Mackenzie's first read

Mackenzie is reading her first book independently! The Fat Cat was given to her by her teacher.

It's a Beautiful Day

Wow! Wasn't it a gorgeous day!!!! We went to the pool today (which many of our northern pals can't do anymore until next May)and I tired out the kids. I get a little jealous when I hear about the beautiful, cool weather that is starting up north. But I wouldn't have traded today's weather for any of that! But it would be nice for it to be a little cooler here at night....

Underoos

Remember the Underoos? We never had any of them in our house (with two little girls) but I do remember seeing them being sold in Publix. Ethan had on lots of different pairs of "underoos" today. The training has begun. I think I got up all of the puddles from today. I hope. Let me go check.......

Go Noles

I have just one thing to say about last night's game....

It's all about the U baby!!!!!

Go Noles!!!

Who Has Mono? Let's Play!

Our first contestant is mom. The sign says it all...NEGATIVE! For those of you reading this mom would like to say that she would jump for joy if she didn't feel like crap. But she doesn't have mono folks! Let's give her a hand (remember your protective hand gear when shaking hands, giving "high fives", etc. ).

Our second contestant is Ethan. What a high powered boy you have! He is....POSITIVE. And it only slowed down Hurricane Ethan for a week! Whoa! There he goes....

Our third contestant is Mackenzie. She is....????? Mackenzie's preemie "super drug" must still be working (mom and dad hope!).

Our fourth and final contestant is Dad. He...HAD IT! That's right folks. Hmmm...how did Elder Matt get the "kissing disease" at the tender age of 13?

There you have it!! That concludes our game for today. This family will walk away with an all-inclusive trip to THEIR HOUSE indefinitely!

Hunker down, stay safe, and don't forget to spay and neuter your pets! Have a good one!

Mono, no mono

****Let's Play...WHO HAS MONO???****

(cue the cheesy game show music)

Welcome to Who Has Mono! Our family comes to us today from Florida. Please welcome the Cates! *Please remember to keep your protective facial gear on while near them.

Let's get started!!

First Day of School

Mackenzie is ready for Ms. Lori's class!

Ready for her first day of Pre-K!

Her first day of pre-k was a good one. Ms. Lori said she and the other 3 girls in the class had to stick together (there are 11 boys in the class!). Ethan wanted so badly to stay in the room! But I was able to drag him away and get him home. We are looking forward to a great year!

Pool party, princesses, and iguanas?

Kenzie and Pop Tart, the "gunana"

the birthday princess, Abby

pooltime pals

Ethan's keepin' cool in the pool

We got crabs!

What a day! We ventured out to the Oleta River State Park, and it was beautiful. We had never been there before, but the Hunters had. So we decided to make time for the families to spend some time together. The kids had a blast! Luke caught a crab that he kept in a bucket for awhile, and the crab did make a break for it when the bucket he was in broke. Everyone had fun playing in the sand, and we got some great pictures of the kids. As usual I didn't use my head and didn't bring a bathing suit for me. So next time I will be prepared! What an incredible blessing our friends are to us. Looking over these pictures when we got home, I really couldn't help but hear the clock ticking. Next summer when my buddies are gone, I think I will hear the Prozac calling....(sniffle)

Fun With the Family

Duncan, Ethan, Mackenzie, and Caitlin

they're ready for the diving team

Mackenzie's first slumber party with her cousins

Dress up time

...at least it wasn't with pantyliners

Where has my baby gone?

Where has my baby gone? My little curly Sue is replaced with this big girl!! I was a little sad today as I looked at some pictures of her with her long curly hair, but she looks so cute with her new haircut! To think she used to be sooo bald!!

Happy 6th of July!

Oops! I missed blogging on the 4th. Oh well. Time is really getting away from me. Every time I look ahead to the next week and think it will be a slow one, I'm wrong! I'm housesitting for my parents and taking care of Frankfrankfurta and Rusty (the hot dogs). It's really quiet....oh! and when I called Matt tonight to check up on everybody and he told me that he just happened to catch Ethan playing with the turd he found in his diaper, I was really glad that I'm housesitting. So back to the 4th. We had a nice time doing not much of anything. The kids played in their little frog pool and ate a picnic lunch outside. I tried to get them to decorate their bikes but Mackenzie only wanted to put jingle bells on hers and Ethan just wanted to play with the crepe paper. So I decorated the tricycle and would've taken a ride around the block on it if I could have. Matt and I got a little carried away with the crepe paper as we decorated our neighbor's work van as a prank. His Eco Lab van turned into the Party Mobile for the night. All in all it was a good day. Our fireworks consisted of a few sparklers and the snakes that look like the turd that Ethan pulled out of his diaper tonight. Enough potty talk for the evening!

I don't know what to think...

I have that not- so- settled feeling. I don't know what to think when Matt tells me he feels unsettled at work. They have been doing a lot of layoffs recently because the housing market has slowed way down. So they have to make cuts. Will Matt make the cut? I hope not!! What is partly making me feel so unsettled is that usually in times like this, I know without a doubt that God is faithful and I feel a peace. Why am I not at peace???? I know that He is faithful, and just like I'm teaching the kids at VBS He keeps His promises. So He has us in His hands...right? I guess I usually feel funny when I know that Matt is nervous. He doesn't want to tell me all that's going on because he knows I'll wig out (like I'm doing now!). Please pray for us! All this uncertainty just makes me want to......EAT! Oh crap. I want a cookie....

they're back

The Peru team made it back safely last night. Their flight was delayed 4 hours, but they are here safe and sound. Matt showed us some pretty cool pictures that he took. He did not eat anything gross this time but here are a few of the "stupid" things he did while there (stupid according to my mom):
*wore an anaconda necklace (he actually paid $3 to wrap a giant snake around his neck)
*went on a plane ride into the jungle and almost had to play Survivor because the pilot came really close to not making it back to the plane before sunset (I would've liked a picture of the pilot and Matt snuggling under the mosquito net tee hee)
*went swimming in the piranha filled lake and actually felt them nipping at his legs

Honestly, I think these things were pretty cool, and it would've been awesome to experience them with him. There's always next time....

He had lots of funny stories to tell. I will post a couple of pictures when we get them downloaded. Thanks for your prayers.

Happy Father's Day!

Hi Daddy! We miss you. Happy Father's Day!
We love you!!!

they're off

The team is getting ready to board their plane in Miami now. We met at church this evening to see them off, and it's so hard to say goodbye! Matt said he'd call me tomorrow when they get to Pucallpa. I know the time will fly when LeBrent get here. Mackenzie was sad to see Daddy go, and she actually got a little emotional about it. If you read this Daddy, we miss you and can't wait to see you next Friday!! P.S.-don't eat anything too weird.

hurricane who?

Is it a tropical storm? Is it a hurricane? Is it a big pain in my rear? I think the thing I don't like most about hurricane season other than the horrid waiting for the storms, is all the news coverage! I honestly don't know what is happening with the storm because I haven't watched the news. Anyone want to update me? tee hee
I had taken a picture of these essentials from Hurricane Wilma. I'm not ready to attach myself to these things again!!!

Lazy Days of Summer

I'm living vicariously through my children.

Time flies

We went to Longhorn's last night for dinner. We brought the kids (what were we thinking?). It all came rushing back to me that we are in that window of time where we don't set foot in a restaurant WITH CHILDREN. But we winged it, although I kept glancing around to see if people were gawking at us when one of the kids would say something a little too loud. (Thank goodness for noisy, country music-playing restaurants!) Our table happened to be right next to a table with a couple of little old ladies. I, of course, get nervous around old people when the children are there. They usually give us dirty looks or want to switch tables. But Ethan, being the charmer that he is, was flirting with them and waving to them. He must have won them over because when they were leaving they stopped by our table and told us how cute the kids were and how well behaved they were. Wow! How encouraging that was to hear (and how convicted I feel as I write this of how judgmental I was!). I get so worked up about what other people are thinking, and I forget that they are just kids. Kids=full of energy Mom=tired
Oy! The time flies part. After the lady complimented us on the kids' behavior, she said, "Enjoy them. Before you know it, you're here"(and she pointed to herself.) It really never ceases to amaze me at how quickly the kids are growing up. Yeah, they're only 4 and 2, but it doesn't seem like it took very long to get here. I want to bottle up their sweetness so I can savor it every now and then when they grow up and leave home. They'll always be my babies!