Sandy Pines Fun

Anyone want to play with this group of "goggle nerds"?

I have absolutely no idea where she has learned those awesome moves.



Why the glasses.....my mother in law bought them for the kids yesterday, and for some reason they felt the need to wear them EVERYWHERE yesterday.


Remember getting flung like this when you were a kid?

This ended in a major belly flop.

Fishing

Uncle Rob and Auntie Pam earned mega koodoe's today....they went fishing with the kids. Each kid caught a fish, minus Tessa. She was too busy running away from Scooter the dog.

"The best Uncle ever".....even better than donuts (That comment is for Dan, and Dan alone....please no obscene comments from the West side).

Scooter....the dog that Josie LOVES. (I think even more than me!)


Nuzzle time with daddy.

My husband, the fisherman....who dislikes fishing almost as much as he dislikes Obama.

Oh to be one of the big kids.

Our Lake House

Here is just a tease.....you'll have to come visit to see the inside, water park, beach, pool, candy store, donut shop, coffee shop, ice cream store, flea market, pancake breakfast, Christmas in Aug., garage sale, indoor pool, picnic island, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, golf course, shuffle board, Vacation Land, kids drop off center, putt-putt golf course, gazillion playgrounds, and of course a golf cart ride for the whole family!!

Lake House

We have been busy, hence the lack of blogging....where have we been? Well, here is a bit of a taste of our new "lake house" (haha). Those who are local, will know why I am laughing. No, we aren't 60 years old and retired. Believe it or not, there are plenty of younger "lakesters" than we are here. I always say, if you come to visit, you'll get sucked in. So visit with caution. Although, we would love you there!!

**Will post pictures tomorrow.....I know, you can't wait, can you?

High Expectations

Elli and I were talking this morning. She was asking me about school and what grades you had to be in order to move up to the "next school".

Elli: "So, after 8th grade, I move up to high school?"
Me: "yup" (a mom of many words)
Elli: "And after high school, where do I go?"
Me: "After 12th grade, you go to college."
Elli" "And then what?"
Me: "Then you have to go to work."
Elli: "Oh, yea...I am going to go to collage to work at McDonalds!!" {said with the most excitement I have heard from her in weeks}
Elli: "And then if you and daddy come to visit me at McDonalds, I will give you food cheap."

Ok, so they say by the time your child graduates from college, you will have spent well over $100,000 on their education. Yippee, so now I will get a Happy Meal for $1.99 instead of $2.99. Do you think she will charge me extra if I want to upgrade to a milkshake with the Happy Meal, or just allow me the mini drink that comes with it?...which by the way, if so packed full of ice, that I honestly don't even think there is a drop of liquid even in the glass. We strive for high expectations around this house.

**this is not intended to disrespect any of those who have/had a job with McDonalds. If it weren't for you, my children would have never known the finer dining environment that McDonalds offers. And, we would have never had so many broken/useless toys sitting around our house as we do now!

Gotta Love Genes

I love the fact that my kids acquired the "Dean's eye genes". I adore their blue/green sparkly eyes.

And no, I didn't have a 5th child while I was absent from my blog. This is just a little one year old I shot the other day, and she is WAY too cute to not show off!!

Happy Father's Day

My kids have the best daddy EVER!!! And, I have the best daddy EVER as well. I have definitely been blessed to have been raised by an amazing Christian daddy. A dad who gave me unconditional love and affection. A dad who instilled fantastic morals and beliefs. A dad who, yet even this morning, tells me that I am beautiful!
I also am thankful for the wonderful father in law that God, so accurately, has placed in my life. A caring, loving, emotional, man, who has treated me as one of his own since day one. And most times, takes my side more than his own flesh and blood (Dean)! Ha
And now I see how amazing my own kids father is, and I once again, feel absolutely blessed that God has given me a husband who is instilling those same attributes into my children, that I cherish my dads for.
Happy Fathers Day to ALL of you!!

Bubbles = Summer

Blonde Bombshell

Hello....can this toe-head get any blonder? I can't even take her picture anymore, since the sun just reflects off her hair. And summer has only begun...holy smokes!

Pavlov's Dog

I made a promise to myself that I would take more "impromptu" pictures of the kids this summer. I feel like I am jipping them in a way, by only taking set up pictures and not just random, everyday ones. My kids have sort of become "photographer kids". Every time the camera comes out, they immediately sit in a posed position, and smile automatically. I want them to look back on pictures when they are older, and not always see the "perfect" posed ones. So, I attempted to sneak the camera outside this morning and just take some of the kids playing in the grass. I felt like my camera is like Pavlov's Dog. A bell goes off when it comes out. The girls immediately crowded together and struck a pose. Ugg...I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Photos

Well, I don't have a lot to say on the home front, so I thought I would share some pictures that I have taken recently that are my favorites. I don't say a whole lot about my photography on this blog, since I know the grandparents read this, and what grandparent wants to see all these pictures of other people's kids. But....my kids have been pretty boring lately. They are usually always dirty, or completely mis-matched since I am allowing them to take full reign of what they choose to wear. It is absolutely hilarious and hideous to see what they come up with. Complete winter attire when I know full well it is going to get to 80 degrees that day. Bathing suits at 8:30 in the morning. Snow White dress-up dress. The best lately....Tessa was wearing shorts and a tshirt, with one of Elli's bathing suits OVER the shorts and shirt. I tried really hard to persuade her to change this one, especially since I knew we were going grocery shopping in a few minutes...no luck....to the grocery store we went. She looked like an absolute goon!
Anyway, here are some complete strangers to fixate your eyes on! Cute strangers though!




My beautiful niece, Sophie...not a complete stranger!

hmmm...

Hmmm...I'm still here, just have absolutely nothing to say.
It's raining right now, the kids are locked upstairs to prevent my insanity.
They were locked in the basement prior, to prevent the insanity this morning.
I hope you all know I am joking?....at least about the morning one...they are upstairs right now!
Just not locked. Although I did threaten that there would be no McDonalds tonight if they came down anytime within the next 2 hours!!
I hear our alarm clock blarring...and feet dancing.
Of course, there is the sound of fighting as well.
One little monkey just came down to tell me that another naughty monkey was putting lipstick on the ceiling fan, which hasn't been dusted in...hmmm...I won't say. This could be a truly disasterous mess.
I just heard a very loud thud, followed by a very loud "OUWWW".
I'm sure I will hear feet soon.
No, I still have not checked the lipstick smeared ceiling fan yet....I don't want to.
The oldest monkey is sliding down the stairs head first...that has to hurt. I have a feeling she is very bored, or lacking some brain cells.
She is followed by 3 more brain cell deprived monkeys.
And just like that, in a matter of 2 minutes, they are all down stairs.
They broke my rule!
One is crying...her hair got pulled.
One is whipping the other with a Nerf bat.
One is pushing the screen out of the window as she pushes her head harder and harder into it.
The last monkey is the one getting whipped in the face with the Nerf bat....and weirdly enough, she likes it. And even more weirdly (I know, not a word), I am allowing it to happen!!

A 2 minute glimpse into my life.

Flea Market

I LOVE flea markets. I rarely go, since I have a husband who HATES flea markets. So, I treated myself to an area flea market this weekend. I came across this beloved chair for a whopping $10 !! Very old and distressed, but an amazing color, I do say myself. I had to try it out once I got it home, and guess who was the only monkey around?? Poor Tessa.





I love the fact that all I have to say is "tootie butt", and this monkey rolls in her chair every time.


Yup, "tootie butt".


And then, just like that, I am the lame mom who is SOOO boring.

Kiddo's

Well, I thought it appropriate since I did an anniversary post yesterday, that I should post about what marriage will bring you as the years follow. As they say, "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes kiddo's in the baby carriage.". I rarely get pictures of all 4 kids together...for some reason, I don't think they like eachother. I don't know if I did something to initiate that or not. So, I had to resort to bribing. I had to bribe with a visit to the park. Not a bad compromise...seemed to work.
*Warning* loads of pictures to follow....













And apparently, I have one that doesn't like me a ton either. For some reason, Josie decided to give me the universal "Loser" hand gesture.

10 Years!

Happy Anniversary to US!! Today is Dean and I's 10th wedding anniversary. Looking at these pictures, we look like babies. And we thought we were so mature..lol! I am so blessed. I have an amazing husband. He is an awesome companion, best friend, daddy, provider, etc...I hope 50 years from now, we are still celebrating out lives together!!

Random Thought

Just a random thought I was thinking about this morning as I was cleaning our ever disastrous basement. Why is it that no matter where these little Polly Pockets are played with, they never get lost? In a house that is notorious for losing the opposing sock, why is it that something smaller than a penny always seems to pop up, but a sock {more than 10 inches long} vanishes? Anyone who has girls, knows that these Polly's are the tiniest things around....but, around our house, they seem to never get lost. Anyway...just something to ponder on this beautiful Wed. morning.

I **heart** SUMMER!!

....and I think my kids do too!

I promise some pics of the others...they are just too busy being the social coordinators of the neighborhood to allow me to take their picture.

Does God Mess Up?

My kids are really into asking philosophical questions lately. They have an infatuation with how great our God is. I love seeing and hearing the innocence in their voices, minds, and questions.
Last night, during dinner, all the kids were quizzing Dean and I on who God made.
"Did God make animals?"
YES
"Did God make plants?"
YES
You get the picture...this went on for awhile.
Then Elli decided to drop in the whole, "Did God make Satan?"
As soon as she asked this, I thought we were in for a long explanation.
So, all Dean said was, "Yes".
Elli's reply (which I am still laughing hysterical at):
"Did He mess up on that one?"

**WARNING**

WARNING: having a 2 year old can cause substantial, and possibly permanent, stress to a mothers life. May also cause high blood pressure, heart attack, irritability, lack of sleep, hair loss, wrinkles, tremors, teeth grinding, extreme headaches, and possibly death at an early age. If you experience any of these symptoms, admit yourself into a psychiatric ward as soon as possible. Contact a therapist immediately.
These children can be corrosive--can produce deterioration of parents. If you come in contact with one, run away immediately, and call animal control. Due to their irritating nature, may be harmful to all present. They should be stored at a near freezing temperature, as to slow down their motor skills. Keep locked up so as other children do not come in contact and take on their traits and habits.

Cooties

I am not quite sure whether I had a mental lapse moment, or if I actually just don't give a crap anymore. I am still trying to decipher between the two. Sometimes I think they run hand in hand. I am not a germ freak, but this gives me a bit of the willies.
We went to garage sales yesterday. I gave the kids each $1. This little turd spotted this big purple dinosaur a mile away and WANTED it!! I, on the other hand, tried to divert her attention onto other things. Wasn't going to happen. She fell in love at first sight. I gave in, hence the mental lapse/don't give a crap anymore. I promised I would never buy a stuffed animal from a garage sale. One, we have about 50 million here at home already. Second, I know what gets all over our stuffed animals at home (yogurt, spilled milk, snot, drool) why would I allow my children to smother in someone elses bodily fluids.

Happy as a clam.


That's right baby, get those lips on Johnny's snot from last years cold.


Eat it baby, eat it!


No turd, it's not funny. This mommy will have to wipe that snot off your face once you contract Johnny's snotty nose cold.


Wham, bam...contracted the virus....now off to smother in the dirt.