Tired

This summer Beckham got to the age where he doesn't need a nap everyday. There are some days that by the time 6:00 rolls around he is exhausted and both of us wished he had taken a nap. Unfortunately Ainsley is already starting to drop her nap too. I blame her dropping her naps on the paci fairy. She was always a great napper until she gave her paci to the paci fairy. When she doesn't nap I wish the paci fairy would bring it back so she would nap and I could get some stuff done. I guess I was lucky Beckham lasted this long with naps. Don't these kids realize naps are the best. When they're older they'll be wishing for naps.

Even if they don't take naps the kids have "quiet time" for an hour everyday. It's time for them to play and relax in their room so I can get things done around the house. On numerous occasions I have gone in to tell them quiet time is over and when I open the door they'll be asleep with toys in their hands. They must fall asleep in the middle of playing. The other day Beckham had put all his toys and animals (Ainsley's too) on his train table. When I walked in I saw him asleep ON the train table laying on all the toys. From the look of his room he had been playing hard. I think he played with every toy or at least he moved every piece from it's original place of origin.

When we were at my parents house Monte went to check on Ainsley and she was asleep on top of a bunch of puzzle pieces. To top it off she was naked. I guess she had gone to the bathroom and didn't put her underwear on. We got a picture but for privacy reason's I won't post it. I did get a picture of Beckham asleep on the train table. It just goes to show you that if they are tired they will sleep anywhere.

Great Imagination

Beckham has the best imagination. I have come to the conclusion that he doesn't need any toys. He has always been happy with playing with everyday objects and turning them into what ever his little mind can think of. Monte got an office chair for Father's Day and Beckham turned the box into a rocket. It has all the buttons, rocket boosters, door and more. He has literally played in his rocket almost everyday since making it in June. The other week we went to my parents lake house and he found an old moving box and turned it into a boat ferry. If you went into his room you might think we were moving since he has two big boxes (his rocket and his ferry). The other week he was busy playing in his room and came down stairs asking for water. Water? What do you need water for was my response. For my garden mom - come see. So I went to his room and he opened his "secret hiding place" in his bed and showed me his garden. He has drawn pictures of flowers and vegetables and put them in rows to make a garden. He took care of his garden by watering it with pretend water for a week before turning his secret hiding place into something else. I love his imagination and think that from now on we'll just give the boy boxes because he truly plays with them more than toys. Here's a picture of his garden - it doesn't do it justice. It was really cute and imaginative. Each paper has a flower or vegetable and the ones leaning agaist the wall and side were the ones that had already grown.

Scripture

I am quickly learning the importance of memorizing and quoting scripture aloud. I have always known it was important but never really did it. I used my poor memory as my excuse for not doing it. We'll I've been trying to work memorizing scripture and have enlisted Beckham to help. I wish I had his memory. I can say a verse a few times and he typically remembers it the rest of the week when we say it.

I've tried to tell him it's important to know scripture so when you are in a situation where you need guidance or peace you can recall it and feel better. Well, the other morning we had a big thunder storm roll through our neighborhood (which is rare because it never rains here). Beckham came in and woke me up and said, "mom, the thunder was scaring me so I said - 'The Lord is with me' and I wasn't scared anymore." How awesome is that!! Not only is he remembering scripture and the stuff we talk about but he is using it and living it. I just pray he continues to grow in his faith and dependence on God.

Fun in the Kitchen

The kids and I had a lot of fun yesterday making Silly Sam (or Spikey Sam). I think he looks cool and am proud of him. The weather has been really hot here so we decided to stay inside and have a craft day. After going to the store to get supplies we made Sam and a few other crafts. Watching the kids made me remember how hard it is to wait and be patient when you are 5 and 3 (actually it still is). Once the batter was made they wanted to decorate it right away. I had to explain that it needed to cook first. When the kitchen timer finally went off they were so excited to decorate it only to be met with disappointing news that they had to wait even longer for it to cool. Luckily it was lunch and nap time. Time goes by faster when your asleep. After nap time you would have thought it was Christmas Ainsley popped out of bed (which is unusual because she tends to take a little while to get going after a nap) and asked "is it cold now - can we decorate the cake?" The kids did a nice job and were very good about not eating the Hershey kisses. They both only ate one the whole time decorating. When I was that age I don't think many of the Hershey kisses would have made it onto the cake. Anyways, it was a fun day in the kitchen.

I'll Play - Tag

The Rules: Answer the questions using only one word.Then tag four others.

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Your significant other? Monte
3. Your hair? long
4. Your mother? Godly
5. Your father? leader
6. Your favorite thing? music
7. Your dream last night? forget
8. Your favorite drink? water
9. Your dream/goal? success
10. The room you’re in? office
11. Your hobby? workout
12. Your fear? failing
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Austin
14. What you’re not? touchy
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. One of your wish list items? health
17. Where you grew up? NOVA
18. The last thing you did? dishwasher
19. What are you wearing? clothes
20. Favorite gadget? none
21. Your pets? none
22. Your computer? slow
23. Your mood? exhausted
24. Missing someone? yes
25. Your car? works
26. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
27. Favorite store? Target
28. Like someone? Husband
29. Your favorite color? yellow
30. When is the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? awhile

That was hard. Some answers would have been different but I couldn't think of how to make it one word. If anyone else wants to give it a try be my guest.

Wilderness Adventure

What do King Kong, Marshmallows, and smurfs all have in common? The camping trip that Beckham and I took. Let me explain. A few weeks ago I got an email from a good friend in Chicago. He was bringing a group of guys from the HS youth group I used to work with down to the Smokies to do some camping. Beckham has been asking to sleep in a tent for months (although Julie had thought maybe the playroom or the backyard was a good place to start). So Beckham and I made a trip to Target to buy a sleeping bag, camp food, bug spray and the next thing you know we are in the car heading for Tennessee. Four short hours (roughly 2.3 DVDs in kid time) we arrived in historic Gatlinburg.

Gatlinburg can best be described as a red neck's Vegas. All of the velvet - just no Elvis. I had been when I was about Beckham's age so we had to park and see what had changed in 20 years. Not much - its still a blur of candy stores, t-shirt shops, those bears carved out of huge logs, and the Ripley's Believe it or not (yeah - believe it or not you just paid $17 to see a plastic replica of the bearded lady). Beckham of course was very impressed with the glitz. He was especially taken with the 30 foot King Kong in front of the wax museum. He had never seen King Kong so when I told him the story he said - "that is a very sad story - lets take pictures". Maybe he is heading for a career in journalism.

After we pryed ourselves away from the lights of Gatlinburg it was time to go to the Great Smokie National Park to set up camp for the night. We checked in with the park rangers and found our friends camp site. I had borrowed a 2 man tent from a friend at work. I remember thinking when I picked it up that it seemed really light - tent technology has come a long way. When we unrolled it I discovered that 2 man tent really should be more like a 2 smurf size tent. I think when they size tents they still must be using dimensions from the 1700s when the average height was 5 ft. Even Beckham felt a little cramped in there.

After setting up the 2 smurf size tent we met up with our friends and looked around for animals. We spotted a huge woodpecker and some deer. Then it was time for a traditional camp dinner. Beckham had selected a hot dog main course, fritos on the side, and a Smore for dessert. While he enjoyed the Smore - he quickly became impatient with the process and said "Dad can we just eat the marshmallows out of the bag - this takes too long". Then it was time for stories around the camp fire. And of course that night he insisted that we both sleep at the feet end because that was where the screen was an we could watch for falling stars and bears. We were wedged in there cheek-to-cheek for hours. I had forgotten that feeling the next morning after sleeping on the ground then getting the first waft of bacon on an open fire. It really is a great way to wake up.

In the morning there was a deer walking through our campsite and Beckham was looking to feed him poptarts but the deer didn't seem interested. Then it was time to pack up and do a few little park hikes on the way out. We saw some rapids and few waterfalls. It really is a very scenic park. Beckham especially loved the waterfalls. Although he quickly decided that instead of the ranger hike at 11 - he preferred to go see King Kong again and a McDonalds happy meal. So with that we were off for some fast food and then the four hour trip home for a much needed shower.

Bag of Marshmallows - $1.19
New sleeping bag - $30
2 tanks of gas - $86
Spending two days with Beckham on his first camping trip - priceless

R&R at "His Way Inn"

This weekend we went to my parents lake house for the weekend. We got there on Thursday night after Monte got off work. Monte's job allows him to work from anywhere there is a phone line, Internet, and cell phone reception. So we have taken advantage of that by going to my parents on Thursday nights to get a jump on the weekend. The kids and I play in the pool on Friday while Monte works and then we still have 2 more days to enjoy the Lake house. It is so peaceful and relaxing there. I love to work out on their back deck over looking the trees and lake. what a great and peaceful way to start the morning.

On Friday we went blueberry picking. There is a farm a mile down the road from my parents. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a ball picking them. According to Beckham there was a contest to see who could pick the most. (you can tell he has a lot of Scott in him). We picked blueberries for a little over an hour. We were having so much fun we would have picked longer but we already had picked 8 pounds!! I'm trying to figure out what to do with all of them. The rest of the day was spent in the pool.

Saturday was an adventure for our memory bank. We headed out to the Jockey Lot (AKA a flea market) hoping to find treasures. Once we got there (1 hour and 45 minutes later) we were a little disappointed at all the junk. Monte kept saying shopping on the streets in Mexico would have been a step up and he was probably right. By the way, it typically doesn't take almost 2 hours to get there but the Internet had the wrong address which we put in our GPS. We were driving along and all the sudden "Emma" (that's what we call our GPS voice) said, "you have reached your destination" we all looked around, looked at each other and busted out laughing. We were in the middle of no where. There was nothing for miles. We decided to drive down the road where "emma" said was our destination only to come across a sign that said "end of county maintenance" and led to a gravel road. After calling the number for the Jockey Lot we realized the Internet said South 29 and it was supposed to be north 29. North and South make a big difference. Keep in mind the kids are hungry, Ainsley is crying and we had no clue where we were or where we were going. But we got there and did find a golf bag for Monte and some "junk" (I mean treasures) for the kids. The rest of the day was spent in the pool and on the lake.

Sunday was a bit of the same - church, boating, pool then we packed up and headed home. Letting the kids swim for a few hours before leaving is the way to go. They were so exhausted they fell asleep before leaving my parents neighborhood.

We had a great time and I'll post pics if Meggo emails me some (or you can check out her blog and see pics from the weekend.).