Welcome to the Robbins Nest

Back to School

2009-08-06T06:54:00.001-07:00

The summer is winding down and it is time for school to begin. Hannah has started 1st grade, mommy starts school on Monday and Hayden is getting ready for pre-school. Hannah scared us a bit when she said she wasn't ready for school to start, but I think she just got used to doing her own thing this summer...she has been excited to go, she likes her teachers, and she is excited to see her friends every morning and throughout the day.

Sadly, the summer ended with my camera dying :( so, the pics are borrowed from neighbors or taken from our old camera (which makes me miss my newer one even more).

I will post pics from Hayden's school when he starts, which won't be until the 18th, but here are a few from Hannah's first day.

Ready for 1st grade

Hannah and mommy

Hannah, daddy and Hayden

Hannah and Ally (their annual pic). It will be fun to pic our favorites for their senior year yearbooks (but, I am getting ahead of myself)

ps - the music is for Hannah and I - we love high school musical :)

Summer Fun

2009-06-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

I am so bad - it has been two months already since my last post - this could take a while! I will start with the latest and greatest....our summer vacation!

Greenacres: we started our summer vacation off with a trip to Nana and Pop-pops in West Palm Beach. The weather was fine and we had a great time just hanging out with our Florida family.

Key West: Bunky and I were lucky enough to have the time to get away for a few days to Key West. We enjoyed our time away and had a great time hanging out with Ron and Kerri. Irish Kevin's bar was the funnest bar in town and we were rode all over the island on our beach cruiser bikes. Bunky went scuba diving with his Ron while Kerri and I chilled out at Smather's Beach - it was quiet and peaceful and gave us a chance to relax. We never really slept in, which is ok because we were able to take a few naps along the way. Duval Street was a happening place with never ending entertainment. Thanks to Nana and Pop-pop for taking the kids for us and giving us a chance to get away.

Disney: As soon as our time was finished in Key West, we met the kids at our favorite destination, Disney World! It was our first time staying off property. The great thing was that we were all able to be together in the condo. We celebrated Uncle Ronnie's birthday with everyone and got hyped up about our next three days!

Magic Kingdom: the kids were so excited about our day at Magic Kingdom. Hannah says that her favorite ride was Splash Mountain, although it would be difficult to tell from the picture. Hayden enjoyed Splash Mountain too because he was able to cool off. We had dinner at the Crystal Palace, having fun with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. We had some tired children by the end of the night, but we were all excited about the great day we had and the next day's activities.

Hollywood Studios: Our second day was a fun filled day at Hollywood Studios. We had a slow start with a rain storm, but after that, we were off...The first ride of the day was the Tower of Terror, a ride Hannah was sure she was going to ride when she went there. I have provided the before and after shots for this ride. Our favorite ride, by far, was the Toy Story Mania ride, it was a great way to end our night. We had fast-passed the ride and our time was not until 8:45. I hadn't been to Hollywood Studios in years (previously MGM), so it was cool to go back with the kids. Everyone had a great time!

Epcot: Our final destination was Epcot. Spaceship Earth, Soarin' and the Fireworks display were favorites for us all. Cousin Alle, Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Kerri had to leave a day early, so we missed them at Epcot, but we had a great time at our final day in Disney. Hannah is seen here coming out of one of the shops after buying a toy with her money. We are in trouble in the future if she is this happy spending money :)

Overall, we had a great vacation. It was great to see the family - the kids (and adults) had a fantastic time. We miss Disney World already and can't wait to go back soon!

2009-04-09T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hayden started his t-ball season with his first game last weekend. Dizzy Dean in Canton allows for three/four year olds to play in a league of their own. It is so fun and cute to see these little guys in their uniforms that are too big! Hayden was very excited to start his season after missing the first game and having another postponed. He was so excited to wear his uniform that he wore it for several hours before and after the game. Daddy is one of the assistant coaches and is pumped to help out the White Sox this year.

Daddy - Daughter Dance

2009-03-01T10:47:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Bunky went to the daddy-daughter dance hosted by Harmony on the lakes neighborhood and they had a blast! Hannah and I went out to do the girl thing prior to the dance while Hayden and Bunky went to baseball practice. We had a great time getting her nails painted and having her hair put up for the big event. The dance started at 6pm and ended at 8pm. The final shot was taken during the "last dance" - just in time as Hannah fell asleep on daddy's shoulder....too cute!

one fish, two fish....

2009-02-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

three fish, four fish.

The title comes from an evening of fishing with Bunky and the kids. Lake Harmony in the neighborhood has tons of fish supposedly, but it had never been too good to the kids or Bunky....I guess the secret is live "shiners" and a spongebob squarepants fishing pole. Included are pictures to commemorate the evening.

Hayden's First Fish

Hayden holding his second fish - he's a natural!

The third fish caught with the spongebob pole!

I have a feeling now that Bunky knows the secret, there will more evenings at the lake this spring, which is fine for the members of the Robbinsnest (a great view and beautiful weather to come!)

3-day weekend and new year happenings

2009-01-17T04:34:00.000-08:00

Whew! I finally have a few minutes to update...

Luckily, we have a three-day weekend and a chance to catch up on things around here.

Everyone is working to get back on schedule since the Christmas break. With the cold temperatures, currently 18 degrees, waking up has been difficult for everyone in the morning - our beds are just so comfy!

Since 2009 has begun, a few new events have taken place: Hannah has been signed up for the Daisy Scouts and had her first meeting on Thursday night. The troop meets once a month in our neighborhood clubhouse. There are 13 girls, all kindergarteners from Hannah's school, Holly Springs Elementary. Luckily, she recognized several of the girls from school and seemed to really enjoy it. It was so fun watching her and the troop do things that I remember from when I was a little girl:

the girl scout promise
being a flag bearer
the squeeze circle
the badges
and of course, the cookies!

Bonnie and Ally came with us and I couldn't help but feel like the girl scouts are just like me and my friends just 25 years later - you know, good friends, fun crafts, etc. If I do not look too crazy, I will take pictures next time to share.

Hayden has a big season coming up as well. He is signed up for T-ball with the local Dizzy Dean teams. They start the kids at 3 years old, which should be chaotic and fun! Hayden is very excited and has been practicing with daddy during the day (with soft materials since it is 18 degrees outside). Of course, there is always the Wii Sports package, which Hayden has become very attached to, to practice his skills as well.

A Christmas Story Moment

2008-12-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

We made our annual trek to see Santa with just a few days to spare. The kids were excited. We took Hayden to get a haircut right before and then when we entered the store, I had to pick up a sweater for him to wear. We went to the Belks in Canton...I know, it is not the mall, but I think the picture came out great and we were the second in line and could see him at our leisure. If you know me, the stress of making my kids smile right with people waiting for us to move just makes me break out into a sweat, so visiting this man, who was at Michael's last year, is a perfect fit for the Robbins.

All day, Hannah and Hayden knew that we would be visiting him that evening, so they talked about what they would ask him for. Hayden was going to ask for a dinosaur (very random, but do-able) and Hannah wanted to ask for a Wii. The kids were great - walked right up and climbed on his knee. Hayden was checking him out while Hannah was ready for her big moment...... but......nothing! She could not think of anything to ask for. I think he asked her if she wanted a doll. I saw her shake her head yes, but I was laughing so hard inside because I knew she was drawing a BLANK! Hayden told him he wanted a dinosaur, they took a few pictures, gave him a high five and each left with a lolli-pop.

As soon as they left his knee and started walking towards us, Hayden started telling us he wanted his dinosaur. Apparently, he was under the impression that you walk up, tell the big man what you wanted and then he would hand it to you RIGHT THEN.

Well, after it was all over, Hannah was satisfied with the fact that she had written to Santa already that she wanted a Wii, so she wasn't too stressed that she forgot what to say. Then we headed home.

Early to bed, early to rise, and all I want for Christmas is no pink eyes

2008-12-15T09:08:00.000-08:00

Early to bed, early to rise....I think I have complained before about the exhaustion that is felt by Bunky and I at night around 8 o'clock each night, right after the kids are down...well, I think it is compunded by the fact that our children have not slept past 5:30 am in about a month. I think Thanksgiving with my parents was the last time my children "slept in", which means they slept until 6. But....every day since they are up at the (scratch that) before the crack of dawn. The problem is that when Hannah and Hayden open their eyes, they are up. There is none of the we need to sit and relax before we do anything because it is early....it is just go!go!go! right away. I am a morning person myself, but I still need a moment to breathe each morning - not sure what to do.

I am writing this at 12:15 on Monday as I contemplate taking a nap along with Hayden while the house is quiet. Why am I home on a random Monday at 12:15, you may ask? Well, I am home with pink eye! I woke up Saturday morning with a nasty case of it - good thing Hayden had some left over antiobiotics from his last encounter with pink eye - I just used that, but to be safe I stayed home today - Lord knows that no one needs pink eye for Christmas pictures!

Bunky is not here today though because he started work for UPS. He is a driver's helper right now until Christmas (I pray they need help longer or with something else). He looked cute in his UPS garb and it made me think of the "King of Queens". Pray for him that he will find work that he enjoys soon. I told him to think of this temporary job as a free workout.

We picked up our Christmas tree on Friday night. It is amazing to me that the tree never looks the same in our house as it does on the lot. We picked ours up from HomeDepot. I wanted to support the local dairy farm that also had trees, but wow! $50 for a 5 foot tree....sorry, just can't do it.

Just a few more days until we are off for Christmas break. We are so very excited about it all - even though I still have quite a bit of work ahead of me.

Blog games

2008-12-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

ok - so I think I have this right. I am supposed to post my 4th picture from my 4th folder from my computer documents. Then anyone I know with a blog is supposed to do the same...so post on! Here is my pic....

Like Lisa, my fourth folder had Christmas 2007. This happens to be an aerial view of the tree on Christmas morning last year. It is the year that Santa brought those gigantic chairs for Hannah and Hayden. It is also cute to notice Santa's cookies on the fireplace.

Post on my blog friends!

Getting Closer to Christmas

2008-12-08T17:41:00.001-08:00

Whew! These past couple of weeks have flown by and are wearing us out! Last night, our neighbors called and I was so embarrased when they asked if I was sleeping...and it was only 8:30! It feels pretty typical since the time has changed that we are falling asleep wherever we stand around that time each night, but as the calendar fills up and more and more events are getting started, we will have to "wake up" so we can enjoy all the fun of the Christmas season.

We have decorated the house and will be getting our tree this weekend. Hannah is dying to get one and Bunky has been holding us off in hopes of having a tree that lasts until the new year. I will be sure to post pictures of the prefect Robbins Family Christmas Tree! This year, I have to set aside ornaments that once belonged to my brother since he now has a family of his own and will have a tree once again. I stole my parents ornaments years ago when they stopped putting up trees. For many years, they collected Hallmark ornaments and I remember when mom would visit the Hallmark store every year right after Christmas. They are still some of my favorites and I think it is so cool that Hannah enjoys recalling which ones we purchased/received the previous year.

We finished our Christmas cards already and will be mailing those out in the next day or so. I am excited at how they turned out and of course, had to use the pictures that Darby took for us in the fall. She rocks!

Only 17 more days until the big day and with lots of work still left to do, we will hopefully be able to slow down, enjoy the season, remember the reason and soak it all in.

Peace!

Thanksgiving at Holly Springs Elememtary

2008-11-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

Friday, Bunky, Hayden and I were priveledged enough to be invited to see Hannah in her Kindergarten Thanksgiving play...

We arrived for the 11:30 showing of The story of Thanksgiving, along with the holiday favorites "Why we celebrate Thanksgiving day", "I'm glad I'm not a turkey", and the Thanksgiving prayer. Her class celebrated with a class feast, including a turkey made by Mrs. Gabriel made out of rice krispy treats. (See below).

Hannah and her class did a great job and we were very impressed with their hard work. Now, they are done for the week and will not be returning to school until December 1st.

October Ends

2008-11-04T06:25:00.000-08:00

What a crazy month October was! Now that it is over, I am including pics from some of the monthly events.

Disney:

Hayden's Birthday:

Teacher of the Year Luncheon:

Halloween:

Now, we are gearing up for Novemeber, which brings yummy food and more time with family!

Disney Adventure

2008-10-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

So, we made it - we are back from Disney and it was a blast. The weather was perfect (not too hot, humid, or chilly) and the lines to each of the rides were SO short. Going anywhere with 11 family members can be a challenge, but we managed to almost do everything we wanted to do - we did not get a chance to got to MGM and see the Toy Story show, but we did everything else we had talked about doing and more!

Highlights:

Hayden meeting Buzz Lightyear in his Buzz Lightyear costume
Mommy getting to drive the golfcarts everywhere
Hannah seeing several fireworks shows (Magic Kingdom and Epcot)
Daddy diving in the aquarium at Epcot

I will attach pictures as soon as I get them downloaded - I think I took 400+! I will see if I can get the video of Bunky's dive attached somehow too!

Disney or bust

2008-10-14T16:59:00.001-07:00

So, we have just a few more days until we leave for Disney and boy, do we need the vacation!
My birthday was last Friday and of course the state of Georgia likes to reward people for having a birthday by making them pay for their car tag - and along with that, emissions. The emissions place has been a yearly event for me and my 1996 Nissan Maxima. The check engine light has been on in my car for years and every year, I do what I can to get it turned off just long enough to pass and then within hours, the light is back on. This year, Bunky and I took the car in and paid over $500 only for the light to never come off - ARGH! So, we take the car to Nissan and they diagnose the problem as something with the computer system - and it is only $1300!! I don't think my car is worth that! Anyway, we may have a few tricks up our sleeves and if Bunky finds a steady career, a new used car will have to be a priority!

We are leaving for Disney in 3 days...I have never been to Disney at Halloween, but I heard it should be fun. Hannah is dressing up as Jasmine from Aladdin and Hayden is Buzz Lightyear! The costumes are cute and I think it will be fun for them to be dressed up to see the characters. I will be sure to take lots of pictures!

I will be missing 3 days of work, but it will be worth it so we can hang with the Robbins and give us all the break we need! Also, that week, I have my Teacher of the Year luncheon. I am excited that Bunky and my parents will be there to celebrate with me - although this year I feel far from the teacher I was last year....things have been really busy and I am having a difficult time getting everything accomplished the way I want it to be done....and to think that I did it all while getting my masters last year....not sure how?!

If I do not get a chance to wrote again before Disney, I am sure I will have plenty to talk about when I get back - Have a great week!

The tooth fairy likes us and other weekend events

2008-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

The tooth fairy has now been to our house twice in just a few short weeks. She will be here tonight even though we had a close call. Hannah lost her second tooth on the bottom row while playing outside. I brought the tooth inside and placed in on the counter. When we came inside from playing, the tooth was gone! After a small panic attack, a barage of questions from Hannah about how the tooth fairy would feel if there was no tooth, and some mommy and daddy detective work, the tooth was found and the world could be at peace again!

Earlier in the weekend, the Robbins family went to the fall festival at Hickory Flat Elementary. Our friend Dana had invited us and we were happy to go. We spent just a couple of hours at the school jumping on inflatables, buying raffle tickets, getting tattoos, and riding the hay ride (we went on the red tractor because we were warned about the green one). We were apparently pretty lucky.....for our friend. She won the "boys rule" basket, which included a wii, a bike and all sorts of fun boy toys. We were like celebrities walking out with the bike and wii because everyone knew what it was. It was a fun little afternoon excursion.

Just a few hours earlier, Hannah, Hayden and I were getting ready to go out for the day. I had bathed the kids in the morning, fed them breakfast, got them dressed and hopped into the van. All this by 8 o'clock in the morning......Only problem was, I completely forgot that Hannah had a soccer game that began at 8. Seriously, we have been going to her games for 6 weeks now - every Saturday morning at 8. I do not know what happened....anyway, we made it to the game by half-time and Hannah finished out the game with her team. Then, we went shopping. Both of my children have had major growth spurts in the last few months. Hannah could fit into none of her jeans, so we went to Kohls, spent too much money and left with a few new things to wear now that the weather is turning cool.

Saturday night, Bunky watched the Buckeyes beat the Badgers (even though it was close), and mommy hung out with some girl friends (all pregnant I might add), ......but I stayed away from what they were drinking. It was nice catching up with the girls and laughing with Bonnie, Dana and Lisa (contarctions and all).

Wow - this is a long blog....but that is what happens when I only update once a week. This week, we are expecting a visit from our old neighbors and mommy celebrates her 33rd birthday. And....in just 13 days...DiSnEy WoRlD

Another beautiful weekend

2008-09-28T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Robbins family enjoyed our first official week of fall with beautiful weather, friends and football.

Unfortunately, with the current gas situation, we did not get a chance to see Oma and Grandpa's new house this weekend, but as soon as we know we could make it without running out of gas on the side of the road, we will be there! Seriously, it is like we live in a different time period watching all the cars in line to get gas.

This weekend was filled with all sorts of exciting football games (with the Buckeyes doing well..yippee). The kids made smores thanks to the Struchtemeyers, and we were able to enjoy the weather outside while Hannah and Hayden played with their friends.

October is just around the corner and sure to be filled with all sorts of fall activities (if we can get gas)...along with birthdays, Disney and Halloween!

Hannah scores again

2008-09-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

Saturday mornings start early for the Robbins as Hannah is now 5 games deep in her first season as a soccer player. We signed her up for Upward Soccer early this fall and have had such a good time. She scored in her first game, which was attended by Oma and Grandpa. This week, she scored again, even though she was exhausted by the end as there were no subs for the whole game! She plays for the Dolphins and is lucky enough to have her friend Sydney on the team as well.

We are also so excited for the fall weather. The windows are open and the breeze blows right through the house...its our favorite time of year. I, of course, wore a sweatshirt this morning, but that was so nice with a pair of jeans. We will be headed to the mountains in the next few weeks for apple picking and pumpkin patch visits and it should be beautiful. Also, Oma and Grandpa should be finished building their house soon, so we are excited to see the finished product.

Tomorrow night, Nana and Ubby Dubby will be in town for the night on their way to feel the real fall weather up in Ohio. We are excited to see them, even if it is only for one night!

Oops!

2008-09-18T18:07:00.001-07:00

Hey - Look what I found. I created this blog in July and completely forgot I had it...honestly, I do not even remember the password for it. Although I have no baby on its way, there is always something happening in the Robbins Nest to report...as if I need one more reason to be on the computer. I am going to play around with this for a while and set a goal of updating at least once a week. I have all sorts of pics to upload as the fall is always a busy season, so I will keep you updated and let you know whats happening in the world of The Robbins!

Thursday, September 18

2008-09-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

The Robbins Nest

2008-07-14T11:28:00.001-07:00