Fun Stuff

Well, it's been a while since my last post. See, I really get my time on the computer at night. Sure, I get on often during the day to check fb and email (my only chance at adult conversation here), but of course I cannot stay on. So to actually accomplish something on the computer...well...it has to be done at night. And I have been so very busy with photography details, that I have been devoting my nights to that.

So what's been up? About 2 weeks ago we went to Dollywood. It was the first trip since Ansley has been born. She went too. And she loved it. We had a fantastic time. The only problem is figuring out what to ride next, and keeping everyone at different heights happy. So there were no roller coaster rides that day. We spent time at Beaver Creek (I think that's what it's called), the Country Fair, and some other things but I can't really remember what else. Oh yeah, this time we let them each play a game. I really wish Dollywood would a) get rid of the games or b) make them free. Is that too much to ask? Yes, I'm sure. But they are such a rip off, and I hate to say no every time, so I had to let them do it this time. I've never seen $11 get spent so fast with nothing to show for it. Unbelieveable. Then of course everyone is still whining because they want to play another one. Thanks, Dolly. 'Preciate it.

But in all honesty, I was like the happiest woman on the planet that day. Seriously. We get out of the van to walk to the tram, and we take out 2 strollers. 1 travel system, and one double stroller. And just like that, I feel like Jon and Kate. hahaha! Where did all of these kids come from??? And BTW, yes, Riley, my 6 year old still rides in the stroller. He is one easily distracted child. Trust me, it would be too hazardous for him to walk. But anyway, all day I just felt like a glow around me. Like, a cloud of love or something. I was just beaming, I was so happy. For one, Kevin was actually off. He is hardly ever off anymore. Then, I have such great boys, which all in all are pretty well behaved. I mean, I'm pretty strict, and I'm very pleased with the way they act, so I therefore consider them well behaved. And then the angel. Oh how proud I am to have my perfect little girl! And oh how sweet it was to hear Kevin tell me, "Could you walk up here by me?" rather than behind him, because he wanted to be able to look at little Ansley as I pushed her in the stroller. He just loves her so much. And it melts my heart. So anyway, I had like a perma-smile on my face all day. And I had like a perma-joy in my heart! It was the best feeling! We had a fantastic day!















So then the next day one of Spencer's friends had a party, and we went to it at the park. I was taking some pics of one of my friends, Jessica, and her family, and Spence was there at the party. Kevin came later with the other 2 boys and Ansley, and hung out until I was finished. It was so very funny because Trey's party was over, and another party came over to the shed that Kevin was at. So everyone left, and there is this whole other group that comes over to settle. And then it starts raining. So Kevin gets under the shed b/c he has Ansley, and he tells me he feels a little "awkward" when I gave him a quick call. LOL! I'd say so, Kevin! Then when I got finished with the shoot, Kevin and I were talking as the boys played, and he said that what was really weird is that Riley actually knew some of the kids that with the new party, and that he was playing with them--and I guess Spencer and Talan too--and that when the adults called out, "Pizza!" all of my kids went running back up to the shed too, to eat with them! Hilarious, I know! So Kevin was like, "No!!! Guys, come back here!" I died laughing, totally loving hearing his tale of being stuck with the kids in public. I LOVE IT! Better him than me!!! What else can I say???!!!





Let's see....well, they had a game last Thursday, and Talan made it home once!!! Riley did well, too, but I don't think he made it home. Again, no pics :( As soon as I got out of the van (I had to run and get ice after dropping them off), I hear Talan's little girly voice screaming, "Mommy, Mommy!" so that I could give him his Gatorade. He's so cute! Then periodically while he was in the dugout, he would call out for me, just to wave. He again spent a lot of time throwing up dirt while he was in the outfield.

Riley made me proud at 2nd. He actually got hit in the head with the ball as he was trying to catch a throw from 1st, and my sweet tough boy just trudged on, not needing a break or anything. The coaches ran over there quickly to be sure he was fine, and he sure was! It really amazes me how he is not afraid of that baseball. Even with how hard it is, he is so not afraid. He'll try to catch anything. He had some okay hits, but most of them were hit to 1st base, so he would get out before he got on. But not his last hit. It was a sweet, hard hit right up the middle. That was nice--he was so proud!!!

Hmmm....Kevin and I watched both Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Management. Ghosts was great. I mean it wasn't great, but it was just what I wanted. It was simple, sweet, and not at all complicated. Plus it had Matthew and Jennifer in it. It was nice to watch a movie like that. We have been watching a lot of movies that you get really wrapped up in and then have to pay careful attention to every detail to truly understand, and then get all let down at the end. So it was nice to just relax with my hubby. I needed that.

Fall break started, and since I still don't feel all that portable yet, we have pretty much been hanging around here. The boys played Twister. That was funny! I taught Talan how to play Go Fish with his little Thomas cards. Now that was really fun! If you haven't played Go Fish in a while (and I haven't), give it a shot. It is so much fun--and real fun--not fun that you have to sort of pretend you're having, like in Hi Ho Cherry O (which we also played last week). I love Go Fish! So then, I taught Spencer and Riley how to play this week on my birthday. Nope, hadn't taught them yet. Why? Well, because we have just mainly done board games, and not the card games. We have played Go Fish as a "fishing" game, and then the "Let's Go Fishing" game, too. But it is so much more fun with cards. They really loved it. I so recommend that game! Oh, and Kevin bought Battleship. So listen to this...Spencer plays Kevin first. There is so much arguing, it's hilarious. At one point I hear, "Spencer! You can't move your ships! Why did you move your ships! You better put them back where they started! You better remember where they were!" LOL Oh Kevin, oh Kevin....now that was funny too. I mean, how was Spencer to know? No one told him he couldn't move them....They were both so stressed out at the end of that game! Bet Spencer won't be asking to play that for a while. Or ummm...ever. That game lasted over an hour!




On Sunday, Ansley got her first cold :( We're pretty sure she got it from Talan, who also had a cold. I took her to the MD on Monday just be careful, since so much flu is going around. MD said said she looked great, 10lb & 2oz., and that it looked viral and like a cold or some type of upper resp. virus that would be no big deal. Yay for no flu!

On Tuesday, we met Misty and Izzy at the park to play. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed talking to Misty and getting some adult talk in, and the boys got to run around and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Hmmm....my 32nd birthday was on Wednesday. I woke up to my Talan asking me when we were going to bake the cake...could we do it now. So we were up at 8:12, getting it done! As we were making it, Riley and Talan both spontaneously sang Happy Birthday solos to me. Spencer told me that "Daddy should have taken off work" because it was "important," my birthday and all. So sweet! Then that's when we played Go Fish together....it was a fun day. And what did my sweet Kevin buy me??? A Canon EOS 5D Mark ii. A pro camera. Not that pros don't shoot with what I shoot (some do, esp. as a backup), but this is an actual pro camera. 21 megapixels. Bought and paid for before I could talk him out of it. Did I want it? Yes. Did I expect to have it anytime in the near future? No to the way. He initially told me I could get what I wanted--a 50D--in March, after taxes. So this is a little intimidating. Very, actually. It will take me forever to tap into what it can do...and then I need a flash, so I'll have to experiment with that too. Oh, how I love that man. And oh, how he is horrible with money. So now the pressure is on to make that money back. I would love that present more if it didn't come with a side order of guilt and worry. But if I focus on that, I'll lose the point of the gift. So I won't focus on it. It was a total surprise, and therefore I'm going to just look at the good points. And praying that it landed on my lap for a reason. The sweetest part about it? I told Kevin I didn't know what to think--did he really think I would be that successful and could make that money back, or did he just love me so much he wanted me to have it? And he said, "Oh I don't care one bit about you making that money back. I just want you to have it." You heard it here folks. The sweetest man in the world. (When he wants to be.)













And then the next night (last night), Jordan spent the night. We initally had plans to play putt-putt. Kevin got off late, though...at 6:40. Then he had to shower and we ate...so we were really behind. But Kevin called, and the recording said they closed at 10. So we get up there around 8:20. Closed. So then we drive slowly around, looking for another one. I know there's another near it somewhere! No such luck. So we get to Zuma at about 8:30 and they guy says they close at 9, but he'll let them go ahead and play. I drop the 4 boys off + Kevin, and head to Joann's to get some cardstock and ribbon. Kevin says, "Are you really leaving me with 4 kids?" And I say, "Yeah! You'll be fine. They're all good." LOL But seriously, they are all good. Good boys. Then at about 9:20 they come out, with big smiles on their faces. They had a great time. They only made it to the 10th hole, but they had a blast. Jordan said, "We only made it to the 10th hole. Kevin looked at his watch and said, 'Oh no guys, we have to go!' This place closed 15 minutes ago!" Great story for Jordan to tell his mom! LOL Oh well, that's just the way it goes with sometimes. I mean, we called ahead. What else can you do?

So the boys had a blast with Jordan. Fun for Mommy? No. You see, Jordan is very well behaved. So are mine. But mine were all fired up. I mean, fired up. I would tell them to do something. I'd get all nods and okays, and nothing would happen. They were too happy! In one ear, out the other. Then, the fights. He brought over some new wii games, so my 2 were fighting over whose turn it was to play with Jordan on them. Talan simply could not handle the fact that the wonderful Jordan wanted to play electronics and things that Talan could not, so Talan was acting out and just plain sad and mad at the same time. The baby kept waking up. Ansley would go to sleep and then sure enough, Riley and Talan would be screaming down the hall, tattling on each other and fighting. Because when I told them I had to take a shower and that the baby was asleep and that they needed to be quiet and I would be out in just a few minutes, did they hear me? Why yes, everyone did. They said okay, right? No! They forgot! They didn't know to be quiet! So poor little Ansley couldn't really get a good nap in because she kept waking up to rowdiness. Now, she is used to noise. But not that much commotion. So...next time will have to be when she is a little older or when Kevin is at home. Maybe. Or maybe not. They had so much fun, and it's only painful for a little while, right? We'll just have to see....




Oh I forgot to mention we stared a chores and allowance thing. Spencer's chores are making his bed, clearing the table at breakfast, keeping his bathroom counter clean, sweeping the kitchen once, and of course having his room picked up at night before bed. Riley's are to make his bed, clear the table after dinner, and keep the shoes picked up in his room at night. Also he makes sure toys are out of the living room. Spencer gets $9 a week. Riley gets $6. Based on their age, of course. We sat them down and explained tithing, and so Spencer will tithe 90 cents and Riley will tithe 60 cents. They each told us something they want to save for, and wouldn't you know it--for both, it's a game. So they both decided to keep only $1 out for spending money each week, and save the rest for their wanted item. So the dollar is for candy. I love all of the ideas behind this entire system, but I know it's going to be hard to keep up. First of all, we hardly ever carry cash. And then there's just always a lack of time, so I'm not sure if this will work for them. This week, the chores have only taken about 15 minutes of Spencer's time altogether and I guess about 15 minutes of Riley's time (Riley's a little slower, even though he has less). But still, sometimes we just don't have enough time. So we will just have to see. But right now, I LOVE it! I think it is very important to teach them about money now, while they are under our wings, rather than just get them what they need/want whenever we can. I like that they can embrace these concepts early, and get used to the idea of saving, and delaying gratification, esp. in a world where everyone just wants to charge it all. I am raising boys, and I want them to understand how this money thing works. And yes, staying at home has me revamping a lot of stuff.