Off to S.C.

We figured that we hadn't really been on enough trips in the past few months, so why not drive up to SC...again. My mom was going to celebrate her 60th birthday on Aug. 10, so the siblings decided it would be fun to try to have as many family members there as possible. So Latisha drove up with her family on the 6th and I drove up with mine on the 8th. Nathan and Crystal were already in Greenville, so obviously they were present, but with Sara on a mission in Italy and Adam delpoyed in Dubai, 4 out of 6 sibilings were all we could gather. Unfortunatly, Dan had school things that had to be taken care of on campus, so it was another long and lonely drive for the kids and I. But we made it and had fun!

Mom's Birthday

Mom with her yummy Publix cake and a few of her grandkids.

On the morning we got up to drive to SC, Jeffrey's head felt a little warm. He got progressively worse with each passing hour and by the time we got to Greenville, had a pretty high fever and was super lathargic. We eventually took him to Urgent Care and he had a double ear infection - great timing! He and Brandon didn't really take part in the festivities...

I would include more pictures of mom actually opening presents and stuff, but she's crying in pretty much every picture, so I'll leave those pictures off :)

The Park

Nate and Geri had discovered a new park in Greenville, so we decided we would all head there one morning. The kids had a blast...

Jeffrey at the park.

Andrew hanging out with Aunt Latisha.

Grandpa Leckie helping Caitlyn get a drink - with lots of spills on the sidewalk.

Everyone gathered around the table for a snack.

Hanging Out

Uncle Nathan bought some bunnies right before our arrival - to go along with their chickens. It's like visiting a petting zoo!

Caitlyn wasn't so sure about the bunnies at first.

Jeffrey wasn't thrilled, but decided to give petting a try anyway.

Caitlyn finally decided to try touching the bunny.

Andrew was amused watching everyone.

Caitlyn loves to swing!

Latisha always shows up with a camera...she got a great picture of Crystal and I nice and sweaty after going out for a run.

Cousin Dustin getting ready to go off of Grandpa's crazy swing.

Panama City...Again

My sister, Crystal, came down last week from SC to visit. While she was here, we drove over to Latisha's in Panama City. We had a blast swimming in their pool and taking a trip to the beach. My primary purpose in going was to help Tish decide how to hang their pictures/decorations in their new house. Crystal's primary purpose was to get some sun. We got both things done and had a really fun trip! Jeffrey ready to jump in the pool. He has turned into quite the little swimmer since the beginning of the summer. He's totally independent now and I love it!

Jeffrey swimming and the rest of the gang at the pool.

Catilyn jumping into the pool.

Crystal holding Andrew after the pool. He loves his thumb!

Caitlyn was all tuckered out. Crystal was kind to sit and hold her while she took a little nap. Jeffrey and Kaylee painting. I rarely do this kind of thing with Jeffrey, which is sad becasue he loves it! It was so nice to have an older child to supervise the fun so I could observe from a distance.

Jeffrey and Caitlyn playing at the beach. We drove down to Saint Andrew's State Park, which the little kids loved because there is a little area jettied off from the big waves. They can go out pretty far without getting very deep at all, and never get knocked over by big waves. Note the dark sky...it caused a few problems on our trip...

The kids running in the shore.
After we had been at the beach for a little while, the rains came. And they came with a vengence. We took cover in a bathhouse and decided to eat our lunch while we were waiting. We were SUPER cold from having gotten wet in our dash to the shelter, and from the winds that really picked up. It was an adventure.

Well, we made it back out to the beach eventually, but Crystal made grim discovery on Latisha's head...her first gray hair. You can't see the actual hair that Tish is holding in her hand, but you can clearly read her feelings on the finding in her face. It was rather humerous...well, not for her.

Jeffrey was getting much braver than I've ever seen him at the beach. He and Caitlyn would go out and jump in the waves by themselves. He would lay down on the shore and let the waves pick him up and move him just a little. They had a blast.

Crystal went out with them for a few minutes and while she was standing beside Caitlyn, a pretty big wave came and knocked Caitlyn down. She got pulled out a little away from the beach and Crystal dove after her so Caitlyn wouldn't get swept away. Crystal was a little shaken from the incident and made Caitlyn hold her hand after that, and of course Caitlyn's response was...."That was a big one!!"

Video of Jeffrey & Caitlyn out with Crystal.

Of course you have to spend sometime digging in the sand!

And Andrew has to get his naps in...I enjoy the quiet time when he decides to take a nap while I'm holding him.

We left from the beach, bathed the kids back at Tish's and headed home. It was as quick but fun 2 days.

8 things

Well, I've never been tagged before, and I'm not positive that I was tagged this time, but my friend, Justina, tagged an "Emily," so I'm going to assume it's me.

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Did an exercise video (super short because I pulled a muscle in my back).
2. Drove all the way across town to go to a produce stand, not sure why I went so far, but got a great cantaloupe!
3. Ran more errands with the kids - never super fun with 3 little kids, but it went okay because the cashier at Save-A-Lot gave Jeffrey & Caitlyn a really cool sucker that lasted them for a couple of stores.
4. Took the kids swimming - not too long because 'cause big storms rolled in.
5. Tried to get my kids to take naps, but they were too scared of the big storms that drove us out of the pool.
6. Made dinner for the missionaries. It's amazing how much work can go into a not-so-spectacular meal.
7. Cleaned poop out of Caitlyn's panties. I could list this for any given day... often multiple times a day.
8. Finished the 3rd Fablehaven book - I've really enjoyed this series!

8 Favorite Shows
1. American Idol, when it's past the auditions. I really don't like how they blatantly make fun of so many people, just for the sake of being mean.
2. Flip that House, or any remodeling show, but we don't get TLC or HGTV, so I never watch these shows.
3. What Not to Wear - again, we don't get that channel, so only when we're visiting family or in a hotel!
4. Cosby Shows - we end up watching reruns many nights while we get other things done.
5. Not C-SPAN, unfortunately, because my husband could watch it all day.
6. Cops - I know. I can't explain why I like this show.
7. Judge Judy (or People's Court) - another odd show to like, I know.
8. Can't come up with any more. Sadly, the only show on this list that I've actually watched in the past week is #5.

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Moe's - Chicken club burrito (well, they don't actually have it on the menu anymore, but most employees know what it is)
2. Panchero's - we just ate there for the first time in Orlando on our temple trip. It was so good! And we learned there's one in Tallahassee, yeah!
3. Olive Garden - can't go wrong with Italian.
4. KFC - not really one of my favorites, but we tried their grilled chicken the other day, so it's on my mind. I love their corn on the cob!
5. Cold Stone
6. Wendy's
7. Sticky Fingers
8. Chinese food in general. Sesame chicken...yum!

8 things I look forward to:
1. Caitlyn being totally potty trained...please let it happen soon, before I lose my mind...
2. Visiting an old mission companion
3. Andrew to start sleeping through the night again, like he did nearly perfectly for months. Maybe he's teething??
4. Getting the 4th Fablehaven book from the library
5. Watching Bedtime Stories with Dan. It was such a cute movie!
6. Finding a good source to get bulk oats - weird, perhaps, but I just got these great new lids to fit on pickle-size buckets and I want to use all my buckets!
7. Going to bed - #3 is keeping me up all night while I listen to him cry
8. BUYING A HOUSE AND MOVING OUT OF APARTMENTS. Oh, did I write that in all caps? Huh, I don't know why, I don't even care about it that much, or think about it all the time, or care that I've never had my own yard....

8 people I tag: (I'll use last names lest anyone wonder if they have actually been tagged :))
1. Crystal
2. Latisha
3. Stephanie Bailey
4. Amanda Gunter
5. Jennie Zabriskie
6. Natalie Gunter
7. Geri Leckie
8. Angie Archibald

Panama City

Several weeks ago, my sister, Latisha, moved from Lakeland to Panama City, FL. Since my parents were headed down to help them fix up a few things and Panama City is only 2 hours away from Tallahassee, I decided to take the kids over to check out Latisha's new place and to see Grandma and Grandpa Leckie. While we were there for the day, we also made a trip to the beach. Jeffrey and Caitlyn love the beach, and while Andrew isn't a huge fan, he puts up with it for the most part. Luckily for my mom, Tish and myself, my dad was there to entertain the kids - it was a nice day.

Andrew didn't really enjoy his trip out into the ocean with Grandpa.

He sat with Aunt Latisha for awhile...

Then crashed on mom.

Jeffrey & Caitlyn, on the other hand, loved every minute of the trip.

Caitlyn getting buried in the sand.

Dustin, Jeffrey, Grandpa Leckie & Caitlyn playing in the sand.

Jeffrey & Caitlyn.

Sandy Caitlyn.

We were worried about what Caitlyn might have sagging in her swimsuit, and were happy to learn that it was only sand.

Grandpa Leckie took Jeffrey out in the waves. We have tried to take Jeffrey out many times, and he never seems to enjoy it too much, but this time he actually enjoyed himself. He was still happy to come back to the sand, but had fun. Caitlyn couldn't get enough of the waves. My dad has always been up for action, and hasn't always been able to get Jeffrey to join in the fun. Caitlyn, however, is always up for anything. I think my dad was pleasantly surprised to see how much fun Caitlyn had. Anytime they would practically get knocked over by a wave, dad was worried she would finally decide it wasn't fun. Instead she would say, "Wow, that was a big one!" They had a blast!

Tish took a short video of the gang at the beach...

Miss Independent

So...I have a very independent daughter. Jeffrey was quite the opposite, so at first it was kind of nice that she wanted to do everything by herself. But now I dread hearing, "I can do it myself." It's for everything - getting out of the car, going down the steps, climbing into her carseat (after picking up - and eating - old cheerios from the seat), sitting on the potty, turning on the water to wash her hands, turning off the water when done...the list could go on and on. It's been a painful lesson in patience to let her learn all that there is to learn...on her own of course.

Brothers

I was recently looking back at some pictures of Jeffrey when he was about Andrew's age. I think that they look so similar. It always drove me a little crazy when we would look through old family pictures as a child and mom would say, "I think that's Emily", or "Sara" or whatever. I thought , "I'll always know who's who when I look at pictures of my children." But, only 3 kids and 4 years later, I can already see that I will most definitely have a problem telling them apart. Let this be a lesson to me that I need to clearly label all pictures!Andrew - 6 months

Jeffrey - 8 months

Of course, since Jeffrey was a preemie - their sizes have been quite different. In these pictures Jeffrey is 8 months old, and is wearing clothes that Andrew has already grown out of at 6 months old.

Andrew trying solids

At some point recently, Andrew managed to turn 6 months old - crazy! I figured it was time to try him on some solids. It always cracks me up to see a baby's face when they try new foods for the first time!