I'm the fireman, that's my name

I really am going to try and write more often on here!

Danny always does funny things that I know I should write down before I forget them.

Danny loves listening to music. His latest favorite is the Countdown Kids children's favorites that plays on repeat in my car(yeah, I know you are sooo jealous!). The songs are all traditional children's songs and nursery rhymes put to music. I had to laugh yesterday when I looked out the window at something Pollack was doing and exclaimed "Ohhh" and immediately Danny pipes in with a singsongy "Dear...Matter Be" The song goes something like this "ohhhh deearrr, what can the matter be, johnny's so long at the fair" Also, I love it that he tries to sing along with me when I lead the children's music time at our weekly bible study. His hand motions to "My God is so Big, so Strong, and so Mighty" are a riot. He flexes his muscles tightly and yells out big, strong, and mighty.
I can't believe how big he is now. It was so weird to be writing information about him on his class form. The teacher wanted to know some of his favorite foods and favorite activities. The fact that he is now old enough to have an opinion about certain things made me a little emotional. He is a little boy now with lots of personality....so grown up!
In case you are curious, his favorite activities are sports(of course), trucks, and trains. Here are two pictures of Danny and Daddy "driving" around the house in Danny's fire truck looking for fires to put out.




"They call me the fireman. That's my name. Makin' my rounds all over town puttin' out old flames. Well everybody'd like to have what I've got. I can cool 'em down while they're smolderin' hot. I'm the fireman, thats my name." -george strait

Ladies man...

I am sure all moms would say this about their children, but I think my boys are pretty cute. And with Danny's sports skills, advanced vocabulary(ie: very smart), love of music, and sweet personality, I believe he is the total package. I foresee lots of girls calling our house during our boy's teenage years. Of course, he will be too busy pursuing athletics and academics to have time for any romantic interests...haha!
Funny how parents can come up with great plans for our children's futures. I do pray that Danny and Josh would love Jesus and love what they do for a living, no matter what they decide to be when they grow up. I pray that they might have great friends who will encourage them and be good influences. And I pray for them to find wives who love the Lord and seek to bring glory to God through their relationship. I think it is important that I pray this for them as often I can!
I have included some photos of Danny playing with his friend Caroline. She is a cutie! I realized when I was going through our smugmug pics that we have lots of pictures of Danny kissing little girls. oh boy!

I love this picture. Their faces are so sweet and happy!


We went to Field Day of the Past with Jamie, Hillary, and Caroline while Scott is in Arizona for the UGA game.


The fish(pre-flush).

Update on the fish: We have one left. Poor lonely guy. I think the others are gone, b/c of two different issues. #1 The water wasn't ready to handle four fish. So, we are waiting for the water to get established before we add any more. #2 We may have made the temperature change too quickly. The temperature was raising at least 3 or 4 degrees every night when we left the light on in the tank. Yeah, so basically, I cooked them. I feel terrible. Danny occasionally walks by the tank and says, "no friends". I don't think he knows where they went, fortunately.

good old monday

How is it possible that I can feel so busy, yet not really be doing anything?

I can't figure that one out.

And also, how do you teach a two year old that 5:30 am is not an appropriate time to knock on mommy and daddy's door and exclaim "I'm up!"

That is a tough one too.

We joined a bible study and attended a community group this past week....we have been hungry for fellowship and it is so refreshing to feel like we are getting closer to making Richmond home.

I wanted to post this photo from our trip, because we are learning so much about Genesis lately(sermons and bible study topic) Isn't it amazing that God choose to show His creativity through creation. I love the colors and the approaching storm in this photo. I am reminded that He is able to refresh my soul in the same way that this rain brought much needed water to the earth. Let's thank Him today for making us in His image and surrounding us with beautiful landscape to enjoy. I believe that He delights in our amazement and awe.


Psalm 33:6-9
"The Lord merely spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.
He assigned the sea its boundaries
and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
Let the whole world fear the Lord,
and let everyone stand in awe of him.
For when he spoke, the world began!
It appeared at his command."

burial at sea

Don't believe it...
...apparently they aren't that "hardy".

So far, we have managed to kill 3 out of 5 fish. And I have to say I am feeling the guilt, since I prepared the water and helped them enter into this new environment.

After picking out the Tiger Babs at the pet store(we started with 3 and added 2 more after our first unfortunate death), I have done some internet research. They really like to be in groups and will peck at each other. They are feisty little fish. They like to pick a leader and spend much of their time chasing each other around the tank.
Fortunately Danny isn't able to count them. They move to fast. He hasn't noticed any of the missing fish(or at least he hasn't said anything). But it has really made me sad. I hate to be the cause of any pet's demise.
I think word got back to the fish at the store that we are fish killers. We went to purchase two more fish to add to the two that we had left. As the employee at the pet store scooped up a fish it died on the spot. He dropped it in the bag and it floated face down to the bottom. He proceeded to ask the fish if he was "faking" and poke it a little. It wasn't faking. So, he found two more victims for us and we bagged them up and brought them home. The first time I got up to check Josh last night, there was a floater....and then early this morning another had joined him. What in the world is wrong with us? So, we are back to two and just waiting for them to join their brothers. I think we might try a different kind of fish next....and get our water tested.

On a happier note...is any one watching the RNC? We just saw the most precious thing. Governor Palin's youngest daughter, Piper, was holding the baby, Trig, and decided his hair wasn't combed correctly. So, she proceeded to lick her hand top to bottom and wipe it down his head.
classic.

waking the neighbors

I woke up the neighbors Sunday morning.
I was in the yard, in my pjs, screaming.
I know they must think that a crazy lady has moved into the white house with the red door.
It was around 7am and Pollack was headed out for his morning romp and pit stops in the yard. After a few minutes, I hear his deep bark. uh,oh. This could be trouble. I found him barking at the gutter drain that goes down the back side of our garage. Assuming there was nothing inside, but knowing I needed to convince Pollack of this fact, I used a plastic hanger to lightly bang on the pipe. I think I had just finished dressing the boys and was still holding one of Joshua's hangers in my hand when I headed outside.
I called to Pollack and headed back to the porch when Pollack decided he wasn't convinced the the drain was empty. He proceeded to bat at the drain with his paw and knocked off the bottom elbow portion. There, to my surprise, was a tail hanging down. And now enter my screams into this story as Pollack put this dangling tail in his mouth!!!!
I think the next few seconds were in slow motion as the chipmunk managed to get free of the golden retriever death grip and head up the closest tree. Our sweet neighbor came out of her house to see if we were ok. I was mortified and speechless at the same time. I couldn't believe he actually caught the little guy. It was only for a second, but I still think it counts.
I have watched Pollack scurry around the yard after this chipmunk for a few months. He will spot it out the window(our friend is brave and will hang out on the porch) and sprint toward the yard as soon as I open the door. But he never gets close. And years of growing up with goldens has taught me that if I wanted to actually catch wildlife, my sweet dogs were too slow for the job. But we let them think they can, even feed the desire, by encouraging them to chase the squirrel or catch the bunny when we let them loose in the yard. But never, did I ever think he would catch one.
Needless to say, I haven't seen the little guy since. He is probably in chipmunk ICU suffering from a heart attack. Won't he have a great story to tell his chipmunk grand kids? "So then that big dog had me in his mouth and I saw my life flash before my eyes" Or maybe he is more scared of the crazy screaming lady!
What did I hope to accomplish by screaming other than waking the neighbors? I really don't know. Not sure if I was more worried about Pollack eating a chipmunk or a chipmunk hurting my doggie! But both lived to tell the story.
Pollack is at my feet as I write this making sweet yelping noises as he dreams.
Can you guess what he is dreaming about?

my little sports fan

so, I was sitting in line at Walmart with Danny the other day and he blew my socks off. I always head over to the center lines(quieter, more competent and friendly cashiers, consistently problem free unlike the self scanners) and enjoy a quiet moment of chatting with Danny while we wait the few extra minutes. I often ask him about the magazines and read them with him, but today I wasn't even looking at them. All of a sudden, Danny starts to get agitated at the fact that he has told me something multiple times and it isn't registering. I can usually understand his two year old talk, but it helps to have the context. Then I saw it. A tiny, itty bitty picture of Michael Phelps on the corner of the cover of People magazine(check it out next time you are shopping...it is tiny!). Danny was saying "Michael...Phelps...water" I mean, of course the constant Olympics watching that happened in our house over the past week may have helped, but c'mon...that's pretty smart. He continued to tell me about the "helmet" that Michael wears, the pool that he swims in, and the goggles that he wears over his eyes. He loves sports....and we can add swimming to the list(mommy likes that too!)
I tried to find the exact picture of Michael that is on the cover, but decided that you might rather see more of our cutie pie!

Not quite ready for the 400IM, but loves the pool!


I love this picture!

go braves

So, you know that we love the Dawgs.
It is a family love...not just Scott, but Anne and the boys love UGA football too. Our children's closets are full of Georgia outfits. Georgia paraphernalia can be found through out our house. We get giddy at the fact that football season starts in one day(yippee!). 90% of the time Scott can be found wearing a Georgia hat on the weekends and thanks to Grandmommy's recent purchase, so can our boys. There is no question where our allegiance lies...but here is more proof.
We were able to take the boys to a Braves game on our trip(Danny's birthday gift from Nana and Max) When we arrived at the stadium, we were trying to pump Danny up about cheering for the Braves. Scott turned to our son and said "Danny, say Go Braves"
Without missing a beat Danny exclaimed "Go Braves, sic 'em, woof woof woof"

Now that's dedication.

running from Fay

I will definitely be more frequent with posts now that we are back from vacation. I am excited to share lots of stories and updates on the Gaskill Rascals....but how about a few quick highlights!
Memories from this vacation....
*Being chased by Fay(seems like every time we changed our plans, so would Fay)
*Long car trips(driving 16+ hours to stay at a free condo)
*Celebrating Danny's two minute birthday with all the Gaskill cousins
*Playing at the "cow place" aka:ChickfilA
*Swimming in the ocean
*Long car trips
*Pouring sand on Daddy
*Mommy getting stung by a jelly fish, but being healed by Windex(true story!)
*Riding the ferris wheel with Grandmommy
*More long car trips
*Running the pretend bases at the Braves game(up by the new ChickfilA cow)
*Mommy and Daddy driving the "jet ski boat" while Danny watched from the balcony
*Being really high up and making mommy nervous(our condo was on the tenth floor)
*Seeing our high school friends ten years after graduation.
*Did I mention long car trips?

We had a great time, but next time will rethink traveling 2100 miles in one week with two small children. How about renting a house in the Outer Banks, Gaskills? It was a great time seeing family and relaxing at the beach. Here is a favorite photo....more to come!

He's a star....

....hopefully! We are hoping Pollack gets chosen as a spokesdoggy for Milkbone. We just sent in his photo to their contest and it can be found on the website. Check it out! Last time I checked, it was on the first page. http://milkbone.icmodus.com/
Here are a few recent photos of Danny and Pollack playing(ie: Danny chasing Pollack around, while Pollack runs for his life. He is such a good doggy!
Pollack is smiling at this hug!

Danny wanted to brush him.

yes, I know. Letting our dog kiss our child is pretty nasty, but I am sure he will survive a little dog slobber.

Sweet babies...

Two recent photos....one of Jada, our sweet new niece!

....and the other of Josh as his daddy was saying "bouncy, bouncy, bouncy" and bouncing him on his knees. He is such a serious baby, but when he smiles it lights up the room!