Let's go to the zoo!!

Today we went to the zoo. We had a truly wonderful day! The zoo itself is very small. There area only about 15-20 animals in the whole place. But the exhibits themselves are really nice. (nothing compared to the Memphis Zoo of course) but nice for Hattiesburg. The zoo membership I purchased has already paid for itself. The biggest plus about the zoo is the humongous park next to it. I decided last night that we would go today. Everyone woke up in a good mood, surprisingly. So we got ready, packed a pinic and took off! The weather forcast said it would be mid fifties, but it wasn't. It stayed mid forties most of the day. So I thought we wouldn't see many animals because of the cold. I was wrong, most were out more than usual. The best one was the jaguar. He was pacing right in front of the fence on the side of his exhibit. The front of the exhibit is glass and big fake rocks. We came up to the fence and watched him pace so he started pacing in front of the glass too. It was really neat to see him so close. Dylan stood on the rocks in front of the glass to get a close close look. The jaguar walked up to the glass where Dylan was standing and peed on it. It was so so funny. Good thing he didn't do it when Dylan was standing by the fence, that could have been nasty. (Lil why does bad stuff like that happen to us at the zoo?? The gorilla assaulting you, the crocadile that came for Jack?? Now the jaguar and Dylan??) Next after the animals, we took a train ride around the zoo. Laiken loves it. She squeals and laughs and yells "toot toot" the whole time. She waves to anyone she sees. It is so funny, each ride is as if she is riding for the first time in her life. Amazing! After the train, we had the sweetest picnic lunch. They all were eating, no fussing or picking stuff off sandwiches. All was wonderful, til Laiken fell off the picnic bench. Lunch was over for her after that. After lunch, we played on the playground. Finally the sun came out and it warmed up to 57 degrees. We stayed at the swings for about an hour. It was a perfect day.

And as if I had not had enough perfect, I took them to ride around and look at Christmas lights. They are few and far between out here, but the ones who do put them up go ALL out. It was really nice. Once we got home, perfect was over. They were tired from the long day of perfectness and were starting to get nuts. So Jack was first at 7:50 (he didn't even fuss, just turned over and snuggled his pillow), Laiken was next at 8:30 ( she was not as happy as I was that she was next), and last Dylan (9:00). I love bedtime. :)

I am about to get back to perfectness and watch a movie and eat chips and dip. ALONE. Perfect!

first trip to the dentist

Today was Laiken's first trip to the dentist. She was so good. She climbed up in the big chair and waited patiently for her turn. She let them brush her teeth with no problems. Because she is so young, all they did was brush her teeth with a toothpaste/flouride combo. Then the dentist came in and she opened her mouth really wide and let him look at and touch her teeth. No cavities!! She was such a big girl. She was not scared at all. I am so proud of my little girl. Jack has started walking more and more. Laiken still pushes him away from things she is playing with, and sometimes pushes him down. Won't be long and he'll be pushing back. She is always begging him to come into their room and play with her. She comes in and tells me "Jack wants to play in the room" Soon he'll be running around with her. I may be crazy but I can't wait. They are so cute playing together. They love each other so much.

The Boss...

Laiken is so adorably bossy. Jake, the kids 10 yr. old cousin, came over to play with Dylan. Coming from Dylan's bedroom he picked up Jack in the hallway and brought him in the den where Laiken was watching TV. Laiken saw him carrying Jack and said "That's mama's Jack. Put him down." Jake started swinging him around. Laiken said " Don't swing him like that, put him down, that's mama's Jack!" "Stop messing with him" So next Dylan and Jake walked in to my bathroom to get clean towels and washrags, with Laiken following them saying " That's mama's room, get out. That's mama's." She is so protective, like a little chihuahua. Tonight she went into her room and got her own pajamas out. All by her self, she took off the shirt she was wearing and put on her pajama pants and shirt. It was luck that she got them on without being backwards, but I was still completely amazed she did it alone. She is so smart. Right before bed she was playing with her Lego's and built a really tall tower. She said "look a mountain". Too cute! Jack, bless his heart, he has finally started sleeping through the night in his own bed. It only took a year for me to get to sleep through the night again!! Thank goodness!! He is officially the world's best baby now. Today he completely melted my heart, I wish I would have had the video camera out. I was sitting in front of the computer holding Jack, Trey came in and asked Jack, "are you daddy's baby?" Jack looked up at me, and plain as day said, "Mama" It was wonderful. I love him so much.

He Survived!!

Trey had an amazing time at the game. He was teased a little. All day he was called Tiger Bait. And he heard "Go to Hell Ole Miss" all day. The Rebels beat the pants off the Tigers in Death Valley 31 to 13. His supervisor was disgusted by the game and made them all leave with three minutes to go. Trey said it definitely was one of the most memorable days of his life. He was lucky enough to get two weeks off to come home and spend some time with us. The next job will only be 4 10hour days, so he will be able to come home thurs nights and go back on sundays. That will be so nice to have him home more. We have had a wonderful week and a great Thanksgiving. Trey and Ryan made a smoker out of a grill and an old army cabinet. I laughed when I saw them start, but the finished product was truly amazing. They are so smart when they make things like that from junk they have lying around. The smoker even had an attached thermometer to measure the inside temperature. They smoked two whole chickens and the turkey. It was the most delicious meat I have ever eaten. I think Jack ate his weight in turkey on Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time at Ryan and Jody's. We stayed all day, except for a three hour break for me and the babies to take a nap. There was so much food that everyone came back for supper and still had enough to take plates home. It was excessive, but wonderful. I think the kids had a good Thanksgiving also. Thurs morning Dylan went to Ryan's with Trey to finish smoking the turkey and get the food ready. Then they practiced shooting their bows. Dylan really enjoys getting to hang out with the "guys" and do the things they do. Or at least just the things they will let him do. Laiken and Jack helped me make desert and rolls. And while Jack squeezed in a quick morning nap, Laiken and I made a turkey with a plastic cup, a piece of yarn, and construction paper. When you pull on the yarn the turkey makes a gobble type noise. It was really cute. When we got to Ryan's, they played in the front yard practically all day. They played with footballs, jump ropes, dump trucks, and the wagon. It was great. It was really a fun day for everyone.

He must be crazy!!

All of my blogs are about my kids... If Trey lived here there would be more about him. He makes me laugh as much as they do. (Maybe that's why I love him so much) Today he has the privilage of joining his superintendent at the Ole Miss vs LSU game. He has never been to a college football game. He is very excited to say the least. The company he works for, Turner Industries, has season tickets available for the Bosses. The seats are on the fifty yard line and pretty close I think. From what Trey says, they are incredible seats. The company has a huge tailgating party that starts early the morning of the game. The guys have messed with him all season because he's the only ole miss fan on the job. The job is in Baton Rouge, most of the guys are from LA and are all die hard LSU fans. Trey said the supervisor even has LSU crocks. Too funny. There is even a bet between the two. If ole miss loses Trey has to dye Lsu in the back of his head, if they win the super has to dye ole miss in the back of his. Grown men....So Trey being Trey, most of you know my husband well, I think his favorite saying is " I don't give a f*** what they think!!" (can't count how many times I've heard that) He is determined to wear Ole Miss gear to the LSU game, to sit on the LSU side and cheer on the rebels, maybe even close enough to the players where they can throw things at his bright red shirt. He went on the hunt for anything ole miss in Baton Rouge, no luck, not one shirt. So he bought a super thick, nice red hoodie sweatshirt and had the ole miss logo put on it at a monogram shop. So picture Trey at the game wearing red among a sea of purple and gold. I have heard stories about fans at tiger stadium, that they are fanatical like no other fans. Daddy called Trey Thurs night to talk to him one last time before he gets killed, a friend of Mama's said one word when he heard the story, "Suicide". I asked Trey what will he do when people taunt him. He said nothing its all in fun. I said what about if someone throws a beer at you from a few rows up??? He said he'd bust his nose. Great, I said. I hope his super likes him well enough to bail him out of jail. Also, second story. I have been blessed to have two of the funniest brothers ever known to man. Both tell the greatest stories and just say the funniest things. Brandon sent Trey a birthday card, which he does claim to be the greatest card in the history of all cards ever given. I almost fell out of my car when I saw the return address on the enevelope. It reflects the Mississippi State and Ole Miss rivalry between Trey and both my brothers. It says... Coach Croop Starkvegas, MS God's Country, USA Trey will be here Sun. morning, I can't wait til he sees it!!!! And I can't wait to read the world's greatest card.

Trick or Treat !!!

He's so bad!! Now he stands up in the chair and claps!! He knows he's bad!!

Is 7:30 to early to put kids to bed??

It seems I have been so busy lately, I haven't even had time to blog. But today I made time. :) I had such a good time last weekend in Southaven. There's no feeling like the one you get holding a new, beautiful baby. Except when there are two!! I loved seeing my new neices. They are both wonderful and beautiful little blessings. I can't wait to come back and see them again. I even had a great time at Ma's birthday party. It was nice to see her so happy to see the people from Fulton. It was wonderful to see Uncle Sonny. He is so so funny. It was a really special day. Topped off with my own surprise birthday party. I cannot express how thankful I am that everyone went through so much trouble for me. I truly truly loved it!! With Trey being away, my birthday seem to pass by without much fuss. Although he did send a gorgeous boquet of flowers and balloons. Trey is still in Baton Rouge. We are going to see him this weekend. I wonder if everyone has heard the story about when Laiken was little, and I left her with Lil and Mom. They were told she didn't eat vegtables, but they decided to try to get her to eat some. I think they gave her peas, beans, and other veggies she does not eat. They placed them on her tray and in the amount of time it took for them to turn around she flung her arms back and forth and swept every nasty bite off the tray. It was on the floor, cabinets, walls, pretty much every where. I laughed. They had been warned. Well, tonight she got me back for laughing so much at mama and Lil. The last two weeks she has been copying Jack. Making baby noises and doing things he does. Well, everyone knowing how sloppy my kids eat, they topped themselves tonight. Both babies were eating a cheesy noodle and chicken dinner with a salad on the side. I was eating in the living room. When I came in to check on them, they were both throwing food and laughing... Lord help me... there were noodles, cheese, chicken, salad, ranch dressing, and lettuce ALL over my kitchen. ALL over. It was awful. Just starting to be funny now, not so much at the time. I believe that was Laiken's longest time out ever. Laiken's gonna end up in charm school, finishing classes, etiquette classes, whatever they call them... Needless to say they took a bath and went to bed early tonight.

Be Thankful for today!!

Are we country or what???

I need to tell myself every morning to be thankful for today. No matter how crazy or stressed I get, I should be thankful for each day. The reason I say this is because here lately it seems that they are all passing so fast.I am so busy and have so much running around to do that the days are just gone. I had such a sappy moment when Laiken and Jack were in the bath tub the other night. I was telling Trey how tired I was from running around. He said it will get better. I told him no it wouldn't because it would only get worse as they get older. Just wait until they all are involved in extra stuff. Then I told him that one day we will be old and gray looking at each other wondering when our kids grew up and moved away. Like the Trace Atkins song "your gonna miss this".

Tonight around bedtime Laiken wanted juice and I said how about some water, Laiken said, "say juice". I was so proud of her today, she put together a hopscotch puzzle. She has played with it a lot but this was the first time she put it together by herself. She was so proud. Then a few minutes later Jack had discovered her puzzle and decided he wanted to play with it. Of course she screamed, "my pieces, my pieces!! Jack's got my pieces, he's tear them up!!" So for all of you that watch UFC... She runs at Jack and TKO'd him with a flying knee to the face. Trey asked what did Jack do then. I said he did what anyone hit with a flying knee would do. He collapsed and screamed! It was really bad. She grabbed him and kissed his head and said sorry about 10 times (probably cause she knew she was in trouble).

I haven't blogged in a while (Brian must be busy too. lol) so I'm trying to think of the moments worth sharing.... I remember earlier in the week how Laiken used to play the "I drop it, you pick it up" game with anyone who would play with her. A little boy in the walmart checkout line picked up her rattle and handed it to her. She was around 9 or 10 months and he was about 7. After the third or fourth time she dropped it, he told his dad I think she's doing it on purpose. Of course she was. That is Jack's favorite game now. But the funny part is that Laiken is a born picker upper. She doesn't mind if he drops it 500 times. She picks it up each time and gives it back. It's as if they were destined to find each other. One to drop and one to pick up....

Where's Jack?

I named my blog address "Have you seen my keys" b/c I say that so much. I should have named it "Where's Jack". That has become my new frequent question. Last night after a long, uneventful football practice, we got home at 8:30. Dylan got a shower and I put Laiken in the bath. When he got out, I told him it was bedtime and as soon as I got the babies out they are going to bed too. So I left Laiken, to quickly tuck Dylan in. (I know, I know, I should never leave her alone in the tub) I left the bathroom, walked through the kitchen. Jack was pulled up to his booster seat playing with the straps. I went in to Dylan's room and kissed him goodnight. On the way back, I wondered "Where's Jack?" he's not by his highchair now. As I get to the bathroom, there is a river of water flowing out into my bedroom. I hear Jack laughing. Our bathtub is tall and has a built in step in the front. Jack has climbed up (that's his new thing, climbing) and is standing on the step and Laiken has a big cup in her hand...Can you see where this is going??? She is pouring cupfuls of water on his head while he is standing on the step next to the tub. His hair is soaked and his clothes are dripping wet and him and Laiken are both laughing hysterically. I asked Laiken "What are you doing?" she said " I pour water on Jack". I wonder how he'll survive Laiken. He's gonna be tough, I know that for sure. Today while I was gathering and washing clothes earlier, I came in the kitchen and he had crawled into the pantry. I get so tired of hearing all the little old ladies we run into say "you must have your hands full" and they smile. But it is unbelievable how true it is. But there are so many moments that wash away the craziness. Last night I rocked Jack to sleep (those days are fading fast) and held him for about thirty minutes. Heaven. Perfect ending to crazy days.

Laiken's zoo class

Laiken started her zoo toddler class on Thursday. It is every thurs for 45 minutes. They dance, sing, read books, have snacks, and get to meet an animal. She was unusually clingy and reserved. I think she will open up a little more next week. Jack had alot of fun, he was excited to meet so many new people. At the end of this class, Laiken got to pet a snake. She was not scared at all. After her turn petting the snake, she said, "I want to play with it." A couple of mom's laughed. Then she touched a turtle. And last they brought out a parrot that could talk. He was shy too, because the zoo keeper swore he could talk but he wouldn't say a word. He whistled at us a waved. And at the end he blew kisses, that's all. Laiken loved him too. It was alot of fun, and I hope it will help Laiken by being around other kids her age. Afterwards we played on the playground. Laiken remembers that the slide is next to the zoo. So every Thurs. will be an all day event with the class, then looking at animals, and ending with the playground. Thursday's will be my new favorite day. It makes for a long day, but nothing else makes her as happy as the zoo does. I love seeing her that happy. All day long now she tells me, "I want to see the animals."

zoo day!!

Today Laiken, Jack, and I went to the Hattiesburg Zoo. The admission is $2 and kids under 4 are free. (That should tell you about how many animals there are) But I have to say it is a really nice zoo, just short. I let Laiken stay at each exhibit until she was ready to move on. She really watched and talked about each animal. Mostly her comments were "I want to pet it." or"I want to hold it." She even wanted to hold the tiger. Cute. Jack rode in the stroller the whole time with his feet propped up watching all of the wild kids around us. You think your own kids are wild, until you see how other people's kids act. Dylan is at his mom's this weekend and Trey had to stay in LA to work. So we just moved slow and did what we wanted. We rode the carousel twice and stayed at the park by the zoo for about an hour. On the way home we stopped at sonic and got milkshakes. Jack slept, Laiken made a mess. I am washing both carseats now. :) It was a wonderful, stress-free day. Tuesday is the homecoming parade for Sandhill School. Dylan will be riding the second grade float. I am so excited for him, and for Laiken. This will be her first parade. I've been slow on blogging lately b/c I had to return Jack's crib to Target for a crib recall.Due to poor planning I had to order a crib online. It took 6 days to get here. Jack slept with me all 5 nights. Now he refuses to sleep in the new crib. He is finally beginning to adjust. May take another week. But he's been in my bed at night and the slightest noise (typing on the computer) wakes him up. So that is a lie about putting your babies to bed where there is noise when they are new born and they'll be heavy sleepers later. Do you think it is ever quiet here? NO. And he is a lighter sleeper than Mama. And you know how bad she is...no offense mom. I can forgive him though, he started saying mama this week. He says it all the time, especially when he's sleepy or wants something. I love it sooo much. There is nothing like it in the world!

Laiken

I wanted to share a story about Laiken and Jack, it is really sweet. We had just arrived to football practice, but did not get out of the car right away. (Dylan was on the field.) I had picked up my Avon order from Jody and was looking at the new book. Laiken was watching a movie and Jack was sleeping. The main reason we stayed in the car was for Jack to catch a short nap. He woke up, I spoke to him. Then Laiken noticed he was up, she said, "hands Jack." He took her hand and then jerked it back. She said, "hold hands Jack" And as if he knew what she said, he held her hand. Laiken said, "Aww, She really loves me!" (Laiken distinguishes boys and girls but not he's and she's, she always says "she" for Jack) I thought it was precious. Funny how much they love each other.

The start of a brand new week...

Saturday's football game was in Waynesboro. We won. Dylan only played 3 plays. He was given a different position, some other kid plays his spot as inside linebacker. Not really sure about the details on that. Trey seems to think it is related to the ankle incident a few practices earlier. On the way to the game we followed the other parents from the sandhill school. On the way home we relied on our memory. We took the wrong road. I told Trey we should turn around or call Ryan. He said, "Why, every road leads to somewhere." Hmmm. So after 20 min... the road we were on, that was leading us to somewere, turned to dirt. Trey looked at me and said, "We are officially lost." My husband is a proud, headstrong kinda guy. I was so so very relieved that at the first gas station we came to, he did ask directions (surprisingly). And we were lost but heading in the right general direction. Dirt roads and tons of laughing later, we still managed to get home in the same amount of time it took to get there. Which is funny to anyone who knows where I live, we got there by ways of Waynesboro and got home by ways of Richton (complete opposite ways). Today was the last day of the Pecan Festival. There was no traffic getting in or leaving. We went first thing this morning and managed to avoid any lines. And the weather was pleasant. For all of those that attended the festival last year, Sunday morning is the best time to go. There are no funny stories to report about Laiken, she was in a terrible mood most of the day. Alot of crying and screaming. On those days you often wonder, "whose kid is this?!" The time that she was happiest, she was on a jumping thing that she has done several times at the mall. It has harnesses to strap around her little body that are attatched to huge bungee type rubber bands. She stands on a mini trampoline. The bands are then stretched really high and the guys who operate it pull on her harness and let go, flinging her high into the air. She goes up about twenty five to thirty feet. It is so ridiculusly funny to watch her. She loves it so much. The next time we go to the mall, I have to video tape it. It is truly unbelievable. But she would ride a pony ride, she was scared. That was pretty much our weekend, busy but fairly uneventful. Next week starts Monday with football, Tuesday football, Wednesday USM, Thursday football, and Friday Dylan goes to his Mom's. Trey has to stay in LA and work this weekend.

forgive me

I am going to go to jail for striking another person's child. Every football pratice I have gone to, I have to physically restrain myself from picking up someone's kid and violently shaking them. One night I had a kid that threw sand in her face repeatedly til she cried, another night he was snatching toys from her (that were not his). And another night the same kid pushed down a little boy she was playing with. Okay, we just avoid the little demon now. Today, on a whim, I decided to sit on the sociable side of the field (the side with all the parents), rather than where I normally sit, (alone and happy on the visiters side, with a handful of other parents, mostly just critical dads leaned on the fence). I started feeding jack his ravioli, Laiken runs off under the bleachers. I hate when she does that, cause I can't see her well and there are always older kids there. So she comes running back screaming and three older boys are chasing her screaming at her. They are all just playing but they were older and boys and besides they were calling her names. One of the boys is that little demon kid I don't like. So I quickly packed us up, put her in the stroller and moved to our unsociable side. Later two of the little boys came to our side. Laiken, bless her heart, tells them to go away and leave her alone when they come close to her. One of the little boys pushed her!!! WHAT!!! I stood up to come to them and he pushed her again!! WHAT!! Laiken pointed at him and said "NO no push!" I got about 4 feet from him, careful to stay more than snatching distance, and pointed my finger and told him not to do that again. He started to say something, I got louder and told him I don't care, she is smaller and he is older and he doesn't need to push girls and to NOT let me see that again. I am pretty sure I'm going to go to jail one night. I think I am just going to put her in karate and get one of those bumper stickers that says "my kid can kick your kids ass"

Are you kidding me???

Tonight we have no football practice or anywhere to go! Thank goodness. Trey texted me about 5:30 and asked, "So ya'll have the night off?" Are you kidding me? I took a minute from vacuuming, cooking supper, begging Dylan through homework and keeping two babies occupied to answer his text with, "Your right we have no where to go tonight, but I never have a night off." Was he serious?

Thank Goodness It's Friday!!!!

We have had such a busy week. Football practice Mon night. Dylan hurt his ankle and was carried off the field. It was just rolled, not sprained or broken. I know it hurt him, but it must have been a tricky type of injury because he proceeded to limp off and on the rest of the night. The coaches noticed his "injury" and a few parents too. That was a frustrating night. Tuesday night we had practice again. No ankle problems, just fussy babies. I think they are tired of long practices too. Wednesday night, no practice, but we had to go to USM. Dylan is in behavioral and cognitive modification therapy. For those lucky few who don't get to hear the stories about his mom, there are alot of issues there. Hopefully, USM will teach him and us how to deal with some of the issues he deals with. On a lighter note, we also went to the mall Wed. before USM to return a pair of shoes for Dylan. They didn't have his size so we were forced to pick a different shoe. Five styles and 20 try ons later I realize that Miss Laiken has a stinky diaper. A second later, much to my horror, I see that she realized she had a stinky diaper and had reached back and put her hand in her diaper. She then smeared the poop collected on one finger, all over her white shirt. I cannot count or describe the levels of embarrasment I experienced. Well, needless to say Dylan did not get any shoes and Laiken DID get a new shirt. We also managed to make it to USM on time, (a miracle in itself) So then Thursday I discovered, Thanks to mom, I have a crib recall. I have to return the crib my kids have been using for 2 years to Target. We had practice tonight, then I had to take apart the bed. I will have to borrow Ryan's truck tomorrow and return it to target, get a refund, and go to walmart and purchase a new one! FUN!! Then Friday evening I have no where to go, Thank Goodness Its Friday. My new netflix movie, I am Legend, is here! So that is what I will be doing tomorrow night. Saturday night we have a football game and Sunday we have a birthday party in Lucedale. I feel like I have one million things to do and never cross anything off the list. lol Maybe next week we will have less practice. But next weekend will be busy, I am sure we will have a game sat and the Pecan Festival is next weekend. (Dylan chose not to go to his mom's this weekend and I'm sure will not want to go next either. I love it!!!) We may play hookie from school and try to beat the crowd?? Maybe, but how do you explain a little white lie to a kid you are trying to teach not to lie??

First Football Game

Today was Dylan's first football game. Due to the hurricane, Trey was given the weekend off (he is still working in Baton Rouge, LA). He was so very happy to be able to go. I couldn't tell who was more excited about the game, Dylan or Trey. We won 22-0!! It was very exciting. I really enjoyed it. The game is only 8 minute quarters, and all kids have to get to play. Dylan got to play the whole first half! He is inside linebacker on defense and made three good tackles. In one play, he was the only one who stopped the kid running with the ball. It was pretty exciting. Dylan seems to be a natural athlete at whatever sport he plays. The entire second half the coaches were trying to make sure that everyone got to play, so Dylan didn't go in the second half at all. We managed to take a few pictures and video some of the plays. Practices may not be much fun, but the games are cool. I wish they were just a little bit longer. I'm sure everyone is wondering how Laiken and Jack liked the game. Everything was typical at first, (til they tag teamed and beat up a one year old baby). Laiken ran around like she had never been outside in her life before and Jack sat in the stroller and ate. We walked along the fence up and down the sidelines to be able to see dylan and let Laiken watch the little cheerleaders. (she loved "and we're gonna beat the whoopsy out of you!!!" It was cute. Then we made our way back to our chairs and the people sitting next to us had a one year old baby, Braxton. Braxton crawled over to where Laiken and Jack were playing in the grass behind my chair. They were playing fine at first, then next thing you know Laiken threw a football ice pack at Braxton and hit him in the face. He was tough. He didn't like it but he didn't cry. Right after that, Jack crawls over to him and pinches his face, I guess to finish him off. He screamed hysterically, his mom came and scooped him up and I apologized. I had to round up my bullies and put them back in their strollers. Thankfully, his parents weren't mad. It was a very nice day with Trey home. We spent most of the day at PawPaw Collie and Mimi's (for those who don't know that is Ryan and Jody). The babies played in the sandbox with Kynnedi, and Dylan played with Ryanne. (For those who have never tried it, baby powder does work to knock all the sand off! It was so easy to clean up the sand stuck all over the babies and they smelled good too. lol) We came home and Trey grilled hotdogs for lunch. Then everyone took a long nap. After our nap I took Laiken and Jack for a ride in their John Deere wagon. It was so sweet, she sat in back and Jack sat in front. Laiken put her arms around him and sang "if your happy and you know it" to him. We went back to Ryan's and played there for a while. I shot Donald's Recurve bow. It was pretty neat. I even hit the target some. It was a perfect day!!!!

I Love Laiken so much!!!

Laiken is such a tattle tail. Spend one day with her and she will tell you all of the things I say to her most. She says to me "Mommy, no touch!" "Put it back" When I tried to share a smoothie with her at sonic, she says "this is mine, that is yours!" (pointing to the medium sprite we were also sharing). Today she used a new phrase. She climbed into her booster seat and said "mommy, want the baby carrots." I said, " no, you only eat the ranch dressing." (she has a condiment problem, ketchup and ranch are sides and sometimes whole meals for her) She said "MOMMY, Want the baby carrots" "no Laiken" She says "Mommy, 1-2-3, timeout!" I couldn't help but laugh!!

football practice

Dylan does such a good job at football practice. Tonight they assigned positions. He is a linebacker. I don't know much about football, but Trey was so so excited. He said that is a position where the player has to be really tough. He is so proud of Dylan. I am very surprised and very proud as well. I like to see him do well and be praised by others. It builds his confidence, which is what he needs. Trey is working in Louisiana and will not be able to make it to the first game. He said it almost makes him want to cry. I wish he could be there. I know it is his dream to have one of his children to carry on his football legacy. I am going tomorrow to have team shirts made for the babies that say Dylan's lil' sis and Dylan's lil' bro. We did it for baseball season. I guess now it will be a tradition. In my family's lifetime, I think we can expect to spend a small fortune on sports. :)

For weeks Laiken's new phrase when you ask her is she's ready for a nap, she says, "can't, too little" I laughed so hard that now whenever she does't want to do something she says that. This week she is officially on a napping strike! For two days she refuses to take a nap. She lays in her bed and plays with toys or books so quietly that I cannot hear her on the baby monitor and I think she is sleeping. When I go in and check, she is still up. Both yesterday and today this went on for two hours and countless threats before she ultimately gave in and fell asleep. Today she tried to plot against me with Jack. I put them both down for a nap. She was talking and singing and he could not go to sleep. I took him out and rocked him to sleep. And thinking she was close to sleeping herself, I put him back in his bed. Within 35 min, she was still up and started singing and woke Jack up. So Jack took a nap in my bed today. Laiken eventually gave up and fell asleep at 4. The best part about the new napping trouble is that we are now going to football practice 3 times a week. Practice lasts from 6:00 to 8:30. By the time she is falling asleep, I have to wake her up so we can leave. And everyone has to have a bath when we get back. So bedtimes are pushed back too. Seems like we are all suffering from not enough sleep.Too much fun. For those of you surprised that Dylan is playing football, join the club. We did not think he would and also thought if he did, he wouldn't like it. It turns out that he loves it! He hates stretches but loves to tackle. the more he thinks he hurt someone, the prouder he is. He is quick to report he has already made two little boys cry. Like father, like son I guess. Trey is so happy he can't stand it. And now I'm afraid they will all turn out to be just like their Daddy!! LOL.

Jack "The Baby". He is the sweetest one of all. Maybe that is just b/c he hasn't started walking or talking yet!

Laiken "The Boss". This is at Ian's birthday party. Looks sweet doesn't she!! Lol.

Dylan "The Athlete". This is the first day of second grade. Isn't he so cute!!

Have you seen my keys?

I've decided to try out this blog thing. I think I have some interesting moments in my life, thanks to my 3 beautiful children. And since we are so far away from friends and family, this may be a better way to share the "small stuff" that is my chaotic, wonderful life. I will start by just explaining the blog address I chose...Have you seen my keys? That is a metaphor that explains my whole life. I spend countless hours looking for things. And of course it is also a very literal definition of my day. If I am leaving the house to go anywhere, there is a 99% chance I will say "Have you seen my keys?" Mostly I am asking my husband or 7 year old, (both are never helpful in finding them) or I am asking my 2 year old (who is even less helpful) and usually answers "I dunno". Time is getting late. I will post more later this week, pending the arrival of Hurricane Ike, in which case it might be next week.