Living the Single Life (only child that is)

This week while Richard and Clara have been gone, Ashley has totally taken advantage of being "the only child". She has had full run of the house, playing with all their toys (even though they usually don't play with them), She even made a comment about playing with Richard's guitar. She said "It's ok to play the guitar mommy, See, Bubba's not here" as she looked around to double check. She even persuaded me to buy her a ball at the store even though I don't usually do that because then I would have to buy 3.

We have really enjoyed spending quality time with Ashley this week...all 24 hours of the day. Yes, I meant to say 24 hours because you see... she told us Saturday night when the kids left "I not sleep in my bed, see Clara's not there." So of course we let her sleep in our room. She has the most lush pallet on the floor. We took a pillow top mattress cover and folded it over several times. It is quite soft and comfortable. The problem here is she goes to bed when we do (usually late) and gets up when we do. My only fear is how long is it going to take to break this habit. I am hoping that she is so excited when Clara comes home next week, that she will want to sleep in their room with her. We will see.

By the way, I have talked with Richard and Clara. They are home in the States and hyper as ever (thank goodness they are with John). They are going to spend next week at John's grandparents' lake house and then come home around the 4th of July.

Check out Ashley as she gladly says "cheese" while playing with others' toys.

Playing with Richard's guitar and wearing Clara's prized sunglasses while playing with her new special ball. She also took a dip in the pool without having to fight for space or share the toys.

MAN.....LIFE MUST BE GOOD !!!

Our Version of the Plague

Well, while the older kids are gone for the next two weeks, it is going to be our goal to get Ashley to "loose" her pacifier. She will be three in September and clings to the paci like none other. Well, we have done pretty good about getting her to agree that when she is playing, eating, or talking, the paci has to be in the drawer where we store the extras. Well, tonight, like all normal kids, she outsmarted her parents. She had to have her "fix" and she got a full dose....TWO PACIS AT ONE TIME. They were both physically in her mouth at the same time.

I guess one day we will conquer this nemisis...but not during these two weeks.

Till next time....we are still plagued with a pacifer !

Life After Vacation

So we finally joined the bandwagon as well, and started family blog. As if I didn't have anything else to do.



We just spent the last week in Destin, Florida. For those of you that don't know, this is a special place to me as my family used to visit there every summer to stay with my great-grandma and then my grandparents moved there. It is the most beautiful beach in the world, not that I am biased or anything. (Like I have seen all the beaches in the world)



So we drove the 12 hours, with 4 kids to Desitn. We left at 4 a.m. (stopped and gambled in Shreveport - thank goodness the kids were still asleep - just kidding mom) and arrived around 4 p.m. or so, after the horrible traffic getting into Destin. We spent the some time at the beach, the pool, and some of the tourist attractions. We had a blast !! It was the first time Kylie, Keith's daughter, had gone anywhere long distance with us. It was great to share that vacation with her. I have posted some pictures of our vacation. And as if a week in beautiful Destin wasn't enough, my kids left with their dad yesterday to spend a week in Cancun. What a life to have when you are 9 and 4...to spend to weeks in luxury condos/resorts and not a care in the world. (**Boy, I can't wait till they come home...just kidding...I already miss them).



I hope this blog helps my family and friends keep up with what is going on in all our busy lives. I look forward to hearing back from many of you.