The Creek is cold.. and fun.

After my last post about our 4th of July family tradition, I got to thinkin' about another "tradition" of sorts.

The creek.

We inducted Isaac this past weekend and then that meant that I needed to find old pictures of the other kids when they were first introduced to the Creek. Even in July, it is still very cold.

So we can start, as usual, with the first child to experience it.

the boots were kinda pointless at that point.. ha!

Alex as wee babe.. splashing..

Alex enjoying it from a distance..

Turns out that I don't have a picture of the diva as a baby.. in the creek. Mainly because mommy said it was too cold for the "girl" to get in. Oy.

This was this past weekend. the boys have certainly gotten older..

and now Eva enjoys the creek and is fearless.

Isaac on the other hand..

not so much..

He prefers not to have cold water on his person at all.

there was so much fretting over that water..

that it wore him "slap" out.

Yup.. that's some kinda tired right there..

a tour of July 4th.. through the years.

Welcome to a tour of our family tradition.

Back in 2002.. my (then) boyfriend proposed to me on the soccer field of an elementary school right before the fireworks exploded. It was July 4th 2002. He picked that location because two years before that is where he had invited me (with another friend of mine) to watch the fireworks with his family. Jorge and I had been friends up until that point, but it was at that family gathering that I said (in my head): this guy is amazing and I would love to marry him.

Granted, we weren't even dating.. but I knew he was high quality. So when we started dating I told him that story.. and it meant a great deal to him. So much so, that he picked that exact spot to propose.

Thus we return every year.. with an extra kid in tow just about every year. ha!

July 4th, 2005. This was our first time taking a baby.. our firstborn.. He was almost 3 weeks old. And he was less than thrilled with the fireworks.

July 4th, 2006: i was pregnant and we didn't go. We opted to watch the fireworks at home.

July 4th, 2007: Date night. Had a sitter (because we were convinced the kids would not enjoy it.. ehem.. or we wouldn't) and did a double date with some friends.

July 4th, 2008: Very pregnant with our third child (born in August).

July 4th, 2009: we celebrated with friends in Georgia. And wouldn't you know, I don't have one family picture of that. Just like me. sigh.

July 4th, 2010: Family of six. Baby Isaac is a 2 months old. I love Jorge's expression.
And finally: July 4th, 2011. Alex does not want to look at the camera and my hubby has a light on his head (all the kids had one to be able to see in the dark, duh).

I love to see these pics.. brings back great memories.

Hope you all had a great Fourth!

feeling a bit nostalgic..

I uploaded some old pictures onto my computer from my external hard drive so that I can make some memory books.
Looking through the baby pictures took me back. I hate to say it.. it goes so fast.

i look at these pictures and I can't help but feel incredibly blessed. With the man holding them and the babies themselves.

Jorge, 6/10/2005

Alex, 9/29/06

Eva, 8/26/08

Isaac, 5/12/10

they get their crazy.. from me..

I made a post about my kids being crazy. Well they come by it honestly. .

He is not that shocked. .

Like mother... yup.

BEACH TRIP 2011!!

We did it!!! We went to the beach. Ft. Walton Beach (6 miles from Destin). Fun. Relaxing. Yes, relaxing. We hired a nanny to come with us. Best decision of 2011, so far. Ha! The kids had a blast. They swam, in the hot tub.. because the beach in March is still too cold. And so is the regular pool. Thankfully the hot tub was not that hot and therefore safe for the kids.








This is Blessing. She was our nanny. She is amazing with children. She is one of eight in her own family. She was a God send. Very sweet and a heart for small children. I highly recommend you take her along on your next vacation. Her help is worth any amount! Thank you Blessing!! We miss you.

and alas, this is my favorite picture of 491 that I took. This picture is a perfect reminder to me to take that shot..even if i think it looks cheesy or isn't going to turn out. I very quickly bent down to get this shot. I stepped in front of Blessing and about knocked her over, because Eva was moving so quickly and i was just sure i'd miss the opportunity. In fact, when i looked at it in my camera (pre-editing) I was sure I wasn't going to like it. But now.. it's my favorite. two things: take the shot.. and lots of them.. second, always wait until you can edit a photo before you dismiss it.

adios!

this is why we won't get invited again...

So we were invited (of course) to celebrate Granddaddy's 90th birthday. I don't know that we will ever get invited to such a nice event again. My end of the table included 3 siblings, a cousin and my husband. That was likely NOT a good combination. Especially when two of the adults don't get out much... ehem.

My husband decided to help the servers not only know what he ordered, but what they should call him.

And what do you do when you have extra "butter spheres?" you make a snowman. Thanks babe for putting the onion arms. classy.

He was in a mood, obviously, and suggested we get a picture doing the classic drink pose. I was thrilled.

Of course this napkin captured the age we decided to emulate at such a fine celebration.

But at the end of the night.. we all had a great time celebrating 90 (that's NINETY folks) years of life for one fine fellow. Who is a hard working, amazingly smart and God fearing man. Happy Birthday Grandaddy! (his cake was his favorite: Key lime pie). ;-)

Oh happy Monday..

We did not go anywhere today.. (also because Eva has a GI something and Isaac is recovering from a cold).

The kids had fun playing today. For the most part, they played well. We even got some school done today.

Who knew that I wouldn't have lost my mind by the end of a day with sick littles and having been inside all day.

Quote of the day was when my husband called on his way home from work and asked if I wanted him to pick up dinner on his way home. I replied: "Nah, I'm good. I'm just going to do some easy tostadas for dinner." He said, "oh well, I heard a couple of kids crying and wasn't sure." Then I said, "Oh that's totally normal.. the kids crying. Its when you hear me crying, then yes, please bring dinner."

haha. I love my humor.

We are nuts. NUTS.

Certifiable.  And based on our love of "Photo Booth," it's obvious.  Enjoy (at our expense). 

Im supposed to learn something, right??

I've turned another year older.  

I'm now 33 years young.  

And every year I gain, I get more and more introspective about my life.  Not surprising.  I know that as you get older you start to gain perspective that you don't always have when you are younger.  So, just because I know you absolutely will NOT be complete until you know, here are some things I've been chewing on: (that was sarcasm, btw). 

*people want to know what you think, but with the freedom to not have to think the same thing. 

*It may be best to keep your mouth shut. 

*It may be best to speak up. 

*Knowing the difference of when to speak up and when to be quiet is governed by a very thin line.  And you will spend the rest of your life trying to figure out that line. 

*I do not need to try and control my kids and their emotions.  But I can give consequences for their lack of control with them. 

*teaching your kids that it okay to be angry at mommy or daddy, is very freeing.  (but no, you can't call me names like "meany.").  

*a lot of the things that I learned about my parenting style were legalistic, controlling behaviors that I myself was enslaved too.  God's grace gives some great instruction in parenting. (and no, that doesn't mean my kids "run wild in rebellion."). 

*It's okay to not be okay.  It's okay to let others "not be okay."  It's GREAT to admit, out loud, that you are not okay.  

*life is a precious gift and no matter how difficult the day, the next one is typically a little bit easier.  

that's all for now. 

this is my gang..

and oh i love them..

Apparently, I stress you out.

So I went to walmart to do a map.

Yes, a map. Of what was on each aisle, by number. This isn't what my post is about. But I thought it would be interesting to tell you. I did the map so that when I go grocery shopping with all four of my wild ones, I will know which aisle my items are on and not forget things (that are even on my list) because I don't want to go ALL the way on the other side of the store to get it.

Anyhoo.

As I was exiting the store I was getting quite the chuckle from the kids. I was wearing Isaac and holding Eva's hand. She was supposed to hold Alex's hand who was holding Jorge's hand. Got the mental picture??

Well, Eva thought it was fun to keep snatching her hand away from Alex. And every time he would "scold" her, she would just get more and more tickled. It made for a fun walk to the car. Seriously, I loved seeing Alex try to "help" Eva. I wanted to see how he would solve the problem. (which he was gaining no ground on, btw).

So when we got to the van I just said, "Alex, we are here now. Go ahead and get in the van. I have her hand." He was saying something to me when a woman, parked across from me (who had apparently watched us from the time we left the store) came up to me and said, "ma'am, can I help you please?"

That sounds nice enough when I type it, but let me give you an idea of her tone (which says everything). You know when you are so tired of seeing your kids do something that is irritating the fire out of you and you just want them to hurry up already? You then look frustratingly at them and say, "Can I help you PLEASE?"

that was her tone. I seriously think she thought I was in over my head. But we were just laughing it up. Well, all but Alex.

The rest of us were seeing the humor in the situation and this lady, I assume, had had enough. Of what? Im not exactly sure. But it came across in her tone. To which I replied, "Oh no, we are great here. Just having fun. thank you though."

I think she wasn't happy with that response. Because, apparently, we stress people out.

Blast from the past..

my hubby downloaded old photos from his phone.. thus the poor quality. but still fun to remember:

Eva with her daddy.

'wook at us mommy." I can remember that.. look how young they are!

Eva and her bald head!

Believe it or not.. they were sitting this way while watching a movie. too adorable.

me and my wittle girl.

Jorge about to pour dirt on Alex's head while "camping" at Maranatha.

One of daddy's favorite places to go with the kids.

Always bff's. I love this!

I love looking at old pictures.. Reminds me that no matter how hard that season was.. God got us through and WOW what precious babies I have. ;-)