Beauty Queen

Yesterday, Lydia got on the dinning room table and helped herself to my purse while I was trying to prepare dinner. This is what I saw when I went to check on her.

Look at the concentration.

Wordless Wednesday

Another Pool Play Date

Today we met up with friends at their pool in Maryland. My friend has three kids, a five-year-old girl, and twin three-year-olds (a boy and a girl). Often it is a little crazy when we get the five kids together. I notice that my friend and I talk in quick sentences and it often takes us awhile to finish talking about any one thing because we get interrupted so often or have to stop talking to each other to address our kids ("stop that", "don't push your sister", etc. ).

My friend’s kids take swim lessons in the winter where they use a backpack floatation devise. She bought one for Wesley and he was pretty happy with it.

My friend’s five-year-old is a good swimmer and the three-year-old girl is now swimming independently without a floatation device. My friend pointed out that her son and Wesley are often swimming vertically (think of seahorses, but not as graceful) instead of how they should be swimming. Here is a picture of Wesley actually swimming with his body horizontal. I was not able to get him to put his face in the water and swim. Hopefully the next level of swim lessons this winter will help with that. He had fun chasing this ball around though.

Their pool is so nice. It has a separate kiddy pool, that we did not use, and the main pool is huge with a diving section, lap swim area, and wading area. The wading area has a beach entry on one side with a these cool little sprayers. Here is Lydia with the five-year-old. I missed getting photos of the twins. Something about trying to keep a fearless toddler safe at the pool limits my photo taking abilities.

Wesley liked this sprayer.
Here is the five-year-old turning a flip off the diving board. Yes, she did get rotated around so her feet went in first.
I am sure you can tell by all my posts that involve pools that I love going to the pool and water parks. We are always up for pool play dates or going to water parks so let me know if you want to do a pool play date.

Date Night

On Friday night we had "family night" with the Wrights. We picked up dinner and headed over to their community pool for some swimming. All the kids had fun in the big pool and the baby pool. Wesley found a pair of goggles in the baby pool and he enjoyed wearing "sunglasses" as he called them.

Sometime after 7:00 we made Wesley get out of the pool because his lips were blue and he was shivering. Apparently, his goggles were too tight.

Hunter also had a turn with the goggles.

Lydia enjoyed playing in and out of the pool.

Tonight our 16 year old next door neighbor babysat for us and we enjoyed having a date night. Before having kids, I didn't realize the value of a nice night out with my husband. We went to our favorite near-by restaurant. We had the same sweet waiter we often have who always remembers us even though we only go there once a month or less. We like this restaurant because it is quiet, cheap, and tasty.
I truly had a wonderful Sunday! When the kids first woke up, I got them out of bed and changed Lydia while Wesley went to the bathroom. Then Lydia went in to wake up daddy by saying, "Daddy....wake up…Daddy…wake up." It was so sweet and cute. Wesley went to bed and woke up asking for pancakes with a certain candy so Chris made them for the kids while I worked out. He then played with the kids and got them ready for church. I so appreciate him doing this for me and the kids and it makes for a wonderful morning. I took a nap while the kids were napping this afternoon.

Our Little Princess, I Mean Tomboy

Today after gymnastics we went to a playground that was somewhat shaded. The boys were more interested in the construction equipment and the dirt and the sand than the actual playground equipment. It turns out Lydia was very happy to do what they were doing.
Look how dirty she is!
She even had to taste some of the dirt and sand. Fortunately one bite was enough for her. You can see the evidence of the tasting around her mouth.
Wesley and Lydia also liked this wagon.
Hunter found a little tricycle to ride.

Waking Up "A Little Bit Wet" and Other Odd Things

Today each of my children experienced what they considered odd happenings.

This morning the kids slept in until 7:30. The blackout shades are helping! The kids share a room and they are often wide awake at 6:30 or earlier. I think Lydia would go back to sleep if Wesley didn't talk to her and give her toys. If I tell him it is still sleep time, he says, "It's not dark outside."

Chris put up the blackout shades on Sunday. The next morning Wesley started asking for me at 7:00 which is a reasonable wakeup time in our house. When I went in their room, he asked for bandages for his mosquito bites. When I told him to go to the bathroom while I changed Lydia's diaper he said, “It’s wake up time?” He thought it was still night time!

This morning I heard Lydia around 7:30 so I went to get her while thinking Wesley was still asleep. As soon I opened the door Wesley asked, “Why is my shirt a little bit wet?” Then he said, “My shorts are a little bit wet also.” He was very surprised that his pajamas were wet.

Today we went through the automatic carwash which Wesley loves but Lydia was a little scared. She was gripping her seat with her left arm (she had her arm up and around the side of the seat) and had her head pressed up against the left side of the seat. (Oh, how I wished I had my camera.) She briefly cried in the middle but she got over it quickly.

When we got home from the carwash I decided to vacuum out my car. I eat in the car and so do the kids so it gets pretty messy sometimes. Of course Wesley wanted to help with the vacuuming.



Lydia got another scare at dinner tonight. We went out to eat and the restaurant’s mascot was walking around. Wesley loved it and Lydia seemed interested until the robin came too close.

See how she is screaming? And how Chris is laughing?

Double Fun

Today we had a MOPS event at this fabulous gym. For us it was well worth the drive and the construction traffic. The kids had free play and a brief circle time. Since this was our first visit, we didn't have to pay the $5 fee per child.

Wesley liked swinging on the rings. He could hold his legs up and go fast. My camera couldn't catch the faster movements except via video but I can't upload that.


Wesley was able to turn a flip on this bar a couple of times since the mat was there to help him get his feet up to the bar.

Lydia was a little unsure of the foam pit but she enjoyed playing in the gym.

After nap time we went to this nearby water park. Why did I do two super fun things on the same day? Because I had someone to go with me. I wanted to go to a different water park on Monday but no one could go with me and Chris didn’t want me going alone with two very active little kids. We met Jen and Tim and their two girls at the park.

The weather was threatening all day with thunderstorms, but we decided to go to the water park since the start time for the storms kept getting moved back. This worked to our advantage because there were very few people there. This water park is a little expensive in my opinion but after 4 PM on the weekdays, the price is $7 a person (under two is free). We got there a little before 5:00. At first it was cloudy but then it became sunny and beautiful.

The park provides life vests for the kids. The vests would not save them because it just keeps them on top of the water and there is no guarantee that their heads will stay above water. Wesley may have done better without the vest but at least it identified him to other adults and the lifeguards as needing some help. If Chris had been there, we probably would have let him go without the vest since we were in shallow water.



We played in the spray area and in the wadding pool that has two small slides. Wesley was nervous about going down the water slide by himself at first. So, I held Lydia and he sat behind me and held on to me. Then one time we got a little separated and he realized that he could do it himself.



Here is Lydia trying to out of the pool so she could go down the slide again. She is at that scary stage where she is not afraid and thinks she could go do it by herself.

We also went in the wave pool twice. The kids loved the waves. We stayed right at the one foot mark. Wesley held on to me and I held on to Lydia. She cried at one point because I wouldn't let go of her hand so I started holding her under her shoulders or just by the life vest. As a child I always wondered why the waves didn't just go continuously. Now as a parent I know why the waves stop after 10 minutes – so the parents can get the kids out of the pool!

Clearly we all had enough fun today. As I was drying the kids off, there was an anouncement that the park would be closing in ten minutes (7:00 PM).
Another plus for the day: Chris had dinner almost ready when we got home. I had marinated the chicken for our favorite pasta dinner and he grilled it, cooked the pasta, and sliced the tomatoes. The kids ate really well tonight!

Lydia's New Favorite Activity

Lydia’s new favorite activity is…driving her parents crazy! Last week she started climbing on the dinning room table and kitchen table. Tonight, Chris and I were cleaning up after dinner and the kids were playing. At some point I heard Chris ask, “Where is Lydia?” She was on the dining room table, of course. Today we had a babysitter come to the house because Lydia’s babysitter, Joan, is on vacation. The babysitter said something like, “Lydia is quick. She got on the table several times today.”

Wesley knows better than to climb on the table but he was tempeted to join her.

My laptop is her main motivation but if it is closed or moved, she finds other things like this ink pen. She has a "nan aid" on her arm because Wesley likes to use them to cover his mosquito bites and she wants to be just like him.

Last week one of my friends asked if I teach my children how to climb on the tables. Of course not; it is a huge pain.

Here is a sweet picture of Lydia holding a sippy cup for one of her babies. I am not sure why the photo rotated this way.

Met-My-Mate Mondays, Part Four

I have enjoyed playing along with LL over at Vitafamiliae. If you want to read her sweet story or play along, click on the button below.



Somehow Chris and I worked through the email snafu.

We continued dating through the completion of my Master’s degree at Virginia Tech and through physical therapy school at ODU. I started the two year PT program at ODU in August of 1997. Norfolk is a three hour drive to northern VA so I was an hour closer to Chris than when I lived in Blacksburg. Through almost three years of a long distance relationship, we saw each other at least every other weekend and sometimes every weekend. I know we talked every night on the phone when I lived in Norfolk. This was back when long distance calling wasn’t cheap.

Chris met my parents at Easter in 1997 and I met his parents at Thanksgiving that year. He proposed over Christmas break in 1998. I told my closest friend at school but we didn’t tell anyone else. He wanted to tell our parents in person. The first weekend of my spring break in 1999, we drove to Blacksburg to meet my parents at a restaurant. He slipped the ring on my finger under the table and we then told them we were getting married.

We were planning to go to SC to tell his parents the following weekend, but first his car was stolen and then my grandmother passed away (or vise versa, they were both within 24 hours of each other). I was so thankful that we had just gone to lunch with her and told her that we were getting married. She adored Chris. We went to Hillsville for the funeral and postponed our trip to SC another week.

I was so nervous right before we told his parents. His mom later said that she knew why we were coming. She thought if it wasn’t to announce our engagement, then we would have completely canceled the trip. After all, she had heard similar announcements from her two older sons.

We were married in August of 1999.

A pastor I knew when I was an undergraduate would always remind me and the other girls, “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Wow! He does have such a wonderful plan for marriage. It can be a lot of work but it is wonderful. I am so grateful that God gave me such an awesome husband.

Father/Son Campout

Chris and Wesley enjoyed camping at Burke Lake even though it was very hot this weekend. While Mark put up his tent, Chris was busy supervising the boys who were playing with the poles for the tent. Chris says Hunter was also running around like Wesley was in this photo.

Additionally, Chris was overseeing the boys playing with sticks.


Here is Wesley roasting marshmallows. Chris said Wesley actually liked eating them directly out of the bag better.

They had pancakes, bacon, and OJ for breakfast. Notice how Wesley is wearing the same thing he had on the night before. I had laid out a change of clothes for Saturday, a backup outfit, and a pair of PJs. Silly me. Wesley wore one outfit the entire time, even for sleeping.

Chris tried to do a devotional about listening with Wesley this morning, but the boy was more interested in the bird dodo on the table! I am not that surprised.

Chris said that the boys had fun running around, playing with a frisbee, and blowing bubbles. The older boys and their dads played organized games but our little guys got to do what they love best - free play.
When I asked Wesley what his favorite thing about camping was he said, "riding the train." Chris thought this was nice irony since you don't have to camp (in the heat and humidity) to enjoy the train. I am glad that they had some father/son time together and I know Wesley will remember it for a long time. (He often talks about past events.) I am hoping we can do some family camping trips this fall.

Code Red Friday

Today is a "code red day" for our area, meaning high heat and humidity and unhealthy air quality. Tonight, Chris and the other dads from our church will probably be pretty hot in their tents. Regardless of how hot it is, Wesley will want to sleep in his sleeping bag; maybe Chris should take some sheets for Wesley instead of his "leaping bag."

Wesley and Hunter did great in their gymnastics class. No, they don't look like they are headed to the Olympics but they were very cooperative and listened to their teacher. Yeah! Here is a video of the boys bear walking on the (lowered) parallel bars. Hunter is first and then Wesley who keeps bumping into Hunter because he is looking at his feet. At the end of the video you hear my voice because Lydia just stepped on Michelle's sunglasses. You can hear the "crunch." (I can't get the video to upload. I'll have to wait for my technical support guy to return home.)

After gymnastics Wesley told me, "Hunter is my buddy." Which was so sweet but then he followed up saying, "He is not Lydia's buddy." That was a mean thing to say. Hunter is always very sweet to Lydia.

Below is a picture of Wesley walking across the balance beam above the foam pit. The foam pit is used by the gymnasts to practice vaulting. The little kids usually jump in the foam pit and climb around which is a great workout for them. Today the beam was placed across the foam pit thus making the beam a little scarier since there was a longer distance to fall. Normally the three year olds walk across beams that are six inches or less off the floor. We met our neighbor, Vi, at the spray park. It was hot in the sun, but most of the park is shaded so it wasn't too bad. Her little boy, Jonathan, is a couple of weeks younger than Lydia. He loved the sprayers. Vi's daughter, Alexandra, playing on the playground. Lydia really likes playgrounds. It is fun to see how excited she gets when she knows we are going to one. Here is Wesley playing in the water. Today he was more interested in playing in the sand than the water but he still enjoyed the water.

Pool Fun

Today we actually did two play dates. This was a real treat for me. Since I work part-time I often miss out on socializing with other moms and their kids. This morning we went to a friend's house to play on her play set in the backyard and her little pool on the deck. Wesley threw a big fit because he didn't want to leave; he was having such a good time. Lydia fell asleep as soon as we left but Wesley stayed awake eating raisins.

I took some photos of the after-nap play date at a friend’s neighborhood pool.

Baby David's first trip to the pool.



Our hosts for the pool-play-date.


Wesley had on his water wings in the big pool and he kept them on when he got back in the baby pool.


Lydia always enjoys time at the pool.