Saturday Party

Yesterday we went to Uncle Richard and Aunt Charlcy's house to have an end of summer party and celebrate Grandma Sarah's upcoming birthday. We swam and ate wonderful food. Kyler was having so much fun that he didn't want to leave. So Leigh said he could spend the night with Jacob and she would bring him home after some back to school shopping. He had so much fun that he just fell over asleep last night for them and wasn't ready to come home to day. Thank you Jacob for being so good to him.

Two Brave Mamas...

We got home from our vacation Saturday afternoon but it has been running ever since. We had a great time on St Simons Island, Georgia with Aunt Kelli, Caitlin, and Matthew. While we were there we got to see all of Grammy's family. We REALLY missed Daddy and wished he would have been able to be there but we are planning our trip for next year now and making sure he will be able to join us. We stopped in Mobile, Alabama both ways to see Nana and Buddy and either spend the night or get a break from the car! Uncle KC, Nana and Buddy all enjoyed getting to play with the kids and they had a blast showing them all their "stuff". The tunnel leaving Mobile to the East was the treat of the trip, the kids kept asking to go through the tunnel. We had plenty of beach time, found a really cool playground, rode bikes built for 6 around the island, visited the Nature Center and Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island. Every time Kyler talked to someone on the phone he talked about the BIG turtle he saw and how his legs were wings but he was swimming. It is fascinating to hear their interpretations of life these days! Mandy screamed when the water touched her for the first time but by our second trip to the beach we couldn't get her out of that beautiful Atlantic Ocean. Lots of sand castles were built and destroyed and tons of fun was had. We grilled out and ate wonderful food, thanks to Aunt Kelli for a few new easy recipes. Caitlin really enjoyed the shopping of the trip we can really tell she is becoming a teenager. Matthew and Kyler got along famously for two kids not used to having another 3 year old around 24/7. We had only minor squirmishes no major fights, awesome. Aunt Kelli and I were so tired of hearing "MAAAMAAAA" that on the trip home we changed our names to Sandy and Jesse. We really should have been a commercial for Chevy and their traveling accessories for this trip OH the baggage when two moms take 4 kids on the road alone! All in all and excellent trip and we were exhausted when we got home. Excited to see Daddy and ready to take a nap! Definitely worth it and would do it again...There were too many pictures to choose from so I will just post one of the crew.

Morning at the lake...

This morning we went to play at the lake with Grammy and Poppy. The kids wanted to go straight from feeding the fish to getting in the water so away we went! Swimming, fishing and lunch, who could ask for more? A beautiful dragonfly found a friend in Mandy and hung around on her for a long time and she didn't seem to mind if she even noticed he was there. Lunch as good and they were both asleep before I got on the highway.

Splash Factory

Our cousins day this week was a morning at Splash Factory, a neat little water park that Aunt Erica discovered with her playgroup. It was a perfect morning for it, warm but not HOT. We took a picnic lunch in our Rangers lunch boxes and played and ate and played some more. The kids had a blast, so much that Mandy was asleep before we were out of the parking lot, and to top it off they are still napping!

Goulding Family Pictures

Ohhh, the adventure of getting family pictures made is tough and entertaining for one family but for an extended family like ours multiply that by 4! It was hilarious and maybe a little painful. For the most part the kids (of all ages) were good. But just imagine the poor girl taking the pictures of the 14 of us (6 that are 3 and under). I am positive she was thankful when our shoot was over.
For simply surviving and not throwing any MAJOR fits we all took the kids to CiCi's Pizza for lunch. Since it was a late lunch we went for the closest thing to instant gratification as cheaply as possible. It was good too.

Cousin day

Today was another day for the Goulding cousins to play! This time we met at Aunt Kelly's and the kids made their own pizzas! Oh what fun and what a mess! They sure seemed to enjoy eating it as much as making it. Mandy really enjoyed feeding cousin Megan the whole visit whether it was her water or pizza. All six had a great time playing together, what a fun thing for them to be able to do.

A day of Firsts for everyone!

Today we had several firsts for our family. The first and biggest one is Kyler's first Dentist appointment. Wow, let me tell you about our adventure. We chose a very special pediatric dentist who sends the kids a Dinobrush book with their name in it about your first visit to the dentist and then a DVD comes to them a few days later for them to watch about going to the dentist and taking care of your teeth. Kyler loves to brush his teeth so that is not a problem. We did learn that we should have started flossing as soon as the teeth started touching each other! Lesson for Mama. He also received a picture to color and when he brought it to them he got a PRIZE! Yep, a prize. The office staff was wonderful and the toy corner really relaxed Kyler before going back which was a MUST for this visit to be a success since he worked himself up so badly getting there that he threw up on himself. Sparing Mama's new car but not his clothes! Thank goodness I had a spare outfit because normally I don't carry all that for him anymore. Ms Carol was AMAZING! She was so good with the kids, Kyler didn't whine until I came back from changing Mandy's diaper. They were so good and patient that Dr. Strole must me a gift from God. The only crying or screaming came from Mandy when Dr. Strole went to look in her brother's mouth with those funny glasses on...she wasn't falling for it. So in 6 months she will stay with Gran when Kyler goes back for his cleaning and etc.


The next first was Mandy's first haircut! Well, it was really more of a trim but Gran was a great stylist and Mandy was very good (better than her brother during his cut!). We just trimmed and evened it up to help it stay healthy and grow. She also got to return to the old school while Gran showed us all how to put a cloth diaper on a child!! Yep, my first was that I ran out of diapers and had to run to the store no thanks to Pampers whose tabs kept ripping off. That is what I get for buying name brand! Mandy was sporting her hair with a stylish cloth diaper...

Swim Break

Tonight when I filled up the pool for the kiddos to play, guess who joined in? Yep, DADDY! He decided there were a lot of things it is too hot for being outside since he works in the heat but for this we needed to wait for him to put his swimsuit on. So, here are some Daddy swim time pictures...

Door hangers

Today's weekly tiny tots class was foam door hangers that the kids got to finger paint. Oh what fun. Mandy once again let us know there was NO WAY she was putting her fingers in the paint but Kyler had a blast finger painting his door hanger and the table paper. The best news for me was that they are doing these classes on Saturday mornings too so now we can keep doing this together after I go back to work! I am so glad I will still be able to spend this time doing something different with them! Unfortunately, we are nearing the end of my time at home way too quickly.

4th of July Late!

Last night we went to see the delayed fireworks in Cleburne. We did a picnic supper at the lake in Daddy's truck and went to visit Grandma and Grandpa (ice cream, M&Ms and cookies) before the show. We were a little worried about the noise and Kyler but he LOVED it! He didn't even cover his ears, he said "its not too loud - it is funny and cool." Mandy was fascinated and just watched in amazement. She wouldn't sit down, partially because of how tired she was by then I am sure! It was a great family outing.