cooling off

We are baking in Atlanta.. 100 degree temps {record high of all time 106F} the other day. It's scorching!...  As in legs sticking to the car seats, make up melting, take your breath away, suffocating heat. The only way to survive is to stay inside in the coolness or fully drench ourselves head to toe with water. This is how we spent our Saturday morning {outside of course} slathered in 55 plus sunscreen that left the pasty white zinc oxide residue all over these two munchkins.

We fully enjoyed Caden's blow up mega pool. Lots of splashing and water gun soaking cooled the young'ns down. We survived underneath the Down's shaded deck with misters spritzing the adults. Oh so cool;)

Pool time was interrupted by brief periods of cruising the grounds in style.

Eliza Kate found two floaty animal friends to entertain her in the water, while the boys used the other end of the pool to play wrestling. What is it about boy's and body contact? They learn this way of relating early on.

We loved our reunion with C man. These two were great buds from 3 year old preschool.

Superhero moves were tested out from running down Caden's hill and plunging into the deep waters below. 

Sometimes I worry that there aren't enough girlfriends in this missy's life. We'll saturate her with dolls the rest of the weekend, promise. Trying our best to beat the heat. Hoping for a break soon!

Aviation Adventures

Grandmama put in a request way back in the spring for me to be her co-pilot at Vacation Bible School this year. How could I refuse the opportunity to serve & work with such an awesome theme & partner? We were second grade pilots and flew the passengers from station to station. Our hangar door was a fun project to tackle together. We even planned out the additional touches to our Amelia Earhart aviation costumes. Sometimes, you have to dress in character to engage the kiddos more fully. Miller begged to come see our classroom each morning and witness our students arriving. Hugging dear grandmama was a request he put in on our morning drive each day. He's so proud of me in the teaching element & loved spotting me around the building.

  All the decorations in the hallways were vintage and true to theme. It was a busy & meaningful week! My favorite memory of the week is of my mom purchasing a children's bible for a girl in our group that didn't own one at home. Such a meaningful morning to watch my mom complete the inside cover of the Bible and present it to the little girl as a gift.

Both Miller and Eliza Kate got to attend the preschool version of "flying camp" as Miller named it. He was wow'ed by the events of the week and came home with the cutest little airplane keepsakes & travel crafts. They even dressed the preschoolers up as pilots with a fancy airplane prop to capture the memory. The moms took home an adorable keepsake frame from their week at VBS. In true Miller fashion, he met two new friends in his class that he talked non-stop about at home. I love his gregarious nature. Most of all, I love how he listened during chapel time and retold the bible stories at night to us. His teacher's engaged him and taught rich spiritual truths.

On family night, we met up at the fields of Johnsons Ferry for an old fashioned picnic. 1940's music was playing & Poppy was in his element. The kids enjoyed games on the lawn like hoola hooping, water melon seed spittin' {that's how we say it in the south}, and wheel barrow racing. It was hot...Miller couldn't resist stirring up dust clouds on the baseball field with friends. His navy crocs were a pale shade of brown. He was caked with a thin layer of brown dirt. See the dust cloud following him in the above picture? boys!

The potato sack racing really made you feel like you were taking a time travel trip back to the deep south in the 40's & 50's. Even the picnic had a vintage feel to it. Sometimes I wish that we could all live in those simpler times where kids played games until dark and neighbors socialized on front porches sipping lemonade:) Churches had picnics on the grounds every Sunday with banana puddin' {another southernism)...

I love sharing in all of the simple times of togetherness with our family.

We love being together.
Eliza Kate lounged in her pink lawn chair like a little lady of leisure. Two spoons were used to enjoy her ice cream sundae.

We socialized all evening, people watched at sunset & watched the kids run in circles on the fields {creating dust clouds} of course.

Poppy helped Miller scoop even bigger bites from his rock frozen ice cream. Shoveling with plastic spoons proved challenging.

They turned it into a game as these two usually do.

Miller proudly showing off his dirty, stinky feet while downing a Sprite. This is a beverage he has requested at special events like these, recently. I'm hoping we don't get asked regularly for sodas.

This was a much needed night together as we sent Grandmama on her mission trip Friday morning. She's taking this VBS flight on the road across the world. We're praying for you on the next big adventure next week!

street play

We are relishing in all the outside fun this summer right outside of our door. We have  "new kids on the block", Sadly, Grant moved down the road at the beginning of the month...but Jack moved in and is one week older than Miller. A new friendship has taken hold, and these two are outside on most afternoons riding bikes and scooters.  Jack's mom commented that she could have moved him into a cardboard box on our street and he would still have been over the moon with all the action outside. She said they didn't know all they were missing out on in their last neighborhood;) We are blessed with old fashioned block playing here. I have a feeling this only sets us up for future disappointment in our next house....Praying we can find friends on our next adventure. One thing is for sure, it's made the house hunt challenging.

Miss Maddie can only handle short periods of play with so many boys.  The other girls were absent on this day.

Eliza Kate discovered the thrill of Gavin's ride on truck. It crawls along very slowly. The perfect steering trainer for future Escalade driving.

No.Words.

Three year old Gavin took our missy on a date. He maneuvers the Escalade like a pro. EK sits with her belt on so I was confident in her chauffeur.

Even Miller boards the slowly moving Dodge for a spin.

Most kids venture out after dinner. That's really the only time of day they can handle the heat. Some of the crew survived until 9:30 the other evening for an impromptu street fireworks display in their jammies.  Soaking up our last days on Islandora. Oh, how you've made our lives rich with friendships!

 

safety camp

Camp continued this week with Wellstar's Safety Camp. Grant, Miller and Cameron from the neighborhood carpooled all together to a local elementary school. Safety camp is put on by the county for rising Kindergartners to attend. Each day was a different safety theme. Miller had lots of "safe tips" to share at home. The camp instructors taught simple rhymes for the kids to memorize when they are presented with an unsafe situation. If only I could have seen Miller and Grant acting out water safety with life preservers and sunglasses on. "Reach, throw, DON'T GO!" was the water safety rhyme for Monday.

 The little miniature town was explored on big wheels to teach the rules of the road. Red tickets were handed out to the kids when they violated a safety rule. The campers learned what all the road signs represented and brought home their own signs on popsicle sticks to review. SO cute!
The biggest disappointment of camp week was on Thursday when Miller failed the stranger danger exercise on the playground. We've talked about strangers at home, but we were all curious to see if our little discussions would be followed when placed in the unplanned situation. Apparently, Miller said no to the candy, but when the stranger actor approached a second time with puppy pictures and a ploy to find the lost puppy...he followed the trail of other kids across the playground to save the day. Both Miller & Grant were devastated on the drive home that they had been tricked. But, I was so thankful that it provided another valuable real life lesson. This situation made an impact...that's for sure! Some of the little girls were traumatized by the situation, but it was great practice to avoid a devastating event.
It's been hard for Miller to distinguish who a stranger is as we often are friendly to complete strangers in the south. It's a form of politeness to talk to adults in the grocery store aisle. We often smile and engage to show friendliness. With time, I hope he'll be able to discern who is out to snatch him!

They had forgotten all about the failed test just in time for the last day's fun events. Omi and Papa were able to come into town early to see Miller's end of camp celebration. I was thankful that we could divide and conquer as I had a VBS luncheon to attend. Miller always expects a cheering section on days like these. He always asks, "Who's coming to watch me?"  I enjoyed taking the picture tour later at home. Landon humored me by taking the camera along. I could hardly stand not going.

 

 Luckily, I relived all the cuteness with Miller's little narration of the closing ceremony. We're hoping that we're one step closer to a safe kiddo.

celebrating poppy

 I absolutely love outdoor dinners on my parents covered porch. It's a little slice of escape dining lakeside. It's over the top when uncle Clay can in on the familia dinners. Miller and Eliza Kate enjoy the extra attention.

Tonight we celebrated Poppy & the wonderful grandfather that he is. So thankful that we've given him this season of parenting grands. He's all about the fun factor & can get away with shenanigans that only grandpas are allowed to get away with.
Notice Miller man's sheering hair cut.  His stylist "crush" is recovering from a broken foot and this hair style is a result of her absence. Oh well, I think we'll make it until a back to school hair cut.

Nothing like an uncle's love. Uncle Clay is always wrestling & turning our boy upside down and all about. He roughs him up and there's nothing like the sound of contagious giggles that can be heard from across the room when these two are together.

This one loves her Poppy. Poppy loves to take her lovey and play hide and seek with it under his shirt. He's always playful with this one chasing her and teasing her with little games. If he's not showing her Elmo clips on YouTube, he's reading to her. Poppy likes to sneak in little treats and cookies too. That's why Poppy is moving up the ranks in popularity with our missy.

She's always up for a snuggle on her daddy's lap.

Miller could barely make it through dinner without asking us over & over about our after dinner pool plans. It's nice that their community's pool is a short walk around the lake. We've grown accustomed to the neighborhood kids' laughter at the pool while eating. The sounds of happy summer play become the background ambiance noise to our outdoor dinners. Of course, this only adds to Miller's impatience to get swimming. He can't handle not being included in the action.

 Can you blame him for his excitement? Miller was volleyed him back and forth in the water.

He didn't quite work up the confidence to conquer the water slide. There's always next visit to conquer that. These three brought about alot of activity to the pool. Something about all that male energy....

 Eliza Kate entertained herself with the shark watering can. The pink and green girly can doesn't cut it anymore.

She finally warmed up to her uncle by giving him a shower with her watering can.  Oh the joys of filling her can up to the brim and slowly pouring it over Clay's head.

 Evening swims are becoming our favorite around here. It always feels like vacation to me taking an after dinner swim. Quick trips like these are a great way to end the day. No sunscreen application time and it exhausts the kids just in time for bed.

All cozied up in her towel. Flashback to 1985 and this was my poolside striped towel. It's always fun to bring back a retro favorite for your children to use. We call it her lovey for the pool;)

 Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads!

two wheels

MVI_2453[1].MOV from Erica Fokens on Vimeo.
To my shock and awe, this is how I found Miller getting around when I returned from a shower on Saturday afternoon. Landon took off the trusty training wheels with high hopes of getting Miller to take off on his own.


10 minutes of release training gave this little cyclist the confidence he needed to take off.
He needed a little pep talk from Landon to give him a confidence boost.

Then, Landon released him to ride on his own. {insert tears & joy here}

Can you believe I missed his first triumphant circle around the cul-de-sac?  That's like missing out on  first steps, I later shared with Landon. Really we credit the itch to learn from our new five year old Canadian neighbor, Jack, across the street. He has been confidently cruising the block without trainers while Miller's been lagging behind.... trained since he was four years old on two wheels, that Jack. It perked Miller's little competitive nature to conquer the street on two wheels. Miller learned the European style of bike riding borrowing Jack's sturdy wooden scoot bike first. It's a no pedal low to the ground bike to teach balance. Who knew that in other countries training wheels are a no-no. Once the feeling of balance clicked cruising down our street full speed, Miller knew what it felt like to have no supports on each side. Of course he loved the low to the ground safety net of being able to put his feet down if he got too swervy.

Landon put Miller way up high on his right shoulder for a winner's victory lap around our couch. Their hands lifted high in celebration & a large giddy grin plastered all over our boy's face.  A beautiful shared experience on Father's Day weekend.


The fact that Miller learned to ride on Islandora with all of our neighbor friends cheering him on makes me feel so at home. Just one more milestone in this house. One more fond memory to link to our Kingsgate days. It's only fitting. Excited for Miller's new summer adventure on two wheels. He's walking just a little taller these days and looking so much older on his bike. Woo Hoo Miller man!

Celebrating Daddy

Today we celebrated Landon...the daddy who-

-fake trips over grocery carts inside the market all in order to get laughs from Miller

-drives grocery carts like race cars complete with engine sounds

-totes Miller on his shoulder singing "He's a Jolly Good Fellow" when he makes a goal

-volunteers to read to the kiddos at night

-makes a fool out of himself dancing in the living room with the fam

-is hands on

-steam rolls Miller in the living room until he crys "uncle"

-dresses up in the fuzzy Easter bunny costume to please the kids for the egg hunt {ears and all}

-plays crocodile chomper on the bed Saturday mornings to the the kiddos feet

-wrestles & roughs up our boy

-prays for our family

-takes initiative to discipline the kids

-drops his laptop case off at the door to swing/ hug the kids like a sweet reunion

-enjoys cooking for the family

-master tucker inner at night;)

-takes time out to talk things out with Miller

-is their hero

-is the master tickler & zerberter with Eliza Kate shouting "again"!

-works so hard at his job so I can play so hard at mine

-models what helping others looks like and drops everything to go help out a friend.

-loves Jesus

-teaches our children spiritual truths

-leads by example

-is faithfully creating a heritage for Miller & Eliza Kate

-is generous

YOU are the faithful daddy that every child deeply longs for and the husband that blesses my socks off. Thank you for loving us & modeling exactly what the male role looks like to Miller. Not to mention, what Eliza Kate will search for in the man in her life. It warms me when Miller says that all he wants to do when he grows up is to be a daddy. You've set the standard high We love doing life with you. Happy Father's Day, Landon!

splashing around

We splashed into this week enjoying the Sprayground with friends. It's become a summer favorite to venture to Riverside Park in Roswell. At $1.00 per person, it's a great summer outing for the kids. Not to mention, their mommy who doesn't mind getting splashed.

She's two and knows how to pose...gotta love her girly-ness. I just got lucky really in mid stride to capture her prancing in the water. All of a sudden it hit me that she's looking much older. She was cautious, but warmed up to the fountains once our friends arrived. Jackson and Anna & baby Reese made her comfortable to venture off.

We use to stay clear of the boisterous boys at the splash park. Now, he just one on those rowdy older boys that I have to corral away from the younger babies.{insert bull in a china shop visual here}. This was a great outlet to get all his energy out for the day.

Pure joy. Enough said.

Miller calls this his "surprised face". He asked me to view his surprised face photo on my camera. That kid. Drama, drama!

Evidence that he's always keeping his younger sister laughing. She thought it was hilarious that he stood still in the fountain and was covered {head to toe} with water. A disappearing act of sorts.

All splashed out & loving the water.

These two cuties wanted to wrestle and play superhero games in the park. True boys to the core. Jackson and Miller are two peas in a pod- that's for sure. They can hardly stand still without chasing eachother and giggling. Of  course, they get into mischief together.

We found a perfectly shady spot to picnic with the whole gang. Wish I could have photographed bathing beauty Reese in all her ruffles! Miller is eating us out of our house this summer often devouring two sandwiches and clearing out our snacks. That's what action packed days do to a growing boy's appetite. Thankful for sweet friends to share the morning with.