A Camp Out - er In!

My friend Amy had surgery on January 21st, and I had mentioned having her children, Jadyn and Trevyr, spend the night at our house one night during her recovery. On Friday, February 6th when we left dance, I had 3 children in my van, and I was headed to pick up the 4th (Drew) from my mom and dad's house. From there, we headed to Chick-fil-a (the drive through of course, as I was not brave enough to take the four of them in there by myself) and then home for fun. The four of them enjoyed their supper of nuggets and waffle fries and then spent the rest of the night playing in their rooms. I really could not believe how well the night went with four children ages 4, 5, 6, and 7! They were well behaved, especially Jadyn and Trevry (my two were their usual selves), and they all got along very well - there was no fussing and fighting which shocked me because my two do that all the time. Our plan was to have popcorn as we watched a movie before bed, but the time got away from me. Instead we baked heart cookies and then watched the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All four children used their sleeping bags as they "camped-out" in our living room. Amy came to our house the next morning so that she, Jadyn, and Trevyr could go with us to watch Drew's basketball game, and then she took our girls to dance that afternoon. All four kids seemed to have a lot of fun that night, and it really wasn't all that bad for mama either (just a little tired the next day).

Mikayla was the last one to sleep, as usual.

By 11:00, they were all sleeping peacefully.

Then, on Saturday night, March 7th while her husband was at the race, Amy asked if both Drew and Mikayla wanted to spend the night at her house. I told her she was a brave soul for keeping both of them, but they both wanted to stay. So, Craig and I dropped Drew and Mikayla off (along with some pizza) about 5:30 that night and we enjoyed a date night!!

Final Day of Dance Camp

On Friday morning, Mikayla got ready to head in for her last day of dance camp 2007! She went to her dance studio every day last week from 11:30 - 3:30 for camp. While there, the campers (nineteen of them total) enjoyed lunch, worked on crafts, learned many different styles of dance (tap, ballet, jazz, clogging, hip-hop, Irish step, etc.), learned how to apply stage make - up, and various other activities. Mikayla had a ball at camp every day so when it came time for the sleepover on Friday night she was super excited!! Daddy, Mommy, Drew, and Mikayla went and got supper and then took Mikayla back to the studio for the sleepover Friday night! Mikayla says good night to daddy and Drew before going inside.
"I can do this mommy - don't worry, I'll be fine!"
There were already several girls there when we arrived. Mikayla sits in Miss Nicole's lap and takes a picture while watching the other girls. I was surprised that she stayed because Jadyn hadn't arrived yet. I saw Jadyn and her mom going in as I was coming out. I thought Miss Andrea would have to call me to tell me to pick Mikayla up because I didn't think she would stay the night. She did though, and when I picked her up on Saturday morning Miss Andrea said she was really good. She didn't cry at all! Our "baby girl" is getting so big!!

Labor Day

Drew and Mikayla after both baths were finished and before we started playing games Mimi took this pic with them!!!!
Drew and Mikayla enjoyed Labor Day weekend! The part they enjoyed most was having a sleepover with Mimi, Poppi, and Aunt Jennie! Saturday Mimi, Poppi, and Jennie asked Drew and Mikayla if they wanted to spend the night with them Sunday night since they didn't have school today. Both Drew and Mikayla were very excited, and enthusiastically answered yes! We had made plans with Grandma earlier in the week for her to come to our house Sunday night to visit and give Mikayla her birthday present. So our schedule for Sunday was - church in the morning, dinner at Mimi and Poppi's, evening with Grandma, and back to Mimi and Poppi's house for a sleepover!


We took Drew and Miki over to my mom and dad's after their Grandma Cheryle left last night. Craig and I were pretty skeptical about both of them staying all night, especially Mikayla. She had never spent a night in her life away from me! Once we dropped them off over there, Craig and I went out to eat! It was so nice to be able to enjoy eating out just he and I. Don't get me wrong neither of us would know what to do if we didn't have Drew and Mikayla - it was so quiet here last night! However, a date every now and then is really wonderful! Even still, we expected a call once we got home. Nobody ever called so right before we went to bed last night, I called my sister's cell just to check on them. Jennie said that Mikayla was already asleep and Drew was headed that way! I couldn't believe it - I asked if she cried at all. Jennie answered that she never cried, but one time she said "I want my mommy". Jennie just held her for a little bit, and she was fine. She fell asleep watching Disney! They had had a busy evening; dinner from MacDonald's (we went through the drive through before dropping them off), games (Connect Four and Candy Land), baths, coloring, and t.v. They had a ball!! Some of my most fond memories are speding the night with my Grandma and Papa. Hopefully Drew and Mikayla will have fond memories of this as well!

**Jennie took this picture (and a few more that I couldn't get uploaded tonight - check back for them) for me and emailed them to me with the captions!! Thank you Jennie, mom, and dad, for all you do for Drew and Miki!!!

Power Finally!!

We are all home from school, and Craig is home from work again today. The roads are clear and passable, however power has been out almost everywhere. I shouldn't have said anything about us having power yesterday!! When I posted it was around 8:00 am, and right after 9:00 we lost power! So, we packed the kids up and headed over to my mom and dad's house. They still had power at 9, however, when we arrived there a little after 10:00, they had lost their power as well! The good news is they have 2 fireplaces, so we could at least stay warm. About 4:00, Craig and Daddy went to get pizza! After calling Little Ceasars and Pizza Hut and finding out they didn't have power either, they were finally able to order at Dominos. When daddy called, there was a 2 hour wait for delivery. Daddy told them that he would come get it, so it was only a 30 minute wait. When they got back from getting pizza, they said Dominos, Applebees, Walmart, and Lowes were packed. I guess with so many people without power, they were getting out of the house. About 6:00, we decided we would take the kids to get more batteries since it had gotten dark and they were getting a little bored. By this time, all that was open was Lowes. Dominos, Applebees, and Walmart had all lost power. So we went and got batteries from Lowes, and then we just rode around for awhile. I was amazed at the number of houses/businesses without power. The only things open were Zaxby's, Macdonald's, Race Trak, Corner Store, and a few houses around those businesses. Everywhere else we went was dark! When we got home, we found out that all Spartanburg County schools would be closed again today. So, we talked, listened to a little music (thanks to my sister's battery-powered radio), played a little (all by candlelight) and then went to sleep a little after 10! This gave us a small glimpse of what life must've been like before power. This morning, we called our house and were soooooo excited when our answering machine picked up! WE HAVE POWER!!!! Mom and dad still are without! If they don't have power by tonight, they may be sleeping over with us!