Betton Hills Carolers

A night of caroling at Betton Hills Prep School to get us in the mood for a visit from the jolly one!

Gavin and Jada. He says he's going to marry her someday.

this is what we do with our nanny

Elf Night

This was the first year I decided to brave the crowds for Elf Night. We got there early, leaving Jay at home to watch Keegan. He doesn't do well with crowds and becomes a Cranky Daddy, so he's better off at home! Anyway, Elf Night is this annual local tradition at Dorothy B. Oven Park where children come to drink hot cocoa (mine hate it), visit Santa, and run around looking at the lights. We met up with our friends, The Meehan's, who are pros at Elf Night. Fortunately, they directed us straight to the Santa Line early-on, which was long to begin with and was only getting longer. A good time was had by all.

Gavin, Callie, Leah, and Logan (The Lake Gang)

This man needs no introduction

Always the ladies' man

My pal, Governor Christ

This year, we were somehow lucky enough to get an invite to the Governor's mansion for his annual tree lighting party. Yahoo for free food and an open bar. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), it was school night so I was forced to behave myself and ignore the "open" part about the open bar.

Here he is...being protected from us civilians.


Santa and Mrs. Claus gave a shout out to Logan, Gavin, and Keegan via our videophone.

"We know when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!"

Jason for Governor.

eating me out of house and home

This is what my Publix receipt looks like when I haven't gone shopping in 2 weeks. Sadly, these boys have quite the appetite and this won't last long. So, if you're ever wondering why I use so many coupons....

On this particular trip, I spent $115 and saved $175!

tennis pro

A spectator's sport

Blocking

Daddy Babysitter

teacher's pet...always

First Haircut!

OK, so I'm a little late on this one.These pictures are from just before Christmas.

He REALLY needed a haircut.

And was NOT going to sit in Miss Beth's chair without Mommy.

So here we are...

warming up to Miss Beth and the nice college student getting her highlights done that offered to take pictures


handsome boy


chillin' post-haircut


watching Baby Einstein on Daddy's iphone now that he's a big boy

Fish eat fish

GAVIN: Mom, what do fish eat?
ME: Other fish.
GAVIN: Ok. What do fish eat?
ME: Other fish.
GAVIN: What do fish eat?
ME: Other fish.
GAVIN: So, what do fish eat?

Ahhh, the brilliant mind of a four year old!

Mrs. Z. must be some kind of saint

I had the pleasure of accompanying Mrs. Z.'s class of Kindergartners to their first field trip! Despite a minor glitch involving a miscommunication with the school bus department (they had no record of a field trip request and it took a good hour to find a driver/bus/etc.), the kids had a blast. Logan was most excited about the bus trip, while the parent chaperone's wisely opted to meet the class in front of the Jr. Museum. There were 6 other Gilchrist Kindergarten classes in attendance (and several other classes from other schools around town). So obviously, it was chaotic mess of matching bright-colored shirts and hyperactive kiddos, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Incidentally, while I have three kids of my own and have spent my life working with children, I found it surprisingly difficult to keep track of the three children assigned to me as a volunteer chaperone. Something about the sea of matching shirts and 7 classes of Kindergartners all hyped up on the excitement of the day. In fact, I lost one of my kids at one point. As massive search for "an average-sized white boy with brown hair and a teal Gilchrist shirt" ensued, which described most of the kids in the immediate area. I panicked, but he was quickly found. Reunited and it feels so good.

I really don't know how Mrs. Z. handles all of them for 6.5 hours a day! 2 was enough!

Logan and Max (the missing boy)

Alligators, panthers, and bears. OH MY!

Logan's Ladies

Tyler (middle) -- "the best reader in the class, and I'm second best", and
Kai (right) -- "the one who had the coolest birthday party" -- Daddy thinks so too -- this was the party with the beer at 1pm and the Balloon Maker Babysitter

No, they're not resting quietly. The grown-ups forced them to sit for 2 seconds for a picture.

Logan kept running out of the picture and doing karate chops at the teacher's camera.

That's my kid.

Teacher's pet

High tech mom

Trying out the "mobile posting" feature. Here we are at Gavin's
Special Day with Mom and Dad.

Logan A.: Board-Breaker

Logan broke his very first board at TaeKwonDo last night! He was the youngest kid in the room and Master Murphy called him to the front (something he doesn't usually do) and had him try out his "step-behind-side-kick" on a piece of wood. He broke it on his second try! Jay yelled out in surprise and the class erupted in applause. Logan was in just shock.

Next week, he tests for his yellow belt. Requirements include: 27 Movements, Kiesha 1, and Board-Breaking. Nana will be babysitting Keegan (class doesn't start until 8:30pm!), so I'll have the opportunity to take lots of pictures.

Jay has really been enjoying TaeKwonDo himself, despite the aches and pains of old age! He's come a long way and recently earned his yellow tip. He practices almost nightly with Logan, and it seems to be a great bonding experience for them. Since much of the class consists of children, Jay is often used as a punching bag for the young, fit black belt men training for another "degree" of their black belt. I like to think of it as Master Murphy's way of keeping him in line for me!

I'm so proud of all the boys in my life!