Matt had to go to a 2 day meeting by Norfolk at Ft. Eustis. None of us were too happy about Daddy being gone for a couple of days. Then, a lightbulb went off......."Why can't we go?" Don't know if David or Mommy said it first, but it sure sounded fun. So Mom made a call to the hotel that was reserved by Matt (for business) to make sure we wouldn't be breaking any rules with us staying there. NOPE ! "Come on! We'd be glad to have you" said the lady at the desk. YIPPEE !! Matt went on and took off early to make the meeting time, and I packed the bags, made quick arrangements for the pups and loaded up the boys for a 3 hour drive to the coast! The hotel upgraded our room at no cost to a big suite! They even let us in though Matt hadn't checked in yet! We took a nap and then Dad met us. We ended up going to Virginia Beach for a seafood dinner(per David's request) and had a late night seashell hunt on the beach. It was ridiculously cold and windy and Zachy thought it was hilarious! The next day, Matt went to his meeting and the boys and I found another beach. Brrrr! I had to wrap a blanket on Zachy's coat and tie it to keep his hood on! We collected tons of seashells and saw some crazy surfers. Off to an indoor antique carousel for a fun ride and some yummy ice cream. We stopped by Sonic for a yummy drink then off to Ft. Eustis to wait for Dad. We played on the swings and slides for 2 hours! The drive home would have been long, but Dad and David mapped it out so we would drive right past Bass Pro Shop! Go figure. We ended up eating there after shopping and looking at the fishies in the giant tank. The drive home had Dad in one car and Mommy with 2 sleeping boys in the other. Not bad for "impromptu" eh? By the way, there are a bunch of pics here. But there are some goodies!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Disclaimer
OK, OK. I know I am posting stuff that happened days ago. But better late than never! Just wait until you look at all the pictures of our vacations! And then Halloween is just around the corner! Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it.......
Cudos to those that blog daily....not gonna happen on this blog...ha.
Cudos to those that blog daily....not gonna happen on this blog...ha.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Pumpkins!
Thought these were worthy of separation from a big group. The kids had so much fun playing in these big orange pumpkins at the pumpkin patch!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Go Irish, Go Choo Choo !
Zachy is all grins. Proud to show O'Matt and O' Jeff his ND support. Zachy is also a new fan of Thomas the Tank Engine. He loves to dress up and say "choo, choo"! We love this guy. He is just too fun.
Fall Soccer
Back to the fun! Soccer has started and David is doing great! He's even faster than he was during spring soccer. He's making goals and really loving the game. He looks awesome in his uniform and super cool shin pads. He has new coaches and a bunch of new teammates! Go David! We love you and are so proud of you!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Festivals and Fingerprints
September is upon us. So, the beginning of Fall and all the festivals and craft shows. We love to go to these things and see what fun there is to be had. This particular day, we found one close to our house. It was particularly warm for September. David enjoyed the big slides, painting and a pony ride. Zachy enjoyed lemonade and, well, lemonade and more lemonade. He was too little to go on the slide and got crazy scared when he got near the pony. Go figure. The coolest thing we did was visit the booth that the local police were running. Both boys got fingerprinted, photographed and placed in a national database of kids. Pretty cool, eh? We even got a copy of the pics and prints. David thought the best part was getting to crawl around in the police car! We love the Fall!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Zachy's Sneaky Snacky!
Can't turn your back on this little guy for a second! Sneaky sneaky! Zachary found his way to the lower cabinet this morning. He helped himself to the Cheerios box. He actually got the box out, neatly opened it, removed the bag of Cheerios and had him self a little snack. He even stopped to say "cheeeese" for the camera. Sneaky little guy. Loves those Cheerios!
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Tropical Storm Hanna
Though the sky was beautiful afterwards, tropical storm "Hanna" brought a whopper of a storm to the Atlantic coast line and gave Fairfax, VA quite a downpour. The rain started about 8PM Friday night and absolutely poured for about 20 hours.
Due to a rainy day, the boys made yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast and played indoors. Even Herbie and Molly lounged around. But the sound of the beating rain was just too much of a temptation. David pulled on his rain gear and out he went. Zach laughed and stomped in the rain puddles that blew up on the porch. There were times when the bands of the storm came through and we all had to run inside from the wind!
We then saw a couple of poor wayward toads that had been washed down the drains by the office window. Ribbit ! It caused quite a stir amongst the boys in the house and thanks to Dad's quick hands, David's butterfly catching net and Zachy's extreme interest, the 2 toads were "rescued???" and placed in a bucket for all to admire.
After the storm, the frogs and David moved outside. David even took his new "dad wallet" out with him to survey the water levels. (Check out the "back-end" pose). The last 2 pics are the aftermath. Our local fishing lake was flooded beyond imagination. And the picture of the sky is actually taken from our backyard. Beautiful.
All in all, the Olson's survived the tropical storm pretty well. From cinnamon rolls to big wheels to catching frogs, it turned out to be a good day. (By the way, the frogs were set free on Sunday. HA).
Due to a rainy day, the boys made yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast and played indoors. Even Herbie and Molly lounged around. But the sound of the beating rain was just too much of a temptation. David pulled on his rain gear and out he went. Zach laughed and stomped in the rain puddles that blew up on the porch. There were times when the bands of the storm came through and we all had to run inside from the wind!
We then saw a couple of poor wayward toads that had been washed down the drains by the office window. Ribbit ! It caused quite a stir amongst the boys in the house and thanks to Dad's quick hands, David's butterfly catching net and Zachy's extreme interest, the 2 toads were "rescued???" and placed in a bucket for all to admire.
After the storm, the frogs and David moved outside. David even took his new "dad wallet" out with him to survey the water levels. (Check out the "back-end" pose). The last 2 pics are the aftermath. Our local fishing lake was flooded beyond imagination. And the picture of the sky is actually taken from our backyard. Beautiful.
All in all, the Olson's survived the tropical storm pretty well. From cinnamon rolls to big wheels to catching frogs, it turned out to be a good day. (By the way, the frogs were set free on Sunday. HA).
Money....by David
Funny boy:
David is IN TO MONEY these days. During a brief visit to Walmart the other day, I was victim to the routine "shakedown" from David. "I need that, Mom. I want that, Mom. You should buy this for me, Mom"....etc. This time, I gave in. A $2.00 pouch that had a monkey on the front, used to hold money. Seeing as how Zach loves to put money in his mouth, the idea of David collecting every coin in the house and keeping it in this little pouch, seemed worth the $ 2.00. This little pouch is now lovingly called, "my kid wallet" by David.
Scene: Dad got home from work. David: "Dad! Look at my kid wallet! Isn't it awesome?" Matt, "Sure is David! Do you have money in there?" David: "Yup! And I have more under the rug! I'll go get it!" Under the rug. What exactly did that mean? I tiptoed up the stairs behind David, followed him to our bathroom, and found him pulling up the bathroom rug. Up against the wall next to the counter was at least $6.00 or $7.00, in change and dollar bills. Little turkey. He's been collecting money for WEEKS! Our fault for leaving it lay around for little hands to grab! Now that little "kid wallet" is stuffed!
Parental responsibility here: We did discuss picking up money that doesn't belong to us and keeping it..........don't want to start a thieving problem here, but do like the idea of him saving money!!! :)
By the way, he now has a second wallet, one of Matt's old ones, that he calls his "Dad wallet". The boy is loaded.
David is IN TO MONEY these days. During a brief visit to Walmart the other day, I was victim to the routine "shakedown" from David. "I need that, Mom. I want that, Mom. You should buy this for me, Mom"....etc. This time, I gave in. A $2.00 pouch that had a monkey on the front, used to hold money. Seeing as how Zach loves to put money in his mouth, the idea of David collecting every coin in the house and keeping it in this little pouch, seemed worth the $ 2.00. This little pouch is now lovingly called, "my kid wallet" by David.
Scene: Dad got home from work. David: "Dad! Look at my kid wallet! Isn't it awesome?" Matt, "Sure is David! Do you have money in there?" David: "Yup! And I have more under the rug! I'll go get it!" Under the rug. What exactly did that mean? I tiptoed up the stairs behind David, followed him to our bathroom, and found him pulling up the bathroom rug. Up against the wall next to the counter was at least $6.00 or $7.00, in change and dollar bills. Little turkey. He's been collecting money for WEEKS! Our fault for leaving it lay around for little hands to grab! Now that little "kid wallet" is stuffed!
Parental responsibility here: We did discuss picking up money that doesn't belong to us and keeping it..........don't want to start a thieving problem here, but do like the idea of him saving money!!! :)
By the way, he now has a second wallet, one of Matt's old ones, that he calls his "Dad wallet". The boy is loaded.
Delightfully David: The Mole
Sweet David is so unbelievably articulate. Some of the things he says just blow us away. Here is one in particular that just makea me smile as I write it.
Scene: Nap time. Zachy was already asleep, David's head bobbing and eyelids looking droopy. Now most all of you know that Matt and I both have a mole, yes a mole, that David likes to rub when needing comfort. Matt's is behind his right ear, mine is in front. Sometimes, in dire need, David feels as if he needs the "double mole", as he calls it.
I felt this little hand go up and rub my mole. David stated, "I am NOT tired, Mom." When he says that, he IS tired. So I convinced him to go upstairs and lay down with me for a little shut eye. Again, he rubbed the mole. Note: though most people don't want to hear or talk about it, moles sometimes "sprout" a few hairs. Gross, but true. I choose to intermittently "remove" mine, and had done so earlier in the day. Anyway, David rubbed and rubbed and rubbed, then forcefully pushed my head sideways to actually look at the mole. "Mom," he said. "Your mole. It's...., well it's...." He just couldn't find the words to describe that it wasn't fuzzy anymore. Then finally..."Mom, there is something wrong with your mole. It's not turned on!!"
Scene: Nap time. Zachy was already asleep, David's head bobbing and eyelids looking droopy. Now most all of you know that Matt and I both have a mole, yes a mole, that David likes to rub when needing comfort. Matt's is behind his right ear, mine is in front. Sometimes, in dire need, David feels as if he needs the "double mole", as he calls it.
I felt this little hand go up and rub my mole. David stated, "I am NOT tired, Mom." When he says that, he IS tired. So I convinced him to go upstairs and lay down with me for a little shut eye. Again, he rubbed the mole. Note: though most people don't want to hear or talk about it, moles sometimes "sprout" a few hairs. Gross, but true. I choose to intermittently "remove" mine, and had done so earlier in the day. Anyway, David rubbed and rubbed and rubbed, then forcefully pushed my head sideways to actually look at the mole. "Mom," he said. "Your mole. It's...., well it's...." He just couldn't find the words to describe that it wasn't fuzzy anymore. Then finally..."Mom, there is something wrong with your mole. It's not turned on!!"
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Early Fall Fun
Great early fall weather has encouraged us to get outside this last week. David started back to his daycare/preschool and has started up with a new gymnastics class. Zachy is growing each day and misses his brother terribly when he is not home. He goes through the house yelling "DAAAA DOE!" When David is home, we go play with friends, go to the park and swing and have great bike and wagon rides. Here are a few pics of each. These guys are getting bigger each day........
Monday, September 01, 2008
Pool Closes...Bummer.
Labor day weekend was the end of our season of fun at the pool down the street. We were there at least every other day almost all summer! That's alot of fun in the sun. David got an incredible tan despite liberal use of sunscreen. He took a few swim lessons and managed to go down "that really scary slide" 4 times! Zachy got more blonde with each day in the sun. He only drank a little pool water and has developed quite a love of the pool. Yippee!! Our last full day included 6 hours in and out of the water, a BBQ, raft night, popcicles, staying until 8PM closing time, 2 exhausted but happy boys, lots of laughs with friends and a little boy named David that slept until noon the next day. The very LAST day (next day) was only 4 hours of swimming, a pizza party in which all the lifeguards joined in and 2 tired boys again. David and Zachy have made good friends with 2 particular lifeguards. Karly and Steve O. David draws pictures for them almost every time we are there on the paper that he "requires" me to keep in the pool bag. Zachy will jump in to either one of them and loves to play in the water. We are sad to see the pool season end, but Karly and Steve O said they would babysit for us this fall and winter ! YEA ! Goodbye pool. See ya next summer!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Rainy Day Fun
We woke up this morning to a downpour of rain! Yippee! Our grass was prematurely turning yellow and crunchy. YUCK. When David realized there were large puddles outside, he ate his breakfast in record time, ripped his jammies off, dressed himself and put on his rubber boots and new awesome raincoat and ran out the door. Of course, Zachy was out the door behind big brother. It was so wet, David even got his snow shovel to scoop up the puddles! Zachy drew scribbles on the porch with chalk and had fun watching David play. David helped Zachy be careful on the steps and showed him the pretty flowers. What a great morning. Rainy days are lots of fun!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Olson Fishing Weekend in West Virginia
We decided to venture in a different direction this last weekend. Our trips usually take us to Pennsylvania, but we just wanted to see something different. And boy, did we! Not that PA is not a beautiful state, but West Virginia is awesome! A 3 day weekend for Matt enabled us to leave early on Friday and arrive at a beautiful cabin. It was way too big for the 4 of us, but it was the only one they had! It was beautiful and had all the luxuries of home. A washer and dryer, heart shaped whirlpool bathtub, a relaxing hot tub outside under the stars and beautiful floor to ceiling windows in the front to see the beautiful view. Let's not forget the trout stream practically in the front yard!
Our first evening was fishing, exploring, dinner, a bubbly bath for Zachy and David in the giant tub, and a relaxing time in the hot tub for Mom and Dad. The only downer was Mom getting pulled over by a policeman on the way back from dinner. Speeding.....bummer. But he got one look at the sweet, beautiful boys in the back seat watching a movie, and could only issue a warning. WHEW !!!!!
Saturday included leaving our cabin and driving to a new motel that had a great little home cooking type restaurant. Best bowl of slow cooked green beans we have ever had. Then a quick nap followed by a drive over to the Cass Scenic Railroad! We road an old steam engine train. The "Fiddles and Viddles" ride. Up the mountain to a great buffet dinner, some bluegrass tunes and some great exploring by David and Zachy. Back down the mountain to the hotel in time for Zachy to have a bath before bed and for David to catch a cute little frog. Sunday was breakfast and a ride up the mountains to a remote little place to catch big ole trout. Three, to be exact. One was 20 inches long! Mom even tried a little fly fishing! Zachy said, ' -ish ! -ish!" Loves those fish! David was a great fisherman and Daddy did the hard work. An ice cooler and some ice and off for home with 3 "ish"! We finished the day with the all American dinner at Shoneys. We were tired but happy and glad that we have discovered alot of fun in West Virginia! Wow! What a fun filled weekend!
Our first evening was fishing, exploring, dinner, a bubbly bath for Zachy and David in the giant tub, and a relaxing time in the hot tub for Mom and Dad. The only downer was Mom getting pulled over by a policeman on the way back from dinner. Speeding.....bummer. But he got one look at the sweet, beautiful boys in the back seat watching a movie, and could only issue a warning. WHEW !!!!!
Saturday included leaving our cabin and driving to a new motel that had a great little home cooking type restaurant. Best bowl of slow cooked green beans we have ever had. Then a quick nap followed by a drive over to the Cass Scenic Railroad! We road an old steam engine train. The "Fiddles and Viddles" ride. Up the mountain to a great buffet dinner, some bluegrass tunes and some great exploring by David and Zachy. Back down the mountain to the hotel in time for Zachy to have a bath before bed and for David to catch a cute little frog. Sunday was breakfast and a ride up the mountains to a remote little place to catch big ole trout. Three, to be exact. One was 20 inches long! Mom even tried a little fly fishing! Zachy said, ' -ish ! -ish!" Loves those fish! David was a great fisherman and Daddy did the hard work. An ice cooler and some ice and off for home with 3 "ish"! We finished the day with the all American dinner at Shoneys. We were tired but happy and glad that we have discovered alot of fun in West Virginia! Wow! What a fun filled weekend!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Return of the Tabby
Our estranged cat Morris has returned home after well over a year's absence. He has been roughing it in the wilds of Kings Park West like a feline version of Eric Rudolph: living off the land and avoiding the man. Morris’s first order of business upon return was peeing in Herbie and Mollie’s dog food. While he could have been confused having been away from a litter box for so long, it was clearly a political statement. Given his experiences with the beagles it is understandable. We are happy have Morris back, but we are not sure how long this will last.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Silly times at Grammies
It is impossible to list all the fun and silliness that went on at Grammie's during our vacation. There were laughs and giggles galore with Uncle Matt, Aunt Sally, George, Francis, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Denise, Joey and Jackie along with Grammie, Aunt Terri, Matt, Jennie and of course, the kings of giggles- The Olson Brothers- David and Zach. There were 2 trips to Wonderland Amusement park, a visit to the Discovery Center where there was a "body noises" display that burped and "passed gas" and where there were giant bubble making machines. We hung out at Uncle Hunkies and Aunt Jerry's, jumped on the trampoline, got pushed in the walker by Gram and Jerry , told fishing stories to Hunkie and got to see his collection of rattlesnake rattles. We went swimming in Aunt Terri's pool, took trips to the park to play on the new equipment, played on big wheels and scooters until dark with the neighbors grandkids, and chased down the ice cream man for a giant popcicle, Whew! Just listing all these fun things is incredible! It is easy to say, WE HAD A BLAST AT GRAMMIES !! WE LOVE TEXAS ! Thanks to everyone for making this a fun trip for us! We love you all!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Off on vacation! Grammie went with us to Albuquerque and we had so much fun. Daddy drove us to Albuquerque on Monday evening. We checked in at our hotel and then off to find the Tingley Beach. This was our main reason for going! A stocked trout pond, a kids fishing area and well, fishing, fishing and more fishing. Zachy and Grammie checked out the ducks and geese as Dad and David surveyed the area for the following day of fishing. Early in the morning, Dad would "check out" the pond and come back to the hotel with reports. We had a great time relaxing, trying out the yummy New Mexico cuisine, and of course, visiting the beautiful aquarium, botanical gardens and the zoo. Zach "oooh'd and ahhhhh'd" at all the animals and David got to hand feed some beautiful birds. And we can forget to mention that David was the ONLY one to catch a trout at the pond. Check out bassslayer.blogspot.com for more details! What a fun time in Albuquerque! Just a little side note: Having grown up with a mom that was also a teacher, we frequently had "spelling" contests and such in the car on our travels. Many, many years ago on a trip to New Mexico, mom decided that we needed to learn to spell Albuquerque. It was a doozy, but A-L-B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E. There you have it. I've never forgotten how to spell it. Thanks Mom.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Zach and Grammie
Zachy and Grammie had some special times while we were in Amarillo. They became great buddies. Grammie showed Zach the big back yard and all the pretty birds through the large glass window in the living room. Zach and Grammie spent alot of time "talking" about their discoveries. Fun times for Zachary and Gram.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Incredibly Handsome Boys
Just a few pictures here of our handsome boys in their tuxedos for Gerianne's wedding. Have you ever seen 2 more beautiful boys? Love these guys. You can look forward to more "formal wear" pictures when the wedding pics arrive! Handsome, handsome, handsome.
Wedding Day ! July 25, 2008. Hours before the wedding!
The day has arrived! As you can see, the bride is serious in thought, and very happy that the day is progressing so well! The morning started off early with a bunch of early morning errands. Final tux fitting for JP, groomsmen and Mr. David Olson. Libby and company were up ridiculosly early working diligently to making the auditorium look FABULOUS ! Off to the "beauty parlor" for some beautifying. On went the vail along with lots of pins, hairspray and of course, backcombing for poofs. Then off to MAC cosmetics for a few pretty touches for an already stunning bride. Little Zachy had fun watching and dancing to the cool music at the MAC counter. Just a note here, David decided at the pre wedding pictures that he would like to take pictures himself. So all the last 13 pictures are courtesy of David. Pretty good job there little man! What a beautiful bride!!!! Can't wait to see the full set of actual wedding pics!
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