Tuesday, September 30, 2008

It's a circus around here!!!!

Aunt Janet and her friend Russ planned a big treat for Lily's birthday! They took the kids to the circus! And what a fun time they had! Just take a look...



Did you notice that in every picture of the kids they are eating a different form of sugar?!?! At least Aunt Janet drew the line at the $10 cotton candy! (Yep, $10 folks...inflation has hit the big top, too!)

Thank you, Aunt Janet! They have some great memories to share!

Juggling~
Laurie

Monday, September 29, 2008

O.K., I'll confess....

Right here, right now...

I love these:




Fried pork skins! Even better, the spicy ones! Am I the only one? (Echo, echo, echo.)

What's not to like? They are crunchy, salty and no carbs! HA! (I try not to look at the fat grams!)



Well, there it is, I said it, I admit it, and I'm not ashamed!

Crunchin'~
Laurie

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Farewell, Summer....

As I've mentioned many times before, I just love Summer! I try to stretch it out as long as possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that we get to experience all of the seasons and I wouldn't change that, but if John and I were on "The Newlywed Game" and he was asked what my favorite season is....the answer would be Summer! I found this snip-it in a magazine, cut it out and have it hanging on my fridge:

"Our calendars edge closer to Autumn, but who will blame us for holding on to Summer just a little while longer? Birdsong mornings, firefly evenings and cicada nights were never intended to be rushed through."

Perfect!

So, our finale to Summer was a long weekend at St. Simons Island with Grandma and Grandpa! With questionable weather and a busy week, we didn't make our final decision on going until 8:00 a.m. Wed. morning. Do you know when we left? 8:00 p.m. Wed. night! Yes, I packed a family of four for a four day vacation in less than twelve hours. (And didn't forget a thing---thank you!)

A dinner date with Grandma and Grandpa:


Hangin' with Grandma in the hot tub:


Quote of the weekend- "You sank my battleship!":


Soaking in a tide pool! (A big one!):


We had a wonderful time and I can definitely say it was a perfect way to move into Fall!

Looking for my pumpkins~
Laurie

P.S.

We came across this sign outside of a store. It was very enticing, but I decided to walk on past....

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Happy Birthday, Miss Lily Clare!

My sweet baby girl turned three yesterday and I'm still in shock! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were trying to prepare Sam for a new addition to the household! And here we are now with a beautiful/active preschooler on our hands!

Lily started her birthday celebration on Monday with a party at school! She took a cookie cake to share with her friends and donned a princess crown for the day! (I'm hoping this will help her like school a bit more!)

Yesterday we had a party at the house; and let me tell you, it looks like Toys 'R Us exploded in our living room! We have baby dolls, Doras, puzzles, blocks, books (did I say baby dolls?!?) everywhere!

Now, have I mentioned that Lily is the only little girl in our neighborhood? Needless to say, she is very well versed in playing with cars and trucks and pretending to be a policeman and a bad guy, etc. But she has to have a party, right?!?! So what is a girl to do?!?!? We just had a pink party with eight boys and one girl (thank you Abby!)! She loved it!




So, here is a little glimpse at Lily's busy three years!


Lily had a super day and we are all so proud of her!

Loving my girl~
Laurie

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Happy Birthday, Mom!

September 10th was my mom's birthday! We spent the day with her on Tuesday and the kids and I threw her a "surprise" party! It was quaint; just the four of us, but was complete with cake and candles!



Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!

And many more~
Laurie

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Sept. 11th ---- The chills

----Edited to Add-----
On Sept. 11th, 2001 - John had been laid off from work for about two weeks and we had just found out that we were expecting our firstborn - Sam. The excitement of a baby is what kept us positive!! (But in the back of my mind, I had the negative thoughts of "what kind of world am I bringing my child into?!?!?!") Our neighborhood in Chattanooga had a candlelight vigil to remember those who lost their lives in this horrible event.

-----------------------------------

I just hate to hear this date. I'm scared to turn on the t.v., to check CNN.com, to drive to the grocery store or to just not worry about a thing. And this MAKES ME MAD!!!!!!!!!!

As I watched the dedication of the memorials, my heart broke. As much as we don't want to think that this stuff happens...it did. And it happened HERE, in the U.S. of A. THAT MAKES ME MAD!!!!

As a mother, a wife, a citizen, I am MAD!!!!!

But.....I am sad! Sad for the families that have to deal with this for the rest of their lives. Sad that we have to remember these horrible events. As Americans, we don't need this and we won't take it. I am proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!!!

Do your research, make your vote and move our country forward...

http://www.rnc.org/

Sad, but Proud~
Laurie

P.S. I have a post for my mom's b-day, but we're on vacation and I can't get to my pictures. So, Mom, I'll post it when we get back! "Moms" always get the shaft!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Lots of "Firsts"!!

This week has brought us a lot of "firsts" in the family!

Wednesday was Lily Clare's first day of preschool! She did great...no crying...she just walked right in and started playing. I was overjoyed!! However, I will not pretend that this has continued. Friday and today she had to be pried off of me and taken into the classroom. Honestly, this is a horrible way to start my day. Could I feel any more guilty?!?!? I hope this doesn't continue too much longer. I'm not sure I can take it....

She looks happy to me?!?!?


For Sam, he has had his first baseball game and Cub Scout meeting. His first game was on Saturday and he did pretty good! Little man had 4 RBI's!!! He was shuffled between catcher, left field and second base. They shifted him pretty quickly from the catcher position after he hit a few of the batters in the back of the helmet with the ball. But overall, he did great!



Action photo:


Sunday was his first Cub Scout meeting. (And I've finally stopped the bleeding from my fingers from sewing on his patches! Yhew! HA!) They learned the motto, "Do your best", and practiced the famous salute! How honorable does he look?!?!??!


By the way, this cute little Cub is selling popcorn, if anyone is interested! I'm sure it's a whole lot better than that stuff in the grocery store! :-)

Lily is still enjoying gymnastics and is looking forward to her birthday next week!

Just being a "Mom"~
Laurie

Monday, September 1, 2008

Labor Day Fun! (Lots of pics...)

Oh, how I love three day weekends! That extra day gives you time to have family fun, while leaving some time to accomplish a little work around the house!

Well, I definitely laid out some work plans for us - much to John's chagrin. Lowes was running a sale on gallons of paint, (which doesn't happen very often) so how could I pass that up?!?!? I bought four gallons and plotted a course on painting the living room, half bath and dining room. As of Monday night, the living room is finished, the half bath is half done and the dining room will be my lone project. (--After I paid someone to wallpaper the dining room when we moved in, I've come to the realization that I'm not a wallpaper person.) SO, I'll be stripping the paper before we can venture to the paint. I'll post some pictures when all of the projects are complete.

But Saturday was our day of fun! After Sam's baseball practice, we headed to downtown ATL for a special treat! We went to see Wall-E at the Fox Theatre! I'll take any excuse to get inside the Fox, and this was perfect. The movie was great and the kids loved the theatre, especially the stars and clouds that move along the ceiling! FYI- the Fox Theatre was built in the early 1900's and was built to resemble an Arabian courtyard with a starry sky and mosques all around. Beautiful!


Sam and Lily in an Arabian throne:

Lily primping in the fancy bathroom:

The rooftop of the Fox Theater:

After the movie, we walked around downtown to take in the views, then journeyed into Midtown for some ice cream and to hunt down a playground. We found both and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the great weather! We had dinner at one of our favorite burrito places in Decatur then walked back to our car while catching glimpses of some of my favorite pieces of public art!

Sam's view of a skyscraper:

Another ATL landmark - Yum...chili-dogs:

A trip to an "Urban Park":

Not sure who the mysterious third child is!:


My favorite sculptures in Decatur:

"Imagination":


John and me in a few decades!
Fun, fun, fun!

Sam ended the long weekend with one less tooth! (The best part is that he whistles when he talks! HA!) So cute!




Happy~
Laurie