Stick a fork in t-ball ...

because it's done!

The Yankees had a great season. We won EVERY game! Of course, every team wins every game because they don't keep score. But I like to think that the Yankees were the best every game winner of the bunch.

Team pic - minus two players and one coach.


Yankees MVP and his trophy.


The MVP's trophy ten minutes later.


Same trophy a hundred tears, three hours and some gorilla glue later.



Jack's favorite parts of tball in a nutshell:


Twirling in the field ... playing in the dirt ... batting and playing first base. In that order.

Field Trip!

Yesterday was Jack's first official real school field trip! They went to an area pumpkin farm and I was lucky enough to be able to attend as a chaperone. I was also lucky enough to have been denied a seat on the bus due to lack of space available. Therefore I got to spend the hour long drive to said pumpking patch carpooling in a nice comfy mini-van sipping coffee with 2 other neighborhood moms. Beats being on a bumpy, uncomfortable school bus for the hour long drive with 40-some screaming five year olds, two of whom got sick on the ride there. Ain't no one gettin' sick in the mini-van! There were lots of laughs, stories, colorful language, but no getting sick. Note to readers: the majority of suburban moms have a mouth on them the likes of a man who was previously a sailor and recently embarked on a new career in big rig trucking. This is a fact.

So when we got there we learned some fun facts about pumpkins and apples (Don't quiz me. I remember none of them.)and then it was time for the tractor ride to the pumpkin patch:


The tractor drops us off in the middle of the patch where we are all free to search for a pumpkin to call our own. Jack searched...


And searched ...


(And searched and searched and searched and searched.)

And found!


Jack and friends with their finds on their heads ...

Note: Jack is holding his pumpkin on his head. It's just so tiny you can't see it.

And because you know how I love the outtakes ...


The tractors then took us back to the main part of the farm where it was determined that Jack had indeed picked the smallest pumpkin ever known to man.


After that it was time for a bathroom break (bathroom breaks with 40some kindergarteners = NIGHTMARE). Jack made a new friend outside of the facilities.


A close up of Jack's friend.



There was a picnic lunch ..




A great big jumpy thing (I totally want one one in my backyard)...


A petting zoo ...


And then the teachers announced it was time to leave. About ten kids started crying (Jack included) and one threw up (not Jack) and with that the two other neighborhood moms and I boarded our minivan for the trip home happier then EVER that there was no space for us on the bus.

Grab your popcorn ...

'Cause it's movie time!

As I said in the last post, Jack's cousins came down to visit this past weekend. Michael Michael had bidness to conduct in Reston during the week so Steph and the kiddos came along to make a trip out of it. We were lucky enough to have the four of them come and stay at Casa Gifford Friday thru Sunday. Whilst there Mima presented the kiddos with matching PJs and asked if we could try and get a good picture of the kids wearing them together. And try we did! I put together a little slideshow of the outtakes. PS: They were ALL outtakes.

Clicky on the pic-y please ....



Getting a picture of a five year old, a three year old, a six month old and a five month old where they are all looking at the camera AND not making a weird face AND their chubby little bellies aren't peeking out AND they are not eating their fingers = next to impossible.

I think the outtake pictures are way better anyway!

SIX months!!

Our baby girl is half a year old. Well, half a year plus 12 days. Two kids + swim practice + t ball games + Kindergarten homework + tending to a half-year-old who still wakes up twice a night = late blog posts for you.

So what is Miss Kate up to these days? I'm glad you asked.


She is hanging out with Tad ....


And taking baths in the sink ...


And riding in the shopping cart like a big girl ...



And resembling her mama ...

That picture is mama at 8 months. Note how our right ears stick out in exactly the same manner.

Mostly she spends her time looking like this ...


And also, sometimes like this ...


And she spends every second of every day making her family feel like the luckiest people in the whole wide world. We are so very blessed.

Spirit Week - Day 5

Forgive my lateness with this one. But the bonus is the reason I was late - Jack's cousins came to visit for the weekend! You know what that means - a Cousinpalooza post is headed your way "soon". I put soon in quotes so that when you are like "WHERE is that cousinpoolza post you promised us? You said soon!" I can be like "Well technically I said "soon"."

Anywho ... Friday was school spirit day. Jack was all Greenville Dragoned out.


School colors = green and yellow. The green and yellow hair was his idea. Genius!

And he told me that he won on patriotic day! HE WON!!!! He dropped that in conversation like 4 days after the fact. You'd have thought he had just told me he'd won the Nobel Peace Prize by the way I reacted. I really need to get a handle on that.

Spirit Week - Day 4

Yesterday was sports day and Jack was all "GO REDSKINS!".


You've just got to love his picture taking face. And yes indeedy those are Redskins silly bands he's wearing! Hmmm ... my spell checks seems to be indicating that "indeedy" is not actually a word. I respectfully disagree, indeedy I do.

A better view of the hair ...




So we are at the bus stop yesterday and Jack is like "I hope I win the contest in my class today." and I'm all "Contest?" and he's all "Yeah the contest for the best sports day outfit" and I'm all "What what WHAT?!? They've been doing freaking contests each day?!". And yes I actually said freaking because helloooooooo why did nobody tell me their outfits were being judged? I thought this was just for fun. Had I known there was winning involved Jack would have has spirt week outfits like none that place has never seen! He'd have gone down in kindergarten spirit week history as the best costumed child to ever walk the halls of that school! Now that I know about the whole contest thing I'm already planning his outfits for next year. I'm actually considering hiring a real Redskins player to escort him though out the day on sports day. Really tho, how much could that cost? Okay I *think* I just might know where Jack gets that freaky overly competitive thing from.

Spirit Week - Day 3

Yesterday was mismatch day! And here is my mismatched Jack.


It looks like he's hating being mismatched - but really he's just hating being photographed. The boy just wanted to get to the busstop - he gets quite upset when he's not the first one there in the morning. No idea where he gets that freaky overly competitive thing from. None at all.

Me: Okay hurry up then - gimme ONE smile and it's off to the busstop you go! Try your hardest!"
Jack:

I mean COME ON NOW!!!!

And one more blurry one taken with my phone. I realized I didn't get his shoes in the previous pictures and there was no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks Jack was going to let me bring my camera back out to get one more shot!

That's one croc and one sneaker! As if the boy doesn't already have enough trouble walking without falling ....

Spirit Week - Day 2

Happy patriotic day to you!!



I wanted to spray paint his hair red, white and blue but he wasn't having it. Also I know this post should be longer and more entertaining - but I am tired and not so entertaining feeling. We've had a cold bug running through the house and lately it seems like I'm up at least 3 times a night either tending to someone else's cough, or coughing myself.

Tomorrow is mis-match day! Can you feel the excitement?!

Spirit Week - Day 1.

Today marks the beginning of spirit week at Jack's school! Day 1 = crazy hair day! I present to you Jack's crazy hair.


And this time, with crazy eyes!


Note how his hair matches his backpack straps.


I am going to suggest we start doing spirit week at work as follows:

Monday - Pajamas and a ponytail day
Tuesday - Beer at lunch day
Wednesday - Brand new shoes day
Thursday - Beer at lunch day again
Friday - Invisible day

Whaddya think?

Interesting.

If I knew you were coming I'd have baked a ....



Yep, that's a cake. Made it myself in honor of Mima's 45th (or something like that) birthday! Think she'll love it?


Off to the store to buy a real cake now. And a Brillo pad.

Happy birthday to you Mima!!!