Happy Birthday Grandma Joan and Grandma Alice!

Here's a shout out to two lovely women who celebrated birthdays this week, my mom and grandma. Check out the picture of Joan with 4 of her grandkids. She looks 40!!

Our Summer Vacation Adventure Part II

Brady, Brooke and Boone at the Air and Space Museum. Probably the best museum for young kids. They loved it!
Styling and Profiling in DC in front of really cool planet exhibits.
Our NC Congressman Mel Watt. He's a Democrat, I'm Independent and Pam is a Republican. I saw her writing in the guest book for about five minutes. Pam had a wild look on her face as she wrote. I think it had to do with high taxes. Go Pam!!


The second leg of our trip consisted of 4 fun filled days in Washington DC! Here are the highlights:

* Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum was the big hit of the week for our kids. They had the most interactive and fun play area, but extremely top secret that we couldn't even take ANY pictures! They had guards walking around to make sure everyone was following the rules about cameras. So all we have is our memory to remind us of the "make a muppet face" wall, "be a muppet" stage with puppets and a video screen to see yourself, big muppet dolls to play with, and a cartoon creative area where you fill out your own storyboard with their art supplies. VERY fun and I highly recommend, it's on display through October 2008.

* The Washington Zoo was just a 2 metro train rides away and another adventure day for the kids to see all the animals, take pictures, meet their new friends Alex and Joshua, and eat ice cream and other treats. They even had a cockroach display, I'm not even kidding!

* Speaking of the metro, that in itself was a highlight. Each morning we would leave the hotel around 9 am, walk about 3/4 mile to the metro station, buy our tickets and hop on. The kids absolutely LOVED it! It was also a nice break for us not to drive for 3 days straight. I can't believe how much walking we did - on Wednesday, George and I estimated that we walked for about 9 miles! The kids too!! It was 95 degrees! We would get back to the hotel each day around 5:30 exhausted, and the kids would sit and rest for about 3 minutes, before jumping up and yelling "we're ready for the pool now!!" George and I would take turns watching them swim like crazy while the other one rested. : )

* Of course it was exciting to go to the White House, and all the other monuments and museums. We saw the Natural History Museum, the Air & Space Museum, the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Iwo Jima Memorial (right across the street from our hotel), Arlington National Cemetery, the Marine Corps Museum (in Quantico), the Marines Tuesday night evening parade and silent drill team, a protest parade about Christian Egyptians being persecuted outside the White House, and we took our picture with our House representative, Mel Watt.

* One night, my cousin Gregg and his wife Sarah took us out to dinner in a cute area of Arlington. They live and work in the DC area and gave us lots of hints about where to go and what to see. It was so great to see them and catch up on everything that's going on in all our lives. Our big impression when we left dinner: they're so smart! Their probable impression when they left dinner: they're so loud!

* We talked to a man who works at the Treasury Department. George thanked him for our $2400 check we received 2 weeks ago. I told him to thank President Bush for us for the rebate. Then I told him we were big supporters of a flat tax rate for all incomes. He said it would probably never pass. I also told him that I was in support for abolishing social security. He said, "Oh you mean that you want to privatize the accounts where the funds go?" I said, "No, I want the whole program scrapped and abolished." At that point he sort of tilted his head and laughed. Don't worry Mom and Dad, he laughed because he knows it will never happen and I KNOW you both turn 62 this year, I'm excited for you!

Our Summer Vacation Adventure Part 1

I have to blog about our vacation in parts because there's just too much to write about all at once : )

Our first leg was a reunion trip to Richmond VA! We were so excited to catch up with many of our old friends from the good ole days at Franklin Street Church and living in the apartment building (aka the fishbowl).

Thank you Rebekah and girls for hosting us for the weekend! You are the epitome of hospitality.

We did a tour of the University of Richmond, it looks sooo different from when I was there in the early 90's. They have upgraded even more! We spent the afternoon at the pool with the Kleinschusters and the DeRocos and Heather (new friend) and Brooke can't stop talking about her daughter Emily and she was sad she couldn't send Emily a postcard because I don't have their address, or last name :)

So here is my update on everyone, I'll call it an

ODE TO OLD FRIENDS

Rebekah - you are such a great example of a WOW mom! 5 girls, all so young, and you make it look sooo easy. You inspire me!

Dana - Hanging out with you is always fun, it felt just like when we were roomies, like not a day had passed. You are very easy to talk to and a great friend!

Dan - okay, I always knew you were funny, but now you are raising a mini Dan who is a crack up at only 4 yrs old.

Heather - How was I not surprised when you stood up at church to make announcements about the children's ministry. Of course you're in charge, you always do such an amazing job and it is evident that you strive for excellence. Congrats on #2!!

Ray - Thank you for your servant's heart of staying to help George with the kids so the moms could have lunch. And right after preaching!

Lisa - you are as joyful and funny as ever, and oh so stylish!

Bevin - You look exactly the same age as when we were roomies 11 years ago! And you are still thoughtful and caring as I remember.

Tom - You still have such a great sense of humor, tell Jen I missed seeing her! I'm sorry George got you off schedule :)

Jen W. - What a blast to spend time with you for a whole day! Your comment is still making me laugh "ok there are the bobsey twins". And I think you're a great mom to your boys, they are soo sweet!

Jeff W. - Thanks for driving so far to meet us, we were so glad you came! It wasn't Wallyworld after all!

Rachel - My dear friend, it was so good to see you, you look amazing, a blond bombshell! Let me know when you're up for another trip to CA, I think I need it!

Charleston 2008

What a great vacation we had visiting with Grandma Mary and our friends at Kiawah Island. Here are some highlights:

* We went to Frankie's Fun Park one night (reminds me of the date night in Karate Kid). The kids wanted to do bumper boats, so I think we'll be driving around in a bumper boat bumping each other, how fun! As Brooke and I are climbing in (girls vs boys), Brooke says "I get to work the shooter!". I'm thinking "shooter?" Well needless to say there was a gun, more like a hose, on each bumper boat that the boys proceeded to DRENCH me with. They were relentless and I'm pretty sure that George had something to do with that : ) I was in my clothes, all ready for our fun evening, and when we got off I looked worse than a drowned rat. 100% completely soaked. This girl in the bathroom just stared at me looking very concerned and asked "What happened to you!?" We also played mini golf that night, batting cages, monster big super slide, and video games. But of course the kids favorite part was the bumper boats!

* We spent 3 days at the beach and the boys especially worked on their boogie boarding skiils. Brennan and I spent almost 1 hour just kicking a mini soccer ball back and forth in the surf, he absolutely loved it! Brooke was more into digging in the sand, laying on her towel and reading a book.

* Grandma Mary, George and the kids spent a great afternoon at the Charleston Aquarium and a nice dinner out, Grandma's treat! The kids loved the seahorses the best, although George said that Boone was just wide eyed at everything and kept saying "oh my goodness, look at that big fish!"

* I had all four kids at the neighborhood pool one afternoon and we just took over! George was out visiting some of his customers in the Charleston area. We bought a new "Cyclone" wheel pool toy which looks like a giant hamster wheel that the kids stand in and try to run on without falling in the water. That and also 2 new Spiderman water shooters were the hit of the day.

* Spending time at the beach in Kiawah with our friends was really fun, and we had an amazing group date out at the Peninsula Grill in Charleston together which was honestly the best restaurant I've ever been to. It was a real treat to have lobster and shrimp and spend time with our best friends.

Check out the pictures!!

cash money

No, not real money, just a cute story about the boys. They have been playing a lot of basketball in the driveway lately, they especially love playing HORSE. When playing with George, they have picked up the phrase "cash money" like when they make a shot they say "now that is cash money". Now even Boone says it. He was at the pool today jumping in and when he would surface he would look for me and yell, "now that is cash money!" People were staring at him trying to figure out what he was doing - it was so funny.

They use the phrase constantly, about everything from a sandwich at lunch to playing in the bathtub. And I don't really know if that is using it correctly, is it only supposed to be in reference to basketball? I'm not sure so I will try to find out.

A Message From Brady

The other day I found a piece of paper taped to Brady's bedroom door with a message on it. Now he can't really read yet and so here's what it said, see if you can figure it out:

NO Un Iz ALD In BrADY roM uIesp For Boooone !

After studying it for a minute or so, I couldn't be sure what he was trying to say, so I asked him. The message says:

No one is allowed in Brady's room except for Boone!

The funny part is that it's Boone's room too. They share it. When I asked him how was I supposed to come in and read to him at night and tuck him in, he explained "Nooo Mommy, I mean Brooke can't walk in without knocking first". So really he means that everybody is welcome except that Brooke needs to knock first.

Interesting fact: he hung the sign up a couple of days after Brooke hung up a sign on her door stating NO BOYS ALLOWED.

I love all these signs and messages, they are so cute to me!

Month of May Totally Random Updates

Well we're on vacation now so I actually have time to update our blog!!


* Brady has graduated preschool and is ready for kindergarten! We are so proud of him, he looked so handsome and dapper as he walked with his class wearing his graduation cap and singing on stage during the ceremony. Now he is focusing his daily energy on: basketball in the driveway, bike riding, playing on the new gymnastics bar that daddy installed in the backyard, t-ball practice and games, swim lessons and going to the pool. Just the way summer should be.

* Boone was also singing on stage for the end of year preschool ceremony and it was so cute! One of their songs was "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do..." Well of course Boone shouted it at the top of his lungs and pointed out to the crowd and it was so adorable, he LOVED being the center of attention. (His class was only 6 children and several weren't having any part of the singing/hand motions.) At the end, he just yelled out "THERE'S NOTHING MY GOD CANNOT DO FOR YOU!!!" and kept his arm reaching out to the audience pointing at them for about a minute after the song was over. He had this super intense look on his face, he was so serious and wanted people to know the truth!

* Brooke has finished second grade with a near perfect report card and we are so proud of her! She received a notice in the mail last week letting her know who her teacher is for next year. Immediately after opening it, she called 20 people from her class to ask them which teacher they got. She left a whole bunch of messages. It was hilarious. One girl told her that she didn't know because they hadn't gotten the mail yet - Brooke told her that she would wait on the phone while she went to the mailbox, then her friend said, "I'm not going outside, it's raining", to which Brooke replied, "well just put your shoes on and go get your mail! It's important!" Apparently it's more important to some people than others. :)

* My friend Jessica had a link on her blog about a carbon footprint calculator http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx which is something about how much energy we use up, etc. I love internet calculators, so I took it. I am 24 tons which is above average for the US (not good). But I don't even think that's right because it doesn't ask about diapers and we have been loading up landfills with diapers nonstop since Jan 2000. Just for this trip alone I packed a whole duffel bag with regular diapers, pull-ups, and swim diapers. And 2 tubs of baby wipes. I think they should take that into account; I bet my footprint is actually higher. But I answered really good on the second hand clothes and furniture/appliance questions. I don't think we have one piece of furniture in our whole house that we acquired when it was brand new. Ok, just our kitchen table. We love hand me downs. (thanks moms and dads and grandmas and The Junior League!!)

* Speaking of calculators: 2 of my other favorite calculators are finding out your real age. http://www.realage.com and finding out your love language. http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/30sec.html#love Try them out! I love any website that tells me I'm really 31!

* Speaking of hand me downs, this is a cool tidbit of info. About 5 years ago, we wanted a kids table and chairs for the playroom and so we looked on the Give and Take list from Central Church of God (all free). And we were given an awesome set from another member there which we still use today. The member? Dell Curry, well known basketball player with a really well known son now, Stephen Curry who played in the recent NCAA tournament for Davidson. So our kids color on the same table that little Stephen used. Isn't that cool? That is, if you follow basketball and have a clue what I'm writing about; I didn't really get it until George explained it to me. The short of it: they are a great Christian family, very generous, very good at basketball and have nice taste in tables.

* For those of you who watch "The Office" like me, were you as disappointed in the season finale and lack of proposal of Jim and Pam? I mean I know it's just a tv show, but c'mon!!!

* About a week ago, just for fun, we took the kids and went to a HUGE RV sales center by the Speedway and checked out about 25 RV's and campers. The kids LOVED it. They tried out bunk beds, were playing house, looking in closets, I can't tell you how much fun they had. They want us to live in an RV now permanently. Maybe we'll rent one for a week someday, but I don't think we'll be buying. One that the kids loved was $87,000! I told the salesman, I can't believe it's so expensive! and he showed me another one that was $400,000! Plasma TV's, hot tubs, the whole nine yards. You really have to see it to believe it. But if you're looking to entertain your little ones for a couple of hours for free, this might be it! (Note: for all you Northerners reading, an RV is a recreational vehicle that is like a little home that you can drive. Think "Meet the Parents #2.)

* ok i'm really tired now so I'll add more this week - remember I'm on vacation and loaded with time :)