Busy Weekend!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, I usually have my hands too full for a camera, but hopefully I can steal some pictures from Dana. (hint, hint)
Saturday, we went out the Navasota to Dana's parents' land to play. We all had a great time fishing, hanging out, making ice cream, swimming in the pond, and playing on all the toys. Luckily, we brought jammies, took a bath there, and the girls all passed out in the car on the way home. (Love those easy bedtimes!)
Sunday, we wanted to go out to Magnolia to look at some houses. Cory called his friend Brain who lives out there, and they invited us over for dinner. We headed over to their house. They have 3 girls about the same years apart as ours. Their oldest is 11, so we got a good look into our future. They were good yesterday, but they informed us that the fighting never ends...bummer! They also had neighbors over that had 4 girls, so it was definitely a girl overload! We all had fun there chatting and catching up, playing hide and go seek, and eating good food.
Monday, we had a little get together at Cory's mom's house. The Hrobars came over, and Holly and Benton brought their kids. We ate yummy fajitas and had fun in the pool. All the kids are getting so big, it's so fun to see them improve with their swimming. Of course, Mason and Wyatt can swim great. Adilyn learned how to tread water and got better with her swimming strokes today. Kacy loves kicking around in her little puddlejumper floatie. Hudson, although he thinks he is a professional swimmer already, is doing great as long as someone is in the water with him. The best part about the day (besides the food) was the fact that Hudson and Kacy peed in the grass about a million times each. Hudson couldn't quite figure out how to pee without showing everyone in the entire pool his butt. Kacy just squats, pees, and shakes her booty. Quite entertaining!
Love these summer memories!

Sold!

WhooHoo! We got an offer on our house last Thursday. It was a pretty good offer, but we countered with another offer. They accepted it, and we signed the papers on Friday. Now the fun part...finding a new house! We have to be out on June 27, yikes! Not sure how all that is going to work out, but it will all happen the way it's supposed to. I keep saying that, I think I am trying to convince myself. I think the fact that the house sold, is obviously the first thing that needed to happen to start the beginning of our "new" life.  Just like I thought...I am feeling a little nostalgic about leaving this house. We'll see how I feel as this whole process plays out.

Back to Work, Yuck!

I went back to school last week for 2 days. I decided to go back because I was losing about $1400 for being 5 days short of sick days. Mom was in town, so she and Cory watched Brooke while the older girls went to school. It worked out great because I only had kids from 10am to 1:30pm because of a different schedule. I got to go home at 1:30, feed Brooke, then go back for a bit. I will have to go back 3 days this week, and Cory will be home alone with Brooke, so we will see how that goes. I only have one full day, and the other two are just half days. It is definitely easy work for the money. To be honest, it was kind of nice to get out of the house and talk to some adults. It is very strange to think that this might be the last time I will teach for a couple years. Strange, but wonderful!

Jem!!!

Thanks to Netflix online streaming, the girls and I have been watching Jem and the Holograms all summer! Jem was one of my favorite shows when I was little, and now I get to live it all over again! After the first show, Adilyn said, "Jem is super duper cool!" I don't think Kacy likes it as much as Adilyn, but she doesn't want to admit it. We like to sing the beginning song, "Jem is my name, no one else is the same, Jem is my naaaaaame!" It hilarious - the colored hair and the 80's makeup. Adilyn actually watches the shows and follow the storylines. Summer entertainment at its finest :)

Brooke @ 6 weeks

I can't believe that Brooke has been with us for 6 weeks! It sure seems like she has been a part of our family forever. These last 6 weeks have been so busy with all the showings and everything. Brooke has been camping twice, has been to five birthday parties, and has gone to countless restaurants, parks, and friends' houses. She is definitely a girl on the move!
Some things that I have learned about my newest baby girl in these last 6 weeks -
*She is a good sleeper! She will usually sleep 5 to 6 hours at night which is fantastic.
*She doesn't really like people all up in her space. It seems like she likes Adilyn and Kacy, but she really doesn't seem like she likes it when they get really up close and personal.
*Brooke is definitely the first kid that I have had that wants to lay down and not be held some times.
*Although my other two girls loved the swing, she just likes it okay. When she does sleep in it, she makes sweet little noises as it swings back and forth.
*She is very inconsistent in what she likes. Sometimes she wants to be held, sometimes she wants to lay flat on the couch, sometimes she wants to be bounced, etc...she just likes different things which is nice but also hard to figure her out.
*She didn't like the car seat at first, but she is definitely getting more used to it.
*Her little neck is getting so strong. She likes to hold her head up and look around at everything that is happening.
*When she gets upset, she has this tiny little cry that lasts for such a short amount of time, more like a little squeal than a cry.
*She can usually be calmed down pretty quickly when she does get upset.

I can't wait to see her grow and form her own little personality. I am excited to see how she fits into our family!

Galveston Getaway

After all the stress of the showings on the house and all the togetherness at home, we decided to have a little getaway. Thankfully, our good friends the Hrobars, let us borrow their camper for a short camping trip down to Galveston. We loaded up the car with stuff, kids, dogs, and more stuff and headed down to Galveston State Park. It took us a while to get out of the house because just like always, we had to clean the house from top to bottom just in case there was a showing. We finally got down to the beach, and we started getting things set up. It was so nice to have the camper because it was pretty hot, so we got the air  conditioner on for the girls to hang out in while we got things unpacked. 

After things were all set up, we went down to the water to play. Cory and the girls went out into the water, and the girls played in the sand a little. Unfortunately, when he was out there one time, he saw a stingray, so he was a little nervous. We convinced the girls to just play in the sand until it was time for dinner. After we ate a very simple dinner, Cory, Kacy, and Adilyn drove down to a little fishing spot that Cory wanted to check out. Brooke and I stayed at the campsite with the dogs. It was so relaxing to be sitting there with a sweet, little sleeping Brooke, listening to the waves. I love quiet moments like that when you can really just take time to breathe and enjoy the moment.

That night went okay. Kacy always get super crazy when we camp, and this night was no different. Adilynand Kacy were sharing a king bed, and Adilyn was all ready to go to sleep. Kacy was jumping around and doing flips. I had to lay with her for at least 30 minutes to get her to sleep. I finally held her down (gently) and sang to her until she fell asleep. Cory and I slept in the other king bed with Brooke, and she slept great! Sadly, though everyone was awake bright and early at 6:30 in the morning. We ate breakfast, and Cory had to do some work, so the girls and I went down to walk on the beach. When we got down there, they decided they wanted to get in the water with their dresses on. Who was I to say no to that, so they got their buckets and headed into the water to fill them up. We played down on the beach for almost 4 hours! They had so much fun. Brooke just hung out in the baby carrier and her makeshift tent in the folding chair. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the campsite, fishing, and watching some tv. One of my favorite moments that day was walking down to the beach at sunset with Kacy and Adilyn. Kacy had been wanting fill up all the little snake/animal holes all along the beach, so she brought her shovel down and went to town. Adilyn wanted to take her baby doll to see the ocean, so she did that. There was nobody on the beach, so it was very peaceful and nice. I think everyone was tired because they went to sleep a lot easier that night, and they also slept in until 8:00. We got everything loaded up and then went down and played in the water some more. It was a great getaway that we all needed, and we all enjoyed!

Memorable moments...

*There were a lot of blackbirds at the campsite, and they kept trying to steal all our food. We each came up with our noises to scare away the birds, and we would take turns yelling at them. There was one crazy bird that was always around, and he only had one leg. We started calling him "One Leg Jack", and we realized that he was the king of campsite #5. 

*We all took a shower at the same time after our fun beach time. It was a big shower, but it was still a little stressful. We got everybody cleaned up, and Cory was holding Brooke all wrapped up in a towel. All of a sudden he said, "Uh, oh..." Brooke had pooped all in the towel. Normally, not that big of a deal, but in this situation - we had one towel for all of us, no diapers, and nowhere to set her down. What a mess! Times like that you just have to laugh!

Afraid of the Dark?

Adilyn decided tonight that she was afraid of the dark. The trouble started when she came downstairs after I put her down and said her throat hurt. I gave her some water and sent her back upstairs. A few minutes later she started crying again and said her throat hurt "even worser". I gave her a tiny bit of Tylenol, and told her that it was throat medicine and sent her back upstairs with Cory to pat her back and talk to her for a few minutes. Not more than 5 minutes later she was crying again. Every time she was with us, she seemed fine, and when she was alone in her room, she would cry. Weird! I finally went up there with Brooke and laid with her while I fed Brooke. She fell right to sleep! When I got out of the bed, she woke up and was complaining about her throat again. I then got the feeling that there was more going on here than a sore throat. She finally told me that she wanted someone to sleep with her. (When we were sick, we all slept together, and apparently she liked it!) I told her that she had to sleep alone. She said, "But, why does Brooke get to sleep with you?" I explained the reason, and I told her that she had to sleep by herself because there wasn't room for her in our bed. She said that she was scared of the dark, and that she always thinks a witch is going to come in her room at night. What?!? Where did that come from? So strange! I told her that she could keep the light on in her closet, and I would keep the door open. I also told her that if a witch came in the house, they would have to get past Daddy, and Daddy has a lot of ways to keep her safe. She said, "Yeah, like his bat and his gun. And he can also kick really good!" Anyway, after that, I left her room, and she has been up there quietly for 30 minutes now. Hmmm...was she really scared or just trying to pull a fast one on me to sneak into a comfy, cozy Mama/Daddy bed? We will never know! :)

Chillin'

It amazes me what Brooke can sleep through! Screaming girls, girls jumping on the very bed she is sleeping on, dogs barking, loud tv shows, Kacy pulling her hand every which way, etc...

Here is a pic of her after we had been outside. I took her out of her carrier, fully expecting her to wake right up. This is how she stayed.

Attackle!!!

I am sitting here feeding Brooke while Adilyn and Kacy are wrestling with Cory. Kacy is trying to rescue Adilyn from Cory (aka The Monster). Kacy is hitting him with a blanket while screaming, "Give me back my sister!" Addy will get away from the Monster, the Monster will fall  asleep, and it starts all over again. Meanwhile, sweet Brookie doesn't flinch or even seem to notice the hilarious chaos that she will soon be a part of!
Any time Cory pretends he isn't going to get them anymore, Adilyn yells, "Monster, attackle us! Attackle us!"

Sick Day!

In all our 11 years of marriage, Cory and I had never been sick at the same time until now...Cory and I woke up in the middle of the night, almost at the same exact time sick to our stomachs. It became very clear to us that we had eaten something bad at dinner that night! Luckily, we have two downstairs bathrooms because otherwise, it would have gotten ugly, fast! As we were being sick and miserable we realized that it would just be a matter of time before one or both of the little ones might wake up with the same issues! Luckily, Brooke had a great sleeping night. But, around 5am, I heard Kacy moan and groan and then throw up. The throw up in the bed is one of the worst! I was in bed fighting back throwing up myself, so I told Cory to go get her. He went up there, but unfortunately he was too weak to help her. I took a deep breath and headed up to get her. This was her very first time throwing up, so she was a little freaked out! We set up some little throw up stations and turned on the tv. Around 7am, we decided to get Adilyn up in case she was next. We watched cartoons for about 3 hours, then we took a break. Adilyn felt just fine, which was good. Brooke woke up, and she was not in a happy mood. She was awake for a couple hours being grumpy on and off, so that was challenging. Poor Kacy threw up every 30 minutes or so for a while. We all tried to eat some crackers and drink water. It went well for all of us but Kacy. She woke up after a nap and threw up right in Cory's lap...poor girl, and poor daddy! We spent most of the day on the couch watching cartoons, sports, and movies. Luckily, we were all fine after that day...until two days later when Adilyn woke up after throwing up all over herself and her bed! Another gross clean up! I felt so bad for her, but she was a pretty cute sickie. So, apparently it must have been a bug, not food poisoning. Oh well, who cares what it was, I am just glad it's gone!!! :)

Adilyn was such a great helper when we were all sick! She got everyone ice chips, crackers, and blankets. It was such a boring day, but she liked it because she got to watch tv and play the kindle all day!