Our Halloween Chronicals

The Monday before Halloween, Gabs got to go the Discovery Museum's "Boo Bash" with her friends Emily and Ethan. It was only for kids 4 years and up, so Cash stuck back with daddy so Gabs and I could have some mommy/daughter time. Not that she was paying a bit of attention to me though!

There was so much for the kids to do, including oodles of crafts, which is where she spent most of her time.

The kids' school had their annual Halloween party, followed by a parade.

Here she is...the "Queen" monarch butterfly. She wasn't just a butterfly, or even a monarch butterfly. She was a "Queen" (emphasis on that word) monarch butterfly. The girl cracks me up! Who knows where she got that!

We've spent the last several Halloween nights trick or treating with the Hutson's (Jillian) and Ericka & Tracy's cousin, Brianna. Brianna and Gabs wanted a picture with our resident "witch"!

It's always a good time, except when the girls are pushing and shoving over who gets be the line leader and ring the doorbell! Yes, I'll admit, it's usually my daughter initiating this. It's like a game to her and she's soooo got that competitive gene already. You know that makes daddy proud!

Cassius was just trying to keep up as usual. He did okay at the first house, but then he saw some kids with masks on and it was over. Totally freaked him out! That meant daddy had to carry him the rest of the way!

The weather was awesome by the way! I think the high reached about 74 and it was still nice in the early evening. Nicest Halloween I can remember in a LONG time. It's usually freezing and/or raining.

Not your typical bedtime story (teller)

Check out my big girl Gabs. For those that know the fam well, you know that Gabs spent most of the first year of Cassius' life pretending like he wasn't there. He just couldn't do much, so she didn't pay much attention. Boy, has that all changed!

We always read before the kids' bedtime and Cassius has quickly fallen into this routine. Only, it's usually daddy or I doing the reading...until recently. Yep, he's been wanting his sissy to help with the reading. Especially his "First Words" book. It's perfect because she can point to a picture and ask him to say what it is. Or, if he's having a hard time, she can say what it is and he'll repeat her.

By the way, just 15 minutes earlier, he was chasing her around like a madman and she was running for her life! I bet sometimes she wishes he'd still just lie around...NAH!!!!!!! Then what would she do with all that time and energy?! It's so cool to see them grow up and (sometimes) bond!!

SPOOKY Spider Sneak Peek

Cassius and Gabs had a blast at Meijer's Halloween Parade last Saturday. The above picture is a bit blurry because the little guy was trying to keep up with his big sis!

They were really trying to juice the candy distributors too :) A few of the first tables we stopped at were being real generous and giving the kids a handful of candy. So, you know Gabs wasn't havin' it when someone tried to give her one, heaven forbid ONE, piece of candy. She just stood there staring at them, waiting for more. It was funny!

Rockin' the CHUCKS!

We loves us some Chucks! Sparkly silver ballet flat Chucks (uh huh...those are mine!), blue low tops, brown low tops, black high tops...you really can't go wrong no matter the color or style! Or your age!!

Let's hear it for the boys

From left to right: Derek, Cassius and Corey, Josh, Mike, Chuck, Jeff and Pat

Look at them all cheesin', decked out in their new sports gear. Ericka and Mike were gracious enough to give these to the fellas as a "thank you" for being a part of their wedding day. It's hard to see Corey's, but if you know him at all, you know he's rockin' the NY Mets baby!

We had a great time at the rehearsal dinner as evidenced by this pic of Gabby and Jillian just clowning around. They pretty much always have a blast together, but let me tell ya, they also have their drama queen moments! They always hug and make up though and that's what counts. I just don't know where they get all that energy from!















Last but not least, Bubba Jaymes just being himself. He is such a handsome boy when he's not whining. Ha!

P.S. Mike and Ericka's wedding was beautiful. I'll post an update on that SOON!

There's always next time!

One of our friends (shout out to you Stac W.) was sweet enough to snap some family photos of us last Sunday. This is what we got when we *tried* to get a couple of Gabs and Cassius together. Poor Stac even had to spend time photoshopping chips out of the pictures. Yes, I was bribing them with potato chips. Well...it was dinner time and they were getting hungry!

At first, Gabs was pretty much tackling Cassius to try and get him to sit on her lap. He just wasn't haven't it. (and I think he may be trying to eat a chip there!)

He finally paused for a couple seconds for this last picture because he was intrigued by a blade of grass he'd found. If I'd have known that's all it takes to get him to sit still for a minute! lol!

I'll post more of our family pics SOON!

Keecha. MO!

Yep. That's Cash-man reverse code for "more ketchup." The kid is obsessed. Can you tell?

Making a commitment

In the blog world, apparantly Wordless Wednesday is a big thing. So, in the spirit of embracing this blog thing, I'm gonna give it a shot! Here are some random shots of Gabs I've taken in the last month.

WARNING: Scrunchy Nose Ahead

This classic Cassius expression really jumped out at me when I was going through a bunch of recent pictures. Especially, when I kept seeing that same look reappear.

Lighten up buddy! Your smile is much more flattering! No, truth be told, I actually think the scrunchy nose is cute in a funny sort of way. That's my bubba jaymes!!

Get your PAGEANT wave ready!

The girls (Madelon, Elle & Gabs) were really putting their work in during Towanda's 4th of July parade. And, I almost missed little Owen (M's bro) off there to the left. Gotta give him kudos as well. (thanks Susan!)

I have about five more pictures just like the one above. The bigger the wave, the more candy, right?! I don't think I saw those arms go down, except of course when the flying candy was being collected off the hot pavement! And let me tell you, the pretty waves worked because we walked away from that parade with a Gap bag full of candy.

Here's most of our 2008 crew, waiting for the festivities to begin. The Towanda 4th of July parade has been a tradition for us since Gab's was a baby. We're usually joined by the Hutson's too, but they ditched us to go on a family vacay this year!



Cash-man said forget about the parade candy, I'm stuffing my face with my own snack!

07.04.08 - TAKE ONE

We headed out to Uncle Mike's place at Lake Bloomington for a cookout and fireworks on the lake. This is Mike's last year at the lake, so we wanted to make this a 4th to remember! Aunts Ericka, Tracy and Amy were there, and Lisa, Josh and Elle joined us too.

We couldn't pull Cassius away from the bags set. He just really thought he was doing something...putting the bags in, pulling them out, climbing on the board, climbing off the board! Plus, he made all fellow Cubbie's fans proud by sporting his matching hat! If daddy had it his way, it'd be a Mets hat!


Gabs with her buddy, Emitt and some other random shots.



As dusk approached, we headed out to the boat for the fireworks spectacular! The lake really puts on an impressive light show!

I'm getting sleepy now, but TAKE TWO will follow soon!!

Take me to the "THE WAREHOUSE" (in Savannah that is)

I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog yet, but I LOVE my job! Not only do I get to do what I'm passionate about, but my employer also sends me on trips to cool places! My first conference was in Savannah, GA and I was lucky enough to travel with a couple of my awesome co-workers/friends (June 2008)! We learned a lot and had a great time exploring the city on our down time.



Our hotel was right on historic River Street and our first night in Savannah, we found this little dive bar that bragged about having the "coldest, cheapest beer in town". So for quality control purposes, we HAD to test it out! Needless to say, we we kept coming back for more...night after night! Ha! Did I mention you can carry your adult beverages with you as you walk around Savannah?? Another bonus!

Check out the view of River St. from my hotel room! See that big barge and those tiny looking legos things on top? Those are actually HUGE tractor trailers stacked on top of each other. These barges were a common site during our stay.

Our first night in Savannah, we went on a late night "Ghost Tour." It ended up being not all that scary and a bit cheesy, but we still had a good time! This first statue was located in one of Savannah's many "Squares". WARNING: I'm not going to be the best at remembering all the landmark names because we saw sooooo many! I should've taken notes!!

Now, I'll take you around town for a bit! First up is Stacy and Tori chillin' on the trolly!

I absolutely loved this fountain and our tour guide said it was one of the most beloved sights in the city. Crazy thing is this is the replica of some fountain in Paris. However, THIS one was actually purchased from a mail order catalogue!!

I just really liked this sign so wanted to snap a pic. Funny...place is called Sorry Charlies and it was actually condemned and closed down! Rut roh =(

Mercer House, from "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

Signin' off with a pretty Savannah sunset!!