peaceful Sunday

Our family is half its original size.  Todd, Graham and Drew are on their way to a week of middle school youth camp in Kentucky.  After a very crazy, chaotic morning, the rest of today was peaceful. 

At least, according to Jonah. 

We got home from sending them on their way, and cried for thirty minutes.  After that, we ate lunch, then went swimming at our neighbor's.  We got there, and once Jonah was in the pool, he said, "It's so peaceful today.  Graham and Drew are always so loud when they're with us." 

Out of the mouths of babes.  :-) 

And it did turn into a peaceful afternoon.  Once all the tears stopped flowing (we do NOT enjoy saying goodbye), I was able to finish my Nicholas Sparks book, and we all swam together.  Mostly, I was entertained by Jonah and Noah.  I love their little imaginations.  They were pretending to be lifeguards, and they "made" their own jet ski's. 

I love that when these two are together, they do not fight.  I can count on one hand how many times they've actually fought.  It hasn't been often.  They are their own little people, and their relationship is so different than that of regular brothers.  I love that about them. 

Now that we're out of the pool, we're about to go to my Mom's house.  :-)  I am so thankful they invited us over for dinner...it's just what we need after getting our day off to a sad start. 

I hope your weekend has been great.  Love to all!

the weekend

I love lazy Saturday mornings.  The kids (and the hubby) are still asleep, so I'm downstairs by myself, watching CMT, on the computer.  I love this time.  The only time I ever watch CMT is on Saturday morning.  Weird, huh? 

I have one crazy busy day planned.  I need to get out sometime early and pick up some things from the store for the ones I have leaving for camp tomorrow.  I need to wash clothes.  I need to assist every one in packing.  Well, not Todd.  I can trust him.  ;-) 

Above all this, I promised my kiddos we would swim some more.  I'm trying to figure out when I'm going to do what.  No matter when I decide to do what, I am confident it'll all happen.  Things always have this way of just falling into place. 

Well, it doesn't just magically happen.  I always pray this:

"Commit your actions to the LORD and your plans will succeed."  Proverbs 16:3

He has a way of making it all just happen. 

He is so good to us in that way.

Have a wonderful weekend!  Love to all.

just a lil FYI

I created a new blog tonight.  (After I swam with my kids, made dinner with my hubby, swam some more and read.)

It's going to be very different from this one, and it's dedicated to my sweet Daddy.  You can get to it by going here: http://myfridayswithdad.blogspot.com/.

Just in case you need something more to read.  ;-)

Love to all!

e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d.

Today was day three of Vacation Bible School, and I am beyond exhausted.  The kids wore me out a little today...I don't know if it was because today was hump day or what, but the kids were a little rambunctious. 

And yes, that is putting it mildly. 

I'm confident that tomorrow will be so much fun, though...we're playing a really fun game before we concentrate on our missionary of the day.  One that involves eating powdered donuts without using your hands.  That's always fun...especially for fifth graders!  I must say, also, that I have loved learning about different missionaries each day.  The kids seem to be enjoying themselves as well.  At least a few of them have been telling their moms that.  :-)

I have some prep work to do for tomorrow, but I don't feel like it!  I'm praying that I'll be able to wake up earlier in the morning so I'll have extra time to do it then.  I should be refreshed by then. 

At least, that's what I'm hoping. 

It's such an honor to be able to love on these kids.  I know some of them have been a little rough around the edges, but I pray that they feel the love of Jesus this week.  I pray that they get to know Him if they don't.  Because, really...that's what it's all about. 

Exhaustion or no exhaustion.  Tomorrow and Friday will fly by, then I'll have the weekend to recuperate. 

Love to all!

the second day of this week

Monday and Tuesday have flown by...thank you, vacation Bible school!  Seriously, if you want to get through a week fast, this will do it.  Our mornings have been starting early...I've been rolling out of bed at 5:45 so I can shower, have quiet time (I really needed to catch up on my chronological Bible reading plan), check emails, Facebook, get breakfast ready, wake up kids and get dressed.

WHEW!

Are you tired yet?  I am...this would be why I've been falling asleep for ten minutes each day after lunch!  Sitting up, in the recliner, while the kids watch a show.  I know...ridiculous, but I can't help it.  I will try to be in bed earlier tonight...if I can put my book down.  (The kids and I went to our happy place yesterday and borrowed some "new" books, and I found a Nicholas Sparks book I've never read, At First Sight.  It's so good!)

I know this sounds crazy, but I've been praying in bed each night that the Lord would wake me up and motivate me to get out of bed.  And you know what?  He has.  I think that He cares about every little thing we do, and my two main goals the past two mornings have been to read His Word and pray for VBS and all the kids attending and helpers helping.  I think He has honored that request because He knew that it was of the utmost importance for me to do that. 

Do you believe that He does little things like that for us?  I do...I have always prayed to wake up at a certain time in the morning, or if I was taking an afternoon siesta before the kids came home, and it always works.  I also pray that I be a really good steward of my time and my money.  And I pray that (almost) every time I walk through the doors of a grocery store.

Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart."

 I don't think that means that if we treat Him like a genie in a bottle He'll give us what we want.  But I think that He honors our requests if they're made with the right intentions in our heart.  I also believe and trust that He hears our prayers.  I know He does, in fact, I've witnessed too many times to say otherwise.  


No matter what the circumstance, He is in control.  He's got everything worked out already, and fretting over something does no good.  (I have to remind myself of this often...so yes, I am preaching to myself.)


How has your week been so far?  Tonight my sister and I are celebrating Father's day with my sweet dad.  I'm excited...he's taking us to one of my most favorite restaurants, and we all know I'm a food-lovin' girl.


Enjoy your evening...however you may spend it, enjoy the time.  Love to all! 

(Linking up for Titus 2sday at Time Warp Wife's blog) at http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/.

Monday Info

Don't you love my blog titles nowadays?  I have the hardest time thinking of titles.  I wouldn't worry about even having one if not for my mom-in-love and husband.  Actually, scratch that.  I don't think my hubby reads the blog anymore.  Anyway.

I thought I would share some new blogs that I have recently come across.  Facebook is so good for finding blogs!  The first one is To Love, Honor and Vacuum and can be found at  http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/.  This is the one about the article I shared about Fifty Shades of Grey.  Check her out...good stuff for married women!

Another one is Time-Warp Wife, and you can find her at http://time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/.  I found her through a friend on Facebook.  I "share" her pictures a lot. 

I love this lady, who wrote the book Grace For the Good Girl, which I have yet to read.  Her blog is called chatting at the sky and can be found at http://www.chattingatthesky.com/.

Lastly is one I just found today, called God's Amazing Blessings.  She can be found at http://www.godsamazingblessings.com/.

Are you seeing a theme?  These are all Godly women, wives, and mom's.  It is so important to have some encouragement along our way, and who better to encourage than other women going through the same journey in life?  I think we are meant to encourage and uplift one another...don't you?

Are there any blogs out there that you love?  Why? 

Love to all.

random

Have you heard about the controversial book series, Fifty Shades of Grey?  I had not even heard of them until about a month ago...and I don't know how I missed it, because I am a book nerd.  Well, I have heard about them now.  And I am determined not to read the series.  Here's a really great blog on why I'm not: http://tolovehonorandvacuum.com/2012/06/wifey-wednesday-50-shades-of-grey-is-bad-for-your-marriage/.

If you've read them, I am not judging you...please know that.  I'm just sharing why I'm not reading them.  And check out this woman's blog...if you need help in the area of "spice" in your marriage, she has some great, Godly things you can read about.  She encourages us to use our husbands...not erotica.

Moving on.

One thing you may not know about me is that I have issues with my mouth.  Not as in cursing, but in what I say.  I have this really bad habit of thinking something, then saying it.  And sometimes I direct it at my poor, unsuspecting husband.  I try and warn him when I might be in a bad mood, but sometimes things just fly out of my mouth.  The Bible study I did (by Beth Moore) on the book of James helped me with this...and so does actually reading my Bible and praying.  The Old Testament doesn't have lots to say about how to control our mouths, but it does have lots to say about knowing that God is with us always...even in the moments when we need to watch what we say. 

Trust me, I am no expert in this area.  And I have lots of areas that still need improvement.  But I am a work in progress.  I'm so thankful that the Lord cares about every little detail of my life...He is there to get me through times like these. 

Father's day is coming up...and I need to do some shopping before heading back home!  I'm thinking Phyllis, the boys and I might sneak out tonight to Branson Landing.  Noah saw something the other day in a candy store that he really wants to buy Todd for Father's day.  How do you appreciate the men in your life?  This year will be different since we're out of town.  We'll be going home on Saturday, but that means I might have to celebrate with my Dad on a week night.  I think we're celebrating with my stepdad Sunday night.  At least I hope so.  ;-) 

Well, I need to go wake some boys up.  We have some fun that needs to be had at the water park today.  Happy Friday and love to all!

vacation edition

I think the last time I posted was the night we went to Lambert's...Sunday night.  Today is Thursday, and we've done lots since then!  On Monday it rained, so that changed our plans.  We ended up going to Silver Dollar City later that afternoon. 

Poor Noah...his little eyes are so sensitive, and I did not realize the sun was shining right into them.  I wish I had realized that...I would have taken this again.  But you get the drift. 

Going into the park, Drew was saying that he was not going to ride any of the roller coasters.  He is just like I was when I was younger, and he was saying that he was scared. 

Then I made him go on this:

Seriously...I made him go on that ride and he was almost in tears.  But when he came out, he was laughing his little head off.  He decided later to give a roller coaster a try.  He rode one called Powder Keg (that I wouldn't ride), and from that point on, Drew is now an adrenaline junkie.  He was even riding the upside down ones. 

Tuesday we spent the day at White Water.  The boys have never been to a water park.

The first slide they got on was seven stories high...and all of them climbed to the top, laid down, and slid down.  No hesitation, no questions asked.  I was shocked.  We're actually going back here tomorrow, so I'll try to get pics of them coming down.  I have one of Todd, but I don't think he would appreciate me posting it on here. 

Tuesday night we went to Sight and Sound Theater to see the play Joseph.  It was ahhhmaaazing.  All the boys were on the edge of their seats the entire length of the play.  It lasted from about 7:30 to 10:00.  They used live animals all throughout this play...horses, camels, donkeys, lambs, goats, a sphinx cat...it was amazing.  If you ever get the opportunity to go to one of their plays, do it!  There are only two theaters they have...this one in Branson, and one in Pennsylvania.  The next show they're putting on will be Jonah.  I can't wait to see that one.

Wednesday took us back to Silver Dollar City.  For more rides, and this time, some shows.  The favorite was this:

The saloon show!  Check out those smiles...they were all in Heaven, watching the pretty girls dance around them and throw their skirts up in the air.  And yes, they were wearing little shorts under their dresses.  It was all in good, clean fun...we were in a Christian establishment. 

I love this one, too:

He made me post this one on Instagram.  :-)

We did a little more of this:

We saw one more show...the Gazillion Bubble Show...and called it a day.  We were exhausted come six thirty.  My sweet hubby bought his parents a gift, and he bought me one, too!  I now have a new cross to add to my collection, but this one stands.  I love it.  It's my favorite colors, and it says, "You are blessed".

I am.

He also stopped and bought each of the boys a string puppet...they were planning on spending their own money to buy one, but he wouldn't let them.  We always let them pick out something when we go on trips together.

We headed home to eat, then we did this:

It was family movie night at the pool.  We let the kids play in the water and we watched Journey to the Mysterious Island.  It was pretty good, but don't ask me what the end was about.  We couldn't hear at that point.

Today we're going out on the water.  We have a boat waiting on us for the whole day.  I can't wait!  I hope the water is relatively warm.  I'll post one more time (maybe) before heading home on Saturday.

Hope you're all having a great week...we have enjoyed our time away so much.  It's such a blessing to be able to get away together, as a family.  We are blessed.

Love to all!

Pictures, Anyone?

We're in Branson this week, so I'll be blogging from here.  We're having a great time so far, and we only arrived yesterday.  The boys keep saying how it feels like we've been here forever.  I agree.  :-) 

We saw my sweet Christa last night, and her hubby, Jason.  I wish I'd gotten a picture, but we were too busy catching up. 

This was me and two of the boys waiting on the rest of the crew to get us all checked in.

Today we hung around our house and swam.  And ate.  Oh my, did we ever eat. 

Prior to tonight, I was a Lambert's virgin.  It was ahhhhmaaaazing!

The boys kept on getting the guy to throw them rolls just so they could catch them.  I had one go through my hair.  Seriously...I caught half of it before it fell to the floor. 

Jonah caught this one, but he made this face because it was so hot.  I thought it was hilarious. 

After dinner, we went to Branson Landing.  The weather here is so nice right now...it's 75 degrees as I'm writing this.  It was the perfect night to be outdoors. 

I thought this was cool...all the kids were getting wet every time the water would shoot up. 

And as we were leaving, I begged for just one picture of all the boys together.  In all my years as a Mom, I've learned that I only have one shot.  I think I did pretty good.

It's not the greatest, but the boys in it are.

Tomorrow our plans include a boat, an inner tube and Table Rock Lake.  I cannot wait!

I'll write again tomorrow.  Love to all!

random things you might see or hear while you're at my house

All the boys working hard to pull their share of work around the house.  At one point today, in my back yard, Jonah and Noah were cleaning up after the dogs and picking up toys, Graham was edging along the fence and under the playground, and Drew was cutting the back yard.  How I wish I had  gotten a picture.

Lots of singing.  Lots.  Graham, Drew and I are always singing something.  And speaking of Drew, that kid has an endless amount of knowledge floating around in his brain about music.  He can tell you almost any song and who sings it.  Graham sings, too, but more than that, he taps out the drum beat on any and every surface in my home.  Sometimes (lots of times), it drives me bonkers!!!

Joking.  We all mess around with each other almost nonstop.

Books lying around everywhere.  I always have at least one near me...sometimes more than one.  This includes my Bible...I admit that sometimes I leave it out after I read it so the kids can see.  I hope that seeing mine might make them want to read theirs more.  Especially because I also leave out the highlighters and colored pencils to mark it all up. 

Music.  Any time I'm not sitting down, I have my kitchen radio turned on.  Music is a vital part of my day, each and every single day.  I cannot imagine my life without it.

Shoes.  We all have this aversion to putting our shoes away.  They all kind of get jumbled up in the kitchen.  It used to irritate me, but I've learned to let it go.  Someday I'll miss those piles of shoes...ranging in sizes, all over my floor for me to trip over.  ;-)

Crayons and construction paper on the desks in my living room.  Drew, Jonah and Noah love to create things.  I keep loads of art stuff around just for that purpose.  It's also part of what we give them each year for Christmas or their birthdays.  I love their creativity...and it often overflows onto my refrigerator.  Sometimes I wish my refrigerator was nicer and newer, but then I think I would miss all the art work and pictures all over the front of mine.  I know it might not be "chic" to do that nowadays, but who the heck cares?  Not this mama.

Hairy floors.  I have dogs.  And cats.  And someday my floors will not be hairy, but for now, they are.  Even after vacuuming every two days.  Seriously, folks...the floors are wood and I vacuum every square inch of the downstairs every two days.  Ask my kids.  I mop once a week.  (If I'm lucky.)

What are the things about your home that you love?  Share the love and let me know you're still out there...sometimes I wonder who I'm writing to.

And all these things I've listed are what makes my house our home.  I am not always so nice about the hair and the messes everywhere, but I really do try to be.  Someday when my kids are gone, my house will be perfect.  Until then, I plan on embracing the mess.

Love to all.  

things

Yesterday, my mom-in-love and I had a girl's day together.  We had lunch at a cute little cafe in The Ville called Take A Break.  We followed lunch with manicures and pedicures at Gould's Day Spa and Salon. 

It was pure Heaven.

See?  Bliss.  It's been three years since I've had a pedicure.  Which, really is not that big a deal to me.  I do mine all the time...I get really tired of a certain color, so I re-polish often.  My hands and my toes.  I have this thing, though, in that I am obsessive over the way my feet look.  I know.  Weird. 

Anyway, while we were gone, the boys stayed home.  :-)  I love that they're old enough to do that now!  It's kind of nice...I don't have to worry about finding someone to sit with them.  My only thing is that I don't allow them to cook while I'm gone.  I really prefer that they not burn my house down.

I got my hair cut...wanna see?

It's several inches shorter.  And I lurve it.  It's cooler, easier and it's not frizzy underneath.  :-)  I'm a happy girl...it's also not this color anymore.  I colored it darker to match my roots (again) last night.  And this time, I think I might have gotten all the grey's!  I have some pesky ones that don't like hair color. 

Well, I am going to stop writing so I can go do this:

I'm trying really hard to stay caught up in my daily Bible reading plan.  I have to say...this is my favorite part of each day.  Love to all!

I am thankful for...

Jesus.  He is always the first in my life and is of the utmost importance to me.  And not just because I'm trying to be a good girl...but because I know how much He loves me (and you).  And that no matter what happens, I can always cling to Him.  He never frustrates me and He never lets me down.  "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."  (Song of Solomon 6:3 NASB.)

My husband and his sense of humor.  I love that we can mess with each other.  Although, sometimes I can't take it.  Poor thing.  I need to be more careful and warn him when those days come!

My precious boys.  I am thankful that they are considerate.  And they are genuinely good kids.  I was having a conversation with Jonah just now, and we were talking about the fact that Pappaw (my dad) is coming to get them in a little while so they can help him with his yardwork.  And Jonah said to me, "I'm not taking his money, so he'd better not even try to pay me."  I don't know many nine year old's that would say that...or thirteen year old's, for that matter.  Graham always says the same thing and has been known to leave his money at Pappaw's house.

Speaking of Pappaw...I am so thankful for my parents and for Todd's parents.  I truly could not imagine my life without them, and my children are so blessed to have them in their lives.  We were supposed to have moved away when we got married, but we didn't.  And I am so glad we didn't.  There are times when I hate this city around me, but I love The Ville, and I love the fact that we see our families often.  It's a blessing. 

I know it might sound crazy...but I'm thankful for internet and social media.  I try to only use it for encouraging others, although on Tuesday, that was not the case.  I'm not perfect, I have bad days and people frustrate me beyond imagination.  But, I do try and use it mainly to encourage and uplift. 

Our pets.  They bring such joy to our lives...remind me of this the next time I say anything negative about Crash.  (Notice he doesn't get called Evil Knievel much anymore.)  We make our pets "talk" to us...and it cracks the kids up every single time.  We also use special voices for different things...and we're always laughing at the way one of us will say something. 

I could go on...but I am going to go read my Bible.  Graham, Drew and Drew's friend Tom are all upstairs being quiet, so I'm going to go take advantage!  Love to all. 

Oh, Happy Day!

So many things make me happy today:

First, I ran across some really great Bible verses this morning in my quiet time.  I was really, really, really irritated by someone last night who said something really rude.  The same thing could have been said without the rudeness.  The Bible verses (from Proverbs) helped me see past some stuff this morning.  God is ever faithful to show Himself to me. 

Second, my washing machine is now working again!  Eureka!  I never thought washing clothes would make me so happy.  I also promise to never take a working washing machine for granted again.  With so many of us, even one day of not doing laundry can mess me up for days.

Thirdly, I now have diet coke in my house again.  :-)  It's been two days since we've had any in the fridge and I was getting to be almost desperate. 

Fourthly (is that a word?), my sweet friend (and neighbor) Katie invited us to swim later this afternoon.  I didn't swim because the water is a chilly 76 degrees, but the kids did.  The lowest temp I can swim in is eighty. 

Lastly, I am getting my hair cut tonight!  I cannot wait.  It's driving me absolutely insane...the longer it gets the curlier it gets.  The whole underside of my hair is nothing but ringlets, and it makes it look really short.  If it looks short, it might as well be short.  Not that I'm going to get it cut super short, but definitely shorter than it is now.  I might upload a pic or two later.  Or I might not. 

Well, I have to change and get ready to drop off Graham and Drew for a swim party.  Love to all!

strange morning

Just as I went to bed last night (well, about ten minutes after I had gone upstairs)  Todd came up behind me.  I thought it was a little weird, because he never goes to bed as early as I do.  Not that I went up early last night...it was around eleven.  But anyway, when he came in, I asked him with surprise in my voice, "You're coming to bed?"  He wasn't...he had just gotten called out to go help with search and rescue with the sheriff's department. 

My heart always sinks a little when I hear those words...it usually means that some family is about to receive horrible news.  There were some (one?) boaters who disappeared somewhere along the Loosahatchie.  They searched for four hours before finally finding their boat...but with nobody in it.  Todd has some work to do today (his real job), then he plans on going back out and searching some more.  So just as I was waking up at eight o'clock, he was coming up the stairs.

Weird.

It's 8:42, and I keep on feeling like I need to be doing something.  Like laundry.  Did I mention that my washer went kaput?  We have a repairman coming out in the morning to try and repair it, or they might just end up replacing it.  Who knows...but it is so strange to have so much laundry to do and being unable to do it.  I keep on thinking I need to go start a new load, and then I remember that I can't.

That being said, we're going to my mother-in-love's house today.  The boys are itching to swim in a pool (it was a little cool to swim yesterday) and I need to utilize her washing machine!  Hopefully I'll get caught up while I'm there.

The boys are still asleep.  Usually I hear some movement by this time of morning, but I've heard none this morning.  (Jonah is awake now, though.  He's fascinated by the story of Todd helping with search and rescue last night and later today.)  

I'm watching the Today show, and Meredith Vierra (sp?) is guest hosting with Matt Lauer today.  I loved when she was the host on this show and cried on her last episode.  I know...I'm a sucker.  Does anyone know why they're in London covering the Queen?  They said something about a diamond jubilee?  I have no idea what that is.

Well, Jonah keeps trying to tell me something, so I'm going to stop writing and pay attention to what he's saying.  Love to all!

the man I love

I love my husband.  He is a really hard-working man that provides for us at home.  He is the one who encouraged me to quit my job so I could stay home with Jonah and Noah to homeschool them.  Even when I am doubtful, he is the strong one.  I appreciate that about him.  I love how he always reassures me during those times. 

He works during the daytime and several times a month at night, he volunteers for the Shelby County Sheriff's department.  He started doing this five years ago, after volunteering for about five years with the Piperton Fire department.  I like him working with the sheriff's department so much better.  All the city officials are always so thankful for their help during times of need.  Todd has been on many call-outs (when someone has disappeared, they always call the sheriff's department for extra hands), and he's spent many nights away from home after bad weather. 

Like last night.  We were sitting here watching tv, and the chief of the sheriff's department texted him, asking if he could come help cut down trees.  Apparently some parts of our city were hit pretty badly by thunderstorms last night, and many trees were blown down, cutting off roads.  I always tells Todd that when the chief asks him personally to do something, that he should always say "yes".  And he has, for the most part, unless it interfered with work.  The more times he says "yes" to her, the more she trusts him. 

He's the one she prefers to have drive special vehicles to events.  She trusts him a lot more than some of the other people that volunteer.  She also calls him to ask him to be OIC (officer in charge) on the nights when he rides around the city.  On those nights, he basically paroles whatever area he's been assigned.  For instance, when someone is in medical distress, they might need extra assistance from the sheriff's department.  Todd is in ES, which stands for emergency services.  He is a first-responder, so many times he will beat the ambulance to a call.  His job is to assess as much as possible, and do whatever necessary to stabilize the person until the paramedics come. 

He enjoys doing all this.  A benefit of volunteering for the sheriff's department is the insurance they offer.  They pay for the majority of our family insurance each month.  Really, really good insurance.  But really, that is just a benefit.  I'm so glad he has something like this that he loves doing so much.  He loves this the way I love reading.  It's just a part of him...and I'm thankful that the boys have such a great Dad to look up to. 

I couldn't be more proud of him.  I took this picture last summer when he was on his way out to ride one night...I think he was talking to the chief on the phone at the same moment:

Love to all.

Pickwick

We just got home from the best weekend.  Our sweet friends, David and Amy, invited us to their lake house in Pickwick.  They asked us last summer, but we could never make the time work.  This time we were determined, so Amy and I decided on this weekend. 

It was amazing.  And such a wonderful getaway...she told me all I had to bring was clothes, beach towels, extra bread and extra drinks.  Do you know I have NEVER traveled that light since having kids?  Even as we were loading, the kids were asking, "Mom, are you sure this is all we need?"  I am not exaggerating. 

Our arrival into their neighborhood looked like this:

(I love Instagram...have I said that lately?)

This will eventually be the gate house.  For now, there is no fence around it.  The boys and I got there Thursday afternoon.  Todd and David joined us on Friday.  The boys were in immediate kid-Heaven.  Their boys have four wheelers and a golf cart, so they were immediately consumed with all that involves.  We saw them occasionally...like when they were thirsty or hungry. 

Friday dawned bright and early with more of the same.  The kids were so excited to see the dad's arrive...they were dying to get out on the water, and we couldn't really do that until they were there.

Jonah and Noah were out first on the inner tubes.

Graham and Drew were next. 

Jonah, Noah and Garret went together, and Garret's goal was to get Jonah off the tube.  Mr. David's goal was to knock Jonah off the tube.  Poor little (not)humble guy...he was the target that day.  ;-)  He had bragged to David that he had never fallen off before. 

 Guess what?  He fell off.  Not once.  But twice.  Do you see him smiling?  He was laughing his head off...so much so that I was afraid he'd swallowed half the lake.  But he didn't. 

On Saturday, they decided to try something new:

Knee boarding.  Both Jonah and Noah did great...Jonah popped right up and stayed up forever.  Noah got it on try #2.  It's really hard to do...you have to lay on your belly on this board, slowly rise up on your knees, strap a Velcro strap across your knees, then hold on to a ski rope...all while the board wriggles back and forth.  They were naturals. 

Graham and Drew...not so much. 

They all tried skiing, too...but with no luck.  Even Todd tried.  After he did a face plant into the wake the boat was making and doing the splits, he gave up.  While we all laughed hysterically from the comfort of the boat. 

The kids all jumped off some little cliffs, too:

And Amy and I had fun zipping around on their golf cart:

We were all wind blown. 

It was an amazing weekend.  I'm forever grateful that my sweet sister, Tricia, came and stayed in our house to watch the dogs and cats.  Even though Crash might have stressed her out a bit.  ;-) 

How was your weekend? 

We'll be home all this week, and then we're heading back out on Saturday for a week in Branson, Missouri.  I can't wait for the boys to experience all that Branson has to offer...it should be a really fun week. 

Love to all!