A very HOT weekend

We went to the coast! David had scuba checkouts on the 27th and 28th and we decided to take all the kids.

He met all of his students at the Conoco in Benton City at 7 am Friday morning, which meant we had to get the kids up early. Unfortunately Kylie was up until midnight Thursday night, so she was not very happy with getting up at 6:30. We then drove non-stop to the Mukiltio/Clinton Ferry. Where we dressed kids and took a boat ride across to Whidbey Island. We reached Langley at 11:30 am. And the kids were READY to get out of the car. After a light lunch David got his students ready to go in the water, and I set the kids up on the beach with a bunch of new sand toys. (Making sure that Johnny was in the shade out of the sun.) The temperature for that day was supposed to be 68 and sunny. A perfect day to play on the beach. Kylie was a super crank so she got to lay down in the car and take a nap. Eddie joined her a little later on. I sat in the sand and played with the boys, digging trenches and building sand castles (only to have them smashed by Eddie immediately after finishing them.)

After Eddies nap he had a ton of fun playing in the sand. He thought it was so funny to roll around in it and get buried. And he did just that. Kylie never really got over her crankiness. I had to wake her up from her nap or she wouldn't go to sleep that night. But I think she still had a little bit of fun.

After David got done with his students we loaded up and went to our hotel in Oak Harbor. At the hotel we realized just how much sun there had been. The kids all had patches of sun burn on them where I had missed with the sun screen-oops! Sorry guys! And poor Johnny, his face was as red as a lobster. He was so miserable. I don't know how he got so red. He had been in the shade the entire day! The only white on his face was where his binky had been. So after dinner I had to go to Wal-mart and get some baby Tylenol, and AloeVera lotion. He calmed down a little after that, but he still had a rough night.

The next day we went to Keystone for the second day of diving. Keystone is never as nice as Langley. There is always a lot of wind, and it is usually pretty chilly. And there isn't any sand. Just a lot of rocks and driftwood (which apparently is now illegal to burn! No more fires to keep us warm.) So I bundled kids up in warmer clothes (but still made sure to put sunscreen on their faces, even Johhny. I know, I know, he isn't supposed to wear sunscreen yet, but what was I supposed to do?) and we spent the day coloring, and playing in the rocks. David's assistant, Larry, played with the kids as much as he could, building forts out of driftwood and throwing them around in the air. (Thank you Larry!) As the day wore on, it did get warmer, thankfully.

When all of the checkouts were done, we loaded up and headed home. The kids were exhausted. But unfortunately none of them slept on the way home. Instead they fought and cried. It was fun! ;)

We got home at 8 pm and spent the evening bathing kids and getting them into bed and cleaning out the car. It was a MESS. I ended up taking EVERYthing that could possibly come out-out. And I vacuumed the entire thing. And then I still had to use some soapy warm water to wash all the seats down. Oh, the joys of being a parent.

Sunday was the dive shops annual anniversary sale. So of course we had to be down there ALL day. Luckily there was free pop and hot dogs to feed my kids. We brought our kiddie pool and the kids stayed cool. The dive shop had misters and canopies set up all over to try and keep every one cooled off, but with the temperature getting to 103, it was a little hard to do. Johnny was NOT a happy camper. He had to be held and have a hand held fan on him at all times. I was so hot. I finally just sat right under one of the misters and he fell asleep. Of course I had to stay there or he would wake up.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. It was just really HOT. And we were outside for all of it. The kids' sunburns are looking a lot better. And Johnny's face isn't so bad anymore. Everyone is happy to be AT home today. No where to go. We just get to sit (and play) in a nice air conditioned home.

Thank you to all of you who helped with my kids this weekend. And those of you who held Johnny for me most of the weekend (Carol, Kim and Misti) I really appreciated the help.

Update...

Okay, so I guess I should have named the post about Eddie "Thank you Eddie" instead of "Poor Eddie"
David came home from work early on Thursday b/c he threw up ALL over the bathroom at work. (Oops!) Then he stayed in bed for the entire evening. Only getting up to run to the bathroom to throw up again. I got kids fed, and put to bed, and then I went to bed around 9 (I was REALLY tired for some reason). At midnight, I woke up VERY sick, and I felt like my body had been hit by a bus! Every part of my body hurt. For the rest of the night, David and I took turns running to the bathroom.
Then Kaden woke all the kids up at around 6:40 am b/c he started throwing up in his bed! What the heck!?! Needless to say, Friday was NOT a fun day. By dinner time Kaden was better, but David and I both still felt crummy (at least the throwing up part was done by then).
Luckily I woke up this morning feeling fine. Poor David still has a bit of it though!
Thank You Eddie! Thank you so much for bringing this nasty bug into our home! The little turkey!

Portland Zoo

For the last couple of months David and I have been trying to find a weekend that we could take the kids to the Oregon Zoo. Not able to come up with more then one day to do it, I decided to surprise him and plan a one day trip to Portland. So I had him take last Friday off, and this is how our day went....

6 AM I got up, showered, started packing the car with snacks, strollers, movies and clothes for the kids to change into.

7 AM I woke David up, and finished loading car.

7:45 AM We got kids out of bed, and put them strait into the car.

8 AM We pulled out of drive-way (only 1 hour behind schedule)

10:45 AM We stopped in Hood River to change some VERY stinky diapers, and change kids into their clothes.

11 AM We started buckling kids back into their seats and we smell another very strong smelling diaper. So we unload Eddie and find that his brand new diaper was already poopy and had leaked-clear down into his shoes. (unfortunately I didn't pack extra clothes!)

11:10 AM We stopped at Wal-mart so I could buy some new clothes for Eddie.

11:15 AM I got back into the car and buckled, only to find out that Kylie needed to use the bathroom.

11:20 AM WE ARE BACK ON THE ROAD!

12:30 PM We made it!!!!

Only a couple of hours behind schedule, but we did it. The kids were tired, hungry, and sick of being in the car but we were at the zoo! When we got in line to buy tickets, a lady came up to us and said she had 3 extra kids passes and gave them to us, so we ended up getting in with just paying for David and I. Thank you lady!
After we got in, we started to go to see the Sea Lions. And Eli Flipped out. For those of you who don't know, Eli is a bit of a sissy. I love him to pieces, but the kid is afraid of EVERYTHING. He seriously thought that the animals were going to get him. I had to pick him up and carry him, while he was kicking and screaming trying to get away. BUT then as soon as he saw the animals were caged in, and couldn't actually get to him, he switched to a crazy little boy who couldn't stop laughing and pointing at the animals saying how cool they were. However, we had to go through this EVERY time we went to see a new animal. Not so much fun. Kaden, Kylie and Eddie had a blast though. They were very excited to see everything (especially Eddie). Johnny on the other hand, was not a happy camper. He wasn't feeling very well, so he spent most of his time screaming.
The zoo closed at 6 PM and so we started heading out (stopping for souvenirs of course!), with 5 VERY tired and hungry kids. It was defiantly time to go home. We stopped in The Dalles to eat at McD's and let the kids play for a bit. Then we changed them into PJs and headed home. We arrived home at 11:30 PM, transferred kids, and dropped into our bed at about 12:30 AM.
What a day. It was LONG, and we were all very tired. but we had a ton of fun. The kids were quite happy with the trip. And even though David was a crank through it all, I think he kinda liked it too!

Poor Eddie....

Last night Eli came downstairs to tell David and I that Eddie had thrown up. Boy was he right. He was sick. We cleaned his sheets, gave him a bath, and put him back to bed. About 45 minutes later he was screaming and crying again. David went to check on him and give him some tylenol, and found that he had thrown up. So once again, we cleaned his bed and him and he got to sit on my lap while I watched a movie. (Dan in Real Life-never seen it before, it was pretty cute) Anyway....as we were watching the movie, Eddie wanted some water, so David gave him a sippy. BAD idea. He threw up-again! And yes, he was STILL on my lap. I had throw up ALL down the front of my shirt. David started laughing!!!! And then he took his sweet little time to get a bowl for Eddie to finish in and a towel to clean me up, so yes, Eddie KEPT throwing up on me!!!! GROSS! I was covered. and I couldn't get up or I would be cleaning the floor all night from the mess that was on me! I started busting up. I have never had a kid throw up that much on me. I felt guilty for laughing, the poor kid looked pathetic! And no, the throwing up didn't stop there. He threw up one more time last night, and then again this morning. And he took about a 5 hour nap today. I feel so bad for my kids when they don't feel well. The poor little guy. And here I am making fun of him for being sick....what a mom!

Class of 2008

David finally graduated!
He started college in 1995 and walked with his class in 2000. But a few weeks after walking, EWU sent him a letter informing him he couldn't have his diploma. He was missing a class. Really all he needed to do was get a signature from the professor and then he would be done. But it had to be done within 4 years, or he would have to meet any new requirements for that degree. So what did he do? Nothing. He set the letter aside and mostly forgot about it. Well, a few weeks ago he had to go to Spokane for work, so I suggested he run by Eastern and see what he would have to do to graduate. All he needed was a signature. But the guy he needed to talk to was out sick! He got phone numbers and emails and went home. Today he got an email from the professor telling him it was done. He is now a college graduate. (and he could walk with the 2008 class on Saturday the 14th, if he wanted!)

Congratulations David! But sorry, you don't get to walk. We aren't going to Cheney this weekend!

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!

Today I had a bit of a brain fart. I thought for a moment that it would be a good idea that I take ALL of my kids to the movies--BY MYSELF! Luckily last minute I was smart enough to ask David to let Johnny sleep at his office so I could just take the other 4. We saw Kung Fu Panda. Pretty cute. What I actually got to pay attention to anyway. Kaden LOVES movies, so he lasted through the whole movie. Kylie and Eli lasted for about an hour. And Eddie....MAYBE 30 minutes, (about the same time that he ran out of his popcorn and pop, he ran out of interest in being at the theatre-funny how that works!) So I found myself rummaging through my purse for ANYthing that I could find that would interest a 1 year old and keep him quiet enough so others in the theatre could enjoy the movie.


I tried taking the 4 of them to the movies by myself right before I had Johnny. And I told myself then that I would NEVER do that again. Obviously I am a VERY slow learner. Lets see how long this experience keeps me from taking 4 kids, 5 and under, to the movies.

Regardless of the stress of taking them all to the movie-we all had a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed it and had a GREAT time telling their dad and grandpa about it. I just don't think that I will venture out and take them on my own next time.


Oh, and by the way, Johnny didn't sleep at all for David! He ended up having to hold him the whole time! Sorry David!

Here goes nothing!!!

This is for you Stacey, Libbie and Nancie! Maybe now you can leave me alone about it!!! I don't know that I will have all that much stuff to write about. But I will give it a shot anyway!!