Our trip to Winston-Salem

Hey y'all,

Don't be alarmed... I know it's shocking that I am back to blogging so soon, but I am really making an effort here.  And... we have another sickie!  Ugh!  We were supposed to be heading to Atlanta today, but Michael caught the bug that Colin had.

We went to Winston-Salem a few weeks ago because Michael had an appointment with the neurosurgeon that did his back surgery.  (Yes, the surgery was in Ohio, not NC, but Dr. Hnilica moved.)  Because of this trip, we got to stay in a new Ritz Carlton (for FREE!) and visit with the my roommate from Taylor and her family.  I was so excited to finally meet her son, Jack!

The doctor had good news for Michael and the Ritz was awesome.  It was wonderful to see and have dinner with Jenny, Gregg and Jack too.

We got upgraded to a suite.  It was sweet! ;)

See that bathtub back there?  Yeah, it had my name written all over it!  Ahh...

They delivered cupcakes and milk to us shortly after we arrived.  Yum!

The pool

Colin couldn't touch. :(  He spent a few minutes in the pool with me, but we spent most of our time in the "hot pool."  ;)  

After swimming, we got back to our room and found personalized robes for the kids!  

Molly's was a bit short, but it was comfy.

*Did I mention this was free?  Seriously, all we paid for was our overnight parking!!  

Michael and the kids

This is ALL chocolate!  Even the mannequin!  Amazing!!

Me and Jack -- He's such a cutie!

Molly and Jack

Colin and Jack

Jenny and me... over the years, each time we get together, we take a picture of the two of us.  It's become a tradition.  It was great to see her and spend time with her, even if it was short.  

Overall, the trip was great.  Of course, the Ritz was in Charlotte, not Winston.  But, we stayed there the night before Michael's appointment.  As a result, we have now found a new destination we would all like to explore.  Charlotte was a neat city, with a lot of cool things we would like to check out.  We hope to go back sometime when we have more time to see things.  I know for sure there are at least two McCanns that want to see a bit of NASCAR the next time around. 

Until next time...

September 2011

Hey y'all,

September was very busy.  Just day to day stuff.  Not many pictures, but below you will find a brief synopsis of our month.  Enjoy...

This is a model of a cell we made.  Very cool!

Our ants have made a lot of progress.  But, as all things do, they died.

We went to a local dairy farm.  There wasn't much there, but we got a gallon of whole milk that was not homogenized.  It was so good!

Molly and I went to a Mommy and Me crop at The Scrapbook Princess.  She did such a good job!  

Us at the crop.

We are having art class once a week this school year.  We have spent time learning about the elements of shape.  This was a lesson in which we explored and played with using all the elements of shape.  Our doodles turned out really cool!

Until next time...

August 2011

Hey y'all,

In August, the kids and I went back to Destin with friends, we went to Ohio for a visit and we started our school year.  It was a busy month, but full of fun.  

Molly and Colin about to head to the beach.

Colin blowing bubbles on the beach.  

Doesn't she look like she's on a photo shoot?  We even have the wind blowing her hair!! :)

We went with our friends, the Biddy's.  They brought their cousin Cameron as well.  Here all the kids are enjoying a popsicle, poolside. 

We visited the McWane Center in August as well.  This is in the new bubble room.  It was really cool.  The kids were even able to make a bubble around them.  They were surrounded by a bubble!

Making bubbles.

Riding the zip line.

Molly's turn.

Molly rode this high wire gravity bike.  It was really cool.  She was VERY brave!

The kids and I made the trip up to Ohio.  We spent a week playing with Abigail, AJ and Rachael.  Here, we were at The Boonshoft, a children's museum in Dayton.  All the kids were making pizzas. 

I can't remember the name of these gardens, but after the children's museum, we had a picnic and played at these gardens.  It was a lot of fun!

One day we went to the Columbus Zoo.  Here Molly and Mom posed for me while we waited for a show about birds.  Great pic, huh?

Aren't they cute?

We had several great opportunities for group pics.  They turned out great!

At the end of the week, we celebrated Grandma McCleery's 90th birthday.  Hooray!!  I was so thankful to be home for this party!

This is what 90 candles looks like!

Grandma and her children - Mom, Uncle Jon and Uncle Pat.

Grandma with two of her great-grandchildren.  My kids are so blessed!

Finally, we were able to experience the Pelotonia!  We got up very early Saturday morning to see Dad start his ride to Athens and back.  

Waiting to start

And they're off!

Back at mom and dad's house, we had a bit of time to wait until it was time to pick Michael up at the airport. We played bubbles.  If you haven't noticed, bubbles have been popular with the kids lately!  Note Colin's tongue... it is sticking out anytime he is concentrating.  I can hardly watch him during school because he cracks me up!!  

Is this not the coolest?!?!  She made a bubble bigger than her head!

Our first day of school -- August 25th, 2011

This year, we got ants for our ant farm.  It was pretty exciting.

Molly got a hair cut and we found this shirt that couldn't be more perfect for this girl that sings ALL THE TIME!!!

Our ants have started working, building tunnels.

The kids are having fun watching the ants.

August was a busy month and since it is now mid-October and I am just now blogging about it, I can assure you that our lives have not settled down.  We have sickies today, so we have cancelled school and are not going anywhere or doing anything.  As a result, I have finally had a few minutes to sit and work on this.  I hope you enjoy!

Until next time...