Halloween 2009

October has been quite the busy month for us (no surprise there). We went back to Atlanta the first of the month for the U2 concert. I was planning on staying there with the kids until Melanie had her baby on the 13th. Well, she ended up having Ashton earlier, on the 8th....so we stayed through that weekend and headed back to Memphis. Ashton is the perfect little one and I was thrilled to have gotten to see her! Makes me want another one...

RoRo and Nona came to town for Halloween. We've known for awhile that RoRo was coming, but then Nona decided to use a last minute buddy pass and come too - so we had 4 extra hands in the house. It was so nice! The kids of course loved having them here and enjoyed some alone time with RoRo on the front end and some alone time with Nona on the back end of their visit. Their visits are never long enough (hint hint)!!!

I love it when the kids get great use out of their costumes. This year Ethan really got great use out of his costume. I purchased it while on vacation and he wore it at the beach....to get bagels @ Panera, to the fire station for a visit, wanted to wear it to putt putt....then he got to wear it Trunk or Treating at church, preschool and Halloween. I would say that I got my full value out of this one!

2 days after Nona left, Nina started running a fever and ended up with H1N1. I had already been feeling some sinus stuff starting and it hit me hard. Ethan got the flu mist when we took Nina to the dr -so he started running a fever because of that. Mark got a little cold too. So we were all out of commission and NO RoRo and NO Nona....do you want grandparents in town to help when you're healthy and can do whatever you want or do you want them in town when you're sick and need help? Luckily I have the best husband and Mark really stepped up and nursed us all back to health. Saturday night I went to bed around midnight and woke up around noon on Sunday....by 2pm I was back asleep until almost 6pm. During that afternoon nap, he took a picture of me sprawled out on the floor in the family room with my iPhone and then posted it on facebook for everyone to see. What irritated me more than the picture of me is that you can see all of my ironing piled up on the love seat above me....he knew I would be furious! He also posted a picture we had taken of Nina the day before. They had been playing outside and she came inside, took her shoes off and walked in front of me and said she was going to get her pappy and take a nap. I was like, ok, whatever. Ethan and Mark came inside and Ethan went upstairs to play a little before his nap. Finally Mark went up to put them both down for naps and couldn't find Nina anywhere. She's gotten quite good at hiding quietly, unlike her Bubba, so he just thought she was hiding. She had gone in her room and turned her music on, gotten her blanket and pappy out of her crib and went in the corner....behind her crib....curled up and fell asleep. We picked her up and put her in her bed and she still slept another 4 hours! All that being said....we are finally coming out of this yuck. Nina did have H1N1, but less than 12 hours after medication was a completely different child. The dr couldn't believe that our kids have only had 1 antibiotic a piece - we have been blessed with healthy children...but when we get sick, we get sick! I finally went to the dr today and 3 hours later....just a bad sinus infection, luckily. I guess I'll post the 2 pictures here too so everyone that isn't on facebook knows what my husband did to me....payback will be fun (or expensive)!

Nina, a couple of weeks ago, Sunday after church....chunkier, before the flu

Birthday outfit I made for a friend's daughter in GA - I thought it turned out cute!

Nina and Ethan one Sunday morning....don't ya just love Sunday mornings? Ethan sure does!

I never did get him to smile. Oh well - the outfits were cute though!

The back of Donnie's truck that Cathy and I decorated for Trunk or Treat - she won this year!

Macie Mae and Charlie

Cathy and Nina

Ethan and Cathy (although he was undressing already)

RoRo got to read to Ethan's preschool class at the Fall party. All the kids were so cute in their costumes....Ethan wore his to school and then took it off after the class party and sported his wife beater tshirt all day...Halloween tshirt that Mommy made stayed in his bag, unworn. Nice!

RoRo with Ethan and Nina before she flew back to Maryland

Ethan, once again, did not want to take a picture...so she told him to make funny faces - I thought this was cute. Maybe I should realize that he does not want to have his picture taken on Sundays?!

Monkey see, Monkey do....Ethan was wearing his Home Depot goggles to help Mark cut the apples for our apple pie because RoRo wears reading glasses. Like I said, Monkey see, Monkey do...especially in our house!

Halloween afternoon, I took off shopping to a Junior League Christmas market with my Mom, Mark's Mom and Cathy. When we got back, Mark had actually carved our pumpkin. I couldn't believe it, because he does NOT like the guts inside. I thought they did a nice job!

I'm inside making soup for us for dinner before Trick-or-Treating and the Moms, or RoRo and Nona, are outside getting pictures of the kids. My Mom comes inside and says, ok I got pictures of the kids. They are good. I think to myself....yea right they are good....so I go outside and take a few more. You know, just in case. I'M SO GLAD I DID. HOLY COW, MOM? ARE YOU SERIOUS??? See the above picture and exhibit A and the below picture as exhibit B. Good grief!

I took over and got a pretty good one, but by this time the lady bug had already started eating LOTS of candy. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating...by the end of the night, she was at one point, literally on all fours on the sidewalk somewhere in our neighborhood barking and growling. That's how much candy she had. It was hilarious!

After church on Sunday. Well, I actually give my Mom props on this one - she actually got a picture...now, Nina isn't looking at the camera, and she isn't smiling....but she got it! Way to go, Char!

No lying...this is Wednesday night after church around 9pm. Does this look like a child that has H1N1? About 2 hours later....102 fever and see pic below for next day in the dr. office. Bless her heart!

What stinks is that my Mom is going to think this post is funny....and she can't check the blog from school and her computer at home is disassembled...so someone please show this to her.

Hilton Head 2009

We met Mark's parents, Carl and Jaime in Hilton Head a few weeks ago for our annual beach trip. Every year it gets better and better....but I think this year topped them all. The kids being a little older was a plus for sure! This year we were in a house that was huge and had our own pool. That was so nice! The weather was fabulous - no rain and still very warm temps, but not July/August hot. The kids absolutely loved the ocean - the rougher the better! September was just the best time to go to the beach!

Ethan and Nina had breakfast out by the pool every morning with Ro Ro. Oh the life!

Happy Birthday Pa!

Ro Ro took the kids up to the fire station at the front of Palmetto Dunes one morning. They were there for a long time and the kids loved it. Then Ethan had to go back later in the week for one more visit.

Ethan and Nina with Uncle Carl and Aunt Jaime before leaving for dinner and putt putt

Etretat

So, once we left Paris, each little town we toured became an instant favorite. The Normandy region was incredible and full of quaint little towns that I long to visit again. This afternoon, Eric took us to a cheese factory....we could have done without this part of the tour. But, it was a means to an end. We endured the arrogant French cheese maker for awhile, and then took off on our next adventure. Eric had us walking through this field (pictures below) and we had no idea where we were going....kind of thought at one point Eric didn't know where we were going either. Anyways, all of a sudden we popped out on this path walking along the cliffs of Etretat and they were breathtaking. This was an intense walk up and down this path - with cliffs on one side and fields and a gorgeous golf course on the other. The water was gorgeous, the sky was gorgeous and it was just an incredible afternoon. The pictures just don't even come close to showing how beautiful this area was - you must go and see for yourself! The cheese maker's house

Faye Roberts with the goats

Starting our walk to the cliffs

And we're still walking...

And we finally made it!

Cleo (my roomie) in front of one of the famous natural made arches

Finally the town is in view! Notice the church on top of the hill - if you go back up to the picture of Faye with the goats, you'll notice the same church...and you can get a little idea of how far we walked that afternoon

Normandy

There's so much to catch up on....I still have TONS of France pictures to share, as well as many other things we did this summer and our recent beach trip. Anyways, here are a few pictures from the cemetary in Normandy. It was an incredible experience to be there - just days after the 65th anniversary of the invasion. I am so thankful that this area of France was on our trip and that we were able to go and experience this place. You must go!

Move Over David Beckham...

Ethan had his first soccer practice tonight. He loved it! There are 10 kids total on his team (only 3 girls).... Gracie, Macie and Nathan (from preschool) are all on the team too. They all seemed to have a blast tonight and they, of course, were all so cute!
Gracie is standing in front hugging her pink ball and Macie is in the back with her pink bow

Ethan ready to show Coach Baker his mad skills

Ethan and Nathan goofing off while Coach Baker is getting the rest of the team ready to see if they can pass a ball around the boys

A much needed drink break

I love Macie and Gracie's expressions!

What your Mom doesn't know, when it happens, won't hurt her...

As some of you know, we have friends here in Memphis that have airplanes. Mark goes out to the airport every chance he gets to hang out, fly, help out, etc....Well, since my birthday was this past week, Dave told Mark to bring me out so he could take me flying in his little aerobatic airplane. I have never done anything like this, but knew I'd love it. I, of course, was not prepared....I kind of remember Mark telling me to change shoes, but was thinking sippy cup, snack, diaper (for Nina, not me), so didn't change shoes. I had on flip flops! I ended up wearing Mark's tennis shoes - my feet are big, but not man size big....so I felt like a clown! Regardless of the shoes, it was a fabulous ride! Dave is an amazing pilot! As soon as we took off, he had us in tight turns and a low, high speed fly by over the taxi way (right over Amy). The airport is close to downtown Memphis and right off the Mississippi River, so he took me over the River and over creeks - low....like below the tree line low. It was so cool! Then he climbed up to altitude and started doing barrel rolls and all this totally cool stuff - taking the plane straight up and then turning and coming straight down....I know my Mom is cringing right now.....thus the title of this blog! She, up until this point, didn't know that I went up! But, I came back down....had a fabulous time....and want to go back!!! Thanks, Dave for a great ride!!! Heading out to meet Dave at the fuel pump....old school style!

Jay getting me in the parachute

Ok, I've got my parachute and clown shoes on....ready to go!

HOT shoes!

Ok, hurry up before I change my mind!

As we were sitting at the fuel pump, he came in to refuel....Ethan and Nina loved this!

Ok, we're in and ready to roll!

And we're off!

Jay, Amy, Rocket and Nina waiting for us to come back

We're back - and I didn't lose any contents of my stomach!

Where are my flip flops?!

One of the coolest, most generous guys I know - and a great person to be friends with ;-)!!!

Ethan's First Day of Preschool

Ethan started preschool this past Wednesday. There are 16 little kiddos in his class this year and 2 great teachers. He is also playing soccer and has informed us multiple times that he will play soccer, but he can't go to preschool too - like his social calendar is full or something?! Anytime we even spoke the word "preschool" he started giving us fits and I thought to myself, "oh no, it's going to be horrible!" So, we had been talking it up with him for several days. I had recently made a tshirt for one of his good friends in Georgia, so he requested I make one just like it for him to wear on his first day. Our power went out Tuesday night after I had done the alligator but before I had done his name - luckily it came back on and I was able to finish it. Wednesday morning he woke up and we did our thing, got him ready and I took him to preschool. As soon as you walk through the double doors, the director, Kim, is standing there to greet every kid and parent. If you remember, Ethan became fast friends with Mrs. Whiteside last year because she would come and get him every day to let him call me just to "check in" at home. That stopped within a month or so, but I thought that we might be heading that direction again this year. She immediately dropped to her knees and threw her arms open for Ethan to come running into them for a huge back to school hug. He just stood there and looked at her and then slowly inched into her arms - had this look like, "I'm too cool to hug you Mrs. Whiteside, but I'll do it anyways." It was hysterical. I walked him to his classroom and he looked inside, kind of hung on me but then walked in and never looked back. Whew! Let's hope this Monday when he goes back, will be that easy, or easier! As a first day of school treat, we took him bowling. That was so much fun! Even Nina had fun just running around and eating Skittles. So we're back into the swing of the routine around here - that is, until we go to the beach!!!

Ethan ready to go to school!

Mark picked him up that day and I asked him to take a picture - he let Ethan choose his favorite spot in the room and this is what he wanted. They had to bring a stuffed animal to meet the class mascots - Darcy the Dog and Kasey the Koala. It should be an interesting year!

Nina and her Skittles at the bowling alley

Bowling was a hit and he says he wants to go bowling everyday after preschool...

He was actually pretty good!

Uh, I think it might be time to go home...
I turned 32 on the 20th - man it stinks when you get older...birthdays just aren't as fun as they used to be. But I still had a very nice day - slept in a little, went to aerobics, ran some errands and had dinner and dessert cooked for me. Mark is fabulous in this department - always asks what cake I want and always delivers with an incredibly yummy cake! This year was the fail safe in our house...the Boston Creme Pie!!

Here's to another year!