Sophia's First Roller Coaster Ride!

We took Sophia to Dixie Land in Fayetteville on Saturday. We had so much fun! She really loved the Coweta County Fair last year so we knew she would love this too! It has been a long time since Phil and I have been to Dixie Land so we were surprised when we saw that they have a roller coaster now. Sophia saw it when we walked threw the gates and ran to it. Phil took this video of her riding the roller coaster with his phone. I think she rode this at least 4 or 5 times.

A Little Dirt Doesn't Hurt...

For those of you who don't live in Georgia or the States right now you are missing out on some wonderful weather!!  This is the time of year when it isn't freezing cold and hasn't turned blazing hot yet.  This type of weather usually only lasts a week so I'm feeling pretty blessed to be enjoying it for two!

I called Em the other day to see if she wanted to get together and enjoy this weather together.  So yesterday morning Sophia and I headed over to her house and didn't leave until late afternoon.  Emorie has a wonderful lot that is big with lots of trees but is also fenced in.  The girls spent most of their time out in the trees playing hide and seek and petting the neighbors dog that they named goldie. :)

We also helped Em and her girls plant some flowers which meant digging around in the dirt some.  After that they found a huge pile of leaves that had been raked up and jumped, rolled, buried each other and basically just scattered the leaves again. :)  When they finally emerged again both Izzy and Sophia were pretty dirty to say the least.  They had leaves in their hair, dirt on every thing, and Popsicle stains around their mouths.  I wish we would have taken a picture! 

I told Em that it was a sign of a VERY fun day!!  We really love getting together with them and are looking forward to doing it again. 

Here are a couple of pictures I left my camera at home and was totally kicking myself the whole time we were there...live and learn.

They hadn't buried themselves yet here..but do you see those purple shoes

next to Sophia's head??  They got lost in the pile and it was like trying to find a shoe

in a big pile of leaves!

I hope you are all enjoying this great weather....we are headed out again now!

Soccer

Sophia had her first soccer practice last Friday.  My friend Karen signed her little girl Alicia up to play as well.  Sophia was very excited to go! 

I think she enjoyed it?  What I mean is Sophia is VERY competitive!  So we had a few crying moments because she wasn't the first one to get to a flag or she got tagged by the coach during another game.  She didn't understand that she didn't have to be first she just had to get to the flag and that even if the coach tagged her she wasn't out just to keep dribbling her ball. 

There were also a lot of kids.  I was a little surprised at how many there were.  So she also cried because some of the kids who were chasing their ball accidentally kicked hers.  I tried explaining that it was an accident and that there were a lot of kids.

So we are going to go back this week and see how she does.  It was pretty frustrating for me because I was having to go out on the field and talk to her about why she was crying...so I'm sure quite a few people have my big ol' butt in their pictures and videos. :)

Here are a few pictures of when she wasn't crying lol!  She did look very cute I must say.

Alicia and Sophia before practice.

 Warming up and walking around "The House"  they had to

try to stay in the house with their ball.

 lol Phil got caught up in the net trying to help them get their balls. :)

The rest of the evening was very nice and uneventful!  We went over to see Karen's husband Luis.  He is opening a new restaurant in Newnan called Los Gordos, they are going to serve Cuban food.  Look for him on facebook the food is going to be so good!  We then went out to Taco Mac for dinner to catch up some more. 

I hope you all had a nice weekend!  Ours was beautiful and we were able to get a lot of outdoor chores done!

workspace

Our desk is on lifehacker!  Go check it out...this is the direct link to the article. 

Phil has been wanting to remodel our computer area for awhile now.  So a few weeks ago we headed out to IKEA to get what he needed.  He liked the way it turned out so much that he submitted it to the editor at lifehacker.  They have a workspace feed where they highlight a workspace every so often.  Well Phil's got picked!  He was pretty excited so please go check it out and take a look at his flickr photos as well!  For some reason the editor thought Phil's last name was Basil...so at the bottom it says Check out Philip Basil's workspace.  That is where you need to click to see the rest.

Recipe- Fundido Franks

I'm not a real big fan of hot dogs but these dogs are to die for:

These hot dogs are called fundido franks, I know silly name.  We were in publix the other day and they have a little kitchen area setup right when you walk in.  They had made these little gems that day and of course we tasted them.  We immediately got the recipe card!  It is the first hot dog I've had that included guacamole and mild salsa Yum!

Here is the recipe for those that are interested.  

Our 4 year old loved these too.  In fact we had to make her eat the hot dog part...she wanted to eat everything but that!  Enjoy!

Valentine's Weekend Pictures

We don't really have a lot going on right now.  Sophia is still taking ballet and will begin soccer on Friday.  She is really excited!  I think she is mostly excited that she got to get a pink ball.

Since the lack in blogging material at the moment I thought I would share a few pictures from this past weekend.  We had a lot of Valentine's Day parties this year!  Saturday there was a Marriage Banquet at our church.  The youth group provided babysitting and kept the kids downstairs.  It was a late night for Sophia.  She didn't get to bed until 10 ish and add to that a cupcake at 9 and she had been playing hard all evening.  It was a little difficult to get her to settle down.

I want to mention as well Phil took pictures at the Marriage Banquet of all the couples.  If you are interested in seeing them please click on the Phil Ball Photography link over there -------->
He did a wonderful job!  We really had a great time that night and it was really relaxing.

The next night at church after evening service they had the Jesus Lamb's party.  She had a lot of fun and yet again lots of sugar!  The kids decorated their boxes, ate pizza, delivered their valentines to each other and then played...mostly chase.

Sophia then had her school Valentine's Day party on Monday.  She was super excited about this party as were most of the kids I think!  They delivered their valentines to each other earlier in the day.  So when the parents got there they just ate their snack, did a craft, and Mrs. Meideros did an abbreviated circle time with them.  It was really cool getting to see what they do during that time.  I didn't realize Sophia was learning about the presidents and who is on each of the coins and paper money. 

So that was our Valentine's this year.  It was a lot of fun but I must admit I threw out a lot of the candy Sophia received.  She was wonderful and well behaved Monday morning but after her nap she turned into an emotional train wreck.  I'm blaming the candy! :) 

Sophia's Valentine's Day dress!

She really loved that it twirled...and showed everyone.

My Queen Hearts.  This was at her school party.

She has turned into a little poser. :)

School Party again.  Sophia and her friend Abby. 

She told me Abby is a rockstar!

I didn't get many pictures at the Jesus Lamb's party.
Here are a couple though.

She had been playing chase for a while by the time I took this picture.

Can you tell how red she is?  She gets that from me.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and Valentine's Day!

Look What I Caught Her Doing....

I went downstairs the other day to do some laundry and to tidy up a bit.  When I came back up to the bonus room this is what I found:

Not sure if you can see it but there is a little jar of fingernail polish open in the middle of the towel.  I felt a bit like this guy:

She actually did I really good job.  I was very impressed although I told her not to open again without me being in the room.  Here is a close up of her job:



Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

From My Funny Valentine!

I had to include this it is Sophia's first Valentine sent

to a boy.  His name is Tyler and undoubtly he is dreamy

from what I hear.  She wrote her name and then

drew a picture of her and Tyler wearing crowns.  I think she

is the smaller one on the right. :)

Snow Day!

I really feel like I don't have much luck in the months of January, February and even March some years.  I was planning to take Sophia to the Georgia Aquarium today since we don't really have anything going on and they are having a smokin good deal on tickets.  Well mother nature was having none of that and decided to snow! 

Last year in February we got tickets to take Sophia to the circus.  Sounds fun until you add an ice storm the day before the show.  Luckily, I guess, it was bad but not bad enough from keeping us from going.  Once you got out on the main roads you were pretty good.  We did still see lots of cars in ditches though.  I've just learned never to plan anything for these first few months of the year.

In actuality I probably could still go to the Aquarium.  The roads are really clear and the sun is out now. I can hear the snow melting off the house as I write this.  I just don't want to because people in Atlanta drive crazy on a good day...could you imagine what adding a little snow will do to them??  I think I will just wait until next week and pray for good weather.

Okay I think my little rant is over.  I just really am NOT a cold weather/snow person.  Sophia knows this and will tell anyone who even mentions winter to me.  She cried this morning because Phil had to go to work and between sobs said "but mommy is not a snow person, I want to play in the snow!"  I laughed a little and then told her that I loved her so much that I would go out there for her. :)

Here is the cutie laying in the snow.  I did eventually lay with her..it wasn't so bad.

She made a snow angel.  I'm not sure if you can see it but she wanted

me to take her picture while she sat next to it.

Included this one because you can see our dog, Cleveland,

in the background.  He isn't a snow dog and prefers to stay inside

when this white stuff appears.

Thought I would leave you with something a bit warmer. 

I'm praying for spring to hurry up and get here. 

Playing with Light

Saturday was such a beautiful day that we decided to take a walk into town and to the park.  I decided to take my camera along so I could practice some and try it out with different lighting situations.  Just a note never bring the dog along if you are wanting to play with your camera it is just one more thing to worry about. :)

So here are my first few attempts taken at around 11 o'clock. 

Phil was trying to teach me how to get a flare shot here...while holding the dog leash and a jacket. :) Pretty good first attempt but not great. I still thought it was pretty cute.

Second attempt at flare...better! Her shirt was a little washed out though so we tweaked it a bit in photoshop.

These next ones were when she woke up from her nap...oh how I LOVE late afternoon light!  I thought this one was pretty of her.

Another attempt at flare..got the flare but washed her out.  Phil said I needed to turn up the exposure compensation.

This isn't really a great picture but look at the light on her face I just love how it looks so golden at about 5 in the afternoon.

She was very tired of me asking her to sit still and was begging to play hopscotch.  I gave in but I got one of my favorite pics of her that day!

I definitely need to keep practicing but it was a lot of fun trying new things...it didn't hurt the weather was perfect!  I hope you all had a good weekend too!

Sophia's Ballet

Sophia has been taking dance since September and has been loving it!  She keeps telling me that the tap part is her favorite.  I think it because she gets to be loud.  I wanted to share a few pictures of her in action.  All the little girls are so cute!  Thanks dayle and hannah for the pictures..totally spaced and forgot to bring my camera the day the parents were allowed to watch. :)

Sophia is in the purple and her good friend Sophie is in the baby blue. 

 This next one makes me laugh because it is Sophia wrapped up in one picture! Lot of energy,smiles and some bounce. :)

Another funny shot of Sophia...she is totally haming it up in the mirror!

Sophie had her class pet this week..so she wanted a group picture at ballet.

Sophia, Sophie, and Sarah

They were just measured this week for their costumes for the recital in June! I can't wait to see them all on stage! Just a little funny side story...I have had to explain to Sophia several times what a recital is. Everytime I bring it up she thinks I am saying recycle. She was very confused for awhile. :) I really loves this age she makes me laugh everyday!

Peter Pan

So I'm pretty excited mostly because Sophia is excited!  Sophia has been in love with the story of Peter Pan for awhile now as evident by her Halloween costume last year.  So when I found out Peter Pan the play was coming to Atlanta I couldn't resist and we got tickets to go...but not until March.  I'm not risking it getting cancelled for another ice storm. :)

Here is a video of what the play is suppose to be like.  I think she is going to love seeing them fly!  If your interested in going it is playing now until March 20th.

The Mitten and other Random stuff

Sophia came home from school Friday and told me about a story she had heard that day.  It about a boy who loses his mitten.  A lot of different animals find the mitten and climb in until the mitten stretches and it literally explodes!  The boy comes back and finds the mitten split open but luckily his mom has a new pair for him.  I put cover pictures of both versions of the book below.  From reading the reviews though it sounds like a lot of people prefer the Alvin Tresselt version.  I think that is the one they used in Sophia's class as well.  I thought it sounded like a cute story and I knew she must have enjoyed it a lot if she came home and told me about it. 

 Here is the mitten Sophia made at school.  It looks pretty easy to copy if you want to try to make it at home.  You would just need to find pictures of the different animals.  The mitten opens and you put all of your animals in.  As you can tell Sophia's exploded as well! She was so excited to show me that it ripped when she was pulling all the animals out.  I doctored it up with some handy dandy tape and all was right in the world again. :)  Here is a link to Preschool Playbook she did a post on this same story with some other ideas as well.

Here are some other random things we have been doing.  I also found on Preschool Playbook these cute "bird feeders".  All you will need are pipe cleaners and cheerios.  Take one pipe cleaner and make a circle at one end.  Loop some of the pipe cleaner around itself.  This is so the cheerios don't fall off and when you get done you will loop the other end into the circle.  Once you have a circle at one end just start stringing cheerios on.  There will be a lot of cheerio eating going on with this project.

I found this cute number game from a Mailbox magazine.  You take a bag and decorate it for Valentines Day.  Please don't laugh at mine I made it in 5 minutes while Sophia was eating breakfast...in retrospect I should have let her do it but oh well.  Afer you have your bag decorated write numbers on pieces of paper and then fold them up and place them in the bag.  Then have your child pull out a number and tell you what it is.  After they tell you the number they have to blow that many kisses.  Sophia had a lot of fun with this and I acted like I was catching her kisses. 

I have a similiar game that I learned at Puddle Jumpers. You basically just write numbers on a medium sized sheets of paper. Once you have your numbers drawn place them around on the floor. Write more numbers on smallers pieces of paper and fold them up and place them in a bag. I just use a ziploc bag. Have your child pull a number out and tell you what it is. Once they tell you they have to go find that number on the floor and jump on it that many times. So say she picks a 5 she has to go find the 5 and then jump on it 5 times. Keep going until all your numbers are gone...I usually take them out so Sophia will get each number at least once.

We have also started sight words and BOB books.  This has been with mixed reviews.  I can really tell the days she isn't into it...like today. Other days she loves it and wants to do more.  The books are cute though and very simple sentences such as Mat Sat. Sam sat. I'll keep you updated on how it goes. :)