Spring Breakin' at the Aquarium

Today marks a first. I have BOTH MEMBERS of my crew spending the night with me! It's the middle of Spring Break, Ash wanted some time to finish painting her master bathroom, and I wanted some time with the dynamic duo.

Addi woke up at 6:00 am this morning to announce that she was "ready to go to Tainty's." You can fill in the blanks of what you think transpired afterwards... The actual pick-up time was set for 10:00; I arrived a little after that. Ash was still packing, and someone else was still sleeping after her pre-dawn awakening. We managed to get to Sea Life Aquarium about 12:30 - much later than I had anticipated. I'm so glad I purchased tickets in advance. Though we had about a 15 minute wait to enter the aquarium, it did sell out. It was the perfect day to discover underwater adventures. All iPhone pics this time. Figured I'd be worn out keeping up with the crew- no need to add a SLR to the mix.

Bug's shoe selfie while we wait...

Checking out some stingrays. Not sure why Addi has this coat hanger smile all of a sudden...

Addi checks out a stingray's barb. Pretty cool!

An unintentional silhouette, but I love this! 

Look at those cuties.

Another poor selfie attempt

Holding shark's eggs with her unimpressed/Benadryl look...

A touch of a sea urchin

It was a fun outing. McDonald's for a late lunch afterwards, of course, and then a super late nap for Bug. Addisyn was not interested. 

We ended our first night together with Bug spending much of his time talking to Otis and trying to convince him to watch Dora the Explorer. Addi was the ultimate waitress taking order after order of all of my favorite foods that her restaurant served. In addition, a quick trip to the store was in order (out of milk and a few other items), so needless to say it was a long day. The slumber party continued with "extended" hours, but eventually everyone settled down for a long night's sleep!

Second Semester Start

It's so amazing to watch and witness how much learning takes place in a Pre-K classroom. Being a secondary teacher for 20 years, it's hard to comprehend how someone learns to read, comprehend, and synthesize words and text. I know it's often said about middle and high school teachers, but I can't image being an elementary school teacher of the early grades - yikes! Here's a little more of Addi's learning taking place.

A few Super Bowl XLVIII selfies - I know they're still terrible, but I'm trying!

The shirt that Ash spent hours working on the night before Addi's 100th Day of School. It turned out just fabulous in spite of a little added stress. Mrs. Dudley thought it was darling. Wouldn't you agree? 

Bug and the Selfies

Seriously, Ashton's photography has taken on a life of its own. Here we are at the GPHS vs. SGPHS rival basketball game at Turner Gym.

Bug's pics: 

Jaylen's pic: Look at those lashes! OMG

Mine: This one earned a lot of Likes on Facebook. We had fabulous time! 

And more from Bug on a Sunday afternoon:

And a random movie courtesy of Red: "The Fearless Monkey."

Ladybug Takes on Hoops

Soccer had its turn; now it's time to take play indoors. It's basketball season, and if you weren't aware that 4-yrs old have a league of their own, now you know! It's a HOT MESS - that's all I can say. The pics and videos don't do this game justice, so if you can catch one in person, please do!

Her neighborhood buddy, Brielle, joined the team too. They are the only girls, and BETTER than many of the boys. Good times...

And a little video for comic relief - the dribble will come later, I'm sure...

 

In between games, during one night of crew-sitting (it's actually Ash's birthday), Addi attempts the figure 8 roll for the first time. Not bad - and Ashton LOVES watching this video over and over and over.

Welcome 2014 ...

The new year began with little fan fair - pretty typical. New Year's Day, the Crew and everyone else managed to meet up on Pinoak for a helping of black-eyed peas to start things off right. It quickly become apparent that THIS is our year of the selfie. Fittingly so, since "selfie" was the 2013 word of the year, Bug's little fingers and personality are now accustomed to trying to work some magic on my phone, and I find myself taking more and more of me and the crew. (Not really fond of the selfie solos.) These recapture the first day of the year.

Yeah, I know - we're not very good. But we just started taking them. Need more practice!

Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas!

Now this year's card was a bit of a challenge. As usual, I procrastinated. With the deluge of bad weather, school stuff, and basketball games it was really hard to get the crew together. So at the last minute, I called on Mimi and Chief to be my assistants. We were shooting INSIDE - yikes! And, I was attempting to borrow an idea or two from Pinterest that I had seen. I had no idea how things were going to turn out - always thinking the worst. I must admit, this was the most difficult shoot to date. The bottom picture in the card that everyone loved so much, pretty much summarizes it all. Here are a few that didn't make the cut -

The PJs were perfect and purchased first! I had plans for designing my own card to accompany them. However, like I mentioned before - stuff happens. So thankfully, and once again Snapfish to the rescue! I stumbled across the PERFECT CARD!

It doesn't get any better than that!

Christmas day family and fun was fab as usual. Since Addi and Ashton are the only kiddos around, the celebration has officially been moved to Ponzano. No complaints...

Addi sports her new Beetle with Bug as a passenger. 

Santa and family didn't disappoint...

Christmas dinner - 

Good times!