FUN WEEKEND

How funny is this pic!! We were both laughing and boy did the camera catch us at that moment!!! Thanks Ruth.

So this weekend was a very busy one. Riley came over for 4 hours and swam. Once she went home I continued preparing the boys for their 1st day of school. All bags were packed up and all wish lists were fulfilled so now we could relax. We had dinner plans with 6 couples from our neighborhood that night. We had a great time---ate too much, drank too much and laughed a whole lot. Once we arrived at Maggiano's we chose "Family Style" which trying to get 12 people to agree on appetizers, entrees, salads etc... is rather challenging. It was all good---great choices!!!

Sunday we had Jenn and fam over and Robin and fam over. That was alot of fun also. Ate, drank, the kids swam and then it was time. Time to go home and get showered and ready for the day! SCHOOL.

Monday went great---kids to school on time and I had jury duty. Have you ever had it? Sat all day to be sent home and then had to return again today. Thankfully I was not picked---why because I knew the ADA that was handling the case for the state. I do not have to return tomorrow but possibly Thursday. Oh boy!!! How fun.

I am working on a few projects right now in my spare time--(lack of really) I painted and then stained an armoire in Cam's room. I am also staining beaded board in Ebony to add to Ben's room. Working on fabrics for his room and ours. I am also going to take a class to frame all mirrors in the bathrooms. Oh and then I want to take a photography class. Not sure how I will fit this all in but am trying.

Attached are some fun pics from Saturday's dinner venture. ENJOY!

Home Sweet Home

We went home for a week and had a blast!!!! Boy do we miss it. We spent all of our time in the French Quarter! Enjoyed street entertainment---I got picked to dance with a group right in front of Jackson Square---picture attached. It never fails---wherever I go I get picked !!!! We ate beignets, visited the Aquarium/Imax, carriage rides, and continous walks throughout the Quarter. Boy---after going home AGAIN--it just makes me realize how much I miss it. I have attached a picture of Cam having fun touring the streets and shops in the Quarter. ENJOY!

Riley is 2 and Ben is 39.....lots of birthday cake going around

Riley turned 2 on Friday and today was the celebration----we had Dora cake and plenty of presents. I think we were more excited!!!! (Especially GiGi) For those of you that do not know I am GiGi. I felt grandma, nanny, nonny or nanna are such outdated names for my young self. :-) Tomorrow my sweetie is turning 39 and he really does not like his birthday. He would like to remain 25 for the rest of his life as most of us would. We do not have much of a celebration planned for tomorrow but we will be in New Orleans soon and will celebrate then. Other than birthdays nothing exciting going on over here other than we are off of baseball until August. I am so excited but since we are not used to this I have had some trouble keeping busy. I know that sounds crazy right??? But when you are in baseball mode and are so used to tournaments taking up all of your time you forget how to plan other activites.

What a wonderful start to our weekend!!!

Today is a great day! After Ben's baseball games we swam all afternoon with Riley. The boys had such a great time with her. She is more like a sister to them than a niece. Riley was amazing in the pool--she had her floaties on but that did not stop her from jumping in, head going under water and loving it. She would say "Gi Gi Watch" and then she would jump in. Benjie taught all 3 of our children to swim and now he will carry on the tradition by teaching Riley. I think she will be without floaties and swimming under water by the end of summer.

Riley is so amazing. She turns 2 in July and already speaks so clearly. She is so smart and loves her Gi Gi and her Gi Gi loves her. This is going to be a great summer.

BRACES FOR BEN

It's been a long time since I have put up a post. Well, here it is 1 month into summer and still playing PLENTY of baseball. During all the excitement of baseball Ben had to get braces. It is amazing how much older they make him look. He is doing well except for the blisters that have formed on his lower lip. Any advice to ease pain we're listening......

Great News Today!!!!

Benjamin had Junior Varsity baseball tryouts for High School (can you believe he will be a Freshman) beginning this past Saturday from 9-1, Monday from 3-7 and today from 3-5 and guess what??? He made the team. They found out today but he has not been able to enjoy the excitement because right after the tryout he had practice for his travel team and will not get home until 10pm. So now for the month of June he will be playing for 2 baseball teams. With Ben playing for 2 teams and Cam playing allstars we will be one busy family. Stay tuned for new pics and more updates soon.

A day in the life of Cameron......

Asleep at last!

"I should be on the Tchefuncta"

Watch me hoolahoop....

Hard at work decorating the rocks in our backyard......

Watering the plants...

Singing on the waterfall....

Mondays.....

Well, just like everyone else I hate Mondays. The boys are in their last week of school and Cameron just started All-Star practice tonight. Benjamin had 2 games yesterday and won both. He made 2 amazing plays -- His position is catcher #4. He has been the #4 now for 4 years so maybe if he plays college ball that will be his number. For those of you who know Ben know he is an extremely hard worker and is hardest on himself. It is his dream to play college baseball. He never gives up, is always focused and has the most generous heart. We are so proud of him. He is such a pleasure to be around most of the time. Cameron is going into the 2nd grade and is the happy, go lucky child. He just started taking an interest in baseball but according to coaches and friends his is just a natural. Even his big brother has made the comment that Cam might be better than him. Cameron love to collect bugs, read, dance and sing. He will be going to a hip hop camp this summer with some of his friends. I am not sure what the summer holds for Ben yet BESIDES baseball. Hopefully, he will sleep in and give himself a rest during the week.

This week we will be planning Cam's 7th birthday party---we will have a pool party and maybe even some crawfish. We could eat seafood everyday of our life. Oh, I haven't talked about our other family member much--MAX. Basically, he owns the house and we just live here. Max is my baby ---we spend everyday together. He hates when Benjie even hugs me--he starts to bark at him. Along with the other pictures I am posting today will be a pic of Max and when you see him you will see why we love him so much. I do not mention Brittney (our oldest child) much because she does not live at home--she is out doing her own thing now that she is 19. At times I will give updates on her and little Riley (my precious angel) Well, I guess that is it for now. Maybe more this week.

The babies in the family

Well, like I said on Friday Katie (my new neice) was born. They live in Texas so it will be a long time before we are actually able to meet her in person UNLESS they come for a visit HINT! HINT! But we can live through her eyes by seeing many pictures and little videos that my brother in law (Andy) is very good at sending. So now we have 3 little ones in the family (Riley, Avery, Katie and soon to be another little girl in October) That's all for now.

Busy, Busy Weekend

Benjamin will be a freshman next year at our brand new High School, North Paulding. He is playing football and his position is wide receiver #35. Today they had a close to there Spring Training Season (weekdays at school by 6:15am for workouts) with a Spring Fling Game. It was alot of fun but they lost 21 - 14. It was okay they were playing against one another not another school. Then we had to rush to get to his baseball game and some more baseball practice which did not end until 9pm. Cam and I decided to skip practice and visit and swim with some neighbors. Most of our girls in the neighborhood had their dance recitals today. Can't wait to see all the pictures/videos. So now we are tucked in for the night. Cam has 2 birthday parties and Ben has 2 baseball games tomorrow.

Soooo...I got sucked into creating a blog

My wonderful friend Jenn (she in at the end on the right) has introduced me to this blogging madness. I really like it, this way I can update friends and family since I am unable to talk to them all the time. This picture was taken at our "2008 Cinco de Mayo party" (Donna, Melissa, me, Angela, Robin and Jenn). What a great time we had. It has been a really crazy week here---Ben, Jr. is getting braces June 3rd and he also has an elbow injury that had to be checked out by the orthopedic. Thank goodness nothing serious but will take about 3 weeks to be 100%. Since he is the catcher for the travel baseball team "The Crushers" they are going to be crushed. Haha! That sounded funny. Cameron has decided since his friend Emma collects bows and Lauren collects books he would like to collect money. What a novel idea!!! Anyway, great news today--my neice Katie was born. YEAH!!! We are very excited--mom and baby are doing great.So more info about me that you may or may not know--I work for a fundraising company Entertainment Publications. I am an Operations Manager for the Edirect Schools team (covers the entire country). I am a telecommuter so I am home with my family everyday. Thank goodness ---gas prices in Georgia are thru the roof. Seriously, I am so blessed to be able to work from home and be with my children every day. My husband is a Patent Attorney with a flexible schedule also. It allows us to travel when we want and boy we have done alot of that in the last few years. Ben and I recently went to Europe in February. We arrived in Brussels first to have a 7 course meal for Valentine's day then moved on to Rome. It was the most wonderful 13 days we have ever spent together. Then we went to New Orleans for The Jazz and Heritage Festival (btw, have you picked up on the fact these 2 trips were WITHOUT children) and we had a wonderful time. We caught up with some friends and hung out in the French Quarter when we were not at the festival.Well, with a close I would like to say my children have 1 more week of school left and then it's party time. We cannot wait.