Birthday Happies--June

Wow! June is a big month for birthdays in our family. We celebrated with (some in spirit) the following people:

Happy birthday,
Auntie Lala (Carla)
Ashley
Mom (Tomich)
Madison
Alex
Aunt Mistie
Hudson
Katherine
Jake
Stacy

Again...wow! There was a lot of celebrating going on, and we loved every minute of it!

Saddle Ridge Ranch

The theme of our church's VBS this year was "Saddle Ridge Ranch." I was looking forward to sending Jack each morning for a week, when my bible study leader and good friend Karen emailed me to ask me if I'd be interested in being the craft coordinator. Yes, of course, I was. So, all three of us (Sam was in the 2's/3's class for the volunteers kids) went to VBS. I have to be honest, there was a part of me that was mourning the loss of a low-key week with just Sam, so I was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was really fun to be the craft coordinator! Sam's teachers did a great job of trying to include his class in the VBS activities, and it was fun peeking in on him. He really treasured the take-home crafts from his classroom, including a picture frame that said, "Wanted...By God!" with his picture inside it. Roary was in the picture at the very bottom-left corner. He actually got a little upset that Roary's body was covered by the frame, so I told him he could peel back the picture to peek at Roary. He took the picture frame to nap with him, and when I went in to get him after nap, the frame was in pieces and Roary was freed! Sam held up the wooden scraps and said, "Roary, no, no, no!" He proceeded to carry that (frameless) picture around for a week. Jack had lots of fun and learned a lot, too! Noah and Katherine joined us for the week and even ended up in the same class as Jack.

From left: Sam, Noah, Katherine, and Jack on "Field Hand" Day.

Jack, Gallop, Sam, and Marshall Joe (Pastor Joe).

Boys of Summer

Jack in Dad's shades!

Sam in Dad's Shades!

The Arrival

It was time for a big boy bed. No big deal, since Jack's toddler bed converted to a full size head and footboard. All we really needed was a mattress. But when I told my husband about my plan to purchase a mattress at a discount store, he threw out the idea of getting a bunk bed. And proceeded to ask Jack (because we leave all our financial and furnishing decisions to a 4-year-old), "Jack, would you rather have a bunk bed?" Needless to say, we ended up at the furniture store with two crazy boys continuously climbing up and down ladders. An hour later, we left with a receipt and a delivery date. Jack counted down every single day until his bunkbed arrived. Finally, the infamous "delivery window" was upon us. We heard the beep! Beep! Beep! of the delivery truck just as we got the family seated for dinner. Jack was out of his seat before I could grab the camera. The first picture I got was a blurry Jack running to the front door...

Dinner still in hand, the excitement trumps the dinner table, but a boy's gotta eat.

Seven long days...finally, the bunk bed arrives!

They found a comfy seat on a mattress--unloading a big delivery truck is exciting action to take in!

I made the boys stay behind the railing--and out of the way of the delivery men--while the bed was brought in and assembled.

Piece by piece, the largest bed on earth is brought to Jack's room.

Jack sees the bed assembled in his room for the first time.

The bedding is on..he's preparing to sleep on the top bunk!

Wait! Daddy's turn to have some fun! Rick vacuums out the drawers built into the stairs.

Life is good on the top bunk.

Rick was nervous about letting Jack sleep on the top bunk. I looked at him and said, "Seriously? You bought him this bed, and you're not going to let him sleep on the top?" I told him to get over it, and reminded him that all I wanted to do was buy a discount mattress:)

Happy Father's Day!

We are blessed to have such great fathers and men in our lives. Rick, you are the boys' everything! They time their days by your departure and arrival. You make every activity better, and we love you very much! Other fathers of consequence in our lives include: Pepa; Papa; Uncles PP, Randy, Jason, Rod, Jim, and Chad; Mr. Shannon and Mr. Eric--we love you all so much! Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day Breakfast at The Flying Biscuit with the Lilly family

We ate breakfast in a beautiful courtyard and celebrated our dads

Loving some daddy/son time

Shannon and Ava enjoy some daddy/daughter time

Wicked!

Mistie and me after the show

I took my friend Mistie to see Wicked! at Ovens Arena for her birthday. It happened to be the last show in Charlotte, and the cast did not disappoint. Neither of us had seen it, so we were thoroughly entertained and pleasantly surprised at the humor. It was a cleverly written musical masterfully performed by the cast. Happy birthday, girl!

Sum, Sum, Summertime!

This was really the first day (back in May) that felt like summer in the Carolinas. It was hot and humid (our oh-so-fun weather combination that my hair just loves...please note the sarcasm). We went outside to play after naptime, and the clothes just started coming off! The water toys came out, and soon all of the kids were down to their undies. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the kids reveling in all things summer!

From left: Jack, Sam (dunking his head in the water table), Noah, Ava, and Katherine.

Jack and Noah brave a run through the sprinkler.

Sam has managed to get both wet AND dirty...such a talented little guy!

Truck Wash time

NASCAR Museum Grand Opening

On a rainy Tuesday morning in May, the boys and I headed uptown on the light rail (our fav mode of transportation) to the grand opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame Museum's grand opening. Fortunately (yes, you read that correctly), we missed all the ceremonies and ended up arriving as the crowds outside were thinning out because of the rain. We waited in line for about 5 minutes before getting our tickets. They were limiting people for entry, so our tickets weren't valid for another hour. We visited the gift shop, and the boys picked up some racecars and racing id's. Then, we had lunch at the BW3's attached to the museum. Finally, we were able to enter the museum. It was interesting to see that the racecars from the Cars movie were actually based on real cars! The boys enjoyed the real racecars that appear to be racing up the walls of the 2nd floor, the hands-on exhibits, and the kids' area. Even with the rain, I was so glad we went--even when people commented on the boys' racecars, saying, "Oh, you're a Junior fan, are you? That's my boy!" and neither I nor the boys had any clue what they were talking about. We just like the cars. They have cool stickers. They go fast. That's all we care about.

Jack shows off his personalized racing i.d. and lanyard at the lightrail station

At the entrance of the museum. We actually stayed fairly dry!

Jack changes a tire by loosening the lugnuts as Sam looks on

The Hudson Hornet from Cars!