A Quick Summer Wrap Up
4 weeks ago
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Friday, May 29, 2015
Happy Cousin Chaos
Uncle Fluffy spent the week here in Lakeland with Noah & Elise, so Mimi & Grandpa had a FULL nest. All their little ducks in a row!
Karen was with us on Memorial Day, and then she joined her friends at the beach. This was the first of three big swim parties the kids relished with Noah & Elise last week. Mimi found a smaller-sized Puddle-jumper with a vest, and it's been the best thing ever! Now even Tate is pretty independent in the water! He is a total water baby!!! Noah, not so much. But he likes cheese!
Mimi's big girl and Mimi's baby girl. Tate paddled all over the pool by himself, but needed help getting up on the wall so he could jump. The kids kept Jonathan busy on kid-lifting duty! Tate has no fear!!
Noah on the other hand, has a big fear of water. Jonathan kept having Tate jump into his arms to show Noah how easy it was, but he remained unconvinced. This was totally me as a kid. I famously got kicked out of swim lessons at the YMCA in Colorado for refusing to go underwater.
Noah didn't mind the bath water one bit though. :-) Note the return of my high-tech black boxes. You'd think after 8 years of blogging I'd have a better system by now.
Noah & Elise came to play at our house Thursday evening while Michael and Jonathan went to dinner with their parents. Elise was super sweet and let Anna Kate feed her, and Noah had big fun with all the new toys. All went well except for that time I was bathing Elise and heard the automated security system voice say, "Front. Door. Open." I was pretty sure it was just the grownups coming come from dinner, but I couldn't walk away from Elise to check. So I yelled to Wesley to see why the front door was open, and a second later heard him yell, "WHHOOOOAAAA!" Noah had turned they key in the deadbolt, unlocked the door, unlatched the screen door and was preparing to make his escape. In more than a year of living in this house with four kids, this has never happened to me once! Noah accomplished it within 45 minutes of his first time in the house! This kid has some serious skills!! As Wesley was dragging him in, I could hear him say, "Hey, I wanted to watch the cars." Noah totally lives up to the legendary stories of his father before him!!!
Having managed to keep Noah alive for an hour and a half, the grownups came back and we walked over to feed the swans. We discovered that the black swans aren't nearly as fond of little boys blowing raspberries in their faces as the white swans. Tate got a wing flap to the face and tattled his heart out, wanting to make sure I knew EXACTLY which swan had whopped him. He didn't stop wailing until I sternly scolded the swan and told him he couldn't do that to my Tate. I wondered if the incident would bring about a fear of swans... for about five minutes. And then Tate was back to blowing raspberries in their faces. But just the white ones.
Then we walked to the waterfall where Tate and I stop every morning on our way back from dropping off Carigan. My kids have always stayed on the perimeter, but Noah promptly climbed the waterfall... and then opened his mouth and drank from it. He is so his father's son.
Elise got sick on Friday so we had to scrap our plans of meeting at the park Friday morning and then having lunch with both kiddos at LCS. But I had lunch with Anna Kate and then Jonathan was able to slip away while Elise napped, and we both got to have lunch with Wesley. His very last lunch in the cafeteria as a 3rd grader!! Monday is a party day and Tuesday is the last day and a half day to boot! Lots of other moms showed up to celebrate the occasion - Khaysy and Christie were both there, and Stephanie & Ashley were there serving up cookie cake and ice cream for Della Kate & Emerson's summer birthdays. Porter was taking swigs from a giant bottle of Hershey's syrup, so you know we're at the tail end of the school year here! Thanks for coming Uncle Fluffy!
Karen was with us on Memorial Day, and then she joined her friends at the beach. This was the first of three big swim parties the kids relished with Noah & Elise last week. Mimi found a smaller-sized Puddle-jumper with a vest, and it's been the best thing ever! Now even Tate is pretty independent in the water! He is a total water baby!!! Noah, not so much. But he likes cheese!
Mimi's big girl and Mimi's baby girl. Tate paddled all over the pool by himself, but needed help getting up on the wall so he could jump. The kids kept Jonathan busy on kid-lifting duty! Tate has no fear!!
Noah on the other hand, has a big fear of water. Jonathan kept having Tate jump into his arms to show Noah how easy it was, but he remained unconvinced. This was totally me as a kid. I famously got kicked out of swim lessons at the YMCA in Colorado for refusing to go underwater.
Noah didn't mind the bath water one bit though. :-) Note the return of my high-tech black boxes. You'd think after 8 years of blogging I'd have a better system by now.
Noah & Elise came to play at our house Thursday evening while Michael and Jonathan went to dinner with their parents. Elise was super sweet and let Anna Kate feed her, and Noah had big fun with all the new toys. All went well except for that time I was bathing Elise and heard the automated security system voice say, "Front. Door. Open." I was pretty sure it was just the grownups coming come from dinner, but I couldn't walk away from Elise to check. So I yelled to Wesley to see why the front door was open, and a second later heard him yell, "WHHOOOOAAAA!" Noah had turned they key in the deadbolt, unlocked the door, unlatched the screen door and was preparing to make his escape. In more than a year of living in this house with four kids, this has never happened to me once! Noah accomplished it within 45 minutes of his first time in the house! This kid has some serious skills!! As Wesley was dragging him in, I could hear him say, "Hey, I wanted to watch the cars." Noah totally lives up to the legendary stories of his father before him!!!
Having managed to keep Noah alive for an hour and a half, the grownups came back and we walked over to feed the swans. We discovered that the black swans aren't nearly as fond of little boys blowing raspberries in their faces as the white swans. Tate got a wing flap to the face and tattled his heart out, wanting to make sure I knew EXACTLY which swan had whopped him. He didn't stop wailing until I sternly scolded the swan and told him he couldn't do that to my Tate. I wondered if the incident would bring about a fear of swans... for about five minutes. And then Tate was back to blowing raspberries in their faces. But just the white ones.
Then we walked to the waterfall where Tate and I stop every morning on our way back from dropping off Carigan. My kids have always stayed on the perimeter, but Noah promptly climbed the waterfall... and then opened his mouth and drank from it. He is so his father's son.
Elise got sick on Friday so we had to scrap our plans of meeting at the park Friday morning and then having lunch with both kiddos at LCS. But I had lunch with Anna Kate and then Jonathan was able to slip away while Elise napped, and we both got to have lunch with Wesley. His very last lunch in the cafeteria as a 3rd grader!! Monday is a party day and Tuesday is the last day and a half day to boot! Lots of other moms showed up to celebrate the occasion - Khaysy and Christie were both there, and Stephanie & Ashley were there serving up cookie cake and ice cream for Della Kate & Emerson's summer birthdays. Porter was taking swigs from a giant bottle of Hershey's syrup, so you know we're at the tail end of the school year here! Thanks for coming Uncle Fluffy!
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Readers & Writers
Well it happened again... a kid of mine could read, and I had no idea! I've often laughed about the fact that my sister had to inform me when they popped in for a quick visit on their way through Florida that Wesley was in fact full-fledged reading . I knew he "read" every billboard we passed, but assumed he just had a really good memory and was good at recognizing signs, phrases, book titles, etc. It never actually occurred to me that a barely-four year old could teach himself to read. But he did. And then I had a normal kid that actually had to be taught to read. You would think another covert undercover reader could not escape my attention. But once again, I was completely shocked when I pulled a new book from the hundreds on Wesley's bookshelves (one that Carigan hadn't seen before), and snuggled next to C to read it to her, and instead, she read it to me! She's been bringing books home from preschool that are 85% comprised of sight words, and she reads them to me with ease. But there's a difference between recognizing sight words and knowing how to sound out a word you don't know, especially when I knew they had been over the books in class. I had no idea she could "cold read" new words. In fact, it's been difficult for the past year to convince her to let me read to her at all, because her favorite thing to do with a book is to look at the pictures and make up her own story as she goes along. She never wants me to read it, always wants me to listen, and always conjures some crazy story that may or may not have anything to do with the actual plot of the story. But I guess motivated by the praise heaped upon her when coming home and reading those sight word books, this time when I handed her the book and she said, "Mommy, let me read it to you..." instead of making up a story, she actually proceeded to READ it. And she could! And not just the sight words! This chica sounded out nearly every word on her own. I have no idea how long this has been going on! I grabbed my camera off the coffee table and snapped this to send to Daddy within 90 seconds of making the discovery. Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Couldn't wait to show Daddy in person the second he got home! The day after the reading discovery, some of my good friends from me and Michael's dating days in UK's campus ministry came to visit! The Haubenreich and Miller families were doing Disney all week, and Lindsey and Stacy took the time to drive the kids over to Lakeland for a quick bite and a playdate. It always makes me feel so special when a friend loves me enough to cram a side trip into their Disney vacation! I admit it's weird to live so close to Disney and to see nearly every day that good friends you haven't seen in forever are just down the road and didn't call (the nerve!). But believe me, I really DO GET IT that Disney family vacations are crazy insanity exhaustion chaos, and not an event that you plan thinking of potential old childhood/high school/college friend meet 'n greets. But it's still kind of sad to have such a constant traffic of friends coming and going and having to just look at the pictures on Facebook like everyone else. So it always means so much when a friend initiates coming to see us during a Disney vacation. Just makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside! I was so busy catching up with Lindsey and Stacy that I failed to take any photos, but I found a few on Anna Kate's iPod that she must have taken in her room while the moms were downstairs talking. Kate and Megan are the most polite children I've every met... they both came in and turned to me and said, "It's so nice of you to have us to your house" and they both proceeded to thank me profusely throughout the evening. Kate absolutely cracked me up - I climbed up on a high stool in Wesley's room to retrieve one of those sticky-hand toys off the ceiling, and as I towered over her on the stool, I said, "Okay Kate, if I fall, you catch me, okay?" I was totally kidding, but she so sweetly positioned herself right under me and put her arms out and said, "Okay." The girl was ready. Funniest/sweetest thing I've ever seen!
We had planned to play at the park, but had to cut it short because we spent so much time talking at the house. So we just walked down there, snapped a picture and said goodbye. Kirk is behind Kate there on the left, and Megan is holding her baby brother Grayson on the right. Sweetest kids, all of them, and I'm totally hiring them to teach Southern Etiquette lessons to my kids when we're in Kentucky this summer!
And just in case you think it's all sunshine & rainbows around here all the time... I couldn't help but grab my camera and snap a pic of this Poutfest (below). We had a rare free Saturday and Michael wanted to walk downtown to the Farmer's Market. But getting four kids out the door is not as easy as it sounds (even if it doesn't sound easy - it's harder than whatever you're thinking), so by the time we actually got them all out on the sidewalk, it was really hot and everyone was whining and we didn't have the sunglasses, actual tennis shoes, and ice cold drinks they began to demand. For awhile we attempted to push forward but whining persisted and I didn't see it panning out as a pleasant outing. So I told Michael to turn around and I'd stay home with them. Neither Wesley or Anna Kate had wanted to go in the first place. So they gladly kicked off their flip-flops and ran inside, but Carigan and Tate still wanted to go so I bid them goodbye and then as an afterthought handed Michael our annual pass to the Children's Museum downtown so they could stop in. And thus I turned around to see Wesley & Anna Kate staging a protest that Carigan & Tate got to go to the Children's Museum and they didn't (the same two kids that were begging ten minutes before to go home because they didn't want to go downtown). I waved them off with a "Too late" and they set up their Poutfest in the front room-that-we-don't-have-a-name-for-because-we-still-aren't-sure-what-to-do-with-it. They heard me snap this picture and although I didn't say a word, several minutes later Anna Kate stomped up to me with her arms crossed and said, "You're putting it on Facebook, aren't you?" I assured her I was not. And I wasn't... I was adding it to my blog photos so I could include a record of their Poutfest in the blog books I have printed every year. I can't help it if you nosy people read my blog.
There are moments that it occurs to me to grab my camera and record the every day moments that won't last forever. Tate likes to "hide" when he hears me coming to get him from his nap. I stomp up the stairs slowly and chant in a low voice, "FEE FI FO FUM, I SMELL THE BLOOD OF A TA-TER-MON!" (I know, we're weird) and I can hear him squealing before I open the door. Found him!
Aside from learning how to read, Carigan has become quite the artist. I was sure Anna Kate had made this picture of Elsa on the tablecloth at Manny's after church, but even AK concurred that Carigan had done it all by herself. Now that it's finally HOT, the kids have been spending hours in the pool at Mimi & Grandpa's. Wesley & Anna Kate are both good swimmers now (which makes it SO much more relaxing for me!) and we've been able to convince Carigan to get in the pool without her Puddle-jumper for periods of time so she can practice real swimming. I may have three independent swimmers by next summer! The girls spent all Sunday afternoon at Mimi's swimming while Daddy took Wesley to see Tomorrowland at the movies. Carigan crashed out on the couch five minutes after I got home from picking them up. With all this swimming, they've been sleeping very well lately!
Monday was Memorial Day. We were going to go to the beach but Jonathan & Karen were arriving that afternoon (pics from their visit coming next), so we didn't want to miss out on time with them. So instead we got up and drove to our favorite place (Dona Julia's) for a late breakfast, but it was closed. So then we had to sit in the car outside Chili's waiting for them to open. From Chili's we went to Bed Bath & Beyond so Michael could purchase a new electric razor to replace the one he bought right after we got married (he never even replaced the head to it once!). We didn't get to go to the beach, but the kids did get to kick in the fountain while Daddy shopped. Very nearly the same. :-P
Carigan's Joyful Hearts pals graduated last Friday. It was super hard to see all the pics and to not be a part of it, but we at least soothed ourselves with a little JHP reunion on Tuesday. Melissa brought Cash, Carson & Selah over, and they were here waiting when I popped across the street to pick Carigan up from school. She has one more week before she graduates. Cash & Carson got into South McKeel for Kindergarten (huge blessing!) and Selah will be at LCS with Carigan next year! We can't wait!!!!
Wednesday was Young Author's Day in Anna Kate's class, and they hosted a little luau party for the parents to come by and read their books. Anna Kate's book is all about Abby having a bad day. That's Aunt Erin holding Jax and Baylor (the dog) on the cover with Abby. She read it to me with pride (and glared when I had to pause for a minute to respond to Ila's mom). She did a great job! I will have to read it to Carigan's class next fall the first time I get to be guest reader. Little Bill enjoying his cookie:
Anna Kate was so excited about bringing matching grass skirts for herself & Ila! She even got out of bed at 9:30 p.m. to instruct me to text Ila's mom to fix her hair in a braid so they would match.
I brought treats to celebrate Anna Kate's summer birthday. Like Wesley, she insisted I make double doozies... which involves making 6 batches of cookies and a huge vat of homemade frosting. Why can't these kids just love Sam's Club cupcakes like their momma?! Happy (Early!) Birthday Anna Kate! Celebrating with Matthew, Bryce, Lucas, Anna Kate & Marin:
A little dinner entrainment. I also got to be guest reader for Mrs. Palm one last time this year. I purposely signed up to be guest reader on Young Author's Day (and celebrate AK's birthday) so I could kill three birds with one stone and only have to ask Mimi to watch Tate once. But Michael messed that up when he planned a trip with his dad and brother to go shoot things that day, so Mimi had her hands full with Noah & Elise. But YaYa came to the rescue and took Tate to the turtle pond for me while I read. He came back perfectly pronouncing, "TUR-TLE." I can't get enough! -BELOW- Another one of those "mundane" moments I thought to capture because I had my phone in my hand. Love these two little buddies and how much they love to do everything together:
Only four days left in her entire life before college that she can go to school wearing whatever she wants... and she begs to wear one of her new LCS uniform shirts that arrived in the Lands' End shipment yesterday. So proud to be dressed like a real kindergartener!
Couldn't wait to show Daddy in person the second he got home! The day after the reading discovery, some of my good friends from me and Michael's dating days in UK's campus ministry came to visit! The Haubenreich and Miller families were doing Disney all week, and Lindsey and Stacy took the time to drive the kids over to Lakeland for a quick bite and a playdate. It always makes me feel so special when a friend loves me enough to cram a side trip into their Disney vacation! I admit it's weird to live so close to Disney and to see nearly every day that good friends you haven't seen in forever are just down the road and didn't call (the nerve!). But believe me, I really DO GET IT that Disney family vacations are crazy insanity exhaustion chaos, and not an event that you plan thinking of potential old childhood/high school/college friend meet 'n greets. But it's still kind of sad to have such a constant traffic of friends coming and going and having to just look at the pictures on Facebook like everyone else. So it always means so much when a friend initiates coming to see us during a Disney vacation. Just makes me feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside! I was so busy catching up with Lindsey and Stacy that I failed to take any photos, but I found a few on Anna Kate's iPod that she must have taken in her room while the moms were downstairs talking. Kate and Megan are the most polite children I've every met... they both came in and turned to me and said, "It's so nice of you to have us to your house" and they both proceeded to thank me profusely throughout the evening. Kate absolutely cracked me up - I climbed up on a high stool in Wesley's room to retrieve one of those sticky-hand toys off the ceiling, and as I towered over her on the stool, I said, "Okay Kate, if I fall, you catch me, okay?" I was totally kidding, but she so sweetly positioned herself right under me and put her arms out and said, "Okay." The girl was ready. Funniest/sweetest thing I've ever seen!
We had planned to play at the park, but had to cut it short because we spent so much time talking at the house. So we just walked down there, snapped a picture and said goodbye. Kirk is behind Kate there on the left, and Megan is holding her baby brother Grayson on the right. Sweetest kids, all of them, and I'm totally hiring them to teach Southern Etiquette lessons to my kids when we're in Kentucky this summer!
And just in case you think it's all sunshine & rainbows around here all the time... I couldn't help but grab my camera and snap a pic of this Poutfest (below). We had a rare free Saturday and Michael wanted to walk downtown to the Farmer's Market. But getting four kids out the door is not as easy as it sounds (even if it doesn't sound easy - it's harder than whatever you're thinking), so by the time we actually got them all out on the sidewalk, it was really hot and everyone was whining and we didn't have the sunglasses, actual tennis shoes, and ice cold drinks they began to demand. For awhile we attempted to push forward but whining persisted and I didn't see it panning out as a pleasant outing. So I told Michael to turn around and I'd stay home with them. Neither Wesley or Anna Kate had wanted to go in the first place. So they gladly kicked off their flip-flops and ran inside, but Carigan and Tate still wanted to go so I bid them goodbye and then as an afterthought handed Michael our annual pass to the Children's Museum downtown so they could stop in. And thus I turned around to see Wesley & Anna Kate staging a protest that Carigan & Tate got to go to the Children's Museum and they didn't (the same two kids that were begging ten minutes before to go home because they didn't want to go downtown). I waved them off with a "Too late" and they set up their Poutfest in the front room-that-we-don't-have-a-name-for-because-we-still-aren't-sure-what-to-do-with-it. They heard me snap this picture and although I didn't say a word, several minutes later Anna Kate stomped up to me with her arms crossed and said, "You're putting it on Facebook, aren't you?" I assured her I was not. And I wasn't... I was adding it to my blog photos so I could include a record of their Poutfest in the blog books I have printed every year. I can't help it if you nosy people read my blog.
There are moments that it occurs to me to grab my camera and record the every day moments that won't last forever. Tate likes to "hide" when he hears me coming to get him from his nap. I stomp up the stairs slowly and chant in a low voice, "FEE FI FO FUM, I SMELL THE BLOOD OF A TA-TER-MON!" (I know, we're weird) and I can hear him squealing before I open the door. Found him!
Aside from learning how to read, Carigan has become quite the artist. I was sure Anna Kate had made this picture of Elsa on the tablecloth at Manny's after church, but even AK concurred that Carigan had done it all by herself. Now that it's finally HOT, the kids have been spending hours in the pool at Mimi & Grandpa's. Wesley & Anna Kate are both good swimmers now (which makes it SO much more relaxing for me!) and we've been able to convince Carigan to get in the pool without her Puddle-jumper for periods of time so she can practice real swimming. I may have three independent swimmers by next summer! The girls spent all Sunday afternoon at Mimi's swimming while Daddy took Wesley to see Tomorrowland at the movies. Carigan crashed out on the couch five minutes after I got home from picking them up. With all this swimming, they've been sleeping very well lately!
Monday was Memorial Day. We were going to go to the beach but Jonathan & Karen were arriving that afternoon (pics from their visit coming next), so we didn't want to miss out on time with them. So instead we got up and drove to our favorite place (Dona Julia's) for a late breakfast, but it was closed. So then we had to sit in the car outside Chili's waiting for them to open. From Chili's we went to Bed Bath & Beyond so Michael could purchase a new electric razor to replace the one he bought right after we got married (he never even replaced the head to it once!). We didn't get to go to the beach, but the kids did get to kick in the fountain while Daddy shopped. Very nearly the same. :-P
Carigan's Joyful Hearts pals graduated last Friday. It was super hard to see all the pics and to not be a part of it, but we at least soothed ourselves with a little JHP reunion on Tuesday. Melissa brought Cash, Carson & Selah over, and they were here waiting when I popped across the street to pick Carigan up from school. She has one more week before she graduates. Cash & Carson got into South McKeel for Kindergarten (huge blessing!) and Selah will be at LCS with Carigan next year! We can't wait!!!!
Wednesday was Young Author's Day in Anna Kate's class, and they hosted a little luau party for the parents to come by and read their books. Anna Kate's book is all about Abby having a bad day. That's Aunt Erin holding Jax and Baylor (the dog) on the cover with Abby. She read it to me with pride (and glared when I had to pause for a minute to respond to Ila's mom). She did a great job! I will have to read it to Carigan's class next fall the first time I get to be guest reader. Little Bill enjoying his cookie:
Anna Kate was so excited about bringing matching grass skirts for herself & Ila! She even got out of bed at 9:30 p.m. to instruct me to text Ila's mom to fix her hair in a braid so they would match.
I brought treats to celebrate Anna Kate's summer birthday. Like Wesley, she insisted I make double doozies... which involves making 6 batches of cookies and a huge vat of homemade frosting. Why can't these kids just love Sam's Club cupcakes like their momma?! Happy (Early!) Birthday Anna Kate! Celebrating with Matthew, Bryce, Lucas, Anna Kate & Marin:
A little dinner entrainment. I also got to be guest reader for Mrs. Palm one last time this year. I purposely signed up to be guest reader on Young Author's Day (and celebrate AK's birthday) so I could kill three birds with one stone and only have to ask Mimi to watch Tate once. But Michael messed that up when he planned a trip with his dad and brother to go shoot things that day, so Mimi had her hands full with Noah & Elise. But YaYa came to the rescue and took Tate to the turtle pond for me while I read. He came back perfectly pronouncing, "TUR-TLE." I can't get enough! -BELOW- Another one of those "mundane" moments I thought to capture because I had my phone in my hand. Love these two little buddies and how much they love to do everything together:
Only four days left in her entire life before college that she can go to school wearing whatever she wants... and she begs to wear one of her new LCS uniform shirts that arrived in the Lands' End shipment yesterday. So proud to be dressed like a real kindergartener!
Monday, May 18, 2015
The end is near...
School's almost over and end-of-the-year happenings are in full swing! The LCS Art Show:
We were one of the first ones there and one of the last ones to leave! Wesley had his caricature made and the girls did spin art... Tate ran with the big kids on the Kindergarten playground.
Too late for dinner so we skipped it and went straight for ice-cream. Speaking of art, Carigan's drawings are getting so good I mistake them for Anna Kate's! I grabbed the most recent example I could find - Carigan asked me how to spell world but did the rest by herself. She copied "I kiss better than I cook!" from the my chalkboard in the kitchen:
The good thing about a tag being your lovey is that tags are everywhere. The bad thing about a tag being your lovey, is that tags are everywhere. Can slow you down a bit while running errands when your toddler is shoving his hand down your shirt or pants, fishing for a tag! -BELOW- Little Bill is back! Tate hadn't had a haircut since his first buzz while I was in Hawaii in January. We've trimmed up the back and sides, but it was finally time for a real haircut. Still a little freaky how much he looks like my dad with this haircut. He's a much more cooperative client than his 9-year-old brother, by the way, who whined and squirmed the entire time when it was his turn!
We have officially moseyed into orthodontia. I've made three drives to the Tooth Caboose in the past two weeks and have two more to go before I get a break! Tooth extractions, spacers, impressions, brackets, etc... the de-crookification process has begun! And despite that post-extraction daze, Wesley is pretty pumped about it because braces = teenager. -BELOW- Carigan and I have to take turns picking out her clothes for school. Guess whose turn it was on this day?? I can't help it... this window is closing fast and I gotta enjoy having a little girl while I can! Sorry, C!
Tate's obsession with waterfalls has continued since he first added the word to his very limited vocabulary last month while at Ruby Falls for spring break. We now have to make a daily pilgrimage to the little waterfall in front of the church next door. We pass it every morning walking Carigan to preschool and again every afternoon when we pick her up. It's a highlight of his day.
We were finally able to reschedule our quick anniversary getaway to Mt. Dora. We had planned to go when my parents were here several months ago and then Michael got really sick and we had to cancel. He was sick for most of March and then I was sick all of April because he gave me his funk. Michael's parents watched the kids this past weekend and we got to go antiquing in Mt. Dora. We bought two antique side tables and an antique print of Talbott Inn in Bardstown Kentucky. We also realized we got a REALLY good deal on the clock I had just made a winning bid for on eBay! After a day of antique browsing at Renninger's, we walked around cute little downtown Mt. Dora and found a German restaurant where we ate bratwurst & schnitzel. And our waiter wore lederhosen to boot! Then on the advise of Beth Abrams, we found The Village Pot ice cream shop where Michael ordered the salted caramel, as instructed by Beth. He's now obsessed... he says it's the sweetest ice cream he's had in his life! The Abrams are getting ready to move to Mt. Dora in a few weeks and we're so excited for them!!
We wanted to get Marriott points, so we booked a room at the Marriott closest to Mt. Dora... which ended up being quite far away. It was all the way in the The Villages, but it was almost worth the drive just to get a taste of the 55+ community where golf carts rule the roads! We took a good long nap from about 5:30 to 7:30 and then walked around the very nice upscale shopping/dining area where our hotel was located. The residents were grooving to tunes in the courtyard, but they shut down and cleared the square by 9 p.m.! We found a good Mexican restaurant and dined alfresco. And there were no kids. And it was peaceful. And I didn't have to cut anyone's food up or pick out any onions. And I didn't have a stand-off with anyone over sitting in a high chair. It was glorious. Sunday morning we drove to Eustis to go to church with Brad & Thea. We went to lunch together and had them all to ourselves (there's always a line when they're at Highlands) for more than two hours! We didn't think to get a picture, but I'm SO thankful for their continued friendship. They're pretty much our last link to those carefree pre-kid days we enjoyed here in Lakeland. I'll always treasure the memories we made frolicking about Disney and Celebration and other paces with them and Tony & Susan and Randal & Paige. Good times.
Our clock was delivered while we were in Mt. Dora! We got home Sunday evening and retrieved the kids and went to church and got the kids to bed and then Michael hung it for me. I LOVE it and I vegged on the couch texting Mom for a good hour, just so I could hear it chime again! I actually set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to bid on this clock... I had seen the listing but instead of bidding I set the alarm and then when it went off, I entered my bid just minutes before the auction ended. A rare sniping victory!! It's even prettier than we thought, and after spending the weekend looking at antiques, we know we got a really really good deal! My first really really REAL clock. Happy Day. Tate went crazy the next morning when he saw it, and even crazier the first time he heard it chime! He's a big fan.
We got Carigan's spring school portraits back. My beautiful preschool-graduating girl!
Bring on Kindergarten!!!
We were one of the first ones there and one of the last ones to leave! Wesley had his caricature made and the girls did spin art... Tate ran with the big kids on the Kindergarten playground.
Too late for dinner so we skipped it and went straight for ice-cream. Speaking of art, Carigan's drawings are getting so good I mistake them for Anna Kate's! I grabbed the most recent example I could find - Carigan asked me how to spell world but did the rest by herself. She copied "I kiss better than I cook!" from the my chalkboard in the kitchen:
The good thing about a tag being your lovey is that tags are everywhere. The bad thing about a tag being your lovey, is that tags are everywhere. Can slow you down a bit while running errands when your toddler is shoving his hand down your shirt or pants, fishing for a tag! -BELOW- Little Bill is back! Tate hadn't had a haircut since his first buzz while I was in Hawaii in January. We've trimmed up the back and sides, but it was finally time for a real haircut. Still a little freaky how much he looks like my dad with this haircut. He's a much more cooperative client than his 9-year-old brother, by the way, who whined and squirmed the entire time when it was his turn!
We have officially moseyed into orthodontia. I've made three drives to the Tooth Caboose in the past two weeks and have two more to go before I get a break! Tooth extractions, spacers, impressions, brackets, etc... the de-crookification process has begun! And despite that post-extraction daze, Wesley is pretty pumped about it because braces = teenager. -BELOW- Carigan and I have to take turns picking out her clothes for school. Guess whose turn it was on this day?? I can't help it... this window is closing fast and I gotta enjoy having a little girl while I can! Sorry, C!
Tate's obsession with waterfalls has continued since he first added the word to his very limited vocabulary last month while at Ruby Falls for spring break. We now have to make a daily pilgrimage to the little waterfall in front of the church next door. We pass it every morning walking Carigan to preschool and again every afternoon when we pick her up. It's a highlight of his day.
We were finally able to reschedule our quick anniversary getaway to Mt. Dora. We had planned to go when my parents were here several months ago and then Michael got really sick and we had to cancel. He was sick for most of March and then I was sick all of April because he gave me his funk. Michael's parents watched the kids this past weekend and we got to go antiquing in Mt. Dora. We bought two antique side tables and an antique print of Talbott Inn in Bardstown Kentucky. We also realized we got a REALLY good deal on the clock I had just made a winning bid for on eBay! After a day of antique browsing at Renninger's, we walked around cute little downtown Mt. Dora and found a German restaurant where we ate bratwurst & schnitzel. And our waiter wore lederhosen to boot! Then on the advise of Beth Abrams, we found The Village Pot ice cream shop where Michael ordered the salted caramel, as instructed by Beth. He's now obsessed... he says it's the sweetest ice cream he's had in his life! The Abrams are getting ready to move to Mt. Dora in a few weeks and we're so excited for them!!
We wanted to get Marriott points, so we booked a room at the Marriott closest to Mt. Dora... which ended up being quite far away. It was all the way in the The Villages, but it was almost worth the drive just to get a taste of the 55+ community where golf carts rule the roads! We took a good long nap from about 5:30 to 7:30 and then walked around the very nice upscale shopping/dining area where our hotel was located. The residents were grooving to tunes in the courtyard, but they shut down and cleared the square by 9 p.m.! We found a good Mexican restaurant and dined alfresco. And there were no kids. And it was peaceful. And I didn't have to cut anyone's food up or pick out any onions. And I didn't have a stand-off with anyone over sitting in a high chair. It was glorious. Sunday morning we drove to Eustis to go to church with Brad & Thea. We went to lunch together and had them all to ourselves (there's always a line when they're at Highlands) for more than two hours! We didn't think to get a picture, but I'm SO thankful for their continued friendship. They're pretty much our last link to those carefree pre-kid days we enjoyed here in Lakeland. I'll always treasure the memories we made frolicking about Disney and Celebration and other paces with them and Tony & Susan and Randal & Paige. Good times.
Our clock was delivered while we were in Mt. Dora! We got home Sunday evening and retrieved the kids and went to church and got the kids to bed and then Michael hung it for me. I LOVE it and I vegged on the couch texting Mom for a good hour, just so I could hear it chime again! I actually set an alarm on my phone to remind myself to bid on this clock... I had seen the listing but instead of bidding I set the alarm and then when it went off, I entered my bid just minutes before the auction ended. A rare sniping victory!! It's even prettier than we thought, and after spending the weekend looking at antiques, we know we got a really really good deal! My first really really REAL clock. Happy Day. Tate went crazy the next morning when he saw it, and even crazier the first time he heard it chime! He's a big fan.
We got Carigan's spring school portraits back. My beautiful preschool-graduating girl!
Bring on Kindergarten!!!
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