Sprawling

Summer is flying by and I am somewhat enjoying having three minions clean the house. Archy and Zany get to have lots of free time since I don't make them do to much. I walked into the family room and found them sprawled out on the window seat enjoying a show. Poor Eddy works everyday in the heat as a handyman for an Apartment Complex and he doesn't get much time to relax in fact today he is putting insulation in our attic and doing other handyman things around here. Hopefully he will get a chance to sprawl somewhere!

Archy and Zany enjoying a lazy summer day

Loads of Fun

We let the laundry go a bit the last week of school. McCoy is the king of creating dirty laundry and Declan is not to far behind; what you see below is their laundry (one load still in dryer) washed and ready to fold. I decided to pack up the majority of their clothes for the summer and just leave McCoy with four sets of pajamas as he likes to wear a new set every night. Declan and McCoy helped me fold while we watched the OZ the great and powerful movie so it was less painful than it looks. I am hoping packing up most of their clothes will cut down on the laundry and make it easier to keep their room clean. Will see if it works. I am still in the process of cleaning out their closet and packing up the clothes they have out grown. It will be nice to get it done and move on to other problem areas. 

Loads of fun with Declan and McCoy

Our Memorial Day

Due to our cabin camping trip we had to break our Memorial Day Festivities into two parts. We will be visiting and decorating the graves later in the week. I decided to decorate the mantle for memorial day and so I went to the local dollar store (dollar tree) to see what they had and I hit the jackpot. They had all kinds of patriotic decorations to choose from.  I purchased some bunting and cut it in half to go around the fireplace and the glitter bows I attached to my candles. The wooden USA sign and America sign even had glitter. I gathered military service pictures and did a brief family home evening about our ancestors who served in the military and what war they served in protecting our freedom. We then watched a WWII movie about paratroopers in France.

From left to right service photos

My dad, Quinton Germaine U.S.A.F.-Cold War

My maternal grandpa, Dennis E. Agle U.S. Navy-Korean War

My paternal grandpa with his flight crew WWII-pacific theater

My paternal grandpa, Edward R. Germaine U.S. Navy-WWII

My husband's father, Robert L. Carlton U.S. Navy-Vietnam War 

Declan, Archy Zany, McCoy eating popcorn watching a WWII movie

I am so grateful for all the service men and women, past and present, who have protected our freedom and their families who sacrificed so they could serve. 

End of Year Awards

In the elementary and middle school, they do end of year awards and certificates. The last day of school is really just about that as they only go to school for two hours and one hour respectively. It hardly seemed worth sending them but Quinton and Declan both insisted on going to get their awards.  

Declan is the kind of guy who is never sick and if he is he will never admit to the fact. He will go to school regardless of how he feels, hence, the attendance certificate. Declan also received a participation award for the say no to drugs program he volunteered to take part in. Declan ended the year with really good grades all A's and B's and he put in a lot of hard work to get them.

Declan with Attendance Certificate and Drug Awareness Award

Quinton's 7th grade football team were 1st place Conference Champs and Quinton played right tackle.

Quinton is on the back row right under the letter "a" of Place

Quinton also did Track and Field doing a variety of events: 4x1 relay, 4x2 relay, 100m dash, long jump, high jump, and discus.

Quinton with football and track certificates

Quinton also did very well academically; he was on the honor roll and although he is a seventh grader he is in eighth grade math (pre-algebra) where he tied for the highest score in all the pre-algebra classes with an eighth grade girl.  

My sister Ashlee waxed so fond of her days (high school) in Knowledge Bowl to Quinton that he decided to sign up. He attended meets all around this area traveling up to two hours to compete with other schools. At knowledge bowl, they a take test and answer questions as a team and compare the right answers with the other schools. Quinton's favorite part was that the hosting school would provide refreshments.

Quinton with Honor Roll and Knowledge Bowl Awards

McCoy finished first grade with flying colors

First grade doesn't do awards but McCoy got an excellent report card and by the end of first grade they are supposed to be to a reading level of "I" and McCoy is at a "S" reading level.  McCoy really loves school and all the drawing and coloring they get to do.

Cabin in the Pines

In my mind camping revolves around two things: eating and getting dirty. When you have a cabin with hot water both are lot easier to clean up. We usually camp pretty primitively no hot water or showers but it is so nice to have the best of both worlds as in the lovely forest setting and comforts of home.  

Eddy making breakfast burritos 

The kids eating the burritos and Archy playing on

the ipad that was suppose to stay home

The Quad was a blast; everyone enjoyed riding it especially Zany who never wanted to get off of it

Eddy took me for a ride and it was really fun cozying up to him.

McCoy, Maddox, Archy, Zany and Declan pretending to ride

Anyone want a mud pie? 

Quinton enjoying lunch in the cabin

Eddy gives Zany a kiss

Dads against sons in a badminton game. There was some disagreement as to who won but Eddy assures me it was the dads.

We learned a new card game called Trash, Eddy is delighted with his luck

We were having such a grand time we opted to stay a unplanned second night. The kids got to play on a rope swing, throw rocks, make mud pies, paint rocks, play kick ball and badminton, ride a quad, play cards, eat lots of chips, and generally have a really fun time. A big thanks to our hosts!

The Rope Swing

We were invited to go to our friend's family's cabin in the pines for Memorial Day weekend. So we gave the sickies (those who get carsick driving up the mountain) some medicine so they wouldn't get carsick. Zaynzley ate a little piece of the medicine but then threw it. We set off on our pretty drive up through the beautiful mountain watching the temperature drop by the minute. We were nearing our destination when Zany started coughing and we excused it by thinking it was just her cold. Then we realized wait the last time she threw up she wasn't sick and she gave us the warning cough. Eddy found a place to pull over and I was trying to get her out but she was in the back row and Quinton was a bit groggy and didn't get out of the way fast enough and sadly she upchucked!  She threw up all over herself and was completely horrified by it. I decided the best way to deal with the mess was to cut off her clothes and discard them. When we arrived at the cabin we washed her up everything was great after that unlike our Outing of Epic Failure. 

The weather was lovely and the cabin was spacious. We had a great time!

Quinton standing in the doorway. 

Down a little slope from the cabin was a rope swing that the kids loved to swing on.

Archy pushed by friend Joey, McCoy looking up at a really large pine.

McCoy enjoyed the swing

McCoys checks the strength of the rope

Declan swings out far

Eddy pushes Zany

Any Given Day

If you were to call my house any given day and one of my kids were to answer the phone and you asked, "What are you doing?" Thier reply would undoubtedly be, "Cleaning."  I know this because my sister Ashlee calls often and asks them this question. No matter who she gets on the phone the answer is always the same. I really wish my kids did clean that often, but more often than not the answer to the question what are you doing would more accurately be, "I am suppose to be cleaning but instead I am . . . playing with toys, on a device, coloring, jumping on tramp or as you see below reading a book with my brother."

Declan and McCoy are supposed to be cleaning their very messy room but they are caught red handed with photographic proof reading a Big Nate book together. We must thank Quinton for his photographic evidence.  Now that school is out some major deep cleaning will be going on in this room and cleaning out of drawers which are over full because they quit hanging up their school clothes and instead crammed them in their drawers. Turkeys!

Declan and McCoy not cleaning

I was actually cleaning and I kept hearing a very distant voice say, "Turn it up, I can't hear." I tracked down the source and it was McCoy who was eating a snack outside trying to watch TV through the window. He had Archy open the window and turn up the TV. Archy is also suppose to be outside eating his bread but instead he is in the house watching TV. My air conditioning is on as well so there was a lot of reasons I wasn't happy with this arrangement. Needless to say Archy was kicked outside, window closed and TV off.

McCoy trying to watch TV from outside

Finally the last day of school has arrived! So hard to believe how fast this year went by. I am really hoping to actually get these hooligans cleaning around here this summer. Give us a call to check if you wish but you might be better off asking, "What are you actually doing?"

New Splash Park

We finally had a free enough evening that the kids could cash in their reward they got from the kindness meter and pick to go to any park they wanted.  Today was the first day the new splash pad opened and they all wanted to go to it regardless of the cool weather we had. Despite how the pictures look the water was freezing and the sun was setting so they didn't even have the sun to warm them. They would run through the sprinklers and then come stand by me shivering until they got enough courage to do it again.  

Zany briefly splashes through the pad

Archy follows her

Archy was really taken with these rings

Quinton squirts McCoy

McCoy retaliates 

That was a brave run by McCoy

Quinton helps Archy fire

It's way funner to shot than help

Archy doesn't have much meat to keep warm with and was really bothered by how cold the water was. He expressed his dislike of it and in fact gave me a little tirade that concluded with, "I hate you mom you didn't bring any towels!" He is a passionate little guy who isn't supposed to say hate but is often driven to it.

Angry Archy

Horrified to learn we forgot the towels

Eddy and Quinton have a shootout

I dared Eddy to run through this row of rings and he turned me down since it was miserably cold but I bribed him with a Mexican coke in a glass bottle. He did it. Then immediately wanted to go home to change.

Eddy tests out the sprinkler rings and earns a coke

It is so nice to have a new park in town and this will be a very popular place maybe when it is a bit warmer though!

Archer's Preschool Graduation

When Archer was three I took him to be tested to see if his speech was average or if he needed speech therapy. He needed speech therapy (I figured he would as all his brothers have received speech therapy for varying lengths of time) and was accepted into a wonderful preschool that would give him the help he needed. He has been attending Brighter Day Preschool three days a week for two years now. His speech has really improved and he is much easier to understand although he probably has some more speech therapy in his future. He got to make lots of friends and go on some really fun field trips. He has had the same teacher, Miss D'Anne, both years and she is a really wonderful teacher. 

He got to celebrate his preschool graduation with all his school friends. They marched in one by one to the traditional graduation music.

Archy marches into his graduation

Archy waiting for fellow graduates to march in

 Sadly this was the best shot I could get as I couldn't get that sweet girl to move over.

Archy awarded his certificate by his teacher Miss D'Anne

Archy loved going to this preschool

Archy with his favorite teacher Miss D'Anne

Archy and Zany enjoying some post graduation cookies

Congratulations on Preschool Graduation, Archer!

Better Late Than Never

I should have planted seeds during spring break but I didn't get to it. Then for Mother's Day I thought that would be a fun thing for the boys to do for me, but Eddy (he was going to clean out the flower bed) was sick so that didn't happen.  So finally I decided I had better just do it today or before I know it it will be Halloween. I used to have a lovely garden and backyard but over time bermudagrass has completely taken over. If I water anywhere bermuda is quick to spring up it is horrible stuff that when you try to pull it out it just breaks off.  I gave up gardening altogether and my life just got busier and busier and I figured with as much as water is it is cheaper just to buy produce at the store. Years passed and every summer I would think this is the summer I will do a raised garden so the grass won't get in there but I never did.  This year I decided I would buy a bunch of seeds and if they came up great, if not oh well not much money or time was spent.

We are so busy right now with all of the kids activites I just decided to plant the seeds with Archy and Zany as my helpers. 

Archy holding seed packets 

Zinnias, sunflowers, lavender, wildflowers, dill, zucchini and yellow squash

Archy really liked planting sunflowers

Zany hands the seeds to Archy to plant

I am interested to see if anything comes up. I pretty much ignored the directions and just spread the seeds and put a light layer of leftover potting soil over it . Hopefully, I am not just giving the quail free food. I would like to get a few tomato plants but I have been wanting to do that for months and soon it really will be too late. Fingers crossed, sprout seeds sprout!