Summer

Well, what can I say? Summer has arrived and I'm exhausted. People who think of summer as relaxing must not have a plethora of young kids populating their home. We've been having a fun summer so far.

Here is what each person has been having fun doing:

Ben: Mastering Wii games like bowling, Guitar Hero, and Super Smash Bros. Running, and reading, and counting down to the 4th of July so he can have a three day weekend

Me: Enjoying life on my own schedule, rather than being forced to adhere to someone else's schedule, like the kids' school schedules and sports practices/games. Sleeping into 6:30am (which is really a pathetic time to consider sleeping in). Finishing all three books in the Twilight series, which I really enjoyed. Doing some projects. Playing with the kids. Writing.

Maddie: Swimming, drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, riding her scooter, reading, writing stories and songs, going to our weekly movie, going to the library.

Andrew: Eating more than his share of popsicles, going to the park, swimming, playing on the computer, going to the library, going to movies, reading, and playing the Wii.

Zack: Eating popsicles, dancing, chasing Mylie around the house, and creating work for me

****So far, I've enjoyed several special moments with Zack such as discovering that he and Mylie had covered their walls, bedding, clothing, and hair with Desitin diaper cream. Anyone with any experience with Desitin realizes that it is entirely water-resistant and pretty much the only thing that can successfully remove it is baby wipes. That was a tedious process.

The only other moment capable of overshadowing my joy at discovering that mess, was when Andrew found me to tell me that "Zack is being extremely naughty" and that I'd "better come quick." I came quickly down to the main level and found Zack hiding under a table, a massive mountain of brown delicious smelling powder (which turned out to be the entire contents of our Costco size container of chocolate Nesquik), broken shards of dry spaghetti noodles, and his volcano was finished off with a large dose of Maple syrup. ****

Mylie: Getting into mischief with Zack, pulling everything off of her bookshelf and out of her dresser, giving big hugs and kisses to her Elmo doll, jumping and running, coloring on the walls and her legs and stomach with any writing utensil she encounters, singing the ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Happy Birthday to You, dancing, giving cheesy grins, telling everyone "I love you" and "NO! NO! NO!", going to the pool, and throwing tantrums.

So, as you can see we have all been busy.