More Summer Fun

Summer in East Tennessee is in full swing and the heat is heavy (to say it mildly and without offending my true southern friends). The pool water is a bit like bathwater on most days and we are keeping indoors to stay cool. There was a scare when the AC broke (89 deg. in the house) but a nice guy came to fix it and he didn't break our bank. A reilef!
Our garden is looking pretty nice this year and our plant, the "butterfly bush", attracts lots of guests. Here are two of them....

Since it is so hot, we play outside in the mornings before it really sizzles. Kestrel loves the red sports car and Layton is one of the scariest monsters I have met. His teeth really add that extra spark of fright, don't ya think? The TV remote makes for the best weapon too.
In Chatt-Town, a little place known as Rock City (think red bird houses all along the interstate for miles saying, "See Rock City") is a cool oasis of rocky paths and tunnels to enjoy. Our friends, the Malones, invited us and here are a few pics of the trip. Kestrel is in the pack I am carrying and you can barely see her little blonde head peaking over...
Layton and Ryan had the best time running through the City.Time for a little snack.One of the biggest highlights for me thus far is that I painted the inside of the house and added much needed color. I did the parts I could do and hired the best painter to do the tall walls. I am so happy with the outcome and I feel like I am getting the house the way I really like it. It has only taken me 4 years (2 kids, a husband's career change, and all that life throws my way).


And finally, today is my mom's 60th birthday. I wish I could be with her today and celebrate with her, but traveling alone with my two little ones is pretty much my worst nightmare right now, so we are sending this to her to let her know how important she is to all of us and how much we love her!! Happy Birthday, Mom!!!! Note: I have never posted a video so I am not sure if it will work...

4th of July!

Happy Belated Independence Day!!! The kids were jazzed up to start the festivities this year and took to all the summer fun with great attitudes! The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays (ok, all holidays are pretty much my favorite) because my Grandma Weirdo loved to celebrate it. I have great memories of watermelon eating contests, Grandma dressed as a clown for Legion picnics, pinatas, family BBQs, firecrackers (she called them all firecrackers regardless of type) in the street (several times the police showed up because they were marginally legal), lawnchairs in the yard, and lots of fun! This year, I wanted to begin doing some of those things for my two (minus the clown costume).
We celebrated with neighbors at a BBQ and also did the lawnchair/firecracker/yard fun at dusk. Unfortunately Kestrel went to bed at her normal time so she missed the show, but Layton had a blast!
In addition to the 4th, we celebrated our 9th anniversary on 7/7! Luke is in flight school in Atlanta and I was feeling the itch to have a vacation so I decided I would take the kids to a resort in Georgia and Luke could meet us there in the evenings. After misreading a map (I know...how could I?) and realizing my first pick was 2.5 hours for Luke to get to in the evenings, I booked us a family getaway at Stone Mountain Park outside Atlanta. Turns out...it was PERFECT!!
The Mountain itself is a huge granite dome and, on one side, there is a huge carving of Stonewall Jackson, Jefferson Davis and Robert E Lee. At dusk, the largest laser light show in the world is projected on top of the three men and it was a "southern experience" for sure. There were lots of jeers and jabs between Georgia Bulldog and Georgia Tech fans, Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Georgia on my Mind", etc...Layton had a long enough day, so we packed it up and went back to the hotel for the night. Gotta love his face in this one :)
We stayed at the resort right in the park and it kept us busy and was comfortable. At the park, we took a nature walk...
We did go into the park where we saw a percussion group, rode a train, Layton did some bouldering, rode the skylift to the top, played miniature golf and ate a bunch of popsicles. It was 100º the two days we were there, so I didn't get the camera out in the heat too much. It was a great mini-trip and was wonderful to be together as a family on our special day while Luke is in school.
This week Layton is spending each morning at his old pre-school for Vacation Bible School and Kestrel is helping me update the blog.