California trip, Day 1

Last Saturday (the 21st), Elle and I headed to Montgomery bright and early for an 11:00 flight to Monterey, California. My mom and sister had been in LA for about 5 days and were driving up the coast to meet us there. We would spend 2 days in Monterey, drive to San Francisco for 3 more days before flying back home. Elle had flown twice before, but both times before she was 3. We were both very excited about the trip. The boys were back home with Steven for the weekend, then his mom for the first part of the week, followed by a couple of days with my dad and Sandi while he was at work those days. We had a very smooth trip over. We flew from Montgomery to Dallas, then Dallas to LA, then a short hop up to Monterey. We were literally the only people going through security in Montgomery. LAX was a little bit difficult to navigate but we managed to find our way and not see any famous people at all. 

Getting on the first plane

Landing in Monterey about 30 degrees cooler!

We stayed in a hotel on Cannery Row with a decent view:). We walked around that night, grabbed some dinner at a Mexican restaurant, then called it a night. We had had a long day of traveling and were beat!

Summer of Birthdays

The weekend before July 4th, we had a little family get-together at my aunt and uncle's house in Troy. We were celebrating my grandmother, who turns 80 tomorrow! She loves to play BINGO, so we played a rigged game of bingo where she won every round and every prize. I truly think she thought it was her lucky day:). 

We have a few other summer birthdays in the family and we celebrated those as well. My aunt Patti made these cute name tags (and Granny's birthday banner!) for our May, June and July birthday cakes. We were missing a few, but those present posed with their respective cakes. My uncle grilled some tasty burgers, my brother brought delicious ribs and we had chips and watermelon.

And we spent a lot of time in the pool!

That night, Elle was brushing her teeth and lost her 5th tooth! Pardon the toothpaste mouth, but she was so excited, we had to take pictures immediately!

More beach fun

We celebrated Reese and had lots of fun with the kids (all 9 of them!), but we also had some fun without them. Ever the gracious hosts, Justin and Darby treated us to a beautiful sunset boat cruise to dinner.  The weather was fairly windy most of the day, but was perfect for our time on the boat that night. The company wasn't too bad either! Even though we had a blast and it was such a fun weekend with our friends and their families, I would take them living here with us all the time, rather than the occasional weekend at the beach:). 

Steven helping himself to a piece of his Father's Day strawberry cake for breakfast. 

Reese had a birthday

Well... I was on a short roll there with blogging and then another 2 weeks or so has happened?! And during that time, Reese turned 3 years old. Actually it was even before the roll, on June 16th. We were at the beach with friends for the weekend of his birthday (and Father's Day!) so they joined us in celebrating our little guy. In the weeks leading up to his birthday, we would ask him what  he wanted and all he would say was "cake". And with a little urging from Steven, his wish became "zebra cake". I refused to buy the Little Debbie zebra cakes as his birthday cake and got a 12 layer chocolate cake instead. 

 

When we got back Sunday afternoon, the boys both laid down for a nap. While Reese slept, we put together his brand new Spiderman bike. Just a side note here that I had a little guilt because I was having a hard time remembering when we had gotten Reese something new, just for him. He gets everything handed down, which is not bad and I'm very thankful we don't have to buy new things. But I just wanted him to have something new of his very own. I'm sure that's common for a third born. Anyway, we were so excited for him to see it when he got up, but I think we forced it on him a little too soon after waking up. 

Me: Reese, let's go outside to see your birthday present!

R, upon seeing the bike: No, that's not my bike! I want a snack! I don't want that bike!

Me (trying very hard not to laugh): OK, buddy, let's go get a snack.

After he had a snack and his blood sugar was a bit more stable, he wanted to see his new bike. And he loved it! It took him a few days, but he is getting the hang of riding now. He just struggles a little with looking forward and not at his feet or to the side or behind him or at a bird when he's riding. Sort of an important rule of riding a bike. That's why we are sticking to the driveway for now.

What to say about this little guy?! I know people say it all the time, but I just can't believe my baby is three years old. He is so much fun. One of his favorite things right now is putting together puzzles. He has amazing concentration. He likes being outside swinging or playing in the sandbox, although it's been a bit hot for those things. We have been swimming a lot and he's so much more comfortable with the water. He swims with a puddle jumper, but has done some work with the kick board too. He's still not thrilled with getting his face wet, but doesn't have quite the tantrums his brother and sister did at his age. He loves to jump, particularly off of things. The higher, the better. He has a great sense of humor and makes us laugh all the time. He's definitely gotten the shaft academically (as in, I haven't spent as much time with him as I did the others), but I'm not worried at all. He's a smart cookie and this will be the year for ABC's and 123's. He does know his colors:). I know I've said this before too, but God knew so much better than we did what a blessing Reese would be to us and our family. We love you little man, and are so thankful for your precious life! 

Mustaches are hilarious

The kids had a six month dental check-up the week after VBS. This was Reese's first time getting a cleaning. He did not think it was very fun. He did not like the electric, vibrating toothbrush but surprisingly, was ok with the scraper. The hygienist took him back alone. About 10 minutes in, I heard him from the lobby. I peeked back through the door and the hygienist was holding her head out the door, in a "help" sort of way. I went back there, he calmed down, and finished with flying colors. And this was his reward: 

Grady was a champ and was proud to be able to tell them he had stopped sucking his thumb. Unfortunately, we had to tell them he had started biting his fingernails?! His teeth looked great though and he received his mustache reward in full. Elle said he looked like The Lorax or Dr. Joe:).

Elle had a good check up as well. But...the hygienist explained that her back molars have "pits" in them. This was just how they formed and sadly, it lends itself to cavity formation. She already had the beginnings of cavities back there on either side. The dentist did say we couldn't have done anything to prevent them, it was due to the anatomy of how her teeth formed. We are taking care to brush those back molars very well on the outer side. I'm afraid fillings will be a part of the next check-up?!

I had a really bad neck ache a few weeks ago, so much so, that it brought me to tears one Sunday afternoon. Elle immediately jumped on the "get well soon" card bandwagon for me. However, the paper she used was wrinkled and she had to leave the card weighed down with some books before it was complete. This sat on our couch a whole day before she gave me my sweet get well card! I was thankful that she decided to cross out bad and only some things would happen to me.

Adventureland & VBS

Elle wanted to do something with a friend to celebrate her birthday. So, the Saturday after we got back from Savannah, I took her and Morgan to Adventureland! The girls had not been before, so it was an adventure for us all! Being seven had its advantages. They were old enough to ride the "rookie" go-carts by themselves. I was anxious to see how many wrecks might occur because Elle's not had much experience with driving anything. But they did great and had so much fun, they did it a second time. 

We had a few tokens to waste spend in the arcade. Morgan was playing this wheel spinning game and hit the jackpot of 500 tickets?! It took a good 10 minutes just to get the tickets. The machine ran out and I had to go ask an employee to refill it so we could continue gathering her 500 tickets. It was so funny to see them both pick out prizes with their ticket winnings. Morgan did not opt for a bigger prize that would take a chunk of her winnings, so she had approximately 132 small toys/candy to take home:). I know her mom was thrilled!

After our adventures at Adventureland, I took the girls out to dinner at Chili's (Elle's choice!) and Darby was able to meet us for a fun mother/daughter dinner date. 

Our children's director asked me several months ago if I would be willing to teach a class for VBS this summer. I have to admit, I was reluctant at first. But I am so glad God moved my heart to say yes. This was my first experience on the adult/teaching side of a Vacation Bible School and it was such a blessing. I taught Elle's class-those kids who had just completed first grade. There were 19 precious kids in my class! I had two great youth girls as helpers and one mom who helped 4 out of the 5 days. The program itself was so nicely done. The kids participated in Bible Study, Story time, Snack time, Recreation time, Craft time and saw several skits each day. Our children's directors, youth director, youth and all the other adult helpers did such a great job making it a huge success!

The theme was "Kickin it Old School" and we rocked out to some old hymns every day in opening assembly. I got to wear a sweet tye-died shirt most every day. We learned that God is our Creator, God is our King, Jesus is our Savior, God is our Truth, and God is our Rock. The kids learned verses each day that went with each lesson. I've learned from homeschooling how amazingly my kids can memorize Scripture and these kids were no different! Of course, the promise of prizes and candy might have helped some:). 

On day 4, we talked about being a soldier in the Lord's army. I brought Grady's dress up armor and let the kids pick out one piece to wear after they said their verse and we took their pictures. They also were required to say the verse in their "strongest" voice:). I printed out the pictures and put a label with the verse on the bottom and handed them out to the kids at the end of the week. 

"Be strong in the Lord, and in His mighty power." -Ephesians 6:10

Grady was able to participate in a K4 class and he had a great time! Reese was in a class for teachers' kids and he did good too. The first day, I sent him in underwear and he wet his pants. After that, I sent him in a pull-up and it was dry everyday?! The second day, he passed me in the hall and lost it. So, we talked about if he saw me, he didn't need to cry and he could tell me he was having fun. The next day, we happened to be in the snack place at the same time, and he's waving and yelling from across the room, "Hey Mom, I'm having fun!" 

I teared up several times the last day just because it was such a privilege to be able to spend a week with these kids and tell them about Jesus and how much He loves them. To tell them about forgiveness and that we now have access to God, the Creator and King through Jesus! It was exhausting and I was so worn out each day and I have a new respect for teachers who do this all day, all school year long with that many or more children?! I was reluctant at first, but I already hope I can teach this same class next summer! 

A few more pictures

Memorial Day--post Tropical Storm Beryl

Birthday present from Mae and Maddie

And a backgammon game

The alligator pond at the Crab Shack

River Street

Maddie's friends surprised her for birthday dinner on River Street

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