Goofing around in the golf cart!

OK . . . here are the missing pictures!

Lil, Emily and Ford playing spoons . . . 

Allison, Emily, Ford and Lil heading out in the golf cart!
Ford and Lil on the "rocks" . . . 
Emily, Allison, Lil and Ford . . . he is surrounded by wonderful girl cousins!!!!

Fun with Family!!!

As most of you know, Brent and I have been enjoying some quiet time at home without the kiddos!  While it has been wonderful to have some time for doctor's appointments, cleaning out closets and running errands (and going to concerts, dinner, etc!!!), I am very excited to see the kids tomorrow!!!  Thanks to the computer, we have been able to chat with them everyday on the webcam and both grandmothers have e-mailed pictures.  Here are a few shots of what they have been up to the past week!  Needless to say, they have been busy!  

Jeb is in Athens with Mema and Bud so he got the first trip to the Kiddie Carnival . . . and the first taste of cotton candy!!!

He enjoyed a corn dog with Bud too!
He wasn't especially fond of the neighbor's cat!
How sweet with his "yaya"!!!
Working on puzzles (a favorite activity of all three kids at Mema's house!)
While Jeb was getting lots of attention with Mema and Bud, Ford and Virginia were enjoying time with Mimsie and the Birmingham cousins and friends.  Mrs. Ivey and Dr. Brian were sweet enough to take them horseback riding . . . what a treat!!!  Here is Ford riding all by himself!
Thomas and Ford . . .
Virginia and Anna . . . 
The "big" Balogh kids (minus Ansley who had conflicting dentist appointments!) were "camping out in Mimsie's upstairs room . . . Ford, Allison, Lil and Emily
Look at those smiles  . . . 
Lil and Ford lunching in Mt. Laurel . . . 
Martha and Virginia . . . 
Sweet girls with their babies!!!
Virginia, Bobby and Martha got to go see Emily's performance after a singing/dance camp.  They saw Allison's show early that day!
Allison, Virginia, Emily and Ford enjoying lunch before swimming at Mimsie's pool!
Somehow I missed the golf cart pictures so look for those to follow when we get back . . . I'm sure we will have lots more pictures by then!  We are looking forward to our remaining time in Birmingham and a week in Athens too!  I can't believe school starts back in just a couple of weeks! 

The City Museum

I took Ford and Virginia to the much talked about City Museum yesterday.  I am convinced that the designers were utilizing mind altering substances while creating this place, but the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit!  It is a climbers and explorers paradise!  Virginia is my little thrill seeker and was much more easy to convince to try things . . . Ford is a bit more cautious and required significant peer pressure to join in the activities relating to climbing (dare we say he is afraid of heights -- he was literally shivering the entire time we climbed!).  This is certainly an activity we will have to enjoy on Jeb's school days until he is a bit older . . . otherwise, my crazy boy would be visiting an ER!!  Below are some pictures from our adventure . . .

This is the monstro city climbing area at the entrance to the museum (do you see why Ford was shivering a bit???)

Upon arrival . . . 
Climbing through one of many metal tunnels (can you believe I climbed through too!) . . .
Virginia on the roller slide
Ford on the roller slide
Exiting a tree trunk! (I came through that too . . . miraculously -- it was a TIGHT squeeze!)
Prior to climbing everyone was all smiles . . . 
Virginia was loving it (see how tiny the cars are?) . . .
Ford was a bit more cautious and wasn't letting go of the sides for ANYTHING!
Virginia checking out the airplane (Ford didn't want to climb into this one . . .)
Walking the tight rope and not getting too wet
Virginia got a bit wetter!
The ball pit (unlike anything I had ever seen before!  Check out the size of the balls!!!)
Another ball pit
Some more climbing!
Virginia exiting the Monster slide
Ford on the Monster slide (for the record, I did this too . . . apparently mom's go much faster than kids because we are not smart enough to slow ourselves down with our feet!!!!!)
We had a wonderful time hanging out.  It isn't often that we get a day without a toddler!  We missed Jeb but we are glad he was safe and sound at school . . . needless to say, he will be all about the City Museum in a couple of years!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 36th birthday . . . somehow, that seems much older than 35!  We have had a great day just hanging out today.  I started with a 5 mile run with my sweet neighbor that keeps me motivated in my crazy quest to run a 1/2 marathon in September with a full marathon to hopefully follow in the winter.  Brent and the kids then took me to St. Louis Bread Company (aka, Panera for all of you Alabama friends!) for bagels.  Once the gray skies cleared, we all headed to the pool for a few hours of fun, and for dinner tonight we visited our favorite family spot . . . Dewey's Pizza . . . with the Levendoskis.  They were gracious enough to host our birthday cake celebration at their house -- and the cake was a delicious oreo Maggie Moo's ice cream cake.  YUM!  Brent got me a Mac for my b'day (hooray!) and the kids got me gorgeous flowers in pink and purple (can you tell Virginia picked them out!?).  It was a great day made better by the many birthday wishes and greetings from all my friends and family.  Here are a few pictures from the day!

Libby, Virginia, Megan and Jeb checking out the Dewey's pizza makers!

Jeb won the eating prize . . . that was his 3rd piece of pizza which he finished like a pro!!
My delicious cake and Mr. Levendoski's finest coffee . . .
A beautiful shot of me blowing out my "candle" which was a match! :)
My beautiful kiddos!!!
All in all . . . a very wonderful day!

A VISIT WITH FRIENDS!!!

On Friday, my law school friend, Claire, came to St. Louis with her two boys for the weekend.  We all enjoyed a great visit with them and we hope we gave Claire a little break from life without her husband at home -- Dave is deployed to Afghanistan for 15 months.  We may not have gotten much sleep but we had lots of fun and even got to talk to Major Foley via a webcam . . . technology is amazing but frustrating (as we learned while trying to reach him!).  We spent time at the zoo, went swimming and even hired a sitter so we could have some adult time . . . dinner at Araka was GREAT!  Here are a few pictures of our fun!

A visit to the St. Louis Zoo (everyone napped after this except for Virginia!). . .

The new baby giraffe . . . 
The joy of a picture of 3 kids . . . someone is always moving!
Claire, Price and Harper on the carousel . . . aren't they cute?!
Loving the water spraying fan!!!!  I must admit it was very hot and the water felt great!
Jeb, Ford, Virginia, Price and Harper . . . 
Price, Virginia and Ford hanging out at home . . .
Cuddling with Mrs. Claire!!!
A popsicle on the front porch . . . I had to include this because my boys look so funny . . . I think they were being football players!
We loved having Claire and the boys and can't wait for "Foley Visit: Take Two"!!!