Recently...

The last Saturday at "our" pool. 

Sadly, after spending eight summers at our laid-back, quiet pool, we have had to make a switch. Our pool closed early this summer, and while we are finishing our membership at another pool, it was still sad to hear. 

Our pool was the PERFECT place for our babies to learn to swim, make friends, and gain confidence in the water in a very safe place. And, since there were countless times that they were the only kids in the pool, I even got to read a book a few times.

After only three days of school, Caleb came down with strep throat again. (That's three times over the last four summer months!) Like the times before, his fever never got above 100 and he never felt "sick." After a quick trip to the Little Clinic to get him started on antibiotics, he was feeling back to normal. And, on the lake tubing just a few hours later. ;)

Imagine my surprise when the door bell rang one afternoon last week and the florist delivered this...Creed sure spoils me! Such a thoughtful guy!

Hair Cuts = Snow Cones

The boys have been saving their money and decided to spend a little at Bricks & Mini-Figs last week. They both purchased pre-made, used sets,  that were significantly discounted. And...I didn't have to help them build them! Luke also picked out a little container of miscellaneous Legos from the huge tables...he hand picked each piece, thinking about how he could use them. It was precious...and took forever!

Our New Pool

We spent six hours there on Saturday and the boys would have stayed six more. The love it! It's much, much, much larger (and more crowded) than our old pool, but I guess that makes it even more fun. Lots of our friends from our old pool were there too, and I think we know where we will be spending next summer. (Even though my days of reading at the pool are over.)

Luke approved

The highlight for the boys is the diving board. This is Luke's first experience with a diving board (he didn't even know what it was!) and he rocked his flip.

Caleb, not to be shown up by his little brother, attempted a flip as well. Love their fearlessness.

First Day of School

On Wednesday, August 12, the boys had their first day of school. Both love going to school, which is such a blessing, and were all smiles (even though they would have rather been going to the pool!)

2nd Grade

Ms. Amshoff's Class

Preschool 4s

Mrs. Thomas' Class

(cracks me up)

Caleb and Reese have been friends since they were four. They also happen to be in the same class at church, and Reese's mom and I are friends. I told her to keep on eye on him for me. ;)

Luke and his neighborhood friend, Collin, hard at work. 

Since we knew Creed would be at work way past their bedtime, we met him at Culver's for an after school treat.

This was Luke's first homework assignment. He colored a rainbow and then drew a picture of himself. He is so funny...the cloud on the left was blue with sunshine coming down, but the cloud on the right was black with raindrops. He's such a (good) mess!

And this was Luke's morning work on the first day. I think I may be purchasing a 3rd pack of markers before long.

The Last Weekend (before school started)

We are officially back to school (and work) around here. Last week was a crazy, busy week! Caleb and Luke both had great first days of school, and I jumped back into my role as a part-time arts and humanities teacher. Creed also started a new job at his work, so we have had lots of first days around here.

Before everything got busy, we had a great "last" weekend. Last Saturday afternoon the boys celebrated with their cousin Matteo at All About Kids for his 5th birthday and had a blast. Lots of smiles!

Cousin love

Then later that evening we celebrated our friend Harper's 4th birthday. They had a pool and a water slide set up, and the kids wore themselves out! 

Dinner with Hayden 

(Ashley had sandwiches, fruit, and chips..A perfect meal for my boys!)

The birthday girl had the most beautiful mermaid-inspired cake. And, it was delicious too!

Last Sunday afternoon we headed back out to the lake. While Little has refused to tube this year, we knew he would like it if he tried. (After all, he loved it as a three year old!) So, after a bribe that may have included TWO treats from the marina, he was ready to go. 

He loved it! Caleb was sweet and let him lay in the middle of the tube and talked to him most of the ride.

The Sponge Bob popcicle made it all worth it. (The gummies helped too!) 

Later that afternoon, The Whitworths joined us on the lake. Caleb and Jackson were quick to tube together. The boys actually hit a huge wave and took a crazy fall off the tube. Jackson's response: That was awesome! Best day ever! I love it!

Luke and Harper

Family Thursdays

Since Creed is off on Thursdays, we make that our family day over the summer. We got lucky with lots of hot, sunny Thursdays, so we spent most at the lake. With school starting back this week, we knew this past Thursday would be our last until next summer, and since it rained all day, we had to find indoor fun.

We started off at House of Boom. It was our first time there and all four of us had a blast! It wasn't very crowded so we had plenty of room to run, jump, flip, and swing. I am still sore from all of the "ninja warrior" things, and we are still laughing at how Creed may have been the biggest kid there. Luke shocked us with his fearless flips and willingness to do the trapeze. Needless to say, we can't wait to go back!

Most of the pictures are a blur, but that just shows that for a solid hour, we didn't stop!

After lunch, we took the boys to Renaissance Fun Park. We spent hours playing laser tag, arcade games, and even managed to find some time for go-carts and the playground during breaks from the rain.

Caleb LOVED laser tag and probably played six rounds. Luke liked it too, but didn't play quite so many since his pack was so heavy.

The End of July

We are pretty bummed out around here. What happened to July?!!

None of us are ready (at all!!) for school to start back next week. We are not ready for bedtimes, early wake up alarms, homework, and clean uniforms. Having said that, we are trying to make the most of these last few days before school.

Our version of Boot Camp

One day the boys were a mess at the pool. Caleb kept antagonizing Luke and Luke kept whining and crying over everything. So, the following morning, we talked about their behavior and then I passed out baby wipes. They spent a solid hour cleaning base boards, or "dust boards" as Luke called them. Now when they are losing their minds, I just ask Do you want to clean the baseboards? and they chill out. :)

We met Erika and cousin Ava at the splash park one evening before dinner. Hard to believe that this time next year our new baby cousin, Claire, will be splashing around!

Creed and I love Eric Church and decided earlier this summer that we wanted to go to a concert. We found tickets on StubHub for a concert at Nashville's amphitheater. Little did we know that it was the opening night of the new amphitheater and Church was putting on a special concert! 

Thanks to Marshma and Papa babysitting, we got to spend a full day and night in Nashville. We ate way too much and did a little shopping on Broadway. It was a great getaway! 

Ascend is an awesome venue and we loved every minute. When we got our tickets we noticed that it said "a rare solo appearance," but didn't know what that meant. Church actually played acoustically, and brought his band members on stage one at a time to play together for different songs. We later found out that he only planned the first two songs and went along with the crowd for the rest of the concert. It really was a cool experience. 

The boys got a package from PeePaw (It included all the things we left at the lake house earlier this summer) and were over the moon with excitement over the stash of candy in the bottom.

Dinner on the lake 

Over the weekend we got to go to one of my brother's best friend's weddings. We have known Ben since he was young and are so happy for him and his new beautiful bride. And, we got to see Uncle Luke, the best man, looking good in a tux!