Our Little Klepto

It's truly amazing the things that children will do and say. You think that you've tried to teach them right from wrong and then they go and do something that truly just stuns you, disappoints you, and makes you wonder where you failed as a parent. Today, we stopped in a bookstore down on main street to see if they had a book I've been looking for, as we were walking out, Sean started throwing a fit over the suckers that were on the counter (our boys have a weird sucker fetish). As I retrieved Sean's hand from the sucker container, I noticed Nicholas was walking funny & he had his hands behind his back. He was doing this sideways walk with his back facing away from me. I asked him what was behind his back, and he replied "nothing". I knew something was up & checked his hands, sure enough, there was a sucker in them. The little turd was trying to steal a sucker! I couldn't believe it! I grabbed the sucker, threw it back in the container & dragged my children out of the store. As soon as we got outside, I stopped him & we had a little chat. I asked him if he knew what happens when people steal things from stores, he didn't. Thus, I then proceeded to inform him that the policeman comes and takes you to jail. He kinda freaked out a little bit & said he didn't want to go to jail. I told him if I ever caught him stealing, I would personally call the policeman. Tonight as we were getting ready for bed, we talked more about it. I asked him if he thought his choice was good, his reply was no. I asked him if he thought Jesus would be happy with him if he stole, he gave a very said little no. Hopefully, this will be the last time we have to have this talk.

Singing In The Rain

The rain has been so much fun! I love these types of days, where the rain comes down, sometimes in down pours & sometimes in drizzles. There's something about the coziness of it that just makes you want to stay in your sweats, curl up with a good book, or just hang out. Today, we made the most of the rain. The boys put on their galoshes & we went walking in the rain with Emma, Graham, & Tonia. The kids had so much fun & were totally soaked by the time we made it home. They found so many mud puddles (and of course hit every one of them!) It was fun to see them giggle & see how high they could make their splashes. Before the boys & I left to meet Tonia & the kids, they played in the driveway puddles. Nicholas was so cute jumping around, it almost looked like he was dancing. Sean was a little more hesitant however, he liked walking through them. They all were so cute & it was fun to watch them giggle and splash.

A Backyard Campout

Ok, so I've been promising the boys that we could sleep in their Winnie the Pooh tent at least one night this summer. Last night I got brave, and for lack of anything better to do, we pitched the tent. They had so much fun taking all of their blankets and pillows, and sleeping bags, and stuffed animals, and books into the tent. I think they had every animal that is normally on their beds in the tent and at least a dozen books. I asked them if there was going to be room for me in there and Nicholas informed me that I was sleeping in my bed inside. After much discussion on this topic, Sean informed me "I make woom for you, Mommy!!!" When it was close to bedtime, we cleaned out the tent and added more blankets and a pillow and sleeping bag for me. Despite being kicked all night and not a whole lot of sleep, we had fun. The boys were so excited and thought it was really cool to be in the backyard, in a tent, with Daddy's light. Needless to say, when we woke up I was very surprised to find that it was hardly 6:00!

The Love Week

To prepare the boys for the week away from Mom & Dad, we told them we were going on a big, big boat and they got to have a "Love Week" (a.k.a. a week of being spoiled :-) and well loved!) with their Grandma's and a couple of their Aunties. They had a blast! Ray & I took them down to Tracie & Jeff's in Dayton on Sunday night. Tracie's friend, Lisa, brought her boys down on Monday and they made lots of new friends. Uncle Jeff took them down to throw rocks in the river and Aunt Tracie camped out with them in the tent. They headed to Grandma Judy and Papa Ray's for Tuesday and Wednesday night where they got to play in the motorhome, visit Great Grandma & Great Grandpa, and play at the aquatic center. Thursday and Friday they got to hang out with Aunt Anna, Grandma Sally, and Papa Randy. Anna took them to see Kung Fu Panda and to Old McDonalds for lunch and they got to have ice cream cake to celebrate Anna's birthday. Sean is walking around going "YA-YA-YA Kung Fu Panda" and making these Kung Fu arm moves and singing happy birthday to Anna. Between all of our wonderful family, Sean is getting pretty close to being potty trained. It was so fun to call back home and hear Sean in the background going potty and saying "I did it!" with pride and excitement in his voice. We could definately tell they were having fun when we talked to Nicholas Friday morning before we got off the boat, I asked him if we could come and get them tomorrow (Saturday) morning and he got very upset and said "NOOOOO, I don't miss you." He was very disappointed that his love week was over. However, despite all of the "I don't miss you's" he was pretty cuddly on Sunday! They had a great time and it made our vacation a lot more enjoyable and relaxing to know that the boys were having a great time and were well loved. We are so blessed to have such wonderful family support and help. Thank You Everybody!!!

The Big, Big Boat!

What an experience! Ray & I just got back from a wonderful week long cruise with my best friend, Tonia, and her husband, Tom. We had a blast! Our boat was beautiful, the food excellant, and the service amazing. We left from L.A. on Monday evening and sailed to San Diego. Tonia & I enjoyed the shows at Sea World while Ray & Tom joined the Navy on the U.S.S. Midway. They came back with all sorts of statistics and really had a great time. Tonia & I came back very wet after having the great idea to sit in the front row during the dolphin show. After San Diego, we sailed on to Catalina Island where we rented a golf cart and "cruised" the island. Then of course we had to check out all the little shops along main street! We spent the afternoon hanging by the pool on the boat and relaxing. From Catalina Island we sailed onto Ensanada, Mexico where we toured the wine country on broken down ATV's. Ray had to push his up the last hill, mine had no left hand brake and I had a defected helment and goggles, Tonia hit a fence, and Tom made it through 3 ATV's in the 2 hour tour. However, we had a good time and lots of laughs. After the ATV tour we headed to the shopping district in Ensanada where we were "greeted" by military in full fatigue and machine guns. It's definately a whole new world down there and a little intimidating. From Ensanada we sailed back to L.A. where we killed some time by taking a bus tour of Malibu, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills. We stopped at the Santa Monica Pier and Rodeo Drive before heading to the airport. This is definately a cruise worth taking! We couldn't believe the organization and personalization that went into every aspect of this cruise. Our waiter, Rodante, knew all of our names the second night, our room attendant introduced himself the first night and cleaned our room twice a day, and the waitress from the first night at the bar remembered us the second noight and what we had drank! It was an amazing experience and we're already talking about saving for the next cruise!