July Birthday fun

The other week at daycare, Sydney got very upset.  It was a few hours after Brian had dropped her off.  For whatever reason, she kept crying for me.  She has never done that.  She always loves school and is usually fine.  But for some reason she was really upset.  The teachers tried calming her down but nothing worked.  So her teacher decided to take her for a walk to see Austin.  They went into Austin's room.  Then as Austin said, he was confused on why Sydney was in there.  He thought maybe it was because maybe it was picture day.  The teachers were impressed and told us how Austin was concerned and went over to her to help.  Sydney told him that she wanted mommy.  Austin told her that mommy will be here after work and not to worry.  And then he gave her a big hug and picked her up off the floor.  Sydney felt so much better and then went back to her room.  He calmed her down when no one else could and she stopped crying.  Austin was a great big brother and was so good with her.  Austin is very caring does a great job helping Sydney when she needs it!  All the teachers were impressed.

For my mom's birthday, we went down to Menard's.  Brian needed to get supplies for our hot water tank. Then we went to Rockne's for dinner.  The kids were fairly good at dinner.  We don't eat out often.  After dinner, we went back to their house for cake.  The kids made the cake.  They are good in the kitchen.  The kids made her a planter with their footprints on it.  I thought it turned out really cute.

We took the kids to a Rubber Ducks game with my parents.  We were supposed to go in May but it got rained out.  My mom exchanged the tickets for us.  Our new seats were right behind home plate.  It was awesome.  The kids made a duck hat.  Then they got a duck whistle.  I am not a fan of it since it is so loud, but the kids love it!  They also got to go down the bouncy slide.  They saw Jake the Pirate and mascots of the rubber ducks.  It was a great day.

After the game, we went back to my parents house for pizza.  The kids love pizza now.  Sydney really only eats the pepperoni and Austin likes cheese pizza.  Then we had cake for Papa's birthday.  Again the kids made it.  It was really good.

Our garden is doing okay.  The green beans are doing fantastic.  We have had a lot of them and they are good.  Nothing else has grown enough to eat yet.  We have a few green tomatoes and it appears watermelon and a few cucumbers.  Austin and Sydney have enjoyed the garden.  The like to water it and pick the green beans.  Even though I don't like gardening much, it has been fun with the kiddos.  We'll probably do it again next year.

Myrtle Beach

In the springtime I decided that I would be driving down to Myrtle Beach myself.  We love to travel so Brian doesn’t have much time off for Myrtle Beach.  I have more time since I only work part time.  I knew the kids would have fun and I felt it was some thing I needed to do. 

I really didn’t know what to expect during the trip down.  As the day approached I was having second thoughts.  But this was something I committed to doing so I had to do it.  I wasn’t supposed to leave until Monday so Brian could spend the weekend with the kids.  It was going to rain during my drive on Monday and Brian has started installing a new tank less water heater (which is a major project requiring reworking of lots of our home's plumbing).  So it seemed better for me just to leave on Sunday.  I really didn’t want to drive in the rain.  Any work Brian could get done would be a bonus. 

So Sunday morning, I woke up at 4:30 am and got the kids in the van.  Brian helped me set everything up.  By 5:15 am we were on the road.  I would lie if I said I wasn’t nervous of all the “what ifs” that could happen. But I am not one to dwell on it.  I needed to just do it.   I was scared the kids would be a nightmare and I would want to lose my mind.  But deep down I knew they could do this, especially Austin.  We stopped at a rest stop in Virginia.  The kids ran around for a little while.  Then we made it to about an hour away and we all needed a potty break again. 

They did fabulous in the car.  They played on their Kindles, Leapfrog games, stickers, books, and Sesame Street audio player from the library.  Austin would help Sydney whenever she needed it.  It was really nice.  I could not have been happier with their behavior in the van going down. My GPS had me going in the back way of Nana’s house.  However the gate was closed.  So she came and got us and showed us the long way around.  The kids were a little hesitant of her at first but Austin warmed up nicely.  Sydney was a little shy but took Austin’s lead.  They had pizza waiting for us when we arrived.  It was nice.  Sydney just ate the pepperoni from the pizza and Austin had a cheese piece of pizza.  That is how they always eat their pizza.  

Melissa, Jonathan, Camden and Graham came over too.  The kids played for a little bit.  Then we went on a golf cart ride to the beach.  Austin and Sydney love the golf cart.  They taught Camden to push his hands out and say stop to cars when the golf cart is crossing.  After the golf cart ride, we had s’mores and got ready for bed. 

On Monday, Nana and Melissa had to work.  I took the kids to the local Myrtle Beach Park.  They had a great time except it got hot fast.  They only played for about 30 minutes.  Then we went grocery shopping so we had food for the week for lunch and everything.  By the time we got back, Nana was home from work. The kids played outside in a little pool and played with bubbles.  Then it was nap time.  After nap we were going to the beach but it started to storm.  The kids were sad about that.  We played inside and then went to Melissa’s for dinner.  Everyone had fun playing there.  Then Melissa and I took the kids for ice cream. After ice cream, I took the kids to Barefoot to walk around and wait for fireworks.  Melissa and Jonathan and the boys joined us for fireworks.  We all enjoyed it. 

On Tuesday, we went to the beach first thing in the morning.  Austin and Sydney were so excited to play at the beach and pool.  We went to the beach first.  They played in the sand and Austin played in the ocean a little bit.  There have been shark attacks in North Carolina (due to our warmer and wetter summer) so we didn’t want him in the water too deep.  He only went to my knees in the water.  They found sea shells too.  After beach time, it was time to play in the pool.  Austin and Sydney

love swimming in the pool.  Camden loved playing with them too.  It was a fun morning at the beach and pool.  After nap, we went to Melissa’s for dinner again.  The kids played in the sprinkler there.  Then Melissa and I tried taking the kids to play putt putt but the lines were too long.  Austin was extremely sad that he couldn’t do it.  He had wanted to play golf so bad before we came down.  But I told him we could do it some other time.  We took the kids to the park and got ice cream.  That made up for it a little bit. 

I was very happy when it was Wednesday because Brian was flying in.  I really needed his help with the kids. It’s very difficult with them especially at someone else’s house.  Wednesday morning we went to the beach and pool again.  We ended up having lunch at the pool this time.  By the time we got back to Nana’s house, it was basically time to pick up Daddy from the airport.  The kids fell asleep in the van on the ride to the airport.  Because they fell asleep, we didn’t go inside the airport.  Austin woke up as soon as Brian got in the van though.  It was great he was back with us again. 

We went to Melissa’s for dinner again.  It was so nice of her to make dinner for us every night.  The kids enjoyed playing at her house.  The made Camden a box house with a light inside of it.  All the kids, loved it.  That is where most of the fights happened because everyone wanted to play in it.  

After dinner we went back to the pool so Brian could see the bouncy water slides at the pool.  They were only set up for that day.  Austin was proud to show Daddy how he can do the water slides.  We made Sydney go down it but she did not like it.  Then we played in the pool for a while.  We went back to Melissa’s for brownies and ice cream. 

On Thursday morning, we went to out to breakfast near the pirate boat ride.  After breakfast we went to the pirate ship.  It was a mess because we didn’t count Graham as a person but he counts in the numbers so Nana stayed back with Graham.  This pirate ship was different from the one in Virginia Beach.  This one was smaller.  The kids sat up front and the adults were in the back of the boat.  Austin and Sydney went right up front with the other kids alone.  They have been more independent and not as shy in these types of situations now.  Camden did not like it.  He went to the back with his mommy and daddy.  Austin and Sydney participated in all the activities. They really had a great time. Hopefully next time Camden will enjoy it too. 

After naptime, we went back to the pool for a while before dinner.  The kids love swimming.  We really got a lot of use out of the pool.  After the pool, we had dinner at the country club at Nana’s house.  It was pasta night.  It was perfect because pasta is the kid’s favorite meal.  They got to pick it out themselves.  Grandpa found some M&M’s with the kids.  He put them in a cup and they had them after dinner.  They were excited about it and didn’t even try to eat any before dinner. 

Friday morning we enjoyed our last beach and pool day.  Again the kids had a great time swimming and playing at the beach.  Austin learned the game of ping pong.  He said that ping pong is even better than basketball.  Austin really likes basketball so that’s impressive.  He played ping pong with Nana for at least 30 minutes.  Austin and Sydney enjoyed playing football in the pool with Jonathan.  He would throw the ball up while they jumped in.  Austin would catch it midair.  Sydney would catch it before coming into the pool.  Everyone had a great time. 

Brian, Melissa, Jonathan, and I went out to dinner that night.  Nana and Grandpa took the kids putt putt golfing.  This was their first time doing it.  They had fun.  Austin keeps asking when we are doing that again.  Then we went to a café for milkshakes with everyone.  It was a nice evening. 

Saturday morning Graham was baptized.  After the baptism we drove home.  Traffic was terrible and it took us over 13 hours to get home.  We were glad when we got home at 1 am.  We were exhausted but the kids enjoyed the trip.  

4th of July

The other morning Sydney was insistent that she eat cereal with milk on the couch.  They can have cereal on the couch but not with milk.  She was crying non stop. Austin say her upset and came up with a solution on his own.  He got her baby dolls and the baby doll high chair from upstairs and we were all going to sit at the little table.  Brian was already running late for work but he felt bad for me so he went to get the milk.  The milk jug slipped out of his hands and landed on the floor.  The milk jug split open and milk was everywhere.  It was a a mess!  Sydney continued to cry uncontrollably.  We were not happy.  Brian stayed and cleaned it all up (which required us to pull out the fridge to get underneath it).  Austin was sad he didn't have anymore milk.  Oh what a morning!

The beginning of the summer has been cool and wet.  It rained almost everyday in June.  I haven't minded too much that it's been cool but that doesn't give us much swimming time.  We have been able to get in some Wild Water swimming but not as much as usual.  Hopefully it will warm up.

Sydney doesn't like taking naps.  Many days she will not nap for me.  Or when she does, it takes me over an hour to get her to sleep.  That drives me crazy.  I need that hour to get something done.  So now I let her play in her room if she insists.  She is crankier in the evenings but I can't do it.  Probably in the fall or winter sometime Austin is going to have to give up his naps.  When that happens, she won't be taking naps either.

The Sunday before the 4th of July are always Fairlawn's fireworks.  That is our favorite firework show in the area.  We know where to park and get there and listen to the band.  The kids run around and play with their glow sticks.  Then we watch fireworks.  We had a great night.

The Friday before the 4th I worked.  It was a good day for me to work. Brian and my mom were home with the kids.  They all had a good day.

On the 4th of July, we went to the Stow Parade.  It's may favorite parade.  I always went growing up.  Brian and I found a great place to sit and have been bringing the kids to it for 3 years now.  We get donuts in the morning.  The parade hands out so much candy it's crazy.  The kids really enjoy it.  Then that night, we went to Solon for the fireworks.  Where we watch them, there's a lot of playgrounds around.  The kids love that.  They play on them for an hour before the fireworks show.  We had a great holiday week!

Austin and Sydney have a pretend friend named Sony Pie.  It developed last year at Sesame Place's hotel.  Austin would say that Sony Pie was out in the hallway.  They are interacting with him a little it more.  His name comes up about once a week.  Austin told me that Sony Pie is seeing fireworks after we see the this year.  I had a lot of pretend friends growing up.  It will be interesting to see if Austin and Sydney do too.

The kids played T-ball for the first time this year.  It was difficult for us because of the Cavs games.  I was Austin's coach which was nice for me and Austin but was harder for Brian and poor Sydney would be left alone with her team at times so Brian could get a picture of Austin.  The kids fields were far apart and we were often racing out of there to get to a Cavs game downtown.  I don't think I will do coaching again when both kids are playing at the same time.  They only had 4 games this year because of the rain too.  It has been a very raining summer.  Brian did not mind since he is not a fan of baseball at all, but the kids enjoyed it.

Sesame Place

One of our favorite trips last year was Sesame Place.  We went in June and it worked out great.  With the Cavs in the finals and us hoping there would be a parade this year it was hard to plan Seasme Place.  I finally decided on a weekend that the price was reasonable but knew there could be a chance we would need to cancel it depending on the Cavs.  Since the Cavs ended up loosing before the deadline to cancel, our trip went on as scheduled.

The next issue with it was the weather.  It has been a very wet summer so far.  The weekend we went, a topical depression was coming up from Texas.  It was supposed to rain all day Sunday.  We decided to leave early on Saturday and spend Saturday evening in the park to make up for what we may miss on Sunday.  By some miracle, it only rained Saturday night for 8 hours while we were sleeping.  We had no rain, just it was very hot and humid.

We left around 8 am on Saturday.  We arrived around 3 pm to our hotel.  It was about 30 minutes away from Sesame Place.  It was a very nice Holiday Inn Express.  After we checked in, we went to Burger King for dinner.  The kids were being rotten.  They were excited about getting to the park.  After a quick dinner, we went to the park.  The weather was perfect, cloudy and warm.  The kids rode some rides.  Then we watched the night parade.  The night time parade is awesome.  The kids love it!

Sunday morning we had breakfast at the hotel.  Austin enjoyed using the pancake making machine.  He would push the button and a pancake would be made.  After breakfast, we went to the park.  In the morning, it wasn't too busy.

 The kids rode on amusement rides.  Austin loves the roller coaster.  He rode that over 10 times during the weekend.  Sydney liked flying rockets, flying Elmo's, and the flying swings. She was scared to try the swings but we tried it with her and she loved it.  Austin and Sydney also enjoyed going down the slides there.  Brian and I only let them do that for a while because they can do that at home.  Finally we convinced them to ride other things.

In the afternoon, it was hot.  Then we went to the water park side.   The kids liked the lazy river.  It was nice because the inter tubes were their size.  Then we convinced Sydney to ride the big rubber duck slide with us.  She was a little scared at times but in the end she even said it was a "little fun" (although we couldn't convince her to ride it again).  Then the kids played in the smaller water slide area with the big bucket.  The only issue was the pavement was extremely hot and rocky.  Next year, I'm bring water shoes to walk from area to area.

After the water park, we had dinner. We rode some rides.  Then it was time for the nighttime parade again.  It was a fun day.

Monday was the hottest day.  We knew that going into the trip.  We planned to see some shows and send more time in the water park.  Again in the morning we rode rides while the lines were not long.  Then we saw a show.  Sydney just loved it especially seeing Elmo.  Sydney really likes Elmo!  Austin was just okay with it.  He was getting tired and hungry so that didn't help.  Then we had some lunch.

After lunch we went to the water park.  This time Brian took Austin on some bigger water slides.  It was 3 ft deep at the bottom of the slide.  Brian was nervous about that because Austin can't swim.  He watched other kids do it.  The lifeguard comes closer when asked and it worked out fine.  We were impressed that Austin did it.  He rode it 3 times.  Austin really enjoys more adventurous rides.  Sydney not so much.  We hung out in the little slide area with about 3 bathroom breaks in between.

After the water park, Sydney took a nap.  Austin couldn't fall asleep.  They kept making announcements about lost children.  It's actually interesting because even after being home for a few weeks Austin can recite that announcement verbatim.

We had to wake Sydney up from her nap for our character dinner.  That did not go over too well with Sydney.  She was slow to wake up.  The character dinner was okay however I enjoyed it better last year.  It was a mess because they changed our seats after we had already setup and were getting food.  Then Abby came over early at our new location and we were not quite ready, but it worked out.  I'm not sure next year we are going to do the character meal.  I guess it will depend on if Sydney still really enjoys the characters.

After dinner, we decided to leave.  It had been a busy 2.5 days.  Austin really wanted to swim in the hotel pool.  It was his choice on whether to see the parade again or go swimming at the hotel.  He chose swimming.  After swimming, we even took the kids for ice cream,  We ended up at Friendly's. Per Austin's request, we ate inside.  It ended up to be a very nice evening.

It was a great weekend in Sesame Place.  I highly recommend it for anyone with young kids.

Cavs in the Finals (4.4 years and 2.85 years)

The post season with the Cavs has been a lot of fun.  Austin and Sydney has really enjoyed it too. The Cavs being in the finals was awesome and exhausting.  All the home games did not start until 9pm.  A few away games started at 8 pm.  We took the kids to the watch parties.  It was a great opportunity for them to see the finals without the cost and really late nights.

The Cavs do a great job with the watch parties.  We really enjoy Fred McLeod and Austin Carr doing the commentary.  The kids get to get their hair painted and a Cavs tattoo.  The love all the snacks they get.  The snacks really help them be able to watch the entire game.  I find it amazing that a 2 and 4 year old can watch the entire game.  They have never watched an entire movie at one sitting yet but they can watch the Cavs game.

During the timeouts, the entertainment at the Q is just like regular games.  The have the T-Shirt toss.  Brian was holding Austin and a t-shirt was thrown right at Austin.  Brian was nervous if Austin was going to be able to catch it himself.  This was Austin's opportunity to get it.  If he dropped it, likely someone would get it.  Luckily Austin caught it himself.  He was so proud.  And so were we!

The watch party ended up going into overtime.  Austin started to fall asleep a little bit but Sydney was still pretty awake.  Brian told Austin if they won, he would be able to give strangers high fives.  Austin was really excited about that.  The Cavs ended up winning and Austin and Brian went all over the Q giving people high fives!

Brian and I went to all the home finals games ourselves.  Luckily our neighbor was able to watch the kids.  Since the games were so late, it worked out well for everyone.  The kids had fun with her and her kids.  

We were really sad the Cavs did not win the finals.  But given the injuries to Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, it was impressive they made it so far.  It's great to live in Cleveland and be able to experience this. It was great family memories.  We can't wait to see what next year brings!

Our local library has a summer time reading program.  I read to the kids for at least 20 minutes a day and then the kids color in a clock.  Then each week, they get a prize, a popsicle, and a coupon for food somewhere.  The kids really love doing this.  They enjoy reading and picking out their books.  Now when I take the kids to the doctors I bring lots of library books.  We just sit and lobby or room just reading the books.  They are so good.  Before when I didn't have anything for them to do they would torment each other, scream or run around.  Now we just sit there and read.  It makes me so happy!  I'm so grateful for our great library and getting the kids to enjoy reading so much.

Last summer, we we were so desperate to get Austin to poop in the potty we got Austin a fireman's pole for his swing set.  Brian told him as soon as he did that they would put it up.  Well that never happened until Thanksgiving.  Since it was cold outside and he just did it because he wanted too not because of the fireman's pole, it was never put up.  Austin loves fireman poles at the parks.  Brian decided to put it up for him.  Austin loved helping put it up.  He also loves being able to play on it.  Sydney can't go down herself yet but Austin definitely can.  Kids still enjoy their swing set.  It's nice when I am making dinner that they can play on it and I can see them.  It was a lot of work to make but so glad Brian did that!

Also this year, Austin decided he wanted to grow some plants and/or flowers.  I was planning on getting a pot from the store and letting him do that.  Brian thought, "why don't we just make them a garden?"  Brian built them a garden on the side of the house.  He also made sure that the deer and rabbits won't be able to get in.  It has a door with a lock.  It's amazing.  It's a large garden that the kids planted corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, and carrots.  They had fun with that. Hopefully we will actually grow something.  I don't have a green thumb so we'll see what happens.

We also took the kids strawberry picking twice.  They loved apple picking so much we decided to try strawberry picking.  The loved it too!  It is cool to get fresh fruit and watch them pick their own.

Hello Spring and Welcome Summer

The month of May is already over, I cannot believe it!  We have been so busy enjoying this beautiful spring I didn't have time to blog.  Spring came on suddenly this year and it became hot quick.  It was awesome!  We love the seasons of the year but when the warm weather finally comes it's amazing!

My mom went to Alaska for the month of May to visit with Aunt Betty.  The kids miss her.  We still have been visiting Papa every week.  He has come along to some of our activities too.  The kids enjoy the Sunday breakfasts at their house.  They get pancakes, eggs, chocolate milk, and donuts.  What could be better?  Since the weather has been nice, we have been walking to the park after breakfast.  Austin and Sydney really like walking Gizmo.  He's a great dog for that.  He never pulls them and everyone enjoys their walk.

I had a great Mother's day!  Their school also does muffins with mom.  It's great they do that but I always feel horrible because it's difficult for me to go. I get to work between 7-7:30 am.  Brian always takes them to school.  I talked with Austin about the muffins with mom since he understands. We decided to buy our own muffins at home and have them together. I am so glad it worked out.  The school does a nice job making gifts for us.  Austin made a key chain with his fingerprint on it and Sydney has a picture of her in a frame holding flowers.  They were both very cute.  Brian made me a photo book of the past year of pictures with just me and the kids.  It's always great to look at those pictures nicely in a book.

We went to a Cavs watch party on Mother's day.  Lebron James hit a buzzer beater to win the game against Chicago.  It was quite exciting and everyone went crazy.  The Cavs do a great job with the watch parties.  Austin and Sydney like them too.  They have become huge Cavs fans.  They can watch the entire games now.  They need a lot of snacks to entertain them but they do sit in their seats.  At the watch parties, Austin caught a t-shirt all by himself they were throwing out too.  He was so proud!

The Cavs post season run has been unbelievable.  We are so excited about it.  Brian and I have went to all the home games.  Austin and Sydney went to 2-3 playoff games and numerous watch parties.  They really likes it.  Because of the price of tickets and it being crowded we had to sit separate with the kids at the home games.  We realized the kids act better when they are separate though.  It's great the Cavs are going to the NBA finals.  We are really hoping for a championship this year.  The kids would love to go to the parade!

In May, we went to see Thomas the Train.  The weather wasn't the best but it didn't rain.  We arrived early so we could get the kids picture with Thomas.  Then they jumped in the bouncy houses for a while. Kaitlyn's family joined us on Thomas.  My dad came too however he couldn't go on the train because I didn't have enough tickets and couldn't get more on the same train.  He was okay with that.  He got to watch the people while we rode the train.  After our Thomas adventure we went to McDonald's for lunch.  The kids were excited about that.

On Memorial Day weekend, we went to the zoo for kids day. It was extremely busy however the kids had fun.  They enjoy the zoo.  Brian does not get to go often.  It was a nice family morning there.  We left the zoo because we were planning on buying a camper.  Unfortunately the camper did not work out.  Brian and I were bummed but we believe everything happens for a reason. It's not our time to have a camper.  We are planning on buying one next year.  Brian needs to get a bigger vehicle first to be able to pull it,

On Memorial day, Austin had a friend's birthday party.  It was really nice because they invited Sydney.  It was at a local park.  Spider-man even showed up.  The party was great.  Everyone had a great time.  I really like the kids childcare school.  We have met some great people and the kids have learned a lot.  I am so lucky to be able to work part time to allow the kids to go to school while I can continue my career.  I am truly grateful.  It has been the best for our family to have the best of both worlds of staying home versus working.

Austin and Sydney did tot soccer though our rec center this month.  It was every Tuesday night.  It was nice because it was the first year that Sydney could play too. They had fun with it.  Austin did a great job participating.  He did what he was told and didn't need us to be right with him like last year.  It was refreshing to see.

Austin now completely buckle his 5 point car seat now by himself in a timely manner.  It's great. He buckles himself while I buckle Sydney.

Cavs Playoffs and Atlanta 4.25 years and 2.75 years)

The Cavs are in the playoffs for the first time since Austin was born.  This is a new adventure for us.  Last time they were in the playoffs, basketball was our second job.  We were at every playoff game and almost all watch parties.  We never missed a game.  This time it's a little different.  While we are fortunate to still have tickets to each game it's different watching them.  For being 2 and 4 years old, Austin and Sydney do great.  But they still need "things" during the game.

Since we have taken them to about 10 games throughout the season, they know exactly what to expect during the games.  They really like going and it's great we can bring them with us.  They have been to two playoff games so far.  During the playoffs, we have to sit apart and it works out better.  We have 2 season tickets and Brian bought 2 more as a playoff pack so we have 4 seats to all playoff games.  When they are sitting next to each other, they touch one another and get in trouble.  When they are just with one of us, they are fabulous.

We really hope the Cavs go all the way this year.  Being the kids to the parade would be awesome.  However if they don't it will be okay because Ausin and Sydney will keep us busy.  We won't have too much time to dwell on it.

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Atlanta to visit Brian's family.  We flew down on Saturday morning.  While at the gate, they said our plane had mechanical problems and would be delayed.  Then they got a new plane quickly but there were storms in Atlanta and we could not take off.  It was very nice of them to allow us to deplane and re board.  That was great with the kids.  Even though they travel great the less then on the plane the better.  Finally after a 2 hour delay, we were headed to Atlanta.

It was nice because Melissa, Camden, and Graham came to Atlanta to visit too.  It was the first time meeting Graham.  He's such a cutie and a fabulous baby.  He has awesome hair.  We got to spend all Saturday afternoon with everyone.  It was great seeing everyone.  Jim lives on a lake house about 2 hours from Atlanta.  We all stayed there for the night.  We went out of his boat.  The kids enjoyed it.  We had dinner. Then the kids made smores for the first time on a campfire.

On Sunday, we hung out on the lake most of the day.  They Austin and Sydney went tubing with Daddy for the first time.  It was behind the pontoon boat so it never went that fast.  Austin absolutely loved it.  Sydney liked it too but wasn't so sure at times.   We stopped at a playroom off the beach.  It was cool to dock the boat on the beach.  Austin had to pee and there were no bathrooms.  It was also the first time he learned to pee on a tree.  Luckily he did not like it too much and doesn't really want to do it again.

We had such a great time in Atlanta visiting everyone.  We don't get to see them often.  We hope to maybe go back next year.  It makes us miss Brian's Dad.  We have to believe things would be so much different if he was still here.  It really sucks for Brian that he doesn't have any immediate family near by.

We also visited the dentist last week for a check up.  The kids did a good job.  Best of all, no one had any cavities.  It's great the kids like the dentist  Austin and Sydney have all their teeth.  The average age of loosing baby teeth is 6.  I'm sad to think that is not far off for Austin.  Sydney's teeth are well aligned right now.  Let's hope the permanent teeth are also like that.