Very Random thoughts here

Just some random blogging on this fine Memorial Day as my husband watches war movie after war movie on AMC channel(To Hell and Back is what is on right now as I type and I could write a few posts on that title alone as I am sure you all could too!). The rain and thunderstorms have been constant all weekend but it is brightening up a bit now and I know my friend, Jenny, will be so glad since she is hosting our Nicaragua Team Reunion meeting tonight and had high hopes of 25 of us being outside most of the time.

There were 5 little boys playing out in the sprinkling rain an hour ago in front of our house and it took me back to Allendale Road days in my own childhood. There is so much more to outdoor playing than inside. I believe God planned it that way and designed our world to be the best playground we could ever have. I commented to Jack that I thought green was God's favorite color and he disagreed and said it was blue! What do you think?

As I was cooking for our team dinner tonight and a church luncheon on Wednesday, I became thankful for several ingredients that I use often. I don't think cooking would be half as fun or easy or tasty without them and they are :
cream cheese
butter
mayonaise
cream of chicken or mushroom soups
cheddar cheese
and these

Ritz crackers! I love this new packaging of short fresh stacks, don't you?

The other random thing I love from a grocery store are these:
They are inexpensive and make such a warm welcome anywhere in a home and they keep for a week (if you keep them in some nice water)!

OK, since I am behaving so randomly, I think you might also enjoy reading this blogger's thoughts on "Really loving". She expresses it so very well. Take the 5 minutes to listen to the video clip too.
http://www.owlhaven.net/2010/05/31/really loving

Have a nice evening yall. I am off to taste my squash casserole with my Nicaragua Mission Team.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend from a few redheads!

Well, a few of us are still red headed anyhow...
There is hardly a picture I took where he is not smiling!
and he loves to eat and smile at the camera :)
the porch time was heavenly and this little guy LOVED watching all the birds as he ate breakfast this morning :) He is learning to wave and clap = such a cute cute age!
I think we will see a walkin boy by his first birthday this summer :)
bath time at Lolli and Pops is always a happy time and so was a card game (no picture of our Quiddler game)we had the night before. My son finally learned how to spell custard at age 29...and his new baby just might be nicknamed "Custer" after this weekend!
Can you say "he got my red hair"?!!! I need to study this whole genetic thing so I can help explain to these kids about their ancestors :)

Just had to post these adorable pictures of this little boy. He melts my heart!

Look who's at my house tonight!

Baby Knox came for a spend the night party tonight!

and so did his parents...

and so did Knox's NEW BABY BROTHER OR SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This picture is exactly the moment we received the news tonight! We had No idea and Lee and Regan asked could they take our picture with Knox and as soon as they said smile, then they said "Knox is gonna be a big brother!" That will be 12 grandchildren for Lolli and Pops at the end of January 2011! I am so blessed!!!!

Want to go to a new park with us?

Want to go to the new park we found in Opelika that has lots of shade and a real choo choo train to ride?
All aboard! It had old stuff and new stuff and the girls loved it.



I have heard some call it "monkey park" and now I know why! LK swung like a monkey on anything she could!

Time to rest and have a drink and a snack at the picnic table

everything seems to taste better after playing at a park and being outside

what's that I hear?
It is the real choo choo train! Want to ride it "sweet pea and cupcake"?

While we waited on our turn to ride, the girls were drawn to this sweet dog. Jack recognized that the dog's owner was a veteran and was pleased to have a nice conversation about both his own background and this guy's service in the present war. We found out he has been home for 5 years and Jack thanked him for serving our country before we left to get on the train.
The train goes through a tunnel bridge and we found the second thing Lk is scared of (there are not many)! She did not like all the children screaming things as went through the tunnel.
But sweet pea loved it and screamed "war eagle" as we went through the tunnel 3 times!

There was no drama or hesitation before went to bed that night! Everyone = Lolli, Pops, Annie, Lily Kate, Bah bah, Mi Mi, Barbie, Kitty Cat, and Angelina all slept very well :)

Arts and Crafts, Customers, and "Arts and Cream"

A and I had a play doh hour while LK napped one day.
the porch is not only my favorite haven at home but my favorite arts and crafts room with the little ones.
coloring among the chatter of the birds was also enjoyed while Lk napped.
One afternoon our neighborhood had a street party and the girls were so excited to see so many people in the cul de sac. No one counted how many kids were actually there and I certainly did not because I spent the majority of the party chasing a 2 year old. (I'd say at least 18 kids)

the variety of food and neighbors is hard to beat when it comes to a street party. I had been preping A all afternoon about the party and when it was time to finally go outside for it we made a pit stop to the potty before exiting the house and while we were in the bathroom, the doorbell rang. Annie looked at me as she was on the potty and said "Oh no, I think we have a customer!"
Where does she get these thoughts??? I told her we probably had a friend at the door and she said "oh I thought they were our customers".
Here is how LK looked the entire party: chasing the boys or the older kids around.
the girls love seeing Bella, the neighborhood cat. Bella got lots of attention at the street party and so did a few dogs attending. But the funniest part of the whole night was this:
I strapped Lk in the chair to eat an ice cream cone before their baths and went to the laundry room for a few minutes with their dirty clothes and this is how I found LK when I came back to the table!
I promise, with all our grandkids, I have never seen "ice cream cone art" done on the legs! It was most unusual that she was not woofing it down but instead making "ice cream art" on her little hot sweatty legs!

the usual routine

So most everyone who reads this blog knows that when the grandchildren come we are going to take a walk to see the neighborhood horses (sometimes they are gone to the country as Tess was this time)and we are most likely going to have a lollipop on the way :)

Lk was a bit timid which we found highly unusual for a child who knows no fears otherwise but it has been a while so she was not quite ready to feed a carrot to Cherokee.
Annie wanted to sit on the fence by the horse but then when she got up there she decided it might be a bit too close!

then she relaxed and had a nice conversation with sweet Cherokee.

LK decided she would rather just enjoy a lollipop on this walk to the horses :)
I have no idea what the girls are looking at in our back yard (other than MIA golf balls) but they sure did enjoy the view from up there.
speaking of views, this hair is a constant conversation piece wherever we go. I have to talk to her later in life about how to maintain it :)

and speaking of our usual routine, this one goes straight to the plastic bat and balls and hits 3 out of 4 every time. She's a winner in every sense of the word!

for the love of water

Water, water, water! That's is how I could describe part of our long weekend with 2 of the cutest girls in the world!
the love of a sprinkler can bring out such big smiles :)



playing outside in the water is fun fun fun!

The girls have the cutest little monogrammed bathing suits (I did not buy them or make them or pick them out-my daughter got these and had them monogrammed in BHam) I had to quickly snap their picture before the love of water took over and floatie devices were muchly needed to keep 2 cutie pies afloat.
the newest floatie accessories were perfect for our trips to the pool. LK knows NO danger and when she headed for the deepend in her yellow floatie, it kept her head up the whole time and she hardly looked back for any assurance from me (but I was right there with her, believe me:)

A is also happy to float all around and show you her new world of wearing goggles and besides chewing on our noodle floats to make pretend potatoe chips, she is a regular little swimmer!

I love love love water myself and I am thrilled summer is on its way to enjoy more water activites with these loves of mine!