2018 - Week Two Photos

Here's the second week of photos of my year-long task to document the days of 2018. Take a look back at Week One photos if you missed it.

Monday, January 8 - Something Sweet

A sweet (aggravating) beagle boy who feels the need to do this EVERY EVENING when RA gets home.

Tuesday, January 9 - Morning Sky

 



Wednesday, January 10 - Three of a kind

 

 



Thursday, January 11 - Movie

One of our favorite movies! The boys can recite every line. RF thinks Chance is hilarious.

Friday, January 12 - Something Fun

Hibernation Day at school!

RF wore his fire truck pajamas and took his Marshall (fire dog) stuffed animal and his flashlight. Ellis (grumpy, as usual - he's not a morning person) wore his dump truck pajamas and took his Curious George stuffed animal and his flashlight.

Saturday, January 13 - Close-Up

Close up of these sweet faces Saturday morning...

Sunday, January 14 - Nature

Wandering through a trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park...

 

2018 - Week One Photos

I decided to take on a task this year of pulling one photograph a day and documenting it on the blog. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up. Here it goes...

Monday, January 1 --- First Day of the New Year

Double OT --- DAWGS WIN the Rose Bowl!

This photo is of an EHS grad that now plays for UGA.

Tuesday, January 2 --- Looking Up

These two were snuggled up together in my bed. I said, "I love you" and they both looked up at me while I snapped a photo of their sweet faces...

Wednesday, January 3 --- What I'm Reading

A little primary source reading in preparation of some lesson planning...

 

Thursday, January 4 --- Colorful

Back to reality this week (and early wake ups, and working all day, and crazy kiddos) and I needed a little sweet treat Thursday night as a reward for making it through the day...

Friday, January 5 --- Black and White

Sweetness. Daddy, Ellis, and Gracie snoozing it up together.

Saturday, January 6 --- Time

I spent some time on the couch Saturday nursing a bad sinus headache, but when your kiddo asks you to read them a book...you read them a book.

Sunday, January 7 --- Throwback

Throwback to the days of yore...RF found a wax seal kit that RA bought when he was in England during his study abroad program while an undergrad at UGA. He asked his daddy to show him how it worked, so RF wrote a letter and then his daddy showed him how to seal it with the wax + seal.

 

Sealed with an "H"...

Back to Reality - Christmas Break --- Days 16 - 18

Back to reality, my friends. The Christmas Break was so much fun, but I'm really looking forward to getting back into a routine.

Sunday, December 31
We started New Year's Eve with a big cup of coffee and a warm fire, of course.

Yum...

Then, Ellis and I ran to pick up a few necessities (milk, bread, dog food) at the grocery store, a few new house plants from Home Depot, and dropped off a box of donation items at Goodwill. RA and RF hung out at home working on a few small projects.

Helping daddy haul some wood to keep that warm fire going...

After lunch and a nap, RA worked on some finishing touches on our bed that he is building.

Yes, we quickly moved the little foot from near the saw blade as soon as realized he had walked this close to us.

Fingers crossed that we will have it finished and put up SOON. In anticipation of changing out a few pieces of furniture in my bedroom that don't coordinate with the look of the bed RA is building, I worked on cleaning out my hope chest, the first piece of furniture RA gave me (and for those of you that know us well, you know RA LOVES to buy furniture). It has been packed tight from the years, but it was really fun to go through and look at all of the things we've kept. One thing I noticed that we had quite a few of were cards - old college IDs, old driver's licenses, used gift cards, and hotel room keys from traveling. Guess who loves cards? Ellis! So, he decided that all of the cards were now his. He has wandered all over the house with his new cards to add to his collection.

Part of his collection. This kid is crazy.

We all ate leftovers for dinner and the boys headed off to bed after watching a little bit of Despicable Me with RA.

RA and I stayed up working (lesson plans and curriculum for me and a brief and order for RA - exciting New Year's Eve, I know) and watched a few episodes of Longmire (really good Netflix show). We started watching the ABC New Year's Eve special, but quickly realized that we didn't recognize any of the musical talents or presenters, so we changed it back to Longmire. I made it until 11:30, but fell asleep before midnight. Oh well. Happy New Year!

Monday, January 1
The boys slept until 8:15.

Did you hear me?

My boys. SLEPT. UNTIL. 8:15.

That never, ever, ever happens.

Since they slept, I slept. It was a GREAT way to end my last official day of Christmas Break.

It was absolutely freezing in Covington on New Year's Day, so the boys stayed inside all day. The wind chill was in the low 20s. It was brutal. To be fair, staying inside all day with two active boys was also brutal.

Nana and Babu arrived mid-morning to spend two days (I go back to work tomorrow, but the boys are still out of school until Wednesday).

A little study time on the iPad. RF loves a YouTube channel about sharks and other ocean life by Jonathan Bird. He watches it (or DinoTrux) anytime he gets a little iPad time.

We had a traditional lunch of collards, black eyed peas, and cornbread for lunch.

Collards...

Black-eyed peas. I LOVE black-eyed peas...

Cornbread...YUMMY.

Unfortunately, the day got away from us and by the time I realized the boys had not taken a nap it was 3:30 (too late to go down for a nap), so I braced myself for a challenging evening with two overtired little boys.

Dinner was leftovers as we started watching the GA vs. OK game.

Come on, GA Bulldogs! Interestingly enough, the framed postcards above our TV are of locations all over Athens - Sanford Stadium, the law school, UGA chapel, etc.

And what a game it was! Go DAWGS!

I finished up a few work things while sweating through the Rose Bowl and then headed to bed ahead of a teacher work day on Tuesday.

Definitely not happy to have to set these darn alarms...

Tuesday, January 2
Can we say FREEZING?

14 degrees? SERIOUSLY? I grew up at the beach...on the coast. Even though we do live further north now, this is not normal for southern states. On my way to work in 14 degree weather. This is every bit the definition of the word unacceptable.

 



RA informed me that we had a minor (possibly major???) plumbing issue and after Mr. Joe took a look at it and noted that I needed to call the city's water department, I was nervous that 2018 was not off to the best start. Luckily, the city workers came right out and (hopefully --- fingers crossed) fixed the problem.

RA and I had time to grab a quick lunch together and stop by the house to check on the plumbing issue before I headed back to work to finish up preparing for second semester - students come back to school tomorrow!

I finished up at work and headed home about 3:30 and learned that Ellis likes oranges (didn't know that - he drinks orange juice, but apparently also likes whole oranges) and that he thinks he is big enough to climb trees.

Chowing down...

"I think I can go higher, mama!" 

We had a low-key evening at home with RA building us a roaring fire (supposed to be in the teens again tonight. UGH). The boys headed to bed early as the didn't take a nap today - they were too busy playing and enjoying their time with Nana and Babu.

We had a great Christmas Break. I love, love, love being at home with the boys (even when they drive me to have to inhale a chocolate-sprinkle doughnut while hiding in the laundry room).

The Hawk family is looking forward to a quiet and calm beginning to 2018 and wish you and yours a Happy New Year!

Christmas Break - Days 11 - 15

Where has this year gone? Seriously, it's December 31, 2017 and I feel like we were just ringing in 2017 and now we're set to ring in 2018. Crazy how time flies.

Christmas Break Days 11 - 15 have been full of more fun. We've spent time hanging at home, wandering town, visiting with family, and enjoying time playing with our new Christmas presents.

Brothers enjoying another Christmas classic...

Gus enjoyed the movie, too...

Ellis's favorite spot to watch movies...

Tuesday, December 26
The boys and I woke up early to get on the road to Perry to spend the day with the aunts, uncles, and cousins. I called the manufacturer of the John Deere ride on toy that Santa brought for RF and Ellis to see what could be done about the broken axle. The customer service agent was the absolute nicest woman ever. She apologized and had the replacement part over-nighted to us at home. Hopefully, we will be able to put it together tomorrow or Thursday.

The boys spent the whole day playing, we had lunch, opened gifts, and played a little more. We packed up about 4:00 to get on the road back to Covington so that we could get home before dark. The boys slept really well Tuesday night - exhausted from all the fun with the family.

The DVD player was not cooperating at first, but luckily it kicked in about 30 minutes down the road and the boys were able to enjoy The Polar Express while we drove to Perry.

Sun was in his eyes, so he decided he needed to hold his DVD player...

We made it to Nana and Babu's house! Enjoying a Lunch-able as a snack before our big meal later in the day...

Hanging out with Toby (dog) on Nana's couch...

Waiting patiently for presents!

As the youngest grandson, Ellis got to open the first present! He got a truck play mat and loves it! 

RF got a build a dump truck kit. He and his daddy have already put it together and he plays with it all the time! He loves tools and building. 

Watching the other cousins open their gifts...

Taking a look at Nana's tree...

Crawling under Nana's tree???

E got a new Paw Patrol toy...

And RF did, too. They also got a gift certificate to Toys R Us! Cannot wait to go on an adventure and let them pick out a new toy. 

Silly boy in a Santa hat!

So, so, so sad to leave Nana and Babu and all of his cousins. He had SO MUCH FUN. 

Ellis was sad, too. But, he fell asleep before we were 10 minutes down the road on the way home. 

We made it back to Covington in time for dinner, a movie, and an early bed time as Wednesday brings a doctor appointment and a dreaded shot..

Wednesday, December 27

The boys slept in a little bit (didn't wake up until 7ish). We ate a big breakfast and lounged around the house before getting dressed to head to RF's 5 year old well check. 

And both boys had to get their flu shot. 

Not. 

Fun. 

At. 

All. 

The boys got a subscription to the Little Passports delivery service. They were so excited to open it and see what all was inside. 

Lounging. Nothing better. 

Dogs were lounging, too...

The dogs always lounge...

Gracie is the sweetest...

We made it to the dr. on time and had a short wait in the waiting room only to get into the exam room for a long, long wait. There were some issues with their computer system so we had to wait...and wait...and wait. Two kids in a dr. waiting room for over an hour...not fun. Finally the dr. came in and we got everyone checked out. Then came flu shot time. UGH. Ellis went first and cried and then RF went and screamed so loud I think RA could hear him two miles away at his office. It took them both a good 10 minutes to calm down. I decided to pick up lunch for the boys on the way home and when RA got home for lunch I ran out and picked us up lunch from a local deli. Thankfully, the boys went down for nap easily and mama got some time to decompress from the hectic-ness that was the morning...

Yes, Gus. Let's relax for a little bit while the kiddos nap. 

The afternoon was spent at home playing and watching a few episodes of DinoTrux on Netflix. 

Dinner consisted of a grilled cheese on a hot dog bun because I refused to go to the store Christmas Eve - two days after Christmas. Not getting into that craziness. 

Ellis opted for some macaroni instead of pretzels. 

Thursday, December 28 

Thursday morning I needed to run a few errands, so the boys and I loaded up to head out and about for a while. First stop, SUGAR!

Yay for chocolate sprinkled doughnuts!

He wanted the doughnut, but then he didn't...

Three. He's three. I can't say anything else...

We ran to the bank, Target, and Publix to get a few things and then headed home for lunch and a nap. 

The replacement part to the John Deere came in the mail late Wednesday evening, so Thursday afternoon was dedicated to putting together their present from Santa.

Chaos in my living room...

It took us FOREVER to put this stinkin' thing together. Luckily, we had already charged the battery. Unfortunately, once we were finished putting it together, it was dark outside, so the boys had to wait another day to ride, but they were so excited to see it finally put together. 

That, my friends, are two happy boys!

Ready to ride!

It was close to bed time, but silly hat selfies with mama. 

Such a cutie. And he LOVES a good Georgia Bulldogs hat...

So silly...

Friday, December 29

Bright and early Friday morning the boys were ready to take their John Deere outside and do some riding! And oh, did they have some F-U-N!

HAPPY as can be!

Using the John Deere to pick up pecans in the backyard...

They were so, so, so happy! 

They both took turns driving and drove for so long that they wore down the battery...

ZONKED after a morning of driving all over the backyard...

So, so, so sleepy...

Gracie hung outside with us while we worked on continuing to enclose the playhouse bottom to store the John Deere...

Playing a little game of Let's Go Fishing!

RF came into my room to snuggle before bed and asked to sing this song, so I pulled it up on YouTube. He laughed and laughed and laughed. 

Then he decided he wanted to sing to The Duck Song...

And Let It Grow from The Lorax...

And Bare Necessities from The Jungle Book...

And You Can Fly from Peter Pan...

And Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast...

And Best of Friends from The Fox and the Hound...

And Hakuna Matata...

And The Circle of Life from The Lion King...

And Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid...

And A Whole New World from Aladdin...

And You're Welcome from Moana...

Saturday, December 30 

Guess what we started our Saturday with? You got it right - riding their John Deere around the backyard. 

Warm puppies in front of the fire. 

Mama needed a big cup of coffee to stand out in the cold with these youngins' while they ride all over creation...

Freezing, but happy as can be...

All. Over. The. Yard. 

Helping mama haul some mulch to a flower bed...

RA cleaning off the roof...

Checking to be sure we can get the channel to watch the GA game Monday night...

The boys took a late nap and when Ellis woke up, he came into the living room and curled up on me and went back to sleep...so sweet. 

Another update of the last few days of our Christmas Break will be up on the blog later this week. For now, we are settling in for a quiet night at home celebrating the new year that is upon us. 

Happy New Year, friends!