Winters Wonderland

Ellen's Dance Dare

2012-02-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

Ellen Degeneres is running a contest, check it out here.

So My sister Karissa saw this and wanted to enter. I mean who wouldn't want a $100 gift card to Target?! Also she is going to pick one person to be on her show out of a bazillion entries. We went on an excursion to film last night. The result is the awesome video below, lol. She totally has to buy me an icee if she wins. Maybe I will enter too, who can tell?! We love some dancin' and some dares! Please feel free to leave a comment on the video link, or better yet comment about it to Ellen! :D :D :D Enjoy!

Melted like buttah

2012-01-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Prepare yourselves

2012-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Hello there New Year

2012-01-09T18:08:00.015-08:00

2012 is here. I haven't felt like blogging yet this year. I dunno why. Actually, I think it is because my head is still spinning from the whirlwind that was December. A good whirlwind but a whirlwind just the same. Also I am reading a really great book series. I loooove it. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon. I think there are 6 books in that series. I am now on #2.

Here is how December went:

Free pony rides and face painting at the garden center on Old Apex Road (every Saturday in Dec.) Parker chose to stay home and play wii with Dad this time. Meadow and Liam loved it and Liam squealed with delight.

The Nativity was a joy as always. Greg’s parents and two of his aunts drove down for it. They loved it so much last year that they took the idea back to the Hickory Stake and they held their first Nativity there this year. This year at ours, when you walked into the lobby there was a little rustic hand carved empty wooden manger set up off to the right and It looked pretty ancient. Ancient enough to make it easy to imagine the baby Jesus having laid there. It made my eyes water at the thought.

Parker’s favorite nativity was a lego nativity that someone had built from different lego set pieces. I recognized some camels from prince of Persia lego sets and there was even a ninja lego with a sword hanging from a building. Lol. The ninja seemed a little out of place but it was pretty cute! Meadow loved all of the little tiny nativity sets. While we were there a gospel choir sang on the back stage and they knocked my socks off. They were amazing!!! It was a little different hearing that style of loud singing in the gym at first but they were fantastic and the words to the songs were beautiful. We heard from David Creech (who was the coordinator this year) that a Hispanic church also sang and played electric guitars! I hate we missed the electric guitars! It was very neat having so many faiths under one roof all celebrating the birth of Christ. :)

Parker created his own Nativity at home.

He also created a pretty sweet fill in the blank worksheet at school. We love this guy.

We loved watching Meadow perform in her Christmas Program at preschool. She sang her heart out, made sure we were clapping at the appropriate times and had a couple of cute imprompt dance moves to Feliz Navidad. :) We love this Gal.

I got to take sweet Meadow to Disney Princesses on Ice "Dare to Dream" since the boys got to go to Lego Fest. It was amazing and we loved every second of it! (oh, except for paying TWELVE dollars for cotton candy. What?!)

And of course we had to go see the Meadow Lights in Meadow, NC. It was great fun to ride a little train through a field of lights, ride the carousel and buy way too much candy from the general store. Meadow declared on the ride home that she would like to live here.

Parker earned his orange Belt. Woooooooo!!! Way to go Parker! We're proud of you bud. Liam got fed up with this 2+ hour event, but he did learn to say ah-ya!

Visiting the South Point Santa. :)

Christmas Morning fell on a Sunday this year and with 9am church the kids were allowed to look in their stockings before church but we had to wait to open presents until after church. I was really surprised that there was no fuss about this. They were just happy and excited.

Family picture before church. This was the best we could do and not be late.

Let the fun begin!

Parker has wanted a lego set that was advertised on lego.com for the past 2 christmases(the Star wars MTT troop carrier)that retailed for a mere $600. Needless to say he did not get it last year or this year (the store version that is). Since no one could afford to buy this set, at least Lego.com had the decency to post the plans to build this set. Which Greg did during the 2 weeks leading up to christmas when the kids were asleep out of the loose legos that we already owned and that he meticulously sorted. Parker loved it. Way to go Dad!!! :)

For Meadow he painted a giant unicorn and we hung it on her ceiling on Christmas Eve while she was sleeping. She was pretty excited when she woke up. :)

We wish you a merry Christmas!

2011-12-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

And a Happy New Year!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Exciting November continued...

2011-12-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

Liam turned one on the 19th. I just can't believe it. My sweet sweet curly headed cutie is 1. We adore this fella. He loved his first cake and kept repeating "num." :) His favorite word is "Cars!" He especially loves books with pictures of real babies and real cars. He says Hi! to everyone we pass in the hallway at church. He gives great hugs and loves the song "celebration" - Celebrate good times, come on. And he especially loves his Brother and Sister (and Dad and Mom). What a blessing Liam has been to our family. :)

Meadow had her Thanksgiving Feast at Preschool and it was really fun to watch her sing her heart out. She is a performer that one. :) We love our Meadow girl!! What a sweet little turkey. :)

November was an exciting month

2011-12-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

On 11/11/11 we have been married twelve years. Greg now thinks he should have waited one more year to marry me so that we could have been married 11 years on 11/11/11. Surely we would have blasted off into the sky with fireworks all around us or something if that was the case. ;) We went to a blue grass concert in Fearrington Village to celebrate. We memorialized the occasion with Greg's camera phone. I think we were the youngest ones there. It felt nice. :) It also felt nice to hold hands with my sweet. :)

We walked for Food allergies! We called ourselves the puffy team. It was freezing in the morning so we all wore big coats UNDER our matching t-shirts. You know you are puffy when you have to loosen the straps on the car seat. :)

It was an amazing event! There were over 500 people there raising money for research and education/awareness for food allergies. We walked around the lake at regency and I think the kids felt great to be doing something to make a difference and to be around so many other kids and supporters/friends of kids with allergies. There was a sweet DJ playing music during and after the walk, A fire engine the kids could climb through, vendors giving you multiple samples and coupons for fun and yummy allergy free products and showering your children with jelly beans, italian ices, allergy free chocolate chip cookies, and apple dippers. There were games for them to play and they always got to play until they won and then pick a prize, no matter how many times they played. The prizes were awesome happy meal toys donated by McDonalds and Burger King. The kids racked up on plastic strawberry shortcake dolls, mini star wars skateboards, mega mind villan launchers, littlest petshop, etc. Basically they were treated like royalty. It made my heart so happy to see them having so much fun in such a safe environment where I didn't have to tell them they couldn't eat something or have something that someone else was having. I am in love with the Food allergy walk. We'll be there again next year if ya wanna come be on the puffy team. :)

Parker completed his 30 mile marathon at school. Kids that participated and finished 28.5 miles at home with their families got to finish the last mile and a half at school. It was fun to go cheer him/them on.

The yellow ribbon winners!! We're proud of ya bud!

This post is going to have to be continued because it is midnight. More November excitement to come. :)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

First we crashed the Holly springs Trunk-or-treat. (Actually Aunt Karissa invited us but I still felt like a crasher ;) Cousin Power!!

Kids goin' crazy!

I thought this couple was clever!

Befriending an Arch Nemesis

Then we had the annual neighborhood parade where the kids walk around the block in their costumes and then get a prize.

Halloween was cold and sprinkly this year. My family came over for chili and the cousins always like to go trick or treating together. Meadow was a fairy this time and Parker was Luigi.

Greg helped the neighbors set up an "Alien Idol" Halloween Karaoke. Greg's Dad owns a karaoke machine (he goes and sings oldie goldies at the rest homes and I think he has achieved celebrity status among them) and they used that. There were 3 Alien judges trying to find talent to bring back to their home planet and people could sing songs like the monter mash etc. It drew quite a crowd.

Then since they were all slightly damp anyway, we bobbed for apples. Liam was asleep by this point.

Come back here apple!

Day Trippers Yeah

2011-10-31T04:14:00.000-07:00

Parker is tracked out and Greg had the day off so we did a spur of the moment day trip to our favorite spot on Wrightsville beach last Wednesday. It was 76 and sunny, lovely. Liam liked to try to use the end of his paci-clip (that came unclipped by brute force ;) as a spoon to shovel sand into his mouth. I know he got one spade-ful into his mouth before we confiscated it. "num-num." There were alot of warm tidal pools for the kids to splash around in and they found a tiny little hermit crab there and had fun watching him and trying to catch some little minnows. Good times. :)

Punkins at the patch

2011-10-27T06:12:00.002-07:00

NC State Fair

2011-10-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at the fair this year. We were glad that Grandma Debbie was in town to enjoy it with us. The kids had a great time. Their favorite parts were "everything!" but especially riding the ponies and the mummy ride (the giant swinging pirate ship). Parker wasn't so sure about it the first time but we rode it twice and he loved it the second time. Dare devil Meadow had her hands in the air the whole time.

Parker won a prize at the dart throw (a tiger he named chinchitzu sp? lol)and he had a lot of fun looking at the lego building entries. We are totally going to participate in that next year! Sweet Meadow shared her pink piggy prize with Liam that she fished up in the shark fishing game.

We of course had to stop in the village of yester-year for apple cider freezies and what is the fair without chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick I ask you? Liam loved all of the lights and sounds and riding the ferris wheel together as a family was great. It was dusk so the lights were perfect. A great end to a great day!

Lego Fest!!

2011-10-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Dream come true for Parker. Greg and Parker had a boys day out the first Saturday of this month while Mamma, Meadow and Liam went to a birthday Party at Monkey Joes.

Lego Fest was held in the Raleigh Convention Center and Parker and Greg got tickets to the 9-2 session. 5 whole hours in a giant convention center filled with other legomaniacs, master builders, giant piles of legos to play in, games where you could win lego prizes, and a giant retail section for the kiddos to drool over. :)

Prize that Parker won in a Ninjago battle. :)

Parker picked this cool little camper to purchase with his spending money. :) He put it together himself.

This was a lego map of the US that everyone could make a building for. The lego employee put your building where you directed (North Carolina was full so Parker chose to put his building dead center) and then the map travels to every city that is hosting a lego festival. Pretty cool!!

Best. Day. Ever.

Walk with us?

2011-10-20T09:32:00.001-07:00

We are walking as a family to raise money for The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). The event will raise funds to find a cure for food allergies and to educate others. FAAN's mission is to raise public awareness, to provide advocacy and education, and to advance research on behalf of all those affected by food allergies and anaphylaxis.

This year it is going to be held in Regency Park in Cary on Saturday November 5th. If you are interested in joining our team for the walk or creating your own team you can do so by clicking on the link. It is free to walk and all registered children who participate get a free t-shirt. You can also make a tax-deductible donation on the website if it strikes your fancy by clicking the blue button that says "support me."

Heres to Food Allergy Research!

Sunday before church

2011-10-10T16:36:00.001-07:00

Parker - 7 3/4, Meadow 5, Liam almost 11 months.

Guy on a buffalo

2011-10-09T19:45:00.001-07:00

Greg's favorite youtube videos eveeeeeer. Enjoy.

There are actually 2 more if you care to search them out and watch the exciting conclusion of the guy on a buffallloooo, ooooh, oooh. This song will remain in your head for a long long time. ;)

Meadow is 5!

2011-09-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

Meadow is five and she already has said she can't wait until she is 6 and then 7 and then 8. She can't wait to get baptized since we have been talking about it with Parker recently.

She had a birthday party with friends from church and school and family at Apex Gymnastics and they all had a sweaty good time. :D

Some things that are really sweet about Meadow are:

She cries sometimes when Liam cries because she has such a tender heart and feels bad if he gets hurt.

She likes to "read" very large books and turns them page by page and even puts a book mark where she left off. She recently finished volume 2 of our encyclopedia set. :) She also does this with the scriptures. It is adorable. She asked me "Why did God make me so interested in reading books and reading the scriptures?" I told her because he wanted her to learn all of the things that would help her in her life to make good choices and be happy.

When she prays she tells Heavenly Father the cutest things about how she loves her gymnastics class and her friends at school and yummy dinners.

She worries a little bit about having homework in Kindergarten because she sees how much Parker dislikes having homework.

She really really likes to win. Last week her soccer team lost to the gray team and she cried on the way to the car. She definitely has a competitive streak.

Oh Meadow, you are such a fun and special girl and we love having you in our family.

Here is a letter Parker wrote to her at school for her birthday. :D I am transcribing it for now because I don't know where the camera is at the moment.

"Dear Meadow, You are the best sister! I know whats going to happen! Your birthday! Happy Birthday! You are going to have lots of presents! I love you. And I am feeling so great!

Your Brother Parker

I love that letter!! It makes my whole self smile. :D

Soccer Saturdays

2011-09-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

Fall Season has begun. The kids are playing with Futbol Club of Cary again. They've been great and no games on Sunday. Yippee! This saturday both games were at noon so we had to divide and conquer. Meadow's team has really grown and she almost scored in her first game which was exciting. :) What a difference from spring to fall for this team. 4 goals in the first game this season. 1 goal the entire season last season. Go Heat! Before the game Meadow said "Mom, I have a surprise for you today."

Me: What is it?

Med: You'll have to wait to see it out on the field today.

Me: Ok! I'll be watching!

After she came out of the game to rest I told her "way to hustle, you were running really fast."

Meadow: That was my surprise! :)

Parker is also really improving. He goes after the ball more and is starting to understand the positions. Go Clash!

Liam just loves being outside. :)

Back to school, monkey in the dishwasher and taking matters into his own hands

2011-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

Awesome Meadow started her first day of her last year of preschool. She missed the Kindergarten cut off by 25 days and can already read level 1 Bob books, but that is ok because Mamma loves to have her home with me for 1 more year. I'd rather have her be the oldest in the class than the youngest and we will keep her challenged. She was very excited this morning to go to school and her teachers are so wonderful. She is in the Monkey class this year. Meadow also started a gymnastics class that she adores a couple of weeks ago. Side Note: I think gymnastics is a great sport for kids because it builds flexibility, strength and coordination which can then be tranfered to any sport they may choose to move on to.

Speaking of Monkeys, yes he did get up there by himself. Yes I did find also find him sitting on the end table by the couch playing with the lamp. He got on the table by climbing onto another toy that was sitting next to it. Liam is into everything and doesn't seem to have a speck of fear.

Liam also especially loves the little green power light on the Wii that turns red when he pushes it much to the bemused chagrin of Parker. I loved that Parker took the matter into his own hands and made a toy barracade, picked Liam up and put him behind it. "There you naughty baby." lol.

Parker has a really fun sense of humor. When we were writing sentences for his spelling words, one sentence I suggested was "I have the same toy as Bill." He thought this was hilarious because he doesn't know anyone named Bill. He kept saying Bill! Bill! What a weird name, Bill. He proceed to crack himself (and me) up with the next 3 or 4 sentences.

Give me a hug Bill.

I like to hide from Bill.

I have no idea Bill.

I ate cheese with Bill.

Luckily he got tired of it after that. ;)

One fun thing that Meadow does recently is that I will find her randomly wearing her "high heels" from Easter just for fun. She likes the way they feel and the sound they make when she walks. These are the shoes she often chooses to wear to the grocery store. She is our sweet fun little lady. Also she can run as fast as a cheetah in them.

Each Life that touches ours for good

2011-09-05T09:52:00.000-07:00

Our Bishop and his family (Bodily Family) just moved back to Idaho and I am sitting reflecting on how grateful I am for the time they were here. How grateful I am for the service and love our family received and for the shining example that they were. There were many instances during talks and ward conference where it felt like the message was just for me. I am sure many people felt that way. I thought I'd record some of those things that will always stick with me.

It is a good thing to reflect on our lives and ask ourselves each day is "What am I seeking?" and then to plan your life/day accordingly. Are our lives in line with how Heavenly Father wants us to live and spend our time? How are we spending our time? "If we stretched a string from the microphone back to the very end of the gym and that represented eternity and then we pinched the string with our fingers, the part of string we are covering with our fingers represents how short our earth life realy is. This made me want to print "What am I seeking?" out in vinyl letters and put it on the mirror so I would never forget it, so that I could keep persective and use my time wisely and seek the best things for the best reasons.

The leave no trace program for the boy scouts should not only apply to scouting but to our homes and church building. Are we leaving our homes and church buildings better that we found them? Are we cleaning up after ourselves, putting our things away and leaving no trace. Are we able to feel the spirit in it's fullest measure? This made me want to be better at leaving no trace at home.

I was reminded by the Bishops testimony that the atonement not only covers sins and transgressions but sorrows, dissapointments, sickness etc. This made me want to use the atonement more fully and leave more of my burdens at His feet. He understands all of it and can help us.

When speaking the bishop told of one of his children lamenting that he was not very good at basketball. The bishops response was "I don't care if you are ever good at basketball. What is most important to be good at is being good and that is something that all of us can do." This made me want to teach my children that the most important thing to be good at is being good.

He continually spoke of the simple things to be 100% in. By small and simple means, great things are brought to pass. He challenged all of the families to be 100% in family scripture study, family prayer, family home evening and regular temple attendance.

These are just a few. We'll miss the Bodily Family but we know that Brother Suppes will be an amazing Bishop too.

Last week of track-out fun

2011-08-22T19:08:00.000-07:00

Greg's super kind, generous folks took the fam up to Pigeon Forge last week. We stayed at the Wilderness Resort which we highly recommend!! I'll just say that Meadow cried when we had to leave. "I just want to live here because it is so awesome!" "I want to live here because the water fun is just so awesome."

It has a huge indoor waterpark with awesome water slides and a surf/body board wave area and 2 large outdoor water parks, one of which has a wave pool and a lazy river. So we pretty much lived in the water last week with some breaks to check out some great local attractions.

A brave Meadow and Parker hitting the waves! This was soooo much fun!

Gatlinburg Aquarium, Tennessee

I loved how this aquarium had a lot of little glass bubbles that the children could go into to "go into" the animal habitats. See Penguin picture below. The kids loved that. The penguins would come right up to the glass. One peguin followed Meadow's finger on the glass with its beak. She loved it.

The Forbidden Caverns

Original Cave Entrance (Daylight on Upper left part of the picture). This is how the cave was discovered. Indian Artifacts were found there dating back to the early 1800's. Also in the cave were parts and scraps from when the local people would go there to make moonshine.

"Wishing Well"

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

On the way to Cherokee (what a lovely drive!) we saw a Mamma bear and two cubs in the forest just off of the highway. It was beautiful. Everyone was stopping to take pictures. The cubs were so very cute. Some people were getting too close and of course the mamma bear lunged forward. Everyone got back in their cars and the Park rangers came and used the bear horn to send the bears back into the woods.

Oconaluftee Indian Village, Cherokee, NC

This was awesome. We went on a guided tour of the Oconaluftee Indian Village; a replica of a 1750s Cherokee Village. While there we learned about how the Cherokee Indians lived and how they made traditional trade items like pottery, blankets, beads, canoes, bow and arrows etc. using centuries old techniques. In The Village Square Grounds we learned about traditional songs and dance and the clan system and beliefs. I especially thought it was interesting how the tribe shared so many things like hunted food, a community fish barrel, canoes, etc. You took what you needed and replaced it when you could. I also really enjoyed hearing about the tribe medicine man and the sweat house where they took the sick and crushed herbs and plants and let the people sweat out their sickness. The medicine man had cures for every illness until the small pox came. It wiped out over half of the Cherokee Tribe. The Cherokee Indians never used tepees, they built cabins out of wood and clay mixed with animal hair. The fiber from the hair strengthened the clay as it dried.

Playing in the River, Cherokee

Happy Birthday to Greg!

2011-08-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

Greg is now 37 years young! We had a fun birthday weekend. After taking the children who were awake on a walk, he embarked on his yearly tradition of exploring the bookstore. After that we took the kids out for ice cream and went on a date that evening to see the movie "Tree of Life" (playing at the Galaxy in Cary) We really enjoyed it! It is definitely not your typical movie. There is hardly any dialogue in it but it leaves you with the desire to be better which is always good and inspiring. It also explores The Creation in an interesting way.

The kids and I had some messy fun making a painting for him for his birthday using the kids footprints and my handprints. They thought it was fun and gross to have their feet painted. They also really enjoyed getting permission to fib to dad about why their feet were stained blue. hehehe. Look closely in the center area for Liam's little feeties.

Greg's parents got him some concert tickets to see Death Cab for Cutie, who are awesome. We had a great time! Thank you! Check them out below:

Quote for the day

2011-08-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Saw this on a friend's facebook and though it was great:

"In my nintey-plus years, I have learned a secret. I have learned that when good men and good women face challenges with optimism, everything will work out. Truely, everything will work out no matter how difficult the challenge may seem at the time. Those who move forward with faith and a happy spirit will find things always work out."

President Hinckley

Lego Minifigs headed for deep space

2011-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

Parker was super excited about the following article:
Link: http://m.wired.com/geekdad/2011/08/lego-minifigs-soon-headed-for-deep-space/

This Friday, NASA will launch an Atlas V rocket that will be contain a very special payload. Not only will the rocket be carrying Juno, a space probe that is being sent to Jupiter to study the fifth planet from the Sun, but there will be a few unique stowaways. Thanks to a joint mission between NASA and Lego, there will be three very special Lego minifigs affixed to the spacecraft.
The figures, milled from aluminum, will accompany Juno on its five-year trip to Jupiter. When Juno arrives in 2016, the Lego likeness of the Roman god, Jupiter, his sister, Juno, and the Italian astronomer, Galileo, will be there to take in all the sights and bask in the immensity of the largest planet.

This (until now) secret installation was initiated by NASA scientists, who love Lego as much as anyone and wanted to do something memorable for this mission. They approached Lego and the company loved the idea. It saw the project as a way to promote children’s education and STEM programs.

The brick company even underwrote the project, at a cost of $5,000 for each of the minifigs, which will soon become the farthest flying toys ever. The manufacture of the figures was a deliberate process to ensure the figures would not interfere with NASA’s sensitive measurements.

Each figure has been customized to represent his or her special characteristics. Jupiter carries a lightning bolt, Juno has a magnifying glass to represent her search for truth, Galileo is carrying a telescope and a model of the planet Jupiter.

The minifigs attached to the space probe are the same size as the plastic figures in your box of Lego at home.

Upon arrival in July 2016, the space probe will collect data on Jupiter, its moons and atmosphere. After orbiting the planet for a year (about 33 orbits) and relaying its data, Juno will purposefully de-orbit and crash into the planet’s surface. You can track Juno’s progress with the high-flying minifigs at LegoSpace.com.

This unique project has put a smile on many NASA and Lego employees’ faces and stirred up interest from other state space agencies, as well. Will Lego minifigs take another trip in space soon? Time will tell. But until that day, keep an eye on the sky for the fastest moving toys in the universe.

Photos courtesy The Lego Group.

Screening for Joseph Smith Movie

2011-07-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

The newly released movie, Joseph Smith: Plates of Gold was released in Palmyra this month. There will be a screening on Tues, Aug 23rd at 7pm at the Galaxy Cinema in Cary. Click on the link and you can see a trailer & pre-purchase tickets. The Actor who played Joseph (R. Dustin Harding) will be there as well!

Here's the link for North Carolina:
http://josephmovie.com/index.php?page=nc

Eight Months Sweet

2011-07-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

7.5 months in the top 2 pics. Two teeth, sits, crawls fast, pulls to a stand and is very pleased with himself about it (yes we are in trouble). Loves to eat (if anyone is eating he must be eating too), loves the remote and the telephone and the door stoppers and of course going outside and taking baths. Favorite baby talk is "Gullah gullah gullah" usually from behind his Paci. Shakes and jumps and splashes on command. Sweet Sweet fun baby boy, we love you!

High Country

2011-07-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

Parker had a week and 3 days off of school before starting second grade. We spent most of it away from home. First to Grandma and Grandpa Winters to be spoiled a bit and then up to the mountains. Ahhh, the mountains. We checked out the highland games and stayed a couple of nights with our friends/cousins and their kids in a cabin lent to us by some awesome friends of ours. It was lovely. Just what we needed. Thank you! I had never been to the Highland games before but it was pretty interesting and fun to experience. We watched the tree throwing and the sheep herding exhibition, a bit of scottish dancing and heard a couple of really great scottish bands. The kids especially liked the sand art in the kids area but after about an hour of exploring they were asking to go back to the cabin. Meadow met a lovely fairy who gave her fairy dust to pat on her cheeks. Meadow disappointed: "Dad, I thought that I was going to be able to fly." For some reason blogger won't let me post the pics from the games. We took them with a different camera and it keeps saying Error 400. Weird. Anyone have any experience with this? I'll keep trying and maybe post those later. We also went back to check out the trout farm, splashed in our fav. park stream and checked out the Valle Crucis General Store. The general store had a trap door with a rubber chicken in it that the kids loved. In the olden days they used to keep real chickens in trap doors like that for trading eggs and the chickens themselves. Poor chickens.

"Food Allergies Rock"

2011-06-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

We took the family to an awesome free concert last Saturday morning. "Food Allergies Rock" by Canadian Musician Kyle Dine. Very empowering, positive, educational and fun for those who have food allergies or know someone who does. :) Kyle Dine also has anaphylactic allergies to peanuts and tree nuts and other allergies as well. He wears his epi-pens in a cool holder on his belt and his medi-alert bracelet. What a great role model! :)

I really liked what he had to say about why he entitled his CD "Food Allergies Rock:"

something like...." people might find it odd that I am calling this CD food Allergies rock, but having or dealing food allergies creates strengths and virtues within ourselves that otherwise we would not have realized..." Very positive indeed.

Click here to download a free MP3 of his song Food Allergies Rock. My kids love it.

Below are the kids dancing to the song "I wrote a song about my allergies" Parker is the dancing fool in the green. ;) Meadow was content to sit and listen but once we got home she was a dancing fool too. :)

Dinnertime Adventure

2011-06-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Greg has been out of town in Milwaukee this week. Actual picture he sent me from there. No this is not what he was filming. But they did get to tour Harley Davidson and he did get to drool over his mid-life crisis motorcycle again. :) His shoot was actually pretty interesting, it was for IBM and it was about Urban Gardening in old warehouses. It's a long story.

Anyway, today after school my lovely sister in law Taylor and I took the kids up to Lassiter Mills for a dinner picnic. It was fun. And hot. But more fun than hot. :)

For the history buffs: Originally known as the "Great Falls of Crabtree," this site is one of the oldest mill sites in Wake County. Cornelius J. Lassiter purchased the land in 1908 and constructed a grist mill that operated for fifty years until burning in 1958. The site was also a popular picnic and swimming area for Raleigh residents. You can see some of the old mill stones.

You know it was a good time when you get to ride home in your undies because of all of the mud.

Mover and a shaker

2011-06-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

Liam is now 7 months 18.5 lbs and can get across a room! He loves to rock back and forth on his knees and then belly flop forwards and then army man it although he has officially crawled a step or two and has pushed up to a sit. Time to baby proof again and ban legos from the downstairs.

The Bennett Place, Durham

2011-06-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

Site of the largest troop surrender of the Civil War.

This simple farmhouse was located between Confederate General Johnston's headquarters in Greensboro and Union General Sherman's headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. In 1865 the two officers met at the Bennett Place, where they signed surrender papers for southern armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. The simple reproduction farm dwelling and log kitchen show what life was like during a tragic period in our nation's history. A modern visitor center with exhibits and an audiovisual program help tell the Bennett Place story.

The kids really enjoyed this! Great family activity and it is free. They only have the special events with the workers pictured below every second Saturday of each month. Greg says it is best to call ahead and make sure that it is happening on the date you have if mind because occasionally it skips a month.

Bennett Place
Phone: (919) 383-4345; Fax: (919) 383-4349
4409 Bennett Memorial Rd., Durham, N.C. 27705
E-mail: bennett@ncdcr.gov
GPS: 36.02921538090, -78.97397083620

Meadow in the meadow :)

The Ponies and the Magical Goldfish

2011-06-13T11:49:00.000-07:00

Story, title and dialogue created entirely by Meadow. Sound effects by Parker and Meadow.

The Ponies and the Magical Goldfish from Monkey Television on Vimeo.

For Heaven Sakes

2011-06-11T18:43:00.000-07:00

This morning at our activity days activity I rolled my ankle so badly. I had to sit for a few minutes and I am still limping this evening. I went and got an x-ray and it isn't broken so that's good. sigh. If there is a hole I will find it. It is astounding. The activity was so fun though and turned out well. It was a father/daughter activity. We got the idea from Sugardoodle.

So Jillian, my friend, I am just going to have to take a break from you. The thought of jumping (impossible) makes me cringe. Workouts postponed....

Here are some pictures from the fun and limpy day.

So we handed out boxes to our girls about a week and a half before the activity so that they could make cars out of them with their dads for race day. The cars were AWESOME! I was certainly impressed with the efforts!!

Then we took pictures of them together. And the leaders too. :)

Race time! We split the girls and ran the race twice because some dads had more than one daughter to race with.

There were 4 pit stops that the racers had to stop at with different tasks to complete. They had to go around the course three times and each time there was a new thing for them to do at each station.

Victory! Right before lunch Sister Sprague gave a great thought about how the race was a lot like life after you are baptised. We have guidelines and commandments to follow that will bless us and keep us safe. We are to follow the course/example the Savior set for all of us, try our best and endure to the end.

2 Nephi 31:20
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

Day 12

2011-06-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

Ran lots of last minute errands for Activity Days Father Daughter activity tomorrow which is going to be awesome. Did not work out - sigh. Went to play bunko with the ladies instead and ate 5 desserts out of a buffet of them. lol!! Which means I have to re-do day 12. No more re-do's missy! 2 is all you get. 2 strikes and you are out! I am making myself work out twice tomorrow. We'll see if it was worth the key lime pie, the turtle brownie, the caramel popcorn, the blueberry granola something or other and the peanut butter cheese cake. They were all small slices but still! FIVE desserts!!

Day 11 - re-do

2011-06-09T18:16:00.000-07:00

Level 2 again today. Sheesh. Still very very difficult. Getting some man muscle biceps. lol. Still sore everywhere. Need to be better at counting calories maybe. How annoying that is. I didn't use to have to do that. Exercise used to work by itself. You'd think I was in my mid-thirties or somethin.'

Still down 2 lbs.

Day 11

2011-06-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

Bust. Day 11 was bust. Does this mean I have to do the video twice tomorrow? ;) Sigh. It is very sad when you can't seem to squeeze 20 minutes in for yourself. lol. I shall have to start setting the alarm on busy days. Meadow has a play date at our house tomorrow so I spent the day catching up on overdue house cleaning stuff. Liam was a cling-on today because he got a shot yesterday, poor beansie. Then I went and helped out with YW tonight and then home to put the kitchen back together and more laundry.

Tomorrow is a new day fresh with no mistakes. ~ Anne of Greene Gables.

Day 10 for reals

2011-06-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

Wow. I did this at 9 after the kids were in bed and I really didn't want to. It was terrible to begin but feeling good to be done! I think I'll start weighing myself at the same time everyday. There is a 1-2 lb difference from morning to evening. :) Feeling stronger.

Actually Day 9 since last day 9 I was sick

2011-06-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

Back to workin' out today. I stuck with level two 'cause I didn't want to backslide. It was a sweaty good time. ;) Nothing too new to report yet.

ok! Here we go!

2011-06-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

Alright friends. Feeling better today. Take that strep! Parker got strep again a couple of weeks ago and if someone has strep and looks at me, I get strep too. But 4 days of antibiotic later and 3 days off of Jillian and I am doing better! I'll be ready for Monday!

See you Monday

2011-06-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, two days off was terribly ambitious of me. I think I'll consider workin' out again on Monday. I bet I'll have to start on level 1 again, lol. Have a great weekend!

Day 9

2011-05-31T16:09:00.000-07:00

101.5 fever today. Had 0 energy. Doctor put me on an antibiotic. Still considered doing the workout but decided that was crazy. lol. See Mim's comment from Day 1 of the experiment, lol. Woah. So I don't know if this a coincidence or if Jillian really does almost kill you. (hee-hee) I am determined to only take 1 or 2 days off. We'll see though. Maybe that is her plan to make people sick enough that they can't eat cupcakes and therefore lose 20 lbs... ;)

Day 8

2011-05-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

So I've been doing this just over a week now and it feels like a lot longer. Level 2 again today. Just as hard as the last time. Jillian needs to hold her stretches longer at the end and do a longer cool-down for killing us.

I tried to convince Greg to do this experiment with me but he said no thank you... I think this workout would be great for/kill anyone.

Beautiful for me

2011-05-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

BEAUTIFUL FOR ME Lyrics
Nichole Nordeman
Every girl young and old has to face her own reflection
Twirl around, stare it down
What’s the mirror gonna say
With some luck, you’ll measure up
But you might not hold a candle to the rest
“Is that your best?” says the mirror to the mess
But there’s a whisper in the noise
Can you hear a little voice
and he says

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful for me
If it’s true beauty lies in the eye of the beholder
What my life and what’s inside to give him something to behold
I want a heart that’s captivating
I wanna hear my Father say

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Oh
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful for me
Close your eyes
Look inside
Let me see the you that you’ve been trying to hide
Long ago, I made you so very beautiful
So I ought to know you’re beautiful

Has anybody told you you’re beautiful?
You might agree if you could see what I see
Yeah
‘Cuz everything about you is incredible
You should have seen me smile the day that I made you beautiful
You’re so beautiful
Beautiful for me
So beautiful for me
Has anybody told you?

Day 7

2011-05-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

So this morning I decided to do level two even though I am not perfectly awesome at level 1. I just needed a change and a new challenge. I got it.

Jillian - "You should feel like you are about to die."

Check.

It was a really good workout.

So the only downside that I can see to this video is that she is two for two for saying "ass" one time in each workout. Level 1 - "We're gonna kick ourselves in the ___. Level 2 - "This workout is gonna kick your ___." She's not lying, however not very good when there are kids coming in and out of the room. ;) I'll let you know about level 3 in a few days.

Simple Solutions: Turn the volume down and turn on your own music. Or you could use it to teach them that we shouldn't say that word....

Day 6

2011-05-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

Per your request here is the daily post. :D

I am diggin' this workout. I love that I can commit only 20 minutes and I feel tired and that I worked every body part when I am finished and that I am still sore. I love that I have to grit my teeth and hold my breath to finish these dang shoulder exercises. lol. I also like that it is not as taxing on the knees as running. Still down one pound but I can now wear a pair of shorts that I could zip up but that were obscenely tight. Now they are just a little tight as opposed to obscenely tight. These are ok to wear in public now...with a longer t-shirt maybe. lol. I should have started out with measurements maybe. That would have been a better sign of progress at this point in the game. I can tell the biggest difference in my arms so far but I think that many times women lose weight from top to bottom. Looking forward to the bottom. ;) I can totally tell that my abs are getting stonger and my baby belly is pulling in a bit. Puffing down as Meadow says.

Purple Blankie love still going strong

2011-05-26T05:45:00.001-07:00

When Meadow was a baby she fell in love with purple blankie. A lady in our ward made it and Meadow loved to work her little tiny fingers in and out of the crocheted holes and it helped her self soothe. She was my easiest baby to get to sleep. Short cuddle and a kiss and tuck her in on her side with purple blankie. I fell in love with purple blankie too. As a toddler, she walked around with it everywhere. We called her Purple Blanket babushka. During this time purple blanket was accidentally left under a table at a disney world. It was gone when we went back for it. :( We checked and called the lost and found daily. Left our name and number when we left incase it ever turned up. Meanwhile, I commissioned lovely lady in our ward to please make another one as soon as possible! We had it 5 days later. During this time Meadow grudgingly slept with white blanky (also crocheted) and the only one she would even consider. On our recent beach trip the kids and I were checking out the hotel gift shop while Greg and his parents were checking us in and purple blanket accidentally got dropped and left there. We didn't know that it was missing until later that night and we didn't know where it could be. The next day on our way down to the pool, Parker spotted purple blanky up at the front desk! Yes! I quickly went and retrieved our old friend. Pictured below is Meadow crying tears of joy. I have since learned to make these blankets. I think I will be making a twin size purple blanky for her to take to college one day. :) We love our precious Meadow girl.

Day 5

2011-05-26T04:21:00.000-07:00

Did not want to sweat with Jillian this morning. But I did it anyway. Still sore. Used 2 lb ketchup bottles instead of my 5 lb weights because my arms wouldn't obey me and lift the things. 2 lbs was good. Maybe they will recover a bit. Definitely see some small changes. Change is good. :)

Lost a follower. lol. Maybe these posts are annoying. I didn't actually know this person so maybe the rest of the readers will be more tolerant of my self-motivation. Maybe I'll change to weekly or bi-weekly Jillian posts. Don't worry there will be some hopefully non-annoying normal posts too. ;) ;)

Day 4

2011-05-25T10:56:00.000-07:00

Nothing very new to report today. Push-ups are getting easier! Staying the same weight wise. Building some muscle back. Meadow: "Mom! I see your arm muscles!" " I see the bumps in your arms!" "You look like her (Jillian) (hehehee, not quite but thanks for the encouragement)." :)

Day 3

2011-05-24T06:43:00.001-07:00

Sore all over. This is a good sign. 20 minutes seems very long sometimes. heh heh. I find it funny how quickly I expect results. I'm like it's been three days shouldn't my old jeans fit again? No such luck. I do FEEL better however. :)

Day 3 - lost 1 lb. Woooo!

Day 2

2011-05-23T05:58:00.000-07:00

Whew. Day 2 of the workout after a break on Sunday. My arms are really sore. Jillian is tough. The kids call her "Miss bossy pants." lol. They did it with me this morning using half full water bottles for weights. It was pretty hilarious. I think she just might whip me into shape. It feels good to push your body to this state at any rate. :) :)

0 lbs lost but muscle weighs more than fat so we'll hope that will change in a few more days...

Be still my soul

2011-05-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

We sang this song in church today. It always brings tears to my eyes. I love the words. He is our best and heavenly Friend. :)

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Jillian Michaels 30 day shred experiment - Day 1

2011-05-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

Today I found my motivation while I was cleaning out a closet. I found an unopened dvd "Jillian Michaels (trainer from biggest loser) 30 day shred." I remember buying it when I was pregnant in the clearance bin at the grocery store for $7. I remember thinking I will use this to help lose the bebe weight. Across the front is the tag line "Lose up to 20 lbs in 30 days." Sweet. That happens to be the exact amount I'd like to get rid of. :) Here we go Jillian. Shred me! She has 30 day meal plans online to follow for your body type too. This is exciting. I'll report to my blogger buddies to keep me motivated. Also, I have a quiet house to jump around in because Liam is asleep and Greg took the other 2 camping yesterday. :) I am going to skip Sundays so this might be the 34 day experiment.

Wrightsville Beach

2011-05-20T22:36:00.001-07:00

Parker tracked out recently for the last time until second grade. Eeeek! It all seems too soon! His grandparents made his dreams come true by taking the family to the beach (Thank you, thank you!!) :) We went to Wrightsville, It was beautiful although a little on the chilly side with the wind. Liam didn't care for the beach very much but he did briefly enjoy his first dip in an indoor pool. I think he enjoyed it for about 4 minutes and then he was done. :) Polar Bear Parker was the only one brave enough to swim in the outdoor pool. I got half way in. It was like ICE water. Whew!

Polar Bear Parker

Water Ballet :)

We ate at a restaurant that had really neat art in it. Greg worked on a shoot about this particular artist. His name is Ivey Hayes. He is an older african american painter with severe arthritis and he has to hold the paintbrush in a fist to paint. Amazing. I love the colors! There was also a really great band playing outside that we could hear through the window. Awesome. :)

Then on to explore Johnny Mercer's Pier. It had changed so much since I had been there last. They tore the wooden pier down (in 2004 we heard) and built this concrete one in it's place. It didn't seem right. Maybe it will just take getting used to. Also they charge admission now to walk on it (boo!). But it was pretty fun and on the floor of the pier there are some metal grates that allow you to see through to the ocean and make you dizzy to walk on. The kids were super excited to see and touch a Barracuda that a fisherman had caught.

They had the most fun flying their kite. There is no wind like the beach wind for kite flyin.' :)

The next day we explored the battleship downtown and ate at Trolly Stop Hot Dogs. I recommend the "Surfer Dog" with cheese and vegetarian bacon bits. Greg recommends the "Chicago Dog" with chicago sauce (vinigrette?) tomatoes and cucumbers. Liam recommends the ice water. It's great for teething. :)

But my favorite favorite part of the trip was when Greg and I got to go explore the end of Wrightsville Beach all by our lonesome. The kids wanted to stay in and watch cartoons with Grandma and Grandpa. A storm was coming in and we had the place almost to ourselves and it was gorgeous, quiet, peaceful, quiet, peaceful time with my sweets. It was fun to walk way out and look for shells, You find much better ones out there.

Dividing the spoils. One for me, one for you. :)

Field Trip!

2011-05-11T03:49:00.000-07:00

Remember the magical days of elementary school field trips? The excitement of going somewhere new on the bus with the kids in your class...eating your lunch there...missing most of the regular work for the day...

It was fun for me to go with Parker on a first grade field trip to Laurel Hills Park in Raleigh and to see the stars in their eyes. :) We split up in groups of 5 and helped them go on nature scavenger hunts. It was pretty fun. We even found a bonus 3 snakes (they weren't on the list). Then a park guide talked to them about aquatic animals and the food chain and set us free with a net and a bucket of water at the edge of the pond. The kids in the groups took turns scooping up pond water/muck and then sorting through it to see what we could find. We found water snails. sun fish, minnows, clams and the most exciting of all...a bullfrog tadpole that Parker was lucky enough to scoop out. He was so big. We put him in a jar for a little while so everyone could see him. Parker named him "Taddie." When he set him free back into the pond he said "I hope you have a nice life Taddie." :D One of the groups found a leech, and another scooped out a baby yellow bellied slider turtle. It was a great time!

A Mushroom!

Parker with his Teacher Mrs. Zaccardo.

Easter Part II

2011-05-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

We felt like our poor children were deprived since they had never dyed Easter Eggs (since they are allergic to eggs) so we decided to let them. They do have a shell after all and we boiled them first. We just warned them to be super careful not to crack them. They had a blast and carried them around for a couple of hours before we rescued them and put them in the fridge. Greg got tired of eating them so I made a potato salad to help them disappear. :)

Easter morning they were pretty excited to find a bubble gum egg trail leading to their baskets. Liam especially liked his rubber ducky.

After church we took pictures in the park, came home and ate lunch and then had an egg hunt outside. Thanks Easter Bunny, bock, bock. :)

Easter Part 1

2011-04-25T13:04:00.001-07:00

My Easter beauties. My sunshines. Here are the pictures we took on Sunday after church. :) Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Winters for the sweet new Easter clothes for the kids. They were just so adorable standing in the sun. :D

Parker, Artist!

2011-04-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

There was a silly goose standing in front of Cary Town Center mall when we went to go see Parker's artwork that is on display there. It seemed like he was guarding Belks. The kids got a big kick out of him/her.

Parker showing his collage artwork. :)

Beautious!

Having some fun on the light-up floor.

Let's visit the Easter Bunny or his cousin while we're at it.

Easter Coloring Book!

2011-04-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a blog where you can download and print an Easter Coloring book for the kids with scenes and descriptions from Jesus' earthly life from birth, miracles, death, resurrection, and his visit in America. It is pretty awesome and would make a fun FHE activity. It also explains at the end a little bit about what bunnies and eggs are supposed to symbolize and remind us of. I really like this blog. Enjoy! :)

http://thegoldenseven.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-coloring-book-with-scenes-from.html

Parker, Poet :)

2011-04-15T04:34:00.000-07:00

At school Parker's class is doing a poetry unit during writing. Here is a poem that he wrote. I love it!

My Baby Brother

I have a baby. Cry cry cry. Drink drink drink.
Sleep sleep sleep. Wake up, cry cry. Pat pat pat.
Nice little baby.

Easter Fun for the kiddos

2011-04-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Click here to Decorate/color your own Easter egg

Chance made it safely to Chile

2011-04-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Everyone in the Brady family has loved hearing from Chance weekly so far. He has loved his MTC experience and is so excited to be in Chile now and is ready to teach! Man I am proud of this guy. Such a big, smart, sweet, great guy. Handsome too. :) Below is a letter from his Mission President.

April 8, 2011

Dear Brady Family,

It is an honor and a privilege to serve in the great Chile Rancagua Mission. It is a blessing that Elder Brady is serving together with us. We were able to get to know the missionaries in their interviews and meetings, and we could see in all of them their desires to serve The Savior Jesus Christ, to be better, to be teachable, and to find the chosen people that are waiting to receive the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
For Sister MacArthur it is also a great pleasure to get to know them. She is ready to take care of them, teach them, counsel them, make sure they eat healthy, rest well, and to help them have success in their missions.
We recognize the enormous potential that they have, and how much they can really bless the lives of the people if they let The Master guide their steps.

With love,

President and Sister MacArthur

Soccer Saturdays!

2011-04-03T10:24:00.000-07:00

Spring Season has started and the kids are playing FCC (Futbol Club of Cary). We have been super impressed with it. They only have games on Saturday's and they don't keep score during the games. It is all about having fun and gaining skills/learning to play soccer well. Parker is on a new team this year. His Coach is so great with all of the kids. He is upbeat and positive and gives them a lot of compliments while teaching them at the same time. Parker is enjoying playing more this year. His old coach was pretty competitive and it was not as fun for the kids I think. He yelled a lot, got annoyed and it showed, and he didn't take very much time one on one to make corrections. That being said, he was a volunteer. We finished out the season and then I switched Parker to a new team, yes I did. :)

This is Meadow's first year playing on a real team and she was really excited about it! Her age group does not have a weekly practice, just a 10 minute practice before the games on Saturday. She is so cute during the games because she skips and gallops a lot while running. :) Her team name is the "Heat." Parker's team name is the "Clash." Go Heat! Go Clash!

Watching Mamma Cook

2011-03-29T11:53:00.000-07:00

Fun Runnin'

2011-03-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

New Pictures of my Pumpkin Pies

2011-03-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

Our kids are all about pulling faces for the camera these days. ;)

Cake from my sweet smart husband for my birthday. :) We had a fun weekend doing family stuff. Hung out at Harris Lake and played frisbee and softball. Made sandcastles and threw rocks in the water. Took the kids to see a movie. Liam slept though half of it and then was pretty intrigued for most of the rest of it. It was a beautiful day!

Prehistoric drawing and card that Parker made me. upper left is a mountain that Meadow made for me. :)

Framed photo of the kids that I loved of course. :)

Practicing and showing off their best jumps for Greg's Cousin Brian that came to visit.

My newest Niece

2011-03-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

My brother Shaun and his lovely wife Taylor just had their first baby at 2:45 this morning. "A St. Patty's Day star."
Welcome to the world beautiful Shaunie Kathryn Brady! 7lbs 12oz, 20 inches. Love you already.

Happiness

2011-03-15T08:13:00.001-07:00

A friend just wrote me an e-mail on facebook for Happy Person appreciation day and wrote such a lovely, kind, sincere note. It made me sooo...happy! Words are amazing things. :) They have so much power to lift and warm and strengthen depending on how we use them.

Family Night fun

2011-03-08T07:54:00.000-08:00

We were inspired by our friends the Caldwell's blog so yesterday we had a family night lesson in the car on the way to The Grand Asia Market. The kids thought it was the most awesome time ever. They liked checking out all of the asian goods, the smiling, waving, golden cats, the large buddha statues, and the shiny red tasseled decorations. They loved going to the sea food area and checking out the large tanks full of swimming striped bass and tilapia and the little turtle that shared a home with them. The turtle's shell was covered with green fuzzy moss that looked like funny green hair. They aptly named him 'Moss'. I wish we had taken a picture of him, he was so cute. Then we toured the meat department and the children were enthralled with the packages of chicken feet for sale. I reminded Parker how he complained about dinner earlier. ;)

They had fun picking out a package of japanese fizzy fruit candy (pretty yummy!) and some gum and they were amazed when we showed them later on the globe where the candy was made and how it was shipped all the way here.

Greg picked out a soda called Grass Jelly Soda. Banana flavored. I knew he shouldn't have picked that (soda with chunks of jelly in it is what I imagined and I was correct) but you only live once and he is a brave soul when it comes to taste buds, lol. He described it as tasting a bit like armpits and would I like to try it? No thank you. I am sure it is probably healthy but I prefer soda with no chunks in it...

Oh it was great fun. The world is very interesting. I love family night. Please as treat for you, make sure to read the description under the brand name on the gummy candy bag. "offer admiring feelings of a graceful lady."
hehehe

Beautiful Day

2011-03-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

On Monday it was 82 degrees here! I dressed the kids in shorts that morning and they were so excited to wear them. Walking out of the front door:

Meadow: "Ahhh, It is so beautiful outside today! Do you think the birds are out to play and have a fun day?"

Me: "Yes, I can hear them having a fun day right now."

Meadow standing on the grass in the front yard: "I bet the birds think I am pretty in my sparkly sandals."

Me: "I bet they do too!"

:) :) :) :)

Later that day driving in the car, Rod Stewart is on the radio:

Parker: "Dad that lady needs to clear her throat."

Greg: "Actually, that is a man singing."

Parker: "Well, that man needs to go ahhhhemmm hemmm hmmm, like that."

Check it out

2011-02-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

Check out the commercial Greg made for Tobacco Road Outfitters. It is playing on the Discovery Channel here. :) Many of you may recognize Jeremy Mills in it too.

Good Work Sweets!

http://www.tobaccoroadoutdoors.com/

We have a seven year old!

2011-02-23T06:50:00.000-08:00

Parker turned 7 on the 10th and was on track-out from school. We invited his whole first grade class and went to a giant indoor playground called rainbow play spaces. They make and sell outdoor play equipment and furniture and have this room to rent for birthday parties. Since his class was on track-out, we had the party on his actual birthday (a Thursday) during the day and it was much cheaper - hooray! Also hooray for buy one get one free cupcakes at Lowes that week. :) The kids had a blast playing, took a break for star wars cupcakes, and then went back and played some more! They were excited to see each other because school had been out for 2 weeks.

We did the yearly birthday tradition of watching the next episode of Star Wars. We were on Phantom Menace this year and Parker was soooo excited. He loved it when Darth Maul fell in the pit and he loved the speeder races.

Happy Birthday to our big sweet guy. Love you oodles and bunches!

Elementary School Valentine's Day memories

2011-02-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

Let's have fun sharing. What is your best (this could also mean worst) elementary school valentines day memory?

I walked Parker into school on Valentines day and it was so cute to see everyone with their little bags and shoe boxes full of valentines. One of the teachers in the hall said "There is nothing better than the kindergarten and first grade halls on Valentines Day. It all goes down hill from there." :)

Ok, my most memorable Valentines Day memory from Elementary school happened in 3rd grade. There was a boy named Mark Stone who chased me on the playground sometimes and who I thought was cute. My friend and I sometimes tried to play football with the boys (but I don't think they ever passed it to us). Anyway, I knew that this Mark liked football. Well it was Valentines Day and I happened to have a shiny golden football sticker in my collection and I took it out of my sticker book and put it in my pocket to bring to school and give to him. Later that day after recess when we were lining up to go back inside the classroom I got up the courage to give it to him and he tore it into pieces and threw it on the the ground and his friends laughed. True Story. hehehehe!! I wish I had a scanner. In my third grade class picture I am standing by him, lol.

A Blessing!

2011-02-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Liam was blessed. It was a beautiful blessing and day and we love having him in our family! I was glad that Greg's dad and my dad were able to be there. So much of my family and their families were sick and my poor mom even had a newly broken rib (the perils of yard work! ;) Greg's best buddy Rob that he grew up with was able to come and some friends in the ward helped out too. We had our wonderful neighbors there to celebrate with us also and an associate of Greg's. Liam wore the same outfit that Parker wore and that Greg wore 36 years ago. It is holding up surprisingly well! It is amazing that 15 minutes before church we had a major diaper blow out and had to quickly wash and dry the outfit again. Why does this always seem to happen at the most inopportune times?! :) To make mamma sweat that's why. Thank you Oxyclean. Whew.

Here's our angel in his whites. :)

Fun Valentines Art Project

2011-02-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Compliments of Martha Stewart. These look fun, I am going to make them with the kids tomorrow. Happy Heart making!

Directions: Begin with a 12-by-16-inch sheet of waxed paper. Fold it in half along its length; unfold. Deposit wax-crayon shavings (made with a handheld pencil sharpener) evenly but not thickly across one half of the paper. Fold the clean half of the paper over the shavings. Crimp the three open edges with a 1/2-inch fold to hold the shavings. Protect your ironing surface with kraft paper. Place the waxed paper on the kraft paper, and cover it with another sheet of kraft paper. Iron lightly on medium heat, checking after every few passes. Stop when all the shavings have melted; let cool. Next, trace and cut out hearts of various sizes. String each heart with a silk thread for hanging.

Rock Star Liam

2011-02-07T05:20:00.000-08:00

Ma petit cannelloni

2011-02-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

My little italian stuffed shell, how I love you.

Liam had his 2 month check-up and is doing great. He is 12.5 lbs and growing bigger every day it seems. We've got the first thigh rolls and the knee dents showing up, I love it! He has dry skin (like my other babies) and soaks up everything I put on him and everything the derm. recommends like a sponge and then is still dry. My pediatrician said to try olive oil so we did and I think it works pretty good! My little italian baby is softer and stays that way longer. :) :)

Christmas Day and beyond...

2011-01-14T18:06:00.001-08:00

Finally finishing up through December. :) Hope everyone had a great Christmas! It is almost 10pm. The baby is sleeping. I should be sleeping. I am tired. I don't want to sleep. Sleeping is boring when you could be doing something else. Like blogging. Or cleaning. Notice I picked blogging. Still pondering a bit about all that I/we would like to accomplish in the new year. But first...

Christmas was great! Meadow loved getting a pink sparkly dress that she had her eye on and a big girl bicycle from Santa. Pink of course. She still loves dinosaurs as much as ever and playing dress up. Her Granny gave her $20 and she spent it on a pink scooter that was on sale after Christmas at Walmart. This worked out perfectly because Santa bought Parker a green one and they had a great time scootering together. :)

Parker asked Santa for legos and a lego batman game and all of his dreams came true. :) (ahem, thank you grandparents)
I thought it was so sweet that Meadow was so excited for him when he got what he wanted. :)

Liam with his presents. :)

It snowed late on Christmas Day. This is what we woke up to the next morning. The kids had fun making a snowman. An alien snowman with 4 eyes in fact. This year we have had the most snow since my family moved here in '1988.

We headed west to visit Greg's parents in Hickory. The kids had fun swinging and scootering and of course 4 wheeling with Grandma and Grandpa Winters on New Years Day.

Then to Grandma Lou's for some loves. :) It was such a treat too because all 11 grandkids were there this time. Derek and his Family were here and they are moving to Virginia so it will be awesome to have them closer. His older boys were so great with the younger kids and they followed Chandler around like he was the pied piper. :)

How many kids can we fit on this thing? Dog-pile Chandler!

Liam is growing like a weed. It is a little sad that i have already packed away his 0-3 month clothes! What a big guy. He is a little fussy in the evenings sometimes, but will always calm down if you fly him around like superman and play the superman theme song. We love our Super-Baby! :D

A Golden Corral Christmas Eve

2011-01-08T05:33:00.001-08:00

We were going for simplicity this year and we found it. Show up, eat, hang out a little, leave. Golden Corral was open until 6 Christmas Eve so the Brady Clan had an early dinner in our very own reserved section/room. The cousins were so excited and it was nice to have the reserved room to contain them. Our family friends the Malones, Greg's Parents, and Neal's Mom were able to join us too and we were really glad about that! :) And who can resist the "Chocolate Fixation Station" and the "Awesome Pot Roast"? Actually I resisted the awesome pot roast because there were so many other more awesome things to eat. Karissa said it was pretty good though.

Meadow sang "Opera" for everyone and told Grandma Lou how Chameleons say Merry Christmas (stuck her tongue in and out a few times) She is a hoot!

After we got home we read and acted out Luke Chapter 2. The kids were pretty adorable and we had a real live baby Liam to play baby Jesus this year. :)

Tracking Santa's progress and current location

Photos in christmas jammies and off to bed right away so Santa can bring presents!

December Fun

2010-12-27T19:46:00.001-08:00

So that this won't be the longest post in history...I am dividing December into 2 posts. The month of December leading up to Christmas Eve and then Christmas Eve and after. There we have it. It's been a great month!

The nativity/creche at church is always highly anticipated. We love looking at the hundreds of nativity sets, paintings etc. celebrating the birth of the Savior. There is beautiful music and singing in the Chapel that opens to the gym and that adds to the wonderful spirit as well.

We always love the children's room where the kids get to dress up and color etc.

Here we have the Angel and her friend Wyatt

The gift bearing Shepherd

The unhappy babe in the manger

Meadow still an angel with her hair halo.

Sugar Cookie decorating time with neighborhood friends. :)

Getting a little bit carried away with the sprinkles. :)

Just a little bit.

Watching the first light snow falling.

Going out to play in it! Meadow and Parker both liked trying to catch the snowflakes on their tounges. Parker liked trying to karate the snow flakes. I hate I missed pictures of that. Really, one would need video to do that justice though.

Going to meet "Santa" or actually one of Santa's helpers that dress up like Santa and then relay the information to Santa because Santa just cannot be everywhere at once. This is our explanation for the "Why Santa looks different" every year and in the different malls, church programs etc. lol.

Parker was all about the legos this year. Meadow wanted an Ariel Costume and a Troodon. Did you know that Toy Troodons (Realistic ones - not like the conductor from the dinosaur train) do not exist and that there are forums of people on the internet trying to find them. Baffling. I mean, come on, Troodons are supposedly the smartest dinosaurs that existed based on brain size. Don't they deserve a toy!? She did get the Troodon conductor from the dinosaur train and seemed to be ok with that...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful...beautiful boy

2010-12-27T14:06:00.001-08:00

Darling, darling, darling...darling Liam

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T11:00:00.001-08:00

A New Tradition

2010-12-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

We have reflected on how grateful we are to have a roof over our heads and food on the table despite financial struggles that it seems like so very many people are experiencing at times in this economy. This Christmas we wanted to do something special to teach our children to be kind and compassionate and grateful that our basic needs are met. There are many people in the world who do not have their basic needs met. Greg had the idea to take a meal to homeless people, not through an organization, just as simple as finding one or two of the regular homeless people that are sure to be found in certain places around the Triangle. For example, there is always a homeless person or two on the corner of Hwy 64 and Fayetteville road near South Point Mall. There is also always a homeless person on the corner of Hwy 54 and Chapel Hill Road. We pass that way at least once a month and sometimes when we remember to bring them, we hand snacks out of the window. Well, today at lunch time Greg took the kids up toward South Point and sure enough there was a homeless man on the corner. Then they drove to Chili's Restaurant and ordered a hot meal. Monterey Chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies and a giant coke. They drove back and found the man again and the kids held it out of the window shouting "Merry Christmas!!" At first the homeless person didn't know what they were trying to give him. Then Parker said "We have a meal for you!" The homeless man smiled and said "Thank you, Thank you." It made the kids feel very happy and good to give him a meal and to feel the Christmas spirit. :)

Play for your kids with the sound up

2010-12-22T09:54:00.001-08:00

Thanks Mom :)

Catching up - November

2010-12-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

Just a couple of pictures from the first week and in the hospital.

Meadow had her Thanksgiving Feast at preschool. We had a great time eating turkey sandwhiches and Liam made his first public appearance.

We were invited to have Thanksgiving at our Friends the Munsell's this year. Jonathan is a professional chef and owns 2 restaurants so of COURSE we said yes. On top of that they are super nice and fun and we love them. Our kids love eachother too. The kids drew pictures of what they were thankful for and then everyone took turns at dinner telling what they were thankful for. It was very sweet. Parker was thankful that we could all be together and Meadow was thankful for the food much to Jonathan's delight. Then they broke out the wii - good times!

Quotables

2010-12-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

I have gotten behind on the funny things that my kids have said in the last month. Here are some recent good ones:

Meadow: "Growing up is AWESOME!"

Side note* Meadow only likes you to call her awesome these days. Not cute, beautiful, funny etc. Just awesome. :)

At dinner:

Meadow - "Mom, what if a camel came in the kitchen and knocked over the table and all of our food"

Parker looking down at his bowl of spaghetti: "Mom, I think Liam's belly button cord is in my spaghetti."

Getting to know Liam

2010-12-12T11:23:00.001-08:00

"Who are you buddy?" ~ Greg

3 weeks in the world! Liam is now about 21 inches and almost 8 lbs. He is a champion eater. Champion. I love the grumbles he makes when he is hungry and when he needs to burp. I love the contented sighs and hums he makes when his belly is getting full. He is not as fussy as Parker was as a baby and not as content as Meadow was but falls somewhere in the middle.

He is not quite loving bath time yet (you're going to love it one day soon buddy!) but tolerates being lotioned up afterward fairly well. I love his little chicken legs and his tiny tootsies. I love to hold his hands and I love his little turtle-like soft as anything neck folds. :) I love that my hands always smell like baby.

I love it when he is so sleepy that he is gone to the world. I love it when he laughs in his sleep. I wish I knew what was so funny and what he was remembering.

He is a strong guy. He has rolled from his tummy to his back at least 5 times already. He was an acrobat in my tummy. After he was born the doctor said, "Wow, he was a mover! I haven't seen very many cords this twisted."

Chance got his mission call!

2010-11-27T08:52:00.001-08:00

My Brother Chance got his mission call to the Chile Rancagua mission! He reports to the MTC on Feb. 2nd. It used to be called the Chile, Santiago South Mission but they changed the name in 2004. So, this map is a little old, but you can see where he will be.

We are so proud of you Chance! You are a wonderful person and we think you will be an amazing missionary! :D

Liam River Winters

2010-11-23T17:54:00.000-08:00

We are so thrilled to be home with our newest sweetie pie!

Welcome to Earth Liam from Gregory Winters on Vimeo.

Another reason to eat ice cream (as if we needed one)

2010-11-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today Meadow slipped on the kitchen floor in her socks and banged her elbow so I opened the freezer to get out the little ice pack (which just happened to be in the freezer door next to her soy vanilla ice cream) and Meadow said through tears: "Mom, I think that ice cream will make it feel the best." :)

Dear Tooth Fairy

2010-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

Parker lost his first tooth tonight right before bath time!! He is beyond excited about it and he hopped right into bed this evening so that the tooth fairy could come and find his note:

In case it is too hard to read:

"Dear Tooth Fairy, this is my first tooth. I think it is worth at least two dollars $. Love, Parker"

Look what I made y'all

2010-11-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

I'm a little bit pleased with myself! A lady in our ward taught us how to crochet a couple of months ago. It's pretty fun and easy once you get the hang of it. It makes you feel like you are accomplishing something even if you are just watching TV after the kids are in bed. It will be fun to wrap up the baby boy in it! :)

October!

2010-11-01T05:28:00.000-07:00

I am almost posting on the correct month again, yippee! We have been crazy busy lately. I'd like to say things would be slowing down soon, but with a baby boy arriving on Nov. 19th (if not sooner) followed by the Holidays it will probably be an exciting busy Winter! :D

Ok! Back to October.

Our children wore fangs most of the month. Parker even wore them to his dentist appointment to trick the dentist. The dentist thought it was pretty funny and played along. "My, your teeth have changed! Are you sure you have been brushing every day?" Parker loved it.

Parker is currently tracked-out of school and is loving it. He likes to put other things like toys and legos in his back pack now that it isn't full of school papers.

We invited the neighborhood children over to watch some Scooby-Doo on the garage and eat some popcorn. It was a fun time and the weather has been awesome!

We had a family party with the cousins for Meadow's birthday. She is all about rainbows and ponies and sparkles and unicorns...and dragons these days and had fun picking out her own decorations. We love having the cousins near by AND Derek's family is moving to Virginia from Montana so that will be so fun having them closer!

Here we have the Allergy friendly home-made cake and the regular cake for everyone else...

Happy Birthday to our Sweet, fun, 4 year old Meadow! One fun thing lately is that she is getting good at writing many of her letters and she leaves little "notes" around for us. :D

Parker's school had a trunk or treat this year and it was a lot of fun. We decorated the back of the car a little bit and Greg dressed up like a gorilla to pass out candy. He was a big hit with the kids. The children voted on their favorite car and we (the gorilla) came in second place! :) We won some mums and a gift card to Subway. Parker, Meadow and I went around to a few cars for candy but mostly they wanted to hang out with cool gorilla Dad. :) Parker: "I just want everyone to know that this is my Dad."

We played in the leaves.

We tap danced, went to karate, and had a yard sale with a lemonade stand to make room for baby. We can now fit the van back into the garage - hallelujah.

It's the great pumpkin Charlie Brown. 35 Weeks!

Happy Halloween Everybody!!