Boys Party.

Our wild week ended with a bang as we celebrated Caleb and Joshua's 2nd Birthday.  We invited everybody over for an afternoon cookout.  But first, Ben had to wash his truck.  I realized early Saturday morning that it was driving him crazy that his truck was sitting there, dirty.  I gave him 30 minutes ALONE, just him and his truck, to bond.  You might be wondering if 30 minutes was enough to wash his truck and my van.  No.  Guess which didn't get washed.  And yes, it took him more than his allotted time limit.  Back to the story.  We had a race car theme since the boys seem so drawn to cars and trucks.  I made the cakes.  They were race tracks with 2 little hot wheels racing around each.  Yes Dad they were giant eights, figure eights, and no, the little white candies were the lines in the road, not the cars.  The cars were the cars.  We had hotdogs, hamburgers and all the fixings, opened presents and ate cake.  It looked like Christmas with all the gifts, but they still fight over everything.  You'd think there would be plenty to play with . . . who was it that said they would share?  So our family has officially entered the terrible twos times two.  Pray for us.  Soon it will be potty training times two!

CRAZY week.

Our crazy week continues as it is Vacation Bible School for our church.  I am teaching 3rd grade which is Hayden's class.   We have 30 in our group and the majority is boys.  You would think this could lead to a very wild class, but they are a great group.  They play hard at recreation time and listen well during Bible study.  I need to note here that even though I am an old lady with 4 kids, I can still smoke 9 year olds in a running race!  Go me!  We also had one incident where a kid in my class got hurt at recreation yesterday.  I had left the kids at the rec. field to go put my bag in the Bible study room.  On my way, I ran into a girl in our class that was running late.  I took her to join the rest of the class.  As I approached the field, I noticed a boy laying in the field with 3 youth "leaders" hovering over him.  I started trotting towards them and asked," Is he hurt?"  Yes.  I picked him up and saw that he was sobbing and had chipped his front tooth.  We got him over to the VBS nurse and ride for the week.  His Mom came and took him to the dentist and he was able to return today.  I'm just thankful I came back to the field and found him or he could possibly still be laying there today with the 3 youth still looking at him!  

I have prayed for this group many times before this week.  I really felt that I needed to concentrate on the lessons instead of the "fluff" that sometimes goes along with it.  I think we have several that are searching for the answers and don't really have guidance at home to help them find what they are looking for.  I pray that Capshaw will keep contact with these kids and their families.  

I've had a good time so far at VBS and hope that next year I won't get in trouble with the other workers like I have this year.   Who knew that sitting with my class makes a bigger impression on them than standing beside them?  Can we say "chill out?"  I think my kids had a good time and I may have found a potential babysitter for the boys.  A young girl that helped in their class has fallen in love with them and she really impresses me each day I pick up the boys.  She is so calm and organized . . . unlike some of the adults in the room.

Tokyo . . . again.

We have a family tradition that on your Birthday, you pick where we all go eat to celebrate.  Hayden loves Tokyo.  We have been there(or similar restaurant) for the past 4 years.  It is the kind of place that cooks in front of you, with some knife slinging and humor.  Thanks family for "enjoying" the celebration one more time at Tokyo.  I wish the boys had liked it more . . . I'm guessing  in coming years, when fire is one of the joys of boyhood, they will like it a whole lot.  Right now, not so much.  Hayden had a great time and it is fun to see her excitement each year.  I know some of you may have had some digestion issues after dinner, but again I say thanks and when it is your Birthday, you can pick where ever your little heart desires!

Proof he was with us . . .

The elk river will never be the same.

Ben has been wanting to take the kids outside away from TV, Nintendo DS, toys, etc.  He suggested canoeing and that's just what he got for Father's Day.  I planned a "little" 2 mile trip down the Elk River.  Let me add that I organized this trip, which is close to Fayetteville, around picking up his truck on our way home.   I'm all for a party.  The more the merrier.   I decided to invite my father(remember the Big Nasty) and my sister(Robin - you probably recall her being mentioned in previous stories) and her family.  I arrange for 4 canoes at 9AM Saturday morning.  The canoe rental place is about 1 hour 10 minutes from our house - 40 minutes from Dad's house.  In other words, we need to leave by 7:30AM(to include a stop at McDonald's) to be on the road from Dad's house by 8:15.  Not really early for us, but definitely early for Dad on a Saturday.  When we pick up Dad, he is on his porch waiting with a roll of paper towels to take.  He's travelled with us before!  We finally arrive at the Elk River Canoe Rental with about 5 minutes to spare.  I must admit I was getting a little concerned that our driver and co-pilot weren't going to get us there since they were talking so much and we didn't have Dad's GPS with us.  Let me give you the sights and smells of this place.  We park in this big once a pasture kind of place along with several other people. My father pops out and begins his smoking regimen.   I don't see a building.  There are big white no seat belt type vans with trailers of canoes.  I still don't see a building.  There are a couple of big dirty dogs laying around(my kids plus Erin pet them all).  Where is the building?  Someone that seems like he might be in charge is giving the weather forecast to include rain and hail to arrive at noon.  The man disappears, I'm guessing to the building and the other group decides to camp today and paddle 6 miles tomorrow, instead of 7 today, 7 tomorrow.  Aren't we possibly going to get wet anyway?  Bring on the canoes.  Ben and Stephen start filling out papers which I'm hoping were some kind of safety for the family papers.  They disappear(building?)and finally reappear with life jackets.  Robin takes the older kids to the bathroom.  I don't think mine really go because they are so mortified by the spiders and webs and the possibility that something could come up out of the toilet and bite them.  They aren't used to the outdoors and  becoming one with nature.    We load up in the big white vans and head to our point of entry.   Once there we all prepare ourselves, which includes a final cigarette and the fitting of life jackets.  Erin, Hayden and Spencer get loaded first.  Next is Ally, Owen and Dad.  Dad is steering.(is that what you call it in a canoe?).  I'm up next - Ben first, then the boys, then me.   Robin, John and Stephen are last.  Did I mention there were signs all over the place about this being a "STRESS-FREE" zone?  Somebody should have told Caleb about the signs.  He screamed the first 5 minutes.  Once we were on our way, everybody started relaxing and enjoying the scenery.  Words cannot describe the laughter I felt when boat #2(Dad,Ally,Owen) needed to have a position change.  Owen and Ally were trading places so Ally could have a chance to paddle.  She had been sitting down in the middle of the canoe while Owen and Dad paddled.  She was anxious to get in on the action.  The kids did a great job staying low and moving slowly.  I really thought(and Dad did too) they were toast - but they kept it slow and steady.  After a little while, Joshua started getting a little too into the canoe thing and wanted to paddle - by himself and standing up.  Ben was in charge of Caleb and I got Joshua.  We fought over the paddle for a while and then decided that Boat #2 needed it.  Especially after Dad had given Ally and Owen control over the canoe and they ran up onto a branch of a tree.  He was trying to get in a couple of smokes even though we told him Smokey the Bear was watching.  The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful except for Robin and her parasol and the big kids stopping so Spencer could take a potty break.  We "landed" and some of the kids jumped in the water even though it was extremely cold.  Once back at the cars we had a little snack and changed our clothes.  We loaded up and headed out to find lunch with Robin and Stephen in the lead.  They picked Sonic.  I like Sonic.  Ben likes Sonic.  The kids like Sonic.  Dad doesn't really have a "happy" expression on his face but decides to try it.  Yes, my Father has never had Sonic.  I think it would have been a better experience for him if we had stopped him from going into the bathrooms.  You had to walk through the kitchen to get to them.   I'm pretty sure grease is the main ingredient in most items at Sonic.  We eat, visit, Dad declares Sonic an "Ed-Free" zone and we load up to leave.  We stop in Fayetteville to pick up the truck, drop Dad off in Hazel Green and return to Madison.

I hope this was the "family, outdoor, stress-free" Father's day present everybody wanted.  I think I'll stick with the Mommy Spa for Mother's day, but I would love to go canoeing on another day!

Just so you know . . .

We tried our luck at Chick-fil-a again today and nobody required stitches.  Yeah for us.  I did call Robin on our way to let her know she needed to get showered and dressed just in case.  Thank goodness we played without injury (which is a major feat with 4 kids running and chasing each other) and were able to go on to Publix for groceries.  Three orders of chicken minis, 3 orders of hashbrowns, 1 burrito, 4 cokes, 4 cookies and 1 balloon( started with 4, lost one in the store, 1 in the parking lot and 1 popped on the way home) later, we are safe and sound at home. . . I hope.

Don't mess with us.

Surprise . . .

We had a surprise Spa Birthday party for Hayden today.  There were six girls including Hayden and Ally.  After changing into their spa cover up, we treated them to a chocolate face mask complete with cucumbers on their eyes.  I tried to get them to relax and enjoy the moment, however, I'm not sure 9 year olds can appreciate the chance to relax like a 36 mother of 4 can.  I must say that if I had Hannah Montana playing in the background I might not be able to relax either.  So after Robin "hosed" the girls off, we started 2 in foot baths and 2 at the manicure tables.  Nanny helped 2 girls make bath salts and Nina was crowd control.  Robin and I sat down to do nails.  We  let the girls choose from polish, fake nails, stickers or any combination.  The first 2 (Abbey and Hayden) chose fake nails with a couple of stickers.  No big deal.  So I'm trying to keep everybody "moving" along and get up to empty the foot baths, massage their feet and put their socks on.  I'm not big on feet, but try to keep the gag reflex under control.  We clean the buckets and refill them so the next 2 can soak.  Meanwhile, Robin has started on the next manicure and I get back to my seat as well.  Nanny has finished up the craft and takes over crowd control while Nina gets ready to make pizzas.   

Did I mention Ally was at my nail station?  She started at Robin's but didn't feel she had the right qualifications based on a brief interview so she moved over to my station.  For those of you who might not be aware, I keep my nails cut to the nub.  I get Ally taken care of with fake nails and various colors, in a pattern though, and she seems somewhat content. I start on the next girl, because Nina(who also isn't the fondest of feet) takes over the foot massages.  Ally pops back up at the manicure table.  One of her "blues" is falling off.  She tries to gently press it back on and, of course, smears the polish.  She wants me to push it on and paint over the smear.  After several layers of blue paint the nail succumbs to the weight and falls off never to return to the nail.  I tell her we will fix it later.  Just so you know, when "later" came, she had plucked off all the nails because they were bothering her.  

All the girls are massaged and manicured and have designed their pizzas.  Into the oven they go and up to the playroom the girls go.  We get the plates ready and the girls eat their lunch.  We chase it down with Chocolate Avalanche Cake and Hayden opens her presents.  The parents arrive and the girls go.  Nina, Robin and Nanny clean up the kitchen for me, thanks guys, and we hang out talking until Ben calls that he is returning with the boys.  For some reason, everybody leaves.  

When Ben gets home, the boys are asleep.  They went to do a lot of big boy stuff and were exhausted.  I took the opportunity to rest myself.  My sweet Hayden made me a bag of specially designed bath salts and wrote me a very sweet thank you while I was asleep.  I hang on to stuff like this so I can look at it  when she and I aren't seeing eye to eye.  Overall it was a fun birthday and I think Hayden really liked it.

The newest family member

A picture of her, first thing this morning.  Thank you Ben for reminding me I needed to take and post pictures!!  I was allowed to back it up about 10 feet to get this shot.  Go me!

The boys really like the truck.  Do you see the smudge of peanut butter on Joshua's face?  Don't feel bad for Ben, it was still on his face when I removed him from the vehicle.  The truck is still "sparkling" clean inside and out.

Yeah, he'll probably get to drive it before me.  

A truck funny.

Ben went the gym early this morning then went to work.  He forgot his belt. The kids and I, on our way to the pool, delivered the missing article of clothing and lunch.  I thought it would be interesting to see where "IT" is parked.  I think we can cancel his membership at the gym.  You guessed it, back of the lot, next to another big truck with enough room for both to enter and exit with doors wide open, slightly under a tree but not too under to the tree to get tree "stuff" or bird "stuff", and backed in.  I love my husband and I am really glad that God has provided us the opportunity to get his truck.  However, I hope he knows that I will not be parking at the very back of a parking lot nor will I be backing the big daddy in.  I will try to be particular in who I park next to and I promise not to park next to the cart return.  I can't guarantee anything else.

By the way, to the relative(CJG) who thought I might have too much time on my hands since I can write short novels.  Let it be known that while I am typing this, I am tending to a stomach ache, listening for two napping boys who are not napping, but are on the floor playing and could possibly get tangled up in a "bitefest" at any time and building a lego house.  And what did you do today?

The wait is over.

We are the proud owners of a 2008 Toyota Tundra.  Yes, we can all fit.  Yes, we know the cost of gas.  Yes, we are very excited(especially the oldest male in our house)!  We have "owned" the truck for 1 week, 4 days, 2 hours and approx. 30 minutes, but today we actually have it under our watch care.  And watch care is an understatement.  Ben has picked out his parking place at Sam's.  No, it isn't close.  Next time you are there, look for the solo parking space at the farthest end of the lot,  all by it's lonesome.  It will be interesting to see whether the girls complaining about the walk or Ben's determination will win this one.  By the way, Wal-mart is off limits.  Food is off limits.  Drinks are off limits.  Unless your name is Ben and you drink coffee.  Again, it will be interesting to see how this works after that first little "drop" in the new vehicle.  Good luck buddy, I'm pulling for you!  I don't think the Goo Goo will be making any more money off of Ben.  Of course, Saturdays will be shot because of having to wash the truck.  Again, we'll see if Cracker Barrel or the need to wash the truck will win.  I've got to say, I'm pulling for Cracker Barrel on this one.  

Hopefully I can post some pictures so everybody can see the newest member of the family.  I'm looking for some good suggestions for his license plate.  I'm thinking LUVMY5(4 kids plus truck) to match my LUVMY4(4 kids).    What do you think?