Mom's Day, Kings Island and Graduation!

Hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend thus far!  Kids are currently napping and the adults are going to see Steve Martin and Martin Short tonight, along with a kid-free dinner.  Woohoo!

 We had a great Mother's Day Weekend and even got a quick visit from Chris.  He was in Indianapolis for two weeks but came back home for literally 12 hours on Mother's Day.  The kids were stoked.  They had each decorated a Dorothy Lane Market cake for me the day prior, but then instructed that I could only eat one piece.  The rest had to be saved for daddy.  Whaaaaatttttttt?!?  This was supposed to be MY day, MY cake, MY celebration.  I almost punished them, as anyone would attest that to ask a mama to share a cake on her big day is just downright absurd.  But they were too cute and too excited to share my cake with their daddy, so they dodged timeouts....this time.

Kings Island

Both kids (and Chris) are currently obsessed with Kings Island.  We have been three times already this year and all three make requests to visit literally on a daily basis.  Adley hit the 36-inch mark, so she can ride more rides, even some by herself.  She has overcome her tremendous fear of well, everything.  Last year, she couldn't even sit on someone's lap...on the stationary bench...on the carousal without crumbling apart and melting into a puddle of tears.  Now she is "a big girl" and wants to do whatever Claire does.  And Claire does not mind one bit; they run around holding hands and giggling about anything and everything.

Kings Island Trip #2

Our most recent trip to Kings Island was just our crew with LollyPop.  We thought we were being smart because we went on a day where the forecast called for rain, but we were greeted with 90 school buses that day!  I was speechless.  It did rain, but luckily we had ponchos and no one skipped a beat.

Hudson is about to finish swim lessons, just in time for the pool to open.  He still can't swim on his own, but he is smarter, more cautious and not as afraid as he was last year (in the deep end that is).  He can almost float, but I think part of that challenge is just how dense that boy is.  He is one solid kid.

Hudson graduated from Pre-K this week and we were all pumped to celebrate his big day and watch him sing songs.  He has been practicing all month.  He takes his singing very seriously.  If he messed up, he would start over.  He wanted to perfect his hand motions and he even practiced his impromptu dance moves. One song was to the theme of The Jefferson's, Moving on Up!  And another was to Tai Cruz, Dynamite.  Hysterical stuff.

His teacher, Mrs. Ophelia and some of his classmates.  Cousin Claire is on the end. 

After the performance, the poor guy lost it.  I almost lost it as well.  He wouldn't take pictures, he cried and he yelled; he couldn't even hug his teachers.  I turned into that crazy mom and threatened to give his sister his balloon, which probably sent him over the edge (I did later apologize for that).  The next day I asked why he acting out - he said his hat was too tight (he does have a fairly large head), his tassel kept getting in his eye (which didn't seem to bother any other kids) and he didn't take a nap.  On the way home, Adley kept belting out all the graduation songs, which added mayhem to the madness.  Chris and I thought that was funny; Hudson did not.  The picture below was BEFORE he had his meltdown, ha!  Oh the joys and stresses of being a parent.

Amidst the chaos and stress of graduation night, we did have a good time and was proud of our future kindergarten boy.  And I also happened to catch an awesome video of him singing and dancing, so we will all choose to forget the bad and remember the good!

https://youtu.be/JCbJelzj0IA

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!  

Spring Break - Pensacola style!

Hope everyone had a great Spring Break!  We got lucky and dodged a week of persistent Ohio rain as we made the trek to Florida. (Sidebar: when we returned from FL, it both snowed and there were two tornado spottings).  Our first detour was Louisville to see Mimi and Pop Wilson.  We stopped for lunch and the kids had an egg hunt and got lots of goodies. 

Next pit stop was the Alabama rest stop to see the Saturn 1B Rocket!

We spent the night in Birmingham and the kids were pumped to find another "secret bed."  They snuggled and cuddled again all night long, leaving the adults to a peaceful sleep. 

Like father, like son...thought this was cute!

We arrived in Pensacola by noon the next day and had lunch with Aunt Missy and DeeDee, then headed straight for the beach!  It was slightly windy and the water was cold, but that didn't stop Hudson and Chris from diving right in.  Adley, on the other hand, is the smart one who just played in the sand.

We searched for shells and flew kites.

 

Day two at the beach was warmer and sunnier.  Adley refused to wear a swim diaper and then when her Pullup got sand in it, she refused to wear that.  She didn't want to wear clothes or a swimsuit because "Bubba no clothes!" and she wanted to be "shirtless" just like her big brother.  So we let her run wild and free.  Thankfully, it was only 9 am and very few people were on the beach. 

By Friday, the entire clan had arrived and we had dinner at Aunt Missy's house, followed by egg-dying and Paucking-prep, a Pensacola Easter tradition.

Aidan, Anderson and Hudson...three inseparable little handsome boys!

 Once all the cousins were together, it was boat time on Saturday.  But the boat didn't arrive till noon and we had a ton of kids with a ton of energy bursting through the seams.  So we took them to the (non-heated) pool and let them run wild, again at 9 am.  They loved it!  Cousins Wesley and Emery were helping deliver the boat.....

 The kids always love getting on a boat and discovering a "new island."  Brian let all the little ones drive the boat as we headed towards a sandy beach with a big hill that you could climb up and slide down.  And we couldn't forget the kites....all the kids LOVE kites. 

Below was a Friday pic, but notice Adley lying between my legs.  During the two beach days with her big cousins, the poor girl tuckered out and had to take a nap, literally on the beach.  She slept for over an hour each time.  I had some crazy tan lines (ie one-side-of-my-leg) due to this child not letting me bask in the sun.  #mompoints

Then came Easter Sunday.  We headed to Aunt Linda's house, who had a fabulous lunch and an egg hunt for the kids.  DeeDee gracefully sipped on wine and watched the chaos ensue around her... 

Adley's favorite colors are pink and purple; yellow has been demoted.  And every article of clothing has to have one of those colors on it.  It can be a tiny drop of pink or purple, but it must be present or she will fight to the bitter end to change outfits.  Her pink tutu dress has become a request to wear almost everyday now.

Then came "Paucking" time!  Now this is a game that us Ohio-folk knew nothing about.  Not sure who started it or created it, but it is a BIG DEAL for the Pensacola peeps.  There was even a chart and predetermined spots for everyone.  It reminded me of a kid-version of March Madness.

The object of the game is to not let your (hard boiled) egg crack.  Two people match up, smash their eggs together, and whoever has an intact shell, wins.  When it comes to games and competition, I have no mercy on my children.  To each their own; survival of the fittest!  This was me demolishing my sweet 4 year old boy...  

And below was sweet Adley's reaction after Pop destroyed her egg.  I love cousin Wesley's face as he puckers his lips, saddened by his little cousin's sorrow.  Clearly Pop had the same mentality as me... 

Aunt Missy won the final game by defeating her own daughter Haley.  Dare I say we are a competitive family?!?

We had a wonderful trip to Pensacola and loved spending time with family we don't get to see often.  Thanks to all those that let us sleep in your beds, party in your condo, take us on a boat and even watch the grandkids one night so the "immature adults" could have an evening without children!  It was a great Spring Break!