Bananas for the little monkeys

We can't believe these two little guys are old enough to be eating solid foods! They were pretty amused at sitting in a high chair as you can see by the grins below.....

That might be my favorite picture of the boys together so far. They really look like they are laughing hysterically at the crazy woman in the kitchen who was singing "Deep in the Heart of Texas" while dancing around with a camera ; ) That song almost always guarantees a giggle!

We decided to retire the older high chair we inherited due to the disgusting factor with fabric, creases & layers filled with crumbs 4 years old...you get the idea. We did a little bit of looking around & went to Ikea to purchase the Antilop highchair for 20 bucks a pop.  We were down with the price but a little nervous about the wobbliness of it considering the two wild older siblings that crawl under the table & chairs frequently along with the unpredictable dog. So, we came upon these chairs (also at Ikea) that were $60 each.  I think that is a decent deal compared to many of the high chairs sold at baby stores. We definitely wanted a free standing chair versus one that straps on since we are always short on chairs with visitors. We are happy with the sturdiness, ability to tighten those straps to fit our little cowboys & most importantly, the easy to clean factor. They also match our kitchen table & chairs so they just kind of blend in.

It was so fun to get them in their chairs & ready for that monumental first bite of real food! We have started with bananas for all the Valentine kiddos which is strange because there is no food I hate more than bananas ; )

I think I will narrate for a moment....

Owen:  "Hmmmm,what is this? I think Eloise stuck one of these in my mouth a few times the other day. She moved with great force but I just can't quite get it to where it needs to go. "

"Maybe I will just lick it instead.  That seems safe.....and I am a safe kind of guy."

Anson: "Oh I know all about this contraption. Everyone in this family seems so happy when they are using it to shovel Blue Bell Ice cream into their mouths. Mom, I'm a little disappointed this doesn't have ice cream on it."

"Oh gosh, that is definitely not how to do it! Although that is not the first time a spoon hit my tonsils thanks to that loving sister of mine."

Owen: "What is that on there? I'm just not sure I'm ready. Oh that feels funny on my tongue!"

Anson: "Open up big, here it comes! It's what I have been waiting for!"

After Robby & I enjoyed watching those first bites we invited the official feeders in to help. They were elated & very serious about their job. So serious they couldn't even look at the camera. Anson's expression is hilarious here. It is like he is saying "Okay Eloise, I will do whatever you want, just don't shove that spoon in any further." In her defense she was very gentle & Anson actually ate more with her shoveling it in rather than with me. 

Owen doesn't look to excited in the next picture but he did really well with Charlotte feeding him too.

After the first feeding, Anson experienced what each Valentine child that has gone before him has...the clean up by a loving pitbull. Although this time, it was only Bella. Bennett would have enjoyed the height of these new chairs since he could have pretty much eaten things right off the tray ; )

Anson was pretty intrigued by all that licking & ended up with clean hands. I pretty sure I have it made. All I have to do is fix the bowls of food, hand them off to the girls to feed them followed by laying the babies on the ground for clean up! Just joking but as they say....there is a little truth behind every joke!

Anson was sad every time you stopped shoveling food into his mouth. That did not surprise me!

Owen did a great job eating quietly & then he got interested in his finger & decided to relax for a bit.

Now do these two look happy or what? I think they enjoyed their first taste of bananas & are ready to explore this whole new world! Up next are sweet potatoes & avocados!

Owen

Anson

Owen & Anson: "Wow mom, that was hard work...enough to wear a little buckaroo out!

Beach Trip: Round Two

Call us crazy but we gave the beach another shot only 7 days after our first futile attempt. Although this time we came armed with a set of grandparents, four well rested children without runny noses & a new beach umbrella. We were hopeful that it would be a redeeming sort of experience & it was!

This post really doesn't need too many words since the pictures show how much our time was enjoyed. Our favorite beach (within close proximity) is the Canaveral National Seashore. It is just north of the launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center & is so close that it is closed down anytime they launch rockets.  This beach usually feels like a private beach since we never see more than a few other families there.  It is just a hop, skip & a jump from where you park & is quite beautiful. 

I may look crazy but as days pass we are finding this is the best way to get around with these two. It keeps my arms free & the buckaroos happy as can be. 

Gaga was on twin duty & as you can see was able to keep them entertained!

After five years as Florida residents & beach goers we finally bit the bullet & bought a 9 ft wide beach umbrella.  We were amazed at how much more enjoyable it made our time! That's Gaga there snuggled with one baby.

Paw Paw was on Eloise duty & they got started right away building sand castles.

Gaga & the boys emerged from under cover for a bit to catch some Florida sunshine.

Anson with Paw Paw

Owen with Gaga

Anson, my true beach boy that doesn't mind a splash in the face by some salty water sat on my lap for a bit while we laughed with his Sissy each time a wave came.

Oh my goodness....how squishy are those cheeks?!

Rob was so relaxed & had a great time swimming with both girls & getting some snuggles from the littlest lady.

Eloise & that Gaga of hers.....she talks about her every day! At least three times each day Eloise randomly says "Daddy/Mommy you know what? Gaga pat me kiss me!" It must feel pretty good for Elo to talk about it THAT MUCH!

I called Anson my true beach boy to contrast with Owen who is just not into sand & ocean water. He would cry every time his toes touched the water & was not happy with the sand on him either.  I sat down under the umbrella with him & told Rob about how Owen was not a happy camper at the beach. He said "If Owen had a tattoo, it would say 'Born to be Mild' " I could not stop laughing & really believe that to be true! Mighty O was happy to be with his mommy though.....

The girls were happy to not be rushed out of the water after 15 minutes of playtime due to "gumpy baby boas."  Many a smile were seen from these two!

Well you can't see her face here but Eloise was definitely smiling as she coated herself in sand!

Charlotte was not scared of the waves at all & did lots of splashing & crashing while trying to ride a wave into shore.

She did hold Paw Paw's hand for a bit so they could go out deeper together...

Then baby sister decided she didn't want to be left behind....

The boys snoozed on & off just like a good beach goer would....

Of course we attempted a family pic before leaving. I sure do love how my eyes are closed, you can only see one baby & Charlotte is covering her face. Robby, the family member who hates having his picture taken the most is the only one looking & smiling! That's why we aren't paying for a professional photographer anytime soon ; )

It was a beautiful day & we managed to spend 4-5 hours sandy....quite an improvement in seven days! I guarantee we will not return unless we have another set of grandparents with us ; )

Charlotte's first day of school: Pre-K

Charlotte, our big four year old started Pre-K two weeks ago & I am still recovering from that trip to West Palm Beach which is why it has taken so long to catch up on blog posts ; ) 

Here she is on the first day....

Charlotte & I went on a special night before the first day of school date to pick out a new dress & eat some ice cream....two things we both enjoy. She was so excited about her new dress that she was in it, at my bedside before 6am saying "is it time to go to school yet?" I wish I was raring to go at 6am! So, we rolled out of bed, enjoyed some breakfast  & headed out the door. It was actually kind of nice to not be rushed sue to our early morning wake up call. 

It is rare that I get a picture of both of these girls looking at the camera at the same time. I was taking a picture of Charlotte when Eloise insisted on joining her. Precious girls.  Charlotte looks so old to me.

And then of course Eloise wanted to pose by herself....

Oh, and I wanted a picture too with my big girl on her first day....

We are really excited about our decision to begin our homeschooling adventure this year! Since moving to Florida our family has been surrounded by multiple families who have chosen to homeschool & do it amazingly well in a variety of ways.  For this year, we decided on joining a community called Classical Conversations where Charlotte will be a part of a Pre-Kindergarten class once a week. One exciting part of Classical Conversations is that I get to go to class with Charlotte! 

Many have never heard of this so, to quote the website:
Classical Conversations is a leader in the home-centered education movement. It is a mission: To know God and to make Him known. It is a model: Classical Conversations combines the classical method of learning with a biblical worldview. It is a method: Classical Conversations families meet in communities where parents train parents to implement home-centered education well.

Everything about it sounded appealing to us as we explored our options. A once a week commitment outside the home sounded just right for our family at this time, connecting with other families that are doing the same thing is a major plus but what really blew me away was the method & content.  

The classical method of learning begins with the grammar stage where students learn the terms & facts associated with a subject.  Each week a new set of memory work is introduced by the tutor. The memory work covers six subjects: timeline/history, geography, math, science, Latin, and English grammar.  Anyone that has a child around this age could say they have been surprised by their ability to retain information.  They remember all sorts of things...even things that have zero significance.  This memory work includes things I don't even know or don't remember, specifically the history sentence for each week. When I sat in on a class in January while considering enrolling Charlotte I thought "Why on earth would my preschool aged child need to learn to label a world map or memorize historical events & dates or the eight parts of speech?" 

To address this question, my favorite way it was explained to me was something like this: Imagine your child's mind is full of file folders. This method provides a framework for information intake. They memorize facts & file them away. They don't have to understand details about each subject but once the fact is committed to memory, it is there & ready to be explored in more detail as they mature. 

I mentioned the six subjects we focus on for memory work but while we are there we also get to do a hands on science project & study fine arts which includes drawing, music theory & exposure to classical composers. At home we add in reading, phonics & math which at this point I am still figuring out how that looks for us. One part I am really excited about is the History Timeline. It is 161 events in chronological order that integrate world history with bible & church history. Each event has it's own laminated card with a picture to cue the brain : ) We learn 7 or 8 new events each week with hand motions & it goes along with a Timeline song that may sound a little hokey but WOW, we (the whole fam or at least those who speak) already has it stuck in our heads all the time & can be found singing parts of it randomly.

Back to Charlotte's first day. I mentioned that I get to go with Charlotte to her class which means there are three other children that need to be cared for.  There is a nursery provided for a small fee.  Due to a little miscommunication I arrived on the first day ready to drop off all three & was told that babies under one year old need to stay with the mom. Haha! Actually in that moment, there was no laughing, I almost burst into tears & told the lady that we would have to go home (and never come back).  They felt awful for not catching that I had twins in all the emails that went around. They were SO very kind & arranged some moms with older children to help me manage the boys. I had the Ergo so I kept one with me & traded off with those who love babies.  One mom told me that her son was 185 pounds now & it had been years since she cuddled a sweet baby boy : ) I can't even imagine little Owen weighing 185 pounds ha! 

So, once the childcare situation was squared away, I snuck into Charlotte's class to find her sitting quietly listening to her teacher. I was SO flustered & within the first hour I texted Rob telling him I had almost burst into tears multiple times & asked him to pray for me.

Charlotte's buddy Hannah is in her class. They both felt about the same & were a little stand offish as the rest of the kids jumped right into class. Charlotte even ran over to me more than a few times when she felt unsure of herself. 

Another part of our time in class each week is listening to each child do a presentation that they have prepared prior to class.  The goal of this is to get children comfortable with standing & presenting in front of their peers.  Charlotte was SO excited to practice her first one for the FIRST day of school & had it down pat. It went like this: "My name is Charlotte Valentine. I have sister named Eloise & twin baby brothers named Owen & Anson. I like to eat macaroni & cheese for dinner & pancakes for breakfast with syrup. My favorite sport is to play tennis with my dad." She had a little piece of paper we made together that had drawings that were reminders of what to say. She taught Eloise how to do the same presentation & we heard it over & over & over.

Charlotte listened to about 6 of the other 8 students in her class do their presentation first. A couple were comfortable, a few sat in their chairs & whispered into the tutor's ear. When it was her turn she told me she wasn't going to do it. Big surprise ; ) I grabbed her hand & we went up to the front together. I knelt down with Anson in the Ergo & wrapped my arm around Charlotte.  I asked her to tell everyone her name. She hid her face against my shoulder.  I basically did her presentation for her but I will give her credit for saying that the baby brother I was holding was named Anson. I felt the heat myself as an adult who is fairly confident in front of others so I understand how it made her so nervous! When she I finished her my presentation everyone clapped. Charlotte HATES when people draw attention to her with clapping (or singing "Happy Birthday"). Charlotte started crying & ran for the door. I thought we would step outside & talk for a moment.  Instead she took off running around the courtyard while I chased her. Again, I felt like crying & like I didn't know what to do. I caught her, calmed her down eventually & we re-entered.

Since I am so slow at updating the blog right now, we had our second day of school last week.  Her presentation went much better this time around! The tutor had her go last which I am thinking she thought would be helpful since Charlotte was so nervous the week before Instead it was pure torture for this little girl! She kept walking over to me & saying  "I'm not doing it!" after each person presented. There were still a couple kids that were as nervous as she was. When it was finally her turn, she got to share about a bible story & although I still knelt next to her, she did more talking & was really proud of herself.  We also asked everyone to hold the clapping which they so kindly did. Charlotte returned to her chair with a smile on her face after giving me a high five & a hug. It was really fun to see her feel like she accomplished something that she was terrified of.

I didn't get a picture of O & A but their lady friend, Miss Lilah Leigh, Hannah's sister got to spend the mornings with us too. She is 3 months younger than the boys but outweighs them both & is perfectly squishy.

I just love Charlotte for many reasons, one of those is that she is so different from me.  When I told Robby about her first day he said that nothing surprised him.  In new situations I am more chatty than ever while she is a quiet observer but really soaks in information even when you think she is not paying attention. She got much more comfortable when we started the fine arts portion & she got to do some drawing. We worked on some tracing & then followed the tutors' instruction on drawing a castle. Charlotte drew the very same castle about 50 times during the week following her first class. She was so cute (and so meticulous) about it & she only wanted to draw with a red marker since that is what she did at school!

Annie, Hannah's mommy is friend I love spending time with & am overjoyed to be doing this together. We exchanged some glances (and muffled laughing behind our hands) during the first day of class as we watched our barely four year olds jump into a class full of kids that seemed far more advanced due to the fact that most had an older sibling that had been in Classical Conversations before & had been exposed to the memory work.  The fact that younger siblings are pretty darn smart has been proven by Eloise & Lawson (Annie's two year old) who are like little parrots repeating the information they are hearing. The first week we learned a history sentence about Charlemagne. We say it & then we sing it to some strange little tune that ends up invading your mind for weeks. Eloise is constantly requesting to hear the "Charlotte's mane" song. She too can say half of the continents after a week of this. Hilarious & intriguing. Owen & Anson's first word will probably be Charlemagne ; ) So these other super smart kids, some of them were boys who had just turned five but were doing Pre-K instead of Kindergarten the there are others that are closer to five instead of just turning four. We are still working on writing Charlotte's name instead of drawing a world map from memory but I am guessing we will catch up by the end of the year. Even seeing all of the other kids write their names so quickly made Charlotte really interested in writing her name. Poor girl has triple the amount of letters than some kids ; ) She is getting the hang of it though!

Here is her pal Hannah yawning as she watched the tutor draw. This was a lot in the first day for the oldest child of each of our families that is used to spending time at home while younger siblings nap & even taking naps themselves.

The day following our first day at Classical Conversations was our first day of school at home. We started with reviewing the memory work & I was SHOCKED at how much Charlotte remembered. We sat down with our world map, rolled out seven little balls of play doh, one for each continent. She labeled them correctly with her flags that have the name & the shape of the continent in no time at all then proceeded to tell me the names of at least half with no prompting. She was super excited to practice what we had learned & do anything with dry erase markers ; ) Each weekday we practiced our memory work & worked on writing some letters....oh and we drew a million and one castles.  Our schedule was really not even a schedule. We just did 15 minute chunks here & there when others were occupied....the beauty of home schooling! I do plan to get into more of a routine this week though because I think it will be helpful for me, the woman who loves check lists. 

Approaching week two of school I was a little nervous to return since at the end of our first day there I was considering never coming back ; ) Charlotte was awake by 6am again, dressed in her cute little outfit & forced to lay in our bed until 6:30 when we let people act like they are awake.  My parents were in town so they came over to stay with the boys.  It was quite a bit easier to be there with just the big girls! 

Charlotte was delighted to be in her class & even smiled with Hannah!

The first time the tutor asked if anyone would like to volunteer to come up to the board & point at numbers while we practiced some skip counting Charlotte jumped up immediately & did what she asked. I was in shock. She was so comfortable & when nervous would glance at me & respond to a thumbs up instead of running to me (most of the time).  

Here she is at the board practicing drawing some shapes...

Here we are, two weeks in & looking forward to another fresh start for the week tomorrow then heading back to class later in the week! I have to add that I read through a Classical Conversations magazine a couple months ago & remember that a woman said that learning in this way alongside your child is like getting a new brain. I thought to myself in the postpartum fog "that is exactly what I need....a new brain!" Three cheers for a new brain for mommy & filling these young minds with information! Pre-K here we come!

the trip that changed my life forever

I'm not even sure where to begin in recording the excitement of our first family vacation as a family of six.  A few months ago, our friends Halie & Eric from Dallas let us know they would be in West Palm Beach for a wedding in August. We thought "Perfect! The boys will be almost 6 months old & we could use a little fun at the beach. Let's go ahead & book a hotel room for two nights at the non refundable rate!" Well well well, what we were unaware of is that there is NO rest & relaxation available for families traveling with four children ages four & under....especially at the beach!  Precisely 24 hours before departure our little friends had runny noses & coughs.  The night before we left we had Charlotte & Eloise in our bed with us because they cried every time they coughed & woke themselves up. For Eloise this was once every 10 minutes.  The boys woke up to eat in the middle of the night & us parents, we missed out on resting up for the drive.  Disclaimer: This post is not me complaining....it is stating the truth & nothing but the truth about a "vacation" with the fab four in tow. 

I worked my tail off to pack everything everyone needed for 48 hours away from home.  While we were trying to finish up getting things together we heard Eloise saying "I need help...water!" I asked her to wait but she had gotten herself into a little pickle if you will. When Robby made it to the kitchen he found a good 4x6 foot area flooded with water due to the giant plastic up she had jammed up against the water dispenser.  We should have known then we were headed into the "no fun" zone.  

We were actually backing out of the driveway a few minutes ahead of schedule but after stopping at Walgreens to stock up on a couple bottles of an all natural miracle working cough syrup (both day & night), flying thru the drive thru lane at Panera for some breakfast sandwiches for the leader of the pack & his lady, we were behind schedule by 30 minutes. The second we got on the turnpike with few exits Eloise said she had to go potty.  We were successful in distracting her so we continued on down the rode in hopes she wouldn't flood her car seat like she did the kitchen floor only an hour before.  Usually the girls ride next to each other in the back seat & the boys ride next to each other in the middle seat. I thought I was pretty smart to switch Anson to the back row with Charlotte & move Eloise to the other side of the middle seat with a safe amount of distance between her & Owen.  We were quickly reminded of how chatty Eloise is & how her screams are deafening when she is only 2 feet away instead of 4 ; ) Believe me when I say that I love to hear my children talk & I love to have conversations with them but in our supposed two and a half hour drive I was hoping to be visiting with the driver instead of all the passengers.  Long story short, the passengers were a bit unruly, disobedient & obnoxious ...and when I say passengers, I mean Charlotte & Eloise. They required non stop attention to insure that the driver would not do a U turn on the turnpike & head home. It. was. that. bad. We did have a hard laugh long after the fact when I reminded Robby that he at one point said "If you do that again, I am going to pull the car over & spank you all the way to the beach!" Hahahaha! I was trying to picture what he meant exactly as I smirked in the front seat trying not to laugh out loud since I knew it would only stir the pot.

We finally made it to the resort where our friends were staying.  The resort, which shall remain nameless was definitely a place for the rich & the famous....not us & our crazy crew.  I'm pretty sure it wasn't cool that Elo had an accident & I had forgotten extra panties so I air dried her Hello Kitty ones on the beach chair. Our unruliness/crying by the babes was also not too fun during our gourmet Cuban sandwich lunch. All that to say, we still had some fun. We got suited up & met Eric at the umbrella & chairs he staked out for us. The ocean was beautiful as always & the men kept the little girlies safe while they made a run for it. 

Here is baby Elo with her cute little squishy tushy commanding the waves....   

Halie & I got the boys lathered up & dressed for their first visit to the beach. I am so sad that this is the only picture I got of my precious friend Halie! It goes to show how crazy the rest of the time was! She does look beautiful though with my my little guys.  She & Eric have a son named Calvin that will turn two in December. We were bummed that he did not get to come along for Mommy & Daddy's weekend away but I think they enjoyed some time alone.

I don't get to be in pictures all that often so I had Halie snap one of me & my beach boys that are so interested in their hands these days they can't look & smile on command ; )

Anson & Owen

and the beach babes that took about 3 seconds to decide the beach was the best place ever....

There is Robby's leg over on the right...proof he was there.

Charlotte LOVED collecting shells!

So the fun at the beach part lasted a short time before we had our loud lunch at the fancy hotel & then headed to the bathrooms to change back into clothes. Rob hit his limit of tolerating the shenanigans during lunch. I was still as cool as a cucumber (not really that cool) until Halie & I took all four kids to the spa like bathroom. I had asked the girls to park it near the door & not touch anything which apparently are not very clear directions for the two year old. This was proven by the couple times I pulled disposable razors out of her hands & returned them to the trash bin.  The highlight of our trip to the bathroom was when Halie had Owen on the changing table putting his clothes back on. I stripped Anson down to his birthday suit & was cradling him on my right side about to lay him down as well when he starting spraying everywhere! Eloise, who could not follow directions walked right under the stream....SICK! I think I still forget that boys are prone to let loose at inopportune times ; ) We cleaned up the kids & the mess & got out of there as fast as possible. When I locked eyes with Rob, he knew before I could say that I too had far surpassed my limit & was ready to be air lifted out of there. 

We traipsed through the beautiful hallways & lobby with the amazing help of our friends. I had a baby in the Ergo while carrying Eloise when I handed our ticket to the valet guy. The lady next to me couldn't help but stare that stare I see often. It is one where they can't decide if four four & under is a huge blessing (it is) or if they feel sorry for me or wonder if we understand how babies are made (we do). I smiled sweetly & winked at her while wrestling Eloise & said "I bet he gets my car before yours." He was a smart man & he did. 

We were loaded & strapped in after 10 minutes of shuffling & forcing people to sit down. We checked into our room, walked in & Charlotte looked around quite disappointed & said "this place doesn't have any toys?!" She was so excited to stay in a "hotelf" as she calls it & was still kind of excited following the discovery of the lack of things to play with. Having two queen sized beds in the girls room was enough to satisfy. We were hoping to get cleaned up, let the boys nap & then get together with our friends again. Slight change of plans when children were definitely out of control. Eloise screamed for about an hour & a half & we said, no thanks, we will stay here.  Rob & Char went on a date to pick up Chili's for dinner which we ate in our room. While they were gone Eloise & I had some wonderful quality time together reading. She was happy to hear The Very Hungry Caterpillar about twenty times in a row & we never moved onto the other books we brought. She was snuggly & delightful when not being angered by her sis. 

 It is hilarious that the next & final picture of our whole weekend away was taken the next morning.  It is Anson passed out solo in a king size bed.  This was following a night of little sleep for those in our room.  Thankfully our hotel room we rented was a 2 bedroom suite with a living area/kitchen allowing us to put kids to bed in separate rooms while we enjoyed some mommy & daddy time on the couch.  The night before this picture was taken we dosed the girls with some au natural cough medicine tucked them into their big beds surrounded by eight pillows each. I fed the boys & put them to bed in our bedroom.  We recounted the days' adventures, forgave each other for any of the things we said or did in complete frustration & had a few good laughs. We climbed into bed so excited to get some rest. Why does it always seem that on nights you are SO excited to sleep that your children are keenly aware & decide to be awake all night. In summary, all the kids had runny noses, the boys woke each hour, the girls were in & out of our room crying, at one point I think all six of us were in our king size bed before Rob realized that we had two queen size beds in the other room. He grabbed the girls & snuggled them until they went back to sleep then stayed put in that room. I somehow positioned the boys to dine as desired for the rest of the night while I slept. I was TERRIFIED to fall asleep with the girls when they were babies...guess that went out the window ; ) I think I slept about 2 hours total that night.  Owen & I got up the next morning & left sleepy brother in bed....

We laughed about how they had on their supposed "magic pajamas" WHERE WAS THE MAGIC?? I said that we must have forgotten to soak the sleeves in Benadryl ; ) Anyway, after crazy long nights of no sleep it is a sweet gift when the sun comes up & no matter how tired you are, you just start over.

We got dressed, picked up Halie & Eric then headed over to Cracker Barrel for some breakfast.  Breakfast was delicious & pretty uneventful minus my iPhone being dropped directly onto the plate of butter. It went into the speakers resulting in a very quiet ringtone until I found an online remedy of blowing compressed air into a few days later.

After breakfast we went for a swim. This might have been the most hilarious part.  Our sweet friends who were enjoying the lovely resort with at least four beautiful pools to choose from spent the morning with us, holding the boys while we swam in the rectangular hole in the ground full of slightly murky water at our hotel. Well it wasn't really full of murky water but it must have been the paint color they chose for the concrete....it just wasn't really fresh & inviting looking like those pools at the fancy resort. The girls were excited though so Robby & I jumped in. First thing we noticed was this man swimming laps back & forth with two ladies watching. Not completely odd but then one of the ladies got my attention & said while pointing at the girls "they can't touch that guy (pointing at the man swimming laps) he just had surgery on his leg & if they bump into it, his leg will blow up!" Really? Blow up? Now that would be quite a story ; ) So, we instructed the girls to swim on the other side of the pool to avoid any explosions.  Other thing you might not see at the resort were three ladies fully clothed sitting in the pool on the steps listening to some "soul music" from their boom box. Charlotte was in her puddle jumper swim float & swam right up to them for a chat. They were so sweet & happy to talk to Char.  One of them happened to be named Scarlett which Charlotte thought was pretty neat.  They couldn't believe all four kids were ours & I said I couldn't believe that we had tried to spend the night in a hotel. I mentioned that I had only slept about an hour the night before due to screaming babies. She immediately said "Are you on the fourth floor?" Guilty as charged. So, all that to say, we were grateful for our friends who could have cared less where we spent our time as long as we got to be together : )

After our swim, the kids took naps then we got to meet up with Hugo, Juanita & Matilda. We did another quick beach trip but of course the boys were fussy & we left earlier than we would have liked. That evening Robby was bathing the girls while I was feeding the boys. I could hear all the ruckus while I read through a blog post titled "With little kids you take trips, not vacations." It had me laughing so hard I was distracting them from finishing up their dinner. I could hardly wait to read it to Rob & did as soon as all the kids were in bed & we were snuggled on the couch. It was the perfect thing to read at the end of our trip with our VERY little children.

We finished up the night with some Duck Dynasty & went to bed in separate bedrooms: Daddy & the girls, Mommy & the boys. I was smart & propped the boys up on me the the first time they woke for the all night feast. We got just a bit more rest that night than the previous PRAISE THE LORD.

Upon waking we packed, loaded & got back on the road for another hour & a half hour of torture until Eloise passed out in her car seat.  It had never felt so amazing to be in our home with ten loads of laundry to do & a dirty kitchen than it did that afternoon. Our trip pushed us to limits we were unaware of so much so that we chose to cancel a trip to visit our dear friends Michael & Christi in North Carolina next month. We made our reservations at the Ellis Hotel in Kingwood, Texas for the Christmas Holiday...that should be a mere 18 hour drive. We are already mentally preparing for it. I will surely be purchasing a DVD player, a million snacks & some sleeping pills ; )

I titled this post "the trip that changed my life forever" because it was really the final push over the edge into helping us recognize where we are in life.  Weekends away aren't really weekends away at all, it is just relocating the chaos.  I am laughing as I am writing tonight thinking about how at one point during the trip Charlotte was crying & I was holding her saying "this is not what vacation should be like sweetheart." Hahaha! Someday we will take a vacation....right?