Beach and Fourth of July

This week has been busy, so I haven't had time to write about and post pics from our vacation at the beach and then at the lake. We had so much fun! The kids had lots of fun at the beach this year. It was definitely rainy, but we had some good weather every day, and the last day we were there was beautiful! We ate LOTS of delicious food while we were there. The last night we were there, we stayed on the beach and had a picnic. The kids loved it! We came home for one night and then headed for the lake! My cousin and his family were there, and we had so much fun! Again... it rained, but we just kinda ignored the rain and kept going. We had fun swimming in the lake and tubing. Fran went tubing for the first time! She really liked it! We started the summer with Rush having a pretty significant fear of the water after a scary pool incident he had at the end of last summer. He has made great strides this week at swimming lessons, but he wouldn't go tubing last week. I think he would have done it if he had already been to swimming lessons. Miss Amber has really helped him overcome that panicky feeling he had in the water.

Now for the picture overload...

Angry Birds Star Wars... the new summer must-have

The sleep wars continue around here. Everyone tells me that one day I won't be able to get them out of the bed during the teenage years. I don't have to worry about that, though, because I will be 80 years old by then. I am aging at twice the normal rate from LACK OF SLEEP. I think I am getting paid back for all the times I told people my babies were "such good sleepers". Note to self... keep mouth shut. It is highly unusual for every single person in our house to sleep all the way through the night. Highly. Even Fran has decided to join in the fun. She now needs to be "retucked" if she wakes up during the night. She says she sees shadows in the hall. Oh.my.word. So, now we have returned to all out, not trying to disguise it, bribery with Rush. If he stays in his room for five nights in a row, he gets a pack of Angry Bird Star Wars little things. They come with two in a pack, and he loves them. So much so that he is not coming out of his room.

We never said anything about staying the in bed, though. I probably should have added that to the bargain. Sleep in your bed.

Summer Fun... well, mostly fun

We are off to a great start with our Summer 2013! We have several fun things planned. We started off the summer with a weekend at the lake. We had lots of fun, but some plumbing issues at the lake house sent us back home sooner than we planned. It wasn't before a beautiful sunset boat ride and a fun day of playing in the water. We also got to spend time with our sweet Kate. They are all at a fun age to play together really well. It is hard to notice the 18 month age difference at this point. They love being together!


Frannie packed her own things for the trip to the lake. This was the day before we left. Think she was looking forward to it?





Frannie participated in the cheer camp that is hosted by our local high school. She really enjoyed it! My favorite thing she learned at camp? A cheer that says, "... and we can beat those turkeys any 'ol time." Except she says, "... and we can eat those turkeys any 'ol time." When I told her it was probably beat rather than eat, she was quite adamant that she was correct. I guess cheerleaders really like to eat turkey. ;-)


We also went a reception for some sweet friends that got married last weekend.

Rush also tried soccer camp this summer. It didn't go well. There were tears and some sobbing. To make a long story short, it was pretty much a disaster, but he looked really cute in his gear, didn't he? He said he might try it again when he is five. Stay tuned...


Even though soccer camp didn't go as planned, we did get to hang out with my best friend, Michelle. She comes into town each summer and stays with us for a couple of days while her boys are participating in the university's football camp. We even got to enjoy lunch with Zack and Carter before they left to go back home. The kids were completely SPOILED the whole time she was here.




We've also been to the new Dunkin' Donuts.. twice. And that just kind of makes everything better.



And yes, Frannie definitely got a new short hairstyle! We all LOVE it!! I think it looks so cute on her! We may keep it that way for a while. :-)

Saying Good-bye to Sue Sue

We have had a great time easing into our new summer routine. We have already been having lots of fun! Before we could say hello to summer, though, we had to say good-bye to a really important part of our lives for the last four years. The kiddos finished up their last year with Sue Sue, the home daycare provider we have loved for the last four years. She has been wonderful to our family, and we will miss her so much! Yes, I cried, but who is surprised?
These are a few pictures from their first day at Sue Sue's and a few of the morning before we left to go to Sue Sue's for the first time. I LOVE the one of Frannie crying and Rush just chilling beside her. Pretty much the way they still are today. Although she doesn't cry all the time, she's definitely a "show all your emotions" kind of gal, and Rush is still laid back for the most part.


Last day at Sue Sue's...

Air Show and Mother's Day... and a little Gymnasticser

We had lots of fun last weekend! On Saturday, we went to the local air show and we had a ball! The kids liked seeing the planes and they also had Touch-a-Truck... always a hit. And to top it all off.. they had Chick-fil-a for sale, so we had that for lunch. I can feel us beginning to move into a fun phase because we are no longer "tied to naptime". We stayed as long as we wanted, and
although there are still naps around here, we don't head into the land of no return if they miss one. :-)
Don't you love these two excited faces? This is when we pulled into the gas station and said for them to look out the window. Maybe they would see some planes. Fran said, "This is IT? We come here all the time!" Ha! They were not amused.

For Mother's Day, we headed to the lake. We got to ride (and drive) Papa's new boat for the first time. We had lots of fun with our family!

This past Monday, Frannie started her new gymnastics class. She has been REALLLLY looking forward to it. "Gymnastics" was literally the first word out of her mouth on Monday morning. She calls herself a "gymnastics-er"... like a teacher is one who teaches... a gymnasticser is one who does gymnastics. She LOVED it! I think she may like it better than her ballet class, but we will see how things go as the weeks go by. Whatever she wants to do is fine with me.

My gymnasticser

Toomer's Corner, Etc.

Phil was a jet set traveler during April. He travels some for work, but he has never had two major trips in one month. I went with him to Boston, of course, and then he had another trip a week later to Chicago. While he was in Chicago, I took the kids to enjoy a bittersweet time at Toomer's Corner. A long standing tradition for Auburn was coming to an end, so we went to be a part of the celebration. We didn't go on the actual Saturday of the celebration because I am not sure I could have manned the kids on my own. We went the next day, and the crowd was still pretty big, but nothing like the actual day. My two had never rolled Toomer's so this as their first and last rolling.

Aerial view of the crowd on Saturday




We also went to a sweet friend's birthday party. The twins love their Bailey and had so much fun at her party at Shakey's. It was their first time in a "game room" and they loved it!


Note to self: Tell Rush's teacher next year that he will be a willing participant in any learning game or activity as long as she incorporates Star Wars characters. This is from our game of Chutes and Ladders.. with Luke and Yoda as the players. :-)

Speaking of teachers and learning, Phil and I found out right before we left to go to Boston that the kids had been accepted into the preschool that we want them to attend next year. It feels weird to say the were "accepted" into a school because we just aren't the kind of people that worry about being accepted into preschools. Ha! But, they did have to a little interview. They just wanted to be sure they would be a good fit for the program. I am excited about it because I think it will be a good introduction to school for them. It will be a nice transition from their home daycare environment to big school. They will do preschool for half a day and then go to their after school program for the afternoon until I can get there to pick them up after work. This is our last month at Sue Sue's and I am trying to prepare myself for the end of this era. It won't be easy for the kids (or me) because we have so loved our time with Sue Sue. She has kept them since they were 11 months old. :-(

At the end of April, our county had its big Relay for Life event for the American Cancer Society. My friend Kristen and I are the co-captains for our school's team. It was beautiful this year around the courthouse square. The fountain was purple for the event! :-) We always have so much fun with our faculty because we don't have much time to sit around and chat. (We walk, too!) It was a great night!



Finally, the kids got to hold Gram's new puppy, Lucy, last night. They LOVED it! She is the cutest little yorkie. So sweet! She was loving on the kids and giving them kisses.


P.S. I am ready for summer. That is all.