Luke's Birthday and the 4th

We've had quite a few more days in our pajamas, but we also have had some busy days.

Luke turned 6! He has been counting down for nearly 4 months so this was a big deal.  That morning, June 28, he came into my room bright and early.

 I said, "Happy Birthday, Luke!"

And he said, "Mom.  Look at my foot. Look how ginormous it is.  It's a six year old foot!"

That evening we invited his friends to a gigantic indoor play place called The Tubes, housed in a local Bible Church, because in Texas "church" can mean all kinds of things.

We had pizza and cake and ice cream.

He wanted a Kirby cake this year.  And I hope I've learned my cake making lesson.  I've already learned a similar lesson in regards to sewing.  Making and decorating a birthday cake will take at least 2 if not 3 times longer than I think it will.  And whatever I turn out will never look like it warranted 6 hours of work.

I made some serious improvement after last years coconut oil cake fiasco, though.

Everyone had a great time.

The next night we had a family dinner.  Luke's request was ham, chips, and cheese ("just plain cheese").  I threw in the corn on the cob for good measure.

He asked for and received some new legos with lots of pieces, a new Kirby game, a "200 puzzle", and a box of assorted treats and goodies along with a water football and a rubber snake.

The next weekend was the 4th of July, and man we packed a lot in.  It was so much fun. Dan had a four day weekend so we made the most of it.

We blew up the water slide, went to the movies, grilled, and went to the fireworks.

The slide was a hit just like last summer.

Finn could only watch from the sidelines.

And this year some friends let us in on the best firework watching spot.  It truly was ideal.  Not much traffic but right up close.

The kids had a blast running around with all the other kids and the boys could hardly stop their glow stick light saber fights.

And what really made it seem unreal was the fact that the weather was crazy, crazy nice for July.  We sat out and waited for the fireworks and with nary a drip of sweat.

Of course the night turned out to be a late one.

The next day followed with more water slide action and a movie at Grandma and Grandpa's. Everyone was hashed and fell asleep all over the living room. Everyone except Ava and me, that is.

 But we had to wake them up to make an appearance at the lake BBQ for which we had RSVP'd.  Saturday Ava went with friends to a Home Depot workshop, I went to my first hot yoga class, (woah, Nelly!) and then Ava was invited to go boating with those same friends.  I was so shocked and pleased that she rode the tube and loved it ("until I flipped off and did a somersault under the water").

I can't explain to you how tired the kids were by Sunday morning, especially Ava.  First she was crying because she wanted to go to church.  When it was time to go to church she was crying because she wanted to stay home.  Max flat out refused to go to Primary and he spent the entire last two hours of church in Dan's arms.

Since our children were apparently born without the ability to sleep in, we decided on an early bedtime right then and there.

We got everyone settled and tucked in by 6:40pm that night.  At 8pm Ava came wandering downstairs saying she fell asleep but just woke up and she's confused.  Was it morning?

Of course it's not, dear.

We sent her back to bed but 45 minutes later, she was back down for a drink of water.

At that point we watched our "early bedtime" plans go up in smoke and just crossed our fingers that Ava's delirium would fade by morning.

Two days later, I think we're still working out some of our kinks, but we sure had fun getting them!

It's Summer

I can now officially declare that summer is upon us because last week we had a spell of 48 straight hours in the same pajamas. I mean, we never even got dressed for more than 2 days straight.  If that's not on your summer bucket list, you should consider adding it. There was nowhere we had to be and nothing we had to do.  And honestly, they've been some of my favorite days.

We made sure we did our chores.  We watched TV. We read books.  We practiced math. And reading.

And then we came upon everyone's favorite.  In my pre-summer planning, along with all those things listed above, I wanted to be sure to schedule in a physical time each day.  Sadly, here in Texas during the summer, it's not usually feasible for the kids to run and play outside, we have to get creative.

So pretty much for the past week I've been running my own boot camp and the participants are so eager and willing, it's silly.

I have been awoken most mornings by little faces asking me to please show them that headstand or  can we please run laps, please!

What strange little creatures I've made.

We started one morning with sit-ups which led into stretching, bridges, torture, and laps.  We always finish with laps.

The path is cleared of all toys and shoes, the stopwatch is set, and the kids take turns running the circle.

The bigs wanted to break 8 seconds.  Ava started keeping a log.  And then for at least the next 45-90 minutes, rotating through their turns, they speed around the bottom level of the house.

Wednesday was the lucky day.  Both Ava and Luke ran the loop in 7.8 seconds.  They were so proud!

What is interesting to me is how our home dynamic has morphed over the years.  There was a long period of time when we needed outings and plans and dates and appointments. We couldn't just be.  Trying to just be always deteriorated into fighting and fits and boredom and chaos.  Every single time, without fail, without question.

Now, that still happens occasionally.  But its definitely the exception and not the rule. My summer plans exist more as a backup for those exceptions and that is a new, good thing.  During the multiple toddler/preschooler years, that need for constant, deliberate movement eased my anxiety and brought me peace, like a baby in a rocking chair. Now, my peace more often comes from quiet moments at home, when the kids actually play with and entertain each other; when I don't feel that I'm pulling people this way and that for ventures unnecessary.  And don't get me wrong, there were times when those ventures, however unnecessary, were completely necessary.  You dig?

Spending time at home, in our jammies, working, relaxing, and playing, tending to the multiple facets of ourselves, without our world teetering on complete and utter destruction, is a good feeling.

That, and not packing four little bodies into the van just to unload them all and drag them around the store feels good too. Not that I love shopping at night or finding a babysitter, though. I'm thinking someone should really develop a drive through grocery store.  I would be first in line!

A number 1 with a  gallon of milk, a box of size 2 diapers, apples, carrots, and some turkey please!

The Beach 2013

We made it back from the beach! With all the kids!

It was definitely a successful trip.  We have now stayed in the same condo on the same beach on the same week for the past three years and we've loved it every time.  This was the first year I was really hankering to stay one more day though.

It was a great time.  After many, many warnings that there were no fits or crying allowed at the "beach house," as the kids call it, for the days leading up to our departure, Max really held himself together.  When a fit was coming on, all I had to do was give him the simple reminder that they were not allowed, and he would compose himself.  Now if only that would work at home.

We did our usual one day into Galveston, only this time we rode the free ferry from Galveston Island to the Bolivar Peninsula.

One of my all time favorite moments, even though it was at the expense of my son, was when we stood in line to board and the ferry's air horn sounded, causing Max to become so scared and distressed that he stuck his head in this bag and bawled for a good 3 minutes.

He could not be comforted so the only thing left to do was take a picture through my laughter.

The ferry was fun (and free!) and pleasant if you stayed out of the sun or better yet rode inside in the air conditioning.

We saw lots of dolphins which was really neat too.

After the ferry it was time for La King's for milkshakes and candy.

As we have learned, our very favorite time to hit the beach is the evening.  We don't have to worry about sunscreen, the never crowded beach is even less so, and the light and sunsets are amazing.

The kids were so happy to play in the waves and they are so lucky that their daddy is just a big kid himself.

They will have the best memories of him making up his silly games and chasing them. 

In fact, they played so hard, even the big kids took naps! 

Finn never made it in the water, I didn't do more than dangle his feet in the ocean a couple of times.

I got in myself a time or two, but this was not my season for laying in the surf or building sandcastles, I guess.

As long as Finn was tummy to tummy, skin to skin, heart to heart, or mouth to boob, he was all set.

And with a baby this pleasing to look at, it wasn't a bad gig to sit on the beach, in a chair, and snuggle him.

Although, admittedly, after 3 days of near constant contact I was ready for a little break.



We tried out the pool at the beach club this time and it was a winner! We'll go back for sure.

Our beloved Prince's came down for an evening and we got to meet baby Jack,

And it was an unexpected surprise to catch Mr. August for the Dan Calendar,

The only downers to our trip were the man who went missing in the ocean, for whom helicopters searched for days, and poor little Luke who got stung by a jellyfish on our last frolic in the ocean.

After a little online research, applying shaving cream and scraping it off with a credit card worked wonders and by the next day, it looked nearly perfect.

We love the beach! We look forward to this trip every year! We love our condo! We love that there's plenty of space for Mom and Dad to come along, that we have the ability to cook our own food.  And we have now come to expect that at some point during our stay, the downstairs neighbor will knock on our door and kindly ask that we try to keep the kids from running and jumping and banging on their ceiling.  And I have come to accept that I will continue to ask and remind and warn, but that their little bodies will never quite get over the excitement of being there and will continue to bounce and run.

I can't say that I blame them.  This is one family tradition I hope will never die.

Once Upon A Time

There were fan books.  Remember those? Luke's obsession with ceiling fans led him to tote around fan catalogs and pour through the pages day after day.

That faded quite some time ago but seeing him devour this Lego catalog over and over again, saying with complete accuracy things like, "This set has two thousand, four hundred and twenty nine pieces" takes me back to the fan and clock days.

We've been enjoying our summer pretty well.  We all survived my time at Young Women's Camp.

Mom came and stayed with the kids during the day and of course Dan was home at night. Ava finished up her week at basketball camp, which she just loved.  And I'm not gonna lie, that made me really, really happy.

Finn came around to the bottle and put all my hard-earned pumped milk to good use.

 Pumping milk, every three hours, on the bottom of a too short bunk bed, under a nursing cover, in a cabin, in 100 degree weather, wasn't my highlight.  And then dumping it all in the grass because I didn't have a way to freeze it was also not awesome.

But playing with the girls, watching them build their relationships with each other, hearing and seeing their testimonies of Jesus Christ grow right before my eyes, more than made up for all that milk stuff.

I came up with pretty much the ultimate camp prank. Of course I would never have the heart to go through with it.  But if you ever find yourself as a leader of unsuspecting campers with access to an endless supply of breastmilk, and the job of distributing the nightly treat of cookies....just promise you'll think of me.

Max held out long enough for me to get home before needing to go to urgent care for bronchitis and an ear infection. And of course it has been successfully passed to the baby. The other kids were so paranoid about catching it they've avoided him like the plague and come screaming to me, "MAX TOUCHED ME! HE TOUCHED MY HAND!"

Max seems to have felt the two's were not worth being terrible over. The three's, however, is a different story.  Probably combined with Finn being born and then being sick this week, he's almost more than I can bear.  Seriously, the only descriptor I can think of for him is Hell on Wheels, only he doesn't even have any wheels.  I should possibly delete this before printing out the blog book but on the other hand, I shouldn't because he totally deserves to read this about himself in 5 years.

Max, I love you but you are a nightmare! The display you put on in the dentist office today, with your complete disobedience, loud whining and forced wailing was reprehensible and embarrassing.  You have now ensured yourself of my total commitment to at least one episode of middle school pda.  Prepare to have your face cleaned with my spit, your hand held, and maybe even a kiss on the mouth when you are 14 and standing in front of the girl you like.  Consider yourself warned.
Love, Mom

We're off to the beach tomorrow and I will consider it a success if we return with all four children!