Happy Jammy day!

Happy birthday to the greatest Jammy on the planet! We got to spend the day with this young lady and the boys had a really exciting soccer game for her entertainment. Happy bday, Jammy, we love you!

Foot golf

Yesterday, the McLure's and the coppola's went to play a little game called foot golf. It's along side the golf course at Steel CreekCanyon in sandy springs. They have 18 'holes' and with it being such a beautiful day in the 60's...why not!?! I think this might be a monthly occurrence for these boys! 

What's got 2 thumbs and a free milkshake?

This guy right here! Nolan (and the rest of the perfect attendance kids in 3rd grade) were entered in a drawing for a free milkshake and tickets to a middle school basketball game. And he won! Thankfully, (for me anyways) the basketball game was on a Monday night and we didn't have time to go, but he did get his shake of milk yesterday to make up for it! 

His brother got to share in the happiness, too...

Let's play a game

This is Reed. Reed has long hair. Reed gets about 1 haircut a year and will sometimes let me put it in a pony tail for soccer. Reed has been called 'miss' 'madam' and 'her' several times since his hair has been this long. Reed usually doesn't care...

Until recently...which one is Reed??

Snow day!

Friday school was canceled due to snow....ummmmm, yea...where is that white powdery substance that falls from the heavens to cancel my Friday babysitter!?! Gotta love Georgia!

No snow here! It did snow for a good bit that afternoon but not until 4:30/5pm. It then continued during the night and a good bit on Saturday. Thankfully, none of it stuck or made for icy road conditions. This was the amount of accumulation we received. 

All or nothing

Recently, Reed has found the zipper-blanket-with-arms-and-feet-holes that Dawn gave me about 15 years ago (snuggie before snuggies were cool) and has taken a liking to sleeping in it. On the contrary, he also found some tighty whities he used to wear when he was about 4 years old and runs around the house yelling "tiiiiiiiighty whiiiiiiities!!" Make up your mind, would ya, Reed!?!

Good bye 2015 (final chapter)

The end of December was quite a busy time for the McLure's. In the boys' stockings they receive 'experiences' from Santa. One of their said experiences was a trip to Callaway Gardens to see the lights. The Goodloe's jumped on the bandwagon with us and we made a day of it riding bikes, watching birds of prey, playing on the beach, and ending with a trolley ride thru the lights. It had been raining all day so the trails were wet and slippery. Throughout the day, we only managed a few tumbles, Nolan's brakes malfunctioning, and 70 degree muggy weather, but we would definitely go back next year!

A few days after Christmas, the boys wanted to make a gingerbread house. So, Grant came over, I put out tons of sugary substances, and they went to town making messes and memories. Then they were sent outside to run off all of those crazies...3 days later, they finally returned. LoL!

To start the end of New Years Eve, my mom and sister met me for lunch at Avalon (Lindara had prior babysitting obligations) and these two ladies kept me laughing the whole time. From margaritas at El Felix to trying on teenybopper outfits, this should be something we do once a month!

Finally, to end the year, we had some friends and neighbors over for an impromptu New Years Eve party. Everyone brought food and drinks and kids and fireworks and we all had a blast...

Until this happened...

Nolan bonked heads with another kid (a 7th grader) and came out on the losing end of a black eye. He was freaked out by it at first, but now he thinks of it more of a badge of honor and is quite proud of the giant shiner. 

What a way to say goodbye 2015!

And after all the fun and games of the year, the boys both went to bed at 11:50pm. 11:50!!! They couldn't wait 10 more minutes to ring in the new year. Neither of them seemed to care to see midnight and as they climbed warily into their beds, their little bodies went off to lala-land as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Happy New Year!!

G'bye 2015 (take 2)

We had a wonderfully (wet and warm) Christmas this year. It really did rain about 80% of the break and it was weird to be in shorts trying to sing 'let it snow, let it snow, let it snow' as we were sweating. 

That's just Georgia weather for you...kinda like a box of chocolate, huh!?!

We spent Xmas eve with the crazy Halloran's, Goodloe's and Nana and Poppa. Of course, our dinner consisted of a variety of soups, toasted cheese sandwiches, appetizers, and many, many liquors. I introduced my family to Rum Chata and I think we all gained 6 pounds just from that one spectacularly tasty beverage!

Dawn gave Todd and Sean these face coasters and we all had tons of fun putting them on our noses. Some fit their noses better than others, and some just needed a lil shove to get it on there to stay. 

Oh what fun!

The weekend before Xmas, we went to Athens to celebrate with Charles, Pat and their whole crew. As always, it was great to see them and we went to a UGA basketball game that same day. The boys  were shy with some of the cousins and aunts/uncles but soon they warmed up to them. 

Goodbye 2015 (Part 1)

Tis but a quick memory to think of 2015. In the blink of an eye, it has ended and 2016 is already in full swing. The boys are back to school, I'm back to work, Todd is still at work, and Polly has no idea if today is Saturday or frog day. Oh, to be a dog!

December was full of fun but I'm not sure I captured it all on physical images.  The boys had two weeks off over the break as did I. The three of us went to Asheville and Charlotte for just a few days at the beginning of the break to see old friends and visit past stomping grounds. 

We ate lunch downtown, went shopping at the Mast General Store and caught up with the Honrado's for the night. The boys had a blast with Griffin and we didn't see much of them as they were thoroughly entertained with the video games in their basement. Gracyn hung out with the adults upstairs and was very pleasant and contributory to our conversations! She's really quite a bit much smarter than I. 

The next day we had planned on going to the blue ridge parkway for a hike but it was closed due to snow and ice...hmmmmm, funny because it was 65 degrees that day! Weird. 

So, we decided to go to the Grove Park Inn and check out their gingerbread houses. The boys were completely enthralled by how cool so many of them were. Reed took about 100 pictures but I couldn't fit them all on the blog. 

After that, we went on a smaller hike that Jackson and Todd and I used to do when we lived there. It is called bent creek and is just around the corner from our first apartment when we lived there 15 years ago! Jackson used to run around on the beach and in the lake so it was fun (and fitting) to see my 'other two sons' throwing rocks in it and enjoying it as much as he did.  (Jackson will always be numero uno!)

Thankfully, we got our bellies full at The Moose Cafe and then headed in the direction of Charlotte because it began to rain...again. We were grateful to have been able to enjoy a little of Asheville in the sunlight, but we'll take it any way we can get it!

We stayed with my friend, Chrissy, and just took some time to hang out and let the boys relax. Śhe had to work in the morning and we were supposed to see Frances but Frances was sick and didn't want to spread it to us! We were so sad to miss seeing her, but she's going to try and come to Atlanta soon. As we headed out of town, we stopped by just the one house Todd and I lived in near Ballantyne. It was cute when we bought it, but now the yard looks worse for the years and the house could use some work, but it was good to see the old gal!