And the lights came on....

G is playing soccer this fall.

The first couple of games our little yellowjackets struggled to compete. Teams were running circles around us and our scoreless games were becoming the norm.

2 weeks ago, S had a little pregame pow-wow with G telling him it is okay to get aggressive and go after the ball. G was right in the action every play. He even scored our teams first goal of the year and was hoisted up in the air by his coach as surrounding parents cheered. It was a precious moment. I was a proud momma.

This brings us up to date to last nights game. It all clicked for G.  He was all over the ball and scored our teams 6 winning goals (but who is keeping count, right?).

Now should you choose to endure my soccer mom squeals and cheers, please do so by clicking on two of G's goal videos below:

She's terrific!

Allie earned the title of Terrific Kid this month at her school.  I am an especially proud momma being that she was chosen the first month of school again this year. 

Above Allie and the other terrific kids are having thier photo made for the local newspaper.  (I will do my best to get you grands copies.)



Her teacher says:

"Allie is a very sweet girl. She has a positive attitude and works diligently in class. I can count on Allie to complete her work and follow directions. Allie is also a responsible student and I can depend on her to make the right choice. She is a tender hearted girl and kind to everyone. Allie sets a good example for everyone. I am glad she is in our class this year."




So proud of you A! 

We treated our terrific kid to a dinner of her choice tonight.....Mexican! 







Northern Grands...this pic is for you. 

G played with them for about an hour.  Not making necklaces...but snakes and dragging them around the house. 

A dollar well spent! 

Hello World

It seems I forgot my password to blogger.....AGAIN!  (wink wink)



There is so much to share that I hardly know where to begin!!!!  Why not start with a few photos from today. 

I saw these cute little mustache/sunglasses/lips set at Target.  Couldn't pass them by.  I have a photoshoot tomorrow night and I'm thinking about taking them along as a little ice breaker for the couple.







The kids love to take videos of themselves on my phone.  They crack me up and wanted to share one with you. 

I hope to be back with more posts soon....hopefully in a more timely fashion.

Mr. Charming and other happenings

Just when I think it couldn't get better than hearing my little man tell me, "I love you much more better", G once again charms me and melts my heart with his latest saying:

"Mom, I just keep on lovin' you."

Back at ya little guy. 

 

Other happenings in our life include G starting soccer. 

He loves sports!  Any sport will do.



Our park summer outtings are gone and has been replaced with preschool for G, 1st grade for Miss A.   Both kids are loving all things school.



Car naps were taken this weekend coming home from AL.  We spent Labor Day weekend with my folks and S and I spent lots of time hanging out with my sweet grandma. 



Unexpected packages from the grands have arrived occupying the kids for hours today! 



And I LOVE these little gems I find on my phone of the kids taking self portraits. 

Lastly, G had his 4 year well visit today.  He is a healthy little guy and was SO BRAVE getting his 4 shots.  He barely teared up and fought them away.  Such a big guy....his after doc visit jelly beans were deserved! 

Back to School

This is our last week of summer break, and as we draw closer to the end of summer, I am reminded how precious time is with these two. 

This summer passed too quickly, and while I have heard other moms express their excitement over school starting, it makes me a little sad.



We have had many fun times together and I will miss them both during the day/mornings when they are at school. 

Our chalkboard has a countdown to school on it.  I am thankful that they are both very excited to get back to school. 



I know for sure G will miss having Allie around during the days.  They are such little buds and play well together.  It's funny, if we take them out someplace to play...they always stick together.


Have a great year at preschool G, and Miss A - I hope you have a wonderful year in first grade.

Happy Birthday Gabe

Before too much time gets away from me, I wanted to post some photos from our four year olds birthday party. 

G turned four on July 9 and we celebrated in pure kiddie style at "Hickory Dickory Dock"; complete with bumper cars, mini golf, arcades, playground, cake and friends.  He was one happy little four year old!

Above, as soon as we all began to sing "Happy Birthday to You", G immediately blows out the candles.  I guess he had a practice blow; we relit them for the end of the song.



Thank you to all of our  friends  who helped make this day so special for Gabe.



(Please note G's backwards shorts.  This is an everyday occurance)

One of G's highlights from his party was golfing with Ms. M.  These two like to go golfing together at home and had a pretty fierce game of putt putt going on! 

Happy Birthday to our handsome little man.

We love you much more better all day long to the moon and circus and back.

First lost tooth

It seems this week is all about Allie as she lost her first tooth this evening.

She was one determined little girl and wanted the tooth out today!

She wiggled and worked it to where it was just hanging on by the very front. I grabbed a napkin, got a good grip, and jerked it right out.

We are excited and anticipating a visit from the tooth fairy tonight and Allie is planning on staying up all night to meet her.

She wants to see if her theory of the tooth fairy is accurate - Allie believes the tooth fairy doesn't have any teeth of her own and glues on the ones she collects from children.

Breaking News: Piercing

Our Thursday evening breaking news:  Allie had her ears pierced. 

She sat in the piercing chair with her eyes closed tight as the first ear was pierced.  A tight hug from momma helped her get through the second ear. 

She was such a brave girl and she LOVES LOVES LOVES her newly pierced ears.  She was beautiful before, but I can tell they make her feel pretty. 

Proud of you Miss A for being such a tough little girl. 

Ballerina Girl

Ballerina Giiiirrrrl, you are so lovely....(if you now have this song in your head, you are welcome).



Miss A has been asking for the past 4 months to take ballet classes.

As a child I lasted an entire day of ballet and realized it wasn't for me. So I wanted to give the novelty of the idea enough time to wear off so maybe she would change her mind.

But, not so much.

 

She was very excited for her first class tonight.

She doesn't get overly hyper very often, but she could hardly control herself with excitement as the class was getting ready to start.



I am happy she loved it. I hope it lasts all year!

Tomorrow night we have a date planned at 6:00 for our special outing.  Stay tuned...

What's in G pants? Part 2

Thank you to my three participants of "What's in G's pants".

While all of your guesses were brilliant, they weren't quite what G had in mind this particular day.

The story continues with S and I nestled in our couch and our mischevious looking G standing in front of us with a bulging pull-up.


He looks at us, pulls open the package, and proceeds to.......







.......pelt us with nerf bullets until his pull-up is fully unloaded.

I love this little boy.


Thank you for the laugh buddy!




Moving on to his sweet sister. Miss A starts 1st grade in a few weeks, so we have been back to school shopping and yesterday took her in for a little haircut.

Above is her before.

 I am amazed how quickly her hair grows.



After.

This length was all her idea. She loves it and has been brushing her hair more than usual lately.

She asked if she could wear it down every day but Wed. and Sunday. Those days I can choose.

I love her!

Stay tuned this week for other breaking news that we anticipate to happen Thursday evening.

What's in G pants?

The other day S and I are sitting in the den and in walks a very mischevious looking G....with what looks to be a very saggy pull-up. He continues to walk over slowly and stops in front us.....pauses....and then pulls out ____________?????

Any guesses? You can do this!

More from WY

Thank you to all of our sweet friends and family who checked in on Stephen as he was recovering from pneumonia last week.
He took it easy last week rotating from the bed to couch and back to bed.  He is well rested, and back to normal, and ready to take on the work week.

 

Here is a little glimpse of us on our vacation before S got sick on me.





This pic was taken our first full day on the ranch.  We signed up for the "advanced" horseride.  I have no riding experience....hopped on my horse and they asked if we could "canter".  Heh????

After laughs from the wranglers as we practiced in the arena, they eventually took us out on our  6 hour horse back ride up to the top of a mountain.  This was the view from the top.



S fished this trip!  He hit the water within an hour upon arrival to the ranch.  The above photo is the Gros Ventre River that runs through the Goosewing Ranch. 



Line dancing night!  Yes, I got to show off my......one move....



Each cabin with the Goosewing Ranch comes with a Polaris Ranger.  You are free to take the rangers wherever you please all around the grounds.  This helped S find his fishing spots.

Pneumonia + Wife of the Year

S and I just got back from Jackson, WY celebrating our 10 year anniversary.

Wednesday into our trip, S starts complaining about not feeling well. That day we were heading out on our pack trip into the Gros Ventre Wilderness with night temps dipping into the mid 30s. The four hour horseride in was do-able, the 6 1/2 hour horseback ride out was brutal. We both were hanging on for dear life praying we didn't fall off and our horses trotted down the steep slopes. That next night after returning from the pack trip S started running a fever.

The wife of the year that I am says, "Babe, we are on vacation, I will give you one night to be a baby and then....get over it". Bless his heart if he didn't try to suck it up. We proceeded to spend the next 2 days on vacation going hard with not a complaint on his end.

Our flight was cancelled coming home and we got stuck in Chicago for another night. Our luggage was long gone when we were stuck in Chicago and S had to buy a long sleeve shirt in the airport to take the chill off of him.

I feel just awful! He went to the doc first thing when we returned to hear that he has pneumonia. Three shots and two rx's later he is still sick but slowly improving.

Keep S in your prayers this week. Doc told him no work and get lots of rest.

And sorry babe for not believing you. I will return my wife of the year award.

Beach pics

I had planned on sharing a ton of beach pics, but it seems we have needed to travel a little more this summer than we originally thought. So for now, this is going to have to do.

2012 Boardwalk photo

This is my 3rd year to take pics of the kids on this little boardwalk. Check out Boardwalk pics 2010 and Boardwalk pics 2011....its's amazing how much kids can grow in a year. 



It was a wonderful week in Gulf Shores last week of good old fashioned family fun in the sun. 


I was hoping G would have shed his swimmies by the end of the week, but he is making progress swimming.  He can swim to us, no problem, but has not mastered the art of taking a breathe and going back under.

More beach pics soon...

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