Camping with Neighbors

This past weekend we enjoyed the last big outing of the summer by going "camping" (we did have a cabin with kitchen and bath...nothing fancy, but no tent). We went to the same place we went in February, but there was a lot more to do in the much warmer weather. So the boys enjoyed swimming at the "beach" and digging in the sand. Here are the boys minus Cash watching the sunset behind the trees. They were eagerly awaiting for the sun to set so they could pull out the marshmallows and start making s'mores. Parkes was not so thrilled about having to get so close to the fire to roast his marshmallow so I ended up doing his roasting. Then the next day we headed out to the piers to go fishing. This is how Cash fished. Parkes was more concerned that Cash was going to fall in the lake then wanting to hold his fishing pole.Here's all the boys afterwords with no fish to show from the outing, but they still had fun. These five boys are going to get into all kinds of trouble growing up next door to each other. They have become more like brothers this summer spending almost every evening together. Next we hit the pool and had fun splashing around...it was a tad bit cold for me though. Then we walked over to the putt putt course where they had a serious game playing with clubs that were way to big and not even putters. After a quick lunch it was off to the track to ride bikes. Then a very happening ice cream social And back for more bike riding where Parkes took his training wheels off, but do to his crazy steering issues the training wheels have gone back on. He is a little too concerned trying to see what everyone else is doing then focus on actually steering the bike so he spent the majority of the time riding down through the grass with his head turned back yelling, "Hap what are you doing?" "How's Sonny riding without traing wheels?". I'm a little concerned about when he turns 16. But we did get a picture that shows him riding and his crazy steering. We've got a few weeks off until school starts back so we are going to take it easy and hopefully I will be able to utilize nap/quiet times to get a few more projects around the house done.

What we've been doing...

Climbing on furniture (Cash finally learned if he lifts the cushion he can get up on the chair. Short legs are a blessing to not have toddlers who are climbers)... Baking biscuits for breakfast... Showing off our muscles... And playing on our "new" chalkboard table. I painted the table with chalkboard paint and the chairs with my free glidden paint that came in the mail.

House Makeover

Well since our front porch had been in the weather for awhile it was time to finally stain it this weekend, but being us we decided to take on a few more projects as well. The shutters needed some major help from the upstairs work and porch addition, but we couldn't find what we wanted at a price we were willing to pay so as a solution I had seen these shutters in a magazine and decided to have my wonderfully handy husband build them...he loves me a lot to put up with all the things I come up with. Anyway they turned out beautiful and took no time. Well then the other side of the house needed a little something and I had always wanted a flower box in front of these windows so while Brandon was at it he put this together for me. But the trick is I had him put holes so I could put pots in it and make it an easy maintenance flower box. He really loves me. I was not sitting around twiddling my thumbs though I helped out by staining the deck and spraying the rest of the furniture black. And then Brandon last Thursday called and told me he was bringing me a present home and this is what he brought... most people might think we are crazy, but I was excited about it. He has plans to turn it into my outdoor chandelier that I've been wanting to hang over our patio table so stay tuned for pictures. Don't know when it will be completed because I know there is welding involved. He also brought me a mantle home from the house they are gutting and redoing in Franklin as a present....we are lucky we found each other.

Stay Cation 2009

Well instead of going on a vacation this year (Brandon rarely liked to vacation when he worked for a company so now this is as good as we were getting this year) we took a stay cation. There still was a little work involved, but not much and we just enjoyed time as a family. We started out by going to a park that had a splash area and pond. Here's Cash asking "What's that?" his favorite phrase. He is an exclamation and questions child. The majority of words out of his mouth are "yeah!" "wow!" "what's this?" "ready, set, go!". Then we had fondue night with the neighbors where the boys enjoyed getting nice and messy. The night ended with a fireworks show since we forgot to take all the fireworks with us to Brandon's parents on the 4th. We fit in some other things like junk store shopping where I picked up some kid's chairs for next to nothing and spent lots of time a centennial park riding bikes and feeding the ducks. The big event of the week was a trip up to Holiday World. And I must say I have not been a parent ready to tackle Disney with my kids maybe because they are extremely active and don't sit still and the thought of waiting for longer then 5 mins for anything gives me nightmares...that said Holiday World was very nice. We stayed for 9 hours and when we got in the car we really did not feel exhausted. Here's a few pictures from the day... We ended the week with Serving Saturday at church. Every few months our church goes out in the community to give back which is one of the things that really drew us to this church when we were looking for a change. It was nice to be a part of it for the sense of community and getting to know others, but at church on Sunday they showed the video and pictures from the day where 450 members went out into the surrounding community and helped with businesses and people's homes and it really gave me a huge sense of pride to be a part of a church that is focused on helping and serving the community and something I really want my boys growing up doing. I took this picture from our pastor's blog here. After the morning there was a special Kid's Stuff service and then a carnival for the church and neighborhood kids. It started raining, but that didn't stop the boys from having fun. Here though Parkes is pouting because he wanted a different pony then was available. And then the boys at the end of the day/week...tired and wet.Have a great week!!

Happy 4th!!!

Hope you have a great 4th. We made cookies to enjoy at cookouts for the festivities.

Cash's Future Wife

He might not know it yet and she doesn't seem to sure about the idea, but they already have an arranged marriage. This is Cash's first meeting with Evie when my friend from high school was in town visiting the other weekend.

Family, Father's Day and Art

My brother, Jim, came in town last weekend for a golf tournament so we only got to see him one night since he was busy most of the time, but it was great to see him. My brothers are two of the most wonderful men I know, and I'm glad to have them as role models for my boys. As Brandon said, if Parkes and Cash turn out half as good as Jim and Brad then we've done a good job as parents. So here they are playing soccer with Parkes. and Cash watching as he eats his cookie...he goes crazy if he just senses there's a cookie around. Hope all the Dad's out there had a great Father's Day. We had lots of fun. We woke up early and went to Waffle House (I think Brandon gave into to Parkes breakfast choice), then off to church which we also did nursery for the 11:45 service so did not get out until late and headed straight over to the church picnic which was hot hot hot. Parkes ran around on all the inflatables, but I don't know how he made it because just getting near them made me hot. Brandon and a friend of ours played in the cornhole tournament, but didn't make it past the first round. Then we came home and relaxed on the porched and listened to the music from a band playing down at a neighborhood event and Brandon changed out his brake pads (not real exciting for him for father's day but he said it had to be done). Here's what the boys gave him...And here's the boys at one of there favorite places in the house. Parkes doesn't leave the art center at school and Cash is becoming to love it too...he can't climb into the chair by himself because of his short little legs so I just here him screaming when he goes over there to let me know he wants up.

Old Photos

So I've been feeling very crafty lately and been looking for inspirations through some of my favorite design blogs and ran into this website to turn your pictures into old photos over at My Sweet Savannah. I thought it was pretty fun and can't wait to print the pictures to do a little craft out of the loads of walnut we've had for a few years. You can go here to change your pictures.

Parkes Dramatic Haircut

Well I took Parkes to get a haircut today, and I knew that I wanted to take off a good bit for the summer so I told the guy to leave about an inch and a half. Well it turned out more like only a half of inch left... I stayed strong while it was being cut not wanting Parkes to see me break down and cry as my baby was turned into a little boy. He is still of course very handsome and I know the curls will grow back, but I am having trouble looking at him and not being totally shocked. He was playing with the neighbors this afternoon and I'm used to being able to do a quick glance to the kids and spot the one with the curls and now I have to look a little closer to see which one is mine. Brandon's at Bonnaroo with his brother so he hasn't seen the haircut yet.

Fun Summer Afternoons

We have spent lots of afternoons out on the front porch "painting" which the boys have enjoyed very much...most of the water usually ends up on top of their heads. I finally got to really painting the porch this weekend and hopefully just have one more coat left until that project is finished and I tackle the carport and shed. Then yesterday Parkes learned how to ride a scooter and now all he wants to do is ride one so any grandparents looking for a present for him he is wanting one. Ollie has been very sweet to share his with him so he could ride with them.Of course once Parkes and the neighbors were riding that meant Brandon wanted a turn to try some tricks (he is suppose to be jumping in this picture). The evening ended last night with a touch football game which wore all the boys out and did not wake up until after 8!!!!! We had lots more fun this weekend that I do not have photographed because we went to meet our good friends at the park so Cash could play with Luke and I brought the camera but no memory card. And then my good friend from high school was in town with her husband and new baby Evie and we had lunch at our house but I need her to send some pics since I didn't get my camera out. So Cash had a big weekend getting to play with friends since he is usually watching the big boys play...he is a little more reserved then Parkes and enjoys observing.

Every year I have hopes that I can plant a few veggies and herbs to enjoy while cooking...I have visions of cooking in the kitchen and being able to just pop out the door to cut some fresh herbs. Since I usually have quite the brown thumb this usually doesn't happen. Well this year I have things growing...I think it has more to do with all the rain we've had then my talent as a gardener, but either way I'll take it. So I have gotten to use my sage, basil, oregano, mint and chives and I have tomato, cucumber, bell pepper and a watermelon (keep ending up in my cart at home depot from a little 4 year old's doing) plants growing with tiny veggies starting to grow. And then I, also, real love to bake even though they rarely get eaten around our house, and I have high hopes that I could be a good cake decorate since my dad has always made wonderful cakes, but it is not one of my specialties so I'll stick to cupcakes. Here's what I saw in the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine to give your cupcakes a different look (really I was out of the paper cups and was making these for our across the street neighbor for his birthday and remember seeing using parchment paper and they turned out pretty cute). Baking is a great activity to do with kids though so I do try (doesn't always happen) to bake with Parkes at least every other week since it teaches them so much about counting and math. Parkes is really in a math mood lately...he is always asking "mom what's 2 cross 3." Cross to him is a plus sign. He can do must small math like that himself...he's teachers this past year were wonderful and he loved them so much. He even had his one teacher Ms. Mary over for a playdate at the end of the year. He has now finished the first week since summer session started and he's in the Pre-K class (hard to believe). He was a little upset about leaving Ms. Mary, but didn't take long to love his new class where he has spent his whole days there in the writing/art center which is his favorite thing to do these days. Cash stayed in his same room for the summer and will move up in the fall...he loves to color now and always runs straight to the markers in my class when we get there in the morning. He keeps his teachers laughing with his personality now. I'm so glad they both enjoy school so much and I can be there to see it.