Hotter than the surface of the sun....

Jude had his final baseball game of the season tonight (it was a makeup game) at Diley Middle School....The fields are at the top of what seems to be an innocently inclined hill....I swear the small hill put us inches from the sun, or perhaps on it.  It was so hot that Lucy and I ended up in the car with the air on watching a movie....The only bonus to playing at Diley is that they have a playground.  The only drawback of this playground is that it is designed for middle schoolers.  Not much for Lucy to do.  Quinn had fun though.  And Jude did flipping awesome during the parts of the game I was watching.  Not so awesome when Travis was watching ;)  All in all though I am a mix of being a shade darker and a tad more burnt.  Not sure which really, I guess only time will tell.  He got his trophy tonight though and then we hit up DQ on the way home.  So it was worth feeling like I was literally melting for about an hour.

A marching band was rehearsing too while we were watching the game.  Once Lucy and I had retreated to the car I started to people watch the band members.  I have decided my children will never be in marching band.  While I have no "this one time, at band camp" stories, it was quite obvious to me that many members of marching band do.  That, coupled with "Secret Life of the American Teenager" has prompted me to come to this decision.  This decision and the other decision of becoming Amish :)  I would like to keep my children locked up for about the next 20 years or so.....50, 60, who knows :)  Anyway, for real, band camp is not an option.

Check out my monkey...don't mind the glimpse of his boxers...four year olds don't care if their pants are tied :)

And the ever popular Lucy featured once again in a dress of mine from when I was her age....

Second to last baseball game of the season....

And Lucy finally knows how to behave :)  I was seriously not looking forward to going tonight (sad, I know) because Lucy is usually so clingy, whiny, and impossibly uninterested that I just end up walking around with her instead of watching the game.  But tonight she appeared to have fun.  She even cheered Jude on a couple of times.  And Jude did great, like always.  Even though he was hit once in the helmet and once in the hand while at bat (stupid coach pitch, no guarantee the volunteer coaches can pitch to four feet tall kids...I know I couldn't!).  I was also extremely camera happy tonight.  It was fun.  So, enjoy my pics!!!

I'm still here!!!

So, I actually took some real pictures today.  I'm going for overkill here since I haven't blogged for a good bit.  I am working from home this week because my mother-in-law is out of town and I am down a sitter.....This would be a bad thing but I love it!  The boys are in summer playground but they're still here half day and having only Lucy in the morning is kind of nice.  She seems much more manageable when they aren't all feeding off of each other :)

Anyway, I feel bad about the slacking on my end with my "photo a day" thing, but this has been a busy summer so far....we've had baseball, swimming, a garage sale....the boys and I went to see Cars 2 last Friday.  It was a good movie.  But I think I still like the first one better.  Jude's last baseball game is Thursday and Quinn's was last Saturday.  I can't say that I'm sad the season is ending.  I love watching them play, and grow and learn, but baseball is sort of boring.  Why do the boys not want to play soccer?  In less than a year I will be forcing Lucy into gymnastics and ballet :)  I can't wait :)  I think she'll enjoy it too, so that's a bonus.  Quinn really wants to play football in the fall but I think for his age it's flag football.  Call me crazy but I don't think Quinn could handle that.  He's a full contact kind of kid.  So he'll just have to wait a couple of years :)

So....enjoy the pics!!!!

This is my hens and chicks (chicks and hens?)....apparently, it's "blooming".  I didn't know it did this and to be quite honest it looks a little phallic and makes me a little uncomfortable.  I thought it was just a very low lying cacti sort of plant.  Who knew?

Our strawberry plants are doing great as well.  Lucy loves going to our side bed, picking a "bury" and walking around showing it off before finally eating it.  And she is so smart, she only eats the berry, and then gives me or Travis the top green part and stem.  Smart girl :)

The rest of these are of Lucy...I was home all morning with her.  When the boys got home they all ate lunch then all took a nap.  Sue me.  After that we spent time outside, weeding, riding bikes, running, etc...then baths and bed :)  I like to enjoy my time.  Maybe tomorrow I'll take my camera to Jude's baseball game and get some action shots :)

Happy Father's Day!!!

I know I said it yesterday - but Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there!  The kids gave Travis his Christmas wrapped father's day gift this morning and I think he really liked it, especially when the boys yelled "Merry Christmas!" at him....Guess that's what he gets for making fun of the snowman t-shirt I wore Friday :)  It's a t-shirt and I feel that makes it acceptable attire for any time of year :)  Thanks go out to Chris for knowing where she keeps her seasonal wrapping paper, unlike myself :)

Anyway, today was a full day and tomorrow is Monday, yet again....viscous cycle.  I took many pics today but my faves are of Lucy coloring this evening.  She kept asking me to take one more pic of her :)  I don't think there is any baby girl in the world cuter than Lucy....I'm a little biased though!  Okay, maybe a lot!

 

Tyler - the kid....

We live in one of the best neighborhoods in the world...in my humble opinion :)  Not only do we have some of the best neighbors ever, but the neighborhood kids are great.  One perfect example of this is Tyler - the kid.  The boys love him, idolize him even.  And he really is a great kid.  He came over tonight to play with the boys and stayed for dinner and dessert  :)  Lucy loves him too.  She gets so excited when she sees him she screams his name and practically vibrates, just like she does with her brothers :)  Maybe she thinks he is her brother?  Who knows, but it's adorable, especially because she calls him Hyler :)

Tomorrow is Sunday and Fathers Day - make it a memorable day!  Happy Father's Day to my husband!  I couldn't ask for a better father for my children :)  And Happy Father's Day to my own father and my father in law!  You are both wonderful people who make such a difference in our lives!!  And Happy Father's Day to all the other wonderful dads out there that I have the privilege to know and call friends :)

I feel like such a slacker....

June 9th.  June 9th is the last day I posted a blog.  I am such a slacker....I have lost momentum.  But here's a pic I took tonight at dusk in the rain.  A little back story on this flower, I am a very symmetric person.  To a fault.  And yet, for some reason, one side of my bed has about 6 of these (whatever they are) about 12 inches tall in a cluster while the other side has one single four inch tall bloom.  What?!  I have to split them in the fall, I can't handle the uprising.

Happy weekend everyone!

Fun in the sun!

Okay...so this is a double post - or something....since I already loaded these pics to facebook earlier today.  But I was thinking that I may have readers outside of facebook.  Who knows :)

Today the kids and I went to the pool.  Me, three kids, and, well, me.  It was fun.  But I was so full of anxiety by the end of hour two that we came home.  Jude can "sort of" swim, Quinn can stand on his own, and Lucy is oblivious to the dangers present when at a pool.  So the boys did really well with staying close to me. Lucy, on the other hand, wanted to walk the wall, climb up and down the pool stairs, jump in to me repeatedly (causing my biceps to definitely get a workout), etc, etc, etc....I really need to find someone that does private swim lessons in the evening for the boys.  Working full time only allows us to sign them up for 1x/week lessons for 8 weeks.  We have done this and it is a waste of time and money (in my opinion!)....so I really need to find nightly swim lessons for both boys at the same time for 2-4 weeks straight.  So I can relax a smidge at the pool :)

Anyway, here are my Solar Babies (anyone know this?! bonus points if you have heard of or seen this without googling :)).....They are cell pics again, sue me :)  **  Jude and Lucy look hilarious in their pics...it was bright out!!  And I was taking the pics blind :)

On a slightly related note, I hate that tomorrow is my last day of vacation.  I would rather be home every day, even if every day was "one of those days" than have the best day ever at work.  As I type this Quinn is whining about it being bedtime ;)  But I wouldn't trade it!!!!  Love them more than life itself!!!  Night all!!!

Jude's last day of first grade....

Today was Jude's last day of first grade.  He was so cute and wanted to take something to a few of his teachers :)  So we baked cookies and he made them little cards.  I was really impressed with how thoughtful he was with what he wrote them too.  Each one got a different message from him.

Anyway, I took a pic of him getting off the bus on his last day since we do before school on the first day :)  So below is Jude's first and last day of first grade :)  My "baby" is growing up....Quinn told me yesterday in nine more years Jude will be driving.  This seems like an eternity, but the first seven have flown by!  Too bad I'm not sure that I'll be ready to let Jude have that freedom!!

Just for giggles I've thrown in his first day of Kindergarten as well :)

Kindergarten (first day)

First grade (first day)

First grade (last day)

Monkey see - Monkey do....

Quinn wants to be just like Jude; Lucy wants to be just like Quinn; and Jude goes back and forth between wanting to be like me and Travis - and wanting to be like Lucy!  As for me, I want to be just like a wealthy person who can stay home with her kids :)  I would even take a not so wealthy but comfortable person who can stay home with her kids....sacrifices :)  I am loving vacation this week though!   :)  Live it up while I can :)

Happy Birthday Lucy!!!!

Today my last baby turned two years old.  I think she is officially considered a toddler now, right?  So I am fresh out of babies....sad!!!  But I love my kids and love getting to see them grow, learn, and turn into people right before my eyes.  Lucy is already so much older than I think she should be, intellectually and physically.  She makes her own decisions when appropriate, and sometimes even when it's not :)  She tries her best to keep up with the boys, which she actually manages to do quite well...She is also mostly polite, a little demanding, but usually grateful.  She is always entertaining, being that she ignores any conventional rules we lay out for her (don't color on yourself, don't color on the furniture, etc, etc, etc.  She even likes to go down the stairs by herself which about gives me a coronary!)...

Anyway...onto memory lane :)

This is my all time favorite pic of Lucy, all squishy and fresh to the world, curled up and trusting...almost bald :)

Lucy at age 1...still almost bald....if only I could get her to sit still for the camera these days :)

Lucy on our photo shoot today at Sycamore Creek Park :)  She picked out her own princess dress to wear today (that's what she calls it)...too bad I am way to lazy to iron - these would've been so much better!!!  And it was fun but she is so uncooperative these days!!  I need to take all the kids out and update our wall though :) 

And then just a few pics from her cake time tonight :)  

Warrior Dash fun :) (pic heavy)

Today was awesome.  Travis and I ran the Warrior Dash.  For those of you who don't know what this is, it's a 5k on crack.  No really, it's a 5k with obstacles...like a cargo wall, a wall of fire, a mud pit with barbed wire, and a really dark, painful "tunnel" just to name a few.  I asked Travis to do this with me for my birthday and for some reason he agreed.  We woke up at 6am to drive to Logan, Ohio to run this race.  Too bad we had horrible thunderstorms come through last night so we got about five hours of sleep :)  Oh well :)  We survived.  Funny thing though, I run almost every day, I consider myself to be in pretty good shape, I even put myself through the torture of "hills" occassionally by running Diley Rd by my house.  This road is deceptively flat when you're driving it.  It rolls when you run it though.  No amount of hill training that I would ever subject myself to could ever have prepared me for today.  "One" of the obstacles was called Hell Hill.  I hate hills and this obstacle was the one that I feared the most.  It basically is the incline of all inclines and then you run to get the next obstacle, right?  Wrong.  The whole course was Hell Hill with obstacles grouped together throughout.  Add to one gigantic perpetual hill the storms that came through last night and it was a hill covered in foot deep mud.  There were times that I thought I may lose a shoe.  This race was flipping AWESOME.  Even for as sore and tired as I am right now (I hate hills) I am seriously glad Travis and I ran this race.  And I have to say, I am so impressed with Travis.  He barely trained and we finished in 46 minutes.  No, we were nowhere near the fastest, but we also weren't the slowest.  AND we ran with the same "group" the whole time who were easily 10 years younger.  And Travis kept up with me, someone that runs almost daily....maybe I need to step up my training?  :) :) :)  

I also got to see my old college roommate today for a minute :)  Dusty!!!  We definitely need an Akron reunion :)  It was great to see her and her husband!!!  I hope they enjoyed the race as much as we did :)

Onto the pics...today is not about my photography abilities, it is about documenting a moment in time, with a cell phone :)  No WAY was I taking my nice camera to a mud pit!!

1. Travis and I pre-race.  This was taken pretty much when we arrived, by me :)

2. Second to last obstacle, the wall of fire.  To me this didn't look nearly as scary from the sidelines.  But it was definitely a taller flame than I had anticipated!  We had to hurdle two walls of fire before diving into a mud bath and crawling army style under (actual) barbed wire to finish the race!  I took this pic pre-race :)

3. Travis; pre-race, clean, and fully clothed :)

4. Anne; pre-race, clean, and fully clothed - Travis took this pic :)

5. Travis and Anne; post-race and post warrior wash off - why then are we still covered in mud?!?!  Because it was worse before the wash off - but our cell phones were checked with our bag at the gear check :)

6. Anne; post-race; taken by Travis.  We both threw out our shirts (don't worry, they were old shirts, we planned ahead) and Travis actually tossed his shorts when we got home!  I run in mine regularly so I am hoping they're salvageable.

7. The shoe pile.  After the race Warriors are invited to donate their disgusting shoes.  Thank you, I think I will :)  Travis ran in his old lawn shoes and I saved my old broke-down running shoes specifically for this race :)

7. Warrior Princess Lucy.  Need I say more???

And a BIG red THANK YOU to Carol, Justin, Connor, and Jarod for watching our kids overnight and today!!!  We appreciate it!!!!

Tomorrow is another great blog post - so wait with bated breath!!

Pucker up!!

The pic you've all been waiting for :)  Lucy put on her own make-up today.  She would really make the perfect real life baby for those darn Mirena commercials.




Watch your kids people!  All it takes is turning around for 0.25 seconds while you think they are contentedly coloring on a piece of paper at the kitchen table for this to happen!!!

Stay tuned for a few great blog posts this week - I promise not to disappoint!!!  :)  I hope you all are having a great weekend :)  I am on vacation this week with my wonderful kids so I am having the time of my life!!!!  Happy Saturday night everyone!!!