our awesome weekend

Summer has been great, but the last two weeks have been fairly busy and we haven't had much family time.  Coleson was in Vegas this past week for work and the week before that both Ryan and Abby had camps.  Ryan's camp was an evening camp, which meant no family dinners and no Mommy/Daddy time after bedtime - it's hard to do that when Ryan's up til all hours of the night :) 

Coleson returned from Vegas Thursday night, and the kids and I picked him up from the airport.  We arrived a little early so we could hang out in the cell phone lot watching the planes.  We enjoyed that quite a bit, and it was so nice to see Daddy! 

Friday night we had our first homecooked, family dinner in what felt like forever.  Taco pasta, one of Mommy's favorites, yumm!  Ryan's been growing his hair out - well, more like Ryan just hasn't had a haircut.  He doesn't like it long, but he doesn't want it cut.  And it's summertime, and Mommy doesn't care, so it's just been growing wild.  The topic of his hair came up again at dinner and Ryan decided he was ready for a cut and he wanted it short again.  Well, the long look is looking pretty good on him, so after a bit of convincing, off went Mommy and Ryan for a real haircut.  Not a Mommy buzz, but a professional with scissors and everything.  He picked Sport Clips, based solely on the name and that they had TVs.  It's still "long," at least for Ryan, but it's all cleaned up and trimmed.  He looks so super handsome and way too grown up! 

Saturday we went on a cave tour and gold mining with Ryan's Cub Scouts pack.  I'd never been either, so I was actually really looking forward to it.  We were at Consolidated Gold Mines in Dahlonega.  We learned the name is because at one time there were six different mines in that area that consolidated together.  There were about 30 or 35 of us on our tour - John was the only other boy from Ryan's den, so they stuck together most of the time.  The mine was really pretty neat.  Lots of cool things to see and a guide who told us lots of cool facts.  The kids all did great, even when he turned off the lights.  And even when he turned on one of the old drills that echoed loudly around the mine.  The girls won't use hand dryers in public restrooms, but they did fine with the drill, go figure!  After the tour, we went panning for gold.  It was okay, but the kids enjoyed it and we all got our token three or four specks.  The gems were way more fun, in my opinion.  Each kid had a huge bucket of sand with gems and rocks.  They were able to shovel them on to the sifters and find the treasures.  It was a lot more interactive and fun and messy!  We returned home for some downtime in the afternoon, followed by dinner at our favorite Mexican place - Las Palmas.  It was a really nice dinner.  Very relaxing and enjoyable, a great end to our day.

More adventures on Sunday - after church and lawn mowing, we rented a canoe and kayak on Lake Allatoona.  It was a blast!  The canoe held three of us and the kayak two.  The kids weren't much help paddling, but Mommy and Daddy got a workout :)  We explored for awhile and even ventured across the lake [boats and waves, but it actually wasn't bad at all].  We then pulled the boats to the shore for a break.  The kids loved swimming in the lake!  It was a perfect day - low 80s instead of the high 90s we've been having.  Lots of blue sky and sunshine.  We saw huge birds, and the train crossed the cool bridge across the lake three times during our two-hour rental.  After some snacks, we boarded our boats again to meander around the lake some more.  But all the kids really wanted to do was get back in the water.  So once we were back in the no-wake zone, we let them jump out for a quick swim before returning the boats.  It was soo much fun!!  I could get used to life on the lake!  At some point, Abby said something about loving this day, and they kept asking when we could go again.  We picked up some Little Ceaser's on the way home to cap off our pretty-much-perfect weekend.  I'm so thankful for this amazing family of ours, and the wonderful opportunities we are blessed with!  I could say something cliché about being intentional and experiencing life together, but let's leave it at : it's so much fun having fun with them!! :) 

And PS, despite our 2-4pm canoe rental timeframe, no one got sunburnt, or even red!  Hooray!

Coanoing and kayaking by Ryan

Today we went kayaking and canoeing at holiday Harbor. First Abby and daddy road in a kayak me Chloe and mommy road in a canoe. Then we stopped at a beach and swim in the lake then we had a snack then me and Abby traded baots. Then the me , Abby and Chloe got of the boats and siwmed in the deep water. Last went back to the harbor.

Cave mining day, by Ryan!

Today we went exeploring in a cave with scouts. Next we shitftet a pan and found GOLD! Last we scooped some sand out of a bucket and put in a shifter and shifted it and found CRYSTALS!

Maya's day by Ryan

We started the at petsmart and got Maya a all pink new collar. Then we went to the vet for Maya`s checkup. Next we went to hot dog heaven for lunch. Last we went to a trail and scootered to a dog park and it poured rain there so when the rain slowed down we rod very wet back to the car then drove home .              

blog books

In the past, I was better about updating my blog posts.  I've had droughts for sure, but overall I think I did pretty good.  I even have three books that I've printed out from my blog.  And I need to be better again, I need to try to make a better effort to update the page and to print out books.  The kids love to look at the books.  Ryan recently discovered them and he will sit and read through them for as long as I'll let him.  He's a great reader, and Abby loves to look at the pictures.  I'm sure she'll be reading them in no time too!  So since my scrapbooks are nearly five years out of date and my photos are all posted online, keeping up my blog posts and blog books seems like an important thing to once again prioritize - an awesome, physical, tangible collection of memories for all to enjoy.  So here's to a new start!  hopefully! 

guest blogger Ryan Chase

I hit the ball to first base and first baseman dived for
the ball and he missed the ball and went to
right field and I ran to second base then I ran to third base then I ran home!
I got my first home run!

The ball was hit to LF. LF threw the ball to me. I got
the ball and turned around and dived for the guy
and got the out!

My team is the best team.

We are so good we won the championship!

High Five Abby!

Happy 5th birthday Abby!!  Wow!  What a long way you've come in such a short amount of time!  You've turned in to an amazing little girl - strong and tough and smart and athletic.  But perhaps Mommy's favorite quality is your endless joy and optimism.  You almost never get down, you have this wonderful, natural ability to see the best in everything.  For example, it has rained ALL April long, but that hasn't phased you : you remind us everyday "April showers bring May flowers!!"  If something doesn't go your way, you simply brush it off and keep on.  You are a great big sister; Chloe adores you!  You are patient and motherly and always super helpful.  I can always count on you, not just with Chloe, but with Maya too!  And of course, you know it : "I'm a greater helper, aren't I?"  You're certainly not lacking in self-confidence and I love that!

You're an awesome soccer player.  You've had a great season playing i9 with your buddies.  This is the third season you've played with Coach Daddy and Coach Zach and all your little teammates : Asher, Levi, Larsen, Lyla, etc.  You routinely dominate and often score three or four goals a game.  However, my very favorite Abby soccer moment this season was when Levi scored a goal.  You ran right up to him and gave him a big ole' congratulatory high five.  What a great sport and teammate, Mommy was sooo proud of you!! 

So, back to turning five!  What a milestone - the big oh-five, a full hand!  Your birthday was on a Monday this year and the celebrations began the weekend before.  After church on Sunday, we gave you a new sheet set.  This was a little confusing, until we explained that we were off to IKEA to pick out a new bed!  A big, beautiful twin size bed!  You've been so excited about it and have shown it off to everyone who's come over.  And a new bed for you meant an upgrade for Chloe too; she got your toddler bed.  After a couple of nighttime falls, you two are doing great and have no problems staying in the bed.  After IKEA and the bed assembling, your grandparents and Cousin Steve came over for dinner and cake.  It was a great evening and a wonderful day of Abby! 

Monday morning, Daddy took off work and we hosted some of your bestest little buds for a pancake breakfast.  You love pancakes, so it seemed perfect!  The guests came in PJs and had a blast.  We kept it small on purpose, and I think that the party so much better that way.  It was calmer and more intimate, and I really think you had so much more fun.  The guests included Naomi, Larsen, Levi, Lyla, Elli Bond, and of course your built-in best friend Chloe :)  And in lieu of cupcakes bright and early, we put your candle in a cinnamon roll.  What a fun morning!  After the breakfast guests left, we hung out and played and got ready for Ryan's baseball game.  Unfortunately the game was rained out while we were driving there.  But that's okay, we went on a short walk and then to Sweet Escapes for ice cream!  Nana came too and we met Sam and Jack and Ben up there.  I hadn't invited them to breakfast since they have school on Monday and wouldn't know the other guests, but I wanted to make sure you saw them at some point on your special day.  As it happens, we also ran into Max and Grant and Grace there.  Lots of fun eating and playing and being crazy silly with your friends.  I love that you have such great friends!

Your checkup with Dr. Bowman went great.  You're 42.5" tall and 43lbs.  Both are right about the 50th percentile.  No concerns and perhaps more importantly no shots!  You also saw Dr. Smith this year.  Again that went very smoothly.  Your kidney is awesome, and you are medically boring and completely normal.  You can do anything anyone else can do (and you're proving that you can usually do it better!).  The only cautions would probably be football and horseback riding, but really overall there are no worries at all.  We have been so blessed with your wonderful growth and amazing health, and anyone meeting you now would never know or believe how sick you once were.  We are so thankful!!

Happy birthday my Sweet Girl!!!!  Mommy and Daddy love you so very much!!!

 

 

Ryan Chase, future Atlanta Brave

Ryan hit a triple today!!!  Over second base, into the outfield, a true triple!!  This mama was so proud, I thought I was going to cry and that my heart would explode :)  My Little Man loves baseball so much, and it is just an amazing feeling to see him happy and excelling at something he enjoys.  What a great, great moment!

Classic

Ryan got to stay up a little later then normal tonight to watch some of the Braves game on TV.  He has really come to love baseball and is planning on playing for the Braves when he grows up.  At some point a commercial came on featuring an old black and white western type scene.  Ryan proceeds to ask "were there no colors in the old days?"  Love it!

Abby's crystal ball

On the way to preschool this morning, Abby started in on if we could have a fourth baby (Nope!!).  I'm thinking this new interest is thanks to Ms Christa and Ms Kelsi who both just had little boys within the last two weeks.  So, I explained, yet again, that three is perfect for us, our family is complete, etc etc etc.  The conversation then turned to: "well, when I grow up I'm gonna have six kids!"  There ya go. I told her that I would be a very happy Grandma to her six kids.  She went on to declare that Ryan will have two kids and Chloe will have three.  So yep, I will have eleven grand babies if Abby's predications are correct.  Bring it on!!

However, these numbers are apparently fluid and can change with little to no notice.  Abby told her daddy at dinner that she was going to have twelve sets of twins.  Yikes!!!