Fall Break trip to the Nashville Zoo!

Tony Roma's for dinner- they sung to Mom and we got cheesecake- nothing smashed in our faces either!
the mall carousel and a trip through the aquarium restaurant....
The Nashville Zoo...

doesn't Frank look happy?
reading the map.... looking for the way out! LOL!
finally back at the hotel pools!

We decided to take a trip close to home but to get the boys out to do something fun for fall break. They wanted to check into the hotel first but check in wasn't until 3 so Frank told them after the zoo we could check in and go swimming... all they heard was swimming, so about half an hour into the zoo trip they were ready to go. I got some good animal pics but you've all seen animals so I'll just post boy pics! ;) We went to the pool then ate at Tony Roma's for dinner and rode the carousel and the roller coaster simulator in the mall- the boys loved that! They would tackle the biggest ride in any amusement park but are usually too short to ride so this was right up their alley!

Happy Birthday to Me! LOL!

this is poor Jake freaking out as he watched it all happen. Poor little guy hid under the table and begged us to take him home. Josh hid and said he was ready to go. luckily we got them calmed down before we left.

What a day! the boys sung happy birthday to me when we woke up this morning. We got our neighbor Brandy and went to the shelter to try to find a dog for Granny. We ate at Captain D's and shopped at the mighty dollar. I got flowers from my brother Paul and his family, several cards and phone calls. When Dad got home we did cards and presents- a coffin shaped box of 100 gummy body parts candy which the boys loved, and some bath and body works goodies. Later Terra came to visit the boys and we met Pokey and Ashley at the Mexican restaurant for dinner. Diana slipped and gave me a salsa bath, then they sang Happy Birthday in Spanish and brought me some ice cream and churros and a big yellow sombrero. Chris got me when I wasn't looking with some whipped cream all over the face. Pokey took pictures and Frank took video so we have it captured forever- lucky me! ;) The best part of the evening was when Chris asked how old I was and I told him 38 he said that can't be right... then he pointed at Frank and said he looks a lot older than you!!!! gotta love that! The whipped cream scared the boys and they both cried and were ready to come home. Like I said, what a day!

finally updated!

Sorry I get things done in spurts! I haven't updated since Sept 23rd but I finally get pictures uploaded today and our neighbor Brandy came over to play with the boys so I got a chance to update the blog. The boys are on fall break this week so we're planning a little adventure later in the week- we should have new pictures soon.

Happy Fall! :) Marla

Fun Fall Days- October 2008

Dad and the boys had fun with sidewalk chalk!

Granny helped the boys make supper for the first time- they made pizza for everyone- they thought this was great fun and they wanted to do it again the next night.

This is Daisy... or Crazy Daisy as I sometimes call her. She is the kitten that we brought home from church a while back. She's getting big already. She likes to go to the bus stop with the boys and she walks down to wait for them when they get home too. I think she thinks she's a dog!
Frank had the boys lay down and he outlined them and made them into a ghost
Jake workin on his pizza above and Josh below...
Pizza making is serious business for the Gillespie boys!

Jake loves to play on the tire swing when he gets home from school. Josh loves to come in and get half undressed and play the Wii.
Jake wrote his name on the driveway
and they drew a rocket
here is Jake drawing a dog...

Elkton Harvest Fest October 4th

Harvestfest 2008. It's hard to believe that it is fall already. Harvestfest always reminds me of the first time I wore maternity clothes while I was pregnant with the boys. I'd had bad luck with 3 pregnancies before so I put it off as long as I could. With twins that didn't take too long. I wore maternity clothes for the first time to Harvestfest 2003- what a difference a few years makes! The boys played on bouncers, talked to some of the kids from school, painted pumpkins and listened to the talent show. We saw Pokey and Ashley too. Granny was happy- she visited the Todd County Democrats booth and got a sign that says- Had Enough? Vote Democratic! I should have gotten her picture with that! ;)

Winner Winner!!!

The boys have been doing a grocery store at school and they are learning about money and how you pay for things. I took a picture as part of their homework showing them playing in their kitchen. They play restaurant, grocery store, toy store- all kinds of stuff with their shopping cart and cash register. One of them is always the customer and one is the cashier. They also like to play the waiter and the cook. They got this kitchen for Christmas last year and although they don't play kitchen in it as much as they did when they first got it they still come up with some pretty creative ways to have fun with it!

Jake gets his check!
Jake showed me the grocery store in his classroom and he also visited Josh in his classroom.

Jake got to go receive his check for $50 for selling the winning ticket at morning assembly. He thought it was neat but really wanted to know about that party for his class! Granny and I walked the boys to their class after the assembly was over and took a few quick pictures.

Autumn Fest at South Todd 9/27/2008

I took the boys to play at the Elkton Baptist playground for most of the day then we grabbed a snack and Granny and headed to Autumn Fest at South Todd Elementary. The boys did the cake walk, bingo, the train, you name it they played it. The finale of the night was the drawing for the prizes- the students all sold tickets and the grand prize was a $1000. gift card to Wal-Mart. I joked that I was going to sit in front so I could claim my prize. I was shocked when they drew my name and I just sat there. Jake's name was called since I bought the winning ticket from him (I had about $80 invested in these darn tickets! LOL!) we went down and claimed our prize. Jake wasn't excited about me winning or the fact that he got $50 for selling the ticket, he was excited because his class gets a party! Jake is on the left, Josh is on the right- their principal Camille Dillingham is in the middle. let's go to walmart! ;)

Silly September Boys.... 9/29

Josh on the left, Jake on the right. Showing off their new lunch boxes. They are wearing long pants, t-shirts and jackets and they still think it is freezing outside and they want me to drive them to catch the bus at the end of the driveway. They end up having me sit on the ground and they huddle up on me and shiver until the bus comes- it's 70 degrees!

after school clothes- they were ready to go to town in this get up- notice the boots aren't necessarily in pairs! they would wear these all the time if we let them.
Josh strikes a pose....

Cheezin at Mommy!

when 4 year olds are quiet....

Jake is in the front and that is Josh tucked back in the back corner!

BEWARE!!! I asked the boys to go play in their room a few minutes so I could hear while I was talking on the phone. I was surprised to find that they rearranged the whole room in 3 short minutes- everything was in the bed! When I asked what they were doing- the typical response, "Nothing Mom". Never a dull moment... and I mean never! LOL!

Visit to preschool

Jake's classroom above- they just got back from the playground, washed up and are waiting for lunch.

Josh's classroom above..... the way to make a preschooler's day- put his face on one of these duties! The boys get SO excited when they have a job at school. Some of them crack me up- Soap Pumper, Light Switcher... plus the ones listed below. I'm sure there are lots more. As soon as they get off the bus they tell me if they had a job that day. This set of cups is from Mrs. Lindsey's classroom. Jake's class has crayons and he was the line leader that day but I had left his room before I got the idea to take the pictures and I didn't want to disrupt things by going back.
Jake playing on the slide....
Josh in the Sandbox
Granny and I took a bunch of bingo prizes to the school for Autumn fest and they told us to go back and see the boys while we were there. They were playing on the playground so we visited them there- they wanted to make sure they didn't have to leave with me and that they were going to get to ride the bus home- so sweet! LOL! They had lunch and we left so we could get home to get them off of the bus. Their first question when they got off the bus- "why did you come to my school today?" 4 years old and I'm on their territory already! ;)

Wanna know how I spend my Wednesday nights???

This is how I spend my Wednesday nights- hanging out with 12-16 three and four year olds at Awana Cubbies at Elkton Baptist Church. The boys love it and it is such a blessing to be able to work with these little ones. This is Gracie- Jake's one true love- at the moment anyway, and Josh.
Josh's favorite girl is standing behind him- he's been sweet on her since last year at Cubbies so I guess it is his first long term relationship! LOL!
This is the first time they have ever all worn their vest on the same night so we had to take a picture to celebrate!