Another Family Fun Day!!

Randy and I decided to surprise the kids with another family fun day last Tuesday! We told them to get their school work finished and get ready to go but we didn't tell them where we were going. It didn't take them long to get moving and soon we were headed out the door. We went to the Five Star Family Fun Park to ride go karts!! They were having a special deal going on and the best part was since it was in the middle of the day on a weekday, we had the whole place to ourselves for the most part. We had so much fun riding!! Here is Randy and Ian getting ready to go and Momo is in the cart behind them waiting for me to get in with her.


Here are Aaron and Kristen waiting to go in their go-karts!

Out of the shelter and ready to race!

Morgan and I!

Kristen about to take off!

Aaron ready to Race!

Here they come!!

....and there they go!!

After a little while Randy and I switched and he rode with Momo while I rode with Ian.

After an hour or so of riding, we went inside to grab a drink and some nachos.

Next we went over to the putt putt course. Ian made a hole in one on the first hole this time!

Our pretty girls!

SWEETNESS!!

CUTENESS!!

SILLINESS!!

Our four AWESOME kiddos!

After a round of golf we had about 15 minutes left so we went back over to the go-karts. Aaron and Kristen rode the big track again, but......

Momo and Ian were allowed to drive the small size kiddie karts!!! They had a blast!

Ian getting strapped in and started!

Back inside for a few arcade games.

Ian and Aaron played some air hockey!

Momo played a virtual ski game.

Aaron always seems to hit the jackpot on the tickets!!

We had a minor delay as we were leaving because the keys ended up being locked in our vehicle. While we waited for the man to come unlock it for us, the kids played on the playground.

Once we were able to leave, we all went to Savannah and had a great dinner at a Japaneese Steakhouse. The food was soooo good and the kids loved watching the chef cook right in front of us at our table. Kristen also took pictures of that but I haven't gotten those pictures from her camera yet. We had such a wonderful day!!

Happpy 12th Birthday, Kristen!!!!

Kristen was 12 years old on Monday, March 23rd. I am amazed when I look at her and see myself and my life all over again. She is quickly changing into a young lady and leaving the little girl stage behind. I love watching her as she interacts with others and shows such care and concern to other people. She is always so willing to jump in and help when she is needed. It is hard to believe my first baby girl will be a teenager in less than a year now!! Time flies by so quickly. Kristen asked to go out for the afternoon with a couple of her friends instead of having a party. The Saturday before her birthday, I took Kristen and her friends Olivia and Stephanie out and about. Here are Kristen and Olivia in the car on our way out!


Our first stop was River Street. It was a pretty day down there and we just had a great time walking and looking in some of the shops.

We saw a big freight ship going by while we were there. These ships are so huge!!

We got free praline samples that were still warm so we of course had to buy a whole praline for each of us. Stephanie and I decided on chocolate ones and Olivia and Kristen opted for the regular ones.

They were also making taffy while we were in there. You can watch them doing that and they throw free samples out to the crowd.

The girls wanted to take the barrel full of Hershey's Kisses home with us!

Stopping to pose for a picture outside the sweet shop!

In another shop, the girls decided to try on some boas!

Then some hats and pocketbooks!! Don't they make a great fashion statement?

We walked back down the river side of the street after visiting the shops. The girls had fun playing on the Echo Box!

When you stand on the very center and talk, you can hear your echo but nobody else can hear it!

Watching the sea gulls out on the river.

We thought this was funny......the Savannah Fire crew is apparently made up of sea gulls!!

Playing in the trees!!

And stopping to smell the flowers!

A look down River Street as we headed back to the car.

We had parked at the very top of the parking garage. Before we left I just held the camera over the top of the wall and took these pictures. I think they are really neat!

Our next stop was playing Putt Putt Gold at the Five Star Family Fun Park. Kristen got a hole in one on the first hole!

My Beauty!!

Friends!!

JUMP!!!

ALL DONE!!

They were looking for a 4 leaf clover.

After playing Putt Putt, we had a bit of fun playing in the arcade room.

Our last stop we dinner at Ruby Tuesday!!

Kristen got a free chocolate sundae!

I had the table all set up with Kristen's gifts when she woke up Monday morning. We were up bright and early to go to coop but she opened her gifts before we left.

She had lots of help from Ian!

Happy to have her own camera!

And a digital picture frame!

We spend the morning at coop and then had a couple errands to run on the way home. Kristen had her small group meeting that night and we took a cake to share with them. Kristen has the pictures from that on her camera so I will have to get them later. Later that night, when she got home, Johnny and Erin stopped by and we had pound cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries!

Blowing out her candles!

I think she had a great birthday!!

The Beginning of Spring!!

Well, I think it is safe to say spring has arrived. Life has been busy as always and I just haven't taken the time to update the blog. Here are just a random selection of some things we have been doing the past few weeks. This was Ian the night of his birthday party!! He was crashed!!!!

We decided we were going to plant a garden this year so we have all been working hard digging and getting ready to plant. Here Kristen and one of the neighbors, Becca, were just starting to dig one Sunday afternoon.

While we were digging, Ian was just having fun riding his bike around the yard.

We took Maggie for her spring haircut. Here she is playing out in the yard while we were working on the garden too.

Just a funny picture of Maggie I managed to snap it right as she was barking!!

The groomer gave her a cute little scarf for Saint Patrick's Day.

Kristen posing with the shovel. She dug the entire outline of the garden which is about 16 feet by 30 feet!

Momo helped with the digging too!

Here is the outline done!

Yes, I helped with the digging too.

We had Kayden spend the night with us one night and the kids had fun playing with him.

Kristen is working on a project all about Australia. We have been plugging along with lessons and looking forward to the end of the school year. I haven't taken many school pictures but I did snap this one.

Maggie sitting all pretty one night with her paws crossed.

Momo loving on Maggie!

Randy bought me a stand for bird feeders and we put that up. It didn't take long for these little birdies to find the birdseed!!

In the morning and evenings, there are tons of these little guys all around the feeder!

All of our azaleas have been blooming!

The trees are all budding and all around flowers are blooming and everything is turning green. I love spring!!

Ian's Birthday Party!!

My little buddy is 4 years old today!!! The past 4 years have been so much fun with Ian. He got me through one of the hardest times of my life just by being him. I love him so very much and and so thankful that God gave him to us at just the perfect time. He is such a sweet breath of life in our family. This little man has such a great personality and his eyes can melt any one's heart!! He is growing and changing into a little boy so quickly and is leaving his baby days behind. I love you Ian, you will always be my buddy!!
Here he is waiting for his birthday breakfast! Just look at those eyes!

Breakfast was, of course, a number 4 pancake!! Made specially for him by Sissy!

Here is the cake in process!

The treasure box all stocked and ready for the treasure hunt!

My Buddy!

Lil Rob came and spend the day with us too!!

Here is Ian's pirate ship birthday cake all finished!! I was really happy with how it came out and Ian loved it!

As the party was getting started, we had a special visitor!!! A real pirate came to see us!!!

Some pirate fun!

While we were waiting for everyone to arrive, the pirate told us a story but he needed us to help him act it out!!

This picture doesn't have anything to do with the party really but it was taken in the middle of the party. Kristen was showing my friend, Melanie the new machines. It is the funnies thing how entertained everyone is by the washing machine and dryer!!

OK, back to the party. Once everyone arrived, the pirate took us on a treasure hunt!! Here he is giving us the first clue!

Onto the next clue! They had to hop like kangaroos to find the next one!!

Listening to another clue.....

Found one in the mailbox!

...and then one in the grill!

They found the treasure in the dirt hill!!!

Pirate getting ready to open the treasure box!!

Time to dig in to fill our loot bags!!

Back inside it was time for cake!!

Blowing out the candle!

Eating cake!!

Time for gifts!!! He was so happy and loved everything he was given!! I love his facial expressions in these pictures.

After the gifts, we all just hung out and played. The kids blew bubbles outside and Ian tried out his bike!

After everyone left, Johnny, Erin and of course Monstar came over to hang out. We ordered pizza, and just hung out. Here is Ian chilling out with Monstar!

Ian said he had the best birthday ever. Last night he kept coming up to me and saying "thank you mama, I love you." He crashed with his new blue DS in his hands.

Kite Flying, Painting......Just Life...

Randy and Ian enjoyed the wind last Sunday morning with some kite flying fun.


Momo is just too cool!!

Trying to catch the kite!

I think Momo built this tower and took the picture.

Then she built and airplane too!

We finally bought our new washer and dryer this week. Before it was delivered, Randy took the old ones out and repainted the laundry room. He had a lot of help with the painting!

Oh!! The flash is on now!

This is what the moon looked like Tuesday night. So pretty!

Momo and I had gone to her Brownie troop meeting while everyone was painting the laundry room. Randy save a spot for her to paint when we got home though.

The new machines were delivered on Wednesday and I LOOOVVVEEE them!!!

Park Day!

The weather has been so nice the past week or so. I took the kids to the library and the park one afternoon. There have been some new playthings added so they have been itching to go play. I think Aaron is a little too big...his KNEES were almost dragging the ground on this thing!

Ian playing in the rocket ship.

Momo on top of the rocket ship!

Swingin' sisters!

Sweet swingin' boy!

Momo on the whirly gig thingy!

Monkeys!

SLIDE!!

OOOPS!! Momo fell!

Upside down monkey!

The group pose!

Silly faces!

Brothers.....

Aaron.....

Monkeys in the trees!

After the park, we ran out to the Organic Farm. Kristen took these while waiting for me.

Our YUMMY food from the farm!!!

Art, Reading, Pocketbook and more....

Kristen recently finished reading this book. She posted about it on her blog but she said this was one of the best books she has read. The title of it is "The Rose Red Box".

Momo just being silly one day while working on her lessons....


Here is Momo with some books we read while we were working on her pocketbook. These were all about germs.

You may remember seeing my earlier post about the Pay It Forward contest. I received my gift from the contest on my friend, Sadie's blog. This is what she made for me and I just love it. She took pictures of each of my kids from this blog and made them into profiles. She then mounted them in a frame for me. Isn't it the neatest thing?

One night, Randy and Aaron were hooked on a bowling game on Aaron's PS2. They stayed up until about 5AM playing. I found these pictures on my camera the next morning. They were so excited about their scores!

Morgan finished up her Healthy and Happy Me pocketbook.

A story she wrote as if she were her tooth!

She drew healthy foods in her refrigerator!

The kids also worked on another fun art lesson. This one was melted crayon wax art. First they melted crayon shavings in a pan. ( Don't mind my rings on my stove, I was out of cleaner for it then.)

When the wax was melted, they would drag a small piece of paper through the wax to color the paper. Then they set it aside to let it dry.

Once the wax was dry, they cut the colored paper to make a picture on a bigger piece of paper.

Aaron coloring his paper...

Momo coloring hers.

Kristen's picture. She gave it to one of the little boys across the street.

Here is Momo's finished picture. We still have some of the colored papers left that they wanted to save to use later.

Baby Shower!!

We had a baby shower for my sister in law, Erin on March 4th. I loved getting it all together and preparing all the yummy food. I am so excited about my new niece on the way!! Not much longer now till she arrives. Her due date is April 15th. Here is my sister, Kristen, my grandmother and my aunt trying out some of the snacks.


More eating!!

The table full of snacks!

My sister ....

While we were having the shower, Randy was entertaining Momo, Ian, Lexi and Cassidy( cousins).

Time for games. The first game was the toilet paper game. Everyone had to pull off the number of squares they thought it would take to go around the baby belly!!

Then, it was time to see who was the closest!

We played a couple more games then it was time for the gift opening! She got so many great gifts. Here are just a few!

We had such a nice time and had so much fun!!!
Now, all we need is baby!!

love momo.

We or going to sarabeths house. I love you love momo.

Some school work and some family fun!!

In the midst of the fun and business, we have also been plugging along with lessons. Here is Aaron in his usual spot.....at the computer. He was working on his biology.



While Kristen worked on her math lesson beside him.

Momo has been learning about different animals and how unique and special each one is. This lesson was about how some animals (beavers) have webbed feet. She did a little activity to see how the webbing helps in swimming. First, she moved her open hand through water in the sink.

Then she put her hand in a plastic bag and moved it through the water to see how she could move the water better having "webbing" between her fingers.

Ian also did some pages in one of his workbooks.

Here is Momo reading a story in one of her readers. We are really enjoying the stories in these readers.

That Thursday night, Morgan had pulled out a package of pipe cleaners she got in her craft box at Christmas. One thing lead to another...and soon we had some crazy fun...the whole family got involved in!! Here is the start of things..... Randy and I started putting the pipe cleaners in Morgan's hair....

When Ian saw Momo, he wanted in on it too....

Then along came Kristen so we decorated her.....

Of course then, it was Mama's turn for a new "do"!

Aaron has the best hair for pipe cleaners....although....getting them out was another story....haha. It wasn't too bad though.

Papa, on the other hand....too a little more creativity!!

Papa was a helicopter head!!

I meant it when I said the whole family was in on it....Kristen decorated Maggie too!!

Time for some family portraits!!!

We had so much fun and the best part was that is wasn't planned at all....it just happened.

Kristen also finished up her Geography lapbook. Here are the finished pictures.

It was a great week!! Last week I somehow didn't take any pictures!! We were busy all week and it went by so fast. We had coop, errands, band practices, Brownie meeting, small group, church activities, prepared for a baby shower, shopping, band gigs, fun, school and just life!!

Potatoes!!

I was cleaning out the pantry one afternoon and discovered some potatoes that were starting to sprout! Aaron and Kristen thought it would be fun to try to plant them so that is what they did. Here they are cutting them up.


Once they found a spot to plant them, Momo and Ian joined in on the fun.


Raking away the pine straw....yes, they planted them in one of the flower beds.

Working hard....

Ian doing some raking.

He wanted a picture of his dirty hands!!

Planting....

They have been checking them every day, waiting patiently to see what happens. We are planning to start a garden as soon as the temps stay warm enough. That should be in the next few weeks!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!

Sunday, February 15th was Grandpa's 92nd birthday!! Here is Ian being silly waiting for Grandpa to come to the table for his cake!




He is almost there....

We couldn't fit all 92 candles on his cake but I think it would have set the smoke alarm off if we did!

Singing Happy Birthday!

Grandpa trying to blow out all the candles....he had to get a little help from the kids!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!! We love you!

He was reading a little card Momo had made for him.

Getting a little help opening his gift......new slippers!

I think he was happy!

Randy and his daddy!

We are so blessed to have Grandpa here with us. I am glad we all get to have this time with him and that the kids will have special memories of the time they spent with Grandpa. He loves to tell us stories about his life and it just amazes me every time I hear about all the things he remembers. We love you lots Grandpa!! We can't wait to celebrate again next year!