Family came at the perfect time for me! This was the weekend that we were moving out of our house in Ft. Wayne. I LOVE that house. I love the neighborhood, the neighbors and the area. But, when better work opportunities come up, we have to move for them! Every time I would get down about moving, I would have to remind myself that all of the things that make my house a home are moving with us. We will always have those memories and friends can be friends forever!! But, since I was an emotional mess (lots of waterworks watching our house go from a filled house to filled with boxes to empty), it was lovely to arrive at the lake and have it busting at the seams with family!
Bret was nominated for lots of boat rides...and he let all the big little ones take their turns at the steering wheel...
Evan
Will
and gracie
watching from the front was a favorite for all. but not nearly as cool as taking the boat to paytons. after this weekend, evan associated the boat with paytons and gracie associated the boat with ice cream.
the big boat is nice, but the fishing boat is evan's obsession. bret chauffered multiple fishing boat excursions a day!
dinner time!!! at the lake, if you are a parent, you are always playing zone. if a child is in your vision, you are in charge regardless of who their biological parents are. if its eating time, mass meals are created and everyone eats at once at the same time. at the end of this weekend it was very difficult to prepare lunch for just two kids....i kept looking around for the other 5 kids that i should be feeding ; )!
the poor little girls got separated from the big kids. clearly one is indifferent while the other is catching on. she might be the reason they ate in boosters right next to the big kids for the other meals. and, for the record, even though these adorable gals are identical, i CAN tell them apart. unfortunately, i typically forget which girl gets which name ; )
When Gracie turned two, she pulled a 180 in personality. she went from a don't touch me if you aren't my mommy and i sometimes don't really want you to talk to me or look at me if i haven't seen you for at least 22 out of my 24 months of life TO an emerging social butterfly. She still has her MOMMY moments when she is livid if I move out of her line of vision. AND, she has definitely fine-tuned her dramatic flair. She can fake cry at any moment...and when she does, she commits. This is the child that can scream and fake cry for 15 solid minutes without pause. If the screaming and the crying aren't getting her what she wants, then she starts throwing in the OW, OWIE. This is awesome in a public setting. I cannot even describe the looks I got at one of Evan's soccer games as I am holding a spastic toddler scream owie. Did we sit 3/4 of that game in the car in hiding....you betcha. When she is at the top of her game, I am truly surprised when we get through a day without social services beating down my door : )! I didn't really know how awesome her fake crying was until one day I heard her crying while I was making dinner, I look over to see what has her upset only to see that it isn't "her" crying...its her pretending her BABY DOLL is crying. As I'm watching, she stops the crying, picks the doll up and starts shushing and rocking the doll.
PS - Gracie, this is what happens when you bust out your hysterical tears for no reason. An entire raft of kids looking at you.
and, THIS, is why the fishing boat is evan's obsession. he loves anything to do with fishing. for the child that is active and typically go, go, go, he shows great patience and calmness with a fishing rod in his hands!
this is what sharing looks like! if i took pictures of it, i could have an album of what a time out looks like for NOT sharing ; )!
Great-Grandkids Photo Op! I am confident I will not be making any sort of living taking pictures of small groups. I took DOZENS of pictures, and this one was actually one of the best. 6 of 7 are looking kind of in the same direction. 2 have great smiles. 2-3 have something that could be interpreted as a smile. And dead center describes all of their thoughts about the photo op.
so, naturally, what do you do when you have a bunch of kids sit still for any length of time to take a group picture? add more people! and, ironically, i got the same kids looking at the camera! I personally adore that most of the older siblings appear to be holding their younger siblings down...almost to say, please sit and smile. if you do, we will be finished faster!
and, we have all the grammys! gracie appears to have thought she was done and only partially committed to sitting back down. will completely gave up. and one of the twins is looking for pointers from her sister on how to bust out of their seats. if only the knew what was coming at the end of their picture smile efforts...CHOCOLATE!
gracie and evan come naturally by a chocolate addiction. evan has really worked on his negotiating tactics....he will barter, negotiate and talk you into giving him dessert any time of the day. and gracie, she is a little more ruthless. she had her chocolate down within seconds and then started preying on those smaller than her to see if they might share...or drop theirs.
gracie is also a mothering child. she always repeats me when i'm giving evan guidance in his behavior. she also HATES to be mothered by other kids. Pretty sure she is disciplining Audrey (??) in this picture for putting something in her mouth.
a little behind the scenes photography !
