Let's go fly a kite

It was cold and windy at the beach this week, but still, we were at the beach.  Children are never grumpy at the beach.

Do you think this would last if you lived at the beach?

No more grumpy children?  Ever!?

I think this could use a scientific investigation.

I volunteer to test this hypothesis.

You can forward my mail.

Or not, I won't care.  Mommies are never grumpy at the beach either!

12-24-12

Merry Christmas y'all!

Rain or shine

{p,h,f,r} Titan edition

Linking up this evening with Like Mother, Like Daughter for a little {pretty, happy, funny, real}.  

There's big news to come, but here's my {Pretty} Rose with her big girl haircut!  Yup, I bit the bullet and cut off those baby wisps.  It really looks even more precious in person, but I cried anyway.  I'm not sure what that says about me, but if you know, feel free to keep it to yourself.

Okay, are you ready for the {Happy}?  I'll tell you, I'm not.  But here goes...

Oh, yeah, that is a dog.  And some very happy children.

Dave and I finally caved.  There was just too much cuteness to fight!  Rosie's only consistent word is "woof, woof"  for goodness sake!

And look at this boy with his dog!  It's like a Norman Rockwell painting around here.   (Well, if you don't count the number of times our little Titan has pooped on the floor)

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm still not crazy about the idea of owning a dog, but he has made the children so happy that I'm coming along.

It's especially nice knowing that we rescued Titan from the humane shelter.  That he needed a family and we can give him the home and love he deserves.

Ready for some {Funny}?  I can see that there are going to be some issues of territory and ownership between Titan and Rosie.  We've had a bit of, "That's my teddy! well, that's my bone!  What are you doing in my food?!  Well, what are you doing in MY food?!"

And, as usual, my {real} for the week is (you guessed it) the tummy bug.  Our girls rarely make it a month without a round of throwing up.  I'm trying to be grateful that they don't often get anything more serious, but YUCK!  They are precious when they are sleeping, though!

Zadie's first recital

I have so many photos to share from the past weeks and am so behind with my posting.  I will very quickly show you some of the adorable shots I took at Zadie's first dance recital.

I thought 4 year old soccer was adorable!  Let me just tell you, this takes the cake!

Zadie's favorite (which she proudly displays through the isles at Target)... the horsey dance.

And of course, a final bow.  

Things I say every day

Before I became a mom, I had no idea how many times a day I would say the same. exact. words.

Do your homework, Andy.

Where are your shoes, Zadie?

On the paper, Rosie.  We only color on the paper.

Great job baby girl, keep it on the paper.

ROSIE.  On the paper.  Keep it on the paper, please.

I know what you are doing down there.  We only color  ON.  THE.  PAPER.

Oh, Mommy!  You are SO MEAN!

Chicago: Part 1

I'm only slightly embarrassed to admit that I'm having all kind of difficulty with blogger and seem to have used up all my space for posting pictures.  How can this be?!  I have years of preciousness ahead to share with you!  Thankfully I am married to someone who knows how these computer things work and I have faith that he will figure it all out for me very soon.

In the mean time, here are at least a few (dozen) of the pictures I took on our amazing adventure to Chicago last week.  If you don't know me in real life, let me assure you, all these extra children do not belong to me, although that would certainly be newsworthy.  The stars aligned perfectly this year for us to take our vacation with two families who we love and don't get to see nearly often enough.  It was awesome.  

Ahh, the ever elusive photo of all 7 children.  Dave and Ami are even in there as a bonus.

 I think my favorite thing about watching these children grow up has been seeing how much they all love each other.  Well, that and getting to know all the amazing, talented, kind, funny, and perfectly, unexpectedly one-of-a-kind they all are.

Can you imagine this crew in 10 years?  Now that will be a vacation to remember!

Have you ever wondered why some people chose to leave their children at home when they go on vacation?  Well the next photo illustrates just one reason why this is a wise choice.  Not that I have ever been one for good decision making.

Notice my dear friends helping me to get my monkeys safely across a busy street in downtown Chicago.  Now look for Andy.  Yep, climbing a wall, not crossing the street.  If you're thinking he is probably about to go running out into traffic once he realizes he is no longer with us, you've done this before.

Zadie and Harper (and Rosie) piled onto the sit and stand

at the Field museum

The perfect Thanksgiving day photo.  Seven special people to be thankful for.

Rosie really REALLY liked the little glass box at the top of the Sears tower.

Goodbye dear ones.  And thank you for sharing your holiday, your children, and your lives with us.