Coconut and Peeled Coconut

It happened sometime over the weekend, I think.

Connor started referring to the dogs as coconuts.

Why?

I don't know.  I did ask him.  He said it was because they were coconuts.

Tik is Coconut.

Poppy is Peeled Coconut.

It's hilarious and adorable and exactly something Connor would say.

Since we are talking about them, here is a video of the coconuts.

Sandy Springs Lantern Parade

This past weekend we did a thing.  It was a really great thing.

We participated in the annual Sandy Springs Lantern Parade!!!

First, we went to Michaels and Party City to buy supplies.  We bought battery powered tea lights (next year we will buy much more powerful and brighter lights), dowel rods and paper lanterns.

Then, we decorated our lanterns:

Grandma Ella made a pink owl.

Connor made a moose.

The moose antlers were a little bit floppy, so Connor named his moose:

Flopsy Wopsy the Moosey Woosey.

It was the perfect name.

I made a couple of Pokemon lanterns.  One was Pikachu.

The other is the purple one: Gastly.  It's a ghost type Pokemon.

Then, one of the boys' friends helped me make a Minecraft creeper lantern (the green one) and a narwhal lantern (the blue one).  Lex had specifically asked me to make him a narwhal.  It took two tries to get the horn right.

Then, on the night of the parade, we all gathered together with the bigger floats and the band and marched down to the river!

Once we got to the river, we got some snacks and watched the rest of the floats and lanterns go by.  We didn't make it down watch the water part of the parade, but apparently all the floats and some of the lanterns continue making their way down the river.  It was a great event, and I'm already looking forward to next year!  Next year our lanterns will be BIGGER and BRIGHTER and BETTER!

Rooftop Park

We finally made it up to the Skyline Park on the rooftop of Ponce City Market!!

It's a ton of fun up there!

There are some restaurants and concession stands, and there is a mini golf course, and there is a giant slide and some other rides:

There are also carnival games, and Lex was lucky enough and skilled enough to win a prize at the ring toss game.

Meet Jerry the Unicorn!

We played skee ball until we had enough tickets to cash in to get this awesome prize for Connor.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to introduce you to Duck Norris!

THE END

Poppy Time

Here we find Poppy in her natural habitat:

Laying on the couch, snuggling with Lex's giant stuffed dog named Cat and the blanket that I made for him before he was born.

The Outdoor Decor: Holidays 2017 Edition

The day after Thanksgiving, I decided that it was time to decorate the outside of the house for Christmas.  I went shopping on Black Friday and bought new lights and this awesome Squirrel that Connor picked out:

His name is Bucky D. Cheznutz.  He enjoys karaoke and Christmas carols.

He likes pina coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Also, he is a rapper.

Ella also went shopping and bought me a beautiful wreath for the front door:

I am pleased with how the lights turned out.  I think they look nice at night:

Merry Christmas!

With Love, 

From Me

& Bucky D.

Toomsuba to Tuscaloosa

We stopped in the middle of nowhere in Toomsuba, Mississippi so that we could get some gas and let Tik out of the car for a bit.

Also, Toomsuba is the most wonderful name for a tiny town ever.

While we were at the gas station, I turned Pokemon Go on for a second.  I have never seen so many wonderful Pokemon all in one spot, without there being any Pokestops or Gyms nearby.

Later that afternoon, I realized that we were going to be driving past the University of Alabama, and that the Crimson Tide were having a game later that night.  We decided to take a short detour to drive around campus.  I got Connor as close to the football stadium as I could.

His top two picks for college are now Standford and University of Alabama.

Later that night, we finally arrived at our new house!

Summer of Silliness: Co-Pilot

I asked the boys if they wanted to come with me to run some errands.  They did not.  But Lex did give me his giant stuffed dog named Cat to remember him by and keep me company. He told me that it was a part of him, so it would be like he was coming with me, but without him having to deal with all the bother of actually coming with me. Such a sweet boy.

A Funny Little Story

Connor wrote a funny little story.  Click on the photo to make it bigger and read it.

It's Time for Some New Pokemon!

The official release date for the bulk of the Pokemon Sun and Moon trading cards isn't until February 3rd, but there have been some theme decks that were released early.  Of course, we had to get them all.  The boys had Christmas money that they were yearning to spend on something great.







Oh, and while we were shopping, Lex made a new puppy friend.

His name is Puppy Doug.  He goes by PD.  Also PewDiePup.  He's a soft, fluffy puppy, which is fun to say ten times fast.

**Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.  Soft, fluffy puppy.**



Opening new cards is as fun as playing with them.

This guy, Snorlax GX, is another special pre-release card.  He has the new GX move, which is brand new to the Pokemon Trading Card Game world.

Watch out for his Thunderous Snore, and the Pulverizing Pancake!!

****POST EDIT****

On this day, January 27, 2017, I have been informed that I have completely messed up that soft, fluffy puppy's name.  He is not Puppy Doug, he is Puppy Dave.  Please be advised, and proceed accordingly.

****THANK YOU****

In which Kris and Lauren get Married

My brother-in-law got married in Ohio last weekend!

Here he is.  The Man of the Hour.  Uncle Kris.  Well, uncle to these two:

Lex took to his suit jacket.  He wore it all week, and he called it his MLG jacket.  (MLG means Major League Gamer, and it's the thing to be around here.)

Kevin, Kris and Grandma Ella

The Groom's whole family.  

Kevin, Me, Connor, Kyle, Lex, Kris, Ella and Kirk

Kris and Lauren getting married

Kris and Lauren at the reception.

Fun fact:  Connor and Lex have an Uncle Kris (Kevin's brother) and an Uncle Chris (my brother).  Now that Kris and Lauren are married, they have a nephew named Connor and another nephew named Conner.  Conner is about the same age as Connor and Lex, and he also likes to play Pokemon.  They were very happy to meet each other.

Kevin and Kyle

Kevin and Papa Kirk

The Groom's Mother's Side of the Family

The Groom's Father's Side of the Family

Aunt Ann and her Nephews

Me, Kevin, Ella, Kirk and Kyle

The wedding ceremony and reception were both beautiful.  The bride was beautiful.  I'm so happy to have Lauren as a sister-in-law.  I hope Kris and Lauren have a wonderfully happy marriage.

Connor and Lex hope to play more Pokemon with Conner at family events.

Congratulations, Kris and Lauren!

On Lex's 7th Birthday

We woke up long before the sun rose and drove to Lubbock to fly to Dallas to fly to Columbus because we couldn't get a good flight out of Amarillo.  Because Amarillo.

But because we got up so early, and there was a time change, Lex got to enjoy the most hours of birthday day ever in a single birthday.



Here he is, enjoying a larger than life game of chess in the airport at the crack of dawn.

After we got to Columbus, I set about getting everything together for his birthday party.  I bought a cake and paper plates, napkins, all the assorted party things, and then we met some friends at Magic Mountain to celebrate.

Because we were in Ohio, he was lucky enough to celebrate his birthday with friends and both sets of grandparents.



There were plenty of tokens for the video games, and lots of tickets were earned.  Lex exchanged his tickets for a blow dart gun at the end of the night.

We also had pizza.

I bought him an Oreo cookie cake.  It was delicious.

Lex had asked Papa Kirk and Grandma Ella to buy him the biggest stuffed penguin that they could find as his birthday present.  They did not disappoint.

Meet his new penguin.  He hasn't settled on a name for him yet.  I think he should call him after Ernest Shackleton, but he isn't my penguin to name.

All the little boys played a game of laser tag, because Lex loves to have laser tag on his birthday.

Happy Birthday, Lex!