Bargain Hunters

Yesterday, I introduced Mikey to the garage sale world.  My dad and Charlotte's old neighborhood was having their annual garage sale, so I really wanted to get over there and see if we could find any steals.  It is a very kid/family friendly neighborhood and I was hoping to find things for Grady.  I gave Mikey the run down when we pulled in the neighborhood about how we don't stop at every sale, always drive by slow and I'll scope out the goods, make people lower offers, etc.  He was a fast learner.  We ended up with only two things, but they are perfect and just what I was looking for.  Here's the first item we found at our very first stop....

When I walked up, I saw my room mom from last year and she's a pro at this garage sale business, so she took over for me and negotiated the price with the owners... would you believe we only paid $15 for this???? It must have 30 tools, some of them are electronic, and it's perfect for Grady because he loves playing with Mikey's tools. It retails for over $50 and also there are many tools that aren't part of the original set, so we got a lot more than we would have gotten at the store! We were very excited.

This is our next find, which Grady is a little too small for right now, but he still likes it...

This brand retails for $110... A HUNDRED AND TEN DOLLARS!!!  We paid $10!!!!!!  Isn't that crazy?  It's in great shape, it looks like it has never been used.  I can't believe it!  (I really did push him around on this with the handle, but I had on my spandex workout capris since we were just around the house, and I think I should spare you the wretched sight of that... on a brighter note, I am excited to report that I have lost 41 pounds now and Mikey has lost close to 30!)

I know I am probably overly excited about these toys, but toys are very expensive these days and I just can't bring myself to pay $100 for one toy.  This may just become our new Saturday morning routine!!!

Here are some more random pics of Grady from the past few days...

You can't really tell, but he is wearing my apron in this pic... he loves to copy whatever he sees!

Singing along with his dinosaur that sings/dances (LOVES to sing)

Loves his clubs... and holding them upside down...

Using something else the wrong way!!!  He really does use this as a step stool, but I guess he wanted to try it out as a seat... a few minutes later he was pitching a fit because he was stuck.

Relaxing in his adirondack chair....

We're having lots of fun with him at this age... he's 16 months and is full of energy.  We have to be very careful about what we do/say because he copies EVERYTHING!!!!  Sometimes Mikey and I laugh, and other times we look at each other like, "Oh crap".  Even then it's hard not to laugh! 

We're Still Here!

I have been slacking with the pictures lately and I think it's just because we've been so busy I haven't remembered to get out the camera.  We haven't done anything exciting either, so unless you want to see a million pictures of Grady roaming around the backyard and me keeping him from the shed, there is nothing new! 

Mikey started a new job (still on base) a couple of weeks ago.  However, he was stilling working at his old job, so for the past two weeks, he's been working from 7 am to 4 pm and then from 4:30 pm to 1:00 am.  That leaves little time for sleep and family time.  So it's been a tiring two weeks for us both.  I've had a taste of being a single, working mom and having no time for anything and he has been pure exhausted from only sleeping about 4 hours a night.  But old job is ended on Friday and he is only working at his new job now.  And he really likes his new job... he stays busy and is up and moving.  He's not a desk type person.  We are hoping and praying that it continues to go well and we'll never have to job search again!  More good news on the job front is that I got my Professional Services Contract on Thursday!  That means that I am no longer an annual contract teacher and I do not have to end each school year wondering whether or not I will have a job for the next year.  I am now "tenured", so I know at the end of each year that I'll be working again the following year! That is a big stress off my shoulders! 

Yesterday, I took Grady to the park when he woke up so Mikey could sleep in and have peace and quiet.  There were ducks at the park and Grady has never seen ducks in real life before, and he was VERY excited.  But I would not put him down because I have had some encounters with psycho ducks before and I didn't want them to attack!  They were getting really close and did not seem scared at all, and one of them made some pretty weird noises, so I just kept backing away.  But next weekend when Mikey can go with us, we're going to take some bread and throw it to them.  I'm sure Grady will love that.  And if anything scary starts to happen, I can run and Mikey can protect Grady.  :)

Beach Vacation

This year, my family decided to get a beach house in Perdido for a few days so that we could all get together and actually have enough space!  Tony, Charlotte, Brian, Robin, and the twins, Beau, Katie, and Anna Cross, Emily, Mikey, me and Grady all spent five days at the house.  Unfortunately, Emily had to come solo because Jeff had to work.  He coaches a baseball team and this past weekend was a tournament weekend.  Beau's mom and stepdad, Marie and Lloyd also came from Gainesville to see them. 

The beach house was about 45 minutes from our house, so we had the luxury of not having to drive or fly from another state... but we planned to stay there until Grady told us he did not want to.  And by that I mean that he would not sleep there and we ended up leaving the first night at midnight.  He was just up and talking and ready to play.  I did not want him to wake up the other babies (or adults), so that is why we left.  So, we actually just drove back and forth each day.  We got there as early as we could and stayed until about 8:30 each night.  Grady is very particular about where he sleeps!  I wasn't thrilled about it, but what could we do?  At least we were close enough to home to have that option. 

The weather was beautiful, although it was too cold to go in the water. Of course now that everyone is gone, it has warmed up a lot!  We had fun just hanging out outside all day on the huge porch... the babies had plenty to play with, thanks to my husband who packed our entire collection of toys in the trailer!  We didn't know we'd be back home every night!  We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and had fish, raw oysters, and boiled shrimp another night.  Mikey also smoked ribs for us that were delicious as always.

Anna Cross was baptized on Sunday in their home church (the one that Mikey and I joined last year).  She looked so pretty and was a perfect angel during the baptism.  Not one peep!  After the baptism, several people came over to the beach house for lunch and to celebrate AC's baptism.  All the girls that Katie and I used to have dinner with once a week (but have since moved) even came into town... Macey, Christy, and Veronica.  Roxanne and Jason also came with adorable Adelyn.  Nancy, Carol, and Cathy came over as well.  We all had a blast visiting with each other.

The twins, Emma and Addison, are so cute and just little butterballs!  They were so fun to hold and cuddle up with.  I hope Robin was able to relax a little since there were a lot of us there to hold the babies... there was a LOT going on with four babies in the house!  It was so neat to see all their little personalities shine.  Emma just smiles and relaxes, Addison likes it you make silly faces at her, Anna Cross is quiet and easy going, and Grady is non-stop action.  (We are going to work with Grady on sharing and manners!)  I miss all those sweet babies.  :( 

Here are lots of pics from the trip....

Front of House

Back of House

Relaxin' on the Deck

Playing with the ping pong paddle with Uncle Brian...

Ping Pong with Mama

At the church after Anna Cross's baptism

Adelyn (Roxanne and Jason's baby)

Anna Cross resting after her big day!

Nancy and Adelyn

Jason, Adelyn, and Katie

Aunts/Uncles/Cousins

Anna Cross lovin' the trampoline

Grady giving Adelyn a kiss

Grady and Anna Cross

Robin, me, and Anna Cross (not happy!)

Marie, Beau, and Anna Cross

Emily and Anna Cross

Kisses through the glass

Addison, Emma, and Grady (really not kicking her!)

Shucking Oysters with Big Daddy

Dipping their feet in the cold water...

Emma and Addison swinging with Nanny and Big Daddy

All the Grandkids

Beach pics with their matching crab outfits... Grady did NOT want to sit in the sand!

Addison and Emma

Grady and Anna Cross

We had so much fun seeing everyone.  It's hard with everyone living so far apart and now that there are babies, we need to see them often so we don't miss anything!  We can't wait to do it again!!!!!!!!