Happy birthday.......

Dr. Seuss!!!! And Jon Bon Jovi. :)

Our trip to Biltmore

We spent last weekend in Asheville, NC.

It was a fun weekend - I got to hang out and catch up with one of my dearest friends Kelly and her gang and we took the kids to Biltmore.  Al had never been either so this was killing two birds with one stone (so to speak.) 

I was VERY surprised that the kids had such a good time.  I was expecting them to hate it - especially since it was raining and COLD - but they were in awe of Biltmore.  O even said that she wanted to build a house as big as it when she grew up.  Yeah, probably not going to happen O!

I was sort of disappointed in the gardens.  And yes, I know it's February but still.  There was nothing but DIRT.  The Greenhouse was fabulous though (and not because it was warm and dry but that certainly helped!) and was probably my favorite part of our tour.  The flowers and plants in there was so beautiful that a few didn't even look real.  I would have touched, but that would have led the kids to pulling leaves off of everything and us kicked out.  So I refrained.  Especially the boy - he would have knocked over some priceless tree or something and we'd be on Headline News.

O will tell you that we toured all 250 rooms of Biltmore, but I can assure you that we did not.  I do think we climbed every single stair at least twice though.  My legs were so sore the next day, they hurt when I blinked.  And I run so that just goes to show you how much walking up and down you do!  Cooper's favorite room was the pool (of course) but he kept referring to it as "the big bathtub."  He did great with his audio guide, which really surprised me.  O swears her audio guide said the Vanderbilt's daughter's name was Lila but I heard it 100 times and it was always Cornelia.   She hears what she wants too folks, that's all I can say.

I do want to go back in the spring when the gardens are in bloom and it's not freezing cold.  Or raining.  Of all the days to finally rain, it just had to be the day we went.  Oh well.  We still had a good time and the kids even passed out on the way home and didn't fight as much.

Happy Birthday Big Brother!

Happy Birthday Martin!!!! 

You are quite possibly the world's best brother (it helps that you live far away) and the kids love you to pieces!  We all hope you have a fantastic birthday and hope to see you soon! 

Even Al.  And that says a lot. 

Road Trip

I'm so giddy about our road trip starting tomorrow, I can't stand myself! 

We're heading up to Asheville, NC to go to Biltmore on Sunday.  Al and the kids have never been, and I went so long ago I don't remember much, so I thought we'd make a trip out of it.  Tickets were on sale and the kids get in FREE....so why not?  :)

We're going up tomorrow and having dinner with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Kelly and her gang.  I haven't seen my friend in a few years so it'll be nice to catch up.  I miss her so much!  It's nice to have a few friends that have been around pretty much your entire life and STILL love you.  Kelly is one of those friends for me.  I don't know what I would without her. 

So, be on the lookout for some pictures!  Not sure if you're allowed to take them in the Biltmore, but if you are, you know I'll be shooting.  I just hope the kids aren't bored.  I plan on bribing them with a trip to the fancy "Biltmore themed" McDonald's if they do well!  Wish me luck!

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to my loyal bloggers!!!

Al surprised me with flowers. He's the best people. For reals.

The kids had a dance at school and came home with lots of goodies. THA had gifts parents could buy to be given out at school and O was giddy that she got one. Cooper was a typical boy about it. Ha!

My little monsters are my best valentine's though!

Kids at the park

Just a few pictures of the kids at the park.

And no, I did not pick out O's outfit!

TNA Wrestling

Al and I took the kids to see wrestling at the Civic Center. Coop is a HUGE, huge fan of wrestling. It's seriously the only thing that boy thinks about.

We had floor seats so we were pretty close to the action! Which was pretty cool. We even got autographs from Jeff Hardy, Gail Kim, ODB, Eric Young, and AJ Styles. I don't think the kids will forget it for awhile. :)

Even Al was happy - his idol, Rick Flair (wwwhhhhoooooo!) was there.

You got to love her fashion sense.

Or lack there of. :)

O insists, no really, INSISTS on dressing herself for school. Which usually isn't a problem. Until these shoes.

They are super tall, super fabulous, super sparkly, and go with EVERYTHING. Or so she thinks.

One thing I know - she's a cool kid. So if anyone can pull them off, it's OGG for sure. I'll admit - they are growing on me. :)

George

I call him Georgie Porgie. :)

Got another one

We got another dog!

Back Story:  I've been reading up on taking Molly (our Boston Terrier) running with me.  She's been on walks with us, and always seems to poop out.  I thought she was just lazy.  But from what I've been reading online about her breed, she just can't go for any length of time.  I saw mixed reviews on whether or not she could be a good running (or jogging in my case) partner and I figured she wouldn't be much protection if I needed it anyways. 

That brings us up to to speed.....so basically I started looking at Craigslist and in the paper for puppies.  I wanted something a little bigger than Molly, could run with me, and had to be good with kids.  I found George. 

He's *supposedly* a boxer/rat terrier mix.  And I guess he could be but I'll never really know.  He's so calm and relaxed, he makes Molly look BAD.  Ha ha!  The kids love him, he seems to love the kids.  We only got him Saturday so we're all still adjusting.  I think Molly is probably having the hardest time adjusting since she's been the lone dog for almost 3 years now.  But I think in the long run, she's going to be happy she finally has a playmate to run around the house and backyard with. 

I won't lie though - he ain't a pretty dog.  

Little things

It doesn't take much to make my two happy. All you need is a Statue of Liberty statue. Haha.

O said she wasn't a fan of Red Robin but I think I changed her mind when she saw Ms Liberty. :)

That and she got carrots with ranch as a side. Funny kids.

Training Molly

Livvie is on a mission to teach Molly tricks.

I have to admit, she's done a FANTASTIC job at teaching her to sit. Molly is having the time of her life with O's new found hobby - she's racking up on treats! Haha!

Good luck OGG!

Her great big heart

Wow.

My girl has such a big heart. She's been holding on to $12 to buy some hamster toy she wants. Well, today a girl on our road was going house to house taking donations for her school. Before I could say anything, O says, "I have some money!" and ran in the house. She gave her entire $12!

O's compassion and big heart are two of my favorite qualities about her. She can be so selfless and thoughtful. I hope she stays that way. FOREVER.

Natural???

I'm not buying this as a natural smile from Coop. Do you?

New Year

My New Year's resolution is to be a better blogger.  I promise to blog more than 60 enteries in 2012! 

We ended 2011 on a big note - Al purchased a Harley.  He took me riding over the weekend and I have to admit - I totally get it now!  It was so much fun and yes, I was a little scared at first but after a few minutes, I was so at ease, I started enjoying the scenery instead of boring a hole in the back of Al's head!  :) 

I really think this motorcycle is going to be as much fun for me as it'll be for him. 
We'll see though!

The kids go back to school tomorrow and it's not a day too soon.  They need to get back into a routine and get some of this wildness out.  They had a great Christmas and got tons and tons of toys from Santa and family. 

So what's your resolutions for 2012?

Me and O making the motorcycle look good.

O looking tough!

Al and O

We named it Frankenstein.  Inside joke.:)



All I want for Christmas is a.....

Harley Fat Boy!!!!

And he got one.  It's pre-owned but it's perfect for him.  He's so excited he can barely stand it.

So am I.  I'm so glad he's happy to have a motorcycle again. 

1998 Fat Boy.  Beautiful color.

He looks good on it doesn't he?  :)

Don't tell Al but I can't wait to go riding!  

Favorite

My conversations with Livvie are never, ever, ever, dull.  Here's one we had Sunday night.

O:  Mommy, I don't want to call you Mommy anymore.  I want to call you Mom.

Me:  Aren't you too little to call me Mommy?

O:  You're kind of my favorite parent anyways.

Me:  Oh yeah?  Why is that?  Not that I disagree or anything....

O:  *giggle*  Well, you did give birth to me.  Daddy didn't.  I mean, you gave me life.  So, that's why.

Me:  Makes perfect sense to me Boo.

Ha ha!  I love conversations with my girl.  She is too, too funny sometimes.  (I know Al is totally jealous.  But hey, he should have given birth to them right?) 

SSSSHHHHH!!!!

Cooper and Olivia are going to be sssoooo excited!  Al and I got tickets to take them to see TNA Impact Wrestling here in Florence in February!!!!

Yes, I know it's not the WWE, BUT for a little boy who now worships wrestling and a big sister who refuses to be left out - this is big.  :)  I printed off and made copies of the tickets so I'm going to put them in their stockings.  Al and I can't wait to see how excited they are about going to their first wrestling match. 

It's funny that the kids inherited both mine and Al's love for wrestling.  I admit it's a guilty pleasure of mine.  Ha ha!  Cooper will even tell you that Randy Orton is my boyfriend.  :)  

Only 9 days before Christmas!  I'm getting so excited I could explode. 

Silly Kids!

Yes, they are Goobers!

December now???

It's already the first week of December.  I won't be winning any blog awards this year.  2012 is going to be the year of the blog for me - just wait!

Christmas shopping is almost done - woot!  I have a new app on my iPad that lets me play around with borders, etc so I created the one I have here.  If it weren't for the stupid "tag" on the right, it would be absolutely awesome right? 

We are trying the "elf" thing and it's just not working.  The kids treat their elves like toys and play with them constantly.  I've given up.  Both their classes have a "classroom elf" who is following the rules, so I wave my white flag.  :)  It never ceases to amaze me how different the rugrats act at school compared to home.  I know there is no way I was like that.  *smile*

We are also gearing up for Upward Basketball - Cooper is super excited about it.  For such a small little guy, he loves basketball.  Although now that he's discovered wrestling, that may change soon.  He's got speed and accuracy when he shoots so he's actually pretty good.  We found out last week that he has Coach Lon AGAIN - which tickled Cooper.  Poor Coach Lon has been his basketball coach two years already and one year as his soccer coach.  I can't figure out if he just likes Cooper that much or if he has really bad luck.  O is wishy-washy on basketball.  Some days she loves it, some days she'd rather die than play.  So, here's hoping to a "I love it" day when she has her first practice.  :)

Writing our letters to Santa tonight - stay posted for pics!