Tennessee 2011

We were invited down to Tennessee last week for a few days to join some friends on Cherokee Lake. We stayed in a condo and had an impressive view of the lake.

We spent a couple of days boating, skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing. The lake was huge, there was rarely another boat in sight, and the weather was perfect!

Alexis had a fantastic time. She loves the water so much and now signs "bath" every time she sees a swimming pool or a lake. She wants in!

Hanging in the condo with friends.

And here is my favorite photo from the entire week. This little girl has a very special place in her daddy's heart. And it doesn't hurt that she shares his love of the water.

On the way home from TN, we decided to make a stop off at the Newport aquarium in Newport, KY. We may have been pushing our luck after 2 full days in the sun and water.

By the time we got to PenguinPalooza, poor Blake looked absolutely beat.

I seem to be ending most of my posts lately with a picture of a sleeping child. Well, here's another. Poor Lexi passed out mid-phone conversation.

Glad to be home.

The latest

Life has calmed down a bit since the craziness of finishing up the school year and completing the soccer season.

Alexis had her follow up appointment with the ENT and he's decided not to take out her tonsils any time soon, as the risks of the surgery is greater than the risk of having "generous" tonsils.

Alexis did hit a bit of a milestone when she started feeding herself Cheerios.

She's able to pick them up in her little pincer grasp and put them in her mouth one at a time, but she is still learning how to pace herself. And learning how to chew them.

Of course, most end up on the floor. And we really have to watch her or she will start shoveling them in until she has 20 slobbery but unchewed Cheerios sitting in her mouth, waiting to dissolve.

So sometimes I'll try placing them on her teeth so that she will bite them. It's a process and we have a ways to go. But she's feeding herself Cheerios.

Nick "graduated" from first grade and I'm amazed at how far he's come this year with his reading. At the end of the year they held a Writing Celebration for the families to come and hear the kids read aloud a book they had written. I was a proud Mama.

Blake is now officially a first grader. They finished up their kindergarten year with the annual "Kindy 500". It's hysterical watching all these kids participate in a bigwheel race. Blake's bigwheel didn't exactly cooperate, but I was proud of him for trying.

I was finally able to go watch my brother run in the Indy mini marathon. I love my brother. I wish he lived closer.

Our sweet little kissy face:

Typical Blake. He decided he was tired and got himself a pillow and then crawled under a rug to use as a blanket:

The boys asks every day, even if the temp is in the 90's, if he can wear long sleeves and pants. "Because hot is my favorite temperature."

The boy never ceases to make me laugh. His fish died the other day and when we asked him how he died, he replied very matter-of-factly, "I took him out of his water and petted him and his fin fell off and now he's dead."

I've finally gotten around to clearing some space in the basement so I'd be prepared for any more late night tornado warnings. I'm glad I did, because we had another night in the basement a while back. I put the boys on a twin mattress and Lexi in a storage box. I think next time I'll stick her in a big suitcase so she has a bit more room. There is a benefit to her being small.

Nicholas has been busy becoming a rough and tumble 7 year old. He experienced his first trip to the ER (pictured below) due to a scratched cornea. Exactly one week later we had an emergency call in to the dentist due to knocking his bottom permanent teeth loose. He's fine now.

Nick would spend every spare moment in a heated battle of bey blades. Apparently these battling spinning tops are all the rage here, and when he doesn't have a friend available to battle, someone in the family has to step in. Even Alexis has been taught to pull the rip cord. I'm just grateful there are no guns or swords involved in these battles. Yet.

Alexis has figured out how to glam herself up in Mommy's sunglasses:

And she has her not-so-glam moments when she wears her underwear as a hat:

I'm pleased to report that we've survived our first, and possibly last soccer season.

I love this face:And I absolutely melt when my kids sign me an "I love you."

But back to soccer, both completed the season having learned a lot. And the more they grew to enjoy it, the more we enjoyed watching them play. I don't know how much soccer is in our future, but by the time the last games were played, I was almost sad to see it end. I don't think they want to play again in the fall, but we'll see what next spring brings.

But for now, we're tired.

You've earned a rest, champ.