Eagle Star Academy

FROGS!!!

2009-07-08T10:39:00.002-05:00

We have adopted even more frogs!! These ones will get big though! They are African Clawed Frogs. We have 4 babies. So far, we only have names for 3. They are Splash, Superman and Penelope!! We are waiting for Aaron to name the 4th one. Here they are!

Here is the dwarf frog tank beside the big frog tank!!

This is Bertha, the mama frog of our babies!! She is about 3 years old!

A Splashin' 4th of July!!

2009-07-08T09:44:00.015-05:00

Well, this post has a lot of pics....but this is how we spent the 4th. We had a great day with great friends, great food and great fun!! I'll just let the pics do the talking!!

The big kids played some volleyball!

Night swimming!

One of the favorite things to do in the pool is jumping off Mr. Evans's and Randy's shoulders! Check out all these high flyers!!

A Get Away!

2009-07-08T09:11:00.006-05:00

Randy and I decided to get away for a few days alone last week. We just went to Savannah but it felt almost like a paradise just to have a break together!! We booked a room at the Westin Resort and just had a wonderful time. We didn't take very many pics but here are some, mostly all are taken from our balcony on the 15th floor overlooking the Savannah River.

Tug Boats!

Looking down at the courtyard from our room.

the pool from our room....

This is what we did a lot of.....just hanging out and relaxing!!

The nighttime view!

We spent one day at Tybee Beach.

Going up and across the big bridge! Alison, this is for you!

The view from on the bridge!

Back up on the balcony.... this ship was a smaller one.

This is one of the bigger ones!!!!

A ship coming through at night! Kinda spooky!

We ate lunch at The Pirate's House one day, we brought this pirate hat home for Ian!!

It was a much needed and very appreciated mini vacation!

Leap and Flip Flop, and a Sunset

2009-07-08T01:16:00.003-05:00

We adopted two new family members. I would like to introduce you to Leap and Flip Flop, our dwarf African frogs. They also have a little snail friend in their little ecosystem home!

A pretty sunset we had one evening.

Aaron and I before church one Sunday. I guess I have to admit he is much taller than I am now!!

Just Lots and Lots of Cuteness!!

2009-07-08T00:47:00.008-05:00

These are just "a few" of the many pictures of Jacey and with Jacey on the different days that I have had her!! I could just eat her up!

Kisses!

Nap time.....both of them sleep with their eyes half open!!

Momo and Ian's New Room

2009-07-08T00:30:00.005-05:00

When we added the new school/computer room ( I just realized I haven't taken pics of the finished room) we turned the old school room into a room for Momo and Ian. You may remember, this room used to be a dark cranberry red!! Now it is tangerine, safari themed!! Here is Ian in his new bed for the first time!! We found these nice yellow ( they are a brighter yellow than they look here) at a local funiture store.

Momo in her new bed for the first time!!

Looking across the room from the closet, this is Ian's bed. The tree in the framed picture was drawn by Stephanie, and then I painted the canvass.

After Randy painted the walls, Stephanie came over and drew some pictures on the wall to match the quilts. Stephanie, Kristen and I painted them. The big tree is painted on the wall.

Looking across the room towards the door. The cheetah and leaf above are painted on the wall. Ian says this is a nice cheetah and he chases away all the bad dreams!!

The window and Momo's bed looking in from the door. The animals above the window are wall clings. There are also some of these randomly placed since I allowed Momo to stick them where she wanted them.

I finished the room with wooden letters above their beds, spelling out their names. I painted the letters and glued the small wooden animals on each one. The yellow flower under Momo's name is painted on the wall.

The leaves under Ian's name are also painted on the wall.

I am very happy with how the room turned out! I found the quilts online and fell in love with them.

More Randomness...

2009-07-08T00:06:00.008-05:00

The garden is doing great and we are really enjoying all the fresh veggies!!

Cantaloupe

Eggplant

Lots of tomatoes!

Beans!!

Peas!!

This is a sunflower Momo started in our gardening class at coop in a little paper cup!!! She planted it in the garden and look how well it has grown!!

My Jacey Bell!!

They love her so much!

Ian doing a popsicle dance on the table!!

A Summer Thunderstorm

2009-07-07T23:55:00.004-05:00

We had a thunderstorm one night recently and lost power for a few hours. The kids and I played games by candlelight.

Early in the storm, before it was dark outside, we spotted this rainbow..

If you look close in this next picture, you can see a flash of lightening ......

Lots of lightening!! It isn't easy getting a picture of a lightening flash!

Random........Life, garden and Jacey

2009-07-07T23:24:00.009-05:00

Ian hanging out with Maggie one night...he was sharing his blanket with her.

One of my fancy hairdos by Momo!

Ian a few days after he hit his head on Kristen's headboard......see the huge bump and bruise? This actually looks really good compared to when he first did it!!

The garden grows more.....and more.....and more.....

One of the first tomatoes!

Cucumber!

Zucchini!

CORN!

More Jacey time!! We try to get her about once a week if we can. She is just too sweet not to take pictures of her!!

She is my heart!!

Some of our fresh garden veggies!!

Starting to smile!

Look at her hold her head up so high!!

This is how Ian fell asleep one night!!!

Airshow!

2009-07-07T22:59:00.008-05:00

We have been going to see the Air Show since Aaron was very small. We enjoy it every time!! Here are "the boys" walking in to find a place to sit...

Some of the demonstrations before the Blue Angels...

Walking around checking out the planes on display...

The kids getting autographs from some of the pilots.

The Blue Angels!!!

Ian was happier when he finally was given some ear plugs.

Checking out some of the army trucks on the way out....

Here is one of the pretty birds that has decided to stay in our yard this summer. We see this bird and his mate every day at the feeder.

Morgan's Special Day Celebration!

2009-07-07T22:52:00.005-05:00

Those who know us, probably remember our miracle on May 14th, 2004. Morgan drowned in our backyard pool when she was 2 years old. We have celebrated that date every year since then. This year marked 5 years. We are thankful each and every day that God chose to give us more time with our Momo Monkey. She is such a special girl and we love her so very much. Every year, she makes a big cookie to celebrate. Here she is rolling her cookie out!

She wanted to let Ian and her friend, Sara, help too.

All done rolling.....

Time for the frosting now!

A smiley face!

All finished!

Our beautiful Miracle, Momo Monkey!!!

As Our Garden Grows.....

2009-07-07T22:44:00.002-05:00

Our garden as it was really beginning to grow......

Notice the ants on the okra plant!

Some summer fun on the swing...

A Race and Flowers!!

2009-07-07T22:27:00.004-05:00

Randy and I joined some friends to go to the Darlington Nascar Race. This was my first race! Here we are waiting for the race to begin.

Billy Currington show before the race.......he is actually from right here in our town! His mama and my mama worked together for years and were good friends!

The pre-race stuff....here is Richard Petty.

....and there they go!

This car was so beat up but kept on going!!! We were sitting right in front of the start finish line and pit row!

The race was Mother's Day weekend. Before we left to go, these flowers were delivered to me from Randy and the kids......I love roses and daisies!! They were soooo pretty!

Randy getting some Jacey snuggles!

Baking, Remodeling and Jacey!

2009-07-07T21:56:00.007-05:00

Let me go ahead and apologize now. I have gotten so far behind here and have so many pictures, I just want to get them all posted. They are probably not going to be in order at all. I am probably not going to write a lot. I hope you enjoy looking anyway.......
Here are some yummy whole wheat cinnamon rolls and peanut butter brownies we baked one day. We have been milling wheat to make our own flour!

Lots of pics of Jacey!! She has changed a lot since these pictures but I want to show her off anyway!

Sleepy baby!

Ian is so in love with his little cousin. He can't wait to teach her lots of lessons about life!

Here are some pictures of the remodeling we did. Johnny came over and we closed in part of our garage to make a new school/computer room!! These are totally backwards...sorry...this is inside the room in process....

Hanging the sheet rock on the outside (in the garage)

Sheet rock on the inside of the room

Ian had a good time "helping"

Aaron helped cut the sheet rock

While the guys worked, we played with Jacey!!

Cutting the hole in the wall for the door!!

The beginning of the hole in the wall!!

Aren't these the prettiest little lips ever?

Framing the walls

One post down.....lots to go!!

Popping In!!

2009-06-30T00:31:00.002-05:00

I know, I know....I am terrible!! I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon this summer. I have just been enjoying life and my family and haven't taken the time to post any updates. It is late ( as is the norm for me) and I have to be up early. Randy and I are going away for a couple days to celebrate our anniversary early. I promise to get lots of new pics posted and update what we have been doing very soon. My goal is to get that done next week, and then start getting plans done for beginning our new school year. July is going to be a very busy and full month for us so I don't know how much blogging I will be doing.
Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say, we are still here and doing very well. We hope ya'll are having a wonderful summer too. Oh yeah, just wait till you see how well the garden is doing too!!

Garden Update!!

2009-05-01T23:08:00.004-05:00

Our little garden is growing!! We have been working hard weeding and watering, and tending every day! Momo was helping me pull weeds Thursday afternoon.

Kristen was checking out the corn!

Here are our beans! We started these from seeds.

Our peas were from seeds as well!

Our little corn stalks!

Momo hiding in the tree!! The perfect place for a Momo Monkey!

While I was out weeding this afternoon, I spotted our first little baby squash!! Upon looking closer, I found several more on all the plants! It won't be long until we are eating our fresh veggies and we can't wait!!

A Relaxing Night!

2009-05-01T22:52:00.003-05:00

Thursday night after all the bread baking and jam making, I was given a new hairdo by Momo!! She insisted on taking pictures of the me for the blog...so here I am!! Thanks Alison, we love the bows!!

This is my head under the bows!

Momo also took a funny self picture!! Gotta love the freckles and blue,blue eyes!

Randy had been working outside all day and was tired too. He was soaking his foot ( the one with a torn tendon) in Epsom salt.....I guess it was very relaxing! He was sound asleep!

A few minutes later, Ian and Maggie crashed together too! Momo was snoring on the other end of the couch with her head in my lap so you just see her feet!

A nice relaxing end to a busy day!

STRAWBERRIES! STRAWBERRIES!!

2009-05-01T22:21:00.010-05:00

We decided to go to a strawberry farm Wednesday morning. The one we had planned to go to was out of berries so we went to the Bamboo Farms in Savannah. We had a great time! Heather went with us too. The kids wanted to look at the big fish in the pond before we started picking.

Fish and turtles!!

We were all excited when this little baby turtle swam up! It looks bigger in this picture but.....

in this one you can tell how tiny it really was!

Ian's favorite thing is strawberries so he was very excited to see the huge patch!

We picked for about 45 minutes and ended up with about 25 POUNDS of berries!!!

Some of the berries after we got home and started washing them!! YUMMY!

We froze 3 gallon size Ziploc bags full! Thursday morning, we started working on strawberry jam! Kristen made us a great strawberry banana smoothie for lunch!

The first batch of jam!

A bowl full of fresh strawberries, strawberry smoothies and homemade strawberry jam!!

The second batch of jam in the pot!

We ended up with 24 8 oz jars of jam!! It is so good! I also made 3 loaves of bread Thursday too! That evening, Stephanie and her kiddos came over to hang out. That was nice since things have been so hectic around here, we haven't seen each other as much as normal. We grilled burgers and just chatted.

Roses, Saying Good Bye and a Family Day!

2009-05-01T22:00:00.004-05:00

Remember a few posts back I posted pictures of the buds on my rose bush? Well, here are some of the blooms!!! There were 4 HUGE blooms that were so pretty!

Thursday, we just hung out with Alison and her family while they packed up and prepared to leave Friday morning. I couldn't help but snap this picture of Jadziah and Momo....kinda look like their mamas, huh?

Alison, Eric, Noah, Declan, Jadziah and Taejan left Friday morning. We had so much fun with them and really enjoyed the week. It was really neat to finally meet in person after talking for all these years!! As soon as they left, we began to get ready for more company!! My sister, brother in law and two nieces arrived Friday night for the weekend!! Saturday, Johnny, Erin and Jacey joined us for a cook out. I didn't take many pictures but I did have to sneak a few of Jacey!! Momo and Jacey!

Here is my niece, Miss Nicole, also known as Coco!! Isn't she just a doll?

Erin and Johnny needed to run an errand so they let us babysit Jacey for a little bit. Kristen was thrilled!!

I just love this picture of John John, Jacey, Ian and Kristen. It is so sweet, Ian was rubbing Jacey's little head and softly saying " sweet Jacey, sweet Jacey". I think this captures the sweetness of the moment....

My newest hobby is baking bread using my new bread machine and my whole wheat flour which I am milling myself!! I bought a bucket of whole wheat kernels and am using my friend's mill to mill the wheat into flour. I have had a lot of fun experimenting with different recipes and the bread is so yummy!! This is the first wheat loaf I made this past Monday night!! Kristen and I stayed up late waiting for it to come out of the machine so we could try it out!!

Kristen says "MMMMMMMMMMMM"!!!!

We have also gotten back into our school lessons this week and we went to coop on Monday. We only have one more coop day for this year and about 3 weeks of school lessons left until we take a summer break!

Maggie, and Our Oatland Island Outing with Alison and Crew!

2009-05-01T21:26:00.008-05:00

One of the nights that Alison was here, the kids were eating Popsicles. Ian decided he didn't want his anymore but Maggie was happy to finish it off for him!!

We got up early Wednesday morning, packed a lunch and headed to one of our favorite spots, Oatland Island. The tortoise was out of his hole this time! Not for long though......he was heading right back into the hole when we walked up.

The whole crew looking at the tortoise.

The Bison!

The kids watching the bison and playing....

Looking out over the marsh on one of the walking trails.

Aaron posing in a tree!

Some of the kids all in the tree.

Randy and Ian!

I love this one!

The teens looking so thrilled. They did enjoy themselves they just have to look "cool" when the camera is pointing in their direction!

Feeding the fish at the pond. Ian actually lost his flip flop in the water and Aaron had to fish it out!

Alison and Noah

Walking the trails...

Time for lunch...I think Aaron and Jadziah were probably discussing their wedding plans!

Ian and Jadziah grabbing a drink of water together.

Sweet Momo!

The fox home!

A neat fox picture!!

At the end of the marsh walk, the kids stopped to investigate some snails!

A pair of cranes! Notice the egg!!

Last but not least, the alligators!! Look close!! Do you see the babies? There are two big ones up on the bank and the babies are in the water!

Another wonderful day on the island with friends!

Downtown Savannah and A Visit With Baby Jacey!

2009-04-21T22:08:00.008-05:00

Our next outing with Alison's crew was a day in downtown Savannah. We went to River Street to walk and look around.

This picture of Momo is really overexposed but I love how you can see how blue her eyes are.

Kristen and Randy...

Heather and Aaron.

We were waiting outside one of the shops while Alison went in to look for something.....not really sure why Eric had Taejan pinned on the wall.....I think they were singing the fillet of fish song!

Monkeys in the trees!

Declan and Ian discussing life in the shade...

We tried a new place for lunch and we all loved it!!!

We decided to walk a bit and go see the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Well, during our walk, we introduced our friends to a Ga downpour!! We ran up under an overhang to get out of the rain....

When the rain slowed up, we started walking again. We made it to the cathedral 10 minutes after they closed for the day!!! Oh well, it was a fun walk!! After we got home and cleaned up a bit, Alison and I ran over to see Jacey for a minute! I think Jacy didn't want her picture taken! She is exactly one week old here.

I even shared her and let Alison hold her for a few minutes!

My Sweet Niece!!

Kristen loves Jacey!!

Such kissable little cheeks!

At The Beach With Alison and Crew!

2009-04-21T21:34:00.016-05:00

We decided to head out to Tybee Sunday. We had a great time although it was a little chilly and the water was cold. Here is part of the gang on the pier as we were just getting to the beach.

Aaron and Declan.

My sweet boy!

Ian and Declan.

Momo and Jadziah.....

It didn't take long for the kids to hit the water......the cold didn't bother them at all.

Momo and Declan planning their attack on the waves.

Declan

Noah and Ian

Momo relaxing in the waves

I love this picture of Momo and Jadziah......

Momo found a piece of driftwood.

I think Alison was a little outnumbered!!

Aaron dug a big ol' hole!

Alison and Eric

Taejan

Declan and Ian played Frisbee.

Alison, Kristen, Jadziah and I walked down the beach. We came up on this huge jelly fish washed up on sand.

Kristen and Jadziah on the rocks...

Alison and I on the rocks, ( I hate this pic of me, I look huge)

Jadziah writing her name in the sand.

Aaron and Noah

The kids playing together....

Before leaving we tried to put all the kids in the hole Aaron dug!

Old Effingham Day with Alison's Crew!

2009-04-21T20:53:00.009-05:00

Thursday was a busy day with Randy having his checkup for his eye, some shopping and getting ready for our friends from MA to come visit. I also cooked dinner for Johnny and Erin. Alison, Eric and their kiddos arrived around noon or so on Friday. We spent the afternoon just hanging out together. Randy cooked low country boil for us and as usual, that was yummy!! We got up and just spent the morning chatting and playing then we got ready to go to Old Effingham Days. The kids wanted to ride together so here are Ian, Momo, Jadziah and Declan in our car waiting to leave.

Looking at the tractors and cars on display.

Kids loved the fire truck.

Our next stop was for the kids to grind some grits!

Kristen helping Ian and Jadziah.

Aaron and Noah playing on the stilts.

Aaron being a good big brother!

The kids couldn't get enough grits grinding!

Randy and Aaron were checking out the display of old tools.

Kristen trying the water pump.

Momo pumping water.

Ian pumping water....

Hotdogs for lunch!

Silly String Fight!!

We had a great time. The rest of Saturday afternoon was just more fun hanging out at the house....and of course good food again!

Baby Jacey Arrives!

2009-04-21T20:20:00.011-05:00

I got the phone call I had been waiting for bright and early Monday morning. Johnny was letting me know Erin was in labor!! I quickly woke up and got myself ready to leave. I had to take Aaron over to Johnny's to stay with their dog, Munstar. I met up with Johnny and Erin at the hospital around 11:00am. I was so blessed to be a part of their birth and I feel so very honored to have been able to help. It was a long day and at 6:37pm, Jacey Ann was born via c-section. She weighed 8 pounds and 12 ounces and was 21 inches long. She is just beautiful and I am so excited to have a new little niece to love!!

Daddy(Johnny) and Jacey in the OR.

Meeting her Mama (Erin).

Proud Daddy making his phone calls.

Daddy talking with Jacey's nurse while Erin was in recovery.

Johnny went back to be with Erin, and I stayed at the nursery window with Jacey for a while.

One tired daddy!

The next morning, Erin was more awake and ready to hold her baby girl.

First family picture.....so sweet.

So alert!

Hello Daddy!

Sweet baby girl!

I went home and took a quick nap and then headed back to the hospital with Aaron and Kristen. Kristen was so excited to finally meet Jacey.

While we were there, we got Jacey changed into her own clothes and she looked so pretty in pink!

Then she got to meet Aaron!

We headed home for the night. Wednesday morning, Randy was scheduled to have his second eye surgery. After his surgery we went back to the hospital. They were released to go home so I took Randy back home, and called Stephanie to run me back to the hospital to drive them home in their car.

Little Sleeping Princess!

On the way home!!

At home in her bassinet!

Randy and the kids came to pick me up and Ian and Momo were thrilled with their new cousin.

Ian doing "This Little Piggie" with Jacey.

Uncle Randy and Jacey.

Kisses from Ian.

Momo and Jacey!

Ian and Jacey!

We are all so happy to finally have Jacey here!! She is so precious!

Our Easter

2009-04-20T23:32:00.016-05:00

After getting the garden planted, we cleaned up and started dyeing Easter eggs. Momo and Ian were very excited.

Kristen was getting the dyes ready.

Papa joined in on the fun!

Our finished eggs!

We were up bright and early Easter morning so the kids could look at their baskets. I think Momo was still half asleep!

Kristen was happy to get some banana chips in her basket.

After baskets, it was time to get dressed for church.

We just hung out at home after church. That evening we finally got around to hunting Easter eggs.

One of my rose bushes had some buds on it. I will share pics of the blooms shortly!

This one azalea bush was still in bloom too. All of the others have finished blooming but this one lasted a long time.

Oh, remember a few weeks back when the kids wanted to plant some old potatoes? Well, check out what has become of those potatoes now!!

A Pretty Bird and Garden Planting Day!

2009-04-20T23:12:00.007-05:00

I am so far behind on blogging now. We have had lots going on around here the past few weeks so I just haven't had a minute to blog. Anyhow, I am going to attempt to get caught up again. The next few posts will be mostly pictures of what we have been doing.

We had this pretty little yellow bird visit our feeders one afternoon. He hung out for quite awhile and I snapped a few pictures. These were taken through the window though so they are a little fuzzy. Anybody know what kind of bird this is?

We were finally able to plant the garden Easter weekend!! Here is Randy getting ready to plant.

Grandpa even joined us outside to supervise our planting.

Ian was helping add the fertilizer into the holes before we added the plants.

He took a break to get a sip of water!

Aaron came out to help too!

Some of our plants waiting to be put into the garden.

Grandpa got tired of sitting in the truck so he got out to sit in the chair for a bit.

We worked until dark but we got it all planted.

Just a Random Night......

2009-04-12T22:46:00.004-05:00

Randy was out playing a gig one night a couple weeks ago ( I think it was), and I think Momo and Ian were out with friends as well. Anyway, it was just Ian, Kristen and I at home and Kristen asked to cook some supper for us. Here is Ian just being silly while waiting for his food to be cooked......

Kristen decided on chicken fingers and seasoned potato wedges. Here she is preparing the taters...

and flouring the chicken fingers.

She used some Italian dressing and some other seasonings for the taters, and then put them in the oven to broil.

The chicken fingers frying.....

Kristen did a great job cooking and it was very yummy!! We ate them all up!! She has made the taters for us all again since that night so I guess that is her first "special" recipe"!! I am planning on having her do more cooking and other household things as a home economics elective for the new school year.

Another Family Fun Day!!

2009-03-31T16:31:00.015-05:00

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!!!!

2009-03-31T09:40:00.017-05:00

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!!

2009-03-31T09:02:00.007-05:00

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!!

2009-03-14T10:53:00.015-05:00

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...

2009-03-14T10:38:00.005-05:00

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!

2009-03-14T10:00:00.008-05:00

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....

2009-03-14T09:42:00.006-05:00

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.