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!