Summer, week 5!

Monday: Our babysitter came over this morning, and I went to the park.  I had no energy today to run, so I decided to take a walk.  I even brought some bills and my credit card to pay our debts on my walk.  I ended up running into two girls I worked with in Rockdale, and joined them for their walk!  We walked for a little over an hour, so it was a great visit.  Way better than paying bills.  I went home, and we were in the car, about to pull out for swimming lessons, when it started pouring.  A text shortly followed: "swim lessons are cancelled for today".  So... since they were already in their suits, and it was just raining, not storming, I got out the sprinkler.  They had fun playing with that for about half an hour.  Then, the sky was getting dark, so we went inside.  Parker, for whatever reason, did not take a nap all day long.  Neither did the girls.  So, the 4:00 hour was a bit trying on all of our patiences. (is that a word?)  The girls watched Despicable Me 2 in their PJs, then we ate dinner and settled in for the night.

Tuesday: Same morning routine- babysitter, park, grocery store for me.  When I got home, we headed to swimming lessons.  The instructor had texted earlier that morning saying her son was sick and she was taking him to the doc.  She said she might be a little late.  So, we headed to the pool, and once we were there, she texted to say that they were running tests and she knew she wouldn't make it in time.  So, a girl whose kid is in that class (who also goes to our church) invited us to go to her pool.  We did, and we had a good time.  I do have to say, though- it is SO STRESSFUL to watch three kids in a pool.  Parker didn't really want to go in, but he also didn't want to sit still.  Taylor was doing great when she wore a puddle jumper- she was swimming like a fish with that!  But, without it, it was scary.  There was one incident where she was standing in the pool, and then the pool floor went downhill, and she went with it.  She was paddling to stay afloat and I jumped in to pull her up.  SO SCARY.  We had already been invited by Raegan and her mom to go swimming in a neighborhood pool that afternoon, so after we left the first pool, we got lunch and then headed to the next pool.  This time, I kept Parker in the stroller, and told the girls they had to stay near the stairs.  We got home, I made dinner, and we got 3 sleepy kids down to bed.  It was a fun day, but there were no or little naps taken, lots of sun, and lots of worry for me.  All of that adds up to exhaustion. ;)

This is a boring post with no pictures... all hands were tied at the pools, and I think I was too tired to click the picture button on my phone the rest of the day. :/

Wednesday:  Ok... swim lessons were on!  Woot!  Babysitter came, and when I got home, I took the 3 kiddos to swim lessons.  Sydney did awesome!  We came home, ate lunch, and I took the girls with me to Target and Buy Buy Baby.  Stephen was working from home and stayed with Parker, who napped.  When we got home, I insisted that the girls "rest" (they were getting on each other's last nerve in the car on the way home) and Taylor ended up napping for over an hour.  Stephen did the lawn (hello, 100 degree heat!) while we played inside (hello, 72 degree AC!).  We went to grab dinner out, and then went to our church for what they call "Project 52" (52 outreach projects a year to illustrate God's love).  This week, we were giving out sparklers for free.  There was a great group to represent our church.  Love it!

Text from the babysitter- so cute!

Look at that girl swim!

Playing at swim lessons.

Can you spot me, Taylor, and Parker?  Hint: look up front!

Thursday:  When the babysitter came, I was on a quest to go find a FitBit (activity wristband tracker).  My beloved UP band broke for the 7th time (which is 7 times too many) and I was done.  I traveled about 25 minutes to a Target that had them in stock and I got one!  Yay!  The girls had their last swim lesson for this session today, so when I got home, we hopped in the car and headed there.  Taylor, although not swimming, has gotten very confident in the water.  In a good way.  She's not overly confident. ;)  We came home, took naps, and then headed to the mountain house.  We got up there around dinner time, and hung out with the parental units and sister and nieces that night.


Friday: Happy 4th of July!!  Stephen and I woke up early and drove to a nearby town, Easley, to run in a 5K.  It was PERFECT (!!!) weather- I seem to have a curse and it always rains when I do races.  Not only was it sunny, but it was in the low 60s.  Perfect.  Stephen and I both got our 5K PRs.  It was a great race.  We headed back to the mountain house to our excited children, and then we took our kids, and my two oldest nieces, to a state park about 10 minutes down the road.  There, we played on the playground, did a 40 minute hike, and drove around the admire the scenery.  When we got back, my brother and his family had arrived from Nashville, TN!  The girls hit the lake pretty quickly, which is how we spent most of the rest of the day.  There was a golf cart parade late that afternoon, and we celebrated my niece, Olivia's 6th birthday that night with a party.  Great day!

so purty.

golf cart parade.

Parker loved jumping from the table to DeeDad!

Saturday: The perfect weather continued.  I woke up to run, then Stephen and I took Parker for a walk in his stroller.  Then, we took Parker, Taylor, and Uncle "Mashoo" on another walk.  (My FitBit was loving me today).  We hung around the colony, swimming, napping, going to a birthday party, playing, until the picnic and square dance that night.  After the square dance, we enjoyed an awesome fireworks show.  (I didn't think Taylor would like it, but after a little, "I want to go home...!", she then said, "I want to go home after the fireworks" so we made it through).  Another great day!

Boys and their sticks.

The older girls went into town to get peaches with Uncle Bill and Aunt Jen.

And... he's off!

Griffin's birthday party.

Also, boys and their trucks!

My little mess!

Sweet Olivia cleaning her up.

Square dance time!

Sunday: We got up on the early side, packed the car up, ate breakfast, and hit the road!  We left really early for a few reasons- 1) to make it to church; 2) to beat traffic; and 3) church at the mountains doesn't start until 11, and Parker is not willing to make it through the service, so we end up missing it all!  We made it to church right on time, and afterwards, we did our grocery shopping, unpacked, and chilled the rest of the day.  We're all so tired- long, eventful days, staying up late, and getting up early can take a toll!  But, it was fun!!

A little slip n' slide time this afternoon.

Here comes week 6!  (gulp!  Summer is going by so quickly!)