Summer!

 What better way to kick off the start of summer/last day of work than to meet up with the BFFs at some random weird church park picnic!  Yay!  Of course, Melissa found out about this random church summer party that we could crash on Friday and we went.  Free dinner?  Yes please!  This summer is going to be busy, exhausting, fun, and most of all will involve some of our favorite people ever.  I can't wait!

 So far, I've been out of school for 9 days.  In those 9 days we have spent may hours outside.

 Made 5 trips to the pool.  (I bought a maternity bathing suit and I hate to tell the world this but it won't be the only suit I wear this summer.  Given the amount of pool time we are accruing, I'm going to have to bust out the old two piece here and there.  It will be terrifying but I'm not going to spend another $35 on a maternity suit I will never wear again.)  Plus, small children might be scared of me which will hopefully clear the pool out a little when we arrive.  Bonus.

 We've made our first batch of pesto with basil from the garden.  Woohoo!

 Enjoyed the first drumstick of summer.

 Run around without clothing.  This was after I told Lucy to get dressed because we were going to Dollywood.  She stripped down, put on her hat, and said, "Ready!"  Apparently she misheard and thought I said get ready for Hollywood.

 This is more like it.

 Dollywood!  This is not exactly my element right now.  I'm usually the one riding the rides with Jack but with Baby #3 in tow, I'm limited to the carousel.  Andy has stepped it up big time and offered to go on the rides with Jack which is huge for someone who gets serious motion sickness.  Lucy and I like to pass the time on the tamer rides. Like the piggies :)

 A fan favorite here - Bumper Cars!  Never drive against Andy - he's pretty scary.

 And it helps having a Widdi and Rachel to come with so that they can ride some rides with Jackman as well!  They are cheering on Jack and Andy at the bumper cars here.  Everyone is really excited about this :)

Plotting out which ride to hit next.

Jack and Lucy on the bees - Lucy loved having big brother on the ride with her to keep her safe.  I think she also assumed Jack controlled the speed b/c she kept yelling, "Go Jack! Faster!"

 On the way home from Dollywood that day I had a brainstorm.  We were going to Hilton Head soon and the house has its own pool.  The idea of Jack being able to run out the back door when I'm not looking, jump in the pool unsupervised, and bad things happen did not make me feel too easy.  Plus we would be spending a lot of time at the neighborhood pool this year.  So I knew Jack needed swim lessons - pronto.  He did group ones at the Y last year which helped get him comfortable in the water and WANT to learn to swim.  But I didn't want to pay the $100+ it would cost to drive him to the pool for 4 private 30 min lessons.  So instead on that Dollywood day, I called one of my favorite former students, Izzy, who was home on summer break from college and also happened to be a swim instructor, if I could pay her for some lessons.  Bless her heart, the first day she came over (yes, she comes to our pool - how awesome is she!) there was a random storm coming and she taught Jack in the rain (no lightning - don't worry).  But then the sun came out and all was good :)  Props to Jack too.  He hung in there even though it was pouring at one point.  Lucy, as you can tell, was eager to get in the pool too.  We've had two lessons so far and already I'm so impressed with what he has learned.  Izzy is awesome.  Very patient with my ADD 5 year old and I'm so glad she was able to accommodate us on such a short schedule.

 Also in these past 9 days, I've been able to drive out to Powell High School and visit Melissa while she is at work!  She left FHS 3 years ago and I am just now getting my act together to go see her at her school.  Part of this was scheduling conflicts but another part of this was reluctance b/c I know once I'm there that the reality of her no longer being at Farragut anymore becomes just that - reality.   And I'm still really sad about that.  But it was so cool to see her in her element!  She is such an awesome principal and has done so much for Powell.  They are unbelievably lucky to have her.

 A pitiful attempt at getting her in front of the high school.  She's supposed to be framing the sign but instead looks like she's framing the utility truck.  Photography is not my strong suit (which should be no shock if you follow this blog.)  I'm so grateful to have a friend like Melissa who kicks butt at her job and is one of the hardest working moms I will ever know.  I'm also grateful to her b/c it was her idea to keep Jack and Lucy in KK for one day a week to save my sanity and if they weren't at school on this day I wouldn't have been able to come out to PHS. :)  Thanks Melissa!

 We continued the first week of summer with more pool fun - backyard version.  This was after we spent two hours at the pool that morning.  I see a lot of water in our future.

 And then started the weekend with another trip to Dollywood!  That's how we roll folks.  This time Mimi came along for the ride - literally.  She and Lucy did the 1950s cars.

 Jack and Andy were a pair again on this trip :)

Even for my favorite hate ride - the Raging River.  Poor Andy was soaked to the bone but Jack was smart and wore a swimsuit.  (i.e. I was smart and put him in a swimsuit :)  I love Jack's face in these two pictures.

If this is what we do in the first 9 days of summer, I'm excited/nervous as to what the rest of the season holds.  And I'm hoping my energy holds out!