We're Back!

We're back from Wisconsin Dells and had a GREAT time. There's a little adjusting at home today with the little one. All night last night she cried because she wanted to go to the waterpark. She was a little fish! Oh, excuse me...a little mermaid (as she prefers to be called.) This is our conversation this morning as I was getting ready for the day...

"Where are we going, mom?"
"Nowhere."
"Where are we going, mom?"
"Nowhere."
(screaming with fake tears) "I WANT TO GO NOWHERE!!!!"

I mean, how does one deal with that? Then...

"I get my swimmysuit on"
"No, we're not going swimming today."
"I go to waterpark."
"No, we're not going swimming today."
"I GO TO WATERPARK!!!"
"Not today."
"I go to waterpark with grandma and grandpa and Jill and Damon and grandma and Will and Sam and Max and grandma and Daddy and Mommy and grandma and Jackson and Noah and Lily and grandma and Emmy...where IS Emmy?"
"Emmy's in Texas."
"Oh. I get my swimmysuit on."
I'm sure the battle will continue today. Here are some pics from our good time.
This is Lily looking up at someone begging to be taken in the water...

Who can resist this little face? How could you possible say "No"? Grandma couldn't!
Jackson, I discovered was sneaking a cookie under his towel...where did he learn such bad behavior?
...from his father.
What happens when you forget to take your undies off before swimming? They get aired out and posted on a blog! I won't mention any names...

Grandma's girl...
My baby's going down a big slide! She said, "Whee!" all the way down.
Jackson playing ball...

Lily liked to squirt grandpa in her little jetski...

Noah and Will took the plunge and did the big racing slide this year. I won't even do this one! The first time down they screamed! Actually, they screamed every time they went down, but the first time was legitimate. He said he had "heebie jeebies". There was some definite testosterone flying around. That's Joe on the right with his head turned to make sure he wasn't too traumatized. He's got a smile! They did that ride A LOT. I watched.
Sam and Noah chilling...
Bathing beauty... Seeing that fountain-thing in the background reminded me of my mother walking around without her glasses on and seeing this thing and asking, "who brought their poodle to the waterpark?!?" We're still not sure if she was joking...I don't think she was, because later she was yelling repeatedly, "C'mon, Will, we're leaving", then turned to me and said, "That's Will, right?". Wow. She might need to get some prescription goggles next year.
Will and Noah were unstoppable...

Climbin' the ropes. It only got the best of him once...and he never went back. Luckily Uncle Damon was there for the rescue. Jackson likes the fact that he's going so fast that he's a blur...
Jackson perfected the art of snorkeling! His father taught him how to put your hand over other people's tube to block off their air supply and how to splash water into other people's tubes. It was all in the name of 'being a boy'. Thanks, Dear!
Bad boys... They're actually thinking 'can we stop taking pictures and go swimming already?'

Muscle man... I was hoping "Big Blue" would be in this picture. It's always a good topic of conversation. (Noah has a large blue vein going across his chest that we've fondly named.) I did hear his cousin casually say, "Hey, I see your blood tube." Cool.
Max's favorite activity was "chewing goggles".
I think this was the 1, 765 th turn down this slide... Grandma's back has to be achin' today!
We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge. I would recommend it to anyone. It was so much fun. We got a condo this time. It had 3 bedrooms and then a common area with kitchen and family room. It worked great for us. Sigh...back to real life! Noah has already asked me when we can go back. I told him, "about 364 more days." He didn't like that so much.

Little Bitty Prayers.

Lily's bedtime prayer tonight....
"God...Thank-you for dis day.
Thank-you for that good cake.
MM-MMMM. That's good cake.
A-Men."

Click here for a special message from moi. http://www.geogreeting.com/view.html?yvkEBkUvyFoCUqBoox3. This is evidently known around the world, now. I wasn't aware that they knew of my obsession in Gary, Indiana.

Noah's Special Lyrics.

Many of you enjoy listening to stories of Noah singing songs his "own unique way". He often hears and interprets songs like no one else. When you go back and listen to the song again, you can definitely see where he gets it! This one is from this afternoon. John Mayer was on the radio singing his new song. Noah asks me, "Why would someone NEED to say sandwich?"
Noah's lyrics, "Sandwich, you need to say."
John's lyrics, "Say what you need to say."
I stopped trying a long time ago to convince him otherwise on song lyrics. He's pretty much set in his ways. (He calls me Fred :) Next time you hear this song, sing it Noah's way. It's fun!

Day 2.

Day 2 of "Turn Off Your TV Week." We put them to work. Even the 2 year old had to do her share! Physical labor always makes your kids think twice about whining about boredom. Actually, I promise, they were all having fun. I promise.

She Likes To Ride Her Bike.

This is what we're faced with every day when it's time to go inside for dinner. Joe was the lucky recipient this time. She likes to ride her bike. Most of the time, you pick her up and the bike comes with her. I'll have to try and get a picture of that. It's really fun. It's my favorite part of my day.

Desperation.

Its "National Turn Off Your TV Week"! My kids were so desperate by 6:00, they started licking the house for something to do. Just kidding! Day 1 went well. My oldest was the most disgruntled going into it, but that quickly changed when he found out the daily rewards, like a homework pass (he chose Math!). My youngest turned out to be the most traumatized. You can't explain "National Turn Of Your TV Week" to a 2 year old. She kept asking, "But, why, Mommy?". I'm sure I will be wondering the same thing by the end of the week.

I have ouchies.

Yesterday, we did yard work ALL DAY LONG. ALL DAY. LONG. VERY LONG. This morning, the wierdest thing happened. My ankles wouldn't work. They really wouldn't work. There was no bending. At all. Has that ever happened to you? It's the strangest feeling. I was trying to walk down our stairs gracefully and of course, if you know me well, this is the kind of pain that is ridiculously funny to me. Hey, it's either laugh...or cry.

Just a quick note...

Just wanted to let you know that we are a family that welcomes all species, in this galaxy...and beyond. Oh...and all our neighbors in a 3 block radius know this as well. Thank you so much Jackson.

Weekend of Family Fun.

We had a great weekend with Joe's brother and his kids coming for a visit. The little ones are all the same ages and have so much fun together. Noelle is getting so big and LOVES getting her picture taken, so Aunt Laura had so much fun with her.

Jackson shows his uncle 'how it's done'. Yes, my fingers were twitching, but I held myself back.
This is a picture of the ceremonial releasing of the Jello mold. It's a big deal in this family. All the kids want to hear the "schlufffttt" noise, then off they go.
There was lots of dress up moments. Lily WAS having fun, she's just sick of her mother jamming a camera in her face.

Oh, and let's not forget, lots of TWIRLING!

Good buddies....

Goofballs. It's in the genes.

Pigtail Girl.

Aunt Laura (Babysitter Extraordinaire).

This is who I got to watch on Tuesday. Let me tell you, it was hard work. Not. He is such a sweet boy. He's growing up so much and has his own sweet little personality. I think he has what I call, "old man" looks and expressions on his face. I think he knows much more than we give him credit for. He's such a sweet boy. I love him.

Play Outside Day!

Girl-y Stuff.

Fancy shoes...
Pretty bracelets...
Shiny necklace....
Hair accessories....

And chocolate (of course)...