Pictures

I forgot I had some more cute pictures to post of the kids! Sorry, it's been a busy day......Olivia had her 6 month check up at the dentist and had a GREAT check up! No cavities but Dr. Flowers did say she will probably lose her two middle bottom teeth soon, she's already got two permanent teeth in the back on the bottom so her permanent teeth should start coming in and pushing her baby teeth out. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Is my daughter really old enough to start losing teeth? I just sort of stood there and said "ok" - I didn't know if I should be excited or sad because my baby girl is growing up. And way too fast. Cooper, however, HATED the dentist (even though he wasn't there for a check up, he just came along) so I don't look forward to taking him for his first visit after his birthday.

Speaking of his birthday (which is about a month away), we went today and booked his party at The Play Zone in town. The PZ isn't much to write home about, but it serves the purpose and it's cheap. Can't beat cheap. =) Anyways, one more word of advice - don't ever go to get your oil changed by yourself when you have two wild kids with you. LOL

Cooper eating breakfast at the beach on the porch. Believe it or not, he could eat that whole plate of food and still come back for more!

Olivia getting eaten by a "roar"!!!!!

Cooper on the carousal.....he rode all by himself.

This is how Cooper wanted to drink water at the pool.....out of his water gun. Oh yeah, who ever invented water guns should be beaten with a wooden spoon. UGH.

Following in Sissy's footsteps

Oh, it's true.....I thought Olivia was trying to drive me insane with her 100's of questions a day, but now Cooper is doing it to me too. ACK!!!!! I swear I think these two should work for the US Government as secret informants - they could get any terrorists or criminal to confess to ANYTHING after just a few minutes! By the time I drop them off at daycare in the mornings, *I* feel like I should be confessing to some crime.

Here's my morning:

*Cooper wakes up, walks in my room*

C: Mama, what you doin?

Me: Getting ready for work baby.

C: Why? No work day - k?

Me: Ha ha, I have to work today baby. Sit on my bed and watch tv until I'm done.

C: K

*I start blow drying my hair. Cooper comes running*

C: Mama, what you doin?

Me: *deep breath* I'm getting ready for work.

C: Why? No work day -k?

This continues the WHOLE time I'm getting ready.

I get done with myself and Cooper, make my way to Olivia's room.....I swear that girl wakes up asking questions and doesn't stop ever!

O: *opens her eyes* Is it Thursday?

Me: No, it's Wednesday.

O: WHY ISN'T IT THURSDAY!!!! WWWWWAAAAAAHHHHH

Me: OOOKKK.....tomorrow is Thursday!

O: Why do you have to go to work today?

C: Why? No work day - k Mama?

Me: I HAVE TO GO TO WORK!!!!

I get Olivia dressed, get everyone's hair combed and teeth brushed and we get in the car......I hear 100 million questions all the way to Darlington.......

They are working together to drive me insane.....I know it!

Olivia will be in hog heaven!

Olivia LOVES Taylor Swift (www.taylorswift.com) and I mean LOVES her! We know literally all her songs by heart because Olivia has to listen to her every single time she gets in the car. So, Nana calls me on Saturday and tells me that she's reading online that they are coming out with six singing Taylor Swift dolls in September. Olivia is going to be in hog heaven if Santa brings her one of these! And lucky for her, one of the dolls sings "Picture to Burn" which is her all time favorite song.

As if listening to Taylor Swift wasn't enough every day in my car, now I can listen to her every day at home too. Yay.......

Dating

Olivia's little mind never ceases to amaze me. We had the following conversation a few days ago.....

O: Mama, can I ask you a question I *know* you're going to say no too?

Me: Hmmm...sure?

O: Can I date Logan when I'm a teenager?

Me: *almost laughing* Sure Olivia, you can date Logan when you get older.

O: Are you going to pick me up on my date?

Me: Hmmm, no. Logan has to come here and talk to your Daddy.

O: Ok...does he know the way?

Me: You have plenty of time to give him directions.

How funny is my kid??? In case you don't know, Olivia and Logan are getting married (even Logan told HIS mom this!), living at the beach, painting their house pink with a pink roof, and having 3 kids. Oh, and Mommy gets to live with them but Daddy doesn't. Ha! =)

Whatcha doing?

This is Cooper's new phrase. He says it all the time - and I mean ALL THE TIME!!! He's starting to slowly drive me totally insane. =) It's really cute *most* of the time, but at 3am when I'm suddenly woken by a 36 inch little cutie saying "wwwaaaaatttttccccchhhhaaa doin mama?", it's not so cute. Someone please tell me he will calm down SOON!

Anyways, Al and my dad put ceramic tile up around the bathtub this weekend. They did a FAB job and it ROCKS! Here's some pictures of before and after. Thanks Daddy for helping Al do this project! We love our new tile!

Before

Before

After - love it!

After

After

My dad and hubby deserve a big pat on the back for this job!

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope everyone has a good time grilling out and spending time with families and/or friends! We are headed over to Al's parents house to grill out and watch the fireworks.

I promised a few people I would post a picture of the porch on our house. We put siding up on it and around the eves of the roof. It looks FABULOUS! It's not completely finished yet, we still have to work on the roof of the porch and painting around the windows and painting the shutters. Not much longer though. Al and my dad are in the process of putting tile up around the bathtub so Al is busy, busy, busy with home projects. =)

Casa de Griggs

Since taking this picture, Al has added the sage green siding to the area under the windows on the porch. The house was originally painted brown with black shutters and the porch was stained. I really love how bright the porch looks since painting it white. So, here's my dilemma....I plan on re-staining my swing because it's just too nice to mess up with paint. BUT, I am considering painting the rocking chairs - should I paint them white or red? I kind of like the idea of painting them red to off set the green on the porch and accent the door, but I don't know. What do all my blog readers thing? White, red or should I just re-stain them?

July Resolutions

Remember back in oh....I don't know, MARCH, I said I was going to start doing "monthly resolutions" because when I make New Year Resolutions, I never stick to them. I figured if I did it a month at a time, if I failed, I didn't feel so bad. =)

So....*insert drum roll*....my July resolutions are to keep up with my WW (I'm actually doing pretty well), keep up with walking (doing pretty well here too so far), and lastly, try to stop using curse words. I'm really good about not cursing in front of the kids, but work is the killer and I constantly find myself doing it under my breath. So, I definitely need to work on that. =)

Wish me luck!

Uncle Martin

My brother Martin (aka Marty if you knew him back in the day) came up to visit before he headed to Charleston before we left for the beach. The kids ADORE Uncle Marty and always look forward to seeing him. I just wish I had been able to get a picture with Olivia *and* Cooper looking at the camera - oh well! We do plan on taking the kids to Atlanta one weekend to see Uncle Marty and let him show us the town.

See you soon Uncle Marty! =)

More Beach Pics

Here are some more of our vacation pics.....I have some cool black and white ones I took the last day of vacation that I will post later. Enjoy!

HUGE Sea Turtle at the aquarium.

My little beach stud muffin. =) Nice farmer's tan Coop!

Beth, Drew, Zach, me, Olivia, Analiese and Balin. Poor Cooper was out riding the golf cart and missed the picture! Beth and Analiese are two of my KD sisters from FMU. Analiese and I were roommates for awhile - she was in my wedding and I was in hers. It was so great to see both of them and their growing families!

She looks like a teacher or something doesn't she? Well....except for the upside down glasses! LOL

Cooper throwing the ball at Sissy at the pool.....

Guess who's back.....back again.....

It's us!!! We are back from our vacation. We had a great time. The kids loved playing on the beach and especially loved the indoor pool the community had. We spent 99% of our time in water of some sorts. Olivia learned to swim with her swimmies on so I think I'm signing her up for swim lessons at the Y next week. Cooper, he liked being in the water for about 20 minutes and then he was ready to ride the golf cart.

Here are some of the pics - these ARE NOT all of them - ha ha! I just don't have time to sit here and post all the cutes ones, so check back in a day or so to see more. The only time we went anyways was to take the kids to the Aquarium. Olivia enjoyed it, but Cooper was scared of the sharks (he thought they were going to eat him - ha!) and was terrified of the Pirates expo they have up. Silly boy! Two of my KD sisters, Beth and Analiese, came down for a day with their boys and I really enjoyed seeing them. It's been years since we've seen each other so that was a nice treat. Anyways, I don't have much time to post right now, so here's some pics.

Olivia posing with the Pirate at the Aquarium.

Mommy, Cooper and Olivia at the Aquarium. I love Olivia's expression, don't you? =)

Cooper and Olivia riding the kiddie car ride at Boardway. Cooper LOVED it. He would giggle and smile every time the car took the turn. He was on cloud nine that he actually got to ride some of the rides this year!

The kids on the airplane ride at Boardway. Cooper wouldn't sit behind his Sissy, so he was in his own plane. I'll be honest, this one made me *nervous*.....but he loved it.

Poppy and the kids feeding the ducks (or geese, whatever) at the beach house. This place had TONS of ducks and geese that just wandered around waiting on people to feed them. The kids fed them several mornings while we were there.

Olivia posing her beloved "Dragon" float. I'm surprised the ocean hasn't claimed this float yet - she's had it for a couple of beach trips already.

Cooper running on the beach.....I think he's practicing for Baywatch one day. =)
Olivia in the ocean.....her favorite place to be.

Cooper enjoyed the pool more than the ocean I think.....

Olivia and Cooper at the Aquarium....no, I couldn't get them both to look at me.....UGH!!!!

Leaving....

You guys will hear from me in a week! Have a great week and check back in next weekend for pictures and updates of our vacation.

*wave*

Angels

Don't they look like little angels when they are sleeping? The kids have gotten into the habit of sleeping together in Olivia's bed these days. I don't mind it - I actually prefer for them to sleep together in HER bed rather than MINE. =) Neither of them like to sleep alone so this kind of solves both of their problems! Ha ha!

I thought it was so cute how they were almost on the same pillow! =)

Anyways, when I picked the kids up from daycare today, Olivia told me that Ella didn't go there anymore. When I asked why, she responded "because she didn't like me and I didn't like her!" - LOL I couldn't explain to her that I was almost 100% positive that she didn't go there for another reason! Oh, and she told me that Annaleigh didn't like "anyone I know" - which I thought was harsh - until Olivia said "especially YOU Mom!" Is it sad to say that it kind of hurt my feelings that some little kid said she didn't like me? LOL I did feel better when Olivia said she didn't like Al either! =)~

Vacation Countdown!

We go on vacation Saturday! I am so excited and ready to go NOW. =) Olivia can't wait.....we have been patiently counting down the days for about 2 weeks now. And now that we are in the single digits, she gets more excited every day. My kids *love* the beach and the outdoors. Seriously, we spent 99% of our vacation last year ON the beach or at the pool. If you ask Olivia what she wants to do at the beach, she will tell you she wants to play in the ocean. She is too funny!

We don't have anything specific planned. We are going to hit the aquarium one day, maybe Myrtle Waves one day, and maybe go play putt putt one night. I do hope I get to see Beth and Analiese while I'm down there and maybe even Jz. It's been so long since I've seen any of them so that would be a nice treat. Anyways, you won't be seeing me blog or post any pictures until we return the following Saturday. It is a vacation and although I will be carrying my camera around religiously, I will be leaving the laptop at home. =)

Party at the Park

Saturday we rode over to Florence to celebrate cousin Madeline's 2nd birthday. It was a lot of fun and we always enjoying seeing Keisha, Ashley and Madeline. The kids really like Ebenezer Park so it was a fun time for all!

My sweet, sweet little man.

My not so sweet little girl! Ha!

Keisha had bubbles out for the kids to play with. Of course, my two were all over some bubbles!

Olivia on the slide.

Happy Birthday cousin Madeline!!!

Playing around with my camera

I was playing around with my camera the other night and got a couple of cute shots of the kids so I thought I would share them. Olivia had put her pink sleeping bag out on the floor and the kids were "camping" while they were watching TV. Now that's MY kind of camping. =)

This one is funny - Cooper shut his eyes! Little Stinker. Olivia actually grinned......this is happening more and more these days. I love it!

Olivia posing as a "guitar girl" - she wants to play guitar in Taylor Swift's band. Have I mentioned that she loves, LOVES, LOVES Taylor Swift? We listen to that CD every time we get in the Jeep. Olivia and I know several, if not all, of the songs by heart. Olivia can sing "Our Song" really well! I didn't know I could take black and white pictures on my camera. I am STOKED!!!!! This is a cute one of Livvie Beans.
And why does Cooper *always* have a dirty face? LOL Notice that his hair is MUCH shorter now.....Sue cut his hair the other night and it looks fab. He looks so different when his hair is trimmed and short.

Slack....

I know, I know, I've been slack the last few days.....I will post a couple of cute pics of the kids tonight. I have a funny one of Olivia and I want to take a picture of Cooper with his hair cut (finally). He looks like a totally different kid.

Fun Sunday

We had a very fun day yesterday. We got up bright and early and headed over to Florence with the kids to see Kung Fu Panda. It's a very cute movie and the kids loved it. Cooper especially enjoyed the fighting parts. =) Then, (in a serious moment of temporary insanity) I suggested that we take them to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. They had a blast, so I guess it was worth it. We don't take the kids out to see movies that often so it was a very special treat for them. Of course, I really hope they enjoyed it because it cost a fortune.

$25 - 4 tickets to see Kung Fu Panda

$15.75 - 5 gallon popcorn and two large drinks

$36 - Pepperoni and black olive pizza and 4 drinks at Chuck E Cheese

Look on my kids faces when we told them where we were going - PRICELESS.

Coop's Nose

Cooper is trying to give me a heart attack. Didn't he just a few days cut his pinky fingers? Well, the day before yesterday, he fell off the bed around 4am and busted his nose. It was so red and swollen the next morning, that I was scared it was broke. But, he didn't act like he was in pain and he was breathing ok, so I just kept an eye on it and it's almost back to normal. Except for the big chunk of skin that is missing off the tip of his nose. He almost looks like he's been bit on the nose by a dog or something. =(

The boy is wild....I keep telling people that and they don't believe me because he's so stinking cute. But he is seriously half monkey or something.

It doesn't look too bad anymore right?

Olivia batting at her softball game. Her team came in 3rd in the championship. I am very proud of her! Al even says that he is going to help coach next year.

Oh, Cooper finally said "I love you Mama" but it came out "I Wub You Mama" - but it totally melted my heart!

Cooper Scissorhands

Al usually goes to the Willis Drive Crime Watchers meetings but since he's working on the siding on the house after work, I went for him. They tricked me by saying they wanted help in planning a neighborhood social.....

Anyways, while I was gone, Al had to watch the kids while he worked. Normally they just play out of the way but last night they just couldn't stay out of trouble. Al said he took a tape measure from them several times but they kept sneaking by and getting it. Well, folks, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And yes, tape measures are very dangerous! =)

The story I was told (since I wasn't there) is that Olivia and Cooper were playing with the tape measure - pulling it all the way out, it broke and Cooper was standing there holding the actual part that measures stuff. Well, Big Sissy snatched it from his hands and both his pinky fingers got a small cut on them. When I got home Cooper was sitting on the couch with his two pinky fingers high in the air. Very odd. Until I heard the story. So all night and this morning, Cooper walked around with this pinky fingers sticking way out looking like he was imitating Edward Scissorhands or something. It's kind of funny.

And don't worry....I looked at his fingers this morning and the cuts are very small and not deep at all. They should be healed in a day or so. Leave it to one of my kids to get injured from a normal, every day, mundane object!

Happy Anniversary Nana and Poppy!

I'm a day late on this but yesterday was my parents 36th wedding anniversary! How cool is that? They got married on May 30th 1972 and still going strong after all these years. I admire my parents tremendously and hope that Olivia and Cooper realize how special all their grandparents are.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you!

Melons, melons, watermelons

Watermelon is a big hit in the Griggs household. Cooper and Olivia *love* it so we usually eat a pretty good bit of the juicy, red fruit every summer.

This watermelon was so juicy and sweet. It was sssooo yummy!

Olivia acting silly eating her melon.

Cooper couldn't eat his piece fast enough! =)

Cute pic of Cooper.....he was licking this toy ice cream cone like it was the real deal. He is so silly! LOL

Our little funny girl

I think Olivia's teacher said it best when she told Al and I that Olivia was hands down the sit down, stand up class comedian! She is ssssoo funny and always has me and Al in stitches. Here's some of the latest things she's said:

O: Mama, I don't want my party at the skating rink anymore, I want it at Chuck E Cheese.

Me: Ok, that's fine.

O: Ella (little girl at daycare this summer) can't come. She doesn't like me.

Me: OOOKKKK

O: She can send me a present though, I'll take a present from her.

Me: *smirking* I'm sure Ella will appreciate that Olivia.

Or:

O: Mama, I have little girl boo.bies (broken up so no pervert can Google that word and find my blog).

Me: Yes Olivia, you do.

O: I want big girl boo.bies like yours!

Too funny!

Or:

Me: Olivia, can I live with you when you grow up?

O: No Mama, I'm moving and not telling you where I'm going.

Mean little thing!

Losing Weight

Al and I have been "half way" doing Weight Watchers for awhile but last week I decided to get back into it full force. I've done really well and I'm down 2 pounds! Woo Hoo! I haven't really told anyone that I'm counting points and all again just because it always stresses me out to hear "So, how much weight did you lose this week?" so keep it on the down low for me. I'm secretly doing little things to help Al out too (like getting fat free hot dogs for supper, baked chips, etc) so that he can get back into the swing of it too. I'm also walking at night a few times a week and that's helping a lot. I hate to diet so this is something I really need to try to work on. We've lost weight on this before and I know I can do it. So, wish me luck! =)

Why can't a ladybug be a pet?

Olivia has a thing for lady bugs. She loves them and thinks they are the best things ever. Right now, she's wearing a pair of pretty little red lady bug earrings that she WILL not let me change. Like I said, lady bugs are her *thing*. So yesterday when we rode over to Nana and Poppy's, Olivia discovered a tiny little lady bug on the front porch. She let it crawl over all her, which really surprised me since she's terrified of any other bug. And then this happened:

O: Mama! Can I have a bag?

Me: What do you need a bag for?

O: I want to take the lady bug home.

Me: Oh Olivia, you can't put a lady bug in a bag. She'll die....she needs to be outside to live.

O: I want her to be my pet!

Me: Baby Girl, lady bugs are NOT pets.

O: Well they should be!

It took me forever to convince her that a lady bug was not an acceptable pet. Thank goodness the lady bug finally had enough sense in her little bug brain to fly away!

The infamous "lady bug"

Olivia letting her "pet" crawl on her arm.

Poppy with the kids on his new mower after we finally convinced her to let the lady bug stay outside and it flew away. *whew*

Our new ride. =)

Olivia in her tap outfit. Just wanted to show you all how cute she was in her tap costume too. =)

Blog Poll

Ok, if you read my blog, leave me a comment. I know about my "regulars", but I'd like to know who all checks out my blog. Sometimes I feel like I'm just writing something and it's out in cyber space and no one sees it.

So, for me, leave me a message. I'd really appreciate it!

Dance, dance, dance

Olivia's dance recital was yesterday afternoon and she did great! Olivia takes tap and ballet, but after yesterday, I've learned that Olivia isn't feeling ballet at all! LOL They performed the ballet number first and basically Olivia just stood there and looked at everyone in the crowd. =) Oh, she did move her arms a little so I guess that counts for something huh? She did 100% better on the tap routine. She was really into it and knew the routine really well. So, after the show I asked her if she still wanted to take dance next year and she said "yes, but no ballet, I hate ballet" and I was like YEAH I CAN TELL! Ha! Here's some pictures....I didn't get any really good ones with her skirt for the tap routine, so these are all the ballet skirt pictures.

I guess I should have known how she felt about Ballet from her expression huh?

Very cute picture of her!

I thought this one was funny! Cooper was checking out Sissy's ballet shoe and Olivia actually SMILED!!!! Mark it on your calender folks!

This girl has tons of attitude.

Her hair was so pretty! She wore this feather thing all day, even after the show! ha ha!

New car!

So, Al and I just paid a fortune to get the a/c compressor in my van replaced. Now, a few short weeks later, we find out that the evaporator is leaking and it'll cost another $1000 to fix it. So, Al and I made a decision. We bought a new car.

I feel like I could throw up! LOL I'm totally stoked about my new 07 Jeep Liberty, but I hate that I now have a car payment. I really enjoyed not having one! But, we just couldn't see putting more money into the van after all the trouble we've had. It's white...the Trail Edition, 4WD, low miles, great gas mileage, and we love it. I'll have to take some pictures and post on here later. It was the promo car at the dealership so it's basically new because no one has ever owned it. That makes us pretty happy.

So anyways, just wanted to share our good and scary news!