The Land Between the Lakes

We decided to have one last family hurrah before school started back, so two weeks ago we took the boys down to Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake for a few days. It was the perfect little getaway, and we loved our family time together. 

Kentucky Lake

When we got there we decided to have our picnic lunch on the boat instead of a picnic table.

The boys played at the water's edge with sticks and rocks for at least an hour. They were perfectly content.

Caleb made the call to put the boat in the water before heading to the hotel. I think he made a good choice! We cruised around and then took the canal over to check out Lake Barkley. 

Ice cream at The Moors Marina on Kentucky Lake

Luke L-O-V-E-S hotel life. Warm cookies and mints in the lobby...he was in heaven!

The sitting area off to the side of the lobby had a big stash of toys that kept them entertained while I drank coffee and got to watch the Today Show each morning. (win-win!)

For dinner one night we went to Patty's, a local favorite. The boys loved all the animals outside the restaurant.

After dinner we let the boys swim until bedtime. We had the pool to ourselves and I tried to capture some action shots. Because the sun was setting, I couldn't get the lighting perfect, so some are a little blurry. Still, you can see how much fun these little fish were having!

Every time Luke jumps in the pool he screams "Cannonball!"

We also went to the water park in Eddyville. It was very low key- Creed and I were able to sit on the edge of the pool and watch the boys, which was great! Luke and I also took a few trips around the lazy river while Creed and Caleb went down the bigger water slides. While this was our first time going there, we were really impressed and will definitely go back. It was clean, lots of fun, and everyone that worked there was really nice!

*****

As I write this, Caleb's uniform is laid out, the boys' backpacks are packed, and Luke's lunch is in the fridge. That's right- school starts for both boys tomorrow! Caleb is in half-day kindergarten (8am-12pm) and Luke is doing Mother's Day Out two mornings a week for the same amount of time. We are anxious, yet very excited, and so proud of our boys- can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring! (Hoping for no tears!)

Cunningham's Creekside

A few weeks ago we had dinner with Marshma and Papa at Cunningham's Creekside. The boys loved watching the boats come and go, and we all enjoyed our delicious fried fish. It was a perfect evening!

Making Pancakes

Love his sweet imagination!

Lately...

Lunch at Caleb's favorite, Subway. 

While most of the time I have to make Caleb eat at mealtime, he's always able to gobble up his 6 inch Cold Cut Combo (on wheat, with a little mayo and lots of black olives) without any trouble. 

Luke practicing good dental hygiene. 

Actually, this kid loves mint (Tic Tacs, Altoids, Peppermint, etc.) and I often catch him raiding Creed's dental floss stash, just to lick the mint flavor off. 

While Caleb isn't a huge team sports kind of kid (he loves swimming, skiing, etc.) he's recently decided he likes baseball and will practice for five minutes here and there. Last week he told me he wants to play baseball when he grows up, but then told me not to sign him up until he's twelve or thirteen. 

Part of Luke's bedtime routine involves zipping him up in his sleep sack- he loves it! I had to take this picture to remind myself that, yes, he still sleeps in one at 2 1/2. The thing is, he loves his bed and he really loves sleeping in it, so we are no where close to the transition to a toddler bed. It just isn't necessary at this point. (If it ain't broken...) So, to keep him from attempting to climb out, we keep him zipped up. That way he can't get a leg up over the side. 

(When I told him to smile because I wanted to take his picture, he closed his eyes and refused to open them...stinker!)

We also saw another movie recently, and again, it was a big success. 

And this five year old ate an entire bag of buttery popcorn. 

Getting comfortable!

Luke is finally deciding that he likes building and playing with Legos these days. Reminds me of his big brother.

First Sleep Over with Ava

Last week we had our first real sleep over with cousin Ava. There were lots of laughs and a few arguments, but overall these cousins had an absolute blast.

There was popcorn and a movie...

 sugary donuts...

playtime at the pool...

snacks...

and of course, popcicles!

We can't wait to do it again!