Memorial Day

I know the flag pole isn't straight, and I couldn't capture the fabric swaying in the breeze like I wanted to, but it's still a beautiful picture to me-

Thank you to all who have sacrificed
so much on our behalf

On Friday, my Mom and Dad came over to the house so we could all walk down to the school for Jonah's sing-along concert. No problem, had I not already made plans to be at my Mom-in-law's school for 10:30 to share pictures and stories of our time in Guatemala. What could have been a leisurely, relaxing walk home became a brisk, red-faced, sweaty necked 'C'mon guys' hike back.

So WHY did I insist on walking?

I do not know why I do the things I do...

And of course, being the awesome Mama that I was this week, I completely forgot all about this concert until Jonah says happily on his way out of the back seat, "See you at 9, Mumma."

Right.

9 o'clock.

It is currently 7:51, I'm wearing my pajama pants (again) and a tank top, Isa is in her nightie, and Caleb is wearing a red sweatshirt and Batman undies. I kid you not. At least he sits in the back where the general public needn't be concerned with such a sight. Me, on the other hand, ouch. Definite public hazard.

So, my Jonah is in green- not red, not white, not blue.

His shirt does, however, have some blue stripes!!

Onto the 3rd grade in the BIG school this fall.

How can I slow time?

Love LOVE love this pic with my Dad and Jonah

Right before I take this photo that I love LOVE love, I discover all that blood on the left side of Caleb's head...still have no idea, but it's fine now. We did have to use some kleenex to cushion the unidentified wound from his bike helmet for the walk/ride home.

Here is my Jonah with my Mom and Dad

We made it to Concord Christian for our Guatemala presentation, still a bit sweaty and out of breath. Isabelle Kate was having a blast with the girls and Caleb fit right in with the guys. Of course, once Isa saw the markers, it was all downhill from there, because Mama doesn't do markers when we're wearing our cute Gymbo sundress. How about pencil crayons? Nope. Crayons? Well, maybe, but boy, that girly wanted some MARKERS!!

I wanted to get a picture with the kiddos and Grandma, but it just didn't happen...next time!!

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Onto Saturday's festivities...

Is this an adorable backseat of babes or what!?!?

Daddy and his baby girl blissfully strolling along

I wouldn't dream of telling you how she screamed and cried so hard she almost puked when we first got there and put her down on the sand. For some reason, she needs a L-O-N-G time to acclimate to sand and water.

...OR, of how we made the kiddos walk for miles (in their minds) while needing to go to the bathroom and then proceeded to let the boys urinate on the public trails near an ocean-side museum and nature trail. In our defense, the bathrooms (think summer camp, open-air stall) by the playground were all locked up, though the museum would have graciously let us use their facilities, around 4 bucks a head. No thanks, we've been there before, and the museum itself isn't worth that, so unless their restrooms are made of gold...

Needless to say, Isabelle Kate and Mama still needed to go. I had a feeling that my daughter isn't the sit and squat type, and let's just say that I was right. Plan B. We pray for dry pants, which means dry jogger, and walk quickly to the car, a good distance away. Not one place with a bathroom for the next 4 miles!! We finally find a marina, see a porta potty, and I think back to our latest farm experience. Ugh. But we're desperate now. We turn in, and I decide to ask a man who's standing nearby if there are other options besides the ol' porta potty, and he smiles and gestures me to a CLEAN and spacious ladies' room. I'm thrilled. We walk outta there feeling good, bladders emptied, no trauma (yes, there was much trauma, and drama, to our ill-fated woods experience earlier). Off to the next beachy area that strikes our fancy...

This is one happy Mama!!

I also wouldn't dream of telling you how, about 8 seconds after this picture was taken,

Jonah starts screaming about his foot burning (scraped up from the barnacles we told him were going to scrape up his feet)

Isabelle decides to make a beeline FOR the water and falls and trips and gets the front of her pants soaked in a puddle (have I mentioned that she does not do well when her clothing is stained or wet?), and proceeds to exhibit exhorcist-type sounds because now she does not want to be all done with the wa-wa

Caleb thinks it's a good idea to start rock climbing on the huge boulders with slippery, wet, sandy feet and crashes down about 4 or 5 of them, kind of laughing, kind of crying, yelling, "I'm okay, I'm fine!"

And Ethan, our eldest child, thoughtful and responsible, thinks it's the perfect time to get out the snacks (that we had just put away 3 minutes earlier), which of course distracts everyone, engages a sibling discussion (whine fest) about why Ethan gets a snack, Isabelle is in full howl mode now, and Jonah continues to shriek about his injured foot, and Caleb lets us know he needs to find a potty (#2, oh boy) NOW, and we aren't going to make it home before sunset...

So we do what any respectable parents would do:
Tell 'em to sit down, hang on, and Wendy's it is.

Not that Bill and I ate the garbage we subjected our innocent children to- we ordered Chinese after everyone was... asleep :)

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Bethany