Summer time

We have been keeping busy over here, and I've been trying to take the pictures to keep up with it all.  Cal is REALLLLLY into swimming right now, and wants to go to the pool all day every day.  It is SO hard to take both kids by myself, so we try to go whenever Eddie is not working/playing golf.  Yesterday afternoon, Cal couldn't even open his eyes they were so red from the chlorine.  We didn't go back after naps yesterday because his eyes looked so painful.  He has "gobbles" (a mask), but doesn't really use them... maybe he will start!

Because it is so difficult chasing Andy around the pool deck, I have not been able to get good video of Cal swimming.  He is gaining confidence and is swimming further and further.  He LOVES to jump in from the side and swim to us.  We are working on him taking a breath in the middle.  It would appear he can hold his breath for a long time because he doesn't take breaths! Just keeps his head down going going going! It's funny to watch him go. 

He got it in his head a few days ago that he wanted to go off of the "paddle board" which, we figured out is the diving board.  At our pool, you have to pass the deep end test to be able to go down the slide or go off the board.  That test consists of swimming the length of the deep end and treading water for 30 seconds.  We are working on that now... we have a ways to go, but he is determined!

When we aren't at the pool, here is a look at what we've been doing this week:

We went to Marbles Childrens Museum in Raleigh with my friend Sara and her two boys, Billy and Chalrlie (along with every child in the world, apparently)...

 They had a HUGE train table, which Cal just loved.... Andy also thought it was fabulous, since Cal won't let him touch anything to do with the trains at our house...

 These cages made me a tad nervous.  Didn't bother Cal though!

 The basketball hoops were a lot of fun... until some really big kids came in and dominated the area.  The little kids scurried out of there pretty fast.

 There was a toddler room, which was completely empty, and we had a ton of fun in there... loved this quote on one of the walls...

 The mushrooms lit up... Andy was amazed

 Charlie:

 Next, we went grocery shopping.  Cal took this job VERY seriously...

 Andy wanted to help too...

 Cal's basket was getting full, so he had to use his chin...

 And then he decided to use another basket... but he just took everything out of one basket and moved it to the other one... go figure.

 He wanted to wash dishes... wonder if I can train him to do that at home??

 After lunch and playing outside in the fountain, the kids were exhausted and soaked:

It was a lot of fun at the museum, even though it was crowded.  I would definitely go back again... but it was stressful trying to keep up with Cal and run after Andy while dodging in between school groups and big kids running.  Sara and I both commented on feeling super tense when we left.

These next two pictures just make me laugh...

Cal and Andy play SO well with Sara's boys, and we have similar schedules, so we got together with them again this past week.  We met at my mom's house. She has a bunch of fun toys in her basement, not to mention, she has my brother's old aircraft carrier down there.  The big boys played with cars and planes, while the little boys wrestled... how funny are they?

 Andy was CRACKING up while doing this....

After naps one afternoon, I took the boys to the pool to meet Eddie.  We've been swimming, eating dinner, and bathing out there.  It is a pain to prepare for the trip to the pool (SO much stuff to take!), but it is fabulous to come home from the pool and only have to brush teeth and drop into bed.... ahhhh.....

We were on the way to the pool to meet Eddie and Andy was holding his lamb...

 Speaking of Andy, I can NOT keep him out of the dishwasher! Seriously, I bet he opens this thing 50 times a day.  And, you might be thinking, who really cares if he opens the dishwasher? Well, this morning, he opened it, pulled out the bottom shelf, and found a steak knife.  Sweet.  I put all of the knives in the far back of the shelf, so if he is pulling out the shelf while I am doing something like....I don't know....PEEING....that I will hear it and can run out to get him before he finds them. 

Getting child locks for the dishwasher is on my to do list this week...

All of the swimming we've been doing is flat wearing Cal out.  We came home from the pool yesterday and he took a nap (praise the lord), but then woke up and said he was still tired.  So he curled up on the couch... looking pretty cute, if you ask me...

 A while ago I shared the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever.  I made some last night for the boys and they were a big hit...and a BIG mess! They went straight to the tub after this! haha

Today, we were just feeling extra grateful for the blessings in our life, and we really wanted to go to church to thank the good Lord for hooking us up :)  Honestly, we need to go more often.  I hate making excuses, but for a while there, it was REALLY hard with the napping schedule, etc... I have no excuses now.  Andy is still wanting to nap, but I am working on him dropping it since he will have "school" in the fall.
Anyway.... we had a great service and I am glad we went.  I thought my boys looked extra handsome today, so I took some pictures!

 And Andy appears to be ready for football season... can't say I blame him...

 Excuse me, young man....when did you become so OLD looking?  When we cut his hair, he is going to look SO old!

 So, that's about what we've been up to this week!

This week is going to be all about getting ready because...

On Saturday, Eddie and I are leaving the boys and heading here...

y'all, I am soooooo excited for a week long date night!