Wheew!

Last weekend we got our bikes out of the shed and cleaned them up a bit and put air in the tires.  Bill and I bought really nice bikes a few years ago and have not ridden them in over a year, maybe two.  Griffin had to wear Sydney's helmet (even though it is pink) because we haven't bought him one yet and it no longer fits her.  He enjoyed the ride and I need the exercise. 

Remember when Sydney rode on the bike?

summer 2008

Don't tell daddy

that his little boy sometimes wears Snow White high heels
Griffin loves these little shoes

Daddy's Helper

Griffin received some birthday money in the mail so he now has a new mower and blower- which both make noise!!  He is so happy working in the yard with Bill.  I need to get a video soon.

Loose Ends

• Busy lately- the weekends have been full of time outside playing and yard cleanup, going for walks and bike rides.  Pictures soon.
• I finished reading Weird: because normal isn't working a few weeks ago and it was eye opening and thought provoking.  I am not going to outline the rest of the chapters although I did take notes and I will probably share a few quotes and verses.  Bill is reading the book now.
• Griffin had his 2 year check up and with clothes he weighed 26.5 lbs and was 33 inches which puts him at 25th percentile for his height and weight.  He is our little guy! 
• On Saturday Christopher proposed to Lindsey and she said "yes!" so there will be another wedding in the near future- which means all the big kids will be married.  We think Lindsey is great and we are excited for her to be our daughter in law.  (yes Marcus married a Lindsey) so we will have two daughter in laws with the same name.  We love both Lindsey's and could not be happier for the boys. 
• Life is busy but with all good stuff and we are enjoying the changing seasons.  More posts soon.

P.S.  All my followers are back-yeah!!!

Help

Does anyone know why it is not showing my followers all of a sudden?  I tried to go under design and edit it but they are gone?  If you were a follower will you sign up again?

Mama's Ugly Apple Cake

I have a student shadowing me on Thursday mornings and she sent me the link for this recipe and I am so glad.  Since we were just at the orchard and have lots of apples I wanted to try a few new recipes.  Well this recipe for Mama's Ugly Apple Cake is a winner.  I actually made a few adjustments- I used 1 cup sugar in the cake and 1 cup of splenda.  I used 2 golden delicious apples and 2 galas.  I also only made 1/2 of the frosting and I used a little milk instead of the lemon juice so that we could drizzle it instead of frosting the whole cake.  Then I decide to just leave the frosting on the side and the cake is actually delicious without the frosting.  So yummy.  Griffin had a check up this am so we took some to the office to share with my coworkers so we may actually have to make another cake!

Trees=Leaves

Is it any wonder or yard is starting to fill up with leaves.  We have lots of trees.  We are loving fall and even though it is a lot of work we all enjoy working in the yard. 

Sky Top Orchard

We went to the orchard Saturday- we left home at 7 and did not get home until after 7.  The orchard was in Flat Rock, NC which is about 3.5 hours away from our house, way into the mountains.  Apparently Flat Rock is a stones throw from Lake Lure, which is where they filmed the movie Dirty Dancing. 

The orchard is at the top of a huge mountain and it was quite the climb up to the top.

We hiked out to pick our own apples- we picked 13 pounds of cameo apples.

Sydney loved looking for the big apples

every time Griffin pulled one of the tree it fell out of his hands on the ground

We had a yummy picnic lunch

played on pumpkins

this is a happy doughnut face

yummy pumpkin doughnut

they had these old fashioned machines that made doughnuts- pumpkin or apple cider- it was fun to watch and they were delicious

we want to keep track of how tall the kids are because we plan to go back and compare each year

we wanted to go to this orchard last year but when Bill's mom died we were unable to make the trip

we went on a tractor ride around the property and the scenery was beautiful

they had animals that we fed corn

they also had a bamboo forest

Griffin got stuck, for just a moment

I had to stop and admire the roots of the bamboo, have you ever noticed bamboo roots?

we had the best time just hanging out together

as a kid we always went to this great orchard- actually two different ones, Spicer's (by our home) and then John's (I think this is what it was called- on the way up north)

since then I have been to several orchards and they never hold a candle to my childhood memory, FINALLY we found an orchard that was so awesome and very worth the drive

We bought a total of 30 lbs of apples, and a dozen doughnuts.  We had hours of fun and created great memories.  Sky Top had varieties of apples I have never heard of plus the usual and they made everything from apples- fritters, pies, cider, cider slushies, chocolate covered apples, carmel apples and more!

We will go back to Sky Top in the future and we may need to make a weekend out of it and check out the surrounding area.

Scrapbook pages

A few weeks ago I went to Scrapmania and scrap booked from 8 am to 8 pm!  I went last year and it was so fun and I was excited to go this year again.

Here are the pages I completed:

I used someones cricket to cut out the apron and kitchen utensils

again the cricket for the paint pallet and brush

the 4 squares are actually paint samples from Lowes that I stitched together with twine

cricket again for the tractor!

also the barn and fence sections- I loved using the cricket

can you tell I loved using the cricket- I cut out these sailboats to match the ones the kids play with in the tubby

Some of the details are hard to appreciate in these pictures but you get the point.  I had a great time and I was happy with what I accomplished.

cold mornings

mean snuggle time with a blanket on the way to school

Spray

Griffin loves to spray- inside, outside, everywhere.  If he sees a spray bottle he wants it and he wants to go outside.  I use the spray bottle to wet Sydney's hair in the mornings so he sees it everyday. 

He walks around the yard spraying the fence, flowers, trees, people!  When the bottle is empty he comes to me or Bill and says "want more water please"

When we got home from church Sunday and our neighbor David was outside watering his new grass Griffin was so excited.  He was even more excited when David let him water the lawn. 

Whenever we are outside you will see Griffin with a spray bottle in his hand.

Happy Birthday to Griffin

Griffin is 2 years old

Griffin is two years old today.  We cannot believe how quickly the time has passed and we are trying to savor each moment with our little guy.  Tears come to my eyes as I type because we are so in love with our sweet boy.  He is a gift, and we are so grateful.  We have so many wonderful memories of life with Griffin over the past two years plus the time he was growing inside me.  I was a little nervous about having a baby boy and Bill was in shock when the ultrasound technician said he was a boy.  I am not kidding we have so many pictures of his boy anatomy because Bill kept asking her is she was sure he was a boy.  So funny.  Having a son has been so fun and new yet he is similar to Sydney at times.  Griffin is always happy- really.  People have commented to me that he is just so happy and smiley.  You can make him giggle to the point of losing his breath so easily.  He has a smile that will brighten any ones day and the sweetest voice.  I made a list of some of the words that come to mind when I describe Griffin.  Can you think of any I forgot?

1. talkative
2. energetic
3. affectionate
4. excited
5. loud
6. smiley
7. giggly
8. generous
9. adorable
10. silly
11. social
12. hungry
13. smart
14. sweet
15. outdoors man
16. snuggler
17. tricky
18. small
19. polite
20. daring
21. musical
22. determined

Here are a few pictures I took-1 week before his birthday.  He was so happy to be outside (although it was cold) and he loves riding the tricycle.

We are having a small family celebration Sunday after church- I will share pictures later.