Our Gerbils...

After a year of begging, pleading and convincing us that she is responsible, Olivia received her gerbils.  Charlie, who is blonde and belongs to Olivia and Fuzzy (Filipe - as Dave calls him or Fluffy - as Olivia calls him) belongs to Zach.  We bought them the Sunday after Christmas and have been entralled with them ever since. They really are quite cute creatures and good for the kids.  The added plus for this is that the gerbils are easy to care for and train.  The downside at this point is the purple bedding (fluff) that is finding its way on my floor every time I turn around.  The kids get the shredded bedding on their sleeves and it comes out of the cage on onto my floor.  I guess that means I vacuum - oh well, the floors need it anyway. 
Stay tuned, I'm sure there are many gerbil adventures ahead of us....

We Wish You a Merry Christmas.....

6:30 a.m. came very, very early, but Zach was wide awake on Christmas 'morn.  After a delightful Christmas Eve at my sister's house, we arrived home with two children asleep in the backseat of our car.  They forgot to put cookies and milk out, but Dave and I remembered....lucky for Santa.  Zach was downstairs before he woke anyone else up (strange, but typically he can't go downstairs without me because 'it is dark').  Hmmm.  We were up and Santa's presents were reviewed in awe.  That took all of 8 minutes and then we were on to the presents under the tree.  The paper and wrapping throwing fight/party on Christmas Eve was fun, but no fun fight this morning, we were too sleepy.  Coffee, where are you?!

It was a very memorable day with Santa delivering a rocking horse for Olivia (yes, she is 6, but it works, ok?)  She and every other child has been on the rocking horse nonstop. 

Christmas came a little early for Dave.  He got his pilot's license on Tuesday, so he is officially a pilot - woo hoo! 

Other than our Christmas morning wake up call..it has been a very merry Christmas with lots of family and friend time, peace and rest.  Merry Christmas 2009!

December = fun

There have been so many fun events this month.  Since my return from L.A., I haven't been motivated to move one of my favorite blogs down the list - he he.  But, I must.... I celebrated my birthday with my friends at one of our favorite spots, J. Christophers for brunch.  My kids loved the miniature holiday ornaments that Amy gave me.  I loved the martini glass they came in, but I digress.  O & Z played with these miniature ornaments all afternoon and made me lovely necklaces and bracelets.  Who knew they could be so versatile?! 

Dave's birthday was the following week, so we made a strawberry cake for him.  We waited anxiously for Dave to arrive home from Germany.  He was a bit late, but you can't let fresh cake wait until morning, so they dug in with gusto well past bedtime.  Do you think they were happy to see their dad?

Neighborhood cookie exchanges and school parties ensued up until the last day of school.  Lots and lots of sugar was eaten, so maybe everyone has gotten their fill....nah.  We donated our cookies this year to the Fitzhugh Lee school in Smyrna, which caters to autist and developmentally delayed children.  Olivia requested we take our cookies over personally and I am so happy we did.  The school serves a great need in this area.  Olivia and Zach are still talking about their brief visit, so I know it left lasting impression on them (in a good way). 

The holiday parties at school were lots of fun and signalled that we could take a deep breath and welcome a much needed vacation to spend time with family.

 

Olivia and Zach also had a Karate show to finish their lessons for 2009.  Karate was wonderful for Olivia's self confidence, but she has decided to move to Art Classes in January.  Zach loves Karate, so he'll be back again in 2010... with a new Karate uniform, which makes for an easy gift!

We made a trip to visit the tree at Atlantic Station with Gavin, played a round or two of Miniature Golf at Red Top Mountain and attended a holiday party as soon as Dave's vacation began.

And to think, the real celebration of our family Christmas hasn't even begun.  I'm not sure who is more excited.... stay tuned to find out!

A Very Happy Birthday Indeed..with Patrick Dempsey

Somehow I ended up celebrating my birthday in Los Angeles this year.  And somehow we spent the entire day Friday on the set of Grey's Anatomy as guests of Patrick Dempsey.  How did that happen?

Lee works with Dave and handles Events for the Marketing Dept.  Lee is from England, lives in the U.S. now and was hanging out after a race a few years back.  He started talking to this guy for a couple of hours about racing, etc. and it turns out that it was Patrick Dempsey.  He had no idea who he was because the show was not on in England.  Lee and Patrick are friends now and love racing.  The L.A. Autoshow was this past week, so Dave and Lee were out there for the event.  Since birthdays were rolling around and we rarely get to see each other with all the travel that is going on, we thought it would be nice to celebrate in L.A.  Lee was taking his wife, Kerrie, to the set and was nice enough to let us tag along.

As it turned out, we spent almost the entire day on the set with the cast and crew members.  No other outsiders were there, and the group made us feel completely comfortable and welcome.  Patrick toured us around the entire set (it's huge) we took a few silly pictures of him serving Kerrie and I a drink at "the bar" and we hung out in his trailer for half an hour before they started filming for the day.  As it turns out, this group works 12-16 hour days M-F.  We were there from 12-3 pm, left for the taping of the Jay Leno Show Friday afternoon (it was a neat show, but nothing like being on set with you know who) and we went back from 6 -10 pm.  They planned to work until at least midnight.  This is a typical work day.  They are off May & June (aside from movies, racing, or whatever they can fit in).  Wow.

So we ate lunch and dinner with them - I called us 'the guest that would never leave', but luckily, the cast and crew said we were fun to have around and that Patrick was in a better mood with us around.  Ok, we'll take it.  Patrick was showing me photos of his kids on his phone.  He told us he had a 8-year old daughter and 3-year old twin sons.  He showed me a photo of a young long-hair kid and I said "how old is she again"?  Dave said "HE".  Ooops!  Patrick laughed and said, yes, we need to get his hair cut.  Leave it to me to say something like that.  I have a bit of my grandmother in me.... I say things too bluntly sometimes.  His wife would send him a photo or a video and he would share with us.  She put up their Christmas tree Friday night with the kids and she sent him the video.  Bummer he wasn't there....

We met the writer for that specific show, the producer (he gave me his headset to use and introduced everyone) and lots of the cast.  Here is a quick rundown of who we met and talked to....almost everyone was on set that day.

Show names (can't remember all of their real names)...http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/about-the-show

Mark - Eric Dane, Lexie, Callie, Arizona, Richard (The Chief), Owen, Cristina Yang, Alex and all the new cast from Mercy West (names.???)

We had a great time bumming around the entire set, taking photos and talking to everyone.  We were a little slap happy at the end of the evening.  We were invited back...was he just being nice or can we impose again?! 

Patrick walked us all to the car and Kerrie and I got a hug and kiss goodnight from the very own...Patrick Dempsey.  He's a top-notch guy and we had a great time with him.

As for the rest of the weekend... it was all great.  Thursday night dinner with our great friend, Andy (Porsche guy from Stuttgart).  He has great taste in restuarants, so we dined with him at Spago in Beverly Hills (Wolfgang Puck's restuarant).  Danke, Andy!  Friday, we were entertained by Grey's Anatomy and bit of Jay Leno (Kelsey Grammar and Taylor Swift were guests).  Saturday was my actual birthday, Dec. 5th. Thank you for all the well wishes via Facebook, phone, text and email!  Technology is wonderful! 

I talked Dave into a bike ride on the boardwalk.  We were in Manhattan Beach and rode through Hermosa and Redondo beaches.  I haven't been on a bike in years, but it was a blast.  College football was on, so we hit a sports bar for lunch to watch FL v. AL, then visited our old neighbors from Smyrna who now live in Hermosa Beach- Gia and Troy.  Thanks for taking us in, guys!  We watched the first part of the GA Tech game with them, finished up at our hotel (Go Tech) and had a birthday dinner out that night. Sunday brunch at our hotel (Shade) with ESPN Radio broadcasting live - surprise to us- and then headed out for a walk on the boardwalk and beach to get some fresh air before our flight home.

Thanks to mom and dad for watching the kids!

'Twas a good birthday, indeed.  Now, I hope Dave doesn't expect much on Dec. 9th (his birthday).  He's in Germany...working.  I'm sure the kids and I will figure out a way to celebrate when he gets home.

 

The Elf on our Shelf....

He fell over.  It almost looks like he's a bit drunk, but who really knows.  This guy, Frisbee, whom our children named last year had been quite a character.  He left a very explicit note last week as to who was naughty and who was nice.  He left a small candy cane for Olivia, but not for Zach.  hmmm.  The previous day must have been that bad.  My parents were secretly cursing me when they had to hold up their end of the magic bargain when they babysat for a long weekend.  Thanks again for that, folks.  You know you secretly enjoyed the elf.  I'm not sure how this happended but one minute, Frisbee was sitting tall and pretty.  I turned my back, Olivia did 'something' and all of a sudden, Frisbee was laying down on the job.  He had to lay there the rest of the day.  Come on, dude.  You are making magic difficult!  Tonight he is in the tree.  Do you think he'll catch on fire?!

Magic Electrical Dust....

Ahh, the holidays bring magic to the entire month.  It's not officially December, but the City of Smyrna hosted their annual Tree Lighting this evening.  We have been every year since Olivia was born and it's getting much easier now that strollers are not part of the process.  Strollers and crowds do not work well together.  I try to get a great photo every year, but that doesn't always work in my favor.  Luckily, we get to see all of our friends at the tree lighting. 

This year, with Olivia being 6 and Zach, 4 1/2, it is one of those magical years.  They truly understand who Santa is and the magic he holds.  Santa arrived this year on a four horse open sleigh and proceeded to walk up to the gigantic tree.  We counted down and suddenly, Santa threw magic dust on the tree and it lit up the night!  I was holding Zach and his eyes made me see the magic.  Both kids were amazed, but to see Zach's face.... ahhh.  He was studying the tree and thinking about the entire process.  His eyes were actually twinkling!  I didn't have to wait long until he told me what he determined.  In the car, Olivia was engrossed in the magic dust and dreaming of Santa.  Zach told us that it was "actually magic electrical dust" that Santa threw on the Christmas tree.  Santa wears the white gloves so he will not be electricuted.  Ah ha, safety gloves....good thinking, Santa! 

Funny story, but a magical night for me..... 

Thanksgiving is Family

What an amazing holiday... Time spent with Dave and time spent with our entire family - it was everything we wanted.  Our family came to the lake on Friday to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Kids, good food and beautiful sunshine were the highlights of the holiday.  We explored an old gold mine (cave) and rafted around the lake.  Zach is an explorer!  Olivia sat in Aunt Karen's lap most of the day enjoying one-on-one time and playing with Uncle Barry's dog, Pepper.  A huge thanks goes to my mom and Aunt Barbara for providing all of us with the most amazing meal.  Believe me, we enjoyed this meal several times over. 

Saturday was spent at the UGA v. GA Tech football game.  Our great friends, Bill and Julie were in town from Arkansas.  Clint, Wes and Candy were there as well, so we had part of our "old clan" back together again.

The Pryor's wrapped up the holiday by decorating the house and our Christmas tree.  It's lovely.

We will Rock You....

After years and years of taking The Music Class with my little ones (ages 9 months on...), you would think my kids would sing and dance all the time.  It had the opposite effect.  Don't get me wrong, The Music Class is a wonderful opportunity for children to be introduced to musical instruments, age appropriate songs and rythyms.  We took countless semesters (repeating for me with each kid...can you say "enough of the Dinosaur Collection?, but I do like 'Little Liza Jane' and Firetruck, Firetruck' he he).  After all of these years, I still received the same comment on school reports for both Olivia and Zach - "they are shy when we have music time at school".  I felt so bad; why aren't these kids participating at school?  Well, finally they opened up.  Now they are requesting songs for me to download on my iPod!  "We Will Rock You" is a favorite due to the Dancing Diggers we viewed last year.  Yes, the diggers dance to music; it is mesmerizing.  They are currently into "Who Let the Dogs Out".  The memory I have of this particular song is at our wedding on St. Simons Island 8 years ago.  My young cousins, Jaycie and Logan (ages 2-3) were on the dance floor boogying to this song.  Eight years later, I have two kids who are doing the same thing.  My nephew, Gavin, will throw down when I play Boom-Boom Pow by the Black Eye Peas.  Now he has some moves!  I think he gets those from his dad (sorry Karen) :-)  My recent favorite is Zach who, out of the blue' bolts out "It's not over tonight, just give me one more chance to make it right....I won't go home without you" by Maroon Five.  I do not have this song on my iPod, but I assume it made an impression on him in the car.  I love it! 
Keep on singing and dancing, kids!

An Artist in our Midst...

Here is a display of Olivia and Zach's artwork from their KidzArt class over the past semester.

Olivia loves KidzArt and frequently produces more than one piece of art during the class.  Zach loved it earlier, but I can tell from his artwork that he goofs off with his friends a bit.  He now includes a race track on every piece of artwork.  No harm, no foul.  I've been extremely impressed by Olivia's art and she takes such pride in it.  We have an art folio and fill it as pieces comes home.  She pulls her art folio out weekly to review what she has done.  What a great thing for her!