A couple of weeks ago we went to Dan Nicholas Park which is about an hour NE of us. This park has everything! It is the perfect reunion spot besides the fact that I'd never be able to convince even half of my family OR Rob's family to meet here. Apparently we are a little inconvenient here on the east coast. Babies. But, nonetheless, this park rocks!

We had a blast on the carousel, paddle boats, train and at the mini-zoo, HUGE playground, and miniature golf course. We actually did the golfing last and the kids were having a grand ol' time until Laina took a power swing right onto Ethan's forehead. Ooooh! It only took 10 seconds for a giant goose egg to form and we were extremely worried about it. We put some cool water on it (no ice) and about 10 minutes later a rather grumpy Ethan insisted on playing again. Poor sweet Laina was beside herself with guilt and cried almost as much as Ethan. But life moves on and so did our game. (We thought it best to keep Ethan up and walking around for at least another hour because we knew he'd fall asleep on the way home.) All in all it was a fabulous day.

Here's my little sugar with a goose egg the size of a golf ball. He's trying hard to smile...I didn't tell him to, he just knows that is what you do in front of a camera. Poor guy.

The boys have had quite the week. They really are a silly pair. No one could make up the awkward, scary, embarrassing, sweet moments that they find themselves in. Hmmm. Let's start with Austin.

Panicked screaming came from the boys room followed with Ethan bursting into the kitchen. "You've gotta help AUSTIN! He's STUCK!" I ran back on Ethan's heels and seconds later we find ourselves scratching our heads. How did that boy manage to get his leg stuck in his bed railing.

Again.

For the third time.

And I know why that boy was so scared. The last 2 times it was Robert who found Austin and somehow forced his leg back in with brute force. But I couldn't figure out how to do it without twisting his leg off or knocking off a kneecap. We spent 5 minutes manipulating his body and leg to find the answer to the puzzle - it came through so it must be able to go back. Right? Wrong. Every push brought a new flood of tears from my little lamb. Finally the answer came to me. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a gob of butter. After liberally smothering the boy's leg with butter and coating a bit of the rail, Austin's leg shot out with a thumb-in-cheek POP. All three kids started giggling at the sight of Austin's greased up leg.

A few days later Austin found himself in another slippery situation. We were in a mad rush to get all the kids ready for swim lessons. I had just coated Austin's entire body with sunscreen and told him to run to the potty before we put on his suit. As I was dousing the next child in line we heard a scream. 1/2 second of silence. splash! 1/2 second of silence and then what could only be described as wailing. Out he came from the bathroom, soaking wet. Apparently the first 1/2 second of silence we heard was Austin sliding across the floor and toppling, arms first, into the toilet. The second 1/2 second pause was Austin realizing that the person who had used the toilet last and forgotten to flush the toilet and he was now covered in what he called, "yellowness!" My poor Austin. Naturally, he is the one child I have who is extra sensitive to smells and hates to get dirty. (the silly thing gags when he brushes his teeth because the toothpaste is too 'spicy' and 'smelly.')

Now Ethan. A few weeks ago we bumped into a classmate of Ethan's at the grocery store. Ever since that chance meeting Ethan has been BEGGING me to set up a play date with Molly. After getting past the 4th of July weekend and working out busy schedules, we managed to get a play date set up. Ethan was bouncing off the walls, he was so excited. Literally. He sat at the window watching for Molly's car to arrive for a complete 10 minutes. As soon as she got here he played excitedly in every room except for the room she was in. I finally got him to calm down and play with the sweet girl. As the play-date wore on, the kids decided they all wanted to watch a movie. Molly's mom and I wanted a chance to sit down and for the kids to settle down so we agreed. Molly and Ethan got some chairs and sat down next to each other. After about halfway through the movie I looked over and Molly had her arm wrapped around Ethan's shoulders. I pointed this out to Molly's Mom and we watched as Molly then leaned over to Ethan and kissed him on the cheek. Oh, NO you di-int, girl-friend! :) Actually, it was very sweet. Ethan was not fazed. At all. Kung-Fu Panda had his full attention. (I think.) I got a little bit of a picture but it was after the kiss. What a lady's man my baby is. No more girl play-dates for him!

This evening I had the kids playing in the boys' room while I talked on the phone. When I was done Ethan called me and Robert in for "a wedding." Hmmm. Intriguing. I grabbed my camera, of course, and we walked in to find this.

My favorite part was the 'stinky sock' part of the ceremony. Robert was only encouraging this little family wedding. Oy vey!

And my final little moment was earlier this morning. I heard squealing and screaming and possibly laughing coming from the boys' room. I go in and find all three kids clawing at Rob's head. I guess the game was, 'try and squeeze dad's nose.' Robert was squirming out of their grasps and tickling the kiddies but resistance was futile.
They looked like little gremlins attacking Rob. It reminded me of the line from Dante's Inferno,
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here"

Happy 4th of July!

I'm not as quick as I used to be with putting the blog pics up but at least we are still in July!

We celebrated the day of stars and stripes playing in South Carolina. Now, South Carolina can be like entering a whole new world. It has a bit of a rougher flavor to it and in order to truly appreciate it here are three things that you all must know about the good people of South Carolina.

1. They love their guns.

While we were driving through the country we took a wrong turn. That road was a dead end but this was the building we saw on the left.

And this is the building that was directly across from in on the right. I bet those postal workers are always on their best behavior!2. They REALLY love their guns...and they aren't afraid to use them.

Last week we heard about some crazy serial killer loose in South Carolina. The prevalent mood of the South Carolinians was one of 'get him before he gets anyone else" (which they did, by the way. He was shot down dead a few days ago.) Here are some of my favorite quotes from the paper before they got 'em.

The latest killings have residents on edge, with "their guard up and their gun handy," said state Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney.

"If someone breaks into my house, I'm armed and ready," said Mike Daniels, 53, a retired Army sergeant. "And I won't hesitate to shoot first and ask questions later."

The sheriff reminded people they have a right to protect themselves and advised salesmen and others to avoid knocking on strangers' doors with so many on heightened alert.

"People are going to start shooting at shadows," Blanton said.

They say the police got the guy in a stand off but it wouldn't have shocked me in the least if it was a sweet old grandma with a walker. You don't mess with folk from the south.

3. They love their fireworks almost as much as their guns.

In NC we are known for our Banking. In SC, they are known for making fireworks. As soon as you cross the border you'll see signs and stalls selling them all year round. They also have extremely lenient laws concerning fireworks. As in, practically no laws. With this in mind our stake decided the best place for the 4th of July celebrations would be at the South Carolina building.

There they had a day long celebration full of baseball, volleyball, watermelon eating competitions, potluck food & BBQ, music and of course, fireworks. The firework show went on forever! They were the serious ones that you usually see during a city firework show. We kept thinking that the show was over and they'd start a whole new song.

Ethan played his first real game of baseball. Actually, he mostly watched the game. Every time I looked away from the game he'd shout out, "Mom! You're MISSING it!" Finally I asked if he could hit the ball which he did. First try. He made it to first and was hit from base to base until he made it home. He was so proud of himself. I was pretty proud of him myself.

My babies decided to join the kid's table in the watermelon eating contest. Ethan went to town on his watermelon with frequent fervent glances over to the other kids. Austin calmly worked his way through his...really savoring and tasting each bite. Alaina attacked her slice with steely focused determination. If only that girl had a bigger mouth, she would of had that contest in the bag. As it was she and Ethan both were serious contenders but some 10 year old ended up winning. Boo!

Here are my angels before the contest began. (notice the clean shirts :)
And during...

And even though Alaina knew she didn't win, she was determined to finish the slice of watermelon anyways. There really is no deterring this girl. Here she is with her finished slice.

And because you really need a little more watermelon stuffing footage in your life...



I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!