summer fun

resting after a huge hill

It seems like I haven't wrote anything on here in forever! I have been keeping the kids busy now that Hannah is home with us. That gives them less chances to fight with each other! It is weird that I feel like I only get Hannah now during the summer. I feel like I am divorced from the school and summer is my time to have her. We are trying to make the best of it. Today we went to the park in Eleanor, back by the pool, got a few things at the store then came home, ate lunch and swam in the pool on our porch for a little while. Now they are sleeping and I am doing yet another load of laundry and listening to the thunder rumble off in the distance. Since yesterday was a holiday we took the kids to Kanawha State Forest. None of us had ever been there. We just wanted to look around at the camp sites and hike some while we were there. Just make a day of it. So we picked a trail that looked kinda short on the map and took off. First, though, let me say that the bugs were horrible. They were swarming around our heads, going in our eyes and mouth. Just gross!! But as long as we kept up the pace, it wasn't too bad. The trail we picked ended up being 2 miles. The first mile and a half was basically up hill and the last leg of it downhill (that is the way it felt). It took us nearly 2 hrs and we were all sweating like pigs! Hannah was the leader. She did pretty well at keeping us on the trail and chosing different paths (of course, we knew where we were going too). Brad had to carry Ryan quite a bit. His little legs are still too short and he gets tired easily. Brad picked 7 ticks off him the entire time we were there. I had 2 and Ryan had 1 I think. Hannah didn't get one on her, that I found. So gross!! I can't think what else we have done since I last wrote. I guess nothing excited. This weekend, Brad's mom is keeping the kids and Brad and I are going to Cols to help my sister move and then next weekend we are going to the beach. I can not wait. I am not looking forward to packing the camper up, that is always the worst part. We aren't just taking suitcases. We are taking a mini house that has to be stocked with a week of food for 3 hungry kids (ok, maybe a couple hungry adults too), clothes and bathroom stuff for us all. And on the way back from the beach we are dropping all 3 kids (cousin Michael is coming too) off at grandma and grandpa's in NC for the week so I have to have things for that week too. Actually, I'll be able to empty the camper out at their house!! Anyway, I need to get back to work.

don't know what to put here

Well, the first 2 days of my summer have been pretty good, if you ask me. The kids haven't been sleeping much later so I still have to get up after Brad (6:45ish) to make sure I am out of the shower by the time Ryan wakes up. The other morning when I turned off the water I could hear him walking around the house yelling for daddy. I am going to have to start blocking off the kitchen again. 3 times that day I had to yell at him for getting in cabinets. The first time he was just getting cereal (they had already ate breakfast), the second time Hannah came and got me and he was eating a peice of bread (the boy seriously acts like he is starving all the time), the third time he pulled a big bowl of water off the counter onto himself. I was so aggravated with him that day. He was just constantly getting into things! So we have been spending a lot of time outside where they can be occupied and I can sit back and watch (sometimes). But even then he is always trying to ride his bike off things or thru water. I got a new sweeper too. It is awesome. I have already swept everywhere with it. Love it!! Hannah has been doing her workbook pages at the table while I fix lunch (like my mom suggested). She is doing great. She can almost write her last name now. I have to tell her what letters come next after P. A.but she will learn thru repetition. The pages are actually too easy for her. So after we finish these books, the lessons will get harder! I have been making them both take naps and letting them stay up later. I was telling Brad that I am not sure if I like them being up 2 hrs later. I am used to bedtime being at 7pm!! That cuts majorly into my down time!! But now my down time has to be during naptime. I can't wait for the pool to open up. And only 2 1/2 more weeks till we go to the beach!!!

Sundays.....

are hard days for me. I usually have lots of cleaning to catch up on from being busy on Fri and Sat. And I am usually tired and really want a nap! I feel kinda guilty if I chose to lay around and not work, and I am extra tired during church Sun night if I work all afternoon! Guess which I usually chose? Sleep, of course. That is the good thing about Ryan still taking naps. And now that it is summer time and Hannah doesn't have to get up super early for school, she takes naps too because I don't care if she is up later. Today I surprisingly chose to work. I regret it now that Hannah is awake. I got lots of things done that I wouldn't have otherwise. I swept and mopped the floors. (You have to remember that we only have carpet in the bedrooms) Our house isn't huge but it is a lot of work. While I had the table pulled out so I could sweep and mop under it, I decided to wipe down the walls in that corner. I need to start having the dogs lick the walls and not just the floors after Ryan is done eating!! Ha Ha, I'm just kidding but that puts a funny picture in my head.

On another note, I could not believe how cold it was when we went outside this morning! Even after church it was still chilly. We had to get the jackets back out! I also had to get into the winter clothes for this coming winter so Ryan could have a long sleeved shirt and sweat pants to wear around the house.

So far I don't have any good plans for this coming week. The first week in forever that Hannah will be home with Ryan and I. I am trying to think of the best way to go about doing her workbook pages. I would like to do them in the morning before we get busy doing other things but I don't want her to try to rush thru it and just get it done so she can go outside or whatever. Then I thought maybe we could do them in the afternoon before or after supper but I am afraid she will be over tired from the days activiites and won't want to do it at all. Plus, I can't decide if I should do a letter of the alphabet every day and talk about only that or just stick to books and do whatever is coming next. I'll probably have to just play it by ear at first. But if anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.