Friday, October 29, 2010

pumpkin painting at its finest

well, we finally got around to painting pumpkins last night.

after our walk the evening before, ben was less than pleased that we weren't painting them when he wanted to.  he's learning things don't always go his way.



now, on to the pumpkins... we had to have one for every member of our family. 


it was also the festival of fall fun at preschool, so you may not recognize beano.  boy, did he give his momma some guilt about not being there (i had my urologist appointment)!  last year, he didn't want me to participate in anything! 



ben made a beautiful & bright miss gracie faye pumpkin.



gracie made a lovely poppy. :)


namaw is on the back.



daddio & momma are sharing a pumpkin.  i got to decorate those.



i even added my roots & gray hair to my pumpkin!

& damaw, the doggies & papaw are all on one pumpkin.   (pawprints on one side)




the family portraits with our masterpieces!






we (daddio) did do one pumpkin carving(upper right hand side).  just because.  a fun night, even with kidney stones!

& a cute little picture of my gracie girl from this week.  whatta face!




dear damaw,

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

dear namaw,

a very belated birthday wish.  i was trying to come up with some awe inspiring words - but that didn't happen.

you were & still are a cute thang!

anyways.....thank you for all the hugs & kisses





& unconditional, nonjudgmental love you give us. 
gracie loves you more than chocolate.  & ben loves you more than hot wheels - take that (from the commercial, i'm not being a smarty pants)! 

seriously, we love you so & i thank you for being the best mother in law a gal could ask for.  you are a true beauty inside & out.   thank you for driving down here at a moment's notice to help with whatever.  we so love you & i feel lucky to call you namaw & mom! 

i know i have pictures of us all together more recent, but can't find them at this moment.  but, this is a day when we were all nice & snazzy!





we love you namaw bunches & bunches!  & you too poppy!  & you too auntie jen! 




Wednesday, October 20, 2010

surf's up



we like to play on the playground after preschool with buddies often.  well, yesterday one little gal was pretending the big slide was a water slide.  she yelled "let's all go to the water slide!!"  once they got to the top, my mr. ben pulled down his shorts to show his undies & said "surf's up!" 

the girls were quick to tell me what happened.  this momma was a bit embarrassed. i talked to him there how that was inappropriate & was thinking in my head "thank goodness it didn't happen during school.." 

 last night when we were talking about it, he said "i just lost my mind.  i thought it would be funny because my underwear had surfboards on it."  i did laugh, but know i need to buy him whitey-tighties now.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

a winning season for galaxy (as least by momma's score)

saturday was the end of beano's soccer season.  the boys had a super season full of fun & learning.  they might not have won every game, but were a great team & such fun to watch. 
ben had quite a cheering section for his last game, so that was really cool for him.  he kept asking me to invite people to the game, so his team would have lots of fans. 
a few pictures from the last game. 



playing "goalie"

 the team celebrating after a goal
 ready for action!
high 5's with the other team after the game

one of his biggest fans.  never forget that, big ben, your litte sis loves you so! 

with his buddy, jackson after the game & after some pizza!


i can't believe the season is over, it seemed like a long one at first!  now, i'm already missing it a bit.  on to the next sport!

Monday, October 18, 2010

the perfect fit & the perfect shoe

about 6 years ago & a couple of days, daddio & i became husband & wife.  it was a beautiful day full of wonderful memories i hope to never forget.


looking back, i was quite a bridezilla.  every detail had to be perfect, from the napkins, the cake, the shoes, my songlist - you get the idea.  i am a bit embarrassed looking back now at myself.   there was a moment where i was whining about something (i'm sure unimportant), saying "this is my day!" & justin was quick to remind me it wasn't my day, it was our day to share with loved ones.  oh, he's a wise one. 

i found my perfect shoes for the wedding, felt just like cinderella.  but oh did they hurt my feet!




for the honeymoon, i had to have "just married" flip flops to wear on the beach.  the shoes weren't making it in time for our honeymoon.  so, the morning of the wedding, daddio & his groomsmen hand carved some shoes.  i can only imagine what those guys were thinking about me at that time...but, being justin's buddies, they went with him to dollar general, got some flip flops & helped him make the perfect shoes.



thanks hun, for putting up with my silly wants over the years & giving me a reality check here & there.  i love you so.  thank you for being such an awesome daddio to our precious kiddos.  we love you.


Thursday, October 14, 2010

as the thunder rolls

& the lightening strikes... oh, i love me some garth brooks!  brings back some good old high school memories.  mom, manda jo & i sitting at the tip top of robert's stadium all crying to "the dance."  garth will always rule in my book. 

now, back to my original subject,  ben was on his way down the field to scoring a goal when the game was called for lightening.  i don't think the boys (or the parents) minded too much. 

ben was doing a dance or something before the start of one of the quarters (is that what they are called in soccer? we still have some learning here to do).  i caught a few of his moves on the camera. 

 


shake it buddy!

after the game, i asked him what he & jackson were doing out there & he said "getting fired up to score a goal."  sometimes, i think they forget they are on the same team & almost kick one another.  but, they are always having a blast. 


we got to go home a little bit early.  i didn't eat prior to the game, so was starving.  fixed up some chicken & egg noodles.  after bath, ben ate 4 plates of that stuff.  that game made him a hungry boy! 

1 more game this season & that's it!  it has flown by it seems.  the team has become friends & learned a lot about the sport & good sportsmanship from their coaches. go galaxy!!!

Monday, October 11, 2010

my roadside treasure

last week on the way home from damaw's i spotted this little beauty on the side of the road for the perfect price - free.  i love the paint job, sure can't recreate that. 


the top is just as smooth as can be. 

just needs a little work & some handles.

they even had a dresser, but i didn't want to be too greedy (& i knew i couldn't fit it in the swagger wagon).

i moved it to damaw's for storage (thanks, mom) & pap was excited about the work we could do on it.  i was happy to see him show some enthusiam about something. 

a nice sunday drive

a really nice day today.  we didn't get up early enough to cheer kate on at the mini marathon, but i was with her in spirit.  we were able to make it to church.  i dressed gracie in her sleep & gave her a poptart for the road.  yesterday, they had a super fun filled day at the fall festival with cousins from 2:30  till after the parade.  she was so fired up, it was after 11:30 when she fell asleep.  that child of mine!  (as i sit here up at 1:30)

after an amazing church service, we went out to papaw's for a visit.  been a loong time since we went out there after church!  it was really nice.  different, but nice.  i spent a lot of time searching for things he was looking for & justin did some handy work around the home.  the kiddos enjoyed swinging on the swings & hanging out & running all over the yard.

i love how sophie the dog is the only one smiling.



then, we went for a drive out on the land.  woah nellie!  daddio let the kiddos "drive" around.so not "safe," but i remember "driving" as a little kid on pap's lap by the spoil banks & there's nothing out there on our land yet. someday though we hope to clear it out & have our home sweet home. 



 ben was cracking up & snorting so hard he peed his pants. running over the big bushes that we were calling trees was just too much fun.  ben had to make a face for his picture.


i about lost it when miss grace while looking at me said "mommy, i won't hit anything."  & then added "i won't hit anything too hard,"  in her sweetest & most serious voice.  

the ride was the hardest on poor zack, the dog.  i think he was a bit freaked out by all the excitement of running over "trees!"


Wednesday, October 6, 2010

happy birthday to sweet allie!!

miss allison, 15 now, my how you've grown!  happy belated birthday, my gal.  i know i tell you this all the time, but i am proud of the young woman you are becoming.  you are always on top of everything in the household & i've always had a hard time remembering you are only ## years old.  you have always been so mature & wise.  share some of that with me - will ya?  i love you girl & my kids adore you.  thank you for being a great little cousin for me & big cousin & role model for my kiddos.  i'm keeping this post short & sweet.  we love you!!

score!! not 1, but 2!! some miami coconuts from auntie jen & a bday party

soccer on saturday, the boys were on fire.  we watching the game were freezing our tail ends off.  the whole team did great (& only 5 were able to make it). benj scored 2 goals & was super duper duper excited.  he couldn't wait to call his friends & family!  i think this boy is gonna be on the phone waay too much as he gets older if we don't watch it. 

some shots from the game:

 cheering after a score by someone (probably jackson - he rocks!) i have a feeling someday we might be saying "our boy played soccer with him back in the day " when he turns pro.   kinda like i say "my high school boyfriend pitched a grand slam to scott rolen during sectional." 

another goal!  wooo!!

ben has no lack of enthusiasm - i just love that about him!  great job buddy & galaxy team!!




& grace during the game.  of course, she was hungry or thirsty the entire time. 










after the game, we headed to namaw & poppy's.  miss grace needed some relax time.


saturday, momma & daddio went to hang out with some friends for a bit while the kiddos got some good namaw & poppy time.  gracie was ready for me to come home though, with her arms on her chest when namaw wouldn't give her anymore icing from the apple cake.  (i wouldn't have either)  i decided to have an adult beverage that night since the kiddos were already asleep (not even an entire wine cooler) & ended up feeling awful, awful, awful!

on sunday, we broke open a coconut namaw & poppy brought back from jen's.  ben was thrilled that it was ripe.  "finally, a good one!" he said (the last few they brought back were a bit yuck).

oh & jen & all, you don't know this yet but  i'd  we'd like to come visit sunny miami sometime soon!  we miss ya!





& some family pictures with the coconut.  yes, momma does take too many pictures!






then, we went to miss denyail's 4th birthday party.  what a sweetie.
morgan rockin out to a girl guitar!!


then, we headed home.  & that was the weekend.  fun for sure, but i'm still tired.