Summertime...

I once read on another blog about a mom who counted her children's summers down.  Sounds a little depressing but also puts things in perspective.  Addie has 12 more summers at home before she leaves our home and Drew has 15 more summers.  So what do I wish to do with those summers??  Soak up all of the goodness that makes for long days but short summers with my favorite people.  Now that we are in the school years... dance... soccer... gymnastics... and the other million things we do as a family, summertime is even more special to me. I love the no schedule, pool going, playground finding, daddy stopping by for lunch, summer night walks to get flowers, cartoon watching, cuddles on the sofa reading books, and much much more.  I hope Addie and Drew have enjoyed their summer because I know I have enjoyed mine. 

Happy Birthday America!!!!

The Sanders' celebrated the 4th out west... that is West Tennessee with the rest of the Sanders!  This July has been a little strange in the weather department.  For our country's birthday the high was in the low 70s and very.very.rainy... but that did not stop us from having fun in the water, riding 4-wheelers and golf carts, and eating a lot of great food.  This day was made even greater because we got to bring our dear friends Dave and Renee with us for the fun. 

These girls were real troopers when they fell off unexpectedly.  Aly was awesome staying really close to Addie while Kyle jumped in to help.  Them telling the story was really fun.

Addie is ready to celebrate!

Hayden taking in the river.

Kyle relaxing on the tube... Poppy was being really careful aka too slow for Kyle.

Captain Poppy and Drew.

My Crazy Photo Bomber Brother In Law

Kyle made a blackberry pie with the fruits from Ninnie and Poppy's berry picking walk.

It was really good considering Kyle could not look at a recipe because we do not get Internet at the river... something he forgot about the day before when he was looking up pies.  He has a great memory.

Our Independence Day continued to the lake on Friday.  Clint and Kristen's awesome friends were nice enough to let us tag along... minus kids~ thank you Ninnie and Poppy for having an awesome camper.  We were able to soak in some sun before the bottom fell out of the sky and see some fantastic wake boarding.  

Kristen's brother Aaron showing his skills on the water.

Kyle watching and taking all the advice before his turn.

I was not brave enough to strap on a board so

 I just took the role of photographer... are you surprised??

Tripp loving the boat... this was taken when the boat was docked... he had a life jacket.

Clint jumping some wakes.  Funny thing about this boy... he can do this on the water but almost broke his ankle walking down some steps... oh that Clint.

Kyle giving it a whirl...

He still needs a little more time.

Our great host Corey.

Look at Kristen Go!!!

I think she was a little surprised.

 After fun times at the lake, we returned to the river for more tubing and fireworks.

Happy Birthday USA!!!!

Swim Time Anyone???

This summer has been full of my favorite summer past time... swimming!  This is about the only activity that can wear out both of my little peeps.  We have gone swimming in the ocean, lakes, rivers, and many.many.many pools.  Addie had swim lessons again this year and is just a little mermaid.  Last week she swam to the bottom of Uncle Clint's pool which is 9ft deep!  She can swim without stopping for hours... which I hear is just like her mommy when I was little.  

Drew has been a little more of a "lifeguard" this summer.  He has not really wanted to get in the water or put on his swimmys but Kyle has made some progress with him and this past weekend, Drew swam in the pool... with swimmys... for about two hours!  

I LOVE Summer!!!!

Summer Camps...

Today both of my kiddos went to summer camp for the day.  

This little fella was not very excited about going to preschool camp.  Sometimes I just don't get kids because, Drew's camp was at church... with several of his friends... with teachers that he sees on a regular basis... but he still was a very sad camper when I left.  Lucky for me and for himself, he snaps out of the whinnies and had a great day.  The kids are learning about the seasons and Drew was happy to tell us after camp, they talked about Spring,  rainbows, and butterflies.  After preschool camp, the boy who NEVER takes a nap on a regular basis, slept for 3 hours. 

 

On the flip side, this pretty little girl woke up bright and early ready to go.  She came down the stairs with her clothes and a big smile.  Addie is going to Camp Renaissance for the week from 8-5!!!  She gets to repel, tube, swim, shoot a BB gun, archery, rock climb, explore a cave, zip line.  She came home today very tired and very hungry but ready for more tomorrow.  Her favorite thing about camp so far... spending the whole day with Aubree!  The funny for today's camping experience... Aubree lost her shoes at camp and Addie "came to the rescue" with her extra pair. 

So what did I do with no little people??

I found out my class list for this year... went to the Doctor for a check up... did some retail therapy... cleaned the floors in the kitchen... three loads of laundry... and talked to three friends uninterrupted.