Maddox's 3rd Birthday

Maddox turned 3 on Oct 2nd and we had a great day.  He loves trains, trucks, and basically anything that he things can shot, smash or crash.  He asked for a train cake, so we tackled that task...it turned out pretty good we think.

Happy Birthday our big 3 year old!!!

Orlando - The Magic of It All!

A few weeks ago, we made our first trek to Orlando to experience "the Magic of Disney."  We had an awesome time.  We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo with Keri's mom and stepdad.  The sights and sounds of Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, SeaWorld and all the extras were CRAZY!!!!

The kids each had something they were looking forward to doing:  Emma wanted to go to SeaWorld, Geneva wanted to meet the princesses, Jackson wanted to see the "Disney Castle" and Maddox wanted to ride the train.  We did it all and much more.  Even with 4 days at Disney, one day at SeaWorld and 1/2 day at The Holyland Experience, we still managed to do a ton of swimming at the condo's 7 pools.  We found the one that never had anyone else in it and we all enjoyed the cool of the pool.

We will definitely go again, but it probably won't be for 3-5 years or more...we need to wait for the magic to wear off some...but it was a great experience.

Outside the Lego Store at Downtown Disney

Emma, Geneva, Mary Poppins and Bert

In front of the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios



Emma battling Darth Vader



Geneva in a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader

The Mouse Ears

complete with names



Maddox loving the train

   

Jackson's 4th Birthday

Our BIG boy turned 4 on Friday and we celebrated for 3 days!  He awoke on Friday to a decorated dining room and got to pick all his favorite meals throughout the day.  Then on Saturday we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese where we played game after game.  When we were out of tokens and our pockets were stuffed with tickets, Jackson traded them in for for a 100-piece superhero puzzle which was completed as soon as we got home...he loves puzzles.  Then on Sunday, the other Georgia Singleton clan came over for dinner and more birthday fun.  Jackson asked for a Lego Power Miners cake...not something that the local supermarket makes in their bakery.  Emma had a great idea for a cake and Keri executed it perfectly (see picture).  How many cakes do you know that actual legos on it?  We all had a great weekend and it was a great opening to "birthday season" in the Singleton household. 

Our Trip to Minnesota, Part 2

My plan while we were gone was to post blog updates every week, filled with our activities and pictures...well, we were really just too busy to do that.  So here is a list (probably not inclusive, but close) along with some pictures from our adventures.

- Visited Minnehaha Falls
- Went on Lake Minnetonka multiple times - tubing, swimming, going "fassst" as Maddox says
- Fished off the dock at "Beep's" house
- Golfing
- Miniature golfing
- Biking - girls road 12miles round trip to Adele's for frozen custard...Geneva kept saying, "This is so hard, but worth it."
- Spent a day with all their great-grandparents which included playing at the park and swimming
- Swim pond
- Playing in the yard; Slip-n-slide, making mud balls in the creek, catching toads, basketball, soccer, t-ball
- Games (inside and out):  croquet, kickball, board games, puzzles, hide and seek
- Valleyfair Amusement Park
- garage sale prep and sale--the kids kept their grandparents in line and were master sellers
- lots of ice cream and frozen custard eating...yummmmm

Minnehaha falls with cousin, ParkerMaddox caught his first fish...uncle Brent gets to take it off

miniature golf...an interesting day!

the big bike ride to Adeles for frozen custard

driving the boat with Beep

swimming on Lake Minnetonka off the boat

Now you know why we were so busy having fun that I didn't get around to blog posts.
And the adventure continues on our trip home...

Our Trip to Minnesota, Part 1

We embarked on our great adventure of the summer on July 3rd.  Keri and the kids were going to Minnesota for a month.  The entire family started our journey on a Saturday morning with an afternoon stop in Tennessee for the Singleton Family Reunion.  Then we drove to another 6 hours and spent the night in Indiana.  We finished up the drove on the 4th of July and got into Minnesota in time for the fireworks.  After 3 days in Minnesota, it was time for Britt to fly back to Atlanta.  During that time, we got to see Keri's brother, his wife and son.  Having an extra 4 adults and 5 kids at Keri's mom's was packed but really fun.  The men put a new roof on the shed while the kids and women played..he, he. 

Britt and Chad laying the shingles...good thing for dad that they knew what they were doing

Next post...more pictures and what we did....

July 2nd - The End of Swim Season

After 8 weeks of swimming every day, the girls finished their last swim meet on July 2nd.  Both did very well all season long and learned a lot.  They made some new friends and pushed themselves further than they thought they could go.  They both have a pile of ribbons hanging in their room as motivation to do it again next year.

Father's Day Fun

Today we had some really good family time.  Jackson had been asking for a few days to make a race track out of legos on the lego table.  So today, after we all took a nap (that never happens), all 6 of us worked for almost 2 hours making a lego race track.  It was complete with spectator stands with many interesting characters (can you pick out us), a pit area, emergency response building, lookout tower, flag stand, winner's stand and lots of different cars.  We all had a wonderful time...those are memories we will have for a long time.