Cute, Isn't She?

Get the feeling she dressed herself?

That's my sweet smush!

Owen's Moods

Owen was pouting on the walk down to the bus stop after being scolded for not using his manners with a neighbor. He wouldn't look at me.

All was forgiven by the time we reached the bus stop and he was happy to ham it up with Gabriel.

Owen's Photography

I just love this pic of Todd and me. Owen took it before going to school on his first day of 1st grade.

You can see pics of the kids on their first day of school here.

Chloe Loves Cherries

Walk on the Nature Trail

I love that they are friends and are voluntarily sweet for the camera. When they are both in a good mood, they are extraordinarily kind to each other.


It is a long way down!



I think these little foot bridges are so cool and the kids love running across them.


Owen specifically asked for me to take a picture of him touching this flower. Not only was it big and cool to look at, but it was neat to touch.

Chloe was a little scared about walking through the leaves & weeds to get to the fallen tree, so she would not go sit with Owensk.

Snack time at the end of the walk before heading back up the steps. Owen had trouble opening his fruit bar, so Chloe opened both of them. I heard 'pleases' and 'thank yous' without me ever opening my mouth to remind them of their manners.

Little Fish

See that girl child? Her face is in the water! Swimming with her hands by her sides :)



No hands plugging the nose here...he's jumping in to make a splash with all limbs!



Chloe is our Little Mermaid, she just loves being in the water.



Grandma Suzanney spun the kids around and around until she was dizzy and had to stop. Yay for a Grandma taking control and letting Mom catch a break! :D



Grandma Eloise had fun watching the kids swim & play in the pool! She looks pretty comfy, don't you think?

No More Training Wheels!

Starting out down the driveway, shortly after removing the training wheels. Fully equipped with helmet, knee pads and elbow pads.




Chloe wanted to take the training wheels off her bike, too. But that would have been a little too difficult for us to teach both kids to ride bikes at the same time.




So Chloe and Daddy were sillers instead.




Of course any time with Daddy or on the bike is going to make this girl smile.




Look! The boy child is riding a bike all by himself!




He was biking FAST!



And a nice, smooth stop.



No better way to finish the lessons than with some cold, red gatorade!



I have never seen such a determined child. Or perhaps even an adult. Owen was extremely frustrated through many attempts as he felt I was causing the bike to lean or fall out from underneath him. It was such a totally different experience having to balance on his own and not having training wheels. But through all the tears and frustration, he refused to go back into the house or give up. Every time he got right back up on the bike to try again. It did not take more than 30 minutes before he was riding on his own.

Owen practiced coming to a stop using the foot brakes and did very well at this without falling. Still need more practice on taking off on his own without one of us holding the bike steady by the seat. And more practice turning/steering the bike. But overall, EXCELLENT first time riding the bike without training wheels.

So. Proud. Of. Owen.

Sir Paul

It has been a loooong two weeks of sitting on my hands and biting my tongue to keep from telling my Mom that I bought tickets to the McCartney concert for us. I told her she was on a Need-To-Know-Basis and she just didn't need to know details, other than what to wear and when to show up at my house yesterday.

Our good friend Martin was in on it and helped maintain the charade we were going to the High Museum of Art (conveniently at the same MARTA exit) and that they were having an outdoor event, which is why we brought a blanket. The secret was maintained until after we got off the MARTA train at the Arts Center and I confirmed for a concert volunteer we were headed to the concert so we could get street directions on which way to walk. Mom was totally shocked and then so excited.




Seating was unassigned, but we got a decent spot near the top of a hill where we squeezed into maybe three square feet of real estate between other peoples' blankets. An Irish band opened before Paul came on stage close to 8:45pm (lots of waiting and sore/numb backsides from sitting on the ground since 5pm when we were told the concert would start). But oh, was it worth it!




Yes, Paul is older. But his facial expressions and his eyes were still those of the boy from Liverpool, delighting in the response of the crowd and sometimes full of mischief. And that was sexy. Seeing him onstage live (THANK GOD they had two big screens on each side of the stage to show him in clear detail for those of us half a mile from the stage!) and in person was incredible. I was surrounded by so many people who LOVED the Beatles when they were in their teenage years and many of us who were raised on the Beatles by those same teenagers of the 60s. What an awesome energy in the crowd (and no, it had nothing to do with all the joints that were being lit up all over. wow!). It seemed everyone was full of awe and appreciation for this man. His talent. His voice. And his charisma.

Cameras weren't allowed, so I was limited to the camera on my cell phone which is great for up-close, but not for far-away details. Here you can see the two looooong screens hanging on either side of the stage and these are where live video of Paul on the stage was magnified up for all to see.




And here it looks like a blur of lights in the pic, but in person I could very clearly see every detail of Paul. Oh Paul, you still rock!



I haven't been to a music concert in over fifteen years (I know, that's a long time but I just really don't like being in crowds. At all), but this was well worth coming out to see. Walking two miles, sitting on the ground for three hours waiting for Paul and feeling my butt go numb, getting soaked to the bone during a 45 minute cats n dogs rainstorm, standing for two and a half hours while my feet went numb, long port-a-potty lines, walking two miles back soaking wet....none of that mattered.



I got to see McCartney!

And for the second time in her life, so did my Mom :D



p.s. BIG THANKS go out to my husband for staying home with our kids and Martin's son to feed them, entertain them and get them to bed. It was a surprise for all of us that the concert would not be ending until after 11pm and we wouldn't be home till midnight.

Another Tooth Bites the Dust

Owen lost his last wiggly tooth yesterday. This is the fourth tooth that has come out. He is proud to show off his toothless grin, so it is easier now to get pictures of him. Wondering how long this will last.

I am having fun playing with my new camera, but it is becoming painfully obvious to me that I have much to learn about how to use it. Thankfully, until I learn how to use all the features and the difference between ISO and f-stops and white balance, it has an auto-focus mode :) It was a rather spendy camera, so I figure I owe it to myself (and the camera) to learn how to use every button and dial (omigosh, there are more dials than I know what to do with on it!) before the year is out. A photography class is likely in store for me.

The girl child and I took a walk this morning before our guys woke up. The sun was shining, but it was hidden from us during our walk on our nature trail because of all the tall trees. While we walked, we enjoyed hearing the crickets sing to us.



My Beanarina at the top of the steps leading down to the nature trail at the bottom of our street.



Cool lichen growing on one side of a little tree stump.



Here is Chloe walking up to the footbridge. It is just at the edge of our little forest of trees after we walked about half a mile under their cover.




This pic better captured the floating water bug than it did my reflection as I leaned over the footbridge where we turned around to come home.



I thought this was a neat leaf with cool spots. Pretty spider on the underside, although I kept a safe distance. I do better with vertebrates than arachnids or some of the unpredictably jumpy insects.





Some quick fancy footwork helped us jump over this guy on our way back home. He was almost as big as my index finger!



Newest beads using Ekho from Double Helix



Here is the same glass encased in clear. Love the purple that comes out! Need to play with this glass a little more :)



My Owen boy is feeling 100% again after being on antibiotics for over 24 hours. He tested positive for strep throat Saturday morning when I took him into the pediatrician's office. They looked at me like I had three heads when I told them my Wendy treated six cases of it on Thursday (strep season starts as soon as school is back in session). But the quick strep test that normally takes 5-10 minutes to show the results turned Owen's little throat culture back in less than two minutes. Poor guy...he just had strep in February. Although, I'd rather it be strep and get antibiotics to feel better in less than a day, than it be a cold virus and treat the symptoms for a week or more.



And the other good news is that the union for the Southeast did not walk out on strike when their contract expired at 11:59pm Saturday night. Which keeps me at home with my family and not climbing phone poles in Northwest Georgia or Oklahoma. Soooo thankful!

Now if I could just kick this sore throat that I picked up on Friday!