Siesta Key Part 3 - Favorite Pictures!

Here are some of my favorite photos from the trip. Love these two little kids.

This picture exemplifies Drew's robust personality so well. Never a dull moment with him.

I think this is the only picture of me with the kids from the trip. It is either Todd and I always taking the pictures, we are rarely in them. This one is one of my favorites.

Hannah is my sweet little angel ( most of the time) I love her sweetness in this photo, it was captured so perfectly.

Drew spent a lot of time checking things out, and always holding onto his little ATV truck toy, which is called a "5". Makes perfect sense, 4 wheels, and one seat makes five, he explained it with such seriousness.

I can't leave siesta key without our yearly photo in the same spot, same time of year, in the same white and khaki. I love to look back and see how much they have change in just one years time. Amazes me each time. Think they will still let me do this when they are teenagers? Hope so :)

Father daughter time. Hannah tells me her and daddy are a "team" and I am not invited. So nice of them huh?

Two peas in a pod, in so many ways. My boys.

Each night they wanted to "feet warm" as they call it. Just sit on the edge of the pool and put their feet in. I personally thought the water was colder than the air, but whatever works.

Never to be missed when you are there, the perfect sunsets of the gulf coast. Nothing more peaceful and serene than a beautfiul sunset, the perfect ending to many perfect days there.

Siesta Key Part 2

 And we play, we play a lot. That is what vacation is for!  Drew and Todd had lots of fun walking to the sand bar and jumping waves, or as Drew takes it to the next level.. Drew does karate chops to the waves as he calls it.

I told them to hug so I could take a picture, little Drew went ganster style on me :)

In the evenings, Hannah likes taking walks down the beach to the life guard houses and playing on them, it is such a relaxing part of the day, my favorite part of the day in fact.

Drew was actually hiding in the life guard house playing around. Love this little guy.

On Tuesday, we got a visit from Cousin Ashley! She was off work for the day, and came and spent a short few hours with us on the beach to spend some time with the kids. The loved seeing her!!

These are my two tan, really tan little kids. Drew has the darkest back you have ever seen. I put sunscreen on them every hour, and they just keep getting darker and darker.

They loved playing "picnic" by the pool, and setting up the towels and chilling out, so cute to watch them play together. They have been awesome this trip, getting along so well with very few fights or meltdowns.

Todd was a good dad, as Drew and Hannah begged and begged to do night swimming with them, he agreed, even with the water was pretty darn chilly. I on the other hand sat on a chair with a light jacket with towels ready for them. As Todd says, this is what it is all about. Hannah says her favorite part of the trip is swimming " in the middle of the night" :)

Siesta Key 2013 - Part 1

Well, finally - our week at the beach arrived, spring break 2013.  Anyone who knows us knows we love a good, relaxing vacation. This year is no exception, and has truly been a perfect week so far in so many ways. Good friends, relaxing times, kids are more self sufficient, no spreadsheets and power points, no conference calls, just good ol'e family time, sunshine, the beach, and ice cream. What could be better?

Our week started on Saturday, we arrived around 3pm and the Palm family met us here and stayed with us on Sat and Sunday night. We had a great time. The kids loved playing on the beach and swimming. They dug holes, splashed, played and most of all, laughed a lot.

As always, we had some yummy ice cream, and Hannah went straight for the snow cone, it was a really big snow cone!!! No sugar there?

In the evenings, we enjoyed take out and going out to dinner. The kids had a great time on the beach in the evening playing soccer, tag and making up whatever game came to mind. I love all their creativity.

The kids, Drew, Hannah, Camden and Alexandra

Our only family picture of the trip so far ! It is hard when someone has to take the photo :)

Family photo of the Palms, and yes, the same people that dyed Murphy pink while were on vacation.

Sunset picture with the kids in their jammies before bed. The other night the kids were up late, really late, and luckily and smart of the Palms, they brought glow sticks for the kids to wear on the beach so we keep could track of them when it was dark, and they also brought sparklers which the kids had a blast with - once we convinced Drew the beach wouldn't catch up fire that is : 

More pictures coming soon, on part 2. I usually do daily updates, but took a lot less pictures this year and spent more time splashing with the kids in the pool instead, the older they get, the harder it is to capture some of the moments.   

Hannah Lost Her First Tooth!!

Well, as you can see, Hannah is missing her first tooth!! She has been waiting, and waiting for this, and been so excited for the tooth fairy to visit. She was at tennis practice yesterday and came home with out a tooth. She didn't know what happened, so she wanted to write the tooth fairy a letter to make sure she knows she lost it. The letter below is what she wrote, all by her little self. It was so cute to watch her write this, as she was so serious and particular about she wanted to say.

Deciphering kindergarten speak: "dear tooth fairy, I was playing on the tennis court. It fell out of my mouth  ( I love her spelling of mouth = "maf"). I was excited. I hope you are excited to come. Love, Hannah.

The tooth fairy did her job!! Hannah woke up to her own little certificate and a little baggie of change and it even included a $2 bill in there, special for her first lost tooth!

Everytime she smiles it catches me a little off guard, I need to get used to this :)

Happy Easter 2013!

Happy Easter everyone!!! We had a great day today and we hope that you did too! The big bunny visited us last night, and Drew swears he heard him last night, said he has really big feet and he hopped really quietly!

Here are my two favorite little people in the whole world.   I tried to get a few cute pictures of them before church today when they are actually dressed up.

Before and after church, there was  A LOT of sugar consumption. The Easter Bunny tried to build a basket with some goodies and less candy, but then all those little hidden eggs added up to a lot of jelly beans and hershey kisses.

These "big eyed animals" are the thing to have these days. All the kids collect all these animals, the next version of the beanie baby I think. I don't get it, but all the rage with the kids, so the bunny knew just what to get them!

Later in the day, we went to the Palm's house and they had set up a really cute egg hunt and some fun games for the kids. The kids were so excited, it was cute.

As you can see, once those eggs were collected, the kids went right into finding all the candy in them!

And one of their fun games, minute to win it, setting up the empty cans on floating water trying to balance them. Pretty funny, the kids did a great job!

We had a great Easter, enjoyed the kids and the joy of the spring season as well. Another great weekend, and look forward spring break in just a a week, finally! A much needed rest for everyone, can't wait!

Mt Bethel Pink Octopi aka Octopusses

Above is Hannah's spring softball team, the Mt Bethel Pink Octopusses/ Octopi.. not sure how to spell that, nor do I understand why they didn't vote on the pink panthers or pink flamingos for a team name, but none the less, it's what a group of 6-8 come up with.   They are a pretty cute bunch, Hannah has her buddies Camden and Alexandra on the team, and well as another friend Mackenzie, who apparently also goes by the name macaroni :) 

Camden, Hannah and Alexandra. And yes, Hannah is the tallest, and the youngest of the three. Camden is in 1st grade and Alexandra is in 2nd grade.

Here is Hannah playing pitcher ( except Todd was really pitching). She is finally starting to get the hang of the game and knowing where to throw the ball.

Except this one, had she spent the time looking at the ball instead of her glove, it may not have hit her directly in the chest when she turned around. Somehow Hannah left the field pretty proud of that little incident, saying hey " did you see the ball hit my chest" with a big smile :)

It was a gorgeous day here, we all left the field with a little sun on our cheeks, and spent the rest of the day playing outside and hanging out at the playground watching a little tennis with neighbors.

And now, we are ready for the Easter Bunny! He hid the eggs, got the kids a few little goodies, and ready to get them all sugared up in the morning.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Kennesaw Mountain

After our busy morning of almost playing soccer and actually playing softball, we ran home and changed, packed a picnic lunch with our friends the Palms, and enjoyed the 75 degree and sunny day climbing Kennesaw Mountain. We didn't know if they kids would make it all the way to the top, but sure enough, after many snack and drink breaks, they did it, and were were all pretty proud of them!!

Here we are about half way up the mountain, we stopped on a rock to enjoy the view, you could see Stone Mountain, downtown Atlanta and Buckhead from there, it was really pretty.  Pictured above are Alexandra, Hannah, Camden, Drew and the myself and Claudine.   We are so lucky to have such awesome nieghbors, not sure what we would do with out them.

We hiked some more, then hunger set in with the kids. After some yummy carrots, apples, sandwiches and juice boxes, we were off again.

Family Photo!!

Finally, we made it all the way to the top. Of course the girls sit down and reflect, and then there is Drew who is living on the edge. Don't worry, it wasn't as dangerous as this picture looks :)

We all had such a great day, and all left with a little sun burn too. We ended the evening with a cookout at our house, and some really really tired kids.

Finally, today I played in my first ALTA doubles match and actually won. It was shocking, but we pulled through with a 6-3, 6-3 win. A big thank you to Todd for watching the kids today so I could enjoy time with friends on the tennis courts.

Back to work tomorrow, argh. And more travel the next week for me. I can't wait till I am home for a little while. I am worn out!

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa!!

A big thank you goes out to Grandma and Grandpa this week. They stayed with the kids while Todd and I both had to be in Las Vegas for work. I think everyone seemed to survive the week, Todd and I included. The kids loved being able to spend time with their grand parents, and they did a great job of making sure we got home to our kids in once piece.  Grandma and Grandpa were pretty excited to go and see Drew play soccer after his awesome performance last week, but Drew wouldn't go on the field because his daddy wasn't there. Todd was coaching Hannah's softball team, so we will have to figure out how to work this out better. We promptly left the soccer game, and headed to Hannah's softball game and watched her swing and hit the ball pretty well. We will make sure to get pictures of her next week . They are pink this season, she is  part of the pink octopusses team, rolls right off the tongue!

Thanks mom and dad! We appreciate all the help and all you do to help with the kids!!!

Drew's 1st Soccer Game - The Green Dragons

Saturday we had the joy of watching Drew play in this first soccer game. He has been taking soccer lessons at Goddard school since the fall for 30 minutes once a week. He has been begging  "to be signed up for something" and found out the little Happy Feet league had a 3-4 yr age group. We didn't know what to expect with 3-4 year olds playing soccer, and most of it met our expectations of some kids crying, some kids playing, and some looking for airplanes in the sky. But Drew, our Drew game on to the field to play some soccer and win. He was one excited, energized and focused little boy. Todd , Hannah and I were shocked how much he had learned in his little classes and how good he was.

Here is Drew during warm up. He had a huge smile on his face the whole time, and sprinted around the field for over 30 minutes before the game started, he was out of breathe and worn out before game time, but would not settle down. He was so excited, it was really cute.

Drew is quite the dribbler, the final score was 9-4 with a win by the green dragon against the blue sharks, Drew scored 8 of the green dragons goals, and one for the blue sharks too :)  This little guy Drew was going against below was pretty good, and he and Drew went one on one a lot.

And there they are again below. It cracks me up looking at the intensity. Todd and Hannah and I laughed and laughed a lot during the game. We have to admit, Drew was a bit of a "ball hog" and had the ball most of the time, I said something about it, and Hannah replied with "well, that is part of the game, if those other kids were trying hard, they could get the ball too". Then I thought, well she has a point?

Here is out little cheerleader. She was so cute, she ran upstairs in the morning and made she she was wearing something with green on to cheer on his team. She was so supportive and got such a little kick out of watching all of them.

We look forward to this season, it is so much for watch him play, and most importantly, fun to watching him loving it so much. As long as he keeps smiling, we'll keep going :)

Remind me to take photos.

What happened to the days that I never let go by with out taking a picture of the kids? All the cute little outfits I just had to get a picture of Hannah in with her little sweet dimple on her cheek, and that adorable little smile of Drew's that I couldn't go a day without capturing on camera? Well, honestly I don't know what happened. We have gotten busy, and kids do not want a camera shoved in their face, I know that much.  So , I may have a few more updated with out pictures, but I am promising myself to keep their blog alive to have their little childhood captured in books.

We have finally recovered from Disney, and gotten back to our routine. This spring will be busy for us! Hannah is continuing her tennis lessons, which she loves. Last night she told me she now knows how to run to the ball and hit it, not just hit it when it comes to you, that's progress right? I am sure she has Wimbeldon potential. I love that she can take class outside year round to keep her active. This week kicked off her softball season with her first practice last night and her first game next weekend. It's always an event to watch Hannah play. She is great at hitting, just sometimes forgets she is supposed to run to base afterwards. We are hoping this season she catches on to that step:)  

After begging, and begging, Drew finally gets to participate in a sport. He has his first little soccer game this weekend for the 3-4 boys age group in Roswell with the company "happy feet" that coaches at his school. He is so excited, we just need to give him a stern talk about the difference between soccer and football so he doesn't tackle anyone.

And myself, I start my spring tennis lessons tomorrow night with my first ALTA doubles match on Sunday.  I almost can't help but to laugh at myself for getting sucked into Atlanta tennis, but have to admit, it is pretty fun. I especially enjoy the Sunday mixed doubles neighborhood practices where you drink Bloody Mary's between matches. By the end of the first set, you aren't really sure what you are doing, but no one seems to care.. lots of laughs. 

We have had some quiet weekends for the last two weekends, it has been a little chilly here in Atlanta, so we have hunkered down inside, watched some movies, the kids have had friends over for play dates and spent somee fun time together. Murphy is still pink, and after a few baths he looks more like cotton candy than his previous hot pink diva cross dressing self.

Last week Todd and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary here in Atlanta and with Home Depot. We also celebrated we are now contract free from Home Depot too! We went to dinner in Midtown and enjoyed fine dining at JCT Kitchen and Bar. Without even realizing what we were doing, we ordered southern style. We started with deviled egg appetizers, Todd had shrimp and grits, I had fried chicken and mac and cheese, and ended the meal with coconut cake dessert.  Our taste buds have adapted here well.  We really do  love it here, and enjoy living in the south. I can't imagine going back to the snow. We love being outside all  year long, the new friends we have made, making our house our home, and just being settled most of all.   Work is a little nuts, lots of high pressure and a lot of long hours and stress to go with it. We take the good with the bad, and just thank God every day that we are as fortunate and blessed as we are.

And the kids are on the countdown already... 6 days until they see Grandma and Grandpa. One of the best parts of Atlanta, seeing both Todd and I's family so much more!