Thursday, September 28, 2017

September Randoms…

- Nen had to work on one of the after-hurricane days that the kids were out of school, so Parker & Quinn spent the day with us. Our little herd is always so happy to be together. They played inside,IMG_8230IMG_8213IMG_8164outside, IMG_8188and all day long!

- After all the hurricane clean-up, DW and I decided to tackle edging around the yard. It’s been years since I helped him do it – it worked out for me because I was pregnant the last few times he’s done it. Ha.IMG_7762 I helped him shovel it for a while, but that’s HARD work and I was beyond relieved when he told me to just drive the loader while he shoveled all we’d piled up in it.

- Selfies on the Couch IMG_7751IMG_7748


- My girls love that “Wild West” song- it says something about “Ole John Wayne” and anytime Mamie sees a picture of a an older cowboy, she asks if its “Ole John Wayne” – they were beyond excited and begged me to buy the $14.99  John Wayne collector’s magazine at Lowe’s. I didn’t. IMG_8416But I took a picture for them. ;)

- Tucker’s day was made last week when he got a new CAT hat.IMG_8437 He thought his day couldn’t get any better, but then he even got to bale hay with Uncle Van that afternoon. BEST.DAY.EVER. IMG_8443

- Cooking dinner & practicing Kindergarten sight words with my Mames. She was so cute perched up there reading all of her words. She gets so excited about being able to read. We’re starting to sound out EVERYTHING. IMG_8390

- They’d been cutting silage for a couple days on the farm, and Parker & Tucker were pumped about it. IMG_7865We took the kids on a Gator ride to check it out and the harvesters were so kind to let the boys ride with them. It was adorable. Parker has the toy size silage cutter and Tucker has been coveting it for months. We keep telling him he can ask Santa for it for Christmas. Getting to actually ride on it, sealed the deal – and Tucker says he’s getting one for Christmas anytime he sees a silage cutter. IMG_7825They also loved getting to see it bagged up. Anything with a motor is right up their ally. IMG_7838IMG_7844

- I love a Friday night or Saturday trip to Lowe’s for some home improvement projects. We’ve got another in the works! ;)IMG_8999

~amw~

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Orange & Blue

We met Adam, Lauren and their littles at the stadium on a Sunday afternoon to do our annual pictures in the Swamp.

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Everybody’s excited to get to Gator-Game this year! ;)

~amw~

Monday, September 25, 2017

Irma

Having lived in Florida my whole life, we’ve had our share of hurricane scares and bad weather, but this year’s Hurricane Irma was by far the scariest so far.

I remember the summer of 2004 when we lost power for a several days and until this year, that has been the most we’d been affected.

The first hurricane I remember well was Andrew in the 90’s. I was 8 or 9 years old, but remember well seeing the devastation it caused to South Florida on the news.

Seeing this comparison posted all over Facebook had me scared for sure…IMG_7911

Everyone around us started to prepare pretty early. Generators, water, and food were almost impossible to find even days out from the expected land fall. My parents had to drive up to almost Atlanta to find a generator in stock.

As Irma got closer to us and continued to strengthen and shift, it looked like it was going to make landfall almost right over our county. We were all really nervous and I don’t ever remember feeling like that about a hurricane before.

The evacuation orders started to come out…starting with voluntary for those closer to the coast, then mandatory for the coast and mobile homes, then MANDATORY in all capital letters with no exclusions…seeing that made it even more scary. IMG_7927

There were even emergency trucks with loud speakers driving down the roads telling people to leave and evacuate. It was super eerie to see them and hear them down our road. Our family in North Georgia were all glued to the weather reports and like us, really nervous that it looked like there was a big chance for us to see major damage. They were begging us to evacuate and head up there. The roads, even days before, though, were packed and there really would have been no way for us to get out of the state. Gas was completely sold out everywhere and people all down the interstate were running out. IMG_7924 Because the interstate and major highways were so crowded, people were taking back roads, and every small town around us was so crowded and congested. It was crazy to see so much traffic. IMG_7808

We decided to ride the storm out at my parents house. Our house is brick, so we weren’t worried about it being safe, we just wanted to be together. We’d planned meals that we could cook using the generator and grill and momma made a few things ahead of time so we’d be set for living a couple days without power.

Of course there were snacks. IMG_7942Lots and lots of snacks. IMG_7943We laughed so hard over all the hurricane memes on facebook that were so funny. IMG_7920IMG_7928

Sorry for the cuss word- but this one was good, too. It was exactly what we were all feeling.IMG_7941

The night the storm was projected to hit, I felt safest in the living room at mom & dad’s, so we blew up an air mattress and DW & I slept on it with the kids around us in their sleeping bags. I definitely didn’t want them sleeping in another room away from us. The worst part was that the hardest wind and rain that we were going to get was supposed to hit us in the middle of the night. Everything is always scarier at night. When the wind and rain started it was pretty scary. It was black dark outside and all we could hear was the wind howling, rain coming down, and limbs and debris being blown into the side of the house and windows. When the sun came up that morning, it was still a little windy and rainy, and we couldn’t believe the yard. It was like a lake!IMG_7983IMG_8057 There were limbs down everywhere, the steps to the zip line were almost under waterIMG_8012, and it had even blown a squirrel into the side of the house and he was a curled up on the porch.

The sky was hazy and “hurricane-like” and it was still a light soaking rain for most of the day. We went over to our house as soon as we knew the worst winds were gone to assess the damage there. The sunroom had flooded a little, but would have been much worse if we hadn’t of sand-bagged it before. There were limbs down all over the yard. We rode down to the construction shop and saw half of the tin from the roof rolled up and blown in the middle of the road. IMG_8019There was also a power line snapped and lying across the road.

We were out of power for 3 days. That was how long we were out back in ‘04, but we didn’t have kids then. Having kids is a total game changer – and not for the easier when having no power is concerned. Ha. School was cancelled for a few days, and nobody even in town had power. By the second day at home with no power, mom & I decided to take a field trip up to Wal-mart and kill some time there. Ha.  

IMG_8132We looked like people who hadn’t had a proper shower or enough power to do something to their hair in days, but it was nice to walk around in the A/C. We had the generators that ran lights and fans at night, so that was a huge plus, and more than a lot of people had.

All in all we were super spared where damage was concerned. We hate so bad the devastating damage it did in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and the Keys. But it is always so heart warming to see how people respond to needs and how disasters almost always bring unity.

It was a memorable hurricane, though, and one I’m sure our kids won’t forget.

~amw~

Monday, September 11, 2017

Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween

Friday morning was a super exciting school day! We woke our littles up with a huge surprise, but they had to go to the kitchen for breakfast to find out.IMG_8449

I wish they were this easy every morning to get up and going for school. ;)

It was all squeals and excitement when they figured out that we were headed to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party THAT night! IMG_8476

They were all three super excited and the girls couldn’t wait for us to check them out of school early (we left around 1:30) and Tucker asked me a hundred times during the day if it was time to leave yet. IMG_8491

We’d been to the Halloween party once before with the girls, but this was Tucker’s first time. We loved it last time and we all had a great time this trip, too. Opinions differ on whether or not it’s worth it for the Disney parties, and we think it is. IMG_8530

We got to the park a little later than we’d planned (we arrived a little after 4:00), but it was still early and we caught the end of one of the street parades/dance parties in front of the castle. IMG_8536The kids were all excited to see the crew from Zootopia. IMG_8563Our night would have been made if “Flash” the sloth had been there. He is our fave. ;)

We rode a couple rides, got a snack and then settled in line to see the 7 Dwarfs. Since they’re a party exclusive, we didn’t want to miss them. IMG_8580IMG_8589IMG_8602IMG_8605IMG_8617IMG_8627

IMG_8640IMG_8655After our wait to see the Dwarfs, we hit some more rides. There were hardly any waits and the crowd level was fantastic. We rode a few of the rides twice back to back. IMG_8677IMG_8684IMG_8693IMG_8694IMG_8703IMG_8707IMG_8714IMG_8729

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It’s fun to see lots of the characters in their Halloween costumes IMG_8663IMG_8675IMG_8781IMG_8787and fun to just run into some of the villains on the street! IMG_8658Cruella de Ville came running up to Tucker and said, “oh, aren’t you just DE-LICIOUS!” and rubbed his head. Ha. Then we saw one of Cinderella’s step sisters and she told the girls she didn’t like their mouse ears because she didn’t like mice and she wondered did they smell bad like mice, too? Ha. IMG_8815

The kids were happy to see Lotso, too. IMG_8746It was hot, but we were expecting it to be. There were tons of cute costumes and lots of families dressed in themes, which I loved. I debated all of us dressing up, but DW wasn’t a fan of the idea, plus with it being 900 degrees, it just made more sense to have the kids wear Mickey Halloween shirts instead. I found Tucker’s & my glow in the dark Mickey shirts at Target, and I made the girls’ shirts & mouse ears. IMG_8445DW wore a solid color polo, because you won’t catch him wearing a T-shirt in public, unless it’s a Saturday and you catch him making an in-the-middle-of-a-project run for supplies to Lowe’s or the hardware store. ;)

AB wanted to ride Space Mountain, so while they did that, I took Mamie to see Cinderella and we got to see Princess Elena of Avalor before, too. IMG_8756Tucker was hilarious. He didn’t want to see the princesses and then when they talked to him he was all shy. Elena convinced him to get a picture, but he acted embarrassed about it. Ha. IMG_8753He opted out for one with Cinderella.IMG_8762 But Mames was thrilled to talk hair bows and mouse ears with her.  IMG_8766IMG_8767

After more rides, it was time for more snacks and to catch the “Boo to You” parade. IMG_8775IMG_8890We caught it from the starting point in Adventureland. IMG_8887The girls enjoyed it and Tucker caught a power nap. IMG_8885After the parade, we made our way back over to the Pete’s Silly Sideshow area to see Donald & Daisy Duck dressed up. Tucker really wanted to see Donald.IMG_8971 It was also the perfect spot to watch the fireworks. IMG_8874IMG_8817IMG_8834IMG_8870

We didn’t put any effort into Trick-or-Treating, but did hit a couple lines while we were waiting for rides or characters. One of us would wait in line and the other would take the kids over to the Trick-or-Treat station to walk through and get some candy. Even only hitting a couple spots, all three kids came home with a bag full of candy. Good candy, too. Like M&M’s and Snickers. ;)IMG_8770

Before we called it a night, we made a stop at the Mainstreet Theatre to see the main mouse all decked out in his Halloween costume! IMG_8935IMG_8987IMG_8986

It was such a fun night. It was LATE when we got home, but totally worth it. We want to do the Christmas party now, too!

~amw~