Last Post of 2009

Happy New Year's everyone!!!!

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas!!!!

Santa has come and gone for another year.....and man, I am GLAD it's over! :) Santa was very good to all of us this year. The kids got way too much stuff (as usual) and Al and I even got a few goodies. :)

Even Molly got some gifts - here she is styling her new sweater. I wish I could say she loved it, but I would be lying....she hated it! LOL

Olivia was happy she got Woody. She also got Jessi from Santa.

Cooper got some "boy dress" up clothes. :)

Olivia's Santa stash.

Cooper's Santa stash.

The kids were up by 7am....and I was ssssooo not ready to get up. Ha ha....they were ssssoo excited and after about 5 seconds, you couldn't even see the living room floor. I think we have about five bags of trash thrown in the garage. SSSOOO....as much as I love Christmas, and I love seeing how happy my kids are, and how I love celebrating what Christmas is about - but I am glad tomorrow is a new day. :)

Happy Holidays everyone from the Griggs family!!!

That's MY Girl!

I'm not sure how Olivia and I got on the conversation of Christmas *enter sarcasm here* the other day, but she had me CRACKING up!

O: Mama, I can't wait for Christmas! Am I off the naughty list?

Me: Yes Boo Boo, you made it off the naughty list. *snicker*

O: You know, Christmas isn't only about getting presents.

Me: Oh really? What is it about then?

O: Raeva says she likes to give instead of getting.

Me: I bet she does - it is nice to give.

O: I like to give Mama, I really do.

Me: I know you do Boo.

O: But you know what?

Me: What?

O: I really don't mind getting either.

Me: I know that too Olivia!

That's MY girl! LOL I have to say, she really is starting to understand the whole "meaning" of the season now. She even packed up some of her older toys and told me that I could take them and give them to kids that weren't able to get new toys like she could. How sweet is that?

See you next year!

It's hard to believe that the kids are DONE with school until the new year! Is it me or has this year just flown by? The kids had their last day of school today and they won't go back to THA until 1/5/10. That sounds sssssooo far away to me! Al is the lucky parent that gets to stay home with them - ha ha! I *am* jealous that I will be at work these two weeks, but I know Al would prefer it be me....oh well! That's what he gets for having wicked time off. :)

As far as school goes, I think both the kids are doing better. Olivia was going through a "phrase" (or at least I hope so) where she was rushing through her work and not taking her time, making mistakes, etc. She seems to be slowing down and doing much, much better now. She's such a smart cookie and her main problem is that she thinks she KNOWS everything already. Cooper is doing FABULOUS with his new teacher. You have no idea how thankful I am to have "that" situation over with! You can tell he's learning so much. It's hard to believe that Olivia was just in 4k two years ago and now he's there....time is flying!

2009 has been a great year for us!

Ginger Bread House

Yesterday the kids were DYING to decorate the gingerbread house (thanks Nana!). Last year we had one that came with already made icing....this year, not so lucky. Ha ha! It was pre-made, which means the house was already put together. THAT kind of bummed me out a little because that was the funnest (is that a word?) part of it last year. SSSSSOOO....I made the icing following the directions but it came out wwwwaaayyy too thin. What can I say, I'm just not that domestic. Needless to say, the candies did not really stay on our house well. It didn't seem to bother the kids though and they still had a blast.

See how my icing dripped down? Total bummer for me. But Cooper loved it because it gave him an excuse to eat tons of icing!

Olivia finally took charge (imagine that) and did the icing herself. She did pretty well too.

Our finished house!

He was having a blast.

She can smile!!!!! All it took was decorating a gingerbread house!!!!!

My son....

the copycat. Someone please tell me when this phase ends??? Here's a constant scenerio at our house right now.

Me: Cooper, come here.

Coop: Cooper, come heeeeerrrreeee!

Me: Funny Cooper.

Coop: Funny Cooper!

*Olivia comes over to give her two cents*

O: Stop copying Mommy COOPER!!!!

Coop: *in sassy little voice* Stop copying Mommy COOPER!!!!!

O: Mommy, make him stop copying ME.

Coop: Mommy, make him stop copying ME.

Me and O: UGH!

*We stomp off - and hear Cooper giggle in the back ground*

What a little stinker!

Letters to Santa

We have had a WONDERFUL, wonderful weekend full of Christmas activities! Last night we headed to Byerly Park to watch the Polar Express - yes it was COLD, but it was a lot of fun sitting outside wrapped up cozy in blankets watching such a great movie. After the movie (which the mayor provided us with hot chocolate which I thought was *awesome*), the town's Christmas tree was lit and Santa was there to greet the kids. The tree this year actually came off our street, so that's pretty cool. The kids were beside themselves with Santa being there - oh and Mrs. Clause and some elves too.

Today we headed back over to the Christmas tree to drop off our letters to Santa. We did this last year and Santa wrote back! Olivia and Cooper loved this so I hope this stays a tradition for as long as possible!

Look at Cooper's expression in this one! Priceless.

The kids after they put their letters in the mailbox.

Cooper needed some extra help putting his letter in the Santa box!

Olivia putting her letter in the mailbox.

Our town's Christmas tree.

Christmas Parade 2009

Today was Hartsville's Christmas Parade. It was COLD. And Rainy. But the show must go on! We had a lot of fun - saw all kinds of neat looking floats, horses, Rudolph, and yeap - even Santa on top of the Fire Truck. I have more pictures on facebook, so check those out too!

Hartsville's Farm League State Champions

Hartsville High Red Regime

Rudolph - this was a pretty awesome float!

Olivia and Cooper waiting on the parade to start!

Second Round of Family Pictures

So what do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! We had a wonderful day filled with lots of family. Uncle Mitchell even took Olivia and Cooper for a ride on Poppy's motorcycle down the road. I thought they would both be scared, but leave it to my kids to LOVE it.

Olivia was a little nervous at first, but really got into it once they picked up some speed.

Cooper after his ride with Uncle Mitchell on "Midnight Rider" (that's his and Poppy's name for the Harley). Love the big cheesy grin - he was SSSOOO happy and loved it. I think Poppy and Uncle Mitchell have created little monsters!

Are Pigs Sarcastic?

My sarcasm is not lost on Olivia. Not one bit. Tonight we headed over to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate my favorite nephew's birthday - We love you Louis! - and had a blast. One the way home, the kids were fighting about the verses to a Christmas song. Finally, Olivia turns to Cooper and says "Fine Cooper, you're smart and I'm dumb!" My response? "Olivia, stop saying stuff like that!" - to which she replied, "Oh Mommy, I'm just being sarcastic." (By the way, they were BOTH wrong about the verse.) But how funny is that? I mean, how many six year olds do you know that can use the word sarcastic? And correctly in a sentence at that! Oh yeah, my girl takes after her Mommy. I.LOVE.IT.

Also, Olivia lost another tooth - seriously, how many more can she loose??? At the time, I was sick and well, Al *forgot* to give her a dollar and take the tooth. I guess you can see where this is going right? Olivia was NOT a happy camper when she woke up that morning. She stomped in my room and threw the tooth on my bed.

"Why didn't the tooth fairy leave me money?" she demanded.

Al just STOOD there. Amateur!

"Hmmm.....The Tooth Fairy has the swine flu...leave that tooth for her tonight and she'll probably leave you $2" - says Mommy (to the rescue!)

"Ok, fine...but she better leave me my money" - another reason she's my child folks.

I find it highly amusing that even my 6 year old and 4 year old know what it means when you say "so and so has the swine flu" - crazy huh? And yes, the Tooth Fairy came that night and left Olivia the promised $2. She was very happy............not really concerned about the TF's health though, which I found kind of rude of my girl. :)

Hardest Job

Being a parent is the hardest job EVER hands down. The part I dislike the most is disciplining the kids. I KNOW as parents, that Al and I have to discipline our kids - don't get me wrong - but man, it really breaks my heart sometimes!

For example - Olivia got in trouble at school today. I'm talking BIG trouble. The kind of trouble that calls for Mommy and Daddy to take action. So.....she's on restriction - from the TV, from the computer, from her DS, from any of her activities like Girl Scouts, etc (basically *anything* my girl enjoys) - until her behavior improves in school. She cried. And that that is the part I dislike the most folks. It literally breaks my heart in two when I see one of my kids cry. My head KNOWS that I'm doing the right thing by disciplining my child, but my heart HURTS right along with her.

*sigh*

Day at the Zoo

First off - Go TIGERS!!!!! Woo Hoo!

Yesterday, Al and I decided to take the kids to the zoo in Columbia. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun. We took our time going through the zoo and saw everything but the seals. The kids were screaming for Dippin' Dots by that time and didn't care to see them. I took a TON of pictures - we got pretty close to the elephants at one point. I love the zoo - I can't wait to take the kids back.

Riverbanks is gearing up for their annual "Lights at Christmas" display so they had giant nutcrackers at the gates. The kids thought they were giant toys they were supposed to play with!

My kids obviously have NO FEAR! Cooper wasn't allowed to touch the snake though, which made my little man cry!

My little diva darling.

The flamingos were gorgeous!

Mighty, Mighty Tiger! The kids were yell Go Clemson when they saw them!

Me and the kiddos.

Test Run for Family Pictures

We were supposed to get family pictures made Sunday, but the photographer had to reschedule - SO...since we were already dressed up, we had a trail run. I think the pictures came out pretty well. I am looking forward to getting "real" family pictures made on Sunday. Here's some of my favorite shots.

Cooper was saying "it hurts to smile big" here - too cute! And check out Olivia's expression. Classic.

GREAT family shot - not sure if my film was messed up or if it was the sun that lightened it up. Boo.

My favorite shot of the kids together.

My favorite little man. Cooper Thomas Griggs, age 4.

Olivia Grace Griggs, age 6.

Getting it Together for November

Halloween has came and went - and boy am I glad! The kids had a blast - and still have a TON of candy left to eat. I have secretly (ssshhhh) hid some of their chocolate candy so that it can be put into Christmas stockings. My mom hates that I do this....but honestly, they don't *need* all that candy right now anyways. I have a feeling the rest of the reject candy will be thrown out pretty soon.

Other than that, it's been pretty quite at the Griggs household. Olivia is in full force working on her Christmas list. And Cooper yells "I want that!" for EVERY.SINGLE.THING he sees on tv. I kid you not. It's cute at first, but now it's just down right annoying! :)

Apparently the kids made me cards for my upcoming birthday and wasn't supposed to let the cat out of the bag.....I thought it was kind of funny. Olivia went ahead and gave me the card she made, it was sssoo sweet and cute. I love her! Cooper, on the other hand, seems to have LOST the card he made me. I told him not to worry, he may find it yet before my birthday! LOL How stinking cute is he? My kids are awesome.....hyper, but awesome. :)

THA Halloween Carnival 2009

THA hosted their annual Halloween carnival. OF COURSE the kids had a blast. There was tons to do - we did games, danced, pony and horse rides, and a haunted breezeway. We are all wore out, but it was a lot of fun.

Olivia in the dunking tank. They were dunked into a tank of plastic balls.

Coop in the dunking tank.

Me with my two favorite superheros in the whole wide world!

Super Girl and Buzz Lightyear!

Fall Festival

Today we headed to McLeod Farms for their annual Fall Festival. It was fun - although it did rain most of the time we were there! We took a carriage ride around the farm which was pretty fun - then the kids did face painting, cow train rides, pony rides (which was done multiple times I might add), ate ice cream and boiled peanuts. You name it, we did it. Very fun - I just wish it hadn't been wet.

Deep fried oreos - Olivia and I loved these! Cooper and Al, not so much.

Olivia with her "pony" - she would only ride this one because it was the only girl in the bunch!

Cooper and Olivia on the ponies.

*Another tooth gone!*

I can't even remember how many this makes now! Six maybe? She was ssssooo proud that she lost another tooth - it's actually been awhile since the Tooth Fairy came to visit. :) Poor Coopey wants to be just like Sissy though. He told me this morning that one of his "teeths" is loose too. He's barely 4 folks! LOL I told him to be patient, the Tooth Fairy would be visiting him in another year or so. Oh, FYI, Olivia is NOT scared to pull her own teeth out. This one was wiggly and bleeding - she asked me to do and I told her NO WAY - so she preceded to do it herself! Crazy girl!

One of THOSE days?

Ever had one of those days where you can't remember if you brushed your teeth as you're walking out the door? So, you herd the kids *back* into the house, make a mad dash for the bathroom, brush your teeth (for what you think is the 2nd time) and rush out the door? Then as you're skidding out the drive way on two wheels, your 4 year old son asks you - "Mommy, why did you brush your teeths two times and not mine?"

YYYEEAAAAHHHH....that's the kind of morning I had.

Corn Maize 2009

Olivia is all about getting patches and badges for Girl Scouts - SO....in order to get her very first activity patch, we had to conquer the corn maze in Darlington. It was HOT.....and HUMID....and we all sweated. We made it through - FINALLY....but it wasn't easy! :) The kids *hated* it. Ha ha.

Cooper really wanted to do this when we finally made it out the maze!

He loves the cow train too!

The kiddos on the wagon ride. We rode around the farm - and the breeze was ssssooo nice and cooled us right off.

Olivia in the maze. Nice attitude huh? We were just glad to almost be done!

Olivia was the "leader" since she's the Daisy.

All in all, it was somewhat fun. After about 30 minutes of being lost in the maze though, I was done with it! I was ready to get out and get something to drink. The kids whinned the ENTIRE time we were in there. I threatened to leave them lost in the maze if they didn't stop. Oh yeah.....it didn't work. LOL

Student of the Week

This little sweet thang won Student of the Week in his class this week! Al and I are sssssoo proud of him! He's had some trouble in school this year since he's literally the *youngest* in his class, but Al and I have been working super hard with him and his teacher said he's doing great. I can't even tell you how happy that makes me. He's such a fun, smart little guy - all he needed was a little extra help. He does "homework" every night beside Sissy Grace. His teacher said she can already tell a huge difference in him since we started with that. Way to go Cooper!!! Mommy and Daddy love you! :)