….with my big girls. Hannah and Ellie are going to be flower girls this weekend in Uncle Darren and (Aunt) Kelly’s wedding in St. Lucia.
So we headed to the nail shop….
…
Then it was time for haircuts.
Finally, we tried out the new yogurt store in town.
What a great afternoon!
Tomorrow we will head out to St. Lucia for a week for the wedding….and some sun, fun, and lots of family time.
I love summer!
We spent the long weekend Buena Vista, Co. There was picnicking, hiking, fishing, playing by a waterfall, dancing to blue grass music, parade watching, rock climbing, chess-playing, off-roading with our new 4-wheel drive, and some very worn out kids (and parents) every night.
It was much needed family time and very good for this mama’s soul.
We are travel junkies in the summer. For the next several weeks we are traveling to spend time at Ellie’s Beihai Reunion, spending the July 4th weekend in the Rockies, and celebrating the wedding of Ryan’s brother and new sister-in-law in St. Lucia. Lots of whirlwind, lots of fun, and lots of R and R.
Our big girls started a week early and have been in Indiana with my parents all week. Evidently, they have been having much fun and excitement visiting with cousins.
So, Ryan and I headed to the airport yesterday afternoon for an “easy” flight to Indiana. We only had half of our kids with us, right? We’ve flown a ton with all the kids. Actually, I like to joke about how experienced they are and call my adopted ones, “airplane babies” rather than “hospital babies”.
Some days, traveling just doesn’t go smoothly no matter how experienced and prepared you are. Those days, you have a decision to make. Put a smile on your face, keep moving forward, and know that it will all be over soon enough.
We pulled up to a practically empty departures lane and discovered that we had left an important piece of luggage at home….Julia’s travel bed.
While we were trying not argue about whose fault it was (still not agreed upon, the only thing we agree upon is to no longer discuss it), a huge tour bus pulled up and dropped its full load of boy scouts checking in for our airline.
Tick, tock.
Since checking in lap children, we had to go through the long line rather than the express lane to check our bags.
Tick, tock.
Security, with two babies, strollers, etc.
Tick, tock.
Alas, with McDonald’s in hand, we made it to the gate in time to board.
“But, sir, you need to ticket those strollers. Just step over to the counter….”
Tick, tock.
Spent several minutes waiting for a very angry man to be told that there are no seats for him on this flight….
Tick, tock.
Finally, Ryan cleared his throat, stepped around the man and asked for the tags.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
We were the last ones on the flight and didn’t get to sit in the same row.
Well, then there is Evan J! He is 11 months old and has a strange quirk. The more tired he is, the more squirmy he is. He also has this fantastically strong grip. When he grabs something, you have to pry his hand off.
It was a quick 2 hour flight that involved spilling a whole order of French fries, a leaky diaper and resulting “naked baby” until the seat belt sign was removed and we could get to the bathroom, several trips up and down the aisle, a spilled water bottle from being gripped by super-strong baby boy, repeated hair pulling since the only thing that held his interest was removing my hair clip, chewing on it and “trying” to put it back in, repeatedly. Julia, however, sat quietly on Daddy’s lap snacking and reading books.
But the whole time I kept looking at his bare feet. He has the cutest little baby feet. They aren’t going stay that little, that fat and cute. Time has a way of slipping right on by us. Maybe I am just missing my big girls who have been gone all week, but I remember looking at their cute little feet and wasn’t that just yesterday?
Hannah and Ellie are in Indiana this week with my parents. We are traveling there this weekend and will see them on Saturday. Here are a couple beautiful shots:
Evan chased, caught, played with, smashed, and discarded a Daddy Long Leg while we were playing outside this afternoon. It held his attention for quite awhile.
Julia walked up and saw it lying on the patio. Her response was, “Ewwww!”
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Evan got his toe pinched today and ended up with an abrasion that bled. He cried for about 2 seconds after I picked him up, let me wash it and bandage it, then he was off again to play.
No Drama!
I have always been interested in the differences between males and females. These moments just crack me up.
I am experimenting with my iPhone and WordPress. I think I will use this cute pic of Julia I snapped last week.
I walked it the room to find her sitting in her highchair holding her favorite food – ketchup. Evidently, someone left the refrigerator open and evidently Julia thought it was snacktime.
Yes! My experiment worked so prepare yourself for lots of pics of my cuties since WordPress and my iPhone make it so simple!
We spent a great week with Grandma and Grandpa in Florida. We always enjoy visiting with them and this trip was long overdue so the week flew by.
Here is a countdown of the fun:
10. After church on Sunday, I saw a black snake in the driveway sunning himself. He was AT LEAST 10 feet long! Actually, only about 3 feet. We both very quickly decided that we didn’t care to stick around any longer than we had to to make one another’s acquaintance. Ryan, ever the kid, got a shovel and poked around in the bushes. The girls were right out there with him, but I had seen enough!
9. Ryan and I took Ellie on a gecko hunt. After a morning rain shower we decided conditions were right for finding some. We spotted 9 within just a few minutes. Despite some strategic maneuvering, she didn’t catch any this time. It works out better for the gecko population this way…when she was younger and she played with them, they always seemed to loose their tails. Ryan did catch her a frog in the dark which was pretty impressive. Grandpa asked her if she was going to kiss it. I’m not sure if she did…I hope not.
8. One evening after dinner, we decided to have an evening walk “before” a threatening rainstorm came in. Suddenly about a third of the way into the walk, we found ourselves having to crouch under a neighbors eaves trying to avoid the downpour. We were glad no one seemed to mind that there were 8 people taking cover by their garage.
7. Grandpa took Ryan and the girls to a Spring Training game between the Orioles and the Blue
Jays. It was a hot, sunny game where icy cold refreshment was needed, but much to his surprise, Ellie dropped her italian ice on Grandpa’s shirt during the 7th inning stretch. Brrr!
It was straight to the pool when they got home to cool off. Ellie and Hannah swam for hours at a time this week and had a great time! Julia and Evan both loved the pool. Julia was able to jump in on her own and even floated with no extra support other than water wings. She is a real water bug!
6. The time we left Grandma and Grandpa’s house yesterday morning to catch our flight home. We had some bleary eyed kids – and parents, but it was an uneventful trip. I’m so thankful my kids are good travelers.
5. This number is a secret and not mine to tell 
4. As I write, which is why I have time to write, Julia is heading into her fourth hour of nap today recovering from travel. Atta girl!
3. Three boxes of popcorn and one bag of cotton candy were enjoyed by our family at the circus. Everyone enjoyed the show and Julia learned a new word while watching the high-rope walkers, “Wow!”.
2. 2 hour time zone changes do crazy things to a baby’s system. Suffice it to say that the first couple days were a bit bumpy with Evan. After that he settled in nicely scooting himself whereever he pleased loving how easy it was to maneuver on tile flooring. Today, however, he has been crawling up on all fours. I’m pretty bummed he was a day late for Grandma and Grandpa to see.
1. One new tooth for Evan appeared mid-week. Bad combination for baby – teething and traveling, well, teething and just about anything else.
Anyone who knows our Hannah Kay will get a kick out of this:
We were discussing going out for ice cream Saturday evening after dinner. Hannah requested Baskin Robbins over DQ.
Her reason: Baskin Robbins has more flavors from which to choose.
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Much to Evan’s delight, he has been enjoying soft table foods the last couple of days. He is definitely enjoying the tastes and textures over the pureed baby food he has been having up until now.
So I decided to share my ice cream with him thinking it was the first taste for him. I was proudly making a big deal of his first taste of ice cream when Ryan walked up to the table.
He wasn’t impressed, evidently this wasn’t Evan’s first taste of ice cream.
Evan loved it and would have licked my bowl clean had I let him.
The last couple of nights, Evan has kicked up after being laid down for bed and cried for several minutes. I know that it’s just part of the process, but I definitely hate it.
After I put him to bed tonight, I asked the girls to be extra quiet because I left his door open a little bit in case he didn’t like to be in total darkness.
Ellie was quick to sympathize, “Yeah…I don’t like the dark very much either because I keep forgetting that monsters aren’t real.”
Ryan can attest to that since he was awoken at 5:15 this morning to her crying over a bad dream.
So far, Saturdays seem to be the last protected vestige of unplanned, family time. Relaxing, quiet weeknights are elusive – the girls are getting busier with school activities and homework, the babies, quite frankly, turn to pumpkins around 5:30, and Ryan’s work schedule has been keeping him out several nights a week lately.
So, here’s to Saturday morning. An extra cup of coffee, kids dancing in the living room, and the weekend ripe with possibilities for family time. So far, Ryan is planning to take all three girls on a “date” today. To the park, out to lunch, and then a bike ride or hike with the big girls while Julia naps later. Tomorrow, we are going on a date without kids after church. Dinner and bedtime around here is too crazy to do to a teenager so the compromise is to have some quiet, alone time while the kids nap and play away the afternoon.
The objective this weekend is togetherness and play. We better all enjoy it because next weekend will be cleaning the basement.
Well, maybe…
