Out to dinner with Grandmommie and Pops

We took a trip to Texas for a long weekend.  As usual, we had a wonderful time.  Unfortunately the Wieds were in New Mexico skiing, but we got to see Uncle Chris, Aunt Ellen, and Uncle Bart for a day.  We got to see Grandmommie and Pops for three whole days.  The kids sure do enjoy spending time with their family.

Every time we head west, Forrest and I get the itch for some Mexican food.  Pops agreed to take us out to a restaurant in Malakoff (I can't remember the name).  The dinner was excellent and the kids behaved themselves.  Yes!

We were treated with complimentary sopapillas after dinner.  They were a hit with all of us.

Carter's Green Thumb

This weekend was the culmination of Forrest's flower bed project - the actual planting of the flowers!  Carter loved helping Dad plant the flowers.  Forrest got the bushes in while the kids napped but Carter woke up just in time to help with the pansies. 

Today was a perfect day for being outside.  Although it was overcast and a bit windy, the temperature was mild.  We spent the entire afternoon in the backyard.

Olivia wasn't all that interested in the gardening.  I took a few pictures of her hanging out, but mostly this post is all about Carter because Carter is all about gardening!

 Olivia actively watched the progress, safely from the front porch.  :-)

Check out these videos:

I love Carter's impatience in this first video. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s9Ku2LVvuY&feature=youtu.be

Sorry this one isn't right side up.  I can't fix it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEG2ZfdcEys

Liv:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLx8BZI_ltE

Girl Scout cookie season

I love this time of the year - Girl Scout cookie season!  I preordered 5 boxes of thin mints and 3 boxes of trefoils (shortbreads for the laymans) from a girl at our church.  Unfortunately Forrest didn't realize I had already ordered, so he bought 10 boxes of thin mints and 3 boxes of Samoas.  Ay yay yay.  How will we ever eat all these cookies?

Looks like Carter will help us out!

Donuts with Mommy

On Friday night, Forrest and several of his friends drove out to a cabin to stay the night.  They ate at Mack's West and then headed out to the woods for a night of drinking, poker, and a bonfire.

This left me on my own with the kids on Friday night, but they were pretty easy on me.  Saturday morning they wanted to watch some cartoons.  I love watching them watch tv.  They are totally absorbed in it.

I treated us all to donuts after the tv watching.  Since Olivia was wearing her favorite pajamas, I just let her stay in those.  They each ate 6 donut holes and some of my glazed twist.  They sure do love donuts.

Unfortunately they only had one highchair so I stuck Carter in a regular chair.  At one point he fell out of the chair and landed on his back on the floor.  A soldier was standing nearby and she swifted scooped him up.  Poor guy was pretty shaken up but he wasn't hurt.  These things just happen.

Marion County Railroad

The first Saturday of every month, there's a recreational train ride offered by the Marion County Railroad in Columbia.  It's a 45 minute round trip ride.  We were invited by some friends so we went out on a very cold Saturday morning and ended up having a wonderful time.

The kids love Chuggington (a cartoon) so I had been telling them that morning that we were going to ride a train (choo choo!).  I don't think they really understood.  In fact, I still don't think they've reconciled the actual train ride with the cartoon they love so much.  Still, a wonderful time was had by all.

This is Brady and his dad Dana. Brady is one tall drink of water!  He's about to turn 3 years old and we'll miss his birthday party because we'll be back in Texas for spring break.  Darn!  We love that kid.

The train stopped two miles into its journey and we all got off in order to look down at the Pearl River.  I never got close enough to actually see the river.  Boo.

 Then we headed back to the station.  This little girl is Rossie and she's a real sweetheart.

This cop pulled us over for speeding.  Just kidding!  He gave a brief history less on the train.  Plus, we couldn't have been travelling more than 15 miles per hour the entire time.  It was a leisurely ride.

 Afterwards we stopped at the Fox's Pizza in Columbia and had a great lunch with our friends.  Unfortunately my kids couldn't wait for the pizza (grouchy!) so they snacked on goldfish.  Fortunately it didn't ruin their appetites for their nutritious meal to follow.  :-)