Run for the Hills!

When days get a little crazy here, and they often do, I have a saying that I tend to use... And when my kids hear it, they know something is abrewin'.

Since we have been at the pool every day this summer, my bathroom looks like this...

And because we have been in and out with a quickness, my living room looks like this...

So when I yell around the house... "run for the hills!" My kids know that Momma has had it and an adventure is about to begin!

We all run around and throw on clothes, brush hair, find shoes and buckle up.

And some get more tuckered out from the preadventure, they need to rest up for the real deal!

But once there, Jake was happy to jump out and head out in his stroller. (Finally got to wear Luke's Disney Crocs!)

(Kylie was totally freaking out that Jake was up there! I just had to hurry up and get the shot!)

When all things are crazy, somehow getting outside just does something to me. To all of us... The ease of exploring, looking at things growing and living just makes us feel part of the creation around us. Maybe it puts us into perspective, that we aren't the only things that matter... We are a part of a bigger plan around us, and I like that.

I love it that since we have been going to the gardens for so long now, my kids have found a natural rhythm of their visit. The boards usually have some new information that my kids are happy to read about. On our trip this time, they pointed out each willow tree that they saw along the path. Luke is looking at a spider id poster. They weren't too keen on IDing any spiders on our walk...

Of course no walk through the garden could occur without walking on the giant wall.

And a few "Mom! Take a picture of me here! And here!"

The kids insisted on getting Jake out so off they went to explore. I love the little secret paths in the gardens that make it so much fun for kids to wander around.

Another "Mom! Take our picture!"

Did we explore... We had nowhere to be so we just took our time...

Funny how Jake has just fit perfectly into our family. Kylie wanted to read the map and Jake just wanted to press on and walk. She doesn't even flinch that he is annoying the mess out of her! She just keeps her cool and grips tighter.

He loves keeping up with them.

Side note: My husband said that Kylie looks so "homeschool" in her skirt! She loves that thing and she would probably wear it every day if she was able! Gotta love stereotypes...

See this sign folks? Heed the sign!! These geese are crazy and are used to being fed. But being the newbie to North Carolina, and the type of person who still gets excited that she sees Canadian Geese in her everyday life, we had to check them out a little closer.

Jake enjoyed quacking at the ducks but a little behind the scenes video, you would hear Kylie in the background, "RUN! The geese are coming!"

But to wild man Jake, that means, "get closer! The geese are coming!"

By now, the kids are giving play by play reports as to the geeses location and laughing hysterically at me trying to take a picture and rescue my son at the same time. Jake just wanted to go chase the poor ducks and then even the geese had to get in on the loud ruckus. They ended up fighting just two feet away!

Jake didn't give up without a fight... And I will skip the not so nice moments of me trying to lug his torso back up on the boardwalk without hurting his skin, and the shrieks and the yells from the kids while the geese got closer and closer... But I will share with you this. After the whole tussle, Jake dropped his shoe and I swear the goose wanted it. See him eyeing that shoe?

Yep, ya didn't get it buddy.

He was sad that he was leaving his friend but sheesh, doesn't he know that the goose would have pecked his arm off?

On our way back we met some ducks who must have gone to the same begging school as the geese.

The kids got a bit goofy and were scared off by them.

And then most of them gave up except this one. Who wielded a lot of power if you ask me!

Thankfully, brother swings a big stick and kept sister safe.

Lesson learned for today: Sometimes you just have to get out of dodge... hit the reset button and enjoy the day. A little outside therapy does wonders!

Hope you enjoyed your walk with us!

What a day!

(realplayer isn't working so if you want music, go down and hit play on the player)


Post is going to be short and sweet because it is late and I am tired but overflowing with pride for my children. It is so exciting to see your children shine and excel when you know they have put in many hours of hard work.

Backstory: For most of our kids lives they have sacrificed a lot because of the profession we chose while they were young. Because of our schedule at the Children's Home, we could never enroll our kids in classes or sports activities which at the time was ok because their lives were rich in so many other things. Now that we are home and more stable, enter sports.

Gymnastics was our first choice. Namely because both kids could do it at the same time and it wasn't dependent on the weather! Win win if you ask me. So every Wednesday morning, we set out to the gym and the kids had a blast. The kids, parents and coaches have all been awesome and I can't say enough about it. So after many weeks of hard work, the end of the year exposition was today...

I have never seen them beaming so...

How I wished I had a cool camera you see all the sports photogs have, but alas, my blurry pics have to do. You see, kids were flying everywhere so streaks are what you are going to get!

Kylie rocked out the balance beam, vault and her floor routine like nobodies business. The look of focus and then flashy grin once she had completed her routines were priceless. She was in her element.

Luke, although he wasn't the only boy during the classes, was the only one to show up today so he stole the show by climbing up the rope. Yeah, the one that goes all the way up to the roof of the gym. It is high! Did you know that he swam for an hour during swim team practice at 9am, played a baseball game at 1pm and then used all of his power and strength at 5? Amazing.

oh, and they called him up to do it again at the final finale... Yeah, my heart swelled big on that one.

Afterwards, the kids were able to go to their favorite stations and have their pictures taken. So where did you find my kids? 

What a full day of action for our kids. I am so proud of both of their accomplishments!

Looking forward to another great year of gymnastics this fall. Now onto swim team! Whew!

Memorial Day

All politics aside, I am more than proud to be an American. I know some pretty brave people out there serving for us to live in a free country and I am so thankful for them. So many wives, husbands and children sacrifice so much - they believe in our United States that they would lay down their lives for it. Now that is amazing. So we celebrated.

We hit the pool hard this weekend. For the most part every time it was open we were there. Jon was home for the weekend and it was devine. Saturday and Sunday were routine but Monday was icing on the cake.

Our pool has a smaller kiddie pool in it and on the first day I decided to plunk Jake in and see what would happen. Of course he hit the ground running  and went belly down head first in the water. We rescued a sputtering kid and let him go again. Run, belly flop, sputter. On the third time he decided to slow down a bit and guess what? He remained standing. Bingo, we have a smart boy here.

He is very proud of his new found independence and hopefully he will continue as we plan on spending a ton of time at the pool. You know swimming does a great job at tiring out children? Naptimes rock around here now!

Which brings me to our other kids...

They grew up in Florida and the pool is their second home. While we miss the ease of heading to the beach, the ease of a neighborhood pool is fantastic. Easier to clean up too! Kylie has slipped into her element again and how I love to see her confident and free as she glides in the water.

Luke on the other hand just dives in and I don't see him until the end of the day... He is also a fish and can't get enough of the water.

And what is Memorial Day without a little watermelon? Our pool rec committee supplied the guests with a TON of watermelon and my kids couldn't get enough.

As you see Jake at first had issues about how to eat said watermelon but he soon got it all figured out.

As did the rest of the crew...

Looks like I know what to bring next time for snack huh?

You will know where to find us. Happy Summer!