Yeah for Summer

One Week...

Dean and I just got back from a weeks vacation WITHOUT kids. We spent the week in Miami, FL. relaxing in the sun, and that is about it. We did nothing else but bask in the sun and I am not embarrased to say that that is all we did. During the trip, I was reminded of why going on vacation WITHOUT kids is so much different than going on vacation WITH kids. So, I will leave you with a few:
1. You can pack all your stuff in ONE suitcase.
2. You can actually SIT on the entire plane ride, and not have to walk up and down the aisles until everyone on the plane becomes your friend, b/c you have passed them so many times.
3. You can read on the plane. (an adult book)
4. Your only carry on is your purse. I kept thinking that I forgot something in the bathroom or something. No diaper bag, snack bag, 3 backpacks, and a stroller to lug from terminal to terminal.
5. I only had to fit myself into the airplane bathroom. Usually I have to stuff 3 kids into that tiny bathroom and one of them is bound to absolutly friek out when that toilet flushes--why do they have to have the scariest flushers? I even get a bit scared to push that lever.
6. You order a beer on the airplane b/c you WANT one, not because you NEED one.
7. You actually look GOOD when you arrive at your destination, not like you just road the worlds worst rollercoaster.\
8. You don't have other passengers giving you the finger as you depart the plane. Some of you know that story.
9. You can rent the cheapest (smallest) rental car they have, not the big SUV with four car seats that costs more than your entire vacation.
10. You actually get an even tan. Not the tan where your appendages are tan, but your lap always seems to be white, b/c a kid is always sitting or crawling on it.
11. You can wear a swimsuit that flatters your body. You don't have to wear one that will stay put when you have to bend over and pick up kids.
12. You can read chapters in a book, and not just Dick and Jane sentences.
13. You can sleep in till 10am. (haven't done that one for 5 years!!)
14. You can go an entire week and not watch cartoons.
15. You don't have to drop all your doing at 1:00pm, b/c someone needs a nap. I did find myself watching the clock the first few days--out of habit.
16. Going along with that, 1:00 doesn't have to be your favorite time of day. Any hour can be.
17. You can read 2 novels in 3 days.
18. You don't have to scope out the "Kids Menu" first before deciding on what restaurant to go to.
19. You don't have to set foot in a McDonalds for an entire week--Yahooooo!!!
20. You get to realize why you married eachother in the first place again.
21. You get to feel giddy about seeing your kids.

All in all, we had a great time. And thanks to Dean's mom, for spending the entire week with the kids. I think they gave her a run, but she never let on once that she was ready to throw in the towel. Made for a relaxing week for us.

Class of ' 07

Elli's whole preschool class.

Elli getting her diploma.

Elli and her cousin Brennan.


Well, we have our first graduate in the family. Last night, Elli graduated from pre-school. Dean found it a bit unnecessary (lol), I found it a bit too precious. I recieved a letter home from Elli's teachers on her last day, that brought tears to my eyes. I will leave a bit of it for you:
"Even though our days with your children have come to the year's end we are left with many, many memories that will enrich our days! One of my best memories of this year is holding your children's hands each day as I put hand sanitizer on their palms. Actually the hand sanitizer has many names: hanitizer, handsizer, appetizer among others! As I was putting the sanitizer on their hands last week I realized how much their hands had grown. It surprised me when I suddenly noticed how much their hands had changed in the nine months. I reflected a bit on what those precious little hands had accomplished this year. They have held crayons, markers, pencils, and paint brushes. They've built grand block buildings, squished playdough, held on to books, and touched soft animal fur. They have held other hands and they have folded together during prayer. We will miss these little hands that have grown in so many ways this year, but we will also continue to fold our hands together in prayer for your children. It is our prayer that your children may continue to grow and develop in all sorts of wonderful ways and most of all that they may grow strong in the Lord and always walk with Him and hold his hand."

Summer Fun

Happy Mother's Day!!

Oh How I long to...

Tessa will sit at the edge of our driveway for hours just longing to go out into the road. She rides herself to the very edge and teeters with crossing that line. You can just see the wheels turning in her head. "Should I do it or not?" She'll look back at me, then to the road, then to me... Her big toe will move out over the line, and she'll, ever so sneaky, move closer and closer until her dreaded mother calls out "TESSA JAYNE..NO, NO".

My Buddy--My Ant Killer

We have the nasty problem of big black ants everywhere. But....., we also have the privilage of having the best ant killer in the country. Thys is very eager to kill these nasty things for his mommy. "Thys, there's an ant here." "Ok Mom, I'll be right there." He takes his job very seriously, and is very determined to cause these little buggers to become extinct in the Vink household. And of course, he always needs to show off his good deed. Nothing like seeing a big, black, crumpled up ant 10 times a day!

Ahhhh

Oh how I love the first meal after you go grocery shopping. Sooo much to choose from, no trying to be creative in order to put a meal together. Ahhh....

A New Look

So today, I wore my hair down for the first time in probably 3 years. No lie. It felt a bit odd. I felt like I woke up and never actually got ready. I had to take and pick Elli up from school today, and all the other moms gave me this look of "you look different." I honestly think I need to get out of the hair up thing and "grow up". Any ideas on hip mom hairdo's?

Vink Family 2006 Montage

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I know--just 4 months late!!! Every year, I put our years worth of pictures on a DVD and put it to music. It's a great, and fun, way to look at your pictures over the year. The kids love watching them--a little vain?? Must take after their daddy!!

A Hard Days Work

I love this top one. He was ready to be done for the day!! He had put in a hard days work.

How long do you think it will take for the "aweness" of their new baby brother to wear off??

Just For Fun

Just trying new things out for fun!!

You know when....

You know the nice weather better some quickly when:

• all 4 of your kids have holes in every pair of jeans they wear. I refuse to buy any new ones until next fall.
• all 4 of your kids' jeans/pants are at least 2 inches too short for them. They definatly would be labeled nerds.
• your one year old finds entertainment in stealing your tampons out of the drawer and sucking on them like cigarettes. She definatly needs some outdoor playtime.
• I have 2 chocolate chip cookies for breakfast every morning. I have the serious case of the munchies when I am cooped inside.
• I spend way too much time looking at this computer. My kids are starting to ask me if I work on computers for my job. Woops!!
• I can tell you where every stain is on our carpet blindfolded. I have spent way too much time staring at this carpet this winter.
• My "rules" of the house are starting to go out the window. I need to bring out my "outdoor" rules soon, b/c we are so over the indoor ones.
• Your one year old is a permanent growth on the side of your hip.
• and if she is not a growth on your hip, she is a bowling ball chained to your leg.
• The words, "I am bored", are like a 4 letter word to a sailor--they flow freely.
• you resort to cutting your kids hair (even though you have no training), just for something "fun" to do.
• my kids have red chapped rashes on their cheeks b/c I am so sick and tired of wiping runny noses--I have given up, hence the snot smeared from the nose to the ear.
• My favorite/ most used sentence is "please don't whine!!!" Usually spoken with a firm pronunciation on the PLEASE.
• And, our new rule for the day, if you whine or say "I'm bored", you get ignored!! Hmm--why hasn't anyone talked to me yet today????

A few from this weekend.....

This one reminds me so much of my Tessa--she is also a thumbsucker!
Any suggestions on how to break the habit early?? It is just too darn cute though.

Why are all these pregnant bellies popping out all around me lately? Everywhere I turn there are bellies. And why are they all so cute and perfect??

Spring Break '07

Well, Spring Breaks just aren't the same as they used to be. In high school, it was Gulf Shores, AL, in collage it was Panama City, FL., when we had one baby, it was Destin, FL. Now that we have 4----are you ready for this----Grand Rapids, MI. Yes, we took the ultimate trip to Grand Rapids, MI this year for spring break. Sunday morning, Dean and I decided that we needed to do something with the kids for spring break---even though none of them even know what a spring break is--I think it was more for mommy and daddy than anything. We got online and decided to go to the Ramada Inn on 28th st. They boasted on their website about their "indoor waterpark" . And, since our kids love playing in the tubby, why wouldn't they love an indoor waterpark? So after church, we quickly packed things up and took the 20 mile treck to GR. The kids seemed more excited to see the actual hotel room than anything else. We got to the room, changed into our swimsuits and headed to the ultimate waterpark. Realizing that the Ramada's website may need some updating, this waterpark consisted of ONE rather large twirly slide. And that was it!! That would be fine if all 4 of our kids were not scared of twirly slides (who knows??). We decided to just wade around in the water with them. I stuck one toe in the water and about turned into an ice cube. Tessa had purple lips within 5 minutes and the other 3 were all sitting on the lounge chairs wrapped up in towels within 10 minutes. There we were, all sitting on lounge chairs just staring at the pool. The kids kept asking to go back to the room, so why not!! We got to the room, and I realized that if I sat in this room all night, I was going to go crazy. We decided to head over to Woodland Mall to play on the play area. After we got there, within 5 minutes we had all 4 kids sitting around us just staring at the other kids playing. So, we packed things up AGAIN and headed back to the hotel. We sat around in the room for a bit and then ordered pizza for dinner. Around 7 we decided to all get in our jammies and order a movie to watch--hoping to get the kids sleepy and doze off. Well, Tessa had other ideas. She decided to annoy everyone of us and get in our faces as we watched the movie. Have you ever tried to put a one year old down for bed while there are 5 other people sitting around for her to look at? Not going to happen. She was becoming beyond sleepy and stumbling and falling all over the place. So, what else do you do? Dean decided to take her home. So, around 10pm Dean drives home so that Tessa will sleep and hoping that the rest of us will get a good nights sleep as well. I ended up having a horrible bed partner!! I never knew Josie talked, moved, and coughed all night in her sleep. I think I got maybe 1 hour of sleep. We woke up in the morning and decided to go to the pool before Dean met us back at the hotel with Tessa. The kids set one foot in the pool again, and the same ritual--uggg!! So, Dean came back, we partook in the free continential breakfast, which accompanied a fall off the chair by Tessa, a bowl of cereal with milk spilled all over and way too much food wasted. Packed things up and we were home by 9am. Welcome to Spring Break '07. We try to give our kids fun memories--we really do!!

Elli's Photoshoot

A few pictures from the last few days. Elli informed me on Sunday afternoon, that we needed to do a photoshoot in the garage. A photographer in the making. She actually did pretty good, after I got over the fact that she wasn't going to drop my camera.

She came up with all her own poses.

She insisted on daddy coming out and having a picture with "just him and her". Very cute!!

And of course, a shot that Elli took. Not too bad.

I know--2 posts in one day!!

This is very funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMQt7ARAqXs

I Need Help

I need my blogger friends help. Every year, I take all of our family/kids pictures from that year and make a photo CD montage. It's a great way to look at your kids pictures in a fun way. Our kids love looking at them too. Anyway, I am stumped on what songs to put on the montage. I have enough pictures for 3-4 songs. I am running out of new songs that I haven't used on the previous ones. Anyone have any ideas? If your interested in doing one for your own pics, this website is very easy to use. www.onetruemedia.com.

Nothing much around here....

Not much to write about around here. We are all getting a bit sick of sitting inside, and were teased by the warm weekend last week. It was glorious to not hear, "Mom, I'm bored" a thousand times a day. Thought I would post a few pictures of the kids. We have had to get creative with living room pillows, since we are eagerly awaiting the nice weather to try out the camera in a different setting than these 4 walls!! Enjoy!!

One of Elli that we did manage to snap during our warm weekend!!

Spring Fever

Anyone else feeling the spring fever that this weekend brought? Oh, and by the way, watch out for the "Vink Bicycle Gang" this summer--they mean business. (even though some can't even see past their bike helmets.)

I think Tessa is going to LOVE running around this summer. Last summer she was just this little thing that would just "sit". This summer-watch out world!!