Okay, call me a pessimist, but my glass of summer is now half empty! With the end of June comes the last full month of summer vacation and the realization that I have yet to accomplish all the things I have put of until summer-"When I'll have time to do them!" Knowing that the "To-Do List" looms large and long, I chose to play all weekend with my kids.
Friday, we went to Dollywood yet again. To those of you who faithfully read this blog, you must think that we are Dolly-obsessed, but it's honestly not that, it's just that I have this overwhelming desire to get my money's worth out of those season passes! Of course, we made up the purchase price the very first week we had them! This trip was so much fun! We left early (10:00), after my weekly therapy session with my WVMS BFFs at Panera. Erica Pack offered to drive the "book mobile" so we'd have the luxury of free gas! We piled all the kids in the van and off we went! We made a short stop at McDonalds for lunch to save us some cash at the park and the kids scarfed their Happy Meals in the car. The Packs have seen a side to Dollywood that we hadn't discovered yet. We toured Dolly's travel bus, explored her closets in Chasing Rainbows, tried her wigs on our heads (scary), and were serenaded by some wax men that eerily resembled corpses! The Packs also put us onto some awesome rides! Daredevil Falls is a new favorite of the Crawford kids. ThunderRoad kinda freaked Sam out but that was just because he didn't have time to "warm up" to the idea of riding it. Our trip was slightly detoured by a rumble of thunder than caused Sam to shift into meltdown mode. For some strange reason, he has become terrified of thunderstorms. Even a little wind causes him to lose it these days. He'll grab my arm and plead, "Mom! Let's pray to God!" When I ask him what he wants to pray, he'll say for the storm to stop and go away, but I'm trying to help him understand that God is in control, and thunderstorms are good things. We've got a long way to go! In spite of that minor setback, we had a great time and the kids got along wonderfully if you don't count the occasional, "...but I don't want to ride THAT ride!" spoken in fluent "Whine-ese!" All in all the day was good, and I enjoyed spending time with my youngest new friend, Erica. By the time we headed back to Knoxville, we had decided that a "date night" was in order for her and her main squeeze, Noel and that Tom and I would take over Kid Duty. Admittedly, I had to twist her arm a little, but I think the bruises will heal in time and she and Noel made a night of it! Tom and I took the kids to the Pizza Kitchen and were pleasantly surprised to meet up with Dale, Gerda, and Rose Mayo. We spent about two hours catching up with them while the kids ran wild in the grassy lot outside. By the time we finished up and headed for home, Noel and Erica were waiting the driveway to reclaim their young. And that, my friends, sums up Friday!
Saturday was a much slower paced day. I fully intended to go for a long, early morning walk, but those dog-gone Karen Kingsbury/Gary Smalley books have consumed my "free" time and my walk just didn't happen, but I DID finish the third book in the series. The highlight of the day was Addie and Taylor's entrepreneurial spirit in setting up the first lemonade stand of the summer. They racked in $17 in about two hours! Those girls have got it going on! Once Taylor had to go home, we took the kids to Grandmom's house and Tom and I went to Aubrey's at Papermill to cash in a gift card from my students. As we were enjoying our meal outside on the deck, a HUGE thunderstorm rolled in behind us, but we managed to finish and pay our check before the big winds hit. Tom wanted to show me a "classic" ice cream stand off of Central Avenue because he knows how much I love Dip Cones, probably more accurately called, "Dipped Cones," but it's one of those things like "Sweet Tea." It should really be called, "Sweetened Tea." The only time that kind of thing really bugs me is when someone says, "Unsweet Tea," 'cause I just have an overwhelming desire to say "UnsweetENED" out loud to fix it. Nonetheless, we drove across town barely ahead of a major severe thunderstorm only to find out that the Tasty-Freeze was closed. "The moose out front shoulda told ya!" went through my mind and made me smile to myself a little. Disappointed, Tom and I headed back across town through the thick of the storm to pick up our children, but first, he wanted to run by the Slacks' to pick up the key to their lakehouse. Once again, Tom drags me into someone home unannounced for an impromptu visit. We stayed for about an hour and chatted about Facebook, our old kids, WestLake, small group, and life in general. I must admit that I enjoyed being with them and miss seeing them every week at church. FINALLY, we made it to Grandmom's house only to find that Addie had gone to Taylor's to spend the night. We decided Sam needed something special too, so we loaded him up and made a 10:30 run to Sonic for ice cream sundaes, and ice, of course! At last, we fell into bed exhausted...at least Sam and I did! Tom stayed up with Drew and waited for Chelcie to come home. He crashed on the couch watching Saturday Night Live, while I wrestled the night away prying Sam's bony little knees out of my back all night!
NorthStar Church is where I head every Sunday morning when I'm in town, and today was no exception! First, I had to go by Taylor's to pick up the girls, then Tom and Chelcie followed behind in the rental car Tom got for his trip to Georgia later this week. Church was good as usual. It was great to see Ed and Delaney back from the beach. Delaney sat with Chelcie and Ed sat with his brother, Michael and niece, Abby. I can't help but wonder what all the visitors thought when over half the church heads down to the altar to pray over each other. I wanted to go down to pray too, but then I figured God could hear me from my seat, so I prayed there. After church, we all went to Chili's. Ed and Delaney joined us! Drew was already there with the WestLake youth. We saw Hailey Brooks there too. I sure do like those quesadilla explosion salads! Dee-lish-us! When we finally finished our lunch, Chelcie, Addie, Sam, and I went home and Tom followed close behind after chatting with the WestLake Crew one more time. I made a bee-line for my bed as I was craving a nap and some more time with my book. Oh those Baxters! What will happen next? Late in the afternoon, Addie and I went for a walk around the block and I had the opportunity to start laying the groundwork for our birds and bees talk. She's eight years old already and I don't want her to be confused by what she's sure to hear at school this year. After a trip around the block, we walked up to Grandmom's house to chat with Papaw and Grandmom on the back porch and admire their new fence. Actually, their neighbors put up a fence to shield them from having to witness all of us and our kids hanging around the driveway all the time. Bless 'em! I hope they enjoy their solitude. Mean people frustrate me! I mean, what happened to them along the road of life that caused them to be so hateful? Kill 'em with Kindness is what Tom always reminds me when I want to vandalize their property and make fun of them. Guess Tom is right, ...this time.
We finished off the day with a trip out to Lakeshore Park to attempt to fly a kite. Ummm, let's just say that sounded like a good idea on paper, but it just didn't work out as we'd planned. Addie ran around like an Olympian and Tom and I both realized that she needs to channel her energy into some type of sport. He says soccer, I'm not sure yet. Believe it or not, we were back home for dinner. We had quite a smorgasbord-bagel bites, tomato-basil pasta, cinnamon toast crunch, and wheat thins. Maybe when my kids grow up they'll crave Sunday dinner "like their momma used to make!" Ya' think?
Friday, we went to Dollywood yet again. To those of you who faithfully read this blog, you must think that we are Dolly-obsessed, but it's honestly not that, it's just that I have this overwhelming desire to get my money's worth out of those season passes! Of course, we made up the purchase price the very first week we had them! This trip was so much fun! We left early (10:00), after my weekly therapy session with my WVMS BFFs at Panera. Erica Pack offered to drive the "book mobile" so we'd have the luxury of free gas! We piled all the kids in the van and off we went! We made a short stop at McDonalds for lunch to save us some cash at the park and the kids scarfed their Happy Meals in the car. The Packs have seen a side to Dollywood that we hadn't discovered yet. We toured Dolly's travel bus, explored her closets in Chasing Rainbows, tried her wigs on our heads (scary), and were serenaded by some wax men that eerily resembled corpses! The Packs also put us onto some awesome rides! Daredevil Falls is a new favorite of the Crawford kids. ThunderRoad kinda freaked Sam out but that was just because he didn't have time to "warm up" to the idea of riding it. Our trip was slightly detoured by a rumble of thunder than caused Sam to shift into meltdown mode. For some strange reason, he has become terrified of thunderstorms. Even a little wind causes him to lose it these days. He'll grab my arm and plead, "Mom! Let's pray to God!" When I ask him what he wants to pray, he'll say for the storm to stop and go away, but I'm trying to help him understand that God is in control, and thunderstorms are good things. We've got a long way to go! In spite of that minor setback, we had a great time and the kids got along wonderfully if you don't count the occasional, "...but I don't want to ride THAT ride!" spoken in fluent "Whine-ese!" All in all the day was good, and I enjoyed spending time with my youngest new friend, Erica. By the time we headed back to Knoxville, we had decided that a "date night" was in order for her and her main squeeze, Noel and that Tom and I would take over Kid Duty. Admittedly, I had to twist her arm a little, but I think the bruises will heal in time and she and Noel made a night of it! Tom and I took the kids to the Pizza Kitchen and were pleasantly surprised to meet up with Dale, Gerda, and Rose Mayo. We spent about two hours catching up with them while the kids ran wild in the grassy lot outside. By the time we finished up and headed for home, Noel and Erica were waiting the driveway to reclaim their young. And that, my friends, sums up Friday!
Saturday was a much slower paced day. I fully intended to go for a long, early morning walk, but those dog-gone Karen Kingsbury/Gary Smalley books have consumed my "free" time and my walk just didn't happen, but I DID finish the third book in the series. The highlight of the day was Addie and Taylor's entrepreneurial spirit in setting up the first lemonade stand of the summer. They racked in $17 in about two hours! Those girls have got it going on! Once Taylor had to go home, we took the kids to Grandmom's house and Tom and I went to Aubrey's at Papermill to cash in a gift card from my students. As we were enjoying our meal outside on the deck, a HUGE thunderstorm rolled in behind us, but we managed to finish and pay our check before the big winds hit. Tom wanted to show me a "classic" ice cream stand off of Central Avenue because he knows how much I love Dip Cones, probably more accurately called, "Dipped Cones," but it's one of those things like "Sweet Tea." It should really be called, "Sweetened Tea." The only time that kind of thing really bugs me is when someone says, "Unsweet Tea," 'cause I just have an overwhelming desire to say "UnsweetENED" out loud to fix it. Nonetheless, we drove across town barely ahead of a major severe thunderstorm only to find out that the Tasty-Freeze was closed. "The moose out front shoulda told ya!" went through my mind and made me smile to myself a little. Disappointed, Tom and I headed back across town through the thick of the storm to pick up our children, but first, he wanted to run by the Slacks' to pick up the key to their lakehouse. Once again, Tom drags me into someone home unannounced for an impromptu visit. We stayed for about an hour and chatted about Facebook, our old kids, WestLake, small group, and life in general. I must admit that I enjoyed being with them and miss seeing them every week at church. FINALLY, we made it to Grandmom's house only to find that Addie had gone to Taylor's to spend the night. We decided Sam needed something special too, so we loaded him up and made a 10:30 run to Sonic for ice cream sundaes, and ice, of course! At last, we fell into bed exhausted...at least Sam and I did! Tom stayed up with Drew and waited for Chelcie to come home. He crashed on the couch watching Saturday Night Live, while I wrestled the night away prying Sam's bony little knees out of my back all night!
NorthStar Church is where I head every Sunday morning when I'm in town, and today was no exception! First, I had to go by Taylor's to pick up the girls, then Tom and Chelcie followed behind in the rental car Tom got for his trip to Georgia later this week. Church was good as usual. It was great to see Ed and Delaney back from the beach. Delaney sat with Chelcie and Ed sat with his brother, Michael and niece, Abby. I can't help but wonder what all the visitors thought when over half the church heads down to the altar to pray over each other. I wanted to go down to pray too, but then I figured God could hear me from my seat, so I prayed there. After church, we all went to Chili's. Ed and Delaney joined us! Drew was already there with the WestLake youth. We saw Hailey Brooks there too. I sure do like those quesadilla explosion salads! Dee-lish-us! When we finally finished our lunch, Chelcie, Addie, Sam, and I went home and Tom followed close behind after chatting with the WestLake Crew one more time. I made a bee-line for my bed as I was craving a nap and some more time with my book. Oh those Baxters! What will happen next? Late in the afternoon, Addie and I went for a walk around the block and I had the opportunity to start laying the groundwork for our birds and bees talk. She's eight years old already and I don't want her to be confused by what she's sure to hear at school this year. After a trip around the block, we walked up to Grandmom's house to chat with Papaw and Grandmom on the back porch and admire their new fence. Actually, their neighbors put up a fence to shield them from having to witness all of us and our kids hanging around the driveway all the time. Bless 'em! I hope they enjoy their solitude. Mean people frustrate me! I mean, what happened to them along the road of life that caused them to be so hateful? Kill 'em with Kindness is what Tom always reminds me when I want to vandalize their property and make fun of them. Guess Tom is right, ...this time.
We finished off the day with a trip out to Lakeshore Park to attempt to fly a kite. Ummm, let's just say that sounded like a good idea on paper, but it just didn't work out as we'd planned. Addie ran around like an Olympian and Tom and I both realized that she needs to channel her energy into some type of sport. He says soccer, I'm not sure yet. Believe it or not, we were back home for dinner. We had quite a smorgasbord-bagel bites, tomato-basil pasta, cinnamon toast crunch, and wheat thins. Maybe when my kids grow up they'll crave Sunday dinner "like their momma used to make!" Ya' think?
We had the BEST time! And thanks SO much for the date night, we had such a good time! Love you, Erica
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