Category: 2018

That’s a wrap!

Baseball has come to a close for the season. Have no fear the brief intermission before Fall baseball starts will be full of conditioning and try-outs so there will still be plenty of baseball but the official Spring season is done. The boys had a good season, they had a lot of fun as 11 year old boys have no problem doing. They started out strong, then a little downward slide a little more than half way through the season (as a team) that continued until almost the very end.  There are a few players changing so hopefully we will be able to start strong and stay strong for Fall. Matthew did great individually. Most of the season he was leading in the stats, if not he was 2nd or 3rd at the most. He worked hard, I am proud of him. He loves it and you can tell. I love watching him play. I like watching him and Ryan doing it together too. It is a good relationship building experience. He is going to do football and baseball in the Fall. He did a football camp yesterday to start working on some skills. I could live without him playing football but he was pretty insistent on trying it so Ryan found him a team. Matthew promised me he would be fast enough to not get hurt. 🙂 I hope that is true. For the end of the year party and a send off for Joaquin who will be moving to the Philippines, we had a pizza party and then went to the drive-in and watched Ant Man and Wasp.

One of the moms on the teams takes pictures for us and then lets us have whatever ones we want so 99% of these pictures are from her. These are some of my favorite baseball pictures from this year.

 

So…faith.

When I was in high school I remember sitting on the grass outside for our Sunday school lesson. We were reading in the scriptures about the different gifts that God gives us. I was paying attention enough to follow along with the person reading, and when they said the gift of faith. I had the clear thought ‘You have the gift of faith’ at the time I took that to mean that I just believe, and to be honest I thought that was kind of lame. Lame because I thought it meant I was just a follower and didn’t have to think for myself.

Over the years I have thought more and learned a few more things that changed and expanded my original thoughts. (Imagine that kids, I started out with a little information and had to work to learn more, and I still have more to learn.)

First. I didn’t understand it. As with almost anything when you begin the process of learning, your knowledge is limited. My initial response to the thought of having the gift of faith as ‘kind of lame’ and the idea that if you had faith it meant that you ‘just believed’ no questions needed was incorrect and immature. This never sat well with me anyway because I don’t like the ‘just do it’ approach. I want to be a critical thinker, I teach my kids to be critical thinkers- don’t just be a sheep being lead around. In today’s world especially there are many paths that look enticing and okay but are the exact opposite. If the wrong influence gets the reigns in my life I want to recognize that and course correct(and my kids). I don’t know if we ever have a perfect knowledge of something in this life but we can continue to learn and better understand things.

God is the correct leader of the reigns in my life and I want Him to be so that my life stays on the right path. I know and believe that so I need to act on that and prove my belief by getting out of my own way and following Him. By choosing to follow Him, or having the gift of faith to confirm that knowledge that I should follow Him to me before I fully understand it does not make it any less my decision. To clarify, I have never thought following God made me weak.  I am a strong willed person and even the idea of being ‘lead’ by anyone immediately rubs me the wrong way and raises the hairs on my neck. But that applies to people, not God. It was my misunderstanding of the gift of faith meaning that I was just a blind follower that chaffed me. God wants us to have a choice (hence the whole war in Heaven) Having faith helps my brain connect and learn what my spirit already knows easier while I am here and don’t remember everything I new before. Maybe part of the gift of faith is the ability to recognize and accept truth  easier.

I don’t think God minds critical thinkers. He has it all figured out and His reasons and logic are perfect and I am not so me wondering or questioning how it all works together isn’t not having faith. All truth comes from God so if I am honest and diligent in following Him, eventually I will get to His answer anyway. Sometimes that path is more direct (always the best option) sometimes it is a little more circumferential, and if we are really bullheaded on some things it can be a lot of backtracking for ourselves by the time we get there. This applies to any truth not just spiritual truths.

Second. I wasn’t appreciating my gift. I see this happen with people all the time, but especially my kids. I need to see it in myself too. When you are just given something and don’t have to earn it or put much effort into getting it you are less grateful and appreciative of it. I don’t think Heavenly Father just gives us things, I think the gifts we have been blessed with were developed and earned before we came here. We don’t remember any of that though so when we realize a gift we have here, that we didn’t really ‘do anything’ to get we have to work harder at being appreciative of that gift and realizing the blessings it brings to our life.

Having faith doesn’t mean you accept everything no questions asked. I think it means that when you hear truth your spirit recognizes it and remembers it. Sometimes long before my brain catches up.  Then as I study and ponder and learn those truths that I knew before that I am relearning they are brought easier to my mind. Some things I learn are immediately recognized and remembered as truth, others come as I am ready to accept them and study enough. I have had similar  experiences like this and probably even more that I don’t even realize. Maybe this is the same process for everyone and I don’t have the gift of faith.  Whatever the out come on whatever gifts I actually do or do not have I have recognized a way that I learn and feel the Holy Ghost confirm truths to me. And regardless of whether or not I have the actual Gift of Faith, I have faith. I have faith in my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know I am a child of God and I know He loves me.

So that is a brief synopsis of my learning more about faith. Maybe in 20 years I will rewrite this and see what new I have learned.

Fourth of July!

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love it because it is fun and exciting and has an important meaning and it hasn’t been overly commercialized. It is just a great hang out with your family and enjoy the freedoms we have been blessed with day.

Roger officially retired the Friday before the 4th so Ryan and Ross decided to have a party for him Monday night. They invited neighbors, friends, co-workers and some people from church. They came up with a yummy menu and cleaned and decorated and had a pretty nice party. The grand kids all went to Urban Air for the party to play and have some fun so grandpa could visit easier. It was a success! Ryan and Ross did a good job!

I don’t know how many years in a row we have gone up to Lincoln for the Fourth of July but it has been a lot, and it has been awesome. Lincoln knows how to celebrate Independence Day. The first year or two we would go to the city show but then we decided there really isn’t any reason to do that. So many people do fireworks that we can sit in the driveway and watch huge basically professional firework shows 360 degrees around us while we light our own off with the kids and other neighbors down the street. It is awesome. The fireworks start at dusk and go for hours without pause on the 3rd and 4th.

Usually it is just us and the other Terry’s but the Lee’s came this year too. Things have always gone without a hitch before but this year had a few hiccups. It all worked out in the end and we all had a good time. We have always had great weather but a storm came up this year. We were having a great time lighting fireworks and noticed it was getting a little windy then all the sudden we are yelling at each other to hear over the wind and the fireworks are blowing sideways. We were still able to light off most of our fireworks. Once the rain started it was cut a little short. Fireworks and rain do not mix. We lost a few good ones that became duds trying to light them when it was just sprinkling a little. Allison had one of her temper tantrums that put a damper on the fun. Many a good times have been dampened for this reason. I hope someday it will not be an issue anymore. This year might have been our last year up there. Roger and Rhonda are talking about maybe moving down here before next year. So we will have to find other plans for fireworks next year but it will still be fun. We can light fire works off in Gardner near by but Johnson County is a little bit if a party pooper. They put up signs that say “Happy Fourth, fireworks are illegal”

The Phases of Summer

I have noticed another trend that we tend to do in our family. Or maybe phases is a better description. Each summer we cycle through the same phases. The first few phases usually occur in the same order but then depending on our schedule and how things are going the phases might vary in order of occurrence, or length of time. Eventually we pass through all of the different phases, some of them multiple times by the end of summer.

The Grandeur Phase: This phase is kind of a pre-summer phase. It is the excitement and anticipation of summer coming and the expectations of how wonderful it is going to be. It starts when Spring is finally in full swing and the weather is a perfect 70-80 degrees and the door is finally closed on winter. It peaks in May when things start to wrap up with school and the final tests, projects, performances, musicals, talent shows, field trips, field day and all the other end of the year stuff happens. My ideal expectations for summer are usually how productive and fun it will be with positive character building experiences and how well my kids will get along and be grateful and have a wonderful summer of enjoying each others company and doing things together. Of course we plan fun things and do fun activities together but I have never felt it is my job to entertain my kids. A little soap box of mine is over entertaining kids. The purpose of life is not to be entertained constantly by me or anything else. It is great to do entertaining things sometimes but it should not be the bulk of your time. I want them to learn to challenge themselves and work on developing their talents and develop habits and traits that will help them be successful for the rest of their lives. I want them to learn to be proactive and independent at these things too. We work on these things year round but summer is a great time to refocus and emphasize things with fewer distractions or other time commitments.  The result of this summer Grandeur Phase was our theme- Work Hard then Play Hard, and the discovery of the electronic ticket system.

The Freedom Phase: This is usually the first true phase of summer and is pretty self explanatory. No more school. No more homework. No more waking up every morning to get ready for school. No projects, emails, papers to sign, needed supplies to send in, deadlines, tracking or reading, practice minutes, studying etc. And this year in particular, no more obnoxious letters from the equally obnoxious principal about how to ‘properly walk home’ (only six more years to put up with her :-/ fingers crossed for early retirement). It is a wonderful feeling of being done with the now mundane routine of all things school related. It is a great few days of sleeping in, watching way to much TV and eating mostly cold cereal and Popsicles. Obviously this is one of the kids favorite phases and they would stay in it indefinitely if I didn’t move them along. I also realize it is a little bit contradictory to some of what I said in the Grandeur Phase, but this is a short lived kick off your shoes and relax phase to celebrate the end of working hard at another school year and gearing up for the next phase, which is reality. We do have occasional revisits to the Freedom Phase throughout summer though. I love sleeping in and not cooking as much as the next person.

The Reality Phase: As much as the kids love the Freedom Phase, the responsible, self motivated, contributing to society adult who wants to be a good mother in me takes over eventually and I have to call an end to it. This is when I explain whatever routine we will be adopting for summer and the plan to work on our family relationships, personal characteristics, expectations and anything else I thought of during the Grandeur Phase to make it ‘the best summer ever’. This phase is usually a little reminiscent of the Grandeur Phase. At least for me. I am usually all gun-ho about implementing and getting going with the plan. The kids can be a little less enthusiastic, but I usually have a range of mild to moderate support from 2 out of 3 of them. This phase also brings me back to reality of maybe lowering my original expectations of summer. This phase can have arguing, fighting, nagging, whining, repeating directions, and more repeating directions. It can be exhausting.

The Cruising Phase: This is when the wheels are turning, the gears are greased and everything is going great. We have a nice balance of work and play, fun and responsibility. This is a phase that on occasion the stars align and we are all in at the same time, but unfortunately this is one of the hardest phases to do that. I swear my kids draw straws each morning to see who’s turn it is to be the stinker for the day. Rarely do they decide to all be happy and pleasant at the same time but when it happens it is glorious. This phase has little arguing, lots of smiles, and happiness and contentment from parents and kids. It is still great when some of us are in this phase but not as wonderful as when the whole family is cruising together.

Laxadazical: This Phase is one of the most maddening ones for me, and the kicker is it is usually my fault most of the time that we move into it. This phase is when things start to relax to much and the meltdown of our regular structure goes to far. I let up on the reigns because they have been doing great and I give them a little leeway but don’t crack the whip soon enough if they take a mile instead of an inch. I guess I get a little lazy myself. There can be any number of causes but the classic lead ups to this phase are

  • A night or two of late bedtimes that turns into”I can stay up late everynight”
  • Five extra minutes of TV/video games that turns into”I can watch/play as long as I want”
  • You can do your chores later turns into- doing a bad job or not doing it at all.

A frusteration with this phase is that I want to give my kids more rope to start being more responsible and proactive with their choices but the amount of rope changes for every incident and it easily gets out of hand. Also, I don’t know why but usually I don’t even realize we are in this phase until explode after I am sick and tired of nagging, arguing and yelling at them to listen, to get their stuff  done, or redone because they did a crappy job the first time. I try to be on the look out for the obvious signs of this phase but it sneaks in a lot.

The Stir Crazy Phase: I thought this was just a phase I had but I think all of us get it a little bit. I love Kansas and we plan for it to be our forever home but I have to leave at least once, preferably 2-3 times in the summer. We have to pack a suitcase and drive or fly somewhere and be gone for a few days. One year we had a bigger vacation planned and it was in September in Florida with my family. We didn’t really go anywhere in the summer because we had that planned. I about went bananas. We need something to break up the regular routine on occasion throughout the summer. We usually go up to Lincoln for the 4th of July. Sometimes a trip to Utah/Idaho for a reunion, or to see my sisters or my parents. I love picking a new place none of us have been before and seeing and doing new things. We are all a little grumpy and restless if we get into the Stir Crazy Phase.

The Life Is Awesome Phase: This is going on vacation. This phase might sound a little cheesy but it is how I usually feel on vacation. If not, I am not really on vacation, or on a good vacation I guess. It is not the same as the Freedom Phase. It is more full filling and satisfying. There are still responsibilities with vacations-planning, packing, traveling, budgeting… It is just awesome to step away from regular life and enjoy doing something all together totally out of the norm. Ryan being with us is awesome, I am home with the kids most of the time so I am old news but it is a treat to have both parents 24-7. I love having the plan be nothing but enjoy time together, do fun things, experience new things, make memories, just be together. Sometimes we do bigger vacations but it doesn’t have to be. One of my favorite parts of our vacations is the driving and being all stuck in the car together. My family rolls their eyes when I get excited about a 19+ hour car ride but I do like it.  Whether they admit it or not I know they like singing ‘500 Miles’ at the top of their lungs just as much as I do.Vacations are just awesome because we get to focus on being together as a family. We get to put a pin in all other responsibilities that take time away from being a family and enjoy one of the greatest blessings we have been given when we came to earth.

The Boredom Phase: This comes and goes and is self explanatory as well. The boredom can be caused for many reasons; summer has lost its magicalness, it is ‘too hot’, friends are gone, already done that, don’t want to do that, loss of privileges, choosing to be bored, expecting to be entertained, laziness, etc. Expecting to be entertained is my cue for this phase and it might sound crazy but a lot of times the cure for my kids boredom is to take away all their electronics for awhile. This initially causes expressions of anger, panic, frustration and irritability but eventually they settle down and after a little brainstorming they figure out they do have some creativity and enjoy each others company. Before you know it they are playing tag, building forts, baking treats, making up games, riding bikes together, doing crafts, playing board games, reading books and all kinds of things. Since we have implemented no electronics on Sunday they are much better at not getting into this phase as often and getting out of it quicker when they do. The whining and complaining is much shorter lived.

The Panic Phase: It is usually about the end of July when there is a sudden realization that school is starting in just a few weeks and all the commotion that brings with it. The to-do list; register for school, school clothes, school supplies, back to school night. The worry list; have we crammed everything into summer we need/want to, who is my teacher, what friends are in my class, what do I wear the first day, what do I wear the second day, take my lunch or school lunch, who will remember me, how should I do my hair, who will I sit by (this list got way longer when Alli started school). I also have a little panic each year about sending my kids back to school. I know they are good kids and I enjoy being with them. Most of their experiences will help them learn and grow and they will be happy and successful. I know they have to learn to handle things on their own and they can (and I can still help them) but I worry and it makes me want to follow my kids around with a rubber chicken or something to smack the little turd kids that need a wake up call on the back of the head when they are mean and cruel or a bad influence. I think I do pretty good at hiding my worry from the kids so I don’t project my stress to them or give them things to worry about that they hadn’t thought of. For the most part my panic passes and is unfounded. I am pretty confident in Matthew’s confidence and moral compass and self worth. I worry for Allison a lot. She can have a hard candy coating but it is protecting a delicate fragile sweet little girl inside. I wish I could give her a confidence and self worth mega vitamin everyday. She cares way to much about what other people think. Emilee seems to be in between Matthew and Allison right now, hopefully it will grow in the positive direction with school.

The Hallelujah Phase:  This is the kids are starting school again and I can get on top of our lives a little more again phase. This phase starts at different times each year and can vary in…intensity.  Three years ago this started as soon as August hit and I was about to burst by the time school started. I couldn’t get them to school fast enough. Last year it was the last day or to before school and hardly noticeable. This year is on track to be in the middle of that somewhere but we have all of July to get through. Just like the end of the school year when the routine is a getting mundane and you just need a change, the same happens with summer. It just starts to get a little old. The Boredom Phase becomes more and more common. Everyone is less patient, fights and argues more. It is just time for a change and revamp of schedules and getting back into growing in different ways. My kids help and do a lot of things around the house but when we are all home a lot it is harder to keep up on things and some projects, jobs, and other things get set aside or slip through the cracks. When this phase comes I want to get back on top of everything and feel more organized and prepared. How well my kids are getting along is a huge factor in when this phase starts.

 

 

Worlds of Fun!

The day after the girls and I got back from Florida, the kids and I were going to go with Lauren and her kids to Nauvoo IL for a two day trip. That night we were both talking on the phone and it just wasn’t working out that great for either of our schedules so we decided to bag it and reschedule for another time and do something closer to home. We decided to try the water and theme park in KC. Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun.

We got there when it opened that morning and did the theme park first. It’s the first big theme park any of our kids have gone too. It was pretty fun. We had varying degrees of adventurousness but everyone tried something. Jovee was willing but to short for some rides. In another year or two she will probably be the most adventurous of all of them. All of my kids were for whatever rides they could go on. We started with some smaller rides more like carnival rides, then we got to a real roller coaster called the Cork Screw. It goes through some loops and then stops and comes back the way it came but backwards. Emilee went on it with Aunt Lauren. When the ride was over she had a look of ‘oh my gosh, what just happened to me’ on her face, then she looked and me and got the biggest grin and gave me a thumbs up. She thought it was pretty awesome. We went on a water ride and then my three wanted to go on the biggest ride in the park called the Mamba. Emilee was tall enough and really wanted to, I was a little hesitant to let her but she was insistent that she would be fine and had loved the other ones. So she did it. She had the same look on her face as the first one when she got back but when I asked her how it went she started crying and had a little break down. It was a little to intense for her. Mom fail. I think she would have been better if I had gone with her but I was watching Leah and Ethan and I didn’t want to go on it myself either. I am not a big roller coaster fan. She said she didn’t want to go on anymore rides but we found a nice easy spiny, floaty feeling one and she went on it with me. She kept saying, ‘This is so nice, I like this, this is fun.’ I think it started out trying to convince herself but by the end of the ride she meant it.

It was pretty stinking hot and we were all melting and about at our wits end from the heat so after a few hours we went to the car and ate our lunch then headed over to Oceans of Fun to cool off and get in the water. It is a pretty nice water park. We let the older boys and girls go off and try different slides and areas and Lauren and I stayed with the Littles. We did slides, the wave pool, obstacles, play areas, it was a nice afternoon. We stayed pretty much until it closed. The kids loved it. It was a successful fun new summer adventure! They all slept like a rock that night. Emilee usually sleeps in but she reached a new record of 11 am the next morning. Matthew and Alli weren’t up before nine either.

Good movie alert!!

I am a movie watcher. I love watching a good movie either at home or
in the theater. Lately there have been some good movies I have seen
but they are more action movies. It has been awhile since I have seen
a really good ‘feel good’ movie. I watched one this week that brought
a few tears but left me feeling happy and good after I finished it. It
is called I Can Only Imagine. It is about the story behind the song by
the same title. I have always loved that song. I may be known to sing along at the top of my lungs when I hear it. It is a favorite on my play list and I love it even more now knowing the story behind it.

 

I remember…

There was a youth fireside in Independence tonight with John Bytheway as the speaker. Matthew is a few months shy of being 12 but we had him go anyways. He said it was really good and he was glad he went. As I was driving home after I dropped him off I was thinking about the fact that I just dropped my oldest child off at a YM activity. Which got me thinking about other moments in his life. Time really does fly by. He is such an amazing kid. I am so glad that I get to be his mom. He has a good head on his shoulders and a kind heart in his chest.

I remember the day we brought him home from the hospital. I kept thinking, “I can’t believe they are just letting me take him home, I’m a mom now.” It felt so weird to be driving with a baby in the back seat. Ryan has never driven so slow and I probably looked back and checked him a million times. He was my little buddy from day one. I loved singing him to sleep, snuggling him, and just looking at him. He never really cared for a pacifier but he has a blue blanket that became ‘the blanket’ the second he touched it. He still has it today and is showing no signs of being done with it. He also loved his nightly bottle before getting ready for bed. It was a total relaxing enjoyable experience for him.

He was a happy slightly pudgy little toddler. He has had a kind little tender heart from day one. He is shy but makes friends easily and is friends with everybody. He is good at including others and making them feel welcome and is kind to everyone. I remember taking him to nursery. This wasn’t to hard for me at the time because I was the Primary President so I was in there a lot and got to see him, it wasn’t to much of a ‘my baby boy is growing up way to fast moment’. Sunbeams was much harder. I remember my little boy walking right in to class wearing his little man suit and hoping up on his chair ready to go.  I remember his first primary program. He stood tall and sang every word of the songs loudly, but when he went up to say his part he took one look at the audience and said, “Nope!” and turned right around and went back to his seat.

I remember his first little t-ball lessons when he was four years old where he chased the ball wherever it went and then a few years later crushing a home run in coach pitch. Then doing lots of other sports to pass the time until he can get back into baseball to joining the academy so he can be involved in baseball almost year round. I remember his first day of preschool. He was never a huge fan. He would have rather stayed home and been with his sister. He loved her
from day one. If he couldn’t be by her, he left his dinosaurs around her to watch her until he returned. His shyness was a big struggle for him in preschool. We practiced how to introduce yourself and make friends a lot.

I remember the first day of kindergarten, and each grade after. I thought I would be the mom doing cartwheels to send the kids to school. Instead I was the mom having a hard time leaving the class room and peaking back in several times to make sure he was ok before going home to sit around and wonder what I was going to do without him. Matthew has always been easy company and fun to have around. There is more than one mom of his friends that have told me they like having Matthew over and he is a really good friend to their son and I
can send him over anytime. Last year when we took the kids to school on the first day, I remember a little twinge in my chest realizing that it would be the last time I got to walk him to class on the first day. Next year is middle school and you get to just get dropped off. I remember another twinge in my heart when I told him that and he said I could still walk him to class if I wanted but no kiss goodbye, a hug would probably be fine though.

I remember his baptism. There was standing room only in the font room because so many friends and family came to support and see him get baptized. I remember feeling so blessed to have such a sweet, caring, loving, special boy. The gospel rests naturally with him. You can feel that he understood and knew it well before he came to earth. I remember the first time my shy little boy mustered up the courage to go up and bear his testimony. I was so proud of him and wish he would do it every month.

I remember thousands of small special little memories that I hope I will never forget. I love watching Matthew grow and develop into an even more amazing person. He is going to accomplish some great things. I wish it would just slow down. I love how he almost always has a little slight grin on his face and he is quick to turn it into a full grin when he sees someone. I love that he still snuggles me while he reads a book. I love that he randomly comes up to me and wants a hug. Sometimes it drives me crazy but I still love when he  shows his affection with poking, and nudging, and teasing. I love when he laughs and plays with his sisters, and gives them a piggy back ride, or teaches them how to throw a ball, or plays tag, or hide and seek with them. I love his sense of humor and how he cracks himself up. I love that he writes in his journal then leaves it on my pillow for me to read. I love when he tells me about his day and it takes almost as
long as the day took because he includes every single detail. I love how he decides he wants to learn something and figures it out and works at it. I love that he tries to set a good example and reflects on how to improve.  I love his company, I love him. I am a blessed momma. He is growing up so fast. Today I drop him off at a fireside, before I know it he will be driving, dating, graduating, and going on a mission. I am glad I get a front row seat at watching him grow.

The Terry’s start some new fashion trends…

Dad had to go straight from work to the baseball game this week. He takes his clothes with him when he has to do this so he can change at work. He forgot his tennis shoes. I could not stop laughing. I called him over like I had to tell him something and took the picture. When he realized what I was doing he turned around and walked off so I took the next picture. Still giggle when I think about it. Seriously, look at those pictures and try not to laugh. He said I was embarassed of him, which I was not. I wouldn’t have told everyone about it if I was embarassed. Hehehe! He lucked out though, one of the other coaches asked him if he needed some tennis shoes he had an extra pair or if he wanted to sport his current look that was cool too. Ryan took him up on his offer to borrow the extra pair of shoes he had. He isn’t the first coach on the team to have that happen either. We are lucky to have such good Dads to support their kids in their activities.

 

At our next game the fashion statements continued. Emilee came up to ask for a drink and I took stock of what she had chosen to wear and had to get a picture of it. Those are socks with water shoes. Yep, nice cozy socks with rubber water shoes, in 100+ temperatures. She thought it was a great idea. Cute little stinker. Again, I still giggle when I think about it. It isn’t her first interesting shoe choice though, Emilee is notorious for wearing inappropriate shoes for the occasion, mismatching shoes, or forgetting her shoes altogether. Lucky for her (an annoyance for me) her sister thinks the car is her personal shoe closet so there is usually a few pairs to choose from if Emilee forgets. Also as a side note. I tell my girls all the time that when they see pictures of themselves in 20 years and wonder what they are wearing I am going to remind them that I always offered ‘how to match your clothes’ advice but it was usually ignored or most likely completely scoffed at like I don’t have the slightest clue what I’m talking about. Unless it is church or family picture day or something like that, it is all them and their styling.

I haven’t mentioned Father’s Day or Ryan’s birthday yet. I have a picture that fits in great with the above pictures too. Both of his special days are usually close together if not the same day. We try to make it separate celebrations for him but this year we were leaving on our RV-cation on his birthday so there wasn’t a whole lot of time to celebrate. We did his cake on the road though. For Father’s Day the kids argued and fought and I about locked them outside for the day, but then we pulled it together and made him a nice steak dinner and played a game together. We gave him a power washer for his Father’s Day and birthday present. He has wanted one for a long time and I have been told for years how amazed I will be at how useful it will be. We also usually get him a cool new pair of pajama pants for Father’s Day. This year we decided to go with a shirt instead. I told him he was going to laugh and I had never seen this shirt before. He said he had found a shirt for his dad the other day but they didn’t have the right size so he didn’t get it but he almost bought it for himself. He told me what it said and it was the same shirt we had gotten him! I kept my game face on and didn’t give it away though.  The kids could hardly contain themselves when he started opening it. I guess potty humor never gets old.

Taking Moose to the Beach

When we were in Florida for Spring Break our beach day was not good. It was pretty cold and the water was freezing. We were only there about 45 minutes to basically say we went to the beach.

When we got to Florida after our rv-cation the weather was perfect for the beach  so we decided to drive Moose (the RV) to the beach and enjoy a good beach day.

It was wonderful. We set up the canopy so we had some shade in the beautiful white sand for the kids to play in. The water was so warm. We didn’t really even need towels. There wasn’t that much of a temperature difference being in or out of the water. We went out into the water and played in the waves, but we settled at a little tide pool area that was pretty shallow for the kids to play in. They covered a rock in sand and decorated it with shells, splashed and played in the water, and of course collected shells. Usually we just see clam shells, but this beach had lots of the little tiny conch shells. I told the girls to only pick their most favorite ones because we didn’t have a lot of room in our suitcase. I then watched as Emilee started picking shells up as fast as she could exclaiming how pretty they all were and she just couldn’t leave any behind.

We were there for a few hours then we rinsed off and went back to the RV to eat a nice lunch with the A/C running. Having an RV is a pretty handy way to travel.

Kenny stopped at Bahama Bucks, which is an icee shop on our way home. We all got a delicious icee and finished the trip home. Most of us were asleep by the time we got home.

Once we were home the girls showered up and relaxed while Sherri and Kenny made dinner and I cleaned the RV up for the next renter that is picking it up on Monday. Another big help of our RV-cation is I have a lot more hands on knowledge now for the RV in general and for the whole process of preparing it and sending it off with a renter. When Moose left on Monday we have all of our RV’s out on the road for the next month. They have all been out a few times but this will be the first time all three are out for a while. Pretty awesome.

It was nice to have a few days in Florida before we came home. Once again I love seeing my sisters and spending time with them, but I am always sad when I leave that we don’t live closer to each other. Thank goodness for modern travel options but it would still be wonderful to live close enough to see each other whenever we want instead of a couple times a year.

Warning…content may engage gag reflex.

This post is keeping it real. I think I have seen it all sometimes and then I wake up in the morning and find this. BLAHHH!!!

What the heck!

So I thought someone (easy to figure Matthew since the seat was left up) had just not flushed the toilet…which is usually my girls issues not Matthew’s. But as I got closer I saw that indeed he had not flushed the toilet but was very relieved that he hadn’t because sitting at the bottom of the toilet was his T4K. What is a T4K? A T4K is a special ortho appliance that Matthew wears in his mouth every night to help correct his bite. Why was this (expensive) mouth appliance in the toilet? I called Matthew to the scene of the event to find out. He came and looked and thought I had put it in there. WHAT?!? After explaining to him that under no circumstances would I find it necessary, appropriate, funny, or any other possible reason be ok to put his T4K in the toilet full of pee. He seemed just as confused as I was as to why it was there. We fished it out with some very long BBQ tongs and while we were sterilizing the tongs, the T4K, our hands and the sink, Matthew had a partial recollection of a fuzzy memory of using the restroom early that morning and having something in his mouth that was bugging him so he spit it out. This makes a lot of sense because Matthew has had a handful of incidents over the years where he does something weird while sleep walking. So the best we can figure is that he wasn’t fully awake and spit it out while he was using the restroom. Still gross. Thank goodness he didn’t flush it!! We would have never have even guessed where it disappeared to.