Sick Boy

Grant has been sick the last few days. He has an ear infection and has been running a fever. Poor guy!

Wind Tunnel

Our backyard is a wind tunnel. So far since we moved here 3 years ago we have had funny and real damage to our backyard and backyard items because of the wind.

Here is a quick summary:

1. Replaced a entire section of fence.

2. Broken umbrella

3. Glass in table smashed to a million tiny pieces

4. Lost one blow up Spider man pool last year

5. Lost another blow up pool this year - but husband went and found it WAY down the street

6. Gas grill caught on fire because it blew over and landed on the knob

There are many other things that we have lost or been ruined but basically if it gets windy or a storm is coming I get anxiety because I wonder what is going to break, get lost, or cost us money to fix.

Last week we had a bad storm blow in at 10:00 at night and Brian and I were outside putting the gas grill back, filling the pool with more water to weight it down, fix the fence, and put the chairs inside.

Good Song

I have always struggled with self worth, self esteem issues, a ton of other things that basically add up to feeling worthless or wondering if I matter. Pretty typical of people but stinky none the less. I am sure I am not alone in these types of feeling. I have also struggled with the concept of church. I don't struggle with the concept of Jesus. Just church and sometimes all the bull that goes along with a church. Overall though I tend to just let that go because it is not different than most things in life and their little annoyances. Anyway...today at church I asked if I could start working one time a month in Grant's classroom in hopes of serving but also helping him be more comfortable in there. They were open to my helping but because we go to such a HUGE church I have to fill out this huge packet of information on myself and go through a back round check. I do like this because I don't want some crazy in the 2 year old classroom either. One of the questions I had to answer was about my spiritual journey and I had to tell them about it. For some reason that question made me shudder. In made me shudder due to my own above mentioned insecurities and to me this was very much a "church" question and quite honestly it reminded me of a certain church that also caused shuddering. So basically I answered the question in the simplest way possible because that is how I see it. It is simple to me. He died for me, I serve Him, He lives in my heart, He is my hope. I am not always a nice person, I can be catty and ugly, I can be negative, I can be a bad wife and mom, I can be a rotten friend but it is still okay. Gosh there is peace in that. Then we sang this song at the end of the service...maybe this is my journey.

Here are the words:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light my strength my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love what depths of peace
When fears are stilled when strivings cease
My comforter my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus dies
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stand in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Nap Time

I had just laid down for a nap and Jack and Brian were playing a video game for a few more minutes when the phone rings. Jack answers...

Jack: Hello
Phone: Hello may I speak to Angie
Jack: She is taking a nap
Phone: When would be a good time for me to call back
Jack: When nap time is over
Phone: I will call back when nap time is over then

Hilarious! I have no idea who this was and neither does Jack. I love the innocence of well call back when nap time is over buddy...like that guy just knows when that is!

Dear Jack

Dear Jack,

You start kindergarten in a few weeks. I am so excited for you. You are a little nervous and unsure. You have already asked me if I will help you with your math and reading. I have assured you that I will. I promise to help you every single day for the rest of our lives with whatever you need. I hope you know that. You are going to do so great. You are a little sponge and I can't wait to watch you learn and grown even more. You are going to meet a lot of new friends. There is so much I want to tell you about people. I can tell you some and some you will learn as we go. When you walk into school that first day with your new Speed Racer backpack and only wearing football clothes I will be with you in your heart the entire time you are in that building just like we talked about. I love you. You are my joy and you are my best!

Love,
Mom

Kindergarten Letter

Dear Kindergarten Teacher,

In a few weeks when the school year begins you will have my son Jack in your class. I don't know you and you don't know him but I am looking forward to that changing. As I write this weeks in advance I am almost in tears over it all. I will be the mother with her sunglasses on when I bring him to you. I will also be the one sitting on the curb in a puddle after he walks into your classroom. Oh yeah and I will be the one there to greet him when he leaves your room that first day as well. I am a teacher and I have rolled my eyes at mothers like me a million times and assured many a parent that it will be fine, I will take care of their child, I will care for their child, and love them when they are with me. But boy is this different. I want to to let you know that Jack is precious, he is kind, he is sweet, his is all boy, he loves football, he asks a lot of questions, he is always hungry, he is sometimes unsure of himself and things, he hates spiders, he can by shy and he can be outgoing, he will love recess, he is worried about reading and math, he loves football, he is glad his friend Hannah will be in class with him, he is a rule follower, and he love football! I know you come to work everyday loving your job and loving working with all kids. I do the same. Please know that we are thankful for you and for the compassion and care you are going to give him daily. Please know we are excited for him to learn and grow this year. Just please also know how precious he is to us!

Thank you! And yes it is okay to roll your eyes at me when I am not looking. Oh yeah and if he tells anyone he is going to kick their ass that really is my fault!

Thursday

Today was looking to be another rainy day so at 8am when the boys finally got up (yes you read that correctly) we went outside to play. I could see the clouds forming and new we only had a little time to be outside. By the time we came in a little while later Grant was soaked, not from the rain but from spraying others and himself with squirt rockets from the pool which was filled with old yucky water! When we came in we decided to make play dough. That was not a good idea after all. First of all I did not have the ingredients of the first few recipes I found online but then I found one by Mr. Rogers that was just flour and water. Sounds easy? It was easy but it was very weird textured and would not come off your hands. Jack hated it and Grant just kept saying "uh oh" to it being stuck on his hands. We cleaned that up and trashed the recipe. So next we decided to paint. Things were going very well and the boys were having fun. I left the room for a minute to put some clothes away and when I returned...I will just let the picture below tell you what I found. Thankfully crayola products are non toxic! After that we played hide-n-seek for like 45 minutes and had a blast. We had a picnic for lunch on the front porch so we stayed dry and could get out of the house for a short time. This was followed by a nap for the

G-man, a movie for Jack, and a snooze for mom on the couch. Overall a great day!

Skittles

Grant loves skittles. I bought a huge bag and poured them into a large glass. We then put the glass on the shelf in the bathroom and if he goes potty or poop he can have one. Hourly he goes in there and asks for a "skitty" I always tell him he has to go potty and he shakes his head "no" and runs out of the room. Good news though every time I go to the bathroom I find myself grabbing some skittles. So basically I am doing great on this going to the bathroom thing! I mean really who does not love skittles!

Monday

Today was going to be a long day in my head. Brian had to work and then go to a board meeting in the evening. These type of days make me nervous because they can be really long. We started the morning with me running and Grant playing while Jack stayed upstairs watching cartoons. Then we headed to the library and discovered that the library is not a good place for Grant. We set a record for fastest library visit and made a quick exit. Jack did get some football books (what else would you expect) and a couple of movies. After the library we headed to the grocery store for fruit and milk. After lunch we attempted to go outside and play a little baseball but it was just to hot. Grant went down for nap and Jack and I watched the new "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with Johnny Depp. It was okay and Jack liked it. After Grant got up we headed outside to swim in our little pool and play some baseball. We ended up staying outside for 3 hours and ate dinner outside as well. We had fun and the boys really do like eating outside. While outside I had some time to reflect. I thought about how fast these years are going and how I need to relax and enjoy them. Before I know it my days of kids will be over and they will want to do their own thing and not spend it all with me. I am lucky to have such awesome boys. I love that they have so much fun doing such simple things. I am also lucky to be home with them this summer and am truly enjoying every second of it. So without sounding to cheesy I woke up this morning wondering what type of day this would be and it turned out to be the best day ever! Plus Brian got home early so he and the boys are curled up on the couch watching a movie.

I Have Decided

I have decided that I will no longer be washing the kitchen floor until this one leaves for college.

How Cool Is This!

God has a vision and plan for our lives that is not bound by expectations, normalcy, or what is deemed appropriate by society! This is so awesome to me!

A Mom of Boys

Here are some conversations I have had recently with my boys:

Jack

Jack came in my bathroom to tell me that he was peeing in the other bathroom and he was thinking of something and he turned and peed all over the wall. He then wanted to know if I was mad at him. I told him I was not mad at him because messes can be cleaned up but in the future when peeing I would like for him to only think about peeing and getting it in the toilet.

I was emptying the dishwasher and Jack asked if he could have his play sword from the dishwasher. I did not understand. He told me he was in the bathroom and he dropped it in the toilet and daddy put it in the dishwasher to clean it. Sure enough there it was all nice and clean!

Grant

Grant says "ya" for "yes" and he says it for about everything. You can ask him any crazy question you want and he says "ya" with a Swedish accent none the less. He really says it for everything. Yesterday I asked him if he wanted to play in the living room with the purple hippopotamus and he said "ya" but today after church I asked him if he had fun in his class and he would not say it! Uh oh! But he did like the cookie he got when we were leaving!

We swam for a little bit before naps today and when we came inside I stripped Grant down. He then told me "bye" "run" (He was saying he was going for a run) and he was trying to go out the door to the garage. He was wearing NOTHING except for Jack's tennis shoes. I told him he should just run around the living room and so he did! When Brian or I go for a run we leave through the garage and always say were we are going to Grant and tell him bye so he does not get upset. I promise you though we wear clothes and our own shoes not Jack's

Six Flags

Yesterday we went to Six Flags. Jack had a lot of fun! We started at the water park and ended the day at Kiddie Land. There were not any lines in kiddie land so he had a lot of fun. He got to hang out with his cousins (Libby and Laney) and they all had a blast! We hope to make it back next year and stay a little longer! I don't have any pictures because I only brought a water camera.

Breakfast In Bed

Jack woke up this morning at about 7:45, let the dogs out, made me a bowl of cereal and brought it to me in bed while I was still sleeping. How sweet is that! It is the first time in my entire life that someone has brought me breakfast in bed. I sure do love that boy!

Home

We woke up at 4:30 Sunday morning and were on the road by 5:30. The boys were crabby to say the least...very crabby. I climbed in back at about 6:15 to try and let them lean on me to sleep. Jack never slept and Grant finally fell asleep at 8:30. I had been taking pictures of the state signs along the highway but I missed the Mississippi state sign. You see I missed it because in my mind I was never in Mississippi. Our car was but I was in hell. Yes, you heard me correctly I was in HELL. Hell is also known has sitting between Jack and Grant in the back seat of our pilot trying to entertain a 2 year old who is tired but won't sleep and wants OUT of his car seat. It was not pretty! We survived though and after he slept for a little bit he was a lot better. We ate lunch at a Burger King that had a great playground and that helped as well. Grant got crabby again about 1 hour from home. We just pushed on and made it home at 6:00. Jack was AWESOME in the car. That boy sat back with his movies and had a great time. Great job Jack.

Reasons Why We Love The Beach

Brian and I wrote out this list while driving home:
1. Kids sandy toes
2. Sunburned noses
3. G-Man in sunglasses
4. Jack in the ocean
5. Football fields instead of sandcastles
6. A big car feeling small
7. A fun pull out couch as a bed
8. G-Man burrowing
9. White boys, tan Mommy
10. Lazy Rivers
11. Jumping in the pool when the water is cold
12. Movie nights at the pool
13. Jack swimming and Grant bobbing
14. Sound of waves
15. Ice Cream at the pool
16. Catching hermit crabs
17. A surprise hermit crab
18.When you can't remember when the kids last had a bath
19. Dry towels
20. Sand in your car, shoes, on the floor, in your bed, in your mouth...
21. Living in your swimsuit
22. Hunting for sand crabs at nights with flashlights
23. Dolphins early in the morning
24. Dad catching the jellyfish and burying it far away from us
25. Grant saying "beach, beach, beach" as well would walk out to the beach.

What are your favorites?

Don't worry "Beach" we will be back!

Just a few more...

Here are just a few more for today!

Boogie Board

I did not get any pictures of Jack using the boogie-board because we were all in the water together but here are some of Grant giving it a try!

Pool Time

Our resort had four pools! We spent time in all of them!

Faces of G-Man

Beach

Here are just a few pictures of the beach. We miss it already.

We are home!

Here is just one of the 303 pictures that we took. I will share more in the coming days! It is good to be home.

Be Ready

I have taken over 300 pictures!

We leave in the morning (aiming for 6am) and plan on driving straight through. Please send prayers our way for safe travel, patience, and sleepy kids!

Saturday

It is our last day here and I am very bummed. I think I could live here forever or at least come visit a lot more often. I have decided to start selling Arbonne when I get home with the intention of pocketing any money I make from that to go towards family vacations or possibly a minivan (Brian rolls his eyes at that one.) Anyway back to today...We started the morning at the beach and then the pool. We came in for lunch and it started to rain so we all took naps. It is still raining a little bit and so we have been packing and cleaning up a little bit. We found a stow away hermit crab in our shell bag a little bit ago so Jack and I went and took him back to the ocean. What we thought was just a pretty shell was actually some little guys home. I am quite glad we did not discover him when we got home and wondered what that smell was the entire drive back to O'Fallon.

Here is one more Grant story...the emergency call button in the elevator is perfect height for G-Man and he presses it all the time. He presses it or attempts to press it every single time we get in the elevator. Whoever designed these elevators did not have a 2 year old.

Friday

The plan for today was to spend it at the beach and pool along with some naps. We got out to the beach and a storm blew in so back inside we went. We ran to Alvins Island to look at tees but decided against any of them since Jack will only wear football or sports shirts and Grant has plenty of clothes. We came back to our condo for lunch and naps and we were all awake by about 2:00 and headed to the beach. We waded out just a little bit to a sand bar area and found 5 hermit crabs and a few sand crabs which we put in our small plastic pool. We filled it with some sand and water and got to watch them for a while before putting them back in the ocean. Grant loved the crabs, he would try to touch them and would squeal when they crawled. Grant decided today that he finally loved the beach and water and he was quite the handful to chase after. He wears a life jacket so he just bobs around and he had a blast in the waves. I think it helped that it was a little cloudy so the sun was not so bright in his face. We headed back to the pool after dinner for movie night. They set up a huge screen (Pawp Randy would be jealous) and played "Surfs Up." Jack sat with us for the some of the movie and he sat out in the water on an inner tube for the rest. We brought some popcorn and other snacks and had a good time. Grant feel asleep on Brian about halfway through and those sitting around us got a good chuckle at his snoring. Tomorrow is our last day here and we are leaving bright and early Sunday morning with the plan of driving through nonstop.

Oh yeah...A good Jack story. We have kinda abandoned a schedule around here and bed time is later and later each night. Last night Jack who has skipped naps most days as well was really tired. At 9:30 he started making some comments about laying down and wanting to go to sleep. I kinda ignored him because Grant was still running around crazy. About fifteen minutes later in a loud demanding Jack voice full of exasperation he said, "I am EXHAUSTED can I PLEASE go to sleep?" He has never requested sleep. He is a great sleeper but never in 5 years has he asked to go to bed. Love it!

Airbrushing

I don't get the fascination with airbrush t-shirts? Am I alone?

Pawp?

A complete stranger was on his phone today at the beach and Grant went up to him and said Pawp? Pawp? Pawp?

At the pool this evening I told the boys to go to the hot tub...Grant went running saying Pawp? (My parents have a hot tub and he gets in it at their house)

Just for the record

Our Condo has gotten quite messy. I don't have my usual cleaning supplies and it is kinda small so stuff is everywhere plus with all the sand we drag in the floor is impossible to keep clean. For those of you that know me I like (okay love) to clean but this week I have really let it go. Sometimes my excessive cleaning gets on Brian's nerves but today he admitted he really deep down likes it and can't wait to go home to his clean house and clean floors. I just wanted to record this for proof in the future when he gives me trouble for cleaning. Ha!

Pawp? Mamaw? Are you here?

All Grant does in yell for his Pawp then his Mamaw. He has even started seeing skinny men at the pool or beach and yelling Pawp. It has gotten quite funny.

Tuesday...Wednesday...Thursday

Still no pictures but we bought a cord so we could have Internet in our room. Here is a recap of the last few days.

Tuesday:
We went to the outlet mall and found a few deals but nothing exciting. I did find Grant some new Crocs which he needed. Brian also found an great deal on a suit which was good. After we got home we went to the beach and the pool.

Wednesday:
Happy Birthday to Brian (and Uncle Ryan). We started the morning with cards and singing. Grant does a great job at singing Happy Birthday. We got it on video as well, basically he sings Happy and then spits over and over. So cute! We went again to the beach and pool. We ended the evening going out to dinner and the go cart place. At dinner at Outback I told Jack how six years ago at Outback on Daddy's birthday we told everyone that we were pregnant with him. I was this as a sentimental thing and Jacks response was "Were the Rams playing in St. Louis then? What were their colors? Did Kurt Warner play for them then? So much for sentiment huh? After dinner we went to the go cart place and they both had a blast. Jack rode on his own and with Brian. They both rode an airplane ride and a train. It was really neat to see their faces and how much fun they had.

Thursday (Today):
We went to the Gulfariam and got to see the sea lion show, dolphin show, and sealion/dolphin show and the cool shark tank. Jack loved it and Grant was okay with it all. It was very HOT and that made it difficult for him. After that we came back to the condo had lunch and Grant and Brian took a nap while Jack and I went to the beach. At the beach Jack and I built a football field out of sand, played catch, did the boogie board and took lots of walks. We all then met up at the pool for a while. After dinner we took some pictures out on the beach in our kakhi shorts and white shirts. Brian said we looked dorky all matching but them he saw the 15 other families out doing the same thing and did not feel so dorky anymore.

I have taken tons of pictures and when we return will post them so be ready.

Sunday and Monday

The cord to upload pictures is at home so until we get back home...no pics! This is a real bummer because I know you are all dying to see us in our swimsuits (ha ha). Really though I am dying for everyone to see G-Man and Jack having a blast. Here is the scoop of the last two days:

1. We got here on Sunday at about 2:30 and were able to get into our condo at 4:30. After they fixed the air conditioner that was not working we hit the beach. Grant keeps saying "Uh Oh" about the sand on his body and Jack loved the waves.

2. After the beach we hit the pools. Yes there are four pools. We all went through the lazy river a few times and then Jack and Brian went in one of the big pools while Grant and I went to the kiddie area. Grant had a blast going down the shipwreck slide over and over and over.

3. Jack slept great on the pull out couch and Grant slept really well in the pack-n-play until 3:30 am when he thought he would sleep better cuddled up to Brian in our bed. The good news for me is although Grant usually prefers me over Brian, in the middle of the night he seems to prefer Brian.

4. Brian went to run and I got the boys ready and we went down to the beach. When I told Jack to put his swim suit on because we were going to the beach he told me he did not want to go because he just really wanted to play with his football boys. Funny thing...we did not drive 800 miles and pay all this money to come here so you could play football boys buddy!

5. The boys and I walked along the beach, saw some dolphins, and played in the sand until Brian joined us. Once Brian was with us we got in the water. Jack loved playing in the waves, trying to catch fish, and throwing the football around. After a while sand and sunscreen got in Grants eyes so he and I went to shower off and hit the pool. We all then came inside for lunch and naps.

6. I went back down to the beach for awhile by myself and then went for a run. Everybody is starting to wake up now and I think we are going to go buy Jack a net to catch fish with and a boogie board.

To be continued...

Athens, AL

My camera is in the car so I can't share any pics but we are a little over halfway to the beach. The ride here went really well. Jack watched a bunch of movies and Grant slept some, used his doodle drawer, and looked out the window. We spent a little time at a great park in Brentwood, TN for some much needed play time. When we got to our hotel this evening we ate a quick dinner at Applebees and then hit hotel pool. Jack is a little confused by our hotel and we had to do some explaining as to were the living room, kitchen, and backyard are located. Jack also told us today that in Fl, he is not going to spend any of his money from Mamaw and Pawp on food because that would be a waste...he is going to buy some toys (because we don't have enough of those already). Oh yeah and Jack was often heard yelling how starving he was throughout the trip down. He yells because of his headset for the dvd player. And any time Grant would fuss in the car Brian would tell him to stop or he was going to the "naughty rug" and he would stop fussing right away. We found this quite amusing as clearly the "naughty rug" was still in our foyer about 400 miles behind us! We are hoping he does not catch on to that.

That is about it for now...we are gearing down for bedtimes and anxious to see how Grant does since he only prefers to sleep in his bed. Wish us luck. Our thought is he will eventually fall asleep but when????

Holy Moly and another tooth!

I guess I say Holy Moly sometimes...Grant now says "Holy" in his deep little voice. I love it! Jack also lost his other front tooth yesterday...I love his new grin!

On a sidenote: We leave for vacation tomorrow. I am so excited to see the beach through the boys eyes! Send prayers for safe travel our way.

Bad A#@

Jack just asked me if it would be rude to say "Bad Ass" I told him it would. He then asked if it would be rude to say "Bad Ass you are not my friend" Again, yes it would be rude!

Oh boy. He has a CD of music that NFL teams use as their warm ups...it might be time I listen a little closer to that CD.