Poser

She was legitimately sick for one day last week. She legitimately laid on her sleeping bag all day for one day. A couple days later should I have been suspicious when she told me her 'tummy hurted' and she wanted to lay on her sleeping bag? This is what I found...

Beans and Noodles

Last week we needed an activity to take up some time before lunch...the kids were begging to do 'glue' and I was needing to get the dishwasher loaded... So...I threw some mixed bean soup, some kidney beans, some lentils and some macaroni noodles in bowls. Gave them some paper and some glue. Had to make them stop to eat lunch!

Monday, MDW2009-Pt3

Monday was Memorial Day, our 7th anniversary and the day after this. We had no idea what was going to become of our van--we figured it was trash since we thought the trans had blown and we were not going to put a third, yes third, transmission in it. I was so glad that it was a holiday and Jon was home to spend it with us...especially after going away for the weekend it really made it seem like the longest weekend ever. It was great having him home. We decided to drive around and look through some used car lots to see if we could find a good deal on a new used van. Lawson was so sweet while we were driving around and looking. He just kept telling me that he wanted to buy me a new car. He was just so worried that my car didn't work anymore!

After getting a late start out the door we went through a couple lots then Jon told me we could go to Wal-Mart and get a new vacuum. This made me so excited!! The poor old vacuum we have was a wedding gift and has been put through torture!! We have moved 7 times. We have done moderate to extensive work on 2 homes. It has vacuumed up everything you could think of. It is ready to be put to rest!!! This picture doesn't even do justice for the old beat up worker:

Well, it was just a regular old vac from WM back then, so

seven years later we decided to see what they had for us again. I teased Jon that I didn't realize that in the list of anniversary gifts, like paper, cotton, leather, etc, that #7 was 'vacuum'! Anyways, I'm just grateful to now have a machine that sucks stuff off the floor again instead of just noisily rolling over it over and over again!! (I also must admit that I secretly love that it's purple!!)

We came home and the kids played while Jon looked at the van. Then we went to eat yummy dinner at Logan's. It was fun to have the whole family there. Not romantic...but fun!

The day really was just so relaxing and enjoyable. I was so thrilled that Jon was home all day. We had a great weekend and just loved getting to get away and really enjoy each other's company. We are definitely in a different place in life than we were 7 years ago...and Monday only pointed that out to me...we spent the day looking for a van we couldn't afford to replace the old van that was broken down, with our 2 kids. Not quite the same as the 2 college students we were in 2002--but in a way still so very much the same.

We've been through a lot in our seven years...and every time we make it over a rough spot my favorite time is when we are able to reconnect and reconfirm our commitment to each other and to our family. Happy Anniversary, my Juan...here's to 70 more! :)

You will not believe this... MDW2009-Pt2

After this fun day, getting back to the hotel, going swimming, getting a late dinner and getting to bed too late, I woke up early Sunday morning to start getting ready for church and to start getting our stuff all packed up. This is how I found the kids when I woke up...just loved seeing them sound asleep on the same bed.
We ate a yummy breakfast, got the van loaded up and headed out to worship with a local congregation. We decided to leave after worship and not go to class because we needed to be back by noon for a meeting for our Honduras trip. We ran through Sonic, got slushes and hit the road.


I put a movie on for the kids, then I kicked my feet up on the dash and started reading a magazine. About 25 minutes down the road, I hear Jon say, "You've got to be kidding me. I think the transmission just blew!" We slowed to a crawl, turned on the county road that just happened to be right there, and conveniently rolled into...

this building which is conveniently a...
FUNERAL HOME!!! Can you believe this? Here is the rainbow trail of transmission fluid we leaked as we rolled into a parking spot...
Jon got out and started checking everything out. The transmission dipstick had NO fluid on it. We were in the middle of nowhere. Jon got on the phone to our Roadside Assistance Club. I got the kids out of their seats, figuring that we'd be there a while....
Thankfully it had stopped raining. Pretty sure we weren't gonna make the meeting, the next course of action was to figure out how the kids and I were going to get back home--we couldn't all fit in the wrecker that was coming to get the van! A quick call to some great friends solved that, and in less than 30 minutes Philip was headed our way.

Now...how to pass the time...what is there to do in a closed funeral home's parking lot??? Well...

Jon and I were on the phones for a good bit of time trying to make arrangements. The kids spent most of that time splashing in the puddles and picking clovers...
Then we decided to go for a walk around the building and see what we could discover. We walked out to the long grassy meadow and picked some wild daisies...
Then we played in the tunnel (that I'm guessing is where the hearses park). This tunnel was very echo-ey and fun. Also, there was a good breeze blowing through, making it much cooler than the parking lot.
The kids both loved this creepy sort of owl that was in the tunnel. His head bobbled this way and that...they kept touching him and making his head spin.
Then we found our way around the building and saw a line of worker ants. We were fascinated with watching them march in their line...it really was quite a long line!!

There were also some tree-climbing lessons. Lawson really wants to learn how to climb trees--too bad he never gets to practice in our yard b/c all we have is huge pine trees!!

We also did some puzzles that we had in the van, sang some songs, and worked on our Books of the Bible. Despite the downer that the van was broken, we actually had a lot of fun while we were waiting!

Finally Philip saved the day and rolled into the parking lot. I'm sure making an almost-3-hour round trip was not the way he had planned on spending his Sunday afternoon, but we were surely thankful that he and Shannon made that sacrifice for us!

We loaded up the carseats, and just a few minutes later our flatbed truck rolled in. Within moments, we were loaded up and on our way. We grabbed a bite for the kids, then Jordan took a nap on the way home.

Definitely not how we planned for our Sunday to go either, but I am so thankful that our breakdown was safe and didn't involve an accident! The future of the van is still to be determined. It is currently being looked at in a shop.

Thankfully it was a holiday weekend, so Jon got to be off Monday, which was also our 7th anniversary. I will post about our Monday tomorrow.

We NEVER do anything like this! MDW2009-Pt1

Last week Jordan and I took turns being sick...it was a long, cooped-up-in-the-house week! By the time Friday came along, we were all feeling better, and I was just dying to get out of the house. I realized that afternoon that it was a long weekend, and I started wondering if we could go somewhere close just for one night to get away. I started looking online, then called Jon to see what he thought about going to Chattanooga for a night to swim at the hotel and maybe go to the aquarium. He said, "Let's do it!"

I started to get so excited! We NEVER do anything like this...the only time we ever go on a trip is to see our parents. I was excited to do something just for our family. The kids were SO excited about going swimming. We didn't even say anything about the aquarium until Saturday morning. They loved eating breakfast at the hotel...notice I packed Lawson's shark jammies--especially for the occasion!!
We went downtown and went to the aquarium. Jon and I had been to a couple aquariums before we had kids, but this was their first time. I knew they were going to love it!!

At the waterfall by the otters. We went into the freshwater building first. Then we took a walk to Chili's for a late lunch then went back for the ocean building.
I feel like this stingray is flashing us!!! :)
I love this picture of Jordan because it just shows how interested, excited and amazed she is at the fish and sharks she's looking at!!

Lawson really wanted to touch a stingray SO badly!! He was so patient and waited and waited for one to swim close enough. Jon came and helped him, and he finally reacked down and touched one. He was so excited!

We all loved the butterfly room. We spent a lot of time in there trying to stand still and get a butterfly to land on us. Throughout the whole day Jon and I were amazed at how many of the animals the kids knew by their proper names--many of those are from watching Diego!! When we went into the butterfly room Lawson looked up and saw a Blue Morpho butterfly. Actually, there were hundreds flying around. A Blue Morpho is brown and looks like it has a big eye when its wings are closed.
There is a whole Diego episode about the Blue Morpho. The kids are fascinated by this butterfly--we've even looked it up on YouTube to watch videos of it. Right when we were getting ready to walk out, Jon saw one on the screen of the window. He got it on his finger and transferred it to Lawson's finger!
Then they transferred it to J's finger so she could have a turn too. I had been trying to get a picture of the bright blue of the inside of the wings the whole time we were in there...And while Jordan was holding it I got it:
This picture of Jordan makes me laugh. Even though it's a little bit fuzzy it shows just how goofy she was being!
After leaving the aquarium we let the kids play in the water outside a little more. Then we headed back to the hotel for some more swimming (because we decided to stay another night!!!)

What a fun Saturday we had!! I just LOVED watching the kids LOVE the aquarium. And even without naps they acted so great.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the weekend. You won't believe what happened!

Marlin number 6

Not quite ready

This morning Jordan came to get me up at about 7:45. No matter the time, I tend to be pretty hard to wake up! I sent her to potty, then I started to slowly get up, get dressed and brush my teeth. Jordan was noisy and fussy--she's usually pretty happy when she gets up. I was a little irritated, because she didn't want to walk down the stairs by herself. I don't carry her down, and she just started crying loudly. At this point I was just worried she would wake Lawson up this early. I told her if she didn't calm down I was going to send her to her room until she could, because she would wake up Lawson. She just kept on whining, so I carried her to her bed. She just kept crying...I eventually just came downstairs wondering what I should do since I am NEVER awake before any kids!! About 20 minutes later Lawson came down and I realized it was quiet upstairs. I tiptoed back up, and this is what I saw--her laying on the floor, across the doorway of her room, sound asleep!! Of course I had to run and get my camera....I guess she wasn't as ready to get up as she thought!!!

Springtime Visitors

Due to the inordinate number of trees in our yard, we have a large number of birds that fly in and out of the yard on any given day. To add to the menagerie we've put out a birdfeeder this year, and both of the kids delight in letting me know when a bird is on it and eating, when it becomes empty and helping me fill it back up. Lawson has become able to spot and identify bluebirds, cardinals, blackbirds, robins, doves, sparrows, woodpeckers, and mockingbirds because they regularly partake of the feast we put out for them.

This spring I noticed a male and female cardinal who were 'regulars' in the yard. One day I spotted the female flying into a bush near our back door. I peeked in (trying to be as 'non-threatening' as I could be) and noticed that this red couple decided that our bush would be a perfect place to call home for the spring!

A day of play...

This morning I decided to skip out on the gym and take the kids to the greenway for a bike ride. I loaded the bikes up in the van and off we went!! Here's Jordan--smiling away! I'm just going to have to accept the fact that she's going to be sweaty in every picture I take from now til November!!! :)
Here's Lawson taking off!! He forgot his helmet at first...but later we remembered!!

We rode to a bridge that goes over a little creek. It was a perfect place to stop and take a rest...the kids loved going down and throwing leaves and rocks in the water...

When we got home we cooled off with popsicles and went out in the yard to play. Lawson climbed up and slid down the lightning fast slide over and over...

While Jordan settled for some calm chalk drawings...
After naptime we spent some time riding bikes in the driveway and Lawson practiced his RollerBlades. What a fun day!!!

Uncle Eric

This past weekend my dad, his girlfriend and my brother came to visit! We had all met in Nashville for Lipscomb's graduation--my cousin graduated--then they came down to visit! I was so excited that Eric was going to come down to Hsv, because he's not ever been here!! I really enjoyed visiting with all of them, but was so proud that my brother was here. We spent some time visiting, then Jon and I drove them around and showed them some of the city. The Space and Rocket Center was closed, but we enjoyed seeing the outdoor things. I love the above pic of my dad and brother by the big rocket.

I also love this picture of Eric and Jordan feeding the fish and ducks at Big Spring Park.

Here's Uncle Eric with Lawson and Jordan.