Sometimes, "it takes a team"

Camden turned 9!!!

So for his birthday we decided to haul everyone in Yeti to a hotel!

Well, um....actually it was because Brooks had a softball tournament a hour and a half away for the weekend.........but hey, let him think that, right?

 Once we got to the hotel we had cupcakes and he opened up his most "favorite gift of all"...

a bunch of Ninjago Lego dudes w/ all their weapons.

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how many hours were spent playing with these. The older 3 boys would just hide away on some sidewalk and play forever. 

However the ABOVE sidewalk only worked for maybe 5 minutes because Royce got bit 3 times by fireants and I got bit once on my foot. So the boys decided to move.

Here Kellyn is just standing at the hotel door while the rest of us (minus Brooks) went swimming. 

Poor Brooks had worked 42 hours straight (between 2 different places) before we left, so he was a zombie, but it worked out nice because Kellyn just had fun crawling around in there while he "babysat" and slept.

At the game there were 2 fans there. I guess we grew their fan base by 150% by showing up.

 (YES, those are jeans. Those are his "baseball jeans" and he LOVES playing in them......so don't ask)

 By that evening my foot was REALLY bothering me. That dern fireant bite sure was itching and making my foot swell like CRAZY!!!! Yes, it was just ONE bite.

Here is Royce getting ready for bed and about to fall asleep.

 And juuuuuuuuuuust in case he needs a bite to eat he has his chicken strip right next to him. ;)

 We found out Brooks' next game was at 3pm the next day! So all morning the boys obviously played w/ their Ninjagos.

And we swam for hours on end while zombie-man (poor guy) did this........even ROYCE was zonked out and climbed up in the other bed and fell fast asleep. I didn't even put him there. hahaha.

After his 3:00 game we found out his next game wasn't until 9pm......and we had NO hotel to go back to because we checked out. So we hung out at the park (do the math.....almost 5 hours!!!!) and went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.

 This little girl LOVES the swing! And I'm in love w/ chunky thighs poking out!!! 

 These two are so close. NOBODY makes Camden light up like Kellyn. They have such a little bond.

 Plenty of time to climb rocks and make muscles grow......(not)

 and catch bugs....

Seriously though, this beetle was pretty cool with the metallic body.

 And eat peanuts..........HELLO! It IS baseball afterall. And it takes them forever to open them so it's a time-occupying activity for sure.

 With all this time up on my feet, I'll tell you what, my poor foot was about to POP!!! It felt so firm to the touch too. With the poison ivy-blown-up-face issue fresh in my memory I couldn't help but get a teeny bit concerned when the swelling took up my whole foot and started creeping up my ankle and lower leg. Brooks says I have inflamatory issues..............YA THINK!?!?!?

 They actually LOST the game at 9pm, which made them play at 10 right after it, but the other game wasn't over yet, so I just walked these two around in the stroller until they fell asleep. So sweet, my little thumb-sucker and my finger-sucker.

 Brooks found a table and conked out. There I was thinkin he was watching the other 5 kids. Silly me.... (Thankfully there's plenty of guys on the team that my kids can sit on/climb on and talk to.)

He couldn't stay awake to save his life (but that didn't affect his baseball game....he played like a champ! And yes, I was swooning just like in our dating days watching him play sports.)

The previous game FINALLY ended at 10:55 so at 11:05pm they started Brooks' game. I don't think my kids have EVER been out this late before. I was looking forward to the game though because with Kellyn and Royce asleep, I might get to watch more of it!!!

 Then Iris started drooping.........

 She kept head banging from falling asleep while sitting up

 so I finally moved her over on a blanket........on the concrete. She. was. OUT!

 Then Kellyn woke up and just sat sleepily in my lap while Emerson started slipping away....

With the stroller open, Aleeya climbed in Kellyn's spot and fell fast asleep too.

 (I love little Roycey's dirty face. We seriously played HARD that day)

My kids were literally dropping like flies. It was hilarious!!!! This picture of how Iris was sleeping cracks me up.

But these two were wiiiiiiiiiiiide awake!

As the game (they won) was coming to an end, it dawned on  me that I wasn't sure how I was going to get everyone to the Yeti!!!! I mean, two were asleep in the stroller and I could push it and Brooks could carry one with his baseball gear..........and well, we were running out of arms to carry all the sleeping kids!

The game ended and the team went back to the dugout and one of the players yelled,

"Okay, everyone grab a kid and help Brooks out to his car!"

hahaha. It made me laugh so hard. 

I've heard that sometimes it "takes a village" but that night it "took a team" to help me out.

Then I drove the hour and a half home (my foot loved it!) because I was NOT going to let zombie-man drive.....especially because I knew we wouldn't arrive until 2 a.m. 

After church the next day it was pretty funny to see Iris and Aleeya just walk in the door and collapse on the couch, only to fall asleep 10 seconds later. 

Apparently I REALLY know how to wear my kids out!

Epilogue: my foot is starting to go down as of today and I can actually fit a shoe on my foot. Thanks for asking. I'm just glad I wasn't bit by more then one ant! Brooks said, "I'm gonna have to buy you an epi-pen for you!" and I just laughed. Then I looked at him and he WASN'T laughing. Apparently it wasn't a joke. ;)

Real Mature

We had a leftover yogurt cream pie w/ graham cracker crust that someone had brought over for us left in the fridge. The problem is, there wasn't enough for everyone to have their own piece. Brooks decided to just go around and put it in their mouths bite by bite, alternating kids.

He made them close their eyes.

(the reason being is there were TWO kinds in the dish and he didn't want the I-want-that-kind or I-don't-like-this syndrome going around)

When he was feeding Bronson he eyed me and mouthed the words 

"Get Kellyn's babyfood!"

I couldn't stop smiling as I brought over Kellyn's food mixed with baby cereal. He dipped his spoon in it after Bronson's eyes were closed and shoved it in his mouth.

We waited and waited for our much desired reaction and...........

Nothing.

When he finished eating his bite he FINALLY spoke up and said, "HEY! I didn't get any crust!"

BWHAHAHA. 

So Brooks apologized and got him some of the crust and once again dipped it in Kellyn's baby food/cereal and put it BACK in his mouth.

Nothing.

By this time we couldn't keep it in anymore. I busted up laughing and so did the other kids that saw it.

When we told him Brooks had been feeding him babyfood/cereal he just smiled.

I'm still laughing as I type this. 

Kids dressed in adult bodies......that's what we are. 

The FIRST broken bone

Last week Aleeya and Emerson had swimcamp in the afternoons from 1-4. 

Meaning.......it was during Aleeya's usual naptime. 

On Wednesday we went swimming with some friends in the morning, came home to eat and then I drove her to swimcamp. She had been swimming for around 6 hours. 20 minutes after she got home Brooks and I looked out the window and saw her OUT COLD on the driveway.

Of course we both grabbed our cameras and chuckled while taking pictures. We just let her rest a little while until I went out later and saw that she had turned her head to the other side.

I love the pavement marks on her cheek. (and her pretty little rose-colored lips)

 The first of the week of swimcamp Emerson did NOT like it and Aleeya loved it. He SLOWLY warmed up to it and by Thursday he came home loving it because he had a friend.

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday........

I went to the temple w/ 3 of my girl friends and so I was gone from 4:30-midnight. Meanwhile at home the kids played kickball with Daddy. I guess when Emerson kicked the ball and ran to first he decided to slide (seriously, how many times do we need to say YOU DON'T SLIDE TO FIRST!!!) and his wrist was bent down. As in his fingers were basically giving his forearm a high five.

Bronson heard a crack.He had SOME mobility and since he's SOOO dramatic anyway Brooks decided just to watch him and see how he felt in the morning. 

I had NO idea any of that occurred so the next morning when Emerson starts talking about not being able to go to swimcamp because his hurt hand, I of COURSE got a little suspicious. (I WASN'T BORN YESTERDAY YA KNOW!!!!)

I texted Brooks and he said he's probably not faking. He ended up staying home from the last day of swimcamp....RIGHT when he started liking it. The wrist just hung lose by him and even when he tried to play his gameboy, he just couldn't (now we were 99% SURE it was broken!!!). The clencher was when we were in the Yeti and Brooks said in order to get a cast on it, the doc might need to break his hand again. And if it doesn't look like the other hand then he might have to break his right arm also.

Emerson just sniffed and said, "Okaaaaaay" *sniff*

NOW we were 100% sure. A friend of  Brooks' x-rayed it to confirm the break (I'm tellin' ya, after the gameboy, I already knew!) and Brooks was able to do his FIRST cast. (I think Brooks was a teeny bit excited.....in a weird way.....that it was actually a break so he could try his hand at putting on a cast)

The cast doesn't bother Emerson yet. He DID say that when he takes it off in 3 weeks that a "whole ocean is going to spill out" because of all his sweat though. (This coming from a kid who HAS to sleep with his shirt off.)

And the cast has proven to calm Kellyn down quite a few times. She just loves to bang on it.

We played 4-square last night for the Family Home Evening game and Emerson loved his new "mallot" that he could smack that ball with. I think he'll like the upcoming attention on top of all the extra wins in 4-square.

The ONLY time he has cried/whined since he's had it though was when Bronson told him that when he was sleeping he would sneak over and write with permanent marker on the cast, 

"I love Eleanor"

Yes, it was pretty close to a meltdown.

Our perfect entertainment

The PERFECT entertainment that is stress-free for all of us is something that is outside and not in a public area. I have the most fun when I can let my kids just be kids and not feel like I have to hover and make sure they're acting appropriately.

A nature walk/hike is one of my kids' favorite things to do. We love this place that has so many trails (miles and miles) that we haven't even gone through half of them. 

Last week when we crossed the bridge the kids found a lizard. They chased and chased it and that rascally lizard slipped through everyone's hands. Then Bronson yelled, "I GOT IT!" and he came away with a twitching/wiggling tail of the lizard. Royce thought it was the coolest thing so he ended up getting to keep the nasty tail.

I have to carry Kellyn through the whole hike, but she's a really good sport. This time she just sat and sucked on a sappy pinecone. :)

All the trails have different names. THIS is the trail name I wanted to follow.......for obvious reason.

Flat-tail trail is the one on the left......ya know, the FLAT ONE?!!?!

The one on the right was called "Box Turtle Trail".......so of COURSE we had to go on the uphill one......

it felt like it would never end.

And of course, the name was deceiving. We didn't see ONE turtle.

Before we hike I always tell the rule that we can only go as fast as Royce. On those darn hills Royce was trying his hardest. Aleeya ended up going back and holding his hand to help him.

I never asked the kids to help Royce but I think for them knowing the rule they wanted to make sure Royce stayed up with their pace. It was so cute to see different ones at different times go be with Royce. They were tender moments as a parent to watch.

 By the end he was on Bronson's back.

My three boys.......my two right-handers and my lefty. hahaha

This week we had friends stay with us for 4 days and we ended going BACK to those trails at night. It's where we usually find the toads but this time we also found TWO frogs. Like LEGIT frogs!!!! 

They're little sticky feet were so cool sticking to our fridge.

Aaaaaaaaaaaand, I kind wish Camden put the frog on a different finger for this picture, but whatever.

He had no clue.

Miracles never cease

I tell you what, my little Kellyn Pat does NOT like the water. Never has.

Last week was the FIRST bath I gave her that she wasn't crying through the whole thing. (It may or may not have something to do with the fact that I was feeding her a popsicle during the bath.........but that is COMPLETELY beside the point). She is almost 10 months old. Seriously, it's about time she like her baths. I wondered if she was even RELATED to me. How can a bath-obsessive mom give birth to a water-phobe?

Since I had so much (relative) success with the bath the kids decided it was time to introduce her to the wading pool.

She just loved sitting by the side and smacking the water.

Then she would walk away smiling. 

Seriously guys, HUGE progress.

Then we stuck her in.........she's really thinking about it and wondering how she feels about it.

Good thing she has such a large support group with her in the teeny pool.

I love this picture. Royce and Aleeya actually look quite a bit alike in the this picture.

 My favorite part is Kellyn's sweet hand on the side trying to grab the camera.

 Smiles all around...........except for Kellyn

But seriously, the fact she's not screaming her guts out is huge.

HUGE, I SAY!!!!!