Sweet Summertime

Daddy's Off Week

Blake took off work last week for our annual "staycation."  We are not going on vacation this year, as we are saving our money to take Jackson and Claire to Disney World in December.  (Shhh...it is a secret).  We are soooo excited!!!  I am not going to lie and say I haven't missed the beach this summer, but a staycation with a 3 and 6 year old is pretty fun, too!!  My kids have sleeping problems when we travel (and by problems, I mean they don't sleep), so our stay cation may even be more refreshing!  On Monday, our buddy Cheng Yu came over to play.  (Blake actually worked Monday...his vacation started on Tuesday)....on Tuesday Claire woke up with a fever and puke.  That part wasn't so great, but she bounced back quickly and she didn't share her virus with us.  The rest of the week, Blake worked on his "to do" list, cleaned out our garage, and WE PAID OFF OUR PILOT.  That is a really big deal.  We had 2 car payments when we married, and for the most part have had at least one car loan at one point or another for the past 10 years. I am thankful that debt is GONE!!!  We have been working with Dave Ramsey's budgeting tools for several years now, and are thankful for the knowledge he has taught us...especially about vehicle loans!  We also went to the Discovery Museum, Aquarium, and had a swimming day last week.  I have so missed Blake this week since he has been back at work.  Summer is FLYING by.

4th Of July Fun

This 4th of July was is one that I will always remember.  The weather was absolutely amazing, and it was just a great day.  We swam, Jack and Claire played with their cousins, we ate low country boil, homemade ice cream, rang freedom bells, saw a fireworks show, and just had an awesome time celebrating this amazing place we call home.  Unfortunately, this perfect day didn't have the perfect ending.

As I snapped the picture of Jackson and Claire passed out from the day of fun....Blake found our Lady girl in deep distress.   We are all still processing and missing our sweet dog this week.  She left her paw print on our hearts, and we just miss her so much!

Indian Boundary Camp 2014

On Friday morning, we loaded up our tent and went to Tellico Plains for the weekend to camp.  This was our first real camping trip as a family of 4.  We took our tent and other essentials, and had a great time!!  Jackson is such an outdoors man!  I took more pics on my phone, but these are the few from my camera.

Highlights Include:

1.  Surviving a rain storm within the first hour of our trip.

2.  Teaching Claire to pee in the woods.

3.  Jackson catching a fish!

4.  Claire pretending to set the burglar alarm on our tent before we went to sleep, and thinking that fruit punch came out of the water "pump" rather than water.

5.  Me flipping of the air mattress in the tent.

6.  Riding bikes and going to the store.

7.  Jackson roasting marshmallows with a tree limb, rather than a stick. 

8.Me making sure the trash cans were closed and the animal latches were secure before going to sleep for fear of bears.

9.  Donnie made reservations that were across from the restroom and bath house...I am grateful.

10.  We had a blast.  My kids were so happy, and I can't wait to go again!!