There's no place like home

Yesterday I got home from being away from Jeff and Braxton and Adelle for 5 days! It was too long for me to be away but I had a good time and I think it was a good experience for everyone. Emmett and I were together 24/7 and I think we both needed that. He has never gotten that from me and now he is readjusting to sharing me with his dad and two siblings.

When I was gone Braxton asked Jeff, "dad, is mom's hair still going to be short when she gets home or will it be long again?" I thought that was so cute!

It's good to be home.

More to come on where we went and what we did!

weekend in pictures

Friday night we did the local Fair

We have connections so we got to go into the horse stalls and pet the horses.

Adelle is too big for her britches. She did not want me to touch her on this ride. She kept telling me, "mom, it's ok, it's ok..."

Ah, yeah! That's my little 5 year old! I seriously think he was the smallest person to ride that gigantic thing! He loved it.
Braxton is not someone I would classify as a dare-devil but at the fair he did every big ride they would let him. It was so fun to watch him!

Adelle would have rode the big rides but they wouldn't let her. She is a dare-devil for sure!

Emmett fell asleep on his back but ended up in this position at one point. Maybe I should have strapped him in?

Brent was the only adult who got a wrist band so he got to go on all the kiddie rides. He didn't mind. Look at that smile!

Emmett's favorite part was the goats and sheep.

LIttle man got to ride the carousel at least!

Saturday we did the beach. It was gorgeous and sunny.

We got lots of crab and sun!

This picture got out of order but I thought it was cute. This is the morning after the fair. Braxton is still asleep on the top bunk and these two are reading to each other down below.

Sofie was a little hesitant of the water. What? Yes we had to gradually coax her in.

Braxton is my kid. Born to be at the beach.

My parents brought tubes so that we could float while we weren't on the boat. This was my favorite part.

Adelle is either looking for baby crabs, going "potty" or....I'm not sure. Use your imagination.

Emmett spent most of the day napping (from the long night before) or wrestling his dad, the dog, or his uncle Brent.

My cute boy found me though and came down and laid right by me in the same position. It was really cute.

snackin'

diggin'

It was a really nice weekend!
This is what I love at where we live in the summer.

outside my window

I'm washing all my window panes. It started in Braxton and Adelle's room. We cleaned their room today, earlier, and I noticed the window panes were bad. I like to have all the windows in the house open this time of year. Air everything out, ya know. It's a good thing because who knows what has been living behind those blinds since probably last summer. I made a mental note that the panes needed to be cleaned asap. If they were yucky in their room, they were most likely yucky in the other rooms too.
The kids and Jeff are temporarily gone. Jeff got home and took the kids across the street to the school to play and get some wiggles out. I did the same thing that most of you reading this would do; took the opportunity to do some hard core cleaning without any little helpers.
I am in my front room, facing the street, cleaning the windows. There is no use cleaning the panes without doing the whole window as well. I see a friend drive by but she doesn't see me. I think about her for a moment. I see cars travel past, most faster than I would prefer, some of them talking on cell phones. They are probably hurrying home to their families because it is dinner time so I forgive them for driving negligently down our street. I see kids on bikes and hear the neighbors dog barking. The windows are open and I find myself stopping and gazing out. Not because I see anything but because of what I hear.
A familiar voice hollers "stop," in his usual calm fashion. Footsteps stop but only for a moment to look both ways and then continue. Then I can see them. A small boy with new school shoes running as fast as he can. The sidewalk can barely keep up. A little girl is behind him and I hear her holler, "wait for me, I'm coming too." She is wearing leggings and sandals but I know it is only because her mom recommended she take off the dress to go to the park because the dress was really long and might be hard to climb in. The small boy fights his desire to keep running ahead and stops to wait for the little girl. When she is only a few feet behind him he continues his chase. Behind them still is a man. He is smiling. He is always smiling. On his shoulders rides a little tot, sun bleached hair that is surfer shaggy and makes him look like he is a teenager in a babies body. I know he walked most of the way just to prove that if the other kids could do it so could he, because that is how he is lately. Little legs are probably ready to fall off.
The small boy in front sees me and points, "mom! It's mom, it's mom" as if I've been gone for days. I wave and realize I forgot I was staring out my window. The little girl can see me now too. She is waving happily. The tot on the shoulders of the man is looking in the direction they are yelling mom. I don't know if he can see me yet but I can hear him saying his favorite word over and over, "hi, hi, hi" and I know he is talking to me.
They ring the doorbell, out of fun, and stomp in all at the same time, some tripping over others. They are dusty dirty, like you are when you leave a graveled playground, but they are home.
The man kisses me. I still can't believe he is mine, forever. The tot is hungry. The small boys new shoes no longer look new. The little girl wants to put her dress back on. My world came back.

three favorites

Have you ever had one of those days where you count the hours until bedtime and then once they are quietly in bed you stay up late talking about them and how wonderful they are and how you just couldn't live without them?

That was us last night.

It was a long day. I have really good kids and yesterday they were straight up ornery. Maybe we all got up too early, I don't know, but it was a long day that I never thought would end.

Then we tucked them in and when we finally went to bed this was a bit of our dialogue:

"oh my goodness Emmett is such a turkey. He deliberately throws dirt when I tell him not to and then he smiles (because he knows its wrong) and he's so stinkin' cute. I can't be mad."

"Adelle is hilarious. Her new line is, "I'm not kidding," and she repeats it over and over."

"that girl can really push her brothers buttons"

"I love how Adelle calls Braxton, "my braxton."

"Braxton (mr. serious) is getting so good at swimming I am so proud of him and how far he has come this summer and how self motivated he is to learn."

"oh and how Adelle calls Sofie "soph" and treats her like another one of her babies"

"and Braxton asking me to help him read! ah yeah, I'll help you!!"

"oh and Braxton and Emmett when they were just sitting out in the dirt like brothers, hanging out, shooting the breeze. I can't wait for them to be buds"

"Emmett is such a little ham. He seriously will do anything to make his siblings laugh and they think he is hilarious."

"Adelle and her dresses! That is all she wants to wear, ever. And then that little dance she does where she shakes her hip..."

"Braxton talking about Kindergarten everyday and telling me how tall he is (poor kid doesn't know he's short yet) and how fast he is and how ready he is for school."

"I know, and Emmett eating 2 whole pancakes before anyone else got started!"

"Adelle doing her 8th article of faith. That is the best thing I have ever heard the way she changes "we believe" to "I know" priceless."

"and then Braxton dressing Emmett and telling me that now I don't have too because he already did it. That was really thoughtful."

"How can anyone have a favorite kid? They are all so wonderfully awesome!"

A day in the life

When the sun shines this is where we are and this is what we do.
When the sun doesn't shine we stay home and get stuff done....
We like it better when the sun shines!

If you....

have a child starting school you must read this book!!

I know now why it caught my eye at the library last week. I'd never heard of it before. It caught my eye as we were walking to the checkout so I grabbed it and added it to the stack. Have tissues on hand.
It's a must read. My kids looked concerned at my tears but when I smiled and told them that they were happy tears Braxton got the giggles.

Let me know what you think!
And if your public library is anything like ours you can search for the book on line and reserve it which makes it really easy to pick up whenever you get a chance without taking the gamble of it being there or not. fyi.

8 years ago today....

We got married!

And now we live happily ever after.

let me explain

This morning I went to a garage sale across the street.
There was a lady there. I didn't know her.
She was complaining to her friend that their next stop would have to be a bathroom because she really had to go!
I opened my mouth and out came:
"I just live across the street. You are welcome to use my bathroom."
She graciously accepted.
Then I opened the door and remember that yesterdays art project still covered the entire kitchen!
I wanted to scream:
Let me explain!!
yesterdaywaslongandiwasinafunkandthekidswereboredandididnt
wantthetvonandtheweatherwascoldandiwasoutofideasandiknewitwas
goingtobeareallylongdayunlessifiguredsomethingoutandthisisallicameupwith
anditentertainedthekidsandmeandthedogandwewereallhappyand
itfeltgoodtogetdirtyandnotcareandsothereyouhaveit!
But I didn't.
I actually didn't say anything about it. She used the bathroom and left.

these pictures are just too much

we be jammin'

Yesterday my friend Shelby showed up for a visit!
An hour or so later our friend Paul stopped by unexpectedly with this huge flat of raspberries.
Surprise!

We be jammin'!!

Words are Not for Hurting

The title of this post is a book we are reading right now with our kids. It's really simple and well written and we are enjoying it.

I've had this concept on my mind since last week. I didn't check out the book because I felt like there was an issue in our family, although there is always room for improvement. I checked out the book because last week as we were leaving the park I witnessed from afar 3 grown men in the parking lot yelling, swearing, and belittling each other. After it made me sad, it made me sick. It was so awful. My kids did not notice, thankfully. We were far enough away that I didn't even notice until they were all safely strapped inside and I was loading up the stroller into the back of the car. One man was on a bike, the other two were in separate cars. I couldn't believe how they were treating each other. It really saddened me and I wondered how they could treat each other so wrongly?

Do they know that they have worth? Do they have people in their lives who love them and who build them up to not care what others think/say to them?

Then another thought slapped me upside the head...do I ever use words to hurt? Not in the parking lot for goodness sake!

So here's to happy words and using words to build others up!

On that note Adelle is a champ. She is the sweetest thing ever and I know I often convey her as being spunky and sassy but she is so much more. She is a doll!!

So I am in my bedroom adjusting my new swimsuit to make sure I am all nice and covered,
Adelle walks in "mom!!! you look beautiful!! Is that new? Where did you get it? Can I please have it when I get bigger??"
She runs into the other room, "Dad, you have to come see my mom in her new swim suit. She looks so beautiful."
It goes on and on but you get the point.
Needless to say I didn't need anyone else's approval. That little girl made me feel like a billion bucks!

Friday night date with Emmett and Sophie

Saturday was the annual Old Settlers Parade.
It never dissapoints.
My dear aunt had 2 of my kids spend the night Friday and we all met up on Saturday at the Parade.

So what did we do Friday without 2 of our kids?
Well I didn't have my camera, sad. I kicked myself all night for that.
We took Emmett and Sophie(our new dog)
down to my favorite spot...Boulevard.
We brought along some yummy take-out from the Fountain Bistro.
We had a picnic on the grass and then walked the Boardwalk.
It was absolutely beautiful.
The sun was shining and there was no wind. Seriously! I think it was the first time in my 29 years of going there that there was not a hint of wind.
Blissful.

Emmett likes being an only child
Emmett loves the dog
People at the park looked at us like we were new parents with our cute little boy and dog
I love it when that happens