Feeling Loved

This morning Alex woke up at 5:45 a.m. while I was getting ready. I told him he really needed to go back to bed it was too early to be up. He asked me where I was going. I responded that I was going to work. He told me (with tears in his eyes) that he didn't want me to leave. I told him he could call me sometime during the day. He thought I told him he could come with me - he hollered to Logan I'm going to hurry up and get dressed. He was bummed when I told him that wasn't possible. I promised we'd play a game tonight and that helped.

It's nice to leave the house knowing that I'm missed so much.

Kudos to Kayla

Kayla has Thai Boxing at a minimum twice a week and is part of the demo team for the dojo. She doesn't really like us to sit and watch so much anymore although for us as she learns more things it's getting more fun to watch especially when she spars. Sometimes others complain a little that it hurts when Kayla punches or kicks them during drills. We learned last night (from another parent) that Master Chris said everyone should hit hard enough to inflict a little pain like Kayla when they're doing their drills. Kudos to you Kayla!

Yesterday's Debate

The big debate between Logan and Alex yesterday was about which movie was more hilarious. Logan's opinion was that Men in Black was more hilarious than the movie Cars. Obviously Alex believed Cars was more hilarious. In the end neither of them would budge. I suppose it just depends on your mood which is more hilarious. :)

Making Move In Day Fun

To make move in day a little more fun some of us took a ride on our wheeling filing cabinets. See Steve, Cassandra, Tanisha and I having a little fun. We really wanted to race them down the hall but too many people around. Rumor has it the Directors meet downstairs on Tuesdays so perhaps a race then. :)

Settling In The Fish Bowl

Today is the first day back in our refurbished offices. I still feel like I'm in a fish bowl. Every time someone walks by it makes me look up and feel like I ought to ask for some fish food. Hopefully I'll quit noticing it after a while. I'm looking forward to the filing cabinet races at the end of today. :)

Alex's Words

Phil and Alex were riding to the school this morning and Alex had some profound thoughts. He tells Phil, "Next year I will be in Pre-K, Logan will be in Kindergarten and Kayla will be in school. Logan will be lonely next year. But the year after I will be there too!"

I wonder if he'll be the one that will be lonely since he'll be the only at the daycare. What a thinker Mr. Alex is.

Photos From the Storm

Last night we had some strong thunderstorms in the area. We saw some a little bigger than dime size hail fall from the sky and land all across the yard. As I left this morning for work there were leaves, twigs, and branches scattered all over our yard and the roads. Here's some of the photos from last night (hard to see but interesting).

How to Make a Peanut Butter Sandwich

How to make a peanut butter sandwich according to Alex:

1. Get two buns.
2. Get the peanut butter.
3. Spread it.
4. That's it.

Fort Build Update

Phil and the kids have been hard at work on the fort in the backyard. I think half the time they're batting away mosquitos because just in 15 minutes out there I have about twice that many bites on my legs. The kids can at least walk around on the deck now. We still need to put the spindles on the upper deck to make it safe. The next step is adding a lower deck and then an upper deck. I think Phil may be more excited than the boys.

Reiniche Wordle

I saw this on another blog that I read and just thought it was a lot of fun. This is a wordle that describes our blog. It really is a fun break in the day.

How To Make Packing and Moving Fun

Well it's been about 10 months since our company moved into swing space so that our original building could be renovated and today starts the packing of items going back. Our official day in the renovated old building will be Monday but we had to have some fun here before we moved out. My cohort (meant in the nicest and most flattering way) in crime is Cassandra. We decided that the crates for packing weren't just meant to move our work items but also us. Enjoy!

Models, Miss America, Just Having Fun?

Today's adventures weren't outside or at some exciting place. The adventure happened in the kitchen and the living room. Kayla designed dresses out of the boys blankets and they modeled for her to take some photos. I bet Alex's and Logan's future girl friends will really enjoy these! I think Montana (photo added just because) thought that they were a bit odd.

The Post Concert Look

Then after the concert we made a quick Target run and the boys ended up looking like this.

The All American Rejects

Then it was time to listen to some All American Rejects (watching the teens at this concert makes me want to skip being the parent of a teenager!). We didn't stay too long because it was close to 100 degrees outside but managed to last for 1/2 the concert. Here's some photos of the band and one of Phil and Logan watching the show.

Kayla The Future Rocker

Of course while everyone is waiting for the show to start they're doing contests for free giveaways. Unfortunately we didn't win the free Nike Trainer tennis shoes (that feel like you're walking on air) but Kayla got picked to come up on stage and do some air guitar. Afterwards Alex tried out the guitar.

Free Concert

Today was a free concert at the Mall of Georgia featuring The All American Rejects. We headed over to see what free (we're all about free) activities they had outside. We ended up with some free t-shirts (see the photos of how the boys wore one of the shirts - can you tell the fan base for The All American Rejects is women?), free bottle of cokes (decorated for the Olympics), free pens, and free tote bags.

First Aid/CPR Certfied

On Saturday Phil and Kayla took a first aid/CPR class at the local fire department. The Gwinnett County Fire Department offers the classes about 4 times a month. It's about a 6 hour course. We thought since Kayla is now a certified babysitter that it would also be good for her to know first aid and CPR. Hopefully she'll never have to use those skills. So for the next two years Kayla and Phil are first aid/CPR/AED certified. Way to go guys!

What would you do??????

For a comeback bar? (Alex's version of a Klondike Bar.)

Logan's Movie Quote for the Day

"My name is cinimon montoya...you killed my father...prepare to die"

Do you recognize the movie?

Surgery Avoided

Good news for us - Montana will not have to have surgery. A few days before vacation while Phil was playing with Montana he twisted his leg. He limped for about a day and it seemed to be better. Then this last week it seems to have agitated itself again. Phil and the kids took him to the vet and thank goodness it's something that will heal on it's own. He has a mostly torn ACL. The vet gave us some anti inflammatory meds, drained some fluid off the area, and said no running and ball chasing but normal play is fine! Whew! We were worried it might be more.

Summer Is Almost Over

I looked at my calendar today and realized that the summer is almost officially over. At least here in the south. By over I don't mean the heat is gone or the days are shorter, I mean back to school. The kids only have 3 more weeks until school starts. It seems like vacation just started. Although I'm pretty sure that Phil is ready to go back to work. He only has 2 more weeks until that starts up again. I will say I'm a little excited because this year Kayla will be in middle school and Logan will be in Kindergarten and Alex in Pre-K. They're growing up so quickly. Probably even a bit too fast for me. Hopefully the next few weeks won't go too fast.

Happy Belated Birthday Chey and Lizzy!

Happy Belated Birthday girls! We wish we could have come to your big celebration.

Alex's First Trip to the Dentist

Today was Alex's first trip to the dentist. As he gets ready for Pre-K he has to schedule his cleanings. He did a great job but who wouldn't when while you wait you get to play video games in the waiting room. Then while you wait for the hygenist you get to play video games. You get to watch a movie while they clean your teeth. Alex (despite having 5 small cavities) really enjoyed going to the dentist.

The Fort Move

Yesterday we finally moved the fort swing set from our neighbors yard to ours. Nothing like your neighbor putting their house on the market to motivate you to move things. Thanks to Carrie and Jason who helped us drag it and throw it over the fence. Alex can't wait until it's all set up so that he can climb in it. Phil still has to replace some boards and secure it but it shouldn't take too long.

End of The Hike - Strike A Pose

At the end (or almost the end) everyone struck a pose for the camera. After the hike we packed up and headed to get some lunch and start off towards home. We all had fun on our first family vacation.

Echo River Springs

The next stop on our hike was Echo River Springs. We were able to find a path that led down to the spring. Of course all the shoes came off and everyone took a walk in the spring. We saw some really beautiful butterflies. Of course Phil was really tired then so Alex had to carry him back.

The Hike to White's Cave

The next stop on our hike was White's Cave. The Cave entrance is blocked off by a gate but you can see in it a little bit. Of course Phil really wanted to go in there and if he had the tools probably would have found a way to go exploring. After looking around the area for a little while Phil and Kayla pulled out the map to see how much further it was to Echo River Springs.

The Hike - Day Three

We decided to hike the Heritage Trail and then head toward the Mammoth Sink Hole. The Heritage Trail took us to a cemetary where one of the first explorers of the Cave was buried. This was an easy hike. We then proceeded to the Mammoth Sink Hole (which is above a large room in the caves). It began to rain some more and as we left the Sink Hole and headed along the trail to White's Cave and Echo River Springs it began to rain again. We weren't getting too wet as the trees acted as an umbrella. The boys decided that they didn't want to get their shirts wet so they took them off. Here's a photo of everyone at the sink hole and photos of the shirtless boys.

Nature Findings On Our Hike

We hiked about 2 1/2 to 3 miles on our last day in Kentucky. Along the way we found some interesting insects and animals that we thought we'd share. We found a beetle, another bug (Phil's not here or I'd ask him what it was), a frog, a snail, and an inch worm. I think my favorite was the snail on the leaf.