BeBe and Brock

And the swarm around BeBe at Thanksgiving:

Takin' a ride

We had a gorgeous day a few weeks ago and managed to get both boys out for some fun in the backyard. The Guy took them for a fun ride in the Radio Flyer.







Cuteness!!!

Roast pork with sweet potatoes

Super yummy dinner.

First, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Ingredients:

3-4 pound boneless pork loin, trimmed of fat

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/3C honey

1/4C orange juice

1/4C frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

2 tsps black pepper

1 tbsp brown sugar, packed

3 large sweet potatoes, quartered

Coat a large ovenproof Dutch oven with vegetable oil and place over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the pork roast.

Cook, turning, until all sides are browned, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the honey, orange juice, apple juice concentrate, pepper, and brown sugar. Spoon over the pork roast. Place the sweet potatoes around the pork.

Cover and bake for 2 hours. Pork should register about 150 ° on an instant read thermometer.

Let the pork stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

I usually just serve this with some rolls. Nothing else is really needed.

I'm a Mac

Ever since the pc crash of '09, I've needed a new computer. Every computer savvy person I spoke so said, "Get a Mac!" I was scared but I went with it and Josh gave it to me as an early Christmas present. I have been getting used to it for a few weeks now. There are some really cool things about it and some not so cool. But I'm back and I'm going to do better with the blogs. I know you've heard it before but my wireless is back up so I can work on blogs whenever and not just during nap time!

Here are some not so new pictures....

Making a mess together:

Brock and cookie monster. Have I ever told you he's a humper?
It's hilarious and disturbing all at the same time.

In bed with daddy.

The ZOO!!!!

We finally made the trek through scary ghetto ville to visit our local Zoo. I'm sure the area was just fine when they built the zoo, but it is not a place I like to drive through now. No wonder the zoo closes at 4.

We went with our favorite locals: Cindy and Thomas. Thomas has trains. I think Riley has managed to make it home with at no less than 6 trains from Thomas's house. Thank goodness Mama Cindy doesn't mind. If we drive anywhere near their house, all I hear is, "See Thomas Cindy?" Cute but a little annoying the 34th time.

We saw a giraffe.

There was a Mama giraffe and a Baby giraffe....so said Thomas.

Brock was just along for the ride and the snack cup.


They had this little playground area with huge eggs and a big tree you could stand in and a massive alligator you could pose on. Riley was elusive. I only got one picture.


Turtles!


This slide was an elephant trunk. Sooo neat.


We then took a train ride through the woods and around a lake. It was a huge hit with both boys.


It was really fun and Riley had a blast. We'll definitely be going back!

Letter from Grandma

It seems I've been remiss. The boys got an email today:

Dear Riley and Brock

Please play nicely and then eat a good lunch and then take a LONG NAP so that mommy can put your darling pictures and escapades on her blog

Needing a grandbaby fix

Hope you’re all healthy and happy

Love

grandma

So I figured I'd better get busy uploading pictures since both boys are down for a nap.

Our friend, Cindy, invited us to a trunk or treat at the local gymnastics gym. The boys had a blast!
Riley ran and jumped and frolicked all over. I can't wait to get him into a class!


And Brock just enjoyed walking around. He also really loved when I got on the trampoline and bounced with him in my arms. He's going to be my daredevil, for sure.


We went trick or treating around the neighborhood. My monkeys were so cute. Thank goodness it was cold, though. Riley balked at his costume every time I tried to get him in it. I managed to get the pants on him but he refused the jacket. But then he got cold and was willing to wear it. Hooray for fall being cool like it's supposed to be!




I leave Riley in the tub while I get Brock his bottle and I came back to a serious "choo choo" all over the bath.


I'll come back later with our trip to the zoo!

Good enough, Grandma?

Fall

It was a beautiful afternoon so we took the boys out to the backyard. Brock hung out on a blanket(he's walking, but not well enough for the backyard yet) while Riley played golf with Daddy.

Brock got a hold of one of Riley's golf clubs. They must be candy coated.






Check out Trouble, in repose, in the background.


I love this exchange I caught between Trouble and Denver.
Denver: OH OH OH Hey Trouble!
Trouble: Back off white hyper thing.


Denver: Wanna play a game? Are we playing a game? What is this game? It's so cool!
Trouble: Keep back. I'm watching you.


Denver: Can we do it again? That was fun! Let's do it again.
Trouble: I'm ready to move on now. I'd like to turn my back. Stay. STAY.


Denver: But....but.....
Trouble: Ahhh, such a pretty day.

Birthday party

BeBe and Granddaddy came over for the birthday get together.

The dogs LOVE Granddaddy. (maybe because he'll love on them a lot while we won't)


Riley loves his BeBe. She will play with him endlessly. And she does such fun stuff! Check out the tower she helped Riley build.


The travesty of the cake I decorated. My icing was having issues.

It might have looked like crap but it tasted good.

While Brock will put anything else in his mouth, he didn't put his icing/cake hand in his mouth a single time. The only cake he ate was what I fed him. But he didn't mind spreading the cake around.


I'm not sure about this, Mama.




Riley liked it.






Cute.


Look, Mama, sticky.




Denver really liked it.


Toys!


It was a great day with family. We had some fun outside later in the afternoon. I'll be back with those pictures.

Don't y'all love how I'm always doing a to be continued thing?

Birthday boy!

Thanks for the nudge, BeBe.

On Brock's actual birthday I made some sugar cookies for him. I figured I did it for Riley, I better do it for the poor, neglected second child.

C'mere baby, baby.


I'll give this a try.


Mmmmmmmm


Mmmmmm?


I'll be back with the party pictures later!

Randomness

I have been having a hard time lately getting my shit together. I can't really pinpoint any one reason. But I can tell you my house is a bit cleaner and I've been reading more books with the boys. So not a bad thing.

Here are some cute randoms and I'll be back later with my pumpkin puree and you'll get to see Brock's birthday cake once I get it done and decorated Sunday.

By the way, it's Brock's first birthday today. I was less than 2 hours from delivery at this very moment one year ago. I didn't think for a second that I'd get such a wonderful, happy baby. I love you, baby.

Head dive into the squishy pillow.


He loves to bang on the windows and doors.


I think he does it to torment the dogs.


The elusive Riley comes out of hiding.


Learning the stairs.




Trouble trying to stay away from the tacklers.


Oh my goodness! A smile!


Riley's chair is a favorite spot for both boys. Brock gets routinely thrown out of it. It's half and half: funny and painful.








Aren't they cute in their pjs?

Sickness

We spent the weekend nursing a sick and feverish Riley back to health. I started feeling ill Sunday and you know The Guy contracted The Plague by Monday morning.

Riley is fine, Brock seems alright, and The Guy and are I getting better.

All of that to say, "I'm sorry I've been a horrible blogger lately."

To cheer you up I've got some cuteness to share.

Look at the tooth! He's had that one tooth for months now. I keep thinking we'll get a new tooth any moment but, so far, NADA!


Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Mama?


Alrighhhhht!

New

I'm just trying something new. What do you think of the new colors?

Vacation

Here are a couple of shots from our trip to Virginia. The place we stayed was beautiful and the unit was huge. Not only was the unit huge, the tub was MASSIVE.


I could swim in it. The kids had a great time! Brock loved having room to move since Riley usually boxes him in by the drain in their tub.




We had a blast playing cards with Grandma, Poppa, and their friends.


Beautiful lake behind the spa...where I was being scrubbed and massaged. Ahhhhh




Out and about in D. C.






The White House! There were people on top of it with guns. We couldn't decide if it was a training exercise of if they were always there.


Brock really loved riding on the top of the bus. Such wonderful wind and expansive views.






The Washington Monument


Breakfast with Grandma and Poppa on our next to last day.


Riley was still sick.


I have a ton of pictures of the monuments, but we're not in them so I just KNOW you're not interested in them. We had a fabulous time, despite sick Riley and very little sleep. Did I tell y'all he got up earlier and earlier each morning? The last day, Saturday, he was up and in our room at 5am. And he was ready to go. Boy about killed me. I think our next vacation will be a stay-cation.

Carrots and Creepy

I'm starting to get a bit more adventurous with the foods I'll hand over to Brock. He's almost one, I figure he should branch out from puffs, cheerios, and toast. I let him try a carrot on vacation.

Hmmmm


WHAT IS THIS CRAP, MAMA? Take it away.


And, then, I have no idea what is going on in this picture but it makes me laugh uncontrollably as well as cringe because it looks a little creepy. What do you think?


There's just something about his face in this one.....



Doesn't it creep you out just a little?

Family

It's very rare to get all of us in a picture. We're loners and we have a tiny extended family so it's not often that there is someone else around to take our picture. Maybe, someday, I'll figure out the timer on my camera and we can do it that way.

Enough babbling. Here's a few from an overlook on the Shenandoah Skyline Drive.







Not a single one where we're all looking and looking good, but, whatev!

Anyone notice that I am day glow white? I mean, DANG. I could blind someone with those legs.

Hair

I'm having issues with getting back into blogging. It's not like I was all that stellar before, but I was certainly doing better than I am now. My goal is to lose 20 pounds and blog at least every other day. Whatcha think? Doable?

Before I trimmed the boy's hair, it was getting out of hand. Here's a little rooster action for you.





The Guy didn't want me to cut it. He didn't think Riley had enough hair for me to trim it. I took a little from around the ears and a bit from the back. It's so cute now! It's got a little fluff to it and it no longer sticks out at all angles. And the back curls, just so....Not that I have an after picture to show you. So enjoy the mess that is WAS.

I know, but there's a good reason

I know I promised I'm sorry. But there's a reason I didn't manage to blog while we were on vacation. And it wasn't because we didn't have internet. We did.

We also had this:


And this:


We had to do lots of this:


LOTS


And then when we got home I flipping got it. It wasn't the flu, just fever and cough and generally a feeling of horribleness. Is horribleness a word? It should be.

I'll be back with more pictures soon, promise!

Leavin' in the Va-an

We're going on vacation! We leave at 5am(hopefully) tomorrow morning for a week in Virginia with Grandma and Poppa. We'll try to sneak in a trip to D.C. while we're in the area and I'm hoping to meet some of the friends who live in my computer.

I am hoping and praying for internet service at the resort. If I have it, I'll blog from vacation, promise. I will. Seriously. I promised, didn't I?

Miss me.

Wordless Wednesday

Random photos

Grandma and BeBe need a fix. Here are a bunch of pictures from this month.

Check out that goose egg. He can thank his big brother for that. Riley loves slamming his head into the wood flooring. Brock isn't a fan but Riley thinks he'll get used to it and start to enjoy it.


The Guy has given me permission to put up pictures of him as long as they're "good" pictures.

Riley would NOT smile. This is becoming a thing with him. Sign of things to come?

Me and my boys.




Riley gets to run around shirtless after bath because he usually eats some more and then brushes his teeth right before bed. This way he goes to sleep with a clean, dry shirt. It took me a while to figure this out. All that explanation just in case you were wondering about him in just pj pants. I do fully dress him for bed.

A little blurry, but Brock loves hanging out on the couch with Dada.


This outfit is for an 18 month old. Brock is 11 months. I cannot button the last buttons on either side because my boy has thunder thighs. I sure hope he grows into them someday.


I have more cuteness that I'm uploading now. I'll be back soon for more!