Kentucky trip 2013

It's our kids' equivalent of going to Disney - they look forward to Grammy and Papa John's Cousin Swim all year!

Our 3 swimmers did SO well in the pool this year - it was awesome to watch. Katy and David were regular fish - Katy can swim around in the deep end without any problem. David dives head/body first off the side and will easily swim in the deep water with a floaty vest. And even Luke was doing really well - feeling very comfortable in various flotation devices. They literally swam until they dropped for 3 days (and we avoided rain!).

LOVE this picture of Anna smiling up at cousin Kim!

So many extra hands to hold her this week.

There's always lots of good to food to be eaten when you get out of the water.

Roasting S'mores was a new treat this year.

Waiting on marshmallows...

Cousin photo!

Leah and Anna were good buddies, too.

Root Beer floats for David and Carrie. Another first...Katy and David saw their first full movie in a theater - Monsters U. Katy really liked it. David was a little scared and wanted to leave about 10 minutes before the end .

This picture is going in every family photo collage for the next 10 years - I never get a good photo of these two!

Another good one of another great couple.

Smoky sparklers. The local fireworks were postponed due to weather, so Mark and Brian went old school and went and bought some. As a girl who grew up in the burbs of Ohio, I have never done anything beyond sparklers and poppers.

It was an experience that the spectators enjoyed. Except for Luke - the poor kid was traumatized and I had to take him inside and calm him to bed. Should've listened to my gut which told me to put him to bed before we did them. Hopefully he will forget by next year?

On the way back home, we stopped in Lexington to visit some friends. Mark and Anne just had their first baby - adorable little Thomas. It was also really fun to see their house, as well as Brandon and Melanie's new house. Big changes for everyone!

Such a nice picture of everyone! Too bad I forgot to pack a patriotic shirt for myself. Even Brian remembered? That's what happens when I'm packing for 5.

We took a bunch of photos of our 4, but this is the best we got. Always a challenge.

Brandon holds baby Thomas.

Melanie with Anna - the kids are drawn to Brandon and Melanie and ask about them in between visits. It was nice to see everyone!

Big Week for Bubs

The last week of June, David had a big week. He passed Level 2 swimming lessons which including jumping off the diving board. I was so proud of him because in the past he would have been terrified but he didn't even hesitate! Here's a clip:

After that, he got to camp out in his friend Frank's backyard for his birthday. Brian and Frank's dad Dave slept out with them. Between rain in the overnight forecast and being overtired from a week of swimming lessons, I was certain that they wouldn't make it. Brian sent me a text at 10pm saying the boys were asking to go inside. But in the morning....

....they made it!! He was SO proud of himself. The best story was that the dads (in a moment of wishful thinking) were sitting outside the tent around the fire to see if the boys would go to sleep on their own. They overheard the boys praying, "Jesus, please don't let any animals with big sharp teeth come into our tent tonight. Amen." Good prayer!  Needless to say, the dads had to lay down with them to get them settled down.  I'm betting this is the first of many campouts for the boys.

June

I give up. I guess this new level of busyness is just the new normal, and I need to get used to it. But it just feels like spare moments are few and far between, with 4 kids at home, 2 of whom do not nap. This week and last week we've had swim lessons every evening for Katy and David, so one parent is heading to the pool and the other parent staying home with the littles. The lessons are going really well for both of them, and I'm glad that they have them because we haven't been doing anything during the days, but Brian and I feel so behind on life because we're tag-teaming every evening. Oh, well!

There have also been a few bumps in the road. A couple of weeks ago, there was a fire at our rental property. Thank the good Lord that it happened during the day, and that the tenants on the other side were home and noticed quickly to call 911. Our tenant on that side had left a pot of beans on the stove and left to go to a movie (honest mistake). The only damage was that the fire department had to break down the door to get in. So Brian was at the rental late for two evenings cleaning up and replacing the door and updating smoke detectors.

Then my Granny had a fall at a restaurant while my mom and Greg were taking them out for Father's Day. She fractured her neck and wrecked her nose and all kinds of other (relatively minor) injuries. She was in the hospital for several days and now is home with a neck brace that makes it hard to do anything. So I've been concerned for my Granny, and my family has been busy helping her get settled again.

Melanie moved out and we rearranged some bedrooms (pictures soon - I'm waiting on a curtain in the mail before I can take a final "after" shot). It is SO nice to move Anna out of our room, and she has adjusted just fine to being in a crib. So far we've still seen Melanie quite a bit, and I'm really glad.

So we're chugging along at home - the kids are doing well at keeping busy. Katy's motivated by summer reading programs and it's so nice that she can track her own minutes. David and I have been practicing writing letters for kindergarten. The one piece of disappointing news is that Katy's kindergarten teacher, who we loved, moved to another building. So I don't know who David will have and I have no idea whether we will be AM or PM.

Luke had a great birthday on Sunday (see below). The poor kid - I threw his birthday together just a few days before because we've just been so crazy I haven't had a chance to plan anything. But you know what's great about being 3? You don't know the difference between a well planned party and one that was thrown together at the last minute. He still had a great day.

Some photos from the past few weeks...

Following the traffic signals in Safety Town. A small part of what they teach in Safety City.

Grandpa and Grandma Sue came for Safety City graduation. It's a very well organized musical performance and ceremony. It was also Aunt Mel's moving day!

Just a picture of everyday life...these two spend SO much of their time in some imaginary land of monster trucks, vehicles of various kinds, superheros and the like. It is such a relief for them to play together so much of the time (with occasional bickering instead of constant fighting).

Katy figured out that if she sleeps in french braids, especially damp ones, she will have curly hair in the morning. She is loving the new looks and wearing it often. (I have to admit that I like it, too, and I'm thinking - why didn't I discover this in the 80's? I would've slept in braids every night! Maybe my hair didn't hold the curl as well.)

Brian hung up these decorations on Luke's birthday- I had found them in a bag while I was sorting through stuff in preparation for a garage sale. (My mom, sister, and I are joining forces - we should have a TON of stuff for sale).

Luke was really excited about his Avengers cake! This was Brian's idea - he spotted the figurines at the dollar store - DONE!

Oh, to be the third child, he never gets to do anything by himself.

So Luke's gift from Grammy and Papa John was a trip to Build-a-Bear. We also stopped on the way home at a pet store that encourages socialization of all the pets for sale - so you are allowed and encouraged to pet all the animals. We walked in the door and they literally shoved a puppy into my hands and pointed to a playroom. The kids were in high heaven. But back to Build-a-Bear,

This child was an angel - she just sat in her seat and smiled at us for the entire 3 hour journey.

It's the stuff of wedding slideshows, people. This is my son's selection, from all the available animals. Rainbow Dash, from My Little Pony, with FOUR black Sketchers and roller skates. He's seen the MLP show quite a bit lately, and he likes it. He was adamant about picking this animal. And he did not understand at first why we were giving him the empty one instead of the one that was already stuffed (insert 3 year old tantrum here). But once he caught on, there was no question that he wanted the shoes and the skates. They were the clear winners. Oh, Luke. You certainly have a mind of your own.

Oh, Lukey Loo! How I love you so! Even though I didn't write a big letter this year, you are such a passionate little kiddo, petite only in stature, confident about what you want, and willing to go to great lengths to get it. You make us all laugh on a daily basis, and I'm so proud to be your mommy!