Dallas Museum

We had such a great time at the Dallas Museum! Putting together a puzzle of the earth. Playing with BIG bubbles. Annie was so happy to be with her buddy, Brynnley again!

Ben was enthralled with the ping pong balls floating in the sky!

All six kiddos got to play in the water together! It was a really busy day in the morning, but after eating lunch, the Children's area cleared out a little bit!

Love those Dallas Firefighters!!!

Little Lydia was a big hit with everyone. This was Emily's bribe to put on/keep on her shoes: a special turn to hold Lydia! Brynnley and Annie wanted to be close also. Lydia also convinced Ben that it would be okay if he has ANOTHER sister!

We had so much fun that we had to take Dad back for another visit! (LOVE LOVE LOVE my museum pass!)

One of their favorite parts is digging for dinosaur bones in the sand. Annie has decided she would REALLY like to go and dig for real bones some day.

So Long, Farewell

We found some really fun friends our first year here in Ohio. The Gilbreth family had a 1 year layover in Canton before moving on to Connecticut for a dental program. John team-taught primary with Andy (and went to high school with 2 of my favorite friends also). Jenni was one of the craftiest people I know and just fun friends! They taught us about DOUGHBOYS, so to say goodbye, we had one more doughboy night! We started our fire by burning our Christmas tree... Doughboys: Baking Grands biscuits on a stick over the fire until somewhat crispy on the outside. Filling with nutella, pudding, berries, whipped cream, honey, jam, etc. Enjoy. They are simply divine!!!

Once little Miles started to eat it, his mom didn't get anymore!

Andy and John took turns pushing all the kids on the swing out front.

Goodbye, Friends!!!! We will see you again sometime!!! (Hopefully not to get a root canal...)

HELPPPPP!!!!

Can someone PLEASE help me find my wallet? We've looked EVERYWHERE (although not in the place the wallet is) and can't find it. I had it when I left BJ's on Saturday afternoon and even have my receipt. I have my keys that were next to my wallet. I just don't have my wallet! Not only do I need my money, but I need the notes I made on a paper that is folded inside! None of my cards have been used, which makes me think it is not stolen, just lost. Here are the places we've looked so far:
+Andy's car (which I drove) - we've been over it 3 different times, moving seats forward and backward.
+My car (which I didn't drive)
+all the cupboards and drawers in the kitchen
+through the shopping bags where groceries were
+have cleared all the clutter off the counters
+through the coloring books
+throughout the fridge
+I've called the store twice
+under and in the couch upstairs (i'll look downstairs right now!) it's all nicely vacuumed now
+through the church bag (although I know I didn't have it in there since I couldn't find my checkbook for church)
The kids have been looking everywhere also (i've offered LOTS of bribes if they find it).
And yes, we've all offerred numerous prayers.

Any other ideas??? I NEED MY WALLET!!!!

Whew!!!

I know - this is the longest time EVER between posts, but we are having a fabulous time in Texas! We all go to bed exhausted every night, and I haven't had a buddy join my bed since we've been here. Pools are amazing things for busy little kiddos!

So far we have seen a bunch of friends and have plans to see more next week. We hit the Children's Museum and have plans for the Zoo next week. We have swam a LOT and eaten from a few restaurants on my list (another one will be visited tomorrow for lunch). The kids have LOVED seeing so many friends, and I've been amazed at how easy it is to slip back into friendships that have been put on hold the last 11 months.

I've also decided that I need a wife or two! I cook during the week and try to have food ready when those working family members get home. Then (and this is the very best part!), we all work together to restore the kitchen! In about 15 minutes, it is back to perfection and we are all free to watch a show, play games, or go back to swimming. I have actually loaded the dishwasher (YES - MY PARENTS HAVE A DISHWASHER!!!!) twice in the last two weeks. I'm feeling very spoiled, especially when Andy called to talk tonight because he had a sink-full of dishes to hand wash... It was the longest conversation we've had yet!

I have been trying to keep my camera around and take a few pictures of each things we do. It doesn't always happen, but when going through my pictures for another project, I realized how few I have of my family. I just didn't make the effort to pick up my camera since they were always around . This trip, though, is going to be documented...some day!

We are all fiercely missing Andy, but this is but a small moment in the long run. He's been extremely busy and will continue to be for the next 2 weeks. I can't believe how incredibly fast time is flying by. Each day seems shorter an shorter as we pack more and more in. However, I think this weekend of rest will be great for the kids. Ben is barely holding it together, thus he was sent to bed at 6:15 tonight and put up the weakest fight about early bedtime. I have to have him ready for another fun-filled day tomorrow!!! And I wonder why my kids have such a go-go-go personality...

Every few days Annie keeps telling me that my tummy is getting bigger (she's right). The baby is moving a LOT now and if I am still for about ten minutes, I enjoy lots of little movements, however me getting tired quicker has been a good way to keep us from over-doing our lives. Pictures to come...someday. Now, I'm off to bed!!!

Lawn Stuff

I have all these thoughts, and occasionally they make it onto Facebook, but not near enough make it onto our blog, which is someday going to be preserved!

A few weeks ago, I was moving the lawn with our barely-hanging-onto-life mower, that I had to pray for to start each time I filled it up with gas. I found a frog and called Annie over to see it, because she told me that is her very favorite activity (finding and catching frogs in the yard). As she is trying to chase the frog, he hopped right under the side of my mower! Dumb frog!!! I was completely shocked and Annie looked at me wondering what had happened. I lifted the mower up and pulled backwards; no more frog! She got over it quickly, but I was traumatized.

Even worse, the mower stopped working. GRRRRR - I was about 1/2 way done with the yard (an hour into it) and I could not get the mower started again!!! Everything I saw online says the mower shouldn't have stopped working because of a little frog, but I wonder if his blood combined with gas and shorted something out. Andy tried and tried to fix it, to no avail.

We debated buying a new one and looked around for a week or so. Then, magically, a newer looking self-propelled mower showed up on Craigslist. Our old mower was NOT self-propelled, so the prospect looked good. The guy had moved to a 2 acre lot and bought a riding-mower. It was a name-brand that Andy liked. So, one day he left work and drove to the middle of nowhere to look at this mower. It started easily and ran well, so we got a new-to-us lawn mower!!! So easy to start. My one (okay two) complaint(s) is the actual propelled part of the machine. Definitely made for a man's hand; mine are tiny. AND, it's only on the right-hand side. I am left-handed. I turned it over to Andy today about 2/3 of the way through because my hand was cramping up. Then, I went for a little run around our few streets. It was fabulous! Can't believe I can run, at noon, in June and NOT DIE!!!

Thanks for listening. It's been a fun and busy morning, but now it's time for everyone to shower and clean up! Ben was a fantastic helper all morning, cleaning the bathroom, the mirrors, and vacuuming the stairs. Then he went outside and cleaned up all the sticks from the storms we've had the last few days. THEN he pulled weeds for awhile too. (I only asked him to do a few things and he did the rest on his own.) And yes, he will hire out. :)

Another Akron Zoo Day

Today, we did a quick trip to the zoo, AND I brought my camera! We've been to this zoo at least a 1/2 dozen times, but I have never remembered my camera. Maybe subconsciously, I didn't want Ben to have proof that we were doing something really fun without him; he loves the zoo. Since summer has begun, we went to the zoo! Lucky us - it was Celebrate World Ocean Day. Pretty cool stuff! We got a free book and a crown to color. And please no comments on the outfits; I picked the shirts so they all matched. Each child has their own special touch onto his/her outfit!!! Love this rope bridge and have been dreaming of a picture of my 3 kiddos on it for so long!!! I thought they were looking at me when I took it...NOPE!!!

The zoo does have a fabulous jellyfish exhibit...that the kids pretty much run through to get to the climbing wall! They all love it!

To the top!!!

Love those socks, Benny!

They had a new little zoo prep area with play food and little cards telling what each animal should eat. The kids prepare and weigh (on a broken scale) the correct amount of food. Ben and Annie loved it. Emily spent her time mopping the floor. Any wonder why I love that little girl so much???

Even with massive amounts of people at the zoo, we stopped to play in the playground fro a few minutes. Emily insisted on wearing her crown and kept it on for over an hour!

Our final stop at the Eagle's nest, overlooking the bald eagles. We had to massively backtrack to get to it since part of the route was blocked off. The things tired moms do for their children...

Fun fun summer vacation day #2. Really, how can you not love the zoo when it is 71 degrees the second week of June! Time is flying by! Another OB appointment tomorrow and then my ultrasound next week! Can't wait to see this little mover/shaker!!!

Are you ready for some pictures?!?

Making tamales...with my helpers. Andy come home just as we were finishing and took a picture of us all. Ben did a surprisingly great job of putting the masa into wrappers! Emily handed us the dough, and Annie was the chicken girl! My best Mother's Day morning so far! They made me a fabulous breakfast, complete with lots of hugs and kisses and plenty of artwork and sweet notes to decorate my bulletin board!

Sweet Emily on the swing! She often has to do her tummy because Mommy just doesn't want to push anymore!

Annie and her friend Mia. This is after they had been making trains with Emily also, and Emily fell over onto the ground. So sad!

Ben has had the most fabulous teacher this year. We all just love her! They did an end of the year Poetry Celebration where the kids each recited a poem they learned throughout the year. Ben had Groundhog's Day. They were supposed to dress up accordingly.

A friend told us about a pick-your-own farm where they went to get asparagus. The kids and I decided to try it out while Dad was still in Dallas. We had so much fun!!! Actually, Emily didn't love it because she wouldn't put on real shoes and I think it was irritating. Ben and Annie had a blast! (Notice the little lines on Emily's face. What do you think she is trying to be???)

I never knew how asparagus grew! I was very surprised, it's just a random field that looks like a bunch of weeds! It is amazingly satisfying to snap off the stem!!!

My three sweeties! We thought we were doing so well and had picked a ton! When we went in to weigh it, we only had a little over two pounds, so we decided to pick some more. Ben and Annie went to town and quickly filled our buckets, so we brought home almost 6 pounds of asparagus! Good thing we all love it! AND - it will taste even better since I only paid $1.10 a pound!!!

Sunday we wiped down the chairs and cleaned the floors before our cute new home teachers came over. (They are 82 and 78, and the kids are amazed by how old they are!) Emily decided to be a train conductor, complete with cell phone, sun glasses, a tutu, and music! Ben and Annie had abandoned the game by this point!

The Next Dorothy

Little Annie has been asking and asking to learn to ice skate. We finally took the plunge, and she loved it, and she was REALLY good! She is confident on the ice, gets right back up after falling, and doesn't seem to tire out! Each week they would play a game where the teacher spreads stuffed animals all over the ice to get the kids to skate around, learned to bend down and stand back up, etc. Annie would get allllllll of the animals in the same amount of time the other little boy would tiptoe his way to get one. I think it kind of bugged the teacher a little bit, but, oh well!

Miss Morgan talking with Adam and Annie.

I love this picture of her feet; it shows how steady she feels.

This is the last day of class, after Annie learned that she passed Snowplow Sam 1 and can move on to the next level! We'll see, Bell! ;)

Grandparent Visit

Andy's dad and stepmom came for a long weekend visit, and we filled it with as many activities as we possibly could! We read books one morning. Then we headed to the Cleveland Zoo where I saw giraffes RUN - it was beautiful! Kids were exhausted by the end and slept in the car on the way to eat at Friendly's.

We splurged and bought the $1 bird food. The kids all LOVE to feed the birds. These weren't super-friendly and would only land on Andy.

We finished the night going to the Akron Aeros AA baseball game. Super fun, but VERY long as it was a double-header that went into extra innings. We HAD to stay for the fireworks, which really were amazing.

The boys all brought their baseball mitts, which paid off when Andy caught a foul ball! He kindly gave it Ben, who hasn't stopped playing with it since. He was even able to take it to school to show his class.

Saturday we slept in, care of a late Friday night. We went to Ben's t-ball game, then headed to the hotel for a few hours of swimming! The kids were in Heaven; it's been so long since they have been in a pool. They just love the water and all the people to play with!

Sunday we went to church then spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the yard. These $1 beach balls I bought for the pool have created hours and hours of enjoyment. They played volleyball for a long time!

Annie practiced closing her hands to catch a ball...
And there is always the stack-en-up game! We also played baseball and threw the frisbee for awhile. Such a beautiful day outside!
Ben wanted to take a little break to write letters, so Grandma Maas indulged him. Out came the bed trays, paper, envelopes and markers!
It was a great trip. Unfortunately, they left, Andy went out of town, and I was left to go back to everyday life, one where I actually had to make meals again!

Sundays at Home

On any particular day, you will find Emily taking all the movies off the shelves and connecting each box very carefully to make a bridge. Dancing Queen....Emily didn't want to wear this cute dress until Annie showed her how to spin and the dress flies out. Now it is one of her favorites!

Ben likes to wander around the room while he is talking on the phone. It makes one very dizzy to watch!

Tickling games happen if Dad is home more than a few minutes. As soon as one person starts laughing, the rest of the kids run in to see what made them laugh.

They made up this hopping game using Andy's shoes. Annie won every single time; she is FAST!

Emily is so sad because there are only two shoes, so she didn't get to play.

We always start Family Home Evening with announcements. If you want to make one, you raise your hand and Dad will call on you. Emily always raises her hand and says something about how she loves Mom, Dad, Ben, and Annie. Super cute!

Two very tired girls...

They couldn't make it up the stairs, so Dad helped them!

Ben got to stay up a few minutes later than the girls this night. We were watching Life. I love hippos...sigh...

Sleep, Sleep, and More Sleep

I am so tired...all of the time. It's really kind of getting old. I haven't stayed up late to finish a book in over two months!! My husband is astounded. I even left the tv and went to bed with one quarter left in the 6th Mavs/Spurs game because I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. My children have really enjoyed tv and watched a lot of new shows because Mommy needs her nap each day. Why? Because growing a 4th baby is an exhausting job!!! 6 more months, then the real work begins...