Blog Hiatus...

We are all still alive and well, but I just needed a break from the blog!  My to do list is always growing and sometimes writing/posting seems like one more thing to do, so I have taken a break!

I'll get back on the ball soon... hope everyone is doing well!

Thanksgiving

 We had a great Thanksgiving!  Brian and Robin and the twins came to visit and we were so glad to have them.  We haven't seen them since March and that is a long time in "baby world!"  The girls have changed so much and were perfecting their walking skills while at our house.  Grady enjoyed having them and has been asking ever since they left for "the babies".  He grabbed his back pack the other day and I said, "Grady, where are you going?"  He said, "On a trip!  Babies!"  So if he shows up, Brian and Robin, you know why! 

Now I REALLY hope I get these pictures right!  If not, Robin, please tell me asap!  I had such a hard time telling them apart!!!

Addison

Emma

 Addison (I THINK!!!)

 Emma, Grady, Addison- They are THRILLED to be posing for the camera.

 Their faces tell it all- Emma, "What does he think he is doing with his arm?"  Grady, "This is getting real old!"  Addison, "Move it or lose it"

 Grady's eyeing that passy....

 Can't take it anymore!

 And, we're done!

 Later, when the mood changed and we weren't forcing children to sit smack next to each other and be still, Grady decided to show off his big boy "panties".  Mikey is ecstatic that Grady refuses to say undies and will only say panties.

 The girls loved the headphones as much as Grady does!  Don't know what it is about those things!  Emma trying them out...

 Big cousin Grady showing them the ropes on the potty.

 Scrub a dub dub, three babies in the tub!

Thank you, Brian and Robin, for making the trip!  I am so glad we got to see y'all!  Can't wait to see you again in a few weeks!

Blue Angels

Today, we went to the annual Blue Angels Homecoming Show.  Jeremy, Mikey's best friend, is always gracious enough to share passes with us so that we can sit on the flighline.  His mom works for MWR and they have a chalet with lunch and drinks and the best view you can get!  The weather was perfect today and Grady was great, even though he missed his afternoon nap!

Happy Veteran's Day, and thank you to all the men and women who fight for our freedom! 

Halloween and a little more...

 Whew, I hate to say it, but I am glad Halloween is over!  It makes the kids at school go crazy, it's a lot of work getting Grady ready, AND there is too much candy calling my name!  We did have a great Halloween together, but he was NOT in a good mood when I first started getting him ready.  We went trick-or-treating in Elaine's neighborhood because people in Milton were trick-or-treating on Saturday night.  Which is a whole 'nother issue!  Why in the world do people think we need to celebrate a holiday early just because Halloween fell on a Sunday?  People, you won't go to hell if you miss Sunday night church! Ok, so the fact that people were knocking on our door on Saturday night really put me in a bad mood for Halloween and maybe some of it rubbed off on Grady because he was not cooperative the next day!  We ate dinner at Elaine's, then I wanted to give him a bath and get him dressed up.  He would not listen to me and wanted no part of his costume either!  He even got a spanking (gasp!) for not listening.... finally he put his costume on (minus the hat) and we took a few pics before we headed out.

Please, Grady wear that hat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 And what about the golf clubs???

Quick, get a picture while I've got a hold of him!

 Once we started walking, both of our mood's improved!  (Perhaps it was the candy?)

Come on, Daddy, let's GO!

He really did have so much fun trick-or-treating and I did too.  He is at the age where he understands what is going on and what to say.  He loved going from house to house saying "trick or treat" and he REALLY loved getting "pops" (lollipops). 

The Monday before Halloween, my friend Tenisha and I took Grady and her daughter, Chloe to the far to see Dora and Diego.  Chloe and Grady are only 6 weeks apart.  We waited for 2 hours to see Dora and Diego and only got a quick picture, but Grady LOVED touching them.  He walked right up all by himself for the picture!

Since the weather has turned colder (for a little while anyway), I wanted to make smores outside in our fire pit.  We bundled Grady up and I thought he would love it, but he was actually scared of the fire.  When we went to see Dora, there was an exposed lightbulb underneath a bench and he touched it.  He burned himself and got a blister, so now anytime he sees a light (or a fire apparently), he says BURN, Dora!!!!  So the fire reminded him of getting burned at Dora... it's so funny what kids remember!

 Not so sure about the fire...

 Helping Daddy roast the marshmallow...

And this is random, but funny to me... today, he wanted to go out the front door, but we had it locked.  He went and got his chair and tried to unlock it, but it didn't quite work....



  

so he switches to his foot stool....

and when that didn't work, he went and got his stool from his easel!

Quite persistant he is!  He definitely keeps us busy!

This week, Mikey and I both have Veteran's Day off, so we are taking Grady to see the Blue Angels Homecoming Show.  We went last year also and we always have a great time!

Spiderweb Cookies

I found this really cute recipe for Spiderweb cookies and I thought I'd give it a try!  I used my regular sugar cookie recipe, iced the cookies with royal icing, then dyed some icing brown (the store was out of black).  After icing the cookies, I made a spiral with the brown icing.  I used a ziploc baggie with a TINY part of the tip cut off because I couldn't find my decorator's tip.  It works just fine.  After making the spiral, use a toothpick or skewer to make lines coming from the center all the way to the edge, like this...

 Then voila!  Spiderweb cookies!

 Royal icing hardens as it dries and has a really nice, smooth finish.

On another note....

A few weeks ago, when Nancy was visiting I decided to rearrange the living room.  Grady's toys were overtaking the living room so we decided to make the front area a toy area for him, and have a "normal" living room.  Now he has his own play area and I think the living room looks MUCH larger!