First Lake weekend of the summer

Hard to believe that it is already mid-June and we just now made it to the lake.  We have had so much going on and been out of town so much - but we had a great time, just us Holts.  Mom and dad didn't come because Martin and Jeanne were in Bham.  But we will be there with them next weekend so that will be great.

The kids had so much fun.  Ann Park and Ward were little fish and we had a had time getting them out of the water.  Of course, we had a really bad storm on Saturday afternoon, so that helped with naps.  And Ann Park put on a "show" for me which was hysterical - especially since I used to do the same thing for mom and dad as a little girl down there.  Ward fished a bunch, but didn't have any luck.  We need to get him some smaller, brim hooks so he can get one.  But Ted caught a huge bass off the dock on Saturday night about 10:30 after dinner.  First one ever at the lake!

My two fisherman about to hit it

Ann Park on her first boat ride of the summer

And Ward as daddy is going "really super fast!"

Sam discovers the walking cane (nice redneck baby look he sported most of the weekend)

Sam with is favorite person

Ann Park doing her "show."  The spoon was her microphone.

Ted's bass

Sam loving his first boat ride (especially since he was "driving")

My two boys on a boat ride.

All it takes is a little confidence

I am usually not one of those moms who brags about their kids.  Well, at least I try not to be.  But today I was really proud of Ward.  As most of you know, he is my cautious child.  He needs a little peer pressure.  He has been able to swim for the past two summers, but his confidence is well, let's just say he needs to work on his confidence ans he screams "you're too far, get closer mommy" when I am 5 steps away from the steps (and he can touch).  But not today.  After Ward's gold lesson (yes, golf!  It is called the "Tiny Tour" and it is ages 5-6) I braved the heat and my three kids and took them all to the pool ALONE.  It all started out as I thought it would - hectic, chaotic, you know, a pain in my @ss.

I am trying to get Sam into his swim diaper, he is rolling over, almost falling off the pool chair, etc. and I hear:

ANN PARK:  Mommy, I want to swim to you . . .  mommy I want to swim to you . . . mommy I want to swim ot you . . . (you get the point)
ME:  I have to get your brother in his bathingsuit baby girl.  I will be there as soon as I can.
ANN PARK:  But mommy, hurry up . . . I want to swim to you.
ME:  Why don't you get in and practice swimming to the wall? (as Sam manages to get his hand on my bathing suit and I flash at least two teenage boys)
ANN PARK: Noooooooo . . .
(And then I realize that I haven't heard a word from Ward since we applied sunscreen)
ME:  Ann Park, where is Ward?
ANN PARK: I dunno
(I look around to see him on the diving board)
WARD:  Watch me mommy!
ME:  Okay!
(And Ward jumps in and swims to the side - somewhat of a panic swim by the end, but he makes it).
ME:  That was great Ward!
(Ward continues to jump off the divind board for the next 10-15 minutes as Ann Park gets her way and swims to me as I hold Sam and try not to let him crawl out of my arms and drown).

Oh yeah, later he did the twisty slide about 20 times all by himself too.  Proud mama.

Catalogues

I get a ton of catalogues every week.  The vast majority I do not read. It is one of my pet peeves. I have been trying to get off the lists for months now, to no avail.  So I continue to fill my recycling bin with unread catalogues from places like Oriental Trading, J. Jill and Victoria's Secret.  But there are two catalogues that I LOVE LOVE LOVE.  And I get a little bounce in my step when I get them.

One is Serena and Lily (www.serenaAndlily.com).  I culd redo every bedroom in my house every time I get that catalogue.  I love the way they style the rooms and the bedding is just ot die for.  Ward ruined his bedspread with some silly puddy (don't ask - he slept with it and it was everywhere) so I am thinking about getting him something . . . and my room will be jealous.

The other one is Wisteria (www.wisteria.com).  Again, it is a home decor magazine but it has the best accessories.  It also has some of my favorite furniture.  I have never bought anything from there, but parts of my home have the same feel and look.  I love looking through it and getting decoraing ideas.

I know, I know . . . I am a total decorator-wanna-be.  A girl can dream, right?

Way OVERDUE!

So I am so overdue on a post as well as posting pictures from Ward's graduation, the Upchurch family trip to Palmetto Bluff and Memorial day, just to name a few.  So I decided to start backwards.  We spent most of Memorial Day recovering from our fantastic trip to SC with my family and trying not to be too depressed.  It was a HOT HOT HOT day and we were in the pool most of it.  The club also had a fun party and the kids had a blast . . . . AND I have pictures to prove it!

Daddy and Sam when we got there

Ward as a tiger (his favorite face-painting!)

Ann Park with her princess face-painting

Ann Park on the bouncy slide

and Ward getting some air

Ann Park's Little Mermaid balloon (I was impressed)!

Another shot of daddy and Sam

Mommy and her tiger

Mommy and her princess  (I feel like I am NEVER in any pictures with the kids.  Wish I could get one with me and all three but I think that this is wishful thinking!)

Face In Space

Have you heard about the "Face in Space" thing that NASA is doing?  Here is a blurb that describes it:

Fly Your Face in Space


NASA wants to put a picture of you on one of the two remaining space shuttle missions and launch it into orbit. To launch your face into space and become a part of history, just follow these steps:
First...Select the Participate button at the bottom of this page and upload your image/name, which will be flown aboard the space shuttle. Don't have a picture to upload? No problem, just skip the image upload and we will fly your name only on your selected mission!
Next...Print and save the confirmation page with your flight information.
Later...Return to this site after the landing to print your Flight Certificate - a commemorative certificate signed by the Mission Commander. You can also check on mission status, view mission photographs, link to various NASA educational resources and follow the commander and crew on Twitter or Facebook.

http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/

I saw it on the news last night and stated talking to Ward about it this morning and he wants his face in space!  He is really into anything that has to do with science (particularly animals), but was fascinated by the prospect of putting his picture in space.  He didn't totally understand the concept (he thought that I personally knew someone going up in space and wanted to meet them), but I think that it is a good learning tool.  I am going to use it to talk about hte planet, etc. with him and Ann Park.  I am always looking for fun ways to teach them things and get them interested in topics other than Spongebob and Alvin and the Chipmunks!

Blogger Boycot is Over

No offense to my hundreds of readers (Ha!  2 maybe?), but I have kinda been boycotting Blogger, if you haven't noticed.  It is not that I don't like posting, I do, really.  But it just takes SO LONG.  I am sick of inefficiencies and it just puts me in the worst mood to have to wait for things to load, etc.  So I had a little tantrum and said I was through with it.

What brought this on, you ask?  Well, I sat down one afternoon on the Upchurch family vacation to write all about Ward's precious graduation that happened right before we left.  I had many a witty comment (it was a good day a/k/a I had some "me time") and even sat through loading all the pictures while listening to the playlist Ted made for the trip.  I get up to go to the bathroom and I come back and Blogger will not work.  It is frozen in place and refuses to do anything for me.  And that was after close to an hour of work.  And I knew that it wasn't my beloved MacBookPro because nothing else was frozen on it - I could search in internet, check my mail, see my pictures, listen to my music, etc. 

So I shut my computer, had a little scream, grabbed a beer and decided to protest.  For a while.  But I missed you.  I missed heading to my Dashboard each day to see what my friends had posted on their blogs.  Some of you (Shay) provide much needed laughter.  I thought about coming back last week but Ted was out of town, I had my big party, and I had no help with the kids.  So that didn't happen.  But I am back, until I throw another tantrum, that is.

Upchurch family trip

We are heading to Palmetto Bluff, SC tomorrow for the annual Upchurch family trip - which was missed last year since I had just had Sam and Kit and Jeanne were preggos with Hope and Ashton.  I have been looking forward to this trip since mom and dad mentioned that we were going to do it again.  The kids will have so much fun being with their cousins and I can't wait to spend some quality time with my sister.  Oh yeah, and I guess my brother-in-laws too!  I am a little sad because we decided not to take Sam, but I know that it was the right decision. He is going to stay with Mary, and will never be the wiser.  And we will have a much nicer trip with just Ward and Ann Park.  I will still cry tomorrow when I take him to Mary's house.

Oh and I promise to write about Ward's graduation from 4K soon.  I have tons of pictures and am trying cull through them all.  It was a great program and I know that they worked so hard on it.  I still can't believe that he is going to kindergarten starting August 9th.  That is so soon.  I will definitely cry that day.

Off to finish packing!!!  Tons to do before we leave in the morning!

Sam's First Birthday

I still can't believe that Sam has been in our lives for one whole year.  It seems like only a few months ago that I was laid up in the bed, wondering about the little life moving around inside me.  Would s/he be like me or Ted?  Would s/he be as sweet as Ward or as manipulative as Ann Park was as a baby?  Laid back (Ted) or not (me)?  Boy or girl?  Also the sleepless nights of a 6-8 week old don't seem that far behind me. I remember walking with my friend Sarah and just bawling at how hard it was living on little sleep and, since I was on maternity leave in the summer, I had to still be a good mama to Ward and Ann Park.  I was at my wits end.  But then he miraculously started sleeping . . . just like they all do.  And then we wondered when he would start laughing, and smiling, crawling, and walking.  He hasn't gotten the walking part yet, but we are close.  I say about 3-4 weeks, maybe 5 depending on how much whining he does to be held!

We had his party last Sunday from 11:30 until about 1:00.  All of our close friends and family came which was so great.  Sam was a bit overwhelmed, but still managed to have fun, basking in all the attention.  I think that Ward had the most fun of all - especially since all his best buds were there.  We ate fried chicken, potato salad and fruit and of course cake (not that Sam liked it one bit!).  And how can I forget the ice cream man?  He was a huge hit!

Here are a bunch of pictures to give you a feel for the party.  This big cake (chocolate with cream cheese icing, yum!)

And here is Sam's smash cake:

Ann Park was all ready for the party, but then got into a foul mood for some reason.  She spent the vast majority of the party in the playroom watching Little Mermaid with her cousin, Stella.  At least she was happy up there and I didn't have to deal with her!  But here she is before the bad mood hit:

Once Cher Cher got there, Sam was all over her.  He is IN LOVE with Cher Cher and she can't get enough of him!

Ward playing in the climbing tree with some of his friends:

Three of my favorite people (including the little one, Abby!)

A group of kids eating at the picnic table under the swinset.  And, yes, we have a "permission required" sign on our swingset. Our yard is very open and we have a lot of kids we don't know who are tempted to use it without supervision.

Sam was very happy when he saw his fried chicken.  The boy is an EATER!

         

The older kids were VERY happy to see the ice cream man.  Most of the boys got batman!

After the ice cream, it was cake time!  I totally sugared those kids up and then sent them home!  Sam wasn't so sure what to think about the cake, although he had no problem sticking his hand right into it. He didn't really like the taste of it, even though I tried helping him out a little bit.  Guess he won't be like his mama in that regard!

After cake, we cleaned up and played a little bit more.  Most people were starting to leave when it started raining!  Thank God for lots of helping hands to get all the presents inside without one getting wet!  

(T-R-O-U-B-L-E!!)

I love the smile behind his pacifier in this picture!

FINI!!

A Star is Born!

The recital was a HUGE hit.  Ann Park had a ball and says that she wants to do ballet again (she has been saying for the past month that she only wants to do gymnastics), so that is a relief.  I am not going to bore you with a bunch about the recital because the pictures are priceless.  Unfortunately the photographer for most of the shots didn't focus too well.  It was either due to the alcohol (yes, there was alcohol which made it a much more enjoyable expeience for the adult viewers) or laughter.

in the dressing room before the show

with her favorite friend Harper

Let the show begin!  Her class danced to "Thank Heaven for Little Girls."

the group

twirl!

I just love this pose for some reason!  Have no idea what she was supposed to be doing but she was cute whatever she did!

And then on to tap!  She is shaking her booty in this shot!  The music was "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"

You just gotta love that stomach!

If you can see through the fuzz, she is "doing the boggie" with her index fingers pointed down and shaking her knees back and forth

A little tapping!

Shuffle ball change!

Got through it

So I got through my horribly hectic Thursday.  Of course I knew that I would and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  The recital is tonight so I will try to get some pictures.  She is really excited which makes me happy since I literally had to bribe her to go to the dress rehearsal.  She looks precious in her costumes and can really shake that booty.  I am sure that I won't like that in years to come, but now it is pretty darn cute.

Also, Ward had his second to last t-ball game today and got the game ball.  He was so excited.  We definitely need to work on his hitting skills.  When he connects he smacks it, but we had some misses today - which were the first ones I have seen.  We have been working so hard on his fielding and throwing that somehow we forgot about the batting part.  Oh well.  Didn't seem to shake his confidence at all.  After the game asked me if I saw how "awesome" he was.  Oh yeah bud, I saw.

About to hit the bed.  Everyone in my house is asleep (or at least quiet in their rooms which is all I ask of Ward and Ann Park) and that rarely happens these days. It is so hard to make myself rest though since the house is a wreck and I need to do laundry.  But it is going to be a long night and we have to get up early tomorrow for my nephew Alex's first communnion.  The church is not the one we go to and it is quite a drive for us.  Let's just pray that they have a nursery for Sam (and potentially Ann Park!).