Running Overtime

Warning: WAY more pics than you probably want to look at!  The next few posts will probably be out of order...starting with now and working backwards until I catch up.

Papaw came to Rome and everyone was ALL smiles!

Our first adventure began Friday morning...We headed to the Atlanta area to the highly recommended Stone Mountain.  I was skeptical, but what a blast we had!  We didn't even get to do it all and we shut down the place!  ;o)

The first attraction was the Sky Hike.  Kate rocked the course!  She was blasting through the balance beams and ropes like she did this everyday!  We all did the first level and I was proud of Blake for pushing through.  So I didn't pressure him into going to the second level with the rest of us.  Secretly I'm glad because Papaw was then able to get some great pics of Kate!

It wasn't like she was always taking the easy option, like her momma was! ;o)  Daddy was great at the course too, always taking the harder course and helping out his little dare devil.  I cannot tell you how many times I had to close my eyes because she was so brave!

Blake did enjoy the course that was closer to the ground and he did an awesome job on the zip line!  I think that was a favorite for him!

After being extremely disappointed that the duck rides were cancelled due to ramp damage, we head to the skyline ride to take us to the top of Stone Mountain!  That's 825 feet people!  Papaw got the below shot of the monument on the way to the top.

Thank you Papaw for the great family pic on top of Stone Mountain!

A certain little boy who will remain unnamed decided to walk down the mountain.  People I love my Sperry's but they were NOT meant for hiking down 825 feet of a mountain side!  I survived. And we still made it for the Laser show spectacular on the side of the mountain.  Looking forward to our next visit.

DAY TWO:

We hit the road again; this time North to Chattanooga.  Our first stop was the Children's museum.  Another highly recommended attraction.  The kids loved it...could have spent more time there.  I will say however, they did not stick together...so it was nice to have a few adults to go separate ways with them.

Even Daddy found some fun things to do; engineering minds never stop turning the wheels!

The water works station was a big hit with them both!

After splitting up for Kate to participate in an art project.  She found the face paints!  Not sure if it's the Cherokee blood in her or the clown characteristics from her birth order.  :o)

Center of attention: definitely birth order!   

Finally caught up together again for a puppet show.  Praying they find real paying jobs one day!

After Discovery Museum we headed to find the Chattanooga ducks!  Success!  We had 30 minutes to grab a bite to eat and hit the road. We had an awesome guide, which must be a requirement for these things!  He let the kids drive when we got down to the water.  Blake was having a blast!

If you ever are looking for the Chattanooga ducks, you can find them behind Chattanooga Cupcakes!  Both of which I would recommend.  YUM!

Next stop:  Tennessee Aquarium.  Yes, we have been there and done that...but it is that good! 

 We were so late getting to the Aquarium, it was like we had the place to ourselves!  We all got to pet the sting rays.  They were very playful.

I just loved this picture of the sea turtle!

After closing down the Aquarium we killed some time in the water area in the plaza.  The kids loved it even though it had to be COLD!  

Final stop the IMAX!

 This time we saw Tornado Alley, amazing and scary all at the same time.

 We enjoyed our last few days with Papaw around town.  Showing him the sights we enjoy regularly. The Clock Tower is a favorite stop for the kids.  

We always seem to be downtown without our suits when the fountain is on.  But today since our pool was under maintenance all day, we mad a special trip just for the fountain.

 It didn't take much to persuade Papaw to join in the fun.  It was a little warm just sitting on the bench watching!  A great way to end a special visit.  The kids are already making their list for the next time Papaw comes to down!  Thank you Papaw for a great week of memories!

Our Little Mermaid

Little Pumpkin has been so excited about her end of the year program!  They have been practicing for weeks and she played the Little Mermaid DVD over and over again in preparation for this day!

They even rolled out the red carpet for her! (Ok, and everyone else's kid too.)

I was so proud of her!  She has grown up so much and followed along so much better than she did at last year's dance recital!  I sure wish I could talk her back into to dance, but she is determined to do gymnastics!

If you are bored, here's a short clip of her performance.  

(50/50 chance and I picked the wrong side of the room, so my camera was on full zoom.)

Road Trip!

So it's been a busy and daddy-less two weeks.  Therefore we had a family fun weekend planned!  Friday night started out at the pool...crazy kids swimming in super cold water!

Saturday morning was spent looking at some houses.  Found one we offered on...third time's a charm, right!?!  After dragging the kids through the houses, we hit the road.  This is what happens when you let a certain little girl play with your phone:

On our way to our destination, we drove Chickamauga battlefields.  It is still a little too much history to keep the kids attention, but we did stop to check out a few statues and cannons.

Our first stop, the IMAX;  where we saw To the Arctic.  Everyone enjoyed the Polar Bear cubs!  Plus who can resist the awesome glasses.  ;o)

The Penguins were a big hit with Little Pumpkin.  Good to know there is still one penguin taller than my baby!  When did she grow up?!?

Watch out for the Giant Japanese Spider Crab!  A favorite...although I think it had more to do with the crawling under the exhibit to get to the view point.

Another big hit was the butterfly garden.  Even if we didn't have any land on us.  They were beautiful and had some really neat cocoons. Never paid attention to how unique each cocoon could be.

Here they were waiting somewhat impatiently for the stingrays to come by so they could touch them.  Little Lion was trying hard to "catch" the guitar fish...the lady said it felt like sandpaper.

So excited that the Tennessee Aquarium is so close and so much fun!  We look forward to many more visits.  Come see us and we'll take you!  ;o) 

(No, I'm not above bribery at times.)

Awards & Party

Today Little Pumpkin had an award program and end of the year party.  (She still has a few more days of school.)  They sang a signed & sang the chorus to a Chris Tomlin song.  I took a video, but can't seem to find it currently.  Each child had memorized a scripture that began with the same letter as their name.  Kate had "Keep your tongue from evil"  She did great!  

Next came the awards:

Shocked?!?  We were too!  But proud as can be!  ;o)

Both her teachers had such sweet things to say about her.  Including being so impressed with her transitioning so quickly. "Everyone in the class loves her!"

Some sweet friends at the party.  We were moved inside due to rain.  However, I think the kids had just as much fun as they would have outside.

Little Pumpkin and Mrs. G.

Little Pumpkin and Mrs. C.

We are so thankful for the few short months she had at Rome First.  And know that God put us there for a reason. Praising Him for the smooth transition both the kids have had thus far!

When you have the time...

Amazing what you can do when you have the time!  ;o)

Finished a 10k on the treadmill yesterday.

Roman around town!

Things have been going slow...which most of the time is discouraging!  

However, this weekend a slow Saturday + beautiful weather = the perfect day!

After a very slow morning we headed out to a local college that has a BEAUTIFUL campus!  After driving deep into their campus we parked and began our walk.  First stop was the Swan Lake.

Note to self:  ALWAYS have week old bread/french fries available to fend off the nesting Canadian Geese!  WOW!!!  I knew they could be mean, but never experienced it first hand.  Once we got the Swan on our side, she protected us from the geese.  Honestly, I think it was self preservation... she wanted the bread for herself!  I'm okay with this ulterior motive 'cause it kept us from getting "goosed!" 

  

After we were far enough away from the nesting geese and our bread was all gone, the other geese allowed us to enjoy some time on the swing!  Isn't this a sweet picture of my little people!?!

They were quite excited to find all kinds of places to pose for pictures!  Even adventurous to get to some of the places.  Confession:  I did video them getting there in case they fell in so we could send it to AFV... the mistake was telling them that.  Kate was "trying" to fall in after that!  Seriously stopped and said I'm jumping in now!

Afterwards we headed downtown; sure love this area of town!  We found a fountain area (this is not it) that the kids could play in.  We had to leave because it was too much torture watching the other kids in their swimsuits.  You know us, being the mean parents we are, would not allow them to get drenched while fully dressed!  I'm sure they will work through it in counseling some day! ;0)

Still learning to slow down and enjoy the wait.  But yesterday it was a little easier!

Little Pumpkin's Field Trip

Little Pumpkin's class went on a field trip to the local library.  She was so excited!!!  Upon arriving at the library she was greeted by a new friend with a huge hug and being called by name.  I think she is adjusting well.

 Waiting very patiently for all our friends to arrive. They were so good and quiet walking in that the librarians didn't even know we were there!  With 3 classes of 4&5 year olds, that's impressive!!

The puppet show was a take on Little Red Riding Hood....it was quite interactive and probably the loudest children's time at a library I've ever been too!  The kids loved it!!!  My ears did not.  ;o)

I had to slip out after the puppet show, but Little Pumpkin enjoyed a tour of the children's department and the best part...they got to walk the three to four blocks back to school!  And there was pizza involved!  Needless to say she loves her new school.  (I'm sure having 7 girls out of the 12 kids helps too!)

From our Family to Yours

We pray you had as Merry a Christmas as we did!!!

Take a guess!

What could she possibly be eating that caused this much of a mess, you ask?!? You tell me what you think!

Dinner & a Show

Sunday I went to dinner and the Beauty & the Beast performance with some very special little people: Little Lion, Little Lamb, Alligator, and Little Pumpkin!

My idea of sitting outside so I'm not worried about how loud they were, backfired just a tad with the wind and the four trains that went by in the time we ate lunch! ;o)

Some time to kill before the show, so we headed to the park! What a beautiful day it was!!! I think my children need to take some lessons on taking pictures! These girls had great smiles in every picture I took...

Best Friends Forever

Sorry Doc, I couldn't resist how precious it was...

They were actually holding hands because of being in the parking lot, but they just kept on! One we can put in the wedding album someday! ;o)

1 Peter 5:7

After a week of talking with realtors, moving companies, lenders, inspectors etc... the reality that we are moving is sinking in! It was a rough weekend at the Lion's Den. Mostly for Mommy and Daddy Lion. I'm praying the kids don't pick up on the stress and anxiety that comes with a move.

AND with that prayer, GOD has answered me in confirming all that HE is doing in our lives. Even to the simplest details. As I stood in front of the 20 or so kids in Kid's Church today, I was really preaching to myself: "WE CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON GOD."

What a reminder for me right now. GOD is moving us...HE is in control...HE will take care of the details.... HIS timing is perfect. I am CONFIDENT of this, that HE who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus! (Phil 1:6)

So here I am, casting my anxieties on HIM!

I'm not carrying them anymore!!! :o)

ROME, GEORGIA.... Here we come!

Five? Really?!?!

So today my little pumpkin turned 5! This boggles my mind...where does the time go? While praying with her last night I thanked Jesus for her and asked that she would enjoy her "last sleep as a four year old!" Apparently that was a mistake... after finishing praying I hear her sniffling:

MommyLion: Kate, why are you sad?

Little Pumpkin: I like being four!

ARE YOU KIDDIN' ME?!? ;o)

She didn't seem to mind celebrating all day long and is looking forward to her pajama party on Friday! ;o) Happy Birthday Little Pumpkin! We love you more than you'll ever understand!!!

Dual Air Control!

So we finally said goodbye to our ol' sport! It served us well for TEN years! Here's to a new decade of driving. I'm happy to have a Mazda again! ZOOM - ZOOM!!!

(Someday when I get it cleaned again I'll take a picture!)

Can you guess who was driving?!? ;o)

Anyone Surprised?

So today was D-day, well C-day....

Little Pumpkin got her hard cast today. She had been struggling with what color she was going to choose, I thought she was joking, but I think she just really wasn't sure! There are so many choices these days.

And everyone had an opinion: Daddy wanted Orange (go Beavs), Blake wanted Lime Green (the color of choice these days), someone recommended doing Pink & Purple (would have solved all our problems, but alas cannot be done)!

Even this morning while getting ready she seemed distraught..."I just want to make everyone happy." I assured her that it was HER choice and she was the one who had to look at it for the next 5 weeks!

OUT with the OLD!

Daddy Lion and Mommy Lion had an idea of what color she might pick. So even though she had only black and white on today, Mommy Lion still chose this bow! ;o)

It's healing well! Maybe it's just me, but it still looked a little bent. She did so well, AGAIN!

IN with the NEW!

oh, and if you by chance call to ask her about her pink cast...you have been forewarned:

"It's not pink, it's BRIGHT pink!" ;o)

So we will be sporting pink, excuse me, BRIGHT pink for the next 4 weeks! Pinkalicious!