Halloween 2009

Here are Bridget in her bee costume and Tessa in her Supergirl costume:




Here they are with Dwayne. He and I wore KISS make-up for Halloween, too:

KISS Concert, 10-26-09

Here are Bridget and Tessa, all ready to attend their first real rock concert:



Dwayne and I went as Ace and Peter:



Dwayne did all the make-up. He's pretty talented!

Crazy Hair Day, 10-26-09

I created kooky hairdos for the girls to wear to school today for Crazy Hair Day. Tessa's do is a bit more conservative. Bridget let me totally go wild with her hair.

Fairy Tale Tea Party

The girls attended a fairy tale tea party at The Ritzy Pixie on Saturday to celebrate Tessa's friend Cassidy's birthday. They got princess makeovers at the beginning of the party — all the girls looked so cute! They were taught the correct manners to use at a tea party, and it was so cute seeing them all do their best to drink from their tea cups while extending their pinkies. Legend has it that a mischievous pixie inhabits the place, and she turned lights on and off and did other things to make her presence known during the party. The girls were all believed that the pixie is indeed real. What fun!

Here's the tea table and a place setting. Very elegant!




Bridget and Tessa take their turn sitting in the special chair:




It's tea time:




My little darlings:





All the girls:

Jack O' Lanterns

Here are some pix of our jack o' lanterns for 2009. Dwayne and the girls scooped everything out, then Dwayne carved them. I tried to get him to do a jack o' lantern with Michael Jackson's face so that we could have a "Jacko Lantern", hee, hee. But, he said he wouldn't be able to do the nose correctly.

We wound up with a spider and Scooby Doo. I think Dwayne did a really good job!!

My Little Gin-Gin

Here's a pic of our sweet little mutt, Ginger. She is now 14-1/2 years old!!



She's been having arthritis and joint problems and got to where she couldn't go down the back stairs. Dwayne made her a gently-sloping ramp so that she can come and go as she pleases in comfort. Yes, she is a pampered pooch, and she's worth every bit of pampering she gets!!

Bridget's 8th Birthday, 9-13-09

Bridget's actual birthday fell on Sunday, so we got up about 7:00 and opened presents before going to 9:00 church.

Bridget and Tessa each got clock radios. I taught them how to hit the snooze, so they can catch a few more zzzz's before getting up. Only problem is they both sleep right through the alarm!! I should have bought Big Bens!!



Bridget's fave gift was a kid camcorder. It takes movies and still photos. She loves it!



She got a Barbie style salon:



Bridget got a new bike. She's now riding an 18-inch bike. She looks so big on it!!



After church, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to eat lunch and play games. Since we're in the Chuck E. Club, we got a special birthday discount. Lots of parents hate Chuck E. Cheese, but Dwayne and I love it. The kids can safely play independently because they stamp everyone's hand with infrared ink and verify that all kids are leaving with the person they came in with. It really is a place "where a kid can be a kid." Plus, Dwayne and I like to play the games, too!



We all enjoyed our 3 days of birthday celebrations!!

Bridget's Birthday Party, 9-12-09

Sandy threw a birthday party for Bridget at her house on the day before Bridget's birthday. We had lots of fun!

Here's the birthday girl:



Martha made the cake. It was a cupcake cake with the cupcakes arranged to look like big flowers. The icing was shades of blue, since blue is Bridget's current favorite color. It was beautiful and yummy!!



Here's Matthew's son, Hayden. He just turned 3 on Oct. 10. He is such a cutie:



Here's Stephanie's son, Brock. He's the same age as Bridget and is quite the little comedian:



Bridget and Tessa:



Reading a card:



Opening a gift with some helpers:



Climbing a tree:



Me, Bridget and Hayden:



Bridget with her proud parents:

Bridget's B-Day Celebration at School, 9-11-09

I took cupcakes to Bridget's class the Friday before her birthday. I got to hang out with the kids for about an hour; it was lots of fun! Here's Bridget and me:



Bridget loves her teacher, Mrs. Benoit. She made Bridget a special birthday hat and made a big fuss over her.



Bridget with her girl friends from her room:

Nurse Bridget to the Rescue!!

One day in late August, Tessa was feeling poorly due to a scraped knee. Bridget bandaged her up with her own homemade rigging, pushed her around in an umbrella stroller which served as a wheelchair, and also made a paper nurses' hat for herself. She is one creative kid!!

First Day of School

I'm only about 2 months late posting this pic. Here are my angels ready for their first day of school, August 18:

How We Spent Our Summer Staycation

Po' folks can have fun, too! All activities shown were free, except the drive-in, which cost $16 for four people to watch 2 movies; pretty cheap, and you don't have to buy overpriced concessions cuz you can bring your own food.

Fishing with daddy at White Oak Park:




Hungry park ducks looking for more bread:



Watching the latest Harry Potter flick at the Starlight Drive-In:



Playing Doggie Dress-Up:




Trying to catch crawdads (by hand) at the park:





At the Falcons free scrimmage, August 8, 40-yard-line, row 13:



Falcons' new acquistion, Tony Gonzales #88. My girls recognize him from NFL Replay TV ads and both think he's cute (I agree):



Matt Ryan, #2, 2008 Rookie of the Year, was the only player wearing pants rather than shorts:



We got to go down on the field after the scrimmage and the girls did some drills, assisted by Falcons' players:






Playing at my niece Stephanie's house. Bridget and Tessa were glued to Ashlyn all afternoon. She was so sweet to them!






The girls had a ball on the slide: