Thankful Thursday

I'm back with another Thankful Thursday. Here are a few things that I'm grateful for today-

*The means to not only feed our little family but to share that blessing wih others. There is nothing better than sharing a meal with someone.

*Kleenex & Infant Tylenol- our sweet girl hasn't been feeling like herself. She got a little runny nose and her bottom teeth continue to take their time coming in...I'm grateful for tissue so she's not a snot nosed baby and Tylenol to take the edge off of teething.

*Lastly, we've been getting a little tired of the walls here in the "rental home"(it'll always be Nana and Papa's house in my mind no matter how long we're here!). Seriously, all of the rooms, trim and doors are this dingy cream color and it feels a little like an asylum sometimes. I'm grateful for creativity, resourcefulness, paint and a little elbow grease. Because of all of those things our living room is in its was out of the cream! Not pictured- a painted bathroom vanity that needed freshening, a bathroom that has been rid its old wallpaper and has a fresh coat of paint, and paint in the guest bath.

Halloween 2012

We started out the Halloween celebration by taking our Little Pumpkin to get her flu shot.  The nurse that gave her the vaccine was dressed as Buzz Light Year, I have a feeling that she won't be a fan of Toy Story!

Before we left to meet up with the fam we had a brief little photo shoot of the cutest little pumpkin ever.  Well, see for yourself-

 After the shoot I asked the Hubs to take a quick pic of me and my girl in case it didn't happen later in the evening.  Well, it didn't happen later and she wasn't that interested in these...oh well!

We headed over to Roc and Babs house where the whole family (except Mimi who was working) got together to go Trick or Treating.  Some of the kids took turns pushing around the pumpkin chariot.  Her stroller went with her costume!

 Then she got "saved" from her plush ride by Bab who took her up to some doors to do some real trick-or-treating.

 I forgot her basket at Trunk-or-Treat and for tonight.  Luckily I had a smaller Target shopping bag in my car.  She wasn't keen on carrying her own bag!

Then we came across this awesome house.  The pictures just don't do it justice.  There were lights and animated stuff all over.  The wind knocked some of the stuff over...it was chilly!

In the end, Gigi ended up in the stroller being pushed by a frozen Hubby.  Jas, Nell, Lou and J Man are in the background.  Boy did we have fun!

Trunk or Treat 2012

Pappy and Mimi's ward (church) had their Trunk-or-Treat out at a farm.  Pappy pretty much planned the night so the whole family went out to have some fun.  They had a chili and cornbread cook-off, costume contest, bonfire, hot cocoa bar, hot dogs...and of course, trunk-or-treat.  We got a few shots before leaving Mimi and Pappy's-

Bab and Lo

It took about 20 attempts to get this shot- all 7 grand kids in costume.

And a couple more once we got out to Phipps Farm- 

Kelc, I mean Goldilocks and the 3 bears, came with us and her friend Jasmine too!

Me and Lo

She loves her Uncle Jas, however she would not come off the smiles.

So Uncle Jas decided to fall in line with her expression.

We came home late that night because we had the Cub Scout Bicycle Rodeo to attend the next morning.  Here is a shot from lunch at the Rodeo!



Color Me Rad

I had the fabulous opportunity to participate in a 5K this weekend, it was so much fun!  Seriously,if it comes close to home again I would love to go time and time again.  Basically, you get "bombed" with color throughout the course.  Some bombing stations were dry and others were wet, you start with a clean slate and end up doused in color.

My BFF (if ya know what I mean) got the crazy idea to do it and invited/forced people to do it with her.  There ended up being 6 of us, our team name was Color Theory so we all dressed as part of the good ole ROYGBV. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet for those of you who don't speak color wheel!)  Somehow, we never got in order for the pictures!

Before and After

The aftermath

Glamour Shot!

BFFs before the 5K

4 out of 6 at the start line

In the beginning it was uphill and I was thinking "what did I just get myself into", but then it leveled out.  All of my "training" has been just walking/jogging around my neighborhood with Lo.  Very laid back, but I do around 2 miles many times a week, sometimes twice a day.  What I didn't take into consideration was that my neighborhood is completely flat.  At the very end there was a super steep climb, but you could get through it because you knew it was almost over. There were tons of families out there with young children, it was very family friendly.  All in all, it was an absolute blast to be at!

Baby's First Trip To The Zoo

We are fortunate enough to have an amazing zoo so close to where we live.  It has always been a favorite place to go...when it's not during the summer months!  Lo enjoyed her first trip.  She could not have cared less about the actual animals but she loves being outside so it was right up her alley.

Lo and her Aunt are too cool for school!

She loved the aquarium.  I think she liked that it sounded like her white noise machine and it was nice and dark.

I actually saw the zebra run for the first time in my life.

Bab trying to refresh Lo with the cold water from the fountain.

We were able to go early in the afternoon on Wednesday while the Hubs was on a business trip with Bab and the kidlets, they had early release.

Greek Festival 2012

We have been wanting to go to the Greek Festival for a few years but for some reason it always got bumped off the calendar...until this year.  We had a great time feasting on the Greek delicacies that we got there, but the highlight was the baklava sundae.  I would go back every year for that thing alone!

Punky was unimpressed by it all, except for Aunt Heath.  When Heath is within a mile of my child, she will find her.  Lo just cannot get enough of her.

 Cooing and smiling at Heath.

 Happy girl!

 We got to tour the sanctuary of the Greek Orthodox Church, it was breathtaking.

 The tour guide told us about the artist that painted all of these scenes- the man comes over from Greece with a team of apprentices.  The artist does a sketch in pencil (which takes about 45 minutes) and then the apprentices paint it out without even consulting the artist about color choices or anything. They have worked together for so long that they just know.  The tour guide also told us that they only bring a few basic colors of paint because they custom mix all of their paint.

A shot of the outside of the church.

Football Fun

Lo and I had the opportunity to go see J Man play his first football game a couple of weeks ago. It was cool to see him participating in something that he obviously enjoys. He played really good and we are proud of him.

It was super hot outside that day...like you could cut the air with a knife. So, we didn't stay for the entire game but we made it through most of it. Eventually Lo, the kidlets and I retreated to my air conditioned car while we waited for the game to finish up.

Pictured- J Man's team on the field, the siblings cheering him on, me keeping Lo cool by fanning her with Bed Bath & Beyond coupons, and the kidlets playing a game that they made up on the fly in the shade while patiently waiting out the heat.

The Drive In

A whole slew of people went to the drive-in last weekend.  Between all of the families I think we had around 20 people.  We all brought delicious snacks and saw a double feature Ice Age 4 and Brave.  Well, that was the plan but the babysitters called us back home after the first movie. Lo had gotten off her schedule and they didn't know what to do.  By the time we got in the car and on the road for about 10 minutes they called back to tell us she was asleep.  :)  And, as it turned out the babysitters were to blame for her restlessness...they didn't follow instructions.

 We got super lucky and had a spot that nobody parked in right in front of us.

Me and my date

Some of our crew and Hubby hoarding the peanut butter cup popcorn that I made.

Ballet Recital

We had the opportunity to see Munchie's ballet recital last weekend.  We were all so proud of her for doing such a good job.  She is quite the natural at ballet as it turns out.  Her class danced to "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift and it was precious.

Munchie and her littlest fan. Lo insisted on dressing like a tiny ballerina for the recital...such a diva!

One loved little girl.

So pretty!

She posed herself for all of these photos.

Me and my girl...so you can really appreciate her ensemble.

Just Kickin' It

Recently we were able to go see one of E's soccer games.  It was fun to see his team play, they have gotten better each season.  It was really cool to watch E really "get in there", he has come a long way!

Run E, Run!

Number 33 in action.

And a bonus picture of Gigi and her cute friend picking dandelions during the game.

Pumped Up Kicks

About 2 weeks ago the Hubs and I had the opportunity to go see E play soccer.  He had a large cheering section out there for him and he kept us entertained. 

Get in there E!

Worn out.

Bab trying to keep everyone's comments PC in the cheering section!