Summer Chain of Events: Week 3

I hope you're ready because this is going to be a long one full of pictures (if you click on the pictures they will enlarge).  I know that I'm way behind but I knew this post was going to take me awhile so I had to wait until I had some time.  We spent our third week of summer with the kids at my dad's house in Dandridge, Tennessee.  We did not bring the chain of events with us but lord knows we had plenty of new and exciting activities to keep us busy. 

Saturday, Day 16:

Friday night Justin and I packed up the car so we could start our drive at the early hour of 4:00 a.m. We decided to do this so that the kids would sleep in the car for awhile and we wouldn't have to entertain them too much.  That worked out well and at about 7:00 everyone was awake and ready for breakfast.  After that the kids watched a movie on their portable blue ray players.  We decided a nine hour drive was too long not to make a big stop so we decided to visit Rock City in Chattanooga, TN.

Check out Fenway's tongue!

On a rope bridge.

Picture perfect view!

A beautiful Rock City waterfall.

From there we had about two more hours until we reached my dad's house.  After we settled in, my dad took us and my grandparents to a Tennessee Smokies baseball game. Unfortunately, Donna (my step mom) had to sit this one out due to a knee injury. 

This is the only picture we have at the game and it was taken on Justin's phone.

Sunday, Day 17:

Sunday was full of new activities on and around the lake.  There was rides on the 4-wheeler with Grandpa, tubing behind the boat, fishing, and a huge firework show put on by the Marina.  

  McKayla riding with grandpa.

 Seth waiting for a ride.

 Seth riding with grandpa.

 Daddy was giving rides too!

I think she's having a good time :-)

Getting ready to go tubing for the first time.

Holding on tight!

 Loving it!!!

EWWWWW!!!

We never caught anything but we had fun trying.

Monday, Day 18: Happy 4th of July!!!

Monday was especially exciting because it was the fourth of July and we got to pick up my brother and his family from the airport.  Once all the kids were together they had a great time on the slip 'n' slide, putting on "shows" for us, doing our own fireworks, and letting off lanterns (like in the movie Tangled).

McKayla, Gracelyn, and Seth

Griffin getting some help from his daddy.

McKayla is having fun!

Even grandpa joined in on the fun.

The following three AWESOME pictures were taken by my sister-in-law, Christa. 

Our very patriotic dog, Fenway!

Tuesday, Day19:

On our 4th day in Tennessee we spent lots of time on the lake swimming, tubing, wakeboarding, taking boat rides, and daddy and uncle Ryan even rented wave runners. 

Rides with daddy! 

Family fun!

I got to wakeboard for my first time ever!!!

Ryan and Gracelyn.

Baby Jack just hung out and enjoyed the view :-)

Wednesday, Day 20:

My dad and step-mom were kind enough to treat us all to Dollywood's Splash Country water park.  We all rode lots of waterslides, spent time in the wave pool, and had a blast.  Unfortunately, because of all the water we didn't take any pictures.

Thursday, Day 21:

This was our last full day in Tennessee.  We spent it tie dying shirts, taking boat rides, tubing, wakeboarding, and swimming. 

A beautiful picture of McKayla courtesy of Aunt Christa.

This was something the kids loved to do and it saved them from those long walks up the hill.

Friday, Day 22:

On friday we had to drop Ryan and his family off at the airport and head back to Tallahassee.  It was a long trip back but well worth the drive.  While we were in Tennessee we got to spend time with my dad, my step-mom, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, my cousin Matt, my brother and his family (Christa, Gracelyn, Griffin, and Jack).  It was a great family trip and we look forward to doing it again next summer!

Summer Chain of Events: Week 2

As I'm sure you guessed, our summer chain of events has continued to be a big hit around our house. Our second week started on Sunday, June 19th, Father's Day.

Sunday, Day 8: Our First Fishing Trip!

On Father's Day the kids and I got up early and made Justin his favorite breakfast, biscuits and sausage gravy.  After that the kids gave him his gifts, a tackle box from Seth and a steering wheel cover from McKayla.  I got Justin a shirt with a picture of him and the kids that said, World's Best Dad! After breakfast and exchanging gifts, we headed to Carabelle Beach for a day of fishing and relaxing in the sun. 

We didn't catch anything but we had a great day.  That night Justin's parents came over and we grilled steaks to celebrate the holiday.

Monday, Day 9: Let's have a water balloon fight!

I quickly decided that a water balloon fight may not be a good idea, so instead we made a target to throw water balloons at.  The kids loved it and have requested it to show up on the chain again.

All of our water balloons.

We drew these on the side of the house with chalk. 



Tuesday, Day 10: Movie Date with Daddy!

On Tuesday I had a couple girlfriends over for dinner and to watch one of our favorite shows, "The Bachelorette".  Justin was kind enough to take the kids out to a movie.  The movie they picked was "Rango".  Justin wasn't crazy about it but the kids seemed to have enjoyed it.

Wednesday, Day 11: Play-Doh Creations!

The kids enjoyed this activity so much that they pulled the play-doh out 3 times that day and again throughout the week.  Here are some of their creations:

 One of McKayla's creations.

Seth and his creations.

Thursday, Day 12: Painting with Water Colors.

On Thursday the kids painted using water colors.  Each of them painted 3 paintings which we hung in their bedrooms.

McKayla's Pictures: These are pretty self explanatory.

Seth's Pictures: The top one is me, him, and Fenway looking for flowers.  The bottom left is a rocket ship.  The bottom right is Fenway.



Friday-Sunday, Day 13-15: We're going to Destin Beach!!!

I have friends that have a condo in Destin and they kindly let me use it from time to time in exchange for babysitting services.  On Friday morning, Justin's Mom, the kids, and I, headed to the condo and got settled in.  We spent most of the afternoon in the pool until Justin and his dad arrived.

Friday night we had dinner at a restaurant in Baytowne Wharf and played a huge game of checkers.

This picture was taken with my phone so the quality isn't great. 

Please notice the matching stances. :-)

We spent saturday morning at the beach having fun and collecting shells. 

Something amazing happened on Saturday.  After lunch we headed down to the pool and Seth finally figured out how to swim.  He has been able to do it for quite some time now but was always too nervous to do it.  Justin took a video of him swimming but I haven't been able to download it to the blog.  He swam some more on Sunday and is now swimming above and underwater with no problem.  It is amazing how far he has come this summer.  Watchng him swim and seeing the joy on his face is probably one of the best feelings I've ever experienced.  I cannot wait to experience more moments like this with them.

So that concludes our second week of summer with the kids.  Many of you email me or tell me when you see me in person that you enjoy reading the blog.  I know there are many more of you out there reading but I don't know who.  If you read and enjoy the blog please leave a message, shoot me an email, or become a follower.  I would really appreciate hearing what you think.  Thanks!

School's Out!!!

If you're a teacher then you know that this is way more exciting for the teachers than it is for the kids.  It is especially exciting for me because I have decided NOT to work this summer!!! That being said, please don't think I've been sitting around reading novels and taking afternoon naps...I wish!  I am still in grad school, so I am taking this summer to take classes and complete an internship.  Luckily, my internship is flexible so I can work there every other week. That way when we have the kids I take care of them and we don't have to pay the outrageous cost of summer camps. Because I knew I would have the kids everyother week I started thinking and planning months ago of ways to keep them entertained without breaking the budget.  I started by making a list of ideas and then I fit them into our summer calendar around our vacations and planned trips.  Then, I stole a fabulous idea from my sister-in-law.  She also had made a calendar for her kids but she made a paper chain that they could pull the last chain off each day.  On each chain is an idea/activity for the day. So began what Justin calls "The Summer Chain of Events".  I think it's a pretty cute name.

Each morning the kids are with us, they wake up and come running to their "chain of events" to see what they day's activity is.  Let me correct that... each morning they run downstairs to the chain and argue about whose turn it is to pull off the chain.  After that is decided they ooohhh and aaahhh over the activity for the day.  So here is a run down of our first week (June 6th - 12th).

Monday, Day 1: Let's go the library, get our own library cards, and check out books!

They each got their own library card and library bag. McKayla got three books and Seth got four.  We have decided to go back every Tuesday.  The kids got an extra surprise that night.  Justin took us all to Lofty Pursuits for icecream and the kids got their faces painted.

 



Tuesday, Day 2: Let's make some yummy home made popsicles for dessert.  We did make our popsicles in the morning and eat them for dessert but I forgot to take pictures of them.

Wednesday, Day 3: How tall are you? We measured our heights and we will measure them again at the end of the summer to see how much we grew. McKayla is 48 1/4" and Seth is 43 1/2" tall.

Thursday, Day 4: Let's make some home made pizzas for dinner!  That's just what we did...



 Friday, Day 5: Let's plant some flowers and watch them grow!

Saturday, Day 6: We're making dessert for Ms. Meghan and Mr. Jeremy's Party!!! Again, I forgot to take pictures.  We made home made chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate island cookies, and sugar cookies. Yummy!

Sunday, Day 7: Going to Lake Ella to feed the ducks.

I would love to tell you what else is to come in our "summer chain of events" but that's top secret.  Stay tuned and you'll get to find out!