What A Busy Week!

I haven't posted in a long time and this one is a little long. So bear with me. This week has been another whirlwind of activity. When I think of summer, I think of lazy days by the pool, with nothing to do but drink lemonade and watch the kids play. In recent years, our lazy days of summer have turned to chaotic days of busy-ness. So this is what has been happening.

Last week, as you know, we went to VBS at my dad's wonderful little mountain church. It was so much fun and the kids had a great time. But while VBS was at night there was lots of things left to take care of during the day. With football, orthodontist, fiddle, and many spend the night guests, there was no time for rest.

On Friday night, our home group (which is awesome), met at Pizza Inn (one of our favorite places to eat.) We had a great time. Friday was a lso the day that my brother's wife and 2 kids arrived for a short visit from Virginia Beach. Jim and I went out on Saturday night and got a babysitter for 3 of the kids. While my mom took Zane with her and his two little cousins to a birthday party at the lake.

Then the fun began. Jim left for a work training class. He flew to Michigan on Sunday morning while we were in church. On Sunday afternoon, we ate a great Southern meal at my mom's. This was the first time all of her 7 grandchildren had been together. It was really fun (and really loud).

This is me with my niece, Tess.

My nephew, Owen.
Maci Clare and her Aunt Cara (my brother's wife)

Then we headed for the pool. We wanted to try to get a picture of my grandma with all 7 great grandchildren. These are the results.

We started out pretty rough.
But it ended up a little better.
I even took one of the just the girls.

And one of the just the boys.

On Monday, our VBS started at our church. Instead of VBS, it is called KNC (Kid Nation Celebration). It was a lot of fun. There was a massive storm and all the power went out right at the end. When we got home, our power had been off too. And Lucy, our lab was gone. But that deserves its own post, so I'll save that for later.

Tuesday morning, we left at 7am for a 3 hour trip to Gatlinburg, TN. We went to Wild Bear Falls Indoor Water Park. It was really cool. There was lots to do.

There was a gigantic hot tub. This is my teenage neighbor and friend, Casey.


The kids really liked this. Me? Not so sure and I'll tell you why.
This huge bucket filled with water and about every 6 or 7 minutes a bell would start to ring.
And the bucket would start to tip and all the kids would run over to the edge of the pool.
Then a flood would come.
The kids loved it and some adults. Our friend, Lindsay (an adult) is right in the middle of that huge splash.
There were also 2 big water slides, a lazy river, a swimming pool (3 1/2 feet) and two play areas.

Maci Clare was so exhausted. She only slept for about 30 minutes on the way up. So after a little while in the water, this is what she did. This is our friend Bobby Ray. He loves to hold Maci Clare and was content to sit and rock her and fan her for 2 1/2 hours.

On the way home, we thought the kids would sleep. Boy, were we sadly mistaken. This is Jack and my nephew, Luke riding on the floor of the bus.


This is Gabe and Thomas (a friend). They were all wide open. I was glad to get back to SC and get off that bus.

Yesterday, we went to the library to watch the children's program. It was all about snakes. My kids loved it. We took Luke with us and he loved it too. I wanted to take a few pictures but Maci Clare and Jack were a little wild so I didn't get to . Then we went to McDonald's (our favorite place) for lunch. We made it home about 2pm. I cleaned house like a mad woman. GAbe and Zane and Jack cleaned their rooms. Then we were off to take more pictures.

My mom hired a professional photographer to come and take pictures of all the grandchildren with her and my dad. It was crazy.

I took a few but I had to hide so Maci Clare wouldn't see me. These were taken at my neighbors' barn and the old car belongs to a friend of my dad's. I think they are going to be great. She also took some individual pictures of each child and I ask her to take a few of the 4 of mine. I can't wait to see them. We will go see them in 2 weeks.

We went back to my mom's and had pizza with my younger brother. Then guess who came home? JIM!!!!! Yay!! I'm so glad he is home. I missed him really bad. He helps me so much and I can't imagine being a single mom. Thank you Lord for giving me such a great husband. The rest of the week will probably be pretty chaotic. Cara, Luke, and Owen are leaving this morning but Jim's sister and her two kids are coming tomorrow from Nebraska. I'll post again soon and let you know what is going on.

While The Cat's Away...

This weekend was another crazy weekend for the family. On Friday night there was a fundraiser at Oolenoy for the mission team at my dad's church. Hot Dogs and Blue Grass. The kids played outside in the creek while we relaxed inside. My mom gave Maci Clare a cup of chocolate pudding. I guess in a grandma's world, chocolate pudding and 1 year olds are a great combination. What followed was a huge mess! Of course, I didn't have my camera. My friend took a picture with his cell phone but I haven't seen it. Anyway, it was a pretty relaxing Friday night for the start of a very busy weekend.
Saturday, the boys played their last baseball game. This was a great year with only one lost. Our team was really good this year. Jim and Zane had a Cub Scout family camp out on Saturday night. They had to be registered by 1pm. So we rushed to McDonald's (for about the 4th time this week). Jack decided he would like to try camping for himself. So along went Jack. Gabe and I had big plans. We were going to go somewhere special and eat out. What did we do?
We ate pizza, rented "The Golden Compass" and made this.

I read about the "Fast Food Fix" cookbook at Amy's website and immediately put it on hold at the library. This was the Dairy Queen Earthquake recipe. You were supposed to use low fat everything but we didn't. It is just as fattening as Dairy Queen. It was awesome.

We shared it on the couch while we watched the movie.

It was such a peaceful night. After Gabe headed for bed, I watched 27 Dresses. It was a really cute movie but definitely a chick flick. Hubby would have hated it. He would have probably slept through it.

The plan for Sunday was for me to work in the children's department at the 10am service and them Jim could show up for the 11:30am service and we would sit through it together. But...
my mom called on Saturday night and said, "Doesn't Gabe have a piano recital tomorrow afternoon?" I had totally forgotten and Gabe forgot too. Can you imagine?
So I worked the 10am service and then we left to grab some lunch and get ready for the recital.

Jack and Maci Clare needed a nap when we got there so they were terrible. Piano recitals are so quiet and Jim took the 3 little kids to the playground instead of keeping them in the church. When it was time for Gabe to play, he came in and watched and then went back to the playground. This is a short video of Gabe playing. ( I am posting this mostly for my in laws because who else would want to listen to a piano recital.) The video is bad because I was standing and holding a squirming 2 year old.

You can see my grandma's white head close to the front.

When we were finally home, we made pizza (again!) for supper. Gabe and I decided to share our great dessert so we made it again. And we watched "Mr.Magorium's Wonder Emporium". The kids really liked it. I only watched the first part of it. Our busy-ness is about to come to a screeching halt (We hope!). Summer is almost here. 9 more full days of school and 3 half days. The kids are counting them down. (And secretly I am too!)

My Baby Girl Is Walking

MCgirl is walking! Here is a little clip of her walking to me. I do finally have enough sense to turn the camera right so just keep watching.

(Boy, do I sound like a hick or what?) Oh well, my baby girl is walking. And if you notice, Zman is putting bunny ears on her in the background. Brothers!

YAMS

Gman is playing the fiddle. The librarian at the elementary school started a program called YAMS (Young Appalachian Musicians). The volunteers are teaching the kids traditional music and to play by ear. Gman is doing great. We went to a jam session tonight at Oolenoy Community Center. It was great. Several of the YAMS showed up and they let them play along in the "circle" This is such a great experience for the kids.

Playing "Little Liza Jane" Sounds great!

The Beginning

This is my first post on my brand spankin' new blog. I've wanted tro try my hand at keeping a journal or something, so this is my attempt to remember. I love to read about others' everyday lives so here is a peek at mine. The reason for this blog. To keep track of the little everyday things.

Things like MCgirl laughing wildly at her brothers' silliness.

Or Gman playing the piano while his siblings dance.

Or Little J dumping a 5 pound bag of sugar in the pantry floor.


Or the curiosity of Zman after finding a snail on the deck.


There are so many little things that I know I will forget as time goes by. This is just a way to keep those precious memories fresh in my mind. Welcome to a glimpse of our family.