School is Starting Soon!

While I realize that much of the rest of the country in already in school, my 3 will start on the day after Labor Day. I just got their bus schedules... Broadway gets picked up around 8:15 and comes home just before 4. Sounds good. Iraq gets picked up at 7:17 and gets home just before 3. Cool. The Skink gets picked up at 6:15 and comes home at 3:20... say WHAT??

The Skink? That's my 4-year-old! Pre-K! Special Ed! Isn't that kind of a long day for a Skink? And what will I do without her? And what will I do with all that FREEDOM? I haven't had that kind of freedom... since, like, college?

I have a feeling this is going to be a bit of culture shock for me. Then again, I have a long list of things I've been wanting to do, if only I had more... TIME! I know this lady - one of The Skink's therapists from before she went to school - and she has a HORSE! Do I see more horse in my future?

And there are a few books I've been meaning to write, and some exercise I've been meaning to get, and a house I've been meaning to clean, and some groceries I've been meaning to buy, and oil I need to have changed, and laundry... OK - so maybe I'll have plenty of things to do.

Yesterday we went to the lake for some fun. The Skink LOVES the boat. She LIVES for the boat :o)

Like you couldn't tell from the picture... right?

And after dinner, the kids all took advantage of Mimi and Pop's front yard which has a lovely slope I'm glad I don't have to mow! In Texas the children never played in the grass due to the nasty little critters known as fire ants. A fire ant bite feels much like a bee sting, and if you happen upon a fire ant, you'll know they like to travel in packs... and bite in packs.

Thus, this whole VA play-in-the-grass thing is a newly found joy for the kids.

And exploring is a great way to get a bunch of grown-ups to test their running abilities...

If you look in the background, you can see Broadway bringing The Skink back from her adventure.

So - Happy Weekend!
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Boats and Cousins

My sister and her family are in town from Louisiana, and it is SO nice to see them! If anyone thought for a second my 2 lb 7 oz preemie (The Skink) was small, their "Little Pistol" took the prize at 1 lb 8 oz! He was a 28 week baby and was born early for the same reasons The Skink was... darn high blood pressure! Ain't he a cutie??

The best thing of all is how well the Little Pistol and Iraq get along! Sis and the family have been staying at our parent's house on the lake, and while I have been going home each night, Iraq has been staying to play with the Little Pistol. It's been great for everybody!

The only downer is that this week has been overcast and rainy! We had hot, sunny weather up until they arrived, and then BOOM! rain...  But, we did get in a boat ride despite the clouds and temperatures in the 70's!

Uncle B. keeping the troops entertained.

The Little Pistol and my little sister...

14 knots due North, captain!

It's not true... the fish was MUCH bigger than that!

Sisters are great to have!

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Running Behind

We saw fireworks from my parent's boat on Saturday night which has now become a family tradition. I didn't try to take any pictures... it was dark, and I'm sure you've all seen fireworks before :-)
On Sunday we spent the day playing in the lake. Iraq wanted to try out the snorkeling set she got for her birthday. She ended up wearing the fins the entire day!

And THIS! I heard of the KidCo PeaPod travel bed through another Blog-Mom. Can I just tell you - this thing is awesome! We took it on our trip to Busch Gardens and The Skink loved it. We zipped her into it (she couldn't escape without our help) but she never complained at all. She went to sleep right away the first time we used it. Needless to say, we bring it with us to Mimi and Pop's house now. It's really light weight, sets itself up in no-time flat and folds up into a carry-bag that is about the size of the front tire of a BigWheel. When it was time for nap-time at the lake, we just put it in the shade and The Skink crawled in happily and went right to sleep... with her herd of cows, of course!

Hope everybody had a safe and happy 4th of July!

On one other note, The Skink finally cut her last baby tooth. For what ever reason, the tooth just to the left of the top middle teeth had been MIA... until we went to Busch Gardens and it decided to make an unannounced visit. We had started to think she didn't have the tooth at all, but... surprise!

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Memorial Weekend Memories

We spent the weekend at my parent's lake house. The Skink's favorite thing to do is ride on the boat... FAST!

Which can really do a number on a kiddo's hair!

Unless that kiddo's hair has been boat-proofed.

And amid all the sunshine and excitement, sometimes nap time simply can not be delayed - even if one happens to be standing up.

And with family and some great new friends, one always seems to see the world through rose-colored glasses... with Dora on them...

In honor of Memorial Day, Broadway thought we should blow-up an island... so we got one at Sam's Club. No explosives required! A fun time was had by all!

Ultimately, solutions were found for boat-hair, and Mr. Brush and Mrs. Comb had less work to do.