Sea Turtles!

I got to see one of the COOLEST things ever yesterday, the hatching of sea turtles! They were in a nest on the beach and with some help from the "turtle people" they were pulled out and put out into the ocean. It was really luck that we were at the right place at the right time, but honestly, one of the coolest things I have ever seen!

I want to win!!!!

SITS is having a great contest, and they are giving an ipod Nano away! Check out their site!

I am SO gonna win, I just know it!!!!

Blood, sweat, and tears....

Is what it takes apparently for this family to have it's picture taken professionally. O.k., maybe there wasn't any blood, but there could have been had Carter continued his antics of not smiling and not looking at the camera. Not to mention the fact that it was nearly 4,000 degrees with absolutely no breeze whatsoever! At one point, I looked at Jason and there were beads of sweat dripping from his nose.

This is what it takes for all of us to have our picture taken with the beach as the background, all of which will be worth it when it's all said and done. Anyway, we think we got at least several pictures that will work, so we will see on Monday when she gives us the proofs.

The kids did look cute though, we did the whole khaki and white thing and really looked adorable!

My take on vacation...

So, we are mid-way through our summer vacation of fun in the sun. The kids have yet to quite completely adjust. In their normal fashion, no matter how late they stay up, they are still waking at the un-Godly hour of 6:00 a.m. (that's the latest they have slept!) We have run them, swam them, tried wind sprints, the park, and even tried some Benedryl (they were REALLY itchy from some bug bites, wink, wink.)

It's been fun, but the sleeping part has been trying. They love the beach, the pool, the park, all the fun stuff. But trying to wear them out, is starting to wear us out!!!!


Oh yes, and our 15 month old baby is a DAREDEVIL!!!! I think people at the pool thought we were nuts letting a 1 year old go down the slide, but honestly, there was no stopping our Coopy!!!!

Summer Vacation Update!

Here we are, week one of fun in the sun! Here are some pictures of the kids. So far, the kids are having a blast, the weather is great and we are enjoying ourselves!!!!!

4 kids, 2 parents, and 900 miles...

We are on our summer vacation, finally. And actually, as we speak, we are at Emme and Papa's house! We are leaving for paradise (aka Fripp) tomorrow, for 2 weeks of sun and fun. So, I will be posting as much as I can, but things on Fripp are a little challenging. So, look for updates periodically of pics and tales from the vacation!!!!!

What I did, the short version!

So, what did I do? I said, quite loudly, "WE do not hit babies!" to the little girl. The mom, never looked up. So, I said it again, loudly, finally, a glance. "Oh, did my Shemily do something to the baby?" Damn straight she did, I, in my best country club tone said, "Ah, yes, she hit the baby!" How in the world she didn't see this from her vantage point 2 feet away is beyond me. So, she yanked Shemily out of the pool and marched her over to the big pool to play. What did she say to me you ask? NOTHING!!!!! Not an apology, not some excuse, barely even eye contact. O.k., so we would all be mortified if our 3 and half year old smacked a baby, but come on, at least make some attempt to remedy the situation.

I did not return to the baby pool that afternoon, poor Cooper was scared to go back in. The other mother who saw it all go down, said, "Wow, you skated out of there!" My reply, "What was I supposed to do, wait there until she decided she wanted to it again?" No thanks. It's hard enough to keep up with 4 of my own kids at a pool, let alone trying to watch someone else's psychotic child. That kids need some serious anger management therapy, and quick!

What would YOU do????

O.k. everyone, here is one for you! I'd like to know what YOU would do in this scenario. This is a true story and some of the names and places have been changed (well, they haven't but I've always wanted to say that).

I am at the local pool, ALONE as I am many days during the week with all 4 kids. Carter, the 4 year old is the oldest, down to the baby who is almost 15 months. They are all playing, oh so nicely, in the baby pool, with the exception of Carter who is off with his pool buddy and his life jacket in the big pool.

We are joined by another little girl, who was just a few months older than our baby, and all the girls were playing extremely well together. UNTIL, this little girl, who we will call Shemily, came over and got in. Her mother was perched along side the pool reading a magazine. Shemily, was around the twins age, definitely over 3, definitely old enough to know better.

Cooper, our little one, was standing in the middle of the pool, minding her own sweet business when out of NOWHERE, Shemily comes over and pummels her in the head. And I don't mean shove, I don't mean bump, I mean SLAPPED her in the side of the head and knocking her all the way under the water.

She of course immediately wails, because, well, she didn't see it coming, and I imagine it hurt. The twins freak out because their baby sister rarely cries, so they run over to check to see if she's o.k. The mother of this dreadful little girl doesn't even look up from her magazine, and acts as if she doesn't even know what's going on.

In our family, we don't hit, not even each other, not even when they are at their meanest, and most certainly, my 3 older kids would NEVER (and I can say this because they are SO kind to the baby) hit a baby, their own sister, or anyone else's baby.

So, what would you do? Before I say what I did, I'd like to see if anyone would like to weigh in on this incident. Now, if you know me, you might be able to predict what I did, even if you do, I'd like to hear what other people would do in this scenario!


Poor Coop, bullied at such young age!

Finally, Mommy is IN a picture!

I have found that I am SO busy snapping shots of the family, that of the 10,000 pictures I have on my Mac, I am actually in very few photos. So, my new thing is to make sure that there is actually some pictures taken with the kids and me during their childhood. They are gonna look back one day and not remember what I looked like during these years because I am always the one that's taking the pictures So, here's the first of hopefully many, just to prove that I do exist!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We've been quite busy this holiday week traveling around the area! Early in the week we travelled up to Michigan and spent some time with some friends (we have figured out that friends with OLDER children are a huge bonus, I had no idea just how helpful a 13 year old and 9 year old can be!)

Then, we made our annual trek to Lake Schafer to our friend Al's 4th of July party. This year was quite different for us than in the past, Al has a great yard that is SO far from the actual lake (the running crazy trying to keep them out of the water doesn't happen there). And, there were 2 huge water slides for the kids. I think I was actually seen sitting down for a moment or two while watching all 4 kids play on the slide and in the water! Cooper was trying so hard to get into the action, Jason was putting her pretty high up onto the slide and she had NO fear (unlike Olivia who climbed up to the top once, and I had to go up and rescue her!) Annabelle and Carter somehow found a way to climb up a very steep plastic slide while carrying a wet plastic ball, and then sliding down, over, and over, and over again!



























Needless to say, they are still way too young for the fireworks portion of the evening, as all 4 kids were asleep upon pulling out of the driveway to head home.

The hour drive home in complete silence was the highlight of our July 4th extravaganza!!!!

Carter and the Golden Retriever, a Case Study...

O.k., for several months now I have maintained that there are some true similarities between our dear adorable little boy and a yellow lab or golden retriever. First, Carter, just a like a lab or golden, won't settle down until he's about 5. He still has the "puppy" attitude about him and can even be found running in circles some days (aka chasing his tail). Also, I've learned that Carter's hair is almost the exact same color and texture as these animals, and in fact, upon entering a pool, the water almost looks like it's rolling off his head. He's also most recently found to be loving the water, and just like a dog, shows some resistance when told it's time to get out.

Carter most recently found his look alike twin in the world, a golden puppy named Buddy. And, as you can see in the pictures, they do have some similar features.

The good news, it that EVERYONE loves a puppy, and this stands true for Carter. You can't help but want to snuggle and hug on him, because of all these qualities, and he's about as happy go lucky as they come (well, unless you are trying to get him out of the pool, or leave a playground).

So, I think it's quite a cute comparison, and in no way is putting my dear son in the same category as a dog a bad thing!!!! How could anyone resist a face like these???