Kids May 2011

Ashley--almost 8
She is excited about finishing up second grade and summer vacation! She's most excited about her 8th birthday! We are planning a backyard penguin-themed party, since she loves all things penguin. She's looking forward to getting baptized this summer. She is really responsible and loves being treated more grown up, and she gets to get her ears pierced on her birthday. Her favorite subjects in school are science and art and her favorite color is light blue.

Paige-6 1/2
Paige is a really good girl. She loves to help me and she loves learning new things. She is a great reader and loves reading stories to anyone who will listen. Her favorite subjects are math and music and her favorite color is still pink pink pink. She says really funny things and gets along well with most people.

Michael-3 1/2
Michael is a really sweet boy. He loves Douglas to death and is thrilled when Douglas interacts with him. He is excited to start preschool in the fall. When he grows up, he wants to be a Daddy. The other day, I asked him what else he wanted to be--a fireman, a teacher, a doctor??? No, he said, I be a Daddy and.....a Mommy! His favorite color is green and he loves anything Star Wars. He carries his "light saver" around and likes to "slice" people!

Douglas--8 months
Douglas is a really content, happy baby. He loves being held, and, as the 4th baby, has learned to fall asleep most anywhere. He fell asleep in the middle of the loudest fireworks display I've ever heard last night, and in the pool today (while I was holding him!). He's doing the army-man crawl now, sits up well, and eats lots of food. He'll eat anything the rest of us are eating, but does not love baby food. He loves being held by Ashley and being entertained by Paige and Michael. He's sleeping from about 8pm to about 7am most days.

Strawberry picking!

Paige's heart-shaped strawberry:

Habitat

Ashley is learning about habitats in science. Here's hers.

Sitting Up

Our little guy is sitting up now!

Major Hunk

Our "major hunk" finally got a haircut! He's even cuter now, I think :)

Easter Pictures 2011

Michael's ABCs

Florida Spring 2011

Since we were already in Florida, we decided to drive up to my parents' house for another week of fun! It sounds like an easy drive, being in the same state and all, but it took about 10 hours, which is more like for.ev.er when you are traveling with a 6 month old, especially one who won't take a bottle or eat baby food... Thankfully, my parents met me in the middle and drove us the rest of the way to their house. We made it and had a great time. We dyed Easter eggs and decorated cookies, went to a fabulous puppet show, and went to the splash park right by my parents' house. (I drove the golf cart over there while Ashley held Douglas next to me and Paige and Michael were strapped in where the golf clubs go--we were quite the sight!). We also got to visit my aunt and go to the zoo right by her house and had fun swimming in my parent's pool and spending time with them!

Key West!

James has been working in Key West, Florida quite a bit since we moved here. At one point, I wondered why we didn't all move down there and have him commute up here as necessary. When he goes, he normally stays in the military barracks, but last month, all the rooms were taken, so he got put up in a fancy hotel on one of the few beaches in the keys. He called me around 10:30 Sunday night and said we should just come down and stay with him for the week. It was SOOO crazy, but I booked tickets, e-mailed the girls' teachers, packed suitcases, and was ready to go at 9:00 Monday morning.
We had a blast! We went to most of the beaches on the island, rode a train around and learned more about Key West than we ever wanted to know, swam in the pool, went to the aquarium and saw sharks, saw several 3 foot iguanas running around, ate delicious Cuban and Italian food (not at the same time), and had fun being together.
Here are some of the highlights:

There was a magic show at the Toy Factory and then he made balloons for the kids--

Paige is so brave!

The hotel pool:

We were mostly excited to ride a train. We didn't know it was a 90 minute learning adventure :)

Douglas was great on the trip!

We love the beach!!