Turkey Day

This is what a Thanksgiving meal can do to a toddler.....

Doughnut Stealer

Zach has a new name...doughnut stealer! The other morning Boo was having doughnuts for breakfast and when she put them down to go use the bathroom, Zach ran over to her plate and took the doughnuts. I didn't notice him at first, but then when he was to quite, I called out to him and he came out of 'hiding' and just grinned from ear to ear. He was too cute:)

Space Shuttle

Ok, so this entry is not related to the kids...but it is pretty cool!

A couple weeks ago I took my annual girls trip to Super Soap Weekend in Orlando, FL. For those of you that don't know what that is...ABC Soaps (AMC, OLTL, GH) bring 30 actors/actresses to the Hollywood Studios to do a big fan event. This was the 5th (and final year b/c they are cancelling it) that Marie, Cathy and I went. We have SO much fun and get to meet all the cute guys from the soaps...ok, so back to the space shuttle. When we were in Orlando, the Space Shuttle launched. At the time we had just finished eating dinner over at Universal Citywalk, and we were able to SEE the launch!!!! It was by far, one of the coolest things from that weekend! Here is a picture of the space shuttle....if you look at the orange triangle shape b/w the trees...that is it. I wish that the picture had come out better, but in person it was awesome. Even being so far away from the launch site, we could still see it. We were even able to tell when the boosters were seperated from the shuttle.

I will spare everyone pictures from SSW...even thought they are fantastic:) hahahah

Home Depot with Meme and Dub

Meme and Dub took Mackenzie and Thomas to a workshop at Home Depot the first of November. The project this time was a leaf press. I tagged along to make sure someone took a picture of this:) It was quite funny to watch Meme and Mackenzie 'race' against Dub and Thomas. I will say that even though Dub and Thomas started first, it was the girls that won!!!! The best part of these little workshops, aside from spending quality time with Meme and Dub, is Thomas and Mackenzie both received a pin and a certificate for doing the project...and their very own Home Depot orange apron:)

Happy Halloween!

This year, Mackenzie was a Posh Puppy (from her favorite story books Fancy Nancy) and Zach was a penguin. Aunt Cathy, Uncle Kyle, Auntie Marie, Mommy and Daddy all took turns taking the kids around trick or treating. By the end of the night, Mackenzie could not carry her treats any longer because her pumpkin was to heavy, and Zach, well, he would have kept going all night if we let him. He did such an awesome job going door to door with Mackenzie. He would take 1 piece of candy at each door, RUN back to the wagon, through his candy down and take off running to the next house! I'm sure next year will be even more fun:)

School Parade

Mackenzie's school had a Halloween Parade where all the kids, and teachers dressed up and did a big parade for all the parents! Mackenzie was so excited to show all her friends her Posh Puppy costume! Here are a couple pictures from that day...

Pumpkin Carving

Back in October, Boo and Zach had a blast carving a pumpkin with Daddy, Uncle Charlie and Auntie Marie! I wasn't sure how they would do, but they each like taking the guts out:) Mackenzie I think had more fun putting the guts back in though:) After they finally got the pumpkin all nice and clean, Daddy carved a picture of Cinderella in it!

What a funny guy!

Zach decided that he needed to read up on what Santa should bring him....to funny:)

Finally, an update:)

Months ago, I took Zach for his 1st haircut and soon found out that he was not going to like it! As soon as the lady put the cape on him, he lost it. I tried everything to get him to stop crying...even giving him a lollipop. Finally, I gave up on the hopes that he would sit still and be quiet, and just let the lady finish cutting his hair. I must say he looks very handsome with his new do:)

Pumpkin Farm

We made our yearly trip out to the pumpkin farm this week with Meme and the kids had a blast! Especially Zach! He was so excited to have all this great space to run around and play. He really liked watching the goats and chickens! Mackenzie said that her favorite part was the hay ride out to the pumpkins. Mackenzie and Zach each picked out their own pumpkins to take home. It was really funny to watch Zach try to pick up pumpkins that were too heavy! He would try to pick it up and if it didn't move, he stood there for just a second and then moved on to the next one! Thank you Meme for taking us to the pumpkin farm...we loved it!

Zach a year later...

Zachary on 09-06-07

Zachary on 09-06-08

Zachary Ryan is ONE!!!

Ok, ok...so I know this is a week late..forgive me:)

I can't believe that Zach is already one! I'll say it again, boy does time fly! We had a birthday party for Zach last Saturday which was very fun. I need to thank Dub and Meme big time for going to pick up our BBQ for the party. We have a favorite BBQ place downtown, and since Dad and Mom were closer to this restaurant, they offered to go get the stuff for us...so THANK YOU Dub and Meme! Ok, back to the party....we all had a great time. Zach really got into his birthday cake, but the funny thing is, is he didn't really like how it tasted! Oh, well! At least he had a good time making a mess! Here are a couple pictures from Z's big day!

Boo's first day of school

Boo started Preschool 2 weeks ago, and LOVES it! On the first day, I took her in and she got started playing with beads right away. I had to MAKE her say good-bye to me! I guess I should't complain about that...I'd much rather have her not care that I'm leaving her, than her crying when I do leave:) Since it was only her first day of school, they only meet for 1 hour. When I went back to pick her up, I looked in her room and she was sitting on the floor with her little friends reading books. When she finally saw me she said "oh...mommy...your here?"

Here she is in front of her classroom door. Boo loves school and looks forward to going each T/Th. Last Thursday when I picked her up, as we were walking to the car, I was asking her about her day and she said "Oh Mommy, you ask to many questions sometimes." She finally told me that her favorite things about school are her friends and snack time:)

Not my daughter???

First off, a huge thank you goes to Grandma and Grandpa for taking the kids this past weekend. Greg and I went to the UNC football game and had a great time tailgating with all our old college friends. We hadn't seen some people there in years, so it was really nice to be able to hang out and have a good time without the kids!

Grandma and Grandpa took the kids to the Zoo on Saturday, and something VERY strange happened. They actually LOOKED at the snakes! Evidenatally, my daughter really liked the snakes! I just don't believe it! Here are a couple of pictures from their Zoo visit...and yes, if you look really closely (and trust me I'm not) you can see that "thing" in the picture....oh my skin is crawling now...uggghhh!!!!

After the zoo, the kids went to visit with their Great Grandparents. They had a nice visit with them and here are a couple of pictures from that too:)

PRICELESS!!!!

Mackenzie and Zach are very lucky little people...I mean how many other great grandkids can say that their great grandmother (who is a week shy of turning 94) knows how to play Wii??? We went to Grandparents day over at Lulu's nursing home the other day, and one of the many activities that they had set up was a Wii with several different games to play. With Lulu not being able to do much, we decided that the best game for her would be Wii bowling. It took a little coaching, but soon she was rolling a spare! It actually made for a really sweet day! It turns out that just a couple hours before these pictures were taken Lulu was in her bed not feeling well at all. My mom had called her to make sure that she knew that we were coming to the special day, and Lulu actually told mom to call us and tell us not to come because she was sick and didn't want to do anything. Mom then told Lulu that I was planning on bringing Mackenzie to Grandparents day and Lulu without skipping a beat said "I'm calling the nurse right now. I"ll be ready when she gets here!" Mackenzie doesn't know it now, but she is really making her what time her Great Grandmother has left with us, extra special to her!

We have a CLIMBER!

The other day Zach decided that he needed to see what was going on in the kitchen, so he found himself a nice place to "stand" and watch! Oh boy! He has no fear:)

Pullen Park with Skyler

Mackenzie and her best friend Skyler both start preschool soon, so Wendy and I wanted to get the girls together one last time before then. We met at Pullen Park and had a great time doing everything! The girls rode the train, the boats, the merry-go-round, and feed the ducks. We then had a great picnic lunch before riding the train again. Here are a couple picks from our day!

Mackenzie makes everything better...

Last week, I was at my parents house with the kids when we found out that a very close elderly neighbor had passed away suddenly. This kind man was everyone's Grandpa...whether you were related to him or not. I had known him for over 30 years, so it was a truly sad day for me. Cathy came over to mom and dads house shortly after she heard the news and when she got there she was upset. Cathy just shared what happened next with me, so I wanted to share because it brought tears to my eyes...

Mackenzie..."Aunt Caki why are you sad?"
Cathy..."I'm just a little sad today"
Mackenzie...thinks for a second and then says "Well do you want a hug? Hugs make people happy."

Somehow a 3 1/2 year old knows how to make a 28 year old all better:)

Visiting with Lulu

Aunt Cathy and I took the kids over to visit with Lulu today. She was so excited to see them. Mackenzie was a real chatter box with Lulu, which really made Lulu smile:) Boo told her all about the shark we saw at the beach, and then she shared her stickers with Lulu. I'm not sure which made Lulu happier, hearing all Boo's stories or having a TON of stickers plastered all over her hands and shirt:) Lulu was also able to see Zach walk. She was very proud that her youngest great grandchild could walk so well. Here are a couple pictures from our visit with Lulu!

Zach's first big person dinner

Now that Zach has 6 teeth, we are introducing new foods to him almost daily. Here is a picture from his first all solid (not baby food) food dinner! He did awesome. So far, we haven't really found anything that he doesn't like:)

Zach has pool hair!

I gave Zach a mo-hawk one afternoon after I had a little left over sunscreen on my hands! I couldn't help it....but isn't he cute with his pool hair????

Mackenzie and her drawings

Mackenzie has really been into drawing our family lately. Here is a picture of her family on her magna doodle! She will spend a lot of time sitting at her little table doing any sort of art project...I think she must get that from her great grandma Lulu:)

July 4th Beach Trip

Boo had a great time splashing in the ocean this beach trip! With a little help from Uncle Charlie or Daddy, she would jump the waves and laugh and say "I want to do it again...again!"

Zach wasn't to sure about the whole sand/water thing at first. But, after a bit, he seemed to really like playing in the sand. I guess he wore himself out, because as you can see in the picture below, this is where he stayed the rest of the morning at the beach!

On the 4th, we spent the evening in Wilmington, down on the waterfront. We had a nice dinner and then walked around the waterfront waiting for it to get dark so we could see the fireworks. The kids did AWESOME!!! Mackenzie loved all the colors of the fireworks, while Zach seemed to like all of it..noise and all!

We had a great time at the beach with Auntie Marie and Uncle Charlie for the July 4th holiday!