Random other summer events

 Papa was up and 'watching the kids.'  It was so funny, they called themselves Indians and this was there war paint.  I assume Papa had nothing to do with this idea.

 Even Lucas got all painted up and loved every minute of it!

 Isn't this the best smile you have ever seen?  This was taken while camping with Nana.  Camping for us was a pop up camper parked in Nana's front yard.  We had a blast and the kids were not one bit scared.  In fact, they want to go pop up camping everyday!!  This pic could have been taken at 4 in the afternoon or 10 at night, who knows.  This little guy had so much fun, I didn't think he would EVER GO TO SLEEP!!!!

 Nana went all out to make the boys first camping experience special.  She put up the canopy and brought out the camp stove.  We had hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner.  Ice cream and sparklers for after dinner fun and a delicious breakfast in the morning...all cooked outside on the camp stove.  Hunter even make me coffee on the percolator.  It was the best!!!  We can't wait to take the boys camping again.

 Lots of fishing at the lake, papa's pond in Sparta or down by the river.  Hunter absolutely loves to fish. I believe he could do it all day long.

 A cute moment I caught with Lucas and Ibis.  It was early in the morning and I think the two of them were sharing a biscuit.  It isn't every day that Ibis lets Lucas get this close to him for any period of time..for obvious reasons, Lucas is Lucas and Ibis is Ibis.  I rushed back in to get the camera and it was like they both were discussing a truce.

 A fun day at Hungry Mother park with our Timmons friends.

 Snacks at the pool.

 Little fellow didn't think he needed a nap today and feel asleep during snack time.

 Lots of swimming in the lake.  So happy the boys like to do that.  We also took them Kayaking.

 This was a huge outing for our little folks.  We, David, Kevin, Jenny, Chloe, Eli, Hunter, Lucas and me rode the Creeper Trail from our house all the way to Damascus for lunch.  Mad props to Eli who rode the entire 10 miles by HIMSELF!!!  He was amazing.  I don't know many 5 year olds that could do that.  Hunter and Chloe did a great job as well.  They rode on the trailer bikes while Lucas rode with  Uncle Kev in the bike seat.  Mom and dad met us for lunch in Damascus and took the kids back in the car to catch a nap with the exception of Eli.  He rode the trailer bike back to our house.  This little man rode a blistering 20 miles that day!!!!  The kids must have loved it.  We had minimal complaining, until it was time to eat.

 Lucas took a little cat nap along the way.  I really do get a kick out of the places this kid chooses to fall asleep.  Heaven forbid it be his nice, cozy BED.

Train climbing in Damascus.

Star wars and Hunter's 5th Birthday Party!

It really is unbelievable that Hunter is 5 years old.  Where does the time go?  As each of my children get older we get busier and the days and years seem to disappear in the blink of an eye.  This year was not exception.  My Hunter is one fabulous kid at 4 and I know he will be a superstar 5 year old!

This year Hunter wanted a Star Wars, The Clone Wars birthday party.  David and I debated and debated on this since he has NEVER even seen a Star Wars movie or even cartoon.  We still aren't sure what sparked the interest, but whatever, we had a Star Wars party.  I mean when you really sit and think about it, what little boy doesn't like monsters, good guys with light sabers, guns and outer space science fiction weird stuff?  We had a great party and all of Hunter's friends were able to help him celebrate.  I would like to give a big THANK YOU to everyone out there that helped make this a wonderful birthday memory for Hunter.

 Hello Yoda!!  This was so cute and a hit of the party!  My mom put this little guy together.  Even the guy who delivered the pizza took a pic of him!  Double score when such a cute prop is super easy to make!!!

 My R2D2 cake.  I will toot my on horn a bit here and say, "Why yes, I did make this cake."  I love doing stuff like this, but it is very time consuming.  Time isn't something I have much of when you have several toddlers running about the house.  Big thanks to my parents and David for watching them so I could get him decorated.  The cake part I made a few days in advance.  I didn't ice him until the day of the party and it took a lot longer than I thought it would.  It was well worth the effort.  Form what I hear the cake looked great and even tasted delicious!  More importantly, Hunter thought it was the coolest cake ever.

 Great, fabulous obstacle course jumper rented for the party.  We brought the little jumper out too, for our smaller company.  We realized this year a bunch of 5 year olds just might bring the little jumper down.  This big one did the trick and the kiddos had a blast.  It was so cute to see all the sweaty heads and rosy cheeks!

 Darth Vadar pinata.  Last year we had a pirate ship that took a sledgehammer to crack open.  This year Darth took a few blows with pool noodle light sabers and cracked like an egg.  What a bummer!!  I tried to make sure everyone got a whack at him, but with about 25 kids and a flimsy piñata who knows.

 I felt like the police!!  I was so afraid someone was going to get knocked out.  I must have screamed...yes screamed at those kiddos to "STAND BACK!!"  It was like talking to an old shoe.

 Getting ready to cut the cake.  Hunter looks a little worn out here.

 So great buddies.  We love our sweet Adam!

 Laser Blaster number one!

Laser blaster number 2!  

Hello Star Wars party!

Rumor is next year he wants Angry Birds!

Hiking in Pilot Mountain

When we travel home one of our favorite things to do is take the kids hiking around the knob. They love it and it is great exercise for them.  It has been fun doing this over the years to watch how their confidence grows with climbing rocks and mastering the trail.  It is scary how fast they are growing up. David took the bigger kids one afternoon while Lucas was napping.  These are some great pictures, be sure to note the professional poses from our glam girl!  Hehe...David and I each took them separately on separate occasions and we both mentioned having to tell Chloe, "Okay, we have enough pictures already!"

I really like this one!

This is just too  much!

Okay, this is where my adventure started.  Please note that I braved all 3 kids, solo!  They did a wonderful job and had a great time.  Little Lucas walked the entire way by himself.  He only wanted me to carry him the last section which is up 3-4 flights of big rocky steps.  I was so proud of the little guy...I mean big boy!

Again with the poses, it just makes me laugh!

I don't know if ya'll do the same, but when I take the kids out for any kind of adventure, there must be a time to stop and eat and drink.  Here we were taking a water, gatorade, and goldfish break.

Just some beach pics of everything else

 Hello silly Linden.

 One afternoon we went fishing in a pond on the plantation.  It was sponsored by the nature center.  I can't remember too well, but I think we caught about 4 or 5 fish.

 Dancing at the Marche'.

 A family of Armadillos.

 Fun in the tide pools on the beach.  The kids really like the tide pools the best.  They were warm and waveless!

 I LOVE these kids!!

My boys.

what a fun vacation...until next year.  We are already counting down the days.