Fun Summer Day

We had a really great day!  Last night the big boys had to go to town with me because Chase wanted to buy himself a new Cardinals hat since he lost the 3rd one in about 5 years, while on vacation.  Cole needed a new lifejacket since he finally weighed over 90 lbs and actually jumped right to 100.  I wanted to be sure it would fit him since he's so thin, so he came with me to the store.  The boys talked me into stopped at Petco because they'd been saving for a lizard habitat starter kit.  Obviously they'd been planning on it because they'd caught 3 lizards and the neighbor boy was keeping 2 of them in his habitat.  They lucked out and it was $20 off so they could still afford to buy the water dish, sand, etc.  The darn heat mat had a short or something and the light didn't work at all, so we have to bring those parts back.  They moved the lizards in today and are so happy to have them in their room.

Because they couldn't set up their tank until today, we got back too late last night, I was able to leverage with them and they had to clean up their room spotless because set up.  Then, I promised the girls that if they cleaned up the rec room we'd go swimming at Lois' house.  They cleaned it up and the boys finished up to make sure it was up to par for mom's standards. 

After Jaemin's nap we loaded up the water toys and left.  I stopped at the local store to get some of those yummy ice cream sundae cones to eat.  So we ate those before we swam.  The water was absolutely perfect!  We swam for a little over 3 house and only left because it was after our regular supper time.  The kids were playing so well together and watching them while I played with Jaemin in the water made me so happy.  You can see some maturity changes there and it was really nice to watch.  This is the best part of parenting to say the least!

Jaemin...oh Jaemin.  He's such a quirky boy.  He acts like he's not ready to potty train, but he's got it so under control.  He's just too stubborn to train.  I noticed he never pooped in a swim diaper the whole time we were on vacation even though we spent hours out there.  He was exactly the same at Lois' house.  He told me he 'pooped pants'.  I thought it was odd he'd do it in the pool so I checked and there was nothing.  I finally got him on her potty and he peed, but wouldn't poop.  He has a phobia of this for some reason.  So we go back and he says he has to go again.  I asked him if he wanted to go on the potty and he did NOT want to.  So, I asked him if he wanted to poop in Lois' grass (I would have scooped it).  :)  He didn't want to.  Later he gets out and grabs himself and says he has to go, but he wanted to pee in her rocks.  Yep, I let him.  He peed a lot!  Put back on the swim diaper and went on playing.  Right before we left I asked him if he needed to pee again and he did.  So, he peed outside again....a lot!  I think he's liking this peeing outside thing.  Maybe this will get me somewhere.  I may be hitting this a little harder tomorrow.  Sorry about the potty Lois. 

The boys have spent the evening admiring their lizards while Jaemin puts his finger by the tank and acts like they're biting him through the glass.  He yells ouch and seems to be a pretty good actor because when I first walked in I thought something had actually hurt him until I watched him.  He's such a funny little boy!

EARTHQUAKE!!

It was actually about 200 miles away; give or take some mileage. They said it was about 3 am last night, but I didn't look at the clock. Yep, the girl who only wakes up when she hears kids woke up to the earth shaking a bit. I remember feeling very groggy and wondering if it was a rumble of thunder. Then, I thought "I don't remember any rain in the forecast". It felt like the bed was shaking a bit and I heard noise outside. It was over quick and I just went back to sleep thinking no way was that an earthquake. We would feel it here, from where our fault is.

So, as I was showering this morning Brian came in and asked if I woke up during the quake. I thought, seriously. I really thought I was dreaming. Hmmm...guess not. He said before it really shook the dog started barking and he was outside trying to quiet him. He said our house creaked a lot from outside.

The last time we had one a couple of years ago anyone barely felt it. I was on the 10th floor of a building so we felt it a bit up there, but most people on main levels did not. The one last night was a 4.2.

Hot and a little steamy, but wonderful

We've spent a lot of the past two late afternoons/evenings outside.  With temperatures that feel like 100 degrees right now, it's not always pleasant, but the evenings have been decent at a balmy 85 degrees. 

Last night we took some popcorn and drinks over to a friends house to watch Megamind.  I don't know how many families they ended up with at their house.  My guess was about 10 or so...families!  They set up a screen in their front yard and we all laid out blankets or sat in our lawn chairs and watched.  It was very enjoyable.  We went to the river with Brian's parents this afternoon.  It was warming, but breezy on the river, as usual.  The water was still too cold for me, but the kids had no problem getting in.  The current is really strong since it's up so high, but they did well.  Obviously, we didn't let the two littlest in without hanging on to them.  Jaemin couldn't get enough.  I swear he got dirty just so we would dip him in.  He would go play in the dirt and then come to us and say "I messy, wash me".  We would dip him in the river and he would start all over again.  He peed on the deck going to the dock twice.  The second time he announced that he was doing it, so he apparently now understands the sensation.  So, we would dip him again.  Then Jaemin decided he wanted to pee on a tree.  I brought him over to a tree, but nothing.  I think he'd probably potty train if I could get him to go one time outside.  May have to work on this this summer.  We had hot dogs and hamburgers and some pasta salad.  I think they were all worn out after the boat ride.  I taught Jaemin to put his arms up and scream like he was riding a roller coaster.

And now, I have to recover from my huge allergen exposure with all this fun.  Good thing I got some new meds for it today.  UCK!

Beach Family Pictures

I don't think I ever posted our family pictures from Orange Beach here.  I brought my tripod and set the timer and snapped what I could.  Not too bad for being in the photo and being the photographer.

2 years

I cannot believe Jaemin, Chelsi, Kaelin and I came off the plane from Korea 2 years ago today. He's changed so much in 2 years.  Not just the regular changes a baby goes through going into toddlerhood, but his personality too.  He's still as energetic as ever, but now he's so charismatic.  He makes you laugh all the time.  He worries me most of the time with his carefree, daredevil attitude.  He's scared of very little aside from mommy being away from him.  Sometimes, at night, when he's lying next to me in my bed and sleeping I just stroke his little, sweet face and thank God he's with us.  I can't believe how beautiful my little tornado is and how lucky we are to have him here in our family. 

I don't thank God that he was placed for adoption.  I thank God that when he was, we were afforded the ability to bring him here.  I love you Jaemin, my little shocker boy!

Oh man! Almost over

It's almost time to leave vacation and come home. I'd be ready if it weren't for the stinky weather back home. Looks like we're leaving our sunny, breezy, wonderful weather for rain!  We found a great place to stay for the kids.  We're not on the beach, but we're close.  The Caribe resort has a trollie that takes you to the intercoastal beach and it's really nice, pretty, green water.  The waves are a tad calmer there and better for the little ones.  The resort also has a huge pool for our building, an indoor pool for our building and lazy river.  There is also another pool with a water slide and the indoor pools have little waterslides.  All in all this place is really nice and we got to split the cost with our friends.  The room is nice too.  3 bedrooms and 3 bath rooms.  With 4 adults and 6 kids, I can't imagine less.  We've done most of the morning and lunch cooking and a couple of evenings too.  But the kids really wanted to enjoy the seafood, so we've been trying to let them since this is really a treat and we never get to eat out at home.

We've had such a great time.  We've spent LOTS of time at the beach where we quickly found out Jaemin is definitely a brut!  He takes a licking from those waves and just keeps on going.  Though I think we emptied a pound of sand out of his swim diaper and pants pocket.  Jaemin and Chelsi are SUPER tan regardless of our efforts to put tons of lotion on.  I burned regardless of my efforts for myself.  Not bad though.  Cole, Chase and Kaelin have nice little tans going too.  No one can beat out Chelsi and Jaemin's suntan Barbie tans.

The Naval Museum was pretty neat and Jaemin was in stimulus overload with all those airplanes.  I don't think he knew what to do.  He just kept yelling 'airpane', 'airpane'.  He was so, so excited to see all of them and a couple of helicopters.

We spent a morning with my dad since we were only four hours away and hadn't seen him or his wife in 1 1/2 years.  This is the first time they 'really' got to see Jaemin and his 'real' personality since right after he came home from Korea.

The shrimp boat was super fun too.  They touched all kinds of sea life.  Even Jaemin and Chelsi helped feed the small fish to the seagulls after we were done checking out the catches and our deckhand explained what everything was and a little bit about them.

IF you ever come to Orange Beach or Gulf Shores, don't come during the Hangout Music Festival if you have kids.  Not real kid friendly then.  Lots of younger crowds I didn't care to have my kids around.  Do go to Flippers to eat. It's off the beaten path for sure, but awesome atmosphere where you can eat right on the bay, outside.  Free homemade ice cream afterward too!  DeSotos is a great seafood restaurant.  A little expensive, but HUGE meals that are REALLY good.  Live Bait was really good too.  Our friends didn't care for Bubba's lunch.  Dominoes, while cheap and we could eat it at the pool, not worth the 1 1/2 hours and 3 phone calls it took to get it to us.  It was luke warm by the time they arrived.  Needless to say they had to waive the delivery charge.

I brought my good camera and tripod and took our family picture on the beach.  So that's what we're bringing back to the grandparents, wink wink, just so you know.  That's the gifts your getting.  We thought that would be better than a bunch of useless items that say Orange Beach AL.

So our trip is winding down, our house seems to be still standing from what Brian's dad says and we're all getting worn out.  It has been enjoyable though.

Here are the pictures I haven't posted yet; before we head home.

On the drive down.

Room with a view.

First day in the water.

Day 2

Day 3 - Cole has glow sticks on his head and they're throwing a glow ball.  They were just being goofy that night.

Day 4

Sorry, I just enjoyed our day today....no pics!