summer days

Last Tuesday I joined some of my girlfriends and their kids at Splash in the 'Boro.

I tackled the linen closet on Wednesday. I mean everything out, gone through, and organized. I was very happy with my work when, at the end, there was a completely empty shelf.

…A perfect spot for Hannah and Bitty to take a rest.

We painted nails and have just enjoyed goofing off during these hot summer days. We went to a send-off party for our friend, Victoria, who is competing in Miss Georgia Outstanding Teen this week. Hannah sure loves the new crown she got (disregard Little Brother struggling to put on his pajamas in the background):

On Friday, Hannah and I went for a little run. She was tired and hot, but did good. I love to watch her run.

And Joseph. Man, he has come a long way from last summer when he wouldn't get in the pool. It was all I could do to get him to play on the stairs or let me hold him in the water. This year he is jumping to us and having a ball. Still a little nervous, but getting more and more comfortable.

This week is VBS for both kids and Lego camp for Hannah. She was so excited this morning. All girly and accessorized, and ready to hang with the boys. {There's only one other girl in the camp.}

the georgia national fair

On Monday, I picked up Hannah (early from school) and Joseph, and joined friends for a trip to the Georgia National Fair. We consolidated into two cars - four adults and seven kids total - and drove to Perry. It was my kids' first time at a fair and they loved it.

We got there early enough to enjoy short lines on most of the rides. I was so glad I went with the wristbands instead of buying individual tickets. We made our money's worth in about 15 minutes.

Joseph rode most of the rides he was tall enough for, and Hannah - well, Hannah rode those and then some. She could do the 42" rides and the only thing that slowed her down was long lines.

She is fearless.

She's the little one in front of the woman in the red top and jeans. And I was very thankful for the woman.

The guy going around making sure people were buckled in happened to skip over Hannah. I'm yelling that she's not buckled, the guy next to me is yelling. He gets his wife's attention (that's the woman behind Hannah), and as the swings are being raised in the air she grabs Hannah's cables and pulls her swing back and buckles her in. Good grief. Nothing like a little scare for Momma.

Hannah wasn't scared a bit. Her face was pure glee and I got little waves every time she zoomed overhead.

All of the kids enjoyed the roller coaster despite the looks of uncertainty we saw on some of their faces.

Hannah tried out the bungee/trampoline experience and, as you can imagine, had a blast jumping and doing flips. Joseph and I had fun watching her.

The highlight of our day was the ferris wheel.

I rode a big roller coaster with my Monkey. She was the only kid tall enough to ride. It was a little herky-jerky as they tend to be, but it was fast and fun.

We did bumper cars and fun houses, went in a butterfly garden and saw a "living snake lady", rocked really high on boats and rode spinning (nauseating) things like this:

We rode the carousel and ate yummy fair food.

My sweet friends (half of our small group) and precious children:

The Robinson's Racing Pigs show was hilarious. Nothing like little piggies running around a track and swimming to win the prize of an Oreo cookie!

It started to get late (and we were almost two hours from home), but we could not pass up a ride on the BIG ferris wheel after dark!

We ended the night with these…

…fried Oreos. Are you kidding me?? They were recommended…and so delicious! {The picture is blurry because I was trying to keep the kids out of them long enough to take a picture.}

Fun, fun day at the fair…and a late, late night!

pool party

Last Tuesday my small group of girls got together for a pool party. Our kids all go (or went) to the church preschool together. Usually when we meet it's just moms, but since it's summer and we have our kids all day, we decided to get them together for some fun in the sun.

We all chipped in on lunch and ended up having quite the spread! Obviously the kids loved the cookies and popsicles the most. {My two were excited about the juice pouches. I don't buy them at home, and as you can see from the photo below, Joseph didn't want to put his down.}

With everyone's crazy summer/vacation schedules, it was almost miraculous that only one of us couldn't make it. We each have two kids, and they are all between the ages of 0 and 4. {There are a few in the 0-6 months range and Hannah's the oldest at 4 1/2.}

We had a blast and can't wait to do it again! Thanks to Courtney for hosting us!

more pumpkins

While at Wal-Mart last week I bought the kids pumpkins to decorate. Tuesday we had a "crafternoon" and had some fun with paint brushes.

I liked their creativity...and very different styles. Joseph with the "drip technique" and Hannah with her perfectionistic and very intentional approach.

And Thursday, I picked up early from preschool and whisked the kids away to Milledgeville. Along with some other friends, we visited a pumpkin patch!

Joseph started the fun with a sustained tantrum (see that tiny dot in the upper left corner of the upper left picture?). But then came around and had a grand old time trying to pick up the big pumpkins.

How neat is this?

That's suppose to be Phil Robertson on the left, but all Duck fans know that Si is the one with the Tupperware cup of iced tea. Do you watch Duck Dynasty? We do, and love it. Is it not so nice to watch a show with good, clean humor based on a family that puts their faith in Jesus above all else? ...You know who the characters are on the right.

My girl loved looking at the pumpkins, from the tiniest to the tallest.

 

{our friends: Rue (2), Pierce (1), Cole (3), Kessler and McFerrin (3)}

These were Hannah's choices to take home...

...and these were Joseph's:

Yes, most people go to pumpkin patches for the pumpkins. Not Joseph. He liked the gourds best.

And, as long as they make it through the season without being destroyed (or causing too much damage), they will make good fall decorations indeed!

I texted a couple pictures to Joe and, while discussing how we were going to show him all our pictures so he would see everything we did, Hannah said "Please take a picture of me in the car sittin'..." Love it. Daddy's girl...didn't want to leave him out of anything.

We had lunch and did some shopping (even picking up some yummy sushi for dinner) before heading home. It was a great day!


Update:

 Thanks for these pictures, Deana!