Grandpa's "Farm"

We are home and I'm finally posting what I had intended to post while on vacation . . . But as expected, it was a whirlwind trip! We traveled most the day Thursday and made it to our destination just in time for some yummy taco pizza! Don't dis it until you try it! *wink*

Friday a.m. we were able to lounge for a bit. Grandpa Lion took us for a look in his farm. (okay, it's a garden in his backyard. But come on people, add a few free range chickens and they could be self-sufficient with everything they have!)

Little Lion loved helping pick, Little Pumpkin loved helping eat: She really didn't mind the dirt; just a little extra protein for the day!

Freshly dug up potatoes! I'm still amazed.

And we wonder where Little Pumpkin gets it from?!? Daddy Lion enjoying his harvest of the green beans! I'm still not sure what appeal a raw green bean has.

Somehow, someone wasn't thinking and gave the basket of strawberries to Little Pumpkin to carry inside to be washed . . . you guessed it:
They never made it inside! We got side-tracked looking at eggplant varieties and the next thing we know Little Pumpkin is gone and quiet ~ never a good combination! *wink* Daddy Lion found her around the corner of the house shoveling in as many strawberries as she could!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

This was one thing we told Cheetah we'd do while he was here and it was not working out . . . nothing like last minute! The game was Wed. night and our flight out was Thurs. mid-day!

Check out our view! These were awesome seats ~ praisin' Jesus for ebay!

This is the sweet ball girl that talked with Little Lion throughout the night. She even gave him a game ball at the end of the game! How cool is that!?!

The sitter we had lined up for Little Pumpkin ended up sick. *frown* But it all worked out for the best I think! Little Pumpkin loved the game more than Little Lion! Of course, food was involved! *wink*

COTTON CANDY!!! (my favorite part too)

The kids loved the airplanes flying over head than the game! (which is okay.) It was so fun to see Little Pumpkin mimic her big brother. He would yell "airplane" and wave. She began yelling her version of airplane (which was surprisingly close) and blowing kisses to the planes!

Not the greatest family pic, but none the less a ball game pic! You can even see Cheetah! *wink* He wasn't too cool with the picture taking.

A great way to start our trip!

Major Leaguers in the Making

Pop is out to make some great ball players . . . Little Pumpkin already keeping her eye on the ball! *smile*
Here it comes . . . You can do it . . .
CAUGHT IT!!!
Okay, every catch can't be perfect . . . we're still learning! *wink*
Look at those faces! Pure silliness and sheer delight!

I think the kids enjoyed it too! *wink*

Lazy Susan . . .

We found a new use for the one at my mom's:


And the only thing funnier than getting fall-down dizzy, is watching yourself get fall-down dizzy!



May you laugh today with the Joy of a 1 year old.

Daddy Lion.

ROTFL . . .

Kids say the cutest things . . . The past few days Little Lion has been just full of these little sayings that are cracking us up! Some have heard, but I must post about them, so I don't forget . . .EVER! *wink*

A few weeks ago, some friends were over and needed to borrow our "spanking spoon." Apparently Little Lion put the spoon away for our friends. Later that evening, Little Lion got out of bed and Daddy Lion headed for the spanking spoon. The entire way Little Lion is crying "no daddy, no daddy, no daddy." Upon opening the drawer where the spoon is stored, Daddy Lion found it empty. Little Lion stopped abruptly from his wailing to very clearly say it's in the other drawer, then just as quickly returned to his wailing of "no daddy, no daddy, no daddy!" Cheetah nearly spewed root beer out his nose! So funny.

Last night we enjoyed a birthday celebration at my parents house. Little Lion seemed to be a bit accident prone. First, he was holding his left foot trying to hop in the kitchen when his hand slipped and he stubbed is toe on the floor. Then he was jumping on the couch (after being told not to and was not allowed on the couch for the rest of the night). Anyway, he fell and hit his head on the side table (left a mark too)! Finally, he was coming to the kitchen to show off his Lego creation when it fell apart and landed on his foot. He immediately began crying then clear as day said "NOT AGAIN" and continued crying! Daddy Lion was literally on the floor! It was so hilarious.

Tonight, after dinner while we were doing dishes, Daddy Lion and I were talking. (Little Lion was finishing his dinner) I said "I'm not sentimental." Our little eavesdropper at the table spoke up and said "Who's sitting in the middle?" *giggle*

I remember my mom keeping a journal of the silly things we said. I still remember some of those things because I would read them over and over. Hope some of these end up being some timeless memories! *smile*

Weekend Anticipation

Okay so I'm trying to post some cute pics of my sweet little ones wanting to be like their awesome Daddy Lion. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or the patience right now to figure out what's going on. . . so I'm just blogging to say: DADDY LION ROCKS!!!

I'm so excited to be heading out this evening with 4 other gals to just hang out in the BIG city overnight! *wink* My biggest excitement . . . IKEA!!! It will be my first time! Good thing we are all piling in one car so there is no space for any major purchases! *smile*

All of this is because my hubby loves me more than I can imagine! He is truly SuperDaddy when I'm gone. So here's to a fun weekend for all!

Underwater Excursions . . .

of the pre-school type! *wink*
Okay I haven't posted in so long so bear with me!

These pics are from last week's water babies class I did with Little Pumpkin.

Her tongue was out in almost every underwater picture! Too funny . . . must be in the DNA.

I had to scan some of these pics in, so the color is off a bit, but wow what a great pic! Love those eyes! They just "dance" I believe is the way my friend Hazel put it!

The tongue again!

Little Lion diving for the rings! He is such a little fish.

Little Lion took this pic of Cheetah. Most of the underwater pics are his masterpieces. (I can't open my eyes underwater with my contacts in and can't see without them, so thank you Cheetah!)Enjoying our Popsicles and friends! This picture captures ALL their personalities so well! *SMILE* Loving summertime!

Monkey See Monkey Do

We picked up this mask for Cheetah when we went to the theater on Saturday for our anniversary. Some movie he wants to see . . . Surprisingly Little Pumpkin enjoyed wearing it!
Of course, Little Lion not to be outdone by his 'baby' sister as he still calls her wanted to wear it too. I love these pics because you can see their baby blues so well!
Well, this one just fit with the title! Daddy Lion has picked up a old past time since Cheetah's been here . . . video games! The PS2 has come out and Grand Turismo is all we think about.

Okay, not really all they think about. I'm glad it is something they can enjoy together!

11 Years . . .

and this is what we have to show for it:

a wonderful, happy family!

The Truth . . .

It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I think deep down, Cheetah likes my kids! *wink*

Success!

A man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend.-- Henry David Thoreau

If this statement is true, my friend (Hazel) over at Me and My Boys has succeeded over and over and over again! She and Magnum were some of the masterminds behind my surprise b-day party a few weeks ago!
Anyway, Wednesday was truly Hazel's b-day and we got together to just enjoy each others company! Magnum's G-man ended up sick, so they didn't make it out ~ missed you!

We managed to enjoy ourselves none the less. *wink* After a very (I mean "VERY" because I was in charge) simple lunch we headed out to the kiddie pool!



After a short stint in the the pool, Little Lion headed to the see-saw. Now Little Man does not like change too much, so we sat back to see how this would all go down. Little Lion sat at the see-saw by himself for some time, calling out the whole time "Someone come see-saw with me" over and over . . . you know Little Lion!

Finally Little Man got out of the pool and headed out to investigate this contraption. After much persuading and even a little example Little Man climbed on. After the first move, he was ready to get off. But we joined the boys and Hazel was able to convince Little Man to stay on!

Now here's the SAD part! My video didn't turn out! *BIG FROWN*
But I did get these sweet pictures of our boys:

I sure pray that they, like their moms, will be friends that continue to bless each others socks off! Thanks Hazel for sharing your special day with us!

GTBR ~ Pictures

Disclaimer: LOTS of pictures ahead!

But take heart, it's not the 70 I took just a mere 15! *wink* Little Lion loved climbing on all the trucks from the National Guard and Army. The poor Navy booth wasn't as popular . . . kind of hard to get a ship to a fairgrounds I guess! *smile*
Little Pumpkin is dancing in this one! We wouldn't even notice the music since the stage was so far away, it was only a faint sound. But Little Pumpkin always heard it and started clapping and dancing!
Checking out some to the planes. These are the same planes that would later circle us in the air. Pretty Cool!
Ooooooooo . . . Black Hawk . . . I think. Anyway, it was very big and very popular. I admit it was really neat to see it so close!
Here are some of the balloons about to take off.
I really liked this pic because you can see all the stages: the far right is just blowing up, the left side is one about to take off and the others in the air. Not to mention the sun starting to set behind them! You all have to come it's just amazing!
We finally made it to the front of the line to ride the train! Even got front row seats ~ how 'bout that! Smiles all around! *smile*
There were four skydivers. The first two tadem jumped, then separated in the sky. The last two each had flags: the state flag and the American flag. I wish I would have gotten a video of this. It's awesome to see them free fall so close. We were fortunate to meet the first two Friday night and even saw them after the jump Saturday night too. (They even remembered us!)
These are some of our friends from church helping get a balloon started. . . the whole process is really fun to watch.
Mr. Steve and Tia Sabrina hung out with us! AJ and Little Pumpkin are "twins from different wombs." However, Little Pumpkin was ready to go home with them! None of us would hold her.

SPOILED! I had put her down to take a picture and she ran straight to Mr. Steve. She really is sweet ~ when she's getting what she wants! *smile*
There were lots of shape balloons this year. . . I think 9. Anyway, the Polar Bear was really cool and big . . .
but the Eagle was the biggest balloon I had ever seen. My flash wasn't even large enough to really get a good pic!
You can just see the mesmerized look on Little Pumpkin's face as we are leaving this behind:

The clips below are cool, but still pale in comparison to the real thing! So plan to come down one summer ~ the second weekend in July. It's HOT, I'm not going to lie! But it's worth it! *smile*

This one is an "all glow," meaning all the balloons hit their burners!

This one is a "twinkle" burn.

So just let us know when to expect you! *wink*

GTBR!

This weekend is the Balloon Races! We LOVE the balloon races . . . okay, we honestly don't get up early enough to see the actual races, but we love the fair-like atmosphere and the balloon glow at night! Daddy lion really love the food and Little Lion loves the kids play land (a bunch of different inflatables and a couple of kiddie pools filled with sand to dig in).

Le Tourneau had one of their Cessna planes at the entrance. We knew the flight instructor that was there and he let the kids jump in the cockpit. Little Lion loved playing with the controls and Little Pumpkin just loved being in it!

FOOD! If we've learned anything about Little Pumpkin . . .

food is the way to happiness! *wink*

Cheetah on the other hand does NOT like pictures! *smile*

He doesn't know I'm using this one, so I gotta post quick! *wink*

Loving the food!

And how else do you enjoy being in 100 degree heat than having a sno cone!

YUMMY!

Good thing he had on a red shirt! *wink*

But the best part? We get to do it all again Saturday night! *SMILE* I'm taking my camera tonight, so I hope to get some good pics of the actual glow and maybe even some video!