Lake Pictures and Staycation

Well, here are just a few of the "millions" of pictures that I took at the Lakehouse during Fourth of July weekend.

Shelby stole Papa's hat. She was so proud of herself.

The boys plus Shelby minus JP getting excited about the parade.

The girls plus JP ready for the parade to start! GO USA!!

JP showing off his flying squirrel. We gave him a perfect 10 for this one.

And now...introducing....shuserman (superman) and princess Shelby. JP really has no idea who superman is, but he loves to run around the house after bath time with his towel on his head and pretend he is shuserman. It is so fun to watch him and Shelby play together.

We had plans to go out of town this past weekend. We thought we would venture up to NC to the mountains, but after having so much fun at the lake the previous weekend we were kind of tired and decided to have a staycation. It was good old fashioned family time. Thursday we took the children to the aquarium. They had so much fun looking at all the sea life that was there. Friday we went to the pool and Saturday we went to the pool. After church on Sunday we spent the day at the house. It was great fun just being together, laughing together and playing together. Also, we saved a lot of money by staying here and eating at home, etc. I would highly recommend it to any family out there. There is more to do then you would think.

Now I leave you with a video clip of Shelby doing flips in the pool. Yesterday I met a friend and her children at the pool. They had so much fun playing together and it was great to be able to sit and catch up with my friend. All the sudden while I was talking I looked up and saw Shelby's little feet kicking at the surface and noticed her head was near the bottom of the pool and then all the sudden her head popped up and her feet were back at the bottom. I was absolutely amazed!!! So of course I grabbed the camera and made her do it again so that I could share it with you.

Happy 4th of July

Wow! What a great weekend. We had so much fun at the lakehouse and it was really nice that we had about a day to hang out, just the four of us. Of course, the party really got started when Grammie, Papa, Aunt Suzy, Uncle Patricio and Baby Sebastian arrived. I mean, the children thought that they were having fun with mom and dad, but once everyone else got there then they realized what fun really was.

We left for the lake on Thursday and got up there around 2:30/3:00. In a moment of weakness we let Shelby and JP go out back in their bathing suits to run in the sprinkler and play in the sand...boy did we pay for that later (no nap=no fun). Since the air conditioner wasn't working when we got there we quickly changed our plans to eat at the house and opted to find a/c at a restaurant. Mexican is always soooo good! Thankfully all was fixed when we got back and so we settled in for the night.

Friday morning we woke up, went to the Summerton Dinner for breakfast (they have the BEST buttermilk pancakes in the world, ever!!!!), and then back to the house for a day on, in, around, under the water. It was so much fun and easy!!! Shelby and JP basically put on their swim vests and then had a contest to see who could stay in the water the longest. For lunch we went to Goat Island by boat and by the time we got back it was definitely nap time. Shelby and JP were so excited to see the rest of the gang there when they woke up and quickly changed into their suits again and jumped in and you better believe that whoever wasn't in the water with them was quickly called out.

Saturday, Fourth of July!!!! What a perfect day to celebrate our country. It started with a community parade. It was great. They had a firetruck and then everyone else was either on riding lawnmowers, golf carts, or bikes. Some of the floats were pretty funny!!! The rest of the day was spent on the water again. We also had lunch at the Goat again. Shelby and JP really had a great time jumping off the back of the boat and it looked like so much fun that Pratt and I had to join in on the fun; and let me tell you, children know what they are doing...it was a blast. It is amazing that we adults are too serious about life sometimes. I think that I am definitely going to start jumping in with what the children are doing because they enjoy life way more and it makes you feel good. After we had a picnic dinner we did some sparklers and then loaded up the boat to see the fireworks. Now, most of you know about JP's aversion to loud noises and I have to say that I was cautiously optimistic about this whole endeavor, but thankfully all went great. It was so cute to see him, Shelby and Grammie all cuddled up together watching the fireworks, oohhing and aaahhhing and clapping. Something about little children clapping is just so sweet to me.

What a wonderful weekend!!! You loose all track of time being on the water like that which is good and bad. Shelby and JP were exhausted by the time Sunday morning rolled around...a combination of excitement and not being a "stick in the mud" led to them being able to stay up late every night and have shorter nap times, plus they just wouldn't sleep in-all you moms out there know that can be so disastrous. Needless to say, it was great to get home and get back on schedule with a nice, early bedtime to match the earliness with which my children get up in the morning. Now it is to playing catch up with all my house-mom duties. Hope you all had a wonderful Fourth and remember to never take for granted our freedoms!

(Will post pictures later)

Every day has moments filled with pure love, joy and contentment and at the same time has moments filled with frustration, disaster and craziness. I think that is one of the greatest things about motherhood. You never know what moment you will get and most times when you feel at your wits end and that you have completely failed to accomplish anything, God blesses you with a moment of pure love, joy and contentment. Sometimes in these moments I watch Shelby and JP and wonder if there is anything more perfect in the world and then just as quickly that thought fades to wonder how in the world I am going to survive this day.

Thankfully most of today has been great. JP, of course, woke up with the sun and I tried to cuddle with him in his bed for a little bit, but he would have none it....kind of reminds me of a line from a song in The Sound of Music, "When you wake up, wake up. It's healthy."....so after much insistence from him that it was time to get up and get started, I rolled myself out of his bed and hit the floor running. Most of the morning the children were right behind me saying "mommy....." in that whinny voice that usually means we are going to have a llllllllloooooooonnnnnnngggggggggggg day and at that moment I decided that I would spend most of the morning driving around in the car making up things to do because a lot of times with this kind of morning the children respond quite nicely, and thankfully they did. The car ride is just what was needed because they have been great since then. Pratt came home for lunch and then while he was packing for his trip Shelby and JP played like they were best of friends. She was teaching him gymnastics and exercises. It was so cute to listen to her give instruction and see how JP did exactly what she said. JP has a pretty good attention span, but let's face it, you can only take instruction from your sister for so long. Once the novelty of that wore off I sat down with them and did some worksheets. For about 20 minutes Shelby worked in her workbook and JP worked in his, with my help...this was hugely gratifying for me because, well, you all know, I am a giant nerd at heart.....About the time JP started to wander from that it was nap time and he obediently went to his room and got in bed, with his cars, nemo and blankie of course. Once he was down Shelby followed and that was that. All in all it was a wonderful day and I can't wait to see what this afternoon holds.....(hopefully much of the same from this morning).

One quick note on JP (for me to remember)....any word that starts with the letter "r" he puts an f in front of....fraisins, froom, etc. It is just sooo cute...I wonder why he does that? Although it really doesn't matter why because one day he will stop and I probably won't even notice that it is gone:(

Sing

Today JP and I were going to visit Grandpa and Uncle Matt at work. JP was particularly excited to see them because it was his request..."eat gee pa" that led to this visit. We picked up Moe's (our most favorite quick place to eat) and headed down to the marina. On the way I turned on the iPod and decided to listen to some music. We were listening and singing along when all the sudden JP says, "No sing mom, no sing!" Let me tell you, this was not a nice quiet request, but a loud demanding request, and every time I started to sing again he would shout out, "No sing mom, no sing." I am not so foolish to believe that I can get up in front of a group of people and sing, but I have always thought that I could carry a tune well enough that it would be okay in the confines of home and car....apparently JP doesn't agree with me. Well, thankfully he slept in the car all the way to pick Shelby up from camp; so guess what I did....I turned up the music and sang my little heart out.

Shelby Starts Camp

Today something struck me hard, something that is inevitable, but you just kind of ignore until it comes. This morning Shelby started camp at her school. Big whoop, you might say, but it triggered an avalanche of thoughts. As I was packing her lunch (this is a first as she has only ever gone away from me for a half day) I was thinking about how this is something new that I would do everyday next year for her. While I had all intention of packing her lunch last night before bed so I could be little miss organized mom this morning, I went to bed and didn't pack a lunch which left me to do it this morning. So, back to my original train of thought, this packing of her lunch and realizing that it is something I would be doing everyday coming up this fall reminded me that JP would also be attending school this fall. He is going to go two days a week. All the sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks........FOR TWO MORNINGS A WEEK I WILL HAVE NO CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Holy Cow!!!! What in the world am I going to do with myself? I am so not ready to be alone!!!!!!! Even though there are times where one might believe that I live my life with the prospect of having some alone time, when it gets down to it, I don't want that. What am I going to do?!?!?!?! Well, I do what any self-respecting mom would do...I drop Shelby off at camp and head straight the to gym to my spin class because trying to stay focused on not falling off the bike got my mind off things long enough to avoid mental breakdown.

Anyway, Shelby had a great time at camp this morning and she is really excited about the Gymbus tomorrow. How do I know? Because for the first time in the history of her going to school she actually talked to me about it when I picked her up....I know, amazing isn't it!!!! JP and I had a nice morning. After the gym we went to the grocery to get milk and stuff; then came home for lunch, etc. He did very well considering I kept him up from nap so that he and Shelby could have some quiet time at the same time once we got home from picking her up.


When I asked Shelby if I could take her picture at first she was reluctant, which is a first, but I was able to get this picture of her in the car before she got out. I think she was more excited about her lunch box than anything else.

We have been fairly busy these last few days, but what else is new. I couldn't resist posting this picture of JP sitting at the window looking at Callie and Croix at Rob and Erik's house. As terrified as he can be of dogs sometimes I think in his heart he really loves them. He sat at the window for at least 10 minutes just looking at them. It was so cute!!!!

Monday-Thursday in Review

At first I thought I would title this blog "Week in Review" and then realized that it is only Thursday and while I don't plan on doing much for the rest of the week, I didn't want to be miss leading....anyway...here goes.

We have had a week of jam packed fun. On Monday I went to the gym and then we did some other things, I am just sure of it, but I really can't remember anything else. Isn't that crazy!!! Wow!!! That is just so bizarre to me. I have absolutely no recollection of the rest of the day. Oh well, on to Tuesday.

Tuesday was so much fun. My friends Heather and Dana joined me for a morning at the beach with their sweet babies. Being able to accomplish a trip to the beach with the Shelby and JP without any extra help was monumental for me and now that I know for sure I can do it we will definitely be making that a weekly event this summer. Shelby and JP had a pretty good time. JP was a little clingy, well no, actually he was a lot clingy which wasn't that great since it was pretty warm out, but all in all it was a great time. Shelby was like a little mom with Callie (Heather's daughter). She held her hand everywhere. It was so cute. There were even times where Shelby would point to something and then, from a distance, it looked as if she was explaining to Callie what it was.

Here is Shelby showing Callie something in the water...

Wednesday was definitely a very busy day for us, and as a result I am paying for it a little bit today with the whiny factor from Shelby and JP. I had a wonderful class at the gym that totally kicked my tail and wiped me out. Then we went to the pool. We were their for about 2 1/2 hours and probably spent 2 hours and 15 minutes of that time in the pool. Shelby is getting so good at swimming. The hardest part is that she loves to be under the water. At one point she was jumping in the pool to swim to me and when she jumped in she wouldn't come back up because she was too busy looking around at the lights and people's legs (I guess). It was very stressful for me because I wasn't sure if I should grab her up or let her swim. Of course, she knew what she was doing and what she wanted to do. JP is also getting braver in the water. He is getting to where he will float without holding on to me when he is in his swim vest. He even jumped in the water prematurely at one point and went right under. He was definitely shocked when his little head popped back up. After nap time Shelby had her first day of gymnastics. I wish that I had some pictures of it, but it was quite a hectic afternoon to get her there and then I had to come home real quick to drop JP off with Pratt, at which point I got right back in the car to go back to her. At the end I could tell she was getting tired because she started to not listen and really just kind of wandered around while all the other little girls did their thing. Unfortunately when one doesn't listen one can get hurt and that is exactly what happened to her. So we left the gym crying and bleeding....but no worries, she is fine and can't wait to go back next week. We got home just after 6:45pm and joined our neighbors for our newly formed Cul de Sac family night. It was so much fun. Everyone cooked their own food and then we all ate outside together and let the kids play. The kids had a great time running around and doing all sorts of things. It was 8:15pm by the time we packed up and headed in. After a quick bath and speedy bedtime routine Shelby and JP were fast asleep.

Whew....just typing all that made me tired; and Shelby and JP are wiped out as well. This morning we hung around the house for a bit before running out for our day. Once again, I went to the gym and then we went to Moe's for lunch with Erin and the boys. It was great fun until the bottom fell out and clearly Shelby couldn't function anymore so we had to leave in a bit of a hurry and have some discipline moments. Hopefully they will both get good naps this afternoon and be back to my little angels this evening since Pratt won't be here.

Since I haven't been that great with pictures of fun happenings this week I thought I would include this picture from the bath on Monday. Happy Thursday everyone!

Lakehouse!!!!!

Ahhhh, it is that time of year again and we are so excited!!! Last weekend we spent a few days at the lakehouse and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was great and Shelby and JP had so much fun! We left on Saturday morning and got their right around lunch time. After nap our swimsuits were on and we spent the rest of the time there in them. Shelby and JP were like little waterbugs.

One of the best things about the lakehouse is how close it is. The ride up there is a breeze especially when coupled with the excitement of being in your bathing suit all day in the sun. JP is our little incognito superstar in training. He loves wearing sunglasses no matter what time of day or what kind of weather. This picture was taken after he finally got the sunglasses turned around and on properly. For about 20 minutes he had them on upside down and he was just chillin' with his glasses and raisins.

And of course, you can't take a picture of one and not the other so here is Shelby enjoying the ride. She was very excited to get to stay in her pajamas for the trip. I am not exactly sure why, but she really wanted to wear them up there.

Besides spending endless amount of time floating in the water, Shelby and JP really enjoyed playing with their fishing poles. Instead of hooks on the end they have these little plastic toys to help the line fly when you cast it and sink a little as you reel them in. Shelby got really good at casting by the end of the first day we were up there and I just got the biggest kick out of watching her "fish". Everytime she would stand one leg out to the side and her hip cocked like she was some sort of professional beauty queen fisherwoman.

JP on the other hand had a bit of a time trying to figure out how to push the button down and cast the line out. One thing I have to give him is that he never gave up the entire weekend. He would get frustrated and moody about the whole thing and anytime anyone tried to help him he would get really upset, but he never put that pole down.

One time Shelby threw out her line and Pratt put it in his mouth and let her reel him in like he was a fish. Shelby and JP laughed and laughed. They just loved it and then they started wanting to be caught. After a few times, JP put the line in his mouth and then got down in the water and started "swimming" as I reeled him in. It was one of the cutest things by far!!!

The whole weekend was wonderful! We had a great time swimming, having tea parties, fishing, washing the dog, tubing, and of course eating. All the way home Shelby asked if we could go back.