Sand Sculptures

More beach pics! While we were there, Luke and I kind of got into playing in the sand with Patrick. Luke built two sand forts and I made a giant turtle. Then Patrick took great delight in destoying them.

One of Luke's forts, complete with moat and bridge. The one he built the next day was about twice this size, but it didn't photograph well.

Patrick knocking down one of Luke's forts.

Here's my giant sea turtle. I was really disappointed when I saw the picture because it doesn't give you any idea of how incredibly awesome it was. It was about four feet long and almost two feet high. I know it's hard to see and I should have used sand that was a little more wet so it would show up better. The turtle's head is on the left side and he's wearing a baseball cap (I modeled it after one of Patrick's sand toys, in case you're wondering why I put a baseball cap on it). Anyway, this was the first time I ever did anything other than a fort or a drip castle and it was a lot of fun. All the kids on the beach thought it was the coolest thing ever. Except for Patrick...he couldn't have cared less. So the only question that remains is, what do I make next year?

This one's for Andrea

I know I said I was only doing beach pictures this week, but I was looking over all the posts that I missed over the last week and I noticed that our new gal Andrea's been doing quite a bit of blogging (good girl!). Then lo and behold, this morning at church, Luke's mom whipped out these two t-shirts, given to them by their Uncle Adam and I thought "Huh. That looks familiar." And as it turns out, great minds dress their kids alike.

P.S. Thanks for the awesome t-shirts Adam!

Back from the beach...

Well, we're back from our long and exhausting vacation from the beach. There were lots of high points (ie. Ben and Patrick playing in the water, beautiful weather, meeting new friends), and there were a few low points (Ben's internal alarm clock ringing at 6:30 sharp each morning, me getting a large grouping of freckles under my nose, making me look like a have a little French moustache--nothing a little concealer won't fix--I hope), but all in all it was a good trip. I think I'll be posting pictures all throughout the week, because I got a lot of them and Lord knows after the past three weeks, I am ready for a whole lotta NOTHIN' to happen around here, but anyways...here are a few to start you off...

Surf's up, dude. Ben loved the beach, much more than I thought he would. Had to keep that paci in his mouth to keep him from digesting too much sand. He was great in the water, though.

Patrick was totally into swimming--all day, every day. And when I say swimming, I don't mean playing in the waves, I mean out there with the big kids...hence the water wings.

I have nothing to say about this picture except that I've been looking for a decent picture of myself to put on the blog for a while now, and this one's not bad at all (only because you can't really see my face--freckle moustache and all--and because all my lumpy bits are covered). So to anyone who reads this and doesn't really know me...voila!

Off to the Beach!

Well folks, we're off to our annual beach vacation. I am not as cool as Mandy or Shannon, so I won't be blogging while we're away, but hopefully there will be lots of fun pictures to post when I return next Saturday. I'll be jonesing for the blog, I'm sure, but all the glorious sunshine and warm water will have to make up for it. Have a great week!

Visiting Mary Cake and Jenny

We went to see Mary Kate and Jenny in their new house yesterday--it is very beautiful! We thought we'd visit for a little bit and then go get a late breakfast at Panera. Well, now we know--Panera: bad idea...Panera food at McDonald's playland: much better idea!!!! Patrick was closing in on his worst public behavior ever, and Ben and Mary Kate weren't bad, but come on...they're eight and ten months old. The high point was when Ben ate one of Mary Kate's snacky bits, gagged on it and threw up all over me. Good times.

What adorable babies! We actaully had a great time with y'all Jenny...next time we'll be better prepared!

The Other Kid

Moving on from that last out-of-control post, I have realized that most of my posts lately have been about Patrick and his crazy antics. Here's one about my sweet, precious, cuddly Ben... sleeping like an angel in his awesome new stroller...

A Deceased Feast

Appetizer: Fill in the blanks: I ____________ when I _____________.
If Friday's Feast is too lazy to put up a real question, then I'm too lazy to think of an answer to this lame one.

Soup: Name something you use to make your home smell good.
When I was pregnant, the only thing that would make my house smell good was baking. Thirty pounds later, I use Febreeze. It's much lower in calories.

Salad: If you could receive a coupon in the mail for 50% off any product, what would you want it to be for?
A car. That way when Luke needs a new one, we'll actually be able to afford it.

Main Course: Besides sleeping, what do you spend the majority of the hours of your typical day doing?
It seems like I spend the majority of my day feeding kids.

Dessert: What can you hear right now while answering these questions?
Thomas and Friends on the TV.

Got Ice Cream?

Mommy's been on a little diet lately, but we all have to have our indulgences now and then, right? It's been HOT lately, so we went for ice cream the other night after dinner. I just happened to have my camera when Patrick started digging in. And yes, we all enjoyed it this much!

The Lazyshow

I went back down to my parents' house this past weekend, and while we were there my mom and I took Patrick to the Stone Mountain Lasershow, which Patrick called the Lazyshow.

Here's Patrick in front of the big old hunk of granite. It was a lot darker than it looks and I had to turn off the flash to make the mountain show up and for some reason that made it impossible to take a clear picture...so that's why this picture is kinda blurry--sorry!

I tried to take pictures of the actual show, but we were too far back on the lawn and I don't think my camera's really capable of this kind of picture anyway. I got this one off their website. I thought the show was pretty good. I hadn't see it in 10 years or more and obviously they updated some of the songs, but they still had all the good old patriotic good stuff, and everyone still whistled and woo-hooed when General Lee smashed his sword during Dixie. Some things never change!

Holy Water

Patrick was an absolute angel in church this morning. He sat quietly in my lap, said his prayers, and stood in line with his hands folded as he walked with me during communion. Afterwards we stood outside the doors of the church with my mom's friends as they cooed and complimented both boys on their good behavior. Then a lady came outside, took one look behind the columns, and cracked up. I peeked around to find this happening:

So much for my little angel!

Overheard

After a hard core play session with Patrick:

Gigi: Whew! I'm pooped!

Patrick: You gotta poop?

Gigi: No, I don't have to poop.

Patrick: You gotta go pee?

Gigi: Nope, don't have to pee, either.

Patrick: Well then, what's in your butt?

The Five Paragraph Friday's Feast

Appetizer: Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today.
Whatever! I spend all day, every day making sure my kids are happy, well-fed, and growing up to be generally good people. If that isn't a nice thing to do for them, I don't know what is! I'm not going to waste my time planning niceties for everyone else!

Soup: When was the last time you were frightened by the weather?
When Patrick was really little (and everything scared me), we had a horrible storm one night. There were tornados all over the place and I am not exaggerating when I say we had one continuous rumble of thunder that lasted an hour. It just never stopped! The lightning didn't either. It just flickered continuously. I sat at the window half the night waiting for one of the pine trees in our backyard to fall on the house.

Salad: What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit?
I am a Google addict. I look up everything. The Green Straw is very useful in giving me my daily dose of celeb gossip and keeping me from wasting money on InTouch magazine.

Main Course: Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child?
At one point it was Whitney Houston. Then it was Europe for a while (how embarrassing!). After that, Bon Jovi.

Dessert: Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they?
Does checking my blog 7 million times a day count? No? Well, then how about this: Each night, we change Patrick into his jammies, brush his teeth and read him a story. Then we let him read in bed for about 15 minutes before going up, kissing him good night and turning his light off. Then as I am closing his door, he asks for a glass of water. When he finishes that, he needs a back rub. Then he needs another one--"last time". Then I go downstairs and sit down a minute before running back upstairs five more times to put him back to bed. Then I spank him. Then, when he finally goes to sleep, I go up and kiss him one more time in hopes that he'll subliminally get the message that I love him even though he's a major pain in my neck.

Oh, to be a kid again!

The Three Stooges

We made our pilgrimage to Joe and Katie's fun house while we were at my parents'...as usual, were not disappointed!

Fat-Pick, Benny and Bubsy. Ben's just hoping someone will come to his rescue soon!

Fat-Pick trying out the slip-and-slide. Though our own childhood memories instilled a deep sense of wanting our boys to go crazy with it, they were not too interested. They were much more interested in watering the plants and swinging. Obviously, this is how you get a rowdy boy to calm down. Put out a toy loaded with so much testosterone and he caves under the pressure!!! No really, we decided they would probably be more ready for it next year.

Bubsy and Fat-Pick enjoying some M&Ms. Two cuter kids there never were!

Mom and Dad's House

I went to my parents' house this weekend for some R & R. Well, physically, we stayed pretty busy, but I got some mental rest, because it is so nice to have two other adults to help you take care of your kids at all times!

Here's my dad teaching Ben how to play peek-a-boo. It was a big hit, as you can tell! Ben enjoyed it so much that he learned to cover his own face while my dad said "Where's Ben?"

Patrick having a picnic by the pool. I know his sandwich looks as big as his head and his grapes look like he could gag on them, but it is just a trick of the camera, I promise!

Ben enjoying some park time with his Gigi. We went to the park a few times because there's a railroad track that runs alongside it with trains that run every 30 min. or so. Whenever the gates started to go down, Patrick would yell "DING DING Gigi!!!!!" and drop everything to run across the field to wave to the train.

With all the fun, Ben was so tuckered out every night!

BRAG TIME!!!!!

We spent this morning with good old Katie and Joe. Had a fantastic time, as usual. Katie, in her tireless way, had about sixteen million exciting things for the boys to do. As they were kept busy, she turned her attention to my snugglicious Ben. She totally turned him into her muse today. I'M SORRY FOLKS, BUT HE IS GORGEOUS! Click here for Katie's handiwork.

Friday's Flavorless Feast

Appetizer: When was the last time you visited a hospital?
Eight months ago, when I had Ben.

Soup: On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?
Not very. Maybe 3. I just really want to lay down and go to sleep.

Salad: Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)
SHOULDERS: She happily opened up Lori's door, earning real satisfaction. (???)

Main Course: If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?
I would really like to join a garden club, but I don't want all the political crap that comes with it, so it would be called "Gardening Without Pretense".

Dessert: What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?
Tan with dark stains left by the previous owner. :(

Hooray for the Red, White and Blue!

I LOVE THE FOURTH OF JULY! We are normally at the beach for the fourth, but with Ben added to the mix this year, we decided that might be a little too adventurous, so we stayed home. Nevertheless, our day was straight out of a Norman Rockwell picture. This morning we had our slice of Americana Pie by going to nearby small town Cave Spring to watch their annual parade. It was so cute! Here's Patrick with Lady Liberty, aka Christa Jackson, Darling of Cave Spring. Christa works with me and she is such a joy. There is literally no one like her.

Patrick loved waving to the fire trucks and tractors. The woman behind him is Ann, a friend of Luke's mom. I wish I had gotten her head in the picture. Ann was diagnosed with cancer a couple years ago, but she has kicked that sucker to the curb. Go Ann!

Ben with Daddy, decked out in their Fourth of July best. Ben has a death grip on that balloon!

Luke's Uncle Tom pulling his float full of family and friends. We thought about putting Patrick on the float, but we decided he'd have more fun watching the parade instead.

Continuing with our small-town fun, we went to the minor league baseball game to cheer on our home team and watch an awesome fireworks show afterwards. I managed to get some pretty good pictures this time!

Here's Patrick with Shayla, granddaughter of a couple from our church. I was so glad she was there because they had a great time entertaining each other!

BOOM!

What can I say? It was a great day. I love living in a small town and I love the 4th! I'm sure you can tell because I would never post seven pictures for anything else! Hope you all had a great one too!

Happy Fourth of July!

Fourth of July is my favorite holiday. It's warm (hot!), the activities are casual and free, the food is good and there's no gift-swapping involved. Our celebrations began last Saturday, when the local parks and recreation did the annual fireworks show. Patrick and I went with Rebeckah and her mom Joan.

Here's Patrick and Beck getting sugared up before the show.

Rebeckah's getting Patrick all fired up!

Yay! The fireworks finally start! It was really hard to get a picture of both the kids sitting still and the fireworks exploding. I got one good one with just Patrick in it, but I thought this one was cuter with both him and Beck looking up at the falling sparkles.

More festivities today! We went to a parade this morning and there will be more fireworks after the ball game tonight, so look for more 4th fun!

Summer Lovin'

I told these two that as long as they were living under MY roof, they had to follow MY rules, and that means marriage first!

Gone Fishin'

We did a little fishin' on our lake vacation and when I say a little I mean Luke fished every waking hour and I joined in when I had nothing better to do. Most of the time we caught little bream but we each caught one big fish too.

Here's Luke's big catfish, caught about five minutes after we got to the lake. I told him to keep it but he threw it back. He should have listened to me because he never caught another big one for the rest of the weekend.

Here's my gigantic largemouth bass. I actually thought I was stuck on the bottom so I kept yanking on the pole and up popped a big old fish! He broke the rod into about six pieces so Luke had to help me reel him in. I decided not to keep him because a) I caught him illegally and b) then I would have a dead fish to deal with, and how much of a hassel is that?

I know I look like a complete doof in this picture, but I had just grabbed whatever was laying on top of the suitcase, okay? And I promise, these sunglasses look really good when my hair is fixed!