Random G

Richie nicknamed Griffin "Random G" a few years ago.  It is not a name that we call him, but we just use it to refer to things he does.  He says a lot of things that you just can't believe a 7-year old would think or say.  They are usually not intended to be funny, because he is a very serious little boy.  He is also in costume very frequently...like every afternoon after school.  I thought I would share a couple of our most recent Random G quotes.

The first one happened last week on our way to school.  We had to pull over because an ambulance was coming up from behind us with the siren on.  From the back seat, I hear...
Griffin: "I hate seeing ambulances."
Me: "Why?"
Griffin: "Every time I see one I think of blood and death and zombies."
Exactly. That's what everyone thinks of, right?

On Friday at breakfast, we were talking about how well Griffin is doing in math.  (Both Mamie and Griffin hate math and have a little math anxiety.)  He tells us this is what his teacher told them while they were working on their math on Thursday at school.
Griffin: "Mrs. Arnold told us, 'Y'all are so good at math!  You're all going to be bankers!' "I thought to myself, that sounds like a horrible boring job and I'm probably never going to do that."
Me: "I think she was just trying to encourage y'all Griffin.  You don't really all have to be bankers."

Also, if you have ever driven with just Griffin in your car, you know that he is very quiet and it's virtually impossible to get him to carry on a conversation.  He is by no means a quiet or shy kid, so this has always been odd.  Richie got a little insight as to why when taking him to school last week.
Richie: "Griffin, you don't really like to talk much in the car do you?"
Griffin: "I like to talk to other people in the car, just not really the driver."
Richie: "Why?"
Griffin: "Because I don't want them to have a crash."
(By the way, neither of us has been in a wreck since we have been married.)

And I'll leave you with a picture of a costume he threw together after school the other day.  This one is his Cyclops from X-Men costume.  Apparently he read a book about him at school that day during independent reading time, and it was on his mind.

Anniversary Gift

Look what my sweet husband sent me on our anniversary yesterday...

11 Years

11 years ago today I married my best friend! Richie and I met my freshman year in college, and we got married 4 years later.  I am so thankful for him, and I can't believe we have been married for 11 years! Time truly does fly by.

 Wow...Look how young we look!

Happy Anniversary!

Griffin's first soccer game

Griffin had his first soccer game of the season on Saturday. They played Trinity Baptist in Cordova. They lost, but thankfully they don't keep score yet. Griffin played well though, and I think he actually "got it" for the first time this year.

Library Books

I was a "secret reader" in Griffin's classroom on Friday.  It was a lot of fun, and he was totally surprised.  I read two books, but I checked out a lot of our favorites from the library.

Do you have this book?  It is one of my favorites.  It has suggestions of books for every age from board books to picture books to chapter books to read-aloud books.  We have read almost every book it suggests that our library has.  It is such a great resource!

Memphis Tigers Game

Last Thursday, Richie took Griffin to the Memphis Tigers and Mississippi State football game in Memphis.  Griffin was beyond excited.  They had such a good time.



Richie took these pictures on his phone at the game.

Since I wasn't there, he talked Richie into getting him a coke...at night. This video shows what caffeine does to a 7 year-old.

Around the World Dinners

This summer we did something called Around the World Dinners.  Griffin is very interested in foreign countries and geography, so I thought it would be a fun way to introduce the kids to some foods that they don't normally eat.  Also, Mamie and Griffin would work together before dinner to gather some facts about the country.  It was a great way to get them to work together and also to help them learn more about other places.  They loved this, and it is definitely something that we will do again next summer.

The first country that we did was Italy.  We had fettuccine alfredo, caesar salad, bread and tiramisu.

Next, we sampled food from France.  I made a baked brie appetizer, chicken and mushroom crepes, salad with French dressing, haricot verts and chocolate souffles.



We tried food from Greece next.  It may have just been Mediterranean, but we pretended it was Greek.  I made chicken souvlaki pitas, hummus, tzatziki and tabbouleh.

Finally, I made food from Mexico.  This one was not a huge departure from the norm because we love Mexican food and eat it often.  It was good for the kids to learn more about Mexico though.  We had taco quesadillas, guacamole, pico, chips & homemade sopapillas for dessert.