I told you Part II was coming! There could be a Part III but, I can let it go. It was a big day though, and I took a lot of photos of so many special moments. (If you missed it, you can find Part I here.) But listen, here’s the truth of it all: You know I (we) love to share with you our crafting ideas, house projects, decor, recipes, and all of that. But our kids . . . . . . They are our greatest creation of all! Well, God’s creation, of course, of ours. They are the reason we celebrate, every day. And they really love to see and read the posts on our blog! Especially the ones about them. It’s their childhood memories recorded, for them to hold onto. So if you want to skip it, we won’t hold it against you. : )
So, after their big water balloon fight at the park, we came straight to the beach for just a couple of hours, before dinner and their birthday surprise. Of course they had already been in the sun for some time, so birthdays or not, it was time for sunscreen! Confession time: Over the past 15 years of raising my 4 kids, I have realized there are only 2 ‘mom jobs’ I have really hated: 1) When they were very little, putting on and tying all of their shoes! Uuu-Gh. 2) And the other is putting sunscreen on them. (OH! And the wiping in the bathroom while potty training too! But gosh, that one’s a given. Isn’t it?) Sometimes, Michael and I can still hear in our heads, the little voices yelling from the bathroom, “I’M DONE!!”
What you should know about me is, when I really hate doing something, I’m going to find a way out of it! So all of the shoes and boots thing got to a point with the triplets where I just announced one day “OK! That’s it. Today, we are going to spend the whole day just learning how to put on and tie your very own shoes, all by yourself! Isn’t that exciting, Guys? I don’t really care if you are only 9 months old.” (Kidding.)
For the sunscreen applying, here’s my trick. First I just spray them, and then I line them up like a train . . . . . .
Am I a mean Mama, or what? Turns out, they don’t like putting sunscreen on any more than I do! Imagine that. They just had no idea the fun they were missing out on. For the rest of their bodies, I spray it where it needs to go, and the rub it in themselves. But for their backs, they need each other. What do you think of that?
Personally, I think I’m a genius.
Something had to be done. We practically live on the beach.
The ocean is like our backyard.
They are all serious water babies. Probably most of all Olivia, who is difficult to get out of the water. She even asks to take a shower at really odd times; and I know she just wants/needs to get into the water.
Probably least of all, is Shane. The boy cannot take the cold water! Look at him! Its like . . . . . . excruciating for him! They were trying to all put their feet up together and next to each other, but he just couldn’t stand it any longer, and bailed.
But Olivia and JackMichael managed. And that got me pondering one of those little weird life questions . . . . . .
How can the bottom of 2 little people’s feet, be such different colors? They are siblings. ‘Super-twins’, even. I do know that JM’s feet sweat and stink more. Maybe that is some kind of clue to this mystery. But I’m not sure what to do with it, to figure this out.
Oh; this one. I’ve got to catch you all up on her. She’s got a lot of exciting things happening in her life. Especially for a just-turned-15 year old. And I’ll tell you what else: I think I’ve been warned 1,000 times over in life, about what a nightmare being a parent of a teen is. I’m here to say, if this is as bad as it gets with any of our kids, we’ll be getting off easy! I’m thanking God she’s our ‘trail-blazer’. (That’s what I call her. ; ) That’s my little hot reminder to her, that she is setting an example, every day! Hoping the littles are taking notes!
Not to say she is perfect, by any means . . . . . .
( Taunting her sister with seaweed. )
Remember doing this as a kid? There’s a sure way to get sand in your shorts.
Sometimes, I love to just watch them.
Olivia senses the Mamapaparrazzi is watching.
I’ve got to tell you: My most favorite photo of the day, I can’t even show you! It’s almost killing me, too. But my boy asked me not to please blog it or put on Facebook. (Actually, he said, “You better not!”) And, I would never go ahead and do it anyway. I try very hard not to embarrass my kids, or ever disrespect their privacy, online. When I think of it, I’m pretty happy my mother wasn’t blogging and all over the internet while she was raising . . . you know . . . . Cain. (Or is it…me, who was raising cane? Well, whatever.) But back to the photo of my boy – I’ll just tell you that it involved losing his bathing suit shorts a bit, on his backside. Oh my goodness. It’s just the sweetest shot. When they were little toddlers, and losing their diaper a bit, I thought it was so cute! I would have thought that my gushing over it would go away as they got older but….nope! Still wicked cute. (Ask me again when they are teens. I promise you; There will be no “lookin’ like a fool with their pants on the ground”. ; ) Not cute, and not happening, when they are older.
Anyway. This day was going by too fast. It was time to get home and take showers, before heading to dinner and their big surprise, which would be Part III. But as of this posting, those photos aren’t even processed yet. So in case I never get to it, after dinner we went to our favorite park, and gave them their gift: Razor Scooters in their own colors, and gear. (Helmets, pads, etc.) Boy were they happy! It was awesome to see them so excited, hop right on them and go racing off and racing each other, around the park.
I know most of you have your own joys and blessings, in the way of children, as well. And for those we know, we love to watch your children grow up, in various ways as we can too. It’s nice to share the special (or difficult) moments of this parenting gig, with each other. Kids. They don’t always make life easy. But gosh, they sure do make life worth it! God is so good, and we are so thankful to Him, for blessing us as He has.
Thanks for stopping by. And please say hi. Hope you didn’t get any sand in your shorts while you were here. : )
