Sad.

Got a phone call about an hour ago.

It was Foe Foe.

My Grandmother, Mama Lu, had just passed away.

She lived in Tuscaloosa, AL near the University of AL.

We visited her quite often as a child and we would play cards and do puzzles together for hours.

I would even go and stay for several days at a time during the summer and we would go swimming everyday.

When I was 12, I remember her calling one evening and asking Foe Foe if I could go to Italy with her.

Needless to say, the resounding answer was YES!!!!

I "wish" I could find those photos for you... lets just say, my hair... well, I would rather be bald again... (just kidding Lord).

It was a fun trip... Milan, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Rome.... good times.

We love and miss you.



Puppy, are you cold?

As most of you know, we have a puppy.

Ok, she is a 10 year old puppy,

But a puppy none the less.

Usually, this is the way Robin looks.

Again, as I think I have stated before, yes, she is a Golden Retriever.

But, she has terrible skin and all she does, even as an inside dog, even in the A/C is pant.

She stares at you with her big brown cataract ridden eyes PANTING!

So, I shave her.

It is messy business, but necessary!

She usually gets a shave once a month.

Well, just after Thanksgiving, she was leering at me with her tongue hanging out.

So, I got out the clippers.

Then, the temp dropped.

Now, this is the scene every night in the middle of the living room.

Pathetic, I know.

By the way, sorry Beeka Beeka, but it was the closest thing to me... I promise I will wash it and give it back to Grady... We love you... Robin does too:)

Happy Ho Ho Ho to You!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

We did!

Christmas Eve day, I had to work, but that evening, we went to Church.

It was a very nice service and Dat Dat and Todd Jr both served.

I was so proud!

Grady and Grant were pretty good too or at least that is what everyone said.

However, you can always count on Grant to stir things up.

I had packed some crayons and books to take with us... and at the quietest part of the service, Grant pointed to a large circle he had drawn (luckily not in The Book of Common Prayer).

He said, "I made a face."

"I made a BIG face."

"I made Daddy's face!"

Classic.

(Still nothing beats my sister, Elizabeth, SCREAMING during quiet reflection after Holy Communion..."Dammit, I want a donut NOW!!!!!!... She was 2, it was great!)

 And after some Hot Chocolate that was made more for the novelty than for actual consumption and a lively reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, the little men we off to bed!

And yes, they were up early the next morning!

The above photo was before..

The next two are after...

Todd, under a mountain of paper.

Grant got a scooter from Santa... Toy Story, what else....

Here are three of the boys trying to put it together.

The weather was miserable and we never left the house... well, at least the little men and I never did... Dat Dat ran 9 miles... just before the rain began.

And, I am sorry there are not many photos... Todd Jr and Dat Dat were too busy getting me HOOKED on Yahtzee or Yahoo as Todd Jr calls it.

I think Dat Dat and I played til 1am.

YAHTZEE!!!!

Oh, wait... here is another good one...

Yes, a photo was snapped of these beauties before a cast iron skillet got involved, but there was not an opportunity for an after... they were gone...

We missed all our family but enjoyed our quiet little Christmas at home... hope everyone else had a great holiday and we are looking forward to a Happy New Year!

... and 26.2 miles

... only 13 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where are the dice????  I wanna play Yahtzee...

Candy Cane Wishes and Gingerbread Dreams

We  hope everyone is enjoying their Holiday Season!

This past Saturday was filled with Christmas Cheer!

First, Dat Dat woke up early and ran 17 miles... Yep, 17... He Rocks!!!

While he was gone, The Triple Trouble and I went to Todd Jr.'s school...

For Breakfast with Santa....

As you can see, Grant was a little nervous, but no fits, just great determination to do whatever his big brothers were doing.

Also had to have a DISCUSSION with Todd ...

He figured out the "Santa" was his principal...

Had to talk about helpers and what a big job Santa has...

Disaster Averted!

Then, the little men and I ran home, changed clothes and headed to the Playground!!!

Constantly climbing!

Grady too.

Even Grant wanted in on the action.

By the way, notice anything special about this photo?

That is right... no diaper peeking out from the jeans....

And then it was time to hit the swings..

And hit the ground!

Todd kept wanting me to film him over and over again!

Then we headed home for lunch and a nap...

Then off to the Panama City Christmas Parade!

Dat Dat caught Grady shoving popcorn in his mouth!

Dat Dat, do you see me kissing Mommy?

(Yes, that's me and all my HAIR!!!!!!!! 1 year and 8 months worth!)

Dat Dat got lots of Gator Chomps from the parade participants!

Waiting for the parade to start...

What is a parade without a Parrot Head float!

Don't remember why I took this one....

Anyway, it was lots of fun and the kids had a great time dodging peppermints being thrown at their heads!

Looking forward to tomorrow, Grant and I are going with Grady's class to another Christmas parade, should be fun and hopefully I can get a good photo of Santa this time... the ones from Saturday night just didn't turn out... sorry.

Have a Jolly Holiday!

And the award goes to....

Last night was was the end of the season banquet for the Lynn Haven Raiders Football and Cheer leading teams.

Todd Sr took Todd Jr the first year (I was in Tampa... probably puking.)

Last year, I took Todd Jr.

This year, the whole gang was in tow.

I was so proud of myself, I packed the Leapster and tons of coloring books and crayons... these things can go on FOREVER!!!

Now, for the last two years, Todd has received two trophies...

One for participation and one for winning the county championship (all the boys receive these).

This year, Todd Jr received two trophies again.

However, they did not win the county championship... heck, they didn't even make the playoffs.

Yes, he got the participation trophy...

And he also got a very special individual award as well.

(Remember to pause the music.)



I am sorry that the quality is not great... I was sitting on the floor with a bunch of sugar filled children running around me... geez... wait some of them could have been mine...

Oh well... It was really wonderful... we were not told in advance, but I just had a feeling that I should tape the individual awards presentation.

The award is called the Rouhlac Award.

It is named for a young, talented, and dedicated Raider player who was killed while riding his bicycle home from practice several years ago.

It is given for dedication, hard work, positive attitude, etc.

Todd Jr. was shocked and we are all so proud.

And yes, you cannot hear it, but Mommy cried... he has come so far and worked so hard!

The coaches also checked to make sure he is playing again next year... Coach Bill even said they needed his leadership... WOW!!!

It's That Time!!!!

So turn up the volume and soak it all in!!!

What an amazing voice!

Well, we are trying to get into the Holiday Spirit here...

The tree has been trimmed...

With the help of three little elves...

Three heads are better than one when deciding where an ornament should go.

Yes son, that is Dopey... kinda like the expression on your face:)

And yes, there are lots of ornaments around the bottom of the tree... many on the same branch.

But isn't he cute!!!!

There are no words for this one.

She was no help... thank goodness!

Me Me and Foe Foe supervised.

And Dat Dat got in on the ornament organizing!

And obviously no doubt the theme of our tree....

And on another note...

one of our favorite treats during the holiday season...

Gotta Love Publix!!!!!

It was on sale...

and I had a coupon...

So, I had to bring some home today...

Right?

But, shhhhhhh... don't tell Dat Dat!

Yes, there was a Birthday...

... and no, we did not forget!

This post is just not very timely... sorry.

Yes, Grant is now 3!

Can you believe it!

Not a huge production, but he was excited!

And we are in WEEK 3 of BIG BOY PANTS!!!!!!!

It is actually going really well.

Yes, we have had accidents, but I think there are improvements everyday and he was so very excited to receive his own Buzz and Woody underpants!

Hard to believe my sweet little baby is not so little anymore.

Bumps (big ones) and Bruises

So this post is a little late... sorry.

But Grady Joe had quite a few days week before last.

First, he got into his first fight at school!

The report from the teacher is that the assailant came at him wielding a metal chain....

See Grady, Dada was right, the swings can be dangerous.

No word yet on whether or not the playground will have to serve detention!

Then, the next day as I was getting ready to go to work, we discovered these!

Yep, and the one on the other side was just as big!

Grady, honey, Mommy can relate!

And guess what the doctor found?

You guessed it, STREP!!!!

And, we have already been to the ENT... no need to remove the tonsils yet... but they were HUGE too....

I tried to get a photo of them but Grady could not get his mouth open wide enough!

Poor baby, but he is feeling MUCH better now!

Thank goodness, cuz' MeMe and Foe Foe are on their way for Thanksgiving!!!!



Happy Veterans Day!

Happy Veterans Day!!!!

We are so proud of all our courageous service men, women and their families!

There was no school yesterday so the Triple Trouble and I decided to set out on a day of fun!

And since it was a little too cool to head to the beach.... we hung around town.

First we went to the parade downtown....

Local soldiers.

Wish I had gotten a photo of them walking toward us.

Todd Jr and Grant watching the action.

Grady, waiting for candy...

The boys and I waived our flags proudly!

The parade was short but sweet and the boys were fantastic and really enjoyed it.

Next, we were off to the playground.

Sorry Dada... he had to swing high!

Up.

Down.

Goofy Grady!

Todd and I were tossing the football and then some other kids moved in and they had a blast!

I just had to remind Todd not to tackle!

Grady... always on the run!

Todd... still playing football!

I think he is sad the season is over!

Grant was really on the move while we were there, so I did not get many good shots of him.

After all this activity, the boys were ready for lunch.

So we headed home to see what we could put together.

And I swear to you, the photo below is not a set up.

I did not realize what I had done until I went to give Grant his plate.

Let's just say, this blog post was brought to you by the color orange!

Yes, Mac and Cheese....

Goldfish...

Carrots...

and, what else, orange wedges!

Good Grief... I was laughing so hard and I just had to take a picture!

After lunch, I had promised the kids we would watch....

Wait, no, not that one.

But what a good movie... we will have to get that one for them to watch also...

Wax on, Wax off...

1984... OMG!!!!

We watched this one... speaking of which... I need to go return it.

It was long, but pretty good.

Jackie Chan was GREAT and Jaden Smith was pretty good too.

Actually, it was so long, that we had to pause it and get a little snack.

So we hopped on our scooters...

okay, Grady and Todd hopped on their scooters and Grant and I walked...

... down the street to...

And it was so beautiful that we had to sit outside.

For those of you who have ever enjoyed ice cream with Grady, you know how painful it can be.

But he loved it!!!!!

Todd gave it the big THUMBS UP!

And Grant was the master of his cup of ice cream.

Notice there are no after photos... my hands were too sticky and I think the DQ down the street had to have more napkins overnighted to them after we were done!

So, after the sugar overload we scooted back to the house, finished the movie, finished homework, had baths and made dinner.

Homemade meatball sub sandwiches.

Yum!

Also, Dat Dat went for a 4 mile run before he came home.

I then left and went for an 8 miler.

And on my way home from the park, I heard the first one...

and it wasn't even Nat King Cole...