Napping on the porch

Noah found a great spot to take a nap.

I think you might agree...

Dear Doctor (an open letter)

Dear Doctor,

I am a good mommy.  I love my children.  They are kind, gentle and loving.  They are well behaved.  

Sometimes they get sick.  

When they get sick I seek help for them.

When I bring them to you, I expect kindness and respect. 

I expect you to speak to me and to them.  

I expect you to be calm.

I expect you to show compassion.

I expect you to be patient.

I expect you to connect to them.

I expect to have a conversation about the level of care they need.

Sincerely,

Is that too much to ask?

Cruisin'...

This summer for our road trip I carefully chose and packed activities that would keep everyone busy.

For our two year old, we packed Buzz, Woody, Jessie and some Dinosaur Train characters.  He also played "Old MacDonald" on the iPad a few times.

For our almost four year old and seven year old we packed legos.  I bought $0.97 shoeboxes from Target.  Packed some favorite lego characters and lego mobiles and away we went!  The shoeboxes were a HUGE hit!  They played with them for the entire trip!

A free photo book from Anderson Cooper!

Hey guys!

I found a great deal today!  Shutterfly and Anderson Cooper have teamed up to offer one free 8 x 8 photo book this summer!  Be sure to click the link to redeem your free book...

http://www.andersoncooper.com/page/shutterfly

Daddy's dancin' feet

Here is a video of daddy dancing with his boys!

Fourth of July

Fourth of July in a small town...

Murphy, NC

First you need to stretch your muscles...

Then, swing it out...

Next, check out the yard

Have a pear or two

Blow some bubbles

Make some noise

Then there is the twist (Tyler won first place in the dance contest)

Noah won first place for Jail house Rock

Hula hoop contest

Parent Dance Contest (Daddy wins!)

Wear your prizes proudly!

Bounce, and play and giggle

It's almost time for the fireworks!

Happy, happy Fourth of July to all!

fishing and four wheelers

Tonight they used two poles and fished with less assistance. 

Uncle Harold dug up some worms, baited their poles and off they went. 

 Tyler caught three fish (one was orange). 

Noah caught one orange fish and one trout. 

 Mommy caught one orange fish and everyone petted it. 

Trey tried to play with it. 

Ew!!

Uncle Harold took Noah on a ride to the mailbox tonight.

Then he took Tyler on a ride on the beginners trail.  It was fun ride and they made it back just before a storm rolled in!

Fun times for all and homemade ice cream for dessert!!  Thank you, Aunt Sheri!

PS Sorry for the lack of pictures, the cameras were in the house!

Deep Creek, Bryson City, NC

Today we ventured into Bryson City for some tubing in Deep Creek. 

Before we headed down to the creek, we checked out the train depot!

Beginning July 20th, the train will be Dinosaur Train!  That is Trey's favorite!

 Wave to the conductor!

Here we are playing in the creek.

 It's a fun place! 

 We spent $7 to rent two tubes. 

Tyler is posing.  The others were too busy to pose.

A family photo!  (Thank you Trey for hiding my bathing suit!)

 Before returning our tubes, Noah wanted to check out the goats.

Just in case you were wondering...

Daddy liked this sign.

 Trey fell asleep in the car before I even started it!

 Next time, we'll need some buckets, water shoes, a sifter and something to scare away the SNAKES!!

Swinging

Last night the boys tried something new. 

There are two swings here to hang from. 

Noah can't reach it without help. 

 The boys love them. 

 We also caught three lightening bugs! 

 (not pictured Trey's face plant courtesy of me)

1st night of fishing

For their first venture at fishing in the pond, they shared a pole and had some help. 

 Tyler caught a trout, Noah caught an "orange" fish. 

 (not pictured: Trey pretending to use a fly swatter as a pole)

Our first adventures in Murphy, NC

Last night we arrived!  Just after we put our groceries away and unpacked the car, the power went out! Oops!  Luckily I packed glow sticks and their favorite flashlights.  Everyone fell asleep with no trouble and the power was restored pretty quickly.

This morning, we ventured out to the pond and the barn. 

Trey is trying to get by me to feed more fish.

Noah wanted me to take a picture of this pose. 

And also this pose. 

Tyler and Noah decided to climb this incline to take pictures by the bigger tractor. 

 And then they posed together.

And Noah again asked that I get "this" pose. 

Trey wanted to climb to the roof of the barn.

(We didn't let him) 

Here is the breathtaking view. 

Another shot of the view. 

From the house toward the pond.

Trey's thinking pose...

Hummingbird feeder 

And so we continue....

Tonight we'll be hoping to find some lightening bugs...