Wet, Wet, Wet

To quote Aly, at the end of last week she said, "Oh yeah! We wore our swimming suits every day this week!!"

And holy cow, did we ever! There are so many things to do here, we'll never get to all of them. It's nice to have options though, and the best part is, most of them are FREE! Of course, we have been doing other things besides playing in the water; I told the girls that we would try to do one fun activity every day if they would be good about doing their chores, helping out, and being good while I'm doing my jobs (as in grocery shopping, laundry, and visiting teaching). Plus I try to have some down time every day when we come home so the girls can read to earn their TV/Computer/Wii time. My other goal for the summer was to have the two older girls start to learn how to cook - they picked the meals they wanted to cook and they each help me prepare one meal a week. So far it's been working out pretty well. A little complaining here and there, but the threat of losing their fun activity the next day usually clears that right up. But anyhoo, back to the water . . . There is this awesome splash pad attached to the Niceville city park right next to the library. Good splashing for the kids and Kylie can even crawl around in an inch of water.

We also have some friends in the ward that offer an impromptu pool party every Friday morning at their house, which we have taken advantage of.

The movie theater in Destin offers free kids movies during the summer on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, which is super cool (literally - Florida in the summer time requires that you're either in the air conditioning or in the water or drenched in sweat!) We've seen Megamind and Yogi Bear so far (good thing we saw Yogi Bear for FREE because it was super not worth paying money for, in my opinion. The kids liked it though.) AND, outside of the movie theater is another little splash pad for the kiddos to play in with their friends. Here's a picture of Lise in front of the theater/fountains.

Of course, my favorite part of the summer so far was that Chris was able to come home for Labor Day Weekend! It was awesome! (Chris was driving while he was here, so of course I forgot my camera, which I always have in my purse. I'm kicking myself for the lack of pictures, because I really did want to document Chris' time with the family, but oh la, se la vi. I guess you'll just have to do with a crazy picture of Lise at the park while I tell you about our awesome weekend.)

So, it was totally crazy even getting Chris home with all the flight cancellations, delays, and having to drive to Mobile, Alabama to pick him up. But at last, at 4 am Friday morning, we made it home! Friday we went to our friends and swam in their pool for a couple of hours, then came home and crashed for naps. That night our friends watched our kiddos so that we could go on a date - oh yeah! Saturday we took the kids to the YMCA pool in Destin which is awesome because it has yet another splash pad (they're big on those things here, I'm realizing), a waterslide, and a zero depth entry pool that I can let Kylie roam around in. After swimming for a couple hours we came home for the ultra classic family movie night. Unfortunately we had to get him back on the airplane at 5:30 am Monday morning, but it was good times, good times! And only a couple more weeks until he's back for good - hallelujah! Thanks for a FANTASTIC weekend, hubby bubby!

The rest of our Memorial Day celebration consisted of another fun pool party and cook out with our friends. Very relaxing and a great time. Whew! We have turned into party animals! So, all in all, I would definitely say our summer is off to a good start. With all this fun in the sun, the only down side is the amount of sunscreen we're going through -- and the amount of towels to dry. :)

** Non related quotes of the week**

Kate, on BBQ chicken night when I put her plate in front of her - Yeah! Chicken Corn Dog Blue!

Me - Uh, it's BBQ chicken.

Another Kate-ism occured just this morning, when she turned her pajama shirt into a bowl of cereal (no milk, thankfully.) She was holding up the bottom of her shirt to make a "bowl" and just walking around eating a bunch of Honey Smacks out of her shirt. I just don't know what to do with that kid.

Aly - I really need to read that book!

(This quote was in reference to the Book of Mormon. Aly became interested one night after Family Scripture study when I explained how Mormon had compiled the Book of Mormon from various prophets "journals". That line was music to my ears. She has started reading 1 Nephi on her own this summer, and I am so proud of her. Of course, it does help that she gets double TV time for scripture reading time . . . ) Aly's personality has been very interesting this summer. She has been super helpful at times, as in cleaning up the entire house one evening when I was super stressed and trying to get Kylie to bed. At other times she has become extremely defiant and "murmur-ey". What to do, what to do? Not sure if the preteen hormones are kicking in, or if she just needs some more sleep. Hopefully the latter!

Grammy & Papa

Well, we made it to the last week of school, and it was nothin' but smooth sailin'. HA! We've been having the usual ups and downs, but a lot of fun along the way as well. Analise got to bring in popcicles to her class to celebrate her summer birthday, Aly did a super job in her 3rd grade play, and I even got to go on a field trip with her to a dolphin cruise! I didn't get to go on field trips like that when I was little, I can tell you. The kids got a chance to drive the boat (see above) and we actually did see dolphins! (see below)

We also had a couple other visitors come into town for the last week of school . . . Grammy and Papa O'Gwin! We had a lot of fun with them while they were here. Some of the highlights were:

*Bass Pro Shop and out to lunch at a 50's diner (burgers and shakes, mmm!) Kate loved the huge shark, if you couldn't tell.

*The Science Museum. It was super hands on, which was perfect.

*The museum claimed it was "Family Fun for ALL Ages". I was skeptical until I saw both Grammy and Kylie enjoying putting together the food pyramid together. Then I knew it really was for all ages! ;)

* An evening at the park followed by ice cream. Carl and Marilyn brought a "cold" front with them so that it was in the low 70's and into the 50's at night. It was always so nice outside!

*Grammy enjoyed swinging with Kylie while Aly convinced Grandpa to play kick ball with her.

*Chillin' at the beach. The water was much calmer this time than last, so Lise practiced swimming to prep for upcoming swim lessons, and Aly put on her goggles and explored the underwater realm. She found pieces of sand dollars, fish, and a hermit crab.

*Kylie was happy in her stroller as long as she had her trusty sand rake to suck on. Plus she had Grammy and Papa chillin' with her.

*We also went to the Baker Museum, which was . . . interesting. It had some neat stuff to look at, but it only kept the girls attention for about 45 minutes. Then it was time to move on.

*Last, but not least - Every night was movie night! The girls loved having a movie every night. Thanks for coming to visit Grammy and Papa!

And, with those fun adventures, we have kicked off summer vacation 2011. We went to the beach again on Saturday with some friends. This place was in a cove so it was more like being on a lake. There were tons of fish that the kids had fun feeding crumbs to and trying to catch. And this is only the beginning . . .

May - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly/Funny

The GOOD

As school is drawing to a close (only 6 days left!) there have been a lot of fun happenings for me to go watch. Aly and Analise had their field days and they rocked it! Aly placed 1st in 4 events (potato sack race, girls obstacle course, lei relay race, bucket contest) and 2nd in the 3 legged race. Go Aly!

Lise also had a great time with her friends and placed 3rd and 6th in the 50 yard dash and obstacle course. Go Lise!

Analise also just learned how to ride a two wheeler with no training wheels. She figured it out in 2 days. (She actually could have done this about a year ago, before we even left California, but Chris and I were just too busy with a thesis and a baby.)




Kate and I were able to go to a kids play on some Mercer Mayor books including "There's an Alligator Under My Bed" and "There's a Nightmare in My Closet". Super fun and cute, although Kate was talking to me and asking questions through the whole thing. I suppose that's my just desserts.

Another good thing is that, as of last Saturday, Kate has officially joined the world of chores at our house. Yippee! Her official chores are to dust the stairs and dust all the window sills. So glad that she loves the Swiffer duster and is so excited to have chores so she can earn money! She is also my best table setter helper these days (I think it's 'cause she likes to be in control of where everyone sits at the table and who gets to sit by whom.) Oh yeah, a 3rd kid doing chores - I'm lovin' it. :)

The BAD

With all this good stuff, you may be wondering, how could there be any bad? Well, there is. About a week before Chris graduated from ILE he found out that he would be taking the job of the S3 temporarily before he takes company command and therefore has to go up to Fort Bragg to work for the next couple of months until "the move" to Florida is complete. So much for our family getting back together. Chris has been working 16 hour days since he got up there too, so he is smoked. Lovely. So yeah, welcome back to 7th Group! This is feeling all too familiar . . .

The UGLY/FUNNY

So, Kate has taken to threatening me when I don't do what she wants. I don't know whether to laugh or be really worried. Here are some examples

Mom, if you don't give me two stickers, I'm going to: 1-cough on you, 2- pour water on your bed, 3- pour milk in your garbage can, 4 - pour cranberry juice in your toilet, 5 - throw trash in your room.

Kate has also decided that she likes to live in opposite land where she never has any fun, hates everything, and wants everyone to be frowning - but only 1/2 the time. Maybe it's just her evil twin taking over.

Luckily Kate also has some very fun, happy moments where she just cracks me up and we have a ton of fun. Here are some of her latest quotes:

"Mom, if you eat too much food does that mean a baby's in your tummy?" (A legitimate question, since my stomach often looks like I'm four months pregnant after eating since my muscles are still so stretched out - gotta get on those crunches! ;)>)

Conversation with Kate:

K - I want scrambled eggs for breakfast

Me - We can't do that; we're out of eggs. You'll have to wait till we get some from the store today.

K - Okay, I'll have them when we get back from the store. I'm going to have a turkey sandwich right now.

Me - You want a turkey sandwich for breakfast?

K - NO! I'm having my LUNCH right now. I'm having my breakfast when we get back from the store!

How can you argue with that logic?

Aly and Lise have been wanting to try to crack hard boiled eggs on their heads forever since they saw it in the Ramona and Beezus movie. Watch them in action below. . .

And finally - Mother's Day. My absolute favorite thing about mother's day is the funny little cards/notes my girls bring home that give me insight into how they really see me as their mom. This year they did not disappoint.

From Lise:

My mother's name is Stacy. She is 33 [32 - ahem!] years old and weighs 20 pounds. (Did she confuse me with Kylie?). Her hair is like mine. My mother likes to get help. (Because I'm always asking Aly and Lise to help me around the house!) My mother is very smart and knows a lot about me. (Super cute!)

From Aly:

If my mom were a super hero, she would be Super Mom because she works so hard.

If my mom were a candy, she would be sweet tarts because she is so sweet. (Let's not forget the tart part!)

If my mom were a car, she would be a minivan because she has lots of kids.

If my mom were a color, she would be a rainbow because she is so colorful.

If my mom were a TV show, she would be "Good Luck Charlie" because she is so funny.

If my mom were a song, she would be "Love Left to Lose" because she is so loveable. (I was a little confused about this song. The lyrics go like this "Oh, what you waitin' for? One more step and you're out that door. Oh, what you waitin' for? All we've got is love left to lose." Aly said this song reminded her of me because we are always trying to to get out the door - shoes, potty, seatbelts, bottle - and I'll get one step out the door and then have to run back inside for something else. Oh yeah, that's so me!)

So yeah, it was a nice Mother's Day, although I did miss having Chris there. The girls were super helpful, a lady took my baby in sacrament meeting, and a family had us over for dinner so I didn't have to cook for anybody. A day of no cooking. That's all I ask.

Spring Break, Take TWO!!

Well, we cheated; that's what we did. The girls had their normal Spring Break in March (which we loved and was posted about previously), but then our awesome friends who are in Louisiana called and said their Spring Break was over Easter, could they come visit us en route to a family camping outing, and would we like to go camping too? How could we refuse?!? Not to mention the fact that Chris had just finished his schooling in Alabama and had the week off - perfect! (Oh, and just a sidenote: there were two cameras going during this trip, so get ready for lots of pictures!) It was a huge joyous event when the kids got together. We kicked it off with an Easter Egg Hunt in the front yard. . .

The dad's purposely made a "harder" egg hunt for the two older girls on the side of the house . . .

We tried to make Kylie part of the action by giving her a basket and an egg, but she preferred to eat the grass instead.

This is Kate, super happy with her loot until I told her that 3 of her eggs were pink, not purple . . .

The rest of the weekend was TONS of fun with the making of forts (above) - indoors and out, running through the golf course sprinklers, pizza and movies, game night, lots of good time to chat and catch up, and, of course, the beach . . .

This time when we went to the beach, the water was the roughest we'd seen it . . . which meant it was awesome for body boarding! There was also plenty of sand castle building and splashing in the waves. Above are Lise and Kate at our beach spot - love the umbrella and the shade it provides.

Here's Chris with the girls anxiously anticipating the next wave that's going to "get them". Kylie loved eating the sand on this trip - I know because I was the one who ended up cleaning it off her bum for the next two days when it came out the other end. Ew!

And the only way you're going to get a picture of Aly is in the water, because she never got out.

On Easter Sunday Chris and I spoke in Church. It went well and helped make my Easter much more meaningful as I was pondering it's message during the weeks prior. The Gordon's headed out early to meet their family on the Atlantic Coast side. We would be joining them Tuesday morning and then . . . Let the Camp Fest Begin!

We would be camping on Cumberland Island, just off the coast of the Georgia/Florida border, so first we met at the ferry with all our gear which we had to hand carry onto the boat. After a 45 minute "cruise" on the ferry, we arrived at the island where we had to hand carry our gear off the boat, load it into these hand carts (like the pioneers!) and tote it a 1/2 mile to our campsite. Then we had to set up camp. We were all a little tired after that. :)

* These carts were one of the best things that happened to us on this trip. The kids used them to "cart" each other around our campsite for the next few days. Hooray for kids self entertaining.

The camping itself, though, was a lot of fun. The island was BEAUTIFUL, with all the spanish moss, jungly plants, and TONS of wildlife: wild horses, armadillos, racoons, lizards (huge and small), etc. The food was scrumptious and of course there was the traditional hotdog/marshmallow roast.

We went for a hike one day to see some ruins and ended up seeing a bunch of wild horses and some wild turkeys as well. It was super hot and humid though. But the bonus of camping on an island is . . . you're surrounded by the beach!

This water was shallow for forever, so Kylie and I had fun just sitting and splashing our feet. Kylie got an entire wash down in the spigot afterwards because she was nasty this whole trip. Even when I'd just let her crawl inside the tent (where no shoes were allowed, supposedly) she would be covered with dirt. Yeah, I love camping, but I also love a nice warm shower when we're done!

Hooray for more boogie boarding. Aly was in the water for like 3 more hours.

Aly and Amanda chillin' on their boards.

The girls made lots of neat-o castles with moats and everything. They spent a lot hard effort trying to save those castles when the tide came in, but alas, it was not meant to be. :)

Unfortunately, the fun was cut short by the huge tornado creating storm that was sweeping across the South a couple of weeks ago. So we had to pack up and come home a day early. But it was still AWESOME! Thank you Gordon Family, for your friendship and for a wonderful trip! We loved it!

Let's Play Catch up.

"Why was the Ketchup so slow?"
"Because he needed to "Catch Up"!" Ha, ha, ha. (One of the many wonderful jokes I've been hearing around my house, along with the following.)
"Why didn't the skeleton cross the road?"
"Because he didn't have the guts!" (Of course, according to Kate, nothing has guts and so this joke is ultra versatile, as in the leaf, rock, stick, paper, etc. didn't cross the road because they didn't have the guts. . . . It just gets funnier every time. . . )


One day the kids decided to put on a "Walmart sack fashion show", as shown above. Beautiful, arent' they? We had another Walmart adventure in the bakery department that went something like this:
"Ooh, doughnuts!"
"Ooh, cupcakes!"
"Mom, can we get these frosted cookies, please, please, please, PLEASE?!?"
Me - Okay, we will get the cookies for dessert if you guys promise to not complain that we are having leftovers for dinner tonight [the third time that week].
Just then I noticed that a worker guy was overhearing our conversation and chuckling. He said to me, "Are you negotiating with your children?"
I was like, "You bet I am! They're trying to wheel and deal all the time, so I better make sure I get something out of the bargain!"


So, anyhoo, back to the ketchup (catch up). April was a very fun, busy month for us. Here are the highlights:


* A surprise 3 day weekend with Chris! One day Chris called me and said the post up in Alabama was having some golf thingy so there weren't going to be classes on Friday so he was coming home! What an awesome surprise! We actually went clothes shopping and out to lunch with the two younger kiddos at this fun restaurant called "Firestation Subs" or something like that where they give plastic firemen hats to all the kids. Totally fun. I love those "surprise" days off - like snow days out of school. They are the BEST because you didn't have anything planned and so you can do whatever you want!

*My girls clicking with some friends at church and school. We've been having a few playdates and have found a few fun families to hang out with. We are now officially settled.

*Me clicking with some friends. I've done tons of fun things here, with lots of different people, including a pancake bar at my friend's house - totally relaxing and chatting while the kiddos play. Love it.

*Fun times with Lise. I was able to go with her school to a play that showcased multiple children's books like "Fancy Nancy" and "Duck for President". Very cute and upbeat for the kiddos. I was also able to read in Lise's class for storytime one week. It always makes me feel so good to see how excited my kiddos are to see me at school.

* Fun times with Aly. I had lunch with her at school. She loved showing off Lise and Kylie to all her friends. So cute.

*Analise being a good missionary. She asked me one morning for a Book of Mormon to give to her teacher at school. Her teacher accepted it and told her thank you, which is awesome - Lise was just beaming when she came home! She also took one to give to her friend she sits by on the bus, but her friend (who is in Kindergarten, by the way) didn't want it. It probably looked a bit above her reading level. :)

* Chris being the top graduate of his ILE course, tied with one other guy. GO CHRIS! That guy is always coming out on top. He's cream of the crop, I'm tellin' ya.


Okay, so we kinda bombed on the family activities for the last couple of weeks, but for good reason. We were busy getting the 72 hour kits updated and the camping gear together for our upcoming camping trip (more on that later.) But - hello! - Did that stop our girls? Of course not! They brought the beach to our driveway: running through the sprinklers and eating popcicles. Good stuff.

And, finally, a picture of Kylie demonstrating her ability to pull up on anything and everything she can get her hands on (literally).

More of Kylie's Tricks

So, Kylie is now 9 months old. She weighed 17 lb 8 oz and was 25 1/4 inches long at her appointment. (30% for height and weight and 90% head - what's up with the huge Cranium? Oh well, she doesn't look abnormally proportioned, or does she? :)>) The pediatrician said she was officially a ham, very appropos for the fourth child. (However, she doesn't really know the rest of my children all that well, otherwise she'd realize it just runs in the family!)

This past month Kylie has learned a lot of different things, some of which she will only do for about a week and then stop, and move on to something else. Some of my favorites are:

- Her tight hugs. When I'm holding her and she just nestles into my neck and gives me her tightest squeeze, it just melts my heart.

-Clicking her tongue (I gave her an old peanut butter lid, not realizing that there was still some peanut butter on there. In an attempt to get some of the peanut butter off the roof of her mouth, she began clicking her tongue, and hasn't stopped since.)

-Clapping

- Smiling at herself in the mirror

- Recognizes her name

- Reaching towards whoever she wants to hold her (usually me or Chris)

- Pull to standing

- The fake laugh she does whenever she hears anyone else laughing: Hah, hah, heh, heh!

- Shaking her head "no" (see the video below)

And here are some of my not so favorites:

- Blowing raspberries to let me know she's done eating. Yeah, it's just lovely spending my days covered in flecks of various shades of orange and green from my 9 month old spitting on me. Love it.

- Throwing a temper tantrum every time we put her in her carseat. She has absolutely decided she does not like that thing!

- Me discovering how NOT baby proofed my house is now that I have a crawling infant! Case in point: Kylie found my cell phone charger and sucked on it (as babies do). . . later on, when I plugged in my cell phone to recharge, I didn't realize there was still wet slobber in there. I came back an hour later to the smell of melting rubber/metal and saw that the plastic on the charger had completely melted and the magazine my phone was on top of was turning brown - I HAD NEARLY STARTED AN ELECTRICAL FIRE!! . . . Of course, this led to Chris getting a new Droid phone and me taking over his old phone, which we had been talking about anyway, so I guess it all turned out well in the end . . .

Kylie is Crawling! - Test