Video - Church Musical 1

Glynwood Baptist Church (Prattville, AL) Preschool Choir singing "Do You Know Why?" for the 2012 Children's Program.

Video - Church Musical 2

Glynwood Baptist Church (Prattville, AL) Preschool Choir singing "The Ba Ba Beat" for the 2012 Children's Program.

8/20 - Church outreach

Last Saturday we had our first outreach with our new church. We met at the local park (Brad walked there while I dropped the boys off at the church) and did an afternoon cookout and games. I also had pink eye but wore sunglasses most of the time so no one knew so if I look a little funny in the picture, that may be why.

We finally got to meet the pastor of our church and also got to know some of the other members. We had a few families come down and visit at the park. At about the halfway point, Brad went to go pick up the boys since it was kind of slow and I could handle our station by myself (we were in charge of games). The boys had a great time. Here they are drawing with sidewalk chalk.

They tried to participate in the games and relays we were having but the egg on the spoon was a little too tough for them. There was one family that came and they had 10 children (and 2 parents). The kids were all so sweet and cooperative. It was fun to play games with them.

I eventually went to the house and got the boys' bikes so they could ride around. Here is Aiden taking a break from riding his bike to eat some popcorn.

Eli had a snow cone but as you can see, was having some issues. Neither boy napped that day and I wasn't sure how long Eli would hang in there. He had a few minor meltdowns but did pretty well. He is upset here because he spilled some of the melted snow cone out of his cup by accident. Overall, I think the church outreach was a success and am hoping to see one of the families that we saw at picnic come to church soon.

I let the boys decide what to do last week when they stayed home with me for a day. Here is what they planned for us:

They decided on eat breakfast, play on the iPad, play trains/cars, go to Pump It Up, nap, mommy exercise time and then bikes. What a day we had planned. They actually switched things up a little and played trains first. We got out the track and I let them set it up in the kitchen (which is a huge treat) and they had a blast. 

They then got to take turns playing on the iPad. They love that thing. I'm always curious to see what they are in the mood to play. Most recently, monster truck racing has been a big hit. Eli likes to make letters and Aiden likes to do matching games and a drawing game. They both enjoy this game where you have to find the right shape and drag it to the picture and match it up. Here is Aiden playing while Eli watches on. They are so cute together.

We finally headed to Pump It Up. Eli is on the far left in the picture below and Aiden is on the right. They were doing the obstacle course and having quite a fun time. We  played pretty hard and I was even sweating at one point.

Here are the boys getting ready to do some crafts and cut some paper. They love just cutting paper up into small pieces and then gluing them together. Amazing what can keep them occupied for a while.

Aiden and I were sick this past weekend and stayed home from church on Sunday. By the late afternoon, Aiden was feeling significantly better so we went out to eat to get out of the house. He had a major meltdown at the restaurant because his ears hurt so bad but we eventually got past that. Aiden still has a bit of a cough and Eli has a runny nose but other than that, they are doing well. I'm still feeling like garbage but thankfully Brad hasn't gotten it so far.

Last week was a shock to both Brad and I as he finally returned to school full-time. Being married to someone in school is no fun. The poor man is gone all day and then comes home and has to start reading right away for all his classes tomorrow. I try and find stuff to do quietly in the evening but eventually he goes to the bedroom so I can watch tv for a little bit.

10/15 - Lots of church stuff

This week has gone by pretty fast. The boys are doing well and I've started to get behind on school work again. I have lots of grading to do at the moment. I'm excited to be teaching at UF and I knew it would be a challenging effort but I still think it's worth it. It seems like I get home and after the boys go down, I'm busy doing work until bed time but I love teaching. Brad has been such a huge help by taking the boys to daycare and sometimes picking them up. Without his support, I would never be able to do this. He's also been good about letting me do work at night and respecting that I have work to do although sometimes it's just doing my BSF homework or other bible study work since I don't have time during the day to get that stuff done.

Our church is having a Missions Week and there have been lots of activities planned. We went to the community cookout in OakLeaf (they did cookouts in 3 different areas of west Jacksonville/Orange Park). We brought our grill and Brad was the cook. They had a bounce house for the kids which was a huge hit. I'm not sure how many people were from our church versus just neighbors who came out but it seemed like fun for all. Here are Aiden and Eli with one of the missionaries daughters, Ashton. She was so sweet and helpful to them.

Eli actually usually doesn't like bounce houses but he did go in this one when it was just him and Aiden and 2 other kids. Once everyone else started coming, it was too crazy for him. I was excited he at least went in it a few times.

We had some of the hotdogs that Brad grilled. Aiden wanted just a bun, no hotdog. What a crazy kid. I got him a hotdog anyway and made him take a few bites of it. Eli, never one to waste food, eventually ate Aiden's hotdog too.

The boys got new long sleeve Gator shirts and I put Eli's in his when it was a little chilly this morning. He looks so cute in it (Jess - I have stuff for Liam and it's just been sitting at the house; let me check with Brad about mailing that off).

Today, one of Aiden's friends from church, Maddie, had her 4th birthday party at a local park. We went and the boys had a ton of fun running around.

Eli got in this dinosaur rocking thing but had a very difficult time getting out. I was cracking up. He couldn't have made it more complicated if he tried.

Aiden got to enjoy some new climbing with daddy.

Eli, of course, enjoyed the food and ate his hotdog again.

We were all decked out in our Gator clothes (except Brad).

Kyleigh and Regan came with use to the birthday party and they were so cute.

While trying to convince Aiden to eat his muscle food, Eli decided he would show us his muscles. He's so stinkin' cute.

Aiden got to experience his first pinata today. They all got to pull strings until it opened up. For never having done this or seen this, Aiden was prepared. Look at him standing under the pinata with his bag open. Smart boy!! With a little help from an adult, the pinata opened and the kids quickly went to the ground and after the candy. It was much less chaotic than I imagined. At the end, Aiden wanted to know why everyone else had a whistle and he didn't. Brad tried to tell him that he didn't pick one up off the ground and that's why he didn't have one. He was pretty bummed about it. Eli got ahold of some candy and even tried to eat the plastic that covered it because he was so impatient.

The other night at about 8:00pm, our doorbell rang. I was frustrated and Brad and I ran to the door. Who on earth would be ringing our doorbell at 8pm? We have kids sleeping! Anyway, we were Booed! Someone left a Halloween bag outside our door with goodies in it. We have 2 days to buy stuff and Boo other people in our neighborhood. Once you are booed, you put a sign in your window so that people know. How fun. We can't wait to ring someone else's doorbell and run tomorrow!