Gone Camera Gone

This morning our camera got dropped and broke. We did get some shots of the kids this weekend though! Joseph had been asking to go golfing all week, so on Saturday morning we took the children to miniature golfing. I'm not sure how soon we will make a decision about another camera, so until then, here are the last pictures:

Parkish Pics

Ha. My children are this filthy BEFORE the park!



Starting out mellow:


Just so you know where they get it from:


And my favorite:

Kid's Pictures

I haven't posted recent pictures of the kids for a while so...

Here's two of the kids in their "new" Goodwill clothes (SCORE!) and one of last week when we went to ride the Dole Plantation Train again:

The funny thing about these pictures is that they are really not that great of the kids and when I took them I thought that I really got a good picture. Oh, well!

My Favorite Joseph Prayers

"God, we need to hang out, okay." ~Joseph

"Dear God,
Thank you for bowling today. Thank you for Auntie helping me. Thank you for Uncle helping me. I am blessed. I am very blessed. Blessed, blessed, blessed. Thank you God for dinosaurs. Amen."

Love It.

Kendra's 18 month Appointment!

Kendra is now 18 months, 33 inches and over 25 pounds. She is perfectly healthy, a great climber, a great eater, a horrible sleeper and a joy to have around. We're thankful for you, Kendra!

Cute Quipps

Mommy: "Joseph, what are you doing?"
Joseph: "I'm trying to fly."
Mommy: "Oh. Good luck."

Another kid: "Mrs. Moore! There's a crab down here by the beach!"
Mommy: "Do you see it, Joseph?"
Joseph: "Mom! I see a whale!"

Joseph to a friend: "Can I see your dinosaur?"
Friend: "I don't have a dinosaur."
Joseph: "Yes you do! It is green and it lives in it's house."
Friend: "I don't know what you are talking about."
A while later the friend realizes that the "dinosaur" is really his pet chameleon :)

Joseph grabs a stick.
James: "Joseph, is that your Bazooka?"
Joseph: "Yes, it's my Zabooka."
Cute.

In Joseph world, everything is a sword, a gun or a "weapon". If he sees you EVER, his first question will be, "Do you have a guitar?". If he knows you have one, his first question will be, "Do you want to play guitars with me?"...except guitar sounds more like "Tar". He is HILARIOUS.

Kendra is repeating every word she can and she wants to be like the bigger girls in her world so bad. Now she wants pigtails, powder on her nose, to carry a purse, to wear her shoes when the older girls do (and to take them off when they do too!). She has learned the word "no" and uses it as much as possible, even when she means "yes". She is working out how her will is allowed to function in the context of obeying Papa and Mommy...and she is SO CUTE.

One of THOSE days

Yesterday was one of THOSE days. We had a birthday party to go to at 9:00 that was across the wall from us--the next door (wall) neighbor's son. Of course, since I do childcare, I had two extra children with us, but I don't think the morning would have gone much smoother without them. Joseph woke up while I was taking care of business/phone stuff at the computer. I let him play while I finished up, but he was angry that he didn't have my full attention and brought a dump truck load of rocks into my laundry room. While I told him to pick all the rocks up, Kendra woke up. By the time I got her, set her at the table with Cheerios and checked on Joseph again, he had poured liquid laundry soap all over the rocks, floor and laundry pile. Red Hawaiian dirt, rocks and soap were everywhere. I tool a step away and a deep breath, only to find Kendra covered in spilled orange juice and on the table. I told Joseph to sit in the corner while I got Kendra down and changed (quickly!). By that time, our little 12 month old FCC child was into Joseph's mess. I changed her and strapped her into the high chair, hoping she couldn't get into anything else there. By the time I got everyone fed, clothed and at the door, we were 20 minutes late--and we had such a short distance to travel! So I went to the garage to grab the present for the little boy only to find that the car is gone. "Oh well", I thought. We walked out the front door, through our driveway and passed our car that was parked in the driveway and to the party. I didn't even realize that the car was simply moved so James could get his motorcycle out that morning. Thankfully, the party went pretty well and nap time followed shortly thereafter, even though they each had ice cream and lollipops. The mess in the laundry room sat for the rest of the day, through the night, and through this morning until I finally got the energy to tell Joseph to clean it up and enforce him doing so. Finally, I came out victorious...a full day later :)

Starting Off...

To be perfectly honest, I feel guilty that I watch other blogs and don't leave anything for others to read. Because I'm starting this blog out of guilt and not for a truly valid reason, whether or not I keep up with it is up in the air. I don't even know what I will blog about, but I will be pretty good at keeping pictures on our MobileMe Gallery --there is a link to it in the column on the right--so at least check those!

Right now I feel the most peaceful and excited about life that I have in a long time. A few weeks ago, we took J and K to the beach with some friends boogie boards and we were all able to go out riding the waves together. That was 5 weekends ago and we've gone out at least twice every weekend since. It is so freeing to me to know that we can go do active activities without having to split up or limit the time or activity. So we've since bought a surf board and took that out last weekend, the children are now semi-pros at riding waves in any form and I'm encouraged. Other things that have helped me get to this point: a Costco membership so that I can actually get nice, healthy meals on the table every night; membership to the YMCA because they give two hours of free childcare to as many children as you have EVERY DAY (plus, the Department of Defense now pays for it for military spouses!!); learning more self-control so that I can pass it onto my children, especially J. He has been a handful, but it's been a steady up hill climb since we realized how much we needed to crack down and enforce the rules. He is still the most rowdy child wherever we go, but his listening and obeying skills are getting better at just the time that K is seriously testing the boundaries!!

I am so thankful for all the awesome people in our lives.

The Khul family reminds me constantly to be consistent and keep going in raising my children--even when I want to throw up my hands and send them off somewhere!

To Josh, Battle and Lady: Thank you guys for loving our children as much as you would love your own. Thank you for all the times you've given us breaks and for the joy that each of you bring to our home. We specifically love the fact that you are willing to meet us where we are at (home!) so often so that we can get together.

To Jenni and Jonelle: you both are inspirations to me in different ways. You're awesome!

To our families: You give us so much support and love--even more than you often have time or energy for. We wouldn't have made it this far through parenting if it wasn't for you!

To our neighbors (Kempers, Rochas and Eplings): Thank you for watching out for my kids when I'm not, for bieng our friends and making me laugh on bad days. Thank you for making our section of street a place that I know is safe for my kids. I am so blessed to be surrounded by you guys and I'm already crying about what will happen after this summer.