Water Water Everywhere . . .

We have spent a lot of time at the waterpark this summer. At first, the kids were timid, even though they had been there last year. But Savannah has especially become very brave, wanting to go on all the kiddie slides over and over by herself. They both love the big wave pool. We went tonight and had a great time, and I also realized that summer is coming to an end! It went so fast!

My mind is spinning . . .

As I contemplate what to post (since I have been quite a slacker blogger), my mind is spinning over the events of the past three weeks. It will take a few posts to catch up on the details, but here is a summary. My hubby had a cyst removed from his scalp, which was thankfully nothing to be worried about (it looks worse in the pic that it was). We have been trying to get our money's worth on our waterpark passes. We celebrated our 9th anniversary!!! We went to a family reunion in KY where we got to see lots of my dad's family, and my parents and sisters met us there. Then my mom drove back to VA with me and the kids, while Ashkii flew from KY to Chicago where he spent last week working . Savannah and I both got colds. We attempted to entertain my mom here in VA at the beach, waterpark, kids' schools, and Colonial Williamsburg. We went to church today and I am exhausted as usual after overseeing 15 adults and 50 kids in our Primary. Ashkii leaves again tomorrow for 4 days.

Whew! I think that covers it. I will go into more detail later. But first I will highlight our anniversary. Nine years!!! I think it is time to start planning something extravagant for next year. This year we were in KY, so the week prior we went to a yummy seafood restaurant where I ate a soft shell crab - I think they call them blue crabs here. You eat the entire thing because the shell is soft. Interesting. Richy loved his tuna steak. Then we walked on the boardwalk, got some Ben & Jerry's, and saw Hairspray. I am grateful for a husband who will see musicals and chick flicks with me. His comment as we left the theater was, "I was for sure the only straight guy in there." He was right. I made it up to him by seeing Bourne last Fri. while my mom watched the kids. Anyway, I am grateful for the last nine years. We have had ups and downs, but I am grateful to have my best friend by my side through this rollercoaster of life. He is an amazing hubby and wonderful father; I couldn't ask for anything more!

Trevor's Birthday

Since my sister is begging for more posts, I thought I'd post some pics from Trev's birthday last month. It started out with breakfast in bed, which is haphazardly becoming a tradition in our family (Ashkii did it once for me, now Trev reminds us the week before each bday that we will be doing breakfast in bed).

Trev savored his yummy breakfast, then most of the day was spent preparing for his party. This was his first "friend" bday party; we have always just had family celebrations. He was so thrilled to invite friends from school and have a "heroes" or "Cars" party. Then we saw the movie Ratatouille and that became his choice of theme. So I got to plan a party around a rodent. I am sure we will look back and wonder why on earth we had a rat on a birthday cake, but it was so fun to plan with him.

We had the kids make their own mini pizzas and played some games in the backyard. He had a blast!

Boat-shipping!

Yesterday we went boating with our good friends here in VA. All week I have been telling Savannah that we were going boating on Saturday. Somehow she understood it as "boat-shipping" and kept telling her dad and brother: "Do you know that we are going boat-shipping?"

As soon as she climbed onto the boat, she assumed the position below.

We had a wonderful time. Ashkii* and I went tubing, though we couldn't get the kids to. They just loved to stop and jump in - the water was super warm. Ashkii even wake boarded- he is a little sore today!

Trevor's favorite part of the trip was helping drive the boat and dumping his dad off of the tube in the process.

All in all, it was a great time, and an awesome way to enjoy and cool off in the humid east-coast weather!

*You all know my hubby by a different name (Rich, Richard, Richy, Ashkii). I have lovingly adopted his nickname of Ashkii, which means "little boy" in Navajo (his dad served a Navajo-speaking mission for the LDS church), and I will refer to him as Ashkii in the blog.

First blog, First Grade

It is raining and storming in Virginia Beach so I am homebound and finally starting our new family blog. Today is Trevor's first day of first grade and my emotions match the gray skies. It is hard to think of all that I am missing out on with him. And though I am glad he didn't even look back as we walked away, it made it harder! Savannah and I will have lots of time together, though, and for that I am grateful. My mom used to take a picture in front of the same tree every year on the first day of school, so we are carrying on that tradition (minus the tree). Trev was so excited to ride to school (we all rode bikes there this morning) that he was a little frustrated about the mandatory kodak moment, but knew it would be quicker to simply comply. All weekend he's been saying "first grade, here I come!"