Lazy? Summer Days

Well...the lazy days of summer are in full swing...but somehow they are not nearly as lazy as I would like.

We have tried to institute a little structure here at home and it's keeping us busy. The kids spend the morning doing a few chores and working on homework...spelling and math practice mostly.

Then we have playdates, errands or quiet time...although with everyone home this also does not seem as quiet as I would like.

Then we spend the afternoon at the water park...dinner and then bed.

It just feels so full...which, I guess it is...but, the kids are having a really good time.

Mikayla spent the week at basketball camp...which she really enjoyed. She is hoping to make the school team in the fall. She also has Girl's Camp next week.

Joe has cub camp the week after that, then the three older kids are taking art camp...and Joe and Emma still want to do Tae Kwon Do camp.

Seriously...how did I make it through my ENTIRE childhood without ever attending any of these things?

My bike, a few friends, and the library were all I needed for the perfect summer.

What are you guys up to?

Pet Peeves

So we went to the water park today...as our first official day of "summer vacation."

We had a good time.

But I just had to share a little pet peeve.

This is obviously a family oriented place...really...a little kid paradise...since the deepest part of the entire place is 4 feet.

But, I am constantly amazed a what people deem appropriate to wear out in public and still consider themselves suitably attired.

I mean, when you have a tattoo located in between and slightly underneath your breasts and I can READ it in it's entirety...your swimsuit is probably a little too low.

And...no matter how nice your swimsuit is...when you top it with a skin tight shirt made out of fishnet...well...you get the picture.

And unfortunately...my kids got it too. ack.

Presents All Around

Today is Katie's birthday and I am finding it hard to believe that my baby is TWO!!!

Holy cow. It seems like just yesterday she was a fuzzy headed little baby...and now she is so big and dang, but that kid is cute.

She is starting to really talk a lot more and although she still babbles quite a bit...more and more of what she is saying is so clear.

She loves to go outside and whenever she wants to go out she says, "Shoes on?"

She adores candy and has been able to say "candy" for quite a while.

And now, with the advent of warmer weather she has recently mastered "popsicle."

I love to hear her say "nite-nite" and "love you". She is just doll.

Of course, she is also loud and independent...would you expect any less from one of my kids?

We had a little cupcake tonight to celebrate her birthday...although Katie was NOT thrilled by the candles on her cupcake.



But she warmed up to the icing pretty quickly.







I guess I just wish every cupcake didn't require a major scrub down. But, at least she enjoyed it.

But of course, no birthday is complete without presents, and I guess Katie wasn't thrilled that she didn't get any today...we are saving them for when her dad gets back.

So, I think maybe she decided to give me a present instead.



Yes, that is the entire bag of wipes in the toilet.



Oh, and yes, she did pull out each and every wipe before throwing the bag in too.

I guess I should just be grateful that she didn't try to flush.

**big sigh**

Happy birthday kiddo.

Blessings or Omens?

So, I was cooking dinner last night and the phone rang...so I ran to answer it and when I came back in I found this.




That's right...Katie was setting the table. By herself. Seriously.

She went and got cups and bowls and put them all around the table. By herself.

Seriously.

Should I feel lucky or scared?

And today...as I was vacuuming the couch, I happened upon this:



And when I asked who did this, Josh says right away, "It wasn't me."

um. okay.

Word of the Day

The word for the day: poop.

Nuf' said.

Fun, Fun, Fun

Well...the kids and I had a lot of fun this weekend...I am sure it is just a sign of the kind of summer we are going to have.

The school had a carnival, and of course, we HAD TO go. It was actually a pretty fun event and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Emma really wanted to dunk the principal...but she got out before it was Emma's turn...so she had to settle for dunking the PE teacher. She was the only one of the kids to hit it right on the bulls eye.



And Joe just had to climb this bad boy. I am thinking I need one of these for the back yard...cause by golly, I'm tired of finding footprints inside the doorways from where Joe likes to shimmy up!



Josh was proud to show off his muslces and ding this bell each time he tried. Little strong man!



Becky was content to watch the big kids play and eat her way through all the different treats the carnival had to offer. That girl likes her cotton candy!



And Mikayla...Well, we didn't actually see Mikayla cause she ran off with her friends...but we did manage this one shot of her showing off her skill...hummm.



All I can say is fun was had by all.

Theatrics

We took the three older kids to see the new Star Trek movie last night. It was the first time we have taken them to see a movie like this in the movie theater.

Now, I will be the first to admit that they are a little sheltered...and I think that's how it should be...but after Troy and I saw it the first time, we really thought that they would enjoy this...plus it was at the IMAX...so even better!

And they did.

Of course, as we were discussing the evening with them and they said that they thought they were going to see a movie called "Star Track" about a man named "Mr. Spark"...it made me think we should do this a little more often.

Marching One By One

Apparently, I am not the only thing crawling back into my house this week.



Seriously...yuck.

But, as bad as the ants are...the little children who leave crumbs all over my house are worse!!!

Fortunately...I don't forsee it being a problem to get rid of the ants...but what do I do with the crumb bums?

Crawling Back

Well...this week was lost to the ravages of food poisoning.

I'm finally starting to feel a tiny bit human.

But, thank goodness for my sweet husband who came home early on Wednesday and then took yesterday off to take care of me.

I'm always gripping at him that he works too much...and I know I shouldn't. Because, of course, when it really matters...he's right there where I need him.

So, not only feeling human today, but lucky too.

Indepdence Day

In the quest for independence, we are trying to teach the kids new skills...and Josh has finally mastered an all important one:



That chair apparently comes in handy for a variety of things.

Her Life In Pictures

If you give a girl a chair:

The Victim

The Culprit

The Verdict: No Remorse

The Flavor: Lemon

OMGOSH.

Seriously.

I have a link to a newspaper article about Troy...but I don't want to post it here. (I should add...the article is about him and his work -- too much identifying info for the blog, you know?)

So if you are interested...shoot me an e-mail and I will forward it to you.

A link to e-mail me is in the sidebar ----------------> over there.

So True

It's been a lot of fun doing the photo shoots and I love seeing the progress in my work...but of course, blogging had taken a back seat...so, I'm trying to catch up.

Mikayla had her spring violin concert and she was fabulous. It was amazing to see how much progress she has made...just taking lessons at school and practicing at home. I know Troy was sad that he couldn't be there...so I taped it so he could see.



Forgive my poor video camera operation...I was taking the video with my camera...and I guess I should have read up about it before I decided to try and learn about it on the fly!





And, in other kid news...just had to share this funny photo of Katie. She has started to tell me when she is poopy and will bring me all the supplies to change her diaper.

She says, "Mommy. Stinky. Poopy. Yucky."

True, so true.



And don't you love that she has recently started to include duct tape in the stash of supplies she brings me?

Things have been a little crazy here with Troy out of town and Katie really ill...but everything is fine.

Still, after the chaos of dinner and getting everyone off to bed Becky stops and says, "Mom, are we just killing you?"

"Um? Huh."

Apparently I say that a lot.