Indy

We went to Seth's race at Indy (7/23-7/26). Indianapolis is a neat city and this is always a fun race (especially since Seth won and got to kiss the bricks 2 years ago!)

This is the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in the center of downtown Indianopolis. It's quite a monument! The kids had fun running around it, making wishes into the fountain, and eating ice cream at the shop across the street!

On Friday, we went to the track in the morning and the Indianapolis Zoo in the afternoon. This was an awesome zoo! The weather was quite pleasant. Here is everyone enjoying a frozen lemonade. (cousins plus Seth's mom and aunt Marth "Mart Mart")

Why do zoos have rides? Anyway....we rode this roller coaster twice. James was finally tall enough to ride too! (we are in the car in front of these crazies)

Elephants!

My favorite part was watching the kids in the aviary. I didn't even want to go in, and it turns out this was the best! They were given sticks covered in bird seed and were able to "catch" the birds. The bird shirt is totally unplanned. 

James needed a little assistance from Grandma. 

Thomas was a sport when he got pooped on. He didn't quite buy the "it's good luck!" spiel. 

Friday night, Seth and I at at St. Elmo Steak House with the other drivers and their families. It was an awesome restaurant! AND...I met Patrick Dempsey when walking in. This is a hot spot for drivers. Seth's parents and aunt kept the kids and took them on a carriage ride around downtown. We just happened to see them when we were walking to St. Elmo! 

I took ZERO pictures during the race. But, the kids all got a Coke with their name on it. 

Seth and Dan finished 17th. They got a penalty, which hurt them. "That's racin'" 

After Indy, we headed out to Montana for our annual summer trip! 

Happy birthday, America!

We had such a nice 4th of July weekend! It was great for several reasons....

1. I treasure weekends when we are all home together! Seth travels so much. 

2. The 4th was on a Friday, so it was a LONG weekend! 

3. The weather was fantastic- very low humidity 

4. We grilled out 4 nights in a row! 

On Thursday night, we grilled pizzas (Hawaiian and a pepperoni/veggie). The kids love to help make it!

Thursday night, we went to where they park the steam engines and saw them all (they're getting ready for the parade the next morning). Here they are at the Thomas Lumber truck! :).

The fireworks started around 9:30, so the kids were up pretty late that night!

Friday morning, we headed out early for the Thomas/Mashburn 4th of July Steam Engine Parade!

Seth's buddy let James sit in his go cart

Sweet cousins waiting for the parade to begin!

James got to make the steam engine whistle! 

3 generations of Thomas men

Adelyn throwing candy to the crowd

James throwing candy to the crowd 

Seth and I after the parade

After naps, we went to Seth's parents pool and took a little ride in the convertible

Seth grilled a HUGE batch of ribs. They were quite tasty!

Such a man-meal

We let the kids have a sleep over and sleep with their glow in the dark flags (another late night- ha!)

On Saturday night, we had friends over to grill hamburgers! The dogs love Andrew. 

Adelyn, Myles, and Tatem rode around the yard

The kids enjoyed hot dogs and brownies

On Sunday, I met my college roommate Christina for lunch at The Flying Biscuit in Buckhead. It was so good to see her and catch up!

I left James home with Seth. She has 3 sweet kids 

We LOVE Trader Joe's! Had to hit it up since we were so close.

We spent Sunday afternoon/evening at his parents house swimming and grilling out again!

James swam and swam! Sometimes he just loves the pool! 

Seth tossed him in! I'm not 100% sure he loved this or merely tolerated it!

Happy birthday to our nation! I enjoy celebrating the traditions and values that created our great country. 

Summer randomness

I am loving this summer! I have barely been tutoring, so it's been lots of time with my kiddos. They are not in any camps so it's just us doing what we want. I think this will probably be a rarity in the future. Below are pictures, in no particular order. 

I took them both for haircuts and their well-checks yesterday. Adelyn weighs 46 1/2 pounds (83rd percentile) and is 46 1/4 inches tall (95th percentile....still my TALL girl!). James weighs 30.08 pounds (36th percentile) and is 38 1/2 inches tall (67th percentile). Adelyn has been freaked out about getting a shot for seriously the last 6 months. You should have seen her face when she heard she doesn't get a shot until she's 10!

They got their fingers pricked and "cheered" their bandaids

James loves to sport this Jake and the Neverland Pirates bandana. Paired with the aviator Planes glasses, it cracks me up! The kids are eating frozen gogurt outside. 

The kids and I hiked Sawnee Mountain (3.5 miles). They were awesome! James only whined at the very end. I was proud of both of them!

We made it to the top!

Adelyn sitting in the Indian Seats

They love going on evening walks with the dogs

Adelyn and Mac

On this family stroll, James was a tow truck (I held the other end of the jump rope as he "pulled" me)

 James played with kinetic sand in the bath tub while I showered. This stuff is awesome!

 I got a girls' night on Sunday evening. Randy, Beth, Kyla, and I ate at Sip- fun, new restaurant!

Visit home

My parents took the kids home with them to SC after James's party. Seth had a race in NY that we weren't attending, so I took the opportunity for trip home on Wednesday. 

Mac and Bentley are never on leashes because we have a fenced in yard. This is not the case at my parents' house. The kids absolutely loved walking them around the neighborhood. I think they'd walk several miles as long as they have a leash in hand!

My parents yard is very shaded. Frogs  hop around everywhere! Adelyn enjoyed catching them! I'm so glad she's not ALL girly-girl!

We spent Thursday at the YMCA pool. Adelyn's new thing is seeing if we match. Our bathing suits kinda did!

James finally discovered that last 30 minutes we were there that he did indeed like the little kid slide! It takes him forever to warm up to some things! 

On Friday, my aunt, uncle, cousin, and her little boy came over for lunch. Harris and Adelyn searched for frogs and put them in a container their entire stay! Adorable

We got home Saturday afternoon and had an impromptu dinner date with my friends whose husbands were also out of town. That certainly made the evening pass in a fun way!

Happy 3rd birthday, James!

James turned 3 on June 22nd and we had an ice cream birthday party Sunday afternoon for him. I can't believe my little boy is three! 

• James has a sweet little voice (can be a big voice too!) that I really need to record more. I love how he talks. When he does something mischievous, it's almost hard to be mad at him because of what he'll say and how he'll say it. 
• He is VERY silly. 
• "Thank you" comes without being prompted. So does "I wooooooob you!". 
• He gives great hugs, and often gives you a kiss when you ask for a hug, which would melt anyone's heart. 
• The red hair plays into his personality- he's quite feisty. He's often a tester. For instance, at the pool the other day I asked him not to throw his monster trucks in and he looks at me, grins, and dangles them a centimeter above the water. Just a small example....
• We have been potty training for a little over a month now. He's got the first part down pat (everyone told me boys would love to go outside). The second part has been a bit trickier and maddening for me. But hopefully we've turned a corner. 
• James is super duper attentive to details. He remembers street names, people he met once 6 months ago, and just about everything you say (not that he always does it- haha!). I think he's a genius. 
• This kid still loves tractors....really, anything with wheels. Where did he inherit this from? He is obsessed with the movie Planes, playing with Legos, and anybody's iPad/iPhone. 

We love you, Jamesy-James!

Three years old! He has been so excited about this birthday. His birthday was celebrated in early May at school (since his was after school ended). Kids have no time concept and I got tired of, "NOW is it my birthday ?" so we made a chain. It had 37 links to begin with and we have taken off one each day. When it got down to the last few chains, he was practically doing cartwheels! :)

 3 and 5 years old!

Nana and Grandeddy

 Grandma and Grandpa

 The party started at 3. I didn't want to the kids melting outside (nor did I want them running through my house), so I cleared out the basement and set up some activities to do. They colored ice cream pages. 

 And painted ice cream posters 

It wasn't as hot as I thought it'd be (certainly not cool though!). Kids don't care- they played on the playground too!

 Once everyone arrived, it was ice cream time! Guests chose a cup or cone, vanilla and/or chocolate ice cream, and a variety of toppings (nuts, sprinkles, blueberries, strawberries, syrups, and cherries)

 Adelyn gave James a sweet hug after singing "Happy Birthday"

James chilling and eating his first cone

 This part of our deck is shaded. Each child got a couple turns at trying to break the ice cream pinata. 

 Y'all, it would NOT break! My friend has a son in high school and he couldn't even break it! I finally untaped the top and just dumped the candy out. 

This was a fun, simple party that James loved! Happy birthday, buddy! We can't imagine life without you and are so glad we got to celebrate your new year!

My parents took the kids to SC with them so Seth and I have had 3 glorious, kid-free days. It's been an awesome stay-cation! I have had a couple great workouts (finally got to return to my personal trainer and got in a 3.5 mile run), got some errands ran, and got some things cleaned out at home. Additionally, Seth surprised me with a massage at Spa Sydell and we had 2 date nights! Thanks Mom and Dad for taking the rascals.