Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

This is the opening weekend for the Gwinnett Braves, the Atlanta Braves AAA Team (formerly the Richmond Braves). Our friends, Mere and C, invited us to tailgate with them before the Saturday Night game.

We arrived at the park early (4 p.m. for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch) and parked our cars near the back grassy area.

The Caterpillars had a blast rolling down the hill and playing "spy"!

C grilled hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken for sandwiches - all were delicious.

GO sat with Cookie and Hubby, she seemed to like the outdoors. The weather was perfect, not to cold, but not hot either.

Inside the Gwinnett Braves Stadium they had all sorts of new and funny things. Chick-Fil-A is a major sponsor and this is my favorite part of their sponsorship:

We lost the game, but the Caterpillars actually made it all the way to the end of the game (it's the first time we've seen all 9 innings with them sitting in their seats).
Cookie brought playdough to keep the Caterpillars entertained - CW made little baseball players!

It's going to be great having a minor league team so close to us AND they serve fried dill pickles inside the Stadium! (How awesome is that?)

Baseball season - HERE WE COME!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Cub Scout District Pinewood Derby

Both B10 and CW won first place in the Pack Pinewood Derby and were eligible to go to District today.

CW's race was EARLY in the morning (it started before 9 am), but we all made it there - Cookie and Doc even came with us. (Cookie spent most of the first set of races pushing GO in her stroller.)

The top three places were eligible to go to the Council Races, but the top five racecars were recognized. CW placed 5th in speed with a average runtime of 130.4 mph!

His car's name is "Hothead".

B10's races began right after and he enjoyed watching with King and Prince.

Queen "stole" GO from Cookie and held her while I took photos.

B10 didn't place in the top five, but was a great sport. His car's name was "Ice Demon".

It was a wonderful morning and completed a process begun way back in December. I'm so proud of how hard the Caterpillars worked on their cars and the great attitude they both had, both when they won and when they didn't!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

HOPPY EASTER!

May the real reason for today be in all you do and say.

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Spring Break Cruise Director

The Royal Kids had spring break this week, so even though B10 and CW were at their Daddy's house - I was the Cruise Director for their Spring Break activities (GO was my capable first mate!).

On Monday I fixed a special breakfast and we sang "Happy Spring Break to You" and opened goodies before driving out to the Mayfield Dairy for a tour.

The ice cream treat at the end was delicious (Mayfield "Snow Cream"). Plus, they made everyone wear a little hairnet - even GO!

On Tuesday we drove out to a local Paint-Your-Own-Pottery place. Princess and I made giraffes, while Prince made a motorcycle bank.

(Queen loved on GO - or GO loved on Queen - either way!)

Tuesday evening and Wednesday they went on an overnight with their Dad (King) to a quaint little town a few hours north of us. Thursday, though, they were back and ready to play out at this cool indoor jump facility I knew of.

I missed my Caterpillars, but loved being with Queen and her kids - plus the "sibling noises" helped GO keep from missing her brothers, too much!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Circle Around

GO was finally big enough to wear a dress that I wore when I was a baby (way back in the 70's).

Even though it's covered in pink (not my favorite color), I think she looks adorable.

I dare anyone to disagree! ;)

~Lone Butterfly )i(

(as a side note: B10 and CW left for their dad's house and Hubby, GO and I already miss them very much!) :(

4 to 1 - Take That Phillies!

The newest Braves fan just wants to point out that you should never discount the Braves.

Especially not when they're wearing their spiffy new Away jerseys/hats.

And she's wearing her spiffy new t-shirt. (She stayed awake for almost the entire game!)

She's her Mummy and Daddy's girl!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

SMOLTZIE-POO WENT WHERE?

Someone finally told GO what the Braves did to John Smoltz. Poor baby...

She's a Little Young...

Why you should be very cautious of leaving your children in the care of BooSheep - even for a moment...

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Environmental and Heritage Museum

B10 and CW were super-thrilled to have gotten all their schoolwork done early this week, because it meant that we were able to go to our local Environmental and Heritage Museum with our friends.

I love the building, because it's truly a "green" building (it meets the national "Gold Standard" for green buildings). This is a photo from up on a nearby hill - one of the wild trails on the park property.

There is a wonderful place to eat indoors, so we packed a picnic lunch.

Then the Caterpillars wandered around the touch pools full of horseshoe crabs.

Their favorite room was the "Water" Exhibit, full of hands-on experiments and touch-screen learning stations.

The other mother, Auntie Nurse, took great joy in holding GO and following the boys around. I love spending time with her, because she's SO PATIENT with B10 and CW. It helps that she's the mother of three boys!

We can't wait to come back when it's sunny and warm. Plus, there are a ton of Cub Scout requirements/patches that can be earned - so we'll be looking into that next year!

~Lone Butterfly )i(

Bugs and Grubs

CW was in charge of dinner tonight. He selected "Bugs and Grubs", a reciepe from his new cookbook (purchased at Prince's School Book Fair - THANK YOU for inviting us, Queen!).

He went with me to the grocery store and picked out all the ingredients, then prepared the dish himself.

The bugs have legs (pretzel sticks), while the grubs are wrapped completely in dough.

The green beans are the "grass the bugs eat" (to quote CW).

He also chose green and Ceasar salad for us to have with our bugs and grubs, plus he set the table for us all.

I LOVE having Caterpillars who like to cook and be in the kitchen.

~Lone Butterfly )i(