Eh? What's That You Say?

Sooooo.....

The other night as Shane and I sat in 116 degree heat with Morgan jumping all over us waiting for Liv's and Owen's swim meet to start we were just looking around and having an innocent conversation.

You know, stuff like, "Look at that little baby, how cute." and "Hey, I think I know that person from somewhere." etc.

So then Shane looks across the pool to the other side as some of the older guy swimmers were getting in to warm up. One of the guys was wearing a suit that looked pretty much exactly like

this (minus the cool black racing stripes):

And he says to me: "What is up with some of the suits these guys are wearing? They are so weird. Like look at that guy over there with that red suit on. It looks like he's wearing grandma panties."

Just then the lady in the blue chair (who was sitting directly in front of us at the time...like maybe 1 foot in front of us) turned around and said:

"It's a drag suit. That's my son."

And then Shane's face looked about like this:

Seriously? What are the odds?

There were several HUNDRED people at that swim meet. There was only one sitting close enough to us to hear him say that.

Just one.

She moved away from us a little while later.

Oops! :)

What Spunk Looks Like

There aren't too many kids in this world born with as much spunk, sass, and confidence as this little one right here. "Little Miss", as I like to call her, really keeps this house hoppin'!

She's fun, quirky and quite smart. She loves animals soooooo much. We can't pass a dog without her needing to pet it and talk to the owner all about it. She's never scared or shy to do this. Ever. She will be sure to mention that we have a Cheagle--"part Beagle, part Chick-a-wa-wa".

In her preschool this past year they had a Reptile Show in their class where this man brought all sorts of lizards, snakes, etc. Morgan was front and center to pet them all. One of the kids asked the man, "Is a mouse a reptile?" But before the man could answer Morgan turned and said, "No, a mouse is a rodent." A rodent? Really?!? She's so cool.

After going to Sea World she would tell me how much she loves Orca's...not Shamu, Orca's. And Otter's. She was a baby Otter for a few weeks...in the tub, getting dressed, eating breakfast. (Phew, glad that's over.)

If you asked her a few weeks ago what she wanted to be when she grew up she would tell you "A duck." She saw no problem with this. She has since revised this to a ballerina. (But if Ballerina doesn't pan out I think duck is still a close second). For Halloween she was a duck and since we did a triathlon that day she was our "cheerleader duck". So now if she asks to wear her "cheerleader costume" she is referring to her duck costume. (took me awhile to figure that one out).

She pays very close attention to details that you wouldn't expect. The other day she held up a peach and said, "Mom, a peach has fur all over it. That means it's a mammal." I didn't say she pays attention to ALL details. I had to explain that peaches don't give live birth, so no, they will remain in the fruit category.

I long for the sheer life and confidence that exudes out of this girl. She did this whole photo shoot at Olivia and Owen's swim meet in front of bleachers filled with people. Not a thought given to the fact that she was wearing her leotard with her underpants hanging out, or that her hair was, well, special. She was just enjoying herself and didn't care about anything else. Some of that is because she is 3 years old, but some of that is because she is Morgan.

Thumbs up to you Morgan. Nothing makes me smile, quite like you. :)

(side note: story coming up on that lady in the blue chair behind Morgan).

Annoying Pet People...Don't You Just Hate 'Em?

I have always been so bugged by people that think their dog is so cute or funny.

I'd hear people tell stories about when their dog died and how sad they were and I'd think, "It's a dog...give me a break."

Well, I have to say, I officially understand those people.

Somewhere over this last year I've let this cute little Cheagle named Jersey into my heart, and you know what? I freaking love my dog!

It's embarrassing to catch myself telling people stories about her like she's one of my kids. Or Shane and I will watch her play with one of her toys and laugh because it's so cute the way she does it.

She's got personality and spunk, but most of all she is very sweet and so good with the kids.

But she's a DOG!

I know, I know. But she happens to be the best dog ever. :)

I had no idea when we got her that she was the perfect dog for our family. I didn't even know you're supposed to think about what you want when you get a dog...I just wanted her. Come to find out I just got very lucky. She's not a barker (yes!), she's super smart which means she was pretty easy to house train (yes!), she's very good with kids (yes!), she's short-haired which means way less shedding and no need for hair cuts (yes!), she's small so I can carry her when necessary (yes!) and she's the Olivia of the dog world...just so good. :)

So a dog like this deserves a birthday party when they turn one.

And that's what we did.

I made a chocolate, bone-shaped birthday cake (for us, not her).

And we even had her blow out the candles. (I think that's Owen's mouth there helping out. Jersey's blowing skills aren't the best).

The kids really wanted to get her some gifts too. So I took them to the store to pick something out. Olivia insisted on using $2 of her own money so Jersey would know it was just from her. Morgan gave me a Venazuelan coin that Shane had given her to pay for her gift for Jersey (which she later snaked out of my pocket and put back in her bank). And Owen just laid claim to the other toy we got for her.

We had some family over and literally sang Happy Birthday to Jersey.

Holy crap? When did this happen to me?

But you know what? It was so fun and the kids loved it.

Jersey has brought a lot of enrichment to our life and we love her for it.

I really have to say, she's one of the family.

Music Theater Workshop--Year 2!

Do you see these beautiful girls? Olivia (with her new hair cut), Tatum and Maya just finished their 2nd year of Music Workshop and can I just say that the difference between this year and last year was ridiculously huge!

Every one of them sang, acted and danced like they were old pros. It was quite impressive.

Livy was spot on with her choreography. Loud on her solos. And convincing in her facial expressions.

This mama couldn't have been more proud. (Dang her hair is cute! Thx Lana!)

This brother, however, was less than thrilled.

Unfortunately he fell asleep on the way over so he was sort of a grump. Not to mention that's sort of his M.O. at the moment. Especially when you want to take a picture. He makes that face and then as soon as you take the picture he smiles really big and asks to see it. He thinks he's pretty funny. Me thinks he's not.

Livy is already practicing for her future photo shoots. She informed me that she was "Born to entertain." Uh oh.

Grandma and Grandpa never miss a show. They are quite faithful in their viewing and we appreciate it a lot. Makes the girls feel like even bigger stars--if that's possible.

This little girl was sassy as ever and when I told her I wanted to take a picture, she struck this pose.

I think she'll be ready for the stage herself in a few short years. She is quite the ham.

Anyway, workshop was awesome and the highlight of Olivia's summer. She loves it more than anything else she's ever been involved in and it's fun, again, to see such growth.

Hannah Montana better watch her back. :)

Swim Team

Olivia and Owen are both on swim team this year.

Olivia is really good.

Owen....is learning. :)

Olivia is great at freestyle, a natural at backstroke and she just clicked with butterfly. It's so exciting to watch her growth.

Owen, on the other hand, needs a lot of stroke work and an attitude adjustment and then we might get somewhere faster. He enjoys the friends and he likes the meets where he gets ribbons, he just hates the hard work part. (and the cold water)

They don't have little speedo's like they used to :(. I was sort of disappointed by this. My brother Porter used to live in his speedo all summer and I sort of had visions of Owen running around like that too, but I suppose times have changed and so have swim suits.

Here is his racing suit.

I kept trying to get him to pose normal but he told me, "But mom, I want to look awesome." So that's him looking awesome, in case you were wondering.

I love swim team.

I can see them getting stronger before my very eyes. It's so good for them. Physically and mentally.

I don't think enough parents push their kids to do hard things anymore and that bugs me. I let my kids be "kids" plenty, but they do have to learn how to work hard, not quit, and do things they don't always feel like doing. I figure if they learn how to do that now it will be a lot better than trying to teach them at 25 while they try to live in my house and escape reality.

Swim team is a good place to start for that.

My Boyfriend's Back!

Okay, so it's nearly a month late, but nonetheless, Shane made it home and we are beyond glad to have him here.

Want to strengthen your relationship?

Have your husband go to Iraq for 2 months.

The kids were asleep by the time he got home so we made "Welcome Home" nightshirts so when they saw him first thing in the morning he felt fully "Welcomed".

And he did. :)

I'm Old.

Today Livy was playing with this little toy:

I picked up a party pack of 4 little ones to keep in my purse for when the kids are bored and we are waiting some place. I LOVED this toy when I was little.

While she was playing with it she saw that it said "The Original Wooly Willy" so she asked me:

"Did they have this toy when you were a kid?"

"They sure did," I said proudly.

"Whoa." she exclaimed. "So it's like millions of years old."

RUDE.