SOMEtimes 2 is better than 1 - like if you are talking about choclate or scoops of ice cream or days on the beach...

remember this picture of isaac with his adorable kindergarten teacher?
well, today is his last day with her (sniff, sniff). she's going to a different school. i'll tell you why...
in our school district, after the 3rd week of school we have what is called "count day". on that day every student is counted in every classroom. if the projections are off teachers have to be shifted around the district. at isaac's school, the numbers on count day were lower than the projections ~ by ONE! because of that, a first grade teacher will be taking over isaac's class while her students are redistributed throughout the other first grade classrooms at his school. ms. lingatong will be moved to a school that had numbers more than was projected for that school. i understand how the system works, but it sucks when it affects your own child! i guess the principal begged the district to reconsider since they were only needing one more student to keep ms. lingatong. even though isaac hasn't been in school for a full month yet, he's sad to see her leave. ms. lingatong, i'm so sorry i didn't have twins!

flashback friday...my lil cowboy

our lil cowboy loves cowboy bread!
what is it you ask?
it's a spice cake that my mom always made to go along with chili. i love it & can easily eat A LOT of it, but i limit myself to 2 pieces ~ at a time. :) i don't know why, but it is the perfect combination with chili. maybe because i grew up with it & continue to make it for my family, it's just one of those comfort foods that transports you back to your childhood. whatever the reason, it is sooooo good to the very last crumb!
here's the recipe for it ~ it's also convenient to make since everyone usually has these items on hand.

COWBOY BREAD:
1 and 1/4 c. of flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. butter (softened)
combine these ingredients together with a pastry cutter. save 1/2 c. for topping at the end.
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 egg (well beaten)
1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. lemon juice
add all ingredients together & mix well. top with 1/2 c. reserve of crumbled topping.
pour into a greased 8 x 8 pan & bake @ 350 for 25 min.
now mosey on into the kitchen pardner & make up some of that there cowboy bread...giddy-up!

isaac & lauryn

anyone for a swim?

my mom was here to visit the first week of september ~ and it was still hot enough to be in the pool! lauryn & kaylee are good for 30-45 min. & then they are done, they'd rather watch some cartoons & have a snack. isaac on the other hand can go for a couple of hours in the pool. you can see he's got his floaties on although he really doesn't need them. he just THINKS he does. anyway, here are the photos when mom was swimming with the kids.

flashback friday...happy birthday dad!

today is my dad's birthday. i thank the lord for how lucky i am that he is my dad. my dad is caring & understanding, loving & kind, giving & thoughtful. my mom always says he keeps hallmark open because he's a card guy & will find the perfect one for the perfect moment. growing up with him as my dad was a lot of fun. he was an athlete growing up & taught my brother & me to love sports too. we watched many football games together, cheering for the vikings ~ actually more like yelling at the tv for the most part because the vikings were a pretty sad team while i was growing up. ditto for the braves. i am a braves fan because of my dad too. at least we've had a good run with them until now. we differed on our nba teams though. in the 80's he was a huge celtics fan & i was a lakers fan. what a fun rivalry that was! i love that sports is one of the things that gave us a strong bond. and no matter what, no matter how many years pass, i will always be his little girl!


here's my dad with his lil munchkins in 1977.

here he is with his lil grand~munchkins in 2008.

funny how you just get better with age!
we love you & wish you a happy birthday!!

let's play a game called...

let's find tim.

can you spot him in this photo?
every now & then he gets a break from his "bondage" & get out to stretch his legs. the kids love it because they get such a kick out of playing with him. isaac loves to set up something that amounts to an obstacle course.



here he is realizing he's free...

isaac built this tunnel for tim to go through. on the back side of it you can kind of see how isaac built a corral to keep tim from escaping, in effect, forcing him to go through the tunnel in order to escape. as you can see, he figured it out.

so tim went about on his own, doing his own thing, when he decided he'd like to do this...on his own!

we cracked up & the kids went crazy watching him go through the tunnel by himself.

now here he is on the hunt...

gotcha!!

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flashback friday...magic man

as most of you know, dennis was a boxer from the time he was a very young boy at the age of 8. he was inspired by sugar ray leonard, who, coincidentally, shares a birthday with him. below is a picture of dennis, boxing in his trainer's basement, where he got his start. his mom used to make all of his trunks, etc. the back of the tank he is wearing says "dennis the menace". how fitting is that? :) as a result of all his hard work & dedication, dennis was able to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. the 2nd picture shows a really great finished product! and, instead of having the nickname "dennis the menace", when he turned pro he decided on dennis "magic man" allen, in homage to his home town know as " magic city"
yes, i'm a bit biased!
after over 20 years of boxing, he made the hard decision to hang up his gloves. but his love of boxing will never be diminished. every month he remains involved with boxing through his part-time work with compubox, a company that works with espn, hbo, etc. on counting punches to show stats during fights, such as the percentage of jabs landed per round. now his dream is to one day open a boxing gym here in vegas that helps underprivileged kids, not just with the sport of boxing, but with education & discipline as well.