Labor Day Musings

Amanda, Do you have any info/advice on Christmas activities in the area??
This weekend has been a welcome rest from the hairum skairum of our typical week. On Friday evening, we took the kids to our homecoming/rivalry game (we lost miserably!!) They had a great time watching the game and the bands/cheerleaders. Sophy was very upset about the fact that our team lost. Poor thing, if she becomes a cheerleader in years to come, she'll be weeping on the sidelines if she doesn't get over her scoreboard issues.
On Saturday, DaddyP had an early engagement shoot, so I waited until he made it home and then took Jack to the LC to swim. He blew me away by swimming 62 laps. I am so proud of him for setting a goal and then not quitting until he accomplished it. Throughout the entire swim, especially when he made it to lap 45 and 50, I kept trying to get him to stop. He would NOT stop for anything. "No Mom. I've got to do this." He wouldn't stop until he hit #62. If my calculations serve me correctly, that is just a few laps off of a mile swim. YIKES!
After his LONG swim, we headed to Shreveport to eat lunch at Olive Garden with my folks. Sam was in dire need (or want??) of a pair of boots and some Wranglers. So off we went to Bossier to the boot store to get the latest and greatest pair. This kid HATES to wear tennis shoes, so he's been waiting for a while to get his new pair. He's a happy boy now, for sure! We came home, and DaddyP had an evening appointment at a class reunion. The kids and I relaxed around the house, went swimming, and played games. It felt VERY good to spend time at home! Niceness.
Sunday morning, we headed to church then to lunch with my SIL, nieces and parentals--stopped at Kroger for some essentials for the coming week, and headed home to meet friends who were coming over to swim and eat. The kids had a blast (all 6 of them.) We stayed up way too late while the kids swam, ran around the yard with flashlights, and our friends showed us their hurricane photos from their old home (wow.)
We woke up this morning with a burning drive to get tons of yard work accomplished, and I'm afraid that DaddyP did everything on his list and is now paying the price for it! He is fried to a crisp from the sun, so sore he can barely walk, and grunts everytime he breathes. Not sure how he'll fair at work tomorrow. Haha. The kids swam this evening, while we grilled some ribeyes and veggies. I gave Soph a mani/pedi to get ready for tomorrow, and DaddyP crashed in his recliner with an icebag and some coconut pie that Meem brought over for him on her way to eat with my brother's fam. Speaking of ribeyes. I made a sauce from Pioneer woman for the ribeye called Bleu Cheese-Onion sauce. Heavens to Besty, was it good....and stupidly easy. If you like Bleu Cheese, I highly recommend it for your next grilling experience. You will NOT regret it!
Finally called and booked our Christmas vacation dates! We're heading deep into the Ozarks to stay at a mountain top cabin the days just prior to Christmas. The cabin is literally perched on a mountain top with 6500 acrees of moutainous woodlands, waterfalls, wildlife, etc. around it. We're planning to spend some winter time outdoors, and also to hit Branson and Silver Dollar City's nightime Christmas festivals. We've heard that Silver Dollar City has amazing family Christmas activities, so we're excited. We're planning on surprising the kids with the trip, so it'll be hard to keep it from them. I'm hoping to get to hit Eurka Springs Christmas village also, but we'll see. Good times! Looking forward to it.
In other news, football is speeding ahead for Sam. He loves it so much despite the fact that he is really behind all of the other kids who started playing, apparently, when they were in diapers. We wanted it to be something Sam wanted to do, and we're not ones to push our kids into something just because everyone else likes it or is doing it. However in this case, Sam was VERY interested this year, and he's learning a lot. He's still WAY behind, he's slow as Christmas, and he has NO idea what he is supposed to be doing at any given moment. Despite all of those things, he LOVES it! He's barely within 5 pounds of the Pop Warner weight limit, so he better lay off the goodies for the time being. Pop Warner, as you may know, has mandatory weigh-ins prior to EVERY game. I appreciate why they are doing this (for my child's safety.) Still, Sam is a solid hunk of kid, and he seems to be getting more solid as the days go on. Football may be a wise choice for him. He just needs to hurry up and learn how to play it! haha.
We're in the process of trying to get Sophy in riding lessons for a few months this fall. It may or may not be something we extend beyond the initial few months, but she's VERY excited. The only problem that I foresee with horse riding lessons is that...well...Sophy's gonna want a horse! We'll see where it goes, but she chose horse lessons over piano for this fall. We're waiting until the weather cools down and football is in it's ending stages, but she can't wait until we get started! I'm excited to see where it goes....unless it means me having to find a horse to stable somewhere! haha.
Well, back to school tomorrow, so we're about to start brushing teeth and getting ready for bed! Happy Labor Day~