Totally Random

Nothing earth shattering, but I suppose a couple of noteworthy events happened over the weekend, while I was enjoying a little time with friends and doing my part to stimulate the economy.

1. Rick decided that he would encourage the kids to go down the silver bullet at Big Splash. Surprisingly, it only took a koolie to bribe the kids into doing this. I think they are a few inches short, but what do you know, some Big Splash worker and my husband thought it was okay. I'm kinda glad I missed this. I probably would have had a heart attack. In the end, the boys even went for a second round. They say they enjoyed it. It's amazing the power he possess over them at times. Let's hope that same influence is there during the teen years.

2. Funny Story: Rick was driving the kids to church on Sunday morning, when they happened along some construction on the highway. Delaney said, "Hey, boys, I helped pay for that." Rick was thinking what is this girl talking about, until she explains to the boys that she had recently bought something at Build a Bear and had to pay tax, which goes to help pay for road repair. Of course tax is a concept I had tried to explain to her. This is totally like my girl to take credit for something and repeat exactly what I had said to her a month ago.

Family Reunion

This weekend's summer adventure took us to Lake Murray State Park in Ardmore, where we stayed in cabins, met up with a lot of distant cousins from my mom's side of the family, and enjoyed a little nature. The kids were full of excitement to arrive, which made the car ride down there a bit long. Jax decided we should roast marshmallows and was delighted to spot a fire pit when we arrived. We took a quick trip to Wal-Mart to gather the necessities and then later that evening the fire expert, had the kids picking up wood and a fire started in no time.

I think it's safe to say that Jax enjoyed roasting the marshmallows more than he actually enjoyed eating them. I'm kind of the same way.

It was a nice break from the norm. I think the kids favorite part of the trip, as usual was spending time with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Julie.

We started our day with the clear blue water. The kids were having so much fun that we opted to just stay. There were some lake water actives but of course they required a little more cash. Besides who needs a lake water trampoline when Daddy and Uncle can serve as entertainment.

Boys will be boys and found some rocks to play on. I tried warning them of the dangers to which Rick finally told me to chill. It's hard to be a mom sometimes. The kids had fun playing with Justin who was just a year older than them.
Rick and Patrick are the current undefeated champs at Washers. Jax was their designated cheerleader and talked smack to the other teams. Re-match in 2 years.

All things must come to an end. After playing hard and two VERY late nights, Baylor had a rocky morning. Here he got some rocks in his shoe, which sent him into one of his full melt-downs for the morning.

The trip home went much smoother. Everyones energy level was a bit drained and Dad let them take turns playing his iPhone for entertainment. For the last stretch home, we made a pit stop and introduced the kids to QT Koolies.

Thanks Nana for a wonderful trip, full of memories.

Best Dad Ever

We will be out of town this weekend; therefore, we decided to have a mini Father's Day celebration last night. The kids made an, "I love Dad" banner and cards.I let them decide on the menu for the night. At first, Baylor thought we should cook, macaroni & cheese for dinner. His reasoning, "Well, Daddy always makes it." In the end, they decided pizza would be best for a party. For dessert, they were right on target with Dad's favorite- cheese cake. When I mentioned we would have to go to the store they quickly said, let's just cook brownies. Interestingly, the meal turned out to be their favorites, not Dad's.

All was ready when he arrived. They jumped out and yelled, surprise and then followed it up with a little number on the fire place, "He's the Best Dad Ever! (SpongeBob tune again).

It's Here

Technically summer doesn't begin for another few days, but one step outside indicates otherwise. The heat is here and the only place to be is near water so we headed to the city pool or the first time this season. Their swimming skills from last year are slowly returning. The city pool doesn't allow anyone to go off of the diving board wearing a life vest; however, this wasn't going to stop Jax. He quickly summoned the courage to take the plunge. Once he survived, Delaney said, " I want to try," and she was off for a successful jump and swim to the side. And, that was all it would take for Baylor, who had adamantly declared he wasn't going minutes ago, to cave and go for it. That's what I call peer pressure at its finest!The kids jumped, jumped, jumped, and jumped some more. I was exhausted just watching them-to have that energy again! They were naming all of their little jumps (twister, eagle, snakety snake?). This actually reminded me of when I was a kid and my cousins/friend and I would do the same thing. I was fortunate to have an above ground pool and we spent countless hours jumping and playing in the pool. It kind of put the whole pool debate in perspective for me. It's nice to think of the kids making endless memories in their own backyard.

The Simple Life

I love the month of June. It always brings a refreshing change of pace and life becomes much simpler. It's a time to catch up and most of all just enjoy the little things that summer has to offer.

On this day, Delaney and Jax decided to clean the kitchen after lunch. It was nice to be able to sit back and relax and let them practice their cleaning skills, knowing there wasn't any rush and I could always go back over it a little later when they weren't looking!

One afternoon, Delaney decided to spend a few hours with Nana. Jax couldn't wait for her to come home. He was like a little lost puppy. He had to call her and ask her to come home, because he was missing is playmate. They've been having lots of beach parties!We've been trying to enjoy the milder temps of summer with some bike rides.

And we have enjoyed lots of summer treats. Nothings better after a bike ride than flavor ice or Popsicle.

Today's gonna be a hot one, so it's time to hit the pool!

Drive-In

Last night, we took the kids to the Drive-In to see UP. As a kid, Rick often went to the Drive-in and his Dad always made popcorn on the stove, so he decided to continue the tradition. Rick was insistent on following the original recipe and method. He asked me earlier in the week if we had brown paper bags, and I said, yes- thinking he meant small brown lunch sacks. Come to find out he meant a large brown paper sack, the kind provided by grocery stores about 15 years ago! He was horrified at the thought of using Tupperware, so I made a quick call to my mom, who has a little of everything and she was able to come up with a couple of sacks. I walked in the door carrying the modern day brown paper sack (same but with handles) and he once again almost had a coronary. He took the sack with great agitation and cut off the tops (had to remove the handles). Finally....a sack resembling the 80's and that the MASTER chef could work with! The kids truly enjoyed the popcorn process.

Rick will tell you that to get the butter and salt mixed up just right, you must have a sack. In the end, we over did the butter. It was the absolute best tasting popcorn for about the first five handfuls and then it began to clog the arteries. In the future, we will remember not to get so carried away with the butter. Honey, thanks for taking the time to show us how to make popcorn.

A few friends joined us and it was an absolutely gorgeous evening. I really love the Drive-In, if only it wasn't so late. Delaney was ready to go to bed within 20 minutes of the movie starting. She's just like her mama. The movie wasn't all that great, especially considering it was suppose to be a kids movie. Baylor hung in until the last 30 minutes and faithful Jax stuck with it. (Just like his dad).

Pictures

I typically have the kids picture taken professionally during the summer, but I decided this year to hold off until fall and have a family photo session. I didn't want the age of five to go undocumented without some decent photos, so I decided to take them myself. It is so hard to get three smiling kids in a picture at the same time. These aren't half bad, considering the cheap camera and extreme amateur photographer.

For some reason when I put them in collage form, it cut off some of the shots.

Fun at Philbrook

This morning we enjoyed Philbrook's Second Saturday for Kids events. I managed to snap a few photos of the kids before they headed off to some art activities. They each received their own little art kit, made puppets, and painted. I sure love free entertainment! Here the kids are singing Sponge Bob's, "The Best Day Ever"!

I didn't manage to get a picture of Baylor because he chose to color and finished before I could even break out the camera. They were suppose to paint fish, but my kiddos were adamant about doing their own thing. Shocking!

Flash Back Friday: Camping

This week Rick and I made the decision to try and sell our pop-up for a number of reasons. We enjoy camping and bought the pop-up before the kids were born. Unfortunately, it seems for the past two summers, we haven't made it out camping and this summer wasn't looking promising. I don't know how our life can be so busy with little stuff. Anyway, all of this made me think about our two camping trips we took as a family.

We first took the kids camping at 9 months old. I know some may think we were nuts, but at this point in our life we were excited to leave the house, even if it meant doing exactly what we did at home out at a campsite. We were also very determined to just try and do normal family things, as having three had placed some obvious limitations on us.
Jax and Delaney learned to hold their bottles a few weeks before this trip, which made my life SO much easier. They learned to crawl a few days after we made it home, which worked in our favor as well.

Here they are enjoying their first adventure in the sand before I had to head back to the trailer and give them a nap.

I enjoyed this trip. I think mostly because at the time I was desperate for a change of scenery. Sunday morning was bit chaotic as storms blew in and we had to try and pack up before they hit.

When the kids were two and a half, we camped near Flint Ridge with a few couples from church. This was fun, but this time it took what I did every day and made it much MORE difficult.

Here's my cute little campers. It was so fun to watch them explore.

This picture captures a rare moment of sleep. The kids had been on a very strict bed time and nap time schedule since they were 4 months old. This meant the kids thrived on routine, and camping put a major glitch in that. It took forever to get them to go to sleep the first night and then they literally woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning. This made for some tired and cranky kids, as well as mama. I was so frustrated and lost my patience more than a few times. They were in a major, "I only want mommy phase" so this left me to the difficult task of trying to get them to sleep the majority of time. I was not only frustrated but bummed that I was missing out on good times with friends. Definitely not my finest mothering moments!We did manage to have a wonderful time at Flint Creek. The kids loved the water and of course enjoyed lots of snacks. If I remember correctly though, on the last day, about the time we were getting ready to pack up, they each began to meltdown. Good Times!
I really love these pics of my beach bums.

Owners of a Pop-up or not, we will definitely have to take the kids camping sometime in the future. Who knows, maybe we'll find the time for a quick trip before we sell.