A Piece of Heaven on Earth: July 2011

Beatrice and Millie came to our house around noon to spend the entire day with our family. Patrick and Willa had a wedding and we were thrilled to have the kids for the evening. Both Matty and Bea decided they wanted to play with each other instead of nap, so they were outside with Adam for a long time. Meanwhile, Tyler slept until 5:00 and I stayed with Millie while she did a good job sleeping too. We eventually played with the slip and slide and just had lots of fun hanging outside. All the kids got along beautifully and Millie was such a tropper. Pasta was for dinner and ice cream cones were the big hit for dessert. It was so cute just watching the cousins eating and talking together during dinner. I got Matty and Bea settled in bed by about 7:00 and got to spend a little time with Mille before she drifted off to sleep. All in all the kids were so good. It seems like everyone had a great time and hope we can do it again some time.

We did have a "big" conflict in the evening. It was the last day of the fair which meant demolition derby day along with fireworks. It's like Christmas day for Tyler and he's really been talking about it for quite some time. So Adam left with Tyler around 6:15 for the big night out! They finally arrived home just before 10:00 and Tyler was pumped! He was telling me all about the trucks and how some caught on fire and there were "real" fireman there. And this is the first time he seemed excited about fireworks and not nervous. He told me they were "beautiful and so colorful"!!! Adam said it was a special night and Ty was so well-behaved and just really into everything that was happening. I especially loved hearing his version of everything in retelling it all to me. So sweet.

It was a great, memorable day for all of us!

What a busy, fun filled day! It started with the boys each making a tow truck at Lowes. Then Ty and I left for the Fulton Theater to see "The Little Mermaid" on stage. He seemed to really enjoy himself and was clapping all the time and participating when the audience was asked. It was a special date just the two of us. We had fun talking about the show the whole way home. He liked it so much that he wants to see more shows (which I think is a great idea!).

After everyone woke up from naps, we played outside and decided it would be the perfect night for a family camp out. While I was making fish sandwiches for dinner, Adam took the boys tubing down the creek. We then had smores. I think both boys might of eaten half the bag of marshmallows by themselves.

Then we got our PJ's on, brushed teeth, and got the tent ready for the night. Tyler was so excited and has been asking us to go camping for a while now.

We spent a LOT of time in the tent just hanging out and getting comfortable. Tyler loved having his own sleeping bag. It was about 85 outside but insisted on being inside the bag all snuggled up.

We read at least 6 or 7 books. It was about 8:00 and I could tell Tyler was starting to get a little sleepy. He snuggled up next to me and was so happy to being reading so many books. Meanwhile, Matty was being so silly and crawling everywhere wrestling with all of us, rolling around, and laughing. I think all those marshmallows gave him a sugar buzz.

We were telling silly stories and Tyler kept farting. There was about 20 minutes of silly boy humor laughing at farts, poops, and peeing. So silly, but we got some great laughs out of it. Then around 8:30-8:45 we spotted the first lightning bugs of the season. Ty was sooo excited and it might have been the first time Matty ever saw them too.

First, Tyler and I went out to catch the lightning bugs. We spent a good 20 minutes running around the yard. It was such a joy for me to see him so happy and thrilled about something like this. Adam was trying to settle Matty down but it wasn't working and Tyler ran over to the tent and invited them both to come out and catch some bugs with him. Matty was just as happy. Tyler was so good at the catching them and as soon as he got one when Matty was out, he ran right over and gave it to Matty. It was so sweet and made Matty so, so happy. We all ran around catching lightning bugs for a long time. I really didn't want the moment to end.

At one point Adam disappeared and said he'd be right back with a surprise. He ran into the barn and I was thinking to myself "what could be possibly be getting in there?". Then he came out with some leftover sparklers. The boys loved it! A perfect way to end the evening.

It took quite a bit for everyone to fall asleep but eventually they did. For a good 20 minutes Matty sat in the dark paging through some books and then finally wen to sleep. Tyler was lying next to me and was quite but we kept looking at each other and smiling. It was finally some time after 10:00 when he finally drifted off to dreamland. I didn't sleep much, but LOVED looking at all my boys fast asleep in the tent together. Every once in a while Tyler would moved around and I'd get an elbow or leg, but I didn't mind. There was something so special about all of us being so snug in there together. Around 7:15 in the morning the boys so sweetly woke up and we hung out for a bit just reading books. All in all, our first family camp out was a great success!!! One of the first things Tyler said when he woke up was if we could do it again tonight. That's a good sign and a great night!