Surprise!

Back in early August, we had a "surprise" birthday party for my granny…

and we gave her a real surprise to make up for her party not being a surprise!

Enjoy the video (you will probably have to go to my blog site to see the actual video…)

Badin Lake

Last weekend we went out to Badin Lake with some friends from our Sunday School class who graciously let everyone come out and enjoy their lake house for the day.

Skylar was not too excited about the lake water "'cause it's dirty" and has "crocodiles" in it… but she was excited to get on the boat… until we started leaving the dock and she wanted to go back! I think she actually enjoyed it though and said she would go back out on the boat if her friends went. And the boat didn't go too far away.

Grey loved the boat. And eating his life vest. Or maybe he was waiting for bugs.

At one point he fell asleep while sitting up on his knees looking out over the back of the boat. I noticed he was pretty heavy on my arm and looked down to see his head was flat out to the side. And he was drooling.

We went back up to the house and Skylar spent the day playing in a kiddie pool with her friends while Grey went around looking for balls. One of his favorite words now.

Did I mention that we are ready for football and basketball season to start??

Oh yea.

Madagascar in the Park

Last night we went to see Madagascar at Center City Park again. Love those free movies at the park!

Skylar was all about the camera last night and was cheesin' galore.

She had to put tissue in her ears because last time it was too loud.

Uh-oh...

Last night at dinner, I had to run to the bathroom in the middle of it… the bathroom upstairs because the one downstairs and the kids bathroom were both out of toilet paper.

That's what happens when your hubby rearranges the closet for you and put the extra rolls of TP on the top shelf where you can't reach.

And then he goes out of town for a week.

Don't worry… I think we'll make it till he get back home on the one roll left. No napkins/paper towels or kleenex here! :)

But, while I was upstairs I heard some rather loud, raucous laughter downstairs. I knew it would be trouble.

This is what I found:

One of Grey's favorite things to do now is throw food when he is done so we usually take his plate away first. Then he spits whatever is in his mouth out and throws it, so he gets removed from the table.

Evidently the mice will play while Mama is in the other room. Do you notice the look of utter innocence on that face?!?

He even had the nerve to ask me for more spaghetti! See the perfect use of that sign below!

His other new favorite thing is to shake his head no if he doesn't want anything or to nod his head yes when he does. He does really big, exaggerated shakes and nods and even has to open his mouth while nodding. Very cute.

Last day at Burmill for the summer :(

Yesterday, to continue my last few free days of summer fun, I met some of my family at Burmill pool again for swimming! My mom picked up Skylar and Grey and took them on while I had a meeting to attend and then I met them after lunch.

Skylar had the best time with Izzy and her other cousins, while Grey was a little more cautious of the colder water. He's used to it being in the upper 90s when we go to the pool!

By the time I arrived, he was almost ready for a nap, so we grabbed his "iwwow" (pillow) and headed out to get the stroller. He was asleep in about 5 minutes, but only slept for about 10 total… stinker.

You can see how happy he is about his "iwwow" here:

As soon as she is done swimming, Skylar has a bad habit of stripping down…

She was in a playful mood yesterday and was tickling Izzy with the leaf while I was trying to take their picture.

Goofy one and Goofy two: Skylar kept looking back and forth between the camera and Izzy to make sure she was looking and smiling.

Grey's favorite part about Burmill is this slide: you can see Skylar going down here:

Skylar stole Grey's sunglasses for some reason, but he was happy to rock out the Hannah Montana glasses.

Skylar and Izzy

NC Zoo

This is my last (partial) week of summer before school starts back up… waaa!

The whole working part-time during the summer is the pits. It makes the summer go by way too fast.

So, today, I took the kids to the big zoo and we spent the day gallivanting up and down hill country to see all the animals. Skylar was so excited and kept naming which animal she wanted to see next… typically the one farthest away from where we were. When I would say something like, "how about we see the gorillas on our way to the lions?", I'd get a big sigh and an "okayyy". Do I have a teenager already??

But we all had a blast and were exhausted by the end of the day. Luckily it was only about 85* today, and it actually felt great outside. Perfect day for the zoo. Now, if only my kiddos could walk the whole thing so I wouldn't have to push the Bob… but then how would I sneak my snacks in everywhere… hmm, dilemma.

First off, can someone please give me one of these?? I'm in love with this arrangement!

The black bears. The grizzlies were absent today.

Skylar's favorite today was the alligators, because they were so still. Maybe b/c she's been playing crocodile in the pool with her cousins lately?? Its my best guess.

Really Mr. Nik (Gorilla). What kind of a zoo do you think this is?

Well hello there, Mr. Giraffe.

It really was a great day to see the animals. All but the grizzlies were out in their habitats and many were active. We got to see the baby chimp up close by the glass; the uh-umm gorilla up close and personal; the giraffes and zebras were super close as were the elephants. The lion was MIA the first time we went by their place, but when we circled back around, the mane-man was lying in the grass and even gave us several extremely loud roars.

It was actually rather frightening… I had no idea they were so loud.

Grey's favorites were the monkeys. Which were really the gorillas and the chimps.

We haven't mastered our species lessons yet… but he has mastered the "ohh, ahhh, ahh, ahh" which he proudly displayed today. To Nik's heiny. Nik being the gorilla.

We learned so much today, and I'm sure everyone wants to know what questions Skylar asked me when we walked up to see Nik's.., uh-umm, nether regions, uh-umm, displayed so prominently today.. but I ain't tellin'.

Wet'nWild

Yesterday, I took the kids back to Wet'nWild and Skylar was so excited because Granny and Grandma were coming with us this time! She's been wanting them to come to "her pool" all summer!

We started off with some of their favorite things: Climbing on the seal.

And blocking the water fountain on the baby whale. They think it's hilarious when they splash someone with the water.

And of course, no day is complete without swinging a little bit.

I think their most favorite thing to do is eat however.. so we spent quite a bit of time snacking as well.

We also went down a bunch of slides, but headed back to the pool area when we saw the line for the cyclone- one of Skylar's favorites.

Children's Museum

The other week we went to the Children's Museum with some friends from church. Skylar was very timid at first, but warmed up nicely by the end. Grey had fun, but definitely made it known that he was not a baby and did not go into the baby/toddler area.

Really, what were we thinking?? Just look at how grown up he is! Baby? I think not!

;)

Here he is enjoying a nice afternoon in the wilderness by the campsite with his friend. Do you see any babies here??

And he was so grown up, he even got to drive the train. And watch the train on the tv at the same time.

Meanwhile, Skylar was forced to do slave labor and fill up the engine with coal.

I LOVE the Children's Museum… if it just wasn't so dang expensive!

Look who's swimming!

The other day I caved in and bought Skylar the newest rendition of arm floaties at Target. She's been wanting one all summer and I just didn't want to spend $18 on a floaty. But, most pools don't allow the arm bands anymore and this new one can be used in place of a life vest. Very convenient at Wet'nWild. And both Skylar and Grey can use it for years to come if needed.

Yesterday, we spent the day at Bur-mill with some family and she tried them out for the first time. She was swimming all by herself and even showing off how she can float on her back now. Well worth the $18 in my opinion!

Here are the kiddos playing Alligator.

Cheyanne's friend Kaylee joined us for the day.

Here she is! Yelling at me not to take her picture...

Where's Skylar? Can you spot her face peeking through the orange and yellow posts? She was hiding from the camera.

Grey was all about the slide at Bur-mill and it was so fun to be able to show off his lack of fear to the family!

They also loved the splash area.