Children's Museum of Atlanta

"underground"

cleaning George's windows

the cool ball/pulley system

driving a tractor

molding some moon sand

creating a masterpiece

Trenty enjoying his view

(they also had an awesome area designated for 1 and under where babies can crawl through mesh tunnels and play with baby toys...it was so cool! And, they even have a nursing "nook"!)

fishing

Conductor Rachel

Conductor Bradley

Curious George!

a bubble in the fishing area

A few weeks ago, Deborah and I took the kids on a homeschool field trip to the Children's Museum of Atlanta. They actually have "homeschool" days where the adults are free and they have special activities available for the kids as well as the normal exhibits. The museum changes it's main "attraction" every 4 or 6 months, but while we were there, the main character was Curious George. They had an entire section devoted to the show and some of the scenes on the show. The coolest thing about the museum is that it's interactive and the kids can do everything. There is a market where kids shop and put their food in grocery carts, then they can box it up and send it down a conveyor belt. There's also a tractor, some slides, a fishing hole, a moon sand pit, a paintable wall, a dress-up stage with props, an underground exhibit of dirt and animals that live there, and a huge system of pulleys, levers, knobs, etc... that keep balls moving through the air, in tunnels and over water systems. It was just the coolest contraption ever. They also had a great show that was put on by the "imaginators" that was full of songs and a short story. Rachel loved it! We had a great time and it wasn't even crowded. Hopefully we'll get to go back again when they change the exhibit to another cool attraction!

A short but sweet visit with the Lanes

We had yet another great time visiting with the Lanes after Christmas. The girls were ecstatic to see each other and were in a constant state of hyperactivity! Bradley enjoyed hanging with them too, but also loved playing with Alex. Trent just took everything in stride and enjoyed the chaos. I'm always thrilled to get to see my sweet sister and brother in law and niece and nephew...it just doesn't happen often enough!

Happy New Year!

Goodbye 2009...Hello 2010!!

We can't complain too much about 2009...even though it was a horrible year economically, we were blessed by the birth of our precious son, Nick still has a job and we're all in good health. Trent has already brought us so much love and joy in his 9 months!

So, here's a few things I'm thankful for from 2009-

1- 9 years of marriage to a loving, caring, handsome, supportive husband

2- 32 years of life

3- the birth of our 3rd child

4- Nick's life...

5- the privilege of staying home another year with my precious kids

(at the Children's Museum of Atlanta)

6- homeschooling Rachel

7- Joining a church family

(cake walk at MHBC Fall Festival)

8- Best friends having babies

(Amelia Kate Green)

9- Family! (and extended family!!)

10- Deciding to stay in our home...which we love!




It will be great seeing what 2010 brings us...
Much love to all!

Gangsta hat

Gangsta Jimmy

Gangsta Stay-C

Gangsta Ran-D

Gangsta Heatha

Gangsta Doc

Gangsta Little LAM

Big Daddy Gangsta

Gangsta Angie...You don't wanna mess with me!

(I Learned while teaching my 8th graders that you're supposed to make a 'cool' face)

Although this hat may only be funny to our family, we took several pictures the other night of everyone with the hat on. And we laughed our butts off! The hat came from a golf tournament that Nick and Matt Mazzawi played in and neither wanted the hat. Anyway, we think it's particularly "gangsta" so we got a kick out of trying our best to look the part!

Christmas Card Flops

It's always a challenge getting a decent picture of the kids for a Christmas card. This year I tried doing it by myself which is hard since Nick wasn't there to distract/attract the kids to look at the camera. I tried a couple of different locations, but it just wasn't our best "shoot". Trent, as easy-going, sweet, laidback and go-with-the-flow as he is, decided he would NOT like to participate in this year's Christmas card photo. It was funny seeing this side of him and we got the best picture that we could. At least it truly did capture their personalities.

A lazy afternoon

For the past two Sunday afternoons, we have truly relaxed and been lazy and it's been WONDERFUL!! We have gotten home from church, eaten lunch and Nick makes a fire and we really just hang out, watch tv and just enjoy being together. It's hard to keep Nick inside during the spring because he always has a project he's working on or he's doing yardwork or something. And, although there's ALWAYS something to be done inside...laundry, dishes, floors, bathrooms, meal prep., etc... we've been taking some much needed family breaks. (This picture was actually from a Saturday afternoon and Rachel's wearing her cheer uniform. ) But, this pretty much shows what we do when we're lazy!!!

O Christmas Tree...

At the tree farm
(Trent is floating!) :)
Trent loves the tree but doesn't mess with it too much at all!

Rach and Brad were so proud of their decorations!

Our beautiful Christmas tree!

We had a great time picking out and then decorating our Christmas tree this year. Both Rachel AND Bradley were extremely enthusiastic and eager to participate and loved placing ornaments on their 2 chosen branches. They really did have about 2 branches that they favored and they tried to hang every single ornament on those poor droopy branches. Nick and I re-organized a little, but for the most part, we just left it like it was. These years, the tree is representative of our family...and that includes young children who like to do things imperfectly and wonderfully. When they're all grown and out of the house (which I'm not thinking about or looking forward to...) that's the time when we can have the "perfectly" decorated tree where every ornament is placed on just the right branch. The kids especially enjoyed using the step ladder and thought they needed to use it every time...even if that meant they didn't put any ornaments below step ladder level. We got our tree at our traditional cut your own or buy a pre-cut Fraser fir at Jacks Creek Tree Farm. We went with the Fraser so the branches were sturdier. It's neat to think about this being Trent's first Christmas even if he is unaware. It's hard to believe that this is Rachel's 6th Christmas and Bradley's 4th. They have been so precious and fun each year and it just seems to get better and better! The kids are super excited about Santa coming to visit and can't wait to see what he leaves for them. The other day, I wrapped their presents from me and Nick. I had picked up a couple of rolls of kid-themed wrapping paper: Disney princesses for Rachel and Batman for Bradley and just generic Christmas wrap for Trent (since he only has 2 things to open). I usually mix up the wrapping paper and then use tags, but this year I thought it would be so much simpler to wrap the kids' stuff in one kind and not even use tags. The kids loved it...especially their themed wrapping paper. Bradley's batman isn't even Christmas-y, but he loved it anyway.