211/365 – Ten years already?

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

191/365 – Our Day with Lynne

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

    

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

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

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

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

 

          

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. :)