Party On

Sign that you partied too hard on your birthday? Your mom finds you the next morning, an hour after you're normally up, fast asleep UNDER your bed, and you can't tell her how you got there ...

#PlacesGrantSlept

Grant and Graham Turned Four?

These two boys turned four yesterday!

They celebrated with Batman and Superman cereal ("it's Batman versus Superman, in my bowl!"), and dinner at Waffle House.

They are in love with their new voice-changing masks. We may never see Grant's face again.

Flying Machine and Other Outings

Two weeks left of summer break. That's it. But we're going strong to the end. Last week, Carter and Ellyson took an overnight trip to Helen, with Jack's parents. They also stopped at Baby land General, where they saw a new baby arrive in the Cabbage Patch, and Nana let Ellyson pick a new baby to commemorate her last summer before kindergarten.

Then we had lunch at a local airport restaurant, watching small planes come and go while we ate with friends.

The library summer program is coming to an end. So we turned in our reading lists, got the kids' free books as reward, and watched a magic show - complete with a snake.

We also made sure to knock out a playground this week! Not a new one, but a SHADED one. Very important these days.

Soccer-ready

Someone in this house is soooo ready to start soccer. Ohmygoodness! He picked out his own ball and shin guards today (no cleats in his size, which is unfortunate since they were only $7.50 at a store-closing clearance sale ... I did score a pair for E).

His ball wasn't even inflated yet, and he was jogging through the house, asking me to watch him "dibble."

Grant got shin guards, too, and will use a ball we already have. He is onboard with soccer, but I wouldn't say his heart skips a beat at the thought ... Contrary to Graham's excitement.

Moo to You

Tuesday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A. My little heard got their free breakfast. But instead of behaving for the morning in order to also earn a lunch Chick-Fil-A visit ... They attempted to flood my coworker's classroom while I met with the preschool director about my new role for this school year (spoil alert, I'm moving' on up to an older group).

Park of the Week

Our new park this week, was Bogan. It's not entirely new. When Jack and I had our townhouse, we used to go running at this park. But I didn't realize it had three well-shaded playgrounds!

Our friends, the T family, met us there. They're in a lot of our summer pictures, because they stay as active as we do.

A conversation with the kids made me smile. It followed a book we read about Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ellyson: Mommy, is Mrs. T brown-skinned?
Me: Yes, she is.
Ellyson: Oh!
Carter: So, if we lived when Martin Luther King lived, T1 and T2 would have to go to a different school than us?
Me: Yes, they would have.
Graham: Brown skin?
Ellyson: Yeah, kinda like Grant ...
Me: Well, not exactly.

It made me smile.

Blue Hair

Ellyson still has not had a hair cut. She occasionally asks to do something with her hair, beyond just braids or ponytails. So I bought her some Crayola hair chalk. She was so proud of her blue streak.

And it washed right out in the bath tub.

New Week, New Park

We're more than halfway through summer. The countdown is on. School starts in 30 days. Enough time to still enjoy our time, but far enough into summer that I've lost count of parks.

Nonetheless, we tried a new park this week: Duncan Creek Park. Had not been there before, but it was recommended by our preschool director. The kids loved it, and we'll return before summer ends.

The 10th Running of the Peachtree

Monday was the 47th annual Peachtree Road Race. And it was the 10th Dillard running of it. Jack and I haven't run the same 10 Peachtrees, but we have now each run 10. And for the first time since probably 2005, we ran the whole thing together. Coincidentally, the starting temp was the highest since 2005 ... With 87% humidity (according to the starting line emcee) to boot. By the time we finished the race, the heat index was 98 degrees, leaving our sweat to soak on our skin. I don't think anyone broke a pace record this year, but we were pleasantly surprised to hit our goal of finishing under an hour.

After all that sweating, we got the kids from Nana and Papa Jack's house where they were sweating over the sprinkler. Seriously, such a muggy day.

Lake Lounging

Last Saturday, we spent time with my family at Lake Oconee. We soaked up the sun on  a pontoon boat (all 14 of us!), picnicked on the shore, clung to a tube behind the boat, and swam in almost-body-temperature water. Some of our crew also fished, but we (Jack, the kids and I) didn't get in on that action.

Captain Greg driving, and our fearless leader (my dad) tubing.

This is Jack and Carter tubing. The kids loved it. Well, Graham loved it on his second try, and Grant loved it on his first try (not so much after waking from his nap).

We also added Lake Oconee to the list of places Grant slept. :-)

INK Fun

Today, the kids and I took a field trip with my Mothers of Multiples group, to the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids. We had some additional friends join us this year, and spent five hours playing make-believe!

After, I took a detour on our drive home (okay, in the opposite direction), and bought fresh local peaches and homemade ice cream for the kids.