Trick or Treat!! :o)

** Here's Logan as Optimus Prime Himself!

** Seth as Lightning McQueen's crew chief. "KAPOW" as he says....

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I have really been looking forward to Halloween this year, as Seth gets older it truly expands the possiblities of what we can do. I had hoped to go to one of the local churches to a Trunk or Treat or hit up a few more of the developments in our neighborhood, anything to make the night more MEMORABLE or FUN. Well, maybe we are not quite there yet!...

We started out in our development as we are not very big & it's always great to make connections with those that we see pass by one way or the other every day. I had even made the great plan of going around in the back of Steven's truck to speed up the whole event & hopefully make it thru both our development & the development across the street before heading out to either one of the local churches. To be honest, I think tthe truck slowed us down or maybe we got delayed due to the time change being later because before I knew it... it was almost 7:30 & we were still in our development. So... since both boys were already dragging their bags because they were so FULL, we had a change of plans. We finished up our neighbor hood & hit a few houses across the street & Then headed over to Uncle Russ & Aunt Angel's (wher the boys were loaded up with buckets full of candy & treats) & then on down to Aunt Lynne's for a bonfire with roasted marshmellows & wennies. It was a busy night but we did have a BLAST!

So at the end of the night I was really in conflict! I really had wanted to go to one of the local churches but we had had a great time!... It seems as if everyone is headed to church for Halloween these days & as much as I have NO problem with that & see how great & a safer option that is... What about TRADITIONAL trick or treating?? You know, walking up to the neighbors house & knocking on the door & anxiously waiting to say "Trick or Treat" We had such a good time seeing all the neighbors & I believe the neighbors enjoyed it also! We don't get a lot of kids come thru so those that do get special TLC or shall I say "THF" (Two Hands Full) with great fellowship with all! (You could hear Ms Melrose laughing all the way to the house!) And because we have such wonderful neighbors the boys got enough candy to eat it all year long & still have left overs next year. So after reflecting on all this, It was somewhere in the ride home with the boys snoring in the back seat that I came to the conclusion that next year... we will walk the neighborhood, again! There's few things that you can still do these days as we did when I was a kid & I hope that I can share just a glimpse of that with the boys. I promise though to my neighbors that I won't let them beat the door down or ring the doorbell 20 times :o) -- our rule if no porchlight is on, then we don't stop! (Logan had a hard time with this! he kept saying "but they are home mommy they have lights on inside! Boy, do I remember that feeling!) I realize that they can't wander all over the country as it is not safe for that these days! BUT I am sure there will be plenty of years that we will get to do all that other FUN stuff & I am sure the boys will outgrow our little area before I know it! So until then we will WALK while we can (yes, we will ditch the truck next year as Daddy missed out on a lot) & enjoy these years while they last.

OK... so I am sure you are really just wanting to see the lastest pic's of the night... Yet again I am trying a different way to get them here... So, if you just click HERE, this should take you to the Real Treat of the night! Hope you all had a wonderful night full of great memories & fellowship. In my reflection, I realized the boys had a wonderful night with Mommy & Daddy, great neighbors & family! What could of been better than that? PEACE, at last .....

First Official Report Card

Yes, Logan got his first real report card yesterday and I am so proud to report he got all A's. He was so proud & excited. Of course, mommy made a big deal of it! He is so smart it blows me away sometimes. Just yesterday morning before school he recited almost all of his Bible verses to me that he has learned this year so far. Heck, I can't even remember last weeks Bible verse. He just picks up everything so quickly. He's getting better & better with his reading & spelling. Coming to me & spelling words out or saying that word or that name starts with letter ___. I think math is going to be his better subject, though ... he loves to see how high he can count (usually 100 & higher) & he loves adding & subtracting numbers.... always asking "Mommy, dod you know what 5+ 2 is??" We ran into his teacher the other night out to dinner, she had nothing but wonderful things to say of him. Stating he was truly a blessing to teach & always did exactly what she said without question & was always excited & ready to do whatever came next! I'd like to think we had something to do with that... but in all honesty that's just his nature & the special blessing WE were given from God!! It's amazing when I stop & think of just how much life has changed, how big he is getting & how great life really is!....

Coming soon.... the fall sports round up (can you believe the season is over?) & Halloween FUN!!! Until then....

Seth... More like Daddy than we knew

So... since Seth was born we have heard so many times how Logan is just like Steven & Seth just like me! Perfect... right??? Well, as the kids get older they begin to look more & more alike! Honestly when I look at them they are Logan & Seth... It's hard for me to see Steven or I...they are just my babies.

I will admit that even though Logan looks just like Daddy I see a lot of me in his personality. Likewise in Seth... he may look more like me (which is changing daily to look more like daddy) but I see a lot of Steven's personality & characteristics in him..... (Steven will so disagree with this! :o)) But we have to admit that Seth is certainly a very head strong child, once his mind is made up, there is no stopping him or changing his mind (sounds exactly like me right?? LOL)

So today, I had confirmation that Seth is truly his Daddy's boy.... Steven came home from picking up the kids at school with a "cute" story from Ms Miranda (Seth's Teacher). She says when they are playing outside that she frequently finds Seth under a toy car.... & when she asks him what he's doing?? He responds.... " I fix it".... "Daddy fix it".... WOW, what a truly proud daddy moment (there's that smile on Steven I talked about before) & I also noticed the other week when we went to Aunt Lynne's house for dinner, instead of Seth interacting with all his cousins or Nanny... I found him inspecting all the locks on their doors & he would not leave them alone till he had it ALL figured out... you know exactly how they worked, what they did, & if all the locks on all the doors worked the same. Don't know about you, but that sounds exactly like DADDY to me!

So there you have it! Seth is truly more like daddy than we have thought! I can remember Lib (Steven's mother) telling me the story of when Steven was in elementary school that he had a teacher that told her not to ever worry about his grades that Steven was going to do something with his hands & would be able to work on or fix anything. So was she seeing these behaviors that we have seen in Seth?? It's truly amazing to me, as I sit in AWE & watch my babies grow up & how both of them are perfect mixes of both Steven & I. I just pray that got the BEST of our personalities..... :o)

My Wonderful Husband!!

Steven, has been my better half for almost 16 yrs now & to those who know him he often comes across as very harsh & cold but he has a wonderful soft side that he will ocassionally let others see.

He has always loved to catch me off guard & last week he certainly did that!! My camera has been broken for a while... not to the point that I could take no pictures but broken to the point that I hoped that soon we could replace it. We had begun to look at what our options were & see what was out there & I, of course had my eye on a few that I dreamed of having. Well, out of nowhere last Friday he came home from taking the boys to school & "running a few errands" with 2 big bags from Best Buy & a huge smile on his face!! (Priceless glimpse of his soft side!)

Yep... you guessed it! He had got me the camera I had been most hoping for of course with all the bells & whistles! as he does nothing on a small scale! NOW... I have that huge smilw & I'm just blown away! "Happy Anniversary!" he says. "I know it's early but I wanted to make sure that you had it in enough time for Halloween, visit to the Pumkin Patch, etc." So now I have become a "MAMMARAZZI" as I saw phrased on one of my favorite blogs! I have a lot to learn & this camera can do way more that I will probably ever know... BUT I love it & I actually got a pic of Seth smiling! Not the back of his head or his eyes closed! YEAHH!!

So... to the love of my life.... Thank you, Thank You, Thank You! You still amaze me & keep me on my toes after all these years! You are the best! "I love you!, Steven"

Ok, Anniversary coming up... 16 yrs... How could that be??? Again, that's worthy of a whole other blog coming soon! ..... I Promise! ...

Escape to Myrtle Beach

**Logan Lovin' the Beach!! **WOW, Let's go... I'm ready!
**LOOK at those waves!!

**Let me show you how, Seth!
**My biggest Beach Bum!
**"OK... You have to tackle these waves sideways" What a great big brother!
**I'll show you how to dig a really BIG hole!!
** Seriously MOM... We have no time for pictures!!

** Well, Brudder.... This is how I do it!! :o)
**The boys thought this was the BEST tub ever & almost as fun as the waterpark!
**Check out our "bubble" beards!
** Not sure which one enjoyed the rides the most!!
** LOOK.... There's Mommy with that camera again!

** They absolutely LOVED the lazy river & the water park!!
**It's raining.....
** Seth swimming!
** IT's POURING!! :o)
** The boys at Broadway at the Beach!!

** A Little More "CHEESE"
** SERIOUSLY.... I'm Innocent... (What you can't see so well in this picture is that his face is covered in chewed crayon pieces!)
** Imagine that... The boys riding Dinosaurs @ Broadway??
** I'm Pooped... Good Night, ALL!!

Long Weekend at Myrtle Beach...

The last couple of years I have not seemed to be able to get enough BEACH time... Maybe it's all those years of only going to the lake or the fact that we did not go to the beach for over 10 yrs straight, but then again, does anybody ever get enough beach time?? Well, for the last 3 years every time we have went to the beach it has only left me yearning for yet more time there. Last year I tried really hard to plan a late summer or early fall trip.... but after the life changing events of last fall we never quite made it there... To say the least, huh? SO... a few months ago looking ahead at our calendar & crying because summer was OVER, I realized that the boys had 2 days out of school in late summer & I was exhausted so what better time to take a long weekend at the beach??? We searched many options & finally decided to go to Myrtle Beach.



I spent so many summers at Myrtle Beach as a kid & as we started planning; I first realized that we had not gone to Myrtle Beach in over 15 yrs (really, not on purpose... but time really does FLY) & then I began to get excited at all the options of stuff to do with the kids & couldn't wait to share such a special place from my childhood with my own children. Well, let me just say Myrtle Beach has changed a lot in 15 yrs.... the Pavilon is GONE (nothing but a big empty lot), which I knew about; but to see it first hand is SHOCKING & SAD!! Steven just couldn't understanding why I wanted to ride up & down the "Strand" numerous times or why I was excited to do so! & had no idea what the "Gay Dolphin" was or why I got excited to see it, either!?! (It is one of the things I do remember that is still there) But regardless how much things had changed... In my mind I could recall so many precious & priceless memories from my past.... Oh Yeah, did I mention the flash backs of being "tortured" by my big brother? Let me share... You know after such a long ride as a kid I can always remember how exciting the FIRST view of the actual ocean/beach was, something I remember in my mind as always being a big deal not only to me but also my family. Well, just as we turned onto the road to go to our hotel...there it was... That first glimpse of ocean, just as I had remembered it in my mind! & At that exact moment in my excitement & trying to share that with the boys & Steven (who all thought Mommy had LOST it) The flashbacks began....of being sat on & held back in the back seat so that I could not see the beach or the ocean by my BIG brother all while Oohing & Ahhing about his great view.... Yep, Torture... I Started to call him right then & there & THANK him for that "torture", but instead I just enjoyed the moments of reflection & realized what I thought was "torture" then was now a wonderful memory from my childhood! (Thanks, Jimmie!) ;o) It was about that time that Logan asked what house were we staying at this time, as we have stayed in a house with my whole family every time he has ever been to the beach, so I said... we are not staying in a house this time we are staying in a hotel...he responds.... "What's a hotel?" I looked at Steven, like really he has no idea what a hotel is??? could this be?? & as we brainstormed we could not recall of 1 time that we had actually stayed in a hotel since he had been born! Shocking, yeah I know! I was shocked also! "My poor deprived child!" not really, I guess just lucky & fortunate! He has no idea!

We stayed at the Dunes, which has a spectacular indoor water park, complete with lazy river, kiddie pool, hot tubs & 2 slides, big enough that even us grown kids could enjoy! :o) The place wasn't quite what Steven & I pictured in our minds, but at the end of the weekend we could not of asked for anything better! It seems like we ran from the moment we go there to the day we came home. Water park in the morning, beach in the afternoon, dinner & Broadway in the evening. We had a blast!! The boys were great... except for the fact that they wore out several nights before we were done running but hey.... it all worked out! A few nights we had children sleeping at the dinner table or falling asleep in the car before we even got to dinner but they were troopers & kept on going. ( We did try to alter the plan & get a nap in... but they were too excited & yet even though tired, when the sun was up.... there was no napping no matter how hard we tried.)

Logan got a little more brave in the water & began to swim under water! (This a big step for him!) YEAHHH!!! & Seth continued to jump in like a pro... still no idea that he can't swim & Mommy tried really hard to sit back & let him realize that... but there's only so long that you can watch your child under water with eyes open staring back at you... with no intention of trying to get back to the top! By the end of the weekend he was almost resurfacing but far from swimming or really trying! UGHHH!!! The boys just loved the Jacuzzi tub in the room & that's where they retired too after we came home from the beach every day... as Logan said... This tub is a great bubble maker! :o) Bubble beards & all it was great seeing them play together as they usually can't agree to like & share the same things! We went to Broadway several nights & the boys loved all the rides!! For Logan the more scary the better!! His favorite was the catipillar... fowards...backwards 3 times straight! He loved it! Yikes... my stomach is not what it used to be! Thank Goodness, Steven & I took turns & we survived just fine. Logan kept begging to get on the Pirate Ship... Thank Goodness he didn't make the height requirements for that one!! :o) ::WHEW!!:: Seth loved all the rides too... The Cars, the Motorcycles... he even wanted to ride the big rides just like Brother... He also liked the faster rides! Giggling non stop. "Agin... Agin" :o) he would ask! Unfortunately my camera died while we were at the rides so my pic's are limited :o( More Priceless moments!

We wanted to go to the Museum in Columbia in route & to the Aquarium at the Beach but time was not on our side & really a nap was more important! :o) Regardless I don't think we could have had a better time! & Logan's summary of the weekend.... "This is the BEST Beach trip EVER!!! I want to come back here forever!! " When asked what he liked best.... "The Elevator!!".... What???... what about the water park...the rides... the ocean???? "Oh yeah, I liked that too" he said.

Overall, Job accomplished... This weekend alone was a weekend that I will never forget! Just as special as all those times I went there as a kid with my family!! & A very special weekend for the boys! Maybe next year we will try to brave the crowds of summer at Myrtle Beach... to see those faces of excitement & happiness again... It would most definetly be worth it!! :o) As for rest...well we didn't get too much of that but I did have 4 days off with no work so I am not complaining! :o) We rolled back into reality on Monday afternoon & was shot out of the cannon!! T-ball practice, Meeting a work, Softball practice, Dr's appt, On call day for work, Tball game... This is my life & I love it!! But... Can we go back to the beach???

Until next time!

First Day of School Photos

**Logan's First Day of K-5 **The Boys getting ready to leave for school
** Seth calling Nanny & Nana to tell them all the details of his first day!
** Are we ready yet???
** Logan's being a HAM for the camera
** Day 2... We've got the hang of this now... Ready??
** Homework Time
** No looking back now... Off We Go!...
** This school stuff really wears me OUT!!