WORN OUT

So life has been VERY exhausting in the month of August.  Ok wait… let me back up… for those of you who don’t know, Christian has been studying for the MCAT (Medical School Test) since June.  So any free moment that he’s had has been dedicated to that.  It was VERY tiring for him, but also for me.  I had to pretty much take care of the kids on my own every Saturday and most days after work.  Christian took the test on August 21st.  It was such a WONDERFUL day!  Christian was scoring very high on his practice tests but if you ask him how he did on the MCAT… he has no idea. I think he doesn’t want to get his hopes up. We’ll fine out in about 2 weeks what he scored.  He’s also applied to 4 colleges with Medical Schools, UNC, ECU, Wake Forest, and Mizzou (University of Missouri – Columbia).  It will be a long process between now and next year.  We’re hoping he’ll be accepted into UNC.  But I guess we’ll see!

Kalea started School!!!  She loves it.  The Elementary School she attends is a traditional school and so she started with “staggered entry”.  So she went for one full day and then she had a long weekend until her first full week.  That full week she absolutely loved.  Well, it actually turned into 4 full days instead of 5.  On the 5th day she ate a pretty big breakfast before school and rode the bus.  Well, apparently she got carsick and barfed as soon as she got off the bus.  So the school called me and asked me to pick her up.  Anyways, so instead of a 3 day Labor day weekend she had a 4 day weekend.  Lucky Girl!  Mia is adjusting well to Kalea being gone.  I’ve kept her pretty busy with play dates and puzzles.  Landen also seems to notice that Kalea is gone. When he see’s her back from school he loves to play with her and dive for her.

Poor Kristy had a birthday this month… Booooo! I used to love my birthday.  It’s not like I’m getting super old. But I guess it just don’t feel the need to celebrate like I used to.  I welcomed the other side of my 20’s and hit the bit 26.  No biggy.

The best thing that’s happened is Lane has returned from his mission in Argentina! My parents, my family, and Luke were all able to meet him at the airport.  We went out for a yummy lunch at Ruddino’s.  And then we stayed up forever talking.  Kalea remembered her Uncle Lane but was sad that he didn’t look the same.  Mia had no memories of Lane.  And Landen had absolutely no clue who he was.  But they have all warmed up a ton and have realized how hilarious and fun Uncle Lane is. Having Luke home for the weekend was an extra bonus. I haven’t been around both my brothers in YEARS. It was so great and really wish that both of them lived closer. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LANDEN

Landen turned one!! Yay!!  I love that little man.  He has added so much joy and TONS of laughter into our lives.  We are so blessed as a family to have Landen (and all of our children).  He is really all boy.  He really loves balls and making messes.  

He’s changed so much since we first brought him home.

Aww… his thumb sucking phase

His Fat Phase

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY! WE LOVE U!

 

WE LOVE SUMMER!

Except when it gets hot and sticky. We don’t like the bugs or mosquitoes... and haven’t been doing much actually. Lately we’ve done a lot of Library reading times though. The kids really like it. They do 2 songs, 2 books and then a craft. And their not those crappy crafts either…. their really creative. I’ve learned to take advantage of the Public Library system online too. You can request certain books and have them ready to pick up for you. I love it. I’ve been requesting tons of books and been reading in my free time. Well…. it usually takes me about 2 weeks to finish though since my free time is pretty much zilch.

A few weeks back we went to Pullen Park. We have a play group that consists mostly of girls. It’s not like we planned it like that… Heavenly Father just decided to give us all girls. But what’s even more hilarious is how many babies we all have in tow.

So since it’s obvious that we’ve been staying home so much…. here is what we’ve been doing. Landen’s been practicing walking and that’s all he does now. He loves to stand in the middle of the isles at church and greet everyone. And by the way… this kid has NEVER met a stranger. So if he goes up to you and puts his arms out… please don’t feel special cause you’re not the first. The kid’s a womanizer (he mostly does it to women.)

What a Stud!

COUSIN'S CAMP

This June we did a Cousin's Camp. It's a really fun time where we plan activities for all of the kids at Grandmother and Grandpa Simpson's home. The kids all really enjoy it.

Here is a picture with the grandchildren (minus Sada and Kipling). Can you tell the Grandparents are in heaven?

One of the kids favorite pastimes is to take a "hay ride" with Grandpa Simpson. All the cousins climb into the trailer and Grandpa pulls them around in his tractor. They love it!

This year we had water squirters and the kids got to shoot *cold* water at each other. Mia didn't care for this part at all! However, little Helena (Cerah's youngest) absolutely loved it and loved being in the middle of everything.

Helena and Spencer- at one point Spencer picked a flower and gave it to Helena. But then changed his mind, and took it back. :)

Tug-O-War: The girls won the first round... the boys weren't too thrilled with that. But with the assistance of an Uncle... the boys won the second round. Then it was time for the adults to take a turn. The Aunts won over the Uncles. I'm not sure if they let us win or not....

EVERY WEEK THERE'S SOMETHING NEW

Ok... so life has been BUSY! Every week there has been something new and fun. My Grandparent's came in town, Kalea did little summer day camps for a week, and of course our favorite... a visit from Aunt Cerah and her munchkins! We love it when Cerah comes in town. Not only do we get to fun stuff with William, Hannah, and Helena... but Cerah got to meet Landen. Oh... sweet Auntie decided to paint Landen's toenails, put hair bows on him, and dress him up in a number of ways. Including the crown below and a feather indian hat.

*These pictures are from our trip to Marbles Museum*

*Sorry Cherre... I HAD to!*

After Cerah left to go back to Utah, my cousin Kahea came in town with her 3 kids. Sadly, no pictures were taken, but the kids had a blast playing and driving their parents crazy.

Ok... so Kalea goes back to Virginia and we start a-packin for the beach! This is our first year taking our own little family vacation by ourselves. We rented out a condo at Tiffany's and stayed there for 4 nights, 5 days. They were doing a special where you pay for 3 nights and get the 4th night free. But for some reason they didn't book us for the 4th night and had reserved our room for someone else. So naturally, they upgraded us to a King Suite and it was AWESOME! (minus our neighbors who thought partying late into the night was "cool". Of course I knocked on their door and told them to keep it down. )

This little boy LOVED the sand and the water. We would look over at him and he had handfuls of sand in his hands just eating away. He really loved going out into the waves with Christian. Which makes me nervous. FYI: I'm VERY VERY paranoid when it comes to the ocean. It could be because I got caught in an under toe as a kid, it could be because I have this unnatural fear that my sea is going to take my children from me. I'm not quite sure. But I never go past my waist. And when the girls aren't really paying attention to what they're doing... my anxiety level goes WAAAAAY up.

So here was our first place...

Here is the view from our new room. It was beautiful and very peaceful.

...And this is our upgrade :)

We spent most of our days at the pool or the beach. I bought Kalea and Mia some water-wings so they swim and kick all by themselves. It's really nice I cause I don't have to worry about them. And Landen just loves to float along on his lily pad. The last day we went for a walk on the pier. It was fun to watch all the surfers up close. They were even more impressed that their daddy knows how to surf too!

So straight from the Topsail Island we drove to Wilmington to the Aquarium. Ok... in case you didn't know... it takes awhile to get to the Aquarium. We thought it might take maybe 30 minutes. It was over an hour! Once we got there we went in and saw a few things. But not long after Mia starting complaining about being hungry and thirsty. So we walked back to the car and went looking for picnic benches to eat on. Um... we must have parked in a mosquito's nest because we were ATTACKED! I'm talking in the car, all over us... it was crazy. So we decided to go to McDonald's instead. And instead of going back to the Aquarium we just decided to drive home. It was way too much excitement and craziness for the end of the trip. We were ready to go home and relax.

It was a fun trip but exhausting. When we got home and Christian and I were laying around, I looked at him and said, "I need a vacation." It's a lot of work when there are 3 small children involved. Lots of melt downs and naps. But also lots of early bed times, Popsicles, laughs, and memories.