Pink Pig 2008

Our family has an annual tradition with the Staples family. Every December, we plan an evening to take the kids to ride the Pink Pig and eat a fancy dinner at the Varsity. This year was our fourth year making this trip.

The Pink Pig is a ride that has been around since our parents were children. Years ago, you climbed into this pig and rode around on the rooftop of the Rich's building downtown and then the ride would take you into the store and you would ride around the ceiling of the store looking down over the toy department. This ride is a Christmas only event.

Now, things have changed a little bit and you ride on a train under a huge tent on the top of the parking deck at Lenox Mall right outside the Macy's entrance. The ride is sized so adults can ride as well. The proceeds of the ride go to a local children's hospital, so you are helping others while having fun at the same time.

We were able to take lots of good pictures of the kids. We're including more than a usual post because April's camera was on the outs Friday evening, so some of these are for her as well. Oh, and yes Mark, you've been blogged.

Thanks for a great evening out. We love this tradition and we love our friendship with you guys. It has been a blast watching our kids enjoy these special evenings over the years. Looking forward to many more...

Buford Christmas Parade

This afternoon, after Zachary's gingerbread construction project (see below), we went to the annual Buford Christmas Parade. Buford is a town that is quickly becoming known for their parades. This was the third parade this year that we have been able to attend. Every one is fun and we always come home with tons of candy. Today was no exception.

The parade began with the Buford Marshal blowing his siren to signal the beginning of the parade and ended with Santa's grand entrance. We took pictures of some of our favorite entries today. Here's a few.

A Future Construction Worker's Dream Come True

For several years, Zachary has made no secret of his desire to become a construction worker when he grows up. Anything and everything having to do with construction amazes him. He will sit at any jobsite and be perfectly entertained for hours. He sits in the living room and "builds" hottubs, houses, barns and other things on a nightly basis. Every toy becomes some sort of a tool. The microphone on his piano was a screwdriver just yesterday.

So...

Today was a dream come true for him. His best adult bud, Crappy, invited him to go with her to go build a gingerbread house. They left bright and early this morning to head up to Habersham County to visit with some of her friends and build their first house. Never in our wildest dreams would we have imagined that he would have had this much fun. The house made it back in one piece and is proudly displayed on our kitchen table. His first real construction project.

We think the house looks awesome. Here are a few pictures from their morning together. Thanks, Crappy, for showing Zachary such a great time.

Friendship Cookie

A week or so ago, Zachary brought home from Sunday School this bag with a cookie enclosed. Their lesson in church was about friends and giving to others. Each child got to choose a friend to give their cookie to. Zachary chose his buddy Andrew. Unfortunately the cookie didn't survive long enough to give to Andrew, but the thought and intent was there. We'll get you a Frosted Orange at the Varsity this week instead. Deal?

A Good Hedge Wrecking! 45-42

Next Year's Costume???

The other evening, Zachary was trying on a new pair of pajamas that his Granny purchased for him. In the process of trying on the pjs he decided that he was like a fireman since he could step into the outfit like a fireman steps into his suit.

One thing led to another and next thing we knew, he was wearing his "fire boots", "fire gloves" and fire helmet. The gloves and boots are about four sizes too big for him. He may be able to wear them when he is 8 or 9. Not too sure why the zipper was halfway down. Guess he is a sexy fireman.

We were totally fine with the whole getup until we had to walk the dog. Yes, Zachary had to go out with us. The neighbors were hysterical. We all laughed for the rest of the evening. It was too funny.

Had we known that a costume would be so easy to put together, we would have never gone the pirate route.

Maybe next year...

Happy Halloween!

Tonight, we went to our church's annual Fall Festival.

We love this ministry opportunity that our church provides. It gives our church a chance to reach out to folks who otherwise may not ever enter the doors of any church. Over the years, we have invited several friends and family that are unchurched. This is a great way to reach unchurched friends. All of the kids (and the adults if they wish) get to dress up in their costumes and play tons of fun games out on the ballfields in exchange for candy. It is lots of fun!

This year, Zachary decided to be a pirate. He was way too cute. Below are a few pictures of him in costume and a couple of him playing some of the games. The weather was beautiful. Not a cloud in sight. You can see Allison in the last picture in a long sleeve tshirt. Can't complain at all.

Baseball's Over - for now

Last night was Zachary's final game of the fall season. He has grown to really enjoy playing baseball and is beginning to understand the ins and outs of the game. We have all made some great friends this season that we cannot wait to see until next season.

Zachary has had Coach John as his head coach for both seasons he has played. Coach John is great with the kids and loves challenging the boys to be their best.

Last night, Zachary finally got the game ball. He was SO excited. He was so excited, in fact, that he slept with the ball last night and took it to school today. They are now inseperable.

Thanks, Coach John, for for a great season!

Zachary's First GT Football Game

Today, we had an extra ticket to the Georgia Tech football game, so we siezed the opportunity to take Zachary to his first game. He was SO excited. All he could talk about for the last three days was everything he thought he knew about how college football works. We got to hear just how many people were going to be at the game, how close we were going to park, what Buzz would be doing during the game, and so on.

We got to the game early enough to eat The Varsity. From there, we spent about an hour taking advantage of some of the activities around the stadium before the game begins. Zachary got to shoot basketballs, practice his fast ball and throw some footballs. We also had a blast people watching.

Thirty minutes before game time, the band always plays a series of fight songs just outside the entrance to the stadium. Of course, we had front row seats for that. From there, Zachary forgot totally about the football game. He was much more interested in the band. He has decided that he is going to be Drum Major one day.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Also, here's a video of how Zachary acted every time the band played a song. He had everyone around us in stitches. It was too funny. We don't think he has any idea who won the game. (It wasn't Tech.)

Our Next 5k...

We have registered for the Jingle Jog. Have you?

Let us know - we'd love to get a group together!

WILL THIS EVER END????

Happy Fall Y'all!

This afternoon, we went to Washington Farms in Watkinsville to pick out our pumpkins for the porch. It was our first time not going to Burt's Farm in Dawsonville, so we weren't sure what to expect.
While at the farm, we got to see and do lots of fun things. We got to pet goats, rabbits, a donkey, and two pigs. We also got to race rubber duckies by pumping water with old timey water pumps. They had bikes that you could race around the track and the boys had a fierce competition. Zachary won. We also got our taste of local traditions such as pumpkin launching and corn shooting.

There was a hayride that we rode, but Allison and Zachary also had the pleasure of riding in the Cow Train. The picture is deceiving. The cow is much smaller than we make it look. It was most uncomfortable as we bounced around the pasture behind the John Deere that pulled the train of cows along. Zachary said it was "so awesome!"

Perhaps the most interesting thing we go to see was pig racing. Interesting doesn't even begin to describe this...

We did end up finding five pumpkins to take home. It was dark by the time we got home, so no pictures of the final decorations. Perhaps in a couple days, we can post those. It was a great afternoon. Lots of memories were made. We'll be back in the spring to pick some strawberries.

Grandpa's '55

This morning, we stopped by a car show at Buford High School that Allison's Dad entered with his '55 Chevrolet. Zachary loved getting to see all of the old cars on display. It is not often that we get to see the car out from under the cover in the garage, so this was a real treat.

A candid shot of Marty and Grandpa.

We were very excited to hear that Grandpa won a trophy for his car. Congratulations!