Stone Mountain

The weather has been gorgeous! Last weekend we headed to Stone Mountain for the morning. Noah climbed all over the playground structures.

"Catch me!"

Ben enjoyed sand

... and soccer.

We had a picnic lunch by the old covered bridge,

and then it was time for two tired boys to head home for naps.

Two Flowers

We've been taking music classes with Danielle Sansone for a couple of years now. She has just released an album that I am in love with called, "Two Flowers." It's part bluegrass, part folk, part lullaby - really beautiful. You can hear some of the music and find out how to buy it at http://www.daniellesansone.com/ .

Ben's Wiggly Concert

This morning Ben put on a "Wiggly Concert" (as in The Wiggles - personally, I could take loads of Barney over those creepy Wiggles, and that's saying a lot, but Ben likes them). Here's a bootleg cut of the concert ...

Sesame Street Live!

Ben and I, and good friends Rhiannen and Ava, went to see "Sesame Street Live" yesterday afternoon. Aside from Ben's inexplicable fear of Grover (thankfully he was only in a few of the numbers), we had a really fun time. Ava and Ben strolling through the Marta station.

Waiting for the show to start (this is the shot I got after instructing, "Look at the camera and smile" ... boys, boys, boys). And then the Sesame Street gang took the stage!

Daddy and Noah spent some quality time together while we were gone. This was the scene at dinner (again - boys, boys, boys).

Go Dawgs!

Jess took Ben to his first UGA game on Saturday. It was a big day - college football is to Jess what Christmas is to a 4-year-old, and Georgia football is, well, I don't think there's an analogy. Jess has been "dressing Ben out" for most games since he was a baby (see below), but this was their first trek to Athens together ...

Sanford Stadium Mr. Kelley (thanks for the tix!) treated Ben to some cotton candy. Dinner at Subway (where else) after the game.

Ben - Game Day November 2005

Labor Day Weekend

We had such a fun Labor Day weekend! It started with a trip to Callaway Gardens with Birdie and Grandpa for the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

The first thing Ben did was design and fly his own kite.

He got a bird's-eye view for the disc dogs, although I'm not sure he actually saw anything under Daddy's hat. We went for a paddle boat ride, while Noah and Grandpa waited on the dock. We met our friends Katie and Andrew and their kids Kaili and Gavin there (Katie works with Jess). It was so funny because Noah stared at Katie for so long with this look like, "I know you're not my Mommy, but wait ... are you my Mommy?" Birdie is so funny!

Then it was time for the balloons ...

When they started to lift off, it was spectacular!

On Sunday, we went to the Decatur Book Festival with Grandma Jenny and Aunt Jennifer. Ben colored a bookmark just for Aunt Jennifer.

Of course, Noah had to get in on the action. He was not so sure about getting his picture taken with "Bullseye" the dog. He was MUCH happier with Grandma Jenny. Listening to a storyteller with Aunt Jennifer.

On Monday we went to a backyard party at our friends' house. We had a lot of fun watching the kids slide down a huge water slide (Ben didn't summon the courage to go down), playing games, and eating homemade ice cream! Ben practiced his tennis swing.And Noah laughed and laughed when Ben pushed him on the swing.