Rams Game, Flip Flops and a Mess!

Seems like I come to a point when I have pictures and random things to blog about...so, I group them and blog about them and they have absolutely nothing to do with each other. But, I am the author and maintainer of this blog, so I guess that's ok! We went to a St. Louis Rams game a few weeks ago. We had FREE tickets! Thanks to my sweetie's boss! We rode the metro down to the game, saved money and time and worry of where to park. It was a great idea, but it totally reminded us of being on the train in Korea (it was so packed because everyone else had the same good idea we did and we were up close and personal with the other folks, that's the part that reminded me of Korea). Anyways, we got to the game and climbed all the way to the tip-top; that's why the players look like ants on the field :) Ha! We could barely keep our eyes on the ball. Jamison did the best, he likes to go to ball games. The other two were ready to go after they had eaten all of the cotton candy and pretzels we shared; that was before the second quarter! We did leave at halftime...we decided it was just time to go, we had gotten the goody out of that deal! Always better to leave before everyone just falls apart :)

Being from the south, south Georgia, that is! I really, REALLY like flip flops! I live in them until my toes can't stand the cold anymore, which is going to be really soon. I saw these flops in FL while we were there on vacation back in the summer. I wanted them, but refrained. I saw them on someone recently and realized I needed some. Ha! I do like bling and I do like to accessorize...these flops are good for that! You can get a variety of colors and then the snaps are interchangeable. The possibilities are endless, and I do mean ENDLESS!!! I can't wait for next summer, so that I can stock up on the snaps. I won't be needing too many right now, because fall is here and wintry days are around the corner. PS, do NOT laugh at my toes! They do look a little scary!

Okay, now. This is how my island counter in the kitchen looks like at it's best. I like it like this, but it just doesn't stay like this for long. I am thinking about hiring a secretary to help me with ALL of the papers that come in on a daily basis. It makes me crazy sometimes...I did not stage the messy picture, it is what it is!

Imo's Pizza & City Garden

We ventured into St. Louis the other night for two reasons: Imo's Pizza; they boast of St. Louis style pizza, who knew?!?!? I suppose every city has the right to their own kind of pizza! I guess around here, people either love it or hate it. As for the Bailey's and the Groves (our friends that joined us), we liked it! The second attraction was City Garden; it's an area in the heart of downtown, it takes up a couple of blocks and has all sorts of water fountains; it didn't disappoint either!

Jordan punched at the water, FOREVER!

These two kids did not get wet!

Cody and Jannah having a little water fight

He's so darn CUTE!

Let's Fondue!!

Saturday was Greg's birthday...it was time to celebrate!! I surprised him with an *adults only* night out, to the Melting Pot! We had so much fun and he was definitely surprised...love to make him happy and catch him off guard :)

Our friends that joined us: Jon, Kara, Shara, Tricia, Dwayne, Greg, Steve and Christa...good times ya'll, we will have to go back!

We enjoyed a cheese course, salad course, meat and veggie course, and everyone's favorite, the chocolate!

This was the dessert plate...all was to be smothered and covered with chocolate...soooo good! We all joked that we would come back and eat at the Jimmy Johns sub shop next door, then go over for a round of chocolate, since that is the highlight!

Take Me Out to the BALLGAME!!!

When you live 20 minutes from St. Louis...I think it's mandatory to become a St. Louis Cardinals fan! We will ALWAYS be Atlanta Braves fans at heart, but...this was bound to happen! We were dressed and ready for the game...can you see that? The 1st and 5th graders from Jannah's school sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. It was so much fun and what a fun experience for her. I stepped back in time as we boarded the school buses to head down to the game; it's been a while! The boys were excited about the bus ride...and they weren't disappointed, it proved to be fun for all!

My love and I! Hey, these are the same colors as the Braves!

Sophie & Jannah...they met the first day of school, and have been kindred spirits ever since; could be that her parents are fellow Georgians!

In case you're wondering, this was his game face! He was content, the whole time! No surprise there!

The main event!!!! Not a good picture, rats! But, they sang their hearts out and the crowd cheered! Jannah is kneeling on the bottom row, about midways.

My favorite part of the night was when we got there and saw all of the people and vastness of the stadium, Jannah said to me, "we have to sing in front of all these people?!?!?"

Friends

Friends are such a vital part of my life. I mean, I just love girlfriends and the time spent with them. I love to make and maintain friendships. I suppose it might be a good thing that I like meeting new people; thanks to the military, I get the opportunity to move every 2-3 years and start the process...all over again! After Greg and I married, we immediately moved from GA (where I had lived ALL my 2o years of life) to Spokane Washington. Can you say, culture shock? It sure was! We lived there for just under two years. After being there for close to a year, I met Michele Craft. Little did I know upon our first meeting that we would have such a unique friendship. We went to church together and just "clicked" right from the start. At the time, she had three children, ages 5,8,11. We spent soooo much time with them and did so many things with their family. We even went on vacation with them to Cannon Beach, on the Oregon Coast; my first and only time there! The famous Haystack Rock that's used in many movies is located there. Michele and I have always been in different stages of life, but it's just worked; she's a grandma now...kinda crazy! We do have lots of great memories from the year we were together in Spokane. It seemed as though we had known each other forever, we were meant to be forever friends. When we moved from Spokane, WA to Tallahassee, FL, I cried my eyes out when I said good-bye to her and her family. It was pitiful...I really, really dislike good-byes! At any rate, we have maintained the friendship, and even managed to get together 5 times in the last 10 years; I'd say that's pretty good! She's come to me four of the times...due to the fact that I seemed to be having babies and unable to get away! So, all that history to say that Michele and her daughter Lauren came to see us and stayed a whole week! We had so much fun, and like always, we just picked up, right where we left off!

We did do lots of activities and shopping; of course I had to expose them to some of our favorite places and activities around here. For example: Chick Fil A, Jordan's 5th birthday party, Hobby Lobby, Culver's, First Baptist, St. Louis Bread Company, 3 tired children who can be really cranky, Gordman's and scrabbooking til 1 or 2 a few nights. One of our favorite outings was the Arch and then lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, followed by some shopping (I have to post my big purchase later...it was from Brighton Collectibles)! Back to the Cheesecake Factory, really...that place is sooo good to me. I just like it, alot!

While at the arch, Jordan wore his helmet; he is just incredibly proud of it, and wants to take it everywhere! We got a lot of stares and laughs, mostly people thought it was cute. I did hear one man tell his wife it was a Georgia helmet. That hurt my feelings, how could she not know that?!?!

This is Lauren, Michele's daughter at the top of the Arch. She is a very sweet and grown up young lady! About to be 18, she was 9 when we left Washington!

How cool, it's the shadow of the Arch...we were at the top!

Spring Break: Part 1

We have several activities and trips planned for Spring Break, and they will be all happening around Easter weekend. Jannah's SB was kinda strange, it was only Thursday-Monday...what happened to a whole week?? Even with a few days, we are packing in some fun...the local way!

Our first morning started with the making and eating of these edible bird nest. We are so happy to see signs of spring and thought we could celebrate by making these, not to mention, the kids had an excuse to eat a lot of jelly beans!

After that, we were off to Long Acre Park for a picnic and lots of playtime!

Did I mention the most adored attraction at the park were the ducks? Bless baby J's little heart, he wanted to catch a duck or goose and hold it, SO bad. It's a wonder he has legs after the amount of chasing he did.

These ducks and geese are so used to people feeding them, they will come get a piece of bread right out of your hand.

Feeding them...we gave them a hearty lunch of wheat bread

The goose is trying to get away from the chaser!

After a long day at the park, the kids had a lemonade stand at our house in the afternoon. They were very successful and had so much fun running it; their friend and neighbor, Kolby helped them. It was so windy, they were lucky the wind didn't carry them and their stand away. If I have not said this before, let me just tell you that the mid west is mighty, mighty windy!

Day two: We ventured out to the St. Louis Zoo with my friend Amy and her three kiddos. It was a great idea and we did have fun...BUT, it was sooooo crowded we could hardly move; not to mention the hour and a half it took us to get a parking place, thanks to traffic!!!! We didn't see many animals (due to the mass of people), but we did have fun and enjoyed a nice picnic lunch. It was just nice to be out and enjoy the sunshine

Bevin, Collin and Jordan hanging out on a big bug!

In the kids petting zoo, there were goats that we could brush...who knew?!?!

My sweet friend, Amy. She's my neighbor, the wife of a retired Marine and mother of 6 kiddos!!

Jamison trying to smile, the bright sun was kinda making that difficult! Look at the beautiful flowers...I'm so happy to see signs of Spring!

Jannah sporting the flamingo stance