Lazy Saturday

Mountain Island Lake

Huntersville, North Carolina

We had a great day today. We stayed around the house until noon and then we decided to hit the lake. It was a beautiful day, about 80 degrees, bright sun, and not a cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day to go to the lake and spend time together.

Lake Norman has been a bit low so we decided to try another lake that is close by, Mountain Island Lake. It's not nearly as big as Lake Norman, but it worked out well for us and it was nice to go somewhere new. Mountain Island Lake is about 5 miles down the road, towards Charlotte. It is the same river that forms Lake Norman, just on the other side of the dam. It is smaller and more quaint. There are a few houses on the lake, but not all the mansions like Lake Norman! There are a lot more trees and the landscape is, for the most part, natural. We explored all over the lake and Todd had a run at some of the last wakeboarding of the season. It was so nice to be out on the water. It's so peaceful and relaxing. I (we) love a day on the boat!

In Training!

I did a little house cleaning today and Miss Lilly had to help out. The girl has it down. Notice her "high heels". She is vacuuming the stairs in her high heels! Too funny!

Back Home

He made it! Todd got back home last night, just as I predicted. His flight (finally) arrived around 6:30. He met us at the baseball field and was able to see most of Trevor's game. The kids went crazy when they saw him. Lilly ran to meet her Daddy and James rode his bike over to him.

The evening was very hectic, which is why I am just now getting around to posting the news. After the game, it was about 9:00 when we made it home. We ate dinner before the game, but everyone had to get showers and baths. I think we all hit the sack around 10:00.

Todd is starting to feel the effects of major jet lag. It'll probably take him until this weekend before he is adjusted back to our time zone. In Sweden, they are 6 hours ahead of us. So, he has been going to bed around 5:00 PM our time. I'm sure he'll make a full recovery within a few days.

We are just happy to have him back home. We had dinner tonight as a family for the first time in 10 days. Our family dinner time is a very important part of our day. It gives each of us time to talk about our day, communicate with each other, and just enjoy each other's company. It was nice to have everyone home for dinner tonight!

Bad News

Brighter days: This picture was taken July 11, 2007 in Yellow-stone National Park.

We had a bit of bad news today. Todd sent me an email around 3:00 AM EST stating that he was on the plane and they were ready for takeoff. When the phone rang at 9:00 AM and I saw that it was him, I knew that he had not had time to land already. The bad news was that the plane had mechanical problems, the parts to fix it were going to be flown in, Todd had been sitting on the plane over 5 hours, and he wasn't going to make it home today. I did look at it on the bright side and realize that at least they found the problem before takeoff and not after the fact. The situation could have been a lot worse.

That news did not start my day off very well. I was looking forward to seeing Todd and watching the kids run to meet him when he walked through the door. We managed to make it through the day by playing with Nana and Pup. We didn't do too much today. We made a run to Target to pick up a few things, but other than that, we just stayed here most of the day.

Long story short, Todd is suppose to be home tomorrow night. He will be getting up very shortly to make his long journey. I hope that in the morning when I wake up, I will have another email saying that he is on his way. This time, I want everything to go as planned. If that's the case, he'll be home by 6:00 PM and just in time to make Trevor's baseball game. The kids are going to be thrilled!

Saturday Fun

Nana reading James a bedtime story

Trevor and Lilly winding down before bedtime

What a day we've had! It started off with a surprise for the kids. Nana came up last night after she got off of work. It was late when she got here, so everyone was asleep. This morning, Lilly was the first one to wake up and see her Nana and Pup! She was so excited. Next to wake up was Trevor. He was pretty shocked, too. Lastly, sleepy head James woke up. When he was coming down the stairs, I told him that someone was here to see him. He said, "Is it Todd?" Although it wasn't Todd, he was happy to see Nana and Pup. The kids love to see Nana, not to mention Pup. They are always asking when she is going to come for a visit or if we can go to her house.

We played with Nana and Pup for a while and then we had breakfast. After breakfast, we played some more. Trevor had baseball practice at noon. We all loaded up in the car and headed to the park. There are soccer fields and playgrounds at the park. There is a paved bike path that goes around the soccer fields that James loves to ride his bike on. So, we put the bikes in the car for James and Lilly. James' preschool is across the street from the park. They rode bikes for a while and then James decided that he wanted to take Nana over to his school and show her his classroom. We toured the class and James showed her his work that was hanging on the wall. After that, we headed back over to the park. It was extremely hot outside today. It was in the mid 90's and felt like the middle of July instead of the end of September. We decided to get us a shaved Hawaiian ice and sit in the shade and watch Trevor and his team play ball. Great decision! It was about 10 degrees cooler in the shade!

When we got back to the house, the kids both took a nap. Lilly didn't even make it back home before she was catching some zzzzz's. After they woke up, we decided to go and get some dinner and hit the mall for a little while. Trevor still has a couple of gift cards that he got for his birthday and they are burning a hole in his pocket.

We had a busy day but it was a lot of fun. The children all enjoy spending time with Nana. They love being with her and all the fun stuff that we do.

Play Date

James and Grace sharing a snack

Today was a long day for us. We started by getting up early and heading to school. James is still doing terrific at school and he just loves it. Every morning when we wake up, he says, "I going to school today?" He had Show and Tell today and he took his 3rd birthday photo album to show everyone his dirt bike and the other great gifts that he got. He was so proud and excited to show his class.


He said on the way home from school that he wanted Grace to come over. She is one of our neighbors and she is about a year older than him. They get along very well and play good together. I think that she is amazed at what a wild man James is! He shows her all sorts of crazy things that she's never seen before. Although, I do have to say that she is just his type. She actually has 4 stitches on her eyebrow area. She was playing on the monkey bars yesterday and slipped and busted her head open. Her mother had to take her to the emergency room. James was worried about her all evening and today. He said several times, "I hope Grace feels good today." If you enlarge the picture, you can actually see a big red band-aid on her forehead! Anyway, after lunch, she came over and played for a while. They played in the back yard on the play set the most, but they also rode bikes and played in the playroom for a while. Lilly missed most of the action. She slept for over 3 hours this afternoon. She woke up about 20 minutes before Grace left to go back home.


When Trevor got home from school, he had cooked up a plan with 2 of his buddies for a sleepover. Of course, the destination was our house! I really don't mind that they want to hang out here. I would much rather have them here so that I can keep an eye on them and know what they are doing. We ordered pizza for dinner and ate out on the deck. Trev and his friends stayed on until dark skating in the driveway, working on skateboards, and just being boys.

Finally, I have everyone asleep. The house is quiet. And I am exhausted. But, I am so blessed to have my children. It's days like this that I just love!

Where's Lilly?

James and Lilly crack me up. I came down stairs to find that James had shut Lilly in the kitchen pantry and was standing in front of the door so she couldn't open it. He had the biggest grin on his face (see above picture!). Meanwhile, she was beating on the door and screaming "Open door, James!" When she made it out, thanks to my help, she wasn't amused (see picture above). She was as mad as she could be! She has a short little temper but luckily, she doesn't hold a grudge long. Once she saw James laughing, she was ready to make a game out of it. They played in and out of the pantry for about 15 or 20 minutes.

Trevor had his first 6th grade dance today. It started right after school and I picked him up about 6:15. He said that he finally started dancing about the last 5 songs. I would have paid to see that! He has about as much soul as......Todd!!! He hung out with his friends, ate pizza and shaved ice cones, and talked to girls. I don't think that he actually danced with one, though! I had volunteered at the school but since Todd is out of town, I wasn't able to make it to this event. Trevor was grateful. He said that he would be embarrassed to have me there. I don't know why. I thought that I was somewhat of a cool Mom. Now, I just don't know.

All of the kids (and myself) are ready for their Daddy to be home. James was talking in his sleep last night and said "When Todd gonna be home?". He asks me that about 5 times a day. Every morning when we wake up, that is the first thing out of his mouth. Lilly has asked for him a few times. Usually around her nap time or evening bed time she will say "Want Daddy." As for Trevor, I think he just wants someone to skate with him. His friend, Josh, has been over but that's no substitute for Dad! As for me, I just need someone to talk to after the kids all go to sleep. It's when the house is quiet that I miss Todd the most. That's usually our time together. So with him gone, I'm catching up on all of my General Hospital episodes, emails, and long needed deep cleaning. Sounds so fun, huh!?!