Summer Vacation : Lake Gaston

I grew up going to Lake Gaston.  My parents bought this when I was in 8th grade!  I love all the wonderful memories that I have here, and I was so happy to share it with my kiddos.  The last time I was there, Harper was 4 months old.  It was fun to see her enjoy it this time.

When we arrived, we decided to take the boys and Harps out to the Lake so they could stretch their legs.  Mom would hold Crews' hand, I would hold Maverick's hand, and Nancy would hold Warner's hand.  Harper is a bit wary of new situations, so I knew she would stay close by.  Harper was fine and behaved just like I expected, but the boys not so much.  The boys' didn't want to hold our hands, but when we let their hands go, they would bolt towards the Lake.  We would grab their hands again & they would flop and flail and scream on the ground.  It was no fun.  We decided to take them over to the beach area of the Lake since it was shallow.  Well, Maverick and Warner ran head first into the Lake and face planted.  I ran into the lake after them and yanked them out by their clothes.  Oh yea, did I mention we all still had our clothes on!?  Nancy grabbed Warner, I grabbed Maverick, Mom grabbed Crews - who was still dry and on the beach (angel child - lol) - and carried each one up to the garage. They were screaming and acting like nuts.  I must say I was quite discouraged at this point!!

We figured out the next day that we would put up some baby pools up closer to the house.  The kiddos couldn't leave the house without a Puddlejumper on and an adult close by!  And, to my great pleasure -  it worked! Harper went into the Lake a few times with me, but overall the baby pools are where all the kids hung out the entire time.

lots of piano was played banged on when we were inside!

Sweetest Feet!

After being there 2 days, I had 2 of my best friends come to visit.  We have known each other since elementary school and grew up dancing together.  I don't have a picture of this, but our guest book at Lake Gaston showed that the 3 of us (plus Tara's sister, Leah - who couldn't make it) were there 13 years and 1 day ago!  It was so crazy!  We would never think there would be 10 - almost 11 kids between the 4 of us one day.   Tara has 4 kids - Nathan & Natalie (4) and Samuel & Samantha (1) - yes 2 sets of twins!  Crystal has adorable Mr. Owen (8 months), and Leah has Emery (4 months) - we MISSED you, so.

Crystal, Me, & Tara

  

Y'all, I figured out how to make a collage, and I kind of went crazy with it!  

I feel like a computer genius!!!

 (click picture to view in larger size - hopefully this will work - ha)

Tara has an awesome post of all of our fun we had together HERE. Ya know, if you want more details!  We had fun playing in the lake, the baby pools, eating pizza, talking and laughing.  All the little ones took amazing naps, and all my babes slept amazing that night!  It was such a fun way to begin our vacation! 

The rest of our visit we had fun hanging out with our big and crazy wonderful family.  I can't wait until we are able to return with little ones a bit older and independent!

Aunt Susan gets her own pic :-)  It was too confusing to add to the collages. 

My identical twin uncles with my identical triplets!  Crazy! 

Also, if you want to see some more incredible pics from our lake time & a preview of our beach time go see Nancy's photos .

Up Next: 19 Week Update & then Myrtle Beach!

Summer Vacation 2011: Travel to NC

We are home and recuperating from our fun and busy 2 week vacation to the Carolinas.  I am hoping to do a lot of sitting this week as I am worn out from traveling!  Hopefully that means this little ol' bloggy will be attended to since I'm sitting down.  :-)

This post is a wordy one as I want to remember what traveling with 4 kids under 4 was like.   I  think if I don't write it down, I may block it from my memory.  Ha!  It really wasn't that bad, just very exhausting.

The first part of our vacation started when Mom and Nean (my Aunt, Jean - nicknamed 'Nean' by me at age 2) flew here Saturday June 25.  Sunday was an all out day of packing and cleaning while we traded off herding tots from room to room (so they wouldn't mess up what we had already done!)  Everyone pitched in cleaning (even Nean cleaned my oven & stove!!!)  Harper adores my Mom, so she followed her around everywhere she went while we were getting ready.  Sunday night, my dear sweet friend, Arica came over to spend the night so we could be up bright and early Monday AM to leave for the airport. Another friend, Dabney, came to meet us early Monday morning so we could have an extra car.  She drove Mom, Nean, & our luggage.  Arica drove Me & the kids.  (Chris had already left for summer camp.  He would meet us in NC on Thursday after camp was over)

**Side note: Arica is such a blessing to our family!  We were introduced through a dear friend when the boys were 5 weeks old.  Arica started coming over to help with feedings and our friendship grew from there.  She is definitely part of our family here in Nashville and is like an aunt to my kids.  She is such a servant and has cleaned my house/ taken care of my kids/ stayed with me while Chris has been gone/ etc.  Arica moved from Texas to Tennessee because God told her to! What an obedient heart!  Many times I tell her God moved her here for me!!!  :-)

We were all packed Sunday night, so Monday AM we woke up at 5:30 AM, had the kids ready to go by 6:30 & were in the car by 6:45. It was quite an adventure as Harper threw up on the way to the airport!  Gaaah!  I think she was so excited that she wouldn't eat breakfast - just had a few sips of my Mom's protein shake- and then was a little car sick.  I was sooo thankful I had packed an extra set of clothes for her in her carry on.  I thought there is no way she will need these, but I better be safe than sorry!  Yay for overpacking!  :-)  She was all cleaned up by the time we reached the airport. 

We arrived at the airport & unloaded the kids into their double strollers, unpacked the luggage, then un-fastened all the carseats.  We were definitely a spectacle.  We got all checked in & made it through security. The boys pitched a royal fit when we had to take off their shoes to walk them through the scanner thing.  Some sweet lady that we didn't know stopped to help us put back on all their shoes :-)

We got to the gate, got a bite to eat, and then took the kids to play on a playground set up in the Nashville Airport (genius!!!!!Thank you BNA!)  They had a blast!  These are only pictures I took of our travel to NC. 

Maverick trying to put his shoes back on...oh, how these boys are obsessed with their shoes!

Nean and Warner

Harper and Crews playing (notice Crews carrying around his shoes)

Before we knew it, it was time to board. We changed their diapers very quickly, had a few last bathroom visits, and clanked our way onto the plane.  Mom sat with Harper and Crews, I had Warner, and Nean had Maverick.  Because they are lap children, we couldn't all sit in the same row (has to do with oxygen masks if needed).  So I sat across from Mom, and Nean sat diagonal across the aisle from me.  Crews was so easy going on the plane, and Harper was, too. Maverick and Warner did a great job, but definintely had their moments.  Nean and I would just laugh and look at Crews and call him 'Angel Child.' We survived the 1 hour & 15 minute ride with lots of snacks, books, ice, cups, & a few screams.  I think it went great! :-)

Nancy  & Will picked us up at the airport. Mom and Nean had their cars there, too.  We loaded up the carseats (thank you Uncle Will!!!) and headed to Johnny (my brother) & Megan's new house!  The boys were at their grouchiest & were super hungry.  Thankfully, Aunt Megan had  picked up Chickfila and had it waiting on us when we arrived!  We managed to not destroy too much of their home, and were soon on our way to the Lake.  But, not without Warner finding a drainage ditch and sitting down in it!  (It had just rained a ton!)  Awesome.  Quick outfit change & we were on our way.

Nancy took me by Jubala Coffee which has the BEST coffee I have ever tasted...and super yummy Liege Belgium Waffles (these aren't your Mama's waffles!) but the yummiest dessert/doughnut with a crispy outer shell of pure sweetness!  Harper, Nancy and I shared a chocolate chip waffle and Nancy and I had a Vanilla Latte. Oh yummy - I want some now!  I hope Andrew (owner of Jubala & youth group friend of mine)  opens his second location in Nashville!!!

We finished our drive to Lake Gaston with kids dozing in the car. 

Harper's Night Night

It is amazing how fast time flies.  I have been meaning to write this post for a while, but I kept thinking, Harper is going to be doing this routine for the rest of her life, so I don't need to rush to record it.  How wrong I was!  We have recently returned from our summer vacation (working on posts for that now!), and while we were gone, our routine was lost.  We got home and Harper has just grown up more!  She now tells me when she is ready to go to bed (I realize this probably won't last very long), and she will get her babies and paci (yes, she still has one) and climb up into bed to wait for us to read her ONE book and sing her ONE song. 

So, before we left for vacation, here is what bedtime looked like:

We would put the boys to bed, and then Harper would have about 30-45 minutes with just Mom and Dad. We would usually eat a snack and snuggle on the sofa.  Depending on who's turn it was to put H to bed, Chris or I would coax Harper upstairs to brush her teeth and go potty.  (I have to admit, Chris and I would kind of push bedtime duty on each other because it was a looooongg routine, but now that the routine has come to an end, I find myself trying to extend it a bit by singing an extra song or reading one more book)

Harper would have to get paci (which is in the bed) and Baby Carol (which could be anywhere in the house).  If I was on my game, I would remember to look for her before we would start bedtime routine, but usually, I was soooo tired, I would forget and we would spend a bit of tiem looking for BC. 

We would then pick out 2-3 books to read.  Then say prayers. Then sing 2 songs.  Usually Jesus Loves Me and The Birdie Song.  We would kiss and turn out the lights. Oh, and we can't forget the last sip of water that would always pop into Harper's head as soon as she was snug as a bug in a rug.  Thankfully, I keep a sippy cup by her bed, so I don't have to go into the bathroom or kitchen to get one.  I would kiss her again, re-tuck her in, and then, as I'm leaving, Harper would always say this...

H: "Mommy, is there thunder and lighting (not lightening) tonight?"

Me: "No, Baby. Not tonight. (or if there was, I would tell her there might be but Mommy and Daddy are right here and Jesus is always with her, too).

H: Okay, well, if I need you I will say (and she would yell this as if she were in practice mode) Mommy, I need to go potty.  Or Daddy, I need to go potty. Or Mommy, I need some water. Or Daddy I need some water. Or Mommy, I need to rock. Or Daddy, I need to rock." (she would say all of that in what seemed like one breath, quite loudly- and it would always make Chris and me laugh)

Me: Okay, Harper. We'll be right here as always.

H: Okay, well, leave the door a teeny, tiny, little bit cracked and leave the light on out in the hallway. 

Me: Of course I will.

After a few weeks of saying 'leave the light on out in the hallway' she would go ahead and add my comment onto hers. So she would say, '...well leave the light on out in the hallway of course you will. ' haha!

Me: I love you so much, Harper Grace.

H: I love you too, Mommy.

Me: Night night, sleep tight.

Then, I would leave the door a teeny tiny little bit cracked and the laundry room light on and go downstairs.  Only occasionally would she call me back, and I usually knew exactly why - only when we would leave out part of our nightly conversation... if she forgot to ask about thunder & lighting or to leave the light on... I could usually count on it. 

Children are so funny, and while their routines can sometimes feel like you are stuck in the Groundhog's Day movie, they are reassuring and comforting to them.  Appreciate every day because it could be the last time that routine is ever done.  I know I will hang onto them a bit more now.