Memorial Weekend

As we often do for holiday weekends, we headed to the creek.  For some reason this trip was a little more easy.  I say this because packing a family of five for the weekend after working full time is not usually my idea of fun. 

Mark and the boys got up early and went fishing with Papa leaving me and Gage to sleep in.  Sweet little Gage let mommy sleep until 9:30!  It helped that we were in the room with no windows. This is a great room to catch up on some sleep,  it is like a cave.

So after Gage and I woke up we had breakfast and then time for swimming!

I like this one.  He is talking to somebody.  Maybe wondering where K & C are.

I've got this big pool all to myself.

Nana and Grandfather watch Gage swim from the safe distance of the splash zone. 

Daddy's back!

Now I have someone to swim with me.

Cort practicing his jump roping skills.

Look at those ribs.  I do feed my children, I promise!

Per Mark, Keaton has the 'fishing bug'.  He really enjoyed their fishing trip and kept fishing even though he wasn't catching much.  Instead of swimming with Cort and Gage, Keaton headed down to the dock for more fishing.

This is the noise we heard all day.  A helicopter from the Freedom Festival.  You could go for a ride for just $25.00.  After Mark and Gage went down for a nap, Keaton, Cort and I headed to check out the festival.  The kids played a few carnival type games and won prizes, bounced in a bouncer, and enjoyed a snow cone.  What more would you expect in the big town of Sargent.  Keaton wanted to go for a helicopter ride, which I find surprising since he is usually very cautious.  I told him he would have to pay for it out of his own money and find someone to go with him, because mama was not!

The little boy across the street came over, Dylan.  Keaton and Cort had been asking about him since the moment we arrived (or before). 

Papa threw the cast net to catch some bait.

My little fisherman

Dylan's turn to help pull up the net.

He is very serious.

Cort is the lucky one.  Always has been.  Wins everything just by luck.  On the fishing trip, Cort caught the most fish including a sting ray and a trout. 

We celebrated Keaton's birthday with a cookout and strawberry cake.

Nana gave Keaton a pair of rollerblades!

He couldn't wait to try them on once we returned home. 

Safety first.  Must have all the gear!

And it has to be Tony Hawk



Helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards



Wow, look at him go.  I was super impressed that he just took off.  And I don't think he fell once.  I mean, we have been roller skating before, but only 3 times.

way to go Keaton!



We came home Sunday instead of staying through Memorial Day because we were having Keaton's birthday party/slumber party Sunday night.  I was already feeling a little rushed to get the car unpacked, kids fed and everything ready for the party by 3:00 when we were thrown a whopper of a wrench.  We returned home to find our back gate wide open.  We had left our dogs in the backyard, as we often do, and a neighbor family comes to feed them and make sure there is enough water. 

We found Lady, our dog that just recently became deaf, hiding in the bushes by the front door. She must have been too afraid to venture far from home.  Dixie on the other hand was no where to be found.  Mark drove around looking for her while I fed the kids and starting getting things ready, but he returned home without her. 

We continued on with our plans for the party while the neighbor, who felt terrible, made signs and posted them in the neighborhood. The next morning, I continued looking for her by driving around and we posted 14 more signs.  I received a phone call around 3:00 Monday afternoon saying she had been seen on Saturday around 2:00 in a neighborhood near ours, Cloverfield.  That just confirmed how long she had been gone, but I decided to give Cloverfield another drive through, and would you know it I found her walking down the street! 

Dixie went for an adventure, but she is home now!!