July 29, 2011

Total rudeness at the Zoo

Oooohhh! Look at those!!


The kids were pumped, totally excited. They could hardly stand still in line as we waited our turn to pay for admittance at the zoo.

Since Hubby was out of town all last week, on Saturday my brother and SIL were wonderfully willing to come with me to lend extra eyes and hands on this outing, not to mention their smashing company.

Just practicing for the twins!


As we approached the very first exhibit, the kids were excitedly pointing while jabbering away about the "awesome animals".

What are those weird things on his back?


Standing there at the exhibit as well, was a middle-aged couple and their two teen-aged children.  After only a few seconds, the lady turned and stood directly in front of me, only looking away and said loudly to her family, "Well... *huffity huff huff* let's move somewhere else where there aren't noisy children in the way bothering us." 

My brother and I just turned and looked at each other incredulously.

Hey! We have the same hair!


Was she serious? Umm... she does realize this is a zoo... right? And that it's outside... right?

Whatever, she can take her pointy nose somewhere else for all I care.

Mom, why is he trying to eat that?

We parted ways.

A few minutes later however, we happen to come upon them again at the penguin exhibit.

"Oh great!" The lady huffed again, "Now we have to go somewhere else!" And off they marched, muttering all the way.

 Go on Savannah! Feed him! He's nice.


Wow. Heaven forbid there be happy children at the zoo.

And I admit, deep down my evil twin wanted to keep following them around the zoo.

Just for entertainment purposes.

Whoa! A mu-eee!

At another point, we passed them yet again and I heard the daughter muttering to her mother. All I caught was, "There they are again!"



I feel sorry for them actually. What a miserable and unfulfilled life they must have.

As for me, I'm loving mine thank-you-very-much!


Noisy kids and all.

July 26, 2011

All in the name of being a responsible parent

I took the kids to the library today. As I rounded up all the items that were due, I simply called over my shoulder to the older kids to get dressed, find their shoes, and get in the car.

Done.

We pulled up to the library and I started to unload the kids.  Jacob hopped over from the back seat and I did a double-take.

What the....

There he sat. Shoes, shirt.... and underwear? No pants.

Seriously!?! Gah! What was I suppose to do now? Savannah and Joseph were already inside the library and I really didn't want to drive all the home!

*think think... think think...*

In that moment, the heavens smiled down upon me... or, perhaps laughed down upon me.

There, on the car floor, sat a pair of shorts from yesterday that Savannah had worn to the splash park.

Well, it's better than nothing!

So I put them on him, and merely shrugged at the fact that they were twice the size of his waist. He did his best to hold them up and on, he really did. But if you looked close enough, you'd see a pretty pink butterfly sitting just below his stripped underwear that poked out from beneath his shirt.

Awesome.

Did I mention he lost hold of them once or twice?

Even more awesome.

July 25, 2011

It's hereditary

To truly know my parents, is to know that they can fall asleep anytime, anywhere.

Literally.


My mom especially has mad skills in this area.

While it still may take me a number of years yet to achieve her level of greatness, I like to think of myself as one who's talent isn't too terribly lacking.

My roommates in college will attest to finding me zonked out, rather gracefully I might add, in front of an art project or paper like this.


I admit to finding myself folded in this position still from time to time.

And when I finally come to, feeling the blood flow back into my lower extremities can be wicked painful, especially if I'd been like that for hours.


And as with all good things heredity, my little novices are greatness in the making.




*sniffle* I'm so proud. 

July 20, 2011

Toddlers + Shampoo

I jerked awake. Focusing my eyes I saw that Claira was sleeping and Savannah and Joseph were calmly looking at books, so what had startled me?

There it was again. In the distance I heard... giggling.

Glancing quickly around the basement family room, my worst fears were confirmed.

Jacob and Alayna were missing.

Oh no! Groaning I jumped to my feet and sprinted up the stairs. The giggling had turned into all out laughter.

Blast it all, why did I have to doze off! Those two together are ten times worse then the boys together ever were!

Racing to the bathroom, I walk in to find Jacob on the toilet holding what was once a large, full bottle of shampoo. Only now, it was a nice, large, almost empty bottle of shampoo.

At that moment he laughingly squirt a large stream of purple soap out and onto the bathroom rug, which was no longer brown, but a nice, thick, bubbly white as Alayna used a wet rag and water to scrub the soap into the rug.

Ooohhhh.... let's just skip over my reaction and pretend we are frolicking through a field of chocolate... shall we?..............................la la.........................................................la la .............................. *teeth grinding*.......... la.


Sure, the mess doesn't sound so bad.

But have you ever actually tried to wash an entire bottle of shampoo out of something?

Believe me, throwing it into the washing machine is not a good idea. Unless you plan on filling your whole house with soapy suds.

You have to wash it out by hand first and you'd be amazed at how long it takes.

So very amazed. So very long.



And so help me, if one more new bottle of shampoo gets dumped or drained or emptied....

GAH!

Now where's that bag of chocolate chips?

July 19, 2011

Best Early Birthday Present Ever!

Have you ever wanted something badly? 

And have you ever wanted something that you feel like maybe you shouldn't want? That you feel all rebellious and wicked for wanting?

Oh, I have.

And against my better judgement I have kept my eyes open for the perfect ones the last couple of years. But I could never find the ones I really wanted, even though I didn't really know which ones I really wanted, just that I had never found the ones I really wanted... you know?

At least, that was until about a month ago.


Hubby and I happen to be casually passing through Dillards on our anniversary when I saw them.

And it was love at first sight.

*cue romantic music*


They were exactly what I wanted. The right shade, the right style, just... *sighing dreamily* perfect.

Then I saw the price tag. *cough cough choke gag* 

*kill romantic music*

Sure they were on sale. Sure the price wasn't that bad. Sure some people have no problem spending that kind of money on shoes. But I have a $20 self-imposed limit on my shoes.  

I probably would have been willing to spend a little more for these but I just... I just... couldn't quite justify it.

So I gazed at them dreamily.

And I may have actually sniffled a little when I walked away from them. 

But I never forgot them.  


Enter the girl's shopping trip mentioned yesterday. I couldn't help myself, I just HAD to show them all my shoes! So I did, and the girls all agreed, they were some pretty great shoes.

Then, to my utter surprise, my mom took the box from me, walked up to the register, bought them, handed them to me and said, "Happy Birthday!"

*sqeeeeee!*


Seriously, the best early birthday present ever.

July 18, 2011

The Baby Blessing and the Fourth of July


Two weeks ago, on July 3rd, we blessed little Claira Faith in a beautiful little dress made by my MIL.

Isn't she just downright adorable? Man I do good work!


Pish, okay... okay fiiiiinnne. It was a 'couples' effort I suppose. I mean Hubby did help... a little.

Still, I do think I deserve most of the credit. After all, I'm the one who had to endure nine months of torture to make her, right? Despite Hubby's claims that those months were just as bad for him.

Whatever. Ignorance is bliss and makes some people say the strangest things.   

*smootch* Love you anyway honey. 


I think that perhaps I should have warned the Primary that they were going to have twenty extra kids in church that day since all of Hubby's family came. Oops.

Later that afternoon, they all went home.



The next day, which was obviously the Fourth of July, a girl's day out was planned.

Leaving all the little kiddies home with the guys, since we gave them no choice in the matter, my mom, sister, SIL, Savannah, and myself headed out to  the mall.

And seriously, we had a blast! 

Why? Well... eh hem.... umm... let's just say, what happens in the mall, stays in the mall. You know, girl stuff!

'Nuff said.

Angel, Mom, Annie, Me
And inside that Dillard's bag I'm holding, is the best early birthday present ever!! I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.

They're red, and shiny, and gorgeous, and I love them.

And if you know me and my blog, then I'm sure you can guess what they are.


Here's me and my cute SIL in our new matching sunglasses. We also ended up with matching sparkly flip flops and a matching shirt. But since she's about 30 weeks pregnant with twin girls, I probably shouldn't admit that we got a matching shirt.

It says too much about my weight loss progress. *sigh*

But doesn't she look fabulous?


The whole time we were in the mall, I would ask Savannah if she liked anything, if there was something she really wanted. I had every intention of getting her a something.

In the end, all she wanted was this.


A twenty-five cents bouncy ball.

I know right, wow. Even I was shocked. I think I'll take her shopping more often!

When we got home, Hubby took the kids to see a movie, then later that night, we drove across town to settle down at an elementary school so we could watch the big fireworks.

As soon as we got there, the older kids took off to go play and I didn't see them again until it was about time for the fireworks to start.

Alayna wanted to stay with us boring adults. Probably because she secretly knew my sister had candy.


That face says she knows. Oh... she knows.  

*squirm*  Makes me wonder just how much she knows. *cough*


Granny!


Little Claira, wondering what the heck was going on.


Alayna and Papa, leaving to go check on the other kids. I love this picture.


And again, later that night during the fireworks. She was Papa's little girl.


I tried to take a picture of the other kids but Savannah just got annoyed with me and Joseph was too busy eating to care.

Oh well, what can you do.


It was a really great and perfect weekend. 

Even better than a warm chocolate bar.

July 16, 2011

The Great In-Law Reunion

Not having grown up knowing any of my extended family, it was a new experience for me when I got married to suddenly be related to what seemed like half a state.

To me, family reunions were like sports cars. You see them, hear about them, know they exist, but you've never had one.  And those of you who don't like reunions are thinking that's just about the worst comparison you've ever heard.

Imagine my surprise when, not only did Hubby have reunions involving extended family, but also immediate family reunions, once in the summer and once for Christmas.

I suppose it's convenient that his entire family lives within a four hour radius.

The kids in Hubby's family take turns with who is in charge of the reunions, and this summer, it happen to be us.

So I pretty much said, well, good luck with that one honey! Just kidding! I helped... a little. In my defense though, I had just had a baby and things seem to go better when the actual family member runs it.

Friday night after dinner, something strange caught my eye.


Have you seen the new Disney movie, "Tangled" yet? You know the floating lanterns?



I know right? Pretty cool! My SIL found them on-line! You just light 'em up, let 'em go, then they burn out and disintegrate on their own! 


Meanwhile, Hubby was putting his brilliant plan into action.


Ta da! Just like a drive in movie!

Well, almost. As they were trying to set it up using the tractor, my SIL laughing said to me, "You know you're a redneck when..."

At least they're redneck geniuses!


The kids LOVED it! Seriously, what better way to watch "How to train your dragon", right?


And yes, it was fa-reeeezing that night! That's why I took my two baby girls, Alayna and Claira, back to my in-laws house to sleep instead of doing the camping thing.

Even Jacob was frozen stiff.



When I showed up the next morning, it was painfully obvious that hubby had gotten the boys dressed.



*sigh* What can you do.

After breakfast, the train was brought out.


Pretty nifty, huh!

And yes, there are a lot of grandkids, and all 25 of them were there.


Alayna's hair is still all crazy and raggedy from her little hair cutting experience.

Still, I can't help but think her crazy bangs/hair style suits her.


When it was warm enough, because the water was like ice, Hubby brought out the slip-n-slide!

Wahoo! Go little Audry! (my niece)


Even Alayna was brave enough to have a go.


All the water flowing out of the huge sprinkler pipe flooded the area. The kids LOVED it!



And seriously, isn't this little guy just the cutest thing you've ever seen?


Now, just a warning, you might want to put on your sunglasses. The darkest ones you have.

And maybe step back several feet. I'd hate for anyone to go blind because of these next pictures.

Meet Hubby's twin brothers, Brock and Bobbie.


Yaowee! Is it just me or did the whole computer suddenly get brighter? That's what happens when one's skin never sees the like of day.

Until you try and blind everyone at your family reunion by taking your shirt off.

Kind of like my legs in the winter.

After a few passes on the little bikes, another brother, Lane, decided to bring out the big guns!


After a while, the kids decided it would be great fun to throw water on the guys as they drove past. I think a shovel or a bucket or two accidentally flew with the water on occasion.

At least, I assume it was accidental.

The kids were armed and ready.



Poor Savannah. She was chasing uncle Brock with a bucket of water, but when she tried to throw it at him, she totally biffed it.


Even Jacob was doing his fair share by scooping up water to, ever so carefully and cautiously, carry it so he could throw it at his uncles.


I know, the muscles on my children are incredible.

The kids played in the water all day.

Except for Alayna. She preferred staying on the bikes.


My SIL gave her that hat and she was just so stinking cute in it I think I took like, twenty pictures of her in it!

It even works for her desire to be a biker chic.


When the kids got tired of the water, my insightful and ever prepared SIL's provided crafts to keep the kids occupied.


As for me, I must have left my insightfulness in my back pocket. For while I made sure my children were caked in plenty of sunscreen, not once did I think to put some on myself.


Sometimes my genius amazes even me.
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