Cousin weekend

My parents graciously babysat all three grandkids this week. They wanted the cousins to play together and oh, did they ever! After a few days at the grandparents (panning for gold at the Villa Rice museum), I picked them up and Gavin came to play with us in Smyrna. They are all growing up so much and acting quite a bit better than in days past - thank goodness.

We had so much fun together at the pool. All kids are swimming independently and actually playing in the pool. We used to spend 20 minutes at the pool, then head home. Now it's more like 2 hours and we are begging them to go home.

We took the kids to the Chattahoochee Nature Center Sunday afternoon; this was Gavin's first time. He was impressed with the bald eagle, owls, beavers and the pesky geese (as we tried to eat lunch).

Another round at the pool and we called it a day. I don't think he wanted to leave his cousins :-)

Lake- Work, Snakes and I love you's....

After camp, we packed up again for the lake. This time, it rained most of the weekend, but it gave me and Dave an excuse to just chill out for a bit. My dad came out most of the week, so he worked me like a pack mule (or was it the other way around?) We completed all of our landscaping project, finally! Whew, I thought we would never get it accomplished, but I knew if I enlisted my dad, it would get completed. In addition to all the work (laying sod, bags of pebbles, sand, planting day lilies, laying pine straw and oh yes, the magnificent vegetable garden), he made me (he he, it wasn't hard to talk me into it) go for walks up heartbreak hill each and every morning! Work horse, pack mule, it's all the same to me! Needless to say, in that heat and doing that kind of work, we weren't very hungry at dinner time. I need to keep him around more often. Does anyone need a personal trainer?!

While my dad was there, the kids became these very sufficient little creatures. They played, laughed, swam, put on swim suits, life jackets, watched a movie or two and just plain hung out - ALL BY THEMSELVES. They really did not need us. It was quite enlightenting for them to realize they could do all of this by themselves. Hey, they are big kids now.

Dad found a 6+ foot snake outside our house. Luckily, he spied it out of the side window and not face to face. Our neighbors were over for dinner, so Bobby proceeded to use a shovel to stun/try to kill the snake (with Zach and Olivia on his heels). He relocated this creature to a wooded area away from our house, or so we thought. Days later, we smelled something aweful and found this same snake. He tried to slither back (maybe to the water), but died next to our cars. Yuck!

Our neighbor, Terri, took me, dad and the kids to an old gold mine on the lake. Since only locals know how to find it, it was such a great experience. My dad loves this kind of stuff, so this made his summer.

Father's Day weekend was nice, hot and sunny. We boated over to see Amy Storm's new lake house and ended up spending the day with her and friends. I love the lake - cell service doesn't work, so drop-ins are commonplace. Dave had to do a boat rescue when reoccuring waves put too much water in Amy's dad's boat. Literally, the boat was sinking at her dock. Dave and a couple of guys dumped water, then realized they needed to blow it out. So, off they went trying to get the water to spill back overboard. It worked, but the boat had to be pulled out at a marina (only to sink the next day at her dock again!) Poor thing. Father's Day was peaceful and quiet for us (we stayed away from the sinking boat at the Storm's) :-)

After Dave left, the kids and I had a couple of quiet days. They began to swim in the shallow part close to the dock without their vest. This was such a thrill to both O & Z, well that and the fact that this episode turned into a skinny dipping swim! They must have swam for over an hour in that little area, but it was the independence that made it all worth it. Of course, mommy bear was right there.... laughing at their little tushies and taking in all the giggles. That afternoon, as the kids played upstairs, I took magazines and Sudoko down to the shady part of the dock. I have no idea how the stars aligned, but I spent at least 2 quiet hours or more reading and doing Sudoko in peace. Times are a changing, people! It was pure bliss....

I have some happy, little campers. On several occasions, Olivia or Zach would stop what they were doing and say "I love you, Mommy." For no apparent reason, it just had to be said. Now THAT makes it all worth it. "I love you too."

Racing, Horses and Camps

I do not have easy access to the internet/blog capabilities while we are at the lake, so I have to play catch up when I return home. We spent the first full week in June at the lake with Amy, Liz and the kids (previous blog). Returning back to Atlanta is a huge adjustment to the traffic, amount of retail choices, television and noise and the like. I believe racing is the one thing Zach misses most. He and Dave settle in together to watch a recorded version of Formula One or some other type of racing on the weekends we are home in Atlanta. This first weekend was no different. Zach saw Jensen Button win the Formula One race and I am conscience of at least 45 times I heard this racer's name over the following week. That means I finally went brain dead on the other numerous times Jensen Button came out of Zach's mouth. WOW, this kid loves racing! So, yay for Jensen Button - you made it to the big league where little 4 year olds idolize you (and other non-named 35 year olds). Olivia, Zach and I are lucky enough to be friends with Nichole, who is an avid horseman/woman :-) She owns a horse, Kodah, which she keeps at a barn in north Georgia. We trekked up one afternoon to meet Kodah for the first time. Kodah is young and Nichole is still training her a few times a week. Full time wife, full time job and almost full time trainer, Nichole fills those boots she wears. Olivia and Zach got a huge boost in self esteem by riding Kodah. Although, they said many times over, they miss Bossy (Nichole's previous horse who passed away unexpectantly). Nichole had the kids trotting on Kodah and there were contagious smiles on both kids faces. Nichole eventually got on with Olivia and cantered Kodah. Up and down they went and Olivia enjoyed every minute of it. Giddy up!

We were home the second week in June for Olivia to attend the Teasley Kindergarten camp. Yes, my oldest is soon to be a Kindergartener and I'll have to face facts once August/September rolls around. Until then, I'll keep my blinders on and my iPod humming along to songs designed to distract me. Olivia ended up loving this camp, which basically introduced the kids to the school, lunchroom, hallways, a few teachers and the like. My young lady has grown up quite a bit in the last two weeks. I am truly enjoying this age.

Zach attended an art camp at the Mable House on Ancient Civilizations. What a surprise this cultural arts center has thrown my way! Zach had a brilliant time and we were quite impressed with his art show on Friday. He loves to show everyone how he wrote his name in hierogliphics, his pyramid, kimono and pagado using different type of art mediums. Visit his room sometime; it is all displayed there!

Camp week turned into one fun fest. Each day after camp, neighbors and friends came over to play. We pulled out the slip and slide, water sprinkler, visited the pool, dined with neighbors, you name it, we did it. We capped off the week with a visit to the Botanical Gardens compliments of Andrea U. It was a hot, sunny day and the water fountain was the ideal place to play. Afterward, we hit Georges in the Virginia Highlands to meet up with some old friends and yes, we did have "babies in the bar", but it was a great time and everyone acted exemplary. A perfect ending to a fabulous week.

Hell Week... hazing and all

For the second year in a row (the first week in June), Liz, Amy and I started our summer off with a bang at Lake Martin. 3 adults + 6 kids = outnumbered. We had a fabulous, but very loud, very enthusiastic time. Why do we endure this chaos? It's fun and we love each other!

The kids play, fight, love each other, play, fight, swim, eat, yell, kiss and make up, pet each other (as in cats and dogs) and finally sleep. Ahh, wonderful sleep..... I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Olivia lost her first tooth!

It was quite easy; Olivia was very relaxed with her first loose tooth. We were out on the boat and I noticed it was very, very loose, so I told her (if she wanted to) I would use dental floss to take it out when we returned to the lake house. It was simple, no fuss, no muss and the tooth just popped out. She lost her first tooth on Sunday, May 31st. She will be a snaggle tooth for the summer and in time to start Kindergarten with the right 'look'. She couldn't wait to tell Brady and all of our family. The tooth fairy was very, very loud on the squeaky wood floors, but somehow she managed to not wake anyone. I'll have to tell her to fly more next time..... The fairy also gave $5 for Olivia's first tooth. I guess she remembered that Clare lost a tooth 3 weeks ago and she gave Clare $5 for her first tooth. Clare was coming to the lake house the next day, so the fairy assumed this detail would be discussed. It was....good thinking, fairy! The subsequent teeth net $1 each.

First week of summer

The theatre....."I do not want to go to the theatre" says Zach. "But we are going to see a play with Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business. You love that book!" "No thank you." Hmm. We'll see about that. It turns out, Olivia and Zach loved the theatre and were mesmerized with the entire process. Thank you to Sara O. for encouraging the arts! Speaking of, there is something just not right about going to Little Five Points before noon.... The kids thought it was a cool place. Oh, what are we in store for?

It was interesting how easily we fell into stride our first week of summer break. We were in Smyrna, played with friends, enjoyed the mild weather (for Atlanta) and relaxed. Oh and a VERY important thing.....both kids are SWIMMING! I took them for 2 quick refresher lessons with my favorite instructor, Tracy. A few times out with crazy kid friends and my kids are now right in the middle of it all. Words cannot express how I feel. With Olivia's personality, she had to swim on her own terms. And she did! Olivia very proudly told me "I taught myself how to swim." I think my new M.O. will be "wait for it....wait for it...
"Loose teeth, swimming and happy.

I needed more photos for my last photography class, so I headed my favorite spot, The Polo Fields. Luckily, this is a favorite spot for my kids as well.
John and Andrea Ulitsch, with Ava and Gage, came to the lake with us the following weekend. We had much nicer weather, more boat time and about the same amount of sleep (thanks to my early riser, Zach). It's just a fact of life that I had to come to terms with....the boy wakes up early! By Alabama standards (an hour earlier), it's still EARLY! At least I can enjoy the quiet morning dew and a cup of coffee.

Memorial Weekend

Memorial weekend came with much anticipation. Our lake life for 2009 was on its way. Unfortunately, it rained most of the weekend. Bridgette and Dave Mitchell, along with Elizabeth and Lauren, came out for the weekend. We sat on the screen porch all day Sunday while the rain came in heavy downpours every 15 minutes. There was really no major complaints because we just wanted to relax. What better way to do this than to enjoy the sound of rain? People pay good money for this relaxation! Good food, good company and three, yes three quick trips out on the boat. We were playing a game of chance with the weather, but it worked in our favor.

Olivia's first loose tooth came about the day after Memorial Day. Oh, how excited we all were and what a reality check for Dave and me. This is our baby Olivia... how can she have a loose tooth already? And time marches on.... Zach was excited but he wanted a loose tooth as well. Poor little guy, he kept trying to wiggle a tooth all afternoon. No baby, no... I can't handle it.

Catching up... end of school year.

It seems I dropped off the face of the Earth after returning from Washington D.C. Not quite. The end of the school (preschool that is) came crashing in and things were a little busy. Two kids, multiple parties, field days, gifts, yearbooks and whatnot later, we were able to focus on relaxing.

Olivia and Zach finished Karate at The Little Gym with a 'show' and awards ceremony on May 11. Olivia was hit and miss on this activity, but we kept with it becuase it was fun for Zach and expended late Monday afternoon energy for both kids. I think Karate helped Olivia gain a little more self esteem over the last few months, so that was a nice little side to Karate.
I started taking a 6-week photography class to help me with my new camera I recieved at Christmas. I love the camera, but I barely used it. I completed the class last week and I'm looking to take more classes - it was that much fun! Imagine that, Jennifer enjoys taking photographs. We had a fieldtrip to the Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. I actually visited twice in the week becuase it is so beautiful. I cannot wait to go back and do a tour. Lots of history in those plots...

The kids had a Spring Fling the week before school let out at the local middle school auditorium. Mimi, Papa and Aunt Barbara came to see Olivia and Zach sing their preschool songs, Spanish songs and watch Olivia get her Pre-K diploma. It was very subdued, but funny to see how proud Olivia was after the fact. I think it started sinking in that she is soon to be a Kindergartener. Watch out world, here she comes!

Over that weekend, we picked up our new SUV in Birmingham. We'll hopefully have this white Cayenne for 3 years and if you see the car tag, you'll know that we say "Sweet Home Alabama". Hey, it really is sweet! While in Birmingham, we visited the McWane Science Center again. O & Z love the Science Center and they wanted to show the center to Daddy (who was impressed). We spent the entire day 'exploring' and having a wonderful rainy Saturday. To top it off, we met my best friend, Kaci and her family for dinner in Anniston! It turned out to be a great weekend with a new car, seeing Kaci and exploring.

Finally, the last week of school arrived! See, I told you we have been busy! Zach attended his last Music Class session with Mrs. Kim. I have been taking sessions at The Music Class for over five years. I do believe this is my last one, but don't quote me on that. It has always been a fun experience and something neat to do with each child. Olivia and Zach know the entire collection of songs from over the years, so I guess it has been a good thing for them. Both kids have grown out of the classes where I participate with them. Olivia finished her music lessons with Ms. Megan at school, so I guess we are now ready for our music careers - Rap Industry, here we come! Ha! Here is a photo of Zach, Parker and Danny with Mrs. Kim. We'll miss you!

Olivia took her lovies to the last day of school. When the last day arrived on Thursday, May 21st, it was a sigh of relief and a "FINALLY". Time for Memorial Day and summer. But wait, we had a end of year picnic that afternoon. The rain held off and it turned out to be a very happy way to end the school year!