Family Camp

Last weekend, our family participated in our church's first annual Family Camp at Alpine Camp in Mentone, AL.  When this was announced back in the summer, we were excited about it.  However, the closer it came to actually going, Heath and I weren't sure if it would be the most practical for our family of young children.  So, we actually signed up, backed out, and then re-signed up.  Call us decisive!

Blurry, but a shot of the back of the Suburban heading up there.  Our friends Jim and Brooks rode with us because Jami (maybe brilliantly?) didn't head up until the next morning.  Jim and Heath were in the front, John Burke and I in the middle, and Turner, Collins and Brooks rocked the back.  As you can tell, it was crazy and luckily all the children behaved and giggled most of the way up there.  I should video Collins - she thinks Turner and John Burke are SO funny these days, and on this ride Brooks thoroughly entertained her as well!

This was Turner the first night.  They had endless supplies of popsicles for the children, and he got the message right away.  I actually didn't take this picture, but someone else did and put it on Facebook and I randomly found it this morning.  I am in the background with Collins strapped to me, because that is how we had to roll the first night!

I had to document this - cousin Collins was there and she was holding baby Collins the first night.  2 people, same name - after our sweet Nanny.

This was the only picture I got in the cabin - John Burke and Read hanging on the bed.  It was pretty rustic, but our church was gracious enough to let us have the nicer, more recently built cabins if you had small children.  One single girl mentioned we were lucky to get said cabins, and I agreed but reminded her that toddlers came with the nice cabins, so there was such beauty in coming alone!

The next morning, around 6 a.m., Heath headed back to Birmingham.  Ironically, the day we made our final decision and decided to participate in Camp, re-signed up, etc. Heath was told he had an unavoidable meeting in Birmingham at 9 a.m. Saturday.  Awesome.  But luckily, Aunt Stacy and Uncle Derek agreed to keep this little lady Saturday and Sunday - thank you, thank you - and she headed home with Heath early morning.

And side note from the picture, Stacy was good to send me pictures.  I had to ask her if she glued the bow on because Collins is still bald!  It cracked me up when she texted this to me.

Here are the boys with their bud Brooks that first morning.  I had actually taken them out of the group worship time because they were too loud - imagine that.  So we had some play time in the field and on one of the trails.  The weekend was so laid back that it was nice to be able to exit when my little campers got too rowdy.  Heath came back right in time for lunch, so the chaos was contained.  And, our dear friend Sarah arrived later that morning, which is always good news to John Burke!

A picture of the group in the Lodge, watching the Auburn game.  Banner year for our Tigers.

Action shot of the boys hanging with their friends and climbing on one of the many golf carts used to transport.  Our vehicle of choice was the double stroller, and it came in handy!

Also, we did a lot of walking.  Which was great because the weather was perfect!!  I thought this was just Heath and Turner (on the second, very sleepy morning.)  But no, John Burke is riding in the backpack on Heath's back!  Right after taking this, I asked Heath about Turner's jeans.  They looked short, and we figured out he actually put on John Burke's...that he had worn the entire day before.  The boys were in Heath's cabin - lucky for me! - and he was doing his best to get them up and out by breakfast.  Made me laugh, but we were so tired we just went with it!

Beautiful scenery.  Not so much a vacation in the restful sense, but SO nice to get away and be outside!

Family canoe trip - very fun!

And, a shot of Turner at dinner the second night.  At 6:30.

Very asleep at the table.  Needless to say, everyone slept well the second night.  Especially me - I didn't have Collins in my cabin that night!  And Daddy had both boys.  But the great thing about the Ridge area where we were was that everyone had small children, as I mentioned before.  I didn't get a picture, but both nights we were able to sit and talk - men in one group and then women in the other - in front of our cabins for hours.  Great fellowship and much much laughter!!

A glimpse of how we entertained during one of the Worship sessions - adults singing and listening, children distracted by technology so that we could sing and listen.  Go on and judge, it made me again appreciative of the nursery on Sundays!

Wonderful, exhausting experience!  Well worth it, even with the 8 loads of laundry that followed.  So many dirty clothes and sheets and towels for just a short weekend.  But it was definitely a little boy's dream!  This was John Burke after we pit stopped at the Fort Payne Sonic.

Thankfully they stayed awake until we got home and picked up this little princess and then had family nap time for almost 2 hours!!

Collins and Chloe after Aunt Stacy bathed them.  Collins was at her own Family Camp with them - and we were all better off for it!  (Well, maybe not Stacy and Derek :))

Speaking of Collins - she is 9 months old today!!  She is sitting up and rolling around, but not crawling.  And I sort of love it.  I am dreading when she is more mobile, though I know it will be very soon.  Her nickname is Heather, because she looks a lot like Heath.  Maybe she will get her own look with some hair?!  And still no teeth, no shocker compared to my other 2.  She loves to laugh and "talk", but the only word I can distinguish is "hey" and I am pretty sure it is not on purpose, yet sometimes in context.  I am claiming it!  She is a great eater, and has steadily moved past baby food.  We went to a fall festival the other day, and she was in the stroller next to Burke Burke.  I found her with his sucker that she quickly grabbed and inserted in her mouth.  And then, John Burke was screaming and pointing and I found her covered in icing because she had jacked his iced sugar cookie.  She was doing her best to finish it before he discovered it, but he was quick like a cat and got it back.  He loves her, but don't come between him and a cookie.  Here she is eating her first bites of banana pudding from Moe's Barbecue.  Surprised Heath shared because it is so delicious!

Happy 9 months, my little nugget!

The last picture I could find of the kids with Melissa.  This was taken just over a year ago.  I will never forget October 22, 2011.  We were in Atlanta for Ellie's second birthday party.  We drove over for the day, and after the party we headed back to the hotel to hang out with Heath's family before dinner.  There we decided to tell them Baby Collins' name, that we had pretty much finalized on the drive over. We had known we were having a girl for about a month, and should have been more prepared with a name, but of course we were not.  We were sitting in the Embassy Suites and Kate said, "Tell us the name!"  And Heath looked at me, and I looked at his mom and said, "Her name will be Melissa Collins and we will call her Collins."  His mom was so excited.  She started crying and hugged me so tight and for over a minute straight she just said, "Thank you, thank you." And then little 18 month old John Burke walked over to the table, grabbed a baby wipe and walked it over to MeMe because she was crying so hard.  We were all emotional - celebrating her that day and knowing our days were numbered.  One of the sweetest memories we have, and didn't realize it would be the last time we would see her up and around and "normal" before pneumonia set in just 2 short weeks later.  

MeMe with 9 month old John Burke.  She would love her little namesake if she could have held her.  I had a crying moment with a saleslady the other day.  I was picking out Christmas clothes for a picture and missed that MeMe was so good at spoiling my boys!  The lady and I just cried as we held the little smocked Santa clothes, and then laughed at ourselves.  As much as we miss our MeMe, we know she is dancing in Heaven with Jesus.  And we genuinely rejoice in God's plan for us, though it was not our own!

Not too glamorous

Just checking in.  Nothing much too glamorous going on in our lives these days - a bunch of school and playing with friends outside and being disappointed with our Auburn tigers.  But life is rich and it is good!  So rich and good I guess that I never have time to remember my "mom camera" - thank goodness for the iphone camera!  Not that I think to upload any of these little gems regularly.  But, maybe I can post twice this month!  I will let the captions speak for themselves...

Pajama Day at school - well, after school when Daddy took them for milkshakes that night.  I wish I had gotten a full body shot of the tight Buzz Lightyear brothers.  So funny.  I probably misuse my mom  powers when I buy these things, let them wear them in public and then laugh a lot about them.  They didn't care one bit about the ridicule, as you can see in their expressions here.  

And another at Chick-fil-A...I won't even pretend we don't go there a lot.  (Yesterday morning when I was picking up breakfast on the way to the zoo I placed my order and they asked through the drive thru if it was Kelly.  I just hung my head in shame and said, "Yeah - see you at the window.") But a drink from there can make my day.  Seriously.  This picture, though, we went all out for Family Night and it was dancing with the cows.  My boys had a ball!  They LOVE the cows.

You know who doesn't love the cows?  Cousin Chloe.  But she is so cute that it doesn't matter!  I should have taken a picture of my boys climbing over her to jump and hug the cows, and Chloe hiding behind them and crying in fear.  Luckily Stacy was there - she has much more compassion than I do:)

I was worried my camera was broken one night and the boys insisted on close-ups as I was testing it out. 

And here are some of sister - look who is finally getting fat?!

Third child in a row to love this bouncer - and I am loving that she is still contained!

Collins with her sweet, precious namesake - she was patting Nanny over and over and she didn't mind one bit.  Makes me smile.

Um, please give me more than this baby food!  So lame.

Trouble here demanded credit because he had just "helped" feed her said baby food.  What a helper indeed.  He also helped us decorate the office last week.

I texted this to Heath and we both noted there was a sense of pride in his face.  We had to laugh.  That is what happens when I try to dry my hair in the morning and let him out of my sight!

Also, he was helping me take Collins to the car in the stroller.  I actually did appreciate this help. 

Mondays and Thursdays are Trash Day, and they wait at the window for the trash man to come use his mechanical arm to scoop up and dump out our disgusting trash can.  Then they squeal with delight!  The little things.

John Burke and his friend Will G. walking out of school like big boys

And hanging out with his friends Read and Elon at the Day School 2 year old ice cream social.  My style icon had to change his shorts from rolling around in the dirt at recess beforehand.  Imagine that.

Had to give sister some air time from school too - hanging with her double chin and her friend Leila on a little stroll.  I selfishly love having a child downstairs with me to check in on constantly - not sure if her teachers love it:)

On Friday, Turner and the rest of the 3K from his school went to a nearby farm and pumpkin patch.  Beautiful day - a little hot, but not too bad.  I just wish I had had the time/energy to wrangle him for more photo ops.  Or put lip gloss on for the one I took with him on the hayride.  Oh well.

Looking for pumpkins

Smiling with his friend Hoke - they weren't feeling this picture

And running by the corn maze with his buddy Hughston

He entertained himself by taking pictures throughout the day.  Most got deleted but I saved a couple like this self-portrait and some of the farm animals he got to see.

Finally, we headed to Auburn this weekend for the Arkansas game.  I know it sounds cheesy, but even though we are not playing well AT ALL, I would still always rather be an Auburn fan.  I am not trying to get on Facebook and start something with statements like that, it is just how I feel.  After the game Heath sat in the car and listened to the post-game show analysis and he looked at me and said "I just wish I didn't care!"  I thought it was sweet, because as much as he would like to give up on them, he can't. I think that is a true fan - we had a great day in Auburn despite the game.  Maybe we can win a few more?!  We'll see!

We stopped at CVS in Auburn to go to the bathroom, change diapers, fix a bottle, etc. before the game.  Look what I saw in the bathroom.  Uncle Derek is a celebrity!  3rd from the right.

Daddy helped Collins with the noise this game - until she fell asleep like a good girl.

And this was the second game in a row we were able to run into John Burke's number one girl - Kina.  He sat with her the whole first half, which was win-win for everyone involved!!  Especially me :)

And my favorite part of the day happened when Lindsey, Mom, Dad and I left the game with the kids and headed to Amsterdam for lunch.  Glorious!

Peace!

First Day of School...and other things

We have had an exciting past couple of weeks!  We went with some friends to the mountains for one last getaway at the end of August.  Their oldest (H) is Turner's age and they are the best of friends.  I love little H because he can hang with my boys very well!  He is not scared to put them in their place when he needs to, and he is always up for a good time.  Same with his parents - we had a fabulous time!  Above was the view from our back porch.

This is not my favorite picture at all (definitely won't be our Christmas card ;)), but this was how we did it.  Collins in the carrier on me and John Burke on Heath's back.  We are such hikers!

The "big boys" - H has a little brother, J that is just 2 weeks younger than Collins.  I don't know how I didn't get any pictures of him?!  He hiked on his daddy's back as well!

Resting after playing hard at a park in Franklin, North Carolina

On our longer hike - we climbed to the top of a huge rock and saw some waterfalls!  We are definitely beach people, but this made me think we could be mountain people too.  SK - the other mom and trip planner extraordinaire - had the meals set up and we made grocery lists and shopped before we went.  We put the kids down each night and then had great dinners and played cards on the back porch.  So relaxing and enjoyed by all!  I am sold on the mountains for sure!

Anyway, a week or so after we got back school started back at Covenant.  This year Turner is in the 3s - so he goes three days a week now.  Here he is with his sweet teachers, Catherine and Carrie.  

Not sure what that face is, but the last 3 times I have picked him up he has said "I was having very fun!"  Hmm, close enough.  He walked right into his new class and hasn't looked back.  He had about 6 other kids from his old class (including his best buddy H from our mountain adventure), so he hasn't had to really adjust at all.  Phew.

This cat is a different story.  Wow - I am feeling every bit of him being 2 years old!  He has officially moved upstairs to "big school" and out of Mother's Day Out.  He goes on Wednesdays and Fridays.  He was fortunate to get Turner's teachers from last year, who I LOVE - but he wasn't quite as excited about the first day as his brother.  Can you tell by his face here?

For a few weeks I have been trying to get him excited about Big School (the Day School).  He is quite comfortable downstairs in Mother's Day Out with his favorite ladies - Dee, Kina, Shaneka, Tinecia, Wanda...the list goes on.  They spoil him rotten.  Side story - there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken a few miles from the bottom of the mountain by us in North Carolina.  We pulled in the shopping center one day to grab something from a local Dollar Tree and John Burke started going nuts!  He started screaming "Kicken! kicken!!" (I am constantly guessing what he is saying in this phase of life...chicken).  He started jumping up and down with excitement and pointing to the KFC sign.  "MAMA!!!  Kicken!!  Can we get some??  Now!!  Der!  Daddy!!!"  Heath and I started laughing because we have never taken him to KFC, I don't even know where there are any in Birmingham.  You know where he gets it??  His ladies mentioned earlier - they spoil him and bring him fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables etc. when they bring in their own meals.  Ridiculous.

Anyway, all that to say - he was not ready to leave his safe place down in MDO.  I kept asking him each day who his new teachers were (Meg and Abby) - one time he said Meg, but every time he would smile and say "Tina" (Kina).  Every time I would say NO that is Collins' teacher this year...Kina teaches the babies..you are a big boy. But every time he would insist he was staying with Kina.

In the Chick-fil-A drive-thru line on the first morning of school I was trying to get him excited one last time.  I leaned back, looked at him and said "Are Meg and Abby your teachers this year? Yay!"  He looked at me, dead in the eye and said "Kina my teacher.  Dammit."  Wow.  He said it in context.  No words.

Anyway, I couldn't get a cute picture of him with his 2 sweet teachers because he was screaming and crying and clawing my shirt.  But I did capture this action shot with his teacher Meg, it will have to do.  

A good luck hug from Turner.  He ended up having a ball, though.  When I asked who he played with he shouted "ABBY!"  And randomly he leaned up in the car on our way home from school and said "God. Made. Me."  I asked him what he said and he repeated it.  He was listening at school!  Don't worry that I couldn't get Turner to repeat a bible verse or song or anything the entire last year and John Burke said it on his first day!!  So different!

This was my easiest child to drop off.  She is with Kina, Na'Shira and Cynthia in the Bunnies, and it is my third time to be in the Bunny room!  I think we can handle it, and I take for granted that I am right down the hall and can check on her all the time!

Her first ride on the Bye Bye Buggy - she loved it

My little monkeys on the first day!  

John Burke - seen here with his red "pockle pockle" - his word for popsicle.  He asked to eat it in the tub because he is so messy, and it actually was quite easy to clean up!

Evidently Frederick (as I have randomly been calling him lately) didn't think that the first day was exciting enough.  That afternoon he refused to nap, which is very rare for him.  Turner and Collins were asleep and I was letting him wander around, in and out of my room.  The first time I found him he was drawing with markers on the bottom of some chairs in the kitchen.  Then it got quiet.  He yelled, "Mommy!"  I said "Yeah?"  Then I said "What are you doing?"  He responded, "Nothing."  I went back to my Words game on my phone.  Then something went off in my head.  Silence is never good, especially with a 2 year old!!  I walked out of my room and saw this:

That is the view of my staircase and balcony over the front door as you walk out of my room.  Please notice the green bear on the balcony.

Here is the view from the den.  Look under the top window on the balcony again at the green bear.  I have placed it there because THAT IS WHERE JOHN BURKE WAS WHEN I WALKED OUT OF MY ROOM!!!!

He scared me to death.  I gasped, but didn't want him to panic and let go.  He had climbed across the ledge at the top of the stairs, almost all the way to the playroom.  He was so proud, and he had done it pretty quickly!!  I don't get too shaken up very often, but this really rattled me.  I didn't know what to do first - and for a fleeting second thought about grabbing my phone camera but then thought better of it.  I sprinted up the stairs and told him to hang on very tightly.  I didn't want him to realize I was freaking out, but i just kept thinking that his little body was at least 12 feet up, with hardwood floors underneath.  I ran across to the playroom, picked him up and carried him back over.  I started kissing his little head, probably too much, but I just couldn't get the image and the distance out of my mind.  Then we got downstairs, I calmed down some and gave him some pretty hard spankings with our wooden spank spoon - I had to let him see immediately that that was something we could NEVER do again!!!  That child...thank you Lord for your constant grace and protection!!

Okay - enough excitement for today.  Leaving you with some pictures at the Splash Pad last week as we live up these last few summer-like days, and then each child at 7 months.  I have these because 3 times out of 3 I forgot to book a 6 month appointment and they all got checked at 7 months.  I think they are related!

Turner at 7 months, sitting up for the first time

John Burke - can't find his doctor pic - I am so together

And Collins, who just started sitting up.  You think she has Heath's rect-oval head?? :)