All Oiled Up

Here we are playing on the beach, at 8:00 this morning mind you!  What to do when the kids wake up at 6:00 and you know the rain is coming soon!?  The weather this week is less than stellar, but on the upside, when it is not raining it is actually comfortable temperature-wise!  Usually it is scorching  H-O-T!  I may not come back as tan as I might like, but I guess that is really a good thing, right?

So, after hauling all 4 dump trucks on to the beach, with nobody around but a few early morning walkers, we got to get in some quiet beach time...until we noticed this:  YUCK!

Our Feet were covered in oil!  I mean this stuff is nasty and it is officially everywhere here in Destin!  It is really a sad sight to see.  After using brillo pad brushes to wash the oil off, we hopped on into the pool and made the most of it!  We I, Managed to blow up the alligator float which is a big hit each year!

The kids love the pool and did not mind one bit coming in off the beach!

    

I made the kids sit down real quick so I could at least get one picture of all 4 on the beach...we will miss you this year.....

But, we will not miss the tarballs!

Relocation

So So So happy to be at the beach for a week.  I really needed this trip.  I was going a little a lot stir crazy at home.  I needed a RELOCATION!  That's what I like to call my vacations since having kids.  I am basically doing the same things, but we are at a new place and it IS usually a lot more fun! 

After battling a nasty, and I mean nasty, throw up bug  on Saturday night, I recovered just enough to drive 5 hours with 4 kids to the beach.  Isn't it amazing what us moms are capable of?  I threw up more times in 5 hours than I can count, but yet, I managed to pack our family for the beach the next day!  My stomach is still not 100%, but I am so glad to be here and hopefully will be better tomorrow.

As tradition goes...or the last 3 years have gone, Nana always takes the kids to Build a Bear the first day of our July Beach Trip!  We literally step foot in the condo and the kids are ready to go.  This is Nana's thing.  I stand back.  She loves it and what kid wouldn't?  I am just along for the ride and for crowd control. 

Anyone ever done the Build a bear thing and thought, "Why didn't I think of this"?  I do that every time I go to that place. 
Below are some pictures of our adventure.  I must admit, it is nice that the kids have something special to play with all week.  Next post will hopefully be of us out on the beach in the sun! 

We Have Visitors!

Our cousins came to visit and spend the night with us.  We had a blast and the kids were all sad when it had to come to an end.  We sure wish we had them closer, but Atlanta is not too bad! Can't wait to see them again up at the Lake in July!

The boys got to go to Sports Camp together!  What a treat!

Gray rocked his Superman Shirt.  I love this shirt..get yours for CHEAP at Old Navy!

We love Babies....hmmmmm...makes me long for another!  Gray needs to be a big brother!

And a quick update from the "weird bird lady", as my family calls me!

All the babies are doing great and growing up so fast!  Ha!

Mr. and Mrs. Bird work hard to find insects all day long and we get to watch the process quite a bit, since it is right out our front door.  I feel for Mrs. Bird, because all she does is feed those birds all day!  I am feeling her pain.  Wrens really are a lovely bird and I have enjoyed getting to peek in about 10 times a couple times a day to see how they are...I am a little bit nosey and protective of them.  I practically chased a squirrel clear across my yard when I saw it 50 feet away....I guess I really am a bit of a Mama Bird!  Don't mess with my babies! 

Deep Thoughts

"Sometimes I would like to ask God, why He allows poverty, famine and injustice in the world, when He could do something about it... but I'm afraid He might ask me the same question."
-Anonymous

Alabama Sports Festival

Today we went out to Oak Mountain State Park for the Alabama Sports Festival Games. I participated in the Triathlon and in the end the whole family had a blast.

The kids loved the awards stage and took turns taking the Gold!

Wills knew exactly what "real" athletes do when they win a medal.

We also spent a little time swimming at the beach. This might be the only beach we get to swim in this summer, due to the oil crisis. It is a great place to take the family for a fun get-away that is not too far.

The venue was very small, so I actually picked up a "silver" medal.

The medal was a big hit with the kids and they took turns doing this...

My Peeps

Take a look at Mrs. Bird. That is what we are calling the newest member of our family. We found her a few days ago when she almost flew in my face as I came out the front door. She has made a cozy little nest right down in my planter. A beautiful nest, with guess how many eggs? Yep! FOUR!

Today we took at peak and one of the eggs had hatched and there in that tiny nest was a brand new baby bird! In this picture you can still see that there are 3 eggs waiting to hatch.

Now there are 2 baby birds! Can you believe how amazing this picture is. It was so fun for the kids to see this and be able to talk with them about how awesome and amazing our God is. He cares for all of His creation. I am continuously amazed when I look at new life and how God has orchestrated it perfectly, even among the birds!

I am trying not to bother Mrs. Bird too much, so I put my camera up and took one last peak before dark, and all four baby birds are now hatched. Four little ones, you go Mrs. Bird...you came to the right place!

A Field Trip

We headed to Children's Theatre today and had a blast seeing their Goldilocks Production. If you have never been to the Birmingham Children's Theatre, I highly recommend it. They always have great plays and are perfect for little ones. Just long enough (about an hour), and plenty of songs and laughs. It is $7 per child, under 2 is free. It was a great thing to do as a family! Check out their website, as they have some new productions coming up! http://bct123.org/
Here are my 4, before the play begins. My kids are now into making funny faces when I try to take their picture. Funny once, but annoying after 10 or so attempts!

Here is a picture of the stage. You are not allowed to take pictures during the show, but....

bring your camera, so you can get one of these shots after the play. Gray's face is priceless. He was a little weary of the bears the entire show.

As we were leaving my boys gave me a sweet gift that I will forever treasure. I was holding Kate's hand because she fell, so the boys held Gray's hand to walk him to the parking lot. This IS a big deal to me because I did not ask them to do this. My kids can be sweet--I knew it all along!

Poolside

WE lOVE SUMMER!!!
Another fun weekend with the family at the pool.

Did I mention, I LOVE SUMMER!?

Sleep Over

The First of many I am sure! The boys have been begging for our little friend next door to spend the night. We tried once (unsuccessfully) last year, and he said that he was really ready this time, so we gave it a try. We ate dinner and Matt took them to pick out a video and get some ice-cream. While they were gone, I made some comfy sleeping arrangements for them in the basement! We had to keep these wild boys contained in the basement to avoid a late night with the little ones asleep upstairs. Oh, the thrill and excitement of a sleeping bag and some good friends! I have great memories of spending the night at my friend's houses, although many involve some very exhausted parents, I'm sure! I just glad to know sneaking out the basement door has not even crossed their minds.

Wills and Chrisitan

On another note, it is almost time for my triathlons to begin. I got to swim today with a friend of mine, who is a swim coach, and she gave me some great tips to help me with my stroke. My goal is to get a little faster in the swimming portion of the tri. I am yet to enjoy this discipline, but it is the event I need the most improvement on. It sure is hard to focus and work on something you are not very good at.

With that said, I race this Saturday and the next, and am really excited to get back into it. Tri season is only about 5 months out of the year (because it is mostly lake and ocean swimming), so it gives me some goals for the summer and allows for some healthy competition! I miss the competition, the challenge and the fun of playing " a game".

Memory Lane

I just came across some pictures from the Summer of 2006. My, how things have changed and how my kids have grown. In these pictures, Kate was 2 months and the boys were 1and 2. (about to have birthdays) That was a crazy, but fun time! The quality is not the best, so sorry and I just can't get the picture of Owen to turn--so just turn your computer!

This last picture just doesn't look right without Gray in it! Thank you, Lord for your perfect plan!

Hit of the summer...

What a week we have had. Our first full week of summer. Besides our short bout with strep earlier this week, we have had a blast. I keep forgetting to bring my camera to the pool, which, by the way, we have been to everyday this week! I really need to post some pictures of my little Micheal Phelps....aka, Gray Gray. Our schedule pretty much goes as follows, Wake up, Bfast, Gym (a few days), pool, home to play, dinner, bed, repeat.
I am pretty sure that these towels will be hanging out most of the summer. The hit of the summer, so far, is the pool. They have made lots of new friends to play with and that makes all the difference.
We are doing SOME relaxing!

And breaking out the Leggos.

And sitting on the potty some! I am smart enough to know that 1. He will be horrified one day because I posted this and 2. Not to push potty training quite yet, although he did use it a few times today and was very proud.

I think I will wait until he at least hits the 2 year mark.

I am proud to announce that these kids are now the grandkids of a politician. That is a statement I never expected to be excited about, but we are so proud of our Grandad and the positive changes he is going to make for our city!