Swim lessons are still going on this week but in the absence of 5000 other things, driving to White Haven each day seems like a piece of cake!! Our little fish has sprouted some fins and gills...he is doing GREAT. He can blow bubbles, get his face wet, and kick with the best of them (though he is reluctant to move his arms). His party trick, however, is dunking underwater. He holds his breath, goes under, and pops back up!!
The lessons are in a friend's lake development, and I am so glad we decided to do them. The instructor is awesome with the kids (anyone who can get up to 9 toddlers to listen while bobbing offshore is a hero in my book!) but also, the kids really are learning to swim!! Its also really nice to hang out with my mom friends while the kids have the lesson, and then afterwards. We've been lucky with the weather--hot and sunny for the most part, and on the cloudy, stormy days we still seem to have escaped class being rained out.
Miss Melissa teaching Gabe, Nathaniel, and Annalise how to blow bubbles...
The end of our madness was the annual Dunwoody weekend. Dunwoody always has a looongg wait of anticipation, followed by the fastest weekend ever. I look forward to it so much every year, as does Gabe, and I think after this year G3 will too. We had a great time this year...it was hotter than any year I can remember--and Dunwoody is generally about 10 degrees cooler than anywhere around it, due to being situated deep in the woods. This year it was high 80's for sure. The kids had a blast playing, though G3 was not the nicest to little Collin, and both of the smaller children were pretty much wiped by Sunday. There was much eating and drinking. A lot of good conversation and companionship. The added element of CeeCee's presence (though not, much to G3's displeasure, Uncle Shawwwwn...)
Saturday is always the best day at Dunwoody...the morning starts off lazily (usually) with the regular attendants bumming around, some of them fishing at Mud Lake, my dad scurrying about like a squirrel in preparation for the arrival of others for the annual cookout. Around noon people start arriving...and this year's arrivals included my sister's high school BFF Shelby and her family...Shelby was a permanent fixture at Dunwoody weekends for many years growing up. We ate, celebrated the birthdays of Aidan and G3 (and I swear, we are done celebrating him now!!) and then the afternoon drifted lazily into evening. People separate into groups, commencing at the dock, or the pavillion, on the porch or among the scattered camping chairs. Wine glasses are full and very, very dirty children slowly start to melt down. We did sparklers this year, which is something I always remember from my Dunwoody years as a kid...though G3 and Collin were probaby too little, seeing as both of them managed to burn their fingers. OOPS.
Should also be noted for posterity that it was a terrible sleeping weekend for G3, though we did learn some things. One--he's totally old enough to know that when I say "Time for bed, everyone else is going to sleep too" I'm completely bullshitting him. Two--in attempt to change the scenery on Friday night around 11pm (while he was still crying and screaming) we moved the pack and play into our room. We have NEVER all slept in the same room, mainly b/c G3 is a light sleeper and G2 is terrible at sneaking into a room--not a good combination. But, it was a success Friday night. Saturday the monkey went down just fine, but he woke up due to an accident in his pack n play. I woke to the sight of Gabe holding G3 under one arm, a giant stuffed otter under the other, and attempting to change the bedding. He had stripped G3 of his jammies but, unable to find new jammies, had dressed him in plaid madras shorts and no undies. I told him to just give me G3, and put him in bed with me. (Gabe and I were in separate beds due to the heat and, you know, we're super romantic like that.) Anyhow-sleeping with G3 sucks!!! He moved alllllllll night long. But, since he's never actually fallen asleep in a bed with me or G2, I guess I'll consider it a win...
Lindsay, Shelby and Kellie...this pic was supposed to include the Dunwoody sign above us but it was cut off and sort of tilted. Possibly the photographer had too much wine. No names will be mentioned (Mom!)
Birthday madness! I've yet to see this level of excitement in an adult but I hope it still exists after age 3!
This is Dunwoody, in a nutshell.
This is a bit out of order, but it should be mentioned that our little July 4th gathering at the home of my cousin's husband's parents was a GREAT day. "Best July 4th ever", Gabe said, and those of you know him know that Gabe is hard to please. (Or, it could have been the Kosteva mojitos talking.) In any event, the day included a lot of swimming, drinking, eating really good food, and great company. There is never enough time for me and Erin, but we take what we can get, and this was a pretty good day. Also in attendance were Erin's mom Nanci and her fiance, and Ken's parents Ed and Jane (the hosts). Super highlight of the day was actually getting a really good picture of me, Erin and our boys--probably the first in the 10 months Max has been in existence!!!
Gonna have to save my tales of girl's nights out, friendships, and summer craziness for another post...things may have slowed down but not enough for me to write endlessly on a Tuesday morning!! I always consider Dunwoody the halfway point of summer...and while I am sad for it to be over, and sad that summer is already halfway gone, I am looking forward to a more relaxing 2nd half of summer--just soaking in the sun and hot air, swimming, late dinners and evenings of wine on the deck. Early mornings by myself with coffee while my little guy sleeps late to rejuvenate himself....dreading the fact that we keep moving closer and closer to the end of summer and the start of my nemesis...WINTER. Thank god fall exists as a buffer!!!
1 comment:
Great photos! I want to join your family - you have way too much fun! :)
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