friday funnies.....

Couldn't resist this.

Merry Christmas from the Vorwallers~

One of my absolute favorite heroine's. I just love this pictorial representation of her. Toodles!

our beloved pumpkin who has since returned to mother earth....



us actually "hitting" the streets....



blaine on parade at the trunk-or-treat....

I'm really behind on these Halloween pictures...pray, forgive me :). So Blaine was a tractor (Papa Dennis has a blue one). Or rather, he was a farmer in a tractor lol. And the whole cardboard box/duct tape/straps/spray paint/push lights held together until the very end where it all gave out at once. But it was fun while it lasted! So a belated Happy Halloween from us to you and a hope that your days are filled with candy delights and the absence of cavities!

Um, Studio Ghibli does the Borrower's?????? Yes, please! Definitely watching this when it comes out at around Blaine's birthday........definitely.

School update! We're into our second month of homeschooling and we're still loving it! This week we've been studying the letter E, the number 5 and we've been learning about pirates. Blaine's also nailed the 1st article of faith, so we're definitely making progress! Today we finished making our nest (scavenged twigs and grass glued together) and our eggs to go in it (cardstock and crushed eggshells). We also made our own pirate maps...taking regular printer paper and lighting the edges on fire to make it look "old" and tied up with some yarn. Tomorrow for our combined craft, we're making telescopes out of paper towel rolls. So much exciting stuff happening here!!!!

I've only ever been to about 3 concerts in my life. One was Harry Connick Jr (swoon) and the other two were Celtic Woman. But I've never been to one of those, sit in the grass or standing room only concerts. So here's my list of bands I'd love to see live (because I know that you're just dying to know :):

Band of Horses
The Decemberists
Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo
Phil Collins (have ALWAYS loved him)
Sting (yeah, him too)
Allison Krauss (best female vocalist ever)

Any other bands you guys think I would like? Please share!!

I know, I know....I am shameless at plugging books and movies. But I couldn't help myself. Just read the above book and LOOOOOVED it. It's more of a juvenile book (juvenile meaning for young readers, not immature readers). However, as you all know, "juvenile fiction" is some of the best kind of reading there is (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, The Grimm Detectives). So thumbs up from me, especially seeing as this is his first novel. You will not be disappointed!!

adventures in homeschooling...

Michael and I had originally planned on sending Blaine to an "actual" preschool. But we weren't really sure where we would be living at the beginning of school term....so we decided to pursue homeschooling. My mother-in-law and nephew are also homeschooling and we have our own little curriculum (including letter/number of the week, field trip's and combined Friday crafts and lunch). I was really nervous...I didn't see myself as a homeschooling mom (not near enough patience on my part,lol) but it is a decision that I am so grateful we made! So please be patient with me when I detail what's going on in the school part of our lives...we are just enjoying ourselves immensely!

I'm a pretty picky person when it comes to books that have been made into a movie. They almost always get it wrong. And it is always different. I watched "Howl's Moving Castle" before I even knew it was a book.
Hayao Miyazaki is A-mazing, by the way. Sorry, back on track here.....the book was very different from the movie. I liked both though! I wasn't disappointed at all (and that's rare for me...I won't even buy books that have movie-adaptation covers lol). So I say - thumbs up to both. Great read and watch for sure and I highly recommend them:).

P.S. on a side note.....both the Lord of the Rings books and movies are also fantastic. Obviously...very different but still really good.

yet another random, meaningless post....

If I had any ounce of coolness in my body, I would like to do this to my hair. But I don't, so I won't :(.

wiggle, giggle....

Greatest book ever for anyone with toddlers and/or preschoolers. It's been a lot of fun!

um, yeah...

I informed Blaine that we might be going out to eat when Michael got home for work. And he said, "I really like eating at restaurants!". I think I've just now figured out that that's a dig at my cooking, lol.

and i ran, i ran so far away......

So I've been noticing in myself a certain lack of energy. Why, do you ask? Because I'm lazy. Truthfully....so, so lazy. My favorite sport is watching tv, whilst eating a donut. Or candy. Or chips. I got winded walking to the car the other day and thought...wow, that is sick lol. So I've started running (which any bystander able to see would tell you was really speed-walking while gasping for air in a rather lackadaisical rhythm). I'd really like to be the first picture, but afraid my resemblance leans towards the second. Yes, even with the mannish tracksuit, haha! So, wish me luck....or a speedy death. Either would be fine :).

yeah, i know.....

that I already did a post on movies recently, but we've just finished watching Wall-E. I really love this movie! I cry every time at the end, even though I know that he's going to be ok. One of my favorite scenes is the one above. Wall-E and Eve dancing in space. It's really very magical....so sweet! So if you haven't seen it....do!!! You'll be glad you did :).

things we've enjoyed perusing....

The Wonderful World of Beatrix Potter.....the ballet....



Signing Time....



The Wicked Big Toddlah....



Boom Boom, Go Away....


These are a few of the things that we've been enjoying lately. Just checked the Wonderful World of Beatrix Potter out for the first time this week. It is definitely worth a watch. The costumes are truly amazing, the music sweet and the ballet is really impressive (especially seeing that their head pieces are ginormous!!!).

Signing Time has been much appreciated for quite quite a while at our house. Blaine really gets a kick out of saying words in "two" languages. He's actually pretty good at it :).

Boom Boom, Go Away and The Wicked Big Toddlah have been favorite books here for a while, too. We all have them memorized, lol. Toddlah is, in a word, hilarious. And Boom Boom is pretty cute.

oh my little boy...

Blaine started saving up for his very own airplane. Not a toy airplane.....a REAL airplane. lol. I thought when he brought it up the first time that he would forget about it. But we are now on day 4 and he still scrounging pennies and dimes from the couch cushions :). You go Blaine!!!!

just blaine...

a bunch of misc....

just a glimpse of how big my lil' man has gotten.....



blaine's self portrait...



a blaine and gavin snuggle....



all the kids catchin' some sun and surf...



khai and blaine diggin a nice watering hole...


Had a recent visit from Amber and the kiddos. We had such a nice visit! Blaine was so stoked to hang with his older cousins :). It was a pretty perfect day at the beach too. Hope you enjoy the pics everyone!

Oh, and thanks for coming sis....I loved having you here!!!

best burger ever?

So, you all know how I love hamburgers right? And how I've loved them all of my life? And how for my 8th birthday I made my mom bake and decorate a cake to look like one??? And when I was going through my "vegetarian phase" I still ate McDonald's hamburgers convincing myself they were made from soy? And how when I eat one, all is right with the world?

So we went out for burgers at this place my brother-in-law told us about. SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! The prices are pretty dang decent and they don't charge you for extra toppings (I get mine with everything). Not to mention their cajun fries, delish. Just, great great food. Honestly. This post is starting to look a little like a plug for them in order to get free food. Not true (although, I wouldn't mind free burgers :) Just wanted to pass on a little hamburger happiness. Go eat..................and ENJOY!!!!

super saturday?

Ok, so a couple of things. We made another trip to Goodwill and found a bike for Blaine (when he's a little older) for $15.00!!! Mind you, this bike is brand new. I know, right?!? And then I found a skirt (also brand new) with the price tag......$295.00!!!! I mean, for real! What a good deal day. Might try to sell that bad boy on e-bay. Lastly, Blaine really wanted his own mailbox. So we made him one.....out of cardboard. It only needs to be personalized now. We're going to cover it with some "boy" paper and put Blaine's name on it. If you have an empty cereal box....you can make one too, it's so easy! So that was our SUPER SATURDAY!!!!! Are we rednecks or what?!?

a day at alpine...

When we moved back to FL from VA, I was worried that there wouldn't be as many opportunities to do a "free" family adventure. Enter Alpine Park. There's a play park for the little ones, a nature walk and then some great old buildings being restored by the historical society that you can tour. Hope you enjoy the pictures (sorry about the quality, but I had to take them with the phone).

gratitude.....

Whenever we're at Blaine's appointments, I have a chance to reflect on my blessings. After we've first arrived a little boy with Down's Syndrome is just coming out of his appointment. He can't be more than a year old. He is so sweet and just.....jolly! You should see the look on his mother's face, I've seen it and it is absolute joy! As they're leaving a little girl comes in with her mother. She's walking with the help of arm crutches. Her speech is slow, but she is not. What an incredibly bright girl she seem's to me. Her mother listens proudly as her daughter lets her know that, all by herself, she can go use the restroom. It's hard for me to watch at first as she struggles to man her crutches and open the door, turn on the light. But she does it. Amazing. Whilst in the physical therapy room, a little girl is getting her very first wheel chair. She's scared at the beginning (I would be too), but even at 2...she's figured it out. Once done and we've collected our sticker (Thomas the Train) we pass a little baby on his way in. He's held by two loving parents who, you can tell, think he is the greatest gift. He was born with an abnormally large head and has trouble holding it up. But you should see that little guy smile! He also has the loveliest blue eyes.....I'm always wishing I could hold him. I always come out of there feeling so blessed that I have had a chance to meet them. Their situations are tough...and it's probably very discouraging sometimes. But they all make the best of it. They're happy. They're kind.

Can't we be?

just a pic...

day of fun and other things...

Saturday we headed to St Augustine not realizing that it was biker week....impossible traffic and impossible to get to the historic district, so we hit up Adventure Landing. Blaine made his first attempt at putt-putt (didn't do too badly, as it happens). We also did the whole go-cart thing and that was a lot of fun! I kind of got a little competitive at that, hehe. It's best not to mention when I played air-hockey against my hubby (Michael did not like that side of me). But it really was a fantastic day...hope more of them are coming in our future :).

The "other things" really just being the new side table we picked out of the trash. Not too shabby huh? It sure beats the box we had in it's place, lol.

blast from the past...

aviation graveyard we visited....



beautiful mom...



teeter-totter...good times....

Yeah, I'm getting low on post titles lol. Had a great time with mom and dad this week! Unfortunately, I usually either forgot the camera or the batteries went dead...so I didn't get many pictures. But the ones I did take, I thought were nice~