Potato Heads

Orlando

No great stories here, just great memories.  We went on a week long vacation back in May with my parents and my sister, Margaret, and her boyfriend Nick.  Adult to child ratio-6:4.  Who could ask for more?  We couldn't but we got sunshine, beaches, amusement parks, tennis, golf and more anyway.  Thanks family for a wonderful trip!  We couldn't have done it or at least it wouldn't have been nearly as cool without you.Lesson learned-the UV rays are way stronger down in Florida go even heavier on the sunscreen!  

Dallas was totally fearless on all roller coasters, or so we thought until we saw this pic.  Too cute.  He's still way tougher than Trenton though .  Dave tried to get the domesticated squirrel as addicted to diet Dew as he is . . .I think he came close. 

My dad also showed off his responsible side while drinking Diet Dew in the jacuzzi tub with my children and somehow managed to actually break a club while golfing.  Now that's talent . .just don't ask him about his score :)

Brooklyn was suprizingly or naively game for holding a baby alligator while we were out shopping.

Brooklyn was drawn to the same part of Belle that Daddy was.  Who knew Disney Princesses were so provocative?

Urine

I am the mother of young boys so I don't expect the kids bathroom to sparkle and shine except for maybe the  5 minutes immediately following a scrubbing by me.  However, I also don't expect to find urine, hmmmm . . .I'll say more than a 3 foot radius away from the toilet to be safe (again young boys).  So, when I walked into the bathroom yesterday and noticed a yellowish liquid substance half dried on the bathroom counter I was actually caught by surprise.  Using my Sherlock Holmes skills (and my nose) I quickly decide that it is indeed pee and am  instantly calling Dallas's name. 

     "Did you pee on the counter?"

     "No."

     "Did you pee in the sink," thinking maybe his aim was just as poor using the sink as it is when he uses the toilet.

     "No." 

I can see his little brain churning at this point and am pretty sure my initial response to question him first is well founded so I ask him straight up.

     "Why is there pee on the counter?"

     "When I was peeing in my water gun some of it spilled out."

     "You peed in your water gun?"

     "Yeah and some of it was just spilling out."

Never, never, never ceases to amaze me that child.  Of course I gave him the nice lecture of not peeing in his water gun and that it would end up in the garbage if he ever did it again and then I kind just had to laugh cause what else can I do? It's something a 12 year old boy would do on purpose to play a disgusting prank not a 5 year old who just doesn't really think things through all of the way most of the time.  

     I did track down the super soaker later and gave it a thorough rinsing out, but it still smells like the boys bathroom in elementary school if you know what I mean.  

Then today Brooklyn decided she needed to represent the girls team.    I had just pulled up to a water park to take the kids swimming.  Trenton, Dallas and Brooklyn were out of the car while I was grabbing all of our stuff and Lexi when Trenton frantically says "Uhhh Mommy!!???" and I look up to see Brooklyn in the middle of the parking lot with her swimsuit bottoms completely off as she is watering the asphalt with her urine.  She never even told me she needed to go potty. . . just took matters into her own hands.  Truthfully I really wouldn't have even cared (you know good for you for not peeing in your pants or whatever) except that there are two other mothers with their children also getting out of their cars at the same time who witness the little public potty incident.  Embarrassing!!!  They were understanding or at least not rude . .maybe they just talked about me later.    Again, whatever.  Who needs toilets anyway?

Summer's coming!!!

This is the last week the kids will be in school so I'm trying to catch up on blogging before summer hits us!

Taken yesterday before church.

The boys have finally figured out soccer and spend more time running, dribbling and scoring than they do rolling on the ground, playing in the dirt and getting caught in the net.

Brooklyn turned 3!  I made the classic Barbie princess cake, she donned her new tutu from Oma all day in public and private and Dave's parents got to be here to help her celebrate.

AAO in Washington DC

Dave had a conference in DC at the beginning of May.  We, that is the kids and I, decided to tag along.  We took a small detour to visit our good friends from dental school in PA on the way out there.  It was fun to see how the kids have grown and their cute house.  Everyone used to think Nichole and I were twins in Portland or would mistake us for one another, which we thought was funny but now I look at  Brooklyn and Kumorah and figure they could pass as sisters too.

One of the best parts was that my mom decided to meet us out there as well!  The kids didn't really get how amazing it was that Grandma (from Portland) just ended up in the lobby of our hotel in DC as we tried to surprise them.  For them we went far away and Grandma lives far away so I guess it all kind of made sense.   Dave and I did appreciate the efforts it took her to make it out though.  It allowed me to see the sites with some adult company and sanity in tact and Dave and I even got a little date night.  

The next cool part was Daisha driving up for the day to visit.  So fun to see her and the kids and finally meet Claire out of the womb.  It was hot at the zoo and the kids were sort of slow to remember and warm up to each other, but it was so good to see the Super Mama again and remember how much we miss everyone.

The kids got to ride the train quite a bit,  We made some quick stops for photos at Arlington National Cemetary, Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Air and Space Museum, Natural History Museum, etc.

Trenton lost his first tooth with the help of Grandma.  Too bad his permanent teeth have already been hanging out behind the baby teeth in back for a while, are huge and horribly crooked.  

Kids will be kids and I had to laugh that one of their favorite parts was sitting outside of Washington Mall and getting absolutely filthy playing in the dirt.   The trip was rushed and fun and I'm glad we did it!

Running Running Running

So, I started the year off running . .literally.  Decided to train for a half marathon (the Kentucky Derby mini marathon) and do the Louisville Triple Crown Races as part of it  (5k, 10k and 10 mile) races.  Although I certainly love working out, I've never really been too much of a runner . . .and while I did get quite bored with it over the past months . .. I find myself still wanting to do it a few times a week as it became sort of habit.  Anyway, training works, assuming you are actually doing it and I was . .I still remember the morning I was running with temps in the single digits and I thought I was tough/stupid/freezing until I saw some old woman sitting on her front porch wearing a robe in the same weather and realized she was much tougher, colder and maybe even dumber than me.  I started off with a certain goal time in January and found myself constantly adjusting my goal as I found my speed improving.  I was planning on running with my cousin's husband, Nick, but injury left him on the sidelines come race day and me running solo . . .really could have used him with my pacing and to push me in the end as my inexperience led me to going way too fast over the first 5 miles (including all the hills) and feeling burned out and crappy the rest of the race.  Nonetheless, I clocked in right where I wanted to be at 1:38:18 . .just wish I would have felt better doing it.  Now, I'm left with trying to figure out how to  make my overly muscled legs return to something a little more normal looking.  My cousin Lachelle came up and ran this and the 10 miler with me too . . .I'm hoping she'll see this and provide me with some better pictures since Dave was on Daddy duty that day taking the boys to soccer.  It was a cool race though . .sold out (over 15,000 participants) although I think the rain scared some away so there weren't as many finishers.  Part of the course included running on the inside of Churchill Downs.  We went and visited afterwards to watch a few races  . . . . I took pictures of Lachelle with her family and she took pictures of me alone. .  . .Actually not a horrible feeling when it's so rare, although I can't wait to take the kids back to the track.

Thunder

So I think it's safe to say that The Kentucky Derby is the big thing here.  The Derby Festival lasts a couple of weeks with several different events.  Last weekend was Thunder Over Louisville that kicks off the festival which includes an air show that goes all afternoon and evening right up until the official largest annual fireworks display in North America where the fireworks are set off from 8 different barges and one of the bridges spanning the Ohio River.  We got to enjoy the festivities (and avoid the massive number of drunk people) from one of the other resident's apartments as it was right on the waterfront by the show.  It was cool.  It was loud.  I think the kids are still recovering from the super late night. 

We've survived 5 Years with Dallas

That's right.  There have been good times, bad times, dirty times and many comical times and he's still going strong.  How time flies.  He requested a Lego cake (pictured below).  He wanted to go out to eat with our whole family and Grandpa (who couldn't make it as it was a bit of a trip on such short notice) at Red Robin.  It was the first time we've been out to eat with just our family since we moved here and it was a surprisingly pleasant experience for all.  We headed to the park for a bit afterward and called it a happy number 5!