Sprinkles

My mom sent me some "Sprinkles" cupcake mix for my birthday. RED VELVET...Yum! Yum!
Truly delightful.

Cupcakes

Cupcakes+Reily (and a little bit of eyeliner, apparently)


Cupcakes + Reily +Nicely painted walls = too sad to photograph...trust me.

Big Man on Campus

This is Dr. Griffen in his new office.


This is Dr. Griffen in his soon-to-be-sweet lab.

Go Dr. Griffen! Go!

First Day!

It was a first day for all of them...even Daddy!

Blaine taught his first class as a PROFESSOR...woo hoo...He banned me from coming to take pictures..bummer.

Payton started 5th. Taylor started 4th. Macy left the nest for Kindergarten. It was harder on Mom than Macy.

As much as we were bored with each other and ready for something new, I'm always sad to empty my house of all that action (ie: quarreling, Sponge Bob, fighting, swimming, whining) That pretty much summed up our summer.

Hey Reily...it's just you and me babe!

We stick together like...

Hmmm...VELCRO?

We spent Saturday at the South Carolina State museum. They were celebrating 20 years and everything was FREE...music to my ears. What a fun day. After exploring the museum for quite a while, we headed outside. We HAD to do the velcro wall. How fun is that? Reily looked like a little Sumo wrestler in her suit; and Payton fell right out of his.

Payton and Taylor had fun in the science presentation. Payton was a little over-zealous with the vinegar and baking soda. I think he was hoping to make it explode by pour it ALL in, very quickly. It just foamed and spilled...better luck next time. Taylor got a "new-do" courtesy of Mr. Va de Graaff. Lovely, I will definitely be archiving this picture until she's 16!! (Hee! Hee!)

Snipping those apron strings

A new car, a new home...it's all an end to many years of hard work on both of our parts. Blaine and I have been ships passing in the night for quite a few years. He would come home just in time for me to take off to work...waitressing.

I had to remind myself, many times, that it was all a choice. So, I could stay home with my little darlings during the day. It made ends meet; and it got us through. You do what you've got to do. It's built character and gave me a reprieve from those hard "mommy" days.

But, I've hung up my aprons...hopefully for good.

Waitressing is not for the weak in spirit. I've met so many fabulous people. I've seen "regulars" come and go. I've watched friends move on, for better or worse. They have all been a little family; and every single one has a story. To all my darling waitress friends, you mean more to me than you'll ever know.

So, if you eat out tonight, or sometime soon, give a little more to your sweet server. And, be careful, we believe in Kharma!!! (I know I've wished a flat tire on more than a few people!)

New Home!

We're finally in!! Yipee! (I think) We've been moved in for a week and so far:

• the dishwasher broke and


• flooded the carpet AND wood floor


• the washer leaks


• cockroaches invaded


• toilet is broken

I don't know. Homeownership may be for the birds! I could use a landlord right about now.
But, I think most of it is pretty minor, and under warranty, so we'll get it fixed.

It really is a nice home and good place to be. We're really going to like this place. Our neighbors have been great. Our ward is very nice. We're excited to be settling in a good place.

Toothless Wonder

Oh I just had to get a picture of this one. She looks great with her little Jack-o-lantern grin...doesn't she. She's keeping the tooth fairy busy, that's for sure.

Goodbye Vomit Van...Hellooooo love on wheels!

Wow!! When the Griffens need something, the powers above take desperate action to ensure that it happens. Let us recap the final moments of our faithful 1997 Dodge Caravan... First of all, this van had NO fancy features, no electric windows, no beeping keychains. Just wheels, an engine, and the CD/MP3 player that was installed to bribe Mom to keep the van a little longer.

Close to the end of it's life, it also had NO brakes and NO struts. As we are always in dire circumstances, I chose to get the brakes fixed (They sounded more important). It only had to last until October. That was a couple of months ago.

Then Macy got the flu and, well, spewed all over the backseat. It was a lovely experience for her squid-eating brother who shares the backseat with her. We cleaned it, we scrubbed it. Come on van...you can do it. You stink, but we neeeeed you.

Then, the AC went out. HUH!? In Georgia? In July? Come on van...we can do it. You stink, and we suffer when we're with you. But, we can do it! Just make it until September.

But, the stench in the previously spewful van was unbearable. I know, we'll leave the windows down every chance we get. Come on van...we can do it. Just make it to South Carolina.

And then, the forces of nature took control. The Griffens are not getting the message. Storms were sent. Amazing rain storms...IN the windows of the spewful, non air-conditioned van. WE slished and we sloshed when we sat in the van the next morning. In a matter of weeks it had desintegrated into a piece of scrap metal with a really nice CD/MP3 player. Come on van...just make it to the dealership across town.

I was emberassed to ask what they'd give us for our trade...not much. But, in the end we ended up with this lovely van. It's unicorns. It's rainbows. It's leather. It's DVD!! Wooo! Hooo!

It is a happy place. As Honda says..."Respect the Van".