Sunday, September 26, 2010

family fun day at santa claus land - or holiday world

daddio's work picnic was last sunday & it was our mission to go, despite colds.  ben begged the doctor to have him better in time for the trip & thank goodness he was. 

of course, the must have pictures with the santa statue.
 


& then with the real guy himself.  gracie wants a unicorn.  santa said "what color stuffed unicorn would you like?"  smart man.  thanks, santa!


the kiddos wanted to go to splashin safari first thing.  even though it was a bit chilly.
they still loved it!
 ack! i'm wet!!

 cuddling up to keep warm. 


we then hit the rides & we hit'em hard.  first stop, the scrambler.  which i think traumatized poor grace forever!
the  evil ride.


ben & daddio in front of us.


gracie on the ride.  i was praying she wouldn't spew all over me!!

after that, we decided to take on some more kid friendly rides.

much more to her liking.




raging rapids was our next adventure.  ben said "this is awesome!!!" & had to ride again with daddy.


as you can see, miss grace still wasn't too sure.  but she gave it a "thumbs up" (with the wrong finger.)

no log ride for her, but ben sure did like it.
i hope by next season the trauma has worn off & she's ready to tackle more rides.  i hope.


one of the last rides they rode was the bumper water cars.  brought back my childhood memories of the horrid ride.  all i could do was go in circles in one spot by myself, just like gracie is here.  back then the mean old lady yelled at me the entire time to dock my boat.  i couldn't figure out how to move it.  eventually, a nice man came & saved me.  & mom, i remember you guys laughing about it too!!


we had a fun filled day at holiday world, were all ready for a nap when we got home!!

guess what --- some more soccer!!!

ok, the boys are having fun & learning good sportsmanship which i feel is what it is about at this age.  our record may not be the best, but oh what fun we are having!! i didn't have the heart to tell ben they didn't win last game, he thinks they tied.  that's ok i think.


here he is ready for some action!!


 mr. ben telling someone he's got his eyes on them.  probably daddy in the crowd..

 going for the ball

a fun game saturday, the team has fun & is getting the hang of it.  daddio has been practicing with benj & i think it is helping his confidence & skills...



Tuesday, September 14, 2010

my little rockers

an oldie but a goodie from the beginning of summer...


what daddio did on his summer vacation

after we got back from the beach, daddio went to work on our deck.  that week in july, it was so super hot, but he worked out there every day, getting the job done.  he kept the frame the was built by our neighbor john long ago, but laid down new flooring & steps. the painting was a family affair.    the first color we had chosen was thompson's water seal stain in hawthorn. 

when justin started to paint, it looked a lovely mauve.  almost pink.   not the color we were looking for.  
  so, we took the paint back to the store & got an off the shelf color, russet. 


it looked red, like we had started with.  oh well. i called thompson's & they said the color on the can was just a computer printout & isn't really the color that you get due to new regulations on paint.  my suggestion was to update their cans. 

 we now have a spliter free deck to enjoy sitting out on & watching the stars.


 thanks daddio for your hard work.  (you would have gotten extra points had you hauled away the old wood instead of poor old wifey taking the kids to the landfill & resulting in me getting a tetnus shot from a rusty nail :)  just kidding)


our patio furniture from home depot that i got a great deal on thanks to slickdeals.net.  & homemade decorations on the table by the kiddos. 

my mother's day present from ben that he made in preschool.


the view from the deck.  mr. turtle & whale were having a talk.
now, on to the next projects in the home.  neverending!  but so thankful for the home we have.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

soccer!!

2 games this week & oh what fun! 

thursday's game:  they rocked it.
 i get a kick out of ben when his team scores.  check out his enthusiasm!


& another goal!

what's he thinking here????
& guess who made it up to the game - namaw & poppy!!

saturday - our third game
the boys weren't quite with it or something.  but, it looked liked they were having fun.  thank goodness our coaches have mega patience!

cheering for their teammate scoring a goal.

sittin on damaw's lap pouting, because momma wouldn't give her a cupcake early.  poor thang.
thumbs up!  ready to kick that ball!

& kick!


now, the part the boys were waiting for.... giving their coaches some handmade cards & some cupcakes & popsicles after the game for their bdays! 

Monday, September 6, 2010

strike a pose

there's nothing to it.

vogue.

vogue.

that's all i gotta say.

love em!

labor day weekend

good times with family & some old friends this weekend.  a bit cool for a pool party, but it was nice weather to be outside & hang!

who is that masked man???


i wasn't so good at remembering to take pictures of the fun.  thank goodness monica & poppy helped out there. 



sweet kate's tramp stamp.  i can say that since i have one.  & it doesn't look nearly as good as her's.



water gun fights galore!!

& another masked warrior

sunday was discovery church's 2nd birthday.  happy birthday discovery!  we love going there & hearing God's message through trey each week.  what a cool, fun & inspirational church.  i can't say enough about this place.  i feel at home there.  i cry every sunday.  i feel the message is meant for me each & every time.  

& today is our friend melissa's birthday!!  happy birthday to you.  melissa, you are an amazing lady.  i don't know what i would do without your friendship.  thank you for all your help through difficult times. 

monday.. , the kiddos first parade!  ben was so "eggsited" he couldn't sleep. up at 5:30 (& we are normally not up till 9-10).   he knew there would be elephants & all sorts of fun things there.  no elephants, but there was tons & tons & tons of candy.  did i mention there was candy??

getting ready for the parade..

a pretty float.  God bless America!

there were horsies for gracie!



this pic's for you mom.  i don't know who they are, but you were missing from the float!!!

here's cousin aron walking with his operating engineers & little man ari. 

a marching band!!  yes, i love band & loved band camp.  i'm a dork. no, i don't have any "one time at band camp" stories though.  but we sure did have fun down at mtsu hanging out on the football field at night!   i was sad to see how small pike central's band is.  what happened??


the kiddos (big & small) going in for a haul.

loving the parade!

little gal on a bike.  she was about gracie's age.  love her doo-rag.

big guy on a big bike.

yea!  candy!  a man came & dumped a bunch on her head, telling her it was raining.  grace got a big kick out of that one!

hauling home the goods.  that bag is full!

big ben & his bag.


heading home.  not long after the picture, momma & daddy were carrying the loot.


  i'm thinking we've got our halloween stash.  just from gracie's candy.  (ben is guarding his from me, as he knows momma's sweet tooth)

my song for labor day.  thank you all the hard workers in america for what you do to make our country great!