People have asked me what we've been "doing" this summer, and I'd like to say swimteam, arts and crafts, music lessons, or even workshops, but no.......it's been the summer of The Lego Starwars videogame.  And yes, I should feel ashamed of that, but surprisingly, no, I'm fine with that!  Yes, there will be no one handing me "mother of the summer", but hey no loss....I never figured I'd be in the running anyway!  Let the good times roll!

I'm finally posting our Fourth of July family fun gathering......I'm so on top of things.  We got together at my brother's house for a fabulous time in their pool, a bar-b-que (of course) and some fireworks....courtesy of my brother Ryan.  I can't say too much about how beautiful and spectacular they were, but they were Loud!  During and after Crew kept saying "Holy Cow Mom...firecracks!"  It was hard to look at him without laughing!  Thanks for a great time Harper's!

Who says we need a little girl?!

On the 7th we flew into Virginia....first time we've ever flown with the kids....wow that was super fun!  Let's just say Crew knew his juice and every treat was "tainted", so the good stuff didn't take effect until a 1/2 hour before we landed.....so let's just say I was a little more sneaky for the trip home.  We stayed in a major ghetto motel I pricelined.....so not what was pictured on the net.  The older boys were like "where's the beach?" and Cade said, "is this the beach house?" and I said, "no" and he's like, "whew!"  That kid cracks me up.

  The next day we drove to North Carolina to the Outer Banks in our "suburban" that I so called reserved.  I guess the car renters assumed a suburban is the same as a jeep.  Crew was holding down the fort in the back seat completely surrounded by luggage.  I told him to hold up the luggage and he said, "Okay mom" with this puzzled look on his face.

Once we got to the beach house, Paul's sister Erin and her family met us there.  They had gone to Washington D.C. to sightsee and visit Gene and Judie who are on their mission there.   Gene and Judie followed them back from D.C., so they could hang out with us for a few days.

We had a great time....minus the heat wave of utter humidity for the first 2 days, but then a storm came through during the night...lightning was hitting the sand in front of the house....so cool....and then it cooled off.  The water was warm and didn't have all the seaweed that the Pacific has.  We couldn't get the kids out of the water.....except Crew....he spent all day running in and out so the water wouldn't get him.  Hey, whatever keeps 'em busy!

It's been about 10 years since I've been in the ocean swimming, and I actually got in and boogie boarded (well attempted).  The only time we ventured off to do something was to go see some lighthouses and the day we left we went to the naval base in Virginia.  The ships were really sweet minus the lame tour.

All in all it was a fabulous time....great company and great scenery!

LOVE THESE BOYS!

This was the best part of the "traveling" part of the trip....when Crew was asleep.....he looks so innocent when he's sleeping.....looks are deceiving

The kids LOVE posing for pics....especially Cole....haha

Atop the lighthouse where we had to climb 257 steps to get there...what no elevator?!

The boyz of north carolina

I posted this just because it made me laugh.  After repeatedly telling them to "all" look at the camera, Cade was getting annoyed, so he decided to manually get Crew to "look" at the camera.  All in all I think the photo was a success.......

RANDOM WATER SHOTS

Honestly, my kids are the happiest when they're around water.  If I believed in reincarnation, I think they would have been creatures from the sea in this prior life.....haha

Cole would have been a shark........because he likes to be in charge

Clay would have been a dolphin because he's the trickster

Cade would have been a starfish cause he likes to chill and take it all in

Crew would have been a hermit crab cause he likes to get in and out of the water and switch up his scenery

Just thought I'd give a shout out to those handsome boys I call my kids.  This is one of those rare moments when they all would hold still for a "group" photo.

So, I did something this weekend that was one of the hardest things I've done, and Paul came with me to support...he's the best.  I participated in the Crossfit certification.  Wow, what a crazy weekend.  You can go to their website www.crossfit.com and check it out.  You have to scroll down to April 20 to see my pic on the site.  I'm only posting this cause it's the newest thing I've done and I'm sure it's been too long since I posted.  And it might be the only time I'll be on the internet (besides the blog.....  And maybe those weak moments of crazy behavior that were taped and then put on youtube...haha!)

Allright, so I know everyone is sick of my "anniversary" post, but I haven't downloaded any new pics to the computer yet.  So, I'm sharing this instead.......

(I will have new pics soon......I know you're all dying to see them.....haha....our lives are so exciting)

March 11

Happy Anniversary 

It's been a wild and crazy l4 year ride with my sweetheart (well actually 17...we dated in high school...I know pathetic).  That's the advantages to getting married young....you don't know what's out there...haha!  

I hate to admit it, but I think we knew we were meant for each other when I first shared my red licorice with him in seminary class so many years ago.  

There's never been a dull moment spent with Paul...or with the other "mini" Pauls running around the house now...boy am I in for it!

Here's to hopefully many more years to come!

Unfortunately, I couldn't include the "earlier" photos of our times together (we weren't digitized yet).  But I do have a wedding video that's definitely worth sharing as soon as I convert it to DVD...........good stuff!

C'mon.....is anyone really surprised?!

Wait...I thought this trip was for my sweetie and I.......get a room!

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted, but I feel like I've been in a dark abyss of sickness with the kids and Paul.  I don't think I've ever done so much laundry or washed my hands as much as I did these last weeks....and that's a lot to say for me...haha!  That's why my hands look as though I'm 80.  (Nothing against the 80 somethings)   So, needless to say, the pics have been sparse....

This is where I Wished I had been for the last 2 weeks.....and this is where the kids wished they had been ...Legoland

Clay wasn't into the whole "gymnastics meet" thing until he won a trophy

FIRST TIME NO TRAINING WHEELS....WOO HOO!

                                                                        Crew's birthday

                                                                                  

PAUL'S PRIDE AND JOY......Besides the family of course..ha ha

This was the one I wanted to post originally, but it didn't work how I wanted it to....soo here I go again!

Like I said in my profile.....I never promise great talent, but that's never stopped me before!

I need to keep my options open.....I'm not getting any younger you know!

WOW! I guess Paul does to.

Oh the chaos at Grandma and Grandpa Harper's house! So Fun! So Fun!

Our beloved Todd.

For our Christmas Eve party, we had a pajama party. Wow Todd....you went way out! So festive....There was a flap and everything..........

Kudos!

Cade took it into his own hands to "trim" his hair. So, needless to say, we had to buzz the rest off.

This is one of my favorites....just ignore

the ridiculous t.v.

I think he has his dad's eyes