Happy New Year! 2012... not staged at all

wii would like to wish you and your family a happy and healthy new year!
be sure to follow this blog and our youtube page to keep up with us as we continue our little life's story.

Kids Love Desserts...but Love Helping More

We often let our kids help prepare desserts and treats when they involve gathering ingredients and mixing them together. Kids want to help and we know that enthusiasm may not always be there especially during the teen years(we have a few to go).

Find ways to involve your kids in everyday activities and special moments...which will make evearyday tasks special moments!

Hot Chocolate...Automatically a Kid's Cup!

Even though we have no snow this Christmas, we still needed a warm cup of hot chocolate! It sure is good!

Christmas Baking

Try some tasty Stripe Delight, a chocolaty dessert covered in whipped cream and crushed peppermint candy canes! Yum. Yum.

My wife and kids love to work together to make some tasty desserts! It is fun family time.

Merry Christmas

Santa Exercise Plan

Santa shows you how to burn off those Christmas Cookie Calories! enjoy!

When the Kids Are Away, The Parents Can PLAY!

Following the Thanksgiving Holiday, Nana decided to keep the kids for a couple of extra days?!

Finding our house empty we decided to spend a little just-us time! Every couple (even with kids) needs it! This is the first time in a long time that it's just been the two of us. So, we are taking full advantage of it...
-Doing a little housecleaning
-Kissing a little
-Enjoying dinner out without going to the bathroom every 10 minutes!
-Catching up on our latest tv shows
-THROWING AWAY OLD TOYS that the kids wouldn't let us if they were here!?

What do you do when your kids are away for a day or two? Who watches them for you or takes them off of your hands?

Thanks for checking out our blog. Please leave comments and follow us.

Spencer and Lilly's Halloween costumes. cap. america & Pirate Girl

The kids have transformed for the fall Halloween season. Spencer is 'Captain America' & Lilly is a 'Girl Pirate.'

what will the parents dress up as? I have no clue! What do you plan to dress up as this year for Halloween?

Kids Singing 5 Little Pumpkins

My kids share their love of music and entertaining as we get ready for Halloween. Enjoy and tell us what you think!

Grandpaw Pumpkin

and pumpkin of the year goes to...

Spiders Gettin' Ready for Halloween

our daughter first noticed it, but it is not halloween decorations. what crazy spiders we must have in our house.

It's Just Plain Good

this has become our favorite local place to eat. just can't get enough!

*i dread taking the kids to the potty, but i have to say that i enjoy taking them at famous dave's because the music is so much fun and we sing and dance in the bathroom...should i have told you all that?

Old Country Store In the Fall

there's nothing quite like sittin' on the front porch with family playin' checkers.

Spencer and Lilly got a game going out in front of the Cracker Barrel Restaurant. Good food. Good times.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Fall Saturday

our son wanted to bury something today.?
so, i had him dig a hole in the dirt and pour in some seeds. well, lilly definitely had to get in on the action so she dug and planted seeds too.

such simple fun on a nice saturday in the fall.
What are you out and about with your family this fall?

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

Getting Ready for Halloween

the M&M has his costume and is all ready for some trick-or-treating. I am so glad we bought the kids a costume when they were on sale because buying costumes just before Halloween is frightening!
~just another way to save money and have fun with the kids.

I Gotta Brownie!

make up a caption for this one!
@nalts @rhettmc @linklamont @cicispizza

We Needed a Snack

We headed out for a day of clothes shopping. The store we wanted to go to was closed down for good. We were so surprised and shocked!

Well, we got back on the horse and headed to anothe mall to catch the sales at JC Penny. After driving 20+ mins. we finally got there.

We looked and entertained the kids for all of about 10mins. before we got the infamous "I need to got potty!" Looks like a job for Dad right? So, we took off aimlessly not knowing where in the mall a toilet was...however, we found one because i asked for directions(i am that type of guy). When we all finished using the potty it must have been snack time because here we are enjoying a tasty Mrs. Field's chocolate chip cookie and an ICEE. I love this quality time with my family and I love snack time too!

ipad Rival - The APPLE TREE

keeping up with the latest trend is hard to do in this high-tech world, but nature makes it easy!
share this video with everyone to share some happiness!

Sweet End to a Great Meal

Fudge Brownie Sundae
it sure was good for us. we devoured it in less than 5 minutes!
King Street Blues has got it going on!

Best Museum For Kids in DC

if you want hands-on history, then the National Museum of American History is the place to go!

We had such a fun time today visiting the 3 floors open to the public. They have cool inventions, Dorothy's ruby red slippers, the original Mmuppets puppets and so much more. We highly recommend this one!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider!

We found this spider spinning its web and just hanging out. The next day 45mins. away we found another one just like it spinning a web!

This has got to be the largest spider my kids and I have found. It has a beautiful yellow color to it. I wonder what it was writing in its web. Do you know what kind of spider this is? comment on this blog entry and let me know.

The Barber Shop Haircut

You never really know for sure who will be cutting your kids' hair when you visit the barber shop.

Sometimes if you haven't made an appointment (and you never do at the barber shop) you just wait your turn getting the barber you want or not! We got Tom. He is a great Christian guy and did a good job on our hair. I knd of like not knowing who you'll get. It's like opening a 'box of chocolate.'

spencer is 5!

spencer is 5!

kids grow up so fast...then u realize they are 5 and we treasure each day.

This message has been sent using the picture and Video service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, Quicktime@ 6.5 or higher is required.

ICE CREAM SPECIAL

Spencer got a special birthday ice cream at Johnny Rockets. He is so excited about turning 5.

God has blessed us with our son and I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for this little man, my buddy!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

To learn how you can snap pictures and capture videos with your wireless phone visit www.verizonwireless.com/picture.

Note: To play video messages sent to email, QuickTime� 6.5 or higher is required.

Our Biggest Risk

our daughter takes great pictures; she just doesn't always cooperate with us.

However, we went to visit the White House this summer and she princess-posed for this pic.

Every time I look at pictures of my kids I think about what are they going to become? How will our parent-child relationship develop? Will they serve the Lord with us?

I am convinced that children are a blessing from the Lord and they are the biggest risk on earth. You do not know what can happen with and to them. You don't know what decisions they will make in life and you have to completely trust the Lord for the outcome.

Lord, I thank You for my kids. Thank You for blessing us with them. I ask that You give us the grace we need to train them and trust You. Amen.

while visiting my wife's mother we went to Busch gardens. Fun was had by all! Lilly got to take flight on this airplane and then ride bumper cars and even go on the BIG swing!
sometimes being the smallest and youngest (and only girl) has its advantages.

the purpose of a storm...

bring us back to an honest fear of the Lord.
a double rainbow...a promise, i'm sure!

Dave's Day @famousdavesbbq YUMMY!

FWD:full sink empty dish washer?

why is the sink full of what the dish washer is made for?

Cheerwine Cake from Cooks.com

My wife wanted to make a Cheerwine Cake. So, we did a little Google action and vuala!

Cooks.com gave us a simple and tasty recipe...for the icing she added extra powdered sugar using about 3 1/4cups total to thicken it up a bit and uses NO nuts. Go on, give it a taste!

CHEERWINE CAKE
Printed from COOKS.COM
Read more about it at www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,181,145183-230196,00.htmlContent Copyright © 2011 Cooks.com - All rights reserved.

1 box Devil's Food cake mix1 c. Cheerwine1 tsp. almond extract
FROSTING:
1/3 c. Cheerwine 1/2 c. butter 1/4 c. cocoa 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar 1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 c. nuts, chopped
Heat Cheerwine, butter and cocoa together until mixture comes to a boil. Pour mixture over powdered sugar and blend until smooth. Stir in almond extract. Mix in chopped nuts. Cool slightly. Spread over cake.

Last Night's Dinner

Well, we tried...

Our new oven decided to quietly sound the alarm when the

pizza was done so, consequently we didn't hear it!

The good news about it all is we called Domino's Pizza and they

made us a pizza that was awsome! The price with a coupon was

just right and the taste was too! (we did not eat any coupons)

Fortunately, we ate together and enjoyed each other's company and antics at the dinner table, which is most of the fun around a meal.

Lesson Learned: if at first it burns, takeout always soothes!

King Street Blues -Comfort Food That's Out of This World!

We have visited King Street Blues in Alexandria twice now and are blown away at the great food, service, atmosphere and best of all: PRICES!

If we were to visit other BBQ places the pricing would be $2-3 more and the service would probably be predictable? I am so glad that King Street Blues was easily found by our 3 year old GPS in our car.

We will definitely go back to this one because...

When asked by our server, "how is everything?" Spencer replied, "I LOVE IT! It is DEEEELICIOUS!!!" Then he told me we should make bbq sandwiches at home. Maybe we will...maybe we'll just head over to King Street Blues again?

http://kingstreetblues.com/

Ball In A Cup Toy

Lilly helps me explain just how this nostalgic game works. Get you one and enjoy!

Why Don't I Just Listen?

It is August 1st. It is hot outside and I can barely find relief indoors. So, let's sit back and watch a movie right?

What movie would the kids like to watch? Home Alone.

I put up a fuss because my movie tastes have changed and I am hot and grumpy and don't want to watch a Christmas movie! It is funny, nice and good; I hear from my kids.

Halfway into the movie I realize that they are still and quiet and laughing during the movie, which is unheard of most of the time.

Why don't I just listen?

Yummy BBQ and GREAT Price!

We went to
Famous Dave's BBQ in Alexandria, VA, and I will have to say, 'yummmmy!'

We have visited this family-friendly restaurant 3 times now, and have had a great experience from beginning to end. They provided our 2 chidren with a coloring page that contains a kid's menu, a 4-pack of crayons and of course, a KID'S CUP!

We will definitely go back to this famous restaurants because it is now a favorite of ours.

(703) 660-8541 · 6630 Richmond Hwy www.famousdaves.com/Alexandria

Ordering the Kids' Meal

Kids' meals are a tricky situation. On one hand, every kid wants to know they are special and therefore want to have their own meal option. On the other hand, parents know that their kid will NOT eat all that's on their plate and it will be a waste of money spent on two half-eaten meals.

The good news is, whatever meal is chosen, the time spent together whether enjoyable or not, is worth the money and effort. Because a family that eats together, stays together, happy meal or not!