Sometimes Rainy Days Aren’t So Bad…

Today, during a break in the rain, we decided to try out our rain boots…it was a huge success:

      

The wet clothes were absolutely worth the long nap I just KNOW they will take after so much excitement!

Happy Turkey Day, Y’all!

I Don’t Know If We Could Have Possibly Crammed Any More Fun….

…into the past four days-we have been so busy!  Of course it all started last week when we won tickets/parking/money/food.

  Then, as if that wasn’t awesome enough, Nana and Dee agreed not only to babysit during the game, but also to keep the kids that night as well. (In my mind that was almost better than winning the tickets.)  Matt and I decided to splurge (whoo-hoo for credit card reward points!) and get a hotel room in downtown Athens Saturday night as well. 
Saturday morning we dropped the kiddies over at N & D’s house and headed downtown for the game.  Here we (and our 14 chins) are, ready for the game! 
We stopped at a little Italian sandwich place on the way for a pitcher and a sandwich.  (An aside: My sandwich was HUMONGOUS!  So big in fact that I decided to save half of it for the game. Those of you who go to games on a regular basis know that this was a waste of aluminum foil and a brown bag.  They made me THROW AWAY THE WHOLE DELICIOUS THING BEFORE I COULD GO IN TO THE GAME.  I debated going in.)  After our lunch we headed to the stadium.  Along with 14000 of our closest friends:

And what a game it was!  My only regret going in was that I just knew it was going to be a shutout…we were expected to win by at least 30 and while that is a good thing, it makes for a bit of a boring game.  However it turned out to be a total nail biter!  We did pull off the win but it was anything but boring!

Go DAWGS!!  I enjoyed watching the game so much and hope that Matt and I don’t have to wait another 5 years to do it again!
  
After the game we went back to our hotel room, showered and headed out for a night on the town!  We made it all the way to 8:30 before it was lights out.  Yes, we are lightweights. 
Here’s a picture one of the waitresses took…very silly.  (in my defense she said something unexpectedly hilarious just before taking the picture):

I guess Matt did not think it was as funny as I did. 
What a fun weekend!  We picked up the babies on Sunday morning, went to church and then the kids and I headed up to Grandmas house…time for round 2 of fun!  Poor Matt has to work this week so he missed out this time.  (Don’t feel too badly for him…he did get to go see a “man movie” and eat brisket.)
Once we got to Grandma’s house she had a big surprise for the kids…they were each going to get to ride Kwirky!  This was a first for both the horse and the kids…and it was awesome!!  The kids and Kwirky did beautifully:

She’s a natural! 

Matthew loved it too..he said, “it feels like a massage!!”


Pea got to ride too, but I did not get pictures…I walked beside her just in case something happened.  She loved it too and can’t wait to go again.
After riding the horse we got to ride in the golf cart which is always a huge hit with the kids.  We drove all around the neighborhood and even discovered a new playground!
The next day was filled with fun as well.  We decorated gingerbread men (I have pictures of that too, but I am afraid I left the camera card at Grandmas, so I’ll have to share those later.), rode in the golf cart and ended the day with a delicious dinner-pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans and Lankford rolls.  I have never seen my kids eat so much…Hannah actually asked for seconds! 
Overall it has been a great four days.  As we approach Thanksgiving, I realize how fortunate I am to have such an amazing family-both my own, and the one I married into.  I have a lot to be thankful for!

I WON!! I WON!!

Last week, I was listening to a local radio station, and they mentioned this tailgating contest (drawing).  Just go online, enter, and if you win, you get two tickets to the Ga game, a parking space near the game (worth almost as much as the tickets), $50, and free food.  I jokingly asked Matt whether we would go if I won the contest. 

“Done”. He said.  Zero hesitation.

Good thing he was serious…because I WON!!!!  I’m the WINNER!!  I get the prize!!! (I don’t know if I’m more excited about the actual prize or just that I won something).

Hope y’all are having a great day too!!

Sunday Runday

 Running has always been important to Matt and me...whether we are actually doing it, or just talking about how we should be doing it...we both agree that it's a good thing.  (We also agree that it is more fun to think about than actually do.)  Caitlin and Matthew have picked up on this and probably about a year ago started asking if they could go with us.  As a child who HAD to go run (thanks, dad!) I pretty much thought they were insane, so I ignored their request.  Eventually however, I couldn't take it anymore.  I gave in.  The evil part of me thought that if I take them on a challenging run, maybe they would hate it and stop asking, because frankly, going running by myself is tough enough, and the idea of having two rugrats tagging along and slowing me down did not appeal.  So I took them on a nice two miler...one that involved two BIG hills at the end.  Two things happened: One: they loved it.  Two: they ran faster than me.  Total backfire!  However because they do like it and I know it's good for them, we have made it into our Sunday routine.  Saturday I make my day to either run alone or come up with a plausible excuse not to run. (usually the latter.  BUT!  When I do run, it's five miles! Go me!)  But Sunday is our day.  Either Matt or I usually take them on the same two mile run and they do it so well.  I think they are actually ready to go a little longer.  They have figured out how to break the run down into small pieces and it becomes manageable and they really don't complain.  I can tell when it gets tough for Matthew because he will throw his hands up and push the air in front of him (his way of 'pushing' himself.  Pretty cute.)  They are so different though...I think of them as the tortoise and the hare...Caitlin is a total tortoise, not because she is slow by any means, but because she can maintain a steady pace regardless of terrain.  Matthew is the hare because he runs in fits and starts...also regardless of terrain.  Sometimes he will sprint up hills and walk/jog down the hills.  They are both terrific runners though and I really hope to see them in Cross Country when the time comes.
Here they are...right after a run.  If they look a little too happy it's because I just bought them each a GIANT Gatorade. 

Hannah wanted to be in the picture too.  She is dying to go with us too, but is just a bit too small.  Matt will sometimes take her on a mini jog.  He says she has a bright future ahead of her :)  

They wanted to do running poses...I think they are reaching for the finish line...either that or they are super duper constipated.

Thursday

Good Morning!   Just a few things to report, so I think it will be a bullet day.

-Sports are officially over!  I am a little bit sad about this…I had a great time coaching Caitlin’s team-we had our end of the year party and the girls were so sweet!  The other coach and I agreed to work together again in the Spring, which I am excited about.  Matthew’s team ended up going completely undefeated this year and won the big trophy!  Matt even got his own trophy for being a superior first base coach.  This is the first year that Matt and I had as much fun as the kids during sports! 

-So, our dryer broke.  I am pretty sure either a belt slipped off or broke, but we will have to wait until Friday to find out.  While short term this makes me super happy (NO LAUNDRY TO FOLD!) I can’t imagine how long it will take me to catch up once it is fixed.  If you don’t hear from me for a few days it’s because I am buried under all the laundry. 

-Last night Chass was up on my lap (I know) and I found a bit of a lump on her belly.  I was a little freaked out, but thought it might be okay.  And then I started googling.  HUGE MISTAKE.  I have now convinced myself that she has cancer and have made an appointment to have it looked at this morning.  Hopefully it’s just a fatty something.  (which would totally make sense…she has plenty of fatty deposits surrounding her rear end.)

-In other pet news, turns out our cat is actually a Labrador retriever.  Last night she caught and killed a squirrel (which she was throwing up in the air and catching-EW).  Matt scooped it up and hurled it back into the woods.  This morning, I stepped out to the garage (BARE FOOTED) and nearly stepped on the very same grey squirrel.  Patti was looking at us like, ‘throw it again! throw it again!’.  Stupid cat. 

-I subbed this week which meant that Pea and Ben went to the babysitter for a full day.  Pea always complains about going to the sitters but she had a great time.  When I got there she wasn’t even that excited to see me…just kept playing with her toys.  Ben has a buddy over there that he likes to play with-she is an adorable little girl..I think he has a crush.  Overall I  am really glad to have found such a good babysitter…she is flexible and has a lot of experience in childcare.  If only I could convince her to potty train Ben!  (who has absolutely zero interest in using the potty). 

-Jokes are a big deal around here these days, especially on car rides.  Caitlin and Matthew have been trying to tell jokes for probably a year, and they have come a LOOOOONG way.  When they first started telling jokes it was like, ‘Why did the chair go to the library?”  “Because it was Tuesday!”  And then they’d die laughing.   Sunday though, we were on our way to Sunday school and Caitlin busts out with, “What is musical that you wear on your head?”.  “A HEADBAND!”  Amazing!  A joke with a punchline that actually makes sense!!  Which is nice because Hannah and Ben have now joined the game and it is painful.  Hannah’s jokes are worse that C & M’s early ones…she puts nonsense words in there and fully expects big laughter when she finishes.  Ben’s whole joke is nonsense too…he’s only got the ‘why’ part down, so it’s like, “hunuh joke:  Why sini; asjio;dfjkl;asjklf;sjak;joa;?  Cuz jfaslo;fjdskiaof;djklsd;!!!  HAHAHAH!!”  Needless to say this makes the 10 minute drive to school verrrrrrry long…

Gotta run…time to get Chass ready for her doggie appointment.  I’ll keep you posted! 

Happy Halloween

Here are our costumes:

We dyed Caitlin's hair with a hair spray...it only took three showers to wash it completely out :).

Yes, Hannah is wearing the zebra costume for the third year in a row (best $12 I ever spent).  She wore her supergirl costume for the festival at school:

Here are the n'hood starwars characters:

The kids had a ball...there were about a million people in our neighborhood which made keeping up with four dressed up kids in the dark a bit tricky.  The candy haul was unbelievable this year too...(one of the many perks of having four kids...more candy for the mommy).

Hannah is still a little sick today-I'm sure trick or treating in the cold last night probably did not help (bad mommy!)  She has a well visit tomorrow and I don't think she is going to pass muster for shots-we will see.  She has this nasty dry cough and just feels rotten.  She's taken a nap every day for almost a week which is some sort of Hannah record these days!