I Saw The Sun...

This last weekend the weather was beaaaaa-youuuuuu-tiiiiiii-fulllll!!! The kids were thrilled that they could go outside without their coats!! On Sunday, after naps, we headed to our local park and had some fun!!

My 2 on the merry-go-round. It's not the best pic, but they are still pretty darn cute!

Alden grabbed this truck as we walked in, and played with it the entire hour we were there. Here he is pushing it on the merry-go-round. I think I know what the Easter Bunny is going to bring him instead of a basket this year!

An action shot- Alden and his truck and Addie racing down a slide- the girl loves speed!

My little Monkey!!

Sitting still for 1 second- literally- I love his love of life!!

It was a simple weekend but I love the sweet moments we get to have!!

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for right now....

1. Karen W- she not only got up before the sun today so I could drop off Addie and Alden, she played and loved on them, fed them lunch, and gave them a super-fun morning! She also is taking us back to the hospital tomorrow, just to get Al's car. Talk about going above and beyond- and all with a smile on her face! Your friendship gives me something to live up to!

2. Dr. M- the doctor/friend who thought Al's stomach issues might be more than IBS, but then we moved away, and once we came back, got Al the "better" gall bladder test which proved his only functioned at 6% and needed to come out. He then set Al up with a top-notch surgeon, Dr. K!

3. Dr. K- for being kind and taking away what has been ailing Al. I also appreciate him telling me Al could go home after lunch and then signing his discharge papers for 2pm (if only the nurses could have read that time....).

4. Al- even though he's been plagued with stomach issues for years, he doesn't complain. Even though he was clearly in pain today- he has 4, 1" long incisions, he didn't complain. When he was finally discharged, he let Addie "help" him leave- and she rode in his lap in the wheel chair, down to the pick-up. He shared his "dinner" of jello and Italian Ice with both kiddos. He's been sure to explain to the kids what's going on. What an amazing father!!

I do have some cute pictures of Al and the kids at the hospital- but you will have to wait- I've been up since 4:30am...

Atlanta Visit

A few months ago, Al found out that his company would be holding a Managers Meeting in Atlanta- and spouses were invited, all costs covered!! I was SO excited!! The Grandparents graciously came down and watched the kiddos- so Al and I headed off for 4 full days of fun (for me) and meetings (for him)!

Thur night there was a large cocktail hour and an intro meeting. It was all totally impressive! Friday morning, I headed off on the Marta to meet a family that I have been tutoring for the last 3 years but had never met face-to-face. After meeting at the hotel, we rode Marta to The Varsity, an fantastic place to eat (but totally horrible for you). Then we headed to World of Coke- yum!

Here we are waiting to start our Coke tour.

Cool display of all the various products that Coke makes- impressive!

Hilarious old sign- 16oz is to serve 3??

The best part of the tour- the Tasting Room! This was by far the nastiest product- and it was a shame since it was from Italy...

This is Coke's new thing- a touch screen so you can customize your soda- I had a Vanilla and Orange Coke that tasted just like an orangecicle- yumm

I was able to do some traditional sight-seeing, too- The Fox Theater!!

Classic Atlanta!

On Saturday I met a childhood friend at the Varsity, again, yummo! From there, we checked out a HUGE Thrift Store- but I didn't get any pictures of that....

The view of Atl from Centennial Park

On Sunday, a handful of Managers went with the Owner to tour the aquarium. It was a neat experience- but extra special since the company Al works for- they did all the carpet installation in it!

Some of the managers checking out the touch-tank

This octopus was all over the place!

Doug Romanoff (owner of company) pointing to the tile to honor their work on the Aquarium. Doug was amazing, humble and totally down to earth- what a great man!

Walking under a shark who has other fish "riding" under him!

More managers- Rick (Doug's brother), Donnie, Al, Hutch, and Sherman- all great men!

It was an amazing time- what a great company Al works for- and I had a great time visiting old friends and making new ones. We are so blessed to be a part of this amazing company!!

Random Cuteness

Here are some random cute pictures...

All dressed up in cuteness from their Grandparents- Alden outfit from PopPop Old and MarMar Young, Addie in an outfit from MarMar and PopPop...

Addie and her first ever book report!! She did a GREAT job on the book Madeline- and I even got to see her present it- yay!!

Playing and looking' cute! He LOVES car carriers...

Growing Up

Addie is growing up quickly, way too quickly!! Here are a few examples of how big she is getting....

1. Her size 3T pants are all too short- she needs size 5 shirts and 4 pants!! She has never needed clothes so close to her actual age before!!

2. In her class at school, they started spelling words- and she aced her first "test"- she can proudly spell "at", "the" and "or" both verbally and in writing!!

3. She spells words ALL the time- my all-time favorite was as we were driving down the road and she asks us what h-o-o-t-e-r-s spelled..... We told her and that it is a restaurant.... She is even starting to put words together and is beginning to read!!

4. Math is one of her favorite topics- she was given an addition and subtraction dry erase book for Christmas. The other morning, and all on her own, she came to me to show me that she had done 5 addition problems and 5 subtractions problems, all correctly!!

5. Every morning, she comes downstairs fully dressed- her room is immaculate (which makes her neat-freak Mom super proud!!), & her bed neatly made!! She still needs a bit of help fixing her hair, but that is it!!

6. She brushes her hair and teeth all by herself without me having to tell or help her at all.

7. She memorizes her Bible verses for Sunday School on the drive home from church- and will repeat them all week long!! She also loves singing the praise and worship songs from the CD we listen to in the car going to and from school- and she just lights up when we sing them in church!!

It just amazes me- she is growing up so quickly.... She continues to be a blessing- we could not be any prouder of her and all her various accomplishments!

New Years Eve!!

In the past, we have gone to Myrtle Beach, but since both our families had been traveling during the holidays, we decided to stay home and have a low-key New Years Eve. It turns out it was a good thing as Addie, who had been fine all day, woke-up from her nap out of sorts and by the time the W's arrived, was running a fever. She spent the "party" in our room, watching TV. By bedtime, her fever was super high, so on the Pediatrician's recommendation, Al took her to an Urgent Care doctor. She came home an hour later with medication with the diagnosis of double ear infections and severe congestion. All this to say, we are very thankful that we were home this NYE!

Hannah and Alden enjoying the HUGE spread of yummy appetizers!!

The cutest Baby New Year ever!!

The W's happy to ring in 2011!!

A rare picture of us- Happy to see another year!!

Over The River...

My Mom got remarried this fall to a guy named Jim who lives in Nashville, TN. Since it's only a 10 hour drive, we decided to go and visit for a bit over Christmas Break.

We started our trip early- leaving the house at 6am- but before we officially hit the road, we got the most important thing- Dunkin Donuts!!

So happy to have a pink donut!

10 hours is a loooong time and getting up at 6am caught up to both kids- they took great naps in the car!! I love his sunglasses on!!

She was out cold....

Once at Gramma Jenny's new house we headed to the neighborhood playground to work out some wiggles.

They have a great playground and what do they want to play with?? The mulch. Here Alden is building his "castle." Poor kid- he needs to go to the beach more!!

Addie showing off her castle- there is a small leaf in the center that she was quite proud of!

Walking back home.

PRESENTS!!

After baths, the kids pulled out some games and had everyone busy playing! Here Addie is instructing the Grandparents how to play Hello Kitty Letter Bingo. They caught on rather quickly....

And of course, the iPhones came out to provide some more entertainment....

Alden plopped into my lap and wanted a picture of us- so here ya go!

Then he took the camera and took a few other pics- here is one of my Mom.

The next day, we got a tour of Nashville- neither Al nor I had ever been there. This is Dolly Parton's home.

This HUGE horse farm/equestrian field is owned by founder of Dollar General.

In the center of town is a perfect replica of Parthenon- it was cold and raining or else we would have explored it more.

Outside of the Parthenon is this HUGE train. Alden saw it and about had a heart attack- so we stopped so he could explore it.

Yes, he got what he wanted- exploring the train- and in exploring it, he chipped his front tooth- that is why he is crying, poor kid. At least it's a baby tooth and he now looks really tough.

Downtown Nashville- notice the Batman Building??

The Opryland Hotel just reopened after totally revamping the entire hotel due to the flooding this summer. It was amazing!! Yes, it was so huge you needed this map to find your way around!!

Addie liked being on the 2nd level- so she could see below her.

Of course, there were some pretty sweet rocks- so they climbed them!! Addie wanted to wear her guitar shirt- since we were going to be in Country Music's capital. Totally unbeknownst to us, the Tennessee Titans would be playing in a Bowl game in Nashville, the following day. People all over were wearing orange- and we even saw some of the Tennessee football players as they were wandering around the hotel, taking in the sights, just like us.

Checking out 1 of the many fountains.

Watching a "show"- fountains set to music.

By the end of the day, they were toast!!

We had a great visit!!