Circus!

The circus is in town, and Mom wanted to take the girls. I used to be really scared of the circus, so I never really wanted to take them. She convinced me that the girls would love it, so we got tickets. Unfortunately, her friend got sick, and she couldn't come down and go with us. We were all sad, but the show must go on! Ryan went with us because he had never been. We all had a fantastic time!
Kacy said, "Mommy, this is some serious cool!" They loved the tigers, the clowns, the lions, and the elephants.
Kacy's favorite part was the got that got lit on fire and flew across the arena. Ever my little thrill-seeker. Adilyn's favorite part was the acrobats/dancers on the ropes.

It was actually a really entertaining show! We missed Nammie, and Adilyn said at one point, "Awwww....Nammie is missing all the fun! She would have really loved this show!"

Kacy's Funny Sayings

Kacy has the cutest little voice, and everywhere we go people always comment on the way she talks. I do love the way she talks, but I also love the things she says. She has great ideas, and is so animated when she tells stories.
Some of my favorites things she says lately -
"Whobody going to help me?" She uses whobody instead of just "who" :)
We were at the pool the other day, and she kept saying, "I am drooling, Mama!" I couldn't figure out why she kept saying that. Finally, I realized she was saying that she was drowning!
The girl loves Dora, and of course, in Dora everyone is always asking for help, and they ask for help in Spanish. Anytime she needs help, Kacy always yells, "Ayudame"!
She thinks handstands are called "handstamps".
When she asks me if we can do something and I say no, she says, "Maybe, maybe!"
Love this age...craziness and all!

"Mom, we have a real emergency out here!"

Those are words that no mom ever wants to hear, especially when she is in the shower. Adilyn came in the other day just as I was finishing up in the shower and yelled that very sentence, "Mom, we have a real emergency out here!" I had left Brooke on the couch with Adilyn and Kacy, and Brooke is getting more squirmy, so I panicked! I ran out in the living room, and Kacy was literally holding Brooke around the neck between the ottoman and the couch. Brooke had a look of fear on her face, and the look on Kacy's face was shear pride. She said, "Mommy, I saved Brookie!" I grabbed Brooke up from Kacy's gentle "saving", and then I told Kacy how proud I was of her for rescuing Brooke. After Brooke was safe in my arms, I assessed the situation. I realized that Kacy had pushed the ottoman, and Brooke fell in the crack. So, yes, Kacy did save her, but she would not have had to perform the high-stakes rescue mission had she not pushed the ottoman away from the couch! :) I did not have the heart to scold her for that because she was just so proud. Even Adilyn was impressed. She said, "Mommy, Kacy really did save her, but she did grab her around the neck, which is not so safe for babies, but still really she did save her! I didn't even know she could do that!"

Fun Can

In an effort to not go completely crazy this summer, we made a "Fun Can" with activities in it that we could do each day. I will admit that we haven't done it every day, but we have had some fun. I put different activities on a piece of paper, and each time one of the girls picks a paper out of the can. They get really excited to see what the activity is, and it's cute because they will always ask, "Mama, can I pick a paper today?" Some of our activities have gone well, some have been disastrous!
A disaster - the Barbie city. I thought it would be fun to draw pictures of buildings in a "town", the girls could color them, and we could drive the Barbies around and pretend to explore the town. Failed. Failed because the girls were arguing over who got to color what building. Then, they argued over who could use the blue crayon...there were 4 blue crayons, but they both wanted the same one. Grrrr...Adilyn was sent to her room twice during the activity. So sad.
Super fun - playing with glowsticks in the bathtub. Although it didn't last as long as I had hoped, they still had a lot of fun while the did it.
Whether it turns out fun or a mess (or both), it gives us something to do for an hour or so, and that is what I was hoping for.

Colored Ice Cubes and Glowsticks in the Tub

 Face and Body Painting

 Dress Up

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Whoa, what a week! Cash and Ashley were in town, so I watched Cash everyday while she worked. It was kind of stressful last time, but this time Brooke was awake more and Cash was a little grumpier. To top it all off, it rained and rained everyday, so we were pretty much trapped in the house. Not like we were going anywhere anyways because it is pretty hard to go anywhere with 4 kids and 2 that can't walk! One day we did go over to Dana's house, but that plan kind of backfired because all the kids were pretty grumpy over there, too! We thought that the older kids would just go upstairs and play together while we watched Cash and Brooke downstairs and relax. Ha! The kids were arguing a little, they kept wanting us to help them build forts, and overall just needy. So much for what we were hoping for! Oh well, it was worth a try :) The rest of the time, we played in the house, painted, watched some tv, played in the puddles, made mud pies, tried to make homemade playdoh, played in the bathtub, and just tried to keep the peace. Adilyn was a great helper, but she sure put on a pair of bossy pants. She thought she was in charge, for sure! She kept moving stuff away from Cash, picking him up and carrying him away from the stairs, and telling Kacy what to do. One day Kacy and Adilyn were fighting all day long. We finally got a break in the rain, so we went outside to play in the mud. When they were done in the mud, we went outside in the backyard, and I told them to take off their dirty clothes. I got Cash all cleaned up, and when I came out they were out playing on the patio. Naked. They proceeded to play out there naked for at least an hour. They were pretending to wash their dirty clothes in buckets, then they would lay them on the grill to dry, then wash them again. Seriously...after all day of fighting, this is what entertained them?! They were out there giggling and having so much fun. Obviously I was trying too hard all day long!
I love having Ashley and Cash here because we usually don't get to spend too much time with them, but it is a lot of work. I can't wait until all the kids get older, that's when the real fun will begin!

Galveston Fun 2012

Every summer we go on a little trip with my mom. The past years have just been "the girls",  but this year we included two of our favorite boys, Brandon and Cory! We went back and forth about where to go, when to go, etc. Finally, we decided to just rent a house in Galveston. Unfortunately, we decided that a little late, and it was tough to find a house that was still available, and that would let us bring the dogs. Luckily, we found the perfect place! It was a little outside of Galveston with three bedrooms and a fenced yard. We headed down the day before Mom and Brandon were coming, and we had to take two cars to fit all our baby stuff and fishing gear! The girls, dogs, and I got there first. We got out of the car to to look for the keys, and within minutes we were attacked by mosquitoes! Literally, they were swarming us...we had them covering our legs and arms. Everyone panicked, so we ran back to the car, and I set out to find the keys. I finally found the keys, and we ran upstairs to escape those crazy skeeters! Cory had a conference call, so he stayed in Galveston a little longer, then made it to the house. The house was small, but it worked out okay for us. The next day Cory's mom and uncle came down for the day, and Brandon and Mom made it, too. The mosquitoes got a little less crazy after we sprayed the yard, so we were actually able to sit outside and play and eat for some of the time. The girls loved playing with Nammie, going to the beach, and digging in the sand. We didn't even use the neighborhood pool! Brandon and Cory fished every morning, but unfortunately did not have much luck catching anything. Even though the didn't catch much, they seemed to have fun trying. We went on a couple fun adventures during our stay. We went to eat at the Rainforest Cafe again, and we went on the River Adventure Ride this time. Kacy liked it, but Adilyn seemed ready to jump out of her seat at every turn. Poor girl was terrified of the animals and the noises! We all had a great dinner, then went for some ice cream after. One day we rode the ferry across the port for a little fun thing to do. We saw a bunch of dolphins swimming around, and the girls thought it was hilarious that the cars could drive on the boat. The only problem with the ferry ride was that the sides of the boat were too tall for the girls to see over, so we had to hold them or go inside and stand on the benches. I think the girls favorite thing to do, though, was dance on the boat. For some reason, they thought it was their own personal stage! :) On Saturday, there was a little 4th of July parade that we watched in the neighborhood, and the Hrobars came out to play. It rained right when we got to the beach, so that was a little bit of a bummer, but they got to play for a little bit. Other than that, we just hung around the house and played at the beach. Simple fun, but great memories! We love our Nammie trips!!!

Kacy is 3!

Kacy had a great birthday! We were in Galveston on her actual birthday, so we celebrated there. The Hrobar's came down to play for the day also. There was a 4th of July parade that morning, so we kept telling her that the parade was for her birthday. :) She knew we were joking, but she would still smile every time we said it. We headed down to the beach to play after the parade. Unfortunately, a storm rolled in pretty quickly, so we had to head back to the house. The kids spent time most of the time in the tiny house watching cartoons. Dana and I decorated the porch downstairs with pink princess stuff and princess plates, and we all headed down there for cake and presents. She was really surprised when she saw the decorations because she didn't even know that we had gone down to decorate. It was really cute to see how she was acting because she knew that it was a special day, and that it was "her" special day.
Here is my take on Kacy at 3...she is definitely my wild child. I would guess that 85% of the fights we have at the house start with her bugging Adilyn or pushing her buttons. She gets in this crazy Kacy zone and won't listen to anything we say. Kacy is very self-sufficient, but she likes to have us help her sometimes just to get attention. She loves to take her clothes off. If she isn't taking her clothes off, she is trying to steal Adilyn's clothes. She claims that Adilyn's clothes are more beautiful than hers. She really believes that her hair is crazy and always tries to make it "super beautiful". Her favorite way to describe things is by using words two or more times. For example, "this is a really, really, really ouchie" or "I want to be beautiful and beautiful!" She is very dramatic when she describes things, and she uses her hands to talk a lot. Kacy demands attention, and when she doesn't get it, the world falls apart! She has just recently developed an annoying habit of complaining about everything I give her. I give her a half of a cookie, and she cries for 15 minutes because it's too tiny of a piece. She will just stare at it and scream until finally she accepts it and eats. I give her a red cup, and she throws it across the room because she wanted blue. She needs to learn to live by the beloved saying "You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit!" Kacy is a morning person for sure! She wakes up, and she is ready to go. Don't know where that trait came from! She picks up on new things very quickly. She could ride her bike with training wheels as soon as we got it for her, and she is doing great swimming this season.
The girl can make me laugh like nobody else can. She makes the most hilarious faces, and she dances super silly dances. The things she says and the things she does light up my days even on the most frustrating of times.

Kacy's 3 year old question and answer time:
What's your favorite show? Dora
What's your favorite color? blue (interestingly enough, that's Adilyn's too!)
What do you want to be when you grow up? silly
What is your favorite food? Mac and cheese
Who is your best friend? Dora and Boots
What do you like to do at home? play with babies
Where is your favorite place to go? parks and beach
What do you want to learn to do this year? gymnastics and learning things

I love Kacy so much, she is sweet and sour, she is beautiful and cuddly, she is loving and dramatic, she is giggly and goofy. And I am so lucky she is mine!

A Soggy Fish Fry

We planned a fish fry for all our friends yesterday at Cory's mom's house. There were about 20 people there, and were all having a great time in the pool. The guys got out and started frying the fish when we saw clouds in the distance. Knowing Texas weather, we figured that even though the clouds looked ominous it might not actually rain. So, we continued our fun. Luckily, the boys were smart enough to put the sun shade over the frying area. The first batch of fish were ready, and we got the kids all set up at the tables. Just moments later, the rain started. It started as a light sprinkle which lasted for all of 3 minutes, then the storm began. Pouring down rain, thunder, and wind! We were all scattering around trying to get the kids under the small covered area before their food was ruined. It was quite a sight to see, I'm sure! Brooke was sleeping soundly in the swing, and Dana saved her from getting completely drenched. Glad I have friends that help me take care of my kids :) We thought the rain might pass quickly, but after about 30 minutes of steady downpour, we realized that might not be the case. The boys kept frying food and bringing it over to our extremely overcrowded sitting area for us to munch on. The kids played in the puddles and the garage. Finally, we decided to pack things up and go play at the Hrobar's house. It was a little disappointing to have our outside fun cut short, but we had a great time hanging out and playing there, too. It's great to have such good friends to spend time with, even when things don't go as planned we still make it memorable! Needless to say, because everything got so wet, there are no pictures to document the soggy fun :)

Transformers, Power Rangers, and Blue

My pink, princess-loving girl has made a 180 degree turn. Adilyn who would cry when I gave her an orange cup because it was a "boy color" now says her favorite color is blue. The girl who always wanted to watch girl shows about ponies, princess, and girlie things now chooses Transformers and Power Rangers. It's just so strange because it's like she is trying to prove a point that she doesn't love all things girlie, but yet she still wants to wear her pretty dresses and skirts. So confusing! I am sure it's only the beginning of trying to figure out what my girls are thinking!

House Woes

I have to write another house selling update because it's what I think about so much of the time...okay, I will admit it, I am obsessed! It's just really annoying. Every house in our neighborhood that has been listed since we listed ours has sold already. Our neighbors just put their house up for sale, so now there are three houses in the cul-de-saq for sale, so that is not going to help the situation! We got an offer the other day, but it was way too low. We gave them a reasonable counteroffer, fully expecting them to counter back, as most people do, but they didn't. They said they were maxed out at their first offer, but then they said they will be willing to listen to another offer if we wanted to try again. What?!? Obviously they don't know how negotiations work. Idiots! We did put in three more counteroffers, hoping that one will be what they are looking for. Our realtor called yesterday and said the buyers were away until July 5th. Hmmmm....no cell phones? So weird! Why can't we just get a normal buyer to buy our house? I just want to be done with it all. I want to be in a house before school starts so bad, but it is looking more and more like that is not going to happen. So sad...I hate to be negative, but we need to get an offer and settle on it in about 3 weeks if we hope to be in a house by the end of August. Yikes! I really thought that by putting our house on the market in March that we would have enough time to sell it. I keep saying that things work out the way they are supposed to, but it's so hard to see how it is all supposed to be when you are right in the middle of the situation. Hopefully, the next time I write a post about houses it's that we have sold it, and we have found the perfect house for our family!