What we do for fun around here!

Despite being strangers in a strange land, we do manage to have a good time! Here are some of the fun things we have done:

We were invited to dinner at a new friends house!

They had a cat and Marian spent most of the evening playing with it. Rylee was brave enough to touch the kitty-cat and I love her face in this picture!

We took a ferry ride and went to the Aquarium on Labor Day!

Nothing says fun like Dancing on the ferry!

I was trying to get a picture of Callie and this is what Joshua did! Silly boy! This picture cracks me up every time I see it.

Despite his antics Joshua is a great kid and it was so sweet to see him helping Rylee see the fish.

Yep, that's my crew. Totally out of control and having a ball.

Joshua thought he was sooooo funny. Callie and that grin are my favorite. And as soon as I finished taking the picture, Marian was trying to climb on his head.

They got to pet the sting rays.

The play area was a big hit. Delaney was so pleased with herself for finding a new way to go down the slide.

Rylee also discovered a new way to go down the slide.

The play area was fun for everyone, although all my children needed to be reminded that not everything must be climbed.

This Hurricane Simulator looked interesting. After seeing several other people go in it, the kids really wanted to try it. It was $2, and we stuffed 3 children in it, so it was a good deal! The kids loved it! (And it sure was fun to watch.)

They had to have their pictures taken "underwater".

Even Rylee got into it. Her bigger siblings take good care of her!

Did I mention that my children all feel the need to climb up on EVERYTHING?!

This is us, waiting for the ferry back.

Rylee and Daddy, hanging out on the Ferry.

What's this, and introspective Marian? It was a good day at the Aquarium, and it didn't start raining till we had 2 blocks to go to the car!

We went to a new fun park.

I walked to a new park today with the little girls. They loved it. This tire swing was very exciting till Rylee fell off.

Delaney loved this part and Rylee thought they were for riding on. Lots of giggles by all.

Rylee would have been content to do this all day.

I have to take the big kids next time. There were lots and lots of things to climb on! Delaney had so much fun climbing on the net!

Marian makes her own fun.

Marian loves this sculpture in the chiropractor's office. She wanted a picture with it, so I obliged.

Who I love

I love this kid.

He is a good boy. He helps with his sisters and is sweet and kind. I know, as a boy he is suppose to be rough and tumble. But I'll share a secret with you- I'm glad he is sweet and kind and not rough and tumble. I love his tender heart.

He is being a stinker right here and teasing Callie. She is teasing him right back. I love it when they get along and have fun together. I love to see him laugh. Joshua is a neat kid and I love him!

I love this girl! She won't let me take very many pictures of her. Or, she will, but she won't let me take any GOOD ones! She is a funny girl and I adore her. I love her ability to do her own thing. I love her focus on the things she likes and her gumption to go after them.

She's disgruntled that I'm ruining her cookie-time with my picture-taking. She feels the need to make odd faces when the camera comes out. I love this quirky, interesting girl of mine!

I love this kid! She's being a stinker right here, and teasing Joshua, but she is such a hoot. I love it when she smiles. How can you not smile when she is happy?!

She is wet from playing out in the rain all afternoon. She is so fun, when she's not being a pill.

Look at this crusty face she's giving me! What a girl!

Why so serious? I don't remember. I think I caught her off guard. She's adorable even when she's not smiling. I love her go-to attitude. I love her fearlessness. I love her expressive eyes and face. Her zest for life is fantastic. She's a neat girl and I love her!

Delaney wanted her picture taken when she made a silly face. I love her sweet nature. I love that she likes to give hugs and kisses. I love her boldness and her tender heart. I love this girl.

I love that she wanted a non-silly picture and this was her face for it. I love that she's so un-self-conscious and that she goes after what she wants. She is such a sweet girl and she says the funniest thing. She cracks me up all the time. I love her sense of humor and her fascinating personality.

This kid is a pickle! I love her funny little self. I love that she likes to smile and laugh. I love that she thinks she is a big kid and trundles off to do whatever they are doing. I love that she's so clever.... most of the time! I love this little girl!

Joshua said no more pictures! I have to say, I do love my children. They are such individual personalities an I love them all. They keep my life interesting and entertaining. I love that I get to be with them and spend time with them and love them. I am so lucky!

What the storm dragged in!

Saturday was not as windy or rainy as I thought it would be. The kids spent most of the day running around outside. That resulted in a lot of fire ant bites because the little boogers float in the water and the grass was all water. So Delaney really won't walk on the grass now! I braved the grass and got 2 bites when I heard about this guy!

What?! What is that?! Yep, it is the alligator who lives in the canal in front of the house!

Callie was gracious enough to pose for me!

As was Marian. Oh, you need a closer up picture?

Here he is! About 4 feet long with a surprisingly fat tail.

The alligator was about 500 yards from the front door. Fortunately, he was on the far side of the canal and he seemed uninterested in coming to our side. 10 children jumping up and down may have intimidated him. It was pretty exciting. And then the fire ants started biting and the jumping was for an entirely different reason.

What I meant to post

I had pictures to post the other day. Here are most of them:This is the face I am seeing far too frequently from Rylee. The little pickle is one bossy and opinionated girl. And she's not afraid to bully to get her way.

Yep, check out that petulant lip. She's trouble, she is!

And I was brave this week. Sort of. I was brave in that I got out and took the girls to the Aquarium. I actually drove to get there and parking is scary and I did it. Actually, I followed my friend Mandi out there, but it was still so far out of my comfort zone to go!

This was one of our favorite places. We spent a lot of time at this aquarium. It had a treehouse thing too, and Delaney loved running up and down it.

I think this was the penguin tank. They were so little and cute.

Delaney loved the sea horses. Not the real ones, just the big fake ones!

And this was the view of the river out the window. See that cloud? That was from the fires, and it made everything so smokey at home, since we live on that side of the river. I guess the massive rainfall has fixed that issue.

Grumpy

I was going to put up some pictures, but Blogger won't let me. So I'm grumpy. It is the icing on several other annoying things today. What things? Oh, just these things:

1. Stupid internet is spotty. I thought I was becoming resigned to the fact that I'm stuck with rotten internet. Its okay most of the day, but I can't watch Netflix at night because the service is too bad. Today, however, it has been cutting out a lot. Yeah, that makes me grumpy.

2. The kids just came home saying there is no school tomorrow. What?! I had heard nothing at all about this. When I went to look up the phone number on their website, sure enough, it says "Due to the potential severe weather, strong winds, possible flooding conditions expected to impact the area this evening and over the week end coupled with the potential safety issues involved with the construction site, school will be closed Friday" Oh my gosh! Really?! That's like when they cancel school for expected snowfall. Its not even a hurricane. Ug. I'm annoyed. (Have I mentioned that the school has an 80 page Parent Handbook and is much more strict than BYU ever was.)

3. I wanted a nap, but I had to drag the kids around to 5 places today. I know, 5 places! We survived and I got the last of my school supplies. Yep, I had to scour the area to find the very last place that sells plastic 2 pocket folders with 3 fasteners. On the plus side, they were the cheapest I've seen. Unfortunately, I didn't feel too happy about the cost since I needed 15 of them at $1.50 a piece. So, double grumpy for spending over $20 on one item the kids needed for school, and for not getting a nap.

4. We got a "Notice of Lease Violation" from housing today. Here is what it said, "In an effort to keep our community with a consistent appearance and looking nice, there are established Navy Housing Rules for the benefit of all. We have noticed a trampoline, scooter, and an unraveled water hose in front of your unit. Water hoses must be on a hose reel that is not attached to the building. This creates an unsightly appearance and is in violation of the rules; therefore we must request that you store it away properly." Yes, we are completely guilty of all 3 offenses. I'm actually shocked they didn't complain about the waterlogged cardboard box that is also out there. I'm just grumpy that they are so strict. The housing people want it so uniform that you can't have any stuff on your porch (the hose issue was kind of a surprise to me, I didn't know that). The "consistent appearance" extends to the yard. You can't plant anything. They do the landscaping and you cannot plant a garden or flowers or do anything different. Let's hear it for conformity! I know we agreed to it, but I didn't know it was so anal and restrictive until we'd moved in and they gave us the big binder of rules, which I apparently did not read very well.

5. I haven't gone though my 72 hour kits. I KNOW I need to. I just have so much other clutter in the house to deal with that I put those on the back burner. Well, the house is till cluttered and I don't know what to do with some things and I still don't want to drag my bins in and go through what is in them and replace what isn't. Sigh. I'm grumpy that if this storm were a hurricane that I would not be ready at all. So maybe that will be my holiday weekend goal.

There you have it. The big things that I am feeling grouchy about. And now, I have to go clean up my front porch and figure out where to put a mini-trampoline, cuz there sure isn't room IN the house!