Birthday Girls

The whole gang celebrating Taryn

Birthday menu for Taryn was pork tenderloin, mac and cheese, veggies and carrot cake (no raisins, no nuts).
Taryn blowing out her candles.

Taryn trying out her new roller blades in the dark and rain.

We celebrated Christina's birthday a day early since we will not be home tomorrow night.
Christina's birthday menu was shrimp creole, salad, bread and strawberry cake.

Christina got the mini Josefina American Girl doll. She was kind of wanting it.

Don't be like me

Go put some sunscreen in your purse/diaper bag and make your kids use it.

That's Rebekah, also affectionately known as "Red".

Taryn's a Teenager

And naturally that means I am now the mother of a teenager. So far, it's been a breeze. Feel free to ask me again in about 6 years when I have 5 of them!

We were able to get out and enjoy the beautiful day together on Saturday. We had somewhere we needed to be in the early afternoon, so we didn't wander too far from home. We first went over to the University to walk on the dike. It's a very nice walk (or run if you're a kid or have the energy of one). The University is on one side and the lake to the other.

When we arrived there was a rowing competition, but it was finished before we were, so we went over and the kids sat in the stands.


We loaded up and drove over to the Old Stone Church. We play every week at the Old Stone Church playground, but the church is across the street and separated by a cemetary. I don't know if the kids really knew the church was even there. I mentioned it to Tina one afternoon and she wanted to go see it up close. So it was her suggestion which led us there on Saturday.

We looked inside then walked around the cemetary. The church was built in 1797 and so there are some very old gravestones. It is an interesting piece of local history.

Silliness Abounds

Last week Taryn decided to update her blog after more than a year since her last entry. In doing so, she wanted to pick out several pictures from the last year as a sort of summary. My picture folder is a lot like my life - it's impossible to find what you want it lacks organization. Simply put, I looked at practically every picture we took in 2009. I found several that were funny and never made it to the blog. I'm posting them here now.


Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken it all to pieces.


Yes, as a matter of fact, he is old enough to dress himself.


Goggles. In the kitchen? Happy thought indeed. (Actually I read once that they keep you from crying when you cut onions, so she had a reason to wear them. My boys, not so much).

M-I-C, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E

Umbrellas. Shoeboxes. Whatever.

Teaching Excellence

It's really hard to concentrate on school when you've got this going on outside:


But who can blame the kids when the teacher is distracted as well.

One of my young college friends on Facebook became a fan of the following:
"Getting your teacher to go off topic for the whole class period."
The thing is I remember that sort of "victory" from my days in school. Now I'm seeing that my kids are mastering this art.

Since we weren't accomplishing much anyway, and Tuesdays are the day we normally go to the park, I cancelled class and we headed out for lunch at Chick-Fil-A with friends. We stayed so the moms could talk, the little kids could play on the playground, and the older kids could play cards and color.


You might have had a teacher who got off subject, but did you ever have one that cancelled class and took you to lunch? That's what I thought.

Snow 2010

"It's sticking! It's sticking!"

"You better go play now. It might not be there in the morning."

(When they started the girls were still at gymnastics and Joseph was at a friend's house)

(After the girls made it home. Still waiting on Joseph)

David: "Throw snow at me guys!"

This morning our mission was sledding. Our desination: "Kite Hill" on Clemson's campus. And fun was had by all:

It was melting fast and was warm as you can see by this picture taken right before we left (Sam is that tiny little guy in the background on the far left).

All dressed up with no snow

When my grandmother sent some money for me to buy the kids Christmas presents, I had an idea. The kids have always wanted boots. I've never bought them for the kids since it really is not a NEED here in the south. And that's what made them the perfect gift.

Opening the bags:


Trying them on:


Everybody:


Close-up:

Unfortunately, I do think I have jinxed us. Here is a picture of all the "snow" (in quotations because I don't think it even can be called that) we've gotten so far this winter:

Hoping for more and many thanks to Grandma Munn for the great boots which have gotten plenty of wear despite our lack of snow.