More August Fun

After our road trip to Iowa, my mom helped me drive back to Georgia with the boys. (Will had to fly home in order to be home for a course he was supposed to start that Monday.... which ended up being cancelled!)  Grayson loved having a whole week to Grandma without all the cousins around.  It was hot and humid..... as usual... so we managed to stick close to home or play at the mall most of the time.  But her trip wouldn't be complete without taking her to the children's museum!  We got there first thing in the morning and lasted a couple hours before we were all puddles of sweat. :)

Pic of the flower/garden beds at the museum that my mom wanted a picture of. :)

Grandma stayed for about a week before flying back to Washington.  Below are some more pictures of things we were up to in August

Car Painting

For those that haven't heard, I ended up getting offered a preschool teaching position at the school we had Grayson enrolled in while we were on our road trip.  While I had reservations about going back to work with an upcoming deployment drawing near, it definitely turned to be God's perfect plan!  I am able to take both the boys to work with me and childcare is provided for super cheap for teachers!  Grayson goes to the childcare room two days a week, then the other three he's in his 2 yr old class which he is loving!  I am teaching 4 year olds 5 days a week and the boys and I are home from work by 2 each day in time for afternoon naps. :)  I have 14 kiddos with a full-time assistant as well which is a piece of cake compared to teaching 26 kindergarteners with an assistant only parts of the day in the public schools!  Everything just worked out perfectly and our first official day of school/work was the day Will left for his month of training.  I noticed this month flew by while he was gone!  The 9 months he is deployed will be hard, but having a job and a set routine for the boys and myself will be great and hopefully those 9 months will pass by as quickly as this month of September has!

Back to work for mommy and boys headed to school!

Daddy built a fort in the living room 

Playing "jump jump" with Daddy outside Cracker Barrel 

First time fishing!

Mommy caught the fish!  Grayson didn't want to come near it! :)

These were some of our fun times in August!  More pictures to come for September... including Grayson on his first day of school!

Road Trip Part 4 - Fair, Friends, and FAMILY!

Okay... Okay!  I know these are WAY late!  This road trip was back in August and its now end of September!  With the start of school and Will being gone, I found this last month to be extremely busy with lots of late nights getting lunches and bags packed for school the next day.  Then there was cleaning to be done and work for school to finish up.  I was lucky to be able to sit down and just have time to relax before 10:30 most nights!  I have a lot of respect for those singles moms out there that do this every day for months/years on end by themselves!  So I found a couple more pictures from Adventureland that I wanted to share.  

"Fishing" ... he won a stuffed frog :)

The Iowa State Fair started the weekend we were in Des Moines.  Of course as many of you know, Will LOVES state fairs and so there was no way out of going at least once while we were there!  

Will's favorite spot at any fair... the food!

I should never send him to get food on his own... or else he'll come back with a TUB of cookies!

One of my favorite indulgences!  Fried Pickles!

Cousin Addie giving Ryley loves

After a morning at the fair, we went back to the hotel for some much needed naps before my cousins' wedding rehearsal dinner.  It was a great evening spent hanging out with family at the vineyard where my cousin, Jessica, was getting married.  It's been far to long since I've seen my aunts, uncles, and cousins so it was great to have the chance to chat and spend time together before a busy night with the wedding the next day.  

Ryley and Grandma Sand

Grayson getting Aunt Stephy

Uncle Gil was a big hit for Grayson!

The stickers kept him busy and in one spot for quite awhile!  As well as provided entertainment for us sitting by him. :)

Giving cousin Peter loves

The next morning after some family pictures were taken, Will and I met up with a long time friend, Cheryl.  Cheryl and I have known each other since 2nd grade when we moved to Iowa.  Even after we moved when I was in 4th grade, Cheryl and I have always kept in touch over the years.  Even though he go for long periods of time without talking on the phone or seeing one another, as soon as we get on the phone it seems like we can pick up right where we left off!  She lives right outside of Des Moines now with her husband and two little girls so we were able to get together downtown at the Farmers Market that Saturday afternoon and enjoy some lunch together.  My parents also met up with us for lunch with my niece, Addie.  I sure hope they can make a trip out here to Georgia sometime so we could spend more time together!!  

Addie, Grayson, and Chloe being preoccupied after lunch by the iPhone :)

Are we really this old to have kids?!

My cousin Jessica's wedding was that evening.  It turned out to be a great weekend with weather so the outdoor wedding in the vineyard was beautiful!  Grayson LOVED dancing at the reception and kept trying to go out on the dance floor when it was time to eat or listen to toasts.  It was a late night for the boys, but they seemed to do well and held it together long enough for mommy to enjoy some wedding pie before we went back to the hotel.  Grayson had a hard time staying in one spot (probably due to it being well past his bedtime before dinner was even served and trying to self-stem in order to stay awake)  We had to call it a night and be the first to leave while carrying Grayson off the dance floor with some kicking and screaming.  Overall, it was a great end to a memorable week with the Sand family!  :)

The Happy Couple!  Jessica and Casey

It was wonderful to see all of you (Sand family) during this trip!  Anytime you're looking for a warm place to visit during the cold midwest winters, our door is always open!  Love you all!  Thanks for all the wonderful memories!