I guess we're not sweet enough to melt...

or else we definitely would have by now. It is so stinkin' hot. 10 degrees above normal all week means we have broken 100 daily. It takes 1/2 an hour to cool down the car as your back sweats and your kids complain and you lose your mind.

It is 6:30 AM here and I just went outside to water some flowers. After being greeted by the curtain of death I decided I better change into my swimsuit and try again later...when the hot breeze begins to blow. When the swimming pools feel like bathwater at 9AM, you know the only relief is to just stay indoors.

We are doing just that. We've been spending time coloring under the fan while the A/C blows full blast.

Check out these new color rolls my aunt made for the girls.

I'm sure she has a much cuter name for them, but that's what is coming to my mind at this fine summer hour. Stay tuned because when she gets her website up and running, she's planning on doing a giveaway here. She is so crafty...these little color rolls are a work of art themselves.

We've also been practicing new hairdos. My poor children were born to a hair challenged mama. You know your husband has embraced this fact when you find him trying to fix your 4 year old's hair with a stack of Wikipedia pages next to him entitled "How to Braid Hair". God love that man. I sure do.

I did manage to get Jade's locks into a little pony. Meet Bam-Bam.

Bam-Bam has been a wonderful observer all week at Lily's swimming lessons.

As far as news on that front. Hmm...well, she's the oldest one of the four and the only one with previous swimming lesson experience. Yet, she's without a doubt the most behind. I like this coach though and going every day versus once a week is giving me a glimmer of hope. I'm still sticking to my guns though and giving myself a break from lessons after this session.

This session has been fun though...there are twins in our class and then a private lesson with triplet girls going on next to us. Makes me thankful I don't have identical triplets of Lily...I seriously can't imagine swimming lesson stress x 3!

Well, I'm off to enjoy a heat advisory with a side of ozone alert...make yours a good day too.

What we've been up to...

at least according to my digital camera.

Disclaimers: 1) pictures are in no particular order 2) some events/outings missing (ie; first family bike ride of the season and Lily's last day of preschool activities) 3) notice that blogging is not included...might be resolved when my shiny new laptop arrives this week.

getting to know new babies

playing on "spider webs"

hanging with friends

over-feeding fish

posing for pictures

learning the "fake smile"

testing the water

"what? I told you I'd get in!"

practicing the "fake smile" some more

swimming in what could be the best $30 ever spent

making disturbing water gun shots
(i didn't get a shot of the one where Lily had the gun pointed in her own mouth...nice!)

playing princess golf
(see that hot pink bandaid?...that would be a reminder of our little ER trip over Memorial Day weekend...can you say "allergy induced asthma attack" five times fast?)
I just hope the blood drawer dude doesn't send us the bill for his hearing aid.

serious golfing

celebrating Memmy's 97th birthday

taking care of a friend's baby while pretending to still be one

swimming, swimming, swimming

cooling off with sno-cones...it doesn't count if its not Bahama Bucks...open year round

perfecting that silly smile

playing at the "sand restaurant"

your kids play while you eat/drink on the patio...who needs a sitter?!?

admiring sandy piggies

That's all folks!

Waterpark Backfired

Pardon me while this sunburned and waterlogged momma whines.

Jerry is working at an event that has taken him away from home for 14 hours today. So, I thought I'd be smart and take the girls to the waterpark for a few hours this morning. That was the surest way to produce good long naps this afternoon...so I thought.

I forgot that I was mother to miss wide awake, only will nap occasionally, not affected by sun and water...child.

Problem is that said mother is so tired, could nap forever and totally affected by sun and water.

Top that all off with the fact that miss wide awake...was wide awake...at 6:43 this fine Saturday morning...7PM bedtimes are in order for everyone...me included.

In the meantime, Starbucks will be collecting some of my money.

When the temps hit one hundred four...

...this family hits the door. And faster than a lark, you'll find us at the water park!













We are super spoiled to have 3 little water parks within 5 miles from home. Since Lily's cast has been off this is where we have been every Sunday afternoon. And, since it only seems to be getting hotter...I don't think we'll be making any changes to that plan.

How is your family staying cool?

A Walk Down Independence Lane

Since moving to the town where my sister and niece live, we have a great 4th of July tradition. This is the third time we have participated in the town's Children's Parade on Independence Day.

Thankfully Kelly had gone the year before we moved here to learn all the details. Otherwise, I'm sure we would have shown up with our lawn chairs and candy bags to watch the parade go by and catch some loot.

This is a different type of parade. Hundreds of kids decorate their bikes, scooters, motorized kid jeeps, etc with all sorts of red, white and blue garb. And then in our case, the parents of babies and toddlers decorate the family wagon, stroller or baby jogger. Then you take a short walk down the parade route (which is actually on our street) while the spectators throw candy at you.

The best part is the destination. The town has bounce houses, magicians, music and other entertainment set up for everyone to enjoy. Free hot dogs, lemonade and popcorn abound. There's also a huge pond with plenty of hungry ducks awaiting. It's always fun running into friends and neighbors and sweating together for a bit.

It's also fun to see how the cousins have changed from 2006 til now.

Lily and Avery in 2006:

I was still speaking in terms of months for Lily's age. She was just 21 months. Look how tiny her pigtails were.

4th of July 2007:

We got smart and got a shade canopy.

Jade celebrated as well...from the womb. Getting some tummy love from Lily and Avery.
Why did I agree to pose for this profile pic just 2 days before delivering?

2008 Highlights from this morning:



Today was really fun. HOT, yet fun. Here is a slide show with some more pics:

Towards the end of the event we set out for our wagon to load 'em up and head 'em out. It was gone though. We knew it had to be an honest mistake at such a family friendly event. We were hopeful anyway. You can see from the slide show that there were only about 567 red Radio Flyer wagons with shade canopies and decorations.

Jerry went hunting it down and I had them make an announcement over the PA system. We were starting to get hot and worried. I was hoping that the family that had mistaken it for theirs wasn't anything like us.

I can guarantee you that the decorated wagon will be riding around in the back of the van for weeks. Then when it is taken out, it will sit in our garage...completely decorated for the next several months. It would honestly take us a long time to figure out that we had taken someone else's wagon.

Thankfully they were a bit more conscientious than we are...it suddenly appeared out of no where. I was just thankful that the cries and shouts from the girls finally stopped. Something about hearing, "why did someone steal our wagon?" and it's variations said over and over and over again at a family event was bringing a little too much attention to the situation!