Griffin's First Visit To Legoland Florida

Wow ~ what a wonderful day! Legoland Florida is open and we went today!! Grandma and Grandpa went with us. Griffin absolutely LOVES Lego and this is right up his alley!

My Boys & Me In Florida

My boys and me in Florida!

Grandpa & His Vet

Tony just took Griffin for a ride in his Corvette ... vrrrooom, vrrrooom!!

Thanksgiving In Florida

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of all. Today we were blessed to be spend time with so many people we love and miss!

Egg Peeling!

We enjoyed the "Egg Peeling Party" last night. Today we get to enjoy our efforts in deviled eggs, stuffing and other yummy goodness.

Repairing C3P0

Even Griffin knows {anything} can be repaired with a little ingenuity. He lost C3PO's head and armour so he recreated it himself with a little paper, pin work and hot glue.

Walk In The Woods

I forget how much fun it can be to take a walk through our woods with my boys. { all four of them }

Griffin Is Star Student Of The Week!

Griffin was chosen "Star Student" this week. That meant it was his turn to bring the class mascot Bubbles home for the weekend. When Griffin told me he was the star student his exact words were "this is the best day of my life". He is to write about his weekend in Bubbles' journal and share pictures of what he did. This is a little bit of the fun we had.

They found a four leaf clover. We went to the Children's Museum (we tried going to the Science Museum but with the race we could not get there). We visited Sweet Spot Candy Shop. They jumped on the trampoline. We went to Frida's for dinner. We went to church. Daddy, Griffin, Jasper, Oliver & Bubbles went for a buggy ride. I think Bubbles enjoyed his weekend with us.

Griffin's 2nd Grade School Picture

Griffin's 2nd Grade School Picture

2nd Grade - Griffin's Halloween Costume

Our guy dressed up like a spooky alien for Halloween!

Meeting Mr. Cantor

Griffin met U.S. Congressman and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor today at the Goochland Fall Festival.

Fall Leaves

Mike snapped this picture of Griffin and Jasper playing in the leaves yesterday. Griffin would hide in the leaves and Jasper would stick his head under the leaves to try and find him.

Griffin's Report Card

Very proud of Griffin's first report with grades! 2 A's and 3 B's. Especially proud of the B he earned in math as that seems to be the subject he struggles with the most. Way to go buddy! We are very proud of you.

ENT Visit

We took Griffin to see the ENT yesterday and he is recommending he have his tonsils and adenoids removed. The surgery is scheduled for Friday, December 21st. He would have to be out of school for a week and scheduling this during Christmas break is our best option. I feel bad he will miss out on his Christmas party at school, but we will make it up to him.

Griffin Made The Paper - YMCA Swim Lessons

Griffin and his classmates were on the front page of The Goochland Gazette! Not only that he and his friend Eddie were featured inside and interviewed! I was also quoted in the article (although they spelled my name incorrectly). This is so cool!

Look What's New Today At Missy Made It!

Just added these cute items to my shop today

Griffin's Little Critter Book Report.

This is Griffin's latest school project.

A book report on his favorite book "The Lost Dinosaur Bone".

He had to create "paper treats" that included the name/author of the book, main characters, setting, problem, solution and finally a summary.

He also had to make a "treat bag" to put the paper treats in.

Then finally he had to decorate a pumpkin to look like the main character of the book.

He did such an *awesome* job!!

Our First Small Group.

We enjoyed our first small group last night getting to know the other people in the group. We finished up the night with a trip to Go_Go Frozen Yogurt. Griffin gave it a thumb's up!

Griffin's Wild Animal Habitat Project.

Griffin turned in his "Wild Animal Habitat Project" on Friday.
He decided to do his on the honey badger.



This is his written report:

My report is on the honey badger. The honey badger is black and white. He is a member of the weasel family. He has fur, thick skin, sharp claws, sharp teeth, strong jaws and a long tail. They weigh between 15 and 29 pounds.

The honey badger lives in the dry grasslands and forests of Africa and Asia. They live alone in a self dug hole called a burrow.

Their favorite food is honey. It uses team work to find honey. A bird called a honey guide finds a bee hive but can not get into it. The bird guides the honey badger to the hive and then the honey badger breaks it open and eats. It has thick skin so if the bees sting him he is okay. It will back up to the bee hive and spray a stinky smell from under it’s tail and it is like a bee repellent. The honey badger is a predator and also eats snakes, porcupines, hares, tortoises, scorpions, termites, earth worms, lizards, fruits and berries.

Because the honey badger has thick skin they can be bitten by a king cobra or black mamba snake and they will still live.

The Guiness Book of World Records has recognized the honey badger as the most fearless animal in the world.

By Griffin G.

Karate!

Griffin had his first karate lesson ...
And he LOVED it!

I think this is going to be a terrific experience for him.

Airplane Party Decorations

If you know my family ... you KNEW it was coming!

Projects.

My boys each have a project going on today. Griffin has a school project he is working on. He's working on building the habitat of his favorite wild animal, the honey badger. Mike is working on building back stairs for our deck!! I'm somewhere right there in the middle.

Cub Scout Egg Drop 2012

We enjoyed going to the annual Cub Scout Egg Drop last night.

The scouts find a way to cushion a raw egg in a shoe box to be dropped by the local fire department from a ladder truck

Once all of the eggs have been dropped they are checked to see if the eggs broke or not

This is our second year in a row and Griffin's egg made it!

Hot Pink!

Griffin earned his very first {HOT PINK} day at school! The color chart is based on behavior in the classroom and hot pink is the top of the chart! We promised him when he earned his first one it would be designated a "Griffin Day". So, after he finished homework we went to Target so he could choose a new Transformer and then he gets to choose a show for us all to watch after dinner.

What's New At Missy Made It!

New today at Missy Made It!
Princess ~ Dump Trucks ~ Pirates!

Fall In Love ... Cheese Pumpkins!

Last night we were invited to attend a small group rally at church and were asked to bring a finger food.

I wanted to take something with a fall theme and I remembered these adorable cheese pumpkins my sister-in-law Bonnie had made for Thanksgiving last year.

I called her up and she gave me the directions.


To make them you will need:
* A block of cheddar cheese
* Pretzel sticks for the stem
* Parsley to garnish for the leaf

Optional ingredients:
* Ritz Crackers
* Cheese Whiz

First, I cut slices of the cheese about 1/4" thick. Then you will cut that into four sections. (note: the picture you see here I cut the slices in half but really they were too big so cutting them in fourths would be a better bite size.) Take the individual squares and roll them up in a ball. I found if you put wax paper down and "smush" the squares of cheese after you cut them in fourths it is easier to roll them out. Then, just push them down a little bit so the bottom is flat. Once you get the desired shape, push a piece of pretzel in the middle gently. Then, remove the pretzel add a leaf of parsley handing from the edge of the hole you just made with the pretzel and then put the pretzel back in.

To finish, you will take a toothpick and gently draw lines on the outside of the cheese ball to make it look like a pumpkin.

I decided to go ahead and put them on a cracker so they would be easy to pick up so I put a little dab of Cheese Whiz on a Ritz Cracker and put the cheese pumpkin in the middle.

They are fairly easy to make and make a great addition to any fall celebration!

Field Days of the Past 2012.

We had a GREAT time at Field Days of the Past yesterday!

45.

Our version of dinner out, flowers, chocolate and quality time together ...

The Apology.

After my son got mad at me and told me he wishes he didn't have a mother, this is how he said "I'm sorry". {I especially like the pinecone.}

Cub Scouts ~ He's A Wolf!

Cub Scouts started tonigh! Griffin was happy to attend first meeting of the year as a wolf!

Bear Creek Lake

We went to Bear Creek Lake State Park yesterday and took the canoe out for the first time. We had fun, fun and more fun!! We enjoyed rowing around the lake, looking at the wild life and eating lunch in the canoe right in the middle of the lake. I really wanted Griffin in this picture too but he was having too much fun with some other kids swimming in the water. We will definitely go back there soon!!

Kroger's Racecar Fan Fest

We found a fun event last night when we stopped in at Pizza Hut on Broad Street to pick up our pizzas. Kroger was hosting a Racecar Fan Fest because the Nascar race is in Richmond this weekend. They had racing simulators in racecars, games, give-a-ways and more fun! Check out Griffin "driving" the 88 car.

The Snake Skin

Look what Griffin found in the garage when we were fall cleaning ~ YIKES!!

Louisa County Fly-In

We had a great time at the Louisa County Fly-In!

My Lego Companion

Griffin decided to make me a little Lego companion to keep me company while he is at school. He doesn't want me to be lonely. Can you tell what it is?

Griffin ~ About Me Quilt Homework Assignment

Griffin completed his first 2nd grade homework assignment last night. It's a ziplock quilt about him. In each square he was to piece together things he likes. They are ... his biography, a picture of him, his desired occupation (paleontologist), fave group (Sugarland), star with his name, small item he likes (octopus), picture of his fave pets Jasper & Oliver and his fave candy wrapper.

2nd Grade!

Griffin started 2nd grade on Monday!
It's hard to believe our "baby" is already in 2nd grade

He chose this outfit for this first day. When he saw the shorts in the store he said he wanted them because "all of his friends wear them".


The Tractor Fairy stopped by our house when he was at school and left his favorite candy bar treat on our front door for him.


And he finally arrived home just before 4:00 on the bus

Second grade is going to be a GREAT year!!

Putt Putt

We enjoyed a couple of firsts yesterday. Griffin's first visit to Bogey's Sports Park for miniature golf. We will definitely visit again!

Our First Trip To Sweet Frog.

We also enjoyed our first visit to Sweet Frog ... and it was delicious! I'm not even sure Griffin ever made it down to the ice cream in the bottom of the cup. But he sure enjoyed building his edible masterpiece.

Making A Compost Pile.

Griffin and I created our first compost pile yesterday. It was hard work and we were filthy when we were finished. It was wonderful to see the look of accomplishment on Griffin's face! The final addition to our compost pile of course was his {beloved} worms.

Fishing With The Berrys!

Griffin has been asking to go fishing for two solid weeks. He was very excited to be able to do just that when friends invited us over for dinner last night. We had such a fantastic day relaxing in our pool during the early part of the day and then visiting with the Berrys for dinner.

Last Day Of Holly Grove T-Ball

Griffin's last t-ball game was last night. He had such a good time playing this year. He had terrific coaches in Andy & Tara ~ thank you for being so wonderful and encouraging. Over the past three years Holly Grove T-Ball has been a great experience!

Griffin's New Pet ...

Griffin has a new plant pet ~ a venus fly trap!

Snapshot Of Our Summer

Thought I would share a little snapshot of some of our adventures this summer ...

1. Our family at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas
2. Griffin playing with the little crab that climbed on his head while swimming
3. Griffin playing squart guns with Daddy
4. Griffin playing t-ball

We are having a GREAT summer!

More pictures and memories coming soon. 

Snorkeling In The Pool

Griffin and Sam had a great day swimming and snorkeling in the pool!

Summer!

Wow ... I can hardly believe I have not posted since May!

We have been enjoying an absolutely AMAZING summer ... and I plan to share all the details soon.

From our trip to Florida and the Bahamas (Paradise Island!) to Griffin's fun summer experiences including t-ball, vacation bible school and hanging with friends ... updates are coming soon.

Until then ... enjoy some ice cold lemonade, a shade tree and good times with your famly & friends.

Things To Remember ~ In My Heart Forever.

Griffin just asked me if I will hold him in my heart forever. {where does he come up with these things?} My answer to him ... yes I will, always & forever.

First Night Of T-Ball.

First night of t-ball ... getting a little practice in. Our little lefty hit all three balls thrown to him!

My Little Crafter.

While at the store earlier, Griffin wanted to get some craft supplies so he could make dinosaurs, aliens and spaceships. He was at his little table crafting away and this is the first thing he created ... something for Mommy. I have THE most thoughtful little boy in the entire world.

Swimming At The Y!

Griffin swimming at the Y with one of his favorite people in the entire world ... Sarah!

Puppet Show At The Library!

We had such a good time at the puppet show yesterday at the Goochland Library with friends. I think the moms had as much fun as our kids did. Dream Big!