The 4th of July in pictures ( with a few words thrown in )

I just love this picture... Robert took us all to Islands for dinner the week before the 4th..

Kyla asked Jack if he wanted to lay with her and watch cartoons the morning of the 4th.. This was the perfect start to a perfect day!

Kade having a water gun fight with Jack....

Jack fighting back (o:

Gavin is just like his big brother, they could both stay in the pool all day if you would let them!

Kyla taking a break with Papa

Camy taking control of the situation - I love it!!

This is a pretty big step for Kade, he doesn't like his head getting wet unless he's doing it himself

Like here:

Jack immediately fell in love with his cousin Matt - whom he met for the first time that day!

Kyla and Consondra - we're so glad they are here fora week long visit!!

Our beautiful, wonderful, sweet, angel named Sydney - isn't this the best picture?

awwwwwwhhhh - she didn't like the water when she first got there either - this was a big step

Sydney can talk Kade into almost anything that he was previously afraid of

Yay Lorien!!!!

They had to capture proof that she went in the big pool - I was the lucky Auntie that got to hold her (o:

CeCe jumping off the roof -

Uncle TJ didn't just jump, he was aiming to get Jeff wet, and ended up splashing half the water out of the pool onto.......

Becky!!! She didn't go swimming, so hopefully it cooled her off just a bit!?

this was the first attempts at stacking 4 people high...

After several tries and sore shoulders, they finally got it, even though TJ couldn't get any air cause he kept walking into the deep end!

Seriously, don't you just want to take a bite out of Gavin's chubby cheeks! We make some chubby babies in this family!

Papa and 2 of his 4 boys!

Jack wanted to try the shoulder climb too

Kyla with Serina's cousin Royale ( Not sure of the spelling - that's how you pronounce it )

look! I have proof Robert took a few hours off of work! ( of course he didn't take the day off though ) Thank goodness for his family coming to town - he's actually going to take 2 ½ days off this week! He's worked every straight day since June 7th.

Jack's 1st sparkler ( I don't think he held one last year - I should go look )

It was the PERFECT crowd this year - not too many people (o:






The day and evening was just great. We were surrounded by great friends, family, food and drinks! I hope next year is just as good!!!


The day after, since Robert had to work 10 hours, I took Kyla and Jack to swim at the hotel pool that Grammy, Matt, and Sondra are staying at. They had a blast being in a different pool and playing with the cool water toys next to the pool. It was a very hot day with some wind and they were worn out from the day before - so they both took about 10 minute naps under a blanket in the sun then jumped back in for some more fun!

isn't this a really cute picture?

2nd day of the T-ball "clinic"

Robert was supposed to work until 7:30 so I asked Sydney to go with me to the park for t-ball. Well my mom decided she also wanted to go and Kade talked papa into going with us too - we all had dinner at my house, got our chairs, drinks and snacks ready ( because I forgot them last time ) and 10 minutes before we were ready to leave, Robert gets home!

So.... 8 of us were off to T-ball.

Seeing MeMe, Papa, Sydney, Jack and daddy off on the sides was just too much for Kade to bear. He ran the bases once and then came over and declared:

" I want to be a baseball player, just not today. Today I want to play with daddy and Papa. "

We all did everything would could to convince him otherwise, but no go. He was content to run around and be silly instead.

Kyla on the other hand, was attentive, proud, and very into it. She still throws like a girl, but she's getting a better stance. She's very much enjoying the group activity and I just know she's going to love soccer when it starts in August.

We'll see what happens next week. I'll probably leave Jackie with daddy and just try it with Kade and Kyla again. If it doesn't stick for Kade, we'll just focus on it being a weekly thing for Kyla.

I'm thinking karate / taekwondo (sp?) for Kade - but need to look into the minimum age that it can really be affective.

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We'll all be at my parents house like normal, drinking, swimming, eating, drinking, swimming, eating and lighting off some fireworks (o: Some by and say hi if you are out and about!

and the daily swimming has began! ( or is it begun? )

Thank goodness for meme & papa's pool because it's like a built in babysitter.... being I am a single parent 80% of the time I need all the help I can get. Robert is on his 29th day in a row of straight work and I see no time off ( except maybe a couple ½ days ) in the future. It's getting rough. We are very lucky it's there for him, don't get me wrong - but well..................

So we went to TJ's house on Friday night because the kids didn't nap that day so they needed a different environment ( and mommy needed a drink ) It actually worked out quite nicely, TJ's house is very close to my work, so I went straight there and had the house to myself for nearly 2 hours before he got there with all of the kids. I sat there drinking a glass of wine, with my feet up, under a ceiling fan, watching TV, IN SILENCE!! What a concept.

Saturday we swam all day and walked with meme & papa down to Mayfair park to see the fireworks show at 9:00 Saturday night. It was a beautiful night out and the kids loved the walk and the bleachers way more than they loved the actual fireworks... go figure? I forgot my camera though, I could have gotten some great pictures.

Sunday we went to Elijah's 8th birthday party in the morning. The morning had been HORRIBLE and I'm surprised my children made it to lunch.... so I talked Kyla into staying behind at meme's house. I knew there was no way I could handle all 3 kids by myself at the park with people I didn't know. Turns out it was a great decision because Jack was extremely defiant. He threw himself on the floor 3 times, and completely ran away from me once. Kade even asked: "how you are going to get him mom?" I thought for a second and nearly said - "I'm considering letting him go." haha - KIDDING. After 2 hours of that and the heat, we went ahead and left and went back in the pool to cool our moods down - it helped for awhile.

I must add through all of the VERY difficult weekend moments, Jack is 99% potty trained, and only wears a diaper for night time sleeping. When these last few run out though, I don't plan on buying anymore. YAY!!! Also - Kyla now writes her own books and activity pads. She doesn't merely read them anymore, she is now creating them too. I'm sooooo proud of her. ( and she gets more and more beautiful every time I look at my oldest baby who I can't believe is getting so big )

TJ told the kids if they were good he would light off one firework....

Gavin's first fireworks (o:

I don't know what this smile thing is that he's doing lately!

Riding Aiden's bike with no training wheels... we finally took her's off her bike and she doesn't want to get off of it (o:

The boys playing in the hot sun at the birthday party!

Jack LOVES the water. Look at his face. This picture makes me so very happy.