I forgot to bring my camera the first time we went on an extremely sunny day, but remembered to bring it today and it was overcast. In fact, it was raining on us by the time we left. We were out in the water when it started to rain and Grandma said to the boys, “Oh, no, we might get wet!” They just laughed. She’s a funny gal.

One of my favorite things to do at Grandma’s beach is make dribble castles. The sand is so fine that you can dig a hole, fill it with water (or let the waves do it for you), grab a handful of wet sand, and dribble it in a pile. I like to make bridges between two spires and make a bunch so the king and queen have plenty of places to cross. What can I say? It sparks my imagination and I’m a kid again.

I was way too excited about my creation and took pictures of it before it could get destroyed (either by natural disaster or the toddler).

Hope y’all are having a great summer!

What is this?

What do you think this is?

Here’s another view.

C’mon, you got to know it by now. Here’s more of a clue.

Yep. Now you’re getting it. That’s the driver side window of my van. It looked kind of pretty in its shattered state, so I got a little artsy fartsy.

Here’s another question for you… What did this? The police officer who came by my house to file a report said that it looked like a pebble got kicked up by the lawnmower guys or just a big truck driving down the street and it hit my window. I admit that it looks like an accident because nothing was taken and the doors were still locked. The “pebble” was not found when I was sweeping out/vacuuming glass out of the van, however, so I’m not convinced. What could have happened between the hours of 12:30pm and 2:15pm?

For the last few days, I have been parking my car at the end of our driveway to keep the playground ball (and little kids) from bouncing out into the street. We chalked up a four square court and have been playing for recess.

Yesterday, Josh came into our room with a big question mark in his look and said, “Our cars are in the street.” I told him we had been playing four square, and got up to get my keys so that we could move the cars back. Josh still looked confused by my reply and I discovered that he has never played. So we postponed the car moving and got the kids outside to give Daddy a lesson. Once he caught on to the rules, he was like a little kid. He loves playground games. It was a lot of fun.

Getting my window smashed in, however, was not.

The location of this paint-your-own pottery studio is on one of the cutest Main Streets ever. I really like the small town feel of the restaurants and shops there even though I’ve never eaten or shopped there (unless you count the Chick-Fil-A that is just down the street). We did sign the closing papers for our house in this Town Center, but that’s about it. This was my first time painting at The Mudpie and I hope to go back when funds allow until I have a cupboard full of Mocha Mugs like the one I painted.

I’m pretty happy with the way it came out. I did learn what not to do (scratches will show) and what to improve on (more coats to hide the brush marks). But mostly, I love the shape and size of the cup! It can fit two cups of hot water and two packets of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate without spilling over. I can drink hot chocolate in any weather. It’s my favorite… right up there after strawberries. Swiss Miss is the brand of my youth, but I’ve recently discovered Stephen’s Gourmet Hot Cocoa. My friend Brooke gave me the Hazelnut flavor for Christmas and it maybe lasted a week. (For those of you not affected by the economy, please feel free to click the link and buy me some.)

Another thing I like about my mug is that it was painted while I was thinking about Grandma Pudge. Josh’s maternal grandmother passed away on the same date I painted on the bottom of my mug which is surrounded by hearts. Now when I indulge in one of my favorite treats, I’ll think of her. I like to think that she approves… she was cool like that.

I don’t generally enjoy watching football (let alone a five-hour pre-game show, four hours for the game itself, and then another hour or so of post-game interviews and stuff). I try, but it takes a lot of concentration on my part (more so when the Dallas Cowboys aren’t playing). When the play is done I find that I have no idea who snapped the ball or what really happened. It’s usually a loud exclamation from Josh that brings me out of my trance. After a few of these, I get irritated and pick up something to do so that I can still sit with Josh and listen to his loudly voiced and enthusiastic opinions. That’s not to say that I can’t follow the game or cheer as vehemently when the Cowboys are playing… maybe yesterday I just wasn’t in the mood.

What I picked up was my crochet hook and a mostly finished project. I crocheted a strap on to a girly messenger bag for Zoe. When I finished that I moved on to a matching beanie hat.

Zoe was able to model them standing up when I took pictures of her.

Zoe has been steadily working up the courage to walk. When she first turned a year old (January 12) she would stand by herself on accident, usually when we would get her to clap. Then she started to launch herself between furniture holds when she knew she could make it in a step or two. Just yesterday she started to stand without pulling up on anything and decided that she would walk in the middle of the living room with nothing to hold on to for several steps. I’m both excited and grieved. I like that she has begun to see the possibilities, but sad that she’s growing up so fast (and also that I’ll soon be chasing after her). I don’t mind that it took her so long to walk because I know that cognitively it’s better for babies to crawl first. I figure it must be better still the longer she crawls. Plus, I’m lazy and don’t want to get up every two minutes to rescue her or something that she has gotten a hold of.

So the Super Bowl wasn’t about the Cardinals losing to the Steelers for me. Nor was it about the new President of the United States. It was about my youngest deciding to walk.

I am a child of royal birth

My father is king of heaven and earth

My spirit was born in the courts on high;

A child beloved, a princess am I.

I was nurtured there;

I lived by his side,

In a home where patience and love abide

My mother was there in that glorious place,

Blessing her children with queenly grace.

I grew to the stature that spirits grow,

I gained the knowledge I need to know

I was taught the truth and I know the plan,

That God and the Christ laid out for man.

I was there when the stars of morning sang,

I was there to rejoice, to praise and applaud

The shouts of joy from the songs of God.

I waited my turn and I came to earth

Through the wonderful channel of human birth,

Then the curtains were closed and the past was gone,

On the future, too, the curtains were drawn.

I live on the earth, and God will it so,

With the freedom to choose the way I should go.

I must search for the truth,  I must serve and obey,

I must walk by my faith many miles of the way.

Someday I’ll go back; I will answer the call,

I’ll return with my records to the Father of All.

The book will be opened and so will my heart,

There will be rejoicing if I’ve done my part.

My Father, the King, with His infinite love

Will welcome me back to the mansions above.

The curtains will part and eternity

In its light and glory will open to me.

So I went to the mall on Saturday wearing my “Free Hugs” t-shirt in public for the first time.

Hang on, first let me give you a little background. The first time I put on this shirt, Zoe splashed me with spit-up. The second time I put it on, I splashed oil on it and immediately had to take it off and hand wash it so it wouldn’t stain. And the third time I put it on was Saturday. Josh said, “Be careful, you might get hugged wearing that shirt.”

Lo and behold, I’m walking through the mall pushing a stroller with the three older kids in tow, and I glance up and the most unusually dressed person steps in front of me with arms spread wide. It took me a split second to realize what was happening and with a big smile I said, “Do you want a hug?” So I did! I hugged the guy with spiked hair that I wasn’t sure was a guy or girl. This wasn’t just a lean forward-barely-touch-and-then-lightly-tap-his-back kind of hug. I hugged him the way I would a good friend, and we held it long enough for it to be heartfelt and before it got too creepy. And then I simply continued walking without looking back. I was laughing and incredulous that someone actually got my shirt. My kids must have thought I was nuts.

Later, Zack reflected my own thoughts by saying, “Was that a guy or a girl?” Sarah said, “It was a guy! Of course it was a guy!” and Seth said, “With spikey hair.” So that’s all I remember about the encounter. Sarah said that he worked there because of the logo he had on the front and back of his shirt. I’ll have to ask my friend Julie if the description fits anyone she knows since she works there, too.

Well, here’s my picture wearing the shirt on the same day I got my first hug (because there may just be many more encounters in my future, who knows?), laugh it up, watch the vid and tell me what you think!

It ended up being a fun time for us. Seth is at the age where Christmas and fireworks are wondrous events, so it’s mostly fun to watch his reaction to everything. We had gone to a fireworks stand earlier in the day (for the first time in Texas) and bought a tall cylinder box filled with kid-friendly fireworks. Before we went outside to light them, Josh was careful to explain to them the rules of safety and how to light the fuse and then run away and not to light anything without permission and to take turns and not to ask too many questions to drive us nuts and to be patient and what to do if a car comes… he’s an Eagle Scout and takes his responsibility of protecting the family very seriously. Sometimes I roll my eyes because all of this takes time and I want to go, go, go, already! But in the end, I’m always glad that he takes the time to prepare them.

I was excited to go outside and take pictures with my new camera. Josh’s gift to me was letting me get a Canon SD900 Power Shot Camera (refurbished from the Canon employee website–thanks to Sig, so we got it at a great price) along with a 4Gig SDHC Card (geek speak for super fast and lots of memory) on sale at Office Depot. It takes stills and video and fits in the palm of my hand. It’s so cool! I have been wanting a camera like this since last Christmas because of its size and convenience. I figure I ought to get a camera that I’m willing to carry around. My big SLR and our medium-sized digital were just too big for me to “remember” to bring along. Now I can just have this camera in my bag and be ready to shoot over a 1000 pics before needing to download the card. Yeah, I hear ya… now I have to post more pics. Maybe I will–GOSH!

When we got outside, it was cold and windy. The first thing we did was play with snappers… the little white things packed in sawdust that when thrown on the ground they explode in little snaps and sparks. Those are very kid-friendly. Sarah said, “Make me dance!” and the boys were throwing them at her feet so that she could dance around like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Seth went so far as to throw one at a passing car. I had to yell “No!” and “Absolutely Not!” and he smiled his wide and happy smile while saying “Yes, Mommy.” The little punk. He was having so much fun.

Then we lit sparklers. Seth ran around like a crazy person yelling threats and curses like it was a wand (thanks Harry Potter). I got a picture of them holding their lit sparklers high. When we started to get into the bigger stuff, the fireworks were mostly comical. Not anything close to the level of spectacular that we would have seen had we gone to our friends’ house. But we didn’t spend very much money–it feels too much like lighting dollar bills one by one to me–so we got what we paid for. Some of the flowers were duds, but we had bought extras of those and the individual ones are fresher than the stuff packed in combo boxes. My favorites were the little sunflower ones that when lit fly gently up into the air, change different colors, and last all of two seconds. We had lots of those. Bottle rockets are always fun, and the kids each got to light more than one. There was a little red car that burst into flame and then 10 seconds later let out a little scream like a siren. We laughed the hardest at the tanks that are supposed to go forward and shoot a few rounds. The last one flipped over and shot towards us. So it was mostly a comedy fireworks night where we were concerned.

The other streets in our neighborhood had a little more action going on. When midnight hit, the sky lit up (but my camera battery had died by then–we had played with the camera all day). It was nice that we could see and enjoy someone else’s hard-earned dollars go up in flames. We finished off our supply of firecrackers, and then cleaned up the street.

Going inside was like walking into a warm oven. I had made chicken pot pie for dinner, so we warmed the house by baking and then Josh lit the fireplace (go Josh!). We still haven’t turned on the heat. I hate turning on the heat in Texas. It’s so not right when you spend the majority of the year sweating. In the mornings the thermostat reads somewhere between 63 and 71 degrees fahrenheit. The kids heat up a deer corn bag or bring their blankets out and then the day warms up and it’s not so bad. It’s not neglectful parenting… we’re building character here!

The kids spent a little more time on the Wii before heading to bed. Another late night for them on vacation… we have to get them back on track in the coming days before school starts up again. They haven’t been up before 9:30am in the last few days. Josh had fun waking them up this morning… his idea of a great way to start the new year is blasting Van Halen’s 5150 album, specifically a song that yells “Get UP!” over and over again. Zack was up first, then Sarah wandered out with Toph hair, and then Josh had to actually go and get Seth and carry him out. We enjoyed our living room and listened to Van Halen, but actually we were having fun watching Daddy sing Van Halen and play air drums and air guitar.

Breakfast was cereal and milk–my favorite! We cracked open a fresh box of Lucky Charms, and went for it. Josh just had his usual… ice cold Diet Coke. After that we opened a new Wii game that we got from Santa, Zelda Twilight Princess. Josh played and we all yelled instructions to him and gave ideas on how to solve different problems. It’s a family game, for sure. I fell asleep after the first hour and half, though. When I woke up, Josh was cutting troll-looking monsters down.

We took a break for crackers, summer sausage and cheese that Josh’s parents had sent. Apparently, Hickory Farms is the taste of the holidays for Josh. We added our own stuff, like pepperoni bites, cream cheese with raspberry chipotle sauce, ritz crackers, wheat thins, colby-jack cheese, and snowflake rolls with butter. We then dug into the Danish shortbread cookies and other goodies from the box that Josh’s parents had sent. So much for watching my blood sugar, eh? (Not for too much longer, I hope!)

We decided that we should get outside for a bit. I took pictures of Zack riding his new razor scooter and Seth trying to push his bike out which he doesn’t know how to ride yet. Sarah changed clothes about three times during the time we were out there. What is that about? Then it was too cold for me, so I went in and shot video of Josh playing his Christmas gift, an electronic drum kit.

Now here I am blogging about our New Year adventures and figuring out how to post pics and vids for you. It’s always a resolution for me to journal daily, but it usually doesn’t last longer than a week, if that. Maybe this blog will change things… even if I just post a picture a day that I take with my new camera… that might work.

Or not… once baby comes, she will control my universe. I’ll be nothing but a dairy cow and a walking zombie for lack of sleep. My mom and big bro are coming for the big event. They are really great at helping with babies and keeping the other kiddos entertained. It will be fun to have them after all the holiday stuff is over… I’m really loving my no-stress holiday season. I wonder what it would take to keep things this way for the entire year. That’s a resolution worth keeping up with, and that’s what I wish for all of you! A no-stress, happy new year!

OK, after getting a good vibe from y’all after posting my artsy fartsy apple, I sat down to paint while watching American Idol with Josh (see his blog Idol Gives Back…). I had bought another apple that day, but made the mistake of putting it out on the table. It was gone. When you have three little kids, nothing is ever where you put it down last.

Which reminds me, I’ve gone without hearing aids for the last three days because Seth took my right one. When I asked him if he touched it he said, “No.” So I tried a different tack, “Seth, where’s my hearing aid?” He said, “I don’t know. I think it’s lost.” In my head, I felt like a cop who just got tipped off. Oh, yeah? Lost, huh? How would you know that? The little booger finally admitted to me yesterday that he did touch it and put it on his bed. I couldn’t find it, but at least we have narrowed the search down to one room. I just finished deadlines, so I will be going in there after this to turn the room upside-down… very carefully, though, so I don’t step on it or drop $2K down a well with no bottom. There are no wells in Seth’s room really, but that’s really how it feels. You gotta see that room to understand.

So no apple. I brought out from the bottom drawer of our fridge, an orange and a pear that had seen better days, sketched their outlines and then went for it. Pretty soon, I had to stop… I really don’t know what I’m doing. So I worked on another one. Both paintings aren’t really done, but Josh liked the palm, so I took the blue tape off and I’m just going to leave it like it is. Looking at it on the monitor makes it look like an island angel. Do you see it?

I want to do more to the fruit, but I feel like I’ll mess them up if I keep going. It’s the same as when you’re waiting for your high school date to show up and you just keep putting on more and more make-up until you look like you could work a street corner. It just ends up looking really, really bad… Art is about risks, right? Just gotta do it. At least it is immortalized on my blog in its current state.

Well, don’t just blow sunshine up my butt—tell me what you really think of these.

Currently reading : Mary, Martha, And Me By Camille Fronk Olson Release date: By April, 2006

This is Sethy’s latest — a rocket picture. This boy gets his inspiration from I don’t know where. He’ll just go off and draw on his own and then get magnets and put it on the fridge. He did show it to me first by saying, “3, 2, 1, blast off!” (It’s not written in that order, but it’s implied — nobody counts upward to blast off.) I didn’t even notice the sound effects until Josh came home and looked at the picture, made the sound of a rocket going off (PHHHHHH – but I would have put PSSSHHHHHH – maybe that’s implied, too), and laughed. So I thought I’d post it.

Oh, yeah, did you notice the song on my profile? I had to do a write up for the Sacto Jazz Jubilee (May 24-38) and went online to steal—er borrow—pictures… it’s nice to have a myspace account so that I can view pics and use them in my work (she said before the copyright infringement police booked her and threw her in the slammer). Anyway, I found the Rebirth Brass Band… sounded uplifting and funky, so I put it up. What do y’all music people think? Like ‘em? Hate ‘em? It makes me feel like I’m at a football game.

Currently listening : Ultimate Rebirth Brass Band By ReBirth Brass Band Release date: By 18 May, 2004