School Time

It is (already!) that time again to start school. In a way we are very happy to be back in the swing of things, but it does seem like summer is too short. Anyway, A has started 1st grade and he just seems older by the minute. C has started Pre-K and he is very excited. So far both boys like their teachers and have been looking forward to the next day of school. Let's hope that keeps up!

Two teeth down

A lost his first tooth while we were at Hilton Head and the second fell out 24hrs later in Clarksville, TN. The toothfairy is getting her workout chasing this boy around the country! This is the first picture following the first loss. (It's a little graphic!) He looks much better now that they are both gone.

Island Magic

We had such a wonderful time on our trip to Hilton Head Island. Everyone we talked to told us, "you will love it!" And we did! This was our first "real" family vacation where we roadtripped and stayed somewhere for an entire week. It was absolutely perfect and very relaxing. We have already decided that we will be returning yearly from now on each summer. Anyone want to join us? Here's a run down of our trip:
1. every day spent some time (most of the day) at the beach
2. daily bike ride
3. most days hit the pool for a few hours.
4. ate lobster twice!!
5. saw two aligators! yikes!
6. saw one shark!! more yikes!
7. went on dolphin cruise and saw ~10 dolphins and 3 babies!
8. played 9 holes of golf
9. relaxed
10. 34 hours in the car....not relaxing, but necessary.
11. had professional family pictures taken on the beach.

Can't wait until next summer!!

7/4/08

We had a great 4th of July in Texas. This was probably our best trip to Texas as far as the kids and their behavior and our overall good time!! The drive down was awful, but once we arrived, we had a wonderful time. Most of the time we spent lounging by the pool. That was perfect for us and the boys had so much fun. This was probably the first time we have been in Dallas and all the boys have enjoyed the pool. On the 4th we went up to Dave and Jane's country club. They had a block party type thing with bounce houses for the kids. Then we watched the fireworks from there. On Saturday we went to Six Flags. This was so much bigger than I expected. The kids had fun and Dave and Jane survived 7 hours in 100+ degree heat!!! I dragged Susie on the "Batman" ride and then I rode solo on some other roller coaster. I can't wait until one of the boys is old enough and willing to ride more coasters with me!!

Here are some pictures from our trip. A had such a great time that he decided to stay another week in Texas. It is very quiet around home without him, but we know he is having a great time with Grandma and Gramps!

Beware of Rogue Marker

F had a little too much alone time last night and came out of the den looking like he had been attacked. Thankfully it was an attack from a washable marker and the evidence was only on F and not the walls. Washable or not, that would not have been fun to clean up.

Basement Project Update

Our basement project is coming along, though much slower than we had expected. Originally we were told it would take 6 weeks. We knew from previous home buidling/renovating experience that that was not a realistic time line, but we were thinking 8-9 weeks may be possible. Well, this past Sunday was 9 weeks since the start and we still have a little ways to go, but they are getting there. So far the floor has been completely ripped out and removed. It was lowered about 7 inches and repoured. It is so nice and smooth now!! The "dry system" has been installed around the perimeter of the foundation. This is a tile drain system to prevent water from coming in from the walls. They also installed a sump pump into the floor to keep the whole basement dry. The studs are up. New windows have been added. All the electrical and plumbing has been installed. The ceiling has been painted. And the new stair case has been built. Now they need to sheet rock the walls and finish the bathroom off. Hopefully 2 more weeks???

The new laundry area (in front of the studs)

The bedroom.

The bathroom.

The view standing in front of the laundry area.

Early Summer 08

We are having a great summer so far this year. It is much better in comparison to last year when we were stuck without water activities thanks to Aidan's broken arm. We have joined a local cities' pools and the boys are having a great time going to each of them. A and C started their swim lessons today and they have come leaps and bounds from last summer. Susie said they were both (especially C) dreading the lessons, but they did great. C was completely submerging himself while swimming even though he only had a put his face in the water. A was learning to do the freestyle stroke while holding one arm on the noodle. With the lake house and our time around the pool in Texas, it is very important to us that the boys be good swimmers. We are so happy to see them enjoy it too.

Aside from swimming we have been doing some fun activities around too. We went to the opening of this show called "Walking with Dinosaurs." We didn't actually see the show, but got a sneak peak at the characters. The kids were none too excited to see anymore dinosaurs after meeting this baby T-Rex. Scary!