Thursday, May 29, 2008

Memorial Day Weekend


What a fun Weekend! I haven't stayed up late every night and been so busy every day for a long time. My Dad and Louise came Thursday night. Just in time too. I think that I had just got the last of the essential cleaning and setting up done. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control the basement has sheetrock, but none of it was hanging up. So we put up the "tent-mahal." (Thanks to kim for letting me borrow it!) Early Friday morning (like, 2:00am!!!) Seth, Julie and the kids arrived. Cute little Alex thought that it was time to party and wasn't going to let the fact that everyone else wanted to sleep disturb him. Friday was play at the park and splash pad and then fishing in the evening. The kids started off thinking that fishing wasn't all that great, and then ended up deciding that swimming was the real treat of the day. We caught several blue gill and even a large mouth bass (go first timer Louise!) After falling in the lake I decided I had had enough and was ready to go. ( I start to get grumpy with multiple bruises and a wet, muddy bum.) Once the kids were in bed the games began! It was fun even though I got my wet and muddy bum kicked. Saturday we went strawberry picking in the morning while Jonathon made his famous crepes for the masses. YUMMY! After a quick clean up and packing of food, we headed to the Smokies. We got to feel a bear skin, hike to a waterfall, and have a nice picnic at the Sugarlands visitor center. After that we explored Glatinburg looking for a nice place to eat. If you can believe it, we got all 12 people out the door to church and sitting down BEFORE church started. I can't even do that when it is just my family! But, it was done and Sunday was a nice not too busy day. We took a walk at the state park and played games again. Monday was Dollywood day. Even though it was crowded we had fun. The biggest adventure for me was forgetting to take my keys out of the ignition all day so by the time I got back to my car, not only was I worried and feeling stupid because I didn't know where my keys were, but once I found them, my battery was dead. On the way home we decided that taking our tired worn out kids to a restaurant didn't sound so fun, but getting a babysitter and going to a restraunt with out kids sounded great! We put the kids straight to bed, (Alex never woke up from the car and the girls were so tired that they fell right to sleep. Except for Alyssa who was happy to dance the night away!)

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We're famous!

We made it to the big time! Reporters are just knocking down our door trying to record and report everything that we say....

Well, not really, but I did get interviewed by CNNMoney.com and it has just been posted to their site! It's all about summer travel and how Americans are coping with the economy and fuel prices. Check it out! (I don't know how long it will stay at this address. I don't know how these things work.)

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/pf/summer_travel/index.htm?postversion=2008052110



The picture that is on there was taken in February (I think) and was the very first 500 piece puzzle that we put together as a family. That launched us into a few months of puzzle mania. We would put together and glue puzzles about as fast as you could throw them at us.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Aspen's awards


Aspen's awards ceremony was Monday. What a cute girl, she got awards for best at math, all "E's," reading, and first place for Director's writing contest. (In case you don't know, she's the one in the middle showing her award.) Yea Aspen!

Cedar's preschool graduation


Friday, Cedar graduated from preschool. It's amazing that he has been there for two years and now will be a kindergartner! He actually participated in the program and sang. I think he would get the "most improved" for the performances. Yea Cedar!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Pooping on the grass

We just got home from picking Aspen up from school and running a few errands. I was putting a few things away and the kids were outside playing. It almost sounds blissful... Aspen comes in from outside and says conversationally while chewing her new piece of gum. "Mom, Olive is pooping on the grass." She wanders off like she had just told me that the sky was blue and I am left to digest what she has just said. Olive, pooping on the grass??? "What?" I say. "Olive is pooping on the grass." She adds, turning around but still showing no interest in this bit of news. "She has her underwear off and is pooing on the grass." She looked up at me and I'm sure that it was my expression that finally caught her interest. After a few more seconds of stunned delay I finally start to move. I walk out the back door and no one is in sight. By this time Aspen is finally interested in the events that are happening. (Not being one to miss out on someone else getting in trouble.) She is right behind me. "Where is she?" "Over here." She leads me to the side of the house where sure enough, there is Olive with her underwear and shoes on the grass, holding her dress up and just getting up from a squat. "What are you doing?" I ask, thankful that as I look around I see no fresh (or not so fresh) poop. "I'm pooping on the grass!" My cute little three year old says happily. "Cedar did too!" She adds. She really sounded like she thought I would be pleased that my two youngest children were saving me water and toilet paper by coming up with the genius idea to relieve themselves outside. After looking around and coming to the happy conclusion that our lawn is poop free, and explaining that sometimes dogs poop on the lawn, but even then we don't like it, was I able to admit that they had done it again. They came up with a new and totally unexpected way to keep me on my toes. I have to admit that they are good!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Olive's Eye

Tuesday Olive poked herself in the eye with a pencil eraser. I didn't think much of it, she blinked a lot and her eye was a bit red, but, she did poke herself in the eye... Wednesday was Aspen's field trip to Dollywood and I had arranged for Olive and Cedar to go to a friends house so I could have time with Aspen. My friend noticed Olive's eye and called, thinking it was allergies. I told her not to worry, that she had poked herself and I was sure she would be fine... Well, when I got back her eye looks really bad. After a call to the doctor we hurried down to the office just before closing to have her looked at. She had a corneal abrasion and needs to take some eye drops for a week. Oh the fun!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Field Day

We just got back from Aspen's school field day. It was fun to watch all of the kids run their different races. Aspen ran in the "Skip and slide" relay and the running relay. Her class team won first prize for both of them. She was also in the tug of war. I'm not sure any of the kids really knew what they were doing for that one, but it was a hoot! They lost miserably and all of them had sore hands, but I think that they still had fun. I wonder if I can figure out how to post video on this blog to show everyone...


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