More from that Birthday...

OOOH. Waaaaait, wait a minute. I forgot something. And once I tell you about it, you'll understand that I likely blocked this day's memory intentionally. It wasn't pretty.

This day was Keith's actual birthday, and our plan was to go to some apple festival in north GA. We were all a little cranky that morning, but got loaded up after feeding Dada breakfast on the bed/couch.  And we were all excited to do the applefest thing...until we got to the actual fest, and it looked smaller than we imagined, and we saw the wet grass we'd have to trample with strollers and the unattractive and rather large people we'd be fighting in line for some apple fritters (the only sign I could see was for apple fritters). So we debated-is it worth all the effort to go see some kountry (yes, with a K) crafts? We decided no.

So instead we headed back to a corn maze we saw on our almost 2 hour drive to the apple festival. Yes, almost 2 hours. Little people were definitely antsy when we got out of the car.

But, they perked up when we saw the entrance to the corn maze. Fun! We were going to have fun.

Right?

Now, I should preface the rest of the post by saying that normally Keith and I are pretty good at heeding cues that the day was just not going as we planned and that we should abort and head home. But not today. We were determined to have some birthday fun. Dammit.

So we ignored that Grady did NOT want to talk on his own at all, and we greeted the inflatable scarecrow.

And we stopped and let Cole point at and speak to seemingly every plant.

And we thought it was cute that he was so excited that he ran into the maze.

Oooh, I got the easy baby today, I thought as I watched Keith carry 40lbs of GradyLovin' through the maze. Cole is just walking/running on his own. Nice!

It seems I spoke too soon. See how he's pointing into the corn here? He's pointing to let me know that in 4 seconds, before I could lower the camera all the way, he was going to run into that exact spot. Yes, that's right, despite us discussing corn maze rules, he was going off the path, into the corn and was going to dissapear for minutes while yelling "I NOT!" when we told him to come back.

And we yelled this for several minutes. And then finally Keith, still holding Grady, went through the corn after Cole.

Anyone who has tried to get a dog inside a house that does not want to come inside knows what happens next. You run a little after the dog, and it thinks its a game and runs further away. While laughing. Or panting open-mouthed, in a dog's case. So Cole played this game until Dada caught up with him, and then got a stern talking-to. Momma was not in the mood for games. In retrospect I am so glad we got to the maze first because if it were filled with other people I'd be the mom that got those "wow, she's a mean mom" looks.

We regrouped. And we found the first stop in the maze! Only took us 25 minutes.

And we walked a little more. Notice Cole isn't in this picture. That's because I have a deathgrip on his hand. This wasn't going to run through corn again. I don't care how much he whined about having to hold hands.

And at least I wasn't carrying a big boy.

And we found hole punch place #2! Excellent. Things are looking good.

And then, as quickly as it looked good, it turned ugly. All of the sudden noses are running, tempers are flaring, stomachs are growling, Cole was eyeing any small opening in the corn, and I had an unusually strong urge to drink a beer. I don't even like beer. So, we aborted.

Thankfully the lady at the ticket booth told us, if we needed to escape, to find the yellow tape, it would lead us out.

Even after finding the tape, it took us another 15 minutes to get out. Phew! That maze was big. And difficult. See? Craziness.

Cole ran into the corn just to the left of her left eye, if you're wondering. And we said "F*ck it" about near that triangle on her forehead.

Eh. So...not the best outing. But we salvaged it with some chicken nuggets and pretzel sticks and came home and napped. Or some of us napped.

Some of us tackled this.

Back to Good

Good health has been restored in the house. Hallelujah.

That means more blog posts coming soon. As soon as the 2010 Kitchen Cabinet Interior Cleaning Project is complete. Or when I tire of the project, whichever comes first. 

You know what's new? The boys will, when told "go stand next to your brother so Momma can take a picture", actually do so! It's a miracle, people. Right before our eyes these two are turning into little people. It's so cool. 

See?

We're working on looking at the camera thing.

Coming back 'atcha with tales of our trip south to see this lady.

Another Year Older

Pre-ravaging illness we had a great weekend celebrating this guy's birthday. Isn't he so handsome?

A year or so we and friends of ours who also have twins agreed to trade off babysitting nights with each other. Brilliant idea, and makes going to dinner and a movie affordable since a babysitter in our area for a few hours doubles the cost of a night out. So this night one of the Tall Twin parents (as we call them) was coming, and while we waited, we enjoed a little happy hour on the front porch.

 And once he got there, we posed for a prom-like picture. And then were off to dinner. Had a great time celebrating another year of wisdom gained by Keith. And as luck would have it, the restaurant was filled with retirees, so it made Keith feel very young. Bonus.

The next day we headed to do some errands before the afternoon's cookout. It's Saturday in college football country, and the boys insisted their flags go on their car windows. We tend to do what the boys tell us.

If you're reading this in another country, you might be really confused. These are small flags that show your loyalty and love for a particular sports team or school. Or, in our alma mater's case, it more accurately shows our embarrasment over their poor performance. EDITED: The team is doing much better now. Anyways, the flags go on the top of your window, and then they flap in the breeze. On our car the boys each get a flag on "their" windows, and they've become quite possessive of their flags. MY FWAG! No touch!

 Since it was Dada's birthday, he got to pick the breakfast location.

 And then we ran a few random errands. One of the stores gave the boys a whole strip of Halloween stickers, which were promptly used.

 And prepping for the cookout began! Cole helped me in the kitchen. And by "help" I mean he ran around the kitchen island yelling "catch me", while Grady supervised the tailgate tent assembly.

 And convinced Dada to let him wear the lucky visor.

 I put the finishing touches on the birthday cake. I did make the cake I referenced in this post, and it was tjhe best cake I've ever made. I used toasted coconut instead of the toasted pecans, not because I wanted to, but because someone had a fit and I burnt the pecans. I think Plan B was much more tasty than Plan A would have been.

 These two took a great nap and were eager for guests to arrive.

 And here come two of the guests! Morgan and Mason, who sometimes are referred to as Marget and Jason when the boys are tired and confused by names. And behind these two were a steady stream of guests and before we knew it we had a full house.

 The kids tore into the toys.

 Matthew, reluctantly joined mom Stacy for some snacks.

 Dads converged on the porch to supervise play-doh and stickers.

 Moms of twins chatted. Honestly, once you have twins, you realize they are everywhere.

 Back inside Gavin, the oldest kid at the party, found himself a comfortable spot.

 And our boys found Baby A'ecks! OOOOH. Baby A'ecks! They talked to him, petted his head, made sure he was comfy in his coupe. We all adore Alex.

 What a handsome devil. I still want to steal him.

 Speaking of twins, here's another set, Mena and another Alex.

 Dada fired up the grill.

 And playing continued.

 As did chatting.

 And then Grady wanted out of the car.

 Mason is the kid that will find and point out our lack of babyproofing, so I imagine here he was going to explore the exterior of the porch to do just that...

 Did I mention Baby A'ecks is now bipedal?

 So the kids were all over the backyard and the house, until magically, a large cake with lit candles appeared. And just like moths to a flame, they all clustered to help Keith blow out his candles.

 And then they dug in. Frosting was a big hit.

 Now loaded with sugar, most of the kids wanted to play with the car...

 And the big boys resumed their bean-bag game. Note the intensity. This was serious business.

And as quickly as it started, the afternoon was over. That's the beauty of hosting people with little kids. They come, have a good time, and are gone by 7pm 'cause every parent loves bedtime.

There's more to the birthday weekend, but I'll save that for tomorrow.

Where the Fish Live

Whoa. Our illness and a very fun weekend trip is making me feel very behind on my posts. The longer I wait, the less I remember and remembering is what the blog is all about, right?

A few days after the corn maze we met back up with the rest of the gang and went to the aquarium. I was rushing to meet up with them after a dentist appointment, so naturally I forgot my camera. Big thank you to Karen for sending these pics.

Someone always has to be making that face.

Shortly after the picture above was taken, I found the fish identification cards and each of the kids got one. Doesn't it look like Grady is REALLY into fish IDing in the picture below? Here we are on the slowly moving sidewalk in the shish tunnel.

We did do a little bit of tickling when we were bored with fish watching.

And Nana did get her much sought-after group photo.

And we all ooooh-ed and aaaawww-ed at the giant wall of fish.

And Grady near broke my back reaching for the water at the touch pool. He was having a good time, at least.

Sara, touching the rays with Rhett looking on.

Several of us took a ride down the Northern Right Whale slide. It's an endangered specie, you know. Sara is waiting on Grady to finish here.

While we all waited for Cole to come down the slide. He wouldn't. "EESS DARK!" he said.

We tried to coax him down. No luck. I went up and came down with him, and I'm happy to report that adults do fit down the whale's alimentary canal.

More tunnel exploration.

And faux ship steering.

And then, home for naps. Pretty much the story of our lives. Activity, followed by naps. Though if I remember correctly my two did not nap, but instead pulled out every musical instrument we own and played "Band" on their beds for an hour.