Zeb's Party

We had Zeb's birthday party today. We actually had a joint party with his friend Zoe who just turned 4 as well. They are only two days apart. It was the first weekend the pool was open. May happens to be the hottest month of the year (in my opinion) in this spring city we live in, so it was perfect for a swim! There were lots of cupcakes, chips, salsa, and veggies to be eaten. Lots of fun to be had by all!








Notice how each of my children are eating their cupcakes. Zeb has resorted to licking the plate. Layla is trying to figure out how to stuff the entire cupcake in her mouth and sweet Kayleigh is trying to be so neat.

11 Months

Our little Layla is 11 months old now. She can pull up on things and cruise around where she wants to go. She hasn't gotten the nerve up to let go so no first steps yet. We have spent the past week keeping her away from the pool and from eating the ants. We have an awesome outdoor kitchen and eating area where we are staying. The downside is with kids we have lots of food left under the table. Before I can sweep it, the ants are out in full force trying to collect the food and so is Layla. She is actually interested in trying to get the ants as well! When Layla gets super excited her whole body shakes. The picture below is her excited/shaking in action. I can't believe she will be one in a month!

This "cage" we created with the chairs was an attempt to keep her out of the pool. At first she thought it was a fun idea but it didn't last long. 

While on Vacation.....

We have eaten lots and lots of ice cream!

Spent almost the whole day in the pool!

Or lounging by the pool!

Swung on our swing.

Loved on the grandchildren.

July 4th!

I grew up being at the lake on the 4th of July. Every year would would get in our boat at dusk and drive to the marina or close to it to see the fire works. I love that tradition and miss it dearly. So this year as I was thinking about what we could do for a 4th of July celebration I decided we should go to the pool. We loaded up the kids in the afternoon and all of our friends joined us at the pool. John was able to find some sparklers so the kids had a blast lighting those before we left.

Layla loved the water. As you can see she is very relaxed.

Kayleigh's Pool Party

Weeks before Kayleigh's birthday she and I lay in my bed brainstorming what kind of party we should have for her birthday. In my mind I was trying to avoid hosting one million of her closest friends in my home since I am already barely making it with three kids. I thought about the things Kayleigh loved to do and swimming came to mind. So I asked her if she wanted a pool party and she said YES! The weather wasn't that great the morning of her party so we were thankful that the pool was heated. Kayleigh had such a good time that after the cake she wanted to get back in the pool and swim more and totally forgot about opening her presents. ( So did her mother since I am losing my mind these days!) We did remember to open her gifts thanks to some friends reminding us! We gave each child a pool noodle as party favors which was pretty exciting since items you can buy to play with in the pool are slim to none in this Asian city that we live. We had such a good time we may just do it again next year!

Some of our "crew" members. Zach, Michelle, Justin and Kate.

Zeb using Layla's pink towel. He had soaked his already and needed a dry one.

The swim caps were required by the way!

Swimming, Swimming in the Swimming Pool!

We have lived here for 6 years and still find little treasures every now and then. Earlier this summer my friend Brooke introduced me to this awesome pool! Before this time there hasn't really been a good pool for us to swim in here. There is one pretty close to us but because the weather stays around the high 70s low 80s all summer the pool basically doesn't get warm and stays freezing cold. It doesn't make for a good swim. The pool Brooke introduced us to is heated so even on a cooler day we can enjoy a nice swim. The whole month that my parents were here we went to the pool about once a week. We would go for the morning and take a picnic lunch and stay till nap time. I am convinced that Kayleigh would live in the water if I let her. She cried almost every time we had to leave. She even asked me once if we could live there. The pool was extra special this time because my parents were here. Kayleigh and Zeb always had someone to throw them around in the pool or someone to jump to. We had an awesome time every time we went and we are so glad to find another treasure like this one!

Vacation In Thailand

We just got back from a great vacation in Thailand. We rented a house with our good friends the Huffmans. Some of our other good friends rented a house down the street as well. Our house had a pool so basically we spent most of the day swimming. We are convinced Kayleigh would swim all day everyday if we let her. We had to convince her to leave the pool to eat and then right away she would return to swimming again. We visited the beach one afternoon. Zeb loved it and giggled with glee when we put him in the sand and the ocean. Kayleigh doesn't love it but showed much improvement from this summer when she wouldn't even walk on the sand! She actually got down in the sand and played and even got in the ocean. We were impressed. We had a lot of fun! Our dear friends the Huffmans are moving back to America this summer so it was an especially sweet and treasured time to spend with them.

Zeb waiting to board the plane.

The pool was too deep for the kids so the Huffmans brought a pool for them to play in while we were there.

I included this picture because I found it amusing that our children thought the ATM was really fun.

Family Beach Trip

We just finished an awesome week at the beach with my family. My parents, grandparents, sisters, brother, aunts, uncles and all my cousins went to Ocean Lakes Campground at Myrtle Beach. We had a wonderful time. The campground is huge and once you get inside you ride golf carts around. Kayleigh and Zeb thought that was a lot of fun. The first day that we were there we went to the beach only to discover that Kayleigh did not really like it at all! She didn't want to walk in the sand and she didn't like the ocean either. She told me "Mommy "they" (whoever they is) put salt in it!" ( referring to the ocean). So we spent a lot of time at the pool for the first part of the week and so did the other one million people that were at the camp ground. It was the only time in America that I have felt like I was back in China with all the people around. We kept trying the beach though and by the end of the week Kayleigh enjoyed the ocean a lot. Of course you had to hold her the whole time but at least she liked it. She never got used to the sand and had to have her own chair to sit in at the beach. She was hilarious. Zeb on the other hand thought the beach was amazing and even tasted the sand! He loved getting dirty and just crawled everywhere. We had a wonderful time and I am so glad that we got to spend it with my extended family since we don't see them very often.

Kayleigh with the water gun at the pool.

Kayleigh relaxing in her beach chair.

Since golf carts where the main mode of transportation they had some for sale. We found this Carolina Tarheels one that was for sale for about $12,ooo! Can you believe that?! That is crazy!

Pool Fun!

Zeb and Kayleigh received a pool for their birthdays from their Aunt Holly so we decided to have a little fun in it yesterday. It is a pretty fancy pool because it also has a little blow up slide that goes with it. They had a blast! Zeb mostly splashed and since he is into pulling up on everything these days, he spent most of his time pulling up on the side and then plopping back down in the water and laughing. Kayleigh spent most of her time sliding down the slide and jumping up and down with her friend Mason. We hope to have more days of the pool. I'm still trying to figure out if it would be worth it to take this pool back with us to China. I'm pretty sure this is a bad idea. I haven't even asked John but I'm sure he will think I am crazy.

Baby Bash!

Recently we had a Baby Bash to welcome back all the families that had new little ones. There were four new babies to add to our community here. Jack Huffman, Sarah Dean, Zane Smith and Issac Kvernen are the new additions. We had a great time of fellowship with our friends with a cookout and lots of fun activities for the kids. We decided to take a picture of all the kids. It is amazing that not one of them was crying at the time. There are 12 kids total, all 4 years old and under and another one planning to arrive in June! It is so great for John and I to have such a great community of young families here to fellowship with.

Back from left to right: Julianna, Lydia, Callie, Kayleigh, Zeb, Emma Grace, Zion and Bright.
Front from left to right: Issac, Zane, Sarah, Jack

It was really warm that day so the Huffmans brought out their pool full of warm water for the kids to play.

Zeb loved the pool!

Hot Springs Hotel

Last week we spent a week away at a conference in a nearby hotel. Even though it can be hard to travel and be away from home with little ones we had a blast. It was a lot of fun to be able to hang out with people we don't get to see very often. It was really nice to see my friend Laura who lives in the same city as we do but far enough away that we see each other only about twice a month. Kayleigh had a blast and did not want to leave. It was a constant play time for her which is her dream. I would have to say John's favorite time was shooting off fireworks at night. When I say fireworks I mean the kind you see when you go to a fireworks show in America. However, here you can buy them on the street for about $20. Crazy huh?! My highlight was the hot spring pools that you could swim in. The kids and I went swimming everyday even though it was only 70 degrees outside. It was like swimming in bath water. Below are some pictures to highlight our week.

Laura with Lydia, Julianna and Kayleigh swinging at the pool.

Check out this bath tub! It was huge and pretty much like a swimming pool to Kayleigh. She had a great time taking a bath with her friends Bright and Zion. Zeb slept in our bathroom so she couldn't take a bath in our room after he went to bed.

John with his friends Daniel, Big D, and Teddy "playing" with the fireworks.

They had to build a fire pit for this huge firework box that contained 36 fireworks all in one. All you had to do was light one big fuse.

John, Kayleigh and Zeb enjoying the nice hot spring pool.