What a weekend!!

I don't think we could have crammed one more thing into this crazy, fun and exhausting weekend. Sit back and make some time for this blog, I'm sure it'll be a long one to share all about our recent events!
Our busy, fun events started on Thursday. I picked Nicholas up from school and we went over to play at Eli's house. The boys had a great time playing of course, Kim and I loved catching up, and it was adorable seeing Nolan's fascination with baby Leah (now 4 months). We got caught up in all the fun there and had no time for naps before heading to a doctors appointment to get Nolan checked out for his lingering cough, tummy problems, and diaper rash. We left there, prescription in hand and headed home to pick up Daddy and a quick bite and then it was back off to Nick's last soccer practice. He had a great time of course, especially with his little friend Cayden. The two of them just get into their own silly world out there, it's so cute to watch!
Friday was another busy day (preschool, Bible study, a little shopping) and then we headed out that evening for the Parade of Nations for his soccer team. It's like a mini World Cup Parade of Nations where each of the soccer teams, all different countries, line up and parade around the field waving their flags. There was music and food and tons of crazy children running circles around the field. It was lots of fun except that Nicholas learned the word "poopyhead" and was the victim of this other little bully who kept pushing him down. Nicholas actually took this all well and thought it was funny--I did not. I am not ready for the potty talk and aggressive boy-play! I am praying this was a fluke night and this will not be the normal interaction with other boys these days. I know it will come sometime, I'm just not ready yet!
Saturday we knew we were going to have to start things early but Nicholas had even earlier ideas. At 5 am he came into our room wanting to get in our bed. Knowing that I could not give in on this as we had just recently conquered this issue, I told him it was not time to wake up yet and he had to go back to bed. Nick freaked out and fell hysterically in the hall, kicking and screaming--right in front of Nolan's door might I add. So we found ourselves giving him a spanking at 5 am. Not how we wanted to start our day!
Nick's final soccer game was that morning. He did a great job and got a goal and had so much fun doing it. Mostly I was so proud of him for having a great attitude and having fun! He got an awesome trophy and certificate and was so proud!
We left the soccer game and drove to Dawsonville to Uncle Shuck's Pumpkin Farm and met our Sunday School class. And we were so thankful that Mimi joined us for the fun! Nicholas loved the Kiddie Corn Maze--so much so that we never had to pay for the real corn maze! We went for a hay ride, had lunch, and took some not very good pictures in the pumpkins (sadly the pic of the two boys with the pumpkins is the best one of the both of them!). We got tired quickly and headed home, both boys passing out in the car.
Our next adventure was not a fun one. On Friday I quickly ran into a new Goodwill next to our home and found a beautiful TV armoire. I called Graham and then went back and purchased it, however we had to figure out the logistics of getting it home. We had until 8 pm on Saturday to get it and this proved to be much more difficult than I ever imagined. After much stress and many phone calls to figure out different options, we ended up at Lowe's to rent a truck. A very kind employee there ended up being so generous and brought the truck to Goodwill for free! It took 4 LARGE Goodwill employees to get it into the truck. I then called all my girlfriends in the neighborhood and in a matter of 2 minutes, we had 5 husbands (and one much needed hand truck) in our driveway to move the armoire! I can't get over how wonderful our neighbors are! It was a miracle but it all worked out and no one was injured and thankfully our marriage is still intact! I'm so sorry honey! And after everything calmed down, we were able to watch our TV in our new armoire and see the Bulldawgs win!
(At this point, you are probably tired just from reading all this. As exhausted as we may have been, we still had a full day planned for Sunday!)
We started the day as I wish I did everyday, with worship and fellowship at church and Sunday School. Afterwards, Mom and the boys and me headed out to East Cobb Park (Graham earned a day off after the debacle from yesterday) for Nolan's modeling debut! Nolan had a photo shoot for a baby catalog where he was modeling a pacifier clip. He's been practicing his model face (Magnum style) for weeks now! The pictures turned out amazing and I can't wait to get them. And I was so excited to get the free baby gear as payment. After playing on the playground, we moved on to our next stop to visit my friend Nadine's new house nearby. We had a wonderful visit and tour of her beautiful new home (I'm so happy for you Nadine!) and Nicholas had a wonderful time playing with her husband Michael in the backyard.
Our final stop on this whirlwind of a weekend was back home to our neighborhood pumpkin carving party. We had great food and fellowship with our neighbors. In fact Nicholas was having so much fun playing with all the other little kids that he would not stop to eat. The biggest surprise was that one of our neighbors owns a tractor and trailer and offered to come by and give hayrides for everyone! We've always sort of made fun of this home as they have goats and chickens (yes, that's right, in our neighborhood in Alpharetta, GA) but it seems having a "farmer" for a neighbor paid off! Graham and I took turns, each going with the boys for a hayride. And in the end, we had so much fun and there was no time for pumpkin carving!
Thankfully, all of my boys (Hubby included) are now fast asleep after our crazy weekend! I am so thankful for all of the experiences that we are able to provide for our boys. I just hope that we can teach them gratitude and appreciation along the way. Now I better get to bed too!