Our Week of Vacation

My mom turned the big 6 - 0 this year, and instead of a party, she asked for a quiet week at the beach with the family.
Hmmmm, let me think about that one.....A week at the beach? A week in a nice house at the beach? A week in a house with a hot tub that we don't have to pay for? A week with a view to die for every day? A week of no computer, phone or work???? Hmmm.....I guess.... Geez, not hard to make that decision!
They rented a place out at Doran Beach, and we had an amazing time.

I brought the kids "Travel Bags" filled with toys that they don't usually have to play with. In Cannon's bag there was a book of temporary tattoos, so the week started off with "tattoos" for all! Even Poppa John joined in for this fun!


We spent HOURS in the hot tub. I don't even want to (and better yet, don't have to) think about the electricity bill that we incurred on this activity!

Don't you want to take your morning cup of coffee everyday looking at this view? We did!

My Mom's Birthday Breakfast was Crepes with Nutella and fruit spreads. I am now officially a fan of Nutella! Chocolate and Hazelnut? Yummy!!! (Hey, its part of a balanced breakfast!!! - No kidding, it says that right on the container!)

This was the unwrapping of the long awaited present. I was bouncing with anticipation! (We have a rule in our family, that who ever makes mom cry - with happiness, mind you - , is the winner. I was TOTALLY the winner this year!) This is the book that I spent HOURS working on! I hounded friends and relatives to write birthday wish to my mom and tell a story, recount a memory, etc and I put them all in this book. It turned out great, and she spent most of the day reading through it, and hearing tons of wonderful things that people had to say about her!

Unwrapping......

A little confusion...
Soaking it up!!!

The kids had a blast too!

One of our beach days...
Only the best poppa's get down on their knees and play in the sand with their grandsons!



This is evidence that my mom may have committed a federal crime.. My sister was intent on taking home some of the plant cuttings to replant in her garden. My mom cut them with a pocket knife when the ranger wasn't looking and stole them for my sis. What kind of family do I have????


I think the funniest part about this picture, besides my sister's obvious glee in her illegal find, is that my dad is totally squished in the back seat of the van....

Spending a week out near the beach with no distractions (besides the 3 little ones) always reminds me of how awesome of a place we live in! I had the chance to read through Job 38 again, and was reminded about the astounding fact that this great world, was created by a pretty great Creator...

Family Photo Shoot

We had family pics done last night, and you have got to go and check them out! She got our sneak peek up in record time, and I can't stop looking at how wonderfully she did capturing my kids, parents and sister!!!

I LOVE MELODY!!!!!!!

If this link doesn't work....Scroll down on my blog roll list to Melody White Studios, and click on the blog link.

Thanks Mel!!!

Potty Talk

This morning Cannon announced that he had to go poo-poo.
(Sorry for the vernacular...its what we use in this house though.
Better than ca-ca, or poopsie-doo - both of which I cannot stand!)

Anyways, he went in the bathroom and settled in. A few minutes later came the familiar call..."Mommy, I am all doing going poo-poo!".
This is code for, "come wipe my butt!"
All you mommies can relate right???

I walked into the bathroom, and prepared myself...cause sometimes it takes a bit of preparation. As he climbed down off the toilet Cannon turned to me and said,
"Hey mom, wanna see what I had for dinner?"

Why Mothers Intuition Should Always be Followed

Example 1:
When I made a baby blanket as a gift for someone special, and Brynn asked if she could help by cutting off the loose threads. Against my better judgement I let her have real sewing scissors, and a few snips later, the blanket was full of irreparable holes...

Example 2:
One day, against my better judgement, I let Brynn use the "real" scissors to cut out some letters for her homework. In my mind, I thought, she has never even mentioned cutting her hair... I can probably work on the dishes rather than sitting right next to her at the table.....
The result??? A new 'do.

Example 3:
Its been a rule that there should be no "open containers" in the car. Sippy's with lids are fine, but cups....no way.
We had been out all day, and the kids were thirsty. Against my better judgement I let the eldest (to remain unnamed) have a cup full of water....
When I cleaned out the car that afternoon, the cup was nowhere in sight, but the water? In her cup holder. That was fun.

Example 4:
Just the other day, Rich comes into the room and says, "Good thing I got Maeve out of her crib...She was trying to climb out!". I laughed and thought to myself...better take out that bumper, and lower the mattress again.
I put her down for a nap, and thought about it again. And I continued to think about it every day....until the day that she climbed/fell/tumbled out of the crib during nap time.
Should've followed through on the whole "intuition" thing there!

Example 5:
When the kids ask for water, and I am out of sippy cups, so I think..."just this once, it will probably be fine to let them have regular plastic cups in their room...its only water right?" I am still regretting that slip up. Apparently the water was used as arsenal in a short battle that occurred after the lights went out. Not only did the kids get wet, but the carpet, bedding and new mattresses (that do not have waterproof covers yet) also...
Arggg!

Its Not Fair!!!

Adult acne stinks!!!

Seriously! Should I google acne treatment or wound care for this one? Can we all say Ginormous??????

Punkin' Patch

After church we drove over to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. We were lucky enough to have my sweetie pie niece with us, and the kids had a blast!

Cannon and his amazing pumpkin. (He actually had to take a nap with it. I am sure there will be tears when we carve it up, and then eventually throw it away!)

The standing rule, if you can carry it, you can have it. (This will only work for so long, I know!)

Lola in the hay maze! She called it her castle and ruled it like a queen!

The kids were covered in hay by the end of the time, but boy was it worth it!

Lo is always carting around Maeve. (I think Maeve likes it, don't you?)

It was too much fun to watch Cannon try to roll this thing around.

Feeding the sheep....


The little old man who cuts up pumpkins and melons to feed to the sheep was there again this year. I love talking to him, and hearing about his life. Its like a glimpse into the past!

Uhm..... I don't really know what was going on here, but I guess it was fun????

Fall Decorations

I pulled the fall decorations bin down from the garage rafters and we had a day of decorating.
Not that I have enough stuff that it takes all day to decorate.
Its more like the kids would put something somewhere, and then I would move it when they weren't looking to a place that actually made sense....
You know how it goes.

For example....
The kids thought these looked great up above the couches...I beg to differ.

I love my mantle in the fall. I made these tin can lanterns years ago, and haven't gotten tired of them yet. (Thanks Martha!)

There is something so cozy and comfy when these little faces are glowing in the evening, and the smell of the pumpkin candle is wafting through the house!

I heart fall!

One, Two, Three....

...fall face forward on the bed, and don't put your arms out to stop yourself! See how much fun it is? Lets do it over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and....

I love these kids!

Another First

I know that this happens to everyone, and from what I have heard, this is not nearly as bad as it could have been....

Scissors + 5 Year Old Curiosity = a new 'do

Here are the remnants that I found under the table....

Now remember that Brynn has got my hair. (Not color, mind you, I have never been blond...)
We share the same "quality" of hair. Thin, straight, scraggly-when-it-gets-long hair. So, this amount that she cut off, doesn't seem to be too much, but when you don't have a lot to start out with....
This is what I saw when I first looked. Gasp!!!

Here is after some finger ruffling in the hair. Barely noticeable....

*sigh*

Wonderfall

This is the second year that we invited a bunch of friends out to my parents house for a morning of hayrides, apple picking, playground playing, mud stomping, puddle splashing good times.
And boy, were there some good times had!


Too bad we have no rain boots for this little one....




This is how boys play in the mud....

And this is how some little girls play in the mud....


And them some play like this.....

The tractor rides were one of the highlights for the day. Gotta love a good John Deere!

Really????

This is the best way to mow the lawn right???

Its all about the tan lines...

The Worlds Longest Time Out

Monday was a really rough day for me and Cannon.

He pretty much woke up with a death wish. It was as if he said to himself as he opened his eyes and said, "Today I am going down, and I am taking you all with me....".

Right off the bat, 7:30 am he got in trouble for trying to spin stuffed animals (and himself) on the ceiling fan in the bedroom.

By 10am he had gotten in trouble 3 times.

By 3pm we were at 5 "incidents".
And no nap. No matter how hard I tried, he would not fall asleep.

At 4:00pm, I put him on a time out (mostly for his own safety - I kid....but not really) that was going to last until dinner time.
I was totally done.
Totally.

At 4:15, after 15 minutes of kicking the walls, it got kinda strangely silent in the bedroom. I got a little bit worried.
I went back to check on him, and this is what I found.


Mommy won!

*He was a completely different kid after that short nap! Thank goodness...

Moving Right Along

This is just the natural progression right????

First the bike.

Then the scooter.

Next the skateboard.

Now these.....
(Yes, this is standard issue rollerblading gear. Knee pads - check! Helmet - check! Wrist pads - check! Undies, backwards of course - check!)

Taking a short break to rock out with the guitar...

I hope we can afford the emergency room visits that I see in our near future!