Well, at least he tried...

This is my first non-racing post and it's a dandy. I'll do my best, as I wasn't here for this, but I believe I got the gist of it.


We've reached the end of the potty training odyssey with Ryan. However, we're working our way through the "accident phase" now. If you ever wanted a true roller coaster ride of emotions, then this is an E-ticket ride to be sure. We'll have runs of dry underwear punctuated by 5 accidents in one day (Dude, you just did it 3 days in a row, what gives!?).


Recently, there have been two instances where I've taken Ryan to the bathroom at different parks only to find "brown trout" residing in his underwear. Actually, "trout" is not so accurate as "mud pies" would be. And, by the way, let me say a big "THANKS" to the designers of the bathrooms at G***** W**** park who decided that the best water tap for the sink would be one that works like a water fountain. Push the button, get a trickle of water. Let it go, water stops. You try rinsing out underwear in a water fountain and tell me how it works!


Anyway, we decided to take the boys to the Rec Center on Wednesday. We'll usually put them in childcare while we play tennis for 45 minutes, or so, then get them and go to the pool for a while. So I was excited to get home from work. Not that I'm not usually, but you know what I mean. So, I walk in the door and Ryan is sitting at the table with a full plate of food...


(Sidebar - Ryan is the world's slowest eater. Seriously, Guiness should create a category especially for him. If you put food on his tummy, it would get to his stomach by OSMOSIS faster than he would actually eat it!!!)


...back to the story. So, I give him a hug and a kiss and urge him to eat so we can go. Karen comes downstairs and sits down to put her shoes on and I can tell by her look that the afternoon hasn't been the model of peace and tranquility. I asked what was wrong and she said "we've had an interesting afternoon. Ryan's even already had a bath." I knew if he'd had a bath that early, there was a reason. As she begins the story, Ryan is looking back and forth between us because he knows what she's telling me about and he's watching for my reaction.


Apparently, Nathan came downstairs earlier that day with the information that "Ryan went poo-poo in his pants". That doesn't happen very often with Ryan. Upon going upstairs, Karen finds Ryan standing at the toilet. There's poop on the floor, poop on the toilet (sides, lid, seat and inside), and poop all down Ryan's legs. All while he's obviously been elbow deep in the toilet trying to rinse out his underwear because one arm was completely wet!


The more I hear, the harder it is to keep the smile from creeping across my face. (We don't want to ENCOURAGE this behavior. And, believe me, if the kids think you think it's funny, it WILL happen again.) After the "elbow deep" line, I have to excuse myself to the next room to laugh as I can't hold it in any more. He must've watched me clean out his underwear and thought that's what you should do. He's too short to reach the sink, but hey, isn't a toilet just a really short sink that always has water in it? : )


I have to give him props for taking the initiative, though! Man, I love my family!!!

4th of July Fun!

I know this post is late.... but better late than never, right? Here is a glimpse of the fun we had on the 4th of July. It was so nice to be able to spend the holiday with family. Since we don't live near any family.... it was such a special treat.

One little funny...... we were watching the fireworks show that night and Ryan doesn't care for loud noises so he decided to climb in the van and play. He watched the fireworks from the van window. As we were watching and enjoying the beautiful fireworks, there was a big green burst in the sky..... Ryan says, "OH LOOK MOMMY..... broccoli!!!!" He cracked us up!! That's what it looked like to him. We all had a good laugh!

Cupcakes!

When my sister and her family were here I made/decorated cupcakes with the kiddos on the 4th of July. Here's a sneak peak into our kitchen to see the fun we had. They were yummy! Ryan was napping.... so he decorated his later.... however I forgot to get pictures of him.... sorry!!

Family Visit

My sister and her family came from So. FL to visit us the week of July 4th. We had a great visit and the kids all had a wonderful time playing together. We don't get to see each other as often as we would like since we live far apart. When the kids do see each other, they pick up and play like they see each other all the time. We were a little cramped with 9 of us in the house, but it worked out great. Now if we had to live like that all the time..... well, I don't think we will be trying that!! Since they had never been here, we showed them a little around "town." We went to the local park (and all played like kids.) The kids love to bowl, so we of course took them to the bowling alley. It's really neat, they have "kid lanes" that are just perfect (adults can bowl on the kid lanes too -- and we did!) We ventured to the movie theater to see Wall-E. Enough said...... we weren't big fans! Of course we worked in a little shopping and driving around. My niece, Annabella, informed me that I needed some "girl time." She told me since I only had boys at my house, then I needed to make sure we had some "girl time." We did have some... shopping/cooking, but I also enjoyed braiding Annabella's hair. I wasn't even sure if I still could do it. I haven't lost my touch. On July 4th, we went to a local Festival. The kids and I decorated cupcakes (while Ryan took a nap) and then that evening, we went to watch the fireworks! I did have one revelation while they were here..... I am NOT cut out to ever have 5 kids and/or cook for 9 people on a regular basis!! I was worn out! It was all worth it for the short week we had together and I would do it again. So..... y'all come back!

Lots to update -- VBS first!

We had a wonderful week at VBS. It was jammed packed with music, dancing, skits, Bible stories, crafts, missions and more. We had over 1500 kids come to VBS this past week. Over 40 kids made a decision for Christ. WHOO HOO! There is a girl in our church who is in South Africia for a year doing missions work... we call her "Missions Momma." We even got to talk with her via a "web cam." It was so cool! Stuff like that still amazes me. Each day when Jason got home, he'd ask the boys what they learned about today. It was so neat to see each of them recall what they learned in their classes. Ryan remembered SO much! Jason and I were so impressed. I of course had to stop by his class and let his wonderful teachers know that they were doing a fantastic job! (Thanks Rainer for giving your time to teach our little ones). Ryan was trying to tell us about a song he learned in his class, but he couldn't remember how it went. I am going to have to go buy the CD for Outrigger Island, I really loved the music this year. Nathan on the other hand, did not! I don't get it! Anyway..... one little funny story..... we were sitting at the table on evening having dinner and Jason asked them what they had learned at VBS. Ryan started saying that they learned about a King. I said, "What about the King?" He just sat there trying to think. So, I asked "Was he a happy king?" "No", he replied and he made an angry face. "He was mad." "So what did he do?", I asked. Ryan sat there thinking. He said, "He burn the children in the fire!" "WHAT????" Jason and I replied. "Ummm, no sweetie. Remember he was angry because the boy (scribe) had written down the Word of God, what God told him to write on the scroll? And what did the king do to the scroll?" "He tear it," Ryan said. "That's right, he tore it and then what did he do?" I asked. "He burn it with the fire," Ryan replied. "Yes, that is right." Whew!!! Ok, so he got a little off, but we straightened it out! He was so cute remembering the truths we learned every day and the Motto for the week: Know the truth, Speak the truth, Live the truth. He did the had motions with it too. One day he did come out with this Truth.... "Jesus is the Only Word." I said, "Jesus is the Word of God?" "Yeah, yeah..." he said. "And Jesus is God's Only Son?" "Yes, Mommy... Jesus is God's Only Son!" Such a sweetie, soaking up God's Word. God taught us all this week!

VBS

Today begins VBS Outrigger Island at our church. We are off early this morning to get the week started. We are so excited to learn what God has for us to hear this week. The boys will be in their classes while I am teaching Kindergarten. It will be a fun week. Check back to find out more.

Well we are back from our first day of VBS. I had heard that the music was really great..... and it is! We had a fun time and are looking forward to the rest of the week. We only had 10 kids in our class today, but there are 9 Kindergarten classes this year! We anticipate more tomorrow and throughout the week.

Our Camping Trip in 3 parts

In order to get the whole story of our Outdoor Adventure, you will need to scroll down and start with part 1.

The Great Outdoors -- pt. 3 (AKA: Nightfall)

We got in our tents and laid our head down when all of a sudden it started to rain. I looked at Jason and said, "Oh, great!" He said, "Don't worry, it's just a little rain." So after about 30 mins. of a little rain, I drifted to sleep. Then we woke up to some heavy rain and zipped up the tent windows, but left just enough open for some circulation. I was really wanting our house and our bed. I don't like the rain when I am at home, much less sleeping in a tent. I am not one of those who loves to sleep while it's raining. I was doing much better than I thought, though. I laid there as Jason and the kids were sleeping and just listened to the rain beating on the tent. It sounded like popcorn! I finally drifted to sleep again. A little while later I awoke to heavy rain and lots of crying! Someone was not happy! I just knew it was Austin. Austin is not a fan of the rain either. He's only 7, but is very technologically savvy. He checks the weather every morning at home and gets worried if he sees there is ANY chance of rain. So as I lay there listening to it pour on our tent and hearing a child wailing. I began to pray that Austin would settle down and be comforted during the rainstorm. But the more I prayed and listened, the more crying and rain I heard. I finally prayed myself to sleep. I don't know how long I had been asleep, but I was asleep UNTIL..... we ALL (Jason, Kevin, Tracie and myself) heard A POP! POP! POP! It was 3 am. Jason and I bolted out of "bed" and unzipped the front tent window. We saw Kevin and Tracie had done the same and were shining their powerful flashlight ahead. That's when we saw that are wonderful tent/canopy over the picnic table had collected too much water on top and collapsed snapping and ripping the canopy. We got our wits about us and Jason and I decided to get up (in the rain at 3 am) and get all the contents under the tent to the car. Kevin and Tracie willfully joined us. We also decided to take the canopy apart and pack wad it up. After an hour we had it all done. We thought we were going to go back to bed and wait until morning to pack up to head home. We had decided to all stop at Cracker Barrel to eat on our way home. What a great time it would have been. However, that didn't happen. Nope, it was now 4 am and it started to thunder and lightning in the far distance. We all looked at each other and said, "Nope, let's get the boys." All the boys were sacked out, they had no idea it was even raining. Side note: Austin was not the poor boy crying his eyes out during the rainstorm. I was praying for another child across the campground. By the way..... the packed up and headed out during the rain too. So we woke the boys, got them safely into the vans and proceeded to pack EVERYTHING up and head home. At 4:38 am we were pulling out of the campgrounds. It was a whirlwind. I was EXHAUSTED and just wanted to be home. We pulled up to the house at 5:50 am and put the boys to bed. Jason and I unloaded the van and sorted all the camping stuff. I did 3 loads of laundry and lots of putting things away. Jason had to put the tent back up, hose it off, let it dry and finally put it up. As we were driving home, Jason looked at me and said, "So, I guess this is it for ya, huh?" I said, "Babe, I'm sorry, but I am never, ever going camping again." He asked, "So what's your title going to be for the blog on this story? Hey, is that Noah I saw standing over there?" I got so tickled (maybe because I was so sleep deprived), but I said, "No, but that's a good one. I am thinking about calling it These Shoes. "These shoes?" he asked. ""Yep, these shoes. These shoes are goin' walkin' and they're never going back. I am done. I am throwing in the towel." He looked at me and said, "Yep, I thought so. I understand. I'm just so glad that you were here for the boys first camping trip." I said, "I am too (I think), I just won't be joining in on any others. I'll listen to the stories and look at the pictures, but no more camping for me!"


I must say, we did make it to Cracker Barrel for breakfast around 9 am. Of course as soon as we got home, we got the boys settled in the playroom and Jason and I went to bed.


A week later, I look back on our trip and I can honestly say, that I had a good time.... at times. I really enjoyed the company. (Thanks Kevin ,Tracie and boys for battling the storm with us.) I know the boys will have good memories of their first camping trip. I will certainly have memories, but not all good. Maybe in another 7 1/2 years I may try it again. Only then, I will be sleeping in a hotel! We'll see..... I did however, notice the pattern continued from my previous camping trips. There's just something about nightfall!

The Great Outdoors -- pt. 2

So we awoke to pretty sunshine to begin Day 2 of the great outdoors. Jason and Kevin got started on the famous breakfast burritos. I made the kids and me yummy pancakes and bacon. After breakfast we noticed it was getting cloudy and looked like rain. So we pulled out the handy dandy cell phone to check out the Weather on the internet. Thank goodness for portable electronics. However, we saw rain to the west, but we couldn't get the radar to show the path it was moving. We decided to take a hike. As we were heading to the trail, we noticed a lot of people packing up and moving out. We wondered if they knew something that we didn't, but needed to know. Jason and Kevin inquired at the campground office about the weather forecast. They informed us that the rain was going south of us, we were fine. So... off we went on our hike. After about a mile and a half of hiking, the kids were hot and tired and wanted to go back. So, we turned around and headed back. That's when Jason had the brilliant idea to stop at the park office so we could cool off in the AC. We were looking forward to sitting down and cooling off a bit. When we got to the office we were bummed to find out that they were closed the entire weekend. So, forget the AC! Instead we relaxed in the hot sunshine that decided to return.


Kevin and Tracie fixed lunch for us back at the campsite. After lunch, Tracie and I hung out while the 2 little ones napped. The guys took the 2 older boys to the creek to play and catch crawfish. Tracie and I were relaxing and enjoying the quiet. I was thinking to myself... "Ok, this isn't so bad. Maybe I could learn to like this a little bit." While we were sitting there Tracie and I both heard a child crying in the far distance. Neither of us said anything, but just looked at each other. Then she said, "I swear I hear Austin crying." " I told her I thought I heard him too. We tried to blow it off, but a momma knows her baby's cry, right? So she called Kevin on his cell phone to check in and to see if Austin was crying. Kevin assured her all was well and that Austin wasn't crying. Well, not yet! Maybe it was a premonition. A little bit later, the guys came back with Austin hobbling. He had fallen and cut his knee. We cleaned him up and he was good to go.


When the 2 little guys woke from their nap, we all went to the creek to enjoy our time in the woods. We had a great evening eating dinner, making S'mores, playing games, and the kids watching a movie. Around 11pm we decided to call it a day.

Tomorrow I will post a slide show from Day 2.

The Great Outdoors -- pt. 1

So sorry I haven't posted since we got back from our camping trip. The day after we got back, my sister and her family were here. They left yesterday morning and 2 hrs. later, we left town too. Whew.... it's been busy!! Okay, for all of you who are anxiously awaiting the low down on our camping trip.... here it goes.

So, I posted that I woke up with a migraine the day we were to leave for our glorious camping trip. I thought, "Dear Lord, How am I going to do this? I feel horrible, I can hardly keep my head up, I have to finish packing, help set up the tents, cook outdoors, sleep in the tent all while it's hot outside." Well, God heard my plea and granted me pain relief. Once at the campground, we found our spot and started unloading and setting up our tent. Our friends were to join us a few hours later. Nathan and Ryan were so excited and helped to set up while asking every 10 mins. when Austin and Zach were going to be there. After setting up our tent, we set up a tent/canopy over our picnic table to keep out the bugs and critters. It was grand and worked like a charm. I was doing my best to help with still residual from my migraine. I started on dinner as our buddies arrived. So of course, we helped them get their tent put up too. Then it was back to finishing dinner. When it was ready, we ate and then cleaned up. Tracie and I headed to wash the dishes. You know, it's really hard not having a sink right there in your "outdoor kitchen." I think I missed my kitchen almost as much as my bed! Oh.... and a side note.... don't forget you have to take your own soap with you to the restroom just to be able to wash your hands. That was a pain!

Anyway..... back to our camp site. We made yummy S'mores and roasted marshmallows. You can't go camping and not do that, right? The boys were playing and it was nightfall. Remember my past camping experiences??? Remember nightfall??? Well, I wasn't dwelling on that, actually it hadn't crossed my mind. Until....... the boys were running around trying to catch fireflies. What kid hasn't done that? It's always fun to catch them. Well, not when there are big roots sticking up in the ground that you fall and trip over. Yep... it happened! Not to me, but to poor little Ryan. He was crying and it's hard to see in the dark. You can't just flip on a switch and see instantly. Nope, you have to have the lantern nearby, but not too close because it's HOT!! And it casts lots of shadows, which makes it harder to see the injury. Well, Ryan fell flat on his face, bumped his head, busted his lower lip and skinned up his hands and knees. After getting him cleaned up and settled, that's when it hit me! Of course.... all was going well until nightfall. Ryan was tired and asking to go to bed. I couldn't send him to bed sweaty and dirty. So we were off to the glamorous bath house so we could take a shower. Taking a shower when it's hot and sticky doesn't really feel like it does much good. Trying to get clean with a gazillion bugs flying around wasn't real pleasant either. I was really missing home. So after we were all cleaned up, it was to the tent. I put Ryan down on his air mattress and laid down with him. Of course now he wasn't sleepy, he just wanted to play in the tent and jump from air mattress to air mattress. After a little while of telling him to lay down, close his eyes, etc. He was out.

We cleaned up around the campsite and we all went to bed. As Jason and I were lying in the tent trying to fall asleep he looked at me and smiled. I smiled back and said, "You do realize that this isn't my idea of fun, right?" He laughed and said, "Yes, I know. I promise you won't ever have to do this again." "Whew, good" I said. Then I turned to him and said, "I think camping just has to be in your blood to like this sort of thing. And, well, it's just not in my blood." Jason laughed and said, "Yep, I think you're right sweetie." Then I said, "You don't want me to get a blood transfusion, do you?" He laughed.... and said, "No, but that was a good one!"

So off to sleep we went. I actually fell asleep faster than I thought. I was so tired. I kept waking up though. I woke up one time in the night to find Ryan had rolled off the air mattress and was lying on the floor of the tent and Nathan was sleeping across the air mattress. I scooted Nathan over, which "woke" him up and I put Ryan back on his side of the mattress. Ryan had no idea where he was, but drifted back to sleep. I thought Nathan was "awake" but he really wasn't. He thought it was time to get up and was hopping up to get out of the tent. I told him I was just moving him over so Ryan could get back on the bed. That's when Nathan looks out the tent window and says, "OH NO! Austin's gone, mommy! OH NO! He left!" I told him, "No, he didn't sweetie, Austin is in his tent with his mommy, daddy and brother." "No, mommy see, his tent is gone." "Hey Nathan", I said. "His tent is right here (out the other window). Lay back down and go to sleep you'll see him in the morning." "Okay, mommy, but where do you want me to sleep?" I'm thinking, what does he mean? I say, "Right where you were sleeping before, on your side of the bed." So he goes to lay down on Ryan. I stopped him and said, "Nathan, what are you doing? Don't lay down on Ryan, lay down on your side of the bed." So he then gets up and goes to lay down between the 2 air mattresses on top of the big duffel bag. I put the duffel bag there so that Ryan wouldn't roll onto the floor again. That's when I said, "Hey buddy, what are you doing?" He said, "I just don't know where I am supposed to sleep." So, I went over and moved him to his side of the bed. He was out like a light. Crazy thing is... I was telling Tracie and Kevin the story the next morning about how he was so distraught thinking that they had left in the middle of the night. While retelling the story, Nathan was looking at me like I was crazy! That's when I asked him, if he remembered any of that. He said, "No! Not at all!" Well, at least someone slept well the first night! I was just glad to have one night down and only one more to go!

Here are some pictures from Day 1:

Our campsite

Setting up

The boys hanging out

The busted lip (this was taken Day 2)

Macau race report and season review

Jason writes:

Well, it's finally over. My inaugural season of online racing is complete. It was a big learning experience and a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who kept up with it and asked me how it was going.

Macau, China was the location of the final round this season. Since it was the last race, only one heat was held as opposed to the regular two. Macau is a street circuit, meaning that, outside of race time, these are public roads. That being the case, the only things off the track are barriers. Just like Pau, no grass or gravel runoffs. I was able to get in several practice sessions and had squeezed every last ounce of speed I could get out of the car. It would have to be enough. Qualifying went well and I started 7th out of 15. I was definitely NOT in the hunt for a top 10 finish for the season, but I had to give it my all.

I got off the line cleanly and made it through the first turn without incident. The guys behind me weren't so fortunate as I saw a good sized wreck in my mirrors. The main part of the track is VERY tight, only about 5 meters wide in some places, so passing in the twisty section is difficult. The best bet is to get a good run onto a straight and pass there or outbrake someone going into a turn. I had moved up to 6th place and was looking for options when I ran wide and hit the wall. The steering or suspension was damaged because the car started pulling to the left. I figured I could nurse it through to the finish, but another contact with the the wall punctured my left front tire. You couldn't pit in this series, so I was out. My second DNF. Rats.

Unfortunately, the racing site I've joined has chosen not to continue the WTCC series next season. What is a boy to do...

CHANGE TO GT CARS, THAT'S WHAT!!!!! : )

Seriously, it has been a great season. I learned what it's like to drive a real race car and feel the tension that being in the middle of the action brings, the frustration of crashing or being crashed and the joy of a good finish! Thanks to everyone who took an interest and especially Karen and the boys for allowing me the time to participate.

I hope everyone can find something to get this excited about being involved in. Take care out there and keep it between the ditches!