Summer- Week 4!

What a week!

Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day!  We were exhausted from the day before (driving all the way to S. GA and back) but I got up a little earlier than the rest of the crew to make Stephen his favorite breakfast- eggs, sausage, and toast.  We went to church, and then we spent the whole day building/planting a vegetable garden!  Poor Stephen, on a day we are supposed to celebrate him, he was working in the yard all day long.  Luckily, that's how he rolls and I don't think he'd want it any other way.  The garden is up and growing!  We planted cherry tomatoes, okra, and green beans.  We got some fence to put around it since we have a lot of deer/rabbits in our area that may want a tasty snack (assuming, that is, that these things may actually grow!).

The beginning...

Monday, the girls were supposed to have swim lessons and I was going to keep all 3 kiddos with me.  However, it was raining/storming this morning, so the instructor had to cancel today's class.  So, I decided to take the kids to daycare and have my second kid-free day!  I went to the gym and ran a bunch of errands.  I met my friend, Melissa, for lunch, and then got a lot done around the house. 

Tuesday, I kept all three kiddos home.  Swim lessons were cancelled again (darn weather!) and I can't lie that, around 10 AM, I was burnt out.  We had already done a rainy day movie/popcorn party, colored, played dress up, made cookies... I think I was just exhausted, and my temper was short.  We all had nap/rest hour after lunch, which was a much needed break for all of us.  Afterwards, there was a break in the weather and we went to the toddler park in downtown Loganville.  Then, we headed to the... du du duuuu... dentist.  Miraculously, Sydney did great!  Taylor, not so much.  Thankfully, they were able to do all that they needed to do, and both girls received a good report (whew!). 

Wednesday was a fuuuun day!  I took Taylor and Parker to daycare, and Sydney and I headed to Stone Mountain with her BFF Raegan.  Stone Mountain is a blast, if you haven't been lately.  I just remember what it was like when I was a kid.  It was fun and all, but not a lot to do.  Now, they have a ton of things to do!  We got to play in this "barn" area where you can climb ropes, shoot people with foam balls, jump on the trampoline floor, go down three-story slides, etc.  (Bonus is that adults can play, too!); we "Rode the Ducks", which is a vehicle-turned-boat that literally drives into the water.  The guy let kids drive the boat, so Sydney got to do that.  We had a picnic lunch; saw a 4D movie; went to a butterfly exhibit and got to feed the butterflies; rode the Sky Lift to the top of the mountain; and did the Geyser Towers (water fun).  Totally a blast.  That night, we had dinner at church and did our bible study.  I thought Sydney would completely crash after the park, but she hung in there really well!

Sydney, Raegan, and R's cousins, Taylor and McKayla.

Quack!

Sydney feeding a butterfly.

A great way to end the day.

Thursday, I kept all 3 kiddos home.  We did have swim lessons today, yippee!  We did some "school" work, fingerpainted outside, played in the sprinkler, played on the playground.  It was a good day!

Friday, we had a playdate at a neighbor's house.  We couldn't stay long- we had swim lessons- but we went back afterwards to play some more.  They got to play in a little pool, do the slip n slide, play with super soakers, and more.  Lots of fun.  The rest of the day, we got ready for a yard sale that was scheduled for Saturday.  We made trail mix, the kids had movie night, and an attempted sleepover that didn't last too long.

Making the trail mix.

A fan favorite!

 Saturday started early, with us getting ready for the yard sale.  Some guy came over at 6:45 AM!!! while we were setting up.  We had a pretty good turnout, made some extra cash.  We played in the backyard pool and then got ready for a fun event at church- Married People Big Night Out.  We get dinner, the band plays music, a good message, and childcare!  Lots of fun. 

You can see some progress!  The green beans have started to sprout.  And you can see that I'm going to be painting the wood some fun colors.

Do you recognize this little gal?

Look how long her hair is!

My church is awesome.

Another fun summer week! 

Summer- Week 3

How have we already completed week 3 of summer?

I have to say that this summer has been crazy, busy, non-stop already.  But, I'm pleased to say that after this coming week, I think things will be dying down a bit.  And I'm sure that when things get relaxed and comfortable and organized, school will be back in session!

But anyways, we had a good 3rd week of summer.

Monday was my first kid free day of summer!!!  I took all three kiddos to daycare.  I had to go to the Board of Education to officially sign my contract and get fingerprinted, and then I went by the middle school to talk to the principal and fill him in that I was officially official now.  I ended up staying there for almost 2 hours, just talking to people.  You know how that goes, and how time flies by.  So, I didn't get all that much done, but I'm glad I was able to get things straight with my job for next year. 

Tuesday, Stephen left town, and I kept all three kiddos with me.  This was a pretty fun day.  We did the slip n' slide, played outside, made beaded necklaces, I painted our garage entry door to the house, practiced shoe-tying, and we made pizza for dinner.  The girls attempted a sleepover but were having waaaay too much fun together.  I had to play the bad guy and they had to be separated at about 9:30 PM. 

Our new blue door!

Wednesday, I kept Parker at home with me, and took the girls to daycare.  I got a babysitter to come for a couple of hours to keep Parker so I could work out and run a couple of errands (S was still out of town).  But, it was a nice, chill day with my little man.  I picked the girls up, got them bathed and dressed, and we went to church for dinner and then "grow group".  (Our church does these instead of Sunday School classes.)  I was leading tonight's group, and it went really well.  I got to meet some people I had never met before, and we had some great discussions!

Thursday, I took P to daycare and kept the girls.  I had been looking online earlier in the week to sign Sydney up for swimming lessons.  Last year, she took them at a nearby country club.  While I think the lessons helped her get more comfortable with the water... that was really about it.  I was hoping she'd at least learn how to doggie paddle in case she was ever in trouble, but no.  Unfortunately, that's really the only place around here I knew of.  But, I did a google search and found a lady who does them at her house!  And she's about 2 miles away! (as opposed to the 15 minute drive last year)  And, she had great reviews.  Additionally, Taylor could go, too (the other place required the child to be at least 3).  So, I signed both girls up, and they got to start today.  They did much more already in one day than the country club did in 2 weeks.  I'm very hopeful that both girls, but Sydney especially, will learn more skills.  Sydney did get water up her nose once and panicked, and now doesn't want to "learn to swim", but I'm hoping that she will be more positive when Monday rolls around.  The instructor was very patient and good- she is 8 months pregnant, so I applaud her for having that kind of energy!  Anyways, the rest of the day, the girls played, and I painted some things, and got stuff ready for our garage sale next week.  Stephen came home today, so everyone was excited to see him! 

Playing a number scavenger hunt game that I made.  They had to find the numbers 1-20 in order.  I hid them around the yard.  Definitely recommended for any parents of kids 3+ to do!  They loved it.

Sydney's class.

Taylor's turn!

Friday, I kept all three home with me.  We had a playdate with Raegan and her mom and cousins at Chuch E. Cheese's.  Fun!  We then went home and played for the rest of the day.  I left around 2 to get a mammogram done (just preventative- my mom had breast cancer at 38, so I'm supposed to get them annually) and went to the grocery store.  Stephen works from home on Fridays and kept all the kiddos while I did that.  We went to Chili's for dinner, played outside for a bit, and settled in for the night!

Can you tell they're related?

Saturday, we woke up reeeeaaaallly early to head down to South GA to go to Stephen's family reunion.  We've just been so busy lately that we decided to make a day trip of it, instead of a typical weekend trip.  We knew it would be a lot of driving, but we tried to keep the kiddos entertained.  Between driving and stops, we were traveling for 11 hours total! 

The reunion was fun- lots of southern home cooking, the girls got the swim in the pool, and we got to see all his family.  We got home around 10:30 PM and we were exhausted, as you can probably imagine. 

Here's to week 4.  This summer is flying by already!