Eat my bubbles....

Nate's first meet swimming for the Stingrays, our neighborhood team! He swam the entire length of the pool in a relay and then an individual freestyle. Nate was a little nervous going into the meet but now he is an old pro and is excited for the next meet! His daddy, brothers and Aunt Mackenzie were also there to cheer him on! We are so proud of you Nate! GO STINGRAYS!

One with nature

The great thing about having Mackenzie here is that she is the kind of Aunt who loves to get outdoors and do exciting things like hiking and camping. So on Friday, I willingly volunteered to stay home with my little Bennett for a quiet night 'in' while Mackenzie and Scott took the big boys for their first camping adventure to Hanging Rock State Park! It was a huge success. The boys haven't stopped talking about it... in fact they told Scott is was 'the best vacation ever'! Their favorite parts were the flashlights, the tent, the three waterfalls that they hiked to, and sleeping next to Daddy in their red sleeping bags. I've never seen two happier boys return home. They are already asking when they can go again!

No pain, No gain

I admit, I am a RETURNER. I think it's partly because life has gotten busier and it's just easier to grab things and think about it later. Or maybe it's the fact that I can't fit into a dressing room anymore with my three children. Strangely, the returns increase if I shop without my children b/c inevitably I will buy a swimsuit or pair of shoes that just don't fit right and I wish I had just taken them with me. Regardless, somehow I always have a stack of shopping bags in my closet full of things that need to be 'returned'. But I think I just 'returned' something I never thought possible...

An epidural. My two hours too late- made me a crazy and deranged lunatic just waiting for it- threatened to sue the hospital if they didn't give it to me- EPIDURAL. You'd think I was waiting for a table at the Cheesecake Factory. They may as well have given me a beeper. Yes, it took that long.

But here's the thing- I just got a call from the Anesthesiology group at my hospital telling me they were refunding the charge for my epidural. When the bill came in the mail a few weeks ago I almost CRIED and laughed (b/c I can laugh about it now) that I was being charged for such a traumatic experience. So, I called them, told them I refused to pay any money for their services until they had reviewed my chart and read about the 'great epidural debacle', and miracle of miracles.... they agreed with me!

I think I just made my greatest return yet. Now if they could just perform some memory erasing I'd be all set and happy to forget that the whole thing ever happened.

Eat Mor Chikin

Chick-fil-a. Lunchtime. We meet up with Scott for lunch and the boys are starving. I am holding Grant on my hip, placing our usual order which includes 2- 4-piece nugget kids meals. Grant begins to sob LOUDLY and yells at the TOP of his lungs.... 'NO!!!! I WANT A HAM-A-BURGER!!!!'

This continued for about 5 mintues at which point the manager brought over a stuffed cow toy and that seemed to appease our wild child (and his annoyed customers). Boy did we pick the wrong place for lunch.

She's HEEEEEERE!

'Camp Aunt Mackenzie' has officially begun. We get her for six weeks and I'm not sure we are going to let her go back to California! She has already won my boys hearts, changed three dirty diapers, figured out how to collapse my stroller and buckle all three carseats, lulled Bennett to sleep in her arms at the pool, played endless games of Candyland and Hi-Ho CherryO, and is non-stop energy! Can we keep her????? Let the adventures begin!!

Iron Man

The Man. Our Man.
Not afraid of a little spit up on his shoulder,
Makes a mean pancake, even at 7am,
Unleashes mad cannonballs in the pool (to the delight of his boys),
Loves his early morning workouts (to the delight of his wife who gets to sleep in),
Let's a five year old drive his golf cart,
Enjoys a good book with three boys on his lap,
Is patient, loving, kind, and keeps us all laughing.

Happy Father's Day Scott. We love you!

It's a bird, it's a plane....

IT'S A GIRL!!!

We don't see these everyday around here! We are excited to announce that we finally have a little girl in the family- our new little niece and cousin! Welcome Morgan Claire! We are so excited that you are part of our world now! (We sure needed a little pink around here...)

Last Days...

Nate and Grant both celebrated their last day of preschool last week. Nate is off to Kindergarten in the Fall! I'm already teary just thinking about it.... and it's only June!

Nate in the 'Friendship Garden- Nate w/Miss Renee and his good friend Jacob- Grant with Miss Robin- Grant with his teacher and friends

OBX

We enjoyed a fun-filled week at Corolla Light in the Outerbanks (OBX) with our friends the Gatlins and the Murrays. We rented a big house with the beach 'right in our backyard' as the kids would say. Between our three families, we had 9 children ages 5 and under (8 of the 9 were boys!)!!! It was one crazy week but we had tons of fun, got a little bit of sleep, and made alot of memories.

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Corolla was just like I remembered it from my childhood- it was fun and surreal to experience it with my own children! Morning walks on the beach, collecting shells, afternoons by the pool, digging for hours on the beach, bike rides at a sunset out to the lighthouse, ice cream in Corolla Village, sledding on 'The Dunes' at Jockey Ridge, and so much more. There wasn't a dull moment (did you think there would be with 9 kids???).

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More pics to come from the other cameras on the trip... here are a few from mine and Audrey's.

The best beach toy ever- an empty plastic dump truck! We had four of them and they were a huge hit with the kids. Thank you Target!

A favorite afternoon activity for the big boys and the Dads

Jockey Ridge State Park provided us with the largest sand dunes to jump and sled on that you've ever seen! We all had a ball!

Nate loved catching these creeping crabs on the edge of a shell.

Our little Bennett- happy at the beach!

8 of the 9 kids- only Bennett is missing. Amazing what 5 years can do to three couples!! We went from 'up all night' in Boston to 'up all night with our kids' at the OBX :)

We rode our bikes every night to see the sun set over the Sound. Breathtaking.

Mall Gems

Scott has been travelling a lot, preschool is over, and I've taken to doing really crazy things like going to the mall with all three of my children. I know... I've lost my mind. As we wandered through the mall recently I turned around and could not see Grant. I panicked but then caught the sight of his bright orange shirt across the department store over by a jewelry counter we had passed. His little face was pressed up against the glass. I ran over to him and started to scold him about wandering off and probably threatening him with the loss of a mall 'privilege' like the carousel etc...

He looked up at me and said..."Oh Mommy I was just looking at these shiny, shiny rocks and gold. I want to buy you a hundred golds for your fingers so you can get strong muscles when you lift them."

So sweet.... and yes, he did get to ride that Carousel after all. He has me soooo wrapped around his finger some days.