49:00.000-06:00

We love weekends around here. That means time to play, relax, be together and have fun! We could not have asked for a more beautiful weekend in January than we just had. I've even got our screen door open as I'm typing this. Crazy to think that just a couple of weeks ago we had 4 inches of snow on the ground and today it's almost 70.

Friends.

2011-01-28T19:56:00.000-06:00

We were all so excited to have some very special guests come over last night. One of my very best friends from college and her two adorable girls came over to play! It was such a blast watching the kids play together. We really hope they get to do it more often! ;)

Amy and Bella

Madison fixing up the dollhouse...

RJ and Bella - they had a ball together!

I wonder what kind of conversations these two will have?

The whole gang trying to settle down for some movie time and popcorn.

100.

2011-01-25T16:41:00.000-06:00

The 100th day of school was celebrated this week at RJ's school. The kindegarten classes were assigned a big homework project. They were to collect 100 of something and then create a unique way to display the collection. We decided on Skittles. Easy to collect and count. We tossed around several ideas, but decided on a baseball field! RJ was excited about the whole process and led the way during the entire project. He was excited to share his creation with his class.

First step: sorting out the colors

Next step: Counting out all the colors

Next step: Coloring the front page of project

Last step: gluing down all 100 Skittles!

Before and After.

2011-01-23T13:19:00.004-06:00

The fireplace mantle project is about 95% done! We just have some touch up work to do in the corners. I am so pleased with the transformation. It definitely adds some color appeal to our so neutral living room. Here are the pictures:

Before

After I was hesitant for just a second once we started painting, but I'm so glad we tried this. Who knows what we will tackle next!