Only one week until his birthday. Do you think he can do it?
February 2017.
8 years ago
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Family Reunion
Last week we had a family reunion with Donnie's family. His parents came out and his two sisters and their families came as well (one sister lives here in GA).
It was nice to visit with family we haven't seen in a while. In fact, this was Jaxon's first meeting with his paternal grandparents. It didn't take him long to warm up to Grandma Y.
Donnie was in charge this year, and he wanted everyone to get a feel for Atlanta. The first day, we went to Zoo Atlanta. I think all of the kids really enjoyed the parakeet house the most. There are more than 500 birds, and if you hold out a seed stick (you purchase it there) they will come and eat out of your hand. It is pretty cool.
We checked out most of the animals (we skipped a few because of time and hunger constraints), and then headed to the kid's zone. The kids rode the carousel, we all rode the train, and then the girls jumped in a bouncy castle while the boys climbed a rock wall.
I was impressed at how quickly the boys were able to scale the wall!
The next day was Sunday, so we all went to church and then took the rest of the day easy.
On Monday, we went to breakfast at Waffle House, and then headed downtown to check out the Aquarium. I really like the Aquarium, but more importantly, Sydney and Jaxon love it! Jaxy really likes the giant viewing room.
After the Aquarium we walked over to the CNN center to eat, and then let the kids play in one of the playgrounds at Centennial Olympic Park.
Tuesday Donnie had to go to school and his brothers-in law were working, so we took a day off. It was also my dad's birthday, so we spent that evening with my side of the fam eating Mexican food and birthday cake.
Wednesday we all met up at Stone Mountain Park for a day of fun. We rode the tram to the top of the mountain and back - the men and boys walked the 1.3 miles back to the bottom. Then we played a round of mini golf and rode the Stone Mountain Express.
We had a picnic lunch and the went back out for more action. We watched a
4-D movie, listened to story time (twice), played at the barn, toured the plantation, and the kids, Donnie, Deidra, Deanna, and Lorin took their chances on the Sky Hike.
Around 8 p.m. we headed back to the lawn for a picnic dinner and to settle in for the laser show. I love thelaser show! Like a lot of things, I am not sure if it is because it is a great show, or because I have so many happy memories associated with it, but a trip to Stone Mountain isn't complete without
watching it.
Thursday we headed back dowtown to watch a Braves game. Not everyone was thrilled to see the team in action, so we split up this day. Donnie, Sydney, Jaxon, and I went. Donnie's two brothers-in-law came, and their sons came too. Basically, it was a boys plus Sydney and Amy activity.
It was fun, and we had good seats. When the game started it was really sunny and hot, but by the top of the 8th the clouds started to roll in. Finally, just as the final batter struck out in the bottom of the 9th, the thunderstorm pounded down. The rain came so quickly and so heavily that everyone was caught off guard.
There is nothing like a GA summer storm!
The girls used Thursday as a mani/pedi day. They all came home with fabulous nails!
Friday we went to the Dekalb International Farmer's Market. Each family bought items to take back to Donnie's sister's house and make for our Farmer's Market Pot Luck.
We had carne asada with fresh salsa; chicken curry with potatoes, sugar snap peas, and broccoli; pork curry; strawberry spinach salad with a variety of toppings; rice; lime water; and peppers with a cheese stuffing wrapped in proscuitto. It was all very yummy!
Saturday we spent the day at the temple. It was our last day together, as everyone started leaving Sunday.
It was a nice visit, it just ended too soon!
Graduation
I can hardly believe that I have nephews who are grown up and heading to college in the fall, but I do. The oldest of our 31 nieces and nephews graduated from high school this year.
Corey is the oldest, and since he lives in GA we were able to attend his commencement ceremony. It was nice to be with family, and to see all of Corey's hard work pay off. He starts college in Savannah in just a few months. I know he will do well. He is very smart - and I am sure he will work hard.
Tyler is the second oldest (they are only 3 months apart). Tyler graduated from a high scholl in Guam, so we couldn't quite make that celebration. I'm sure it was lovely though. We are also proud of Tyler. He too is smart and a hard worker. He starts college in Hawaii this fall.
Savannah and Hawaii - I think we need to plan trips to visit our two nephews at school this next year!
Here are a few photos from Corey's graduation:
Corey is the oldest, and since he lives in GA we were able to attend his commencement ceremony. It was nice to be with family, and to see all of Corey's hard work pay off. He starts college in Savannah in just a few months. I know he will do well. He is very smart - and I am sure he will work hard.
Tyler is the second oldest (they are only 3 months apart). Tyler graduated from a high scholl in Guam, so we couldn't quite make that celebration. I'm sure it was lovely though. We are also proud of Tyler. He too is smart and a hard worker. He starts college in Hawaii this fall.
Savannah and Hawaii - I think we need to plan trips to visit our two nephews at school this next year!
Here are a few photos from Corey's graduation:
Here are a few pictures I stole from Tyler's Facebook page :-)
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Destin
Last week we went to Florida for a little vacation. We had such a great time! I absolutely love the beach, and I especially love Destin. Growing up, we went there for family vacation every summer (well, starting when I was like 7). I have so many good memories there - Donnie and I even went there on our honeymoon.
This was our first time back to Destin since our honeymoon, and it was the first time for Sydney and Jaxon. They loved it, and we hope to make it a family tradition to visit the panhandle every summer.
My parents came with us to enjoy the warm Florida sun and relaxing beaches. When we first arrived it was super windy and a little chilly. We were okay with it thoughbecause as my Dad always says, "A bad day in Destin is still better than a good day anywhere else." The rest of our time there was absolutle lovely!
Before checking in to our hotel, we stopped off at the beach. Donnie took Sydney and Jaxon to check out the ocean.
Jaxon loved the feel of the water rushing over his little feet. Sydney, on the other hand, would rather just look at the water.
The next day it warmed up a little and we strapped on our swimsuits and hit the beach. Jaxon loved playing with the sand toys, and Sydney decided to give the water another try.
After a few thrusts of the shovel Jaxy was worn out and ready for a nap. Sydney worked up a thirst chasing waves.
After splashing around in the water, Donnie too decided to try his hand at sand castle building. It didn't take long for Sydney to attack and destroy the masterpiece either!
After playing on the beach for a while, we all decided to check out the beautiful water.
By the next day, Sydney and Jaxon were helping Donnie build castles, and no longer trying to destroy his hard work.
So when you are in Florida, you have to eat seafood - well, Donnie, the kids, and my Dad need to eat seafood, my Mom and I can pass. We ate at a lot of really good places. One of those places is The Crab Trap. It is right on the beach, and after we ate we went to check out the ocean views.
Another yummy place we ate at was Fuddpucker's. It is absolutely huge! They not only have three levels of seating, but they have over 80 live alligators too.
Lest you think we spent our entire vacation sleeping on the beach or eating, I better move on. We went to this family fun park called The Track. I always loved the track! Our main purpose was to play mini golf, but Sdney wanted to check out some of the rides too.
I could not believe it! Sydney is not much of a daredevil, but she chose to ride some of the "scary" rides, and loved every minute of it! Donnie took her on the bumper boats and race cars, and then she hit the ferris wheel, swings, and airplane solo.
After Sydney used all of her tickets we hit the mini golf course. About halfway through the Mountain Safari course (complete with waterfalls and exotic animal statues) Sydney found a giant giraffe. She was so excited!
She ran up and stood right underneath it. Water from one of the nearby falls splashed Sydney from behind, but not knowing the source of the wetness, Sydney yelled, "Hey! This giraffe just peed on me!" Oh Sydney...
In the Sandestin resort there are tons of hotels, shops, restaurants, golf courses... anything you might want. There is also a place called Baytowne Wharf. This is where the nightlife is (I guess, we went during the day :-)). This is where you can find the trendy shops, expensive restaurants, yummy saltwater taffy, and apparently surfing alligators.
You can also walk out to the bay and feed fish, but we actually just fed fish food to the birds.
We also spent a day (rain day) at Destin Commons. This is an outdoor shopping complex. They have a play area for kids in the middle of the "mall." Sydney liked the playground, until she saw the jumping fountains. The other kids playing in the fountains were in swimsuits - but that did not deter Sydney who attacked the water with no fear.
It was such a great vacation!
This was our first time back to Destin since our honeymoon, and it was the first time for Sydney and Jaxon. They loved it, and we hope to make it a family tradition to visit the panhandle every summer.
My parents came with us to enjoy the warm Florida sun and relaxing beaches. When we first arrived it was super windy and a little chilly. We were okay with it thoughbecause as my Dad always says, "A bad day in Destin is still better than a good day anywhere else." The rest of our time there was absolutle lovely!
Before checking in to our hotel, we stopped off at the beach. Donnie took Sydney and Jaxon to check out the ocean.
Jaxon loved the feel of the water rushing over his little feet. Sydney, on the other hand, would rather just look at the water.
The next day it warmed up a little and we strapped on our swimsuits and hit the beach. Jaxon loved playing with the sand toys, and Sydney decided to give the water another try.
After a few thrusts of the shovel Jaxy was worn out and ready for a nap. Sydney worked up a thirst chasing waves.
After splashing around in the water, Donnie too decided to try his hand at sand castle building. It didn't take long for Sydney to attack and destroy the masterpiece either!
After playing on the beach for a while, we all decided to check out the beautiful water.
By the next day, Sydney and Jaxon were helping Donnie build castles, and no longer trying to destroy his hard work.
So when you are in Florida, you have to eat seafood - well, Donnie, the kids, and my Dad need to eat seafood, my Mom and I can pass. We ate at a lot of really good places. One of those places is The Crab Trap. It is right on the beach, and after we ate we went to check out the ocean views.
Another yummy place we ate at was Fuddpucker's. It is absolutely huge! They not only have three levels of seating, but they have over 80 live alligators too.
Lest you think we spent our entire vacation sleeping on the beach or eating, I better move on. We went to this family fun park called The Track. I always loved the track! Our main purpose was to play mini golf, but Sdney wanted to check out some of the rides too.
I could not believe it! Sydney is not much of a daredevil, but she chose to ride some of the "scary" rides, and loved every minute of it! Donnie took her on the bumper boats and race cars, and then she hit the ferris wheel, swings, and airplane solo.
After Sydney used all of her tickets we hit the mini golf course. About halfway through the Mountain Safari course (complete with waterfalls and exotic animal statues) Sydney found a giant giraffe. She was so excited!
She ran up and stood right underneath it. Water from one of the nearby falls splashed Sydney from behind, but not knowing the source of the wetness, Sydney yelled, "Hey! This giraffe just peed on me!" Oh Sydney...
In the Sandestin resort there are tons of hotels, shops, restaurants, golf courses... anything you might want. There is also a place called Baytowne Wharf. This is where the nightlife is (I guess, we went during the day :-)). This is where you can find the trendy shops, expensive restaurants, yummy saltwater taffy, and apparently surfing alligators.
You can also walk out to the bay and feed fish, but we actually just fed fish food to the birds.
We also spent a day (rain day) at Destin Commons. This is an outdoor shopping complex. They have a play area for kids in the middle of the "mall." Sydney liked the playground, until she saw the jumping fountains. The other kids playing in the fountains were in swimsuits - but that did not deter Sydney who attacked the water with no fear.
It was such a great vacation!
Monday, May 11, 2009
If at first you don't succeed...
If at first you don't succeed....
try again.
Never too young to start learning how to mow the lawn. Keep it up.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Friday, May 01, 2009
April in pictures
Like I said earlier, we had a busy month. The weather was really nice and so we had many trips to the zoo, and lots of play time in the backyard. We spent a lot of time running errands, visiting family, and cleaning up small disasters around the house.
Jaxy driving the big red car
Yelling at the crazy woman driver who cut him off
One of our neighbors gave us a play kitchen to use outside. It has become a favorite of Sydney and Jaxon.
Jaxy's first tooth broke through March 24. It was his bottom right tooth. His top left tooth, the next to come out, appeared the next week. He had only these two teeth until April 15, when their mates came through. I have no idea why my children have crazy teeth schedules!
One day, I came out of the restroom and noticed that Sydney's bedroom door was closed. I started walking toward the door, telling Sydney to open up and not play with the door closed. As I neared the door, I realized she was not in her room, but at my computer with Jaxon - and a full bottle of powder. This is not a good combination.
Every morning this is the first thing I see.
Going for a wagon ride
Jaxy driving the big red car
Yelling at the crazy woman driver who cut him off
One of our neighbors gave us a play kitchen to use outside. It has become a favorite of Sydney and Jaxon.
Jaxy's first tooth broke through March 24. It was his bottom right tooth. His top left tooth, the next to come out, appeared the next week. He had only these two teeth until April 15, when their mates came through. I have no idea why my children have crazy teeth schedules!
One day, I came out of the restroom and noticed that Sydney's bedroom door was closed. I started walking toward the door, telling Sydney to open up and not play with the door closed. As I neared the door, I realized she was not in her room, but at my computer with Jaxon - and a full bottle of powder. This is not a good combination.
Jaxon had his first encounter with a caterpillar at the zoo. He liked to look at the furry little bug. He didn't even mind when it crawled on his arm, but when it took off on his shirt, that was too much.
Sydney never stays still for very long, so she isn't in too many pictures on our computer right now. However, here are two from the zoo. She loves the statue of (the late gorilla) Willie B. and pretending to be a bird in the lemur's tree house.
Every morning this is the first thing I see.
It is soon followed by this
I think I am pretty lucky.
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