Wookies and Tu-Tus

There's No Crying in T-ball...

2009-04-05T23:55:00.008-05:00

There is no crying in T-ball...that is unless you are a momma extremely proud of her little boy.

Saturday was Ryan's first game of the season. And to fully appreciate the day's events you must rewind to the beginning of last season. You see Ryan has Sensory Integration Dysfunction and we were not really sure how well he would do last year. His coordination left much to be desired, he was unable to run the bases without becoming extremely winded, and to top it off he has no peripheral vision in his right eye. But last year went well, he had trouble running, but he was having fun and was actually getting pretty good hitting the ball coach pitch.

This year it was no surprise that Ryan wanted to play T-ball again. And we were excited to find out that because of how their birthday's fell, Ryan and his cousin Braxton would be on the same team. The first practice went well on Thursday and we felt encouraged for Saturday's game. And Saturday, sitting in our folding chairs, Bobby and I watched our boy and were so proud of what we saw. Ryan was paying better attention to the coach's instructions, he was hitting the ball with some pretty good force, and he was running all of the bases with some speed... all without getting winded. Bobby held my hand and we talked about his improvements and I felt tears of pride start to well up... and all of this before we even get to the exciting part of the game.

Near the end of the second inning I decided to have a seat (I spent most of the first inning getting pictures of the boys and getting settled with the rest of our cheering section). I turned around to say something (very unimportant, I'm sure) to Maw Maw and Paw. And just that very second is when it happened. A batter from the other team hit a pop fly right towards Ryan. And by some miracle the ball fell right into his glove. Bobby leapt to his feet and started cheering so loudly that he actually strained his voice. Ryan stood there, slightly shocked at first and then beaming with pride himself.

Now I do not fool myself to think that this is some great sign of athletic prowess (Bobby may disagree). But to a skinny little boy who is always the slowest in a foot race and last to be picked on the playground, this type of moment means the world.

For his part in the game Ryan received the game ball. And be rest assured if he has not shown it to you already...he will. He is so proud of himself and so are Mom and Dad.

We love you man!!

And finally, there is a song that I have always loved. And despite the fact that Ryan was actually playing Short Stop and not Right Field, it reminds me so much of Ryan's great catch. So if you have an extra 3 minutes or so, listen to the words of this song...it always makes me smile. I also added a few pictures of Saturday's game to make it worth your while.

Memphis Tourists

2009-04-05T20:36:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we had plans to go downtown and see Magic Tree House the musical. Ryan has been reading the MTH books for several months, so when we saw that the musical was coming to the Orpheum we knew we had to get tickets. We decided, since we were going downtown anyway, we might as well make a day out of it.

The fun day started with breakfast. I taught the kids how to make Monkey Bread. I have wonderful memories of making Monkey Bread with my mom and sisters when I was a little girl. The kids had just as much fun. Meg dipped the biscuit pieces in butter and then threw them in the bowl of cinnamon sugar, then Ryan covered them in sugar and put them in a greased bowl. They really had a little assembly line going. And complete Mommy bonus...they made breakfast for me:)

Our first stop downtown was Beale Street...and before you scold me for taking my kids to Beale, it was two o'clock in the afternoon and there were several police patrolling. The kids walked down the street wide-eyed. It was in this moment that I was a little worried about the fact that Ryan can and does read every word he sees. He was reading every sign on Beale as we walked and was full of questions.

We quickly steered the kids into A. Schwab's and showed them all of the cool things they have for sale and on display. The kids especially liked the second floor which had a sign stating " You MAY touch everything". Ryan operated an old cash register and Meg was amazed at how heavy irons used to be. They must have asked 1000 questions.

Next we headed over to the Peabody. The kids were really looking forward to seeing the ducks and had been asking to see them for months. When we got there the kids looked at the ducks, looked at Bobby and I, looked at the ducks, and back at us. Of course Meg was the first to speak up...

"Is this it?!?"

Then Ryan chimed in,"They are just swimming in a fountain."

We still are not exactly sure what they expected of the ducks (maybe a song and dance routine??), but unfortunately they were a great disappointment. Fortunately the player piano was a huge hit!! The kids had recently read about a player piano in a Magic Tree House book and they thought it was really cool to see one in person. We also took a trip up to the roof and saw the duck house and the view of downtown. Bobby thought it was ridiculous that I would not let the kids close to the edge, but the rails are WAY too low and my kids are WAY too unpredictable...plus their mommy is terrified of heights and was doing really good to even let them on the roof.

Next was a trolley ride which my kids found equally boring. "It's just old buildings and the river, what is so exciting about that???" They are a tough crowd, I tell ya'. And in the first picture you can see how cold it was. The wind was whipping so hard that it was hard to stay out in it for too long.

Then we walked around Peabody Place and then over to Kooky Canuck's for dinner. We arrived at the Orpheum just in time for the show. The kids LOVED it and sat mesmerized the whole time. They have grown to love and identify with the brother/sister team and it was really cool to see their friends Jack and Annie on stage before them.

Here are some scenes from the musical, just in case you want to see them.

http://www.mthmusical.com/showhighlights.html

We asked the kids about their favorite part of the day. The musical was tops, a close second was breakfast and third was seeing the pretty horse drawn carriages. It was too chilly and windy to ride but we promised that we would go back one day this summer for another tourist day.

Random March Pictures

2009-03-22T15:33:00.009-05:00

I actually meant to post these pictures before I posted the Zoo pictures, but I'm sure you will forgive me for the slight discontinuity.

Mom was over at the house and bending over to talk to David on the floor. Jack decided to have a seat on her shoulders...crazy cat!

These pictures are from another trip to the Zoo a couple of weeks ago. We went with Bobby's cousin, his wife and Baby Mikey.

These are from St. Patrick's Day, when we were supposed to go to the Zoo (notice a theme here). We ended up in Audubon Park instead.

These are from Cole's bowling birthday party.

And of course we had to show our Tiger pride before the first game of the NCAA tournament. Goooooo Tigers!!!!

This is just one of the many reasons I love having a girl...bows and braids:)

Welcome Spring!

2009-03-22T14:56:00.005-05:00

We celebrated the first day of Spring by going to the Zoo. We tried going on Tuesday, but our attempt was thwarted by record breaking crowds. Friday turned out beautiful so we met up with Aunt Tootsie and Baby David.

Here are some pictures of those three beautiful kiddos:)

And now for WAY too many pictures of the polar bears. But they are so cool!!! How can you not take pictures of your kids squealing with delight while they are coming nose to nose with a bear 10 times their size?!?

And finally, here is a picture of that happy boy and his momma.

Dressing up for Spring

2009-03-17T22:32:00.003-05:00

I took the kids to the mall yesterday and, much to their dismay, started looking for spring clothes. I have completely fallen in love with these long cotton dresses for Meg. But I have not fallen in love with the price of said cotton dresses. They are sooo simple, they should be sooo cheap.....they are not.

So as any cheap, semi-crafty person would do, I stared at it, turned it inside-out, checked out the seams and decided to head to Hancocks. And there I saw the most beautiful sight in the world, pre-shirred fabric, right up front, ON SALE! If you don't know what pre-shirred fabric is don't feel bad, I only learned the name yesterday (thanks Kris). It is fabric that has been scrunched-up on one side, kind of like smocking....and yes that is the technical definition. So anyway Meg picked out a springy little plaid print and I picked out a long gorgeous red and black print (because every four-year-old little girl needs a floor length, dramatic red and black gown!!)

Of course I came home and washed my fabric immediately, pulled it straight out of the dryer and ironed it. Bobby would like to know how I am so proficient at ironing sewing projects but am baffled by ironing men's shirts...but I am perfectly comfortable with this dichotomy. I started "measuring" Meg (ie holding the fabric up to her and saying..."ehhh that looks good" ) and pinning the dresses. I was temporarily interrupted by having to feed my family, prepare for leprechaun visits and attend a class to become a substitute teacher. But in a total of about two hours, I had two adorable dresses at about 1/4 the price. And I'm telling ya', it is easy! Just a seam up the back of the dress and attach some ribbon straps. I have a feeling I will be making a few more of these.

Inspiration dress from The Children's Place.

Meg's two dresses :)

Poor Ryan, I don't make him clothes anymore. But he and his Daddy are OK with that. That and the fact that Mommy bought him khaki shorts with skulls and crossbones embroidered all over them and let him wear them for school pictures. Yep, Mom is pretty cool...this week.

They got us again!!!

2009-03-17T21:58:00.006-05:00

Every year the kids set a leprechaun trap and every year the little fellas get the best of us. They make a mess of our house, turn everything green and sneak away before we can catch them.

This year was no exception......

They set the table with green plates and cups and much to Mommy's dismay they left a breakfast of Lucky Charms and donuts with green sprinkles. Don't those bad little dudes know I like for the kids to eat a nutritious breakfast?! Thankfully they also left some kiwi and pears.

A perennial favorite....the green toilet water.

Just before going to bed, the Mommy made the kids clean up the playroom and wouldn't you know the leprechauns got out all the green toys. Ryan was quite upset that he missed the lightsaber dual with his two green lightsabers and Meg noticed they had a tea party with all of her green dishes and food!

I have heard of crop circles before, but never Lego shamrocks!!

It's hard to tell, but even our milk was green!

The trap was sprung, but no leprechauns :( But they did leave a trail of gold coins in their hasty retreat.

Poor Rowdy always gets humiliated by the leprechauns. Last year he was covered in green hairbows and this year it was Ryan's frog towel.

And just to make sure our new addition didn't feel left out.....poor Biscuit got it too.

They even erased our Bible memory verse and left us a message in green chalk.

We'll get you next year!!!

The Power of a Good Book :)

2009-03-05T15:19:00.003-06:00

Meg and I went to Barnes and Noble today. I was searching for a Travel book and Meg was perusing the children's section. Meg chose a book about Ballerinas and we headed to check out. Then, by the register, she spotted the book on shoe tying and she told me that she HAD to have it.

She has been wanting to learn how to tie her shoes for a while now, but I have been reluctant to teach her. You see Meg is a lefty and for the life of me I could not figure out how to teach her how to tie her shoes "backwards". Well the task was not too great for "Loose Laces". Ten minutes after opening the book and trying the "practice laces" this is what we had...

Oh yeah, she can double knot them too and was ticked that I didn't video that!

Family Literacy Night

2009-03-04T08:13:00.002-06:00

Last night was Family Literacy Night at Ryan's School. It is a night where local celebrities, community leaders, teachers and students read books to groups of kids and parents at the school. It is a great event and all of the kids love it. They get to see their friends, hear some great books being read and even take home a book. There are so many cool books being read by so many cool people, but only 5 or 6 sessions in which to hear them.

Ryan and Meg got see a Mad Scientist preform some experiments, a Veterinarian read a book about puppies, a puppet show by the music teacher, and a St. Jude Research Scientist read about The Blood Hungry Spleen. But the kids absolute favorite session was the Memphis Football players reading the book Rat and the Tiger. They sat in amazement while they read, and ran up to them afterwards for pictures and autographs. The players were wonderful. They did a great job reading and were amazing with the kids. Ryan just kept telling them, "You Rock!!", "My daddy loves you!", and "We are HUGE Tiger fans!".....Daddy was really glad he took off early for literacy promotion :)

Bobby is not a liar...

2009-03-02T16:53:00.010-06:00

After a VERY long Friday night that included three hours of PTA report writing, Bobby and I headed to bed early. While crawling into bed, Bobby mentioned something about getting a couple of inches of snow on Saturday. I laughed.

"It is not going to snow," I told him and he looked at me quite offended.
"It is too," he repeated emphatically.

You see I am usually pretty up on the weather, especially snow. But I must admit I have been so busy lately that I had missed the forecast for several days. At this point I still thought Bobby was teasing me, but he was getting angry!

"Are you calling me a liar?!?!" he asked.

I didn't answer this question, but looked at him unbelieving and flew to the living room where the 10 o' clock news was Tivoed. Ten minutes later I crawled back in bed and said, "I guess you were right." Bobby was not satisfied with this pitiful admission of wrongness. So in order to prove that my husband is not a liar, I shall post the following pictures....

By the way, he was WAY off on the number of inches:)

Ask Allie about the big blue box:)

Long time, No write!

2009-02-26T19:58:00.007-06:00

Go ahead, slap my hand. I have been a very bad blogger. I could go on and on and tell you what has been consuming my free hours, but I will spare you. Instead I will do a photo recap of the past two months and try to do better. I know I am leaving out tons of family events, but I didn't want to overwhelm anyone :)

First we have New Years...this is a picture of the kids watching grown men attempt to blow themselves up with explosives (aka fireworks).

Next we have our first snow, Ryan was still casted at this point so we didn't get to play too much.

This is a picture of Ryan's second cast. The first stayed on for three weeks and this one stayed on for two additional weeks. Ryan opted out of signatures this time and let Daddy decorate it with Sharpies.
I had to include these next photos just to prove that cameras should not be allowed in the room while you play the Wii. We are too cheap to buy our own Wii, so we just go over to Mom and Dad's to play. Here Daddy and I are getting "Fit".

Snow #2. We had more snow this time, but it stopped falling before the kids woke up. This go 'round we wrapped the cast really well and let Ryan loose.

Meg was convinced that she wanted Momsie to teach her how to knit. The lesson lasted about 5 minutes and Meg decided that it wasn't her thing. Maybe we should learn how to tie our shoes first???

Valentine slumber party at our house! We had fondue, watched movies, made donuts and generally had a blast!!

You made this a Christmas to remember...

2008-12-31T10:57:00.005-06:00

Remember that super cool trampoline Mommy and Daddy got the kids for Christmas???

Well two days after Christmas was a beautiful warm day here in our fair city, so we took the kids out to enjoy their new gift. Both kids jumped until Meg was tired, but Ryan was still going strong so he wanted Mommy and Daddy to jump with him. Mom was first. We played Crack the Egg (that name sounds so cruel now) and Mommy saw how high she could bounce her 40 lb. boy. Then it was Daddy's turn. They were having so much fun so I turned around to go get my camera. I hadn't taken two steps away from the trampoline when I hear "OWW!!", "Are you OK little man?" I turned around to find Ryan sitting on the trampoline and Bobby hovered over him. Ryan wasn't crying but he was holding his arm and his hand was hanging funny. It turns out that the boys were jumping pretty high and the last time Ryan came down he didn't land on his feet. He broke his fall with his hand and face.

Well it was pretty evident that something was wrong so we threw the kids in the car, took Meg to Mom's and Ryan to the ER. He never did cry and after a while he was playing his DS and saying his arm felt better, but we stuck around anyway to get the x-ray just in case. After the x-ray he went back to playing his DS. The doctor came back and watched Ryan on the DS with amazement, he was moving his wrist and arm with no problem. The doctor asked us to follow him to look at the x-rays. Then we saw them, two clean breaks...Ryan had broken both his bones in his lower arm about two inches above his wrist. The doctor said that Ryan must have an amazing pain tolerance to have never cried and be able to move the arm without pain. They put on a temporary cast and gave us a referral to an orthopedic.

Monday we went to see Big Rich (aka Dr. Ennis) and he and Willie (the cast put-er-oner) and Ryan was fitted with his real cast. He has been doing great and has even figured out how to play his DS with his cast arm. Although he doesn't think he will be able to write when school starts back ;)These have nothing to do with the broken arm but are post Christmas get-togethers with friends. I got to hang out with Nessa and Sarah the day after Christmas at Starbucks. Erin was supposed to join us but she was sick. Jolene couldn't join us because she had a baby two days earlier and plus she lives in Scotland, .....details, details.

On the 29th we went over to Laurie and Jay's and had a Halford/Rye Christmas. The kids had a great time playing together. We opened gifts, played Wii and ate pizza. Of course there is the obligatory pyramid picture...please excuse our dorkiness.

I think that is it.....until New Years....

Christmas Marathon

2008-12-31T09:22:00.007-06:00

Here are pics from our Christmas celebrations...try to keep up.....

Christmas Eve started with not one, but two Christmas Eve services. We would have liked to have attended a third, but until they can figure out that whole space-time continuum thing, it just ain't possible.

After the services we went over to Nana and Poppa's and celebrated with Nana, Poppa, Momsie and Popsie. The kids were so sweet and possibly have careers in Hollywood. You know how kids usually open clothes at Christmas??? Well I knew Nana had gotten the kids TONS of much needed clothes. They also were each receiving one toy that they really wanted. So Bobby and I prepared the kids in the car.

Mom: "Kids, what do we do when someone is sweet enough to get us clothes for Christmas?"
Kids: "We say Thank You"
Mom: "That's good, but also remember to be excited and tell them what you like about the clothes"

This was pretty much the extent of the conversation, but my children took this advice and ran with it. They tore into those clothes boxes with fervor and shrieked with joy and every shirt, dress and pair of pants. "This is my favorite color!!!!", "This is just my size!!!!, "I will look great in this!!!" I'm telling you the kids deserved Academy Awards. Of course Nana and Poppa were tickled with their reactions. Along with the clothes Ryan received his much wanted Ultimate Lightsaber Kit and Meg got a baby doll which she named Badashala (we are still trying to figure that one out).

After Nana's, we came home, the kids hit the hay to prepare for the big day and Bobby and I opened our presents from each other at midnight. Bobby got a flash drive, a laptop mouse, and some other goodies. Bobby spoiled me with a new lens for my camera which you can appreciate below.

Of course Christmas morning started out seeing what Santa brought and opening presents from Mommy and Daddy. Meg was super excited about Biscuit the dog (which she told everyone and their brother, that it was only thing she really wanted). Ryan was stoked about his Nintendo DS and his Bakugans. Then they opened their presents from Mommy and Daddy. They were a little disappointed that the gifts only contained index cards with words on them. That was until they put them together to see the sentence "LOOK IN THE BACKYARD." That was where they found the trampoline (cue the eerie foreshadowing music). They were pumped and we went out and jumped in our PJs in the freezing cold.

Then it was over to Maw Maw's where the kids made out like toy bandits and we got to watch David experience his first Christmas. Dad got a Wii and Bobby got Heeley's and many emergency room jokes were made (oh, if we only knew).

Then it was over to Georgia's for a Walker Christmas. Sorry I don't have more pics, but I was just sitting and enjoying family. Sometimes even Susie Kodak needs a break:)

Then it was into the car and off to Lexington. The kids took advantage of the two hour drive and took a good nap; Bobby and I were not as lucky:) We had a wonderful time and got to see lots of family that we don't get to see very often. Bobby's gramma was in very good spirits and we also got to see a little of Baby Mikey's first Christmas.

and next comes the exciting post.......

Bring on Chirstmas

2008-12-31T08:39:00.007-06:00

aka. ..December pictures part one:)

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted pictures, but as you will see we have been quite busy. I decided to break this down into a few posts so that I don't have 20 pictures in one.

So are you ready for Christmas '08???

Ok, so these aren't Christmas pictures, but I wanted to include them. Meg takes ballet, jazz and tap once a week and a few weeks ago parents were allowed to come and view a class. Bobby had been before so he graciously allowed my Mom to go. She behaved in normal Meg fashion, and my mother drew many similarities between Meg's dancing my gymnastic days, but we had fun snickering in the back of the room. (shh... don't tell Meg)

These pictures are from Christmas in Mississippi. We went to Ms. Barbee's, ate lunch, hung out with friends, heard the Christmas story and saw Santa.

Here is Ryan's Field Trip to IMAX, Pink Palace and the Enchanted Forest. He thought the animal animatronics in the Forest were creepy and was not fond of the dummies in the Museum, but had a great time anyway:)

This was our Christmas family night a few days before Christmas. We made homemade gingerbread men and Christmas crafts. Don't ask me for the gingerbread recipe, it was a pain in the rear!

More to come.....

"Tagged"

2008-11-21T22:15:00.004-06:00

Ok, apparently my blog has been "tagged"...not once, but twice. My sweet friends Sonya and Kris have both "tagged" me, so I guess I have to comply:)

Here are the rules:

1. choose the 4th picture folder on my computer.

2. choose the 4th picture.

3. explain the picture.

4. tag 4 people to do the same.

OK, this one is hysterical!! My picture folders are in order by year, and alphabetically by month within that year (please don't judge, organization makes me happy), so this picture is pretty old. It is from Ryan's first Christmas and he is pictured with his big cousins Bailey and Parker. Bailey would have been about 7, Parker about 3 1/2 and Ryan was 6 months. They are wearing the matching Santa outfits given to them by Maw Maw. They look so cute, but poor Maw Maw is still getting grief about them. Just wait until Parker and Ryan get a few years older and see these pictures, then she will really get it:) Come to think of it Ryan's outfit should fit David this year....Tootsie!!!

I am tagging:

1. Mikey Nine Toes

2. The Davis Family

3. Golden Goodness

4. This is sad, I don't have another blogging friend who hasn't already been tagged. Come on my computer literate buddies, start blogging:)

The Bible tells me so...

2008-11-16T22:09:00.002-06:00

Now Ryan has been reading since the summer before Kindergarten and we gave him his first real Bible a few months ago, but today was a special day. This morning while riding to church, I heard him unzip his Bible cover and rustle a few pages. Then I heard some of the sweetest words that have ever left his lips...

"Genesis......In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the earth"

We do devotionals with him every night, he goes to Sunday School every week, we know he knows the basics. But this was just such a special moment to me. He was reading scripture...all by himself. He began at the very beginning (a very good place to start), he read every word without pause, but not purely from memorization. My eyes began to well up, I put my hand on Bobby's leg. We both smiled knowingly....

He now has the all tools he needs for all life's problems. He does not need anyone else to tell him where to find the answer. He can read for himself the wonders that amazing Book possesses. And he can answer without doubt....Why do you believe?

"Because the Bible tells me so!"

Daddy Daughter Dance

2008-11-16T20:05:00.002-06:00

Meg had her first dance this weekend and she was escorted by her best fella, her Daddy:) It was a Daddy Daughter Dance hosted by Meg's dance school.

Meg came home from dance a couple of weeks ago with very specific instructions and she carried them out to a "T". She approached her Daddy, stuck out her bottom lip, batted those big brown eyes and said, "Daddy will you please take me to the Daddy Daughter Dance?" Of course who could say no to that???

Then the search began... Mommy had to find the perfect dress. Three different dresses were purchased, pictures were taken, opinions gathered and it was finally decided... A sweet little burgundy dress with cap sleeves, sweet little tummy bow, and beautiful flowers stitched all over the skirt. Of course it met Meg's only requirement...it twirled!!

Then the big day came. Meg had a manicure (ala Mommy). We curled her hair, added a touch of lip gloss, and slipped on her dress, tights and patent leather Mary Janes. Daddy changed into his nicest suit and Meg made him change his shirt because, "You don't wear a blue shirt with a suits, Daddy, white shirts look much fancier." Finally, Daddy presented Meg with her first corsage and we took a few pictures.

Then they drove off leaving Ryan and Mommy to their Star Wars movie and take-out:) A wonderful evening was had by all.

My pretty girl

Meg's first corsage

Meg and her Daddy

Twirl practice

If you want to see actual pictures from the dance, you can click here. Of course there are only one or two where you can spot Meg. Bobby said she didn't stand still for many pictures...can you imagine that?? Thankfully they had some posed pictures made and we should get those soon.

Cassie and Chase

2008-11-08T23:52:00.002-06:00

I attempted my first engagement photo shoot today with my cousin Cassie and her fiance' Chase. Aren't they a gorgeous couple?!?

Couldn't you just eat him up!?!

2008-11-06T13:12:00.003-06:00

Here are a few pictures of my latest photo shoot with David. Seriously does this child ever stop smiling??

2008-11-01T22:37:00.006-05:00

Today was a beautiful fall day that felt more like a beautiful summer day. Tootsie called us and suggested we all meet up at the River Arts Fest downtown. We had a great time hanging out with all of the cousins and looking at all of the amazing exhibits. The kids even got to paint silk hoops which were hung to decorate the festival.

Of course we did make a mental notes to bring handcuffs for the children next year. Bobby and I sounded like broken records...."don't touch', 'don't touch', 'don't touch"..but with all the pretty colors and textures, they were like moths to the Bug Zapper.

The kids clowning around in the park

Watching a Potter

Ryan Painting

Meg Painting

Meg's Masterpiece

Ryan's Masterpiece

Meg making a new friend

All of the kid's silk paintings

All the cousins

David...cute as ever!!

Halloween '08

2008-11-01T22:04:00.006-05:00

We had a great Halloween!!

Meg and I spent the whole day at Ryan's school. In the morning we did our usual, making First Grade copies and assisting Mrs. D with odd jobs. Then after lunch we worked the "polls' while the school voted in a mock election. After that we headed back to Ryan's class where I did some spooky face painting and then we PARTIED (for the exactly 30 minutes which is allotted for fun)!!

We then headed home and made a bog ol' pot of chili and Monkey Munch (also known as Puppy Chow). I love that stuff and finally decided to try making it with Sunbutter, our peanut butter substitute. It turned out soooo good and I believe I am now wearing 3 pounds of it on my middle section. The kids ate a quick dinner and then it was time for suiting up and hitting the streets. The weather was perfect and there were tons of kids out. We met up with Kris and "Baby Faith" half way around the block and they kept us company for the second half of our journey. The kids came home with wayyy too much candy and passed in a sugar coma a short while later.

Ryan...

my cute little Clone Trooper.

Dorothy Gale of Kansas (with Toto of course) A solid week of blood, sweat and gingham finally paid off!!

Hittin' the 'hood.

Meg "helping" Faith

Happy Halloween!!

Way to go Ryan!!!

2008-10-21T22:06:00.004-05:00

My boy is so talented!!!

Awards for two different contests were awarded at tonight's PTA meeting, an Art Contest and a Citizenship Essay Contest. Ryan entered both contests and won Honorable Mention in both. We are super proud of him and he is quite proud of himself. The theme of the essay contest was "Pride is Forever". Here is his essay:

I am proud that we have a president. He tells us what to do. He helps us control our county. He tells us to stay calm when we are scared. I am glad that he keeps us safe. I am proud of my president. When I grow up I wish I could be the president.

Short and sweet!!

The theme of the art contest was "Wow" . I asked Ryan what made him say "Wow" and he said, "cool guys on skateboards." So that is what he drew. On the left is a guy on a skateboard ramp with spiked hair and a skull t-shirt and on the right are spectators.

Here are some pictures from tonight:

Ryan getting his Essay award from the principal

So proud!!

(the medal he got was sweet... it was a gold tiger paw with his name engraved on the back)

Ryan and some of the other Art contest participants

(notice Ryan chatting it up with the girl beside him...always the charmer)

Ryan with his awards and picture

Oh no she didn't....

2008-10-20T17:29:00.003-05:00

Oh yes, she did!!!!!

See this post for details.

And no, Bobby, it does not look like this...

Our First Date

2008-10-19T21:08:00.004-05:00

October 19, 1997... Bobby picked me up at my Mom and Dad's house and took me for ice cream at Baskin Robbins and to Freeman Park to swing on the swings..... our very first date. Who would have known that eleven years later we would be dropping our children off at Mom and Dad's so that we could go back to that same Baskin Robbins and to that same park to celebrate that special day.

Love you Babe!!!

My Children and Gas (yes that kind of gas)....

2008-10-19T20:11:00.004-05:00

One of the downfalls of the public school system is that your children learn a whole new vocabulary. Sometimes this is great...Ryan came home last week reeling off all of the names of Christopher Columbus' ships from that historic voyage in 1492. But he has also learned lots of other words that we tried so hard to keep out of his young vocabulary.....most recently...fart. Yes, everyone does it but I hate hearing that word come out of my sweet little 6-year-old's mouth. And of course he had to teach it to his sister.

So in an effort to teach the children a little decorum, I taught them the phrase "pass gas", a slightly more gentile term that was not quite so offensive to my Mommy ears. Of course, as I will illustrate below, it did not turn out exactly as I planned.

Illustration #1

Mommy (walking into the laundry room and opening the garage door): "I smell gas!"

Meg: Ryyyyyaaaaaannn (with nose turned up and in a disgusted tone)

I had to explain to them that the stench was from the lawn mower in the garage and it smelled like gasoline because Daddy just mowed the lawn. There was no one to blame for the foul odor except for Daddy. Which now that I think of it, is often the case:)

Illustration #2

Only moments later we were in the car headed to Maw Maw's. Out of seemingly nowhere, Ryan asks, "Do camels shoot gas"? Bobby turned around and looked at him very quizzically, but Mommy can always translate...... Do camels PASS gas? Of course I guess I do see his point, sometimes gas....passes and sometimes..... it shoots!!

But why did Ryan asking this question??? Check out the picture below. Notice the noxious fumes emanating from the camels rear and the bystander saying "PU".......boys???

Photo Shoot

2008-10-14T10:40:00.008-05:00

Monday was a perfect day for pictures. It was slightly overcast, the sun was peeking through just a little to provide perfect backlighting plus .......the kids were out of school and I actually had time to take some pictures. I did try to get artsy-fartsy and take some extreme closeups and serious pics. Some of them turned out pretty good I think.

Picture Catch Up...

2008-10-12T18:26:00.009-05:00

It has been so crazy around here that I have fallen behind posting pictures. So prepare for picture overload....

Picture Ryan drew for an Art contest at school. The theme was "Wow". Bonus points to whoever can tell me what this is a picture of!!

Erin's Baby Shower

We decorated onesies (this was my favorite one that I painted)

Sarah, Babs, and Erin

Harvest Party in Mississippi

Ellis and David chatting

All the kiddos

The Girls

The Boys

Me and Bob

Ryan's Star of the Week Poster

The Bartlett Festival

Jack living dangerously

Picture Day at Meg's Preschool

I wanted some outside shots

I hope the photographers turned out better:)

More Mississippi Pictures

I HAVE A CAR!!!!

2008-10-07T22:39:00.003-05:00

I am too exhausted from haggling to go into all of the details, but I am the proud owner of an '05 Toyota Corolla. It is so pretty and shiny:) It is white... which I am not happy about, but I will deal. I am not one of those crazy people who actually wash their car on a regular basis. The only time my car gets washed is if it happens to be in the driveway when my kids are playing with the hose. I give them sponges and let them go at it. Needless to say, a 4 and 6 year old don't give the best car washes, but hey...I take the help where I can get it. So anyway, I guess my pretty white car will be a lovely shade of dirt within a matter of months.

Actually I found a place online where I can get magnetic polka dots. How cool would that be!!! Bobby swears that he would not drive the "clown car", but I think it would be super cool. I would love to be the lady witht he polka-dotted car. Of course would move them around periodically so they don't unevenly fade my car.....but can white paint fade???

Oh and did I mention that it is pimped out! Coming from my very base model Civic, all I really wanted was power doors and locks, but this sucker is loaded. My radio actually tells me who is singing the songs, how cool is that??? Now would I have actually paid more for those features...probably not, but when you are buying used you get what they are sellin'. Plus no car payments!!! That is the best part of having a gently used vehicle, sure we could have put a nice chuck down on a new Civic, but I hate bills and I didn't want to add any more.

As my buddy Kris put it, we went from a Honda family to a Toyota family and I think it is the beginning of a beautiful relationship:)

The Saga Continues....

2008-10-05T20:42:00.003-05:00

Well, many people have been wondering about the car situation. From the picture and story below you can probably deduce that Bobby's Accord was totaled in the accident a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully the owner of the vehicle (but not the driver) had insurance. The insurance was with State Farm and they handled everything wonderfully. We got full value for the car, new car seats, and we were reimbursed for all towing and car rental expenses. We love you State Farm!!

But things can never go that smoothly. A week to the day after the accident my Civic decided to die. Well...not actually die but catch a serious illness that would cost $800 to cure. We decided that since we had been planning on purchasing a "new" vehicle in the Spring anyway we would go ahead and do that now instead of sinking more money into the old one.

So where does that leave us. Bobby's car totaled....My car seriously ill....Bobby pimpin' in the rental Ford Focus....Barbee bumming vehicles off of very sweet parents and friends. In search of two "new" cars.......

After an exhaustive search, Bobby finally found a pre-owned Camry that he loves and he traded in my Civic to them "as is". I am still searching and I loath it!!! You would think buying a vehicle would be fun. I don't need much. I just want another Civic that is a few years newer, has power locks and windows and four doors. But apparently with gas prices soaring, Civics are the hot vehicle. Hey People, I was driving Civics before they were "green". I have been loving my "go-cart" and saving the Benjamins since I was 18. So if you see a gently used Civic for sale, holla my way.

Roller skating...

2008-09-23T15:26:00.005-05:00

Does this really even need blogging. Most of you know the coordination of our family. You know this didn't go well.

Just kidding, they did have fun. The kids both received skates for their birthdays but I was making sure we had full health insurance coverage before we tried them out. You think I am kidding. Well the cards came in the mail a couple of weeks ago so we finally got brave enough to break in the skates. Here are a couple of pictures:

Steady, Meg, Steady

"This is easy when you hold my hand"

"See what happens when you let go!!"

I got it!

This looks like a good idea.

Maybe not...

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree...

2008-09-23T14:57:00.004-05:00

The discipline chart in Meg's classroom is a pretty little apple tree with each child's name on a pretty little red apple. If you are caught misbehaving your apple falls from the tree and hangs mysteriously in the air. If you get caught again, your pretty little apple falls on the ground and "rots and gets mushy and yucky" (an actual quote from her teacher). Now I have never been told what the consequences are for a floating or rotten apple, and to tell you the truth I don't think the teachers really have any. I think it is just a little mind game. But in order to play along, I always ask Meg about her apple at the end of the day. Here is what she told me today. Remember her teacher is Ms. Meg (so you are not confused).

Mommy: Were you a good girl today?

Meg: "Wellllll"

Mommy: "Well what, Meg"(my eyes rolling and head shaking)

Meg: "My apple fell off the tree"

Mommy: "Why was that?"

Meg: "Cause Ms. Meg said that if she saw my eyes roll one more time....(interrupted by appropriate respect lecture with absolutely no guilt)

The death of me I tell ya, the death of me......

Avoid the hood at all cost...

2008-09-22T20:24:00.006-05:00

Saturday night Bobby and Tootsie's husband, Ben, were driving home from the Tiger game. Ben suggested a shortcut down Tillman to get over to Sam Cooper.

Point to Remember: Never take Ben's shortcuts

Just after Bobby crossed a set of railroad tracks, a car going the other direction tried to turn left quickly ahead of him. Bobby couldn't get on the brakes fast enough and the man turned right into him. The guys escaped with only minor injuries. Bobby has a bruised knee and his arm looks pretty nasty from the airbag burn and Ben hurt his shoulder. The other driver was knocked unconscious and taken away by ambulance. He did wake up at the scene and was able to sign the ticket he received before he was taken to the hospital.

This is about when I showed up. Daddy took me to the scene of the accident while Mom and Tootsie watched the kids. If you have never taken a stroll down Tillman Avenue at midnight let me be the first to tell you...don't. There were mentally unstable homeless individuals (aka crazy bums) wandering aimlessly, 13 irate relatives of the unconscious driver ready to maim my husband, and a 4 year old child locked in a car on the side of the road for two hours who was never checked on who seemed unphased to be awake at midnight.

And if the evening wasn't crazy enough.... The wife (or Baby Mama) of the other driver backed into Dad's car (actually Mom's new car) when she was trying to leave the scene and she got a ticket too.

Bobby is fine but the car is totaled. The other guy got the ticket. Bobby will be picking up his rental car in the morning. Most likely he will be driving a Geo Metro or similar vehicle. Hey.... he should get good gas milage!

ETA: Bobby is now pimpin' in his Ford Focus

Meg's First Day

2008-09-08T17:40:00.003-05:00

Today was Meg's first day of "Jumpstart". It is a 3 day-a-week program to get her ready for Kindergarten next year. I got her dressed this morning, in the outfit that I picked out weeks ago, and she was less than thrilled. At first she refused to wear it (imagine that) but we struck a deal. If she wore the outfit today she could wear whatever she wants tomorrow. There is no telling what she will pick. I will probably have to post a picture tomorrow. She had a good first day. Her teachers told me that if she would just keep her bottom in her seat and stop talking all the time, she would be a perfect angel:)

Please remember to say an extra prayer for Ms. Meg (yes that is her teacher's name) and Ms. Christy tonight.

RYAN ROCKS!!!

2008-09-03T17:00:00.004-05:00

Now Ryan may not be the most coordinated kid on the block, (see post below) but he sure is one smart cookie!! Last Friday was the first Test Day for the First Grade. He has never taken a test that was actually graded. All of the kids, including Ryan, were a little anxious.

It is very difficult to prepare a child for their first test. You want to make sure they understand that tests are important and they have to try their best. On the other hand you don't want them to be devastated if they don't do great. When he came home with the spelling list on Monday, Ryan was convinced he was going to fail (even though he could already spell 10 out of the 12 words). We studied a little each night and we were pretty confident that he would do great.

Well, I was up at school Friday making copies for his teacher and found out that he not only had the spelling test that we had prepared for, but 4 TESTS!! I started getting butterflies in my tummy, but I was sure Mrs. D had all the kiddos prepared. Ryan came home Friday and told me that he thought he did pretty good....

And he was right! We got his scores today and Ryan got a 100 on all 4 of his tests which included 2 spelling tests, a reading test and a math test. Now the math test was pretty easy, but the other 3 were pretty challenging. Mrs. D said she was very proud of his score on the reading test. Being a poor speller myself, I was quite proud of his 2 spelling tests. One was a traditional spelling test and one had the words spelled 4 different ways and you had to pick the correct spelling. I'm not sure I would have gotten a 100 on that one:)

We explained to Ryan that he might not always get 100s but as long as he tries his best we will always be proud of him. But I must say I am one proud Mommy today!!!

One exciting Thursday evening...

2008-09-01T21:01:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday night Meg and I, along with my good friend Erin and her son James, went to see Sesame Street Live. The tickets came from Bobby's very sweet cousin who works at WKNO. We have gone as a family in years past, but this year Ryan made the declaration that he is too old for Sesame Street and that "Baby" James would enjoy the show much more than he would. So we applauded his generosity and passed the tickets along.

Well when the big night arrived we realized that Bobby would not be home in time for Meg and I to leave and make it to Erin's in time, so we dropped Ryan off at Maw Maw and Paw's house for about 15 minutes until Bobby could pick him up. At about 6:30 I called to give Bobby some bedtime medicine instructions for Ryan. This is when we got the interesting news:

RYAN FELL INTO THE POND

Now this isn't a huge pond but it isn't a puddle either. Apparently Ryan was balancing on the rocky edge and lost his balance. While sitting in the pond the water was about up to his shoulders. Not to worry there were 4 adults "watching" Ryan and they helped him out. Thankfully Uncle Joey was there and took care of my only request....dry him off...no.... make sure he didn't swallow any fish (especially Ryan's fish "Ol Slappy)...no.... My main concern was that someone got a picture. Thank goodness for camera phones!!!

Sesame Street Live may not have been as exciting as a trip to Maw Maw's that night but we all had a blast. Meg really got a kick out of it and was clapping, dancing and singing the whole night. James is a HUGE Elmo fan and he had a great time too. Of course we don't know if he was more excited to see his idol Elmo or ride in the back seat with his big friend Meg.

Face Painting

2008-08-24T17:00:00.005-05:00

On Saturday we went to the Animal Planet Expo at Shelby Farms. The kids had a great time, but what they really wanted to do was get their face painted. Well after waiting 30 minutes in line we asked someone (who had just finished getting their child's face painted) how long they had waited..........an hour and a half! We decided that we were not willing to wait that long, unfortunately our children were. After some discussion and a little exaggeration about our artistic abilities our children allowed us to go home and paint their faces there. After much deliberation and looking at face painting websites, Meg decided she wanted to be a Cheetah and Ryan wanted to be Darth Maul from Star Wars (surprise, surprise). Bobby painted Meg's face and I painted Ryan's. Here are the results

Yes, we do fully realize how frighting Ryan looks. That is why he face got washed thoroughly an hour later when we went out for pizza.

Baby David

2008-08-24T16:54:00.004-05:00

I had the privilege of watching my sweet nephew, David, on Thursday. I can say, with absolutely no nepotism, that he is one of the cutest babies I have ever seen. I thought I would share some of his cuteness with you. Of course Meg had to get in on the photo session.

Nastia...I am Not-ia...

2008-08-19T00:20:00.003-05:00

It seems as though our family, along with pretty much everybody else in the world, is caught up in Olympic fever. Meg has become particularly interested in the ladies gymnastics. She thinks all of the flipping and tumbling is downright awesome...and I think we would all agree. Well... during one of our Olympic discussions tonight, Meg asked if I knew how to do a cartwheel.

This is where things start to go downhill.

A little back ground: For 8 years I did indeed take gymnastic classes (Ages 3-11). Was I ever any good??? We will take the uproarious laughter from my friends and family members as a ...no. While I loved the sport, my lack of coordination and ridiculously long legs made me a pretty poor student. Nevertheless, I do know how to do a cartwheel. Is is the most graceful thing on earth??? Imagine a drunk ostrich doing a cartwheel and you are probably pretty close to my version. But being the "fun" Mommy I am, I could not let my little girl down. She looks up to me. Who was I to disappoint? So after our evening walk (in the dark) I decided to give that ol' cartwheel a chance in our front yard. So I got up my nerve and dove on the ground with my right hand, threw my 50 pounds of legs into the air and then remembered ...my bad left wrist(carpel tunnel)... just as all of my weight was now being thrust upon it. My wrist decided to surrender upon impact, which left me face first in the front lawn. Thankfully my neighbors were nowhere in sight and my family was mostly kind. Bobby helped me up, shaking his head at his graceful wife, and we all went inside without another word about it.

Maybe I should go dig up my old gymnastic videos from 20+ years ago to show Meg..... and then again ...maybe not.

It's Only Fair...

2008-08-18T23:29:00.003-05:00

Since I posted Ryan's First Day photos, I think it is only fair that I post Bobby's :)

His first day at Medtronic went great. He has a few days of orientation, but felt he was a little ahead of the curve with all of his Master's work in spinal. I want to thank everyone again for all of the help and prayers.

I didn't even cry!!!

2008-08-11T09:18:00.005-05:00

I just dropped off Ryan for his first day of First Grade. He went right in and found his desk. Can you believe that a DESK. He has his own desk. In Kindergarten they sit around tables. I wasn't prepared for desks. He got out his supplies and prepped his little work area. We greeted Mrs. D and I took a couple of pictures. Then he looked at me and said, slightly annoyed and half under his breath, "Mom, you can go now." A little shunned but mostly proud of my independent little man, I left and got in my car. And then the most amazing thing happened....I didn't even cry. He looked so confident sitting there in his desk, I know he will be fine. I guess we are both growing up.

Hot Springs 08

2008-08-09T10:32:00.014-05:00

Things we learned on our Hot Springs Vacation:

1) Sour Patch Kids should not be eaten while driving (It is really hard to drive with only one eye while convulsing)

2) Cute camp songs aren't so cute the 80th time.

3) A Honda Civic will hold exactly what is needed for a three day trip to Hot Springs and not one thing more.

4) Don't take restaurant recommendations from nearby shops who most likely get a cut from said recommendation.

5) If she is encouraged to try something, Meg will like it and eat large quantities of it (Mom's Caesar Salad and the traditional Ecuadorian soup from Rolando's)

6) Daddy will ride anything.

7) Log rides + excessive walking = chaffing.

8) Don't ask the check-in lady at the KOA for directions to Walmart.

9) McVay children will ride any ride they are tall enough for (much to Mommy's dismay).

10) Mommy will push aside her intense fear of heights for three puppy dog faces asking her to go on a roller coaster.

11) Two teeny bopper magazines (with massive amounts of Joe Bro and Miley photos) will keep two children mesmerized for hours.

12) Unlimited Free Pepsi Products = no naps needed while at Magic Springs/Crystal Falls.

13) In the absence of other reading material, Bobby enjoys a good teeny bopper magazine.

14) Bathhouse tours are not interesting to 4 and 6 year olds. They are also slightly inappropriate at times. (Try to explain photos of colonic irrigation to a curious 4 year old).

We are back and we had sooo much fun on our trip to Hot Springs. We got to Hot Springs around 4 or 5 and checked into our cabin at the KOA campgrounds. The cabin was tiny but very cute, clean and air conditioned. It was perfect for us! I made a Walmart run for a few groceries we didn't want to pack and I got a lovely tour of Hot Springs thanks to some really bad directions. When I returned we were all starving so we ventured into Hot Springs in search of grub. We wandered in a few of the stores that were still open at 8 pm and one of the clerks sent us to a restaurant called Brick House Grill. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything to write home about either. We went back to the cabin and hit the sack.

The next day we headed to Magic Springs/ Crystal Falls. We were a little scared because it was raining when we got to the park, but it stopped by the time we made it into the gate. All of the water attractions were closed when we got there because of the earlier thunder and lightning so we headed to Magic Springs for the dry rides. We measured the kids and Meg was just BARELY tall enough to ride the 42 inch rides with Ryan. The kids rode all of the rides they were tall enough for. Ryan's favorite ride was Big Bad John and Meg's was Diamond Mine Run (both Roller coasters of course!!). Now watching Diamond Mine Run you may think that it was a kiddie coaster but let me assure you it was a real roller coaster. It was faster and jerkier than the much larger Big Bad John. After we had been on most of the dry rides we headed over to Crystal Falls where we played in the wave pool, lazy river and kids area. We broke for a late lunch at 4:00 and caught the van back to the cabin for a quick lunch and were back at the park an hour later. We rode our favorite rides several more times (Ryan rode Big Bad John 3 times and Meg rode Diamond Mine Run 5 times) and we played in the kiddie area of the water park for another hour or so. The kids were only tall enough for one of the big water slides and they showed no interest in it (Mommy was very happy about that). We stayed at both parks until they kicked us out and headed back for a very late dinner. We scarfed down a wonderful dinner of brats and corn that daddy grilled out and sleepily made some smores and we all fell right to sleep with no trouble at all.

Our last day we packed up and headed into down for a little sightseeing. We toured one of the bathhouses and looked in all of the little shops on Central Street. We had a wonderful lunch at Rolando's and then headed back home. It was a wonderful trip and the kids are already asking if we can go back.

And We're Off...

2008-08-05T11:04:00.003-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a planner. That is why what we are about to do is soooo unlike me. We decided to go on a summer vacation...tomorrow. It has been a pretty stressful summer and now that Bobby has an offer we can breath a little. We decided to go to Hot Springs for a couple of days. Mindy and Joey have some tickets to Magic Springs and Crystal Falls left over from their trip a few weeks ago and we have booked a cozy little "Kottage" at the KOA campgrounds. We will leave tomorrow mid morning and get back Friday night. Just a wonderful mini-vacation to celebrate Bobby's new job. I don't even have a packing list or detailed maps. I am living on the wild side.

We are off to pack and prepare. I will post pictures when we return!!

Deja Vu All Over Again...

2008-08-05T10:24:00.004-05:00

We went up to Altruria to register Ryan for first grade this morning. I have known who I wanted him to have for quite a while now. Mrs. Dietrich is the crazy, fun teacher who everyone told me would be a perfect fit for our crazy, fun Ryan. Bobby had commented that it would be funny if he did end up in Mrs. D's class because his first grade teacher was also named Mrs. Dietrich. Well upon introductions this morning we found out that it was not only the same name but the SAME TEACHER. That's right Bobby (Little BJ back then) had Mrs. D 29 years ago at Crump Elementary. We all had a big laugh and prepared Mrs. D to have Little BJ's clone in her class this year. She is very excited to have Ryan and she said that she loves the kids who bring a little fun into her classroom. Little does she know how much "fun" she is going to have. Mrs. D has even told Meg that she gets to be an honorary member of the class.

Watch out Mrs. Dietrich, here come the McVays!!

Hallelujah

2008-08-04T22:59:00.002-05:00

As of 4:59 this afternoon, BOBBY HAS A JOB OFFER!!! Medtronic called this afternoon and made Bobby an offer. He will give Smith Nephew a chance to counter tomorrow, but is most likely taking the job at Medtronic/Sofamor Danek. We are on cloud nine!!! We want to thank everyone for their help and prayers.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

July

2008-08-03T23:03:00.007-05:00

July looks slightly calmer than June, but that is just mainly because I didn't take as many photos of our family events (It was too hot to lug the camera around:) ). The events that were photographed were Forth of July, Cassie's Engagement, Cookie baking, and the new Star Wars Toy Unveiling (midnight at Toys R Us).

June

2008-08-03T21:01:00.009-05:00

Ryan doing his Zacchaeus impersonation. If you look very closely you will see that is a Sycamore tree:)

June was a month of babies and birthdays. We had... the kids joint family birthday, the birth of Baby Mikey (Bobby's cousin Mike's baby), Meg's Fancy Four party, Bobby's Fancy Thirty-Five Party (j/k), a visit by the Texas McVays, the birth of Baby David, Rockstar practice, Lichterman Nature Center, and the Pink Palace. Whew...just typing all of that makes me tired.

May

2008-08-03T19:40:00.008-05:00

Summer kicked off with a bang. Meg's first dance recital, Ryan's Kindergarten graduation, and Ryan's Birthday.

Summer Rewind

2008-08-03T19:36:00.002-05:00

I thought I would kick things off with a summer rewind. It is hard to believe that school starts in one week! It has been a crazy summer, but we have really had some good times. These next few posts will probably be pretty picture heavy, but who am I kidding all of my posts probably will be.

2008-08-01T00:56:00.003-05:00

I decided it was time for a change. The old website was hard to update and not really very exciting. After a little research I decided to go the blogging route. This way I can upload pictures in a flash and share family info quickly and easily. Family and friends can check the site whenever they like or even be emailed when changes are made.

Designing this site has been so much fun and I have even gotten a chance to brush up on my ol' HTML. Plus I have dipped my big toe into the exciting world of Digital Scrapbooking (like I need one more creative hobby).

We hope you enjoy the site!