It's almost the weekend

I went to work before the sun rose this morning to catch up on stuff. Ian was off to soccer camp and Gavin hung out with Cailean this morning. Mom and my grandparents went furniture shopping and then I received a call at work that Cailean was off on a roadtrip to fix a plane. Of course...he always gets called when we have people here. Things are coming together here with mom's new place, but lots of work ahead of us. My grandparents are holding up well and adjusting to the change. No pictures today! I'm sorry!!! We're going to fly up north on Monday. We're looking forward to seeing everyone...especially to meet our nephew/cousin...Neal Thomas! We'll get to see my dad for a day, Cailean's family and helping Marc and Randa with their wedding. Looking forward to the trip, but how in the world am I going to focus on packing??????

Wow...what a day

Hi everyone! If you have called here in the last few days or sent me emails and I haven't responded...I'm sorry...I'll get to you soon! Mom and my grandparents arrived last night and things did not go smoothly for mom this morning with the closing of her new house. It is hers now, but it has been a crazy day for everyone involved. Ian had soccer camp this morning and his final swim lesson tonight. He loves soccer and he did so well in swim lessons today! Go Ian! Moving up to Y5! Gavin went to NCSU with me this morning, so I could do some testing and he did a great job keeping quiet. I had to give vocab words and the students had to write the words. As I said each word, Gavin tried to repeat it!!! Then, he took 2 highlighters and hit them together and it seemed like he was telling them to pay attention and get busy with their work! At the end, the students gave Gavin high-fives and he escorted them to their next location (up the stairs). He just thought he was King Tutt! Gavin and I picked up my grandparents and we went to the Soccer Park to get Ian from camp. Off to Wendy's to fill everyone's bellies and then home. Gavin was not cooperating with naptime because he thought his Grammie and Pop-pop were going to leave. He couldn't understand that they would be staying!!! He finally fell asleep and Ian entertained Pop-pop while I was running around booking car rentals and doing my NCSU work! Tonight we all went to watch Ian's last swim lesson. Then, we went to the Loop for dinner. Right now it's easier to eat out (not a problem for me to not have to cook!!!) since my grandmother is unable to do the stairs in our house right now. We stay downstairs when they are here. The kids went to bed quickly and I had time to complete my scoring for work and take care of Ian's soccer stuff for tomorrow.
Off to give the rundown to Cailean about what to do at soccer camp. I'm at work tomorrow and Friday and Cailean will be with the kids.
Looking forward to seeing my two aunts tomorrow night! We'll have a packed house!!!! :)
Lots to do before we fly up to Vermont on Monday!!!!!!

Monday

We had a packed day! Ian's first day of soccer camp was this morning (9-12). He has always played soccer at a park in Morrisville, so he thought that was where his camp would be. As we were headed to camp, Ian wanted to know why we were going to NC State. When I put my blinker on and turned right into the WakeMed Soccer Park, Ian says, "Oh Woooowwwww...This is awesome! Wowwwwwww..." hahahaha His camp is at the park where the professional team plays and it's the host field for the College Cup! We signed him in and watched him go with the instructors and campers to the big field. He didn't even look back! Gavin and I got into the car and drove slowly away. Ian was just grinning from ear to ear as he put his soccer ball down and ran with the rest of the kids to score goals! Three hours later we were back picking him up. I was so impressed with his soccer abilities...right in there getting that ball and they were passing the ball to Ian. I noticed two boys calling for Ian because they wanted to be his partner for a game.

Poor Gavin wants to go with Ian for everything. He was upset that he didn't have his soccer ball with him!

Gavin got to run the Bumblebee Room at the Y this morning though. He was Mister Bigshot! Walked in with NO tears and kept saying goodbye and thanks to the staff when I picked him up.

There's a photo of Ian helping Gavin get dressed this morning. He's such a great big brother (most of the time...he does have his moments!!!). He was trying to get Gavin to wear his underwear, but since we were headed out I wasn't up for that! hahaha

I'm not really typing this in the order of how our day went!!! After naptime, we met up with Heather, Carrick, Kian and Finley at Monkey Joe's. We were there for about 2 hours and then headed to Ian's swim lesson. We hadn't seen Heather and the boys all summer, so it was nice to catch up! Ian had another great swim lesson tonight. One more to go!

The Weekend

I'm posting a few photos from yesterday's end-of-the-VBS week event. Each group had an opportunity to lead the campers with a song. Ian's group was called the Magical Merry-go-rounds. He did very well!

On Monday he starts soccer camp in the mornings. Gavin will visit the Y, if I can take care of this cold by Monday!

Both kids seem to be enjoying their summers. Gavin can sing his ABC's along with singing Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels on the Bus. He can count to at least 14 (the number of stairs we have heading downstairs) and knows a lot of colors. He is not showing much interest in the potty training, but there are days where he wants to wear Ian's underwear. So, mom bought Gavin his own underwear last weekend...Scooby Doo that glow in the dark (Ian had to get matching ones, too).

Ian tries to write letters and then will ask what he just spelled. We'll be putting together our own "Ian Dictionary"...too cute! He has figured out some new computer games. He isn't too interested in the keyboard at all. In kindergarten they'll have computer time, so that should be fun.

Ian and Gavin love to be outside running around or doing something. Gavin is excited when he scores baskets and yells, "2 points! 2 points!" I haven't tried explaining 3-pointers or free throw shots at this point! Ian pretends he is NC State and I always have to be Virginia (since I receive a paycheck from NCSU...no way can I be Carolina or Duke!!!). Very rarely do they play with their toys in the house anymore. They enjoy doing craft projects, painting, coloring and playing board games when they are inside. If their dad is in, then climbing on him takes the cake with what to do inside.

As soon as Master Gavin wakes up from his nap, we're off to Walmart to buy the rest of the items off Ian's Kindergarten Supply List. Each school puts out supply lists for each grade level. Ian's list isn't as bad as some others that I've seen.

Tomorrow afternoon we're off to the park to celebrate Steven's 1st birthday!

Gone Fishin'...

We went fishing at Bond Park this evening. Shortly after we were all set up with the poles...Ian decided he had to visit the bathroom. When we returned, he picked up his Spiderman fishing pole and reeled in the fish. Can you believe that?! The only fish that was caught all night! I was getting fed up with the turtles in the water because they seemed smarter than the fish. They kept eating the bait! But, one turtle managed to get reeled in and boy did he not like that hook. He was saved and was able to go back into the water.
Gavin fished for the first time tonight. But, I think he was more interested in the worms. He kept petting the worms and waving to them. Oh, and he was talking to them, too. Cailean told Ian to put his hand out for a high five, but a worm landed on his hand and boy did he let out a scream! hahahaha Good thing that wasn't me!
You can click on the link below and view the slideshow of the happenings from tonight. Of course I couldn't pick out the one photo to post...must post all of them!
http://picasaweb.google.com/turnbull1220/UntitledAlbum02?authkey=2fbX9MgKECs

3 blogs in one day

Gavin and I got to the church a few minutes early and got to hear the entire VBS group sing a few songs at the closing. Everyone was sitting down and the Director asked if anyone wanted to come up to the microphone and share a story they learned so far this week. Ian's hand went up so fast and Jennifer, the Director, asked Ian to come up front. Now, there are about 180+ people in this room, so you can picture it. Ian spoke INTO the microphone and told everyone the story he learned yesterday. Not only did he say it once, but TWICE!!!!!!! I could NOT believe it!!!!!!!
When I picked Ian up yesterday, Ian told me he wanted to talk into the microphone. But, maybe he would have a turn later in the week. I wasn't quite grasping the idea since I figured it was about a small group thing with all the rotations they do. I'm a little removed from the whole idea of everything because I volunteered in the nursery. We know the stations, but I don't know how it operates. Never in a million years did I expect our son to get up in front of everyone and tell everyone what he learned!!!!!!!!
I was completely speechless and in awe over this! hahahahaha
No way would I have ever done this. Cailean...nope. My mom...nope. My brother...nope. My dad...yes! Cailean's family...I don't think so, but I will ask. Where did he get the courage to do something like this? As you can tell...I'm still amazed!!!

Pictures finally

Hi,

Here are the photos I've been meaning to post. The guitars were party favors from Max's birthday last week. They were sporting their Hawaiian looking shirts! The third photo is the boys making funny faces along with Jamie. She watches them on Tuesdays. Ian and Gavin love playing with Jamie on Tuesdays and Karen on Wednesdays! They take great care of the boys!

Ian is at VBS this morning and Gavin and I are at home. He swings something that he thinks is a baseball bat and then runs our "track" and yells, "Yee Haw...homerun!" We had to cancel a playgroup because I have some type of head cold and not feeling very well. I just want to sleep and sleep and get the energy back.

VBS, Swimming, etc

Again, no pictures. I'm sorry. We have to leave in about 30 minutes and I'm not dressed and I haven't vacuumed. But, I'm blogging to y'all??!!! haha We're at Vacation Bible School at a local church this week in the mornings. Ian and his soccer buddies are having a blast. I have to volunteer two days, so I went yesterday and I'll go this morning to help in the nursery with Gavin. Yesterday we had about 14 kids under the age of 2 1/2 years old. Three kids had separation issues (you can picture it), which got others upset (now really picture the scene). All four volunteers are not members of the church and didn't know where anything was located. GREAT. It was the longest three hours of my life! Ian had a great time, so that is what counts. Right after VBS we'll be home to meet the sitter and then I head off to work.
Last night Ian had another swim lesson. He is doing great and improving his stroke work. Today he tried butterfly! He'll finish the lessons up at the end of the month. I guess that would be next week!
Gavin wants to do everything himself and walks around with this strut that is too funny. He tries to be a bit demanding...like this morning, after he woke up, he told me to change his sheet because it was dirty. Oh please! He wants to pick out his own clothes now, too. Ian went through that same phase. Wait...Ian is still in that phase!
Okay, need to get ready for another busy day!

Goodbye to Ford's Colony

Friday afternoon we all headed up to Williamsburg to help go through stuff and pack. The boys were a great help! Ian took care of the lawn and Gavin tried to follow. They helped bring boxes to the garage and even played the piano for their Grammie for entertainment! Saturday we spent the day throwing stuff out and packing. We made a few trips to the dump, too. Sunday we went to church and then off to the Gazebo for breakfast. It was nice to get the royal treatment at the Gazebo! We saw over 10 people sitting outside waiting for tables, but the AYD clan walked in. The owner's son saw us and quickly got a table together and off we went. How great is that?! Ian has taken a liking to blueberry pancakes and Gavin is quite content to regular ones. We went back to the house to do more packing and sorting. We were able to get on the road by 4:30pm, so that was good.
My grandparents look great (for those of you wondering)! Mimi is quilting up a storm and even wants to make pillows to match the new living room! She continues to read and read and read and write out cards. She has come a long way. She is so close to getting rid of the walker, too. Pop-pop keeps close to his walking stick and he looks great, too. He and Cailean worked hard this weekend going through the garage and feeding the birds with the boys!
It was hard to leave Ford's Colony for the last time, but as Pop-pop says, "We're closing one chapter and on to a new chapter." So, I'm glad he has that attitude!
Eight days and counting until they move down here...

Heading to Virginia...

Last night we had Max's birthday party at a place called WiiBounce. Max and Ian have been on the same soccer team for the last 1 1/2 years! They had a bunch of Wii games and huge inflatable mazes, basketball court and slides. Cailean and I were even able to go in them! It was a great party! Thanks Reid family. :) When we got home, Cailean took a picture of the boys with their Hawaiian shirts they wore and the inflatable guitars they received from Max! I'll post that picture Sunday night.

After work today we're headed up to Virginia to help pack and go through some stuff. I'm trying to remind mom that they are downsizing, but I'm not getting very far with that! haha Most of you know that mom bought a townhome (closing it the end of this month) in NC and my grandparents will be moving in with her. Which means they are putting the Williamsburg house on the market. I love that area and I'm so used to that house, but the move needs to happen. We've been pretty busy trying to find doctors in the Cary area, information about certain groups they want to stay with, etc. We're looking forward to having them closer to family. They'll be able to see Ian and Gavin more (they adore their Grammie and Pop-pop). Also, Jessica isn't all that far from us either.

I need to get to work now...have a great weekend!

Busy, Busy Day

Today the kids went into childcare at the Y for 1 hour, so I could swim my laps. Then, I picked them up and headed back to the pool. Boy, were they excited!! Gavin had the Y's flotation device on his back and watched Ian do freestyle. So, Gavin started moving his arms like he was doing freestyle (at this point Gavin is swimming vertically with his head above the water). Then, he would take a break and put his mouth in the water to make bubbles!!! With Ian we were practicing getting his elbow to point to the sky in freestyle and he did it. Go Ian! He worked on all his strokes and kept jumping into the pool...he has his swim lesson tonight.

It's close to naptime now and after we'll head to the library. Ian and Gavin like to check out their own books. It's always an adventure because they try to get about 20 books each! haha

It's Taebo Time!

We were supposed to head up to the Y this morning, so that I could swim my laps and the kids could play in childcare. But, the rain started right when we were getting ready and the weather map showed a big green spot. The rain was going to be around for awhile. I felt guilty that I didn't go to the Y, but I didn't want to do anything up there except swim! So, I found an old taebo tape and played it this morning. Well, Ian got right into it. Gavin, nope. Wanted nothing to do with it and he didn't want me to do it either. UGH. As I'm trying to push through this because I really love to kickbox...I just couldn't stand the screaming. So yea, Ian is trying to kickbox and Gavin is holding onto my legs and pulling my shirt. Gavin won. I stopped. Ian continued, so I laid down to do crunches. Well, Gavin laid on me and hugged me for dear life. Yup, try doing crunches with a 2 1/2 year old laying on you! We played the tape for about 1 hour because Ian loved it so much and I was trying to do what I could do.

After naptime, Ian asked to do the tape again. Why would I say no to exercise?? So, we played the tape again and now that Gavin was all happy from taking a nap...he decided to join in.

What a great day!

Northfield Neighbors

We had a surprise phone call last night...my neighbor from Northfield who my family calls "Neighbor"...left a message to let us know that he, his wife and son moved into the area this week! We finally got a hold of each other this morning and invited them over for pizza tonight. It turns out that they are living in Morrisville and will be about 2 minutes from mom's place and they are about 10 min from our place. Neighbor and Marsha have a 2 1/2 year old, so Gavin thought that was pretty cool! A new buddy...Ethan! Before they left tonight, we introduced Ethan to the super soakers! Hee Hee...so, it's pretty cool to have a Northfield connection! I actually attended their wedding way back in the day when I was living in California. So, welcome to the Raleigh area Berry family! Anyway...small world!

We had a busy day today...Ian and Cailean took care of some branches and sticks in the backyard and headed to the dump early this morning. Gavin and I cleaned the inside to get ready for my Stampin' Up! class at 11am. I had three great people come over and stamp cards for a few hours. We had a great time!

After naptime, we got ready for the Berry family to come over. Before we knew it...it was time to hit the hay!

Have a good night everyone.

Thursday

The boys were home today with dad while I was at work. They headed up to the Y and then hit the pool. The big talk today was that Ian jumped into the deep end and touched the bottom of the pool and Gavin didn't cry today when he was dropped off in childcare!
When I got home from work tonight, the boys and Cailean met up with another dad and his son at the bowling alley to play a game. That was a big deal for them!
Ian likes to help with dinner prep lately, so tonight we made pita pizzas. Yum!

The boys are into their workbooks and Ian is improving with his writing skills. I stamped birthday cards for Luke and Abby (Happy 5th birthday today!!!!) and Ian wrote a note in each one. Great job, Ian!

No pictures tonight...just a quick post!

Do you like these colors better?

I'm trying to change up the look...do you like it or do you want me to change it?

Monkey Joe's with Friends

Here are two pictures from our trip to Monkey Joe's in Cary. It was our second time there and they have a blast climbing up inflatable "things" (I don't know how else to describe it) and going down inflatable slides...bouncing in houses, going through mazes and just running all over the place. We met up with two other families. The older kids are all headed to kindergarten (Pre-School and Sunday School together) and the siblings are around the same age, so it's nice to get together with them!

Is the week over yet?

This is the one week out of the year that I'm on campus five days in a row and it is rough! It's the start of the 2nd summer session at NCSU and we have a good number of incoming freshmen taking classes. For my department, it's like the start of a new semester. Thankfully, we have great childcare providers...but it is hard to be on campus when I'm usually with the kids. I know...I have to suck it up and deal with it, right?!
Some of Ian's friends started kindergarten today and I can't believe it! Before WE know it...Ian will be starting (last week of August). A lot of his friends are on year round calendars and a few will be on the traditional calendar. I know it's an exciting time, but I'm sure I'll have a hard time dealing with it! Haha Actually, Ian's first real day (full day) of kindergarten will be Gavin's first day of pre-school. Wow!!! We are already active with the PTA! That probably doesn't surprise many who read this blog!!
But, we're still in summer mode here...we're busy with swim lessons and the Y. Ian has shown more interest in writing letters. I bought him a small dry erase board this morning and he'll write letters on it...show me and then ask what he just spelled. Then, when I attempt to pronounce it he'll ask if it's a word or not! LOL Ian is a good teacher to Gavin...Gavin knows most of the alphabet now and can count to at least 10. He can sing Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus to anyone who wants to listen!

Trip to Florida

We decided last minute to fly down to Jacksonville Friday morning to see Cailean's brother and family. Flights looked good and we took advantage of the situation. It's just over one hour in flying and about half way through, Gavin told me that he didn't want to be in the air anymore and he wanted to go home. Then, he proceeded to scream for about ten minutes. Lollipops at 8am didn't even make him happy. He was serious...he wanted to go back home! I think every single time we travel, we hope that he is a better traveler! Ian, of course, was just great and was a big help!

Eric did quite a show with fireworks on the 4th, but the kids had their own plan...bedtime! Sarah told us she was going to bed and Gavin went as well. Ian wanted to stay up and watch. Well, after about 1 1/2 hours...he kept nodding off in the chair and when we thought Eric was done...I used that gap to put Ian down. He was asleep when his head hit the pillow!

The kids had a great time swimming in the pool, playing games and Gavin loved helping vacuum with Sarah's vacuum. I don't get why he LOVES that when we are down there. At home, he'll jump on the couch and not come near the vacuum! He told me to pick up the toys on the floor, so he could vacuum. LOL Hmmm...wonder where he hears that? ;)

Cailean and I even got to take Eric's new Harley out for a ride! OH MY GOSH! It was awesome!

We took the evening flight back Saturday night and arrived into RDU at 9pm or so. It'll be sad when American Eagle stops that flight between RDU and JAX in September.

View this link to see the slideshow of pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/turnbull1220/UntitledAlbum

Camps

Hi,

I mentioned earlier that Ian did Safety Town through the Town of Cary about two weeks ago. It was for 5 days and on the 5th day they had a graduation for the campers. Here's a picture from that event...I'm sure you can pick him out! Tall blonde in the middle leading the crew! ;)

Last week he went to Camp Wiggle Worm, but I didn't get any pictures of that.

Treading Water...

Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. It seems like I'm barely keeping my head above water here. We're out the door very early this week with Ian's camp starting at 8:30am. It's going to be a daily routine in 2 months when he starts kindergarten! He is in Camp Wiggle Worm and loves it. However, he was a bit emotional this morning and didn't want to go because they were going on a field trip to a museum in Raleigh. Ian had never gone on a field trip before and especially no parents were allowed on this one. I, of course, was a nervous wreck all morning and even kept my cell phone near the pool when I was swimming!!! I was going to take Gavin to the same museum to make sure Ian was safe, but we trust this camp staff and I needed to reassure him and myself that he would be just fine (and he did great!). I'll tell ya...this morning was hard though!
He started swim lessons again last night. He goes Mondays and Wednesdays 5:20-6pm. He has Chad for his teacher again, who he totally admires. So, he LOVES lessons! Ian is working on stroke technique, which is great!
Gavin has decided this week that 9:45pm will be his bedtime. He will NOT go to bed at 7pm. UGH!!! He is a chatterbox in the crib and then he screams because he wants OUT! Then, at 9:45pm he'll tell us goodnight and walks himself to his room...turns on his music...and closes his eyes. Wow.
That's it for now...