Cousins

Labor Day...10 whole days ago...and now I'm sharing pictures.

The motto of this blog? Better late than never!

I'm accepting it. It could be worse I suppose!

Anyway...on Labor Day, we got together at my Parents' new house. My Granddady, Aunt, Uncle and their two grandsons came as well. We grilled (by we, I mean my Dad) hamburgers and hotdogs, ate plenty, and had a grand ol' time.

Ruthi was so excited that Austin was coming, and those two played non-stop. They had an absolute blast.

Chip had a lot going on, so he and I rode seperately so he could leave early, and I could talk until I had my fill. Well, not my fill really, as that never really happens! But he didn't want me to feel rushed to leave, since I don't get to see my Aunt, Uncle and Granddad that often.

So, when I got out my camera to take some pictures of the kids, CJ had already gone, because he went on home with Chip. He had lawns to mow, and he wanted to get as much done as he could.

Therefore, these are missing my 'little' boy. Somehow, I think he's a lot happier about that than I am! LOL!

On to the cutie pie pictures...

Austin & Ruthi



Austin, Ruthi & Jordan


With my Granddady (Their Great-Granddady!)

And those two cutie pies with my Dad.


I wish we lived closer together, because Ruthi really does love to play with Austin. She loves Jordan too, but he's just not her size!

And all too soon, our visit came to an end.

Just as this post has come to an end, though I wouldn't say it's too soon!

Summertime Fun

"Little birds" keep telling me that I'm not posting regularly enough! I hope to get back to more regular posting now that our summer is nearing the end.

We started school back on Monday for CJ. Things are going well so far. He got up early today and got busy, so that he was finished by 10 am! I will be starting preschool with Ruthi after Labor Day. She is very ready!

I realized recently that for some reason, I had not managed to get any pictures of the kids in the pool this summer. This year we graduated from the very small kiddie pool, to a larger one in which we can all fit in! It's only a couple of feet deep, which is perfect for Ruthi, but it's big enough for us all to get cooled off and even have a little fun.

I'm looking forward to next summer, as we are talking about getting a larger above-ground pool and possibly a small deck around it. CJ will really enjoy something he can actually do a little swimming in!

Anyway, here are a few pictures of them in the pool.

Ruthi "cleaning" the pool.

CJ was spinning Ruthi around in the water, and she was having a blast!

Blogging Poolside...

Kiddie poolside, that is.

In my backyard.

Listening to the very high pitched squeals of a 3 year old as her big brother squirts her with the water gun.

In the water.

Where he might get her wet.

Good heavens.

And it's much harder blogging out here that I'd like it to be. My screen is very shiny and I can see more of the reflection of my house and myself than I can of what is actually on the screen!

But I'm blogging anyway. Because I'm so far behind. And I really don't want to be in the pool at the moment.

So.

I left off with our bowling adventure in my last post.

That was what we did on Monday of the "big" week. On Tuesday morning we headed out to go see the free movie. They were playing "Horton Hears a Who." But when we arrived, all the workers were outside waving everyone away.

They had to cancel the showing due to something that caused the sprinkler system to go off and everything was wet.

I knew a meltdown was imminent and was trying to do some quick thinking. Thankfully, Denise had a brilliant idea - the park!! Ruthi LOVES to go to the park, and since it was early, it wasn't terribly hot yet and was the perfect solution.

CJ had no desire to go to the movie, so he was with Chip. Ruth and "HEvan" had a great time. Unfortunately, my camera still wasn't working at the time, so I have no pictures to share from the park. I did take a few with a disposable camera, but I've yet to get them developed.

Both Monday and Tuesday, after our outings, we spent the rest of those days scrapbooking. On Wednesday we spent most of the day scrapbooking.

On Thursday we went to the World of Coke. The picture I posted here was taken there with the Coke Polar Bear.

If you look closely at Ruthi's face in that picture, you will notice that she is wearing a forced smile. She was quite terrified of that bear. We were standing in line waiting for our turn when she caught a glimpse of him and realized he was moving. She was standing by me, holding my hand. She slowly started backing away, pulling my hand with her. She did NOT want to make her way closer to him.

I picked her up and assured her it was only someone dressed up, and she didn't need to be scared. She was not convinced. As we walked up to him, he stood up. She let out the biggest scream and had the most horrified look on her face. I convinced her to look away from him and to look at Denise who was holding the camera. She did, but she knew that bear was behind her and was still quite scared. I think the fact that he was SO big really sent her over the edge. She didn't mind seeing him from a distance afterward, but she did not want to get close to him again.

Ironically, at the end of the trip, in the gift shop, she picked out a polar bear to take home!

The whole trip was a blast. The 4-D theater was awesome except for the "bug" that "stung" us in the back. I wasn't sure how Ruthi would do, but she loved it. The seats were moving a bit too much for her liking, but once she was in my lap, she was good. She did jump a couple of times when it looked like things were coming toward her, but she loved it overall.

For about 30 minutes before we made it to the tasting room she started asking for "Pite." (Sprite). So once we made it into there, she got her fill. And she had no desire to taste any of the others.

Right after we walked in, CJ and Evan got chosen to do a little race. CJ stood behind Evan and had to be Evan's arms and poured the drink without being able to see what he was doing as he had to put it to Evan's mouth so he could drink it. It was hilarious!

I do believe the tasting room was the highlight of the trip - especially for the boys. CJ's friend Ronald went along with us and he seemed to have a fantastic time as well.

Here are a few pictures.

(OK - I took a break here - I got in the pool with the kids for a while. Chip even came and joined us and we had some great family time. Then he went in to crash. And I fell asleep early, so I didn't get the pictures loaded. Now it is Sunday night after a long day today. But as promised, I'm still getting these pictures up before the weekend is over!)

CJ being silly.

Our little group.

CJ being Evan's hands.

Having fun tasting all the varieties of Coke. (Some of which are simply awful!)

Ruthi was unsure about this 'guy' behind us after her polar bear encounter!

CJ & Ronald. (Ruthi was a bit afraid of this car - we had told her the bear went to take a nap. When she saw this car, she was sure the bear was napping inside!)

When we left, we went to eat at The Varsity. Unfortunately, I don't have any great pictures from there. Then we headed home, stopping at Wal-Mart on the way so Denise and Cindy could print their pictures. Once we were home we did some more scrapbooking, of course!

And that's all for now. If you made it this far, congratulations!

I'm Such A Bad Blogger...

...at least lately, that is. I really thought I'd have more time this week, but I've just been keeping busy. And my mind doesn't seem to slow down enough to actually sit down and have to THINK!

I did finally get caught up on my blog reading - at least that doesn't require much thinking! But I know I need to get back in the game here!

I can't believe summer is almost "officially" over. I'm not ready for it to be! We've been having fun and I don't want it to end. Of course, one of the advantages of homeschooling, is that it doesn't have to completely end for us - we usually don't even go on our vacation until September when everyone else is in school!

Let me back up though and try to do a little recap.

Week before last (was it really that long ago? sheesh!) my neigbor Denise's Mom (Cathy), sister (Cindy), and nephew (Evan) came to spend the week with her. We all spent a huge portion of the week here at my house scrapbooking! And though I didn't actually get very many pages completed during that week, I've gotten many done since then. That week definitely reignited my scrapping bug! Denise and Cindy were whipping out pages left and right, but I tend to move slower and I was having too much fun socializing anyway!

The cutest thing was Ruthi and Evan. He is 10, and he loves younger children. So he would play with her for just about as long as she wanted him to. And she LOVED every second. But even cuter, was how she pronounced his name. She called him Heaven. So adorable, and I'm pretty sure he liked it too.

On that Monday we went bowling. This was the first time Ruthi had ever been, and she had an absolute blast. Well, after she finally got the hang of waiting her turn.
She loved rolling the ball down, but just couldn't stand the though that she was going to have to wait for four more ball rolls before she could go again. Here's
proof of how upset she was.


Thankfully, that didn't last too long. Pretty soon she was eagerly and cheerfully awaiting her turn. And pretty soon, it was back to this face.


The bad thing that happened this day - when we first arrived and paid at the counter, I went to pick up my camera and managed to drop it - from that HIGH counter all the way to the hard floor. EVERYONE let out a loud gasp as it hit. I was devastated. Denise quickly distracted me by reminding me that this was going to be a great day, that it was Ruthi's first time bowling! I think she could see the tears welling up in my eyes, and I am very thankful for her distracting abilities. My camera wouldn't even come on. Thankfully, they had brought their cameras too, so all was not lost for first time bowling pictures. However, I realize now that I only have a few shots of CJ - and they are all from the back. I'm sure I would have taken more if not for my camera incident. But at least between the cameras that were there, we got some cute ones of Ruthi's big first!

And what a first it was! The first game wasn't so fabulous. She got more gutter balls than anything.


But then we discovered the ramps. Once we figured out how to line that thing up, she really had a blast. That, and the fact that we decided on a heavier ball. She was using a 6 pound ball that she could manage on her own. However, it just wouldn't make it all the way down without taking a hard turn for the gutter. So I found a heavier ball for her to use. She couldn't carry it herself, so I helped her.

I would get a hold of it so it wouldn't drop on her toes, and she would "carry" it from underneath. We would walk it over the the ramp and I'd let go. She would send it rolling down that ramp and stand to watch how many pins would fall.

And did they ever fall. Look at this!

Yes, that is her score on the bottom - she beat both of the boys! Sure, they didn't have the aid of a ramp, but they're OLDER after all! LOL!

She would get SO excited. As the ball would roll down the lane, she'd say, "Maybe this time!" And the delight on her face when those pins would fall was priceless.

The third game got even better. Look at what she did!


Your eyes are not playing tricks. That is 3 strikes in a row!!! I don't have a picture of the final screen for this game, but she bowled a 139! That's better than I usually bowl! I think I want to use a ramp next time! Just kidding. Sort of.
And we were able to get printouts of the scores so they will be scrapbooked with the photos.

In spite of the camera incident, it was a wonderful day.
And, by the way, my ultra-fabulous hubby was able to get my camera working again! I'm sure he is even more relieved than I am, because he knew he was about to be buying a new camera! He even told me to look online and start deciding what I want. And as much as I'd love to have a new camera, there are other things that are more important at the moment, so I'm also thankful we are not having to shell it out for a new one!

I intended to do a full recap of the past couple of weeks, but this post has gotten really long. And because I decided to sit down and blog, instead of doing what I should be doing, it is now 12:37 AM and I still need to go iron Chip's uniform for in the morning!

So, I'll end here and I promise I'll be back to finish before the weekend is over. I haven't even gotten to our fun trip where the picture in my last post was taken. (And you were right Jan - it is World of Coke!)

A Little Catching Up

Last weekend, we went to visit my Granddad. My Aunt Connie and her two grandsons brought him to his house here in Georgia for a few days. Since that's much closer than where they live in Kentucky, we try to get up and see them when they come here.

Unfortunately, we had not been able to make it the last couple of times, so we had not seen them since the beginning of December! So we were really looking forward to the visit.

Austin is four, so he and Ruthi had an absolute blast together. They laughed and giggled and ran around like best friends. I wish my kids got to see their cousins more often, but everyone is so spread out, it makes it very difficult. The way Ruthi and Austin played together, you'd never know they hadn't seen each other in almost seven months! I was so glad they took right to each other.

We had a very nice visit. It was so good to see my Granddaddy again. And I could hardly believe that Ruthi went right in and gave him a great big ol' hug. It was so sweet.

After a while, we headed to a somewhat local lake and had a grand time in the water. The kids, my aunt and I did, anyway. My Granddad, parents and Chip sat out and watched.

When the beach closed we got out and my Mom informed me we were all going out to eat. I laughed, knowing Chip would never have agreed to that knowing I didn't have anything with me to make me presentable again after swimming!

Apparently I was wrong. And from what I gathered, it was even his idea! I protested for a while, saying there was no way I was going to eat with wet hair and no makeup. But I soon gave in and decided not to worry so much about my appearance. After all, we were away from home where no one but my family knew me right?

Actually it took a lot of convincing from everyone else that I looked just fine. And even though I didn't really agree, I went anyway. And it didn't kill me! LOL.
Thankfully, my sunglasses acted as a headband to keep my hair out of my eyes!

It may sound silly, but for those who know me well, know this was a big step for me. I'm not terribly vain or anything, but I like my hair to be brushed and at least a little bit of foundation on to be seen in public. But I went, and I survived, and it didn't hurt me. And maybe it was good for me.

Anyway, as usual there were tons of pictures taken. So I've narrowed them down and put them in yet another nifty slide show.

Enjoy!

Best Friends

Ruthi calls Emma her best friend. If you ask her who Emma is, she will say, "My beeeest friend!"

When the guys were away on their trip, Emma came over to spend a night with Ruthi. They had so much fun and played like...well, best friends.

When it was time to go, Emma didn't want to leave, and Ruthi didn't want her to either. It was a bit sad. But we'll be doing it again soon.

Here are a few pictures of them. (Better late than never I suppose!)

Ready for bed.


Playing with play dough (the nice, squishy homemade kind!)


Enjoying popsicles.


Playing in the sand.


A fun day for sure!

The Heat is On...

...Tell me can you feel it, tell me can you feel it!!!

Are you singing now? That song will be stuck in my head the rest of the day...and with good reason!

I just checked the temperature for our city and it's 97 degrees with a "feels like" 104! That's HOT! They say these are the dog days of summer. I never really understood exactly what it means, but apparently it has something to do with just how hot it is. And if it means scorching, almost unbearable to breathe - then the dog days are definitely here!

I opened my door at 10:30 this morning and was smacked in the face with a wave of heat. It literally took my breath. I couldn't believe it was so hot already!

Our summer has actually been quite pleasant until now, so I can't complain too much. It could have been like this for the past couple of months. Hopefully only 4 more weeks and things will begin to cool down.

I feel so bad for the kids that started back to school this week in this horrid heat. I'm so thankful CJ doesn't have to sit in a hot classroom all day!

Speaking of school, I finally got CJ's books ordered today. It feels good to have that done! And tomorrow I will be signing him up for a Science class that he will take on Friday's. I think it will be really good for him, as he will be able to get all the hands-on stuff and labs, which are really difficult to do at home for one child! Plus it will give him a change of scenery once a week, and I think he will be very happy about that!

I may be a bit scarce over the next few weeks, especially with reading and commenting on other blogs. I have a ton of stuff I'm working on, including on working on my business website and getting the ins and outs of it figured out. This is probably going to be a very consuming task, and I still have all the 'regular' stuff like housework and such plus school stuff starting next week. So, if you don't see me around, I haven't forgotten you, I'm just quite busy. Hopefully I'll have a handle on everything in a few weeks and can get back to my regularly scheduled blog reading!

That's all for now - this is night 2 of Basketball registration/evaluations and I've gotta get outta here to work on that. I wish that didn't mean I have to walk out in the heat to get to my car!

4th of July Catch Up

OK, I know I said I'd have pictures up by the weekend - but that just didn't happen. I've just been busy with other stuff. And I took so many pics that I had to choose, edit and upload! I'm so loving these slide shows from Slide.com, because it really does save me time. When I have a lot of pictures, this is much faster than uploading, cutting and pasting code, one by one!!

Several of my pictures came out dark and I had to crop and edit a couple photos, seeing Ruthi hasn't quite learned the art of having her photo made like a lady! There's one where her dress probably looks a little funny, because I had to clone it to cover her up a little bit!

Anyway - we had a blast. We spent the 4th with my parents along with several other family members. We had tons of food and lots of conversation!

After everyone else left, we pulled out the fireworks. It wasn't dark yet when we started, but it did get dark before we finished. I think Ruthi really enjoyed watching, and I know CJ enjoyed lighting most of them!

Ruthi had a cute 4th of July outfit, but unfortunately she had her first accident since we started potty training. We were in a different location, lots going on, and Mommy was in the house (she was outside with Daddy) and I think either it just happened so fast, or she just wasn't sure what to do. So we had to change her out of her cute outfit - but she did great the rest of the week - no more accidents!

My Brother got Ruthi a swimming pool. He said he figured she might already have one, so he thought Nana and Poppy could keep it at their house for her to play in. That was a great idea, and exactly what we did. She enjoyed it while we were there, and will have it when she goes back! (He brought gifts for all of us - Thank you Chris!!!)

OK, so that covers this group of pics (There are 20 of them!!!) I'll work on some more later.

Another Day at the Park

Going to the park after a visit to the chiropractor seems to work wonderfully! This time we all went in for a visit. Then we stopped and picked up some lunch from Krystal's and took it to "the park with the ducks."

We sat at a picnic table and watched the squirrels while we ate. Then we walked down to the pond to feed the ducks.

Or at least try.

I have never seen ducks more disinterested in eating! There were a lot of people there, so I imagine these ducks were already quite stuffed!

There was a big bird hanging out. I think it was a crane? But I'm not sure. I'm not great at identifying birds. Maybe someone who looks at these pictures can confirm or correct me.

Anyway, he was very interesting to watch. And apparently he prefers meat to bread, as he was catching his lunch as we sat there. We were fascinated. He would stalk his pray, dive in, and catch it! Chip had the camera and did a great job capturing the event.

As we walked down to one of the pond, we noticed several turtles swimming around, and Ruthi really liked watching them.

We were going to let Ruthi play on the playground, and she really wanted to...But...There had to be about 100 kids running around. There were 2 or 3 large groups. And they were all at least a couple years older. We just didn't imagine that would end up being a pleasant experience. Of course, she didn't quite understand why were walking away from "all the fun!" But when I asked her if she'd like to go home and swim in her pool, she was more than happy to walk away!

We will have to try again another day....or maybe a different park.

We did quite enjoy the time we spent at the park on this day though!

First Dip (Catching up)

OK, I'm trying to get pictures posted that I've taken recently - better late than never, right?

These were actually taken on June 1st - 2 weeks ago! We dug out and set up Ruthi's little pool and filled it up for her first dip of the summer. (Yes, I'm aware summer is not technically here yet!)

The water was FREEZING - but she didn't care one bit. She loved it! And I took at least 3 times more pictures than I have here - these were my favorites. She's just so cooperative and loves for me to take her picture - unlike her 13 year old brother (who I have to battle half the time to get a good pic - can't imagine why!);o)

Chip had been working in the heat and decided to cool off just a bit - but he had no idea how cold that water really was! And Ruthi attempted to dump some on him - if it had been anyone but her, he may not have thought it was very funny!