DLNC-Project 365

211/365 – Ten years already?

2009-09-27T21:22:00.001-04:00

It is so hard to believe, but Noah turned TEN years old today! Ten years ago, I saw that adorable face for the first time. I had no idea how fast time would fly. I had no idea how incredibly smart, silly, handsome, loving, and fun he would be. I had no idea that the love I felt for him that day, as overwhelming as it was, was only the tip of the iceberg. TEN YEARS!

As is our usual family birthday plan, we let Noah pick the spot for his birthday dinner and he picked Chili’s. We had a great dinner and then went to Best Buy and bought the only gift that he asked for…Guitar Hero Metallica.

We love you, Noah!

208/365 – Neighbors

2009-09-22T20:59:00.001-04:00

Last year when our neighbors moved they invited us over to get some of the meat out of their freezer so that it wouldn’t go to waste. While we were there they told us to take this plant too, as they didn’t think it would live through the long drive. It has been almost a year since they left and this is the first time that the plant has bloomed since we have had it. It was a nice reminder of our kind neighbors.

205/365 – Hosting a Playdate

2009-09-22T20:50:00.001-04:00

We have a good friend that was in the hospital and they were needing someone to keep their kids for a few hours for Mrs. Friend to be able to be with Mr. Friend for the day. We invited C & R over to play with us for the day and Cooper had a great time playing with C. They swam in the pool and played cars and trucks most of the afternoon.

204/365 – End of Summer Party

2009-09-22T20:21:00.001-04:00

Today the homeschool groups in our area were having an End of Summer party at the jump party shop. They had the inflatables inside to jump on and then later they set up the water slide outside. We were there for over 3 hours and it was a really fun day.

200/365 – Getting in Touch with Nature

2009-09-15T00:32:00.001-04:00

After spending another week with Dwight out-of-town, the kids and I were really tired of sitting in the house alone. We decided to take a Sunday afternoon field trip and ended up at wildlife trail in Athens. The weather was so nice and we were able to walk around for an hour or so to see all of the animals they had there and then follow that up with some playtime at the adjoining park. I let the boys pick dinner (and of course, even though we were away from home and could eat anywhere, they picked McDonald’s) and then we started the drive back home. It was a fun day and really helped to pass the time until Daddy was back home again.

195/365 – Trip to the ER

2009-09-07T17:34:00.001-04:00

Dwight has barely made it back home and we already have a situation. Today Noah dared Cooper to lick a button cell battery that he took out of his book light. Well, you can imagine what happened…he swallowed it. Unfortunately a battery is not something that is good to swallow, so we were off to the ER. The hospital contacted the National Button Cell Battery Hotline (apparently this happens A LOT every year) and once the xray confirmed that the battery had made it to his stomach ok we were sent home to wait for its reappearance. Thankfully everything was ok and Cooper learned an important lesson about putting things in your mouth.

193/365 - Dragonfly

2009-09-07T17:25:00.001-04:00

This beautiful dragonfly was on the bushes in the front yard this afternoon.

191/365 – Our Day with Lynne

2009-09-07T16:50:00.001-04:00

We arrived at Lynne’s house last night and had dinner with them. It was so great to spend some time with Lynne. We haven’t seen her in a couple of years and had never been to her *new* house (she’s been there about 5 years, so technically not so new anymore, LOL). The boys were really excited to have more room to run around, but since it had rained all evening it didn’t turn out quite as they hoped so they made themselves at home in the great room while Lynne and I caught up. Jessica got home from her college class around 10:30 so she stayed up with all of us while we talked and the boys played and watched tv. I didn’t think Noah and Cooper would ever go to sleep…it was after 1 am! Finally they did and we got up early the next morning. Unfortunately, the no routine, excess energy, and late nights with little sleep had caught up with them and there was a lot of chaos today…arguing, whining, fighting with each other, etc. Lynne took us riding around to see all of their family land and farms and riding in the car was the first time the boys had slowed down in two days. I began to feel a headache coming on, and as much fun as we had had on the trip, it was definitely time to head back home. We left around 4 pm and between stopping for dinner and a traffic delay in Atlanta it took us almost 8 hours to get home.

I am glad that we made the trip, but I had completely underestimated how very hard it would be to do alone. I had to do all of the packing and unpacking (three times in two days!) and all of the driving, all while trying to keep two energetic and overtired boys out of trouble and under some kind of control by myself. It was fun and so good to see everyone, but exhausting and not something I will be tackling alone again any time soon, LOL.

190/365 – Our Day with Papa

2009-09-07T16:22:00.001-04:00

I hadn’t told Papa that we were coming because, on the chance that it didn’t work out, I didn’t want to disappoint him. I did tell my mom though, because she and George made our room arrangements at the Village. They had spent the day there Wednesday and were spending the night there as well. All they told Papa was that they had a surprise for him the next day. Thursday we got up and went to breakfast and then went to Papa’s room. He was shocked when Noah walked into his room and then Cooper and me. He seemed so happy to see all of us. We all went to Papa’s favorite buffet for lunch and then the boys ran around our room playing “soldiers” while Mama, George, Papa, and I played Scrabble. It was a little hard keeping them from being too loud and wild, especially since it was raining outside so they had to stay in the room, but overall they were good. The day went quickly, and before we knew it the day was over and it was time to say goodbye and head to Lynne’s. Even though it was a short visit, it was so nice to spend some time with everyone.

189/365 – Heading South

2009-09-07T16:07:00.001-04:00

Dwight had to spend the week in Nebraska for work. My best friend, Lynne, called and was trying to decide when to come up to see us and I thought that since Dwight was gone I would go visit my Papa for a day and then stay with her the next day. I wasn’t sure about travelling alone with the boys, but I thought I would at least try since it would only be a couple of days. So, we sent the dogs to Dana’s, packed our stuff, and headed south to Waycross.

188/365 - Crystals

2009-09-07T16:04:00.000-04:00

Noah had been watching an experiment for the last few weeks about the effects of temperature on crystal formation. The salt crystals on the left were at room temperature and the ones on the right were in the refrigerator. As you can see, the colder temps slowed down the growth of the crystals, although the difference between the two wasn’t as great two weeks in to the experiment as they were the first few days. Noah really enjoyed checking them every day.

187/365 – Lego Original

2009-09-07T02:42:00.000-04:00

Cooper created this Lego scene today while taking his quiet time. There is a space ship in the middle and a diamond chest on the right. The yellow dome was a poisonous area and the beige area on the left was quicksand. He would take the torsos off of a character and stick him to the quicksand to look like he was sinking. I thought this was pretty darned creative for a five year old just using his imagination. :)

185/365 – Independence Day

2009-09-07T02:40:00.001-04:00

Our fourth didn’t go completely as planned, but turned out to be a great day. That afternoon we had a cookout and Cooper and Noah helped me make a fireworks cake. After an afternoon swim, we packed up the leftover hot dogs and cake and headed to the fireworks. It was a beautiful evening…not too hot. We set up the chairs and the dome umbrella and had our picnic dinner then the boys headed out into the field to play while Dwight and I talked and listened to the band. Finally it was time to break out the glow sticks and watch the fireworks. Happy Birthday, America!

184/365 – The Garden: All Grown Up

2009-09-06T23:27:00.001-04:00

So it has been about 2 1/2 months since we planted the garden and it has really been busy. We have already enjoyed a lot of squash and cucumbers. We have been using the basil, rosemary, and peppers in our cooking. The tomatoes are really starting to produce, and the okra is starting to bloom. We have so enjoyed the garden this year! The kids love going outside to see if there is anything new to pick in the garden, and they are learning a lot about gardening and the joy of providing your own food on the table. It just goes to show that it is worth the time it takes to do it right, rather than trying to do a shortcut technique that gives little to no yield.

(To go back to see the garden at planting, here is the other post: Starting the Garden)

183/365 – Ice Age 3 and the Music Store

2009-09-06T23:19:00.001-04:00

Today we took the boys to the movies to see Ice Age 3. They had blue slushees (notice the insanely blue lips, LOL), popcorn and enjoyed a fun summer movie. After the movie we spent some time at the music store next door. This has become a favorite stop for the both boys, but especially for Noah. He is hoping to get a guitar and take guitar lessons so he loves to go there to dream.

182/365 - Tessa

2009-09-06T23:08:00.002-04:00

Today we had a visit from our old neighbor, Tessa. She was in town because a neighbor of ours, her friend, Michael, had passed away. We have known Tessa since she was 7 years old and now she’s 20. She was so excited when Noah was born and has always been crazy about him. Even since she moved 5 years ago, she still sends him photos and cards. While she was here she slipped in his room and wrote this little note on his dry erase board, just under her photo. While the photo is blurry, it was too special not to include in our year photos.

181/65 – Big Day Out

2009-09-01T02:24:00.001-04:00

Today we spent the day downtown. First we went to the aquarium, which we planned. The boys each brought their cameras and took their own photos. It was fun watching them and seeing what they chose to capture in their photos.

As many times as we have been, we have never seen the whale shark feeding and it was amazing. They start pouring buckets of plankton into the water and the whale sharks open their huge mouths. Suddenly you can see the water at the surface rushing into their mouths. Over and over they do this and it was fascinating every single time.

As we left the aquarium the boys asked if we could also go to the World of Coke museum and we decided, what the heck, and we made a double feature day. The kids really enjoyed seeing all of the coke items, seeing the polar bear, and watching the 4D movie, but their absolute favorite part was being able to drink Coke. We don’t let them have Coke at home so for them to be able to drink it to their hearts content was more than they could believe. We each got a bottled Coke to take home as well, so the Coke Lovefest continued at home too.

It was a really fun day. :)

180/365 – Fresh Homemade Salsa

2009-08-31T03:05:00.000-04:00

One of the best things about our little garden has been being able to make our own salsa right from our garden. We have finally perfected our recipe, and it has been delicious. It will be one of the things we will miss the most when the summer garden is gone.

178/365 – Peek-A-Boo

2009-08-31T03:04:00.001-04:00

Our a/c unit in the sunroom died right in the heat of summer (of course!) so Dwight spent one of his vacation days off replacing the darned thing. We were able to get a more energy efficient model…that’s the good news…but it ended up being a lot smaller than the old unit so he had to spend hours framing the space to fit the new unit. Cooper really preferred having the big hole in the wall.

174/365 – Scooters at the Skate Park

2009-08-31T03:04:00.000-04:00

Today we spent a hot, sunny afternoon at the new skate park they added to one of our local parks. Noah really enjoyed riding around the bowl, even though it wasn’t until he was inside the bowl that we realized it was going to be awful hard for him to make it back outside the bowl. They had the bowl for the more experienced skateboarders/bikers and then there is another area that is a little more kid-friendly. Cooper stayed in the safer area and Noah did most of the time, but kept pining for the bowl. The kids had a great time, but we didn’t get to stay as long as we would have liked because Cooper was getting very pink in the bright sun, especially against all of the light concrete, and we couldn’t find our sunscreen. Great exercise and a way to blow off a lot of energy, though. This will definitely be something we do again. :)

172/365 – Happy Father’s Day!

2009-08-31T03:02:00.000-04:00

We are very blessed to have Dwight and all of our wonderful grandfathers in our family. We love you all!

171/365 – Alex’s Lemonade Stand Project

2009-08-31T03:01:00.000-04:00

Noah decided to participate in Alex’s Lemonade stand this year, hosting a lemonade stand to raise money for pediatric cancer. Our stand was dedicated to the memory of Dustin Cobb, one of Noah’s third grade classmates who was fighting cancer that year and sadly passed away last summer. He invited his best friend, Joshua, to help and together we manned our booth outside of Joshua’s uncle’s tanning salon on a very hot afternoon. The lemonade was free and we accepted donations for our cause and had a lot of contributors…strangers and friends (one of our friends that we hadn’t seen since high school even came out). We had a great day working together for a great cause!

170/365 – The Mom

2009-08-30T03:01:00.000-04:00

Just decided to snap a photo of myself on the webcam since I don’t end up in a lot of the photos. Not that I mind, LOL, but I guess it is nice to prove I exist once in a while.

169/365 – Kids Bowl Free

2009-08-30T03:00:00.000-04:00

Our bowling center has Kids Bowl Free during the summer where the kids get two free games every day. We met the Morrisons today for a round of bowling.

168/365 – Butterflies

2009-08-28T02:59:00.000-04:00

Today the lantana in the front was covered in butterflies, big and small. The bushes drive me crazy, but I sure do love all the butterflies they attract.

166/365 – Frosties by the Fire

2009-08-27T02:58:00.001-04:00

After swimming in the evening, we would usually dry off in front of the fire. Tonight I went and got us all Frosties and the combination of the cold ice cream and the warm fire was perfect.

165/365 – Canine & Cannonballs

2009-08-27T02:58:00.000-04:00

The guys (and super-swimmer Ruby) spending the afternoon in the pool. Some days there is more jumping than swimming…this was one of those days!

164/365 – Cook Family Gathering

2009-08-27T02:57:00.000-04:00

Today we met with Dwight’s dad, uncles, and some newly-introduced distant cousins for lunch in Covington. They had been corresponding by email having found that they are distantly related through their great-grandfather (I believe), and they were going to meet with some other relatives at a church near a cemetery where their ancestors are buried. Dwight’s Aunts Jean and Juanita arrived shortly after this photo was taken. Unfortunately, Jean fell at the restaurant and had to go to the emergency room to be checked, so not everything went exactly as planned. We went to the ER to stay with Jean so that the others could make it to the church for a short visit with the others who were waiting. Thankfully she had only received minor injuries and was able to go home that evening.

162/365 – Camp Invention

2009-08-27T02:56:00.002-04:00

Today was the last day of Camp Invention. Joshua & Noah have done this camp together the past two summers and it has been so much fun for them to spend the whole day together inventing and learning about science. On the last day we get to see their inventions and other creations. This year they created comic book characters. Joshua created the hero, Mr. Squash, and Noah created the villain, The Brutal Broccoli. After we saw all of their work, the boys ran around the parking lot, enjoying the last of their fun week at camp together.

160/365 – Crazy Hair

2009-08-27T02:56:00.001-04:00

Noah has been in Camp Invention this week and tomorrow is Crazy Hair Day. We started out trying to do some kind of mohawk, but that didn’t work so we moved on to this lovely style. He really liked it, but it took forever so he needed to sleep in it to be able to do it in the morning. After about 30 minutes of trying, he just couldn’t sleep so I told him that we would figure something out in the morning. At least I got this picture! :)

159/365 – First “Harvest”

2009-08-27T02:56:00.000-04:00

Our garden is growing amazingly fast and today we actually pulled our first squash off of the vine. It wasn't enough to make a meal off of, but it made a great appetizer and teaser for the veggies to come.

157/365 – Laying Sod

2009-08-27T02:55:00.000-04:00

After several years of kids digging, dogs running, and other abuse, our back yard has lost so much of our grass that it is awful. Finally sick of all of the dirt being tracked into the house from the grassless back yard, we decided to lay some sod around the patio. Between that bermuda grass and the bermuda that has moved into the back yard sides from the front we are hoping that it will gradually come together and look like a normal yard again.

Dwight got out early in the morning to prepare the area and the boys came out to help lay the sod pieces and fill the seams with sand. Please grow and stay strong, little grass!

156/365 - UP

2009-08-27T02:54:00.000-04:00

Today we took the boys to see UP in 3-D. It had looked really cute in the previews, but I had no idea that it was going to have such a great message about love and loss, taking chances, and really living life to the fullest. It is officially my favorite Pixar movie so far. :)

155/365 – Play Date

2009-08-27T02:53:00.000-04:00

Today was our first summer play date with the Morrisons. While the older boys played in Noah’s room, the little guys were able to get some time to what they wanted with the Wii without the bigger boys there.

154/365 – Speaking of Slip n’ Slide…

2009-08-18T02:54:00.000-04:00

After all the fun they had on the Slip n’ Slide over the weekend, the boys decided get out our little Slip n’ Slide and continue the fun. They played on it for over an hour and then they were burned out on it for the rest of the summer. Only so much a kid can take, I guess. :)

152/365 – Finally, the First Swim

2009-08-18T02:51:00.000-04:00

After waiting forever for it to get warm enough and then waiting even longer for the water to be clean, it was finally time for the first swim of the summer. Water was a little on the cool side, but the kids didn’t care…they were ready to swim!

150/365 – Slip n’ Slide Races

2009-08-17T23:59:00.001-04:00

Dylan had a belated birthday dinner and the Morrison's invited us over to try out their new Slip N’ Slide. Other than the chaos of making sure everyone got a regular turn, it was a lot of fun for the boys. Definitely a great way to keep cool.

149/365 – The View

2009-08-17T13:19:00.002-04:00

This time of year is always a lot of fun. We all enjoy spending the evenings outside enjoying the weather. Tonight we had a fire in the outdoor chimney and the boys ran around in the yard until almost bedtime. This is the view from our back yard on this wonderful spring night.

148/365 – Play Ball!

2009-08-17T13:15:00.001-04:00

Cooper having fun taking some pitches from Dad.

145/365 – Before Chemicals

2009-08-17T13:11:00.001-04:00

So THIS is how yucky the pool water from the winter looks after being topped off! Fortunately, after you add the right chemicals and wait a few days it will be a sparkling clear pool ready for summer.

144/365 – Memorial Day Weekend with the Morrisons

2009-08-16T16:49:00.001-04:00

Tonight we spent the evening at our friends’ house and had a lot of fun. The boys really enjoyed jumping on the trampoline.

143/365 – Building a Friend

2009-08-16T03:29:00.001-04:00

We spent a day at the mall and Cooper was able to make a new bunny at the Build-A-Bear Workshop. He bough his bunny a skateboard, pads, and helmet.

142/365 – Starting the Summer with a Sleepover

2009-08-16T03:26:00.001-04:00

Noah spent his first night of the summer hanging out and watching tv and playing Wii and computer games with his best friend, Joshua.

141/365 – Last Day of School

2009-08-16T03:19:00.001-04:00

Cooper’s class all dressed in red-white-and-blue and had to make their own patriotic hats for a parade through the school. Afterwards, they had games and activities in and outside of the gym, followed by a end-of-year party in the classroom. Goodbye Pre-K! Next year…Kindergarten!

140/365 – Along for the Ride

2009-08-16T03:08:00.001-04:00

Cooper had a great time driving Callie around the house in his Tonka dump truck. She was so funny…as long as she was in her little cat bed and comfortable, he could take her anywhere he wanted.

139/365 – Strawberry Fields

2009-08-16T01:17:00.001-04:00

Today was Cooper’s field trip to the Strawberry Patch. It is at the same field that we go to to pick pumpkins in the fall and even though it is mid-May it was actually colder this day than in the fall. Everyone was freezing!

His class learned about pollination and how strawberries start as flowers. They got to visit all of the farm animals in the petting zoo and then it was off to pick the berries. Each of the boys picked a full bucket, so there were plenty of strawberry snacks at our house for the next several days.

After they were finished picking, we walked over to the picnic area where they have a great tree swing and each boy took their turn going as high as mom could push them.

A New Direction…

2009-08-15T18:24:00.001-04:00

Ok, since I feel guilty for the g’parents not getting their pictures anymore, I decided rather than completely stop this blog, I will be changing the focus a little to at least keep some photos going. Obviously I am very far behind, so a photo-a-day is not going to happen for now, but I will do my best to post some of the pics from each of the missed months to bring everything back up to current and decide what to do from there.

Trying to get the rest of May up now. Bear with me. :)

136/365 – Playing with the Webcam

2009-07-01T21:39:00.001-04:00

Just me and my Noah, being silly with the webcam. :)

135/365 – Buddy

2009-07-01T21:20:00.001-04:00

Every afternoon the dogs know exactly when it is time for Dwight to get home. He feeds them their dinner and then they go out to play ball. Today Dwight was playing with Cooper during ball time, which had Buddy very impatient.

134/365 – Samurai Warrior

2009-07-01T21:09:00.001-04:00

We have been studying Japanese history and warriors so today Noah drew a samurai warrior and then colored him with crayons followed by a paint wash in the style of early Japanese art. I think this is his best work to date. :)

133/365 - Mustard

2009-07-01T21:00:00.001-04:00

Cooper LOVES mustard…more than any kid I know. He would eat it on everything if you would let him, but most certainly he slathers it on his hot dogs. So much so, that it ends up on everything from his face to his clothes to the table.

132/365 – Gam-Gam Will Be Proud

2009-07-01T20:53:00.001-04:00

I can remember learning how to diagram sentences pretty early so that I could help my mom grade English papers when she was backed up and had huge stacks to go through. It has been really fun this week watching Noah start his own sentence diagramming. He didn’t care for it much at first and got pretty frustrated, but once he got the hang of it and realized that it really isn’t that hard, he really took off.

131/365 – And So It Begins…

2009-07-01T20:45:00.001-04:00

My computer had been giving me a lot of warning signals the last few days that something was wrong. Fortunately, I had time to get everything vital backed up before it all started falling apart. Today I finally got the Blue Screen of Death and the beginning of what would end up being over two weeks of backing up, making lists of what programs are on the computer, getting a new hard drive, and reinstalling everything. Needless to say, it put a MAJOR cramp in everything I do…the checkbook, my photos, everything!

130/365 – Mother’s Day

2009-07-01T20:35:00.001-04:00

Today is the day that I get to celebrate one of the absolute best things in my life, being a mother to my boys. These are the cards that they made me this year. Cooper’s has two sides, so you can see the reverse lettering on the front from the other side. :) Noah is really into the big thick lettering these days, so I am sure that he enjoyed making his. There aren’t any cards in any store that could come close to the joy these cards bring.

129/365 – My Therapy

2009-07-01T20:24:00.001-04:00

While some people may see cutting the grass as a chore, that is certainly not the case for me. Ever since high school, there has been nothing I find more relaxing than riding around the yard over and over in big circles on the lawnmower. Dwight laments the fact that he has only been able to use the John Deere once or twice since we got it. It is just the best way to unwind.

128/365 – Spring Yardwork

2009-07-01T20:14:00.001-04:00

I spent a couple of days this week trying to get everything weeded and trimmed in the front of the house. Everything looks really good right now, but in a few weeks the lantana bushes will get huge and start taking over everything for the summer. Oh well, at least it looks good now…for a little while at least.

127/365 – Homeschool Day at the Georgia Renaissance Festival

2009-07-01T20:02:00.001-04:00

Today was homeschool day at the Renaissance Festival. Since Noah studied the Renaissance this year, we thought it would be a lot of fun. This was the jousting tournament held before King Henry VIII. We had huge smoked turkey legs for lunch. Cooper bought a wooden sword and Noah bought a crystal. It was so hot and humid, but we still had a great day.

126/365 – Making Our Circuit

2009-06-16T23:40:00.001-04:00

Noah has been studying electricity and magnets this week. For his project we had to make different types of circuits with light bulbs, a battery, and a homemade switch. As you can see…it worked!

125/365 – Park Fun

2009-06-16T22:55:00.001-04:00

We went to our new city park today and the boys had a great time. We have an awesome city park for the toddler aged kids, but not as much for the bigger kids so the city built this park for them. It has a lot of the same equipment that they have at the new Harbins park, so it was great to be able to play a little closer to home.

124/365 – Nana’s Cedar Chest

2009-06-16T21:00:00.001-04:00

One of my most valuable possessions is my Nana’s cedar chest. I am not exactly sure how old it is, but I know that she bought it when she was a young woman, so that would date it to the 30’s or so, making it about 75 years old. She always kept it in her room and it was very rarely opened, other than to put something inside for safe keeping. Now it is in my room and still has a lot of her things inside, along with some of mine.

123/365 – Squirrels

2009-06-16T20:52:00.001-04:00

Dwight loves to feed the birds and squirrels outside the sunroom window. One of the things we all enjoy is watching the squirrels hanging from their elastic corn feeder.

122/365 – Ladybug

2009-06-10T14:43:00.001-04:00

Today Cooper found a ladybug. He loves finding little creatures and watching them walk around on his arm. Everyone becomes his “friend” and occasionally tears flow when it is time to let them go. Today he was able to say goodbye to the ladybug with a smile on his face.

121/365 – Field Day

2009-06-08T21:38:00.001-04:00

Today was field day for the homeschoolers. Cooper and his partner won the two-legged race and he captained the winning team in the water-in-the-cup race, while Noah won the sack race and a running race. The boys were defeated in the tug-of-war by the girls. After the events both boys received a field day medal to remember the day.

120/365 – Late Nights with Bubber

2009-06-08T21:34:00.001-04:00

I usually stay up a lot later than everyone else and my biggest buddy at night is Bubber. Usually he is right at my side as long as I sit there, but tonight he was so stretched out and comfy I couldn’t help but laugh.

119/365 – Doctor Appointment “Date”

2009-06-08T21:30:00.001-04:00

Today was Cooper’s five-year checkup at the doctor’s office. He had grown 4 inches and gained 4 lbs to put him at 45” tall and 46 lbs. There were no shots this year, which was good news, but Cooper had a new-found modesty about having to take off his clothes to see the doctor which resulted in an unexpected meltdown. He thought that the nurse was joking when she told him to take off everything but his underwear…he just laughed and laughed…until he realized she was serious. He calmed down once Dr. Sheth came in and told him how big he was getting and had him show her all of the things he can do now.

Our usual lunch after an appointment at the pediatrician is usually Sonny’s BBQ since it is just down the road. This time was special though. Dwight was working from home so Noah stayed there with him which meant that Cooper and I got to have a lunch date, just the two of us. It has been a long time since we’ve gone to eat out together alone, so it was a nice date. :)

118/365 – Chocolate Lips

2009-06-05T16:22:00.001-04:00

Cooper usually has a couple of cups of milk while he watches tv right before bed. Some nights he is lucky enough to get one of Dwight’s cookies for a bedtime snack. Obviously, this was one of those nights. :)

117/365 – Braces!

2009-06-05T02:10:00.001-04:00

Noah’s top permanent teeth came in “fanned” where the front two actually cover part of the adjacent teeth. Since being able to properly clean the covered teeth was a concern, the orthodontist recommended that he go ahead and get those straightened out now while his palate is not as set as it will be when he is older. She said that all of the other teeth look wonderful and so he will only need the braces on those front four teeth on the top and will only have to wear them about six months. Today was the big day when the braces were put on, so we decided that we should go ahead a get a photo for our “before” shot.

116/365 – Always Brothers

2009-05-26T12:52:00.001-04:00

Tonight we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse and the boys were having their regular love-hate moments…”I love you, but you sure do drive me crazy!”. Brothers through and through. :)

115/365 - Improvising

2009-05-26T12:47:00.001-04:00

Since Noah got his microphone for Guitar Hero, he has been challenged by wanting to sing and play guitar at the same time. Since we don’t have a mic stand he was getting very frustrated but today he tried something new. It was a little low and required some crouching to make it work, but VIOLA!…a homemade mic stand!

114/365 – Lazy Dogs

2009-05-26T12:39:00.001-04:00

The dogs love spending the day stretched out in the sunshine. Nothing beats a spring afternoon in a bed of straw. This is how you will find them most afternoons.

113/365 - Clay Rocker

2009-05-25T21:37:00.001-04:00

Today Noah had an art project to make a clay sculpture of a person so he made this rocker with a mohawk and singing into a microphone on bended knee. Guitar Hero is never too far out of mind, it seems. :)

112/365 - Garden Geek

2009-05-23T13:25:00.001-04:00

I wanted to label the garden so in true geek form, I decided to draw all of the little veggies on the sticks. They actually look really cute in the garden, but they were a lot more work than was necessary. :)

111/365 – Kids Night at Bassano’s

2009-05-23T13:13:00.001-04:00

Bassano’s is our favorite pizza place and they have Kid’s Night on Tuesday nights. We all love the Brooklyn Meat Lovers-a yummy, meat-covered pizza!

110/365 - Happy Birthday, Cooper!!!

2009-05-23T13:10:00.001-04:00

Today is Cooper’s actual birthday, after a weekend of celebrating. Five years old already…so hard to believe. We had a great day together. We made cupcakes and goody bags to take to his class tomorrow, so the celebrating can continue for one more day! We love you so much, Cooper!!

109/365 – Catching Air

2009-05-23T13:06:00.001-04:00

Both of the boys love to swing…the higher the better. Nothing beats the smiles Cooper gives from being pushed as high as possible.

108/365 – Starting the Garden

2009-04-30T02:45:00.001-04:00

After years of the boys asking and trying shortcuts, we decided this was the year that we would try a real garden. We decided to start really small, but we have a lot of variety and hopefully we will get a nice mix of fresh vegetables this summer. It was a lot of work, but fun and we had a couple of great helpers to work with us. (Can’t really explain the underwear hat though…Cooper claims that it was to keep the sun out of his face, LOL)

107-365 – Cooper’s Birthday Dinner

2009-04-30T02:25:00.001-04:00

Today started with Cooper’s first visit to the fire station for a tour and refresher course on fire safety, but that was only the beginning of the day’s fun. Cooper’s 5th birthday is next Monday so we decided to have a small family celebration with the Morrisons tonight. Cooper picked Red Lobster for his birthday dinner (that’s my boy!), since he loves shrimp, but mostly because he loves seeing all of the lobsters in the tank. After a delicious dinner, everyone came back to our house for cake and games. Joshua and Dylan gave Cooper a video game for his new DSi, which Cooper and Noah both got earlier this month for their birthday present from us this year.

Just look at that face…that’s a happy guy!

106-365 – He Must Be REALLY Tired!

2009-04-29T14:44:00.001-04:00

Cooper spent his time in quiet time this afternoon and then when Dwight got home, he started cleaning up so that he could come out. Time passed and still no Cooper, but we just thought he had a lot to clean up so maybe it was taking longer than usual. More time passed and we went to check on him only to find him asleep in the floor, wrapped up in his bedtime blanket. I couldn’t even tell you the last time this happened. At least a year…probably closer to two. He had to have been extremely tired to end up falling asleep.

105/365 – Must-See TV (for Mom & Dad)

2009-04-29T14:16:00.001-04:00

Every Wednesday night we need our Lost fix. We never –ever- miss an episode. It is the story of a group of people who survive the crash of Oceanic 815 and end up on a mysterious island with a group of “Others”. The electromagnetic island has healing powers, a past filled with a group of scientists called the Dharma Initiative, and a smoke-monster…and that is only the tip of the iceberg. There is really nothing I can say now that will explain this show and the incredible obsession it has become for us. This is the next-to-last season and things are very crazy, as usual, but in only a year it should (hopefully) all make sense.

104/365 – At the Zoo

2009-04-28T21:01:00.001-04:00

Today Noah had a homeschool class at Zoo Atlanta so Cooper and I walked around the whole zoo during his class and then made another lap around with Noah after the class was over. The favorite animals were the leopard, the alligator, and the new parakeet adventure. It was a beautiful day…not too hot or cold, so spending four hours walking the zoo wasn’t too bad. The ride home, however, in 5 o’clock traffic through a large area with no working traffic lights and downed trees after yesterday’s storms was misery!

103/365 – Dad’s Hangout

2009-04-16T01:51:00.000-04:00

This is Dad’s little corner of the world…at his desk in the sunroom. He works there when he works at home, he surfs the internet there, and he enjoys his favorite hobby there…Madden Football on the Xbox. He has a couple of leagues that he runs and online league friends that he plays football with every evening. It is his little place to get away for a while, even though it usually ends up that the boys are right in there with him doing something there in the sunroom. It is a time where everyone may be doing their own things, but we are all together .

102/365 – Family Easter Photo

2009-04-16T01:40:00.001-04:00

We had a great Easter. After the kids went through their Easter baskets and had an egg hunt around the front yard, we posed for our second family photo of 2009.

101/365 – Easter Preparations

2009-04-16T00:23:00.001-04:00

Tonight the boys and I dyed eggs and decorated some of them with Star Wars gear. We also made homemade salt dough to make Easter cut-outs that we baked to use to make magnets. The colors turned out really cool…actually a kind of tie-dyed look.

100/365 – Resurrection Eggs

2009-04-16T00:22:00.000-04:00

Cooper is so proud of his Resurrection Eggs. They are plastic eggs that are filled with items to symbolize different parts of the Easter story. As he opens the eggs he is reminded of the next part of the story. He has told the story over and over since he brought them home (not just to us, but even to the cats) and even slept with them last night.

99/365 – Getting Some Exercise

2009-04-15T23:40:00.001-04:00

Noah and I went to the park to walk again today and we made good use of the outdoor gym equipment. It is really nice to get out and walk together and it is a great way to start our day.

98/365 – Spending the Morning With Cooper

2009-04-10T14:11:00.001-04:00

Today was Cooper’s school Easter egg hunt at a local park. The weather is crazy again, so as we were getting ready I saw that it was 29 degrees! Fortunately, by the time we got to the park and it was time to get out of the car it was inching closer to 40 degrees…still not the most “Eastery” weather, but much more bearable.

We had a great time looking for Cooper’s eggs. He was number 13 and he had to run all over the field looking for eggs that had his number on them. It took about 30 minutes for everyone to find all of their eggs and about 30 seconds to start tearing into them to get the candy. When the hunt was over we were able to go home for the day, so Cooper had a little mid-week vacation from class.

97/365 – The Babies Are Growing

2009-04-10T13:36:00.001-04:00

The baby birds are so cute now. Whenever they hear us they think it is their mama and their little beaks open wide. We had to move the ladder up against the wreath this week because we have had some really high wind gusts and the wreath was really starting to move a lot. We were really worried that the wind would send them falling to the ground, but thankfully the ladder is holding the wreath still and the mama bird is not upset that we put it there.

Side note—I didn’t get a picture because we were in the car going to pick Cooper up from school, but it SNOWED a little today! It started as sleet, but switched to snow and came down for about 20 minutes. How crazy…snow in April!

96/365 - Weaving

2009-04-10T13:32:00.001-04:00

Today Noah’s art lesson was about tapestry weaving and we made our own loom and then he did some weaving. He actually really enjoyed this and asked to do it again later that night.

95/365 – Older, But Still Us

2009-04-09T21:19:00.001-04:00

I actually took this noisy, low-quality photo of us last night with my webcam, but since it is within the last 24 hours (and considering that it is so rare that we are both in a photo) I decided to use it anyway for my photo today.

We’re a lot older and a lot more tired than we were 20 years ago, but we’re still “us” and that is the best part about being together now.

94/365 – Putt-Putt

2009-04-04T23:25:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 8

Today we spent the afternoon playing miniature golf. We played 36 holes and everyone got at least one hole-in-one (Noah got 3!). It was the first time that Cooper had ever played, so he had a great time and it was fun seeing him get so excited when he would do well.

93/365 – Let’s Go Fly a Kite

2009-04-03T23:40:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 7

Today was the first day that the weather seemed right for flying the kites. We drove to the park and the wind was blowing like crazy. Dwight had to construct the new kites that we had picked up last summer and he didn’t realize that the first kite was missing a couple of pieces so it took forever. Finally he started working on the other kite and that’s when he figured out that the first kite wasn’t complete.

The boys played at the playground and ran around in the field while he worked on the kites and finally they were ready. They were really pretty and it was fun, but unfortunately the wind was starting to die down some and about 30 or 45 minutes later, we had to call it a day as the wind was all but gone.

Even though it was a short time, it was great being out enjoying the windy weather. Maybe we’ll do better next time.

92/365 – Happy Birthday to Dad

2009-04-03T21:45:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 6

Today was Dad’s 40th birthday. We had a seafood “feast” of fried catfish, sautéed shrimp, boiled Jonah crab claws , and garlic cheese grits. It was capped off with his requested cake, lemon bundt with lemon glaze. It was a quiet family evening, and having the week off has made the whole week a celebration.

We love you, Dwight! There is no one I would rather have beside me as we start this next decade. :)

91/365 – Movie Day

2009-04-01T23:13:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 5

Today we went to the movies to see Monsters Vs. Aliens. It was a 3D movie, so we got to wear the cool 3D glasses. Cooper just looks so hilariously cute with those huge glasses on…kind of like Mr. Magoo, I think.

90/365 – Baby Birds

2009-04-01T23:07:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 4

The baby birds are starting to hatch. As of today there are two babies and two eggs left. We are really enjoying watching them, but we have to be really careful coming in and out of the front door. The mama bird is more concerned about us now that they are hatching and we don’t want her to get hurt trying to avoid us or to think that we want to hurt the babies.

89/365 – Fun at the Park

2009-03-30T22:18:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 3

Today we took the boys to check out a new park. It was really cool! There was a huge tri-level tower with really long slides, rock walls for climbing, balancing disks, spinners and, of course, the swings. We spent about an hour and a half there and then went for ice cream afterwards.

88/365 – R2D2 Lego Masters

2009-03-30T18:56:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 2

Today we went to the mall where they had a Lego Masters building project underway. The kids got to go to a station and use regular Lego bricks to build giant Lego blocks that the Lego Masters used to build the 8-foot R2D2. It had been going on for several days, so he was almost finished…all that was left was the top of his head. Noah and Cooper built several blocks and turned them it to receive a participation certificate and a coupon for the Lego store. We went shopping with the coupon and by the time we were finished they had started the finishing ceremony where they gave away several Lego sets and then ended with lifting R2D2’s head into place. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

87/365 – The Swamp

2009-03-30T18:11:00.001-04:00

Spring Break, Day 1

We have had a ton of rain over the past three days…about 4 inches or so. Since our back yard is really hurting in the grass department these days, there wasn’t much there to absorb all that water so our yard looks just like a swamp. Even Ruby just sat on the air conditioner outside the sunroom and wondered what had happened to the yard. As much as we need the rain though, no one was complaining.

86/365 – My Mom is Sarah Palin!

2009-03-30T18:02:00.001-04:00

This was so funny! Mom had picked up this Christian Living magazine at Chick-fil-A today and was reading it tonight. I was playing with my phone and realized that I hadn’t taken a picture of her since she had arrived, so I told her to smile so I could snap a quick shot. Since she wasn’t crazy about me taking her picture, she covered her face with the magazine. Looks just like Sarah Palin herself was sitting in our living room!

85/365 – Book Fair

2009-03-30T17:57:00.000-04:00

Toady we went to the Scholastic Warehouse for the book fair that they hold for teachers and homeschoolers a couple of times a year. We found some really good bargains and a few things to do over the summer to stay busy.

84/365 – A Gift from Cooper

2009-03-30T17:56:00.000-04:00

Last week while the boys were outside playing, Cooper picked this branch off of a bush and brought it in to me as a “flower”. He put it in a cup of water and displayed it proudly beside the sink. Today I noticed that it was sprouting new leaves. Looks like it may hang on for a while! :)