Well, my consistency with the blog has started to wane a little this past week, but I’m back at it, FINALLY!  It has been quite the week since my last post.  I’m down to the final two weeks before my next triathlon.  The early mornings, before the kids awake, are spent at the lake running, biking around the county, or swimming.  Training takes a lot of the little spare time that I have these days.  Speaking of the early mornings, the picture below was from a vantage point at Lake Junaluska that I found after a recent morning run.  What a special place and a special view!

The last week was also a little crazy because I was wrapping up some things at work so that I could take this week off to spend with the kids.  If you know anything about the mortgage business, the last week of the month is usually the busiest, and last week was no exception.  Preparing to get out of there was difficult.  Nevertheless, I’m on vacation this week and the kids and I are enjoying every moment of it.  So, today’s post is going to recap some of the things the kids and I have seen, done, or experienced since Saturday.

It felt good to sleep in a little on Saturday.  Friday, I had “pulled” my calf a little and decided that Saturday was going to be an “off” day from training.  Wow, sleeping till 7:30 has never felt so good!  I let the “littles” sleep in while I got some much needed housework completed.  You know, laundry, sweeping, bathrooms, dishes, typical stuff that has to be done, but the stuff that’s easy to push aside for more important things, like playing board games with the kiddos.  Hannah was at the lake with some of her friends, so it was just Christopher, Julia and me on Saturday.

Julia came home from camp one day last week talking about a fashion show at Belk on Saturday.  She was so exited to go and be in this fashion show.  After a pretty good job of painting her fingernails for the fashion show, I got them loaded up and off we went.

The fashion show was, well, a little overwhelming for this dad at first.  There were kids and parents everywhere in the children’s section.  The “stimulus” from the music, food, balloons and the “EVERYTHING is On Sale” signs was just a wee bit much for me, but I hung in there.  Back and forth I went from the girls section with Julia to the boys section with Christopher.  They finally decided on the outfit they would wear in the fashion show, along with a few outfits for the upcoming school year.  After an hour of picking out clothes, it was time to model one of the outfits.  Julia and Christopher had a blast walking the runway showing off their style (Fashion Show Video) .  I embraced the experience and smiled watching them strut their stuff.

Later that afternoon, we decided to go into town for the Folkmoot International Day Festival.  If you live in Western North Carolina, this is a festival that you need to put on your calendar and experience.  It was the highlight of the day for me and the kids.  The kids loved dancing with a group from India and a group of cloggers from Florida State University.  Julia and Christopher did not hesitate to get in among the dancing action and I had a blast watching!  The festival would not be complete without funnel cake, kettle corn and sodas from Waynesville Soda Jerks, a locally owned artisan beverage company.

Saturday night, the kids wanted “Daddy’s” famous shrimp and grits.  Bacon is the not so secret ingredient.  The kids love bacon. After a LONG day, this old boy was whooped.

Sunday morning we got up and went to church.  I have been the “head” usher for the past few weeks, but had some help from Christopher and Julia this time.  They love assisting in any way they can, whether its getting the attendance count, handing out the bulletins or passing the plate!  I love that they enjoy serving!

After church, we grabbed some sandwiches, got our canned goods and headed off to watch the Asheville Tourist play.  It was “Kid’s Day” and also “free” general admission with the canned goods we brought being donated to the Manna Food Bank.  The kids love watching live baseball.  They stayed engaged and really attuned to what’s going on. Christopher’s goal is always to get a ball and today was a success in many ways.  A foul ball made it’s way to us, but since he got a ball the last time, he handed it to a little boy sitting close to us.  Such a good gesture.  He was rewarded later when, during the last inning, a batter broke his bat and as the teammate carried the bat back to the dugout the coach nodded for him to hand it to Christopher.  Talk about making a kid smile!  Getting a ball is quite the treat, but walking out of the stadium with a bat, will be a memory Christopher and Julia will never forget!

Monday, during the day, was fairly low-key!  I had some yard work to do and I was thankful my dad came up to help.  Hannah was back from the lake and Christopher was in AIG camp, so it was an afternoon with the girls that we spent at the pool for a few hours after lunch.

Tuesday, the girls and I had a fun day, out and about, in downtown Waynesville.  We had lunch and walked Main Street browsing some of the girls’ favorite local stores.  We had such a good time just hanging out in town.  We even treated ourselves to ice cream from The Strand at 38 Main.  Julia had Mocha Oreo, Hannah had Death By Chocolate and I tried the Espresso Crunch.  Yum, Yum Yum!

Last night we went to Canton’s National Night Out event.  My employer was a sponsor for the event that brought together the community with all of our first responders in the county.  It was a very nice event and the kids had a good time.  I volunteered to work at our booth, where we handed out Popsicle with “Popsicle” Koozies!  How creative!

We have quite a bit planned over the next few days, but I’m using the day today to catch up on a few things that have taken a back seat to hanging with the kids, like the laundry and the dishes!  We’ve enjoyed our “stay-cation” so far.  Let’s just see what we can get into the rest of the week.

It’s “Hump Day.”  I hope your week is going well!  Thanks for stopping by!  We’ll chat soon!