I Wanted to Scream: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAAAAAAND!!!!

I'm kind of a stickler about seat belts. Ask my friends and they'll tell you I don't bend the rules much when it comes to who sits in the front, which kid is in which forward-facing, lap-belted or latched booster or highback seat with or without headrest.  It matters. It's important. It can save my babies if we're in a terrible accident.

My kiddos and I have spent many, many hours in the car in their young lives between traveling to visit out-of-town family, to and from Granddaddy's doctor appointments and our many fun outings too.  They know the seatbelt drill so well that I sometimes laugh when Brian hops in to drive and asks, "Is everybody buckled?"  Of course they're buckled....they've been buckling since they were born.

So when a lady saw Ava out of her seat belt in our Excursion this morning, she rolled down her window to flail her hands and yell at me "to get those kids in seatbelts!!!!!"  I kind of came unglued.  We were on the highway by then, so I couldn't yell back my side of the story. I find that some of my most anxious, angry or heartbroken times in my life are when I feel like I'm doing the absolute best that I can and it's still not good enough for...fill-in-the-blank....Brian, my kids, myself or the lady in the van behind me.

If I had time to flail my hands and scream back, I would've said something like this:

Thank you for showing concern, but you don't know the rest of the story.  You see, we have a recently adopted son who occasionally gets aggressive while he's in his car seat and will lash out at whoever sits next to him.  After he repeatedly smacked, hit and pulled the ponytail of my 7-year old daughter, I finally told her (while we were at a full stop at a red light,) to climb to the safety of a back row seat. 

That's what the lady saw. But there's so much more to life than what we see. People, sometimes you just need to say, "I'm sure they're doing the best they can." Or, if you must intercede, could you please start with, "Can you tell me the rest of your story?"

So that lady did teach me a lesson today. It just had nothing to do with seat belt safety.

More listening. Less screaming parenting advice from the window at 35 MPH.  Point taken.

Arnold Memory Book 2013

Click here to view the 2013 Arnold Memory Book.

Here's hoping you'll be a part of our 2014 year in review!

First 3D Movie

Summer of 2009
Little Rock, Arkansas
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs



You see all my brood with Ava in Logan Adcock's lap. The "Nuddah Mckena" in the middle.





I wish I had pics of the next time we went to a 3D movie last summer. We took Grandaddy to see Toy Story 3. He said he didn't really understand the beginning (that would be the previews,) but he liked it once it got going. Anything with cowboys you know....

Original American Girls

To celebrate our sweet niece's birthday and the special friendship that Samantha and Lilly share, my sister-in-law Kate and I set out on an adventure to the American Girl Doll Store in Chicago.




















One of the many reasons for this adventure was to show Sam Chicago. To show her you can serve yogurt and granola in something other than paper bowls! Dream big, baby! And, yes, by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin, I rode the giant ferris wheel. We all were challenged in our own ways!




See the photo of Sam next to a poster of Lanie? She really wanted that doll! Now, look at the photo below of Sam with her own "Just Like You" doll (in the hand-made dress from Shipshewana -- thanks Grandma!) I told her we were not going to spend $100 on a doll that looked just like the one she already has.















































After we made all the necessary purchases, we had lunch at the AG Cafe. Since Samantha's doll had an appointment at the salon to have her hair done, she was able to borrow Felicity to join us for lunch. We thought the desserts were precious -- butterfly cookies and dirt cups with daisies.

You'll notice that Sammie wanted her hair done like her doll's. Thank God for Aunt Kate -- because dear Mommy couldn't figure it out! The girls were so excited about the fancy bathroom that their heads were literally spinning!

Keep it Handy

In various places around my house you'll find an emory board. My desk drawer, a kitchen drawer, every purse, my top dresser drawer, etc.

When we were in town a few weeks ago, Grandaddy asked me if I had a good emory board. Well, I have one of those handy things that hooks in your air vents as a cup holder, in case you don't have any built in. Since we have them built in, I use that for ink pens, mascara, a tire gauge and, you guessed it, an emory board. So, I handed it to him and he promptly put it in his shirt pocket.

I said, "Go ahead and use it."

"No, I'll use it when I get home," he said.

Not wanting to lose a well-placed emory board, I continued to encourage, "Just fix your nail real quick and I can put it right back."

"I'm not going to use it on my nail. I need it for my tooth."

I pulled it back out of his pocket and promised him his own emory board set when we got home.

Bradenton Beach '09

School is well underway, so I've been reminiscing about our trip to Florida in June. Come back with me a minute.

This was the first time Chase had full-on access to a big pool and he found some courage with his water wings and hasn't looked back.




The first day it rained, we found the science center down town. This is a laser harp. If only the real things were that easy to play.


They had some kind of frog there that grew as big as a man's hand. It apparently just sits in the forest waiting for insects and crawly things to go by, but since it's in captivity they have to feed it. (YUCK!) The kids were enthralled.



Don't tell Ava she's too little for anything. She's moving a bowling ball with some kind of gear thing. (I'm the non-technical one standing by.)  Brian would want me to clarify that the bald guy near us is NOT him.






The second day it rained, we let the kids play outside our condo and pretend it was the beach.


The third day it rained...



It day rain a fourth day and we (er...uh...Brian) found the dollar theater. It was Ava's first theater experience and we saw "Monsters Vs. Aliens." Sorry...no good pic of that. At least where we don't all look like aliens ourselves.

The "big" kids helping Ava jump the waves.





I'd forgotten how long Sam's hair was. It's super short and super cute now.


I only include this to see if anyone else thinks it's funny that Sam is giving herself rabbit ears.


Dad started the burying with me, which I think he enjoyed immensely, then we went on to Sam.


I think she liked it.

Even little Ava braved the itchy adventure.


Five minutes after we left the beach...


I used to say I loved the beach and I thought I did. Put my family in the sand with me and it surpasses every other beach moment. Ever. *Sigh.*

Weddings Make Me Happy

Hang on to your hats, folks. You'd think it was my own wedding album, I have so many pictures.

Brian's cousin, Tricia, married Dave in Sarasota on June 28th. It afforded our family a fantastic opportunity for a vacation to beautiful Bradenton Beach nearby. The wedding and part of the reception were outdoors. Beautiful isn't the right word for it. It was perfect. Truly perfect and we had a ball!

Brian's brothers, Derek and Chris, and Chris' girlfriend, Rachel.

And, I was there, too!

The happy couple.

Sammie loved meeting the bride and followed her around for an obnoxiously long time and Trish was sweet enough to let her.

Brian's Aunt Mary on his father's side, the mother of the bride.  She's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside.  When we told Sammie Aunt Mary would be there, she said, "Woohoo!"  She has that effect on people.

Trish thought of everything right down to the dino bites (ketchup already on the plates) with mac and cheese for the kids' dinners.  Chase's FAVorite!

The other happy couple.  

All my kids are in love with Rachel and they want her to be with them all the time.  And, so do we.

The newest baby in the family is Trish's big sister's baby, Ryder.  My kids love babies, so they each got a turn to hold him and Ava went first.  She did well until she started poking him in the eyes.

Doesn't Chase look like a natural?  He was rocking baby Ryder here.  What you don't see is when he rocked him too far the other way and the heavy-headed baby went all the way over, face first in the grass.  They didn't let us hold him anymore.

Pa and Ava have a special relationship.  Pa tells her to do certain things and she takes them as mere suggestions, so they have a long talk about it until he sees her way.

The wedding colors were hot pink, orange and bright yellow.  This is on the empty Chinese take-out boxes:  Because you've made our lives so sweet, please fill this box with your favorite treats.  They had huge containers of pink, orange and yellow jelly beans, salt water taffy and malted milk balls.  That was a lot of sugar for the ride home, but the kids loved it!

The ceremony was still in the heat of the day, so they'd filled this bucket full of cold, bottled water. After the ceremony, they brought out an identical bucket filled with games for the kids. Bubbles, frisbees, giant balloons and other fun stuff. Is she brilliant or what? Reminded me of our wedding reception. It was gourmet desserts for the grown ups and a special kids' table where they could decorate their own cookies and cupcakes.  

It was a perfect open space for the kids to play after having to sit still for 13 whole minutes!

I couldn't convince anyone to dance, so I started with Rachel!  After awhile they played a new line dance called the Cupid Shuffle (which I thought was the Cuban Shuffle for about a month) and Derek hopped right out there with me.  I wish I had a picture of THAT! 

Then Brian and I snuck in one swing dance which was the most fun of the night for me. Are my boys handsome or what?

At least Chase watched the girls from the view of the dance floor.

I'm so grateful we were invited to be a part of their special day.  My Daddy used to say that everyone should have a big wedding with lots of festivities and lots of witnesses.  It's about more than just the two saying "I do".  That one day is a memory to treasure for a lifetime.