Saturday, August 30, 2008

I take my fun very seriously





While in SC we hit up a local fair/ carnival type thing. My mom being the daredevil she is not was kind enough to give Sammy her all access bracelet and thus the fun rides began. First the boys went on the train. I don't know if you can tell from the photo but Sam REALLY liked it :)




He then made an ADORABLE friend named Ali. They babbled while going around the Ferris wheel. She was sooo darn cute and had a little southern accent. Sam must have said good bye to her a hundred times. Chris teased that this was Summer love '08. (he had a fling in Spain with an adorable little girl... they held hands in the park but it just wasn't meant to be) We moved on to the helicopters and space ships.


Then the trucks. Oh the trucks. Sam took his truck driving very seriously. As there were no lines he took a turn riding in every single truck.

The next ride was a really weird one that went fast only around the corners so the kids were whipped and smashed into the sides of the cars. I don't know if he really liked it or not but there was no second trip on this one.

The whole family then took a trip around the merry go round.Liam loved it.

I think Sam was a little underwhelmed.


Although he enjoyed poking the horses mouth pretending his finger was a carrot. If it had been a real horse he would have been crying.

Apparently his irrational fear of cats has now come to included horses as well. There were several fun rides for adults including the slingshot. I really don't like plummeting to the earth so I sat this one out at first. Claire and Chris were brave enough to check it out.


Sam really had a wonderful time. Thanks mom and dad! It also tuckered them right out so after baths they zonked. My mom stayed home so that my dad, Claire and Chris and I could head back and go on the adult rides. As I climbed into the white wooden roller coaster I literally thought hmmm maybe Chris should wait so that when I am inevitably killed on this rickety old roller coaster our children still have one parent. The thing came flying off the track more than one time and I still have a back ache. I did eventually go on the slingshot and survived. I also went on the swings and have not be that scared in a long time. As I flew over the bumper cars I thought to myself "if this thin chain snaps I hope it happens while I am over a roof so it will break my fall". I am really a kill joy at carnivals it would seem.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Rockin Wednesdays




On Wednesday nights in Merchant Square at CW they have live music! It is always a delight to go and grab an ice cream and enjoy the show. As a little kid I always wanted to get one of those crazy ice cream cones that looked like clowns so when Sam picked one out I couldn't say no. Liam polished of the remains of both Christopher's and my ice creams!

The boys LOVE to dance! The last time we went it was an army band that was playing mostly Beatles music, a personal fav of mine. I had thrown Jude out there as a name for both our boys... Chris was not won over. we usually take a stroll through CW after the boys get antsy and retirees start giving us the "control your kids" looks. It never seems to fail that Sam makes a friend on these walks. This night in particular he had one of his trains with him and instantly had two friends to help him fill up his tender with crushed shells. It will be hard to leave Williamsburg and all the fabulous free entertainment it provides!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Pink Cowboy Hat



Sam's imagination has been going WILD lately, and Christopher and I are having a blast watching it. His newest fixation is with Pirates, Cowboys and Airplane pilots. Where did you get these you ask? Of course from backyardigans. We bought him a 'Yardigans (as he calls it) DVD for the trip to SC. The first story is about delivering singing telegrams. Uniqua (the pink one who has by FAR the best voice-- I know I am so lame) flies around in this cool old pink plane delivering singing telegrams (think twenty's music). She delivers them to a pirate, a maharajah and the abombidable snowman. Sam's favorite part is the pirate of course! Well, a few weeks ago we had a primary activity for Pioneer day. I purchased a pink cowboy hat at the dollar section of our target. When I was done for the day I tossed it in Sam's dress up bin thinking nothing of it. He hadn't paid much attention to it until a few days ago when he watched a cowboy backyardigans. He then scooped it up and started yelling yippie kay yah! Partner! This hat has now become a part of Sam. He takes it most every where... including the bath!



When he wants to be a pirate (which is OFTEN) he simply turns the hat sideways and it is a pirate hat. He then talks with a scruffy voice and snarls at Liam a lot. He mainly spends his time jumping around yelling "Pirate says Arrrr!" Over and over. Chris and I were dying last night laughing as he proceeded to do this for at least 15 mins. When he wants to be a pilot he wears it normal but adds my glasses to be used as goggles.


Unfortunately tonight they met with a sticky end when he broke one of the legs off. It is so fun that he is getting into the imagination stage. Needless to say I have already started thinking of costumes I will be sewing for him! Chris however has strongly requested I return to Target and purchase a normal brown cowboy hat... silly daddy!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Sticky FIngers And All

My parents and Claire were kind enough to let Christopher and I head out and spend a few hours sans children. We decided to grab lunch at a BBQ place. I am CRAZY about BBQ. That is honestly part of the reason I want to move to Texas, to have so many BBQ options! The place we went is called Sticky Fingers, and it did not disappoint. It was sooooo good. Plus how can a place not be awesome when they have a huge portrait of Steven Colbert hanging on their wall! (The portrait with his portrait in it) That evening to celebrate my dads birthday we had yummy cake and went mini golfing! Sam absolutely LOVED it. They gave him a plastic putter and he picked an orange ball to match. He had so much fun hitting the ball all over the place. Of course he got a hole in one causing a large gasp from all of us :)

It was a perfect way to end a wonderful vacation!

The last day in SC it started to torrential rain thanks to the hurricanes, so it was a perfect time to leave. It was of curse VERY hard to say good bye. Sam didn't make it any easier by crying for his Granny and Aunty Kware, then saying go back go back! Granddad! This of course had be bawling. They spent the rest of the night RUNNING around our hotel room. Thank you mom and dad for a fabulous vacation!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

We Believe It!


We went to Ripley's believe it or not aquarium. The boys had fun petting the sting rays and smashing their cute faces against the glass.




Liam would have stayed at the giant tank forever!

Sam did not like the moving walkway through the shark tunnel but luckily you could walk right next to it, so we just let the stroller roll along on it as we walked. The pirate section was my favorite but it scared Sam so we didn't stay too long.



We went to the beach this evening while my parents took in a show. Claire let me fool around with the settings on my new camera and take some pics of her. My mom is sure we look exactly alike but luckily for her sake she is ALOT prettier! :) I am excited to go home and photo shop up a storm but for now here are two of the RAW photos.



This is under the pier. You have to pay a buck to walk on it so I just walked under it ;)



Claire took two pics for us that I love:

Monday, August 18, 2008

Olympic spirit burning on



I have been wanting to complete a triathlon for a long time but have yet to sufficiently kick myself in the bum to do it. Well I have finally set the date. I will be competing in the Richmond Sprint Triathalon. It is the shortest of the triathalons with, much to my dismay, a short swim section. I have compiled a daily training program and am pretty excited to hop to it when I get back. I would love a fellow adventurer to join in with me if there are any takers. I will be training fairly early and swimming at the Y twice a week. Wish me luck I am sure I will be dragging myself across the finish line :)

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Duh Duh, Duh Duh

We arrived in South Carolina and got settled. Then of course we headed to the beach. My little sister Claire took Liam down to put his toes in the water.

After a few mins we saw her suddenly pull him up from the water and start running. There was a huge shark swimming right up where the water was breaking. The lifeguard saw it at the same time and cleared everyone out of the water. The shark remained near use for the majority of the day. Of course we had rented a cabana so we had to stick around. Eventually Claire and Chris and I hiked down to what we deemed a safe distance and boogie boarded. Sam and Liam had a blast diggin in the sand and building "Train Tracks", we heard "oh no!" a lot as the trains met with various sticky situations.

Later in the afternoon Christopher surprised me with the camera I have been drooling over for years. We had been saving up but with the horrible car incident I didn't think we were going to be able to swing it. Of course I had to immediately take some pictures so we headed to the closest park. Needless to say I am very excited to snap away!

My Dad

Claire and I on the swings

Daddy and Lemers (how cute is that smile!)




My Piggly Wiggle Dream



I have ALWAYS wanted to shop at a piggly wiggly. I know totally weird. But I have always searched for them as I travel through various states. My dream came true today when we went to get groceries and the local store was my very own piggly wiggly. I of course bought an awesome canvess bag that I will be sporting on my return to CW!

Beach or Bust

We are vacationing in South Carolina with my family this weekend. We met them in Charlotte north Carolina. This was quite the drive. The boys were as good as can be expected but were starting to loose it. We had looked up online before hand and found an amazing train museum that we wanted to take Sam too. Unfortunately Sam and Liam were both asleep when we got to it. So we pushed on and found an amazing museum in Durham! Even better it was included in my season pass to the Virginia Living museum. It was the perfect little break form the long driving. The first room we wet into had a floor that when you walked across different squares they would make sounds depending on how fast you were moving. Chris and the boys had a blast running around them. Outside was a huge play area with a center with all different drums and chimes. Sam was going crazy! We walked further and saw bears, lemurs and wolves. Our visit was cut short though when the clouds opened up and torrential rains lashed. We were soaking wet by the time we got back to the museum. Liam thought it was hilarious that Chris was running in the rain with him in the front pack. When we reached our wonderful hotel the boys went crazy running around the room and jumping on the huge beds. I think they couldn't be happier about getting out of the car!

The next day we started our drive to SC. We stopped along the way at a beautiful revolutionary war site-- because our family NEVER gets to see anything colonial :) The house was gorgeous and Sam had fun playing Pookie Pookie (he finds a stick and proceeds to poke you while saying pookie pookie.) It was another much needed break!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Oh... its going to be one of those days

From almost stitches, exploding milk gallons, 800 dollar car repairs and locked bedroom doors it has been a LONG week-- and it is only Tuesday afternoon! I think I should go back to bed and start the week over. This week is one of those weeks when I am apparently supposed to be learning more patience, and to be totally honest at this point I am failing miserably. Add into that the fact that my wonderful support system (Chris) is gone and wow I am pretty exhausted :) Luckily in this dismal swamp that is this week there has been one bright and shinning beacon. My parents have once again spoiled Christopher and I with an early graduation present-- a Scooter! Haaaa! I am sooooo excited. My dad is buying Christopher the Vintage scooter in white as seen here:

My family has it in pink, oddly enough Chris wanted black but I talked him into white... I like the black accents :) It goes 80 miles on one gallon and has a two gallon tank! Whoo hoo no more driving to and from school! Plus I get the added benefit of driving it when I don't have the boys, little trips to the fabric store, girls night out-- that sort of thing. Thank you mom and dad for looking out for us and for the early graduation present. You have no idea how much we appreciate it! Watch out Williamsburg the Crawford's are scootorized (Thank heaven the speed limit everywhere here is 25!)

P.S Nate you are not allowed drive our scooter without going to scooter school :) Although you did provide me with one of my favorite memories involving our two favorite families, the Garners and the Tillmanns!

Monday, August 11, 2008

My Newest Project

So I have been wanting to make a Mei Tai forever and I finally found a pattern I like. My Bjorn has seen better days (thanks to my repeated washing :)) So I thought I would try this out. I am going to see how entailed they are and maybe offer them at Peek... what do you think?

Friday, August 8, 2008

Say No to Crack

In the family we have a doctor, a dentist (close enough right Tillmanns!) a lawyer & now apparently a plumber! You always said you wanted one in the family Jan!! Haaaa!

Eww Gwooss




One of my fav places to eat is Panera. I like to go there because I don;t feel like I swallowed a brick after I leave. Sam also downs their chicken noddle soup and Liam is getting to the point where we are going to have to order him his own also! The last time we went we got Sam a water cup and filled in with water and 1/8 caffeine free diet coke, enough to tint. He proceeded to dunk his bread in it then pour some of his soup in it and drink it! Yeah totally gross. we thought it was a fluke but today when we stopped to eat and break up the drive once again he dunked the bread poured the soup and drank it. And what did the parents of this silly child do? We didn't stop him, no no we busted out the camera to document it!


Mixing up a delicious drink

Chuggin' it down

Hmmm I think I like that

Yup! I love it!