Work Wanted

Hannah has been asking me for ideas of ways she can earn money.  I cracked up when I found these signs hanging on her bedroom door.  Too bad she didn't post them before all of our company came through.

Cousins

Crystal, Brandon and the kids came to visit this past week.  We had a wonderful time visiting, exploring and laughing at the kids' antics.  They all get along as if they have been together on a regular basis their entire lives.

We had dinner waiting when they arrived on their first night and since that day happened to be Father's Day, we had a cookie cake to honor the two dads.

 

Aaron and Darian are two peas in a pod.  Their mannerisms and personalities are eerily similar.  We recreated one of our favorite pictures of the two of them.  The one on top is probably about eleven years ago.  They were good sports and played along long enough for us to snap the recreation.

We also recreated this picture that had all the kids except Gabey.  I was surprised that they were all very cooperative and even had fun with it.  Rachel helped pull clothes out of the closets to find something similar to what the kids were wearing in the original photo.  I happened to have overalls from Halloween for Amaya to wear.  They sure do fill a couch now.

 

A while ago Gabriel posted a picture of a bridge in Louisville that he thought was really cool.  When I saw it, I knew they needed to see the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

 



 

 

I'm open to any excuse to go to the beach and having company here is a perfect reason.

The beach was a new experience for Crystal's kids, but once they warmed up to it they all loved it.  The first time Gabriel got knocked down by a wave and sucked in a little salt water I think he thought he was going to die, but he rallied.  We almost lost Brandon out to sea, but with some encouragement he managed to make it to shore before the lifeguard had to dive in.  Ha!  Crystal bought me my very own caramel corn when we stopped for beach souvenirs.

 

 

Even though Gabriel told me he didn't want to learn anything while he was on vacation, we walked around historic Yorktown, 

We went on a dolphin tour and saw tons of dolphins. 

Gabey was declaring it fun before we even left the dock.

 

Crystal and I took three of the kids to Fort Monroe.  I think it is a really interesting place.  My kids have been there several times and are less than thrilled.  We also walked along the beach after touring the museum so they could collect some shells.

 

We thought it was funny that the doorways in the fort were tall enough for me to walk right under, but everyone else had to watch their heads.  Gabey could still get by, but he will catch up with his siblings soon enough.

The very first morning the boys started the day with a Nerf battle that really continued throughout the entire week.

The rest of us started off with breakfast.  Alexis was very proud of herself for figuring out how to make her own fruit and yogurt parfait.

Someone, I think Crystal blamed me, thought it would be a great idea to have all the kids play a game of Apples to Apples.  They had fun, but it got a bit long.

They also spent some time playing the wii,

riding bikes and playing at the park.
 

Crystal and I joked that the kids were like locusts when it was time to eat.  We would have food set out on the counter and they would swarm and devour.  We later decided that calling them piranhas was a more accurate description.

This is what it looks like when a gazillion kids are in and out of the house. 

The shoe mess got to Brandon one day and he matched all the shoes and lined them up.  That lasted until our next outing.  Ha!

One important moment we should not forget is Crystal's introduction to my favorite movie, A Few Good Men.  I'm not sure if she enjoyed as much as I do, but she was a good sport and played along.

As all good things do, this visit had to come to an end.  I fed them one more time and then they were off.  I think this is a cute picture of Darian wearing his backpack and eating at the same time just before getting in the car.

It was nice to spend time with them.  When we are in Evansville, our visit is often cut short due to trying to work in visits with everyone else.  We will most likely be back in Georgia before their next visit, but we are already planning fun things to do.

Mamaw's Visit

My mom flew out all by herself for a visit.  She prefers to drive and have someone come with her, but coming alone worked out well.

 

She made it in town on Saturday afternoon just in time to join us for Aaron's birthday party.  He decided he wanted to have a couple friends over and have a water gun fight.  We invited Doug, Shannon and the girls to join us for pizza.  Brian and Cynthia happened to be in town, so they were able to join in the festivities as well.  Aaron's actual birthday was on Tuesday, so Mom went with us to see the new Avengers movie.  Aaron chose Golden Corral for his birthday dinner.  It isn't my favorite place, but it was his birthday.

 

Mom wanted to take the kids shopping, so we went to the mall one day.  The kids scored some clothes courtesy of Mamaw Annie.

Hannah and I took her to the beach one day where we saw tons of dolphins playing in the surf.  I usually see dolphins when we go to the beach, but not as many or as close up as they were that day. 

We decided to try out a dolphin tour.  It was amazing and we will be taking future company on the tour.

 

While we were on the boat, Mom said she didn't have a profile picture on Facebook, so Rachel took a picture and made it Mom's Facebook profile picture for her.

 

After the tour, we had lunch at Waterman's.  We had not been there before and really enjoyed it.  We had water view seats and actually saw more dolphins playing in the water.  

Mom wanted to walk around and take the kids into some souvenir shops.  

 

Rachel chose a shirt and Hannah found a dolphin wind chime.  Aaron's souvenir was not what we had planned.  He scored two hermit crabs.  The pets in this house now out number the kids.

Last Day of School

We finally made it to summer vacation!  Today was the last official day.  Hannah and I finished school just over a week ago and Rachel only had to go two days this week due to exams.  Aaron was the only one who had to power through.  He is now a high schooler. 

Aaron, Hannah and I went to Ben and Jerry's for our traditional last day of school ice cream celebration.  Rachel chose to go out to lunch with a friend.  Her loss because it was yummy!

 

We are ready to jump into our busy summer.  We have company coming several different weeks and will be doing a little traveling.  

The Crazy Uncle Brought His Wife

It is no secret how much we loved our church in Georgia.  The people there became like family to us. 
One day in our Sunday School class at Mountain View, I made the comment that church family is just like real family.  There are people you love to see at the family reunion, but there is always that one crazy family member.  Without missing a beat, Cheri said, "Is Jim the crazy uncle?"  Ha!  Well, that title stuck and I jokingly call him the crazy uncle.  He owns it!!

So many people at the church were quick to welcome us into the church family and offer a hand in shepherding my kids.  Jim and Cheri were definitely in that group.  Cheri welcomed us into classes right away.  Not long after we started attending Mountain View, Jim was setting up for an outdoor picnic at the church and needed help.  I noticed him tell Aaron to come with him.  Jim turned to me and said, "I'm taking him."  That was the moment that I knew we had found our church home.  Jim was taking Aaron under his wing just as he had so many other kids in the church.  It has been almost two years since we left Georgia and we still miss our church home.

I was thrilled when Cheri asked if they could stop by for a visit on their way through town.  Holly took to Mr. Jim immediately.  She even tried to give him her denta-bone.  She hides those from us!!  We walked down to the neighborhood playground where Hannah spotted a pair of bald eagles.  Jim took some great pictures which I don't have.  We came home and had dinner and visited until it was time to take Aaron to Boy Scouts.  It feels good to know that our Georgia family thinks about us and misses us enough to stop by for a hug and a hello.

Elmo travels everywhere with Jim and Cheri.  We were of course happy to see him, too!  The kids still have a couple days of school left, but having Jim, Cheri and Elmo stop by was a fabulous way to kick off our summer!

No Longer a Junior

Hannah finished up her sixth year of Girl Scouts by bridging from Juniors to Cadettes. 

Ms. Mary helping her out of her Junior vest

 





 

Ms. Becky helping her into her Cadette vest

 



 

Hannah is third from the left in the green shirt



Lather Up

Aaron has had a bit of a mustache for a while.  He has mentioned learning how to shave a couple times, but I didn't force the issue because it is one of those things that means he is growing up and I'm really trying to discourage the kids in this house from growing up so quickly.

 

Alas, the time came and P.K. took the time to teach Aaron how it is done.  Neither of them was thrilled to have me taking pictures of the moment, but I'm sure they will look back one day and be very glad that I caught that father and son moment.