All about face

Well, Matt has taken off with Allison to make a whirlwind driving trip to Kansas City to pick up our camper and grill that were left in the garage of our house there.  We had to leave them behind because we couldn't fit everything we owned in one trip to Texas.

In the meantime, Sarah, Kimball and I are spending some extra quality time together.  We went to the pool this afternoon & that really wore them out! (that was the idea)  Hopefully they don't wake up too early tomorrow morning. . . .

Tonight while we were brushing teeth and getting ready for bed, I couldn't resist taking some pictures.  You see, Kimball is a MAD MAN when we get the toothbrushes out.  I usually let the girls take a turn brushing their own teeth, and then I always get a turn to make sure the job's done right.  When I do this, I have them lay across my lap, so I can see into their mouth easier & brush the teeth better.  Kimball always takes this opportunity to ATTACK us and try to grab the toothbrush. And let me tell you, he can really muscle his way in -- even when I try to block him from getting to us.

To say that Kimball LOVES to brush his teeth would be a major understatement.  He'd lay across my lap and let me brush all night long.  I finally got him a toothbrush of his own, and so now when we brush our teeth, he gets a turn too.  

Now, to say that Sarah likes to be silly for the camera is another understatement.  You'll remember that one of  my first posts was of Sarah and me making silly faces.  Well, you're about to enjoy some more . . . 

    Kimball, almost 11 months       Sarah, age 3 1/2

(notice a toothbrush in BOTH of Kimball's hands.)

You'll see in the picture below that Kimball's two front teeth are a little weird.  They're both about the same distance "down," but one of them hasn't popped through the gums yet. It's still covered . . . like I said weird.  I hope it makes it's way out soon, because in the meantime, he looks really redneck-ish when he smiles.  (I have no idea why this type is underlined . . . I can't get it to stop and it's really bugging me.)

Wednesday

Yesterday, I had a few hours where it was just me and Kimball playing while the girls napped. He's getting to be a big baby!  He has these irresistible chubby cheeks, arms, legs, hands . . .  We laid on the floor yesterday and I got him giggling pretty good.  It was a nice time, and I even thought about it again today . .  . how fun it was to play with him. He's a cute little guy most of the time.

TODAY, things feel pretty blah.  Today, I'm tired of cleaning, tired of entertaining kids, tired of doing laundry and just plain tired !  Tired of doing the same thing over and over everyday.  (I seriously need to find more stuff to do around here in Katy.) One thing's for sure, though . . . if I have to clean up another spill off the floor, I think I'm going to loose it.  During lunch today, Sarah dropped her bowl of Raman noodles on the floor & it splashed all over.  That happened a few hours ago, and it's still there.  I can't bring myself to clean it up.   

I think it's time for a "Why is it?" list . . .  so here goes

1. Why is it that a 10 month old can somehow push the correct button to turn on the phone? That's crazy. But he does it over and over.

2. Why is it that I stay up later than i should to read friends' blogs or surf the internet, instead of just going to bed?

3.  Why is it that my exterminator is having such a hard time exterminating the ants around here?? 

That's all I have today.  Pretty short list.

In other news,  I saw Mama Mia last night.  I thought it was pretty good and that Meryl Streep was great.  Her performance on the song "the winner takes it all" was amazing.   I'd never heard any of the songs from the musical before, (except for "Dancing Queen) but I liked them.

Random Sampler

I haven't blogged for a while.  So here's a random sampling of updates & thoughts.

Our house in Kansas City is officially under contract to sell.  We have a buyer.  Supposedly we will close on the deal, soon . . . either August 29th or September 2nd.  With that said, anyone ever been robbed before?  Because that's about the feeling I have with the sale of this house. Basically, we are selling it for $15,000 less than what we paid almost 2 and a half years ago. Just selling this house will take ALL of our savings.  No more cushion of any kind, and no money left for a down payment on our next house. Kind of sickening, isn't it?  So, yeah, I feel like I'm being robbed. THe upside is (I have to keep reminding myself of these): at least we have a buyer!!  And at least we only lost $15,000.  I guess in this housing market, it could be worse.  Pathetic. 

Matt and I are enjoying the Olympics sooooo much!  I mean, wasn't that MENs 400 meter relay UNBELIEVEABLE!!!  Matt and I were watching it live the other  night, and when the
anchor, Lezak, was finishing his split we were cheering and screaming and jumping up and down!!  Even the replays they've been showing the past day or two bring back the same thrill and excitement that we had while watching it the first time. Very cool.   I'll admit, I'm getting a little tired of Michael Phelps though.  I DO hope he makes his goal of 8 gold medals, but man . . . talk about motivation for someone else to bring him down!!!  I can only imagine that someone is dying to do it. By the way, is anyone as scared as I am by that "she-man" who does the little clips about China?  (You know who I'm talking about.)  She's this huge, tall woman with a man's voice. I think she's odd.

Kimball has lost his cute & cuddly infant self, and is now sort of a pain.  

 He likes to bite, push, scream if he doesn't get what he wants, and basically causes me grief all day long.  He's very strong and is almost able to push/squirm himself right out of my arms if he doesn't like/want something (like going to bed). Changing his diaper is a constant battle.  I won't even go there. Teaching him to be "soft" is going to be a feat in and of itself.  *Sigh*  Well, I can't say that I wasn't warned about little boys.   Part of our problem is that he thinks he's already "big," as you can see here in these photos.  Look how huge he already is, and he's not even 1 yet.

 I got Allison registered for Kindergarten.  It'll be interesting to watch that adjustment happen.  I hope she gets a nice teacher and makes some good friends. I took this picture of Allison and Sarah right after church last week.  It was a rare moment when I took a little extra time to fix their hair.  It turned out pretty cute . . .

Yesterday, I had a weak moment and splurged on a 24oz fountain drink at a gas station.  Wanna know how much it cost me?  $1.29   Can you believe that!!!  For a 24 ounce drink!  Rediculous.

I've been preparing for my Kauai trip that's coming up in a month.  I CAN'T wait.  I've signed us up for a helicopter tour over the island.  And we have a 3-tank boat (scuba) dive trip scheduled. 

I've been pouring over  my "Ultimate Kauai Guidebook"  to decide which hikes to do, which hidden/secret beaches to find, and which restaurants have the best food and views at sunset!

I won't lie, this upcoming trip is something that has been keeping me going the past several weeks.  It's going to be a blast.  I might not want to come back.

Our trip to Kauai has motivated me to start exercising again.  I won't lie, it's been a LONG time since I've exercised regularly.  I'm talking a couple of years!  (I know, it's pathetic.)  But I'm feeling good about myself because I've ran almost 2 miles on  my treadmill everyday for the past week.  Hopefully, if I keep it up, then the hiking we have planned in Kauai will be less painful/exhausting.  As an added bonus, maybe this exercise will help me sleep better at night. Does anyone else have trouble falling asleep, even though your totally exhausted at the end of the day? I hate that.

Well, that's about all the time I have to blog for now.  "Mom duty" calls . . .

By the way, if you've finished "Breaking Dawn " you'll have to email me and tell me what you thought of it.  

Afternoon @ Surfside Beach

Since Matt has every other Friday off from work, we decided to go to the beach last Friday.  One of the closest beaches to us is Surfside Beach, about an hour drive from our house.   It wasn't an especially beautiful beach with crystal clear water or white sand, but it was still fun.

After being there for a while, we discovered that we were slightly ill-prepared . . . Allison didn't have any sandals, we didn't have any shade, no fun floaties to use in the ocean  . . .  but we bought a few things down there (for a premium price, unfortunately) and had a good time.  

As soon as we picked a place to park the car (on the beach - that was cool), everyone got out and headed straight for the water.  This was our kids' first time seeing the ocean.  It was fun to watch their faces light up with excitement.  Allison's especially.  All that water!!! 

After their clothes got all wet, it was time to put on the swimming suits and really get in.

Poor Kimball just hung out in his carseat at first, while I took pictures of everyone.  He was pretty happily entertained, actually, just watching everyone play for a while.  (which was good -- it's hard to have a crawling 10 month old at the beach.) 

Matt bought a skimboard, which was "entertaining" to watch.  

Allison thought she'd give it a go, but it was a little big for her.

Sarah was pretty timid in the water the whole time.  

She would only go in if one of us was holding her hand.

Eventually, we brought out the sand shovels and cups (we WERE smart enough to bring those) to make castles with.  Allison and Sarah liked collecting sea shells to put on top of their creations. (see below)

Allison's "Sea Shell Mountain"

After a while, we realized that the "cabana's" that the beach's website described were definitely inadequate for providing shade, so I went to the nearby surf shop and found an umbrella to help us out.  

We also got a fun raft for the kids to use in the ocean, and provided a place for Kimball to get out of the stroller and play.