Don't judge me... (or do. I guess that's why I'm asking.)

Is it weird that upon seeing newborn I feel a wave of panic followed by relief as I think I'm so glad I don't have to take care of him?

Our summer "agenda"

Kate, Anna, and Pinterest helped me come up with these ideas of things we'll do this summer!  We made them into a poster last Monday and hung it in the playroom to check them off as we do them.

In case you're interested in making your own list, feel free to borrow from ours.  Here's one that's more readable:

In the first week, we've done the following:

Go to Mexico.

(Eye roll!)  We added this only because Kate was worried that 7 of the "88 days of summer" were used up already before we got started on the list.  This way, we'd put those 7 days to good use.  (Tongue in cheek.) 

Join the library reading program.

And now I have a perfect response to "Can we watch TV?"  "You should really do some reading for the library reading program!"

Slip and Slide.

AND we turned our twisty slide into a water slide!  I'd definitely suggest that!  So fun!

Have a water fight with spray bottles.

This is about the easiest summer activity I can think of, but it always makes for a fun time!

I was having SO much fun getting out any pent up frustration.

Until Anna had a brilliant idea for a shield.

Make a water balloon piñata.

Yeah, it hit 94 degrees a couple days last week, so we crossed off three of the water ones in just two days.  The water balloon piñata was really fun.  We just made a bunch of water balloons and tied them together with ribbon.  The balloons turned out to be super hard to break!  This wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it just extended the experience.

Our neighbor Connor did the piñata with us.

Dave even got in on the action, trying to break the "unbreakable piñata," but to no avail.
We finally used Mason's brush to pop the balloons.

Sew our own headbands.

I got sick of being out in the sun, okay?

Pick Strawberries (AND sugar snap peas, too!)

The twins actually got to pick strawberries twice!  Mommy loves to pick produce.

And since it was the end of the strawberry season and the fruit was too ripe to last even hours (literally) after we got it home, we took the opportunity to...


Make homemade "Fruit by the foot."
Anna didn't understand the concept of fruit rollups.  She kept wanting "olive roll-ups" or "cheese roll-ups" (things I shove in whole wheat tortillas for them) instead.  So I switched to calling it "fruit by the foot," but that just confused both of them since even Kate had never had that.  But, regardless, once they were made (8 hours of warming in the oven later), they went over really well!  Kate and Luke loved them, and Ally could not get enough.

End note: The picture quality in this post isn't great, once again.  I still can't find the charger for my good camera.  But, upon the suggestion of our friends and neighbors, Scott and Kellie, I found one online for a total of $5.77 (including shipping) and it's on its way!  Hallelujah!

Ally's stinky diaper

The kids and I were all upstairs getting ready to go outside.  Ally had a poopy diaper, so I lay her down in the hall to change her diaper.  It was a smelly one.  Luke came over and started saying, "Ewww, Baby [his name for her].  Baby, Ewwww!"  He continued to comment on the situation, possibly reprimanding her for the stickiness of her diaper.  "Baby!  Ewwwww.  Ewww, baby!"

A morning of picking

After we dropped Kate and Anna off at VBS, Luke, Ally, and I headed over to one of Dave's colleague's houses to pick her raspberries while she's on vacation.

Ally was so excited to eat the raspberries, but she couldn't find enough ripe ones.  At first she'd pull and pull the underripe berries, getting angry that they wouldn't pull off, but she soon developed a new system.  She just stuck her little mouth on the plant.  Thorns be damned; Ally wants a berry!

We'd emptied the bushes of raspberries, but the twins hadn't gotten their fill of berries, so we drove to Barthel's fruit farm and picked some strawberries. The workers wanted us to walk back to a certain row, but Luke and Ally thought that was ridiculous.  There were berries all over, why would they pass them up?  So, they stopped and picked along the way.

I started to pick berries to bring home, while the babies picked there own to eat.  I remember thinking, But, soon they found my basket.  They had to wonder, Why are we messing around with all these leaves when there's a whole basket of strawberries here? 

It was a wonderful way to spend a summer morning.

  

Now I'm just waiting for the diapers that follow two toddlers eating several pounds of berries for breakfast and lunch.

Elbows

The twins watch more TV than the older girls ever did at their age.  Although it's till less than one show a day, it's definitely made an impression.  I really don't believe in young children watching any TV, but when two kids are crying, and another two are whining or arguing, and dinner needs to be made... I figure a little TV is better than adding a crying mom to the mix.

Last night as I was getting Luke and Ally ready for bed, we were reviewing their body parts.  I'd say, "Where are your noses?"  They'd both point to their noses and say, "Nose!"  We'd gone through eyes, ears, hair, cheeks, knees, feet, and a few others, when I wondered Have we done elbows?  I'm pretty sure we hadn't, because when I said, "Where are your elbows?"  They both looked surprised and with excitement exclaimed, "Elmo!"  Then, because they couldn't point to anything on their bodies, Luke said, "Elmo EE," his word for TV.

More of me rambling about how blessed I am

Not a day goes by that I forget how blessed I am, but I sometimes forget about all the ways in which I'm blessed. 

It's obvious to me that I'm incredibly fortunate to have four healthy kids, my own health, an incredible husband, and overwhelming material blessings, but today I was reminded how I'm also surrounded by so many amazing people who care about us.

The minute we landed in Milwaukee this afternoon, I got a text message from a friend whose sister (a wonderful friend of mine) had read that we'd lost our vacation pictures.  She gave me ideas of how to retrieve them.  How wonderfully kind of them both to care enough to do that.  Then my brother, who drove an hour each way just to bring Mason to me for our convenience, also asked me about the memory card.

That got me thinking.  When I was growing up, I didn't have many friends, and most of the few friends I did have met the definition very loosely.  I didn't really understand what it meant to have people really care about me.  Now I have so many wonderful people in my life.  It's actually overwhelming when I think about it.  I'm so grateful.  (I love you!)  

In perspective of all my blessings, the memory card problem seems very petty, but...

I did get the pictures recovered and they're stored safely on my computer and the iCloud!

More photos to come, of course, but here are a couple of my favorites:

Maybe the camera just couldn't handle the cuteness.

The sounds of nature

We were playing in the sand near the beach bar this afternoon. Every couple of minutes, the bartenders would use the blender, which made a whirring, moaning noise. One of the times Anna looked out into the sea and said, "I hear a whale, a humpback whale!"

Inappropriate, but so funny

At breakfast this morning there was a special Little People characters dance with the kids. They played some interesting music, most of which were cover songs sung by children. The most bizarre was a cover of The Roof is on Fire. If you're not familiar with the song, there is a part that chants, We don't need no water let the motherf---er burn! Call me immature, but I was really excited to see what the singing children were going to do with that!

When it came time, the children on the CD yelled, "We don't need no water... " I giggled in anticipation. "Let the (loud tongue roll trill) burn."

I burst out laughing and I whispered to Dave, "Do you know how you say motherf---er in Spanish? (Loud tongue roll trill)!"

Impressive language skills

We've been proud of the kids' Spanish on this trip, but we had no idea just how great they were doing until Anna informed Dave, while sitting the toilet, that she could count to a google in Spanish!

I spoke too soon

Well our commendable meal behavior went down hill severely. Three of our last seven meals were total nightmares. That's no exaggeration. I mean, a couple left the restaurant because of us the other night. When I returned to the table with Ally tonight (after letting Ally play in the sink in the bathroom just to stop the screaming) Dave informed me, "We've hit an all time low," and explained that the mother at the table next to us, two of her three kids having g-tubes, commented that we really had our hands full.

Photographic memory

Dave knows how obsessed I am with taking pictures, so before this vacation he bought me the perfect vacation/summer camera, a little waterproof, shockproof ELPH. I have little patience left for ELPHs after using my beloved SLR, but this camera was awesome. The pictures were good quality and there wasn't even that delay ELPH cameras always have. I was in love. It had fun features, and I could take the thing underwater and shoot video there, for goodness sake! Camera heaven. I was collecting beautiful vacation pictures and already imagining the photobook I would make with the kids on Shutterly when we got home.

Then yesterday at the pool the camera said there was a memory car error. Hmmmm....? I dried it off and opened it up. There was water dripping from inside. NO!!!! I quickly dried the memory card and battery and tried to shake the camera dry. I let it dry for a while back in the room, and then I tried again.

The camera worked but it said there was no pictures on the card. No pictures? No picture of us all in front of the resort, no picture of Kate underwater, no picture of all the kids at the swim up bar, no pictures at all. I felt sick, but I assured myself the kids could make a book of mainly their memories, and we could snap some new pictures on a spare card.

I went to take more pictures and the new pictures turned out completely foggy, not even distinguishable. I decided to let it dry some more.

We went to the beach late yesterday afternoon and had a wonderful time. On a whim Dave leaped over Luke's head and Luke loved it. He laughed so hard he nearly fell over. He started yelling a bunch of jibberish to Dave with the only audible word being "jumpy" while he pantomimed jumping up and down. Dave followed Luke's command and did it again. He ran toward Luke, leaped over his head, then he turned around and did it from the other direction. Luke yelled more jibberish and more "jumpy"s, and Dave did more running and leaping. Soon Ally got in on the action, and Dave was leaping over both their heads. Run, leap, run, leap, turn around, and repeat. Both kids were so excited they were running around in circles, only standing still for Dave to leap over them, and then they'd laugh so hard they would double over.

I laughed and tried to enjoy the moment while the whole time, I was lamenting not being able to capture the moment on video or film. I picuted the shots I could catch, of Luke's excited face yelling for more, of Ally's joy. I told myself to just enjoy it, to remember it, to write about it.

What did people do before modern cameras? I wonder. Did they find more joy in the moment?

Español

Three of Luke and Ally's first fifty words are Spanish. When a waiter gave Luke his chocolate milk yesterday, he responded with a "Gra cha," which was definitely a gracias.

Later when we were leaving the beach bar, Ally joined in our chorus of "Adios" with an "Adio" of her own.

When Ally woke up this morning, I walked in and substituted "Hola" for my usual "Hi." Ally didn't miss a beat, she just replied, "Hola!"

I find it fascinating how young kids minds work with languages.

Quatro niños?

So many people regularly type on iPads, but I just don't get it. It's not for me.

We've been on vacation in Mexico this week. Although I have access to the internet on Dave's iPad and spare time each day during nap, I haven't finished a single post because I can not type on this thing! And this is coming from someone who has written posts from her phone!

Anyway, I will be patient now and finish a this I started days ago.


We've had endless comments about our family on this vacation, including my favorite which was while we were walking though the airport Canun. A baggage carrier stared at us then commented in a thick accent, "Too many cheeldren!"

Last night as we left dinner, two other families vacationing together had told us how well behaved our kids were, how they didn't know how our kids were so much better than theirs.

This morning at breakfast the same families walked by and each parent individually commented about how great our kids behaved. One of fathers said, "In fact, your really starting to piss me off. I'm going to sneak some sugar in your kids' drinks!"

Immediately aftwards a waitress came and gawked at the kids, shocked that they were "all ours." After she left, Dave shook his head and said, "Our family has officially become the eighth wonder of the world."

Bats

I let Anna play a game on my iPhone tonight as I trimmed her hair.  She came to a picture of a bat, underneath which she was supposed to move the letters b, a, t in order.  She asked, "Is this a bat?"

I told her it was and added, "I had a bat in my classroom one time, remember?"

She asked me, "Are bats mean?  Do they bite?"

I told her, "Bats aren't mean.  They do bite, but they won't bite you if you don't bug them."

"What does bug mean?" she asked.

"Bother.  I mean, bats won't bite you as long as you don't bother them."

"Oh," she said, understanding, "Bats are just like my little sister!"

Ally.  She's just misunderstood.

It's a beautiful day!

I know.  Right?

Cutest flower girls ever!  Can I really claim these two?

My brother's wedding was yesterday.  It was perfect!  There was a small rain scare, but they ended up with wonderful weather in a gorgeous setting.  

Jen made the most beautiful bride (seriously enviably beautiful, I tell you) and they had a lovely ceremony and a party where everyone enjoyed themselves.  

I opted not to be the obnoxious amateur-photographer relative snapping pictures behind the photographer, since that would make me crazy.  That's a decision I somewhat regret now that I don't have a single shot of my exquisite sister-in-law bride, but I'll make sure to correct that as soon as they get their pictures back.

All four fancy kids!

My two men.

Strawberries...

... in our own backyard!  Yay!

Ice cream for lunch

Sometimes I hear about things (yes, Pinterest again...I may soon need an intervention) that are just too amazing to be real.

This morning it was turning frozen bananas into "healthy ice cream."  I found this link and it said you just chop up some ripe bananas and freeze the pieces.  Then you just food process the frozen chunks until they become a creamy icecream-like texture.  You don't have to add a thing, but it suggested adding peanut butter and a little cocoa powder for an extra special treat.  I added them so the kids could get some protein from the peanut butter.

My kids gobbled it up.  When Ally finished her bowl, she shoved it over to Luke demanding he give her "Mow.  Mow!  MOW!!!"  When he wouldn't give her his ice cream, she began her high pitched screeching.  I guess they liked it.