Chuck E. Cheese

Yesterday we attended a fundraiser at Chuck E. Cheese sponsored by our local elementary school ...


Here you find Griffin dunking ducks ...


Driving a car ...


Driving another car ...


Riding the clock tower ...


... and going up, up and away in a beautiful balloon!!

We had a great time ... thank you Colleen for inviting us!

I'm going to share something that some folks might find embarrassing ... so if reading about my visit to the "female" doctor might embarrass you ... STOP READING!

I had to go for my annual visit yesterday. I always get worked up and nervous, and I just plain do not want to go. It's so unpleasant and just the thought of the regular female exam gives me a stomach ache.

Much to my surprise, I found out yesterday during my regular routine female exam, that after the age of 40 you have to have another exam that is WAY more uncomfortable ... let's just say, this is the way they check your stool for blood to rule out colon cancer. I was not prepared for this, I didn't know it was coming. After he did it, it literally made me sick to my stomach, woozy and I almost passed out. I wish I had known ... that's why I'm sharing it in "code" here. I think you get the gist of the exam here. I have alot of friends that turned 40 or 41 this year ... so I feel it my responsibility to let you know this exam is coming. Something no one bothered to share with me.

Prepare yourself, my female friends.

Kickball, Anyone?

We've been spending as much time outside as possible, while the weather is still warm enough to be out there.

Mike has been working on our porch ... I will share pictures of that soon.


Griffin and I enjoy playing kickball together ... it's really great exercise and I enjoy hearing his giggles and seeing him smile when we do this together.


He's always going after the ball ... it's always "his turn" ... LOL.


Remember this gorgeous picture I shared the other day?


Well, Mother Nature has decided it's time to change for the winter ... this is a picture of the exact same area, just one week apart.

Good Morning.

We had a nice layed back kind of weekend.

After we went to get wood on Saturday, Mike went to an EAA (Experimental Aircraft) BBQ & meeting. Griffin and I went to two craft shows in our little town. One was hosted by the local Art Guild and the other one was at the firestation.

I enjoy going to the local craft shows. Not only do we get to see people we know, we also get to support local artists. We had a good time.

While there, we saw our friends Kristen, Patrick and Matthew. At the firestation the boys enjoyed checking out the different firetrucks.


Cute boys ... Griffin & Patrick ... and big red trucks!


It's great the local fire department lets the kids be so hands on ...

After the craft shows I decided we should go get some canned good for Griffin's preschool. They are having a canned food drive and I keep forgetting to pick up canned goods for it. I went into Food Lion, but literally one can of Food Lion brand green beans was $1.25. I thought, wow we can get so much more if we go to Walmart. So, that's what we did. Griffin chose a great selection of canned goods and then we came home.

Mike was called away on an unexpected trip to Chicago. He left early Sunday morning and was able to get back home last night. I couldn't believe he actually made it to Chicago, did the job and was back home in less than a day. I'm just glad he didn't have to stay overnight.

I would also like to wish my dear blogging friend Wendy a happy birthday!


And finally ... I thought I would share one of my newest creations ...


With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I was inspired to make these little turkey tags. I have to admit, they took a really LONG time to make. I had to punch out and piece together each of the turkeys ... I'm not sure that I will be making any more of these.

If interested you can find them HERE!

That Time Of Year ... Firewood.

The weather is turning cooler here ... soon it will be time to light our fireplace.

A couple of years ago we found this great place in Powhatan to get firewood. He charges only $50.00 for an 8-foot truck bed. We've paid as much as $80.00 locally for the same amount of wood. We drive just a few miles further and we get the wood at almost half the price. What a deal.


Mike backs the truck up to the wood loading area ...


Then we get busy loading the truck up. This is the first time EVER that Griffin hasn't been asleep when we went to get firewood. He wanted to get out of the truck and "help" us ... so we let him.


He was pretty cute trying to throw the logs into the truck. I told him in a few years that he and Daddy can come by themselves to load up the wood.

It's Grif-fin.

Since Griffin has been saying his name he has pronounced it either Sisson or Gisson ... yesterday for the very first time with no prompting he said Grif-fin.

He can say his name loud and clear ... we are so, so proud of him!

Great going Buddy!


We met up with our friends Carol and Sam at McDonald's yesterday.

We were pleasantly surprised when Mike was able to meet us there and enjoy a yummy lunch with us before heading off for an errand.

Anyone that truly knows me, knows how much I love McDonald's. As a little girl, I vaguely remember going to McDonald's on Fridays with my Momma. I worked there when I was in high school and a little while after. To this day, if I need comfort food I can go through the McDonald's drive-in and order a plain hamburger with nothing on it and a small vanilla milkshake. Something about that combination just makes me happy.

McDonald's has always held a special place in my heart ... and I'm glad that on occasion we can enjoy it with our little guy.

My New Haircut.

My sister-in-law Bonnie and I both got our hair cut this past week. Although her new cut is much cuter and sassier than mine is ... I thought I would share pics of my new haircut too.


I need a hair style that I can wash and just go. I rarely blowdry my hair and it's even more rare that I take a curling iron to it.


The pictures you see here ... I had just washed my hair and I let it dry naturally. I love when I first get my hair cut. If it's cut correctly (with lots of layers) then my natural curl/wave shows. I love that.


And I can not believe I am sharing this ... yep ... it's my grays. Can you BELIEVE how gray I am? After I took this picture, I went straight to Target to buy some hair color.

I've gotta wash those grays right outta my hair ... pronto!

Thursday.

There isn't much going on in our lives right now.

In about 10 minutes I have to get Griffin dressed for school. My "big" decision of the day is whether or not I should go to the grocery store to pick up a few things we need or come home to do some creative work.


(A favorite picture of Mike and Griffin from October 2006)

I have been thinking about our trip alot lately. We'll be going to Florida in a few weeks. It will be nice to visit with our family and friends. We are also planning a trip to Sea World. Griffin is going to love that.

That's something to look forward to.

I hope your day is filled with joy and happiness.

The Day After.

Yesterday I stood in the rain for 45 minutes to vote.

After that I went to get my haircut. I haven't had a haircut since July and it was definately time. I have very thick hair and it grows very fast. I needed to have it colored too (to cover the grays), but I didn't have time for that. I may color it myself this weekend.


(A favorite picture of Griffin taken April 2008)

It's rainy and cold out today ... we'll probably go to Mommy & Me Gym so Griffin can run around for awhile.

Wishing you a great day ...

VOTE!

Remember ... today is the day to VOTE!


Let your voice be heard ... get to the polls today!

Fall: From Our Backyard

I've said it time and time again ... and I will continue to say it.

I ♥ Fall ... I am so lucky to have some beautiful fall foliage in my yard right now.

Can you stand to see just a few more fall pictures?


These are TRUE colors, folks ... no photo enhancement at all!


Absolutely gorgeous leaves ...


Griffin taking a rest on some brightly colored leaves


A 3-year-old can't be still for long ...


Striking a pose for Mommy ...


This is probably my favorite picture of the day. He was looking up at the bubbles he was blowing and I captured this wonderful picture ...

I have to share ... I'm SO happy because Mike was able to fix my camera. I could not live without my camera and it was nice not to have to replace it.

Sunday.

Good morning ...

The time changed at midnight, so we "gained" an hour. When you have a 3-year-old there is no such thing as gaining an hour. The clock read 5:30, yet Griffin was wide awake and ready to play. I soooo needed that extra hour of sleep. Instead we came downstairs and I had a much needed cup of coffee.

We did not get to go to the Sarah Palin event last night. The stars just did not align and we did not get a chance to go. Considering Griffin went to sleep at 4:30 for the night we couldn't go. I guess all of that Halloween fun got to him and he needed lots of sleep.

Oh well ... maybe when she's our Vice President she'll come back to Richmond.

I have a couple of new paper piecings I would like to share.

I think they would be great for a pumpkin carving or Halloween scrapbook page.





If interested you can find these and others by clicking HERE!

Trick Or Treat.

Halloween was filled with fun and friends this year.

We first went to our neighbor's house for their 2nd Annual Boo Bash.

Then we took the kids trick or treating at a local church where they had a "Trunk or Treat" event.


Griffin dressed up as ... BATMAN!


I wanted to get some picture of him dressed up in his costume in the fall leaves ... but he really wanted no part of that.


Trying to get a 3-year-old interested in posing for pictures when he's excited about friends coming over and going to a party ... well, it's next to impossible.


We went to Harry & Jack's Boo Bash ... their mommy Cyndi always has such cute, clever things for the kids to enjoy. Here's some of the yummy edibles Griffin ate for dinner.


Griffin had his turn at breaking the ghost pinata


After the Boo Bash we headed over to the church for trick or treating. We went with our good friends Carol, Hannah, Zach, Sarah and Sam. It was such fun!


This is the only picture I got of all the kids together ...

I can't believe it's November 1st already ... where did this year go?