Little Updates

I am just trying to make sure we update this regularly so here are a few recent photos of our week. Most of our days consist of swimming, playing inside with A/C (I am hot INSIDE by 7:30 a.m.), playing outside on the swingset, and trying to finish unpacking. It is taking FOREVER because just our normal daily stuff fills the day. I have a few things up on the walls and hopefully I will be able to finish it all by the end of this month. Abigail in Gabby's doll crib. Gabby thinks her sisters are just living dolls. Last week I heard screaming in the other room and ran in to find Gabby & James trying to get one of the twins into her doll stroller. It was WAY to small and the poor baby's leg was stuck!

Their new jammies that I could not resist. They have little pants that go with them, but this was the day that the upstairs air conditioner had been broken and I didn't think they needed them when the thermastat said 86 degrees.

Abigail tends to be more mobile than Tasha. She is the one that gets up on all fours and the one most commonly stuck with a leg under the couch. Here, she rollled under the TV stand and couldn't figure out how to get out.

This was our first big storm here. I couldn't capture how powerful the wind was. The palms were almost tilted and some tall skinny trees close by were almost sideways. Debris ripped off some of the trees and was batting around. When the rains came in reminded me of Colombia. It was like a bucket was being poured out. We sat on the screened porch as a family and watched. The downspout of the house next to us was overloaded and it started to spray out the top. We sat on the swing as a family while Josh and I told of the worst storms we remember. Mine included a tropical storm and an earthquake while Josh told about his tornado experiences. It was really fun. Very sweaty in the humidity, but fun.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! We just thought we would take a minute to highlight some of our favorites (whose photos were on hand easily:). Thanks Dede for raising my husband with good values, being an easy going father-in-law, and for playing with the kids. They still talk about visiting "Grampa Dede" and how much fun they have goofing around with you. Your influence reaches farther than you may think.

Thanks Dad for the support and faith you have always had for me--even during times when I wasn't making the smartest decisions. I picked a great husband because I had such high expectations set by your example. The kids love the root beer floats and the teasing. They always look forward to your visits. (Except James who still wants to come live with you.)

The goofy "hot doggers" who never really grow up tend to make the best dads.

I have no comment for this. He is who he is...

Blowing on her to cool his little angel down. This daddy has an extra soft spot for his little twins.

We love all the dads in our family. Here is a shout out to Dede, Ed, Josh, Kevin, Court, Clint, Ben, Shad, Roger, & John. You guys rock!

The Adventures continue...

Before Josh started his internship, we figured we should go do some of the "local stuff". We took the trek to visit both Sea World and Busch Gardens. We learned that this really should not be a summer activity. It was about 102 degrees on the heat index. Plus, we battled crowds for several things. Luckily, the twins' stroller is classified under the title "stroller used as a wheelchair" and we get to park and sit in the handicapped sections. It helped us a lot to not have to take the twins out and lug them around to the shows. This family photo was taken at the end of day 2. We were hot, sweaty & done!

Driving the boats!

On the carousel.

Flying dragons.

Land of the dragons.

Log ride with Andrew.

The results of sitting in the front rows of Shamu's "splash zone".

Sea World's spash ride. Josh & Gabby in front with Naters behind.

Melting in the stadium while waiting for the show to begin.

All in all, we really did have a great time. Plus, I have a new most embarassing moment. While Josh took the 3 oldest kids on one of the splash rides I stayed out with the 3 that are still in diapers. Lucky for me ALL 3 pooped shortly after they left to stand in line. I was able to change all 3 poopies in the diaper changer located in the middle of the womens restroom without much incident. Then I got the crazy idea that I could take them all into the handicap stall and use the restroom myself. You have to know that it is an oddly shaped bathroom that faced the rest of the bathroom. Just as I sat down and got started Andrew ran over and flung the door WIDE open. Of course, it's a handicapped stall so the door is twice the width. The stall was so big that I was still about 3 feet from the door. The best part was that I could see my refection in all the mirrors where ladies were washing their hands and trying not to laugh or stare. I started screaming for Andrew and then stopped realizing that it would just attract more attention to me. What do you do in this type of situation? Finally I just finished my business quickly and tried to jump up discretely and move to the other corner of the stall where I would be less visable to pull up my shorts. Ironically Andrew returned to the stall and shut the door just as I was snapping up. I sat with the kids in the stall for a good 5 min. (laughing hysterically) waiting until I thought most of the witnesses would be gone. Thanks Andrew!

She did it!

Abigail finally was able to pull herself onto her hands and knees. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Hurray for physical therapy! Maybe it was all the doll & puppet shows from Gabby that inspired her :)

Andrew is 3!

It's hard to believe that our 5 birthdays in 6 weeks run is finally over. Andrew turned 3 on the 8th. I still don't think of him as being 3 because he is the runt of the 4 older kids. I know we baby him sometimes because of that. He can be the sweetest, funniest, most loving child in the world but he can also test us more in the other direction than any of our other kids. He seemed to enjoy his quiet birthday. All day he kept grinning & saying, "it's my happy birthday!" It was hard not to laugh. He loved the breakfast in bed and the "pool party" our family had for him but it was the presents that really won his heart. He's a true 3 yr old.

We're Here!

We have been in our new house for a whole week now. The drive stunk (more to come) but we have survived. It is VERY hot & humid but we feel like we are living in a resort. We are still unpacking but I have high hopes that we will be to the "hanging stuff on the wall" stage by Mon. or Tues.

Funny: The first day we arrived I pointed 2 little lizards out to the kids. They were on the trunk of the palm tree in front of our house. Now every time we walk out side Andrew goes up to the tree and says "Where are you yizards?" He usually gets really upset that they don't come out to play with him.