Bubba has had a blast. He is destined for a career in the major leagues, if his t-ball skills are any indication. {PS... Bub loves Phineas and Ferb. He just got this "Perry the Platypus" tshirt and didn't want to wear it for fear that he would get it dirty. He just wanted to look at it. We had to reassure him that he could wear it -- that it could be washed. Such a funny kid!}
These two have a love-hate relationship, to say the least. I can, honestly, not tell whether they like to play with each other or not. They have moments of laughter and peace. Then one or the other (usually Bones, if I'm being completely honest) will reach over and steal the other's toy... and run with it.
It doesn't matter how many outfits we pack each kid, we always end up buying a new one while here. For Bones, it is usually because he pees through the outfit he's wearing and we have, almost always, forgotten to replace the LAST outfit we needed in the diaper bag. So, a new outfit is purchased. Kohl's was having such a great sale on kids stuff, that Bones also scored a couple of pair of shoes, too!
G loves being the biggest. When we get to NC, she's got two more 'littles' under her! And she eats it up. She has become such a wonderful and willing helper -- not that we don't still have issues with her throwing 2 year old fits on occasion, but they have gotten fewer and farther between. Not knowing how we are going to get everybody somewhere, she is the first to grab a little hand and take off walking. And, though this is sometimes met with a frustration nearing a rage from her siblings, her cousins don't seem to mind in the slightest. And she eats that up, too. I think back on when I was a little cousin. I ate up any attention I got from an older cousin. I don't know if I have ever thought about this dynamic from their perspective, but I hope that I gave at least one older cousin the feeling of being a hero that G's little cousins give her.
Another thing we do when we are on vacation is sleep. Though we also live and function (for a little while longer) within the eastern time zone, we are accustomed to the western most edge. My parents are on the eastern most edge. It really does make a difference. At home, I struggle to get my kids interested in going to bed before 9:00, because it is still light outside. But here -- oh, here, it gets dark about 8:30. So... the yawns start coming around 8. I won't lie and say we actually get into bed that early, but things start to slow down. Kids get clean, cuddling starts... early on vacation. And I will take all the extra cuddle time I can get!
I bought a cheap ol' $20 pool from Target the other day. You would have thought I had bought ponies for all of the kids. So excited. We have started each day in the water... well, the kids in the water. I sit, not too far away, with a cup of coffee, a book and my camera. Though not the camera that I have inside right now... so those pictures will be coming when I bring that camera in from the car. The only way I could keep Bones in the pool on the first day (it was a tad bit cold) was to put a ball in for him to throw around. By the end of today, every ball in the backyard was in there! And a butterfly had stopped to rest. I wish we had a big, shady backyard, but the Army hasn't given us one of those in about 3 years! Maybe next month...{she types with fingers crossed and a sigh of hope...}
You would think that our children never saw any wildlife, either. This little lizard was on the tree outside of my mom's kitchen window and the kids went crazy! F started telling us all about lizards... how some can lose their tail if it helps them get away from something trying to get them... how those lizards will grow a new tail... this is something I didn't know she knew. I was actually going to tell them today, when we saw the lizard, but she beat me to it! No matter how many times I ask the standard "What did you learn in school today" questions, you really have to sit, talk and experience life with your kids to really comprehend what they know. Because they know more that I thought... and I love it.
So... we're here for a little bit longer. My baby sister is getting married on Saturday and we are super excited about it. More pictures will be coming... but not on any kind of schedule. I'm on vacation. And I'm going to soak it up -- because on the other end of this vacation is a fast and furious three weeks before we pack up house and move to our next family/Army adventure.
But for now...I'm settling in for some serious reading time... for some serious snuggling with my babies time... for some serious family time... for some serious no-TV days. I sure do love vacation.
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