Happy Father's Day

We made a card for the grandpa's and the uncles:

Cute Boys

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

two....three.....four....

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And more pictures...

looking for shark's teeth...D-D (far right) found one.

the absolute silliness of kids---I love E's final pose!

Z did not want to ride and D-D did. Z gave her a ride for a while, then decided to do beach patrol.

Riding the Waves

Yearly Family Beach Pictures

We usually do our photos in the evening, but the evening we planned on had rain and LOTS of wind. So we tried the next morning. It was still very windy (you can tell by the hair blowing everywhere), but much calmer than the night before. It was also VERY bright (you will notice the squinty eyes). Still I think that we got some great photos. This is the first time that you are seeing our hoping-for-soon-to-be new nephew. He is a cute little guy and so very roly-poly. He has come through a lot to get to this point and we are very thankful for his being with us! Welcome C!

Oh, Funny Little Girl!!

On the Monday of our stay at the beach it rained.

All day.

The kids did a great job playing for much of the day, but around 1 pm, they began to get exasperated. Mostly with D-D. She was acting like a smarty pants and was getting her feelings hurt pretty easily, which helped to escalate her voice into a high pitched fit! We were all in the front of the condo and could hear her screaming. On going back to see what the problem was, I saw her running into the bathroom, yelling about the potty.

"What's wrong, D-D?" I asked her.

""They awe cawling me names!" she cried out at me.
(interpretation: They are calling me names)

"Like what?" I asked.

E steps in and says, "I called her 'Miss-You-Think-You're-So-Smart!' "

D-D's blood boils again and she sticks her hands on her hips and yells, "Ah yam not!!! Ewe stop cawling me that!" sob, snuffle, sob, "Ah yam NOT so smawt! Ah doan want to be so smawt! Ah want to be so cute!" sniffle, sniffle, hiccup, sob.
(Interp: I am not! You stop calling me that! I am NOT so smart! I don't want to be so smart! I want to be so cute!"

"D-D," I tell her hiding my own laughter as her siblings and cousin are laughing in the other room, "it's not a bad thing to be smart. It is a really, really good thing."

"But!!!!" she cries again but in a much smaller voice, "Ah juss want to be a little smawt...not so smawt!"
(Interp: But...I just want to be a little smart, not so smart!)

First Day at Beach

Images of our first full day at the beach:

Z loved the sand more than the ocean and definitely loved the pool better than the beach, at least for the first half of the week. By the end of the week he kept trying to chase the waves back to the ocean, only to run away from them again as they chased him up the shore.

Travelling songs

D-D likes to make up songs. She made this up when we were nearly at the beach. It amazes us that she remembers the words. We didn't capture her song the first time around and had her sing it again for the camera:

If you cannot understand what she is singing...don't worry! We can't either: she makes up a lot of her words. We think that surely somewhere those words mean something! Her words and actions crack me up, but little Z's resigned look also tickles my funny bone!

Travelling Time Funnies

Earlier this June the family loaded up the van and headed to Topsail Island, NC, to spend a few days with Dana's family. We were a few blocks from our house when we realized we forgot something (I cannot now remember what it was), turned around and headed back to get it. Finally believing we had all things packed up, we took off again. About a half mile outside of our neighborhood, E asks the question that will mark almost every 10 miles of our trip: HOW MUCH FARTHER?!!?

The first time he asked this question, Dana and I both looked at the GPS and D said, "We've got 6 hundred 66 miles to go...we're in a bad spot buddy!" He and I both chuckle a little.

"Yeah," E agreed. "The good spot will be at the beach!"

We kept driving and about 10 minutes later, almost out of town , D-D begins telling us her trademark phrase for the trip: I NEED TO GO POTTY!!!

She had gone about 15 minutes earlier!
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About an hour and a half later, we were playing a word game. E had come up with a word and said, "It starts with an 'S' and has 7 letters."

In a quiet whisper, we heard MG inform her brother, "That's not a word! It's a name!!!"
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Sometime later we are still playing the game and it was once again E's turn. He had exhausted all the words on the front of his books and desperately trying to figure out a word, he decides he needs to think about it out loud, "Starts with a 'T'....sssstaaarrrts with a 'T'...noooo...wait!!! I forgot!...OH! Starts with an 'S' (MG begins guessing at this point)...MG! Quiet! I can't think!!! It starts with an..n..n 'A, B,' annnnd...it starts with an 'F'...ummmmm....it starts with an 'M'..."
We are laughing too hard by this time to hear all of the other letters his word starts with, but pretty soon he is too confused to continue and hands the turn over to someone else.

Dana: I am thinking of a word that has 9 letters, begins with a C and is the name of a place.
MG: California!
Dana: No, but close.
MG: Colorado!
Dana: Right!
E: What's that?
Dana and MG: The name of a state.
E: Man!!! I couldn't get that one!! I didn't even know there was a state called Cali-rado!
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Little Z learned how to put his fingers in his ears for some quiet time a few days before our trip. He used this method when it would get too loud for him...even if he was the one making most of the racket!

Crazy bug

We stepped outside one morning and found this little bug. We are not sure what was wrong with him, but he was cracking us up.

Part of The Team

We went to see a Hot Air Balloon competition the other day. I was able to help crew a balloon, thanks to D for watching the kids (all four!!!!) and our sweet neighbors, Kim and David. They all three encouraged me to get in on the fun. Kim, another of her friends named Jill, and I worked on getting things set up as well as getting to know the owners of the balloon. Kim, who had been a part of a crew before, also getting in some flying time, was able to go on the balloon with the pilot. There was somewhat of a breeze, coming in light gusts, that was refreshing to the ground crew as they worked, but left the pilot a bit skeptical of flying at the moment. Balloon after balloon went up in the air and finally the pilot began to fill his up for the flight. I was really hoping I could hop aboard, too, but a man came over begging for his son to ride. The whole team was a bit hesitant of this, especially since the boy is a special needs child with some high risk ailments which would make flying dangerous. Jill, who also wanted to go up, and I both knew that if they were not going to let the boy go, it was only fair that we stay on the ground, too. The parents seemed like the type that would have gotten very upset...so Jill and I talked with the ground crew on where we needed to sit in the chaser truck. We turned to climb in the truck and the family who wanted their son to ride was climbing in instead(this included their other sons, too). Jill and I were a bit frustrated by this, but we both had good parents who taught us to smile and go with the flow, so we squeezed in, too. And laughed at the antics and monopolization of the conversation from the parents (who are magicians---very neat---they love their job) with each other and the other balloon owners. At one point I looked over at Jill and said, "Where will Kim and Tim (the balloon pilot) sit after we land and begin the trek back?" Too bad we thought of that near the end of the chase.

We chased the balloon all over town and after losing sight of it for a few minutes, we finally found it was getting ready to land in someone's back yard. As Tim's wife was running to the back yard, with us following, we noticed a "NO TRESPASSING" sign stuck to the gate. Fortunately, the man of the house gave us permission to take down the balloon in his back yard. It was not until we were pulling the balloon down to the ground that we noticed exactly how many people were chasing the balloon with us! Once the balloon was down, I looked around at all the people helping wrap it up...more than 20!!!!! Two of the people who showed up were Kim's mom and step-dad!!!! So after the balloon and basket were carried and loaded into the trailer, we thanked the crew and then Kim's parents gave us a ride home (I love how God takes care of the details!). The next morning, Kim and Jill went back and Jill got to take a ride!

What a marvelous, fun, and crazy time! I loved it!

A New Box

I have always loved getting a new box of crayons or pencils(the already sharpened pencils). I felt I colored brighter, stayed in the lines easier, was more creative and wrote much better when using a nicely sharpened pencil or a fresh, never-been-used crayon. I believe my children are much the same way. On Memorial Day we went to Hobby Lobby to find some frames for the kids' art work which were on sale (wooo-hoo!!!!). I had a coupon for that day only on anything that was not already on sale. I found a box of 52 pcs Sidewalk Chalk and used my coupon for that. For that day and much of the next afternoon, the kids let their creative juices flow. Especially MG.

I love this little girl! And the one that MG drew, too! :) Her heart makes me smile, and when I see all of the chalky footprints around it, I laugh out loud. The rectangle of our sidewalk was done by all three of the kids.

MG after working on the heart.

snicker, snicker!

MG added to her heart after her
little neighbor friend shared from her 5 yo sense of humor.

To the right is the once full box two days after its purchase.