Summer Schedules

I love summer schedules. I love busy summer days where you wake up well rested and then go, go, go the rest of the day. Then you look at the clock and realize it's late. You've had a fantastic day filled with many faces and many memories made. I'm so blessed to be able to share my summer schedule with my entire fabulous family of four.

Here's how our Thursday went:

Carter dressed and ready for a playdate with Sally Kate and Susan.

Susan and me. 

Those are Sally Kate's feet. I sadly didn't get a picture of the two baby girls together as I had planned because Susan and I were chatting away. Then it was time for both babies to take a nap, so a picture of the two of us will have to do. 

Angie, Nana, Carter, Tillman, & Josh

When our playdate left we went over to the Costner's to spend some much needed quality time with our long lost family. We definitely get pampered when we're over there and Josh and I both agree that it's like a mini escape from reality. We truly love that family whole-heartedly. 

Tillman loving Hank's train set.

Carter getting loved on by Angie & Tillman getting out the blocks.

Sorry it's blurry. I'm getting kind of lazy with my picture quality on the phone. I just snap and go.

Speaking of being pampered, look at the spread on this kid's tray. They swear we don't feed her. 

Whitney braiding Tillman's hair for gymnastics class. I really wish I could do cute things with hair.

I love it!

Back home, dressed and ready for gymnastics class. 

Someone didn't get a nap yesterday, hence the tired look. 

Daddy was in charge of gymnastics class this week. He wasn't in town last week to see it, so he got to experience it firsthand this week. 

Warm-ups

Moving on to the mats, bars, beams, etc.

I was on Carter duty. I got the easy part this time. 

Balance beams

More beams

Tillman's favorite part, getting her rainbow-colored stamps after class is over.

This week she got a whale. 

These are two pictures Josh took while in class. All the pictures I took were from behind glass. His are up close and personal.

Working on a bar.

Well, this wraps up our Thursday for this week. Today has been spent prepping, packing, and preparing for our vacation to Pigeon Forge. I hope to blog while there, but can't make any promises. See you soon! 

Getting Acclimated

Today we ventured into the world of water. We are seasonal gym members, joining during the summer for the use of the pool, and ending our membership when school starts back up because we become so busy and swamped that we don't make time for the gym.

Today we took Tillman to the indoor pool at the Pickens YMCA so we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of rain and we could keep Carter with us while we swam.

Well, I must say it didn't go quite as I had envisioned it. Tillman was much more timid and fearful than I had hoped she would be. She clung to Josh for dear life. In her defense, the water was a little colder than preferred, but still, she was fearful of more than just the cold.

So, we used today as a "remember, you like the water...remember?" day. We plan to try again tomorrow, but we will likely go to Easley's outdoor pool instead. I hope it gets better as we frequent the water, especially because Tillman starts swim lessons in July and I would like for her to be comfortable by then.

Morning cuddles and cartoons

I could wake up like this every morning.

Long story, but cute - I was feeding Carter a bottle. Tillman needed to use the restroom. As I'm finishing up with Tillman, she says, "Mommy, hold me." I tell her I can't because I needed to finish feeding Carter. I send Tillman back out to the living room while I finish washing my hands. This is what I come out of the bathroom to. Tillman took it upon herself to get the bottle and start feeding Carter all on her own. Luckily Carter went with it and all was well. :) What a good big sister.

(Ok, there was a picture here, but I had to take it off b/c it had personal info. on it.) 

Josh got his CDL driver's permit today. Yay, Josh! Now he gets to complete 10 hours of driving/training behind the wheel. 

Carter dressed and ready for the pool in her crab outfit. 

Tillman thinks she's excited to get in the pool. 

Still convinced.

And, nevermind! This isn't what I thought it would be. Get me out!

We settled for this for a little while. 

And we convinced her to get back in. 

It went a little better the second time. 

Relaxing and letting go of her death grip.

Working on kicking and splashing. 

I got my turn in the water. We just walked around and talked like this the whole time. I didn't mind it. Just another form of cuddling if you ask me.  :) 

And this is what Carter does at the pool. She's a champ. 

Happy Swimming!

"What Rock?"

So today was dubbed, "My name is April, not Mommy Day." I was craving a day away to do something by myself (no kids) for myself that didn't scream "mommy." My friend Kasi is pretty adventurous and out-doorsy, so I put her in charge of planning a hiking day trip for the two of us. Josh was super nice enough to watch both girls today by himself. (for 7 hours!)

Kasi and I ended up hiking Table Rock. We left my house around 9:00 and started hiking a little after 10:00. I had to pump in the car before we got started on the hike. That killed some of our time. As we checked in with the rangers to begin our hike, they looked at us a little funny and with some question in their faces. You see, it was calling for rain today, it was actually raining as we got there, it was raining as we were checking in, and... I had no rain gear whatsoever. None. I had a lunch and water, but that's it. I knew it was calling for rain, yet never thought to pack a jacket. Luckily Kasi had an extra hat I was able to wear, but still, no jacket.

So we started our trek up the mountain in the rain. I was feeling good and excited to be out doing something different from what I do all day everyday. The rain eased up, and eventually stopped. So I didn't look too silly not having any gear. Turns out I didn't really need it anyway. Kasi and I talked nonstop up and down the mountain. We talked about anything and everything. We even ran into a little turtle friend along the way.

Ok, fast forward to the top of the mountain/lunch. When we reached what we thought was the top of Table Rock Mountain we stopped and had lunch. It was nice to rest, we were starving, so we ate. As we were leaving the rock (not Governor's rock by the way, much further up) a nice older gentlemen (the first person we'd seen the entire time. I mean who hikes in the rain anyways?) made a comment that caught us off guard. He asked, "So are you going to make it up to the rock?" and Kasi's response, which I'm still laughing about now was, "What rock??" (Hence the title of this post.) Hello!!! We were hiking Table ROCK. I died laughing. We had just eaten lunch on what we thought was Table Rock. Turns out it was just some other big rock. So we kept on going and quickly made our way to our original final destination. It was worth the extra few steps for the view.

After taking it all in we made our way back down the mountain. We were both complaining about our knees and somehow ended up on the topic of ice cream, Brooster's ice cream to be exact. So what did we do when we got back in the car? Yes, we drove straight to Brooster's and got some ice cream!

So 7 hours after leaving the house at 9:00am, hiking Table Rock, and getting Brooster's ice cream, I arrived back home. I quickly went back from the role of April to the role of Mommy as I had to pump immediately and had Tillman with me the entire time I took a shower. It was nice though. I had a great day and Josh did an absolutely perfect job with the girls. They were both happy and healthy when I got home. :) This just means I should do days like this more often now that Josh has proved himself capable of being Mr. Mom for the day.

So for the first time since this blog was created 2 & 1/2 years ago, here is a post with absolutely no pictures of my kids in it:

Kasi and me getting started on the hike...in the rain. 

Notice who remembered to pack a raincoat.

a little scenery 

our turtle friend

He was a cutie.

A great view from Governor's Rock - no rain!

We made it!

Where we ate lunch - in a cloud - thought we were finished

happy to eat!

The view from Table Rock. This is what we were after the whole time. 

Happy Hiking!

Monday Memories

Today was a low-key, yet busy day. We all went to the Y; Josh worked out, Carter slept in the nursery, and Tillman & I attended the Moms & Tots exercise class. Tillman did great and had a blast. She remembered a lot from last week's class and improved on some skills. After class we ran some errands. Then we came home and ate lunch, Tillman and Carter took a nap, and Josh went to Lowe's, the dump, and the post office. When Josh got home, he put his new toy (a pressure washer) together and worked on a section of the driveway. In between all this I've been working on slowly starting to pack us and get us ready for next week.

Morning playtime with his girls.

He's got his hands full. 

She loves watching herself in the mirror!

Tillman and Anna Grace warming up before class starts.

Love my little girl. She makes me so proud.

Hopping across the makeshift balance beam all by herself. She didn't want my help.

Running this time.

Jumping off at the end.

Going through the obstacle course we set up. She's supposed to be weaving in between the cones, but we need to work on that. She just ran in between one and kept running. 

I got to go to Hobby Lobby and get my frame for some new prints! :) 

Say What?!?!

Oh, no you didn't! 

Tillman helping Daddy put together and figure out the new pressure washer.

Josh and his shadow.

Carter, just hanging out outside for a bit. 

Happy Monday!