Thanksgiving

The Mother's Day Out School at Southeast always has a Thanksgiving potluck meal for the kids and parents. We got there and also found out that some of the kids would be singing a song. How cute is this!! AJ was very good and walked out and stood where he was told, but he didn't sing. He just sort of looked around at the other kids singing and waiting for his promised candy from the teacher for being good.















They made their own little turkey hats and AJ also made a placemat for Thanksgiving.

Trunk or Treat

The past three years, Florence has put on a Trunk or Treat on Halloween night for the surrounding neighborhood kids to come, play games, eat hot dogs and take home tons of candy. AJ enjoyed it more this year. He liked playing games once he realized he would get candy whether he won or lost.

Trey sporting his Indiana Jones outfit.






















Angie, Kim, Dawn and Tonia















Our two dads manning the hot dog grill.















AJ and his buddy Spiderman (or Jayden)!















AJ with his Aunt Nina before.















AJ and his Uncle Keith















AJ with his Uncle Ben






















Indy and Maverick

Happy Halloween 2008

from our little flyboy...

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet little boy today. How time flies. I can't believe he's three already.

First Family Vacation - Washington, DC

In July, we went to visit our friends the Franklins at their home in Washington, DC for a few days. This was the first actual vacation we've taken with A.J. We decided to drive up, stopping halfway for the night, and he did great.

On the way, we stopped at Thomas Jefferson's home Monticello. Unfortunately, AJ was not in the mood to be quiet for a house tour, so we had to be content just walking on the grounds and seeing the house from the outside which is still very impressive.






















Trey and AJ outside of Monticello - this is the view from the back of the house, I thought it was prettier than the front plus it overlooked the gardens which I'm sure are even more gorgeous in the spring than in the hot summer.















The first full day there we went to the Washington zoo. A.J.'s favorite part was running under the mist that they had in different areas of the park. His favorite animal...






















That evening, AJ got to play in the water with William and David. He wasn't sure about it at first, so I made him get in. The second picture is him threatening to throw water on me.






























The second day, we decided to visit some of the Smithsonian museums. First off was the air and space museum. There are no pictures from this because AJ was a very unhappy little boy that morning and we only spent a few minutes inside. Much to Trey's disapointment.

We then went to the Museum of Natural History - AJ was excited to see the dinosaurs (GRRRR) but then proceeded to sleep through the rest of the museum. This is a picture of the rotunda when you first walk in.















Of course, I had to get a picture of the Hope Diamond - yes, it was incredible!















AJ didn't want to ride the carousel at first, but when it was over, he wanted to ride it again.















I don't have pictures of the Jim Henson exhibit because they don't allow them, but it was such a special part of my childhood remembered when we went in and got see the muppets in person. AJ enjoyed making his own muppet in the children's area.

On the third day, Heidi offered to babysit AJ so Trey and I could get a little more sightseeing in. This is what we saw as we drove off...
AJ and David riding in the Jeep. This was AJ's first experience driving and I have to say, he was a natural. AND he loved it. We could hardly get him off of it the rest of the trip.



Our first stop was at the National Archives. While waiting in line, I took this shot - there is just something about the architecture of columns that I just love (I took a lot of column shots on this trip!)






















One of the biggest highlights of the trip, seeing the constitution and declaration of independence. Trey was secretly planning how he was going to steal the declaration to find the treasure. :)















We spent a lot of the afternoon at Arlington National Cemetery. It was really hot, but seeing the changing of the guard was worth the wait.















That evening we went to eat downtown and then walked around to see the White House. What Washington trip would be complete without a photo of the White House.















We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends that would allow us to come crash with them in their home and then even act as tour guide. Billy took Trey and I out to show his plane and it was definitely the highlight of the trip for both of us. Here is a picture of Billy showing Trey the plane. I got to see it too.















Then a picture of the two high school friends in front of Billy's plane. Look above their heads and you'll see his name on the plane.















Billy took us out that night to see the memorials. They were definitely more impressive at night than during the day. My favorite being the Lincoln Memorial. It was huge.















We had a great trip, stopping on the way home and seeing Trey's Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Bristol who gave us a very warm welcome. A great end to a great vacation. Hopefully the first of many family vacations to come.

A.J.'s first day of school

Ok, I know I've been a dilinquent blogger on the family blog. I promise to update everyone on our summer happenings, but for now I wanted to tell you about AJ's first day of school. So its not really school, its a mother's day out program at Southeast Baptist Church, but to AJ, its school. We've been asking him if he wanted to go to school the past week and everytime we do he asks for Keith. Keith started college at Belmont a couple weeks ago so when we visit his Grammy and Papa we have to tell him that Keith is at school. We are only assuming that he thinks Keith will be at his school.

He was so excited this morning to take his backpack and lunch with him. He got out of the car and went straight to the door opening it himself and going inside.






















Here he is in his room. It is the 3 year old class called monkeys, so he is the youngest, but he walked right in and sat down. He didn't like that they had put pink playdo at his spot, so he got up and got the green playdo from a empty spot. Trey was so proud.















I'm trying to be strong, but I got a little teared up leaving him, especially since he didn't seem to care if we left or not. I keep watching the clock, just waiting for 2:00 when I will go pick him up. And we'll see how much fun he had.

First park visit of the year

The first really warm day we had a few weeks ago, Trey and I took some time to take AJ to a little park close to the church. We had it all to ourselves for about an hour and AJ had a ball. He was a bit timid at first and afraid to slide by himself, but eventually he was climbing all by himself and sliding and when it was time to leave he didn't want to. I'm sure there will be many more days like that this summer.

Prom Night

The Friday before Easter was my brother, Keith's, prom night. His adorable girlfriend, Whitney, lives in Lawrenceburg, so she got ready at my parent's house. That was great for me, cause you know how I love to take pictures. I headed to Unionville and was able to document a little of the pre-prom action.

Happy Easter 2008

AJ was a bit sick this weekend, so he wasn't really in to having his photo taken. He did enjoy his easter basket from Grandma and Grandpa. Here's a few photos from Easter sunday.

Grease

I had the pleasure of doing the promotional posters for Community School's current drama production for this spring - Grease. They combined with the Drama and Music Dept at Eagleville and it is a HUGE success. We went to see it Saturday night and as much of a Grease movie fan I am, how could I not love the play. But it was even better than I thought it would be. Of course, I am a bit biased because my brother was Danny Zuko, but they ALL did a great job.

Naturally, I took my camera, so click here or on the picture to view the highlights of the play.

Camino Real

AJ loves all food, but we think he's particularly partial to mexican. Last Sunday we ate at Camino Real on Broad Street (a family favorite). Someone at another table was having a birthday which mean they get to wear the sombraro. Well, AJ just kept eyeing it, so the waiter put it on him. You really had to be there to see his eyes. I think it was so heavy he was afraid to move but he kept darting his eyes back and forth. Thanks to Nina for saving the day with her camera phone!