Good Times

We have to say good-bye to Shannon and the kids on Tuesday and let me tell you I am not happy about it, not happy one bit.

I won't go into how adorable Addie and Hayes are and how I want them living right down the road from me so the cousins can play regularly and grow up together. And, I won't go into how fun it would be to have Shannon and Todd closer so we could hang out that much more. I won't. Because who needs that boo-hooing sob fest right now?

What I will mention are some of the good times and memories we've created in these past 4 weeks in no particular order ...

We RAN off the beach in Rehoboth when the wind blew in and made umbrellas, beach chairs, and sand fly toward us forcing us to run for our lives. When you hear a lifeguard yell RUN! I think you should run. It was crazy, but also funny too to think about what we must have looked like scrambling the way we did to get off the beach. Todd said we had Madelyn trained well on evacuation techniques because she kept running and didn't look back even when he stopped beside a building to get shelter from the wind. So funny.

We had a super yummy lobster dinner at the Stoney Lonin in Rehoboth. I got crab cakes, but the kids were absolutely enthralled with the full lobsters sitting on 4 different plates on our table. Elijah said, "It's neat that we can eat dead things."

Oh the funny things the kids have said over the last week are almost too many to write down. I may have to save them for another post.

Shannon actually stayed up late last night and went to a movie with me and Dan. How bummed was she when the 9:40 showing was sold out and we stayed for the 10:20 showing? Back home she and Todd are in bed by 9 usually. ha ha! We saw Inception. It was good. Then we came home and realized we were locked out, at 1:30 a.m. We are at my mom's house and I am the only one with a house key, but since Dan was here he drove and paid so I didn't bring my keys or wallet. Oopsie. After checking the doors we had to call the house and wake up my mom only to enter and have Molly (my chihuahua) start chasing Lily (my mom's cat) up the stairs where everyone is sleeping. Good times!

We have had fun get-togethers with family. We remembered Mom-mom Ruthie at her burial service then visited with family back at Aunt Elaine's. We had the birthday dinner with cousins. We saw Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Erika and her family. We spent an afternoon with Dad, Sammie, and Kent at the beach. Lunch with Aunt Ann and Uncle Bill was fun what with Uncle Bill (now Uncle Yum) spoiling the kids by giving them loads of sugar (cupcakes, ice-pops, chocolate, candies, etc.).

Our week at the beach was in a place not as nice as the place last year. It had more of a frat house feel. Yikes. I won't go into detail, but we needed to clean quite a bit. Blech. Then we just had to try to block the yuckies from our minds for the rest of the week and go with it.

I smuggled Molly to the beach with me too. She was super cute on the beach. She would try to attack the sand that got kicked up by her feet. As you can imagine, this was a vicious cycle. She also chased the foam from the waves as they rolled back to sea. She was really cute. I wish I could have taken her to the beach more.

The kids are getting braver and braver in the water. They LOVE swimming and were so brave in the ocean. Madelyn and Addie especially did great in the waves. Addie is a pro at swimming. She's a little fish. She even tried boogie boarding.

We visited with Kerry and her boys and walked in the creek after a fun day of playing in the pool and having to call road side assistance because I locked the keys in my car. Her boys think I am super cool for doing the creek thing. They even caught a crayfish. Really fun.

We saw Dottie, Jeff, Coleen, Drew, Danny, and Ethan as well. I tried to get Elijah to sing his oldies song that he learned for them and he said, "Why do I have to sing that to everyone I see?" Maybe we've overdone it? Poor kid.

Addie needs a chihuahua. That's all there is too it. Either a chihuahua or some other little animal that she can snuggle and hug. She has carried Molly more than Molly has walked I think since we've been here. So cute. Shannon was even tempted in the chihuahua department. I think a chihuahua might become game for Floyd and Fiona though. They don't tolerate small animals well, especially in their territory.

Another memory just left my brain which probably means I should stop for the night. More on this later ...

Cousins

Having a loving family is so great. A few cousins, sister and I went and celebrated my cousin Cindy's birthday tonight at the Cheesecake Factory.

Man oh man is their chopped salad divine, and I don't use that term loosely. I want to go back and eat another one as soon as I am hungry again.

It occurred to me that I don't know how old Cindy is now. Does it really matter though? Seven of us got together. We chatted, laughed, ate, drank, and had a merry 'ol time.

I'd write more about what we chatted about, but frankly, I believe that was just between us girls. If you are a girl, you know how it is. Some things aren't meant for the public, only for us girls.

So, thanks Cindy for having a birthday. Thanks Becky for arranging the dinner. Thanks guy who brought me my yummy food. And, thanks food for being so yummy. Seriously. Get the Factory Chopped Salad. It will make your taste buds sing and allow a little extra room for a glass of wine and some cheesecake.

Deeeeeee-lish!

iPod

Man, I love my iPod.

I don't know what I did without it before.

I just feel badly for my family. They have to hear me sing to it without hearing the actual music. It's like karaoke without the music.

Yikes.

Or, I listen to sermons and make agreement noises, or disagreement noises.

That doesn't seem as bad though. Maybe just a little curious to those who don't know what I am listening to.

I just started downloading free clips from news shows. I was so excited because I am at my mom's just waiting to leave to go to dinner and I thought now would be a good time to listen/watch some of these clips. Well, something went wrong. I must have turned it off before it fully downloaded onto my iPod. Now I am crying. Except I'm not. I only had two clips semi-downloaded so far so it was a total fail.

It's okay though because I still love my iPod.

Live on Your Toes!

This is my new life motto.

I discovered it last night.

Dan and I were chatting about the world ending soon, or not ending soon.

(Isn't that what you do on a Friday night with your husband?)

This was all on the heels of discussing the recent earthquake in MD and people thinking the world is coming to an end as a result of the earthquake and the blizzards they got this winter.

It isn't a secret that the world will end one day, at least not in my mind.

So, I simply said that we should focus on living in a way that we are not surprised when Christ returns. We should be expecting Him to the point where when He comes we are able to say, "We've been expecting you! So nice to see you!" To which I then said, "You just need to live on your toes!" Then I got excited and made that my life motto.

Don't be surprised if you hear those words come out of my mouth a time or two with a little giggle attached. Because while I believe it's true, Dan and I did have a good laugh over it. And, I was able to use it again before the night was over.

Good times with my hubster. He's the best.

Green Eyes

Elijah commented about my green eyes today. His favorite color is green. Next thing I know he says, "I am going to say a prayer about something real quick." This is what he prayed ...

"Dear Heavenly Father, Please make my eyes green. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

A few minutes later he said, "Are my eyes green now?"

Dan took this one. He explained that God is not like a genie who just grants wishes. He only gives us what He knows is best for us, just like he and I only give him what we know is best for him. For instance, we don't let him play the wii all day and night like he would if we let him because we know that's not good for him.

Elijah went on to talk about a woman in the Bible who prayed in a quiet place for a baby and God gave her one so he thought that God would give you a baby if you prayed for one.

We had the sweetest conversation with Elijah. His mind amazes me with what he asks questions about. I love it. And, I love Google. How else could I have explained to him how our eye balls work and how the sun works? Thank you Google for making me seem smart. And thank you God for giving me such a tender hearted curious little boy.