Glorious Day!

I had the most glorious day with my boys today! We left the house at 9am sharp this morning, and headed to Lakeland to meet up with several of my girlfriends and their children. Drew slept the entire time and Nathan read a book for over an hour. This was a tremendous feat as he entertained himself for an extended period of time, and allowed me to listen to music and drive (one of my favorite things).

We met up at a gymnastic place, and the kids roamed free among the parallel bars, trampoline floor and hula hoops. It was a great place to burn off energy after sitting in the car for so long. While it was quite chaotic, it was neat to watch all of our children run around and show off their acrobatic skills. It seems like just a couple months ago they were toddling around trying to walk, and now they are doing summersaults, throwing tantrums, and wearing real underwear! Where has the time gone?

We followed up our morning of gymnastics with a trip to McDonalds where we took up half of the restaurant. You would think with all of the kids eating, we would be able to visit more - WRONG! It was so chaotic that after eating we took them to the church playground to play and visit. It was a wonderful day, with a nice breeze, and we were able to sit in the shade and talk away. The kids played beautifully, with the exception of some pulled hair and a push and shove here and there. We were able to share stories, pictures, discipline tips, dinner ideas and more! There is nothing better than time spent catching up with good friends.

As I prepared for the car ride home, I braced myself. I knew the meltdowns were inevitable, and prayed I hadn't pushed the limit too far! As I pulled out of the church parking lot I turned around to find Drew already asleep. One down, one to go...within minutes, both were conquered! YEAH! A nice long, quiet drive! Thank you Jesus! There is nothing more sacred than quiet driving time.

As I drove, I was able to reflect on my time spent with my girlfriends and the memories we share. Over 25 years of them! What special sweet relationships that our mothers started for us.

Our drive was going so well that I decided to really push the limits and stop by church to pick up a few things. Within minutes we grabbed what we needed, and were off to the store. Amazingly enough, they did well again, and we headed off to one more store. So proud of my two boys, and my checking items off of my to do list, we got an ice cream treat to celebrate! Just when the day couldn't get any better - Dan called! He called to say he was on his way home from a jobsite not far from us. It was earlier in the afternoon, and I knew that the boys would enjoy a trip to the park. So, we met daddy at the park.

Due to the hot weather we haven't been to the park in awhile. Thankfully our glorious fall weather has arrived, so our afternoon at the park was refreshing. We played with the boys, caught up on our days happening and snapped a ton of cute pictures of the boys and the family.

Unfortunately the next day I went to download our pictures and realized that we left the camera at the park. We rushed down there and searched all over, but no camera. How devastating! What a beautiful day, caught on camera, and then lost. I was so sad, and have high hopes that it will turn up - someday!