Pull Your Pants Up!

Mike was gone over Tuesday night and Wednesday so I decided to take the kids down to visit Robyn again. The plan was to leave Tuesday night and stay over night so that we could leave early Wednesday morning in order to find parking easily. So we left around 8:30pm and got there around 9:20p. Traffic was a breeze. The kids were so excited. Carly wore her soft velvety pink pajamas just for the occasion. It was her first "slumber party" although she was sorely disappointed that it wasn't outside (I have no idea where she got the idea that a slumber party is supposed to be outside. hmmmm....).

We woke up early to Andrew's laughing and giggling (he's such a happy little guy) and ate a delicious breakfast of cereal. We made our lunch and loaded up for the beach. We had to make one stop at Wal-Mart for essentials (chips, salsa, Oreos and black licorice). Traffic was good so we made great time. Once we got there I was a little worried we had already missed the window of opportunity for great parking. Even though, we got there around 10:30ish the place was already packed. But thanks to Robyn's little prayer (and I really do believe that) we found a great spot within minutes of arriving. We unloaded all our loot, found a great spot and camped out for another gorgeous day at the beach.

I had to add more coins to the parking meter so I had to head back to the car. Robyn was more than happy to keep an eye on the kids so off I went. Mission accomplished I headed back to our beach site and low and behold I see my son running towards me with tears in his eyes and his swim trunks down around his ankles! I couldn't imagine what this could be about nor did I give it a moments thought, afterall, the only thing I could think about was my son's penis out in the open for the whole world to see! The poor kid was just screaming about his legs burning as I was frantically trying to pull up his shorts. And all I kept saying back to him was, "That's okay. Just pull your pants up!"

What seemed like FOREVER, I finally got his shorts up and managed to calm him down enough to get a more accurate assessment of what was burning his legs. I was happy not to find any jellyfish stings or sea anemone quills so we headed off to the shower to rinse off. On the way to the shower I asked him if he had peed in the ocean. He said "Uh-huh" most timidly. It was then that I knew that his skin was probably really dry and sensitive from all the fun in the sun (pool & ocean) and his pee probably burned his legs. Mystery solved. The fresh water from the shower cooled everything down and we were set for the rest of the day. And what a gorgeous fun day it was!

After all the hoopla, I couldn't help cracking up and wishing so bad that I had gotten a picture of my son running across the sand with his pants down around his ankles!

Tagged

I have to be honest. I'm not a big fan of these things. It's really hard to come up with answers. However, I love reading about everyone else. Anyways, here it goes....

These are the rules: List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts and then tag 5 other people. Leave a comment for the people you tag so they know they have been tagged.

Here it goes:

Joys:
1. My husband and kids
2. Doing practically anything out doors
3. Physical Training... Man! I miss it!!

Fears:
1. Me dying before my kids are grown
2. My husband dying before kids are grown or before me while we're still young
3. One or both of my kids dying before me

Current obsessions/collections:
1. Cooking
2. Reading
3. My kids

Surprising Facts:
1. I'm a control freak (maybe that's not such a big surprise)
2. I can install a complete sprinkler system
3. I've got flat feet

I tag:
1. Robyn
2. Jackie
3. Hannah
4. Everyone else has been tagged!
5.

Have fun!

Catching Up

Man! It's been too long since I've posted anything and the sad thing is that I've had plenty to post. So, I'm going to catch up some...


Robert had his big Kindergarten Dr's Appt the Wednesday before last. I prepped him on what to expect and bribed him with a new DS game. I know that may seem a little extravagant, but he tends to be quite dramatic when the shots hit so my intent with the bribery was to get him to not scream bloody murder when he got his shots. And it worked. He did try really hard not to scream and just cried big crocodile tears while I held his arm tightly in place. With that my heart went out to him, but when he screams bloody murder I just get utterly annoyed with him. So he got his game.


The next day we went to Newport Beach to spend the day with Robin and her baby boy, Andrew. As much as I love Newport Beach I can't stand the parking situation. It took us forever to find a parking place but it turned out to be worth the headache 'cuz we got the primo parking space. It only took us about 45 mins to get it but like I said, it was PRIMO -- well worth it. We stayed all day long. It was another perfect beach day -- warm and breezy. Robert was suffering from the aftermath of his shots the day before and slept most of the day. Thank goodness I had the sense enough to pack along some Tylenol for him so he could rest comfortably. He probably slept for 2-3 hours, but woke up rearing to go. I hadn't even noticed he woke up when I noticed him playing in the waves. What a trooper. Of course, it was wonderful visiting with Robyn. She is truly my little sister from a different mother. One of my favorite memories of the day was trying to figure out what was wrong with Andrew. He was acting so fussy which is unusual for him so I suggested setting him in the sand in his bumbo so he could play in the sand a little bit. So Robyn reluctantly did ('cuz she's not too fond of the sandiness). I kinda pushed sand around his feet and he seemed to be intrigued for about 2 seconds and then he squished up his little face and began screaming. It was so funny because he was sooooooo mad that he turned bright red and began shaking. Both Robyn and I sat there and stared at him and were like, "hmmm. I guess he didn't like that." I busted up laughing (I know. I'm so mean). Robyn picked him up and calmed him down. He fell asleep almost instantly (we figured that's why he was so fussy) and slept for about an hour. I'm sure the emotional outburst had something to do with that. Hehehe. While Andrew was sleeping I got up and played in the waves with Robert. Carly built sand casltes and played in the waves as much as she dared. We ended up leaving the beach around 6pm. It was a great day.



The following Saturday, Mike was home for a few hours before he had to leave again so we took the kids to Troutdale and went fishing. Oh man! That was soooo cute. There was my little girl in her white little skirt and pink and white onesie to match holding a fishing pole next to her daddy. And Robert, of course, couldn't sit still enough to catch a fish. I have to say that I was very impressed with my husband (who is probably the least patient person I know) sat there patiently enough to catch not just one fish but two. Not bad. Not bad at all. I have to say, though, that I was the one who pulled the hooks out of the fishs' mouth. The first one was the most disturbing as I had to tear the poor lip of the fish and caused it to bleed profusely as the poor fish was gaping for air. When I was a young girl that never used to bother me, but as an old woman it really bothered me. It bothered Robert a little too. He's got such a tender heart, my son. We ended up catching 3 huge fish and one tiny fish. Carly ended up being our bait girl. She said she didn't like fishing. At least she wasn't grossed out by it all. We had trout for dinner that night.









Sunday I had to teach the Relief Society lesson. It was not an easy lesson to teach. It was on consolation of death. It's hard to say how it went. Although, I did feel the spirit overcome me just before I got up to teach and I know it carried me through. Other than that though I wouldn't have known how it went due to the lack of support I recieved from my girls -- no one commented on anything and just left me hanging the whole entire lesson! Yeah.... thanks for that, girls. Hehehehe. Nah! I'm just kidding! It was a tough lesson even to make a comment.(apparently)

Tuesday, we went to the beach -- Zuma 13. I wasn't feeling quite myself, but had a great day with the girls anyway. Oh I should also mention that practically every night this week we've been watching the olympics. Robert is way into them. I've had to tivo them so he can watch them in the morning since they run so late. Later that evening, for some odd reason Carly wanted hot chocolate. Don't ask me why seeing how it was a hot day. But she insisted on hot chocolate. I think she just wanted to use her new princess mug we got at Disneyland. Nonetheless, we all had hot chocolate and used our new Disneyland mugs.

Wednesday, the kids got their haircuts. Robert's is definately an improvement. He was looking pretty shaggy. Carly's is hardly noticeable. I've decided to grow out her bangs so her's was just a trim. Nonetheless, I got a cute picture out of it.

I got to hike up to the cross all by myself with the 3 dogs tonight. It was so nice! I got to go at my own pace and really enjoy the fresh air. I left at dusk so the sun was setting over the hills. That just added to the perfectness of the break away. And since I got to go at my own pace I actually broke a sweat and mmmmm... did that feel good.

Mike hasn't been home a lot these days and I really miss him. I think that's why I've been out of sorts -- almost depressed. I've been just like mindlessly plugging along -- not really knowing what to do with myself. I know it won't be like this forever. I just miss him.... a lot.

So there you have it. My week (and a 1/2) in a nutshell. Oh yeah. One more thing. I've been tagged.....

Another Great Beach Day

This past week was a little crazy. Mike was gone a lot, but we managed to stay busy and have fun in spite of his absence. Thursday we ended up at the beach by ourselves. Although, all our friends said they were going to come and meet us there, everyone fell through. But you know what? It was okay. The kids and I actually had a great day at the beach and it was the perfect beach day. The sun was out and warm. There was a slight breeze and not too crowded. We camped out at our usual Zuma 13 and for the first hour or so I kept an eye out for any familiar faces but then gave up and focused on my babies. We truly had a great day. There was one point when we were all building sand castles and I had one of those moments where you just want to freeze time -- you don't want it to end. I was watching Robert who was so intently building his crumbling sand castle trying to get the sand to stick together - not really getting upset, but just having fun and Carly looking for a seagull's feather to put on the top of our castle we built together and I just teared up. THIS is what life is about, I thought. After Carly found her seagull feather she stuck it into one of the towers and said "Now can I smash it, Mom?" I laughed a little and said, "No, Baby. I want to live in this castle one day." And she said, "But Mom. It's too little." I laughed out loud to that one. Too Cute!

After our sand castles Robert went out and rode the waves on his new boogie board. He was having so much fun and was catching some good waves that he didn't realize how far he had moved down the beach. I was getting a little worried about him since it was getting harder and harder to spot him so Carly and I took a little walk down the beach to round him up. Carly spotted him walking toward us and said, "There's Du, Mom." (she calls him "Du". That's short for Dude.) He was walking back up the beach and when he saw us he just broke down in tears. He was so relieved to see us he couldn't contain himself. My heart just melted. You know, I forget sometimes that he's only 5. He's got such an old soul and he's such a mature little guy that I forget that he's only 5. So for the first time in a long time I wrapped him up in his towel and held him on my lap. Ahhhhhh!!!!

So, thanks everyone for not showing up. It turned out to be one the best days we've had at the beach so far this summer! :)