Thursday, August 04, 2011

in pictures

Random things we've done this summer that I've never blogged about:

The pool.
Thank goodness Noah can swim and Alex sorta can, cuz keeping Avery alive is plenty for me to worry about.

Outings with friends.
I love that the kids are getting older so we can do more stuff and with more people. I mean you could never take five 2 and 3 year olds to the zoo by yourself. But five kids ranging in age from 18mos - 9years? No problem.
(It also helps that one of those kids is Hannah and I never had to worry about Avery, ever) : )

Golf lessons for Noah.
Parents were invited to come and watch the last day. I made arrangements for the girls and basically acted as Noah's caddy for the next three hours. It was actually really fun! I sort of understand now why people like to golf...it was so beautiful and peaceful on the course.

Going away dinner for the Fowlers.
Paella of course. And lots of other yummy dishes.

4th of July BBQ
at our house with the Kivelas and Freemans.
Good food, good company, good fireworks. Even if Avery was a little freaked - she was comforting herself the entire time, "I fiiine, I fiiiine."
Later that night we put Avery and Dad to bed and me and the big kids went to the real fireworks show - where we were cold, got eaten by mosquitos, listened to Alex whine, and both of the kids fight about which fireworks going off were meant for who. And then it took us 45 minutes to make the normally 3 minute drive home. Kids went to bed around midnight and woke up about 6am. Good times.
Actually, Noah loved it, it was totally worth it : )

Newport Beach with the Gunn Family.
On the way to the airport we got stuck in a horrible storm. We couldn't see a thing, everyone was pulled off the freeway. I broke out the iphone to make sure there were no tornado warnings - nope, just severe lightning, strong winds, flash floods, and hail. The weather alert recommended staying away from windows...which we were of course surrounded by in our van. I told Paul, at least it wasn't a tornado. They recommend that you get out of your vehicle and lay in the nearest ditch - but the ditch next to us was quickly filling with water.
It was pretty exciting (i.e. scary)
BUT the storm cleared and we made our flight(s).

Good thing we brought carry-ons.

Newport was great. It was soooo nice to have Paul there with me this time around. Not being pregnant (i.e. totally miserable) also helped : )
The kids had tons of fun with the cousins (even some really distant cousins) playing in the water and digging in the sand.


Noah's most favorite activity was looking for sea creatures out on the rocks.

Paul made him a snare to catch crabs with (and it really worked)!


It was actually really big. Ask Susan : )
Besides sitting on the beach and having Paul around I miss:
running with my sisters--in-law
eating a donut (or 3 or 4) for breakfast everyday
frozen yogurt almost every night
and several trips to the Crab Cooker for some great seafood.
Yeah it's all about the food for me. And the family : )

Soon it was time to head back to our real life.
At least Alex did so with cute hair (thank you Aunt Ginger).
Avery did more of this

And even a little of this!

Now we're home and
Avery is in a big girl bed.
What the crap.

Another month of summer.
But (most days) I'm ready for the kids to go back to school : )

9 comments:

Michele said...

so remind me when you call me tonight to ask you why the hell avery is in a big girl bed already. you are crazy. love all the pictures. love the story about the storm. those types of situations are always WAY more intense and scary when you have to imagine worst case scenarios and you have your kids with you.

Faye said...

Way too many things to comment on - can't wait to see you on Monday!

John said...

Great post Sum....Newport looks like it was a blast, lots of family memories for your kids. Love that Noah has a golf club in his hand, he and Paul will have a good time playing that game over the years. I wish Avery knew who I was....dang I cant wait to see you all again. Love Dad-

Tiffany said...

Newport sounds like it was awesome! And so does the rest of your summer! Now you get to add to other fun summer activities...the Dells with your kids' favorite aunt and cousin! ;) Can't wait to see you and the kids on Monday!

Carrie Anne said...

i heart the crab cooker!!!! fun times!!!

Sarah said...

What a fun summer! Newport with everyone, including Paul!, looks like so much fun. And it sounds like you've still got a lot more going on! Woohoo! :)

Shellie said...

It all looks SO fun!

Andrea McEntire said...

I love the picture of Paul and Noah with the crab. I'm so glad you guys were able to make it to California ok. That storm was crazy!

Lexie said...

Looks like it's been such a great summer, hope you're ready to savor that last year!