Party all night

Sleep all day. I caught these pictures this morning of my crew sleeping in. Yes, there are extra kids here. We have some little friends staying with us for a week while thier mama and day have a well deserved, 17 year in the making honeymoon in Hawaii. I hope they are having a great time.

(Notice the feet next to the head here.)

In the couple of days since the kiddos got here we have played hard and stayed up late. We have been to the pool, played in the wading pool in our yard, the trampoline has earned its worth 10 times over. We have gardened, gone to a birthday party, played in the dirt and skipped naps. How fun does that sound? A few more days to pack in more and more fun. We are having a good time, but the kids want pancakes for breakfast, NOW, so I better post these and get going. Have a good day with your kiddos.

Catching Up

It's been a while since I have updated my blog. Things have been crazy. And I thought I was supposed to be slowing down. {Sigh.} Someday, I have high hopes, of being able to lounge around or at the very least not having 3 events in one day.

In any case, here's a quick run down of our summer so far.

Waterfighting with cousins.

Soccer camp.

Landscaping the back yard.

4th of July festivities.

Having a fun date night. (more to come on that one.)

Also this summer: I have been able to take some pictures of some super cute kids (besides my own), visit grandparents, park days with friends, tend our new grass, catch up on laundry, and Bug with bronchitis. Still to come this summer: Cub scout camp, camping with grandpa, getting new orders for our transistion in March, summer library days with the Juggling guy and Reptile Man, hosting 3 little friends for a week and so much more. We might even try and fit in a trip to the zoo. We might be the zoo by the end of the summer.

I think this is a vacation...

Isn't that what it's called when you leave home for a while, crash in on relatives and keep your kids confined to car seats for hours and hours at a time? I am sure that's what it's called. A mini-vacation. Not because we are just having mini-fun, but because we won't be gone long. It's good to see everyone, get some cute pictures (will post later) and see a different side of life. The kind where you make due with what you have in the front seat of the car to keep kids busy, (and happy), chase toddlers around at 12:30 am trying to convince them to GO TO SLEEP, play Shrek on Xbox with nephews, watch your kids splash relentlessly in the kiddie pool, win the water gun fight with a 5 year old, and be at the mercy of others for help and support. I love it! Be home soon.

Our Hero

He's always been my hero. Facing children without fear, doing dishes with the best of them, changing a tire in the middle of no where, calling things "adventures" that I would have otherwise named. He takes care of us, he loves us and he plays with us. His family is his everything. If that's not a hero, what is?

Yesterday we went to play tennis for Family Night. the courts were full, so we decided to play Frisbee while we waited. I kept hearing something in the boys bathroom that didn't sound right, then we saw smoke starting to come out from around the closed door. He went to the door and opened it, and yelled in to see if anyone was in there. Big billows of thick, black smoke came out of the building. I called 911, he went into the bathroom, on his knees, looking for someone. Turns out someone thought it would be funny to set the toilet paper on fire and leave and burn down the building. In the almost 10 minutes it took the fire department to respond, Justin had stomped it out with his brand new shoes and a small bucket of water. He came out covered with soot and smoke, but just fine. The fire department said if he hadn't put it out when he did, it would have taken out the entire building. There was plastic involved and the fire was climbing the walls. He had to sacrifice his brand new shoes, but it was for a good cause. He said he went in to make sure no one was in there unconscious and then thought that he could take care of it if he acted quickly. Family Night ended up being about fire safety. (I never did get a picture of any of it, I was too busy trying to keep the kids away and talking to the 911 lady.)

On behalf of our fair city, and of course your loving family, Justin, you are our hero.

First Piano Recital

Here's a clip of Bug's first piano recital. He's doing well and we are proud of him. Can't wait to see what the next recital will bring.

Wascaly Waccoon

This young mother has been terrorizing my cat for the past month or so. At one point I thought I had the park ranger down the street convinced to come and trap her, but he never did. Tonight she made the mistake of wandering into our yard while we were outside working. The kids were in bed, it was almost dusk and I guess she felt safe. Wrong. Justin went after her with rocks first, then the hose on full blast. She was a fast climber though and quickly got out of reach. We had her up in that tree for an hour or more. I caught these pictures when she thought it was safe to come down again. For some reason raccoons don't pose like kids do for the camera. (Or maybe they do, that might explain some of my pictures.)

So, short of shooting her (which we won't do), or threatening her with the pressure cooker (thanks Joe, for that idea) how do we convince her she needs to stay out of our yard? She has babies somewhere, and I am pretty sure they aren't in my yard. I don't want them here either. My cat has enough stress dealing with a two year old who has discovered scissors.

Go away raccoon. Find another yard to wander through.

He's Back...

And we are sooooo glad to have him home again. We are really looking forward to some much needed time off- with no big black boat calling his name. Meg was really mad on duty day when he didn't come home for dinner and I told her she could see him the next day. Not a happy girl.

We can't wait for the end of sea duty. 7+ years is a long time to be doing this and our little family is ready for a change. Sometime next year maybe.... We can hope. In the meantime, we are going to enjoy every second we have at home together.