May 29th

Happy Memorial Day weekend!!  Ours has been amazing so far!  A few weeks ago, Matt and I decided that we each wanted to have some one on one time with the big kids.  So Matt decided to take Matthew to his first Braves game, and I wanted to take Caitlin out to lunch and to the American Girl store. 

Caitlin and I left around 10:30 with dolls in tow:

Neither of us had ever been to the store, and we were so excited!  It was also fun being able to go somewhere without a stroller, diaper bag, formula, etc., etc., etc.!!!  After about an hour drive, we arrived:

It was so much fun to wander through the store with no time constraints-and thanks to Grandma, Caitlin had $50 to spend on whatever she wanted!  We looked and looked:

Eventually she settled on getting her dolls ears pierced, a book about how to set up a school for your doll and a mini doll...

I'm really not sure who had more fun...

And yes, that is the American Girl doll I got when I was around Caitlin's age...

After we got our fill of shopping, we headed out for lunch.  Caitlin wanted to do something "fancy" and thought a Mexican restaurant would be perfect ;)...

We decided to sit outside

Ladies lunch!

A cheese quesadilla, cheese dip and sundae later...it was time to head home.  Next up...Matt and Matthew headed to the Braves game:

And they were in for a BIG surprise...see these tickets?

They were for nosebleed seats.  It was all we could afford and we figured that some Braves (even teeny tiny far away Braves) were better than no Braves. 

So they were off.  The minute they walked in the gate they were stopped by a lady who gave them two tickets, THIRTEEN ROWS BEHIND HOME PLATE!!!!!  She had two extras for people who never showed up.   The view was AMAZING:

Not only were the seats great, but the tickets also each had $10 vouchers for food/merchandise.  So Matthew got this:

It was the biggest hot dog Matthew had ever seen!

Then, he got this:

Because who wants to do the tomahawk chop with no tomahawk??

While the trip was for Matthew, I'm pretty sure Matt enjoyed it as much or more than he did:

According to Matt, the game could not have been more perfect.  Matthew got to see Jason Heyward (#22 from his sign) hit a home run on his first at bat, Got to see Bobby Cox almost get kicked out of the game, and the Braves won 6-3.  Also?  He got to stay up WAY past his bedtime and have a Dr. Pepper.  A sure sign that Daddy was in charge!!

On our way home from our shopping excursion, Caitlin decided that May 29th had become a family tradition-from now on, it would be the day that she and I do something fun, and Matt and Matthew do something fun.  I'm definitely in!!!

Day 2 Of Summer...

...and we're already getting desperate.  Two-a-days to the pool=10 applications of sunscreen=out of the question. 

So, I am resorting to things I swore I would never do.  Case in point: turning three and a half hellions loose with a bucket of water balloons:

Three....

...and a half

They were entertained for a whole 15 minutes.  It was awesome!

Balloon Toss

Good Catch!

Hannah's attempt at throwing it TO mommy was more like AT mommy.  Coincidence?  I dont' think so. 

This picture is blurry because I was literally running away as I took it.  He meant business. 

Tomorrow is the Hamsters birthday.  Let's hope that goes better than water balloon day. 

Pictures from the Pool Party

Fortunately the pool had warmed up (something about 40 little kids in the pool will do that....) for the party and the kids had a blast!  Matt elected to stay home with the little two until they got up from naps, so for the most part it was me and C and M.  The orthodontists in our n'hood sponsored the party so there was a TON of fun stuff going on..beach balls, floats, squirt guns, inflateable jumpy things and an inflateable slip and slide...can't wait for next year!!

Here are the highlights:

Having a ball!

Matthew playing volleyball in the jumpything

C...about to jump in

The highlight of the party was the visit (and free vouchers) from the ice cream truck.  Pea woke up just in time for hers...

Caitlin hula hooping...

...now she's just showing off!!

Pea in the pool.  The ok kind....

Pool Comments

Typical conversations of C, M, H & B-Poolside:

C: "Daddy!  Mommy!  Get in!  It's Great! Come Play!  I love SWIMMING!  Why is everyone else out of the pool??  Get in and play!!  The pool is AWESOME!"

M: (laying flat on the concrete after 2 minutes in the subzero water) I'm FREEZING.  When can we go? 

H: Hanging out at the side of the pool peering into the water: "OH MINE DOSS!  WITE DER, ISSA BUG!!  INNA POO!!  OH MINE DOSS!!  MOMMY DET IT!" (Pea has a bug phobia)

B: WAAA!!!  (code for, "daddy please stop putting me in the pool.  it's too damn cold!!)

We are headed back this afternoon for the party. I'm sure we'll all be fried crispy by 4 :)

A Caitlin Story

Caitlin brought home her writing folder...there were many many gems...but this was my favorite:

Once upon a time there was a farmer who wanted a turkey for thanksgiving.  He had a turkey on his farm.  He decided that he should be eaten.  The turkey said you are not going to eat me because I am scary!  Then the next day the farmer was thinking if he should eat him or not.  He said to the turkey even if your scary I will still eat you!  You can if you want but right now you need to feed the sheep.  I will catch you first!  Then the turkey turned into a dragon!  And ate the farmer!  Then the turkey had a great Thanksgiving!

The End.

...the good old turkey into dragon switcheroo...it'll getcha everytime!

Hello World!

We are a bit sick here at The Shoe...and of course, as is usually the case, Pea Started It.  She came down with a fever that she quickly passed to Ben, who somehow mutated it into a fever, plus a drippy nose and a cough.  And then shared it back with Hannah and Me!  Yay!  And I'm pretty sure that Matt's allergy attack yesterday was complicated by the BenHannah Plague.  So, we are having tons of fun around here.  Fingers are crossed that C and M stay healthy for their last week of school-they have a million fun things going on including beach day, camping day, water day, and movie day. 

In spite of being a bit sick we had a great weekend ...we went to several playgrounds and took the kids to Target to spend some of their own money.  They have been saving money since the first dollar Matthew conned out of us, and are up to about $70!  So Matt allowed them to each take $10 to spend on anything they wanted at Target.  Matthew ended up with a pair of batting gloves (we've been watching the Braves and Matthew wanted to look like the pros) and Caitlin got a webkinz and a pair of loop earrings..her new obsession.  Oh! and speaking of Caitlin...she went to her first movie on Friday.  She and two friends went with a friend of mine to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid and then out to dinner afterward...she wasn't back until 9:15!  She said it was "heaven"...and she never wanted it to end.  Apparently I need to take them to the movies this summer. 

In other news...we've decided to move Ben out of our closet.  And...I think we are going to put him downstairs.  For those who have met TheBen...you know why this is.  The kid is LOUD.  He can yell louder and scream higher than any of the other kids.  Combined.  So, honestly I'm not too concerned about not hearing him if her cries at night.  Between the monitor and his lungs we should be ok.  Our plan is to start the move this weekend...we'll see how that goes. 

I have really enjoyed having an entire month off between school...and am not looking forward to getting back to the grind in June...but I'm going to look at it as the beginning of the home stretch.  Summer classes-8 weeks- plus student teaching in the fall-10 weeks, and assuming I pass comps....I'll be done.  And I'm NEVER going back to school again!  Unless it is as a teacher.

Matt is doing well-in spite of the month of May..which absolutely kills his allergies.  He is on a steady diet of zyrtec, saline and afrin.  And he's still so miserable.  Fortunately the month is almost over.  His job continues to alternately stress him out because it's so busy and stress him out because there is not enough to do.  So he's happy ;).  I know he looks forward to the weekends as much as we do...so we've really been trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible.  We are considering an annual pass either to Stone Mountain or to the Greenville zoo; both of which are fairly close and tons of fun. 

Anyway, I'm moving on to pictures now.  It's a random assortment of what we've been up to...

Matt-making sure the playground equipment is safe...

Matt and the big kids.  I love this of C and Matt...

Matt and Ben

ML & Ben

Ben and Hannah in the wagon

Nothing better than raisins and a wagon ride.

Silly Caitlin

Monkeying around with Daddy

A Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!!  I had a wonderful day yesterday with Matt and the kids...I am so thankful to have such wonderful babies...and to be a mommy.  Here are some fun pictures we took yesterday-unfortunately the Ben was sleeping at the time, so I'll have to get him later.  (I did this two years ago here...crazy how they have changed!!) Here we are:

Caitlin and Mommy

Matthew and "Mom"...he has started calling us "Mom" and "Dad".  I prefer Mommy and Daddy!

The Pea and I...Pea is definitely rockin' the mullet...

It was tricky taking a pictures with the puppy...but I didn't want to leave her out :)

We made the kids (virgin) daquiri's last night...they loved them :)

And...Caitlin insisted on a silly pose.   YIKES.

Dance like no one's watching....

Daily Dose of Funny

Three big kids

Climbing the tree at Gma and Gpa's house...see them?

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