Father's Day weekend

So far our summer has been one long staycation! The walls of our house have been closing in and I have been desperate for a change of scenery. Our good friends live in Nashville and it seems that most years we generally see them on the weekend of the 4th of July. On Tuesday night we were trying to make plans when we determined that the 4th was not going to work, but this weekend would! So like the great friends we are, we bombarded them, all 7 of them with only 4 days notice! They still love us...I think!

We got in late Friday night only to be awoken at 6:06 am on Saturday morning by excited children eager to play. We eventually hit the pool, having a great time! That was followed by a weak attempt at water balloons, dinner at home and an early bedtime!

Sunday was church, lunch out, Dad gifts and more playtime/talk time for the adults. Here are some pics of the kids with their dads.

Claire made Scott a duct tape wallet. It was seriously the cutest thing! She cut out pictures of deer and fish and wrote things like "hunter dude" on it with a Sharpie. She learned how to make it out of her Clubhouse Jr. magazine and was able to teach Jackson so Jason got one too!

We also got Scott the standard Dad day gifts: 2 ties, one FL Gator shirt and a pair of khaki's.
Out of the Ellison 5 I might say this guy is the cutest. He also gives his mom and dad a run for their money which makes me laugh. Rye is persistent they say! I say CUTE is what he is!
Jason got a variety of handmade gifts including a Mad Lib filled in by Annie. We brought him a bag of his favorite Kaldi's coffee which he cannot buy in Nashville.
So sad, it is time to go home :( Actually the saddest part of this picture is that this is the only picture we got with all the kids and I can't even really say that because baby Truett was asleep. Oh well, we will try again next time.
We were so glad we went. Not only was it great change of scenery but it was just a good time with friends from the past. Jackson and Annie are exactly the same ages as Claire and Emma. These are the people we lived life with when we were having babies. Ok, they are still having babies, but you know what I mean! Kim was the only person who could call me between 4 and 6 pm and know exactly what I was going through. I could vent to her so that I did not have to save it all up for my husband when he walked through the door. I love her, I love her family. And I love that my children have had much better manners since we arrived home! Gotta love the South!!

Feasting Fun!

This year while I was running in Nashville, my lovely husband was in the CCS gymnasium bidding on things! He and 10 of our friends went together to bid on the Fiala Feast offering. Jim Fiala, owner of 4 fabulous STL restaurants (The Crossing, Acero, Liluma and The Terrace View) kindly donated this to raise money for our school. It was a progressive dinner starting at the Crossing, Appetizers/salads at Liluma, pasta at Acero, main entrees at Terrace View and dessert back at The Crossing. The topper was that we all rode in an Escalade limo!! It was a total CCS prom! Cheesy you may say?! NO. You have just never rode inside a limo in which the interior changes color!!

Ana and Me outside "our ride"

The Guys

The gals

The food was all delicious. Our favorite entree (out of the 4 we got to try) was the skate. I am probably not spelling that right. The waitress kept saying, "When I say skate, you say_____." Can you fill in the blank? It is stingray! That is right, the fish you get to pet at the zoo! Down right delicious. I never would have guessed. I thought it would be oily and stinky, but not when cooked just right. Go to The Terrace View to give it a try!

I love food and friends and this night was the best of both. We laughed a lot. We were eating and laughing for 5 1/2 hours and it went by way too fast. It actually felt rushed at times. The only thing I did not like was that we would eat one course and have to be back on the move to the next restaurant. I realized that the thing I love most about eating out is having someone clear the table while I sit and linger. We did not have a lot of time to linger, but we did have plenty to eat :)

My Gentle Giant

Sam has long been referred to as the "Gentle Giant". He has always been a huge kid. He is taller and weighs more than some of Claire's friends. We knew he would be big from the time I birthed the guy. Scott made the call with the comment, "Look at how big his paws are!" As if he were some Labrador we were choosing from the litter to take home to love. He is 6 now which seems so BIG and it is, but some days he just seems so little.

This week he is going to a half day soccer camp. It is sort of intense for a little guy, but Claire is going too so I thought it would be okay. They play soccer for a couple hours and then they get to swim for a little bit. Here is how the conversation plays out today.

S: Mom when we get dressed for the pool I see everyone's underwear.

Me: Yeah, Sam it's okay you are all boys

S: But there aren't any changing rooms

Me: Well, that is sort of how the big boys do it in the locker room

S: But, we aren't big boys, were little boys

Since the summer I have also noticed he has sort of been feeling left out. The girls have been playing great together. They are playing their "baby" game or playing on the rope swing they made outside. Yesterday he said the funniest thing. He said, "The girls just don't notice me anymore." "Lucy (friend) doesn't notice me at soccer camp either!" I think this is his way of saying he feels left out, but from the sound of it you would guess he was 15!

Today we went to the library. We got tons of books and 2 movies. It is becoming difficult to find a G rated movie we haven't seen, but we picked one up called "The Fox and the Child". Another mom and her kids were next to us and said they had seen it. The little girl quickly said, "Oh, it's sad." But then I reminded her not to tell us the sad part and her mom said it was a really good movie from a mom point of view. So we got it along with Dr. Doolittle for another night! So I am thinking, alright there is a possibility that this movie is sad, but that won't be bad, it's G after all. At least it won't be like that scary UP movie which caused Sam to have nightmares for 3 mos. and validated our concern that PG is just too much for us! Thinking I am safe I load that baby up in the DVD player, make dinner, pause it for dinner, un-pause it for clean-up and then collapse on the couch at 7:45 to catch the last part of the movie. My children are fully engaged and happy with the movie. The fox is cute, It's name is Lilly. It comes to the girl when she calls it into her house where it freaks out, jumps out the window and seemingly dies. REALLY. Visions of Bambi are going through my head. I am instantly concerned about Emma, the animal lover. But those concerns are quickly gone as my little boy grabs my arm and begins sobbing. Big, fat tears rolling down his cheeks and saying, "Mom, I told you we shouldn't watch this movie." To which Emma responds, "Sam, things happen."

So there you have my evening. However Lilly is resurrected at the end of the movie after we have to cry more over the fact that her babies won't be able to survive if she dies.

Sorry, If you were going to rent this. I have spoiled it. It is sort of a cute movie if you have kids that are not as sensitive as my gentle giant. He just cannot handle this stuff. Lesson learned, AGAIN!