Weekend getaway

This weekend Matthew and I gave the kids to my parents and we got a night away!! Yippee!! We went out to eat and to a movie Friday night....a real luxury for us! And Saturday we drove to the Hiddenite mine just outside of Statesville. Hiddenite is a gem that is only found in NC---it looks kinda like an emerald. We did not know what to expect from the mine but it was a lot of fun! Matthew and I chose to go creekin and sluicing. The creek was cold and surprisingly there were not any bugs! Matthew thinks we found more interesting rocks during the creekin which consisted of digging in the water and then shaking the pan to get rid of the sand and dirt and see what stones you came up with. The only problem was that we don't know enough about rocks to really recognize what we found:( The sluicing was easier on the body (no achy backs or knees) ....you sat down with a bucket of dirt and do the same thing as creekin in a waterway. We came away content, excited and very dirty!

Here are some pictures from our day away, I don't have any pictures of the kids with my parents because we had the camera! From all Kanayla has to say though, it sounds like the kids had a blast with their grandparents! Thanks again Mom and Dad for giving us a breather! And the next time we go to Hiddenite we are going to know more about rocks!

The grand Indoors!

So we spend a lot of time indoors....sometimes it is pure laziness but mostly it is because we are still in an apartment and therefore have no access to a convenient yard. I can't say that the kids seem to miss a yard all that much though.....they spend all of their time running around and jumping all over our couches!! Xavien and Kanayla are obessed with music. One of their favorite activities is to turn itunes on and dance around to music....mostly running laps around our kitchen. Ivie has tried to join in the fun but she gets run over by her siblings. Ivie has got to work on her speed and Xavien and Kanaya need to watch where they are going. Still it is hilarious to watch the kids get their groove on! :) The other favorite indoor activity is Couch Gymnastics. I have tried for years to get Kanayla to stop jumping off the arms of the couch but it hasn't worked yet. They do leaps, they do somersaults, they pull and push each other---all while laughing their eyes out. Only rarely do the couch gymnastics end in injury. Well I am glad they can entertain each other!

Paints, Father's Day and Parks

We have been busy the past few days!! On Saturday our stake had a softball tournament. Matthew was in charge of planning it and playing in it. I took the kids and played at the playground for a while. Ivie got to experience the baby swings and even though the pics do not show it...she was laughing. Xavien kept climbing up the playground and equipment and then refusing to slide down the slide. Silly boy! Still I wish I could find a decent park closer to us....


On Father's Day, Kanayla woke up Matthew with a card that she wrote saying "I love you Daddy!" She made it all by herself and was extremely proud of herself. I have been blessed to have a wonderful Father and husband in my life. I am very appreciative to all that Matthew and Dad do for me and the kids. Thanks you guys!

Today, I found a recipe for some puffy paint. All you do is mix equal parts of flour and salt. Add water and coloring and ta-da you have paint. You put the paint in squeeze bottles and the kids had a ball. Here is some examples of their artwork. Xavien's looks like the Jackson Pollock while Kanayla tried to make images with her paint! They loved the paint so I will have to let them paint with this more often. We will have to see how long the paint in the bottle lasts until it dries out. My kids are little artists!

Children's Museum

Wow...uhh we haven't added anything in a LONG time. Gotta do better. The new goal is to add something once a week so we will see how it goes.

This past week I took the kids to the Marbles Children's Museum in downtown Raleigh. That was an experience! Their favorite section was the "Around Town" which up about half of one side of the museum. They have gates to keep the children in but it is HUGE! There were speed boats to play on, a fire truck, a bus, a postal car with parcels to load and unload, a barn, a kitchen with a mini grocery center not to mention the wall of trains. Seriously, how do they expect parents with multiply children to keep track of all the kids with that much to see and play with? Kanayla loved the kitchen, Xavien wanted to stay with the trains and Ivie was so excited to see everything that she could actually climb all over that she went everywhere. I am exhausted.....