The Anthonys Full House

Pinewood Derby

2012-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

Justin and his friend Joey worked on Gages car, because you know that the kid really has nothing to do with this right?! Well, Gage painted it so he did something:) We really didn't expect much from this car and even talked Gage's expectations way down! His is the red car with the blue stripe down the middle....

The first 2 races he won!

And can you tell how excited and shocked he was?!
And he won again!

And again!

He did really well! Much better than we expected! He got second place in the group that he raced and then he also got best muscle car:) No one walks away a loser at our derby which is really nice! Makes all the kids feel like winners!!

So proud of my little guy and Justin! It was a lot of fun too:)

Happy Birthday Gage!

2012-02-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Gage celebrated his birthday by having a huge party at the house with a lot of his buddies. We had a belated party for Ethan too-thank goodness Gage was ok with sharing his day:) We took Gage to Dunkin Donuts for his birthday breakfast then off to Toys R Us to spend his b-day money/gift card from Papa John & Nina! The party was at 1 and was a lot crazier than expected. Either not much was going on that day or my boys are really loved by their classmates because just about all rsvp'd yes! With the help of a few friends/neighbor it was a success! I couldn't have done it without them!! I was way overconfident:)

I had 2 dozen cupcakes shaped like a baseball and another 2 dozen like a baseball glove and was very proud of myself! Unfortunately I didn't get 1 picture:(

I made these banners-

After all the kids left and we could breath a moment, we let the boys open up their gifts. They got a lot of fun stuff and it was fun to see them so excited! They have never really had a birthday party where they were so spoiled! I had a special gift that I had been holding for both boys since before Christmas! Good thing too because I could not have afforded these now!

KINDLES!! It's my latest attempt to get Gage excited about reading and Ethan to continue to LOVE it:) Sadie and Ethan had a sleepover that night and Justin and I were able to take Gage and his buddy/cousin Blake out to Taco Bell for dinner then to McDonalds for McFlurries then back to Blakes for some Xbox Kinect games:) It was a great day and I still can't believe he is 9! Next year will be really hard for me I think.....

The big TA DA!

2012-01-05T07:05:00.001-08:00

Justin has always wanted a wood burning stove and over the summer, he got one from a guy at work. He wanted to just take out the existing fireplace and put this one in its place. That sounds easy enough....right?! He was trying to take it out and it just wasn't working so this is what happened....

He got in a fight with the fireplace and lost! It didn't want to simply come out so his friend Joey B. came over with a torch and helped him out!
Notice the ugly hearth gone! My favorite part:)

Now he was ready to frame the base, then lay the backer board. This had to be solid and sturdy since the stove is super heavy!

The wall in this room wasn't sheetrock and since Justin, without thinking, tore into it we were faced with another problem....how to fix it? Oh well, just tear down the whole wall and start fresh! This wall had a barn feel to it and I never liked it so I was now more excited about the walls then the fireplace:)Notice the beams above Justins head....

Yes, those ugly things had to go too!

Base is framed and starting to put up the black granite tile, beams are gone, and since our walls were gone-why not go ahead and put in ceiling fixtures?! This room wasn't wired with any and our awesomely handy friend Blaine knew how to do it so he helped Justin out!

Next, tile the marble on the base!

Here is the light fixure going in!

Before I painted the ceiling....

After I painted.....

Just to learn that it would be better to just scrape the entire ceiling rather than repopcorning where the beams were.....I think I may have cried a bit during this process! My arms and shoulder blades were so stinkin sore after this!
Fireplace surround is ready for tile!

Walls are up!

Since this is the dining room it needs to flow with the kitchen so I have started painting the kitchen to match!

Walls in progress!

Walls finished and ready to paint!!

Painted!!

My accent color is red and this wall will have a built in of some sorts eventually so it won't always be a big red wall:) These chairs were green and white but needed a make over! So first I painted them red....

Then black with a little scuffing and voila!
Love these chairs!

Wood stove going in! Thanks to Blaine, Brett, and Brock for helping get it in!

Light fixure is up! This table was Justin's moms:) I need to get a table cloth and chair covers to match the room but it works for now!

Justin finished tiling the surround last weekend and it looks awesome! It will have a mantel and columns but thats a whole other project!

I found this saying at Target on clearance and have been trying to figure out where to put it. I knew I didn't like the walls in this room so I didn't want to permanantly put it there.....then I found pinterest! I found this idea and love it!

We still have a lot of projects to do it this room but I am thrilled with the results so far! It looks so great and I am so thankful that we had friends to help, especially Blaine! He helped out A LOT!! Justin learned a lot too:) So there you have it, my big tada!

New Year, new job!

2012-01-05T06:51:00.000-08:00

Justin has worked for Brent Scarbrough for nearly 8 years and during that time construction took a big hit due to the failing economy. We were always happy that he just had a job but ever since he started driving the lowboys, about 3 years ago, it has been a huge stresser on him and the pay never went up, his work depended on the weather and we couldn't really budget since we had no idea what he was bringing home week to week:( We really wanted him to get a new job with a retirement option last August since he was turning 30 but it didn't work out. It wasn't our time and we were ok with that. I felt strongly that we needed to have something new lined up for January. He needed to have his Christmas vacation and bonus and match for his 401k. I applied for a few different jobs for him and the one that we really wanted,Sygma, called him after only 1 week! I thought they just really needed drivers but he just learned that for every 50 applicants they receive, only 1 gets hired! So we know that we are blessed that he got this job. His first day off for his vacation he had a driving test and passed with flying colors! He started Tuesday and has been in orientation all week. He should start his routes really soon. The schedule actually sounds pretty good but we will have to wait until he starts driving before we really know. Justin is a hard working and is capable of making great money with this company as well as bonuses and promotions! We are excited to get out of debt, to have family vacations, and to be able to breath a little better in 2012! And he is excited to get some toys of his own! It's hard to work 60 plus hours a week and never get to spend it on what you want.......

Happy Birthday Ethan!

2012-01-05T06:19:00.002-08:00

We had a fun day celebrating Ethans 6th birthday~! We started the morning out with a few presents....

Then we went to Toys R Us to pick out his new bike!

Next was off to Chuck E Cheese with our friends the Clarkes!

This boy is full of different facial expressions.....

Sadie and her friend Mika!

Of course she loves the horse ride....

She was SOOOO happy she could finally reach the peddle and do this ride!

Of course my biggest kid wanted to play too!

Gage and Ethan C.

This machine took your picture and printed it out on a card for 1 token. Sadie ended up with around 6 cards! lol

Ethan and Eman :)

My kids adore these guys! So glad they came with us:)

Then we went to Burger King for lunch! (oops no pics!)
Back home for a few more presents....

Ethan wanted a Scooby Doo Cookie Cake so he helped me make the cake and I decorated it! No too shabby:)

Make a wish!

Me and Sadie Lynn:)

Checking out his new frisbee!

We were just going to stay in for New Years Eve but decided that we didn't want to be lame again so we spent it with some friends...more like family! Kids had fun with sparklers

and Justin and I enjoyed being with our friends who we don't get to see that often:)We were actually awake to see the ball drop! First time in many many years! lol

Christmas Break-Keep busy!

2012-01-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

We did a lot of fun things while Justin was home over Christmas break. We went and saw Puss N Boots in 3D which was super funny, we went to Jump to It, lots of park time since the weather was awesome, and we splurged-with coupon!- and went to Monkey Joes:)

Tis the season!

2012-01-04T18:53:00.001-08:00

Christmas was a bit chaotic since our home was torn apart for most of it ( more on that soon!). It all started with a visit from Santa on the firetrucks of course!

Due to lack of space we just kept out Christmas decorating to a minimum. This was our tree-which in the end worked just as well as a huge tree:)

I helped out in Ethans class for their Christmas party. They did a book exchange and it was really cute watching these little guys pass the books around.

Gage and Sadie had parties too but I didn't get any pictures:(
We had a nice Christmas Eve dinner just our little gang....

After dinner we let the kids open up gifts they got for each other....

Boys got their own tool bags with tools!

Sadie got a box of dress up clothes~!

We did secret santa this year and Jolene had me....
YAY!! A popcorn popper!!We use this ALL the time:))

Christmas morning road block...

It was a rushed morning since we had church at 9am (what church on Christmas?!lol)

Thanksgiving

2012-01-04T18:33:00.000-08:00

We drove up to Kentucky for my dads birthday and Thanksgiving! Julie and her two cute kiddos were there too! We had a yummy feast (Thanks NINA!!) and fun cousin time too:) And of course...Pictures!!

Gage was just big enough to take a ride on Papa's new ride!

Birthday GNO

2012-01-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

I went out with a few girls for my birthday celebration. We went to Red Robins YUM!! Less than 1 year until the big 3 0! Kinda starting to spook me out....

Happy Halloween!

2012-01-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

A few pictures from Halloween.....

Gage took a few...some of which are amusing:)

Sadie wanted to be Repunzel so I found an idea for a costume. It required last minute tweeks that I didn't get to do since I was otherwise detained with Justins Granny so I am not 100% proud of how it turned out:(

World Series Champs!

2012-01-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Ethan played his first season of baseball in the fall and was lucky enough to have a few really talented boys on his team! He started off well and was a good hitter from the start. He hardly ever struck out! He got a lot better as the season wen ton and really got into the game. He still needs to practice fielding and catching but Gage has found a new love for baseball so they both will be playing and practicing together in the Spring:)

Projects, projects, and more projects!

2011-10-19T16:20:00.001-07:00

I have a ton of projects lately! I think my mind goes 24/7 and I have to try my best to keep up with my to do list!

We needed beds for the boys who have been sleeping on the floor for a while. I just didn't want to pay a fortune for them. So I started researching, and decided to turn these shelves into beds!

How?! you may ask:) Cut them into 2 long pieves, and 2 short pieces, add a few braces, spray paint and plywood and voila!

It's great because it is storage for the boys and it gets them off the floor! I still have to do a final coat of black paint on the plywood and cubbies but it's good for now! I painted thier wall grey and added a few wall items and it is finally feeling more like a room:)

I don't know if I ever posted pictures of Sadies room but I finally finished that too!

I put up a brag board that has quickly become overloaded!

I refinished my moms old sewing table. It went from this-

To this! I put a piece of plywood that I had on hand on top to cover the hole made for her sewing machine and painted it black with paint that I already had! Like a whole new desk for free!

I also made a gift wrap station. I figured with the holidays and boys birthdays coming up, I better get organized!! I bought curtain rods that I have to put on it for the wrapping paper. Hopefully Ill get that done soon!;)

Our most current project is the fireplace....we are still working on this one but I am taking pictures along the way and can't wait for the big ta da!

Field trip to the capital!

2011-10-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

I was FINALLY able to chaperon one of Gages field trips:) We went to the Georgia State Capital. I had never been and have lived here since 1993 so I guess I was overdue to check it out! Here he is with his classmates in the house chamber.

Checkin out the desk....

Lookie lookie, these guys are really "working hard" here! ;)

Class photo with a representative, Oy vey for the pink shirts! Their class voted on that color....

Gage wanted his picture in front of everything.

He flipped out when he saw the gold!

He also loved the rocks....

Gage and his friends Kaylin and Lana!

It was a fun day and I am so glad I got to enjoy the day with him!

Moms wedding

2011-10-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we flew out to Utah for my moms wedding. The airplane ride there was eventful-Ethan had a fever and threw-up in between flights! Poor thing wasn't feeling better so we had to take him to the doctor, turns out he had an ear infection:( This put a damper in our trip to Temple Square so I hope we can go back! All my siblings except Jim were there, including 7 nieces and nephews plus my 3! It was a packed house but everyone really got along well:)Our 3rd day there, it decided to snow on us! Kids absolutely loved it!
So did the adults!

Notice how Gage is looking up to catch a snowball (the distraction snowball)-notice the other snowball Eric threw twirling right toward his head! (the one intended for him!) Sneaky Uncle Eric!

Girls having fun!

Will up to mischief and playing with GG!;)

David playing with Sadie! (these kids really do have awesomely fun Uncles!!)

Averie not about to share her juice! lol

Everyone had a lot of fun karaoke-ing!

The wedding way was cold and wet-but it was still a beautiful day!

The reception was the next day and was lovely too!
Sadie with GG!

Peyton and GG!

My pretty Mama!

Sadies giving one of her many looks!

Silly shot of the cousins!

Nice shot of the cousins!

Guys protesting black socks!

Best little buddies-6 months apart:)

not really sure.....

Julie had one too many!

My sweet little niece, Averie, that I finally got to meet

We did our own photos-which I think turned out pretty cute!

It was a FUN and Awesomely entertaining week! It was so nice to laugh and hang out with my family and see my mom get married too! Seeing the snowy mountains was icing on the cake!

A visit from Papa John!

2011-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

My dad flew down last month just to see Ethan play baseball! I had the coach put Ethan as the catcher for that game because I thought it would be entertaining for us, and fun for him....it was!
This picture shows the ball going right past Ethan-and him not moving:) It was so hard to move in all that gear but by the end he was starting to reach for the ball!

Thanks for coming to support your grandson papa! xoxo

First Day of School!!

2011-08-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting ALL summer for this day! I Love Love Love my kids but I need a break! 8 plus years as a stay at home mom will take a toll on most moms! Gage started 3rd grade and has Mrs. McPeak. She seems like a sweet teacher and I feel like Gage is going to do really well with her this year! Plus I am super excited to actually be able to help out in his class. I'm not quite ready for "room mom" but helper I can do!
Ethan is in Kindergarten! He has been wanting to ride the bus ever since Gage first got on it when he started Kindergarten! He has Mrs. Gibbs and she is the sweetest nicest teacher! Just what you would expect from a Kindergarten teacher:) Ethan seems to really like her too which is great! Sadie is in pre-k and has the same teacher Ethan had last year, Mrs. Weaver. I loved her with Ethan and Sadie knew her so it worked out great! She is bummed that she can't ride the bus but can't wait until her first field trip so she can ride their pre-k school bus:)

Here's the kids before heading out to catch the bus.....

We have a huge group of kids at the bus stop this year! This picture isn't all the kids.....
Third graders!

Time to catch the bus! Notice Gage guiding Ethan with his hand:) He was instructed that he is to protect his brother at all cost in school, its our family rule:) Glad to see he was listening!

Gage let down the window so they could effectively wave goodbye;)....

Then Justin and I took Sadie on the golf cart to her school! He has the whole week off which has been nice!
Successful first day of school! And here is Sadie running to her brother who she missed so much today!

Nope, nevermind! Just rubbing her lollipop in his face...little stinker!

Last weekend of Summer break!

2011-08-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

So, as usual, we packed in a lot of stuff to celebrate the last weekend before school starts. We headed out to Lake Wedowee with our friends the Gardners! We got there Friday with just enough day light to take the boat out for some tubing fun! I wish I had my camera because at one point Ethan and Sadie were screaming in terror but when they got on the boat they said it was sooooo much fun! lol We went out on the boat Saturday and the kids tubed and swam and Ethan even kneeboarded! I missed it because I wasn't feeling so well so I was in the house resting:( We will definitely go back again soon! (hint hint Gardners! lol) I took a few pictures with my cell but the quality wasn't so great once the sun was setting:(

We headed out Saturday after dinner....
This is Gage and Luke. Luke is Sadies age and in her pre-k class!

2 cool dudes trying to be like their Papa John:) lol

The Sunday was off to church and the kids were SOOOOOOOOOOO well behaved that morning! They did everything they were told, things that Gage would typically fight with me about he didn't! It was so super nice to have such a peaceful Sunday! Afterwards we rewarded them by taking them to the Georgia Aquarium. Jessie's mother in law hooked us up with tickets so it was FREE! You know how I like a good deal:) Kids had such a good time and it was a nice way to end the weekend.

So much fun and all ready for a new and exciting school year!

Utah + mom +2 sisters-3 children=A BLAST!

2011-08-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

I flew out to Salt Lake City on Wednesday to meet my moms fiance and his family and to find her a wedding dress. That I did and had so much fun while doing it:) My dad flew out to help watch the kids while Justin was at work, THANKS DAD!!!!! U R DA BEST:)

I met Julie at the airport and had a flying companion:)We met mom and Jolene at the airport and the fun started from there! We missed Jessie terrible but man was it a nice break from reality! (she will be there next time for sure:))
We went through a hail storm and Julie attempted to catch one....

It got pretty ugly out there but we didn't care, we made it!

Day one, let the dress hunting begin! Having fun while waiting on mom....

Playing around with sashes....

After a LONG day of dress shopping, we went to The Old Spaghetti Factory!

My eyes look like I've been crying but I was just THAT tired. The time change really got to me:(
We got some huge marshmallows and made some yummy, and messy, smores:)

Then out to star gaze in the 60ish degree very cool night! Very strange compared to the muggy never ending weather in Georgia....
Next day we drove by the church we went to when we lived in Utah. I was just a baby and moved when I was about 5 so I don't remember any of these sites!

This is the house we lived in~yikes!

We went and saw the Oquirrh Mountain Utah temple~which was beautiful!

Next was to check out the Mt. Timpanogos Temple~ one of the contenders for the wedding:) It was gorgeaous but you can't really tell because the sun had gone down by the time we got there and my pictures don't do it justice!

More s'mores that night! I was in a daze but look at the size of that marshmallow!

This dress is not the dress but look at how much fun mom is having! :)

Me having some fun with weird model poses:)

We found the perfect dress then headed to Salt Lake to sight see! On our way, we stopped on the side of the road to chat wedding stuff and then noticed where we stopped at....hehehe too funny:)

I absolutely LOVE the mountains! Always have and probably always will!

Here is St. Mark's Hospital~ where yours truly was born!

Group shot at Marie Calendars:)

Then last and best yet, Temple Square:) It was absolutely breathtaking! Great motivation to get my little family back on course.....

We headed home early the next morning:( I had a blast and it was so nice to have a break from yelling, tantrums, laundry, cooking, and all the other fun daily duties that I now have. It was so great to be with some of my family too! Its just not fair that we all live so far away:( Stuff like this needs to happen more often!! Can't wait until we are ALL together for mom and Robs wedding/reception par~tay!!!

Happy "crappy" birthday Sadie!

2011-07-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Poor thing:( I have been planning her party for a while and it was going to be a nice size shin dig but the day before, this is how Sadie was acting....

On the back porch with her drinkable soup, 1 cracker and juice, not feeling well. I thought about canceling her party, but she broke her fever and was completely fine. No symptoms, crazy as ever so maybe it was just a bug?! I made her cake-my first ever fondant and it came out pretty good and tasted better than regular fondant. I used a marshmallow recipe:)

We had a Barbie theme going on so pink, black and white....

We had water activities outside so the kids just went crazy! Here's Sadie playing with Kate and Brooke!

Boys playing in the sprinkler

Kids playing in the hot tub!

Say cheese! We had so many great friends helping to celebrate:)

Happy Birthday to Sadie!

She got a lot of great gifts...

but was starting to not feel well again-here comes the fever:( up to 105 at times! But nothing else-no other sickness or symptoms....
So she woke up on her birthday feeling fine and ready for her surprises!
First one- a newly decorated room!
Sleepy eyes;)

Ethans hiding her eyes!
Ethans more excited than she is! lol
Opening her present from GG!
She loves her new pillows:)

Ethan taking her to surprise #2!
I love this stool:)I made it and painted the legs to match her accent wall and used a pillow case for the cover!

Now she has her very own vanity :) Maybe she will stay out of mommy's way in the morning??
We went to church and she started the fever again?! We left after they sang to her and still couldn't figure out what was wrong. Here she is opening up her card from Papa John & Nina....so pitiful:(

She started to feel better so we did dinner, her choice, egg noodles with pasta sauce:) And did a small family party....

Tangled toy and Tinkerbell vanity stuff from her brothers:)

And what did she buy with her gift card from Papa & Nina??
A Barbie Bike! Which was on sale AND I had a coupon:)

FYI- her random fever turned out to be a UTI so nothing contagious and easily treatable! She is already doing 100% better:)

Stopping through.....

2011-07-26T19:33:00.001-07:00

My mom, aka GG, is on the move again. She is heading to Utah-there by now:)- so on her way out of Florida she stopped in for a few days. She made Sadie's hair all nice and pretty and it lasted all of about 5 minutes:)lol

It was cute while it lasted!

Our Garden:)

2011-07-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

We planted, from seed, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, cilantro, basil, cantelope, (im sure there were a few more:)) and thanks to Justin and miracle grow, the only thing that survived was the basil(since it was on the porch) and the cucumbers. And we have a whole LOT of them!

Fourth of July 2011

2011-07-05T18:41:00.001-07:00

Whenever I think of the fourth of July, I think about friends, family, & BBQ....and fireworks of course! This fourth, unfortunately, didn't have all of the above. We started the day with Peachtree City's annual parade. We were hoping to see some friends there but it ended up just being our little family.

Its always a lot of fun, unfortunately we were next to some older kids who kept snatching Sadie's candy before she could get it!

(Rude kid to the left- nice lady to the right catching anything she could and putting it in my kids bags;)

Gage was pretty funny- he grabs all the flyers in hopes of getting the good coupons! He waves at everyone and high fives too:) Ethan was pretty distraught at the beginning of the parade because he couldn't get anything-hence the rude boy-but he figured it out and started to get a bit more aggressive!

After the parade we went to a local activity for some festive hair...

Sand Art...

And moon bouncing:)
Next was off to the lake for some swimming....

A couple of local churches got together and served free BBQ so we did that for dinner:) Yum-mo!
Then we set up at the childrens playground and waited for dark to watch the fireworks!

It was a full and long day and it was fun but it's always a bummer not to have any family here around the holidays:( And no friends too was no fun! I feel so bad for my kids that I can't seem to help them find friends that they can play with......This summer has been tougher than previous summers. They are cooped up with each other 24/7 and it seems like they are constantly bugging each other( and me!). 5 weeks left until school starts and I can't wait, and part of me thinks that they are excited for it too! Then they will be able make new friends and see them 5 days a week!

Sweet Sadie~just because:)

2011-06-07T19:51:00.000-07:00

It is no secret that Sadie is a handful! Luckily she has this face on her side:)

Yes she is a handful, Yes she is crazy, Yes she is the energizer bunny, and Yes she is oh so tiring, She is truly one in a gazillion! And she's all mine....Jealous?! lol

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

We didn't do anything to crazy exciting for memorial day. Just hung out in the PTC and did stuff as a family! We went to the Pond and had a family picnic.....

We got the spa summer ready!

And Justin took the boys fishing and has yet to catch anything! Poor boys are so frustrated!

Its the end of another school year!

2011-06-07T18:57:00.001-07:00

Gage had field day on Tuesday, which is always an adventure when Sadie is there:)Here is Gages teacher, Mrs. Long taking her to get wet:)

And here she is showing Gage his wet sister! ( I love this smile on him, so genuine!)

And here she is begging for more!

Heres Gage and his class singing a class song that they had prepared call Mrs. Longs Locomotives!

And again- love this smile!

Thursday was the end of the year parties-which I found strange.... since when are the end of the year parties thrown on the second to last day?? Any-who, Gages class had a pizza and ice cream sundae party. Here he is doing quite well hula hooping:)

Here's Sadie playing dodgeball with Gages class, they probably let her play because she looks so sweet and innocent.....(shes the one holding the ball)

Yup, here she is chasing the kids with the ball! (You're suppose to stay in circle formation and dodge them that way:)

We checked out Gage and golf carted on over to Ethans school for a Luau!

Ethan decided to get in on some limbo action:)

hahaha love this face:)

His class even did a hula dance which was so cute! Sadie joined in too:)

We made these cute little flower pots for the kids end of the year presents for their teachers:) I even had the boys give me 5 reasons why they thought their teacher was the best and wrote it on apple notepad paper......

It was a really great year! Gage is continuing to do better so we are hoping for even better work in 3rd grade! Ethan not only reminds me of spongebob with his big blue eyes and long lashes but he has proven to be an actual sponge at school. This boy remembers everything he is taught at school. He said one day, " You know mommy, you need a passport to go to London." It was so funny! He is so smart and LOVES school and homework! Complete opposite of Gage. So I'm hoping school will be easier for him than it has been for Gage. He is so excited to ride the bus with Gage in August:) And we are all excited for Sadie to start pre-k! She will have the same teacher Ethan did and will even have her buddy Luke Gardner in her class( yet to be determined a good or bad thing!) lol Cheers to another school year down, now bring on the summer time fun!!!

Good-bye Facebook!

2011-06-07T18:45:00.001-07:00

So instead of facebook I am going to try to just blog more. For those of you that care about my family and what we are up to, you can read all about it here. Facebook was getting to the point where I would see what everyone else was doing, and it sounded great and all, but it seemed like it never included me! (if that makes any sense) I'm starting to wonder what is so wrong with me that I can't have what other people do or can't be included in the fun that other people are having. (again, not sure if that makes sense!) I feel like I have kids that other kids like to play with,which is great and all, but what about me?! Is this a normal phase that moms go through?? I certainly hope so! Any-who, this way I am more focused on my own world and can focus on my own family and life and yet still share it with the few of you who truly do care!~ And I love anyone who truly does:) Now on with the postings! :))

Brent Scarbrough Family Day 2011

2011-04-20T09:45:00.001-07:00

Justins work does a family day every year, and every year it gets better and better! I look forward to it maybe more than the kids:) They had moonbounces.....

Hula Hoop contests.....

Horse and pony rides....

Someone brought their baby chicks....They're family too I guess?!??

Waiting in line for the bazillionth time to ride....

Fishing.....

Reptiles....

Horse and buggy to take you to your vehicle:)

Justins boss holding a snake!

Water slide!!

Sadie refusing to put the cheetos down....

Justin and I :)

Kids waiting to get their facepainted....

Sadie checkin out the clowns crazy car.....

Playing with the mules:)

Only 362 days til Family day 2012! :)

Huddleston Hustle

2011-04-20T09:41:00.001-07:00

Gage did the fun run again at his school which is a half mile run. Next year he plans on doing the full mile run. Its confusing because while 1st grade was still running somewhere, they let the second graders go so Im not 100% sure but Gage said he was 2nd out of the 2nd graders! He is a quick one, I know I can never catch him:)

No training wheels!

2011-04-20T09:37:00.001-07:00

We've taken off Ethans training wheels before but it was not a pretty site at this boys balancing skills:) He's been begging to try again since he really wants to go to the bmx track her in town. We did it and he was not showing signs of improvement but each time he fell he got right back up! Each day he was doing a little better and after 3 days....Its official! He is a big bike riding boy:)

He still falls down occasionally but gets right back up and rides off:)

Spring Break part 2!

2011-04-19T19:43:00.000-07:00

We NEVER go on vacation...NEVER! So even though we probably should have stayed home, we had an offer to go to the beach so we splurged and went to Hilton Head for the weekend! We had a kitchenette in our room and just lounged on the beach so it wasn't too much of a splurge:) We went with our good friends the Clarkes. All the kids had a playmate for the weekend which was awesome and an added bonus that Justin and I did too! We got in Friday night just in time for the kiddos to go to bed:)(yeah right!)

A few photos then off to the beach!

The beach was literally right across the street which was soooo nice! Kids had a blast playing in the sand, wave jumping, riding on the wakeboard,

Ethan and his buddy Ethan:)

lovin the sand!

Like usually, Sadie is fearless in the water! Loves it and keeps going back for more....

Sadie was out with Justin the first time the dolphins came around-I think the first time they were porpoises,

These were the dolphins and they kept going back and forth! It was pretty cool!

Ethan having some fun with the birds....

Back to the hotel for a break and some lunch....

Then a quick dip in the frigid pool! brrrr no way was I getting in:)

Then back to the beach!
Cute little girlies!

My friend Brit and me:)

Then off to McDonalds for dinner- where I was told I was the hottest mom of 3 ever(true story! hehehe)

Next day was checkout:( Sadie was a good helper

so we got all our stuff and spent the morning at the beach...

These kids are excellent wave jumpers:)

Justin attempting and failing....lol

Off to the fountains to wash off...

Had some yummy pizza then headed home! It was a fun weekend and whats even more amazing is that Justin actually said he had a blast! Thanks Clarkeys, it was a blast!

Spring Break part 1

2011-04-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

Jim and Natasha came to visit with their 2 kids for Spring break. They had a lot of fun! They played around the house, at the park, at Jump to it....
Heres Jim airborne and all the kids ready to attack!

Jim getting Sadie....

Boys Love The Clarkeys!

Then they took as to the zoo and had a ton of fun! ( minus Sadies fit that had her buckled in her stroller pitching the biggest tantrum of her life upside down IN the stroller:) Geesh!)
Fun pictures from our day!

We had a ton of fun having them stay with us and they were both a ton of help! We had a date night and gave them one too! Miss you guys already:)

Papa Visit!

2011-04-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

We love it when papa comes to visit!

Random post

2011-04-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

Shout out to Kristen! One of my most favorite peeps in the world! Love this picture of us:)

I need to find an old picture of us and do a then and now...hmmmm

Gangs all Here! :)

2011-04-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Last month we got together with Justins "brothers" and celebrated Joey B's b-day. Its so nice to get together with friends. Especially these friends because they are more like family. Its hard to get together but we really try for birthdays. Here is Sadie and her bff Brooke. They are 6 months apart and are two peas in a pod!

I love that the girls are glued to Gage!
All the kids- Ethan, Brooke, Gage holding Austin, Blake and Sadie. REALLY hard getting them all to look at me!

Building a volcano....

Here is Everyone!

What have I created?!

2011-03-23T05:52:00.000-07:00

None of the kids have ever been crazy about having their pictures taken when I want it done. Unfortunately for the kids, I got a new camera for Christmas and have been using it like crazy! They are actually starting to get use to it and not making a huge fit whenever I tell them to smile....most of the time. But Sadie has taken it to a new level. I think I'm creating a photo diva!

btw this is her newest tutu M.B.M (made by mommy!) I couldnt find a leotard to match so we improvised!

Ballet take 2

2011-03-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

Sadie took her very first ballet class at the local rec dept in January. She was the only one signed up and did't do very well without any other kids in the class. We were told she could come back for the March classes so today we went back to try again. It was her and another 3 yr old girl. It was better because when one didn't want to do it anymore the other one did so it kept the class running a bit better. Here she is before we left practicing first position....

Here she is sashaying.....

The instructor teaching her how to point her toes:)

Is it possible to make this---

Into a pretty ballerina? We shall see! ;)

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

2011-03-07T17:37:00.001-08:00

Ethans Pre-k class celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday by dressing up as a character from one of his books. Luckily, we had a halloween costume on hand from when Gage was Ethans size!
I thought it was very fitting!

Our Texas Getaway

2011-02-21T19:26:00.002-08:00

My brother in law David wanted to do something fabulous for Julies 30th birthday so he planned a surprise party for her. I was going to go solo but since moving back to Peachtree City, we've found a great group of friends so each kid was able to go to a friends house and Justin came with me:) We flew out with my dad Friday night and met up with my brother Jonathan in Texas, got our rental ~Malibu-tay~ and went to our hotel. Jonathan said our hotel was like sandpaper undies but there were no kids there so I guess I like me some sandpaper undies! :)We got up super early so we could get the most out of our 1 day vacation. We ate at IHOP, went to see True Grit (which was great), and went shopping at Round Rock Premium Outlets.

We LOVED Round Rock! It was beautiful, had a lot of shopping including an IKEA, and we liked how the roads and interstates were. Hard to explain but if youve been there you know what Im talking about. Its a lot like Peachtree City but its lacking the Golf Carts and free pre-k:( It definitely got us thinkin....Justin even met someone who could get him a job with Budweiser (not my first choice with his history!)

We went to eat at Rudys BBQ for lunch and I was SHOCKED that they didn't have Texas Toast....um hello! You are Texas! It was ok but it was nothing compared to Shanes:) We went back to the hotel to get ready for the night. The whole day was torcher being so close to Julie and not being able to hang out:( It was worth the shock on her face though!
So Dad, Suzie & Carlene were the main party setter uppers. Place looked great!
Great American Cookie Company Cookie Cake was (phenomenal superb divine) too good for words! My favorite hands down:)

Table looked very nice:)

Everyone she's coming! Turn off the lights!!!!

Surprise! priceless:)

One of Julies friends took a picture of us, its better than words as to how much I love my sister:)
Julies friend

Julie taking it all in:)

David giving the speech that probably made every other girl in the room think~why can't my man say that! Seriously though, it was really sweet!

Then he continued by sing Julie a song by Bruno Mars called Just the way you are:)

Julie reading her birthday sign....

Mingling with her guests...

Saying hi to Justin~

Julies Birthday get-up!

Julie and David first in line to dig into the yummy fajitas!

Happy Birthday to Julie!!

Yes this was a NON-alcoholic par-tay:)

presents:)

Reading Gages letter he wrote to her....

My gift to her:) "A sister is a forever friend"

1980 classic...

Dads gift - which got him flagged in security! Um hello, didn't you know the rules for flying!? lol

and poem.... You said Gage's was in the mail right? hmmm, weird, still haven't received it....:)

Julie has a great group of friends:)

It was a fun night of bowling and karaoke....

Julie was definitely doing great!

Me? Not so much! Check out my score:(

27 while everyone else was 50-75! It was because the loser had to Karaoke....

Julie obviously didn't mind the karaoke:)

Dad even got up there with his own go go dancer! hahaha

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"

Justin and David singing Sugar Ray! hahaha I love that he sang:) He sang "Cruisen" with me later, no pics:(

David and Julie-Cant remember what they sang (?)

"We are Family" No idea what the words were or how it went so Julie and I just sang We r Family the whole time! hehehe

And then-DRUMROLL- Jonathan sang and I HATE that my phone was dying!! All I have are these awesome pictures:) It was Bee Gees "Stayin Alive" and he nailed it!

Justins face in the back is awesome! He's so impressed!

Justins getting Karaoke fever....tehehe

It was a fantastic night! I love my family and wish we could have get togethers like this one more often with ALL the family! BIG thanks to the Gardners, Cardens, & Clarkes for watching our kids!!! They had a blast with you guys:)

Gages Baptism Day

2011-02-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

So Gage turned 8 on January 28th and was baptized on the 29th. It was a very special day and I am so so so thankful and grateful to everyone who was here to support Gage. Justin was not planning on baptizing Gage until he got a nice little "push" in the right direction. I will forever be grateful for that:)

When Gage was changing, some people wrote notes or pictures to him so when we got home he was excited to see what people wrote:)

Gage requested red velvet cupcakes so Aunt JoJO worked her decorating magic in the kitchen.....

And Peyton loved the results!

Heres Nina lovin on baby Will:)

Papa give Sadie a piggy back ride, next time we'll strap her on!

And heres fun Aunt Julie beating up my kids....

And doing her victory lap:)

(no bones were broken...this day a least!)
We had Partners for Dinner-sorry no pictures, too busy scarfing it down! Yumm-O!
Before bed Justin and Will had a friendly drinking contest:)

Love this little boy!!!
Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!?!

These 3 sat and watched the entire movie, I believe it was Despicable Me.

Was a fantabulous day! Cant wait until our next family get together!

Gages big 8th family party

2011-02-11T09:48:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful for everyone who came out here to celebrate Gages big day. His birthday was a blast! All the cousins got along great! Gage hasn't seen Camden in a long time so he was so happy to have him here:)

Present time!

If you're ever looking for Peyton, just find Gage and you will find her!

Notice a pattern;)

Gage has been wanting a guitar for a while so I thought it would be awesome if he got one from my dad, who also plays guitar:) Even if he never plays( which Im determined for him to learn) its a great gift that he will have to remember his 8th birthday!

Dad showing Gage how to play;)

He knows one "song" he calls the doorbell. He strums all the string slowly one time:) hehehe

Playing with strawberry shortcake~ all the girls love her!

Then the girls wrestled....

While the boys played legos:)

And this was just friday....More to come of this fun family weekend:)

8 year pictures

2011-02-11T09:35:00.000-08:00

Its amazing how big this boy just keeps getting! And quite handsome too:)

(Note the tie, it's a half Windsor knot that I did by mah self!)

And I'm not sure when it happened but he hates his teeth so he refuses to show them when he smiles. I convinced him to and was sooooooo happy!

I wanted to get some real reactions so when I asked him if he was excited about Camden coming to visit, this is what I got!

Since getting my new camera, my kids are finally warming up to pictures:) I take them all the time now!

Sadie was sad when I told her I was done taking pictures...

So we took a few more:)

Happy 8th Birthday Gage!

2011-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Justin took Gage and a few friends to play glow in the dark miniature golf. They went a week before his birthday since family was coming in for his actually birthday weekend. It was a free for all, play how you want to kind of game....

Sadie and her friend Brooke:)

Gage and Blake

Happy 5th Birthday Ethan!

2011-02-10T18:36:00.001-08:00

We went to Chuck E Cheese first thing with Julie and family. It was nice and quiet so we had the run of the place! David got Ethan addicted to this one game where you just put the coin in and hope it knocks a few coins down. If it did, you got tickets....Ethan liked this one a lot!

Of course Justin got in on the games:)

Love this little guy! Might have to move to Texas so I can see him ALL THE TIME!

This girl loved the horse-ie....

Birthday boy on the phone talking to Papa John. He's trying to explain to him his rocket that he just got with all his tickets:)

Opening up main present, a Nintendo DS:)

Later, after a fun filled day, After a meatball sub birthday dinner (his favorite!) We had our family party.....

We had his friend party the next morning~ which was so confusing to Ethan as to why he had 2 birthdays.....
Blake and Kate were the musical x's winners:)

Pinata fun!

Stick the treasure on the map! Some were close....

And others were way off! hehehe

Cake, Pizza and presents! Ethan has a great little group of buddies:)

Thanks everyone who helped celebrate Ethans birthday! He had a blast:)

Christmas (cont)

2011-02-10T18:10:00.001-08:00

And I even managed to surprise Justin with a few things~wii game, pellet gun, camping stuff...

And he "surprised" me with a brand new camera! A Nikon D3000. Its very nice and I'm still trying to learn how to use it:)
Family gift....

Ethan was laughing because he threw the green bow and look where it landed up on the tree, it was pretty funny:)

It snowed Christmas, which was AWESOME!

Jess, Peyton and Eric came over too!

Once the snowed cleared, Julie, David, Bellah & Will came to visit:)

Gage LOVED Will! He is such a good big brother/cousin:)

Me playing with my new camera....

Fun Julie/Mommy:)

Sweet girls~ exactly 1 year apart if ya didn't know:)

Monkey Joes fun!

Ethan didn't want to smile....hehehe

Holidays 2010

2011-02-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

Time to play catch-up!
Here is Sadie and "friend" at her Thanksgiving feast

When I asked Ethan if he'd been playing with my camera, he said "no". His story changed when I showed him this picture:)

Busted!

Me and Sadie:)

Went to Sadies Christmas program at school and she refused to sing:( I was so bummed since she sings all the time at home!

Took the kids to the pond in hopes for a good picture for Nina's birthday present. Kids cooperated and I got quite a few good shots!

Some goofy ones of course....

And some sweet ones....

And even our Christmas card photo!

(Can't remember which one I used:P)

Making Christmas cookies for Santa.....

Me asking the kids, "who's ready for Santa?"

Christmas Eve, we let the kids open their cards from GG. I'll let their expressions speak for themselves.....

Then the kids opened up their gifts to each other. Ethan and Gage each got each other the same little lego set. They each wanted to keep it for themselves but Christmas is about giving is what I told them. They were happy to see that they each got one :)

They each got piggy banks....

Justin singing with Sadie:)

Sadies first field trip

2010-09-15T17:54:00.000-07:00

Sadie's preschool had a field trip to the local library today then they went to the big play park behind it to play and have lunch. When I showed up to get her she was soaked head to toe! There is a water spicket that she was playing in, can't say I'm surprised:) Good thing we were on the golf cart! And she actually ate her entire lunch! She is usually distracted when we try to do picnics or eat with other people so I was very proud of her! She said she had fun but she missed her classroom:) I got a few shots of her with my phone next to the fountain outside the library and they turned out better then a lot of my actual camera pictures....

Never a dull moment

2010-09-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share how easily kids are entertained sometimes:)

Sadies first haircut

2010-09-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Since the only curls I ever had were thanks in part to my mom and pink sponge rollers, I never thought my little girl would have curls! I really wanted to wait for Sadie's hair to be longer before her first cut so we could get a great first curl for her baby book~yeah I'm weird! Sadly to say she doesn't like me to fix it or clip her hair back out of her face so it was time for a cut to help clean it up. It was just not looking cute in pictures! I took her to see my friend Secret who does my hair and the boys and Sadie did pretty well considering she's Sadie!

She just got a trim but I decided to give her bangs. I took her home and we played with it for a bit. I'm still not sure about the bangs but I do see her pretty eyes now which is great!

Papa's quick visit

2010-09-14T18:51:00.000-07:00

My dad and step-mom came down for a visit Saturday. I took the boys and picked them up from the airport Then, of course, had to hit up dads favorite chinese buffet....
Then it was back to the house where they took all 3 kids on a golfcart/ bike ride while Justin and I got a few things down around the house! I couldn't help but think that some kids are actually lucky enough to have grandparents that come by, take them to play for a little bit and give the parents a brake at the same time! Dad you need to move closer!! All the kids have such a blast when he comes to visit:) I mean look how much fun they have!

So dad noticed his hair in this one and Ethan tried to help him fix it....

Then Sadie wanted to try....
Much better pops!
After many failed battery attempts, the kids held on long enough and got a good shot with Nina:)

It was way too short of a visit but we'll take any papa and nina time we can get! Sadie's still talking about not being able to go to Kentucky with papa! hehehehe

Farmers Market

2010-09-12T18:18:00.001-07:00

We have a local farmers market that comes every other Saturday or so and we still haven't been to check it out. So yesterday morning we loaded up on the golf cart and went to see what goodies they had! When I told Gage where we were going he got so excited, ran upstairs and grabbed his tooth fairy money that he's been saving. We were hoping for apples.... Unfortunately, it must not be the prime of the harvesting season because there were no apples. We did get some Georgia peaches and are waiting for them to soften up a bit. I'm sure they will be delicious! The last stand we saw was pumpkins so of course Gage go so excited, pulled out his very own dollar and got a pumpkin!

I had to spring for Sadie's and Ethan's, neither have been visited by the tooth fairy yet!

The kids love their pumpkins but I'm afraid its going to be a huge task keeping them in one piece until it's pumpkin carving time!

Boys Night Out

2010-09-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

Justin's boss got him and the rest of his employees tickets to the Emory Healthcare 500 last Sunday. It was at Atlanta Motor Speedway which is only like 30 minutes away. There's just something about loud, roaring cars going around in circles like 500 times that boys absolutely love! Justin was able to take his dad and both Gage and Ethan. They had a blast! They got there early and Papa Anthony bought the boys there very own '10 race car! (looks the same as the .97 cent matchbox cars at Wal-mart but according to the boys they are way cooler!)
Here's Justin, Gage & Ethan waiting around for the race to start!

I love Ethan's face here!

Great shot of the night race....

Thanks to Papa Anthony for taking some great pictures! I'm lucky if Justin gets me 1 picture when he goes out with the boys....

Huddleston Hustle

2010-04-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

Gage is in a running club at his school where he runs in the morning. He loves it so I signed him up for the fun run at his school this year. The kids basically just run around the school. Justin had to work so I was flying solo.

Gage was so fun to watch. He found some of his friends and joined in the warm-up.

After the race ( I don't have any pictures of him in action because since it was just me, I had to pick video or camera and I wanted to record him running.)
He found his teacher, Mrs. Bernard, afterwards and all the kids just flocked to her.

Happy Easter....or not!

2010-04-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Our Easter Sunday came a week early due to conference. The kids had nice Easter outfits on so of course I wanted a family picture. Is that really too much to ask?? Apparently so according to Gage. Here are our 2 attempted shots before I got fed up and loaded them up and went to church...
Take 1

Take 2

Here's a shot of Sadie after church in her cute dress..

Sadie & Ethan

We went to a local Easter egg hunt this year that turned out to be a bit chaotic and unorganized. The kids ad fun though and that's all that matters I guess!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

2010-03-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

My kids love love love to do arts and crafts, Gage especially. This year for St.Paddys Day, the kids decorated their own treasure boxes.

Sadie's beautiful painting...
Notice the tongue...
Heres Ethan getting really into painting his box...
Maybe a little too into it :)
And heres Gage doing what he loves...

Here are the finished products filled with treasures and gold....
Sadies...
Ethans...
Gages...
And we even put one together for Peyton...

Here are the kids all tatoo'd up....

Hope Everyone had a great St Paddys Day! We did!

Ethan and Mommy Day

2010-03-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Where else would Ethan want to go but the one and only Chuck-E-Cheeses! We were the only ones there for a while then only one other family showed up so it was a lot of fun. Ethan went from game to game and we had so much fun I totally forgot to bring my camera in. Plus, I get so wrapped up in taking pictures sometimes that I forget to play too!

Afterwards we went to Shanes rib shack, only the best bar-b-que EVER, and had lunch. It was a fun morning and I was glad that Jess took Sadie for the morning so I was able to enjoy my E-man. If it were up to him, we would have played all day.

Gage & Mommy Day

2010-03-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

I've always tried to encourage Justin to have his own time with the boys and am now trying to do the same. I took Gage to the local dollar movie theater and we saw The Princess and the Frog. It was a cute movie but I was surprised at how dark (evil) the villian was in this disney flick. Ethan would definitely not be able to sleep if he saw it. It was fun and Gage was happy that his little sister wasnt there running a muck in the theater ;)
He's a goober but at least he was smiling!
Me and my big man!

My cute little crew

2010-03-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Valentines Day was a chore this year getting the kids ready for church but I did it and was so happy that I was able to get a picture of the kids in their sunday best!

Family Night at the Circus!

2010-03-16T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ive never been to the circus before so I got the cheap seats and went with the family plus Jessie and Peyton and Papa Anthony!
Peyton had a lot of fun! as did Sadie!
The seats were super high and steep and we kept passing the kids back and forth which was nerve racking! All the kids loved it when the elephants came out...they were hooked!
Heres Ethan mesmerized by them....
This is how high we were...
Heres a few more pictures of the night!