Trip to Atlanta

I went to Atlanta last month to visit my sister, Stephanie.  She has 2 girls the same ages as 2 of my girls...so I just took those 2.  My other 2 kids thought that was mean of me, but too bad.  I loved just having 2 kids to worry about...it was like a vacation for me.

The little ones had fun together...when they weren't trying to crawl or walk on each other or hit each other in the face.

It was freezing up there...and rainy.  We had promised the older girls we would go to the fair and we did but it was about 42 degrees and drizzling rain.  So...Steph and I just camped out under the big pavillion and let the 11 year olds ride some rides while we just talked and took care of the babies.

 

My sister's daughter Marlee, left, is hilarious.  She always looks ticked off even when she is perfectly happy.  She always has her little lip sticking out...so cute.  Below is an up close look at 'the lip'.

Marlee aka "The Lip".

Here's the 11 year olds, Auburn and Elise, thinking they are hot stuff because they got to go do the rides on their own.

Here they are again...wet and cold and happy!

Neil's new crush

I started noticing that Neil was talking an awful lot about a little girl in his preschool class named Evee (they are all 4-5 years old). The new thing on the playground is for the boys to chase the girls...and Neil is fascinated with this girl that runs so fast he can't catch her. He's told me at least 5 times how, "Evee is soooo fast!...I can't even catch her!". Apparently this is impressive to Neil and he finally told me how much he really likes her.

We were lying in my bed waiting for Rick to get home. Neil wasn't tired because I let him nap way too long during the day. Anyway, he started talking about chasing the girls again...with a huge smile on his face. Then he says, "Warner has a girlfriend." So I say, "really?". And then he says, "I had a dream that I kissed Evee (looking embarrassed with a big smile on his face)". I said, "Oh really??...do you really like her?" And he says, "Yes, she's pretty..." and I add, "...and super fast." It was so cute because I could tell he liked talking to me about it but was also embarrassed at the same time. Then he says, "I want to marry her." (He's fascinated with marriage and is always jealous that Rick and I are married and he is not). Then he says, "I can pick whoever I want to marry, right?" And I said yes. So, he says, "So, I can marry (holding a finger up for each girl he names) Maddy or Anna Jewel or Evee or Kaylee...this many girls right?" I remind him he can only pick one so he says, "then I pick Evee". So cute. I love that little boy so much. This morning he tells me what he told me about Evee is his secret and I can't tell (...so instead I just blog it to all my friends and family)

Neil's sports debut...

If you know my husband you know that he is a huge sports fan.  He not only likes sports but he plays lots of sports...I say he plays year round but he quickly corrects me and says he does not play year round because he doesn't play in the summer...whatever, he plays flag football in the fall, basketball in the winter, and softball in the spring.  And come to think of it, he usually starts training for some marathon in the summer...so I guess I'm right after all :)

Anyway...we had 2 girls before we had Neil and now that Rick has a boy and now that he is 4 Rick has been dying to get him on some sports team...doesn't matter what sport.  Well, the city wouldn't let him start Neil a year early for flag football (although Rick certainly tried)...Neil and Rick were very disappointed.  But no fear...Rick's good friend Ben let him know that the YMCA has a soccer league for 3-4 year olds.  So, of course, Rick's comes home, walks through the door and immediately tells Neil he get to play soccer...Neil is, of course, soooo excited because he is already just as obsessed as his Dad.  Did I mention Rick didn't bother asking his wife if she was okay with this...just for the record I would have said yes, but it would have been nice to have a choice about whether to add one more activity to our already very busy schedule. So, now Neil is playing soccer and Rick is the assistant coach. 

Neil was so excited about playing that he talked about it for days and couldn't wait.  Poor little guy...the first game was at 12pm and it was sooooo hot.  His excitement quickly turned to a look of 'this is not at all what I thought it would be like' look.  He ran around and did great but he was HOT and so tired by the end.  He kicked the ball a few times and even broke away from the group once and was running toward the goal and about to kick the ball in to score when his own team mate ran up and pushed him down from behind...you should have seen the look on Neil's face when he whipped his head around to see who pushed him down.  I felt so bad for him...and I wanted to do something not so nice to the other boy who stole his moment of glory.  But that is what it's like playing soccer in a 3-4 year old league...all they do is run around and push each other and try to kick the ball.  It is definately every man for himself out there.

They all hold hands at the begining and learn a little sportmanship lesson...it's really cute.  They forget what they were told as soon as the whistle blows.

Here's Neil playing goalie...his face is so red, poor guy, he was sweating so bad and I think the ball came toward him once and basically stopped as it got to him...although I like to pretend that he made a great stop.

Okay...I was very impressed with my action shot here with the camera.  It may not look like they are in the middle of the game but they are...even though some kids are facing the wrong way...one boy is taking off his shirt.  Actually, the coaches are on the field running around with the kids and coaching them while being in the game with them.  It's cute.

35 years old today...

30 didn't bother me at all...I'm not saying that 35 is bothering me...but I will admit it hurts a little more than last year.  I guess I can't keep telling myself I'm in my early thirties, although my Mom informed me that 33 was mid-thirties I was content to think that you weren't mid-thirties until 35.  Whatever.  Rick is 9 months older than me and always lumps me in with his age so to him I've been 35 all year...thanks hon.  Time seems to be going by faster these days (a sure sign that you are getting older). 

I hear that in your thirties you start caring less and less what other people think of you...I can say that that statement is true for me.  In my twenties that dominated my life!  But now, not so much.  I do things more for me and don't worry as much what others say or think...I said 'as much'...I still care more than I'd like to...maybe by 40.

My BFF took me to breakfast this morning.  What a good friend.  We had a good time.  I see how having several good girlfriends makes your life more fun and less stressful...thanks girls. 

I'm going to do a little shopping, for myself, and enjoy the day.

My First 5K

Rick was all about getting me to start doing races.  So, he found a 5K here in town on Labor Day morning that we decided to run together.  I had already run 3 miles a couple of times so I knew that I could at least make it through without dying.  I was going to shoot for a 9 minute/mile pace...that didn't happen, but I was close.  We did make it under 30 minutes...I ran so slow the first half worried that I would burn out half way through...then I realized how slow I was going so I sped up the second half of the race and had to sprint the last stretch to make it under 30 minutes.  Rick ran with me, what a nice guy.  Everytime I looked over at him he looked like he was barely running.  I kept wondering if it was more torturous for him to go slow than at his normal speed.  He didn't complain and was very supportive.  I actually enjoyed the race.  I was fine afterwards which only let me know I could have gone faster.  My kids were there with my mother-in-law, cheering me on.  I had my own cheering section at the finish line.  I can say now that I see why people get into running.  I'm not saying I want to do any long distances like Rick does, but maybe a 10K down the road. 

Way to watch her Daddy....

Neil was wanting to watch TV with Rick so I put a towel and his bowl of spaghetti on the chair in the living room so he could eat and watch TV with his Dad...no big deal.  I asked Rick to watch the baby so I could take a quick shower.  He agreed, while watching ESPN (big mistake).  So, I get out of the shower and hear Rick saying, "Oh no!"  so I go into the living room to find what you see above.  Savannah was so proud of herself.  I took her away...expecting Rick to start cleaning it up.  Instead he kept watching ESPN.  I nicely ask if he is going to clean it up and he replies that he feels it was really my fault for giving Neil spaghetti in the first place.  Nice.  After explaining to him that part of 'watching the baby' was keeping her from doing something like that, he cleaned it up for me...but not before I took a picture. 

Nina's "Spa" Birthday Party

Coming up with good birthday party ideas for my kids is really quite painful for me.  I really just want a simple party with a few friends...is that asking too much??  My husband thinks I should go all out for the kids every year...of course he does!  I'm the one who does all the work!

Well, this year Nina's party was pretty simple and she loved it.  I picked her up at school along with 5 of her friends and we went out to my mother-in-law's house.  The ride out (about 20 minutes) and back was probably one of the favorite times of the party.  The girls were all singing along to the Taylor Swift CD...at the top of their cute little lungs I might add.  It was hillarious.

So, we did a "spa party" theme.  Not a bad idea.  They wore their PJ's and we soaked their feet, massaged their feet with lotion, painted their toe nails and fingernails and even added little stickers on top.  I even clipped a lot of their crazy looking toe nails.  They loved it and felt very pampered.  I had two helpers, my mother-in-law Lynda and my daughter Auburn. 

Cute huh?  This doesn't even show all the fingernails!  We were doing all this in my mother-in-law's large master bathroom...as to avoid any spills on her nice floors.

Here's the whole crew...boy are these girls little drama queens!  You should hear the earful I get everyday after school about the drama on the playground...can't wait till the teen years!

She loves her Papa...

Savannah Lee...we gave her the same middle name as her Papa and boy did we do the right thing there.  He loves that little girl so much.  Whenever we go to their house he takes Savannah on a walk around their property and down to the lake, carrying her on his shoulders like this.  She loves it!  And, he always takes her during the hour at church when I teach a class and she just smiles so big whenever he comes to get her.  I love the pride on his face when he walks back into the meeting with her asleep in his arms...not an easy task to do because she is one of those babies who only likes to fall asleep in her own bed.  So, Ken gets major props for being such a great Papa!

Melina's Baptism

Melina was baptized this past Saturday.  She was so excited...it was really cute.  She was definately expecting a big turn out for the big day.  Thankfully she had a lot of friends and family there to support her.  She had the biggest smile all day long.  We are really proud of her, she is such a good little girl!

Beach Trip

The kids and I went to the beach with my mom and some of my sisters and their kids for about 4 days...we had 5 adults and 10 kids...which may not sound like bad odds but let's just say that around the 3rd day we all decided that next year we would be bringing the husbands to help out with the kids!

Here's my kiddos with their sunburned faces...curse you mom and dad for our pale skin!

Here's Granny taking a stroll with the grandkids...the lighting was perfect that evening and we got a lot of great shots.

Even the birds were cooperating with my photo shoot!

I think Leah was telling off the lazy boys...go girl!

Here's the 3 oldest cousins...they think they are so cool.

Here's me (left) with a few of my sisters...Mary (who was 9 months pregnant and had her baby 2 days later...Brody! Brody!)...then Adrienne, a.k.a. Aunt Agie, and lastly Annette, a.k.a. Aunt Nettie. By the way, I'm glad someone was watching the kids in the background...we were too worried about looking good for the pics! The waves were actually pretty big for the east coast...there was that tropical storm out there somewhere so we got quite a few big waves.

I will miss this walk...not much better in life than going to the beach.

Here's me with my little beach boy...he loved the beach and wanted to be out there nonstop.

Annette and I are trying to pull off a good pic for the photo albums...we opted for the sitting down pose versus the standing pose which doesn't leave much room for hiding areas we may still be working on after having a baby...

We couldn't keep these 5 out of the water!

First Word..."Mama"

Surprise surprise...her first word was "mama", I wonder how that came about. She says it all the time now and it is, of course, so cute. She is also starting to scoot across the floor. Gone are the easy days of sitting her in the middle of the living room floor with a few toys and going about my business. Now I have to actually watch her all the time.

Skating Rink

Yesterday my sister Adrienne and I took my kids to the skating rink. Neil is getting better...he actually rolls some now instead of just taking baby steps. Check out the carpet at the skating rink...I believe it glows in the dark...oh, the memories of going to the skating rink in middle school. My girls are pretty good at it. I manage to get around the rink without looking too clumsy. Although, look at how big my roller blades look in this picture...wow, I've never been so aware of how large my size 9 feet look!

Little helpers in the kitchen

I was making homemade chicken noodle soup last night and Neil came in wanting to "help" me make dinner. He asked so sweetly I couldn't resist. So, he pulled a chair up and began dumping things into the pot and stirring it around for me. I thought he would last about 5 minutes and then get bored and run off and play...not so. He stuck it out till the bitter end. (Nice Batman tatoos huh?...He thinks he is pretty cool with those on his arm (thanks aunt nettie). He keeps going around without his shirt on to show them off) ...Oh, looking closer at the pic I notice his face is dirty...and I don't think I made him wash those grimy little boy hands before he started helping, nice.

He wasn't the only "helper" I had in the kitchen...Savannah was close by invading the 'I don't have a place for it anywhere else' drawer, don't worry I was watching her...most of the time. And she was in heaven with all the clinking and noise that stuff was making as she tried to grab anything those little fingers could reach. Unfortunately she dropped and broke the only ladle I own so dishing out the soup became a little more challenging.

Look at that proud face! He even built up a good sweat in the kitchen. Maybe he will be a little cook...his future wife will be so grateful to me. I would have been thrilled if Rick had been taught to cook (no offense Lynda...or Rick). Not that I mind cooking...just would have been nice... :)

First Tooth!!

I knew something had to be going on because my perfect little baby had been a little fussy for the past few days...runny nose...wanting to nurse more than normal, etc. I kept checking for a new tooth but nothing...and then finally yesterday I saw that tiny little white tooth poking through. I was just glad my suspicions were confirmed and that she wasn't turning into a fussy clingy baby.

Okay, I know this picture looks totally ghetto but I thought it was so cute. Before I comment on why she was in the box I must explain that my house does not look like this normally. This is the girls' room and we were going through ALL their clothes to get rid of stuff they didn't like and things they have outgrown...hence all the trash bags and boxes full of clothes. Anyway, I left the room for a few minutes and when I returned I found Savannah like this...happy as can be...playing in the box with Neil's "claw" toy he got for his birthday. The girls stuck her in the box and thought it was cute and funny and of course she loved it...she goes along with whatever they want to do to her and she does it with a smile (see what I mean about the perfect baby?...she's still trying to make up for the torturous pregnancy she put me through!).

Glad that's over with...

Neil turned 4 last week. I naively thought I could get away with an easy party with a few of Neil's little friends. He wanted to have it at his grandparents house and for that I was grateful. They have much more room and they have a pool for the kids to swim in...so I wouldn't have to come up with any games either, nice.

A few friends quickly turned into about 10 or 11 little boys...even that would have been okay except that all those boys have siblings and in the end we had about 17 kids there, 20 if you count the babies. My stress level was rising every minute during the party. I was worried about my in-laws nice home with all those wet little bodies and not to mention the chocolate icing and ice cream. I just tried to keep everyone outside and thankfully everything was fine. The pic above is Neil sword fighting some of his friends...his favorite thing to do in the whole wide world.

Here is Neil on Rick's shoulders about to do his famous belly flop. He was acting pretty wild during his party...definately not my shy little boy anymore. He loved all his toys and even added a few swords to his already large sword collection (obsessed!).

Running Update

So, I'm glad to say that I am still running...even if it's only been a week. I called Rick my "fellow runner" the other day to which he quickly informed me that my running 3 times does not make me a "runner"....he takes his running very serious. I'm over the being sore part and I am realizing I just need to make sure and get out the door before 9am because this Florida sun heats things up pretty early. I ran Monday and Tuesday this week and now I'm off today and will run Thursday and Friday....so far so good.

What did I get myself into??

For those who don't know, Rick is a runner. He has done 3 full marathons and is planning on running a 1/2 marathon with my brother this Thanksgiving and one of my sisters is on board now. Even the girls have run a few small races (we were so proud of them!). The pic I posted is of them in Nashville last year. Rick has always wanted me to get into running also..."come on, it can be something we do together"...to which I always reply, "WHY would I do that to myself????"...it looks like torture and requires WAY too much time commitment. And I have to say that I have NEVER been a runner. I have always played sports and like to do Yoga and classes at the gym but I have always hated to run (not that I really even tried it). Anyway, I really admire his determination. When he is training he is a man on a mission...nothing gets in the way of his training...he runs in the rain...at all hours of the day (I hate when he runs long runs late at night...he thinks it's funny that I worry about him like he can't protect himself but I still stay up until he gets home). He posts his running schedule on the fridge and marks off each day. Again, I really admire the motivation he has and what he has accomplished. I hate that I don't have the same drive when it comes to exercise. I want to want to run...but I don't want to run...you know what I mean??? Well, I have been fed up with my own excuses and I have been pumping myself up for weeks now to start running...I didn't say run marathons, I just said running. I waited until I was motivated enough to do it and then 2 days ago I just got up early and got ready to go run and Rick about had a heart attack when he came in the room and saw me ready to go. I could tell he was trying to play it cool and not act too excited. So, I went running. I ran a little more than a mile at a good pace. I used Rick's shuffle to listen to music, which helped a lot. I actually enjoyed the run. So, this morning I got up and went again (I think Rick was even more surprised than the first day). This time I ran a mile and a half in about 13 minutes...not bad. I was only planning on one mile but then kept pushing myself and made it all the way around the loop in our neighborhood. I have to say that I was very proud of myself (Rick is bursting at the seems). I am also so sore that it hurts to walk, and even worse when I squat to sit down...ouch. I've decided it is probably something I could learn to love, or at least like.

Happy 12th Anniversary to us!!!

WOW...12 years. I can't believe it. Time has gone by so quick. My in-laws watched the kids for us so we could go to dinner and a movie....thanks Ken and Lynda! I can honestly say that Rick and I get along better now than we ever have. Thankfully we have always had a great relationship and have a lot of the same interests. I won't go on and on about what a wonderful husband he is, but he really is such a blessing in my life. I'm so grateful for Rick and for our children.

So Cute!

I love how 3 year olds draw people...adorable. I love how the legs come straight out of the head. This is a picture Neil drew for his favorite buddies from preschool, Jake and Brodie. He even labeled the people in the picture. The person to the far right is "Grandma Carol", Jake and Brodie's Grandma who watches them during the day and has Neil over to play all the time...I'm sure she will be flattered by his portrayal of her. She will see it soon enough, I'm putting it in the mail today. He signed his name down in the bottom right corner...so cute!

"...my worst enemy!!"

Neil, who is almost 4 years old, gets soooo mad when we won't give him his way....which I don't get because he definately does not get his way all the time. His new thing is to sprint out of the room and burst into his bedroom and start crying or shouting whenever we tell him he can't have or do something or when the girls won't give him what he wants. It's very annoying but also kinda funny at the same time...but don't you dare let him see you laughing at him.

The other day Rick dared to tell him he could not start a movie at 9:30pm and Neil ran away, of course, and was fuming mad in his room. I went in to talk to him and he told me, "Daddy is my worst enemy!!".

Sunday Stations

Sundays are a little crazy for us. Rick is in church meetings all morning so it's just me and the kiddos until we go to church at one o'clock. I've been determined to get to church on time every week and we have been doing quite well if I say so myself....you'd think 4-5 hours would be plenty of time to get myself and 4 kids ready however, we manage to still be rushing out the door so we can get to church a few minutes early.

Now, the biggest headache for me is trying to keep Sunday a special day and help the kids to focus a little more on the gospel this day. Growing up my Dad was very strict about Sundays...we could hardly do anything (right guys??)....sorry Dad but it's true. I didn't want to be too crazy about it but I do want them to know that Sundays are special. Anyway, we had a Family Home Evening lesson on "Sunday Stations", I think Auburn was reading the lesson from an article in the Friend (church magazine). It was a story about a family that had Sunday Stations. The Mom would set up different stations for the kids like writing in your journal, reading an uplifting story, writing letters to family members, etc. Each station would last 10 minutes or 15 minutes and then all the kids switch to the next station. Well, my kids thought this was a brilliant idea and we started doing it. They loved it the first few weeks. We still do it but they aren't quite so enthusiastic....too bad, they have to do it anyway. I even let my girls set up their own blogs to be their journals, they were very excited about that. Sundays are a little easier now in the mornings and I feel better that they are doing some constructive churchy stuff on Sundays.

Our Little Gymnast

Melina (7 years old) begged for about a year for us to let her take gymnastics. We kept putting her off until we finally decided to sign her up. She is so naturally flexible and is actually really good. She was more excited about that than getting glasses (whole other story....I wrote a blog entry about that in 2008 titled "way to go mom"). Anyway, she started classes and she loved it and after 2 months they wanted her to start taking the competitive class...which we really debated about doing but in the end decided to give it a trial run over the summer. Well, we quickly found out, as did Melina, that this class wasn't for sissies. The owners of the gym are Russian (Sasha and Olga) and they are all business there. They have her doing all kinds of strength training (push ups, sit ups, pull ups, ab work, hand stands...timed, etc.). I'm a little jealous they aren't my personal trainers. My mom went to watch Melina one day while she was in town and sent me a text from the gym asking about the 'Russian concentration camp' we were sending our daughter to. In a way I'm concerned about how hard they push her but at the same time she could use the discipline and she loves it...even though she comes home sweaty and worn out. She does complain a little about how hard it is but always follows that with "...but I love it".

July 4th

Our good friends the McRae's invited us out to their lakehouse for the 4th of July. We went down on the 3rd and spent the night along with some other friends. Our kids get so excited to go to the McRaes. They get to ride the jet ski and boat and swim all day long. The Burtons and the Lowerys came out on the 4th and so our kids had other small kids to play with....and I had plenty of adults to help hold Savannah! We really have great friends and enjoy spending time with them.

The kids got to kneeboard around the lake, even Neil. Thankfully Rick stayed pretty calm this year and didn't try killing himself on the wakeboard! All the women went on the big tube and Blair was determined to throw us all off. Amanda and I went for a pretty fast ride and eventually he succeeded in throwing us off. Surprisingly I'm not sore today.

On the 4th they do a parade on the lake. Everyone decorates their boats and rides around the lake as everyone else sits on their dock and claps and waves. The kids love it and helped decorate the boat.

...correction, I was very sore the next day in my shoulders and arms from the tubing...I should have known I just didn't wait long enough before I said something!