Atlanta

We've spent the last few days visiting Grandpa and Gigi!  Always a great trip, but whew, always exhausting:)

Thursday morning, before we left, we had to stop by Toyota and get some parts because my front blinkers have not worked in a few months and we figured before I drove alone on the interstate, it might be a good time to get it done.  So, after going to pick them up we then tracked down M on his job site and he got them installed and we were finally on our way!:)

First stop was Mayfield Dairy Farm in Braselton, GA.  I've known about this place for a couple of years, but it has never worked out before to stop.  It was a good time!  We got a tour of the facility and then, most importantly, ice cream:)

When we finally arrived at my parents' house, the kids were so excited to play with Gigi and Grandpa and spent the rest of the afternoon doing the things they love doing there - throwing the ball up and down the stairs, playing foosball in the basement and of course getting lots of attention!!

Friday morning I was given the gift of sleeping in a bit before two sweet little ones brought be breakfast in bed:)  I decided to eat it downstairs with them and get some coffee while I was there since the adults had stayed up WAY too late the night before watching the debate!  After breakfast, Grandpa took the kids on a long bike ride through the neighborhood trails.  Then it was mine and Gigi's turn to take them for a bit and we took them to play arcades and putt-putt.  After we got home, S entertained us with some singing and then we went to the pool for a bit before coming back and grilling out with early bedtimes all around!:)

I pulled my big lens out at the pool and had some fun with it -
so there's your picture overload warning:)

Saturday was the day S had been waiting for!  American Girl Lunch Day!  Because we are going to Disney World in the fall for her birthday, Gigi and I decided why not go ahead and celebrate with her annual AG lunch a couple of months early!  She was definitely one spoiled rotten little girl today!  But very sweet about it!  While we were doing our thing at American Girl, Grandpa took C fishing!  They caught one and C was so proud to tell us all about it, although I think he was wanting to keep it but they ended up throwing it back!  After everyone got back to the house, we regrouped ourselves and went to meet Robert and Jennifer to tube down the Chattahoochee River!  Oh my!!  It was like something out of the movies!  Every 23-25 year old in Atlanta was out there tubing!  The adults paddled inflatable kayaks, while both the kids rode on top of pool tubes(of which each fell off into that nasty water!!)  We all had a lot of fun, even though having a 5 and 7 year old with us made it more work than relaxing... haha!  I wish I had pictures of us tubing, but, you know, that was not at all feasible!!  Afterwards, two tired kiddos were treated to Steak and Shake and enjoyed delicious milkshakes before dinner!

We brought her piano lessons with us so that she would at
least get a couple of days in of practice!

Hanging out while the others got the cars taken to the take-out
point!  Check out S's first 2 piece bathing suite - and it's even
an American Girl one!!:)

Today the kids and I went to church at Johnson Ferry, as we always do!  And enjoyed it thoroughly as we always do too:)  Afterwards, we met Kim and her girls for lunch!  It is so good to visit with cousins even if it is just a quick lunch!!  Then we made the LONG drive home with lots of traffic and torrential rain along the way!

It was a great trip, but it is always good to be home too!!

A Few Summer Fun Days

Monday we went to the gym and then I had to take all of the clothes I'm selling at Switcharoos and drop them off!  Which let me tell you the kids were actually helpful this year with this task!  We had some time to kill before S had piano, so we had a picnic lunch at Runway Park.  Then, after piano lessons, we took brownies and cards to our favorite fire station where the kids were able to climb all over the trucks and then when we went upstairs to the living quarters, the fire fighters were gobbling down the brownies with just made the kids' days!  On the way home we stopped to give Abby some treats and noticed she was missing her collar, so then we had to make an unscheduled stop at PetSmart where C was determined to catch a fish from a tank with his hands!  Lord, help me!!

Tuesday I took the kids to Roper Mountain Science Center to see a show at the planetarium.  S has been a few time with camps and school, but it was mine and C's first time there!  S LOVED the show, but C was his typical wiggly self and didn't enjoy it as much as I thought he would.  After the show we drove the butterfly garden at the center and had a picnic lunch, found some butterflies and checked out the new treehouses!  On the way home we stopped for an ice cream treat:)  It was so hot today that we needed it!  HA!  We got home with little time to spare before one of S's best friends from her class came over to play and then when we took her home we swam in her pool for a bit!  It was a busy day for sure!

While S and her friends played, I kept the boy entertained with
Play-Doh so that he wouldn't drive them nuts!  And of course since
it was like 95* out, footed fleece jammies are a must!

Such a little brother!

Today it was C's turn for a play date!  We met one of his best friends from school at Monkey Joe's and I guess that because Wednesday is half off admission day, a bunch of other people had the same idea!!  All the kids had a great, sweaty time, even if C and his friend(who is oh so similar in personality to C) did get into a karate fight with another little boy!  Sheesh!!  After we'd had our fill of jumping, and since we were so close to M's job site, we picked him up and he joined us for lunch at Jason's Deli.  The big thrill at Jason's Deli is always the free ice cream at the end!  S is able to get hers all by herself, but I sent M with C to help him out a bit.  And oh boy did he help!  C was so proud of his HUGE ice cream cone!  Everyone there was laughing as he walked by!  After lunch we dropped M back off at his job, headed to gymnastics and then home so that I could pack for our upcoming trip to visit Grandpa and Gigi!

Struttin' with his cone!

The cat who ate the canary grin!

They were both pretty proud of themselves!

And while I packed, they monkey'd around!

1st Boat Trip 2015

After finally getting the boat dewinterized this morning we were loading the kids into the car when we realized that the tire on the boat trailer was almost to the point of shreds... ugh!  So, after finally getting that taken care of, instead of leaving the house at 10:30am, we didn't leave until 2:30pm.

We tried to go to Jocassee, but the parking lot was full and they were not allowing anybody else out on the water so next we tried the ramp we usually use for Keowee, but it was also full.  Our last attempt was at a new-to-us ramp and we were fortunate enough to get the very last parking spot!

The kids were bucking broncos by the time we got on the boat and then when they realized that we'd bought a new tube for them, they were crazy with excitement!

It was a huge success!!  After a few rounds of me riding with them, teaching them the hand signals to the driver and what to do if they fell off and how to lean with against the boat turns, I got off(my poor body sure ain't what it use to be!) and let them have at it by themselves!  I think they would have done it all day!  We had a to take a break for a bit and we rode around, swam and let the kids fish before a few more rounds on the tube and then called it a day!  

Such little lake babies!

Well, Hello There, August!!

So, wow!!

It's already August!!!!!!

Here's a look at what we've done as we've finished up July:

M taught C to shoot a bb gun... help us all!!

C LOVE it!

C had his 5 year old well child appointment!
Stats:
weight - 44.4lb(75%tile) up 7lbs this year!
height - 44.5in(81%tile) up 3.5in this year
The doctor also checked his vision and hearing.  Both checked
out great, but his hearing is actually off the charts good and the doctor
said he very rarely sees anyone register where C did - no wonder
he is such a light sleeper and I can't even go in and check on
him at night without him waking up!

Started to get my stuff together for Switcharoos... ugh!

This meal was amazing!!  Turkey spaghetti made with
zoodles!  Even better than real spaghetti made with beef!

While the kids were at camp I found some new places to run!
It was HOT!!

Behavior has been a bit off - ok, WAY off - this week!
Their punishment was to clean baseboards and the stairs:)

They helped me snap the ends off the greenbeans that C
had planted in the mulch months ago!  His beans produced
much better than the ones I had in the garden!:)

A full rainbow in our neighborhood!  It was so large that
I couldn't even get the whole thing in one picture!

Patio furniture - take 2!  It looks much better than the midget
stuff we got the first time!

Much needed haircuts!

Dinner at the pool:)