Summer, week 9!

I've never made it to a "summer, week 9!" blog before.  Usually, week 8 is it and then school is back in session.  Weird!  Anyways,...

Monday: Today, we had nothing special planned.  After waking up around 8 and eating breakfast, the kids put on their swimsuits and I filled up the little pool outside.  They played for about an hour and then we made personal bagel pan pizzas for lunch.  I realized we had thin bagels, spaghetti sauce and mozerella cheese on hand, and voila!  Their favorite lunch of the summer.  Our babysitter was supposed to come over so I could run a few errands, but she had to cancel.  So... the kids came with me!  We just went to Walmart, which was enough, I tell ya!  No, they were actually pretty good.  ;)  I made dinner, they watched some Sofia the First and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and they are currently having a 3-way sleepover, which we've never done before (unless we've been out of town!).  It's storming outside and poor Parker is so scared.  Anyone have a bet on how long it'll last?

Look!  It's little Sydney! Oh wait...

They flattened our really sturdy pool to turn it into a little slip-n-slide.

Homemade pizzas!

Update: Yeah, the sleepover didn't last long.  It started storming again and all 3 came running downstairs.  Then, Sydney realized that one of her front teeth was all of a sudden really loose, so we worked on it for a little bit.  Finally, the tooth came out (!!) and the storm had stopped.  All 3 went in their own beds, which is good so the tooth fairy could know where to put the goods!

She looks so different!

Tuesday: We woke up, ate breakfast, and then headed to a new park!  It was a great park in Grayson, with a whopping three playgrounds and lots of shade.  But, it was already HOT (!!) and it was barely 10 AM.  When we got home, we made those homemade pizzas again, and then... Stephen came home!!  Yay!!  Once Parker was down, I was out!  I ran those other errands I had wanted to run yesterday, went for a run, talked to some friends on the phone, and caught up with a neighbor.  Ahhh, some time to myself.  I cooked dinner, Stephen did the lawn, and that was it!

He didn't agree with me about leaving.

Wednesday: Raegan came over to play today, and we didn't have any big plans.  The kids played, painted some little figurines I got at the craft store, watched some Full House (my kids have just gotten into this show, and I am loving it!), made some necklaces, etc.  When I went walking this morning, Stephen was on kid-duty (kids play upstairs while he's in his office), and I got home to all the kids playing nicely in Sydney's bedroom... but I heard water running.  It wasn't the washing machine, so I walked into the bathroom upstairs.  Parker had plugged up the sink and had turned the water on full-blast, and it had flooded the bathroom.  UGGH!  I have no idea how long it had been going, but it was a mess.  A few minutes later, I walked into the office (which is conveniently below that bathroom) and water was dripping OUT OF the light/fan.  Dripping might be a nice word.  It was coming out pretty hard.  I have no clue if the light or the fan will work... I'm too scared to try yet.  Double UGGH!

Parker waving to me as I walked by.  Can you spot him?  (Little did I know he was about to make a big MESS!)

Raegan's birthday-eve!  This sweet girl is going to be 7 tomorrow!

Thursday: Today was WHITE WATER!!!  We brought my sister, BIL, and two nieces with us, and Sydney and Taylor went.  Parker stayed home with a babysitter.  We were there from open to close!  It was fun- Taylor was scared to do most of the rides, but she did some of the double/group rides and loved the kiddie playgrounds.  We lucked out with weather- there was a really big chance of rain after 1 PM, but it only sprinkled twice!  (We had almost changed the date because of the weather, so glad we didn't!).  We got home around 8 PM, gave Parker lots of hugs, and got the kiddos down for the night.

Parker had fun at home!

Friday: I woke up sooooo tired and sore today from White Water.  It is so sad.  I am officially old!  After taking an Aleve and drinking some caffeine, I finally had some energy around 10 AM.  Raegan came to play with us today, and I got a lot of stuff done around the house.  The girls were really tired and cranky today.  I think White Water did us all in.  That evening, I started noticing that the upstairs was getting warmer... and warmer... and stuffier... and yes, our AC appears to not be working again.  Uggh!  The last time the guy came, he told us we'd need a new one, but it worked great once he left for 13 whole days... sigh... So, downstairs we all slept!

Making bracelets.

Barbie obsession!

Saturday: Today we had two birthday parties scheduled.  Sydney's attitude has been on full-blast the last 2 days (maybe it has something to do with being at WW from open to close?) and she wasn't able to go to the morning one because of that.  I had to stand my ground!  Taylor and I left the house with a screaming Sydney in her room, and we first headed to Grayson to "Christmas in July".  It was a little market with vendors and food and music and all.  Taylor got to play on the playground, and then we headed to Oconee County to the first party.  It was a princess party, with the REAL Rapunzel and a water bouncy house slide thing.  Taylor was great until it was time to do the slide, and she got so upset that a boy told her to "Go!" when she was up there.  She wouldn't budge, and it set off a 45 minute crying fest.  We finally left.  It's miserable when they act like that, especially in public.  She cried basically the whole way home.  That evening, we went to Raegan's birthday party at a water park.  It was so. much. fun.!  There were 2 big water slides that even adults could do, and a great kiddie playground in the water, and a lazy river.  Plus, just pool area to swim in.  Lots of friends of ours were there from church.  We grabbed ice cream after the party and didn't get home and in bed until 10 PM!

Christmas in July.

Annalee's party

Raegan's party!

She. is. a. mess.

Sunday: We all slept good last night.  Parker, who's been waking up around 6 Am lately, even slept until after 7.  I went for a walk while Stephen cooked breakfast and got the kiddos dressed.  I went to first service, as I was doing communion, and Stephen and the girls went to 2nd service, as Stephen was doing welcome team.  (Sydney likes to go to 2nd service because that's usually when her little crush goes).  After 1st service, I took Taylor and Parker with me to go to Target to get a few things.  Afterwards, we went and met some church friends (along with Stephen and Sydney) at a Mexican restaurant nearby.  The rest of the day we chilled and played with the neighbors!  

Twinsies

Making trail mix

Here's to the last full week of summer!

Summer, week 8

Monday: We had a busy day planned for today.  Stephen was leaving town, so I ran some errands in the morning with Parker.  My nieces are at camp this week, and I wanted to get their little care packages together and off while I didn't have all 3 kids to tote with me.  When we got back home, Stephen left for the airport to fly to Connecticut and we met Sydney's friend Mariella for lunch.  The kids got to play on the playground while her mom and I got to chat.  Then, we got in the car and headed to Clemson, SC.  My cousin, Sharon, lives there and invited us up for a birthday party.  We made the hour-and-forty-five minute drive relatively stress-free: no potty breaks needed, and 2/3 took a nap (albeit, not for long).  We pulled up to her (monstrous) house and there were 4 huge inflatables outside!  Holy kid's dream!  The kids got to play on the inflatables, and once the waterslide one was ready, that was pretty much all they did the rest of the time.  They had an absolute blast.  We ate pizza for dinner, had birthday cake for the birthday boy, watched him open presents (while I had to shield all three from the sweet lab.  I really wish my kids weren't so terrified of animals!) and then left around 7:45.  We made the trek home, stopping once to get drinks (they were "sooooo thiiiirrrsssty!") and a quick stop at my parents' house to say hi (we drove right near their house).  We made it home at 10, and all 3 were asleep.  I was so tired, I didn't even watch the Bachelorette that I had recorded (gasp!).  It was a fun day, and I'm glad I braved it to take the kids on a fun day trip.

Tuesday: The kids and I both slept well.  Hallelujah!  They woke me up around 7:30, and I took them to Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast (breakfast of champions) and then to a park to eat them.  We headed back home and hung out, watched TV, colored, played upstairs with dolls.  I also got about 7 loads of laundry done and put up.  We went to Sydney's friend's house this afternoon to swim, and Stephen flew in and we all got to eat dinner together.

Parker and Taylor played in the sand!  Ain't no way I'm letting all 3 swim with just me!

Wednesday: Stephen flew out again this morning, this time to Cincinnati.  Our babysitter came over this at 10:30, and I ran a couple of errands before meeting my friend Michele for lunch.  Then, I drove into Emory to be with my mom for my dad's surgery!  We were there together until his surgery was done and he was in recovery, which was around 5 PM or so.  I went home to relieve the babysitter, and the kids and I ate leftovers and hung out the rest of the night!

Popsicle break on this hot day!  A text from the babysitter.

Thursday: We left the house to go back to the hospital to visit my dad (kids, too!) and had a short visit.  He's headed home today, so that's a good sign that things went well!  We then went to Stone Mountain Park to meet our friends Monica and Raegan.  They were sweet and had bring-a-friend passes for us.  We got to play in the foam ball barn, watch the 3D movie, ride the train, and play in the geyser towers.  The kids were ultra-cranky when it was time to go, so the ride home wasn't so fun.  We got home, showered, and changed, and then headed back out to go to a cute little painting place for one of Sydney's school friend's b-day parties.  Taylor, Parker, and I went to dinner with a couple other parents of kids at the party, so that was fun.  We got home and Stephen was back (yay!).

Don't kill me, dad, for posting this. :)

3D movie!

The train!  Best part of Parker's week!

Look at that focus..

Friday: We hung out in the morning, and headed up to the mountain house that afternoon.  Our good family friends were coming up (just the girls, no boys, except for one cute little 1-year-old) so Stephen stayed home with Parker and I took the girls.  We made a few stops on the way up- one to get my dad a frosty from Wendy's (his fave), one to see my folks, one to grab dinner, one to go to the bathroom, and one to a grocery store because yours truly forgot the girls' toothbrushes.  Fiiiiiinally, we made it up around 7:45 PM.  Luckily, everyone was about to eat dinner, so we got to sit around and catch up.  We finally hit the hay around 11 PM that night.  The girls were craaaanky!

Their "airplane".  This entertained them for at least an hour.

It's gorgeous, isn't it?

Meanwhile, the boys hung out with some neighbors that night.  Parker got to sit in the front of the Leaf.  Stephen texted me saying he said, "Daddy, I so excited!"

Saturday: We got to sleep in until about 8:30, and we ate some pancakes and then headed up to a lookout place called Bald Rock.  It's literally just a huge section of rock on a mountain, and the view is incredible!  We got back, got our bathing suits on, and were literally about to head to the lake when... BOOM!  A huge clap of thunder.  We made it back inside in good time because it stormed for about an hour.  When it stopped storming, it was time for the "tour of homes", where 3 homes in the colony are toured, and the final one has refreshments.  The weather was great, and we got to see some neat homes.  Then, we're heading back home to go to the lake, and, guess what?  Yep.  BOOM!  This storm lasted about 1.5 hours.  We hung out inside, played a few games- BINGO, Clue, cards.  When it cleared up, it was time to get ready to go to dinner!  Swimming just wasn't in the cards this weekend.  We headed over to a town about 25 minutes away with a cute downtown atmosphere.  We ate on the rooftop and enjoyed live music at a really great restaurant.  We headed back home, some friends came over, and we chilled the rest of the evening!

A panoramic view from Bald Rock.

Manny, the cutest little guy!  (well, besides Parker, of course) ;)

Taylor and her "twin", Gracie.

Whistle Stop Cafe

Meanwhile, Stephen and Parker went to White Water!  Parker loved it!

Sunday: We had to get off early, because Stephen had to leave our house to leave town by 11:30.  We left at 8:30, and squeezed in a little 10-minute side trip to a park we always drive by to and from the mountain house.  It had a path that led down to the river.  The girls enjoyed it.  We made it home, Stephen took off, I gave Parker lots and lots of hugs (I missed that little guy!) and we literally stayed in the rest of the day.  I got 6 loads of laundry done and got the house vacuumed and mopped.  It's so hard to squeeze that in!  

It was a great week, but I am hoping this next week will be a little less busy!