Labor Day Weekend

I normally like to plan things. Oh whatever... I know you guys know that. What? You couldn't tell that from the fact that I have a list to live my life by? Please. I know I don't have to explain my planning nature to you guys. You know how I am. I can't help it that I'm like this. I just am. 

Of course, my Labor Day weekend has been in the planning process for a couple of weeks. I had it all planned out. And it was packed with action. On Friday, we'd go to a t-ball game, get our boat out of the water, and then bring it to Lexington. We'd get up early on Saturday morning, take the boat to Louisa, go out on the lake there, camp out, and travel back to Lexington to go to a t-ball game on Sunday afternoon. Then, we'd have a cook out on Monday. 

Well, Brad isn't a planner. And sometimes his opinion actually does have some weight in our plans. You know, every now and then. Like, when he decides that I have planned way too much for a weekend. :) He said he was worried that he wouldn't have enough time to have a heart attack if he needed to in the weekend that I was planning. Whatever, Brad.

You already know where this is going, don't you? 

So... our weekend plans changed. The weather was too cool to be swimming/boating. And, my hubby took full advantage of that to get us out of camping out with the kids. Or get him out of it, because I was really interested in going. But, I wasn't dead set on it happening this weekend. Something about sleeping on the ground when it was actually going to be in the 40s on Saturday night just didn't sound that great.

But, I was NOT about to sit in the house all weekend and do nothing. Period. 

This is how our weekend actually happened. On Friday, we went to the kids' t-ball game (see this blog post for more on that). On Saturday, we got up, finished cleaning the house, and packed up the cooler. We hopped in the truck and made our way to Raven Run to spend the day hiking, picnicking, and enjoying the beautiful, cool day. It was wonderful. We hiked about 5 miles. The kids enjoyed it and did really well. Bailey walked all of it and Jake walked most of it. We saw butterflies and a snake (just a green one). It was the kids' first experience in hiking in the woods, which was funny for me. I never imagined that it would be a milestone for my kids to play in the woods. It is something we did almost every day growing up and it was definitely something that I loved. More than anything that I miss about the country, I miss being able to go and wander in the hills for hours enjoying nature. I love the peaceful quietness of the hills. Everything about it just relaxes me and makes me happy. I love to see all the little perfections of the world... all the things we forget about every day. So, needless to say, it was really nice to get out and enjoy this while being so close to home. Of course, once again, I think I enjoyed everything about this more than Brad and the kids. They seemed to have fun, but I always just feel like I am savoring it all a little more than them. :) I think it is just my personality or something. We finished the night with roasted marshmallows over the fire pit. A perfect end to the perfect day. 

On Sunday, we spent the day with family. My parents came down in the morning and hung out with us and went with us to see the kids play t-ball. Brad's mom, Kathy, and James came down to meet us at the field to watch the game, too. After the game, we hung out with them and went out for dinner. Then, they headed home and me, Brad, and the kids came home. We all had to get ready for our Labor Day celebration with our friends. (Really, we just wanted to lay on the couch and watch movies). 

And that brings us to today... we had a great time with wonderful friends. Cilla, Bret, Paul, Rebecca, Joseph, Dawn, Brandon, Jackson, and Carson all came over to have dinner, drinks, and dessert. The kids had a great time playing together (although I'm quite sure the boys will one day ambush Bailey for being such a tattle tale and a bossy big sister). The guys all seemed to enjoy hanging out in front of the TV, as they claimed it was too hot outside to eat out there (we know it was really all about the football game that was on). And I had a great time hanging out with the girls. It's so nice having friends to relax and be yourself with. I hope the girls loved it as much as I did... especially since we are planning a girls night next week! I can't wait. 

That's our weekend in a nutshell. Normally I would have been disappointed that my plans didn't come together, but I have to say, this weekend ended up being perfect. Maybe, just maybe, I'll listen to Brad a little more when he says I've tried to plan too much in a weekend. 

Errr.... nobody hold your breath on that one. lol. I also have control issues.

Summer is HERE!

Oh blog, oh blog, how I have missed you. :) And all of you wonderful readers, too, even though I think I've talked to most of you in the past week in separate e-mails. lol.


It has been a week! A full week since I've written (or round about anyway, I didn't actually look at my last post).


I feel like I dropped off the planet... but I guess these things happen when you are busy trying to do eleventy hundred things (like that new phrase? It comes from another blog I've been reading, among the 100 that I'm becoming addicted to... maybe that's why I haven't been writing as much.).


So, what have we been up to? Well, it was Memorial Day weekend, so one would think that I would have long posts about great parties, boating, poolside relaxation, family picnics, travel, etc. However, I think I can sum up our Memorial Day in just a few words: t-ball, fun day at t-ball, pool opens, t-ball, mow grass, and work in garden, oh and t-ball. And there was some grillin'.


T-ball was our big focus for the weekend, as if you couldn't tell. Because of some rained out games, we had a game on Friday, a regularly-scheduled game on Saturday, and another make up game from rain on Sunday. We also had Fun Day at T-ball, which is exactly what it sounds like... fun. There are inflatables, games, carnival foods, auction items (lots of them), and a fun skills competition for the kids who play ball. Basically, we had a game at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning and got home around 4 p.m. that afternoon, having spent relatively our entire day at the ball field for the game and our fun day activities.


I know many of you are thinking, "Man, that's a lot of t-ball... why would they want to do that." Well, OK. I can see how you think that. But, we have a really good time when we go. The kids love it... it's physical for them, which is healthy. We love the people on our team, parents and children, so we kind of have a little group of people that just hang out and have fun. I don't know. I guess you just have to do it to understand it. But, even when it's tiring, it's still fun.


Other than t-ball, our neighborhood pool opened. YAY for summer! It is finally here and I am so completely excited. This is what I've been waiting for. As soon as I started staying home with the kids, I have longed for the days that we can hang out at the pool all day, uninterrupted, and enjoy. It. Is. Here. :) We have already gone about three times in the past few days, spending only a couple of hours each time. It is not going to be as simple as it has been in the past. Bailey wants to be in the big pool. Jake wants to swim in the baby pool. Bailey wants to jump off the diving board. Jake wants me to swim with him the entire time. So, we're going to have to work all that out. But, I'm not complaining. We will enjoy the summer... in the water. Yes. YES!

Well, I don't want anyone to stroke out or anything, but I am actually blogging. :)

Yep... finally giving into the guilt (and my true need to write) and blogging.

So... where to start? Well, this seems to be the problem lately. Every time I start thinking about blogging, I think about how much has happened since my last entry. And, you know, that's quite a bit. So, here's the quick rundown - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve and Day. :) OK. So those are the holidays. They were great... each special in its own little way. And, I am hopeful that at some point in the very near future, I will sporadically decide to post photos with little snippets about each of these, as well as some video. But, please don't hold your breath! You know me... it takes a while.

There were many more things to tell... playing in the snow, Bailey actually learning to pedal her bicycle (which she's been working on for a while), Jake talking more clearly and becoming more independent, our fun trip to Gatlinburg with Mamaw Kathy and James, etc. So, how do I pick up where I left off without being hitting these highlights? Well, I don't know. So, I'm just going to write about our newest developments and go from there. Patience please... this could be more like a rough version of a term paper before it's all over. lol.

Perhaps the most exciting thing for me right now is that my last day at the Lexington Philharmonic is on Friday. Brad recently received a promotion at work, enabling me to stay at home with the kids for a while. I simply cannot express how excited I am about this. I've been so lucky to work for a company that allows me to work from home part time. They've been so good to me, but it is difficult splitting up my time. Even when I'm working from home, I feel the guilt of each thing pulling on me. If I'm working on things for work, I feel like I'm ignoring the kids. If I'm playing with the kids, I feel like I'm ignoring my work. It's a constant battle... and I'm very excited that I don't have to feel that choice tugging on me all the time. I'm sure I'm going to miss the adult interaction and even parts of my job. But, I can't wait to wake up every morning and know that the only thing I HAVE to do is take care of the kids. They seem excited about it, too. I know Jake will love being at home with me. He makes me feel guilty everyday I leave him, so he's going to be on cloud nine. Bailey, on the other hand, loves preschool, so her concern with me not working is that she wouldn't go anymore. Of course, we nearly have preschool completely paid for, so we had already planned to let her finish her school year. She was really happy then... especially when she understood that we could spend the entire summer by the pool or at the lake. Now, she's thrilled.

So, a week from tomorrow, I will be unemployed. :) Happily unemployed. Not sure how many of us there are out there with the economy like it is.

The other big thing going on right now is that my husband is in another country. Yep, Brad is in Guatemala City, Guatemala, living the good life. :) Or so you would think from the photos he's posted on Facebook! He actually is there on business, training some developers for his company. He left early last Wednesday and won't return until Thursday night. He spent his weekend seeing ancient Mayan ruins and Antigua. Apparently, he's stronger than I am though... His hotel has a casino in it and he's not gambling. He's nuts. They have a great exchange rate. He could win quite a bit if he got lucky. Thank God I'm not the one going on these trips or I would DEFINITELY be looking for a job. I'd gamble it all. :) Anyway, we've missed Brad so much. Bailey is completely convinced that he's on a vacation without us and does not think it's fair that he gets to swim in a pool in hot weather when we are stuck here in the cold and rain. I have to agree to a certain extent. :) Jake is missing him too. I expected him to ask about him, but not to say much more about it. Yet, in the middle of the night, Jake woke up to tell me that he missed his daddy. It was so cute. It kind of broke my heart. Needless to say, we are counting down the days until Brad gets home... quite literally. We created a calendar just for the time Brad would be gone so that we could "see" when he was coming home. Just a few more days... just a few more.