Family of 5. Will travel.

To celebrate the 4th of July and the long weekend, we headed up to Blowing Rock to the "Tweetsie House" with Poppy & Gigi.  Make no mistake...loading up our crew of 5 was not walk in the park.  And the week of, Weston was an ill-pill, the weather was nasty and Ben was working 14 hour days.

But we loaded up and headed up the mountain mid-morning on July 4th.  It was a gorgeous drive and we arrived just after lunchtime.  Linda had planned the "1st Annual Isaac Family Reunion" for that day so it was a real treat to see most of my aunts, uncles & cousins who I rarely get to spend any time with.  It was also nice having so many extra sets of hands to help corral the kids.  Even if they were showing them how to use paintball & bb guns...

And while Jackson clearly understood that the sparklers were HOT, I guess we never specifically stated that the metal sparkler wire was also hot...even after the sparkler went out.  Alas, Jackson experienced his first minor burn and learned not to be quite so curious.

On Friday, we woke up to a rainy day.  We managed a short little walk outside and found lots of worms.  Poppy wowed the boys by "eating" it.

Finally, some much needed sunshine broke through in the afternoon. We jumped on our chance and Ben & I took the big boys to Tweetsie for the afternoon.  Colton enjoyed an afternoon of being the one & only grandchild for once :)

Let me just say that Weston was speechless.  Literally.  He was in AWE of the trains, the rides, everything.

We had the best time riding the rides, chowing down on ice cream & popcorn and riding Tweetsie.  We dodged short storms throughout the afternoon but none lasted more than 10 minutes!

On Saturday, we visited the outlets prior to heading back towards Greenville.  Gigi & Poppy treated the boys to their first pairs of light-up shoes.  Talk about proud kiddos, these boys have been stomping ever since.

{On a side note, Jackson wanted to see his "light up under the water" and hopped in our kiddie pool with his kicks on.  Devastatingly, they quit working....but after drying overnight, they are back in action.}

And you'd never know from the looks of it, but this little rascal screamed the whole way home.

What a fun & much needed little get-away!

Jackson's 4!! (Actually...it was on June 22)

It seems like the distant past, but Jackson turned four years old on June 22.  We had a "Pirate Water Party" in our backyard for the birthday boy & all of his friends, and everyone had a blast.  He's at the perfect age to enjoy that sort of thing.

To accessorize the pirates, I made dew-rags for the kids, along with eye patches, fake mustaches & tattoos.  I also raided the dollar store for some awesome water guns so the "pirates" could defend themselves.

{Colton was a good sport about trying on the costume...kinda}

I'm not sure who had more fun...the kids or the Dads?

We stopped long enough to sing to the Birthday Boy.

And get a token family photo.  Which.never.happens.

And just for the record, the majority of our friends have new little ones, too, so it was just one big baby party.

And I could have never pulled this off without Bebe there to help entertain my kids all morning, clean, cut up fruit and do 1000 other things while I got everything ready and set for the pirate invasion.  What a lifesaver!  We love her so much!

We are so thankful for  you, Jackson and all the joy you have brought into our lives.  You always make us laugh and keep us on our toes with your silly little personality. We love you so much!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

These past few weeks have been SO wet!  Our yard has yet to dry out (which could also be from our "redneck waterpark" out back...).  The boys love to be outside so its tough keeping everyone entertained when we are stuck inside.  Alas, I have been reaching deep in the 'ole bag of tricks.


Lots of dress up!

Emptying...then refilling...then emptying...then refilling our piggy banks.  Jackson says his piggy is "more hungry than Westie's" and tries to nab his coins.

Hangin' out on the top bunk with friends.  I was watching these two for a friend & all they wanted to do was chill on the bunk beds.  

We've built countless tents, and Ben even rigged up a mini zipline for J's army men.

Weston was super crabby for a few days so I just knew he had an ear infection.  So we all loaded up and headed to the pedi.  In the torrential downpour.  Turns out he's was just crabby.  Lucky for everyone, Parkside has TVs in each patient room so the big boys stayed occupied while we were waiting on the doctor.  Taking all 3 to the doctor is no cake walk but it could've been SO much worse!

So naturally we stopped by Costco while we were out.  It was my first trip to glorious Costco with all 3 kids in tow.  The only thing we bought was pizza for lunch...well, that and a hotdog because Weston about had a shit-fit when he saw them on the giant menu banner and nearly had a colossal tantrum.
My mantra: Pick your battles.

Oh, and we tried lots of samples.  Note to self: Samples are especially plentiful just prior to a holiday.  Thank you America!

Jackson got some more architectural blocks for his birthday so he spent one afternoon building Disney World.  Its still a major challenge keeping little brothers & his friends from knocking them over.

And we've been up & down the stairs more times than I can count.  I guess the change of scenery every 20 minutes keeps them entertained.  These two are really starting to play together and enjoy each other's company.  

And photos with Colton in them are scarce...because 95% of the time, he's riding along with me.  He likes to be where the action is...but not too close.

Conversation with a 4-year-old

A recent conversation in the car:
{Facts may or may not be accurate, I had to think on the fly}

Jackson: Mom, why did the cowboys fight with the indians?

Me: Well, the indians were here first and the cowboys took their land.

Jackson:  Where did they live?

Me: In teepees, or huts, or maybe in trees.

Jackson: What did they wear?  Were they naked?

Me: No, they wore clothes...but not as many as we do.  Theirs were made from animal skins & leaves. They couldn't just go buy clothes at the store, they didn't have stores.

Jackson: Where did they get their food?

Me: They hunted and gathered food from the forest.

Jackson: Did they have bananas?  Bananas grow on trees.

Me: Well, maybe.  But bananas don't really grow in all places.  They mainly grow in warm climates, like Florida.

Jackson: Where's Florida?

Me: Its a state.

Jackson: How do you get there?

Me: You drive on the interstate for about 6 hours.  On the map, it sticks out the bottom corner, like a thumb.

(I pull a US map up on my iphone and point out Florida).

Jackson: OH!! Florida! That's where Mickey Mouse lives!

Perspective

Yesterday was HARD.

It was one of those days where I started unloading the dishes at about 8am and by 6pm, it still wasn't done.  The kids were up at 7:15 rather than their usual 8:30.  Jackson had just come back from a week away so he was a little wilder than usual.  Weston was readjusting to having to share my attention and Colt is outgrowing his sling but still wants to be held all the time.

Bottom line: Nobody was happy.  We went outside...someone wanted inside.  We went for a walk...it started raining.  We ate popsicles...somebody drops theirs.  We got more bumps, bruises, tears & messes yesterday than the past week combined.  Add in no nap for Weston and a fussy baby.  And if I see one more dog hairball rolls across my foyer I am going to scream.

Then Ben comes home. {With pizza because cooking dinner today...yeah right.}  Sitting around the table, we each share our favorite part of the day.  When its his turn, Jackson says that he doesn't have a favorite because it was the best day ever and it was so fun.

Stop me in my tracks.  Sometimes I get so caught up in my lists that I judge my day a success or not based on how many tasks I get checked off.  If my house is clean, laundry is folded and dinner is cooked, I feel accomplished.  However, Jackson humbled me and reminded me that my priorities are often backwards.  Growing, nurturing, caring for, loving and teaching these little souls that God has entrusted to me is my first and foremost priority.  They are my calling, my job, my life in this season.  Sure, the other stuff needs to be done, but whats really important?

Monthlies

For each month of their first year, I have taken a picture of each boy sporting that month's number.
With Colton turning 2 months old yesterday, I thought it would be fun to compare my little dumplins'.
{The scale is off, pardon my amateur photographer and iMac skills}

Jackson, Weston & Colton @ 1 Month Old

Jackson, Weston & Colton @ 2 Months Old

The most rewarding little smile....

Sweet Colton is finally smiling and its the most rewarding little grin. He turned 8 weeks old on Saturday and Jackson turned 4. Where has the time gone?!?!? These 3 little smiling faces bring us so much joy!
































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