Home from vacation!

We are home from a great week in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee! My parents figured we have been going there to the Hidden Mountain Resorts for 17 years now.

Craig was off of work a couple days before we were heading down to TN so he flew down to Atlanta to spend some time with Ryan. They went to Six Flags and Craig's shoulder hasn't been the same since...that just means I get my husband around the house an extra week or two! We still had fun on vacation!

The kids and I drove down following my parents starting on Friday (20th). Autumn rode with Nana & Papa and I had the boys! It was great! They watched movies as I listened to my ipod and enjoyed the scenery around us. That night we stopped in Dry Ridge, KY and got a good nights sleep before finishing our journey.

The mountains are just gorgeous. I couldn't help but be sit there in awe while I was driving just thanking God for the beauty around me. We got to the cabin and enjoyed a little bit of time in the hot tub.

On Sunday the rest of the family arrived. Starting with Craig & Ryan around 2pm...we showed them around, played some ping pong, a little pool on the pool table, and prepared dinner. Rob, Ellen, Josh, Emily, Hannah & Ethan joined us around 6pm for dinner! Then around 8pm Aunt Sue, Uncle Rick, Gage & Zack arrived. The teenagers hit it off and had some fun on the Wii (Rob too of course)!

On Monday the 8 guys went on a 10 mile hike up a steep mountainside in the Smokey Mountain National Park! It took them ALL day! We played with the kids and took them out shopping for their new Webkinz! Grandpa & Memaw Pritchett joined us with Amber & Ariel! It was fun to see them and visit some...if you are keeping count, that makes about 22 people in our cabin at some points of the trip! Thank God there were 3 levels to spread out on :) Rob told his kids it was mandatory to swim EVERY day of the trip so we did...Ellen & I sat and watched while Rob took the kids in because the water was so cold. Not a heated pool!

On Tuesday the ladies enjoyed some shopping time, we took the kids to the park, and relaxed some.

Wednesday we all went to Ober Gatlinburg. The guys played at the arcade, Rob & Ellen took Josh & Emily down the mountain slides, the rest of us went up the mountain for another great view on the ski lift! That evening we had some pizza & salad and went to "The Track"...a great place for everyone. The little kids enjoyed the ferris wheel, go carts, swings, and other rides while the big kids enjoyed the Go Carts! The first round the little kids went with the big kids.

Thursday was the day the Pire clan & the Pritchett clan left the cabin. Craig flew home that night to get into the doctor first thing Friday morning. The rest of took some time to relax and just play around the cabin. Alex was into the Wii and playing all the sports. Nana was playing some bowling with the kids. Rob, Ellen & I got away to do some more shopping at the outlets! We had our favorite BBQ chicken kabobs that night.

Friday we all went on a hike up to Laurel Falls. It is a 3 mile round trip hike up a mountain to see some beautiful waterfalls. Papa & Rob took turns pushing Nana in the wheelchair so she wouldn't miss out on any of the fun! The kids did great...the occasional whine and complain but I was getting tired myself so I understood their pain! Almost to the bottom and it started to pour down rain! We went back to the cabin and cleaned up for our favorite restaurant...The Apple Barn! We all sat around and told what our favorite thing was about the trip and then we went around again and said one nice thing about the person next to us. It was nice to hear the kids come up with great things to say about others! After dinner the guys took the kids back to the cabin and once again Mom, Ellen & I hit some last minute stores...we found some GREAT deals!

Saturday was pack it up and head home day! It was a long day! It was so nice to come home and have my hubby waiting to help us unload and greet us after a 10 hour trip in the car!

I am so blessed and it was such a great week. Even thought there were times of chaos, it was fun and once again we made memories we will never forget! I'll post some pictures after I get the disk from my mom & Ellen (I took some pictures but they always take LOTS)

Big Words...

the last few weeks we have been really talking to the kids about love and respect. Some mornings they are so cranky and tired and won't even say Good Morning...that is rude. We have been talking about using our words to be kind to others even when we don't want to. Alex learned an important word in Kindergarten this year. His teacher Mr. Lloyd had the letters INTEGRITY really big on the bookshelf in the classroom. When I first walked in I thought, "That is too big a work for those little kids." Boy was I wrong. Alex came home the first week of school telling me all about integrity. He says it like this, "Integrity is doing what is right when somebody is looking and even when nobody is looking." That's right...but God is always watching. I thought that was so cool that my little 5 year old could tell me such a big word. It challenged me that maybe I'm not giving my kids enough credit that they can learn more and understand those big words and the impact they have in our lives.

Our key words right now...Love, Respect, Integrity, Truth, Listen & Obey! Such important things to know and really use in our daily life.

Summer officially begins...

Today marks our official begin to Summer Vacation! Drew & Autumn have done with preschool since May 15th but Alex finished Kindergarten today and is now a 1st grader! I am not the emotional type mom to get gooey about something like that, but today I did! My kids are growing up too fast!

Here are some pictures from the first days of school and the last...







Today was productive. It started with dropping Alex off for his last day of Kindergarten! Then I dropped Drew & Autumn off at my sisters so I could go bathing suit shopping...not fun! I have been looking for a new bathing suit for a couple weeks now. It hit me that the 12 pounds I have gained doesn't look so good in my bathing suit. I can admit that last summer I needed to gain a few, but I don't want all of it. I am working out daily and trying to eat better too! The other day Craig and I were running some errands and my bathing suit shopping began...very depressing. I came home and found a few cute ones on the internet but decided I wouldn't get in time for our upcoming family vacation and if I did get it, it might not even look good. So, my sister was gracious enough to watch the little ones while I went out again...I found one and at Meijers of all places! I also found a cute one at Target but decided I liked the other one better! I feel better now just knowing I have something descent to where. After my shopping spree I went back to the school to pick up Alex. He was excited. Got his report card from Mr. Lloyd, took their picture together and that was it...he is now a first grader! I can't believe it!

To celebrate the end of the school year and beginning of summer, I took the kids to the Plymouth Spray Park...boy was it busy! There were people everywhere but the kids had a blast. Alex's friend Andrew and his mom Robin and brother Kevin went with us and we enjoyed our time together!

I am exhausted and can't wait for bedtime tonight. The kids are pretty tired too and will be going to bed real soon!

Simplifying...

I think as a mom...we want things as simple as can be. Morning comes and we make breakfast, clean up breakfast, make a snack, clean up a snack, make lunch, clean up lunch....you get the point. It never ends! A friend of mine had some really great trays she uses for her boys. Unfortunately they were purchased almost 2 years ago so the chances of finding those exact trays was not very likely. I loved the idea of having their dishes on their own tray and if any spills were to occur, they would stay right on the tray instead of getting the whole table and floor! After searching ALL around...I found some great trays at IKEA and had to share them with blogger world. Any mom who wants to simplify meal time and clean up time...this is what you NEED!

$1.99 each...they are white (almost clear), oval shaped, with grooves for handles on both sides. Perfect for any little kid to carry his own from counter to table and so forth. They wipe down really easy with an antibacterial wipe or I sponge them down with soap and let them sit in the sink to dry!

So...if you are looking for ONE way to simplify meal time and snack times...this might work for your family too!


If anyone has other ideas on simplifying day to day life...I would LOVE to hear them!

Ouch!

The kids have been playing so nice all day...we started with setting up ALL the Playmobil in Alex's room. They played in there for an hour maybe. They moved on to other games and things to play. They just asked me to go out with them and play baseball...it's pretty windy out but we gave it a shot. Alex hit a couple good ones. Drew hit some good ones too. Autumn tried but couldn't get it. Drew was up again and hit it REALLY hard. It hit me right below the knee at a fast speed. Ouch! It was red at first but now you can see the outline of the ball hitting like a welt. I am sure it will be black and blue in a little while. I am done playing baseball for now so we are going to have a little snack, color a little, and maybe even watch a movie. I guess I'll tell myself what I tell the kids every time they get hurt...Be tough! It's that time of year when everyone gets hurt doing the fun activities outside!

Ouch - that sums it up!

A great weekend...

We had an action packed weekend...the weather was beautiful and we managed to attend 4 BBQ's in just 3 days!

Saturday Ellen & I took my mom to "The Tea Room" in Highland for her Mother's Day gift! It's a beautiful and quiet restaurant that we get to enjoy a couple times a year when we can sneak away. My dad (papa) and Uncle Robby watched the 6 kids. By the time we got back, the kids were running through the sprinklers (in their clothes)

A couple hours later our Small Group met at Ellen's for a BBQ...8 adults & 10 kids running around. The guys tried setting up the NEW trampoline, but Lisa had to help with reading of the directions to get it done right! The kids were worn out and ready for a good nights sleep for sure!

Sunday we got up and went to church then went back to Ellen's for a family BBQ! Rob grilled our favorite Chicken Kabobs with yummy veggies! Plus we had corn on the cob, macaroni salad, Ellen's special baked beans, and strawberry shortcake for dessert! My dad and Rob put the finishing touches on the trampoline and we had fun jumping!

Then it was off to Bella's house. Bella is a friend from 8th grade! We stayed in touch pretty much through the years, but got closer when we had our boys just a month apart. We try to get together every few months to catch up and hang out. We had more good food and played for a few hours.
The 5 kids (Alex, Autumn, Drew, Fernando & Antonio)

Monday the kids and I got up and I decided to paint our bedroom. Craig left on Sunday morning for a trip and isn't due back until Wednesday night...plenty of time to do a little project! The kids and loaded up and went to Lowe's, bought the paint and primer, went home and while the kids played right out back in the sprinkler, I started priming the walls! A few hours later we were all outside playing with the neighbors and they put hot dogs and burgers on the grill for all of us...another day of grilling fun! Michael & Katherine are great neighbors! They always look out for me and the kids...especially when I was doing the single mom thing and now when Craig is out of town. We came back home, gave the kids a bath, put them to bed and I ended up painting until 11:30pm...BUT it looks great!

A busy weekend that is for sure, but we had great fellowship with friends, family, and neighbors! I am so thankful for the people in my life...I don't know what I would do with a long weekend without so many places to visit and people to see!

Friends and Family!

It's Friday afternoon and the kids have been playing so nicely outside (ok, not so nice but pretty good for the most part)! I have the windows open and I can hear them outside with their friends. It started this morning with the neighbor boys outside so Alex & Drew HAD to go out! Autumn got out her bike and was riding around all alone...

I called Ellen and told her we would love to have Hannah come over to play for the afternoon. Autumn was so excited! They got out the food, dishes, dolls, baby high chair and had some fun outside in the playhouse!

I have been working really hard the past week to KEEP my house clean. I am still going through and getting rid of stuff which continues to feel good! Doesn't matter what I do, the kids come around and mess things up. It does feel good to walk around most of the house and have it clean. I could invite someone over and not have to make excuses about my messy house! It's an accomplishment...as I sit here RIGHT NOW typing this, in come the kids and off go their shoes in the middle of the room instead of in their individual tubs by the door...oh well! They are having fun!


Drew decided to bring his flower pot from school inside so he could water his grass! A few minutes later he came out to tell me that the pot of soil and grass spilled all over the bathroom sink!


I cleaned it up and all is good...he had fun making a mess and doing something responsible (watering his grass) :)


I am looking for the balance of loving my house being clean and staying on top of it and letting loose a little and having some fun...

any suggestions???