What We've Been Up To

Since school has started, we have been trying to get back into the swing of things. It has taken me this long to find a spare minute (that is not sleep-deprived) so that I can update you on the last few weeks.
First thing, let's start with sleep. Trent has been in his big boy bed since May.....but that doesn't mean he stays there. He gets up in the middle of "every" night to make his way to our bedroom and sleep the rest of the night with us. I don't function well when my night's rest is disturbed. Needless to say, I have plenty of concealer that hides those dark circles under my eyes. By the way, Trent has learned to go to Nathan's side of the bed and throw his arms up because he learned that "mama" will march him back to his bedroom.
Next thing, how about gymnastics. Natalee has started gymnastics and absolutely loves it. Her favorite is the balance beam. This surprises me. I just thought she would be scared of something so high. Natalee has caught on very fast and her teacher calls her "Superstar." Her teacher even wants her to begin gymnastics two days a week instead of just one day. Natalee is all for it. But that means that she will not be able to do Rec Dept cheerleading, which is something she also wanted to do. She's still debating.
Third thing, how about work. My fall classes are going great and I've just about learned everyone's name. It's funny how I recognize their face and can even recognize everyone's handwriting before I ever learn their name. I only see these people twice a week and it just takes me time to learn them.
Finally, how about football! Nathan is extremely excited that it is football season. I must admit that I am excited too. There is just something about this time of year that gets me looking forward to College Football - maybe it's those Dawgs!
So, there. That's what we've been up to.

First Day of School for My Little Girl

Natalee was very excited on the night before her first day of kindergarten for two reasons: 1) She loves school and has been looking forward to going back for about three weeks now. 2) She lost her "eighth" tooth and knew that the Tooth Fairy would have a gift for her when she woke up.
Yes, I said that right....her eighth tooth. My little girl is only 5 (she turns 6 in November) and she has lost eight teeth already. The dentist said this is perfectly normal and that some children just lose teeth earlier than others. Natalee was pleased to find $4 from the Tooth Fairy on the morning she woke up to go to Kindergarten. Just in case anyone of you out there want to support a good cause, I have set up a savings account for the Tooth Fairy. I will oversee all deposits. I'm simply making this statement because I don't see an end to all of these teeth falling out of my daughter's head! : )

Above is Natalee as she began her day as a Kindergartener. She had the most beautiful smile and she had even greater expectations. Let me say that it has taken about two weeks for her to adjust. I think she may have expected all of the fun and "play center" time that was involved in Pre-K. But let me mind you, kids take the CRCT these days in Kindergarten, and they've got work to do.

I am very proud of her because she has read me a book every night this week. She is learning new words every week and she has gotten more excited each day because of this great accomplishment. I think she may turn in to be a little bookworm like I was as a kid.

Here is Natalee at the end of her first day of Kindergarten. Granny Griffin gets her off of the bus and she goes straight to Granny's couch to eat an icecream sandwich and watch her favorite show "Martha" on PBS.

Guess where I went?

You may not believe it, but I finally went to the movies at the Drive-in! And I didn't even go with my husband! Who, you wonder, did I go with? Well, I guess I will tell you. I went with Natalee, Trent, my mom and dad, cousin Brittany, niece Kelsey, and nephew Carter. Yes, we had to take two vehicles because we wanted to make sure everyone was able to see the movie through the windshield.

We drove to the Drive-in on Tuesday night at 9 pm in Jesup. We made a stop at Sonic to get everyone a milkshake, cherry limeade, or other favorite drink. I ordered my favorite - a Java Chiller. The weather was very nice. There was a nice breeze blowing the entire time, so we kept the windows rolled down. Also, the moon was (almost) full and it provided a nice glow on the ground which allowed us to see our way to the concession stand and restrooms. (Restrooms - by the way, Trent is potty trained! He is wearing "big boy" undies now and he is very proud of himself.)

The movie we saw was a Disney one called G-Force. It was about these animated "gophers" that save the world. It was quite comical and had all of the latest hit songs (Boom, Boom, Pow etc). It was a pretty good movie, but I think Natalee liked Kung Fu Panda better. We saw the latter movie in Waycross a couple of weeks ago at the $1 movie for kids.

Anyhow, now I can mark this off of my list of things to do before I die - I've been to the Drive-in!

Natalee can ride her bike

Natalee learned to ride her bike at the beginning of summer a couple of months ago. I am proud to say that "I" taught her how to ride it. Yep, I began by teaching her how to balance her bike while she strolled down the driveway. Then, I taught her how to get the pedal just right so that she could push it down and start pedaling. And she did it! I was very excited. I think she even surprised herself that she was actually riding her bike! She is a quick learner and I am so proud of her.

Jekyll Island Beach Trip

We went to the beach a few weeks ago with Aunt Bridgett and Granny Griffin. Also along for the trip was Aunt Cindy, Uncle Robert, Jay and Brooklyn. Jay and Brooklyn are Natalee and Trent's cousins from north Georgia. They came for a few days to visit Granny. We went on a Tuesday and the weather was great. We usually don't go to the beach in Georgia - we prefer to go to Daytona. However, it was a nice trip that day. The kids played in the sand and found some seashells. We took some snacks and plenty of sunscreen. I couldn't get a group picture of all of the kids - they wouldn't all participate at the same time! So, I'll just share pictures of my two.

Trent loves this float. He will even play by himself in the water as long as he is wearing this. He likes it better than traditional "floaties" that go on the arm because this one has the extra piece around his belly that keeps his head up above the water. He can't stand for water to get in his eyes.

Natalee played in the water a little bit, but she preferred to build sand castles and play with her paddle ball game that I bought her especially for this beach trip.

Downtown Disney

We went to Downtown Disney on our last night of vacation in Orlando. We enjoyed a great theatrical-circus performance at Cirque du Soleil. The show was late, 9 pm I think, so we stocked up on M&Ms, popcorn, and coke so the kids would stay awake. Needless to say, the show was lively and interesting enough that they didn't need all of the sugar and caffeine we bought them. Their favorite part of the show was watching the clown do his comedy bit in between performances.

One part of Downtown Disney that I will remember, but Trent will probably never recall, is the ride that he, Natalee, and I took in the hot air balloon that you see behind us in this picture. During our entire trip down there, he kept telling me that he wanted to ride it. So, after the circus show, I bought three tickets for us to ride. Nathan said he would stay on the ground and collect the insurance money if something happened - how nice. As we began to board, Trent realized how big the balloon actually was as it hovered over us. I had to sweet-talk him and let him know he would be okay. As we got to the top, he held on very tight around my neck and went to sleep! At first I thought he passed out, but I checked him and he was breathing. Natalee enjoyed it, but she held on very tight the entire time.

While enjoying the evening, we had to make a stop at the Harley Davidson shop at Downtown Disney. They had a couple of motorcycles set up for pictures and we took advantage. I think these two guys look mighty handsome!

Here's my girl Natalee on a Harley!

Natalee and Trent on the motorcycle - in the background is "Grammy" and uncle Rick.

Here is Aunt Bridgett and Uncle Rick as they carry Natalee and Trent around on their backs while we walked around Downtown Disney.

SeaWorld

While in Orlando on our vacation in June, we visited SeaWorld and enjoyed seeing all of the animals and all of the great shows that they have to offer. Above you will see Natalee and Trent at my favorite show, Shamu. We had to see this show twice. They had an afternoon show, but then we returned to see Shamu Rocks a few hours later. Both shows were awesome!

The Griffin family posing at SeaWorld. We had a great time despite the fact that it was nearly 102 degrees! You will see in a few pictures below what the kids did to cool off.

"Mr. Cool" and Natalee

Me and Trent riding the teacups. I rode this once with him and I think Nathan also rode and even Bridgett and Uncle Rick. It was Trent's favorite ride in the kiddie section.

This character came up to greet Natalee while we were taking a break from the heat and eating a snowcone. I know that whoever it was had to be hot wearing this costume.

Here was one of Natalee's favorite parts. I forgot to pack her swimsuit, so we purchased this one at a stand nearby. It definitely looked like a lot of fun and so refreshing! Natalee also liked to ride the small Shamu rollercoaster.

Trent even got in on the water action. This was our downtime between animal shows and it definitely got the kids re-energized.

Orlando Vacation

Our family took a week-long vacation to Orlando back in June. We stayed at a nice resort about one mile from SeaWorld. The resort was very family friendly. It had 7 pools. There was also a restaurant, game room, tennis courts, etc. We stayed there with Nathan's mom and dad and Bridgett and Rick. Granny Griffin and Aunt Audrey also went with us and they stayed in a condo in the next building. We had a relaxing time. Ms. Dorothy cooked many meals while we were there, so we just lounged around most days. Trent loved the kiddie pool because it was only about a 1 foot deep. It had an "island" in the middle that he would wade to and play at as well. He also liked to feed the ducks. Natalee liked the 3 foot pool. It had a waterfall and she eventually got brave enough to jump under it.
One thing everyone did most nights was to play card games. They took Phase 10 very seriously. Even Natalee and Trent got into it as you can see in the picture.

We did visit SeaWorld and Downtown Disney while in Orlando and I will post that soon.

"Aunt Mama"

Trent is in the cutest stage. Two-year-olds can come up with the craziest things to say. His most recent phrase is calling me "Aunt Mama." At the moment as I am writing this, he is in the bathtub calling for me to go in there. He drags it out...."Aunnnnttt Maaaaammmmaa!" I just think it is hilarious. When he gets impatient, which is pretty often, he calls me "Aunt Becky." I'm not the only one he's doing this to - he even calls Natalee "Aunt Sissy" and Nathan "Aunt Daddy." How funny is that! I'm attaching a picture of how Trent looks right after bathtime.

Dress-up Day at PES

During the last week of school, Natalee's Pre-k class participated in the dress up days. One of the days was a "cowboy/cowgirl" theme. Natalee's teacher told them to wear boots, cowboy hats, etc. I told Natalee she wouldn't be able to dress up this day because she did not have any boots. She told me "Yes, Mama, I do have boots - my Harley boots!" She wanted to wear them to school, so I let her. Together she and I picked out the denim skirt and the pink shirt to go with it. Under the pink shirt is her pink/white Harley t-shirt. She may not have been dressed up as a "cow"girl, but she was dressed up, that's for sure!

June Update

Hi everyone. I cannot believe that I have only posted ONCE during the entire month of June. Well, I'm just having so much FUN that I haven't stopped to share everything! That's partly true. We HAVE been having a lot of fun. We went on vacation to Orlando for a week. While there we visited SeaWorld, Cirque de Solei, and Downtown Disney. I've got good pictures that I will share soon.

The other part of my month of June included me going back to work. I started teaching summer classes on June 3 and I have been very busy with it. If you have ever taken summer classes yourself, or taught them, you know that it is a lot of material in a short amount of time. Needless to say, I'm wore out at the end of the day even though I only teach two days a week. So, I need the other days to catch up on some rest and also to grade the endless amount of homework that I assign. Hey, if I didn't give them homework, then they probably wouldn't study! That's my philosophy.

So, now that the summer semester is half over, I plan to post some of the fun things that I've done with my family in the past few weeks.

Workin' Man

Trent is just like his daddy - he loves to "work". He has his own play tool set complete with hammer, screwdriver, wrench, and tape measure. His most recent job was to fix his airplane. His airplane seems to get "broke" an awful lot. When it gets broke, Trent parks it and gets right down there with it so he can "fix" it. Notice all of his tools laying around - like I said, just like his daddy. It only takes him a couple of minutes to get the airplane "fixed" and then he cleans up his tools, loads them in his trunk, and heads off to chase after his sister.

Little Miss Sunshine

Natalee, Trent, and I read books every night before bed. They love picture books. They also have some new favorites. Uncle Brad gave each of them the "Little Miss" and "Little Mr." books for Christmas. Natalee has enjoyed reading ALL of her books. Her favorite is Little Miss Sunshine. I found a t-shirt with "Little Miss Sunshine" on it and I had to buy it for "MY" little miss sunshine.

"I Help Water 'Plowers' Mama"

Trent is 2 and he is such a talker if you get to know him. At first he is quiet, but it doesn't take long for him to open up. He talks real good except for one letter. He uses the "p" sound because he is yet to say the "f" sound correctly.

So, for him...feet is peet....frog is prog....fish is pish......food is pood.....finger is pinger......and flowers is plowers.

Here, he is supposed to be helping me water flowers, but he is trying to wet me instead. Probably because I wet him a few minutes before!

Jacksonville Zoo

We took Natalee and Trent to the zoo this past weekend. Trent's favorites were the birds and snakes. We would pick him up to look in a display case for a snake and he would ask, "Where's it at?" He wasn't scared of them. Natalee liked to watch the monkeys play. She said, "They are so cute!" Both of them enjoyed riding the carousel and feeding the giraffe as pictured here.