Water, Water, Everywhere!

Oh, my...where to begin...
Actually I debated even blogging about this since it's not a fun topic, but I figured it's our life right now.  I write the blog to eventually make it into a book for the boys to have to see what their lives were like growing up...so I thought I would include this.
On Monday, September 10, we returned home from our wonderful beach vacation.  When entering the house we immediately knew something was wrong as all the windows were covered in moisture.  Then we realized that the whole house (minus the playroom) was flooded.  While we were out of town the plastic supply line to our ice maker ruptured and leaked water everywhere.  It was as if someone laid down a water hose and turned it on the entire time we were vacationing.  To give you an idea how much water there was-it came up over the sides of my feet and flip flops when I walked in it.
John found the leak and cut off the water supply, but we knew it was bad.  The linoleum in the kitchen was already lifting up, and the beautiful 40plus year old hardwood floors I loved were already buckling from all the water.  The carpet in the living room was soaked too.  We could hear water flowing into all of our vents and duct work. 
Within two hours we had a company out with over 25 heaters and dehumidifiers to dry everything out.  They put off a dry heat and kept our house between 90 and 100 degrees for over a week now trying to remove all the moisture. 
As of now-a week and a half later-all the hardwoods, carpet, and part of the linoleum have been removed.  Also, all of our belongings have been packed and stored so construction can take place inside the house.  We have been told it will be three to five weeks until we are back in the house.  We are hoping that this is accurate.  Right now we are living in the upstairs bedrooms at John's parent's house.  Needless to say, it has been overwhelming, especially seeing all of our things packed up AGAIN, since it hasn't been that long since we moved in the house.  We are reminding ourselves that we will have a new house from the baseboards down when we move back in! 
Dawson has had about a million questions about the water, why it did that, what broke, what got wet, and so on.  He's so curious, so we answer his questions but try not to talk about it too much in front of him so he will not worry.  He is enjoying getting to see his grandparents frequently though since we're at their house, so I don't think he minds too much!

Vacation!

The week after Labor Day John and I took the boys on a beach vacation to Surfside Beach, South Carolina.  We left on Labor Day and broke the trip into two parts since we have two little ones.  On Monday evening we drove to Clinton, SC, and then we finished our trip from Clinton to Surfside on Tuesday.  I had put together a lot of new activities for Dawson to do in the backseat.  I rode in the back between the boys to keep every happy and entertained, and I think it worked because they were happy most of the drive there and back! 

When we arrived in Surfside Beach, we immediately went to the beach after checking into our condo.  We played for a few hours the first day, and we had to force Dawson to come inside.  He loved the beach, sand, and ocean!

The rest of the week we enjoyed A LOT of great beach time.  Dawson's favorite activity was digging holes in the sand (with our help), filling them up with water, and sitting down in them!  We spent the whole week digging in the sand!  Dawson loved to swim in the pools at our condo too!  He liked the ocean, but he didn't want to go out very deep past his waist even with us holding him.  Although we tried to force him to go out deeper a few times, it was nice that he played it safe so we didn't have to worry about him going out too deep.

Dawson also had fun building castles, flying his kite, finding shells, running, and chasing birds.

Surfside beach was awesome because it was next to Myrtle Beach, so we had all the attractions and entertainment of Myrtle but Surfside is nicknamed "the family beach."  It really was!  There were families with young kids all over the beach, which was great!  Dawson made a friend, Lucas, who is three.  The two played together on the beach digging holes and filling them with water for hours!  Every morning when Dawson got up he ran to the balcony to look out and inform us that the waves were still there.  We also got to answer a bunch of interesting questions about what makes the waves, where they come from, and why they wash our sand castles away.  :)

Carter was a great little beach bum!  He had fun when we put his feet in the water and in the sand, but he was the most content in his swing in the shade!  The breeze and the sound of the waves must have been relaxing because he took AWESOME morning naps on the beach each day!!  He also loved being in the pool.

While there we also had fun visiting the aquarium, playing putt putt, riding rides at the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, walking around Myrtle Beach, taking night time walks on the beach wearing glow sticks (Dawson loved this!), swimming in the pool at night with glow sticks on too (another favorite of Dawson's), eating at Hard Rock Cafe, Conch Cafe, Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, and Liberty.  Most of all we just had fun playing on the beach and relaxing as a family!  It was fun to take Carter to the beach for the first time, and it was fun to take Dawson back now that he's older and can do more!

We stayed at the beach until the last minute on the day we had to check out, and we were so sad to leave.  I'm wishing we were still there!

Here are the pictures from our trip!

 

Carter's favorite spot on the beach!

In his swing in the shade!

Dawson looked like such a big kid

playing on the beach.

Dawson loved putting his chair

in the water!

John and Dawson flying a kite.

More fun with the kite.

Me flying the kite with Dawson on the beach.

John had to get a picture of me flying the kite

on the beach with Dawson since I am not a

fan of kites especially on the beach.

Cooling off in the shade.

Me and my handsome boys

at the Hard Rock Cafe in Myrtle Beach.

This is an awesome Hard Rock

designed to look like a pyramid.

Our family outside the Hard Rock.

Dawson night swimming with Daddy.

In one of the many holes dug

in the sand and filled with water.

Carter loved floating around the pool in this!

Dawson playing putt putt golf!

More putt putt.

Dawson and Mommy at Spy Glass Putt Putt Course.

Look at those sweet feet!

Brothers at the beach!

Two handsome beach boys!

Our family on the beach.

Carter decided it was time for morning nap

during this picture!

The condo where we stayed.

John and I loved these colorful houses next

door to our condo!  Wouldn't it be awesome

to live here (specifically the pink one!)!?  :)

Dawson sitting on one of his castles.

Dawson with the balloon animal made for him

by the man on stilts in Margaritaville.

There was so much to look at on the

ceiling in Margaritaville so Carter was content

to look around.

Margarita in Margaritaville.

Dawson getting Carter a balloon

animal from the stilts man in Margaritaville.

Dawson is standing on his chair, and the guy is bending

down some...just to give you and idea of how tall he was!

Ridding the dunebuggy at Myrtle Beach.

He picked the number three since he's three!

Giving a thumbs up!

My handsome boys in their plaid shorts!

Me and my boys!

Swim time!

Our visit to the aquarium.

In the aquarium.

More beach fun!

Dawson jumped the entire time we

were there.  Here neither feet are on

the sand!

The petting area at the aquarium.

Aquarium.

Carter at the aquarium.

Me and the boys at the aquarium.

My sweet baby in his sailboat outfit!

Happy to be on vacation.

Daddy and Carter.

Carter putting his toes in the ocean.

Mommy and Dawson playing in the backseat.

Carter snoozing on our drive.

Dawson playing with his sensory bag finding

letters as a car activity on the drive.

Dawson working in his busy binder, staying

entertained on the drive.

While staying overnight in Spartanburg

we visited a Chuck E Cheese where Dawson

had fun!

August: A Wild Month!

August was a fun month for us!  I titled it a "wild" month because we were busy, and several of our activities seemed to center around wild animals-other than the ones living in our house :)  We made THREE trips to the Knoxville Zoo this month.  First, we went with our friends, the Whites.  Josh, Cassandra, and their boys Henry and Thomas drove over for a day and met us at the zoo!  It was fun taking the kids through to see the animals together and fun visiting with our friends too!  We always have a great time with them, and it's just like old times.  Four days after we went with the Whites, our meetup group went so we went again!  The group that went was a lot of fun, and there were two other 3 year old boys then Dawson, of course, a 4 year old girl, and then three-including Carter-boys under 6 months!  Then three days later we went back to the zoo for a special event:  Touch a Truck!  They had brought some heavy equipment, ambulances, fire trucks, etc. to the zoo.  We spent a little while seeing the animals, but spent the majority of this trip checking out all the equipment-this was the perfect event for Dawson since he loves this stuff! 

Also, to add to the wild animal theme :) this month we went to a drive thru safari.  We did one in Alabama and loved it so we wanted to try one here!  We visited Circle C Ranch (there's another one here too we plan to check out soon!).  It was great!  We drove through a 3 mile safari, fed the animals, and even were allowed to pet them at this safari!  The zebras were all at the beginning of the safari and wouldn't leave us alone because they wanted more and more food.  In addition to the zebras, Dawson also liked the alpacas, antelope, and rheas the best!  There were numerous times when the animals would just not leave us alone and we had to roll all our windows up to make them back off and stay out of our car for a minute.  Dawson got to ride on my lap in the front while John drove (and Carter slept in the backseat).  Dawson LOVED the drive thru safari, and he is still talking about it.  After driving through, we went to the petting zoo there where we touched lots of llamas, camels, goats, sheep, donkeys, and, Dawson's favorite-a rooster!  Carter woke up for the petting zoo, so I took him in the petting zoo in his Moby wrap.  He loved hearing all the animal noises and looked around the whole time flailing his arms and legs he was so excited!

Also in August, Dawson and Carter have had several playdate at our house and going to some friends houses which are always fun!  We also went to Tumblebears Gym to play one morning and get some energy out.  Dawson has now mastered holding on to the rope and swinging, and he spent most of his time doing this and walking across the balance beams very easily-he seems to have great balance on there.  Carter loved being held and looking all around Tumblebears-it was loud in there with other kids and this kept him entertained! 

To keep us entertained on days we are home most of the day, we have continued doing "activities."  Dawson loves these little things I plan for us to do, and sometimes they are so simple, but he is happy!  Some of his favorites this month have been dripping colored vinegar into baking soda, making the solid/liquid cornstarch experiment, and making our own bathtub crayons.  We usually do these when Carter is napping, so that Dawson has my undivided attention-and I think this makes the little activities even more special to Dawson this way. 

Dawson has been one lucky boy this month in getting to go play golf with his Daddy two times!  John has been using his golf lessons that we gave him for Father's Day, and he is supposed to practice between lessons so he has been playing a lot of golf!  Dawson has gotten to go along a couple times, and LOVES it!  He thinks it's such a special treat and that he is such a big boy.

A couple of weeks ago we drove up to Townsend and had a picnic dinner.  The treat of this outing for Dawson was getting to swim in the river and go across the swinging bridge.  We stuck Carter's toes in the water, but it was a little cool and he wasn't thrilled.  So we took turns holding him while the other got in the water with Dawson. 

My big sis, Lauren, came in town a couple of weeks ago, and I was so glad that we got to have dinner together!  I took Carter with me, and he got to meet Lauren!  It was great catching up with her!

Dawson has gotten to spend a couple nights with his Lolly and Pop this month, and he loves this.  It is also nice for me to catch up on sleep for one morning since Carter usually sleeps later than Dawson I get to sleep until Carter wakes up!!  Dawson always loves going to their house and always comes home with stories!

August was also a month for baby girls!  Our friends the LuAllens had their baby girl a couple weeks ago, and we got to visit them and meet her last weekend!  She is an adorable little Sigma Kappa legacy!  :)  Then our friends the Gibsons had their baby girl this week, and John and I got to go meet her at the hospital this week!  She is precious too!  It's hard for me to look at both of these sweet newborns and realize how much Carter has already grown and changed in just four short months!  Its hard to believe how much happens and how much they grow in those first 4 months!  I'm excited for Carter though because this means there are going to be kids around his age to play with...for when they will actually start interacting a little more.

In addition to keeping up with Dawson and Carter, I have stayed busy this month with a few craft projects, canvases for Dawson's wall, and making homemade laundry detergent for the first time!  John has now had three golf lessons, gotten to play golf several times, and completed the second course toward receiving his masters!!  John and I enjoyed a date in the middle of the month where we went to see a movie together, leaving both boys with my parents!  It was nice to have a date and talk uninterrupted (what's that?!) even if the main thing we talk about are our sweet boys!!

September is already looking to be a busy month with lots of fun things planned! 

Enjoy the August pictures below...

(I could not get them in the correct order, so please excuse the sequence.)

 

 

 

 

Dawson and his new friend Jay standing

on the "elephants feet" at the zoo.

Dawson riding a lion.

One of our activities was dropping

colored vinegar into baking soda

with a dropper and watching it fizz.

Dawson loved this experiment, and said he

was being a scientist.

Dawson climbing out of an ambulance

at the Touch a Truck event.

The Gibbons at the zoo are now

some of our favorites!  This little

guy was hilarious!  He came right up

to the glass and watched Dawson's

every move.

Dawson leaned closer, and the

Gibbon put his forehead against

the glass too!  Dawson thought this

was great!

Dawson in the children's hospital

pediatric ambulance at Touch a Truck.

Daddy and Dawson at Touch a Truck.

Carter was a happy boy at the zoo!

Dawson in front of the scoop!

Construction workin' Daddy!

Driving the army vehicle.

Carter with his construction hat

I brought for him to wear to

Touch a Truck.

This was Dawson's favorite piece of equipment!

It was HUGE!

Practicing golf with Daddy!

The last day of August was the first

Tennessee game of the season.

Go Vols!

I love how Carter looks like he has football

pads on or something in this picture!

Haha!

When trying to take pictures of them in the

jerseys I got some funny expressions, so

I had to include a couple different pictures

of them!

And this is classic...

Dawson's "cheese" face he is

currently doing for almost every

picture!  haha, and Carter looks

slightly concerned!

Love these sweet boys!

One day early in the month

it rained A TON in a short amount

of time.  Dawson begged to put

on his rain boots and go stomp puddles.

I gave in, and he had fun playing!

(really out of order, sorry!)

Dawson the owl and Henry

at the Zoo!

Action shot!  Dawson is mid-air

about to land in this puddle!

Kicking puddles, another action shot!

Dawson was thrilled that the rain

storm blew this football out of the

tree that someone got it stuck

in at the beginning of summer!

He had so much fun running around

in the rain with this football, it was

sweet to see how something so little

is such a big deal to him!

Dawson driving Henry in the safari

jeep at the zoo!

Daddy and Dawson at the zoo!

The babies sleeping at the zoo!

(Don't worry, I just took the sun shades

down for the picture!)

John and Josh at the zoo.

(disappointed that I didn't get a single picture

of me and Cassandra together!)

As we were leaving the zoo this lion

gave Dawson a hug.  He still LOVES

characters dressed up, and he had to

pry him away from this lion!

The solid/liquid cornstarch experiment

was one of his favorites this month!

If you mix water and cornstarch it is

a liquid, but if you hit it it is a solid under

the pressure.  Dawson had fun testing this

out.  We added color just to make it fun!

(that dino canvas in the background

was one thing I was working on-and have now

finished for Dawson's room, and it obviously

normally doesn't stay in the kitchen, hah)

Making bathtub crayons!

(doesn't really like to get his hands

dirty!)

(again, out of order!)

Daddy and Dawson on the swinging bridge

in Townsend.

Dawson and Mommy in the river.

The finished product-bathtub crayons!

(It may look like I make him do

all the activities without a shirt,

but we had a couple this month I was worried

might stain, so we were just careful!)  :)

Love his face here!!

 

Me and Carter on the picnic in Townsend.

He is trying to grab the camera!

Dawson in the river.

He loved it!

Lauren meeting Carter!

Zebra in our Jeep!

Zebra harassing our driver! :)

Drive thru safari!

Another favorite this month

has been playing with his easel from

Lolly and Pop.  One side is a magnet board,

and they made this side a felt board! I've made

some felt board pieces to go along with some

of his favorite books, and he LOVES this!!

Drive thru safari!

Drive thru safari.

Drive thru safari.

Drive thru safari.

Drive thru safari.

About to visit some animals in the

petting zoo at the drive thru safari!

Carter enjoying the petting zoo

from his Moby!

Petting a bunny!

Another activity.  We were growing a

stalactite rock on the string between

the glasses!  This was the beginning stage,

however, due to someone doing a lot of jumping

(ahem, Dawson) the rock that was forming

fell a couple of days later and broke.  We are planning

to do it again and place it somewhere that it will be safe

for the amount of time it takes for the rock to form.

Dawson was really interested in this one too!

Carter loves playing with his zebra

especially in his carseat!

Dawson and Daddy about to touch the

rooster at the petting zoo!

Dawson touching a bears claw

at the zoo!