How many things can you do with a pool noodle?

Two for certain.

1. Go fishing with your buddy.
2. Rescue people.

Five boys and one sweet little girl

That's what we had at our house this past weekend. Aging from 2 to 13. The plans were to go to the pool for most of the day, but it was raining in the morning, so plan B had to be executed. We loaded everyone in the truck and headed over to Jumpin' Jacks. A good start to making sure that they would be tired at the end of the day. They climbed, bounced, jumped, ran, and yelled for about two hours and then they were hungry. By this time the rain had stopped so we ate a quick lunch and started to get ready for the pool. Just as everyone had on their swimsuits we heard thunder again. We knew the storm would pass quickly so we just waited a little longer to go up to the pool. It was during this time that the noise level increased by about a thousand decibels. I just stood and observed for a few minutes. At one point each one had a tool (from Claxton's collection) of some sort playing with it - one was cutting down Christmas trees, one was using the weed eater as a metal detector to mine for gold, two were working on putting the airplane back together, and I can't remember was the fifth one was doing. Of course all the toys they chose to play with were noise makers. Why would it be any other way. The manufacturers obviously have not done a fair analysis of the age appropriateness of the toys. All in our house are targeted for 2-3 year olds, yet it was unbelievable how quickly these older boys were attracted to and fascinated by these toys! Julia's never had so much stimulation. Quite amusing. The storm passed and we made it to the pool after all for a couple more hours of fun. Of course according to them they were not tired at all. Claxton couldn't even keep his eyes open at dinner, so he went down much earlier than normal. Two of the boys went home between 8 and 8:30. I said to Brian after they left we should send the other two to bed by 9 pm. At that time they were occupied with Play Station. I heard them coming up from the basement expecting to hear that they wanted something to drink or something else, but much to my surprise they said "can we go to bed now?". Brian and I looked at each other in amazement. It was 8:45. Mission accomplished!!

Silly faces everyone!

Julia trying to get a break from all the commotion

"Daddy, do dizzy, do dizzy again Daddy!"

The four older boys spent most of the time plotting how they could take Brian down. There was a great deal of effort and energy put forth, but it never happened. All that scheming is probably what wore them out.

There is a big span between the ages, but that doesn't stop Claxton from thinking he's one of the big boys.


Boys, thanks for a fun weekend. We'll see you again next summer!

Packing on the pounds

We took her for her 4-month check up this past week. Yes, that's right, 4 months. It is hard to believe that she has been with us that long already. Thankfully she is as healthy as can be. And rather chunky too. She weighed in at 14 lb 2 oz.

Edisto Trip

So far this is the longest road trip we have been on with the kids. It really went very well. Julia slept the majority of the way which was a huge blessing. Never know what it's going to be like in the car with an infant for six plus hours. Claxton had just about everything he needed: his puppy, some very over-sized headphones, because it was that or none at all and we weren't exactly thrilled at the thought of listening to Veggie Tales for the entire trip, his cup and a travel size pillow. He was well prepared and endured the long journey well.


Once we arrived and settled in it was nothing but fun! We spent most of our time on the beach and one day went to Charleston for a little exploring. All kids including the adult ones played hard every day which made for a great night's sleep every night.

Julia's first beach trip.

This is where Julia and Ellie spent most of their time.

We match.

What could they be up to?

A few more random pictures:

Hiatus

I've been on a bit of a hiatus - from my computer anyway. Some really good friends of ours invited us to vacation with them at the beach. So that's where we were last week. We can never pass up an opportunity to go to the beach! After getting settled from being gone a few days, I wanted to get back to my computer and catch up on pictures and other things. Unfortunately it started having problems (and that's as technical as I can be!). I'm back on today, but my time is already spoken for by other important things that mainly involve the two small ones that live here. So when I have more time later this week I'll try to post some pictures of our trip as well as an update on Brian's project.

Brian's latest project

Brian is in the process of building a bed for Claxton. One in which Claxton is very excited about. It's a work in progress. Here's what he's been able to do so far:

Think you know what it is?

Remember her awkward sleeping positions

We are blessed yet again with a great little sleeper. Any time, any where. She slept like this for about an hour or so.

Which one does not belong?

Finger licking good

Julia sucks her fingers. My sweet little Julia is not going to become a finger sucker, she already is. And I kid you not, she can be heard across the room, "smack, smack, smack" louder than you could ever imagine coming from a 12-pounder. It's kind of funny now, but I'm already worried about how we are going to break the habit.

Undivided attention

We took Julia with us this past weekend. She's a little too young for me to leave just yet. And for the first time she got our undivided attention. And the attention of all the staff and other guests as well. I think she had a good time!

Relaxing out by the pool

Checking out the beautiful gardens

We stopped by to say hello to the animals

Missing an appendage

I always thought if I ever had children it would not be difficult for me to be away from them for a few days here and there. But I was wrong. It's much harder than I could have ever anticipated. Albeit we certainly leave them with people we love and completely trust. It's still hard. This weekend I felt like I was missing an appendage. Something was absent the whole time we were away. He came up in our conversations at least a thousand times. We have already become one of those couples that talk about our children when they are away from us. Even though the time away was supposed to be for us. This too is something I thought would not happen to me. So, yes, we called a couple of times to check on him and to make sure everything was going well. Okay, the truth is, so that mommy (and daddy too I might add) could have peace of mind. Just two short days and we missed him terribly. All the while he was having the time of his life!

Anniversary weekend

Five years ago I married the man of my dreams. Each year we go back to the place where we were married to celebrate. We book "our" room, it's the only one we will ever stay in. It's a quaint bed and breakfast with beautiful gardens and fountain, a place where time stands still. We have agreed that it is really the only place we look forward to going to where there's really not much to do, and yet we enjoy ourselves, immensely, year after year. For us, it's a great memory. A time for relaxation and rejuvenation. A time to reflect on where we've been and a time to plan and dream about where this journey will take us. It's good for us. It's good for our marriage. Each and every year I'm reminded that in our '60-year contract' I failed to read the fine print. One of us has renewal options. One of us doesn't. Five down, fifty-five to go!! And by the way, he's still the man of my dreams.

Tummy time

She doesn't get as much tummy time as I would like. We try as often as we can, but another little somebody appears from out of nowhere every single time I put Julia down on her play mat. Nothing new. Every parent has experienced it. We sneak a few minutes here and there before she gets noticed.

Busted! She only got a few minutes of peace before somebody had to come check out what she was up to...


Another teaching opportunity for Claxton. Might as well teach her a few things if she's going to be down on his level. First lesson in transportation. Yes, he showed her every piece and told her what it was...and she listened intently!

Fifteen weeks old

She's laughing and starting to "talk" to us often. For weeks now she's been smiling on a regular basis. Thankfully her reflux problems seem to be going away. It's been almost a week now since we've had to give her any medicine. She's happy as long as the reflux is not bothering her so hopefully she has about outgrown that issue. I took this picture this morning. Her dad wore this outfit when he was a wee one.

Blue icing

We went to Jordan's birthday party yesterday (Claxton's cousin). All the kids had tons of fun exerting their energy over at Pump it Up, one of the inflatable bounce places. When the bouncing ended the food was served right along with a very cool Pirates of the Caribbean birthday cake. Claxton was fortunate enough to get a piece with lots of blue icing, which by the way, showed up a second time earlier today...

Activities of the week

There are advantages to Brian working from home these days. It gives us the opportunity to go out in the middle of the week and do some fun things as a family rather than on the weekends when ten billion other people are out too. So this week we made several trips to the pool. Claxton is doing very well and not afraid of the water at all. If anything he and his dad make me a little too nervous. It's really not good for my health, but I try very hard to refrain from saying anything. I'm learning that boys will be boys at all ages and stages of life! We didn't take the camera so I'll have to post pool pictures sometime later.
We also had a family fun day this week over at American Adventures. All of the rides are specifically for younger children, but adults can ride too. We spent about two hours there and Claxton was able to ride everything he wanted two or three times. This was his first time on a real roller coaster. He's so much braver than his mom. I was 21 or so when I finally had the courage to get on one. And I had white knuckles too. Like father, like son fearless, hands in the air and the whole bit. The trip was a success, we'll definitely be going back.

Working on getting his pilot's license

Flying Dragon

Julia had a good time just being outside and checking everything out.

I thought he was a little too young to ride this one especially since he had to ride by himself. I made sure the operator would stop it if he started crying. See the smile, I was wrong. When it stopped, we heard "again, again!"

...and here they are.

(click on picture for larger view)

She looks so peaceful

I don't know how she does it. Yet she can sleep for hours on end in what appears to be some of the most uncomfortable positions. Sometimes I think I should move her in an attempt to make her more comfortable, but you know, you should never wake a sleeping baby.

Oh Happy Father's Day, Daddy

Someone's not really interested in taking pictures these days. Can you guess who that would be? This person was very interested in wishing Brian a happy Father's Day over and over.

Sandbox fun

I watch him play and still can't believe he's two already. He is curious about everything. Often times it is about things that are not in his best interest to be bothering, I mean exploring. Today we were on the deck and I was sitting at the picnic table with plans to get some long overdue paperwork done. I had expected that being outside and playing in the sandbox would keep the little man busy for quite a while. Silly me. He was far more concerned about what I had going on at the table. It was not fun stuff mind you. I was sorting some mail, writing some notes, paying bills, etc. Before it was over he successfully managed to get sand all all over my things. Just slightly irritating. I kept telling him to go play in the sandbox, but he was certain that what I had going on was more interesting. I finally made him go back over to the box and play. And he did. But it was only a minute or so before I looked up and saw him standing in the sand table twirling the umbrella. I fully expected to see an eyeball rolling around on the deck. I really just didn't think of the umbrella being more fun than the sand and trucks. Go figure. At least I know he's a normal kid.

Enjoying these precious moments

These are sweet times for me. I would like to think they will always be this kind and gentle with each other...I'll take it while I can get it.