Daddy's home

The slow down of the economy has led to a decrease in daddy's travel. We are not complaining because, as you can see from the photo, Olivia and Zach are enjoying every minute that daddy is home. We had the luxury over the holidays to spend two uninterrupted weeks of family time and I have to say, we were a little spoiled. We have fun together, so why not?!

Speaking of the holidays, I finally finished the task (before March arrived) of showcasing all of my wonderful holiday photo cards. I love looking at beautiful photos of my friends and family throughout the year, so it's nice to look above my desk in the kitchen to see all the smiling, adorable faces! Thanks for having such cute kids!

This past weekend, we visited the lake house on Saturday and cleaned out the cove (yuck), but it will be worth it when the water level rises soon. It was sunny, gorgeous and warm for a change! Except for the wasp sting, things were good. We were back in Atlanta Sunday, so I took the kids to Suwanne to see Aunt Karen, Uncle Mike and Gavin. Their neighborhood had a chili cookoff, so we invited ourselves. Zach enjoys a messy plate and face of chili, spagetti or whatever. I typically find chocolate all around his mouth (becuase he is hooked on Dove Dark chocolate like his mommy). I ask if he had been eating anything and I get the innocent "no", when the evidence is right on his face. Silly boy. Olivia helped herself to an entire bag of crackers.....

Inheriting the love of travel

For some reason, this weekend reminded me of several trips Dave and I have been lucky enough to take over the years. We were hiking with the kids Saturday at the Chattahoochee Nature Center and my mind went back to a few years ago when Dave and I were hiking in Park City, Utah. It was summer, so we began hiking the ski slopes and enjoying a beautiful, sunny day. The air was amazingly clear, the temperature just right and we found ourselves 'exploring' the mountains, lakes and wildlife. Well, we actually got lost for several hours, but who cares, I had my built-in compass with me (aka Dave). At the end of the journey of many, many hours, we came upon three moose. A young woman hiking by herself had run into them as well and was waiting patiently until someone came along. That's where we come in. We were as scared as she was, but it was still a beautiful site. The moose examined us just as much as we respectfully admired them. I was awestruck. Eventually, I would say 15 minutes or more, all parties involved decided to move on. The Stein Erikson hotel was absolutely amazing (this is where Katherine Heigl married a year ago). I try to forget the race we attended in Salt Lake City later that weekend; it was 100+ degress in the desert, but it was also the reason we were able to hike in Park City in the first place. Sorry, I cannot locate pictures at this time, but they really are beautiful :-)

As I was reading the travel section of the Sunday paper, an article about Joseph Haydn, the classical composer, took me back to another trip that Dave and I were lucky enough to experience. We decided to travel Europe for a couple of weeks (well before kids) and were making our way from Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We found small hotels or bed and breakfast to stay in along the way, with no real plans. One afternoon we found a quaint town along a river in Austria. As we checked in, the hotel said we had gotten the last room for the night and also asked if we would be attending the Haydn symphony. We also were able to get the last two tickets to the concert, but it was absolutely amazing. The river meandering along the town, the sunset before we went into the symphony hall, the symphony itself was magical. I love Europe and long to go back. I know I inherit the love of travel from my parents (my dad in particular). I have traveled with them a few times cross country to Oregon and each trip was amazing. There is so much to see in this country, but I cannot get enough. If a trip is involved, I'm usually the one to say Yes!

We are lucky enough to tavel with Dave's work, so here's to the next trip.... Amelia Island in March!

Learning new things

Olivia is in Pre-K this year and she recently moved seats in her class. She is now seated next to Meadow, who happens to have an older sister (the ripe old age of 6, maybe?). Over the last week or so, Olivia has shown me new things she has learned from Meadow. As of last week, she can now snap her fingers. I have tried to teach my kids this trick when they ask me (ok, so maybe I do snap my fingers and expect things to happen automatically, but instead my kids get sidetracked and want me to teach them something - the nerve!) :-) So, she can snap her fingers (5 years old). Brady hopped in the car today and declared that he broke his finger trying to snap! Zach said, "don't worry, Brady, it will grow back." I then asked Brady if it was his finger or finger nail that broke and he again said finger. But of course, he was not in pain. Olivia also started printing her name in block letters. You know the ones, where the little girls love to write their name and then color it in... This takes forever at this age, but hey, it's cute. She tried to do it on the mulitple Valentine card for her classmates. Mommy had to knick this one in the bud. Hey, it was 8:15 pm and we needed to hit the bath and bed! Brady's grandma taught Brady, which was taught to Olivia, how to hold your fingers and make a lowercase 'b' and 'd'. Luckily, she doesn't get these letters mixed up, but is their a trick for and 'S'? Ah, lots and lots of handwriting at this age. My little lefty is teaching me quite a bit about this lefty world.

Another conversation to keep me amused was Brady picking up a book in our car today.

Zach: "Brady you can't read that book. It is a Level 1 Book."

Brady: Hmp.... "I can see Thomas" (reading no doubt) "His".....pause, pause, pause... "Zach, what is this word?"

Zach: "Oh, that word is 'view'."
Olivia is sitting in the front car seat in her own world looking at a new Dr. Seuss book about Rainforest and animals. Surprise, surprise. Oh these kids keep a smile on my face!

We returned from Delray Beach, Florida Sunday night. I received several compliments on how sweet my children were on the plane and at the airport. They were especially good, so I have to give them props. It was not as warm as I would have liked, but we still enjoyed the beach, hot tub and our friends, Justin and Brandon (and some really good Mellow Mushroom pizza). A few nights before, I branded myself at Senor Frogs (it was much more family oriented than the locations in Mexico). My forearm touched the "HOT PLATE" and guess what, it was hot. I'll have a scar to remind me of this trip. Olivia and Zach found a Man of War (blue jelly fish) on the beach, and that entertained them to no end. My sister, Kim, was on pins and needles everytime they poked at the jelly. They knew to touch him on the top, but those tentacles were long! We also listened to a band at Boston's on the Beach Saturday afternoon (by chance). Zach fell in love with the singer, Amber Leigh. She's been singing and playing the fiddle since 13 or so with her dad. She is beautiful and entertaining to watch, so Olivia was mesmerized too. Aunt Kim bought us a CD, so guess who has been listening to country music (even though Amber Leigh does great pop cover songs), no less than 14 times on Monday. When will this week end? Maybe I can 'lose' the CD. Nah, that would put Zach over the top. He has told everyone he sees about this "Kimberly.....no, no Amber Leigh" who is a rock star. It's good to know they pay attention and enjoy the places we go. A huge thanks to Aunt Kim for having us - yet again.

First born

A few days ago, Olivia and Zach hopped onto the scale to weigh themselves. It started out simple enough. Olivia weighs more than Zach; she IS 18 months older than him. Then, the kids move on to the height chart on our bathroom wall. Olivia is taller than Zach. You probably see where this is going. Over the weekend, we noticed that Zach was going through one of those (as most parents have experienced from time to time) a "rough time". I say it's hormones - hey, he's a growing boy! He's happy one minute, spitting mad the next and then the hysterical crying fit ensues. The rest of the day was bearable, but I knew there was a storm brewing.

As Olivia was getting ready for bed, Dave was flossing her teeth. I was reading to Zach; spending quality time with each kid since we have the luxury of Dave not traveling as much. Olivia pops into Zach's room in an excitement like no other. "Mom, I have new teeth!" Huh? I didn't know she had loose teeth and we do talk about that upcoming event often. It turns out, she has her 6 year molars coming in. Little did I know, they have 6 year molars..... for those of you with kids around this age. Olivia is a little over 5 years. She was so excited that she popped back into Zach's room to say "I'm SO excited; I cannot wait until school tomorrow so that I can tell all my friends!" Then, off she went to enjoy.

I immediately saw it coming..... Zach turns to me in a pout and says "Mom, why didn't you have me first? Why did you have to have Olivia first and me second?" Trying to explain this (to Zach, who gets everything) is a bit hard. I told him it was a game of chance. The egg that is there is chosen and then later on, another egg is chosen. If I have/had another baby, which is not in the plan, that baby would be younger than both Olivia and Zach. He thought on this a minute, but it still did not seem to quell his upset feelings. She's always bigger, stronger, taller, gets and will lose teeth before him (or will she?). I told him to wait it out until he is a teenager and things will work to his advantage. I love that my kids are close because they play so well together, but wow, I didn't see this one coming. Poor guy.