Fall Fun

Brace yourself -- this is a catch up post.  You didn't think I could go into a Christmas season and not be caught up, now did you?  This fall was filled with lots of fun things.  

Brian and I took the boys to a corn maze near Athens and they had so much fun!

Benjamin did not want to lay down in the corn pit....

Benjamin had a long weekend for Columbus Day.  I took a vacation day and Benjamin and I had a date at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens - there was an educational scavenger hunt and very cool centers.

We stopped and took a break and Benjamin just wanted to lay down on a porch swing.  Love those eyes!

We also took a field trip to the Yellow River Game Ranch - a petting zoo that house animals that have been injured and can not return to the wild.  The boys loved feeding the farm animals -  Ethan wanted to know why we couldn't have chickens in our yard.  (I told him there would not be room in the pool for us and the chickens!)

There is more "Fall Fun" coming.........

Santa Came Early

We had been talking about how perfect our yard would be for a pool and how fun it would be to have one!  We were planning one for the spring -- then an offer came along that we could not pass up (you know me and a bargain!).  So, Santa came a little early this year!

The night before the big dig:

The morning of the big dig - Ethan was so excited that all of the cool stuff was going to happen on his day home with me!  We actually offered Benjamin the chance to stay home from school (how often is there a digger in your backyard?) and he told us that he wanted to go to school!  (Gotta love his work ethic!)

Ethan and his buddy were given a chance to help!

 This is under our deck -- we will have an outside bathroom under the stairs in the Spring.

The pool has been poured and you can see the markings for the decking to be poured next.

 Yes, I know, it looks really blue in this picture.  But the finished product looks waaaaay better!

 Here we are about 8 hours into filling the pool.  Just a fun fact, it took us 32 hours straight of our hose running to fill the pool!

 Almost done -- you will see a hole in the decking in the upper right corner (the fire pit is going there) and no grass around the pool.  Those cosmetic things did not stop the boys, Brian and most of the kids on the street from swimming.  The balmy 75 degrees and swimming in cold water from a hose did not stop them either!!

 End result.  We still have to plant a few shrubs about the pool but we are just enjoying the space now!

 The inaugural fire in the fire pit.  Another fun fact -- Ethan calls this "fire camp."

 My three buddies enjoying the fire camp!

Look for more pictures of the pool once Spring time rolls around!

Plaaaaay Balllll!

I realize that it may seem like life at our house has been quiet for the last month or two - you know, because there have been no blog posts recently.  But I can assure you that life has begun moving at a faster-then-warp-speed pace!  The boys started playing baseball for the athletic association that is part of the school system that Benjamin attends.  This is our first season with them.  I have to admit I had concerns about switching leagues.  The league the boys used to play for did not keep score ("everyone is a winner") and the umpires interacted with and gave the kids batting suggestions.  

We have arrived at "The Big League!"  The league we play for now has a player draft in the pre-season and yes, we keep score!  And, no the umpire did not provide coaching advise or help tie a shoe!  We have had practices and scrimmages, all leading up tonight -- our first game.

We have been fortunate that the boys are on the same team and will get to be for the next season or two!  The boys love having Brian pitch to them (Yes, Brian is the team pitcher).  

Here's Benjamin playing short stop:

And, Ethan is in left center field, backing up third base and short stop:

The boys, "baseball ready":

There will be more pictures from future games, but as the dugout mom, I struggled to snap these tonight.  Oh, and for those of you interested, the score was 13-10. Winning the first game was so sweet for the boys!

P.S.  I hope to have a post up soon about what else has been going on around our house -- we are knee-deep in a house project and I have been taking pictures along the way.  

Wordless Wednesday

I still can't pass up a chance to take pictures of sleeping buddies -- I am certain that visions of baseball and backpacks are dancing in their heads!

Benjamin's First Day of School

Five and a half years ago, when Benjamin was born, I never imagined that he would be going off to school so soon!  Here we are five and a half years later.....

Today is the fist day of school and Benjamin was beyond ready for school to start!  

There were no tears shed this morning and we can't wait to hear all about his first day when he gets home!  As I type this, Benjamin is getting ready for lunch at school!

Ethan loves the fact that he is going to be home alone with mommy now!  He told me that he is super excited to be my side kick!

Cookies for the teachers..... "With you as my teacher, I'll be one smart cookie."

 Going into his class....he was so excited.

 Already getting settled, we left him smiling!

Photo Shoot

Last night, Brian and I took the boys up to the golf course for a photo shoot.  It has been a while since we have done a photo shoot and the boys had fun -- in fact, they asked if we could take a few more pictures (Brian thought that the 148 pictures I took were enough)!

We hope that these pictures put a BIG smile on your face!

Benjamin's Pre-K Graduation 2012

As I looked at the calendar yesterday, I realized that Benjamin starts Kindergarten in 4 weeks!!!!  I thought it would be best to get a post about his Pre-K graduation posted a little before I post first day of school pictures!

Graduation was a big deal - we had family meet us at Chili's for dinner before the ceremony.

I love seeing a real smile on Benjamin's face!

I was a little tearful at the ceremony -- I can't imagine what it will be like in a mere 13 years for high school graduation.....

We were so glad to have all the family here to celebrate and know that Gebee and Mimi were in heaven watching and smiling!