You know it's summer when...

...your house never stays clean (because you have 3 kids at home)...you step on toys at any given moment (again...those 3 kids)...you are sunburned from the pool (from taking the kids to the pool 3-4 times a week)...you run out of bread after 2 days (from making 5,000 pb & j sandwiches for 2 of those 3 kids)...your blog goes a long time without being updated (because when you have time to sit down & breath, you don't want to use any energy to think of what to write)....

So that's how my summer is going. We've finally got into a groove & the kids have been great... just full of energy. Now that I'm adjusting to summer, it's almost over. We've been busy bees all summer long. Since the new YMCA opened in Boiling Springs this week, I'm trying to start exercising on a regular basis. So far, so good (I know it's only been a week... a not even a full on at that... but hey, I'm doing something). Trips to the waterpark, playdates, birthday parties, the beach and the beach again has made the summer fly by. As busy as we've been and as much as I want to get back into a routine, I must say that I am not looking forward to school starting back. Yes, my house will probably be more manageable but I do not look forward to juggling homework, sports, naps for an almost 2 year old, early bedtime, getting kids up & dressed & out the door before 8:00 and packing 2 lunches almost everyday. It stresses me out just thinking about it. I LOVE being able to sleep in... we sleep until at least 8 and most of the time 8:30 or 9 every morning. But it's life & you deal with it as it's dealt to you. So here's to 25 more days of summer break...may they be fun, filled with lots of laughter (and sleep, ha!) and go very slowly.

Beachiness

(I love that word... I got it from my friend Rhianna in a caption on one of her photos.) We're back. We had a great time as usual. It was nice having Daddy with us this go round at the beach. We went with our friends again for the 5th year in a row. The kids have so much fun together & each year gets a little easier the older they get. We took it easy this year & didn't worry about the go, go, go like we normally do. We played on the beach late several nights & found other "cheaper" things to do. The weather was great and we all soaked up plenty of sun. All of the kids had a great time in the ocean... Chandler claims he saw a baby great white shark... yeah, whatever. Chandler loved riding the waves & he got really good at catching them just at the right time to ride all the way in. It took Carter most of the week, but he finally got out far enough to enjoy riding waves too. Kensley loved the beach. Mostly she loved going with Daddy out into the ocean... pretty far out too. She giggled & laughed & would say "o-see Dadee" and point. We went to play putt-putt one night, we went to the Cherry Grove pier & walked out on it one night, we stayed out on the beach several days, me & Mae took the kids to the Ripley's Aquarium while the men went & played golf, we went out to Broadway & let the kids rides some rides at the Pavilion Nostalgia park one night. Our friends brought their Wii and we played that a lot! The kids played during the day & at night after they went to bed the adults would play it. It was really a lot of fun. We were all sad to come home, but I never like having to come home from vacation to anywhere. I'm sitting staring at the piles of laundry, suitcases & boxes that all have to be unpacked & washed this week. I really don't like that part of coming home. We are looking forward to going back in Sept. with Corby's family.

I still can't get a slide show to work, so here's the link to the slide show. Enjoy the pictures!
http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee307/khaneline/family%20vacation%202008/?action=view&current=0cb88a54.pbw

Heeellllllooooooo out there....

I haven't fallen off the blogmosphere... just been really busy the past couple weeks. I always thought summer was supposed to be care-free & you are always happy-go-lucky (at least it was that way when I was a kid). As an adult, especially as a parent, you enter into a whole new realm of stuff when summer comes round. My first thought was, "Oh no... it's summer... what am I going to do with the kids for the next 3 months". I've not had one single problem keeping busy. Between beach trips, play dates, church, stuff I had planned with the kids, birthday parties and the list goes on, we've been plenty busy & now the summer is half over. By the end of the night, I really haven't had the energy to get on the computer and update my blog. So I'll give a quick update then you probably won't hear from me again until we get back from the beach.

We are gearing up for another beach trip... Corby is included in this one. Normally, I get really excited about upcoming trips, but I've been so busy, I haven't really taken time to let it sink in. VBS is off & running great. We had 130 kids last night and I'm sure more will be coming in the weeks to come. We went to Statesville last weekend. My niece Kaitlyn turned 14 last week... that seems really weird to say because Corby & I started dating right before she was born. Corby's grandfather turned 90 last week & the family had a big party for him. The whole family (all Corby's brothers & sisters & their families) was all together for the weekend & we had a blast as usual.

Random things

This is not a site you should see when you live in the city limits AND in the middle of the summer... at least I don't think so. Yes, we had a deer in our backyard. The night before Corby & the boys were outside at sunset & they said one ran through our neighborhood right up through our yard & into the woods. I wonder if it's the same one. Anyway, I was in the kitchen the other day when I noticed something moving around back there. Then pops out this thing. It was looking right at me too when I took the picture. This isn't the first time we've seen deer in our yard. A few years back we had about 5 back there.

I've been swamped with VBS registration this week. Ours started last night at church and runs every Wednesday through the rest of the summer. I'm in charge of registration, so I had lots of kids to put in lots of different places & lots of prep-work to do so we were sure to have a smooth registration. We had a huge crowd last night... a rough estimate of about 120. It's going to be a great program this year.

Speaking of last night... there was a tornado that hit Boiling Springs. Why did this not get any news coverage????? I got a voice mail while I was at church from a friend who lives there & she said it came right through her neighborhood. She said stuff was everywhere... her neighbors brand new back deck was in the middle of the road, people's trampolines were folded in half, trees down & uprooted everywhere, power lines down, swing sets mushed... crazy! We drove around this afternoon & observed all the damage. It reminded me of my first year of college & a tornado went through Gardner-Webb. That was scary! Corby was standing in the cafeteria & watched it go between 2 buildings. It flipped cars upside down & even busted the back windshield of my car.

Another milestone celebrated!

With toddlers or little ones in general, you are always celebrating some kind of milestone they've achieved. Today, Kensley peed on the potty! I couldn't believe it. I've been sitting her on the potty for months now before I put her in the tub & it's been nothing... as expected... I was just getting a routine established & practicing sitting (it worked for my other 2, so I wanted to continue it with her). She's been asking randomly over the past few months to go pee-pee on the potty when I change her diaper. We go sit & she says "pee-pee-pee-pee" and then she's done.


Anyway.... when I got her out of the tub tonight, she said "pee pee on potty". So I sat her on the potty & as usual, nothing. When I laid her on the changing table to put her jammies on, she pee-peed a little on her towel. I said no-no and told her lets do that on the potty. So back we went to the potty & she sat there & smiled at me like usual & then wanted down. But I told her no, that she needed to pee on the potty like she just did in her room. So she sat & a little trickle came out. I screamed with excitement and clapped. The rest of the clan piled into the bathroom to celebrate her accomplishment, so she peed more. We clapped & praised her again, then she peed a lot! Of course at this point I flashed forward & thought "could she possibly be ready to potty train?... I just bought a super-mega pack of diapers at Sam's... I should have bought pull-ups instead". We've got a long way to go, but the thought of being out of diapers pretty soon was really kind of scary to me. I definitely won't miss the extra money I spend on diapers & wipes but I guess because my baby is growing up. Also the fact that she's a girl & I'll have to sit her on a public toilet. That grosses me out!



*I have to censor my material, so no laws are broken or anything on here.

Annual College Reunion

Every year, I always try to get together with my college buddies & their families. We are all pretty close but it's always so hard to coordinate a time for 8 families to meet one day in one place. Somehow we always manage to work it in for most of us at least (today we were missing one family). Today, they all came to Boiling Springs to the splash park at the YMCA. It was perfect! The kids had plenty of entertainment and a place to run around and the adults had plenty of opportunity to talk & catch up. We always have a great time & it seems like each time we get together we grow in numbers a little bit. This year we have 11 week old Baby Ezra (who belongs to Carl & Heather). We ordered pizza & brought some other food & drinks & had a merry time. The weather cooperated for the most part... we had a few times we had to get out of the pool, but at least we didn't have a wash out like last night.

(for some reason, I'm having a hard time publishing my slide show, so for now, just click this link) BTW... the baby I'm holding is NOT mine... I just happened to be the one to get him to sleep, so I just kept him.

Happy Birthday Carter & America

I can't believe I forgot to post this on Tuesday... Carter turned 6 on July 1st. I guess because we had both boy's party together last month, I thought I was finished for a while. He's my little firecracker boy... in every way, shape & form. Carter is full of energy! He's a good kid but very determined. He doesn't back down and will stand his ground...that will come in handy one day. He also has a great imagination... although his stories are not as frequent as they used to be. He's full of questions... asks about 1,000 per day...loves his sister and is very tender with her... a great reader...great at sports (he gets that from his Daddy)... and is just stinkin cute!

We have a tradition that we take our kids out to eat on their birthDAY and they get to pick the place, so Carter chose Chuck E. Cheese. Let me just say that I'm not a fan of that place, but the kids love it, so it's worth the trip. Positive side of Chuck E. Cheese... all games are only 1 token...that's a lot of game playing. Negative side of Chuck E. Cheese... the pizza is terrible, but we all ate it anyway because we were so hungry. (There's nothing that a little ranch dressing can't make taste good...ha!)

Onto another holiday... the 4th of July. We had big plans for today... until the rain came. We went to a party today hosted by some friends in our Sunday School class. They invited the whole class over to their home on Moss Lake. Carter asked about 1,000,000 questions today in preparation... how many boats do they have, do i have to swim in the water, how fast do the boats go, what color is the boat, where will i sit on the boat, are we eating there, what time are we eating there, what are we having to eat, will there be a bathroom there, how long will it take us to get there, and on & on (get my point?!). Just as we were getting there a big gray cloud lingered over the area. Just as I finally convinced Carter that he could get into the lake & swim, the thunder started and here comes the rain. As much as we need rain, I was almost afraid to pray for it not to rain. We thought it would rain & pass on over like every other storm that comes through our area, but not today. We had a steady rain most of the evening with a few breaks in between. We still had a good time though. The food & fellowship was good, the boys got to ride the jet ski, or "jes-key" as Carter calls it and Kensley loved playing in the mud puddles in the yard. (She fell a couple times and it looked like she had smeared poop all over her butt.) She was SO dirty but having so much fun playing in the rain.

*We did see fireworks last night at the mall. Honestly, it was kind of diappointing after seeing the Disney fireworks.