That little munchkin!

Olivia and Zach play together so well and have done so for the past year or more. Olivia was playing with playdoh a few day ago. She likes for her animals (horses, dinosaurs, lizards) to make feet print in the playdoh. Out of the blue, Zach walks up.... you can tell he was a bit bored... and says "Oli, what the heck are you doing?". His inflection was perfect and he knew he was being a funny guy. Oh, he's such a smarty pants! It was one of those moments where I stepped back to laugh and realize how funny these two little beings really are! As Olivia would say, "Laugh Mommy, it's funny"! She keeps me in check!

Joys of Childhood

Fall days are an absolute dream. Olivia and Zach took the afternoon to enjoy the good, old backyard and play. It wasn't "mommy, let's go to Kangazoom" or anywhere else. It was an afternoon of getting the slip-n-slide out for Olivia and her new horses, sidewalk chalk, sunning ourselves, reading and playing. Olivia figured out that she likes Granny Smith apples over her once favorite Washington red apples, so she helped herself to one. Zach used his imagination to play in the dirt/pinestraw and visit me every 15 mintutes to read out of his book (oh, and give me a hug). What's not to love about our afternoon? Of course, when I threw the frisbee and hit Zach in the nose, all the happiness ended. But hey, it was great while it lasted. That boy has great coordination! He throws a frisbee better than most!

Fall = Football

Fall is a wonderful time in the South. We love college football and it loves us! If we must leave the laid back lake lifestyle and fall into a regular schedule that preschool dictates, then GA Tech football is a nice reward. It worked out for my friends, Amy and Liz and their husbands, to tailgate and go to the game with us this Saturday. Again, we had amazing weather, babysitters cooperated and schedules aligned. It's rare for all of this to happen! Here's to tailgating....

Saturday was a busy day for us; our neighbor's youngest daughter turned two. They had a petting zoo in their backyard. Olivia was in heaven. Zach attached himself to the sheep and kept saying "feel how soft she is". Oh, how sweet they are! Olivia was so gentle with the animals. This is somewhat shocking after her incident with a cat in the neighborhood last week. She tied the poor cat up with a jump rope - note, not by the neck, but it's hips, so as to not choke the cat, then tied the other end to our back door so she could go use the bathroom. She didn't want him to leave! After several hours of being toted around, tied (gently) and examined, the cat finally scratched her and bit her.... TWICE! Enough already, leave the cat alone! So, this time, she was much more gentle with the animals.

We finished the day off with a Braves game. It was Porsche Family Day, so we enjoyed the remainder of the evening with the Porsche group. Needless to say, Sunday was boring compared to a day like this!

Speaking of Sunday, our kids (especially Zach) must get the 'days of the week' thing. After dinner tonight - Sunday - he asked Dave if it was time to watch the Simpsons. This is something the kids do with Dave - not me, so Dave was impressed. He asked Zach what day it was and Zach (of course, being a little smarty pants) said "It's Sunday - time for the Simpson's, Dad". Ahh, that kid! I read books to them, Dave watches football and the Simpson's with them.... you get the picture.

Olivia's a whole handful old.....Five!

There is nothing like a monumental birthday of your oldest child to make you stand up and take notice. Olivia turned 5 on Thursday, September 18th. The time leading up to this birthday was fabulous. She was so excited and very proud that she was actually turning 5. So excited, that she tore pictures (neatly) of animal sets out of the Toys R Us catalog and taped to the back of her door. She said she "likes to wake up to them". Well, you guessed it, she recieved so many beautiful animal toys, books, minature animals for her birthday and they are all loved. With those books come.... reading! I am so excited that she is finally showing promise in this area. I love to read and I, of course, want my kids to love it as much as I do.

Ariel came to visit and entertained us for Olivia's party. The girls were amazed with Ariel and the boys were in love! You can't beat a beautiful day with friends and family to celebrate your little girl turning five!

Summer at the Lake

Our family disappeared this summer. We had good reason; our first summer at our new lake house. We were totally disconnected from technology (for the most part) and enjoyed every minute of it. The only things we thought about were frogs, butterflies, lizards, fish, boating and enjoying our friends. The beaches provided great entertainment and wildlife....well, maybe the snakes were not really the fun part, but we endured. Thanks to everyone that made our summer wonderful! Here are a few pictures to help us remember....

Finally....a Lake House!

Well, we've been working on it one way or another for the past 2 1/2 years, so we finally found "the lake house". We closed on a place on Lake Martin, close to Auburn, AL on Friday. I cannot express how excited we are! We've wanted a lake place for us to relax and enjoy the water (especially Dave, the boat lover that he is), but we also wanted to have a place for the kids - to create memories. I hope this lake house serves us well..... Good times, here we come. We have memories to make.

Dave also searched and searched for a boat and found the perfect one. It's a 2003 Cobalt, 24' and it's a nice one. I have a feeling Zach may be driving more than Daddy. Zach loves to be the captain, so I cannot wait to see how this summer turns out! Olivia just wants to catch lizards and frogs, hmmm, imagine that! She's very excited to see the wildlife this place has to offer. We have plans to take our bug catcher and all the essential tools for the insects. They have their fishing poles ready as well.

Dave and I, on the other hand, are furiously working in the free time that we have (don't have) to figure out furniture, moving a dock, and all the other goodies wrapped up in home ownership. Luckily, Dave is home for most of May, so at least he will not be jetsetting off to Europe until June. Unfortunately, he will be traveling most of June, so we'll have to take plenty of pictures for him.

We are very, very happy and grateful for our new place. We cannot wait to enjoy it!

Doughnup Thursdays....

Like any parent that bribes, threatens, and does whatever it takes to make their kids behave, I started (or maybe it was Olivia) the tradition of getting a Dunkin Donut on Thursday on the way home from preschool. Yes, great nutrition, so how can I say no :-) It wasn't really about the bribing, it was more on rewarding and letting me be the 'good guy' for a change. Hopefully the kids will remember "Doughnut Thursdays" or as both of my children pronounce it "dough-NUPs" just like "peanuPs". So, every Thursday, after they earn their allowance for the week, they buy a strawberry frosted with sprinkles on it! Don't forget the sprinkles! Today, the first day Zach broke out of Olivia's mold, he got a powdered doughnut. Maybe becuase I was finally forced to take them inside and he saw the vast array of choices ahead of him. He changed his mind 3 times before he got the powdered goodness. Of course, we stayed inside for the eating of that one! I love doughnut Thursdays... not because I get to eat one (which I do not since they do not make them sans gluten..) but it's the joy on the kids faces and it signals the end of the regular school week for us. Ahh, freedom to have a fun Friday! The simple pleasures in childhood.