Laser light show....

Sunday we hiked up Stone Mountain with my sisters. I haven't done that in more than 20 years. I think it got steeper!! Beckett was mad at me, I guess....because he wanted ME to carry him a large portion of the time! It was very funny.

Collin and Justin were up for the challenge, and Miss B was perched happily on her Daddy's back. The other adults were secretly cursing my "great idea", as it was in the 90s with a humidity level of, oh...110%. But it really was fun. We took the gondola down the mountain and then hung around for some fried chicken and potato salad on a blanket while taking in the laser show. It's a GA summer tradition.

It's somewhat shocking to hear the announcement that it is the 25th anniversary of the show...and I remember going the first summer they started it! Another gray hair just came in.

We had a ton of fun. Becks and B were dancing like crazy when the music was playing. Check out these sweaty kids!!



I made it!!








Getting her bracelet fixed by aunt Katie


Super toddlers:


Being "Indiana Jones" with glowsticks:




K

Soccer camp...

The boys were in soccer camp last week. Both seemed to really enjoy it. It was good for Justin to run out that energy...and Collin was very excited to finally start soccer.

Justin practiced away from where I had to sit, but was I able to snap some photos of Collin in his gear. He is looking very grown up to me!

Days on the beach with our babes...

We have returned from a week on Seagrove Beach. It's on the gulf coast of Florida and is a quiet, residential beach...very relaxing. Well, as relaxing as things get with 3 little kids!

We had a great time relaxing with my siblings, nephew, Dad...and then D&A came in from TX and spent part of the week with us. It was so great to see them and to get to hug their kiddos. I've missed them so much!

The gulf was murky for the first few days, due to some earlier storms. But it cleared and our last several days were gorgeous. We kayaked a lot. I think we all enjoyed going out and seeing the jellyfish. Justin spent a good bit of time on the skimboard and Collin caught and studied jellyfish in his sand buckets. Blaire enjoyed the trip, and enjoyed my vacation policy of allowing juiceboxes / caprisuns whenever. I don't even want to think how many she had....but she was happy and so was I. I try to pick my battles on vacation....and the freeflowing juiceboxes / granola bars are how mommy gets to read on the beach!

Blaire and Beckett are hilarious together. She bosses him around all the time. At least once an hour you could hear "NO! BECKETT!!" And I think Beckett is already developing "selective listening" when it comes to girls. They had a lot of fun together.

So we played a lot, ate a lot and read a lot...and I still have that beautiful reminder of the beach hanging around the house.....SAND!!!
Hope all is well with you and yours!

Some photos:

C and C in the boat:


Cuddles between the little two:


BB on the beach:


Girl nap!


C:


Jellyfish hunters:




O and C together in a shirt, thrilled to look like "general grevious" from star wars:


What do they say? A picture is worth a thousand words? That is the reason I adore this crazy photo of Beckett. He's the cutest, busiest little guy...so much like Justin was at this age. I like to think this had nothing to do with it being night and the slow exposure. I think Becks just moves THIS fast:


Glow stick fun on the beach at night:


Blaire's infamous STARE. Clearly, she's not in the mood for my photography.


My babes:






Thanks for looking!!
K

The pocket

In the N. ga mountains there is a little place called "the pocket".
I used to go there when I was a kid....it's not far from my grandparent's farm.

We spent the day with family Sunday.....and took the kids to the pocket to wade. It was very, very fun. Justin didn't quite understand the concept of wading....but who cares!!

Good times at "the pocket"! :)





Oh! Don't get wet!






Thanks for looking!
K

Happy Fourth!

Happy fourth of July!! I hope yours was spent with family and friends, a good parade, and a nice cool dip in the pool!

We started our day off at the local Independence day parade. It was a tradition for us back in TX, and we were excited to see the parade here. It was smaller, but they THROW CANDY!! (picture my children screaming with joy!). Not only candy, but some floats passed out popsicles!! (more screaming here). J was good to ration his and save some for later, but I think C was on the verge of sugar shock by the time the parade was over! And B enjoyed all the excitement.

The boys waiting for the parade to start:


Our quaint little downtown:


A perfect view:


We then headed Northeast to my Aunt and Uncle's house on the Chattahoochee river. We ate (delicious!) and then the kids got in the river...and didn't get out for HOURS. They were prunes by the evening. Tired, happy little prunes.

J in the river:




C found a "waterslide"


B checking out the rocks:


We headed back home in the early evening to bathe our sleepy people and then ran back out to catch the local fireworks. It was a lovely, exhausting day.

I hope you all had a great one as well!!
K

Road Trip to Texas

The kids and I just returned from a 9 day trip back to Texas. Just us, C stayed here for work. I am very proud of how well the kids handled the trip! They just clicked with how they had to behave with only me driving 14 hours home...only me on potty stops....I'm just puffed up with pride in their behavior. Of course when we got home they started their usual shenanigans....but man, they really shine when it counts!

We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge one night, spent time with Andria and her kids (thank you for the hospitality!), hung out with the bluebird "gang" (all the little boys from our old street) and spent a few nights there, saw our favorite babysitter (who gave me the time to get a pedicure and have a dinner out with girlfriends!!) and we spent a very fun night with Holly and her kids. I SO enjoyed the company of my friends!! We all did.

Sunday we got to spend the whole day swimming with our family in Keller. The kids had a great time and Collin fell in love with snorkeling. Justin has mastered diving to the bottom of the deep end, and Blaire decided to jump off the diving board! It was a very nice, relaxing day.

Our drive home was nice. We did 9 hours the first day and 4.5 on Thursday. The kids were cooperative and made our stops short and sweet. I did get pulled over for speeding in Texas (the SHAME!)and Collin burst into tears asking "are you getting arrested?"!! Fortunately the trooper was kind and I got a warning. I haven't been pulled over in well over 10 years, so I was mortified. The kids will be glad to give you the full story. They have told everyone they have seen since then. Boogers.

Thanks to Andria, Carrie and Holly for the meals and places to rest our sleepy heads. Thanks to Emily for watching my kids so I could work on the flower beds at our TX hous. Thanks to everyone who made time in their very busy summer schedules to see us! We miss all our friends and family in Texas, and were so glad to see you all again! And thanks to Drew for joining us on the ride out to TX.

K

Great Wolf Lodge



C @ the park




Pool cue chalk, or makeup?


My bunch with a's


Carousel:






Justin and his best friend, Zach


Swimming @ the grandparents:




The super snorkeler:


deep diver:




Big girl:


BRAVE girl!


With Blue:




Sir Collin the knight: