Tennessee Saturday Night

Last weekend we made a very quick trip up to Knoxville.  We arrived late Saturday afternoon and spent some great family time with Michael's aunts and cousins and their kids - and CC and Papa Steve of course.  We had a great dinner and the kids spent the entire evening playing outside, blowing bubbles and catching lightening bugs.  A perfect summer evening.

This was the closest we got to a group kid shot

Glow Sticks and a Mason Jar - what more does a kid need on a Southern summer evening?

Once the kids started to slow down (past bedtime), Michael and I slipped out to attend Andy's 40th birthday party (Michael's childhood friend).  This marks CC and Papa Steve's first time ever putting the kids to bed without us there and thankfully the kids were exhausted and basically asked to go to bed!


On Sunday morning, we played a little more and started our journey back home.  

Behind the Scenes

Dad was launching a pop rocket...Matthew kept saying "Do again, higher!"

But, since this seems to be the summer of exploration and visiting roadside attractions unplanned, we decided to make a detour.  If you have ever driven north on 75 in to TN you have undoubtedly seen the signs for "The Lost Sea"...I have always been a little curious about it what it was so we decided to spend the afternoon there.  I thought it might be a little rundown, outdated attraction but turns out it was pretty crowded and actually pretty cool.

It is the 2nd largest underground lake in the world and, if we are to believe our young tour guide, has a pretty extensive history.  Nate thought going underground was pretty cool...Matthew wanted to be carried the entire time.  So, we made our way through the cave, checking out all of the "rooms" and ended up down inside the cave at a large lake...where we boarded a glass bottom boat and toured the waters.  It was pretty fascinating...they don't really know how large it is because divers have never been able to find and end. Clearly I was intrigued!  Too bad the darkness didn't really lend to it being a good photo opp...you will just have to go see it for yourselves!

Getting ready to embark on our adventure - the Vikings were not part of the cave's history, not really sure why that is their logo!

Touching the "lucky" stalagmite

Matthew was quite squirmy by the time we got to the boat docks...and a little delirious.  We are inside a dark, quiet cave and everyone is quietly waiting to board the boats and he starts saying LOUDLY "don't touch the butt!" repeatedly.  (Thanks Finding Nemo)  He found another opportunity to entertain the group while we were at a "resting spot" climbing back up...everyone is, again, quietly waiting to move on and Matthew starts singing "I wike to moob it moob it, I wike to moob it moob it, i wike to MOOB IT!"  (Thanks Madagascar)  He got some chuckles from those around us but I think he needs to be on movie restriction for a while.

Father's Day

We were looking for something to do on Father's Day that we hadn't done before and we found it...and I think we can safely say we marked it off the list.  We ended up taking the kids up to Dahlonega to the North Georgia 'Zoo'.  It was a hot day but the kids had fun feeding the animals.

After a couple of hours feeding goats and chasing ducks, we started our journey home...but first, the Premium Outlets beckoned us in.  And, being the generous wife that I am, I managed to purchase myself a few things on Father's Day!  (oops)  Then we had a charming meal at Ruby Tuesdays before getting back on the road.

These boys are so lucky to have such a loving and hands-on father in their lives....I know I am lucky to have him!  

And now, for some catch up...

After Nate's birthday, Aunt Abby and Uncle Jeff came in town to play for a few days.  It is always a fun challenge to find something that will be entertaining for them to do as well as the little kids while they are here...we don't always succeed...they have seen Tangled and Cars 2 in the theater with us and I have promised no more Pixar when they come in town!  (Even though they did come when Madagascar 3 opened...and Matthew was singing "I like to move it move it" daily as a subtle reminder...)

So, we went to a Braves game...which was quite the adventure.  (FYI - MARTA is not the best way to get there, even during rush hour).  Nate ate a giant slice of pizza and, what he swears is, his first cotton candy.

And we went to the Fernbank to see "The Scoop on Poop" exhibit (yes, it is really about poop) and see the Polar Bear IMAX movie.

And before they left town for their real vacation at the beach, we celebrated Mom's birthday with dinner at Rice and cake and homemade ice cream at home.  Now that Nate is a big kid, he actually got to go out to dinner with the grown ups while Matthew stayed home with a sitter...and he was perfectly behaved (with the help of a little phone time).

It was so great having them here...can't wait until we get the chance to get out to CO to see them!

And then, after they left, we went to see Madagascar... :)

Nate is 5!

Wow, that's hard to believe....but my little kid is now a Big Boy.  I think 5 is going to be a good year.

He has been saying for months that he wanted to stay 4 forever, he didn't want to be 5.  As much as I felt the same way, I was a little concerned about why he felt that way.  But I realized it was because we read a book about being 5 and I guess it sounded like a lot of pressure (big school, behaving properly, etc) so he didn't want any party of it.  But something changed in him because he is very excited to be 5 and "big" now.  He even said tonight "I think I am going to like being 5".

He woke up this morning and came to our room, excited about his big day.  He said "I don't look any different?"

So we started the day with our traditional birthday hat and pancake breakfast.

Then the nanny took them to Monkey Joe's (Nate's choice) to play for a few hours.

For dinner we went to our Mexican restaurant...our waitress picked up on the fact it was his birthday so she brought him a piece of cake.  Matthew basically climbed over the table to get to it...Nate took a few bites and, since we had already talked about Menchie's for a birthday treat, he decided to save room for what he really wanted.

So, next stop Menchies!  He basically gets a little bit of yogurt and loads his cup with gummy worms, cookie dough balls, and sprinkles...since it was his birthday I let him choose.  Little brother likes it as well - can you tell?

Have I ever mentioned how much love these kids??

Then it was time to come home to open presents from mom and dad.

Nate at 5 is such a great kid (we always seem to derail around the half birthday but hopefully this will last!).  He listens, he helps when I ask him to (sometimes he even does things without me asking and reminding), he is more patient...he is really a good kid.  Here are his favorite things (from his mouth):

Favorite Color - Red
Favorite Toy - Remote Control Lightening McQueen & his LeapPad
Favorite Food - Pizza
Favorite TV Show - Bubble Guppies
Favorite Movie - Puss in Boots
Favorite Lunch - Cheese Sandwich with Mayonnaise
Favorite Snack - Goldfish
Favorite Animal - Dog
Favorite Book - The Lorax
Favorite Thing to do Outside - Play Soccer
Favorite Holiday - Easter
Favorite Thing to Take to Bed - Stuffed Animals
Favorite Breakfast - Pop Tart and Toaster Strudel
Favorite Restaurant - McDonalds
What do you want to be when you grow up - Astronaut

Nate's Drive-In Birthday

This weekend we had a pre-celebration of Nate's 5th birthday by throwing a fun outdoor movie party.  It sounded like a fun and simple idea when Nate and I first started talking about it but once I started planning I quickly realized logistics were a little more challenging than I thought they would be!  We obviously had to have it late in the evening to be able to see it so I was worried about everyone having the kids out late...and would the kids even sit still to watch a movie!  But, I have to say...it went off better than I had hoped.  I wish I had a photographer taking pictures for me because, once again, I have missed so many details and photo ops just by having fun at the party!

When the kids got there, they found their "car" and went to town with the stickers and markers decorating them.

I had a "concession stand" set up and my only mistake was putting the movie treats - popcorn and candy - out with the hot dogs...the kids went straight to the scoops of popcorn and M&Ms and Twizzlers before they got dinner in, but I think most of them eventually were forced to eat a little food!

We were actually pretty fortunate that there was a threat of rain because the overcast cloudiness let us start the movie a little earlier than I thought we might have to.  I made the boxes really to have an activity to kill some time before showtime and wasn't sure if they would care anything about them, but most of the kids actually sat in their boxes for the movie and almost all of them insisted on taking them with them when the left.  I was so happy! :)

So all of the kids pulled their cars up and we started the show - Nate chose "Up" a couple of weeks ago and never wavered from that decision so we obliged.  It had their attention for a while and then it got dark enough for the bucket of glow sticks to come out so some of the attention shifted.  But they came back and, for those that stuck around, even started a 2nd movie afterwards!

Nate looks a little crazy in this pic but I think it was because he was trying to watch a movie and the paparazzi was flashing cameras in his face.  I just loved the two of them laying on the beanbag together....

Given that the party date fell in between Michael and Nate's birthdays, I tried to include Michael in on the celebration...I admit to him that I got caught up in the kid stuff and faltered on making it special for him but we did have LOTS of barbecue and beverages for the grown ups and we stayed up (too) late enjoying ourselves so I hope he knows we were celebrating the last of his 30's as well!

The Graduate

Nate's Pre-K graduation was a few weeks ago...and him in a cap and gown was pretty darn adorable.

After much debate and consulting with his teacher and other parents for perspective, we made the decision to keep him at his current school for a 5 yr old Kindergarten class next year (and then probably repeat Kindergarten in Elementary School the following year).  So, since he will be back in the fall, it didn't feel like a true ending.  Which is good...I wasn't ready. :)

But it was sad to say goodbye to both of the boys' teachers.  Fortunately, many of Nate's buddies from his class will be in the 5 yr old class with him next year...which has really helped to put me at ease with the decision.

Nate has come so far this year - his writing (and motor skills in general) has improved, he can count to 100, he can add and subtract really well, and most impressively he is reading really well.  He knows sight words and can sound out most words...it is so exciting to watch him "get it"...and he loves to spell, so our days of spelling things we don't want the kids to pick up on have ended!  I love to brag on my smart cookie - so I am obviously not keeping him back due to lack of smarts!

At the graduation ceremony, they asked each of the kids what they wanted to be when they grew up and Nate excitedly said "An Astronaut"...there were lots of policemen, firemen, and doctors but only one little Astronaut!

Spring Wrap Up

All of the craziness of school ending and all of the other Spring events have finally wrapped up and we have somewhat slowed the pace...however, we have so many special events in the month of June that I figured I should probably catch up on Spring before we roll in to Summer.


I skipped right over Easter, which is now Nate's self-proclaimed "favorite holiday".  I am pretty sure that can be directly contributed to all of the candy he ate.  When they woke, the Easter Bunny had left a trail of eggs from their rooms leading them to their buckets.  Nate was very eager to follow the trail (he came bounding in to our room early that morning saying "The Easter Bunny came!") but Matthew was content opening each egg along the trail and having jelly beans for breakfast.  He was in no hurry.

We spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful Spring day playing in the yard....which entailed a couple of Easter Egg hunts...

I was trying my best to ration the candy intake but at one point I caught Nate hiding under a chair snarfling down M&M's

Then Nate was kind enough to hide all of his eggs for me to find

Then played a round of crocquet

Then the boys wanted to try out the kites that the Easter Bunny brought them...unfortunately we didn't have much luck with take off

 Little Brother had to try too

It was a lovely family day....but this is the best family shot we got