from our family to yours...

a boy and his momma

wordless wednesday :: right now

Hanson

My sister, Haley, and I may be very different, but there's one thing we have in common: we love music & going to concerts. During my Clay Aiken phase (don't hate) she came with me to several shows. Once, after standing outside in the cold after a show in Winston Salem, NC, he even touched her hand. Boy was I jealous. Anyway, that's another post for another day.

All that to say Haley and I enjoy going to concerts together. This Wednesday, we added another to our list when we saw Hanson here in Atlanta. Yes, I said Hanson. Most people probably remember them most for their hit MmmBop from the early 90s. They've come a long way since then. I have to say, their show was one of my favorites so far.

We got to the venue early enough to hear the last few songs of the opening act, Jarrod Gorbel. He was pretty good too.

The tickets were general admission, so we were able to stand pretty close to the stage. I will say, the next time I go to a general admission show where I'll be standing the whole time, I'll definitely wear different shoes. Stupidly I wore ballet flats & my feet were KILLING me very early on. Add that to the heat & my rising anxiety due to the close proximity of the other concert goers & I was having some ishahs. (I don't like crowds. I know, then why do I go to concerts? What can I say, I love 'em.)

Once Hanson came out though, I was able to forget about my feet, etc & really enjoy the show. They are fantastic musicians & performers. Especially the middle brother, Taylor. He's my fave. ;)

Here are a few pics from the show. (Haley was in charge of the photography & took 217 pictures!!!)

Taylor Hanson

Isaac (far left), Zach (middle on drums) and Taylor (right)

Isaac

Zach

Taylor standing on the piano during the encore. I was scared to death the thing was going to tip over.

Taylor making nice with the fans.

Unfortunately I didn't take any video, but I found a few on youtube from that night. Here's a good one called "This Time Around":

It was a great show & I'd love to see them live again sometime. If you haven't yet, you should check out their newest album Shout It Out. My favorite song right now is "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'" off this cd. Love!

4 years ago today...

look how little he was. Oh, my heart hurts.

how do you make a hankerchief dance?

put a little boogie in it! One of my besties, Rebecca, told this joke one evening after a long day of scrapbooking and I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. Sometimes things just strike you as funny, you know?

Anyway, that's not really what this post is about. Get to the point, you say? Fine.

I came across a fun post this morning by Sophie at BooMama discussing the very important topic of songs that you can't sit still to. I love to dance. Mostly in the comfort of my own home & car (you're welcome) so this got me thinking of the songs that get me going. So... here's a list:

1. "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins :: Seriously. Can you sit still when this comes on? I certainly can't. This song brings back fond memories of a slumber party I had in the third grade where we watched this movie & also held a "talent show" where we impersonated our favorite people. I think I was Michael Jackson.

2. "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson :: Speaking of the King of Pop. He may have been a little strange there towards the end, but no one can deny he was a musical genius. Really, pretty much any song of his could be on this list.

3. "Let's Get it Started" by The Black Eyed Peas :: I had quite the personal dance party in the car to this one very recently. There was a moment or two that I was sincerely hoping there wasn't a hidden camera in my car.

4. "Thinkin' About Something" by Hanson :: I actually heard this song for the first time on BooMama's blog several months ago. It's my happy song right now. In fact, I love it so much, my sister and I are seeing them in concert tonight! I should probably apologize in advance to the other concert-goers for my sweet dance moves.

5. "Hey Ya" by Outkast :: Fabulous! Outkast had several songs a few years ago that I loved.

6. "Baby" by Justin Bieber :: Here's a song that will get stuck in your head for days! Jboy was even singing it out of the blue yesterday. If I was about 20 years younger, I would have quite the crush on young Mr. Bieber.

7. "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson :: Ah, our first American Idol! Her "My December" album was a bit of a dud, but there are a lot of great songs on her others. I love her rock sound.

8. "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings :: Such a catchy song! I dare you to sit still when you hear it. Not possible, in my opinion.

So, there's my (very incomplete) list of songs that get me moving? I know you have some too. Won't you share?

"I love trick-or-treating!"

I just realized I never posted about Halloween! Oopsie (as Jboy would say)! This year, Jboy decided to dress as Woody, from one of his favorite movie series, Toy Story. I must say, and I'm sure you'll agree, he made an awfully cute Sheriff!



Sunday afternoon, our church had a fall festival for the kids with games, bounce houses & trunk-or-treat. One of Jboy's friends, Ava, was dressed as Jessie from the movie, so of course we had to get their picture. Don't they look cute together!


Some friends of ours from Sunday School had a t-ball station set up & Jboy did a great job hitting the ball! Maybe we'll sign him up in the spring.


After a visit to Grammie & Grumpy's house (where apparently I didn't take any pictures!) we headed home to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. At the first few houses, as we'd walk away he'd say, "I love trick-or-treating!" He's too funny.

One worn out boy.

The loot! We actually still have some left, though all of the "good" stuff is gone.

Jboy not only liked getting the candy, he also enjoyed handing it out. A couple of times, as the kids would walk away, he said, "Enjoy your day!" Where does he come up with this stuff?

Just for grins, here are the posts for Halloween's past:

2007 :: 2008 :: 2009

exclusive interview

You may, or may not, remember me posting an "interview" I did with Jboy back in April. Well, I decided to ask the questions again to see how his answers have changed. I give you Jboy v. 4.0:

First, questions about Mommy & Daddy:

What does Daddy always say to you? Don’t hit Mommy
What does Mommy always say to you? Don’t hit Daddy
What makes Daddy happy? When I listen
What makes Mommy happy? When I listen
What makes Daddy cry? When I don’t listen
What makes Mommy cry? When I don’t listen
How old is Daddy? 13
How old is Mommy? 14
What is Daddy's favorite thing to do? Go to work
What is Mommy's favorite thing to do? Hit the remote (huh?)
Where does Daddy work? At work.
What does he do? I don't know
What does Mommy do while you're at school? Get some gas for the car
What is Daddy's favorite food? Chicken-fil-a
What is Mommy's favorite food? Chicken-fil-a

Now, questions about Jboy:
What is your favorite color? All the colors
What is your favorite food? chicken & fries
Who is your favorite friend? Porter & Josh
What is your favorite toy? cars
What is your favorite movie? All the movies
What is your favorite TV Show/cartoon? All of them
What is your favorite book? I don’t know
What is your favorite song? Old McDonald Had a Farm

I'm going to try to remember to do this every 6 months or so. They would make really cute scrapbook pages too!

blast from the past

I was going through our pictures for a project & came across this one from Christmas 2006. The look on Jboy's face cracks me up. Apparently he's not impressed with his new Exersaucer. Ha!

sorta cheating

This is sorta cheating since it's the same picture from yesterday, but I thought I'd show the before & after. I *heart* Photoshop.

wordless wednesday

ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls...

children of all ages! A couple of weeks ago Chris' grandmother called to tell me she'd heard of a circus that was going to be in town & wanted to know if Jboy & I would like to go. Of course I said yes! Jboy had never been to the circus and, honestly, I don't remember ever going either. Though, after talking to my mom, she assures me we went when I was a kid.

It turned out to be a small traveling family circus. Jboy enjoyed it a lot, though he kept asking where the clowns were. Unfortunately they didn't have any. They did, however, have lions, tigers and elephants. Oh, and some adorable little dogs that did tricks. I think Jboy's favorite part was the motorcycles in the "Globe of Death"! I, personally, did not like that act AT ALL! I was terrified the whole time they would make some small mistake, crash & die right there in front of us. I couldn't even watch. Jboy kept patting me on the arm & saying, "It's okay, Mommy, they won't crash." Oh, my sweet boy. Here are a few pictures from our circus adventure:

Jboy & his cotton candy


Jboy & Bevvie (Chris' aunt)


The lions & tigers. I honestly wasn't too thrilled with this act either. I just knew one of the animals was going to "snap" & eat one of the trainers. Yes, I have issues.


The elephants were fun. Though they did keep pooping & it smelled pretty gross. Ha!


All in all it was a great time. Maybe we'll have to make this an annual event!

there's a snake in my boot!

A little Halloween highlight! There are many more pictures to come, so stay tuned. Also be on the lookout for circus pics and Fall Festival pics!

wordless wednesday: tounge out = concentration

there’s a party goin’ on right here

or, well, there was on Saturday. Little man(n) turned four last week (what the what?) and we had a little shindig to celebrate.

We are so blessed to have such great friends & family that love our son and want to celebrate him with us.

Here are a few highlights:

Yummy cupcakes. (If I do say so myself. Ha!)

Goodie bags for the kiddos.

Can you guess how many m&ms are in this jar? Kevin won, and was only off by 19. Amazing!

The kiddos. Minus Nate who was feeling kind of shy. No, they’re not all looking at the camera and no, they’re not all smiling. But, hey, you take what you can get.

And, finally, the birthday boy gives his party a thumbs up!

I think next year we may try to have his party at a park or something. Our house isn’t very big, and the noise level was crazy!

Thanks everyone for celebrating with us!