Touch A Truck Day

October is here... and we've been busy!  We recently visited the Town Center Mall in Kennessaw, Georgia to touch all the trucks.  They have a "Touch a Truck" day in the fall that is a very affordable way to keep your toddler entertained for hours on end.  This is an event that we won't likely miss again.  Ambulances, Fire Trucks, Crane Trucks, Bulldozers, Garbage Trucks... I could go on and on.

... and what a fun day it was!  Tripp got to see all of his favorite trucks, including some non-trucks like jet skis, motorcycles, and even a helicopter!   Pretty neat. 

 Checking out the lay of the land

 

Helicopter!

Tripp even got to DRIVE the Helicopter!
Finally our turn, after patiently waiting in the long line

 

On the Police jet ski

Inside the oversized roller skate
(the weirdest "truck" there)

Tripp LOVED the "bool" bus.
"Mama, it's so big in here"

Checking out the bomb squad robots
(and wearing our new Cobb County junior fireman hat!)



And finally, a lunch treat at
"Chick-A-Lay"

Hope your fall is off to a great start!
Meg

Resolution #12: Big Boy Bed!

Over the rainy 4th of July holiday weekend was a perfect time to move Tripp out of his crib and into a big boy bed in his new big boy room!  This was a new year's resolution of his, and we figured that a long, lazy weekend would be as good of time as any to (potentially) interrupt our sleep for the sake of his growing independence... ha.

So, we bought some rails and installed them onto one of the two twin beds in his big boy room.  These beautiful old beds were slept in by my grandmother, who is now in her 80s, and her sister... which still blows my mind when I really think about it.

The only downside to these antiques is that they are very high off of the ground, so the extra tall side rails gave us peace of mind that Tripp would be safe and not injure himself after a fall to the hardwood floors in the middle of the night.

Here's a photo of his very first night, which went very well!  Tripp stayed put all night long, no injuries or scares... so we consider it a success.

In the photo, you'll notice that Tripp has plenty of friends joining him to keep him safe from harm and to ensure that he has only sweet dreams.  Cookie Monster and Buzz are such good caretakers.

Ahhhh.... can't believe how fast he's growing up!

Happy hump day!
Meg

Shug's Birthday at the Lake

This year, we celebrated Shug's birthday with family at the lake!  This knocked out one of Tripp's new year's resolutions (#11) to spend some lazy days at the lake, floating in the water and soaking up the sunshine. Cousin Anne was in town from Houston, and it was a festive occasion with lots of fun activities and downtime for all.

Enjoy the photos!

Packed up and ready to head west to Pell City, Alabama!
Dump Truck in hand

Ann Fulton (2.5 yrs) and her singing, animated birthday card for Shug.
"It's Girls Night Out..."

Our high roller

Shug, Tripp & the famous 'mingo cups!

Swinging Cousins!

Swinging with Shug

AF swimming with Shug

Sunset PJ boat ridin' on the pontoon with Susu and Cousin Anne HJ

The brutal Six Flags traffic that greeted us in Atlanta on Sunday.

'Twas a fun weekend and one that we'll remember for a long time.  Happy Birthday, Shug!

Life's a Beach: St. George Island, Florida

Tripp has had a fabulous summer so far!  He has spent lots of time in and around the water in any shape or form.  From the pool to the lake to the waves of the ocean (both the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico), Tripp has surely taken advantage of the hot temps here in the south and all the water that surrounds us.

Recently, we went down to St George Island in the Apalachicola, Florida area to spend some quality time with  his grandparents, Pops and Grammy Roughen, and Uncle Daniel and Aunt Whitney.  We had great weather almost the whole time, with a few showers to cool us down just at the right time.  Tripp enjoyed the beach, pool, and other fun activities.

Below are some photos from one sunset session on the beach during our stay.  Fun times all around!

Tripp, Pops & Grammy - heading to the beach for some kite flying.

A boy and a beach.

Kite Pit Crew

The Cars Kite

Flying his very first kite

Sweet Beach Boy

Jumping the big waves with Pops and Daddy

More wave jumping

Unexpected moment of bliss

Intimate Pops & Tripp Moment

And a few more from other beach-side adventures:

Packing up to head south.

A Big Sky at the Beach!
Earning his keep by carrying his own toys in a Tripp-sized wagon

Shells from the famous Appalachicola Oysters

An early morning walk past the St. George Island Light House

... another view of the lighthouse.  

Piloting the Golf Cart that Uncle Daniel rented

Cruisin' with Daddy and Uncle Daniel

Boy was it a fun trip!  Looking forward to finishing out the summer with another trip for the 2nd annual Roughen-Moon vacation to the Florida panhandle soon!

Happy weekend, all!
Meg

Resolution #4: The Long Awaited 2nd Birthday Party Post

I am finally getting around to posting the birthday post, documenting the fun times we had commemorating Tripp's 2nd year, and ringing in his 3rd year on Earth.  It was his 4th new year's resolution for 2013!

This year, we kept it pretty low-key, having a few close friends and family over to our house and (thanks to good weather) playing outside with a bouncy house (borrowed from our great friends the Woolleys) and other activities like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, riding toys, and other fun activities for kids of all ages.  Below are some photos from Tripp's big day.

The Birthday Scene

Munchin' on Circus-themed birthday cake

Tripp playing in the bouncy house with Shug

The Birthday Boy, all grown up!

Two tired boys
Tripp & Ryder Woolley (2.5 yrs)

Our little family

Opening Grammy's gifts

More gifts!

It was a fun day, surrounded by good people and a festive spirit.  Here's to another 365 days until the next one!

Meg

Pops turns 60!

For Pops Roughen's 60th birthday, Grammy surprised him with a bi-plane tour of Atlanta.  So on a bright and sunny day, we headed out with the whole Roughen crew to the Peachtree-Dekalb Airport, one of our favorite places to visit, to see Pops take off and land in the vintage yellow bi-plane.  Below are some photos from the occasion.

Watching the planes with Pops, from the best seat in the house.

Checking out the Bi-Plane with Daddy.
Don't be deceived by Tripp's expression, he was very excited about the planes!

After Pops' birthday flight, the whole crew, Left to Right:
Matt, Meg, and Tripp
Grammy & Pops
Aunt Whitney & Uncle Daniel
Uncle John

Glad that Pops is safely on the ground

Tripp was so excited to see the plane take off and land!  He has seen the yellow bi-plane many times, but never seen his own Pops get in it and take off, so this was a special treat.

Happy Birthday, Pops!

Case of the Mondays

August and the attack of the killer "Why"

Well, August has finally come and with it, Tripp has begun to ask "Why?" an awful lot.  I tried to keep up and answer all of his "Why" questions truthfully and honestly, but it got to be too much and one day I blurted out "Why not?" to which Tripp responded, "It's not Why Not, mama.  It's Why"

Ok.  You win, buddy ...  Why it is.

In other news, I wanted to share some more weird daycare activities with you all.  Enjoy!

Painting Windows

Um. what?

Play-Doh on Tin-Foil
(for the record, he got a haircut the day after this happened, I think)

Happy Weekend!
Meg

An Engineer in the Making

It appears that Tripp has been doing lots of building and engineering at school lately.  A few photos that caught my attention:

Stacking Blocks...

Connecting Blocks...

Being a lady's man...

And showing his artistic side.

Fun times at school!  Happy Holiday Week!
Meg