My mom reminded me today of Grant's imaginary friend, Paul. Let me tell ya...that Paul was some rascal! Paul appeared around the time of Avery's birth....maybe right before. When I told Grant to do something he didn't particularly care to do, he was quick to tell me what Paul thought about it...not him, but Paul. Paul was very mischievous...we got to hear about all of his tales. I even vaguely remember Beau and I having to send Paul away for a few days and would you know, he went! Grant informed us that Paul was the size of a mosquito and so was his father. His father's job was to sit atop the streetlights and change their colors for traffifc. Apparently Paul's mom was in jail...not sure where that one came from. Anyway, we don't hear much about Paul anymore but Grant informed me today that he is in fact still around...he just stays out of town a lot. It think that is best for all of us. Good ole Paul...

Avery received a hand-me-down Upwards cheerleading outfit from her cousins...she is ready to learn cheers and Mommy was happy to provide some...of course we censored out "sexy" and replaced it with "pretty" in Firecracker...I think that is what this good little Nazarene girl did when she was 3. ; )

I was just thinking today how awesome it is to be a stay-at-home mom. Today, Avery and I dropped Grant off at school, drove by and checked out some real estate....one day we will find our dream house in the country...then came home to clean. There is nothing like cleaning bathrooms and playing hide and go seek in the midst of messy hands and the mind-numbing aroma of cleaners galore! One bathroom down...what to do during the intermission??? Robotics dance with Avery to Lady Gaga...what else? So, after a few songs and making up interpretive dances to them, we're off to the kitchen to eat lunch and then it's back to housework....this is the life!

Warning: If you are not an animal lover, you will not appreciate this story.

Avery wanted to ride her bike this morning so I walked Dexter as we went along. We passed a house where an English bulldog and a Yorkie live together. They usually are contained in their fence but today, somehow the two got out and were livin' it up in the ditch. I thought I was going to pass out from laughing when I witnessed this: the bulldog would get in the ditch and the Yorkie would jump the ditch over him. The bulldog would scoot down the ditch a ways and the Yorkie would jump the ditch over him. The Yorkie only jumped the ditch across his friend. It was hilarious. Then upon completion of the last jump, he fell in the water and looked around like "this is great!" The two continued to frolick around the yard having the time of their lives. I can only imagine if dogs talked what they were thinking. I only wish I would have had my camera on me.

We always try to keep a good balance when it comes to Easter. Yes, we love the Easter Bunny and dying and hiding eggs. Dressing up in our "L'il Magic" outfits, etc. But we do our best to make sure Grant and Avery know that all of that is just fun tradition and the real reason we celebrate Easter is remembering that Jesus died for our sins. So, in making our Easter cross for the flower beds, it turned out to be a great lesson for both of them. It is amazing to me how much children listen and ask questions when you are working on things together. Making our cross, decorating it and "planting" it in the flowerbeds did just that...sparked conversation. Funny thing was that Avery was asking all of the questions and Grant was answering. Some of the questions and answers were funny and some were downright impressive. They really do listen when you are talking. Happy Easter!

Yesterday Grant was playing in the front yard with Avery and our 3 year old neighbor. I had to ask the neighbor not go in our flower beds b/c of Beau's precious seedlings that we don't want broken or disturbed. Well the neighbor goes into our other neighbor's flowerbeds when I went inside. So, my 6( going on 35) year old son comes to tell me this story:

Mom, Neighbor Boy (protecting the innocent) went into their flower beds and I told him he needed to come out so he doesn't mess up their plants. He didn't want to. I told him he was acting like he owned this property and I told him he doesn't own this property and I know he doesn't b/c he is not rich!

Apparently one must be rich to own property??? (Keep in mind, the neighbor boy is 3 and can barley talk.) Grant then procedes to tell me that he rattled off the three reasons he knew the boy wasn't rich....and they are quite obvious. A. The clothes the boy had on....he was not wearing bow ties. B. He does not ride in limosines. and C. well, he knew there was a third characteristic of "richness" but couldn't remember at that moment.

So, the lesson? You can TOTALLY judge a book by it's cover...if a person is rich, he will be a property owner, wear a bow tie and ride in a limosine.

So, apparently Grant and I were my dermatologist's dream come true today. Just between the two of us, we had 4 skin issues. I've recently learned that plantar warts hurt! Having them burned hurt even more. So, got that taken care of and then had a little cosmetic post-preggers weird skin stuff fixed. Geez! They don't tell you in the books about all of the bizarre post-pregnancy issues that arise....it would probably freak too many of us out. Oh well, small price to pay for sweet babies. And Laura, I'm going to pass on the pics of all the skin issues. I'm really trying to keep my blog a vomit-free zone.

Next morning we were up and ready to go....coffee outside, waking to the warblers (which I need to learn to deal with...I just as soon wish the warblers would warlbe themselves back to sleep) - noone said I was a camper just yet....I have to ease into this. We spent the entire day hiking, fishing, playing in the creeks, exploring, riding bikes. It was wonderful. Grant fell off his scooter on a very steep hill trying to be a daredevil. He cut chunks of meat out of his arm and knee. Avery got tangled up in Dexter's rope as he tried to run after some kids. I stepped out of the camper into my shoe and onto some stinging insect which we never could locate. Stung so bad I couldn't move my foot for a good part of the night. Next morning it was better. Beau came out of the experience unscathed. We were whooped by the end of the day. Matter of fact, Dexter was so exhausted that Beau said not even a child dressed as the UPS man dancing a jig on a bicycle could excite him...it was true. We even wondered if Dexter would wake up the next morning...poor old boy. All in all, a wonderful trip with no tv or radio or cell phone...just the way I like it.

So, for the last few years, we've been putting money away in order to buy either a camper or a boat. When the money had been saved, we opted for the camper for a myriad of reasons. A. We're not so much boat people. B. Hurricane evacuations! C. Quality family time and memory making for years to come. I think (C.) was the real reason we opted for the camper. And already, it has proven to be just that - a memory machine! After a disappointing first weekend when all close campgrounds were booked, we camped in the backyard. It was a great trial run. This past weekend was our first real deal. We headed "close" to a campground in Mississippi that was supposed to take less than two hours to get to...ended up taking us three. No reservations can be made. We prayed the entire way, "God please have one, just one spot left for us." We arrived at dusk and would you know....God answered our prayer very specifically...ONE spot left and there was one other car behind us. Yikes! We got there and had to set up camp in the dark. Beau and I were tired and foul from having to squelch the excitement of the kids long enough to set up camp in the dark. I failed to mention the campsite we had was right next to the bath house.....that could be good or bad. Once all was set up, we could relax by the fire and begin to enjoy our first adventure!

Well, here I am....on the bandwagon a tad late. Not into "tweeting" so I felt this was a better fit. Mostly this blog is being created for selfish reasons. I feel like I forget so many wonderful, humorous things throughout the day and won't remember them in the future. This way, I can keep a record of memories and give you a glimpse into the day to day goings on in the Gregory household....a' la Doogie Howser minus the blue screen, white cursor and Vinnie.