Dad rescuing us, Soccer, Jordan Lake and Welcome to 2nd grade!

My dad flew in to watch the kids since summer camps ended last week. He had a few vacation days left and jumped on the opportunity to help us out. He came down Friday night and we hit the ground running Saturday morning with Gavin's first soccer practice at 8am. My Uncle Mickey and Aunt Ellen were also in town and Uncle Mickey surprised us at the soccer field!

We spent most of the day at the Y pool because it was just soooo hot. My aunt and uncle hung out with us for a few hours, which was nice. We love having them around!

Saturday night we went out to dinner with some friends at Rudino's. It was a last minute idea, but so glad we were able to catch up with them!

Now we're headed into some Jordan Lake action...

Gavin and Tim are driving the waverunner with Ian and friend being pulled behind it on a raft. LOTS of fun!
Sunday late afternoon we met a few families from the Y-Guides at Jordan Lake. One of the dads has this waverunner and a raft and offered to take the kids for rides. It was such a great afternoon to be outside and be at the water. My dad plopped a chair right in the water and loved watching the boys. The younger siblings were able to ride on the waverunner with Tim, but not go on the raft for obvious reasons. I have a lot of photos and video clips because Ian and Gavin kept going and going and going. In this photo, Tim is getting Gavin to wave to me for the camera!

We took my dad out to dinner in downtown Apex. I've driven by this place a few times and just never stopped in there for a meal. So, we made it a priority! Then, walked across the street for some Hershey's ice cream!

Dad watched the kids for a few days and ran Camp Grandpop. He took them to the library, bowling, lunch, playground, stayed home, to see me at work and the list goes on and on. It was a great way for end Ian's summer.

The kids really like to pose with my dad. He definitely takes a lot of pictures with his own camera, so I just go and grab mine.

My dad likes to read books to the kids and especially at bedtime. Ian reads one book to him, Gavin reads on and my dad reads one. As you can see in this picture Ian is paying close attention to the story as well as my father. LOL

My dad was here for Ian's first day of 2nd grade!

Checking In

Who is keeping up with us? Do I continue the blog?

Florida, Birthday Party and Anything Else

Last weekend we made a trip to Jacksonville to visit Cailean's brother, his wife and daughter at the lake where they've been RVing at over the summer. It was very relaxing floating around on an inflatable chair watching the world go by! It was great to spend the time with them and catch up. We left extremely early on Friday and we were hoping the boys would snooze on the way down, but we should have known that wouldn't happen. FIVE minutes into the trip, Gavin asked if we were almost there. FIVE MINUTES. It takes about 6 hours to get down there.

This weekend we stayed with my grandparents while my mom was in Atlanta attending Alissa's bridal shower. With NC State starting classes this week, we always run a 2 day conference the weekend before the start of classes. So, mom made the ATL trip into a mini vacation and we took care of my grandparents.

On Saturday we went to a friend's birthday party at a local pool. They had diving boards and the kids had a blast! It was great to catch up with some friends during the party as well.

This week the kids are in their last week of camps. It's a very busy time at work with team meetings, new freshmen, etc. But, this is my 8th year there and it continues to be a lot of fun!

This and That

I have pictures to post here from our weekend getaway to FL, but no time to do that right now! We went to Jacksonville to visit Cailean's older brother and his family. They have a camper at a small lake near their house for the summer to spend the weekends, so we joined them for some lounge time there. Loved it! The boys had a blast and glad the rained held off until the evenings.

While we were in FL I received an email from Gavin's new soccer coach. Looking forward to trying out a new league, new format, etc. We'll see how this goes with him. I believe he starts August 21. We also received Ian's soccer team information from Coach Rob. I'll be back on the coaching lines for at least another season, so looking forward to that. We start next week. Wow! Hoping the weather will cool off.

The kids are in camps again this week. Both with the Y, but different locations. Mom goes back to work on Monday, so we have some adjusting to do with our schedules for afternoons. They'll be able to sleep in when school starts in a few weeks!

Gavin received his invite to meet some classmates and his teachers. Wow! His last year of pre-school. Not sure if we're ready for this. Excited about the teacher combo though!

I guess that's it for now until I can post some pics. Maybe tonight!

Keep Plugging Away

That's the way we feel these days. I'm pretty sure the boys are done with camps. But, unfortunately they will be going for the next two weeks. Our kids would prefer vegging at home for a bit, but it hasn't been like that. However, swim lessons ended tonight. So, that frees up our evenings right now. That's a good thing! The boys progressed, which I was happy to see. I'm not going to miss sitting at the pool for 2 hours watching in this 100 degree weather.

This week they've been at the Y Camps. Gavin had a babysitter for Monday and Tuesday afternoons and did some cool stuff with her. Thanks Jen! Next week they are both at 1/2 day camps, so that'll be good for them to have the afternoons with their Mimi for a few of those days.

I was able to fanagle my work schedule and convince my boss I didn't need to submit this Friday for leave. She's letting me take the day off. Since I've become a permanent employee I have to use the leave system and I don't have a lot of days off right now. This is our only free weekend until probably Christmas, so we decided to make a quick trip to Jacksonville to see Cailean's brother and his family for 2 nights.

We received Ian's fall soccer schedule tonight from Coach Rob! Yay! Looking forward to a great season as an assistant coach again. We already have some conflicts with some school events, but we'll be okay. Ian is trying out with this youth baseball league next weekend. If he makes it, then he'll do baseball and soccer in the fall and we'll have to figure that out. We'll know in mid August. We'll also find out Gavin's soccer schedule hopefully in the next day or two. He's trying out a different league this season and he'll only play on Saturdays. Ian's soccer is twice a week. I'm so thankful that they LOVE sports.

Tonight after swim lessons we had dinner at mom's to celebrate her birthday! It's great to have them back...they've been gone for a week.

Mom is headed to Atlanta next week to spend some time with Matt and Alissa and to attend her bridal shower. I'm staying back to stay with Mimi and Pop-pop, so mom can go and have her last little vacation before she goes back to work. Plus, it's the ONLY weekend I work the entire year. I run a 2 day training and it's always scheduled the weekend before the classes start at NCSU.

Cailean's Parents Make a Visit

We had to cut down this tree in our front yard. Something was eating at it and we were hoping it would get better, but no luck. So, Cailean took a picture of the boys in front of it. It's sorta sentimental because we have taken a lot of family photos by this tree. Poor Gavin. He was sobbing and sobbing. He is a kid who does not like change!

Cailean and I have been wanting new couches since before Christmas. We just never got around to shopping around for them. We tried to on our way back from Asheville in June, but the stores in High Point were closed Memorial Day Weekend on a Sunday. Last weekend we took mom out to run some errands and went to a few stores in Raleigh. The boys actually enjoyed furniture shopping! Of course what they wanted was NOT in our price range. Cailean found a store in Cary while I was at work and I met him there after I finished work. We were in luck and bought a love seat and sofa at an unbelieveable deal.

Cailean's parents flew into town to spend a few days with us. The kids kept them occupied when they were not at NCSU soccer camp (which, by the way, was great!!!).

Cailean and I went on nightly walks since his parents were home. So, after the kids went to bed we walked around. The third night he took his cell phone and shouldn't have! He got called to fix a plane in Charleston, SC. So, back to the house we went and he headed into work to head south.

The rest of us ran some errands since I tend to do that on weekends now and not during the week. Then, off to Pittsboro to have lunch. It's the same place we took my dad back in June.

Ian chose a "small" orange sherbert cone for dessert


He didn't like it. Can you tell?! LOL In addition to dessert, he consumed a corn dog, chips, water, onion ring and 1/2 of Gavin's spaghetti. He reminds me of my brother. This is Gavin's "small" cone...he chose Rainbow

and yes...he also finished every last bite of his cone!

and the photo to remind us of where we went in Pittsboro!