Lazy Summer Night

Chad won an Xbox360 with Kinect from his work.  He waited for weeks for it to arrive and finally it did.  He was excited to play it and we had fun with it for a few nights on our own.  Then Megan, Jeff, Shelby, Molly, and Dakota came over for a night of dinner and playing together.

Chad grilled hotdogs and hamburgers and we ate them up. Before we started playing with the Xbox we took the girls outside to play for a little while. It was muggy hot but it was cute to watch Caleigh shuttle her cousins around in her car.

 Caleigh is not the greatest dtiver but the cousins didn't seem to mind.  They just liked the ride.

The girls also played in the wagon and on the Dora big wheel.

 They enjoyed some time on the swings in the backyard and I fixed them some ice cream cones.

Chad then turned on the sprinkler and offered to let the girls play in it before sending them to the bath.

They all made a big pot of "soup" and here Caleigh is trying to pour some of it onto Kota's head!

We ended the night with the girls dancing on the Kinect to one of their favorite songs "Hold Still" from the Yo Gabba Gabba tv show. 

Fun times!!!!

Skull Island

Chad, Caleigh and I had a water day at Six Flags.  Inside the park is a waterpark, complete with 6 waterslides, two dunking tanks, and countless ways to shoot, spray, and slash water.  We have gone in previously for short periods of time, but this time we went with the sole intent of being in the water, not riding rides. 

Although we did sneak in a ride on the mine train before we started and we let Caleigh ride the swings and Tweety on the way out since there were no lines.  Other than that, we spent the day in the waterpark.  Caleigh loved the fact that her mom and dad were playing in the waterpark with her.  I loved this fact too, since I know the day is coming when it will be "uncool" for her to play with her parents.  So, for now, I will just cherish the time I get to spend sliding down waterslides with her and having her enjoy my company. 

We arrived shortly after the park opened and we left shortly after 2pm.  The sun and heat were immense to say the least that day!  We used lots of sunscreen and I am happy to report no one came home with a sunburn.  I am glad we left when we did since thunderstorms moved in over the park shortly after we left. 

Caleigh napped on the way to Granny's and Chad and Caleigh jumped into Granny's pool after being in the water all morning.  I helped Granny get ready to go a luau that she ened up not going to.  It rained. 

Then, we watched the new Three Stooges movie with Granddaddy.  It was funny but Caleigh said they did too much hitting.  LOL

After that, we finally headed home and I got to bring home one of my mom's coconut pies that she had made for the luau since she didn't go.  My mom's coconut pies are the BEST!  I love them.  She usually only makes them for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  So it was a great treat to get one in the middle of the summer!!!!

Sip and See

Since my sweet niece decided she should come into this world early, her mom didn't get to have a baby shower.  Instead, the day after her scheduled shower, Lydia graced us with her presence. 

I had decided that for my present for her shower, I would make her a messy baby basket.  I bought her the bathtub she had registered for and then filled it with things like a bottle of laundry detergent, a bottle of stain remover, baby dish soap, shampoo, lotion, baby wash, diaper rash cream, toy wipes, pacifier wipes, dirty diaper disposal baggies, washcloths, drop cloths, bibs, and an assortment of other things needed to clean up a messy baby.  I also threw in a swaddle wrap that I had purchased for her before I decided on my theme for my present.  I had planned to wrap it up really cute and take it to her shower.  However, once the shower was cancelled, I postponed the wrapping. 

After Lydia came home from the hospital, I figured she could already use some or most of the things, including the tub.  So, I took my gift over to her house and gave it to them without any fancy wrapping job.  Therefore, I did not take a picture of this present.  I have been told that I had good timing and Lydia took her first bath the night I gave it to them.

So, when I got the information that there was to be a Sip and See for Lydia, I had to come up with a gift to take. 

I had purchased some diapers and wipes for the basket but got the diapers in a larger size and knew she wouldn't be using them any time soon so I left them out of the basket.  Then, I personalized a Diapees and Wipees case with her name as well as a small wipes travel case.  I put the cases, wipes, and diapers in a cute tote and voila, I had a gift to take to the sip and see as well!

My mom had told me that she had a present for Lydia as well and I went to her house to help her assemble it.  It was so cute!  She had decided to make her a monkey themed present!  She purchased a monkey collapsible toy box and had filled it with monkey things!  There were monkey sleepers, monkey outfits, monkey pants, monkey shirts, monkey blankets, monkey bibs, monkey wall hangings, monkey stuffed animals, and monkey everything!  You get the idea!  The boxes were stuffed with monkey stuff!  LOL!  I decided we should put Lydia's name on the toy box as well!  It turned out adorable in my opinion!

We also made her a set of baby burritos that had monkeys on them.  They are onsies rolled to look like burritos! 

For Lydia's daddy, we put together a Daddy Doody Kit, complete with tongs, gloves, wipes, dirty diaper disposal bags and a clothespin for the nose.

The Sip and See was precious.  Her friends did a great job of decorating and making delicious grown-up popsicles for the party. I hope Lydia got everything she needed!

   

Braves Game

Mish, Thomas, Chad, and I went to a Braves game!  It was SO VERY HOT!  My clothes were sticking to me and the air was thick. 

To make matters worse, it rained.  No, it stormed for a few hours before the game began.  Since we were there early, we got to see some of batting practice and then we watched as they tarped the infield.

Closer to game time, they untarped the field and then hosed it down. It perplexed me somewhat to watch them do that. 

Anyway, the Braves started the game and then the strangest thing happened.  The power went out in the stadium.  Luckily there was still some daylight left and the outage lasted less than 20 minutes but it was still eerie to be in a packed stadium and have the power go out.  The players all had to head to the locker room and security had to take the field.  They asked that everyone try to remain in their seats but that didn't really happen. 

The lights you see in the picture above are the setting sun and the emergency lights that come on in the suites, offices, and other enclosed area in the stadium.  With the dark storm clouds hovering over the top and the thunder rumbling in the distance, it made for one peculiar night.  We stayed until the 8th inning and then headed home.  It was an interesting night to say the least. 

CFA Cow Appreciation Day

Once a year each year, Chick-fil-a gives away free meals to anyone dressed "head to hoof" as a cow.  This is Caleigh's favorite place eat.  We spend quite a lot of money in their restaurants and they are more pricey than most fast food establishments.  So, when the opportunity to get free food comes up, this frugal mom is all about it. 

I cut out a mask for each of us using my Cricut and then decorated them.  I also cut out some cow spots on my machine.  I then dressed us all in white and applied the spots and we donned our masks.  We looked quite silly in my opinion but it was good enough to get each of us a complete meal entirely for free. 

I have to admit there were some way better dressed cows than us there and then there were those in simply a white garbage bag with black marker spots drawn on.  Everyone who made a effort ate for free.

Our particular restaurant placed a photo booth inside and let people take free pics.  Here are ours. 

Yes!  We are saying "Moo"

Caleigh and the CFA Cow

Six Flags with Kota

Well, it was finally Kota's turn to go to Six Flags with us.  We had previously asked her whole family to go with us but they said no because her dad thought Six Flags was too old and boring since he had went so much when he was younger.  So, Kota and her mommy came with us this time instead.

We watched the Pop40 show and the iLuminate show again as well as part of the Looney Toons Show.

I think Kota had the time of her life!  Molly had told me that she had just had her 2 year check up and measured 36.12inches.  Most ride height requirements in Bugs Bunny World ( I know I have been calling it Looney Toon Land before but I just noticed the name on our last visit) are 36 inches so I figured we'd be golden.  However, Kota was an inch or so under the height bar so either the doctor's office measured wrong or the height requirement is more like 38 inches.  Either way, we encounted some push back from the ride employees about letting her ride the swings which was the one thing she really wanted to ride.  But, I managed to get her on them and every other ride in Bugs Bunny World.  She could not have been more happy!

On the way

Tweety Love!

Wanted on the swings so badly!

Relaxing

Kota's First Ride

First Ride without Mommy...a little scared

Boats with Uncle Chad

Taking Flight

Chugging along

Ferris Wheel

Catching the show in Bugs Bunny World

Kota liked Caleigh's favorite ride as well!

Sky Buckets

Finally swinging

Swingin'

Caleigh's first trip on the bumper cars

Skull Island

Waiting for the bucket to drop the water

Sliding

She hated it

Molly liked the big slides

Driving cars with her mommy

Rocking Tug- Back and Forth Round and Round

Hot Air Balloons

Big Girl on the Carousel

Chad Caleigh and Molly on Thunder River
This was acutally her second time riding it but we did not get a picture of her first time when we went with Shelby

This was parked outside the park and when we left they gave us all a can of Mello Yello Zero.
It tasted pretty good! 


On the way home, we got the girls a happy meal and we got our traditional Taco Bell.  By the time we got home, everyone was tired and we made quick work of baths and headed for bed ASAP.  Storms were moving in and we went to sleep to the sound of thunder in the distance.  Great end to a great day.