My Kidos

Here's just a quick few shots I thought were cute enough to share with ya. We're heading out on an adventure to Atlanta Motor Speedway tomorrow for the ATL Pit Tour Club annual Picnic. Then on Monday we head to the beach so not sure if I'll be able to post before we get back. I hope to get up picture of CP's last day of school soon too. We'll see.

Here is the beginning of what's to come and I dread it already. It's really cute now but it won't be 10 years from now when all my babies are walking around with phones stuck to their heads or better yet texting all the time. Who knows what will have developed by then. For now it's cute. Clara Paige was calling her best school buddy, Abbey. They were too cute because 6 year olds really don't have a lot to talk about on the phone.

And I threw this one in because it's so cute. I plan on taking another picture just like this when they are all teenagers. Of coarse this is my girlies in the Jeep with our precious neighbors Zack and Nicholas.
What a crew they are! I love 'em all!!

My New Toy!!

Well, in case you didn't already know, I have a new toy. For quite a while I've wanted a Jeep Wrangler. I'd say I've had this itch for around 10 years. I'm not sure what it was that made me love them so much. I've known a few people who had them and decided they were cool.

I really haven't talked about it much in the last several years because the idea of ever owning one went down on the list of priorities when babies started into the picture. When Clara Paige came along I realized a Jeep was not the safest place for a baby. And then when the twins bounced into the scene my dream melted I suppose. Can't you see us bee-bopping down the road with 3 car seats smushed into a Jeep?? Not very practical or possible.

Anyway, over the years we collected an old Ford Explorer. It was an excellent "extra" vehicle and would pull Al's trailer. A month or two ago, while Alex was recovering from the "accident" we came up with the idea to sell the Explorer and look for a Jeep. And below is what we ended up with (after much pain and suffering but that's another story for another day!!) Let's just say I LOVE MY JEEP! Alex really took it upon himself to find one that I would love (again there's a story there but I'll refrain)! He really did good finding one just like the ones that always caught my eye as my favorites. He was determined to get one for me. Some might think he was buying me off as he jokes but he was very sincere in letting me know that I had been through a lot in this past year and he wanted to get something for me that I had always wanted and that made me happy. Don't get me wrong - material things do not make me happy! However, the thought and love that goes into him thinking of me first was as awesome feeling. My girls love it and we as a family can all enjoy it as our little fun vehicle. I'm sure there will be lots of memories made with the Jeep involved.

Thanks honey for loving me so much!!

We took it up to the empty lots in our neighborhood for this photo shoot. If you look closely you can see my sweet fellow Jeepsters in the back seat.
Here's a close up of my new little Jeep fans. They love it just like their momma.

One more shot before I leave ya. Oh yeah, Al and I do have plans to do some improvements on it. It will be our project to take on together. We've already replaced the bumpers but that was after this picture was taken. I'll post pictures as we progress so you can see the transformation. You see, I like rough and tumble Jeeps. There'll be no Girly Jeep for me. I want it to look tough. I know, its a contradiction in my personality but hey, I have lots of layers!!

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz

Not sure this is spot on with my real parenting style but it was fun to take!!

T-Mobile Mom to Mom Quiz: "

Take the fun, Mom to Mom quiz and discover your parenting style.

"

A Girl & Her Dog

So, I captured some cute moments the other day between Gracie and our Kelsey dog. Since Clara Paige was born Kelsey has always been a good dog to our girls. Now, she doesn't just absolutely adore them b/c well, she was our first baby. As you can imagine she was demoted as the #1 child once babies came into the picture so she does harbor some resentment deep down inside. However, she tolerates our girls just fine.

So, a couple of days ago Gracie wanted to brush Kel. It sounded like a good idea to me b/c I've never seen our dalmatian shed as much as she has this year. Kelsey generally likes to be brushed. She just doesn't like being still for it. Below is how it all went down:

Chasing Kelsey all over the deck while trying to brush her. Kelsey wandering in the house, out of the house, into the yard then back onto the deck for some more brushing time.

Bonding begins. Kelsey gave up and plopped down so Grace could give her a good brush down. She decided this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Ahhh, they love each other. The dog is brushed and the child is happy. Priceless!

Maybe I'll go see if Gracie wants to brush her right now.

Next up: My New Jeep! Stay tuned.

Let's Play Some Catch Up!!

Ok since I've neglected my poor friend Blogger lately, let's do some catching up so I can get on with my life already and quit feeling guilty! heehee.

This was taken Mother's Day. It was a nice and relaxing day. Unfortunately My Hubbs had to work that day so it was a girls day. Me and my mom and the girlies took a trip out to see my Granny (the matriarch of my mom's side of the family)!! To know Granny is to love her. She's the best! Sorry I didn't get any pictures. The one above was all we captured. I wanted one of me and mom and the girls but the rain said otherwise!! It showed up like seconds after this picture was snapped.

** My brother was there for lunch so I guess it wasn't an ALL girls day!! Sorry Jonathan. Didn't mean to leave ya out. Love ya.

Next up is a quick picture of us and our dear friend Ms. Chanda (as my girls call her). Brad and Chanda Tomlin are precious friends of ours that we met while in Tuscaloosa. They were there for us in so many ways and we have tons of memories together. You might not believe this but as much as we LOVE the Tomlins, Chanda is one of the BIGGEST Bama fans you will meet. And we were really tight friends. Seriously!!
Anyway, Mr. Brad and Ms. Chanda are expecting their first sweet baby girl in just the next few weeks!! This pic was from her baby shower in Tuscaloosa. CP and I trekked down there for the event. It was so special to see Chanda and all our Ttown buddies that we miss so very much.
We can't wait to meet sweet little Miss Henley Tomlin once she arrives.

And finally, I went with some work buddies to Sips N Strokes on Monday night. I'd heard all about this experience but never been to one. This location was on Hwy 280 and once we FOUND it we had a blast. Just for anyone out there that might try to venture out to this particular location - "Sips N Strokes" is NOT on the outside of the building. We did NOT know this bit of information so needless to say we were LATE! The instructor even nick-named us the Slackers in the Back. Ha! Anyway, I do recommend this adventure to any girls (or guys willing) out there that need a night out! I noticed lots of friends, moms and daughters and of coarse co-workers. So, above is my masterpiece. It turned out pretty good considering all the laughter and giggling that was going on in our little corner of the room!!

More to come soon!!

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Let me preface with this - My girls have kinda pack peddled on their fear of storms lately since we have had so many come through our area. Therefore, Maggie does not like us to watch the weather or even the News for that matter these days. And she lets us know it.

Mom was watching the "News" this morning and Maggie promptly tells her "I don't like watching that, it scares me!" She was referring to the weather particularly but with everything that's going on in and around our country these days I can't say I blame her. I'm a little scared too my little one!

Maybe it's a good time to be hitting our knees with some heartfelt prayers four the Good Ole - Red White and Blue. I think we need God on our side these days!!

Have a great day everyone!

I know it's been a week!!!

I have not abandoned my blogging duties. I'm just on a little unintentional hiatus I suppose. Ever feel like not much is going on in your life but really there's a ton of stuff but it just doesn't make it to the blog?? That's how I feel lately. But I'll get back with ya soon. Promise!!

Mothers

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." ~Sophia Loren, Women and Beauty

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Mother's Day. I know I did. Honoring and respecting one's mother is one of the best and cherished things a child can do.

May 5th, 1949

That was a good day! Some of you may know what it was. Some of you may be wondering what kind of extra special Cinco de Mayo was that? But for me and my family it was the day one of the best men, husbands, fathers, and pappys was given to this Earth. Yes, there are tears running while I write this but that only means that I miss him terribly. If it weren't for that day 60 years ago, my mom wouldn't have met him, me and my brother wouldn't be here and neither would my sweet girls. He has 3 of the most precious legacies. That I do know personally. I don't have time to write all the things going through my heart today. I wish I did but I just wanted you to know so I could share my birthday wishes to my Dad with you and all the world. It's a strange thing this May 5th, 2009. I feel like I should be picking up the phone to call him to say "Happy Birthday Dad." I feel like I should be doing something to honor him. Maybe somehow me and mom will come up with something by the end of the day. I knew it was coming and I knew it would be hard but maybe I didn't know it would be this hard. However, I want my dad's birthday and my dad's memories to be something to celebrate b/c he was such an extraordinary person. He was a father, brother, neighbor, pappy, husband and a friend. He was a good man.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Hope you are having a great Cinco de Mayo up there.

PS-Also, you know I'm a music lover and that I get from dad. So, my plan was to put some of daddy's favorite bands on my music player for today.

***Hey, I finally got the music to work. Some of these might not have been his favorites but I certainly remember him singing them to me when I was a little girl.***

I'm going to leave them up for a while so enjoy especially if this is your kind of music!

More from the Mtn.

To finish up our journey to Stone Mtn, Georgia I've posted several more pictures for your enjoyment. BUT first, I know you guys are all so great about being my prayer army so I have a request for you today. My bestest friend (other than Alex) in the whole world as you should know by now is Rachel Dodson. Her mom, Kay Miller was admitted into the hospital this past Saturday. She is in essence like a second mom to me. I've known her as long as I can remember and she is one of my mom's very closest friends! The easiest way to put it is that she has a severe hernia and a bad infection right now that are making her sick. If you don't mind, please add her to your prayer list. I'll keep you updated.

Now on to more Mountain antics.....

There's a pretty decent mini-golf course there so we made an attempt to play. With 3 little ones who are very limited in their golf skills, 18 holes is a long game of mini-golf. Of coarse, not being the competitive one in the family I didn't care if we followed the "rules" or not. We skipped at least one hole. Keeping score was a joke. And one time Gracie had to climb down into the rock pit to get my ball b/c I'm apparently not that good at it either!

Let's just say that Tiger Woods talent, we Ain't got!

They have a train that goes all the way around the mountain. I think, if I remember correctly, it's about 5 miles all the way around it. It's a little bumpy but a fun ride.

And we couldn't pass up the Kodak moment from the front of our Hotel. It's such a pretty place with amazing scenery and full of Southern elegance.

The Stone Mountain Inn has been around a long time but it's still very nice and has a wonderful area in the middle where the swimming pool is. You can see part of it from this picture of me and my girls.

There is a barn on one side of the park where kids can play with air guns and such that shoot these soft rubber balls. We didn't get into that but the bottom level had activities for the smaller kidos. This was the girls favorite part. They could put the balls into a vacuum that would suck it up and then blow them back out over the top. It was a pretty cute idea.

And here is Captain Bob! He was our guide on The Duck. If ya don't know what a Duck is then there's a picture below. It is an amphibious vehicle the military use that the folks at Stone Mountain have acquired a few of. They take people on a tour of the park and then onto the lake straight from the land to the water. It is very unique and lots of fun, especially if you get Captain Bob. He is hilarious and my girls laughed with and at him the whole time!

AND here's Captain Hicks herself. She actually got to drive the Duck all by herself on the water while Captain Bob told us silly stories and some actual facts about the park.

Here's a not-so-good picture of The Duck but you can get the idea!

And Finally.... the trip home! Can you tell we wore them out?? Lots of Fun, Lots of Laughs and Lots of Memories!!

That Sunday we came home was exactly to the day, six months from the worst day of my life (the day my dad passed away). I'm so glad we took this trip. He would have loved it and would have been glad we got away and enjoyed ourselves!

Hurt Feelings.....

Yes, I have more Stone Mtn. pics for you but I had to post this before I forget it. Hurt Feelings is the title of this post b/c well, that happens a lot around here with 3 little girls and all the drama that comes with that territory. Anyway, last night CP and Gracie apparently bruised the all-too- tender feelings of Miss Maggie. I noticed she had stormed into my bedroom crying and closed the door. Within a few minutes Mags was in my lap to be sure I had seen her tears of distress. Here's the conversation that followed:
Me- "What's wrong with my Maggie?"
Maggie - (sobbing for affect) "My sisters hurt my feelings?"
Me- (Playing into the drama of it all)"Well which feeling did they hurt this time?"
Maggie- "The Second One!"
Me- laughter!!!!

Did you know that feelings were numbered?? Me either, but they apparently are and they certainly are fragile around this house. Wonder which feeling will be the next casualty? Will it be the 3rd feeling or maybe the 1st one. Who knows!!?

Stone Mountain, GA!

We took our little excursion to Stone Mountain, GA last weekend and it was lots of fun. It's not a Disney World or anything but my girls enjoyed it so much. For me (and I think Mom too) it was just enough for the girls to be entertained and laid back enough we got a little bit of a re-charge while there. Unlike some of our family trips we've made in the past this one was with-out any major catastrophes or acts of nature! Sit back and enjoy our trip as I take you through it with me....

Here is a picture of the Mountain of Pure Granite (the largest in the world I'm told) with it's amazing and magnificent carving of the Southern Generals on it. I would tell you who they are but I forgot. I do know the middle one is Robert E. Lee. You can't tell from this picture but that carving is very old and unbelievably large. It took the men that carved it a very long time to do it. It was going to have much more to it but it was never finished. Mom and I stood looking at it and wondering how people can look at such wonders and not believe in a God! I remember coming here when I was younger and being amazed by it then too! Its worth the trip just to see it.

Of coarse one of their most favorite things was the swimming pool. They probably only stayed 30 minutes or so but were tickled to get to "swim" for the first time this year. They were very brave little boogers too b/c they walked all the way down to the actual pool floor at 3 ft. That's a first for them. They were so proud and well and so was mommy even if it was a small feat.

Here we are waiting for the Lazer Light Show Spectacular! Most of us southerners are familiar with this show but if you aren't its worth the trip. They take lazers and show them up on the mountain to make moving pictures with some fireworks thrown in too. The girls favorite part was sponsored by Chick Fil A. They took the cows from the commercials and made them up like High School Musical characters. My favorite part was the PATRIOTIC part where they outline the famous generals and make them move and proceed to a very touching American tribute! Lots of folks in this country might benefit from it!
Here's Nana and her Mags huggin on each other before the "Spectacular." The girls were so good waiting to see the show I must add. They say it starts at 7:30 but well it really doesn't start until the sun goes completely down.

Here are my girlies with their glow sticks right before the sun went down. They LOVED playing with their glowing little sticks of fun. Well worth the stop to the Dollar Store Nana made!

Here's a sweet picture of my girls sitting in front of the Stone Mountain Inn where we stayed. It was so nice and very convenient.
Well, that's all for now but I have more to post and more pictures from our trip. Stay tuned......