tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19699526890716471302024-02-20T10:05:52.385-06:00Holy Crap! We Are Having Triplets!Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-80119875800753196802013-09-27T20:54:00.000-05:002013-09-27T20:54:00.243-05:00November News (2012)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
November was a time of great fun and great sadness for the Newhouse family. In September, our dog Duke started sneezing blood. After several trips to the vet, we deduced that Duke had nasal cancer (very common in his breed of dog). For a couple of months, Duke seemed to be back to his old self, but as the cancer made it's way up his nose into his brain, our old man went deaf and blind. It was horrible to watch. As soon as Bob got home from a business trip, we made the awful decision to put him down. In my ultimate wisdom as a mother, I talked to the boys about how Duke was going to the doctor who would help him to go see Jesus in Heaven. I told them that one day, we would go to Heaven too, and then we would get to see Duke again. This seemingly innocent explanation sparked off months of questions and concerns about doctors, dying, and going to Heaven. Even now, Ryan will randomly say to me "I don't want to die, Mom." Great parenting, grrrr.</div>
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Uncle Stephen and Daddy picked Duke out for Easter one year. I spent many years grumbling about him wiping his rear on my carpet, eating everything in sight (including a two pound block of fondue chocolate and a 5 pound bag of Reeses mini peanut butter cups complete with foil wrappers in Easter colors). I did not enjoy poop duty in the backyard or having to make sure that we were home in time to get Duke (and Dusty) out to go to the bathroom. All that being said, I sure do miss our dogs. We have become a one cat home. There is a lot less hair on the floor, but there sure is a lot of food that gets spilled under our table that doesn't magically appear. Ryan keeps asking us to go to the pet store and get another dog, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.<br />
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One of the boys' favorite pass times, eating popcorn. If we needed proof that these kids were related to Kathy Hadler Newhouse, here it is. Grandma Kathy could eat popcorn three meals a day. She loves it, and so do her favorite grandsons. I enjoy the taste of popcorn very much, but the detritus that is left on the floor after these messy boys get hold of a bowl is a sight to behold and definitely requires a broom.<br />
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My sweet Ryan. Ry loves to give hugs and cuddles, for which I am mostly grateful. At times, I just wish that the kids would play their video games on the iPad next to me rather than on top of me. I can't express the state of chronic pain my breasts have been in for the last four years. It seems like there is always some elbow digging in and bringing a tear to my eye. I'm sure as soon as they decide they no longer want to hang out with me, I will cry for the days of aching boobs, but until then, I'll just try and remember the good hugs and kisses I get.<br />
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The unceremonious draining of the pool with help. I think this picture is representative of at least a thousand words and needs no further comment or butt cracks.<br />
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Perhaps the most common sight of my children, all three of them enjoying the iPad together (only slightly more common than the three of them in full brawl over said iPad). James is an iPad master. He has moved from Temple Run to Lego Batman. Tragically, the kids have learned to check out the app store (especially Ryan who is always looking for a new game). Through several mishaps, we have now banned any purchasing of free items in the app store while the kids are awake. Recently a thirty dollar game (which we are still not sure what exactly it is or where it is), was purchased by some stellar child in the fifteen minute window Apple allows for purchases without passwords. I think this must be a billion dollar industry for Apple all at the expense of hapless, overburdened parents who have been worn down by constant harassment. <br />
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Michael the musician. The boys still love playing their instruments together in the band, but it doesn't seem to happen much anymore - it might be the programming changes around the house. Anytime Jake and the Neverland Pirates is on, though, there are lots of instruments that make their way to the living room, and everyone must participate. It's very funny how they have a group mentality versus an individual one. I know that they are individuals, but sometimes, they must perform as a group. When Michael went with Papa to get his hair cut, as the hair dresser asked him questions, he always answered "we." They do lots of things on their own - James hides with the iPad under the bed, Ryan demands you play baseball with him, and Michael can entertain himself for hours, but when push comes to shove, they really are a team.<br />
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The cozy coupes have recently found new homes as the boys have gotten too big to fit inside them anymore. Here James and Ryan are showing off their teamwork skills.<br />
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James loves new clothes and dressing up. Here he is wearing his "work shirt" and Daddy's tie.<br />
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One of the best parts of November was a girls trip with Lainie and Anne to Orlando. Our first night in town, we went to Downtown Disney and had a nice time checking out all the stores looking for souvenirs for the kids. The following day, I convinced the girls to spend the day in Winter Park going to the Morse Museum to see the largest collection of Tiffany stained glass in the world (I absolutely LOVED it!). We also popped in to a turkish restaurant and ate ourselves silly, and I drank like I was an actual adult. We then decided to get pedicures at a random spa in Winter Park. Since I had imbibed a little more than normal, I somehow decided to pick electric blue as a polish color and spent weeks wondering whose toes I was sporting.<br />
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We also spent a day at Universal Islands of Adventure. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.<br />
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Lainie and I posing in front of Captain America and the other Avengers. The boys were so impressed that I got to see those Avengers.<br />
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Wild women sporting Seussical hats.<br />
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Anne and I have always been ones to enjoy a good boob joke. We certainly couldn't pass up this prime opportunity.Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-49323018607313666762013-09-23T23:41:00.003-05:002013-09-23T23:41:53.122-05:00Grandma Comes to Jax (October-November 2012)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
At the end of October, Grandma Wendy and Aunt Faith came for a visit. After we picked them up from the airport, we went outside to play. The boys had started "making a garden" with the dirt patch that resulted from moving the sandbox and the water from the pool. The cute "garden" turned into a mud pit and great fun ensued. </div>
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James gets ahead of the situation. This crazy child would dip his head into the mud and let it drip into his face.<br />
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Ryan's favorite part of the mud pit was squishing his feet as deep as he could into the mud and then trying to walk. I'm pretty sure those shoes were never the same.<br />
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Had Grandma not been there, we probably would have cut off the mud fun before it even got started, but she had such a great time watching the madness, that I didn't have the heart to get too upset.<br />
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Michael is my most fastidious child, and he usually gets pretty stressed out by messy hands, but he was more than happy to drop the neurotic tendencies in favor of some mudpie mania. I'm not sure that we have gotten all of the mud out of the various crevices yet.<br />
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One of my favorite fall things to do is pumpkin carving. I usually do the face carving (I wish I had those mad skills to make grandiose designs of cats and bats frolicking, but alas, I'm more of a triangle and jagged teeth kind of artist). Bob made the first cut, we put Grandma and Aunt Faith in charge of pumpkin guts, and it was a family affair.<br />
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The boys get their scoop on. I don't think Michael or James really liked the slimy insides, but Ryan took care of business.<br />
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James enjoyed creating the face so much that he would put the pieces back into the pumpkin and "cut" them out again.<br />
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Aunt Mellie sent us a great pumpkin decorating kit (along with a box with tons of other Halloween goodies). Michael and I got these small pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, so we decorated them in a very unique and interesting way.<br />
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Ryan loves to put stickers on things, but he is easily distracted. He did manage to get the eyes and a few extras on before he found something more enjoyable to do.<br />
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James was by far our most invested and dedicated decorator, and his pumpkin is quite amazingly festooned. He kept coming back to add more and more to his decorations.</div>
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As the big trick or treat event approached, the costumes came out in full force, even at the beach! Grandma and Aunt Faith enjoyed our walk down to the end of the pier and back.<br />
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The boys had two different costumes to chose from, and only Batman went with the new costume (although, now all of the costumes are in play all the time - I am constantly putting on "suits" and finding Superhero cast offs all over the house).<br />
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I can't believe how much the kids have grown in the last year. The shoes they are wearing have been sent down the road, and they just look so much older. They were really pumped about going out and collecting candy. By the end of the night, Ryan was a little too eager (I had to tell him to quit asking for more candy), but all three of them went from shy to running from house to house following the big kids.<br />
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Aunt Faith took advantage of the opportunity to go trick or treating with the boys. She was pretty excited to find a pirate costume and even more excited to get a pink pumpkin full of candy.<br />
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On our way to knock on some doors. By the end of the night, the kids had trouble holding their own pumpkin. I guess it was a pretty exciting thing to get a pumpkin full of candy. <br />
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Checking out the loot with Daddy. Bob and I have such different ways of dealing with holiday candy. In his family, his mom slowly doled out candy for weeks in lunch boxes. Our family did a full glutinous consumption of as much candy as possible. We did a combo platter and had a large quantity of candy before bed, and we still have candy in our candy dish from last year.<br />
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The dinosaur museum is one of the boys favorite places to go. It only made sense that we took Grandma & Aunt Faith there. One of the kids asks to go to the dinosaur museum at least once a week (Michael asked me today if we could go to the museum). <br />
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The first time we went to the museum, the boys didn't even notice all of the cool things in the body exhibit, but now they love it (they are still a little leery of the burp and toot machine).<br />
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This black and white silent movie is always a hit with the kids. We must have watched it ten times before everyone was ready to move on to the next exhibit.<br />
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Grandma Wendy loves the beach (I think it's her innate ability to tan rather than burn), so she is always up for a trip to the beach. We decided to stop at Hanna Park and check out the shells. There were thousands of shells. It was amazing how many there were to look at and chose from.<br />
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Of course, no matter how many times I think to myself that we can make a quick stop at the beach and not go into the water, I am ALWAYS wrong.<br />
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James was the first to take the full body plunge. There's nothing as wonderful as a tide pool. We've seen all kinds of wonderful things in tide pools this summer.<br />
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Everyone decides to get in on the action. This is why I try to keep towels in the car. Maybe I should throw some swim suits in there as well.<br />
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On Saturday, Daddy was able to join us at the beach. We went to the drive on beach. Aunt Faith was more than happy to go out deep and jump in the waves.<br />
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Ryan wants Aunt Faith to take him out to the deep water.<br />
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Daddy watches all the action. I'm pretty sure it wasn't very long before he pulled out the football. The kids LOVE to throw the football into the waves and chase it as it washes back in.<br />
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This picture of Bob and I is not the most flattering, but it is nice to have a picture of the two of us. Bob has had a dramatic weight loss in the last few months, and this picture makes me realize how much weight both of us had gained. His face is so much slimmer now that he almost doesn't look like the same guy.<br />
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Daddy and the boys in the sand "suits." This is a very cute picture but does not represent how much work this mommy had to put into it before the picture could be taken.<br />
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Hanging out with the family. Bob is the best at getting the umbrella deep enough into the sand so that it doesn't blow over. Every time I put this bad boy up, I wish that Bob was there to take care of it.<br />
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My little sand fleas. The sand castle building has progressed a little, but the sand castle smashing is the best part of any building. I think there is about a two second window to enjoy your sand castle when these little monkeys are around.<br />
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Grandma Kathy and Papa were gracious enough to keep the boys so that we could take Mom & Faith to a fancy restaurant in St. Augustine. The Columbia Restaurant is delicious and so fun. They make sangria and their famous salad (complete with ham and swiss cheese) at the table. We had a delicious meal and a nice "grown up" visit.<br />
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One of the last places we visited while the dynamic duo was in Jacksonville, was the zoo. The boys know the zoo like the back of their hands. They really enjoyed showing Grandma where all the animals live.<br />
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Grandma springs for the cash to feed the giraffe. It was great fun, and we now have to discuss why or why we are not going to feed the giraffes at the zoo.<br />
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Grandma makes things special. We took a rare moment to swing from the elephant's tail and trunk.<br />
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Ryan has an elephant by the tail!<br />
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One of the most enjoyable spots in the zoo is the river otter exhibit. Not only do the birds get up close and personal, but the river otters in the right mood will put on quite a show.<br />
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Manatee! We do enjoy the gentle giants even if they are painted blue.<br />
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The alligator hop. One of our last stops on the way out of the zoo is the Florida exhibit where we can see snakes, tortoises, alligators, and bobcats. The alligator is always fun to climb on (in fact, we often miss the real alligators because we are too busy climbing on the fake one).Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-63265380937455254382013-09-08T22:49:00.000-05:002013-09-08T22:49:00.478-05:00From the Sea to the Circus (October 2012)<div style="text-align: center;">
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In October, Bob and I decided to put our Sea World passes to good use. We spent the night in a hotel next to the park and spent two days enjoying Shamu and his pals. </div>
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Since it was October, there were all kinds of fun Halloween things to do at the park. James is getting his sea star coloring on.<br />
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The boys could spend all day between the manta ray touch tank and the sea lion show. For months after we went, the boys would tell me about how the "mouse" (the river otter that looked so tiny from so high) would steal the map.<br />
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James in the shark's jaw. We went through the shark tank a few times. The boys loved looking at the sharks swimming overhead. Hopefully it's the closest we'll ever come to a shark.<br />
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Perhaps the one of the things Bob tells me most often is that I am the smartest person he knows but that I do some very stupid things. Here is an example of that disconnect between a good idea and a poor execution. I decided that the boys needed a sword just like all the other kids in the dark Chinese acrobat show. We spent most of the show trying to keep the kids from smacking everyone around us in the head with the swords. They broke almost immediately, and I learned a valuable lesson - no more light up swords, no matter how tempting.<br />
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This is perhaps my favorite picture of Michael. He was so grumpy and tired as we waited to see the polar bear and walrus. <br />
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A little bit of entertainment from Daddy, and that frown disappeared.<br />
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Daddy and I braved the kids area together. After a few frightening minutes trying to find Michael after he went into the giant climbing structure, and we never saw him escape to freedom, we learned to set a meeting place and let the fun begin.<br />
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Ryan rode the Shamu roller coaster all by himself. Michael stood in line with us, but when we got to the front, he absolutely refused to climb on board. The ride attendant rode with him, and when he got back, Ryan was so excited that he talked about the Shamu roller coaster for months and months. All I remember is that he had pooped his pants by the time we got to the front of the line, and I let him ride. I apologize to the next rider for the foul and disgusting ooze that was left in the seat.<br />
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Aunt Sue and Uncle JP came for a visit in October. I'm not sure who was happier to see whom, but the boys were pretty excited to see them.<br />
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Uncle JP's main man. Ryan and JP hanging out. Uncle JP had just had heart surgery. The boys learned that they had to be very gentle with him. <br />
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Our first stop on Angela's tour of Jacksonville was the pier at Jacksonville Beach and Sunshine Park. The boys ran like maniacs down the pier and at the end we met a fisher woman who let the boys hold her pole. She showed us a picture of a baby shark that she had caught and released just an hour before we showed up. It was pretty exciting stuff.<br />
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Mommy passes off swing duty to those who don't know how long they are going to have to perform the task. </div>
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Aunt Sue, much like her father, is a lover of all things beach related. She had to be very careful in the sun because of the chemo she was on, but we managed to have a good if a bit windy and chilly time. I had to include this picture because Grandma actually came with us to the beach. I used to invite her every time we went to the beach, but now I just figure one day she might consent to go with us, and I'll pass out from the shock. </div>
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Aunt Sue & Uncle JP wanted to go to Sea World with the boys. Bob and I had just been, so I tried to use the Newhouse (probably mostly Cain, but some Newhouse) system of getting your money's worth at amusement parks. After Papa suggested with a recent heart patient, a woman undergoing chemo, and a Grandma with knee issues, we should probably slow the pace, we took a more leisurely tour of Sea World.<br />
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Uncle JP introduced the boys to the joy of buying food for the manta rays. We spent a great deal of time touching and feeding the rays.<br />
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Manta ray madness! It was pretty awesome how many of the rays would splash you and get really close because of the food. I think Uncle JP spent thousands of dollars keeping those rays in food.<br />
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Ryan in the jaws of the shark<br />
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Inside the aquarium. It was pretty exciting that you could climb inside Nemo's aquarium. <br />
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At the Fort Worth Zoo, they have Boo at the Zoo, but in Jacksonville, there's a Spooktacular. The boys had pretty much ruined their $10 costumes, so we picked up a couple more so that they could Spook in style.<br />
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My Halloween superheroes are super cute.<br />
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Cotton candy time along the yellow brick road. The boys enjoyed the Spooktacular, but they were not impressed that all of the animals went to bed before we got there.<br />
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Perhaps the coolest thing we've done in Jacksonville is watch the airshow at the beach. It was a wonderful day. Beautiful weather, fun playing in the sand, awesome taxpayer funded aeronautics, and an amazing view made for quite a day at the beach. The boys, obsessed with sea turtles, spent a lot of time wallowing in the sand looking for the water.<br />
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Ryan and I enjoying putting our toes in the sand.<br />
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James sees "da plane, boss, da plane!"<br />
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Michael could care less about the cool airplanes doing tricks in the air as long as he can dig through the sand and look for shells.<br />
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Ryan admires the Blue Angels. I know that we have to reduce expenditures as a nation, but it saddens me that our boys will not be able to enjoy the air show this year. We have had such a great time the last three years. Maybe instead of bombing Syria, we could save the air show.<br />
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Those planes were loud! It was so fun to watch them fly overhead and go behind the big condos and pop out again. Every time we drive through Pensacola, we admire the Blue Angels. I guess we'll have to be satisfied with the Blue Angels adorning the bridge rather than the real thing. </div>
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One of the ladies in our Jackpott group had tickets to the Shrine Circus that she couldn't use, so Bob and I asked for them and took the boys to the circus at UNF.<br />
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Apparently, even superheroes like to attend the circus. The boys loved the tigers, the high wire, and the elephants. <br />
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Grandma & Papa sprung for some cool light up toys (which subsequently broke before we'd made it out of the building). <br />
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Grandma & Papa also spoiled our little men with an intermission pony ride. We had to wait in a long line (which is hard for three year olds), and the girl in front of us tried to get on the black pony that James had been eying for the the entire wait. I'm pretty sure Bob almost body checked her to get James on that pony.<br />
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Thor takes a ride on a pony. Ryan really liked the pony ride. He would wave every time the two of them came around the circle. It was so cute.<br />
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Michael enjoyed his pony ride, but he sure did hold on tight. He wanted to go again, but at $8 a rider, we decided that one turn around the ring was enough.<br />
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October can't be complete without a little pumpkin time. Grandma & Papa signed the boys up for pumpkin time at their apartments. All five of them enjoyed pumpkin painting. Hopefully, we'll get to do it again this year.<br />
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Proud pumpkin decorators enjoying their gift bags.<br />
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I was glad the goodie bag didn't contain candy, but these teeth were so disgusting. The boys loved them.<br />
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Michael displays the whole ensemble teeth and glasses.<br />
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My little monster James. The boys really enjoyed their teeth and glasses. I might feel a little bad about the fact that they have been gracing a landfill for several months now, but you just can't condone toys that collect slobber then float around on the floor for a while before you put it back in your mouth - yuck!</div>
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My "stormy troopers" on the hunt for robot dogs (AT-AT walkers for Star Wars nerds). I remember that the gang had to blow up the death star before breakfast. A boy's work is never done.Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-89345993370585598722013-09-06T19:21:00.003-05:002013-09-06T19:21:44.174-05:00Friends, Fun, & Football (Fall 2012)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the last couple of years, fall has been forecast time at Buffet Group, and that means company meetings. Now that we live in Jacksonville, I actually get to meet the people behind all those funny comments and entertaining stories Bob tells me about. Laurie is based out of New York, and she took some time to stop by the house and show off her basketball skills. She also brought the kids these wonderful NY t-shirts.<br />
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Sometimes, basketball must take a backseat to the important things in life, like Elmo.<br />
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One of our favorite parts of last fall were playgroups with Jackpotts. Our good friends, the Stewarts, were also Texas triplets living in Jacksonville. We loved playing with them and our singleton friend Matthew (Abby and Chloe were at school). Sadly, the Stewarts have moved back to the Metroplex, and we miss them very much.<br />
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Not only do we like to play with our friends, we also love to play with our brothers. We spent many a fall afternoon setting up the train and sending Thomas around the tracks. <br />
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Since we live in the Sunshine State, we were able to use our pool for a long time last summer. the kids loved it. We spent many an hour jumping and swim racing (thanks to the Olympics, we had many, many races of all kinds).<br />
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I love the reckless abandon with which Ryan approaches life. This means he often does things like fall over, step into puddles, run into things, etc. He is always moving fast. I hope he learns over time to look where he's going.<br />
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James and Michael loved to stack the spidey rings three deep and float around the pool. They also liked to stand on my knees and jump into the pool (which meant I was always wetter than I wanted to be).<br />
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Last year, we spent a great deal of time at the beach with Papa. We tried to go once a week. It got to the point that the boys expected to go to CiCi's pizza after every beach trip (gotta love kids eat free places). This year, they still ask to eat at CiCi's, but since we have to pay for their food, I make sure we only go when we are very, very, very hungry.<br />
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Costumes were a HUGE player in our world last year (and still are). The boys have always loved to play dress up, but since we have gotten our "suits," there is rarely a day that passes where someone has not been in costume.<br />
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Last fall, Cousin Jonathan came to Jacksonville to attend Youth with a Mission (YWAM). It was nice to get to see him every once in a while. Before his school started, he stayed with us for a few days, and we went to the beach (with Papa, of course). Jonathan (having spent his life enjoying the less than lovely Holly Beach) was really impressed by how wonderful the water is here in Jacksonville. <br />
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It seems like I have a thousand pictures where we are doing the same thing - going to the beach. I really do love the beach. Poor Bob can find almost nothing that he likes about the beach, but he is a good sport and will accompany us whenever I ask.<br />
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My freak child (James) drinking out of the tide pool. I wish that I could explain why on earth he was doing this, but some things defy explanation. In addition to consuming sea water, James loves to dig. He can create a mean hole.<br />
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Enjoying the surf. With three small boys, I try to stay very close to shore when we are in the water. There have many reports of shark sightings at our regular beaches lately. I don't want to be the mom who wasn't paying attention and must rush to the hospital with a shark related injury.<br />
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Michael enjoying the surf. Of all the boys, Michael will stay in the water the longest. He LOVES jumping in the waves. He also builds (and subsequently destroys) a mean sand castle.<br />
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Ryan on the run. Ryan's favorite thing to do at the beach is throw the football out and chase it as the waves bring it back to shore. <br />
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After the beach, we introduced Jonathan to the joys of CiCi's beach day. Michael hangs out with Spidey in his car.<br />
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Ryan and James pretend to drive their "be-hick-ulls."<br />
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Since the boys have been around, Bob has mellowed somewhat in his love of all things Cowboys. (This means that instead of listening to talk radio all day in an obsessive way, he only thinks about the Cowboys 50% of the time). I saw these great helmets and jerseys and just had to have them. I should have waited until Christmas, but then football season would have been over.<br />
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Ryan was most impressed by the first football game of the year that mattered the "Cowboy Bears" game. When he sees the Chicago logo, he refers to them as the Cowboy Bears. Ryan is our main sports fan. He saw a recap of the Bronco/Ravens game on TV at the restaurant tonight and kept asking Bob questions about Peyton Manning and Tony Romo.<br />
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James likes to run and play. Anytime the Cowboys are on TV, he has to suit up and get in the game. <br />
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I'm not sure how much of a sports fan Michael would be without his brothers to encourage him. He's never the first kid to pull out the sports equipment, but he sure does hold his own when he's "on the field." Lately, they have been tackling each other (much to my displeasure, but what can one do about genetics?). Michael sure does like to hit but is not very fond of being on the receiving end. Bob says he's a born defensive player. <br />
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Grandma Kathy relaxing with the boys after a backyard swim. For some unknown reason, Bob taught the boys the joys of "wet hugs," so now after a bath, they run naked and dripping and fling themselves on top of you screaming "wet hugs!" I appreciate James who will then dry off and come back for a "warm hug."<br />
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More fun with the Jackpotts at the park. Ed Austin Park has tons of pine trees, so we refer to this park as the "bird nest park." We make bird nests of pine needles and then fill it with pine cone eggs. Grand excitement and fun. This park also has swings which means work for mom. The boys are getting better at swinging themselves, but they would always prefer a push from me.<br />
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As the boys have gotten older, I've been more adventurous in going to the store with the kids. It's still something I have to make myself do, but it's getting easier and easier. Last fall, the boys and I ventured to Target while Bob was out of town, and we found the Halloween costume aisle. I thought we could just look at the costumes. Foolish woman. I found the cheap $10 costumes and was suckered in. These three "suits" are very much still in use, but they are literally falling apart. I guess it was well worth the $30.<br />
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Meet "Captain UH-MARE-UH-KUH." He has a shield that he throws and when out of costume is know as Steve Rogers.<br />
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Thor (his hammer has a few chunks bitten out of it since Michael got his choppers on it), master of all he surveys. Ryan is no longer in love with Thor. He has much more love for Iron Man, but what's a guy to do when his mom insists that we not duplicate costumes.<br />
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Iron Man or Just James? James really gets into character. He will make noises when he uses his repulsors or whatever they are called. He has spent many a day as Tony Stark. Of course, when he is no longer in the mood to be Tony Stark, he will tell me "I just James, mom." When Ryan is Tony Stark, I am Pepper Potts. He is always incorporating me into his fantasy land - I've gotten to be Princess Leia, Pepper Potts, Indiana Jones' girlfriend, etc. It's pretty exciting to be me.Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-89934089866564746182013-09-01T02:19:00.002-05:002013-09-01T02:19:30.469-05:00A Year Behind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, I finally turned on my laptop for the first time in months. I looked at the first photo in our last twelve months folder and realized that it was a picture from my Grandma's 80th birthday party, which was one year ago. Time has flown by, and I can't believe how much we've done in the last year. Bob's computer is in the shop (the boys keep putting tons of cds in the cd drive, and so I'm without all of our pictures from our trip to Louisiana and Texas from last year). We had a fabulous time celebrating Momo's 80th birthday/family reunion. I have some great pictures, but you're lucky enough not to have to look at them. </div>
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On our way from Florida to Louisiana, we made a short pit stop in Amite to see the Clay Cains. My cousin Ann's new baby, Drew, was James's favorite part of the stop despite the indoor bounce house and cousins the same age to play with.</div>
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<img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUobar4LsjwoTKzo-fDGmBinFBBr3MMDdorrVWS8wnaPQTiF5dSrX85z16eJG7wSs3XLfl8O0ajOgfOm2uSEstkYpMMUty0UQVt6i2VsJRu1YWlYvRWTJDNpuiTsOf6qPnN7wxcDhc99Nl/s400/image_5.jpeg" width="300" /> </div>
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At Momo's we partied like she was 79. The boys love the zip line my Uncle Frank installed across the backyard. Momo had to get in on the zip line action even though she was wearing her dressy party clothes. </div>
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There's not much better than a sleeping kid. Peaceful and so sweet. Here are the boys enjoying the pullout bed in the hotel. The first thing I noticed is that James has his pacifier. It's hard to believe he's been without it for almost a year. I thought we'd never let it go (he does still inquire about his pacifier almost as often as Ryan wonders why I gave his blanket brown to some other kid - the blankets are hiding in my closet).<br />
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I found a couple of pictures from the party. Here Ryan is observing Daddy, Mitchell, and Uncle Mike boil up the shrimp. It was the most unusual group of cooks, but the shrimp were delicious and despite the unfortunate emptying of the shrimp water over Bob's feet and the subsequent hideous odor which filled our hotel room that evening (I went immediately to buy the first pair of sandals I could find and threw those babies out).<br />
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Uncle Mike gives Michael a lesson in fishing. Uncle Zach, on grilled sausage duty, mans his post. The party was wonderful, but the most fun of the family weekend was the night before when the drinks were flowing, various members of the family were attempting to take over control of the iPod (music), and dancing was the order of the day. Without Uncle Frank to expound upon conspiracy theories, the stories weren't quite as fabulous. I know we were all thinking of Popo Gejo as well. Even now, I can picture the smile he always had when our rowdy group really got going. I am certain, he was watching in heaven, smiling.<br />
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Once again, the Michaels. The kids had a great time. In a few short years, I know they'll discover the joys of flashlight tag in Momo's backyard, and the world will never be the same again. They might actually catch one of those lizards they are always chasing, too.<br />
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Poor Bob didn't get a vacation until the beginning of September last year, and I remember that he was in desperate need of some down time. We were able to take a little time after the crowds cleared out to spend some time with Momo. The boys adore their Momo. I'm pretty sure it's mutual. We spent a day just relaxing before we headed to Houston to visit the Gabriels.</div>
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Probably one of the most entertaining parts of our trip to Eric & Jeannine's was the basketball show Bob and Eric put on. Quinn was playing on a basketball team that Eric was coaching, so there was much display of skills. Before our trip to the front to play basketball (with a little football heaving during the down time), Ryan fell into the pool in the backyard. Only Ryan. That child never looks where he is going. James decided to run into oncoming traffic to retrieve a basketball in the front yard. I'm not sure why Michael didn't try to kill himself, but by the end of the evening, I think we properly demonstrated the difference between three boy children and two girl children.</div>
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The boys after Ryan's unplanned dip into the pool. We always have such a wonderful time we when get a chance to see the Gabriels. Now that we're older and have more children, there is a lot less alcohol consumed, but still as much fun.</div>
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In DFW, as always, our schedule was packed with lots of friends and family time. Other than our trip to the museum with Uncle Joseph, Aunt Mellie, and Uncle Stevie, the details are a little hazy to me. I'm sure if I had the rest of my pictures (I have all of the ones we took with our phones, but the ones from the camera are currently residing in the Apple Store), I'd be able to expound on all of the fabulous things that we did, but my memory is limited.<br />
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Mom and I bought a membership to the museum for eight instead of buying individual tickets. It was a great investment. We've been to many a "dinosaur museum" as a result. Uncle Joseph gives James a ride on the bed of nails. I can't remember how many times he did this, but I think it's somewhere between a million and a billion. Ryan loved the water guns in the outside area, and Michael spent a great deal of time using the pulley system with the bucket and foam bricks. <br />
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Aunt Mellie gives the kids a lesson in oil & gas (yes, this IS Texas). We all enjoyed the IMAX movie about the Arctic. Polar Bears and Walruses were big players in our world after that movie.<br />
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I'm sure that we had a wonderful time at Grandma & Papa Joe's house. Unfortunately, what I remember most about that trip was how miserably uncomfortable I was at night with the kids all climbing in the bed with us and then falling off of that skyscraper bed. I think my main memory of this trip was holding onto James's foot so that he didn't fall off the bed all night long - not a very restful endeavor. Last summer, the kids were still in their cribs complete with crib tents. Oh how I long for the days of three hour naps and seven p.m. bedtimes. Of course, I definitely DON'T miss the diapers. <br />
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Since we live so far away and the kids are young, my parents never really get a chance to be with the kids one on one. Bob and I tried to give them a little taste of individual time with a rotation of Madagascar 3 (at the Dollar Movie) with Daddy, Putt Putt Golf with Mommy and Aunt Faith, and Chuck E. Cheese with Grandma. It went well, and I even managed to convince the kids for a good part of the year that there were no Chuck E Cheese restaurants in Florida. While we were in Texas, Zach & Mandy closed on their first house. We were able to go and check it out before we left, and it made me so happy that the timing worked out for us to get to see it. They have since acquired furniture and snake has moved in, so the boys think it is wonderful.<br />
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Our last stop before Florida was at Aunt Sue & Uncle JP's house. The most entertaining thing for the boys was watching Aunt Sue take off her hair. James is so disappointed that it doesn't come off anymore. She did have quite a few wigs, and the boys tried them on for size and looked like a tiny version of an 80s hair metal band. This trip was our last attempt at making the 14 hour drive (that's without stopping for any reason) in one day. When we got home, Michael went around the house and greeted all of his things. After being away from home for so long, I know exactly how he felt.</div>
Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-62041562138135774272013-01-15T00:33:00.000-06:002013-01-15T00:33:00.193-06:00August on the Move<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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August was a busy month for the Newhouse clan. Between Bob's regular travel schedule, we squeezed in my favorite thing - time with family. Our month started with a bang as Uncle Stevie came to see us.</div>
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Uncle Stevie gets lessons on the proper way to play with knights.</div>
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Uncle Stevie was dad's first true baseball boy. He and Bob have gone to stadiums to watch baseball all over the country, and there was no way dad was going to let Uncle Stephen slip away without a trip to our hometown greats, the Suns. Ryan loves going to games and tagged along with the big kids.</div>
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While Stephen was here, he and Bob took a work trip to Tampa which happened to nicely coincide with the Rays being in town. Bob and I went to a Rays game right after our honeymoon, and I thought it was great fun with all of the rules about hitting balls off the rafters. Bob prefers his baseball outdoors, though.<br />
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James convinces Uncle Stephen to try vacuuming. I have to admit that I love how the boys grab the vacuum and work alongside me. I'm hoping that they remember how much fun vacuuming is at the age of 13.</div>
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What does a real Jedi do? Play baseball with a light saber, of course. Uncle Stephen has much higher baseball standards than mom does. You have to catch, throw, and you get tagged out. When mom does it, we all get home runs. I guess that's why moms aren't baseball managers.</div>
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Uncle Stephen was there for Bob's birthday. We had such a great time with the singing, lighting of the candles, and the Star Wars cake. I'm pretty sure there's not much that makes the kids happier than a birthday sing along. A couple of months ago, I heard Ryan talking to the boys about his birthday party. He told them they had to give him a dollars to come to his birthday. We had to have a talk about how we don't charge people to come to our parties, and that people don't have to bring you presents. I'm not sure if it sunk in, but if not, he can always follow in his grandpa Robin's footsteps and be a bouncer at a club.</div>
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No trip to Jacksonville is complete without a trip to the beach. While Bob holed up in the office and made money for us to play, the rest of us took off for the beach. The boys love splashing in the water and playing in the sand, and Stephen really enjoyed throwing them around in the water, which they couldn't get enough of. Sadly, I don't have too many beach pictures between the glare of the sun, the water, and enjoying myself, I tend to shirk my photography duties.</div>
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Watermelon! One of the hardest stains to get out of clothing.</div>
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Uncle Stephen and his adoring fans. When we dropped him off at the airport, the boys were so sad to see him go, but for months afterwards, they would tell me "Uncle Stevie ride on a BIG airplane." I'm not sure if they knew he actually got off of that plane until we saw him at Christmas.</div>
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For those of you who are familiar with these pictures, feel free to skip ahead, but I did have to include our trip to Orlando to do things that only nerds are proud of. Our day of fun and frolicking at the Star Wars Celebration VI was quite lovely.</div>
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On the Millennium Falcon, a fabulous family portrait. The boys really enjoyed the day. Bob and I were a little overwhelmed by the crowds at first, but once we got past the first few minutes, we had a good time as well.</div>
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The boys and a "stormytrooper." James loves nothing quite as much as a stormytrooper, and to see one in real life, well, it just goes without saying that it was a monumental moment in his world.<br />
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We did manage to squeeze in some time with our Jacksonville friends, the Vances. Mr. Matt joined our band, and he showed us he's got some real chops.<br />
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Miss Ella checks out the guitar while Ryan tries to commandeer the sax-o-pone from Mr. Matt.</div>
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Along with all of the other stuff happening in August, my lovely redheaded namesake, Nicole, graduated from boot camp in South Carolina. While we didn't actually attend the service (there are just some things that 3 year old triplets should not do), we did make the trip to see her and all of our lovely Leleuxs. <br />
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Julie & Kris (proud parents) rented cabins at a state park, and we hung out with them there. The boys had a great time just hanging out with the big kids, and I loved having big kids to entertain them.<br />
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Horseshoe king James.<br />
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Gettin' rowdy with Alie. Our best redhead cousin from Nebraska was so much fun to play with. Cousins are awesome.<br />
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Bob & David hanging back from the fray discussing sports of some kind, I'm sure.<br />
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Jonathan & Ellie take charge.<br />
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Kris mans the grill while the rest of us sit back and watch.<br />
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David & Jonathan hadn't seen each other all summer, so they had to get some friendly brotherly wrestling in. After three brothers of a smaller size started imitating them, those grumpy grown ups had to put a stop to it.<br />
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Loribeth and the moth. The boys were fascinated by the large moth we caught and sadly tortured with love. It flew off eventually, but I don't think it made it through the night.<br />
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Cousins jumping on the bed. I think Alie is under the covers somewhere.<br />
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I don't think this family could start a forest fire. We had quite a production just to get a campfire going, but the kids were fascinated by it, and when Kris started putting lighter fluid on for dramatic effect, James just about had heart palpitations.<br />
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Roasting smarsh-smellos with Daddy.<br />
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Cajun cousins. It wasn't our normal outing to the beach and crabbing, but it was just as much fun.<br />
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Ready for smores! We stayed about 45 minutes away from the campsite in a hotel with wifi so that Bob could get some work done, but the boys had a blast at the campsite. They were so dirty that the bathwater was black and so tired that they passed out in their seats before we pulled out of the park.<br />
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Lunch with the graduate who revealed that she did such horrific things as letting her eyebrows get too scruffy and sleeping on the bathroom floor during boot camp. She even walked like a soldier. It was great to see her, but I don't like the no hugs rule. <br />
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Cousin Jonathan made his first big impact in South Carolina, but this fall, he came to Jacksonville to be a part of Youth With A Mission. We were able to have lots of good times with him this fall, and if you are a praying person, say a prayer for him as he is currently wandering through the countryside in Thailand.<br />
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We also worked on our biking skills in August. The boys are such good riders now, but I remember August being a lot of pushing, pulling, and sweat as we "rode."<br />
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We haven't found the right church fit yet in Jacksonville, and with Bob being gone so much, it's hard to find the energy to get everyone up and dressed to go someplace new, so one Sunday morning, we went to the zoo instead. It was amazing. The animals were out and frisky, we were able to get so close to the birds. Ryan got his head pecked (that flying blonde hair must have looked like a tasty treat), we fed the lorikeets, and had a great time having fun with Daddy.<br />
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Too short to con those lorikeets down from their perches.<br />
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Joyous James.</div>
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Rascally Ryan taunting that bird.<br />
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Considerate Michael patiently waiting for his bird to finish.<br />
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When we moved to Jacksonville, I saw there was a place called the hands on children's museum. The boys and I finally got a chance to check it out this summer. We stayed for hours, and I couldn't even con them out with promises of ice cream. James, master of dinosaurs.<br />
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Fireman Michael.</div>
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Postman Ryan looking for that invitation to Momo's 80th birthday party. The last day of August, we loaded up and headed to Texas by way of Louisiana to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. It was quite a long and fun trip, but thankfully, most of this trip took place in September, and we can finally end this extremely long post. We've almost made it to the fall! This plan to catch up might actually work, and I might (don't hold your breath) be able to stay current with our blog.<br />
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<br />Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-44297236396449810372013-01-10T23:25:00.000-06:002013-01-10T23:25:03.359-06:00Baby You're a Firework (July)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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July in Florida was great. Papa and I started taking the boys to the beach more often (by the end of the summer, we were beach bums at least once a week - we all LOVED having fun in the sun, and Grandma Kathy enjoyed a morning to herself). We had so much fun that we fell asleep sitting up. Michael is leaning against the side of his crib sound asleep. The boys are still in cribs with containment cubicles (crib tents). I have sown and resown those bad boys until they are mere tattered shreds held together with a hope and a prayer. Michael insists that he gets a "full zip" every night and that I zip it "even downer." I am thinking about converting their beds to toddler beds the next time Bob is home for a week or so (sometimes Mamas need reinforcements).</div>
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When the boys were little, we loved taking their picture in the big chair. We tried this year, and this is the best bad picture of the bunch.</div>
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Most of the pictures we took look a little something like this. </div>
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Michael just chillin' with Papa. Since he was a tiny little man, Michael has loved his Papa like nobody's business (I think the feeling is mutual).<br />
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When Bob drives to Kentucky, he always tries to bring Papa along for the ride to help share the driving duties. One of the perks of the summer trip is baseball. Here the two peas in a pod are attending a Reds game. I asked Bob to send me a picture of the two of them at the game. I think it was 90000 degrees at the game and that might explain why neither of them look too happy.</div>
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As patriotic Americans, Bob and I have a civic duty to bring our boys up to be good citizens which is annually celebrated with a parade and fireworks. Since leaving Arlington, we haven't been to a 4th of July parade, and I sure do miss it. Hopefully, next year I can convince Bob that we need both a parade and fireworks (he made me choose one or the other this year).</div>
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When we moved to Jacksonville, everyone told us how awesome fireworks at the beach are. Sadly for us, this year, due to budget cuts and that stupid housing crisis which drops property values and thus tax revenues, there were no fireworks at the beach. </div>
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The city of Jacksonville puts on a display over the river near downtown, so we parked in a parking lot nearby and watched the show. It reminded me of hanging out in parking lots to see the Ranger's 4th of July fireworks when we were kids, it was nice to keep the tradition going, but next year, I want the beach). <br />
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The boys had a great time. They had snacks and were so happy to be hanging out with a parking lot full of patriotic Americans.<br />
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Of course, Grandma & Papa came with us (we had to learn that firework patriotism from somewhere), and we enjoyed every hot second of it. <br />
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James spent the majority of the time racing. That kid loves to run. I have no idea where he picked up that gene, but I'm glad that we were able to contain him between the white lines. After the show was over, we should have applied some of those racing skills to getting strapped in and out of that parking lot. I'm pretty sure we spent more time waiting to get out of the parking lot than watching fireworks. My fingers are crossed that they bring back beach fireworks this year, and if not, we may just have to go to the beach and light a few fireworks ourselves.<br />
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One of the best parts of summer is that the zoo splash park is open. The kids love splashing. Unlike most moms, we head to the splash park first then cut out when everyone else starts to show up and dry out as we look at the animals. <br />
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The boys loved hanging out with all the sea creatures. Michael was obsessed with the dolphin blow holes. <br />
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One of the hardest things to learn at the splash park is that you can not run. I'm pretty sure my kids don't generally walk anywhere, so getting them to slow down at the splash park is quite a challenge. Thankfully, there are lots of teen volunteers to yell at them as well.<br />
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I have always loved sea turtles and ocean life in general, but I had no idea that by watching the Turtle movie put out by SeaWorld that I would spark a three man turtle love fest. The boys are really into sea turtles. We talk about their nests at the beach, we pretend to be sea turtles and wiggle our way through the sand to the ocean, we reenact the sea turtle ride from SeaWorld, and we refer to our mom as "Mommy Sea Turtle." Ryan especially likes to be a baby sea turtle, and I guess you can't always be Princess Leia.<br />
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While the sting ray looks really cool, it is also very slippery. We had a couple of unfortunate incidents on that sting ray, and let's just say, they really stung.<br />
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Dolphin rider and a whale of a tail. We had a summertime love of the movie Dolphin Tale. The poor dolphin, Winter, loses her tail in a fishing net and the rescue people figure out how to make her a prosthetic tail. At the zoo, there is a whole herd of Winters. <br />
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My baby sea turtle.<br />
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For now, the kids are still bathing in the same tub at the same time. James loves the shower, and he will stay in for hours. The other day, I had two in one bath tub and one in the other and before bath time was over, they were all in the same tub. That tub sure is getting crowded, though.<br />
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Michael is a quirky kid. He has certain likes, dislikes, and insane habits that I might have to admit he got from me. He likes things to be in their place. He will fight me every step of the way when I change where certain toys are kept. For Christmas, my parents got me a great organizational cubicle thing. I must have fought Michael for days on which toys went in which tubs. Thankfully, we have come to a mutual agreement that only a few things have moved locations. Perhaps the strangest thing he does is smell hair. Too much Tarzan watching, but this little loon likes to get up close and sniff with purpose (I think he substituted sniffing for biting - which is a good thing, but we have to address that sniff before he goes to school).<br />
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I have raised three dino nuts. The boys love dinosaurs. This summer, the t-rex named Sue was at the MOSH in Jacksonville. The kids and I went a couple of times to see her. They love going to the dinosaur museum. Most of these pictures are somewhat blurry as the shutter speed on my iPhone is definitely not triplet friendly.<br />
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Digging for fossils. What's better than big ol' bones and sand?<br />
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Back in the phone booth. I keep trying to get the kids to sit at the lunch counter and pose for a picture, but they will have none of it, so I guess settling for a phone booth is an adequate compromise.<br />
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Sue's biggest fans take another look.<br />
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Disney Junior made an appearance on DirecTV this summer, and the boys embraced it like a long lost pal. We adore Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and here is our version of a club house. Let's just say, that Mom is not a very good clubhouse engineer and we have no couch cushions that are removable - that's pretty tragic when you think about it, no pillow forts. We gave away all those couches with cushions when we moved. Oh well, sounds like pillow forts at grandma's are in order.<br />
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Ryan, as ever, on the move. When I look at our pictures, I notice that every picture of Ryan seems to be the back of his head or blurry. He is in constant motion. No wonder I'm tired at night.<br />
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Fancy clubhouse complete with comfy chairs and a "picnic." This is the life.</div>
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In July, Bob and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. We took advantage of Jim & Kathy's generous offer to watch the boys and spent a weekend in Savannah. We had a great room overlooking the river with a small balcony to admire the view from. It was so much fun (although when I made Bob take a second trip around on the sights of the city tour bus, I thought he might revolt). Our trip did have somewhat of a rocky start. Jim & Bob were out on the road, so Jim dropped Bob off in Savannah, and I borrowed Jim's car to meet him there. About 5 blocks from the hotel, the car died, and I learned the hard way that you should put the hood up when you are stuck in traffic & waiting for a tow truck. I never even thought to do that, but my knight in shining armor booked it from the hotel to where I was and saved me from my distress. It ended up working out just fine, and Jim came to pick us up and the Firestone guys gave us a ride to our hotel. It was a great time, and we were glad that the car didn't poop out on them halfway to Sue's house.</div>
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My soulmate enjoying a beer as we waited for dad. Gotta love waiting with cocktails.</div>
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In July, Bob took James and Michael on their baseball date night. Michael loved clapping along and was really into his hotdog and popcorn. I'm pretty sure that he ended up scoring some popcorn off of the neighboring dad if I remember the story properly. Who could resist this cutie?<br />
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James was the most challenging baseball attendee. He is a doer. If Star Wars is on TV, he will go get his Star Wars figures, Doc McStuffins brings out the doctor kit, and baseball brings out the run. This picture makes me think "watch out boys, he's gonna blow!"<br />
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James on the move. He is sporting Ryan's "Jackson-wheel Suuunns" souvenir cap.<br />
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James picked out batting gloves for his souvenir. Bob said he spent the whole night running up to people and telling them "I've got two hands, TWO HANDS!" (Which is sometimes what I feel like yelling, haha).Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-44039281846876166912013-01-04T15:03:00.002-06:002013-01-04T15:03:36.945-06:00Catching Up in the New Year (June)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I was planning on putting an explanation of why I am so behind on the blog and do a little public self-flagellation about my lack of effort and general exhaustion in this paragraph, but instead, we will just jump right in to June 2012. One of my favorite things about June is picture time. Bob and I have made an effort to have our family portraits made around the boys birthday every year, and I absolutely love it. One of our Jackpott members, Elizabeth Goff, took these for us at Kingsley Plantation, and I think she did a fabulous job. I've posted the individual shots before, but here are some of the group shots.</div>
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If there is dirt, James will dig.</div>
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I like this one despite the fact that James is not looking at the camera. Elizabeth sweated like a trouper trying to get all of those faces looking at the camera and smiling.</div>
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You can tell that we are all getting worn out as the kids get more and more amped up.</div>
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Handsome boys in spite of the horrible haircuts they got. Michael's was so bad, I had to take him back the next day to even up his bangs as one side was an inch long and the other was a quarter of an inch long. This military town is hell on boys haircuts.</div>
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Checking it out. </div>
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Happy family. I love that Bob has a real smile on his face as he tickles the boys.</div>
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Let's just say, I am no longer a girl who can drop it like it's hot. I drop it more like it's just come out of the freezer, stiff and unnatural.</div>
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I think this is my favorite picture of the day. Beautiful boys and scenery.</div>
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Working together. The other day, the boys came out of their room after "nap" time and told me they'd been doing teamwork. Let's just say, their room is still a disaster area after all that teamwork.</div>
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I debated making this picture the one for the blog, but for those of us who know Michael well, that face says, "I'm about to bite someone," and despite the sweet faces of his brothers, I'd always be internally yelling at him every time I open the website.</div>
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Three's a crowd in a wagon now.</div>
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June was the month of the toad. This toad made several trips into the house. First inside Duke's mouth, then hopping in late one night and staying for breakfast. The boys treated our visitor to a turn of playing temple run on the iPhone, a delicious bagel, and lots of admiration. Michael was in on all the fun as well, but I didn't have a picture with three kids where the toad was visible.<br />
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Date night was big in June. Bob, Jim & Kathy, and I all took turns having a fun one-on-one time with the boys. Bob and Ryan went to the "Jack-son-wheel Suns" game where the young acolyte got his game on with a hot dog (required baseball eating according to Ryan). Bob took each of the boys to a baseball game, I took them all to the beach, and Grandma & Papa did a wide variety of fun things.</div>
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While bordering on inappropriate, this picture cracks me up. You can see a snapshot of my life right here - I have delightfully beautiful toes from the Mother's Day pedicure my boys got me, James' nude phase, and our Umizoomi summer obsession. </div>
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June is also the time for playoffs. We watched a couple of the Stanley Cup games, and the boys wore some of daddy's old hock-keys jerseys. </div>
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We also watched the basketball playoffs, but we only have one old Mav's jersey and no pictures.</div>
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Perhaps the best surprise of June was a pop-in visit from Houston. Eric, Jeannine, Quinn, & Chloe came for an afternoon visit on their way to Disney. We had such a wonderful time, and I'm pretty sure all of my boys love those Gabriel girls as they mention them often.<br />
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Sweet James on his date night with Mommy. James has become a very, very, very big Mommy's boy. He is also a huge homebody. While Ryan will be in the garage opening the big door before you can finish the sentence "Let's go get in the car," James has absolutely no interest in leaving the house and must be coaxed out.</div>
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Sword fighting pirates (recently all of our swords have disappeared as we are watching more superhero shows where the boys are honing their fighting skills and have absolutely no need for weapons to get their fight on).</div>
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Attack of the cooties. I have tried many times to play games with one or all of the boys. They really like games but lack the patience/focus to play a complete game. We will all start a game and within two minutes the candyland figures are having a race or the bugs are fighting or the matching cards are flying across the room. Maybe sometime soon games will start to become more feasible in our house, and I can dominate those monkeys in some hi ho cherry o.</div>
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We saw a couple of movies in June with the kids. We have learned that movies must be individual events, or it becomes a dance party nightmare. We saw both Madagascar 3 (or Afro Circus Move It Move It as the kids call it) and Brave. Michael didn't make it through the movie and started having a serious issue with any and all cartoon bears. The boys did get both of these movies for Christmas, and Michael and the bear seem to be on much better terms on the smaller screen.</div>
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The best part of June is birthday time! Since there are three kids and one party, I feel compelled to make it an event. The third birthday began with a movie night at the zoo where we had dinner followed by an outdoor showing of Rio (the movie was supposed to be a couple weeks before and got rained out, so it made the birthday weekend extra packed with fun).</div>
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Last year, we rented a big jump house in Texas for the kids birthday, but it was just too hot, and I have sense learned that a mere jump house must include slides or some other fancy features to impress my boys. We debated getting a slide again, but decided to go with using our new pool that Grandma & Papa Joe got us. The kids loved this pool and would still be swimming in it if I hadn't taken it down because they kept getting in it on cold days.<br />
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This year, we had a toy story birthday at our house with our friends. <br />
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Ryan admires the antics of Jacob, Caleb, and Travis. We are very sad that our BBB friends have moved back to Texas. We already miss them, but hopefully we can have a playdate when we go to Grandma & Papa Joe's to visit.<br />
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Ella and baby Thomas came to play with us, too. Every time we mention Ella, the boys always want to know about "baby Thomas" as well. They were pretty fascinated with the whole baby thing. The other day, Ryan asked me where babies come from, and I decided that we'd just say from a mommy's tummy for now. That kid asks so many questions, I'd better start boning up on my knowledge of chlorophyll and light refraction so that I can answer those grass and sky questions.<br />
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A happy James sporting a smidge of stolen frosting on his lip.<br />
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Michael demonstrating that the brats daddy cooked were delicious.<br />
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Mr. Joe and Matthew having fun outside in our "playground" as the kids call it. They stayed and watched baseball with us after the party and we had such a good time.<br />
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Cake time! I have decided I like one big cake with three birthday cupcakes for the boys. It seems to work well for everyone to have their own candles to blow out (I learned at the Christmas Eve candlelight service that I should have spent more time teaching those kids that there are other kind of candles than birthday candles).</div>
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Present time! Mrs. Karen along with Abby and Chloe sat on the couch and watched the first opening of presents we'd ever done at a party. Let me say, it is a lot of work to get three kids presents, keep 'em coming, and get thank yous delivered to the right people.<br />
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Sunday was our actual birthday, and here we are outside waiting for Grandma & Papa to bring the gifts from Mom & Dad. I tried to get the boys to let me take a birthday group picture, but that was out of the question for Michael.<br />
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Bikes! I thought the boys were a little young for bikes, but when we started the process, they were already too big for the first bikes. These are 16 inch wheels! What happened to my little men? If you ask Ryan, he'll tell you that they got hair on their arms and grew up.<br />
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There was a bit of a fiasco with these bikes. In order to get three distinct bikes we had to shop around. I bought a Cars bike for James and a Toy Story bike for Michael from Wal-Mart ship to store. We went to pick up the bike, and the bike guy had not put Michael's bike together yet, so we went the next day, and the store had sold our bike to someone else. Ryan got a spiderman bike which I bought online from Sears. It came without all of the pieces, so figuring out how to return that was a fiasco as well. I have learned my lesson. In the future, all bikes will be put together and off the "showroom floor" a store.<br />
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It took the boys a bit to get the hang of it, but by September, they were all three great riders with training wheels. Daddy got a bike for Christmas, and we are looking forward to taking our bikes somewhere fun for a real ride while Mommy sits in the car and waves. Haha!<br />
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Michael was the last of the boys to get the hang of bike riding. He is so much like his father - anything for a laugh. For the longest time, he would ride into the curb on purpose and crash into the grass for fun. Thankfully, he has found it more enjoyable to stay astride of the bike rather than beside it in the last few months.</div>
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Cake time on our actual birthday. The boys love singing happy birthday and blowing out candles. They also love to lick the frosting off of the candles (on my birthday, I'd barely blown those bad boys out before three hands were snatching off candles and licking - luckily, I'm old enough that no one attempted double dipping of the candles this time).</div>
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Grandma & Papa Joe joined us via iPad for cake and presents. It is hard to be far from family, but I am so grateful to live in the day and age of video chatting. It's almost as good as being there when you can't actually be there.<br />
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Grandma & Papa got the boys a "cookbook" outdoor kitchen with grill that the kids love. Yesterday, they made me a meal from their cookbook (why it's not a kitchen, I have no idea) and allowed me to pick up all that food and put it back in the picnic basket by myself. They are such thoughtful boys.</div>
<br />Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-58998520639474394912012-08-28T07:00:00.000-05:002012-08-28T07:00:13.941-05:00It's Not Your Fault Angela, It's In Their Blood - Episode VI: Return to the Stroller<br />
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Last we spoke, the boys were enjoying themselves at the Lego Play area of Star Wars Celebration VI. The main exhibit hall was getting busier and busier, so we decided to head towards the 3rd floor where it looked like there might be some cool things in some of the ball rooms. </div>
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As we were heading out we ran into a Boba Fett that Michael recognized instantly, he didn't want to get too close though.</div>
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After a rather scary moment of trying to get all 3 boys on the escalator by myself while Angela negotiated with the stroller (thanks to the guys behind me who helped pick up the 2 I dropped) we ran into a familiar face.</div>
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Angela and I had been discussing at lunch how we had not gotten a picture with Darth Vader, yet - a good one at least. I was also surprised by the lack of Chewbaccas, I thought we'd get a lot of those.<br />
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As you can see the boys are a bit cautious as I try to push them closer to Darth Vader.<br />
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At this point I will mention that the Dark Lord of the Sith was not very helpful here. I get that he was trying to stay in character, but come on man, you can't at least say hello? Perhaps give them a high five and pull them in?<br />
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God forbid "Mr. I Still Live at Home and Wish I Had Kept My Apple Stock" help out a fellow underachiever with his 3 year old triplets!<br />
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You proud of yourself Lord Vader?</div>
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On the flip side, after we left Darth Pain in the Ass, James spotted a storm trooper who was walking away from us. James took off towards this guy. He must have chased him for at least a minute. At one point ,I lost sight of him, but thought to myself, just keep the storm trooper in your sites and you won't lose James.</div>
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Sure enough, I was right. James finally caught the guy as he stopped to get a drink and to take his helmet off. James ran to him and gave him a hug. He kind of startled the guy, and I told him that James had been chasing him. He said, no problem and started talking to James. He gave him a hug back and told me to get my camera out. He then said to James, you want to help me hold my blaster? James said "YES!"</div>
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I couldn't thank that dude enough as James was ecstatic and in a much better mood as we walked away.<br />
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When we walked in, they handed the kids a hand out that said, For Kids Only! It was something in the Digital Theater on the 4th floor at 2:30. No adults allowed unless accompanied by a child 11 years old or under. We walked up to the theater at about 2:20, got in the back of the line and as we entered we each got some free pop corn. I told Angela they are probably going to screen a TV show or something.<br />
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The creator of the Clone Wars came out and talked about how George Lucas (who was there earlier in the day apparently) had seen this project and told them to show it at Celebration. They said that was 2 weeks ago. He then said not to video it as they do not want it to end up on You Tube. I thought it was going to be a Christmas episode of Clone Wars. <br />
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Instead it was an 88 minute movie titled "Young Jedi". They said that it was meant for families and other than that did not say anything else about it. Was it planned for a movie? Was it a TV show and we were watching a few episodes cut into one feature? That's what it looked like, much like the Clone Wars movie looks like 3 or 4 episodes put into one. I do have a hard time believing it was just decided to show this 2 weeks ago since it appeared finished. The animation was great and all the sound effects seemed to be in place.<br />
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We watched the first episode where the chick from Clone Wars and Yoda take 6 Young Jedi to create their own Light Sabres. It was cool and more importantly, the kids dug it. 22 minutes in, the 2nd episode began although there were no cuts or anything to signify that, you could just tell a 2nd story was starting. This one had the young Jedi being hijacked by Pirates. I was into it but it was a bit loud and the kids got scared, so we took them out. I think at home or even in the theater if we can prepare them for it, they will really like it.<br />
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What has surprised me is that since we got home, I have found very little, next to nothing in fact, about it on the web. I did see on theforce.net speculation that it was just going to be an arc on the Clone Wars tv show, but I really don't think so. I think it's going to be a separate project. Apparently George Lucas hinted in a panel earlier that day about a project for younger children, I do believe this what he was talking about.<br />
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As we left the theater we headed out and had to get a couple pictures by what the boys call Robot Dogs.<br />
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We had to stop and pick up another free badge for the kids as we were leaving because Angela's a nut and she couldn't live with the fact that James had lost his and wouldn't have one for his scrap book. As she was getting that done a guy in a black stormtrooper outfit came down a ramp holding on to the hand rail. As I watched him approach, I thought to myself, there is a guy with some very uncomfortable shoes. He looked like every step hurt. I felt bad for the guy, there was hardly anybody around, and even though he was in full gear, it looked like he was in pain.<br />
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The boys stopped him, he gave high fives to all of them and apparently said some nice things to them all. I was across the hall but Angela talked to him and said he was real nice. She had no idea he looked as if he was really hurting. As we walked out they all said goodbye to him and he turned around to wave goodbye to the kids.</div>
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Ryan has said to me several times since then, I talked to the black stormtrooper, he was cool. That was a pretty good way to end the day, I wish I had remembered to take my camera out.</div>
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We got back to the car and the boys were sound asleep within minutes. For the most part they slept the entire 2 1/2 hour ride back to Jacksonville. It's hard to speak for the boss, but I think we were both pretty happy with the results of the day. When Ryan woke up on Sunday he said to me, "Can we go to Star Wars Convention today?"</div>
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Pretty cool, if you ask me.</div>
Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-28267430391351680382012-08-27T07:00:00.000-05:002012-08-27T07:00:00.684-05:00It's Not Your Fault Angela, It's In Their Blood - Episode V: The Triplets Strike Back<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Once again, I'm back, it's Bob to continue the Saga of the Newhouse triplets torturing their mother with science fiction stuff that she could care less about.</div>
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Yesterday, I discussed how this obsession began and our ride to Orlando to attend the Star Wars Celebration VI at the Convention Center. </div>
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Today, we will actually enter the show itself! See, we can make progress after all!</div>
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I had done some research prior to the show and figured we needed to hit the Disney booth right away as it seemed to be the busiest. By the time we navigated the boys through the enormous crowd we discovered that there was no way we were going to be able to get into that booth as it seemed everyone in the county was in that little 80 foot booth. I also wanted them to do the Carbon Freeze Me thing as the boys love very little more than "I Freeze Han!" followed by an ack!</div>
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Well, that fun sounding thing cost $115 per kid, so I decided we will continue to pretend to be frozen without physical proof. I also started to have a bit of a panic attack at this point. I was 0 for 2 in what I wanted the boys to do, they weren't very interested in being pulled through all these people and my blood pressure was rising.</div>
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Thankfully, R2-D2 rolled by. <img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUt0sesW7Vp3OwQbh5oM3ktHxAUiLWctwYpt4ZPLaGFUrtuXlTFryWrm9IAaQmHpIyEVOM1TfYrBSZYjoRSTkC8G2sLFhNlfBRfzrj_0N8hyvpzFxWWph3c6M779Ow86gfdKiXUB2s4Jk/s320/IMG_1141.jpg" width="240" /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYZtXNScWvT53qbh5hS17hvAD5ufnMzoWdDQ9ru98pHmbECj7YRIqrFgVrn0NOsikWTLhcE1o-0XgmIJ-LWJ_-MVJxNajysNaY0vYQYEvufyl5fJx8pUfKet5Zu4CnJCYl4GLgtWgLp8/s1600/IMG_1142.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYZtXNScWvT53qbh5hS17hvAD5ufnMzoWdDQ9ru98pHmbECj7YRIqrFgVrn0NOsikWTLhcE1o-0XgmIJ-LWJ_-MVJxNajysNaY0vYQYEvufyl5fJx8pUfKet5Zu4CnJCYl4GLgtWgLp8/s320/IMG_1142.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_0Rq8Q4Xo6yhO3YPTpijZOhKyuQgi5jIAAE6a0hhKylkfbkXHqYGcCvbC5IteOOUjTK0I2GdcG8fLEPCmn3JOpd4hZgXZJgHvnBpaMkyaZMyeo9DA29R9-XtKzAxrk2PuUIT9aVc_ln4/s320/IMG_1143.jpg" width="240" /> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QOVf8Ui1xcaEildqMFAZBj2vVZz9nF7anUJRY1c0DwjNI-T2hyphenhyphenVOamimBinZHsBYkPbYwAGziR5Vw5h0NyoK6wgmi-8E9Q-JVZgyAl6ZsJSFWz0ToLXhWXzHbPvNEguwNO6rr9eLJzg/s1600/IMG_1140.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5QOVf8Ui1xcaEildqMFAZBj2vVZz9nF7anUJRY1c0DwjNI-T2hyphenhyphenVOamimBinZHsBYkPbYwAGziR5Vw5h0NyoK6wgmi-8E9Q-JVZgyAl6ZsJSFWz0ToLXhWXzHbPvNEguwNO6rr9eLJzg/s320/IMG_1140.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rOvMmY9-Kuqh8cyk04zn2LFImWvUA_qjcLfKkL2fXi4esNnuuK1Ax4JZCTbMbE4Iuf0B7rmh1wOwUdifpBAm6_qZ4FkokjkQrtbr1xtZofIed9sYAuFArfB57cB-NeBs8UVcMHwpd9A/s1600/IMG_0983.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rOvMmY9-Kuqh8cyk04zn2LFImWvUA_qjcLfKkL2fXi4esNnuuK1Ax4JZCTbMbE4Iuf0B7rmh1wOwUdifpBAm6_qZ4FkokjkQrtbr1xtZofIed9sYAuFArfB57cB-NeBs8UVcMHwpd9A/s320/IMG_0983.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaYZtXNScWvT53qbh5hS17hvAD5ufnMzoWdDQ9ru98pHmbECj7YRIqrFgVrn0NOsikWTLhcE1o-0XgmIJ-LWJ_-MVJxNajysNaY0vYQYEvufyl5fJx8pUfKet5Zu4CnJCYl4GLgtWgLp8/s1600/IMG_1142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>The boys weren't entirely sure what to do with him, but they were certainly intrigued. When they tried to touch him voices from all over the hall cried out, "Don't Touch Him!"<br />
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Without discussing it, Angela and I had decided that we really wanted to cover this event well. As you can see that we were taking photos from every angle. We hadn't quite got the system down yet of how to keep the cameramen out of the picture. <br />
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<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJID0bWdoTcWx3ZhFPmkmfyTvI7zWWmfFTI5YEOJX1H_9dz2oM-wDD2uD3un1Y4Sw7RtrHLBOp8goj1QdJ0I08629vf2QPRROFvAJtGBTPnsiiuc0MmS0LXFj_yZUGqPcrSXeLx0MxvE/s320/IMG_0982.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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Another issue that I had was that I wasn't prepared to try and get the boys to pose while fighting off crowds. That is why the picture below is just of Darth Vader's crotch.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVJXOg4KkaWU8eRHBKaedYatBg6yMmY9BsXZyeviNqOdyiD0MRjIR3OZ4_rv0OZryc5AG5GA0iiQ6rxhCfIYUKhcWDqJduyBPWEgSWXxXDkcFrJ2bqeZ9HEdHEKFNpPzpyl3mf2qJOj0/s1600/IMG_0985.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJVJXOg4KkaWU8eRHBKaedYatBg6yMmY9BsXZyeviNqOdyiD0MRjIR3OZ4_rv0OZryc5AG5GA0iiQ6rxhCfIYUKhcWDqJduyBPWEgSWXxXDkcFrJ2bqeZ9HEdHEKFNpPzpyl3mf2qJOj0/s320/IMG_0985.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRV4v1vUVFMRBfj_XnIcjs50qup2zdi9ryeN0iAGqWPHLqnbI6sQ0ViqAKa2n1-NkaVzqttQjmEKET1CuIPfl9Wr4PcbQC6Sm3j7ZALjJ-is2t1Dd3q9rAQXxcqXCgBKizitXupNk2zTY/s1600/IMG_0991.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRV4v1vUVFMRBfj_XnIcjs50qup2zdi9ryeN0iAGqWPHLqnbI6sQ0ViqAKa2n1-NkaVzqttQjmEKET1CuIPfl9Wr4PcbQC6Sm3j7ZALjJ-is2t1Dd3q9rAQXxcqXCgBKizitXupNk2zTY/s320/IMG_0991.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Shortly after that, we came up on a storm trooper and the boys were
officially relaxed as you can see Ryan approaches him to shake his hand.
I'm not sure anyone has ever shaken a stormtroopers hand before. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_7cyyZKi68L08SqJ5RuFx3JqnPeNtCW-_erY1U5unttV0cCJKv0YSJ_RiwGrgzIMchfPHnMPFDdeZAbI9PBsg6H01-hTa_3cI8AB3R0IIUWgMb5rVBhBgKuKTqOorEJFp_XfVtitsgU/s1600/IMG_0992.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX_7cyyZKi68L08SqJ5RuFx3JqnPeNtCW-_erY1U5unttV0cCJKv0YSJ_RiwGrgzIMchfPHnMPFDdeZAbI9PBsg6H01-hTa_3cI8AB3R0IIUWgMb5rVBhBgKuKTqOorEJFp_XfVtitsgU/s320/IMG_0992.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Michael followed that up with a hug.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZDJRPVN7hQt0pq5hpC8hC-6UwmF5_hiWOnmmwzVP-0yBUNFkRAyP8VvUp2d2AobDUzIcC9bhDleTHOmI3OsFrcspImYfHGrCdZUpH6y9KseY6Z0voyCJgn72WYugEtZOA5Hue2Y3aiM/s1600/IMG_0995.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZDJRPVN7hQt0pq5hpC8hC-6UwmF5_hiWOnmmwzVP-0yBUNFkRAyP8VvUp2d2AobDUzIcC9bhDleTHOmI3OsFrcspImYfHGrCdZUpH6y9KseY6Z0voyCJgn72WYugEtZOA5Hue2Y3aiM/s320/IMG_0995.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm not 100% sure why James felt he needed to get on his knees for this picture but he and Ryan sure are happy.<br />
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At this point, my bladder was about to explode. I hadn't peed since I woke up, and this old man bladder was about to burst. I got false hope when I saw the restroom sign at one end of the convention center. I took off that direction and it was nothing but women's restrooms. At a Star Wars convention? Really? A whole wall with nothing but women's bathrooms? Seems a bit silly to me.</div>
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Anyway, while I was there I noticed a few booths with action figures so I decided, the boys will dig this. When I found them again I began to drag Ryan and James towards the figures. I do mean drag them, they were not happy to walk away from where they were seeing costume guys. As I got them to the booth they were immediately mesmerized by $15 to $20 toys, so that worked. Good work Bob.</div>
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So, I decided to move to the next booth which started James on a kicking and screaming fit that I was incredibly proud of. I mean what father wouldn't be proud of his son acting like a lunatic, attracting child protective services at an event that was meant just for the son. </div>
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Luckily at this booth, they had boxes of used toys that were priced as low as $6. They were going through the boxes and of course pulled out the ones that had the highest price tags on it and the most parts to lose. They are my boys after all.</div>
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We bought them each a toy, and I swear to you we weren't 5 feet from the booth before the first robot head was lost.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSNmYSTsQJOibLZ6QahJwGUiKP3Q4vNBrTrRNYflbkl20KrY8j9CQO007RFhHX3cEiPiAODUS_g5vAqAmbuXrk6FYj5xzIGx6Qdsj_YWerI18ct02SJZygf3lHhFvzHCYaWv2wPaGe40/s1600/IMG_0997.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSNmYSTsQJOibLZ6QahJwGUiKP3Q4vNBrTrRNYflbkl20KrY8j9CQO007RFhHX3cEiPiAODUS_g5vAqAmbuXrk6FYj5xzIGx6Qdsj_YWerI18ct02SJZygf3lHhFvzHCYaWv2wPaGe40/s320/IMG_0997.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
At this point the crowd seemed to thin out a bit and the picture taking
spots seemed to have relatively small lines so we decided to start
trying to get some pictures. At first I thought these were booths being
manned by people hired to pose for pictures, but it didn't take long to
realize that these were just Convention goers who would take 10 to 15
minutes or so to pose in front of these sets with people. <br />
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I kinda felt bad for these guys as we approached since they had to do quite a bit of negotiating and pleading with my kids to get them to pose for pictures.<br />
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Once again the boys approach with an attempt at a handshake, they are polite after all.<br />
<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ba94RANHC6kGQINQaoR7IdMt96MQp7Guyr77zEgvDC7VYmQ4B99gVVQGM0M9xfEE87wYt3YavNxgJOeBAzemo4sQbNBi2tV0W2ybjqpIODuNbOxSkb_xARe7LaUFTEelhkod0HXQ4xY/s320/IMG_1149.JPG" width="320" /> <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu_U4oRx1XGd4tWEY91sAi7UN0-5nNx9IsKu1evb0WcAgWvkpd3UfnGQJ5Ak5YfC5-_h5vgD5JFkz3NYvwjbFNfgSPzaHT4Xj0YzV9qPkceylU2Bl6NOp64RHYox8G_Y_pfs3KMJ31Cw/s1600/IMG_1151.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvu_U4oRx1XGd4tWEY91sAi7UN0-5nNx9IsKu1evb0WcAgWvkpd3UfnGQJ5Ak5YfC5-_h5vgD5JFkz3NYvwjbFNfgSPzaHT4Xj0YzV9qPkceylU2Bl6NOp64RHYox8G_Y_pfs3KMJ31Cw/s320/IMG_1151.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Well, we kinda got a posed picture.<br />
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Hey, look at this, we might actually have a family, posed picture. That is until you notice that James and Ryan are trying to figure out how to get the hologram started up so they practice taking on the Wookie.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0yQyMOkt3bNFQSij7wxrG9BSmSrkLjfeuEYQ3z5CIjXda5H4MlXU-F-SevPJkBrBUCCDrV2rhb_-St3RFwmscu5WUMIAoO4RPfu0wlkg1nomPxG-6DYvTbGi9ybgImDLRS-fAci2KKc/s1600/IMG_1153.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0yQyMOkt3bNFQSij7wxrG9BSmSrkLjfeuEYQ3z5CIjXda5H4MlXU-F-SevPJkBrBUCCDrV2rhb_-St3RFwmscu5WUMIAoO4RPfu0wlkg1nomPxG-6DYvTbGi9ybgImDLRS-fAci2KKc/s320/IMG_1153.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This couldn't possibly be 2 posed pictures in a row could it, well, until you realize Michael this time wants to take off down that hall yelling "It's not my fault the hyperdrive doesn't work!"<br />
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Would you believe more negotiating?<br />
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Well, camo'd stormtrooper is ready for the picture.<br />
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One last try!<br />
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Ryan really wanted to ride that bike but it had a do not sit on it sign, so we had to do a quick pose while the next group really wanted to pose in front of the gate.<br />
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It's
hard to see in these pictures but Michael put on the gas mask thing,
they were much more interested in that then posing for pictures. Ryan
didn't want any part of the droid hospital.
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The boys climb into a snow speeder. Yet another example where they could give a crap about the picture, they just wanted to figure out how to get the top shut so they could blow this pop stand.<br />
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Ryan got a bit scared and started to crawl into the ship.<br />
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I decided to try and help him so we could get a pciture, can you see a little head popping out of the front seat?<br />
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Ryan never did get completely into the ship as his leg got caught.<br />
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Which of course made him very happy as I came to pull him out right when he got his leg uncaught.<br />
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At this point we rolled up on some pretty cool booths with ships and
helmets displayed, but we figured out real quick that the boys wanted to
try on each and every helmet, so we decided to go eat some lunch.<br />
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As we were walking to lunch we passed the autograph area. I grabbed a program to figure out how the autographs worked. They had probably 30 different people there signing. You had to buy autograph tickets for $20 cash. They had just about everybody you can think of and a whole lot more. Lots of guys who were in the movies in suits of characters I can barely remember.<br />
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The more famous people charged more, I recall that Warwick Davis was $40, Carrie Fisher and Peter Mahew were $60 and I think Anthony Daniels was $100. I do remember that Mark Hamil was $150. It doesn't take a genius to figure out we weren't going to do that, but I did want to walk by and just catch a glance of the people who shaped my life.<br />
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The majority of them were at tables with very small lines, perhaps 1 or two people at best. I was fascinated by Jake Lloyd who played Young Boy Annakin as he is known around these parts. He had 1 person at his table, he seemed nice, he got up and let them take a picture with him which the instructions said not to do. He's in his early 20's, had a ski cap on and a very young looking goatee thing.<br />
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A few tables down was the kid who played Boba Fett in Attack of the Clones. He's probably the same age as Jake but he's a better looking dude and had some hotties at his table. I was also fascinated by the guy right next to Jake, I forget his name but I recognized him instantly as Rogue Two! It was everything I had not to go up to him and say <span title="Source: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back">"Echo Base, this is Rogue Two. I've found them. Repeat, I've found them."</span><br />
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<span title="Source: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back">The guys who cost more than $20 had their own little pods set up so that gawkers like us couldn't see them. They had much longer lines of course. I was able to sneak a peek at Warwick Davis but that was it. I would have liked to have seen Carrie Fisher, but it might be best I didn't. From what I can tell from online reports, she was pretty funny all weekend though.</span><br />
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Following an incredibly expensive lunch of Papa John's Pizza, we stumbled upon literally a hundred stormtroopers marching by. James couldn't have been any happier but unfortunately I was late in getting the camera out.</div>
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I'm a pretty big fan of that picture, you have to look at it kind of close but the storm trooper is waving at James. He dug that.<br />
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Next we stumbled on the Lego playground. I had read about it, but it wasn't where I thought it was, so I felt that maybe it wasn't there on Saturday, but boy was it. The boys probably could have played here for a very long time.<br />
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Here the boys found a skyscraper that had been previously completed. They decided to make it just a tad bit taller.<br />
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Michael is the #1 architect in our house at the moment. I was scared to death our #1 destroyer in the house, Ryan, would start his Godzilla impression and take out all the creations in the play area, but he refrained. Whew.<br />
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One of the tables had some ships set up, Ryan takes a shot at what some other kid had created.<br />
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The boys were a bit puzzled by these things called Pods. Ryan tries to steal some tips from the kid next to him.<br />
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Time for James to join in and see what he can figure out about these Pod things.</div>
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Alright, that's it for today, come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our trip to nerdville as Angela calls it. </div>
<br />Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-51788485010504023042012-08-26T10:50:00.000-05:002012-08-26T10:55:32.146-05:00It's Not Your Fault Angela, It's In Their Blood - Episode IV: New Hopes<br />
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Is there a better opening phrase ever? I mean, seriously, every time I see that blue writing on the black screen I get chills. It's very cool.<br />
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Oh, I guess I should stop things for a second in case you haven't figured it out yet, but this is Bob, not Angela today. Many moons ago we both used to post here, but pretty much since the boys came home from the hospital, it's been exclusively Angela.<br />
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So, I apologize to those of you who prefer to hear from her, but I felt this post had to be done by me just so the facts are straight as she is a bit "uneducated" in the ways of the Force.<br />
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Basically the main difference in blogs from Angela vs ones I do,
mine have tons of set up and tend to be a lot more wordy and not written
near as well. So, buckle up because now I get to show you what I mean.<br />
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A month or so ago Angela asked me, "This whole Star Wars thing will pass, right? Just like Yo Gabba Gabba and Sid the Science Kid?" I looked at her and smiled and said, "I'm almost 42 and it has yet to pass".<br />
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She said, "Oh, God."<br />
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Star Wars entered my life in the spring of 1977, I was 6 years old. My dad brought home the Story of Star Wars LP, and I had that thing memorized by the time they finally got off their rears and took us to see it at the drive in. I was reciting the dialog back to my parents and I had never seen the flick. I remember even though I knew the story thinking, wow, so that's what a flying ship looks like?<br />
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Next came collecting the action figures and trading cards and this kid was hooked. I spent a lot of quality time with my action figures growing up. Don't ask about what Princess Leia did behind the closed door of my room. Let's just say, she didn't discriminate and she got around. Wookies, Droids, whatever it was I seemed to have at the ready. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaTKTGM7QNEg3O5-T530krec-x2RYnM2ypRmbY0iOLKpLLWNg3p8n6fYbosfw8bPo81oUWFc_AK4xixEmEFZ7b0KobfSpmfkBLqpqCZiy0-FyMuhQjlj_n7o4TR-LLijZR-N_kZP5oic/s1600/IMG_1003.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaTKTGM7QNEg3O5-T530krec-x2RYnM2ypRmbY0iOLKpLLWNg3p8n6fYbosfw8bPo81oUWFc_AK4xixEmEFZ7b0KobfSpmfkBLqpqCZiy0-FyMuhQjlj_n7o4TR-LLijZR-N_kZP5oic/s320/IMG_1003.jpg" width="240" /></a>When the Prequels were released starting in 1999, I was coming up on 30 years old, but I was still silly excited. I even went and bought the first round of action figures for the Phantom Menace with my buddy Marc the Cop. They were never taken out of the packaging until recently. They've become great incentives for the boys when they poop on the potty. Just yesterday, we were able to give one to James for the first time, he chose Jar Jar Binks as Ryan and Michael had already claimed, Mace Windu, Young Boy Annakin, Darth Maul and Jango Fett.<br />
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As the boys turned 2 and started watching movies a little more, I'd get frustrated watching the same 4 movies over and over and over again. So, I decided it was time to introduce them to a little Star Wars, but I didn't think they'd sit through the films as they hadn't watched any live action stuff at that point. I asked for The Clone Wars cartoon movie for Christmas but had never seen it. Uncle Joseph got it for us and we sat down to watch not long after.<br />
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I wasn't a big fan, but the boys sure did like it. It was a bit violent, ok, a lot violent. Angela is a lot more sensitive to that than I am, but I was the one who said, I'm not sure this is good for the boys. They did like to watch it though, so we decided to start introducing them to the movies. We introduced about 1 a month starting with the Original 3 and then moving to the prequels.<br />
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Ryan is the most vocal of the crew as he works really hard to know who everybody is as we are constantly doing pop quizzes. Ryan - "Whose that?" Daddy "I don't know, you tell me". Ryan "Uhm, Chewbacca!" he says with a huge smile.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzYFGt6QDZ21WVwS_DWyO_o2fSQnzLDWS04U4PPXmZGd6mDo4ik_sAdZqyAddBE84eXcPaM91fNuuuJ8j0Y7wV-jCFXgGsbd5EF_8kt_O1eY2wnPan1StBhu7IEBqVi76wVTjXS73EiI/s1600/IMG_1017.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzYFGt6QDZ21WVwS_DWyO_o2fSQnzLDWS04U4PPXmZGd6mDo4ik_sAdZqyAddBE84eXcPaM91fNuuuJ8j0Y7wV-jCFXgGsbd5EF_8kt_O1eY2wnPan1StBhu7IEBqVi76wVTjXS73EiI/s320/IMG_1017.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
James and Michael don't talk near as much about Star Wars as Ryan does but they sure do pay attention. Michael gets scared a bit from time to time, but there isn't too much that makes James happier than "Stormtroopers, Daddy!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidzYFGt6QDZ21WVwS_DWyO_o2fSQnzLDWS04U4PPXmZGd6mDo4ik_sAdZqyAddBE84eXcPaM91fNuuuJ8j0Y7wV-jCFXgGsbd5EF_8kt_O1eY2wnPan1StBhu7IEBqVi76wVTjXS73EiI/s1600/IMG_1017.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Angela would prefer the boys watch other things than Star Wars, but I'm ok with it because currently we have 5 movies in the rotation, to me, that's a whole lot better than Finding Nemo for the 442nd time this week. Although I do have to admit, I really have a hard time with Phantom Menace, but the boys dig the tar out the Pod race scene and Darth Maul, they get really excited. The first hour of Attack of the Clones is near excruciating as well, but the film ends well and it has Jango Fett in it, whom they all love.<br />
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About three months ago I sent something I found on the web to Angela, it was a complete joke. I send her stuff all the time saying, we should go to that. I never once expect her to say, yeah, we should go. She completely surprised me when looking at the information on Star Wars Celebration VI in Orlando she said, we should go, the boys will enjoy that.<br />
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I kept saying, no, they are too young.<br />
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As recently as 5 days ago I told her, we aren't going, we can't afford it and the boys are too young. Then she bought the tickets and the next thing I knew we were telling the boys about it and they started to get excited.<br />
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At that point I got in the mood and started searching the web when the show opened on Thursday to get an idea of what we had coming our way. It looked like we'd have lots of photo opportunities and that Angela would probably have a coronary.<br />
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She gets very uptight in public as the boys sometimes aren't being the best rule followers. I tend to give them a little more rope than she does and that leads to some tense moments in front of strangers from time to time. I was a bit nervous about how she'd do in what looked like would be a pretty large crowd.<br />
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I woke everyone up at 6:30 AM on Saturday, had everybody in the car at 7:30 and off to Orlando we went. Things didn't start well as Ryan was upset from the get go. About 5 minutes from the house I thought to myself, maybe we should turn around because this could be miserable.<br />
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Angela eventually got him to calm down, and shortly after 10, we arrived in the parking lot at the Convention Center. The boys were excited and as we rode the parking lot shuttle, we'd see the occasional Boba Fett walk by and they'd get really wound up. James was more excited by the passing cars and the fact that he wasn't strapped in on a moving vehicle. He really wanted to stand up and go "whoa, whoa, whoa" as the bus moved down the street.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KbBH6tXEOxlR7o8OKpmXihJj0WQbk6VwElAAGIWLOoa8hevtFrLhl3cqbY5CGAjmC0wB6b2ka1gZ4fr2H1qGQskZeqQ7tUzaBzWNu_ze7P0olSIQx4RTUcPA8IKqol4GK8CrwJYwGH8/s1600/IMG_0978.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KbBH6tXEOxlR7o8OKpmXihJj0WQbk6VwElAAGIWLOoa8hevtFrLhl3cqbY5CGAjmC0wB6b2ka1gZ4fr2H1qGQskZeqQ7tUzaBzWNu_ze7P0olSIQx4RTUcPA8IKqol4GK8CrwJYwGH8/s320/IMG_0978.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
It took us a bit to walk from the bus to where the tickets were as we made a wrong turn or 4 and the boys were getting a bit anxious. At that point we found this gathering of Fett's and something I didn't anticipate happening happened: Ryan got scared. My biggest Star Wars fan, the guy who is always talking about Boba and Jango Fett. The kid who pops Michael in the head every time he misidentifies a Fett was surrounded by them, and he totally froze up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6WTgHppDFVZLZNZQbnh82uprxEReb3rEhlcipaFljyd6lIinpDGrRu04jWiKzKPIRLglQuscmKXCef-8chpYVtYBqT5HbEC80qeGTzXsMCtJu3hXCRMJGEgKhUByp_efpWRkzLX_gYI/s1600/IMG_1137.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6WTgHppDFVZLZNZQbnh82uprxEReb3rEhlcipaFljyd6lIinpDGrRu04jWiKzKPIRLglQuscmKXCef-8chpYVtYBqT5HbEC80qeGTzXsMCtJu3hXCRMJGEgKhUByp_efpWRkzLX_gYI/s320/IMG_1137.JPG" width="320" /></a>I'm not exactly sure what Fett's these were and I'm going to say that's why Ryan wouldn't go near them. Apparently we don't watch enough Clone Wars or something, and he just didn't want to recognize a Fett that wasn't Boba or Jango.<br />
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The guys were really nice and for some reason I was surprised when they
spoke. They had headsets on and the sound was really good, perhaps they
had a Bose speaker system hidden in that helmet, I'm not sure. One of
them gave James a blaster to start and he was in heaven.<br />
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This was the closest we were able to get Ryan to them, he wouldn't budge any closer.<br />
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James sure looks happy though, don't he? <br />
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Ryan seems very confused by the Pink R2 unit but at least he approached it.<br />
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At this point of the story I believe dear reader you are saying to yourself, they aren't even in the convention yet? 'Tis true, we are not, so why don't we stop here for today and in the next day or so I'll come back with another part of the story.<br />
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<br />Bob Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03527825622799861963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-243177896597655152012-08-22T20:31:00.000-05:002012-08-22T20:31:21.195-05:00Magical Mickey Makes May Memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Since it is almost September, I must get back to playing catch-up on the blog, or it will be Christmas before I even realize it. So, back to May and my parents' trip to Florida, and our family pilgrimage to the land that Walt built. Bob and I took the boys to Disney despite our intentions to leave them behind in November, and it was such a success, I was eager to do it again before they turned three and cost us an arm and a leg. </div>
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I'm so glad that we took them with Grandma & Papa Joe. They had a fantastic time (all five of them). Mom kept telling me how she'd watched all of the things she was seeing on the Wonderful World of Disney when she was a kid. My dad actually rode a coupe of rides, and we even used his little cart as a fast pass onto the Peter Pan ride (thanks, Papa Joe).</div>
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Here are the happy pair, ready for the day to begin. We got a little later start than we'd hoped. Since I've married Bob, I've learned to be on time and early to things by planning in adequate time to accomplish given tasks. I did not learn this growing up, and sometimes, when going places with my parents, I forget that they have a philosophy that leans more toward "things will start when I get there." So, for my slightly neurotic self, I was concerned that we weren't in the gate at the park until 10 a.m. (My mom's theme park plan was always be there when the doors open and make them kick you out when they close. You have to get your money's worth). Anyway, despite our delayed start that was even more delayed by a broken monorail, we were able to do everything we wanted to do and even managed to stay late enough for the kids to sleep through the fireworks.</div>
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The boys are getting so much better at listening to us that I am considering retiring their monkey backpack/leashes. I have them in reserve as a threat, but especially in large groups, they tend to stick close and follow instructions much better than they used to. The double stroller works great. Every once in a while, I wish I had an in-line three seater, but when necessary, we either share the back seat, or the odd man out rides on the handle/cup holder area. With Papa Joe's scooter, the boys were in heaven. At one point during the day, Michael was standing in front of him asleep. They definitely all wanted a turn riding with Papa Joe.</div>
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Michael probably spent the most time directing Papa Joe's cart. Michael, in general, is all about grandpas, and he was delighted to have a special seat with Papa Joe.<br />
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Last time we went to Disney, James threw a fit trying to get to the castle (we, of course, had no idea that it was the desire to see the castle that was causing us problems). This time, he was patient, but still very excited to see the "Mickey Mouse Castle."<br />
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I included this picture to demonstrate my family's irritation with my constant need to chronicle our lives with my little camera. Take the picture and let's get to it!<br />
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Our first stop of the day were the magic carpets. I love that we all got cars near each other so that I could get a couple of great pictures of us.<br />
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Now that we're airborne, Aunt Faith decides to smile. She doesn't do mornings.<br />
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I think despite the fact that my dad swears his favorite ride was the haunted mansion (a.k.a. the Happy Halloween ride at our house), that his true favorite was a toss up between the corny jokes on the Jungle Cruise and the Country Bear Jamboree. The boys refer to the Country Bear Jamboree as the Papa Joe songs. Michael does love those country bears.</div>
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Perhaps the highlight of the day for the boys was a photo op with Jessie and Woody. They weren't too keen on the line. James broke ranks about five times and made a dash to the characters. I'm pretty sure the kids were ready to pack up and go back to Toy Story land with them. They did keep asking "Where is Buzz?"<br />
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This picture is a tragic look at bad parenting. The boys were tall enough to ride everything at Magic Kingdom except for Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain. Bob and I debated about taking them on this ride. We decided it would be okay. Getting on the ride, I was too big for the bar to go low enough for the boys to be secured, so the entire ride, I worried that my big butt and love for cheeseburgers was going to result in the loss of one or both of my boys in the waters of Splash Mountain. The brilliance of this picture is in the facial expressions of the boys. It's a little difficult to see Ryan's face, but if you look closely, you see pure, unadulterated fear. Michael looks pretty nervous, but the true gem is James with his hands clasped over his ears (for some reason all of our kids do this when they are scared). We should be locked up for this decision, but the kids LOVED it. They talk about the "big splash" all the time, and they never talk about being scared, so I guess we did okay.</div>
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Winnie the Pooh is a big player in our world. The boys were so excited to meet Tigger. Bouncy, Bouncy.</div>
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While a little hesitant at first, they all went in for the Tigger hugs. <br />
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A Tigger is a wonderful thing.</div>
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Ryan takes a turn at the wheel. I'm pretty sure this face shows how much fun Papa Joe was having. <br />
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Ryan still loves Small World. The boys were starting to wear down, but they got a little lunch and a little ice cream and kept on going.<br />
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One of the biggest players in our house during the spring was Sword in the Stone. The boys were so excited to get a chance to try to pull out the sword. They weren't very excited to have to do it quickly and share with other potential kings. In the middle of the afternoon, this being Florida, it rained for a bit (as we were standing in line for the "drive cars" ride - huge tragedy). It led us indoors to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor and the Buzz Lightyear Ride. </div>
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Here Daddy does his best to mop the floor with Aunt Faith. I must admit that I didn't even really try to hit the targets. After the Buzz ride, I had camera fatigue and quit chronicling our adventure. It was a wonderful time. We stayed until 10 p.m., then said goodbye to Papa Joe, Grandma, and Aunt Faith and headed home. They stayed a couple more days in Orlando and had a blast. We are looking forward to next year when they come back.</div>
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<br />Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-84435393706363614452012-08-19T22:01:00.003-05:002012-08-19T22:01:53.569-05:00Ryan, Who Speaks for All<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our sweet, wonderful youngest child Ryan is our biggest boy now. A mere 5 lbs 5 oz when he was born, he's now 41.25 inches and 37 lbs. He is built solidly with muscular thighs and not much paunch. Ryan is a big kid with a tender heart. He has unfortunately inherited his mother's grace and is constantly spending quality time getting reacquainted with the ground. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that he doesn't pay attention to where he is going rather than complete clumsiness.</div>
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Since birth, Ryan has been our most curious child. I remember trying to feed him in the NICU and having trouble getting his attention because he would rather look around and see what was going on. He is constantly asking questions. He wants to know where, when, how, what, and why for anything and everything. He asks questions he already knows the answer to, and when I repeat the question to him, he will answer it himself. He cracks me up with his strange little quirks. When he doesn't want to eat something, he'll tell me "I can't like it." It's not his fault that avocado is yuck, he just can't like it.</div>
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Ryan is definitely my baby. He likes attention. If someone else hurts a knee or an elbow, Ryan is right there to claim the same injury and specialized attention. He is most likely to fake a cry after a fall or a loss of a toy, etc. He loves to be one of the gang and special all at once, and he manages to do it with guileless cunning. </div>
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Ryan is always on the go. He is the least likely child to be found watching TV. He is always playing and loves to be right in the middle of things. He plays well with both his brothers, and when one of them is upset because Ryan is playing with a toy that he wants, Ryan will usually hand the toy off to his brother because he hates to see either of them sad.</div>
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He is always coming up with new phrases and interesting ways of saying things. His newest quirk is to say "mine." For example, "Can I have mine toy? Where is mine shoe? Is this mine daddy's car?" He has always said "my," but I guess the mine is too tempting. Another favorite word of late is "almost." When you tell him it's time for bed or time to take a rest, he says "almost." After noticing how often he uses the term, I did a self examination of our daily conversations, and I'm pretty sure he got the almost from me.</div>
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All of my three men are great little loves. They all will sit on my lap, cuddle up in the bed with me, and come and give me lots of love both solicited and unprompted. Ryan is probably my biggest love bug. He is always grabbing me for a hug. The boys like to scream "wake up" when you pretend to sleep, but I've taught Ryan to wake me up with kisses. He will give me lots of air kisses and then I have to "wake up."<br />
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While James and Michael will sit and watch a movie or a show with me and snuggle up for a long time, Ryan is much too busy for that. We have recently unzipped the crib tents (we still like having the option of the zip), and Ryan is always the first out of bed. He bounces into our room and proceeds to jump all over the bed, sit on my hair, play a baseball game with "mine daddy" on the PS3, all before 7 a.m. For those of you who know me at all, you know morning is not my best time, but obviously, it's Ryan's. Usually, he's not too far ahead of his brothers in jumping into our bed. One day last week, I had two tigers and a dinosaur fighting on top of me while I tried to gain precious moments of sleep. I sometimes wonder if it's possible to be a victim of too much testosterone.<br />
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Ryan is a tiny version of Bob. He like to listen to Bruce, watch baseball (in fact, we are starting to watch some pre-season football, and Ryan wants to know where is his baseball), obsess about Star Wars, use the "force," and is most often the child who will pay attention to whatever it is Daddy is up to. He checks the mail with Daddy, and any time the car moves, he likes to be inside it and go somewhere.</div>
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Ryan is our first child to actually use the potty. I have not the stamina to spend the time necessary to convince all three of our children to use the potty. Ryan has perfected the pee in the frog potty and has moved on to peeing standing up. He doesn't do every pee in the toilet, but he is starting to tell me when he needs to go, so I think it is only a matter of time before he's fully trained. The last two nights, he has pooped on the potty as well. He is doing such a great job that I try to focus on him and not think about the hours Michael will sit with no progress and the refusal of James to even think about coming near the potty. <br />
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Two handsome Ryans for the price of one. Ry is an effective iPad/Phone user, but he is usually the third man on the totem pole for the use of an internet connected device. He likes to take pictures and to have his picture taken. He is very fond of the library, the beach, the splash park (or the water park depending on what he's decided it's called), and the zoo. <br />
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Ryan is our biggest talker. He is always willing to deliver a large quantity of information. He willing rats out himself and his brothers with honesty and regularity. He will answer questions for his brothers so that they don't have to talk. Bob is always asking him "is your name James/Michael?" He always says no and proceeds to answer whatever question was intended. Ryan is also an independent young man with a taste for go-gurt popsicles and chips. He is always able to help himself to whatever he wants. He is a master of invention and ingenuity. He is nothing if not resourceful and self-sufficient and a truly fantastic little man.</div>
<br />Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-23617294968430292152012-08-13T23:48:00.000-05:002012-08-13T23:48:38.859-05:00Michael, Who Is the Boss<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My sweet little Michael was less than six pounds when he was born. Now, he's 40.25 inches and 35 pounds. He loves to take his clothes off and declare "I'm naked." Thankfully, he has limited this nudity to our home for the present.</div>
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At a year old, he was so sweet and cute. I'm not sure when his stint as toy terrorist began, but recently, he has gotten much better at sharing and playing together with his brothers. He does still like to deliver instructions to any and all comers. He is very adept at repeating my instructions to his brothers. He likes to be in charge and direct what's going on, and occasionally, he actually will get his two cohorts to comply. Although he is baby B, he's definitely our alpha dog.</div>
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Michael is a more cautious person than most. He likes to be prepared before jumping in. For the first part of the summer, he wouldn't get into the pool without a five minute warm up period, but now that he's comfortable with it, he jumps in immediately. When attempting something new, it's best to let him go last so that he can see what is going on and prepare himself. When my mom came in May, she accidentally drug him behind her in the waves at the beach. The next time we went to the beach, he was very hesitant, but after many assurances and some one on one beach time, it's one of his favorite places to go. He is a good library listener (although he can be persuaded to follow his brothers into mischief), and he loves to read.<br />
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Michael is the world's second slowest eater (Aunt Faith holds the record for most annoy consumption of sustenance). He will sit for hours eating one strawberry after the other, chewing it fully, and then moving on to the next one. He is willing to sit on the potty and will stay there for a long time if necessary. He has pooped on the potty, but usually he has spent a minimum of 15 minutes waiting before he will fill the frog potty and make his tinkle music. He does have some of his mother's strange OCD tendencies such as eating only one item at a time on his plate (why mix food groups, no need to get those tastebuds confused) and needing random things to be orderly - he lines up all kinds of toys for hours on end.</div>
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My sly fox loves to sing. He can whip out a theme song, umizoomi song, even a song from Yo Gabba Gabba that he hasn't seen in months. He can recite his ABCs, recognize almost all of his letters, and count to at least fourteen. He is amazing in what he picks up and retains. In order to hold a meaningful conversation with Michael, you must be familiar with the lexicon of Umizoomi. He will recite entire plots, pepper his car rides with references to various Umi streets, and demand access to his "super shapes." I'd expound on all of this for those of you unfamiliar with the joys of the trio of tiny heroes, but I'm sure that Michael would do a much better job.<br />
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Michael is so used to being the child in trouble, that he often apologizes to his brothers when they are supposed to be apologizing to him. In the last few weeks, though, he has been much better. You can see that when he gets frustrated or angry, his first instinct is to bite, but he refrains and instead does an odd version of the Tarzan gorilla sniff. I guess whatever works. I wish that Ryan would take a page from Michael's book. We had gone several months free of bite marks, and now, poor Michael and James are often decorated with the circular wound associated with Ryan's new phase. I guess my laid back kid decided to get aggressive and my aggressive kid decided to relax a little.<br />
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Of all the fighting that is done between the boys (which is not as often as it sometimes seems), Michael and James throw down the most. The two of them will go at it until there is a clear winner or both of them have been redirected. I know that boys fight, but I do wish they weren't so violent about it. They do manage to work together as a team very well, despite a little fighting.</div>
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Recently, we have started leaving the crib tents unzipped in an effort to transition into a more grown up way of life (for me, this just means that our bed is invaded at least an hour earlier than before and a lot of toys have moved from the playroom to their room to encourage them to stay inside). At nap time, we often have to zip the kids in as the daylight provides them with adequate light to wreak havoc on their room. The second day of our zipless experiment, Bob and I heard a strange clinking noise and a very polite exchange which involved the boys taking turns without any encouragement from us. Bob got up to check it out, and the three of them had found a curtain rod I had "hidden" in the closet and were using it to hit the fan like a piñata. One broken light fixture, a cut lip, and three zips in a crib tent later, both James and Ryan were blaming Michael for being the mastermind with no objections from the accused.<br />
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I love this picture of Michael. It is a face a mother loves to kiss. He is a great cuddler. He will sit next to you and watch a movie or take over my mahjong game, flash this smile and get whatever he wants. He is constantly referring to himself in third person. I think that "me" just doesn't give him the individuality he craves. He is my mimic. He praises himself, says things, and does things a lot like I do. When we pick up toys, he is careful to sort things into the proper baskets, and when I was so bold as to put the Toy Story hot wheels with the Cars toys, he promptly removed them because they didn't belong in the Cars box. What can I say, when he's right, he's right. </div>
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In public without the familiarity of his brothers, he is painfully shy. Bob took him to a baseball game, and said that he wouldn't even look at the nice ladies trying to visit with him and such. At home, he is in his element and very friendly. An artist Bob works with stopped by the other day, and Michael latched on to his daughter. The two of them played for hours, held hands, he called her Dora, she called him Boots (I'm sure this just fanned the flame of his desire to watch Dora the Explorer, but that show is not allowed in this house - the long pauses waiting for the kids to respond to the TV drives me crazy), and surprisingly, he seemed eager to follow her lead. I guess he doesn't mind giving up a little power for the ladies. <br />
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I think that Michael is a wonderful kid with a sweet heart. He likes to learn, play puzzles, he can entertain himself for hours (his biggest fights with his brothers occur over them trying to play with toys that he has been dominating for longer than they would prefer). He is usually the last out of the bed in the morning and will admit that he is scared to climb out of his bed even though he can do it 99 times out of 100 without hurting himself. If you catch him in the right mood, he will follow along with the gang or lead it into horse broom races, reckless jumping on the bed, and swimming/bathing for literally hours. I love it when he comes up and holds my hand. He is always quick to tell me that he loves me accompanied by a great hug and kiss and declare me a princess. I'm a lucky Mommy.</div>
Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-47351059930558386612012-08-01T23:01:00.000-05:002012-08-01T23:01:42.786-05:00James, Who Takes to His Bed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In June, the boys turned three. I can't believe that they are already so grown up. It seems like yesterday that they were tiny and helpless, and now they are constantly in motion wanting to do things "by myself." I know that I am still behind on the chronicle of our last few months, but I thought it was worthwhile to insert a little bit of current cuteness.</div>
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When the boys were born, I bought these letters thinking that every year we'd take a picture with them to see how much they have grown. In this picture, James is three weeks old. At the three year old check up, he was 34 pounds and 40.25 inches which puts him above the 95th percentile for height, and we call him little man without a trace of irony. </div>
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Little Man at a year old. Bob showed James a picture of himself at around this age the other day, and he asked James what happened to all his hair. He patted his head and said "it's right here, Dad."</div>
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My two year old handsome man with his coordinating pacifier. Seeing this picture makes me remember how much James loved to rub the string on his nose. Not long after this picture was taken, we ditched the pacifier tether, but he is still never too far from his "pah fire."</div>
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I think this is my favorite letter picture of James so far. I love how his little eye is peeking through with his big grin. James is all about fun. He still loves racing, horses, horse racing, cars, and watching toy cars race on youtube. He also is a fan of dinosaurs and watching dinosaur stuff on youtube. He is my most technologically advanced guy. He has figured out the iPhone/iPad like a pro. He went through a phase of being completely addicted to Temple Run - he could outscore me to an embarrassing extent.</div>
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In this picture, I see a whole lot of Cain genes. I don't know why but when I look at him, James sometimes reminds me so much of my dad. I find it kind of cool because he's named after his two other grandpas, so to look a little like my dad seems fitting. His frame is all Newhouse. Kathy tells me how much his physique reminds her of Bob at the same age. He definitely has wide feet like Bob, lacks a caboose that will hold up his pants, ribs that you can count in the front and back of him, and a fair hint of mischief as well. </div>
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James is my digger. Today at the park, he had so much dirt on him that it was smeared on his forehead like Rambo. He loves animals of all kinds. He will watch a bug for hours. Spiders, toads, and lizards are great subjects to study. He adores going to the zoo and the beach. Last time we went to the beach, I'd wash the sand off of him so we could leave, and he'd roll around in it again before I could get him into the car. During one of his trips to the ocean to wash off, we saw a great crab in the surf (I was wishing I had my bucket and could take him home for dinner). James still talks about that crab. He is my biggest fan of Wild Kratts. Lately, Ryan has assigned him the favorite animal of elephant, but I'm pretty sure he loves the black rhino the most as I hear about it quite often.<br />
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This sweet face belies the evil genius that resides inside. I would say that James might be a touch strong willed. As I spent 20 minutes locked in the bathroom with him last night as he screamed and pounded on the door vowing to steal the robot toy Michael earned for pooping on the potty, I might not be as objective as I should be. He is my only child who has yet to pee on the potty. Kathy says that he peed for her, but if a tree falls in the forest, I didn't hear it, so it doesn't count. Most of the time, he refuses to sit, but tonight, he decided to try for a while. I am keeping hope alive, but as he is the instigator of the frog potty races, the jury is still out. James at his most diabolical at the library. That boy loves books, hates the library. He enjoys story time, but he wants to be part of the story. I am so grateful to the librarians at the University Park Library that they love my boys despite their rowdiness. Miss Kim and James are great friends. I'm pretty sure he'd go home with her and only send me postcards. James knows exactly what he needs to do for us to have to leave the library. If he decides that he's not into library time, he will do what it takes to get us back into our "umicar." One day, I took him to the bathroom, spanked him twice, gave stern talkings, and finally had to leave. He was not upset in the least. As previously stated - genius.<br />
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This handsome boy is not always crafty. He is genuinely kind, tender hearted, frightened of toy thievery committed by Michael, and so sensitive. He is my little love. He's a mama's boy, and I'm not complaining one bit. If something happens that causes him to feel upset in any way, he will grab his blanket, pacifier, and my hand then head to my bed. He crawls in, pats the mattress, covers up, tells me to take my hair out of the clip and get under the covers, then lays there until he is ready to come out. It reminds me of an antebellum lady getting the vapors and taking to her bed. I love it. He's such a character. In the mornings, he climbs into bed with me, grabs my phone, and curls up for a cuddle and some youtube. I think it's one of the best parts of my day. </div>
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As mentioned before on this blog, our family is slightly obsessed with Star Wars. He is my Han Solo, loves stormy-troopers and robots of all kinds. We have a bucket full of new Star Wars toys for potty rewards. This model was a birthday gift from Aunt Sue & Uncle JP. James has loved it to death, and Aunt Sue promised to look at the age limits on the next gift so that I don't have to buy a hot glue factory.<br />
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In the last few weeks, James has started talking. He is our least talkative child, but if you find his "jam" he will give you quite an earful. There is a Star Wars shooting game on the iPhone that he loves (shocking, I know), and a couple of weeks ago, we were video chatting with my parents and he kept yelling "I got one, Grandma! I got one." Made my mom's day, and James - a mutual admiration society. Bob thought he was pretty silent until he saw him watch an Umizoomi episode. He is most engaged in the antics of Millie, Geo, & Bot. He loves to sing. Life is a Highway is his signature tune, but he can also jam to the first 30 seconds of Bruce Springsteen's "We Take Care of Our Own," the Indiana Jones theme song, and he is a very good hummer of the Darth Vader Imperial March. James is also some what of a clothes horse like his Grandpa Robin and Uncle Zach. He likes to look nice and feels good in new outfits. I brought this shirt home. James is my hardest to fit (he's so skinny) clothing wise, so I had him try on the outfit. He called it his "grandpa shirt" (it's very similar to the style that Jim and Joe wear for nicer occasions) and refused to take it off. Even the on picture day, he wore it all day long refusing to take it off and save it for church.<br />
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This shot sums up the joys of brotherhood. James is always putting an arm around his brothers. Lately, not only do they come to me for comfort, they hug each other. It is the sweetest thing ever to watch them together. From the womb, I've told these little men that they are not only brothers but best friends, and they certainly are. It touches my heart beyond measure.</div>Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-89117357373282563632012-07-22T21:47:00.000-05:002012-07-22T21:50:01.638-05:00May Is Ptomey Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Not long after we left Texas, my parents and Faith came to Florida for a visit. We had such a wonderful time. We mixed a bit of touristy stuff in with hanging out around the house. For our first stop, we left all the boys at home, and the girls headed out to the Kingsley Plantation. It was such a neat place. We had a private tour thanks to one of the wonderful park rangers, and Mom and I loved it while Faith said it wasn't as bad as she thought.</div>
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An afternoon amongst all that history made me simultaneously miss teaching and want to become a park ranger. I debated about including a long historical narrative here but decided it might get too lengthy, so I'll save it for the kids - it's never to early to learn the lessons of the past.<br />
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It was fun to learn about some of the Spanish/English heritage of our new home state. It's strange to be somewhere where Remember the Alamo and Sam Houston mean nothing. We forced Faith to pose for lots of pictures which she grumbled about but will one day appreciate.<br />
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Mom, Faith, and I in a tiny, tiny slave cabin. The white material these are made out of is a material called tabby made from sand and seashells. It was really amazing that these structures have lasted as long as they have. <br />
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Following our day at the plantation, we took a drive south down A1A to admire the big houses and to see the beautiful beaches in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Reserve. </div>
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Not only did we make a quick stop at the beach, we also went to Marineland to see the dolphins.<br />
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The boys loved how the dolphins would come by and wave their tails at them. Our little beach bunnies love those sea creatures. They are obsessed with the Turtle movie made by Sea World and Dolphin Tale.<br />
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Papa Joe enjoyed the view of both the beach and the kids communing with the dolphins.<br />
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Grandma and her hat enjoyed watching those dolphins frolic almost as much as the boys did.<br />
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Michael gives Grandma a tour of Marineland.<br />
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We spent a lovely afternoon enjoying the beach and the dolphins. On Saturday, we went to Huguenot Park where you can drive your car on the beach. They boys enjoyed driving right up to the water and having watermelon at the car.<br />
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I'm pretty sure that given the opportunity, James could eat his body weight in watermelon as his slightly red face and ring around the collar indicate.<br />
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Ryan and Daddy having chips. By this point, Grandma had drug Michael behind her through the water, and he refused to go back in and spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the car and talking to Papa Joe through the window. When we had our special date, I had to promise Michael that I wouldn't let him fall in the water before he would go in. Since then, he's returned to full water baby. Thankfully, Grandma didn't scar him for life.<br />
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The beach bums having a snack before heading back into the water. By the time we left, the tide was coming in and the water was lapping at our wheels. <br />
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We got a lot of looks driving down the beach headed for the exit, and Bob was starting to get grumpy that people were staring at us (he is much more sensitive and aware of people noticing our triplets than I am - I tend to be blissfully oblivious). He looked in the rear-view mirror, and all the boys were wearing their stormtrooper masks from Star Wars. I wish I could have gotten a picture of it. It must have been a pretty funny sight to see - a suburban with three stormtroopers riding in carseats.<br />
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Not only did we have lots of outings while Grandma, Papa Joe, and Aunt Faith were here, we also had a couple of family events with the Newhouses including a Mother's Day shrimp boil prepared by the menfolk while the ladies went to get pedicures (I could get used to that!).<br />
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During our sojourn outside, James stole the camera and started taking pictures. He did a pretty good job on this shot of Ryan despite the slight finger on the left. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that James had taken the camera and had to search the backyard for it. I found it near the play house, thankfully.<br />
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One of the best parts of being outside is the opportunity to shoot Robot Dogs (AT-AT Walkers from Star Wars) with your gun. The boys run all over the back yard shooting at them and playing like they are Han, Luke, and Ben. The obsession my children (especially Ryan) have with Star Wars is borderline ridiculous considering they are only three. Ryan refers to me as Princess Leia. "Princess Leia, I'm hungry; Princess Leia, I've got poops, etc." I must call him Luke Skywalker, or he will tell me "I no Ryan, I Luke Skywalker." James has always been "my Han Solo" while Michael spent a little time being Chewbacca the Scary Wookie but was later renamed Ben because Michael didn't want to be Chewbacca. Bob is "my Darth Vader fadder," Jim and Kathy are "my Uncle Owen and my Aunt Beru." Uncle Joseph is the snow monster, Grandma & Papa Joe are medical droids, and depending on the day, Uncle Stephen is Yoda. We are quite a Star Wars family.<br />
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All of the boys enjoy Star Wars, and Bob has several action figures from his childhood that the boys love to play with. James loves Boba Fett and "stormy troopers." Ryan is all about Luke Skywalker with a dash of Han Solo, and Michael is all Jabba all the time. </div>
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Ryan letting everyone know where to find those pesky robot dogs so that they can go and save Princess Leia.<br />
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A vacation at our house just wouldn't be complete without some strange mundane task to accomplish. The boys had a dentist appointment so Mom and Faith came along while we sent Papa Joe and Grandpa out to go fishing. After the appointment, we picked up Grandma Kathy and went looking for something new and fun to do.</div>
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We found a great pirate park right off of the river. We were able to walk out onto the floating dock and see the tiny fish and the guys illegally fishing from it. We saw a pelican up close.</div>
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Ryan loved getting to give the globe a little spin, and James kept his eyes peeled for scurvy knaves on the attack.<br />
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After we'd been there a bit, the boys noticed a rather large puddle in the parking lot. They had a blast rolling around and jumping in the water. We didn't have any extra clothes, so after we drug them out of the water kicking and screaming, I put clean diapers on them and we headed home.<br />
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Whether in the ocean, the back yard, or jumping into a puddle, it's never a dull moment with these boys.</div>
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<br />Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-91468723385545664152012-07-10T22:14:00.000-05:002012-07-10T22:14:01.021-05:00April May Lead You Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In April, Bob knew he would have a couple of trips back to back. When he realized that, my wonderful husband suggested that the boys and I take a trip back to Texas. I was so excited by the prospect, but a little nervous about going cross country with the kids on my own. My biggest fear was how to use the bathroom on the road with the kids. I know that it's ridiculous, but being upon the throne is a very vulnerable position to be in public with three kids running around inside a tiny stall aching to break free. It's a frightening prospect. Believe me.</div>
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The first leg of our trip was 12 hours. Bob and I got up around 3 a.m., loaded up the sleeping babies, said goodbye, and the boys and I headed out. We drove over six hours before we made our first get out of the car stop four miles from the Mississippi state line. The boys did great. We stopped at a small gas station next to a busy travel plaza. I changed diapers and immediately realized we were no longer in Florida. We had packed a Florida wardrobe - shorts and sandals. I dug out the one pair of jeans I brought for the kids and the one long sleeve shirt. The bathroom went well. We held hands, walked into the store, I peed really fast, and we headed back to the car. We were back on the road in 45 minutes. I think I'm still patting myself on the back for that one. The next time we got out of the car was at Momo's house </div>
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The boys immediately found the ladder leading to the zip line Uncle Frank had installed in the backyard. Hours of fun climbing and making Mom worry ensued.<br />
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The three man crew climbs the ladder prompting Mom & Momo to lower the ladder for the safety of the crew and the sanity of the adults.<br />
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Ryan loves to listen for the ocean. He went through a phase where he would listen to cups, buckets, random shallow dishes, all in an attempt to hear the ocean. He was so happy to find the shells in Momo's backyard.<br />
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James & Michael take a listen too. We definitely do things as a group. If one kid does it, the other two are not far behind. The boys did such a wonderful job on the drive, but once they made it out of the car, it was full steam ahead. We had such a nice time playing in the backyard.<br />
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Momo's best chef, Ryan, gets in on making some dinner. After dinner, we headed out to take a drive to put the kids to sleep.<br />
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I was not sure how the sleeping arrangements would work, but Grandma sat with the sleeping boys in the car while I ran in at WalMart and bought three sleeping bags. The boys love their "Nemo Cars" beds. Over the course of our two week trip, we got into a pattern of the boys falling asleep with me in the bed, a stealthy move to the sleeping bag, and an eventual return to my bed. I think it was the two worst weeks of sleep I've ever had. <br />
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While we were on our Louisiana stop, we met up with my best buddy from elementary school who I hadn't seen in twenty years. Carrie and her boys met us at the playground in Lake Charles. The boys loved this park. It was fenced and not too crowded, so it worked out great for our guys to play there.<br />
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After the park, we stopped and got snow cones at the world's best snow cone stand that I frequented as a child. Sadly, I forgot to order my favorite grape/cherry combo as I was flustered by the fact that my husband locked our dog in the house and put the child safety lock on before leaving the state. Oops. Thankfully, a trip to the hardware store and a talented Grandpa freed Duke from the horrors of having to go without a meal.<br />
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Momo put a small step ladder under this tree so that Ryan could "climb" it. It is possible that we watch too much TV, but Ryan told me that he was a "hungry hungry herbivore like Dinosaur Train." Our new friends liked climbing up our ladder, too.<br />
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Since I wasn't 100% sure about our trip, I didn't want to tell my mom and get her hopes up. After keeping it to myself for a while, I decided to tell the rest of the family, but surprise mom. Luckily she's really gullible, so I called while I was on the way from Grandma's to Mom's and told her that I was just leaving playgroup in Jacksonville. When we knocked on the front door, she was so shocked that the kids just pushed past her and went directly to the toys in the living room.</div>
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Uncle Joseph came up from Waco, Uncle Zach & Aunt Mandy came over to visit with us, and Grandma, Aunt Faith, & Papa Joe were so happy to see us. Almost as happy as we were to see them. Aunt Mandy & Aunt Faith both did an excellent job of keeping our arrival a secret. They were quite proud of themselves.</div>
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Uncle Zach and Uncle JoeJoes introduced the boys to the controller fake out as they played Mario Kart. James adores racing games (shocking, I know). He and Ryan were both so happy to get to play with the uncles.</div>
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On Sunday, we went to church at Shepherd of Life. We are still looking for the right fit here in Jacksonville, so it felt so nice to walk into our church home and see some of the people who have meant so much to us over the years. After church, we met Aunt Mellie and went to the track to see the horses.<br />
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Usually, when we go to the races, we have a big group of people to help us contain the kids. Aunt Mellie, after years and years of Joe wrangling, is a pro at child entertainment. We did great just the five of us. <br />
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I'm pretty sure that Melanie is the biggest spoiler of the kids. She arrives with treats, toys, and a "let me make all your dreams come true" attitude. The kids associate her with Chuck E. Cheese. Every time they see a CEC ad, they say "we went there with Aunt Mellie."<br />
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Ryan and Aunt M getting their love on.<br />
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James was in horse heaven. We were right at the fence near the gate. My little observer of details noticed that the guy leads the horse into the gate, the gate makes a ching noise, the bell rings, the gate opens, and then they are off. When we got home, James and Michael used their horse, led it and the rider into the hallway door, pulled the wooden chair with slats like a gate in front of the opening, then made the noise the gate makes, and moved it out of the way and yelled "and they're off." Ryan is a big player in this game as well, but James and Michael have it down to an art complete with the horse bucking and refusing to go easily into the gate. It's quite show.<br />
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Michael loves popcorn. He kept dipping the popcorn into the coke. GROSS.<br />
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We took a day trip to see our Baylor uncles in Waco. The boys still talk about the baseball stadium. We were able to watch a little bit of batting practice, and Uncle Stephen made sure everyone got a ball. They had a blast. We watched the Baylor baseball team as they went through the playoffs this summer, and the boys loved rooting for Uncle Stevie and their Bears.<br />
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Since all but one of the boys uncles have attended Baylor, I think that unless one of these Florida universities makes a big impact, they might have to fulfill the family Baylor tradition. I always wanted to go to LSU because my Uncle Kent (and my great grandma) went there. Maybe our guys will end up Baylor Bears. Who knows what the future holds.<br />
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Ryan learned what it means to "feed the beaver."<br />
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Posing with the bear statues was so much fun. Uncle Joseph is just starting to settle into his Baylor status. He still has mad loyalty to his beloved Sooners, but I think he's starting to embrace the bear.<br />
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Uncle Stephen teaches the boys how to ride "bear" back.</div>
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Uncle Stephen had to finish working, so we made Uncle Joseph take us to see the real bears. <br />
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Those bears are true Baylor bears - why be out in the hot sun when you can be inside your air conditioned lair. After the bear watching, we went back to Uncle Joseph & Uncle Stephen's apartment to visit and watch Star Wars. They have a nice little place despite the current cricket infestation I've been hearing about.<br />
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Before we left Haslet, our good friends Riley and Mykayla (and Lainie) came to see us. It was so great to see them. I think Riley grows a foot every time I see him.</div>
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Mykayla showing off. She is so precious. It's hard to believe that between Lainie, Anne, and I, Mykayla is the only girl we've managed to produce. She is the undisputed princess.</div>
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We spent most of our time at Grandma & Papa Joe's either fishing in the living room (Papa Joe is determined to get someone in our family to care about fishing) or playing outside on the trampoline or tractor. I had such a great time seeing my family and friends. Poor Bob missed out, but he'll be making the next trip with us, and maybe we can convince Grandma to keep the kids while we go see some major league baseball.</div>
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From Haslet, we headed to Tyler to see Aunt Sue & Uncle JP. Ryan is still JP's biggest fan. The boys had a great time, but the first night, they were pretty upset that our long drive did not lead to their beds. They all rushed the door at bedtime and tried to go to the car to go home. The next day, they had a great time, but two weeks is pretty much the limit of their tolerance for being away from the familiar.<br />
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Aunt Sue's birthday is in early May, so we brought her a cake to celebrate. The boys LOVE to sing happy birthday and lick candles. I'm pretty sure they could do it professionally.<br />
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We went to the fancy Sonic playground in Tyler. It was one of the nicest playgrounds I've been to AND they bring you food when you press a button. Heaven.<br />
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We spent a good while playing at Sonic and playing outside at Aunt Sue's. She and JP have blackberries growing around their house. The boys really enjoyed picking and eating the blackberries off of the vine. <br />
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Uncle JP lost a lot of quarters in this machine much to the delight of his nephews.<br />
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Perhaps the best thing about Texas is riding lawnmowers. Both Papa Joe and Uncle JP are quite willing to give the boys tractor rides. Ryan would spend all day riding on a tractor, but for some reason, Michael refused to try it with Uncle JP. Michael just seems to need time to warm up to an idea. I've learned that anytime we do something new, Ryan goes first, then James, and Michael goes last. He just needs the time it takes to figure out what is going and decide how he's going to approach it. <br />
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The trip from Sue's to Jacksonville is 14 hours. I thought that was just a little too long to attempt on our own, so we headed back to Louisiana to see Momo. The trip from Tyler to Sulphur was pretty awful. Ryan and Michael spent the whole time fighting. The boys were all a little sick, and the amount of snot that flowed from Michael's nose was truly alarming as he and Ryan went at it. I actually had to pull the car over and deal with them. Thankfully, it was the only bad hour of the trip, but I thought I might have to kill either myself or them.<br />
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The kids had a great time everywhere we went, but I think they liked Momo's house because it was all triplets all the time. Mom said that when she went to Grandma's in May, she took mom around the backyard and showed her everything the boys did. I'm pretty sure the adoration is mutual between the boys and their Momo.<br />
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I have such wonderful memories of my great grandparents on both sides of the family, and I hope that they boys are able to have many, many years of fun times at Momo's house. One of the drawbacks to having kids at an advanced age is that there aren't as many great grandparents around. I am counting on Grandma to stick around for the duration.<br />
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We spent Tuesday hanging out with Momo (who looks so much like my Momo - her mother - in this picture that I have to do a double take every time I see it). On Wednesday, we got up at 4 a.m. and drove home. The ride went well but it was not as lovely as the first leg of our journey. We were so happy to be home. I'm pretty sure Duke & Emma missed us almost as much as Grandma & Papa. Bob was still out of town when we got home, and the boys were not too keen on that even though we'd talked about it several times on the ride home.</div>
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On Saturday, Daddy came home, and our little family was reunited once again. It's always good to go on an adventure, but it's even better to come back home. I was so happy to see our crib tents that I kissed them. </div>
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<br />Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-23773851332565628772012-07-08T23:34:00.001-05:002012-07-09T19:26:09.036-05:00April's Eggs Are "Scratchin"Brace yourselves friends, this is a long one. <br />
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At the end of March, Bob joined the old man's club. He had cataract surgery. Now he sports reading glasses and performs an odd dance of back and forth with his phone in order to see it. On the plus side, he can tell the difference between black and blue & orange and pink. This made it the perfect opportunity for the boys to test his new lenses with a little egg dyeing.<br />
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We started our egg dyeing on the light colored counter of our rental house. We quickly moved to the table where things could be a little more stable and contained without threatening our security deposit. </div>
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The table worked perfectly. We were able to give each of the kids two colors and let them monitor their eggs. They loved it. Michael kept trying to "scratchin'" his eggs. In April, Wild Kratts and the Sea Turtle movie were big players around our house. The boys loved to watch the eggs hatch and the baby animals come out, so when we dyed the Easter eggs, Michael especially kept tearing them apart looking for the animal. Ryan liked to eat the insides of the egg, so it worked out, but we started with two and a half dozen eggs and finished with a lot fewer. </div>
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Egg dyeing is a very intricate process involving measuring, pouring, dropping of colored tablets and stirring. The boys really liked the stirring part. We've finally wiped the table enough that the fruits of all that stirring have disappeared off the table, but the cute shirts my buddy Anne gave us will never be the same again.</div>
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After the stirring, we performed the very delicate and often bungled egg drop. We used big spoons, but still the art of finessing the egg into the water was lost on two year olds.</div>
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The best part of the whole egg process is seeing the finished product. Michael admires his yellow egg and contemplates making it "scratch."</div>
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James waits patiently for his egg to turn the proper shade of green.</div>
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Ryan enjoys doing the dip and retrieve method of egg dyeing. It makes for great splashes and cracking.</div>
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Daddy makes a great director of egg operations. In previous years, this role has been filled by Grandmas, but this year, we dyed as a family of five.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOIUyBCCGpu_uZeILYAhjRjC_wpJS7-nEz5ghmjLZQoMw0Y-2o9wjOWOx9OjZLuiPZwWumz1PNeZetX3-dVk3bc55E3pW6OOK2jjiTMFe5jeD-QseClv-_jb8bggdloYwuIGxeic1kdZ3/s1600/IMG_0506.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWOIUyBCCGpu_uZeILYAhjRjC_wpJS7-nEz5ghmjLZQoMw0Y-2o9wjOWOx9OjZLuiPZwWumz1PNeZetX3-dVk3bc55E3pW6OOK2jjiTMFe5jeD-QseClv-_jb8bggdloYwuIGxeic1kdZ3/s400/IMG_0506.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ryan has begun his process of auditioning for the Blue Man Group.</div>
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The fruits of our labor. So bright and beautiful. Watch out blue egg in Michael's hand, you're about to be "scratched."</div>
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Blue egg scratched and Ryan gets in on the action with a yellow one.</div>
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James admires his handiwork. He looked at each one and said "how cute" with this adorable face and his shoulders scrunched up holding the egg in two hands. How cute.</div>
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We bought religious stickers to put on the eggs, so Ryan helped me to decorate the eggs with crosses.</div>
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Good Friday was good for dye eggs and testing out our new lawn mower. Bob's best helper enjoys getting the job done. Ryan is such a "helper" that it doubles Bob's lawn mowing time. During Bob's last long trip, Ryan would hear the lawn mower going outside and start yelling "where's my dad?" </div>
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Good Friday was good for many reasons this year. Not only was it a day to commemorate our Lord's sacrifice, but also the Opening Day for the Rangers - to be a bit sacrilegious, it was two religious experiences in one for my best bud.</div>
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Michael spent most of the day sporting his Ranger gear and hanging out in the lawn mower box. I'm not sure why, but he spent a lot of time with the tea kettle. Months later, I went to use the kettle and found several missing toys inside. All of the boys wore their Rangers World Series jerseys in honor of the big event. Ryan and Daddy are two of a kind. I'm pretty sure his love of baseball (especially the "Jack-son-wheel Suuunnns") is almost equal to the love of Star Wars much like his Darth Vader father.</div>
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The boys are unusually large for their age. Most people think that they are four if not older, but they are still little no matter what their bodies say. I wanted to put them in those cute little short and jacket outfits, but not only did the stores not have a single thing in their size like that, but I just couldn't bring myself to spending $150 on an outfit the kids would wear once. Thus, I spent weeks searching for Easter outfits to no avail. Finally, on Saturday, I found some dress shirts in the boys department at Walmart (who knew I had to leave the toddler department behind) that would work. When the kids tried them on, James called them his work clothes because they looked like Daddy's work suits. He loved them. Michael wouldn't pose for a picture, but Ryan and James thought they were hot stuff in their "work clothes."</div>
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In the morning the Easter bunny arrived with all kinds of tasty treats. I would have posted pictures of this, but the kids were in odd states of dress during the basket reveal that I know would cause them some future therapy sessions, so I erred on the side of good mental health. We left carrots out for the Easter Bunny, and he left us lots of treats. Ryan tried to leave the Bunny carrots on Sunday night, but I had to explain to him that the bunny only comes once a year.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU72p8F_Mcny1BZaqqIvTCgS4PC8ybON-H3aC9kUySzEmBC7YRH5pjsmr_uIPFrvnv7-jhpgVX2WwyXPHzEPh4Qh_4ZiegXv1jYgiNvH3ocX8loiWJwlC_5MRbTX8a84JWMt4dH4NIcvVm/s1600/IMG_0577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU72p8F_Mcny1BZaqqIvTCgS4PC8ybON-H3aC9kUySzEmBC7YRH5pjsmr_uIPFrvnv7-jhpgVX2WwyXPHzEPh4Qh_4ZiegXv1jYgiNvH3ocX8loiWJwlC_5MRbTX8a84JWMt4dH4NIcvVm/s400/IMG_0577.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></div>
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The egg hunt was a good idea in theory, but in practice, there's a lot of fun stuff to do in the back yard. Especially when you get a new bubble machine from that bunny. Michael found a couple of eggs but didn't get really get interested in the process of egg finding until there were only a couple left.</div>
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Ryan was our best egg hunter. He unfortunately felt he must eat the contents of each egg before placing it in the basket. I guess that's one way to keep all that candy to yourself.</div>
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James bubbles the yard while Ryan bogarts the candy.</div>
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After candy and eggs, we put on our work clothes and went to church. Not having a fireplace in this house (really, what's the point in Florida), I wasn't sure where to take our family photos. I think the bench was a nice idea, but the blinding sun seemed to make things a little more squinty.</div>
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Grandma & Papa with their young men.</div>
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A true family photo - Mom and Dad attempting to contain the mass chaos that is triplets.</div>
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After church, we went to our first baseball game. The boys were so excited to hunt Easter eggs and to see the Suns play. Michael carries his basket for the hunt.</div>
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Post hunt candy consumption.</div>
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Michael exudes an aura of super cool kid.</div>
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Ryan and Papa sporting their Ranger gear. Go Suns, Go Rangers.</div>
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James and Daddy. Those cinnamon candies are pretty spicy.</div>
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Because the boys were under three, they hunted eggs before the mass chaos that occurred on the field. Here James and Ryan watch how the other half hunts.</div>
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James and Daddy checking out the baseball field. They probably don't remember getting to watch the fireworks on the field after the Ranger game, but thanks to Dennis this wasn't his first trip out of the stands and into the grass.</div>
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Ryan admires Suns pitching staff. Minor league is pretty up close and personal.</div>
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Michael munches on popcorn. It's not peanuts and cracker jacks, but it baseball food.</div>
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One of the most amazing parts of our Easter extravaganza was that James chased the Easter Bunny across the outfield with the big kids. I was so proud. He ran all the way across the field and wasn't even the last kid to make it across. That kid is a runner!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/20PeswyzwJs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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One of the boys' favorite parts of the Suns game involved the big posters where you stick your face through. They must have spent 20 minutes going from hole to hole and hamming it up. Michael is gonna be a great catcher. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt3Bobjj2vla1Pw_mzYKVLIU8hl7qv0Z0RrhgV8Zqe7d2cXxtQTNb1UeCH5Ke2IdUOG4VAneSHxcAVxzgBTNqZuLOPs7iwB-f_KX91jGq5asgaQ7y6M21eVQQyqcM-MxJCZMUJiR9xsx3/s1600/IMG_0644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmt3Bobjj2vla1Pw_mzYKVLIU8hl7qv0Z0RrhgV8Zqe7d2cXxtQTNb1UeCH5Ke2IdUOG4VAneSHxcAVxzgBTNqZuLOPs7iwB-f_KX91jGq5asgaQ7y6M21eVQQyqcM-MxJCZMUJiR9xsx3/s400/IMG_0644.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="300" /></a></div>
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James is gonna be a great mascot once he grows into that costume.</div>
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Two for one special - will Michael hit this one out of the park or will James catch it?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHl_eZ4_0jamb4AC8ElVUUazmgSQSIE_il_2scyLxnA6xkDvkdNFqAHWUrvGWtpsycYNY_Mma2sv_51nbt07rRKOL9ra8-0J7mprin3xdOk4YTMGEgvPjONcVAY8CoC0Ns-STKVipdzYci/s1600/IMG_0648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHl_eZ4_0jamb4AC8ElVUUazmgSQSIE_il_2scyLxnA6xkDvkdNFqAHWUrvGWtpsycYNY_Mma2sv_51nbt07rRKOL9ra8-0J7mprin3xdOk4YTMGEgvPjONcVAY8CoC0Ns-STKVipdzYci/s400/IMG_0648.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="295" /></a></div>
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We had a wonderful Easter first half of April. At the end of April, the boys and I took a trip to Louisiana and Texas all on our own while Daddy worked, so we enjoyed our time at home with Dad before our long drive. This is my favorite two headed monster.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYuaD-iG264kPxXsLvYNeR66hYZnwXis56_VrXnSXvjI1OaA6n3aePXNJzhCnH3nJTuZXBR53SrsZ5xpozWz8Na1kxNcYoM1eSjRiszvyJECsB_TN83c4lrNGuMrgClr9Lesf0SpOhyphenhyphen_P/s1600/IMG_0655.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYuaD-iG264kPxXsLvYNeR66hYZnwXis56_VrXnSXvjI1OaA6n3aePXNJzhCnH3nJTuZXBR53SrsZ5xpozWz8Na1kxNcYoM1eSjRiszvyJECsB_TN83c4lrNGuMrgClr9Lesf0SpOhyphenhyphen_P/s400/IMG_0655.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Michael sports his baseball monkeys while hanging out with Daddy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKDs4wrAEl6UBFIwRDMvn1EAMeHuy6n6BFBmHCI8CIxXKRVJW67V72EQDU8LGTLunyrwsHyyvXoaCShgR0RHtsujByIPbEeKA0SYrsS5T-hmN-XuGPsoJoPxtH_ARHgsVrdR6x5K-LFQC/s1600/IMG_0656.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKDs4wrAEl6UBFIwRDMvn1EAMeHuy6n6BFBmHCI8CIxXKRVJW67V72EQDU8LGTLunyrwsHyyvXoaCShgR0RHtsujByIPbEeKA0SYrsS5T-hmN-XuGPsoJoPxtH_ARHgsVrdR6x5K-LFQC/s400/IMG_0656.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Everyone wants to be like Daddy. Let's brush our teeth and make a big mess in the sink!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZUYt30kNz2hzl3yTAJpBMBZQvju_eITMkQVoqlaCqpFogYdUDzuYktdOxMr82vvRzqldfkReLpeefMpE1EViFxXaB4p7WynHaAS_xZzWlXuzFsCKwtPCfwHhWyjsC3Nz2lPyTXH3dx3w/s1600/IMG_2986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZUYt30kNz2hzl3yTAJpBMBZQvju_eITMkQVoqlaCqpFogYdUDzuYktdOxMr82vvRzqldfkReLpeefMpE1EViFxXaB4p7WynHaAS_xZzWlXuzFsCKwtPCfwHhWyjsC3Nz2lPyTXH3dx3w/s400/IMG_2986.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-50534142688459775152012-07-03T23:04:00.000-05:002012-07-03T23:04:00.458-05:00A March Through SeaWorld<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since we moved to Florida, I've been wanting to take full advantage of our resident discounts for the theme parks before we had to start paying for the kids. The boys love animals of all kinds, and they really love nature shows that focus on sea life (maybe it's a little bit of parental influence as I love them as well). Anyway, I'd been bugging Bob about going to SeaWorld with the kids, and in March we decided it would be a good time to go. Luckily, our Florida residential deal is pay for a day at the park and get the rest of the year thrown in for free. They also have a preschool program where if you bring your kids birth certificates, they get free admission until they are five, so now all five of us plus Jim and Kathy have season passes to SeaWorld. We drove down early in the morning, put the boys in their strollers, gave them a map, and got our Shamu on.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP8To85Q43_RqgonRdlT1Tnti2ySUueTfU3ddCXJzn06cC0LwkByGM3TV34uhFr9yTfCzwZNq5S4ilcc-t3xsi2n5hphrWTHUk-ByTGU5vG6DoR8mduK_xZs9BH23sJCpvjCWXllNUcn0/s1600/IMG_2945.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP8To85Q43_RqgonRdlT1Tnti2ySUueTfU3ddCXJzn06cC0LwkByGM3TV34uhFr9yTfCzwZNq5S4ilcc-t3xsi2n5hphrWTHUk-ByTGU5vG6DoR8mduK_xZs9BH23sJCpvjCWXllNUcn0/s400/IMG_2945.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The boys are getting better at posing for pictures, but they do have a limited shelf life as this pseudo family photo Kathy took for us shows.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5PS6n-m4nTIdpOj7sFr0Fie0Su8y1yGEwi1iyGWprnrGOyxoRKjmPI3MZF4NPuBFPAKyjbWIvnv87tHeIZij8qSxwldnvlYZrzW1NhKV19bCQah6ZBsLZkuS9d6BooifWaas7uJg2G_K/s1600/IMG_2958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG5PS6n-m4nTIdpOj7sFr0Fie0Su8y1yGEwi1iyGWprnrGOyxoRKjmPI3MZF4NPuBFPAKyjbWIvnv87tHeIZij8qSxwldnvlYZrzW1NhKV19bCQah6ZBsLZkuS9d6BooifWaas7uJg2G_K/s400/IMG_2958.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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I can't say that I blame the boys. Who wants to sit around waiting for pictures when there are animals to be seen. Our first stop was the manta ray pool. The kids LOVED it. They've been to the sting ray bay at the zoo, but this was a pool teeming with mantas who would float by and splash you with their wings. The boys didn't want to leave. They were so excited to be able to reach in the pool and get close to the rays. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1w-W1ecD_KJgN7SeOpqjJV7cab-f2M4PDZc-UQubwDMiWKjs-lBn1mwFVCHyKd0OqMsS6tUdUDkqTN8POT-VtrBH3SItD_Aih2Ae-zRIMwpLAkCji02ceXFbe4g5guXQqSGNrlShAYiAJ/s1600/IMG_2948.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1w-W1ecD_KJgN7SeOpqjJV7cab-f2M4PDZc-UQubwDMiWKjs-lBn1mwFVCHyKd0OqMsS6tUdUDkqTN8POT-VtrBH3SItD_Aih2Ae-zRIMwpLAkCji02ceXFbe4g5guXQqSGNrlShAYiAJ/s400/IMG_2948.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Perhaps the biggest challenge of our time at SeaWorld was keeping the kids out of the water. Everywhere we went, they just wanted to jump right into the middle of things and check it out. Perhaps it's too much Kratt's Creatures with their theme song to "get outside, get into nature." </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-58tD9viZKyuILSehzA9EBmT09TfP-4f8g41AXgfKweZMfYz7_xOxf2Pv28fq2N1RNpmZqXN943rGnFs2x5PmvL4gvjSEBIvnrUVVE1wU7Mmy7LMQXAWz2Tfs3PThC1IwNYvfSxWEJV3/s1600/IMG_0421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE-58tD9viZKyuILSehzA9EBmT09TfP-4f8g41AXgfKweZMfYz7_xOxf2Pv28fq2N1RNpmZqXN943rGnFs2x5PmvL4gvjSEBIvnrUVVE1wU7Mmy7LMQXAWz2Tfs3PThC1IwNYvfSxWEJV3/s400/IMG_0421.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
We did pretty well on staying incognito as triplets. The boys were dressed similarly, but with James sporting a pacifier and the others not, it makes it a little less obvious. We are trying to kick our "pah-fie-yur" habit, but only half-heartedly. I know that James needs to give it up, but he sure does love it. He's getting better about leaving it behind, and probably soon he will be willing to give it up - fingers crossed - as I am not looking forward to having to be the bad guy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sJR8ZdVQhe47NFBwytgLuX4E8yILiCSxH4ZrNLKcFOZnBZ3qZUs7bgUlA3PyiXUAnUioRM3z8eb6PQgXT9hOMJw5Q1DLKwQ16_S3l4l_PLqtTmutWMuKBkTFwXfUjYNr5Q1aANUBLbAj/s1600/IMG_0427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sJR8ZdVQhe47NFBwytgLuX4E8yILiCSxH4ZrNLKcFOZnBZ3qZUs7bgUlA3PyiXUAnUioRM3z8eb6PQgXT9hOMJw5Q1DLKwQ16_S3l4l_PLqtTmutWMuKBkTFwXfUjYNr5Q1aANUBLbAj/s400/IMG_0427.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
After a visit with the rays, we stopped by the dolphin pool. Michael and Grandma enjoyed watching from a safe distance.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcQbBGOB8ZLN70WSTi9I5n1xTfqo4ctx3X_w3MFRGIJluyUiiEfA-rEshkk4tdf4YIplLK75yrdLrOI_4pLaa8389cmwF2eAxQVkm9PuyRVd8x0cgiiWH9SocZWFV4dRFAxNKAzT2lPA-/s1600/IMG_0430.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcQbBGOB8ZLN70WSTi9I5n1xTfqo4ctx3X_w3MFRGIJluyUiiEfA-rEshkk4tdf4YIplLK75yrdLrOI_4pLaa8389cmwF2eAxQVkm9PuyRVd8x0cgiiWH9SocZWFV4dRFAxNKAzT2lPA-/s400/IMG_0430.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Ryan wanted to get a little closer to the action. He was pretty sure that if he got close enough, the dolphins would come give him a personal greeting. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0xrdjZqQsXzBpUmKsw2YdWdwinOEGUqIVMONSojHzniZFL9VYCRt0CDeUDqpZiE5WKW3IcOsSkUM2Pa6DkPSCsDRB3-e0OhIT0EDzEqnGGFLTFGT8BEORmzKH-Wn8QaKhteUJbqwh45I/s1600/IMG_0435.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR0xrdjZqQsXzBpUmKsw2YdWdwinOEGUqIVMONSojHzniZFL9VYCRt0CDeUDqpZiE5WKW3IcOsSkUM2Pa6DkPSCsDRB3-e0OhIT0EDzEqnGGFLTFGT8BEORmzKH-Wn8QaKhteUJbqwh45I/s400/IMG_0435.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Perhaps, a little bit closer and those dolphins would be unable to resist his charms.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUislrQsn-Jagb1HCD0TvM_KPQYJJs24tRnwhTqdso5C8whzqFA2X-JOij88Qs6vIWF5tp2RLDuk9mRw8vumCN9TSsLKfxkXf21SjtFjYJH1o5hlLU39aA2GfEO_q6xRphSHl8K3RJf5S/s1600/IMG_0437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoUislrQsn-Jagb1HCD0TvM_KPQYJJs24tRnwhTqdso5C8whzqFA2X-JOij88Qs6vIWF5tp2RLDuk9mRw8vumCN9TSsLKfxkXf21SjtFjYJH1o5hlLU39aA2GfEO_q6xRphSHl8K3RJf5S/s400/IMG_0437.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Unfortunately, we did the theme park my way - I wanted to just make the loop and see the shows along the way to limit the amount of walking certain members of our party with bad knees would have to do. It was a solid plan. In the morning, the crowd wasn't too bad, we got right into the shows and had a wonderful time. Here the guys are waiting for the dolphin and whale show to start.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev0dUIg3pzrQMzT9AFVxbZDUlC6reiXZ1iWohXII5PCWiKi-KWPsGlEAXM-AVp7a29DlVm5gW1ONtWr6x9yGUTVV2T33gjrYxDw-2_yg7-XcJUSMhpBCzMY7uN0FgEjvLpVIKJAMDk-b6/s1600/IMG_0439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgev0dUIg3pzrQMzT9AFVxbZDUlC6reiXZ1iWohXII5PCWiKi-KWPsGlEAXM-AVp7a29DlVm5gW1ONtWr6x9yGUTVV2T33gjrYxDw-2_yg7-XcJUSMhpBCzMY7uN0FgEjvLpVIKJAMDk-b6/s400/IMG_0439.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yzV6FFjKe5ezsX9UrGrtGWbJFztW-mfx7MvsHx5UKFXB-zsW9K7ZI3JMV7t_R1PcmeEAXGE1TJQ50CefSyoGQH8HlDlDW6vEoomGtCsvoGCf13v3k7zphlsGTBQ6MybNvqc8nsiAb1-H/s1600/IMG_0441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_yzV6FFjKe5ezsX9UrGrtGWbJFztW-mfx7MvsHx5UKFXB-zsW9K7ZI3JMV7t_R1PcmeEAXGE1TJQ50CefSyoGQH8HlDlDW6vEoomGtCsvoGCf13v3k7zphlsGTBQ6MybNvqc8nsiAb1-H/s400/IMG_0441.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Daddy and Ryan were really excited about the upcoming show. When the music started Ryan and James put their hands over their ears. They weren't too keen on the loud music, but they really loved seeing all those dolphin tricks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQXx9aQcu2TpR2rve2uJ_Cqq1TI0UYAaotMrQfal20lfcZQO4RjCqOgcr_hrvIm_h2_3SsMM0IK3-pNDDPiOK3CCKFF8XKf6JNbAOXon-W0jPIh3Jlp5nFBej0TygxDsTEe3HYkZvWXiA/s1600/IMG_0442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQXx9aQcu2TpR2rve2uJ_Cqq1TI0UYAaotMrQfal20lfcZQO4RjCqOgcr_hrvIm_h2_3SsMM0IK3-pNDDPiOK3CCKFF8XKf6JNbAOXon-W0jPIh3Jlp5nFBej0TygxDsTEe3HYkZvWXiA/s400/IMG_0442.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Mr. James had an agenda. Once he realized that the birds would be flying through the audience, he stood up, held out his arm like those Kratt brothers and tried to get himself a bird. Sadly, no birds took him up on his offer despite his very professional looking arm move.<br />
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After the show, we went under the arena to see the dolphins from a different angle. I don't think I have any pictures of Ryan at this point. He was like the energizer bunny hopping around from place to place.<br />
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James kept telling me all about what he was seeing. Despite that plug, he's starting to talk so much more than he was. He's still not as verbal or as clearly understood as his brothers, but with two people to talk for you, why bother. I think his vocabulary has really improved in the last month or so.<br />
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Michael, our traffic cop/enforcer/director of "boys," tells James how this is done. Don't even think about trying to challenge his authority. He might be the middle child, but he is definitely our alpha dog.<br />
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At the Shamu show, I think we started to see that the crowd had arrived. We walked in about ten minutes before show time and had our choice of the rafters or the splash zone. We chose to head to the top. I think next time we go, we might have to sit in the splash zone. The boys really enjoyed the show, and I think the closer we are, the more engaged they will be.<br />
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Ryan with Shamu in the background. Bob and I had gone to this SeaWorld about five years ago, and the program was so much better back then. The orcas seem to be much younger (that rowdy old guy who kept showing those trainers who's boss must have changed how things were done a great deal) and the trainers did not get into the water with the orcas at all. They did have a youngster who was around two. It cracked me up because he would go do a trick with his mom then go off to do his own thing. It reminded me of my kids.<br />
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From the Shamu show, we tried to make a quick entrance to two other shows. We failed. They were full. Bob had wanted to hit all of the shows first then go back and do the stuff in between. I thought the boys would do better if we gave them other activities in the middle. Sadly, by doing things my way, we missed out on two or three shows. So, here in a public forum, just this once, I will admit that Bob was right (luckily this is far down in the post and most people have stopped reading, but still, I should get some credit, right?).<br />
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While we waited for the seal/walrus/sea otter show, we took a ride on the carousel. Ryan likes to sit on the bench while his brothers ride high on the moving animals. He loves to ride, but only to go around and around not to go up and down. I'm pretty sure Bob thinks carousels are the devil. The fits the kids throw to get on and getting off of the ride is paramount to sheer insanity.<br />
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We had some lunch, let the kids splash around in the water area. In the above picture, Michael is in the middle, James is directly behind him and Ryan is running off to the right. The kids loved playing in the water. I brought a change of clothes, so after lunch, we changed outfits and went to see the seals.</div>
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I can not over emphasize how much James loved the pirate show the seals Clyde & Seymour put on. He was enthralled. He kept shouting about the map every time the otter ran across the stage with it. Of course, we were so high in the stands, he'd yell "the mouse, the mouse" every time he saw it.</div>
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By 3 p.m., the park was crazy crowded, the shows were all packed, and the kids were tired, so we decided to head back home to Jacksonville with a quick stop to watch the pearl divers. We had such a great time, and the kids keep asking to go back. I'm sure we will once Florida is not hovering between completely submersion by rain and extreme heat. I can't wait to see the new sea turtle exhibit, so we must return. October, here we come.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCdFlB41nD027fv4sa1lOT2xD_2qVtQn_KzCJBAHiHWHhs5M4Swgx77yV3ZckgqNrYPT1KqUPg0aaOg9H90iauK4dOoH4xrSox9YE-Gz2FqgNC5WNn3dDKgjQccwE2pGZr1lkFcCryR8C/s1600/IMG_0489.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTCdFlB41nD027fv4sa1lOT2xD_2qVtQn_KzCJBAHiHWHhs5M4Swgx77yV3ZckgqNrYPT1KqUPg0aaOg9H90iauK4dOoH4xrSox9YE-Gz2FqgNC5WNn3dDKgjQccwE2pGZr1lkFcCryR8C/s400/IMG_0489.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com01067 Noah Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32218, USA30.454592956980054 -81.62155151367187530.235389956980054 -81.937408513671869 30.673795956980054 -81.305694513671881tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-75703681029926811402012-07-01T20:46:00.000-05:002012-07-01T20:46:00.818-05:00March Madness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Perhaps the most maddening thing about March for my husband, is the fact that he was so close to Spring Training baseball, but still so far away. We decided to have Grandma & Papa come stay with the kids and head down to the Orlando area to see the Astros play. They aren't the Rangers, but they are from Texas. Of course, we picked a day when all it did is pour. We saw the park but nary a baseball player or pitch. Maybe next year.</div>
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Other than a little rain, spring in Jacksonville is beautiful. The boys loved playing outside, and we spent most mornings playing in the backyard. We still spent most of our time playing inside (the chairs are more comfortable and there are fewer bugs). The boys love their toys. I'm always looking through their things to see what they have outgrown to make room for new things, but I rarely find anything to put in the pass it on box. Michael loves the dinosaur train toys. He likes to make time tunnels, but Ryan likes to knock those time tunnels down. It makes for some loud playtime discussions.<br />
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The horse obsession continues. My children adore their pony. He still doesn't have an official name, but usually he's Secretariat. I can't begin to count the number of times we've watched that movie. James is holding his trophy in his hand while he takes a victory lap around the track.</div>
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Sometimes the horse has to endure more than one rider. Three is a bit of a challenge, but Bullseye/Secretariat is no stranger to carting around both pirates and alligator/dragons.</div>
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The return of baseball meant the return of a happy husband. There is a period of time between the end of the football season and the beginning of baseball season when Bob laments "there's nothing to watch" and spends many an evening grousing about the lack of baseball. This year, we bought the MLBtv package which allows him to watch the Rangers on the computer and the playstation. Happiness has been restored to our home. This picture cracks me up. James looked at Papa watching baseball and had to go get his hat too. He insisted on the blue hat so that he could be just like Papa. I'm not going to comment on his pretend paunch, but let's just say, the boy aims for accuracy.<br />
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One of the most memorable flowers from my younger years are azaleas. My grandma's house was covered in them, so when our house burst into full azalea bloom for a couple of weeks in March, I spent a great deal of time admiring all our natural beauty. It was over much too soon. I hesitate to think about what the boys are doing with flowers and a lighter (actually, the lighters were used as guns a.k.a. choochoos - for the noise made by Star Wars guns).<br />
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One of the best parts of March was spring break. We had a wonderful visit from Uncle Joseph. He was here for about four days, and we had a ton of fun. We went to the beach in Ferdinandina. It was so nice. We parked on the sand not too far from the action. The boys had a great time frolicking in the waves with Uncle JoeJoes. Ryan enjoys a good handful of sand which he likes to fling around.<br />
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James and Uncle J getting their feet wet.<br />
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Michael also needed to spend some quality time enjoying the water.<br />
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Ryan kept laying down letting the waves wash over him. He does love to go all in when he goes to the beach.<br />
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On our way home from the beach, I stopped at a roadside stand and bought some fresh shrimp. It reminded me of all those times I bought shrimp out of the back of the American Shrimper van in Louisiana. Kathy and I peeled them up with a little help from our shrimp examiner James and made some delicious butter drenched shrimp and pasta.</div>
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The following day, Grandma & Grandpa came and hung out with the kids so Uncle Joseph and I could have some non-triplet containing fun. We went to St. Augustine, saw the Castillo, browsed amongst the pirate booty, and generally had fun.</div>
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Inside the guard tower, Joseph and I realized that we would not have been good guards. It's a little claustrophobic. <br />
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Joseph posed with a friendly stone lion on the famous bridge of lions.<br />
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Once Uncle Joseph left, we just hung around the house and played with our playgroup friends. I love this face Ryan is making. He's very serious about his zebra riding.<br />
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Michael amongst the trains. Sometimes the kids are not too happy with each other while training. They sometimes get very angry when their trains wind up on a collision course.<br />
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One thing we did in March that was fun for the kids was that everyone had a special day with Grandma & Papa. James went to the zoo where he fed the giraffes. He was very impressed by this and every time we go to the zoo now, we have to discuss that we aren't going to feed the giraffes.<br />
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One thing we really like to do is paint. The kids enjoy painting both themselves and their papers. I am probably the least enthusiastic about things like painting and play dough. It is so much fun for the kids, but such a pain to keep contained and cleaned up. Michael stealthily painting his hand while sporting a wee bit of blue hair.<br />
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James tells the paparazzi to talk to the hand. The brownish orange hand.<br />
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Ryan goes full facial painting. He even remembered to paint his nose.<br />
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Ryan loves scooting around on his bike. I'm not quite sure why he's sporting the diaper pail ring as a headband, but it's best not to question.<br />
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My nudist children. Michael is our most reluctant to wear clothing. Many times when you put his clothes on (if he allows it), he strips down immediately. It is very frustrating, but you have to admire his independent spirit or you might be tempted to smack him.<br />
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One of the things we did a lot this spring was go to the zoo. Oftentimes, we were able to meet up with our friends from Jackpotts. Here are my buddies Karen, Jamie, and Judy - three sets of triplets and a set of twins makes for quite a processional.<br />
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March is all about Grandma birthdays. Kathy and my mom both have March birthdays four days apart. The boys were very excited to sing, blow out candles, and lick the icing off of said candles. </div>
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James gets a front row seat for some tasty candle licking. We've learned that publix white cakes are exceptionally tasty. </div>
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In some ways, Bob and I are from very different households. His family was a sit on the couch together and watch tv family, while mine is more of a lay on the bed type of family. My boys are somewhat children after my own heart. I do love snuggle time in the bed, but the crackers and snacks are something I wish we could avoid. There is nothing worse than crumbs in your bed.</div>
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For Grandma Wendy's birthday, we video chatted and got a cake. James pulled out his first birthday hat to get in the party mood. The boys really learned a lot from the grandmas birthdays. They love to sing happy birthday and blow out candles. All that practice really paid off when it came time for their birthdays.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji69NFKuzm0F1cqLHgtJYzHFF6-vMjgVAmInR73uUddXy2oujQhGM3Orhcd0kYxCMTVc0slKmrat_qhFtASnV3zgeHOxA-mzt6TGaxungNFV7G804dyAuA46tDS0AhmBdE7RLyCG6g_g4C/s1600/IMG_2941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji69NFKuzm0F1cqLHgtJYzHFF6-vMjgVAmInR73uUddXy2oujQhGM3Orhcd0kYxCMTVc0slKmrat_qhFtASnV3zgeHOxA-mzt6TGaxungNFV7G804dyAuA46tDS0AhmBdE7RLyCG6g_g4C/s400/IMG_2941.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-67660286450737723152012-06-29T00:00:00.000-05:002012-06-29T00:00:05.286-05:00Frank<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In February, my Uncle Frank died quite unexpectedly. We were all so shocked. Jim and Kathy kept the kids for me so that I could go to Louisiana for the funeral. In true Frank style, we sent him home on Mardi Gras. I was able to speak at the funeral about what Frank meant to me. I have put that eulogy here with a few pictures of one of the most entertaining guys I've ever known.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYTsrPxRdu0OOfohXfakPsHT6E_jdgCzXJMPjApsBO-ufi9W5RgvuAdgOcOfjxb9IcJSkUVjo1rj9h63SklbmdfklleD-jf6yS3MQQBc4Wxqfl7bLnkvdMzRVCiNmIeu8X9AWuWchjeoV/s1600/129741709454525280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYTsrPxRdu0OOfohXfakPsHT6E_jdgCzXJMPjApsBO-ufi9W5RgvuAdgOcOfjxb9IcJSkUVjo1rj9h63SklbmdfklleD-jf6yS3MQQBc4Wxqfl7bLnkvdMzRVCiNmIeu8X9AWuWchjeoV/s400/129741709454525280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
There are few people in this world that truly embody the
term unique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank David Campbell
was in all ways, a unique man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was an avid reader, a pyrotechnics expert, a drinker of silver water,
ambidextrous, a great debater, a cultivator of the earth, and one of the most
generous people on the planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
As I remember Frank, a thousand different images flash
through my mind, but the one I see the most is him standing on the back porch
at my grandparents house, drink in one hand, cigarette in the other pacing
around the circle of chairs holding court with outlandish tales of a prank he
pulled with Bill or Mark or expounding on his political beliefs sparking a
great debate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These stories and
debates were all punctuated by the greatest laughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank had a laugh that made your heart soar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
The first and only member of the Campbell clan to be born on
foreign soil, Frank was an American patriot who loved to exercise his right to
the Second Amendment and created an arsenal to keep us all safe under any
circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the most prepared
person for Y2K that I’ve ever met, with a store of canned chickens that has
only recently been depleted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like
a good boy scout, Frank was prepared for any eventuality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He created a “compound” for the family,
and always told me when the big event happens, have enough gas on hand to get
home to him and he’d take care of the rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could put your faith in Frank.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was ready.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDw02Uw4hCfjyaFUU3ENxdeLnM1bw6Lt7YH4kockfiZnnsJAfOWNxv3HfGm2IGStmduFtrAOqgoj6WFXfZYIofUYOwvzU9jvDkx8jcVsj_bLQz-xeBztQYRECfwmxcEa3X_pSBq5_32Vdi/s1600/129741749899460660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDw02Uw4hCfjyaFUU3ENxdeLnM1bw6Lt7YH4kockfiZnnsJAfOWNxv3HfGm2IGStmduFtrAOqgoj6WFXfZYIofUYOwvzU9jvDkx8jcVsj_bLQz-xeBztQYRECfwmxcEa3X_pSBq5_32Vdi/s400/129741749899460660.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At my parents' wedding - next to the bride.</td></tr>
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The scouts taught Frank that you should be a dependable
person and always be willing to help others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This lesson he learned as a child, he applied throughout his
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Popo Chapman died, he
stepped up and took care of Momo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He visited, he fixed things, and when Grandma & Grandpa wanted to go
out of town, they knew Frank was there to pick up the slack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When my Grandpa died, we all knew that
Grandma would be just fine because Uncle Frank was going to make sure of
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He visited her everyday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t remember how many times I’ve called
Grandma’s and Frank was there for his afternoon visit, making cracks about deteriorating
mental faculties, telling entertaining stories about his work day or his kids,
and pushing the silver water to keep her healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The night before he died, I called and he was there with
Lynn Dee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Frank knew the value of family and was willing to do anything
for any of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He helped my mom
get to the hospital the day I was born after his hard day of work on the mud
truck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew that family sticks
together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stay when times are
hard and when things get dirty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
applied this great love and philosophy to all three of his kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Nicholas moved a country away to
Washington, he made sure that Nicholas still knew he was part of the
family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed to me that he
was always flying up to get Nick and bring him back to see us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved Mitch and Jamie from the first
day he met them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember a few
times in the beginning Lynn Dee would have to tell them Frank’s bark is worse
than his bite, but in time, they learned that Frank could mean business, but he
also how knew how to make things fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was so proud of all of his kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When you asked about his kids, his pride was visible – he’d
stand up a little straighter, and expound on their greatness – whether it was
Nicholas’s computer skills, Mitchell’s courage, or Jamie’s amazing people
skills – he was always telling stories where his children played the
heroes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps the one thing he
was most disappointed in them for was the failure to deliver enough grandkids,
but Jamie and Danny recently made that dream come true for him. He was able to
trade in all those “grand-dogs” for actual grandkids, and he and Lynn Dee both
were so ecstatic for Lexi and Aiden to join the family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty sure if they ask for the
moon, Frank would figure out a way to get it for them, even from Heaven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was an amazing uncle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m pretty sure there is not a niece or
nephew who doesn’t have a story of hundreds of dollars of quarters being thrown
into the pool for retrieval during their formative years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPoPHiEHJUSFzul0IQ0anOIPkk97spNS6oeWB0GRGMAL1angqbUzGSIPJC0hsayQ4P8Mz4TApUGXArzIQBfLSnbkEIviZ8m-kY1cVmRdk5_WtTDWLTy5RMCydKr_pnq64vjU_GOwqC3fb/s1600/100_3132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPoPHiEHJUSFzul0IQ0anOIPkk97spNS6oeWB0GRGMAL1angqbUzGSIPJC0hsayQ4P8Mz4TApUGXArzIQBfLSnbkEIviZ8m-kY1cVmRdk5_WtTDWLTy5RMCydKr_pnq64vjU_GOwqC3fb/s400/100_3132.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank & James</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Frank knew the value of hard work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first job I remember him having was at the
hospital.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He worked nights and
lived at his parents’ house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
loved getting to spend the night at Grandma & Grandpa’s because I knew that
I could sleep in Frank’s waterbed, and in the morning, when I woke up, he’d be
there sleeping right next to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had a lot of down time at the hospital, and he used it to read,
mostly sci-fi thrillers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During
his time at the plant, I’m pretty sure he spent more holidays with his work
friends than with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He enjoyed
the people he worked with, and I remember how great he thought it was that “The
Frank Song” became his work theme song.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When he spent some time in the hospital last month, his coworkers came
out in droves to see him, and it let us know just how much impact he had at
work.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjwf-Dh0nmouYl4Ac1y7rYh5qUfPaIn6QiI-mZt8kfvmXnf9gwoWjxPxwLQBxsM64KDQZjn-mdcvOchyL0PBoSXaEZ6q8RLQuGTTYmVa4EdnOBQQysl60QgWd16YDxRhvfD5j3OYWqHhA/s1600/100_3134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjwf-Dh0nmouYl4Ac1y7rYh5qUfPaIn6QiI-mZt8kfvmXnf9gwoWjxPxwLQBxsM64KDQZjn-mdcvOchyL0PBoSXaEZ6q8RLQuGTTYmVa4EdnOBQQysl60QgWd16YDxRhvfD5j3OYWqHhA/s400/100_3134.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank & Michael</td></tr>
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When he wasn’t working, Franked loved being outdoors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always spent his vacation at the
Camp where he could boat, build fires, and look at the stars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He learned a loved for growing things
from his Grandpa Campbell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he
first bought his house, he became a cultivator of some of the world’s best hot
peppers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many a time, he brought
his father to tears with his extra spicy peppers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He grew broccoli, lemons, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a host of
other plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many a family meal
included something fresh from Frank’s garden.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank & Ryan</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Frank was effortlessly cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was my own personal Fonzie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man owned a waterbed in the eighties, I probably
shouldn’t have to say more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
a fish tank with a black light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
had a motorcycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He drove a Trans
Am with a t-top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once he met Lynn
Dee, he just managed to dial that cool factor up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Together they were the most tan and beautiful people ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They owned a swimming pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They put on spectacular parties which
started at six a.m. when their shift at the hospital ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had a sailboat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though they had three kids, it did
not diminish the cool factor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact it increased, as Frank took his love of fireworks from a small show at the
end of Grandma & Grandpa’s driveway on a random Tuesday night to an
extravaganza of epic proportions at our annual family Fourth of July at the
Camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank taught me that cool
came with a price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you wanted
to see the good fireworks, you’d better clap and clap loudly or the next one to
be shot off was going to be a lame bottle rocket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you wanted to rock the cool Trans Am with the T-Top,
you’d better be willing to be cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As child riding to Uncle Mike’s wedding in Atlanta in Frank’s car, I
learned that it gets cold in that sweet ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank was unwilling to diminish the cool of the t-top for
warmth, but he was willing to pass back an old football jersey to keep Zach and
I warm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the kids grew up, he
and Lynn Dee still were able to bring the cool factor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They joined a Mardi Gras krewe and
brought the party from the backyard to a limo in tuxes and fancy dresses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the parking garage at the hospital when my Popo was sick holding James.</td></tr>
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Frank’s generosity was legendary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He always gave wonderful Christmas gifts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I got married, my mother-in-law
called me and told me I needed to put something on my registry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought I had put everything in the
store on that list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next day,
when I got home from work, I couldn’t even open the front door there were so
many packages outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank and
Lynn Dee had bought almost everything on the registry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyday, I pull something out of the
cabinet to use that he gave us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not only was he generous with his money, he was generous with his love
and affection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave great hugs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swimming in the pool as Uncle Frank looks on.</td></tr>
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<br />
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Throughout his life, Frank served as an example for others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a trailblazer, a man of action
who cast a big shadow for others to hide in, and he did it all on his own terms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a young boy, he would climb out of
bed, grab his cowboy hat and ride his radio flyer pony back into dreamland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to think of him riding that
pony, telling great stories, and impatiently pacing waiting for all of us to
catch up with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frank will live
forever in our hearts, and in the lives that he touched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We were all lucky to know him.</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-9541099235502112212012-06-27T01:01:00.000-05:002012-06-27T01:01:00.252-05:00Frenzied February<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In February, we actually saw Daddy, and Grandma & Papa came home from Aunt Sue's house.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGf4txB_dtvhkdWegWYHCeukSUCJcm-_PRvTXmkir90VgxZyzA67VZTwYXRT1AvLPmODlqVDctt4edre4VKkQ4GbkPIiJjrisxGVcky47Ot1R1EYgizYG4i1lOF8gwD0stsygSYfUIyzSJ/s1600/IMG_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGf4txB_dtvhkdWegWYHCeukSUCJcm-_PRvTXmkir90VgxZyzA67VZTwYXRT1AvLPmODlqVDctt4edre4VKkQ4GbkPIiJjrisxGVcky47Ot1R1EYgizYG4i1lOF8gwD0stsygSYfUIyzSJ/s400/IMG_0331.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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All of my favorite boys checking out the phone. We are a technology driven family, that's for sure. We now own enough iPhones (most of them ancient) for everyone to have one. Of course, they'd all prefer to have the iPad. Sometimes, when it just gets to be too much phone/iPad time, things have to hide, but it's one of the only ways to actually eat a meal in public with the kids.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUBG62SURBviZu5pDoA3gZLnfA29H3y6UInt_5RJP9pZOFcwtmFsUWBL5MdOxs6CwwOUi8zopFgtMgksMBAoxv6q85e6i9nOiHVozO01LYGExKMbyvCsZlXupjsX1sU3HCwmn6C068DOo/s1600/IMG_0340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUBG62SURBviZu5pDoA3gZLnfA29H3y6UInt_5RJP9pZOFcwtmFsUWBL5MdOxs6CwwOUi8zopFgtMgksMBAoxv6q85e6i9nOiHVozO01LYGExKMbyvCsZlXupjsX1sU3HCwmn6C068DOo/s400/IMG_0340.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Having spent several months on our own with Daddy on his regular travel schedule, the boys and I have learned how to do things in public just the four of us. Some outings are successful, some are horrific, but all of them involve leaving the house, and just that is an accomplishment on some days. </div>
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Jacksonville's MOSH (science & history museum) has five dollar Fridays, so the boys and I ventured out to see what kind of scientific adventures we could get into. From our zoo trips, I have learned that the double stroller combined with backpacks is an effective way to keep all my ducks in a row. We were able to see the entire first floor of the museum (most of it very quickly).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vbGN0JiSVMQIewUCxvID39dEXJoZSZrLybYf2r9GxuSDJn_lZOqEahKLxYo4HagS93M1hUBOrFeD02qIDIzk2-ImB00IQhHya8O57gl3lIysZ8wYVpjk-3v0kb42FRGUVoqJxKjm4Itv/s1600/IMG_0348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vbGN0JiSVMQIewUCxvID39dEXJoZSZrLybYf2r9GxuSDJn_lZOqEahKLxYo4HagS93M1hUBOrFeD02qIDIzk2-ImB00IQhHya8O57gl3lIysZ8wYVpjk-3v0kb42FRGUVoqJxKjm4Itv/s400/IMG_0348.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The boys seem to urge each other toward learning new things. When I read a book to one of the boys, the other two gravitate over to hear; when one discovers something new and fabulous, he likes to share it with his brothers; and they love to learn about animals of all kinds.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFrQfJ8WpOwb80kKgZgSl1CK7f6FdZD0oaDZPEp7vfDpF2ojkE2H3YaMZIAVC5yXreiN4bQWor3kHOd7YoacR-Pp-c9q0wt6C4Fj-UH2woIj1ve5eZWa-Rmy5u7F4krQzRdHXK1k5vYz4/s1600/IMG_0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFrQfJ8WpOwb80kKgZgSl1CK7f6FdZD0oaDZPEp7vfDpF2ojkE2H3YaMZIAVC5yXreiN4bQWor3kHOd7YoacR-Pp-c9q0wt6C4Fj-UH2woIj1ve5eZWa-Rmy5u7F4krQzRdHXK1k5vYz4/s400/IMG_0353.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Their favorite part of the MOSH was the animal room. Ryan was so excited to pet an alligator. You know you live in Florida when you get to pet strange alligators more often than strange dogs.<br />
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Michael and James take turns learning what alligator feels like. Is it wrong of me to think that alligator will one day make a lovely handbag and a tasty meal? You can take the girl out of the swamp, but not the swamp out of the girl. <br />
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The kids loved these tableau drawers. This blue jay bird's nest was particularly inviting. Unfortunately, they also liked to slam the drawer closed and open it up, but my general harried state and shame faced apologies tends to make people excuse our behavior in front of my face if not behind my back.<br />
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The best part of the MOSH was the hands on play area. There was a giant tree you could climb in and a water table. The boys must have spent 45 minutes just hanging out in this room. We were supposed to meet other moms and kids at the MOSH, but our battery in our car died (AGAIN), and we were late. After testing by a generator guy, we found out that our battery was being zapped by a faulty connection in one of our doors. The guy said we could spend a couple thousand dollars to figure out where the bad connection was or just pull the fuse for the interior lights. Let's just say if you want to get in our car at night, you'd better bring a flash light.<br />
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James was king of the water table. He enjoyed diverting the water, making the water wheels spin, and getting his long sleeves soaking wet. I think James has an engineers/mechanics mind. He is always working out how things fit together and operate. The other day on the carousel, he spent more time looking up to see how the horse was moving than waving to Daddy. I know that every parent thinks his/her child is brilliant, but I'm pretty sure I can attest that all three of mine are exceptional in almost every way (except perhaps potty training).<br />
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Ryan is a hands on guy as well. He likes to play. He is always on the move. I'm pretty sure when Mohammad Ali said float like a butterfly sting like a bee, he was foretelling Ryan's existence. He is always into something. He's so independent. If he wants something, then he'll figure out a way to get it. I have hidden the popsicles in three different freezers, and he's found them every single time. I've had to quit buying them so that he will quit helping himself to them.<br />
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Michael is my puzzle man. He is the most independent and territorial of the three boys. He can play by himself for hours. He really takes in the information and story lines from the shows we watch. Days later, he'll start talking about specific patterns he saw on Umizoomi. He loves his name. He names the toys he plays with Michael, i.e. Pirate Captain Michael, etc. He also is the "traffic cop" as Bob calls him, constantly telling the "boys" what to do. I think he is my best rule follower and my best rule breaker wrapped up into one. My favorite thing he's started doing is praising himself - after he puts a puzzle together or builds a castle, he'll say "good job Michael."<br />
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James making a dam. I can't wait to go back to the museum. They have a dinosaur exhibit that I think the boys will just love. Sadly, now that they are three, they are no longer free. I guess it's time to find out if membership really does have its privileges. <br />
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My boys are great helpers. They love to sweep the floor while I sweep the floor (no, it's not necessary to keep the dirt in a pile while sweeping), they have a small vacuum to use while I vacuum, they like to put the laundry in the washer then into the dryer, but they do NOT like to pick up their toys.<br />
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One of Daddy's specialties is brats. He cooks a mean sausage, and his best helpers love to pour his beer into the pot, put the sausage and onion in, and then stir, stir, stir.<br />
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Future chefs in the making. They got an outdoor kitchen (or a grill with a fridge, oven, and counter) for their birthday from Grandma & Papa. There were vast quantities of eggs and sausage being made for all. I love how they pretend and play so nicely together. Most of their fights arise when someone doesn't want to play any more. <br />
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Michael and my phone. Recently, my blue cover tore, and I replaced it with pink. Kathy also has a pink cover on her phone. For the longest time, Michael would get mad at me for having grandma's phone. Thankfully, he has come to terms with the fact that we both have pink phones.<br />
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A Saturday morning movie with Daddy. The boys love repetition, all kids do. They will ask to watch the same episode of Umizoomi 5 times in a row. This drives Bob completely nuts. He has done everything possible to limit the amount of repetitive kids shows he has to watch. Sometimes he's successful (most especially with sports or Star Wars), and sometimes a boy just needs to watch the "backyards."<br />
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James and Emma playing nice. From time to time, Emma will let the boys pet her. She has adjusted her three pets then bite rule to a pet then bite rule, but still the kids try to catch her. At least she doesn't hide in terror like she used to.<br />
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For Valentine's Day, we celebrated in understated style. With chocolates and love. Aunt Mellie sent a care package with this cute mailbox. I've taken to putting all the mail the kids get into their mailbox. Currently, there are three postcards from Momo in our mailbox.<br />
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Grandma & Papa also got a membership to the zoo, so not long after they returned from Texas, we went to the zoo. The original plan was to meet at the zoo and then I would take off for an afternoon to myself. The kids weren't having it, so instead, I stuck around and got to play photographer.<br />
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My monkeys monkeying around.<br />
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James admires the frogs in the Amazon section. He loves the different colored frogs. It took forever to get him to move on to the next animal.<br />
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I think Michael was watching the tapir here, but I'm not sure. We tend to wear out before we make it to the Amazon section, so I've been trying to mix it up and go to different sections of the zoo. Let's just say, it's not a good idea to skip the snakes or the elephants.<br />
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Fountain time. If only their mother carried change to toss into the fountain. I am a victim of my mom's 500 pound change purse. If I have more than two dollars in change, it must be relocated to another receptacle as I am not going to have odd back aches due to copious amounts of change in my purse.<br />
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Danger, danger, water is getting closer to the triplets.<br />
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Ryan brushes the goats. He really likes brushing the goats. He also likes to brush Duke, so maybe he's just very into animal grooming.<br />
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One thing we are not into is the potty. I am going to try and work on this again in the next couple of weeks. This time, I'm going to get three frog potties and go au natural and see if it takes. I love the idea of naked potty training (less laundry, more clorox wipes). We'll see if it works.<br />
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Fireman Michael does not like to sit on the potty. In fact, he will sit in a dirty diaper for hours while I beg him to let me change it. He is an odd duck, but I love him. Hopefully his future wife does not find this post and think less of him for it. James will sit on the potty if the mood strikes but there has never been pee that hits the potty - although the other day he was more than willing to pee in my hand while Bob chased him around with a diaper. Only Ryan has had any potty success. He pooped in the potty, got the promised Darth Maul toy, and has completely lost interest despite the promise of a young boy Anakin (? should I have to learn the proper spelling of made up Jedis who turn to the dark side?). If I keep repeating, I am ready to potty train, I am ready to potty train, maybe one of the four of us will be convinced and the pee can hit the bowl.</div>
<br />Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-60569094437350568452012-06-24T23:10:00.000-05:002012-06-24T23:10:04.085-05:00Lazy Days of January<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Every time I open my computer to do something constructive like play pyramids or search for Star Wars toys on ebay, a nagging guilt assails me. I know that I should be spending a small fraction of that time updating the blog. I really have the best intentions, but then Bob will ask me a question like "how old do you think Russell Brand is?," and I'm off searching the web for irrelevant facts or playing game after game of temple run. In order to atone for my sins and make a mid-year resolution, I've decided to catch up on what's been going on in the Newhouse world for all my adoring fans (or at least my mother) by putting quick review of each month up and hopefully restoring the rhythm of blogging once again. </div>
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Our first January in Florida alerted me to the fact that unless we go to Texas for Christmas, we will never need to buy winter coat - a good sweatshirt and a pair of jeans will do just fine. January was fabulous for playing outside. Here Ryan sports his mouse ears & "rock band" (lego star wars, but who needs to quibble) p.j.s as an acceptable out of doors attire. Of course, this is the same child that ran outside completely nude to check the mail. Thank God for safety locks.<br />
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My sweet Michael still loves that hat. We spent a lot of January just the four of us since Bob was off doing all kinds of work things. I'm not sure why, but apparently the musical instrument business is hopping in January. I think Bob was home 7 days in January. Jim and Kathy were still in Texas with Sue, and so the boys and I joined a playgroup through our multiples organization. It has been a lifesaver. I've finally got some Florida friends.<br />
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Benjamin Button, I mean James, checks the stocks on his iPhone. It's time for the market to close in China, Mom, I've got to make some trades.</div>
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Ryan and the recurring sty in his eye. Poor guy. We ended up having to take a trip to the doctor for some much needed medication for this little beauty. In the mean time, it gave him a sinister air that only a true mafiosi can cultivate.<br />
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I know that Michael has never seen Different Strokes, but I'm sure he's wondering what Willis is talking about.<br />
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The best part of triplet motherhood is the love. My guys are always so sweet and loving followed by a swift wack in the head by a toy, but still the love is there. Michael and his "Mr. A-tay-tuh Head" are virtually inseparable. Lately, when they have something that has upset them, they get hugs from each other as often as they do from me. It warms my heart to know our guys take care of each other.<br />
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While we practiced the arts of the brush, Daddy was in California hanging out with the Buffet Group.<br />
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Across from his booth, Stevie Wonder appeared (not Stephen Tyler, Faith - perhaps our most favorite Faith story of the last few months was when she asked Bob to get her some Stevie Wonder music to listen to because that's who she thought was a new judge on American Idol. A while later, we were watching Stevie Wonder on the music channel on TV, and Bob said, "Faith, there's your boy, Stevie Wonder." Faith, in a most shocked and aghast manner that is comical in only the way a twelve year old girl can be exclaimed, "Stevie Wonder's black?") Not only that, he's blind, and Bob told me that some fool woman kept waving at him and expecting a response. This one little tidbit of info could spark a rant of epic proportions, but I'll refrain.<br />
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Over the months, we've gone through phases in our TV addictions. We love Dinosaur Train, Cat in the Hat, Super Why, Backyardigans, Wild Kratts, and most recently and obsessively, Umizoomi. Regardless of our current passion, the toys are always in demand as James makes sure that all are aboard on the Dinosaur Train (also every overpass, hallway, or semi-enclosed throughway has become a "time tunnel.")<br />
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We don't limit our love of the glowing box to just TV shows, we love our movies too. Toy Story 3, Winnie the Pooh (which has some fabulous dance numbers invented by the kids involving sticking out your tummy like Pooh), Cars 2, Mulan, Robin Hood, Sword and the Stone, and Lion King have been big players. More recently, Daddy has shown us 5 of 6 Star Wars movies, and thus he has fully began the lifelong process of embracing nerd-hood but more on that later.<br />
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My favorite times of any day are when one of the kids (or all three of them) come hang out with Mommy for some cuddle time. I am so lucky to have such loving little men, and every hug, kiss, smile, and conversation make me know that no matter what bills need to be paid, what needs to be cleaned or picked up, or how lonely I am for Daddy/Texas/me-time that my life is pretty fantastic.<br />
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Ryan is our biggest talker. He will literally talk until he runs out of breath (which is never). He continually discusses our trips to Disney, the beach, the books he's read, Star Wars, etc. I am counting on him to keep talking. Mommy is gonna need an informer.<br />
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When Bob is away, we tend to take lots of pictures of every day things. Dinner, bath time, playing outside. It seems that when I browse through our photos they are just the same things over and over with bigger kids. I think it helps Daddy make it through those long days on the road, and I know our video chats are key for the kids. I can't begin to count how many times Ryan has asked me "where's my dad?" in the last few months. We go over to the map in the playroom and talk about where he is. Bob told him that he had to go out of town to make him some money, so now Ryan asks "is my dad making me my moneys?" <br />
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Here are several of the great people from Buffet. Bob's got such a nice group of people to work with, and we are very blessed to know them. Most of his job involves hoofing it across the southeast in his mini-van with his phone attached to his ear, so it always makes me happy when he has a little bit of fun along with his work.</div>Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-84700621607423850602012-04-07T21:39:00.000-05:002012-04-07T21:39:00.110-05:00McQueens for a Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In January, my favorite McQueens made a southern pilgrimage to the house of mouse. We were so lucky that they took a day to come to Jacksonville to see us. Despite the fact that it was a little chilly, we took the kids to the beach. It was a fun day despite the bone chilling wind and freezing cold water.</div>
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Ryan and the Newhouse boys after a dip in the Atlantic. It's hard to dig in the sand wrapped in a towel.<br />
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The McQueen Ladies and my best boy.<br />
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Molly and Nat - cheerleader & proud papa.<br />
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Sisters separated at birth who grew up in trailers in their grandparents' front yard.<br />
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Michael makes a castle, & Dee takes over the camera. I've always been envious of her ability to take a great pictures.<br />
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Ryan and Moser no-longer-Poser. <br />
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Ryan gets serious about his work. Dee and I both named our youngest child Ryan, and our middle children were born on the same day (a few years apart). Poor Ian felt so horrible that he spent most of our day laying on the back seat of their van feeling like death warmed over. <br />
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Cold James and his pink nose. <br />
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Watch out Ryan, that sand angel is about to get a halo courtesy of Michael.<br />
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Best buds huddling together for warmth.<br />
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Sand sculptor extraordinaire.<br />
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Ryan and Molly take a turn passing the ball.<br />
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What a throwing technique. Thank goodness Nat has good catching hands.<br />
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My papoose.<br />
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Ryan finds a puffer fish skeleton on the beach. So much fun.<br />
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After the beach, we terrorized the local hidden gem - Chowder Ted's. I think our (my) kids ran wild through the restaurant. I'm pretty sure we might have gained a reputation.<br />
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Time for the McQueens to return to the Magic Kingdom - I think they might have a few stowaways in that van.<br />
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One last hug before they left. We had such a good time with our McQueens. I can't wait for us to get together again.</div>Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1969952689071647130.post-21684622429523390292012-04-06T17:42:00.001-05:002012-04-06T17:42:54.801-05:00Happy to See You!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We left Tyler on December 26 at 5 a.m. eastern time, and we drove home with only two stops for the boys to stretch their legs. By the time we made it home, the kids were so happy to be back in familiar surroundings with their things and their beds. Michael went around the house greeting things. Most especially his toys. He'd tell each one "happy to see you, train; happy to see you, animals, happy to see you, horse." </div>
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We left a pretty cold Texas and traded it in for a beautiful Florida. We went to the park, and I dressed the kids in long sleeves. By the time we left, all of us were sweating. </div>
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Michael loved this sand box. He kept sprinkling himself (and others) with sand. I'm pretty sure I've still got sand in the car from this trip to the park. We'd been to Sunshine Park with the Klocs and Jensens, and the kids had a great time, so we brought Daddy back with us. <br />
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James, as always, is a friendly guy and kept walking around visiting with other kids. With Bob and I doing our "zone defense" in a fenced in park, it worked great.<br />
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Ryan is my pinkest child. It doesn't take more than two or three minutes out in the heat for him to flush. I'm sure he's going to hate this lovely feature when he starts blushing from shame or embarrassment.<br />
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James was most happy to have his horse back. We go through phases of what the kids are really into and corresponding to what we watch on TV. This was during a recent Secretariat phase. He wanted to look like a jockey, and I guess Kermit's duds fit the bill.<br />
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Batman! The kids are still in love with their superhero outfits. Michael randomly declares himself Batman all the time. Every once in a while, they will feel generous and switch superhero shirts, but it doesn't take long before each one wants "his" superhero back.<br />
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Zach & Mandy bought the boys an art easel. I have removed any whiteboard markers, but I do allow chalk, and they love to draw. Recently, Winnie the Pooh was a big player in our house, and during the "Backson Song," Owl draws a monster on the chalkboard. Inevitably, during a Pooh watching there are several Backsons drawn on our chalkboard. <br />
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James sporting my sun hat. I'm not sure that I'll ever get to wear it again since it has been claimed by triplets.<br />
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The band is back together. The boys love to play their guitars, drums, and sing together. I love how they coordinate all efforts. Someone will decide it's band time (often Ryan or Michael), then they pass out the instruments, say "okay boys," and then count off. It's absolutely hilarious. Much grooving is done when there is a good song playing on TV. Bruce Springsteen recently released an album, and Bob managed to get the boys (primarily Ryan who is our best parrot) to say "Bruce is the Boss."<br />
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Once we got home, we pulled out the wooden tracks Momo got for their birthday and added them to the ones they got for Christmas. It's a bit of a chore to get the railroad together with all my helpers, so once it's up it tends to stay up for a while.<br />
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We all love to play trains. Sadly, most of these sweet moments end with our toy terrorist stealing trains or refusing to share trains, beatings about the head and neck, hair pulling, crying, and a session of nose on the wall which may or may not lead to time in their beds. I'm not the greatest at enforcing time out. I probably let too much slide, but I do my best. Occasionally, I have to pull out a spanking or two to get things taken care of, but for the most part, I don't have to discipline them too often.<br />
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One of the things that has been most exciting about the boys getting older is more freedom to go out and about. I have learned that we must talk about our plans, expectations, and how we are going to act before an outing. Once I give them the run down, they are pretty awesome. We go to the zoo frequently by ourselves and have a wonderful time. My current method of getting around is using the double stroller. If everyone needs a seat, I lower the reclining seat in the back and stick two kids in that seat. It works great. If someone is unhappy and needs carrying or hugs, I put him on the handle bars, he grabs on to my neck and I hold his bottom and the handle as we stroll. Most of the time, someone wants to walk. Usually they do fantastic holding my hand, but I always use the backpacks just in case I need to keep someone close (typically my best runner - James). Not only does this get the job done, it's easier to stay incognito with a double stroller.<br />
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One of our favorite Christmas gifts were all the Toy Story toys we received (thanks Ethan for showing us how much fun those kind of toys are). Michael especially will take the whole basket to nap time with him. I love how he says "Evil Dr. Pork Chop." Recently, we've added the pork chop plane and a garbage truck to our collection. I'm not going to mention how much fighting goes on over these two items, but I have considered purchasing a couple more.<br />
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We finally had to break down and find a doctor in Jacksonville. I'm not sure if we'll stay there, but she's very nice and close to the house. I miss Dr. Ghaffar. The wait time was ridiculous, but all of our friends with small kids live so far away, and I'd like to find a doctor close to the house. Ryan got another sty in his eye. According to my internet research (gotta love the internet), stys are prone to returning in the same eye once you've had one. This big guy took forever to disappear even after antibiotics and ointment. Try holding a warm compress on the eye of a kid who is on perpetual go, and you'll wonder why all those fancy Star Trek medical advancements aren't real.<br />
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After Secretariat, Cars 2 with Finn McMissile became a HUGE player at our house. My mom sent them lots of Cars toys for Valentines Day. James laid claim to most of those race cars, and he really likes them. Michael enjoys Finn and Sir Axlerod, and Ryan laid claim to the "hot wheels." Ryan is very specific about which cars he wants and when he wants them. There are special hot wheels that must be in his bed before sleep can occur. He gives them names like his "Halloween Hot Wheels," which are skull shaped and reddish brown in color.<br />
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Michael taking a spin with the airport, an oldie, but a goodie. When Bob went to NAMM, we took him to the airport, and for weeks, the boys talked non stop about Daddy going bye-bye on the airplane.<br />
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James puts the Dinosaur Train through its paces. Around Christmas, Dinosaur Train was the be-all-end-all of shows. It's still a favorite in the rotation, but Wild Kratts is now his favorite with the chosen episode the squirmy worms. Michael is all about the Backyardigans clown episode, and Ryan is all Star Wars all the time (much to the delight of his father).<br />
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Grab the popcorn, it's time to watch Robot Monsters (i.e. Star Wars). Ryan is his father's son. He is learning at the feet of the master. First, he loves "Brrrrrruuuuuuuuuccccccccceeeee!" He's addicted to Star Wars and will go interrupt Bob during working hours to ask him to watch Star Wars. As we watch the movies, Bob has pulled out his old Star Wars toys. Chewbacca is known as "bacca the scaaaaarrrryyy wookie" if you ask Michael. James likes the storm trooper robots. Ryan has a wonderful gift of describing new things in the context of what his vocabulary and understanding currently are. He talks about Robot Dogs (At-At Walkers), the Snow Monster (the Wompa) which gets "hi-yaed" by Luke, he constantly is concerned about the fact that the froze Han (we are holding the Return of the Jedi for a bit), the different characters have snow outfits, and on and on it goes. Of course as he learns the proper terms (which his father is careful to school him in), we lose those great descriptions, but I guess they have to grow up sometime.<br />
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Since coming back to Florida, I have tried to get more involved with our Jackpotts group. We have started a Friday play group (which we really enjoy participating in). Here, by my suggestion, we went to Sunshine Park. It was a great place to visit with two parents not so desperate to engage in adult conversation, but with one parent and very mobile kids, it was a challenge to get to visit with my lady friends. I prefer our house play dates that involve the kids touching other people's toys and Mommys talking about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.<br />
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For some reason, I have forgotten that we live in the South and that I have given birth to boys. I'm by no means a flaming liberal anti-gun activist, but I am not very comfortable with my two year olds being comfortable with guns. I want them to think of them as weapons for extreme situations or as a means to provide food for the family and not everyday use. I was always taught if you own a gun, you'd better know how to use it and be ready to TCB. I'm not ready to TCB, so I prefer not to have my guns out and about. My brother and I inherited some nice guns from my dad, but they are now at Grandma P's house. I just don't want a footlocker of ammo and a mini-14 with three curious boys around. Anyway, this mini-rant is here to say that at the park, lots of guns seemed to appear and be shared. I do NOT understand why we bring extra toys to the park. Is it so difficult to leave your gun in the car? I bet it's not half as difficult as convincing James to return a borrowed gun and to leave the park. I swear now, by all that is holy, I will not do this to other mothers no matter how much my boys beg.<br />
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In the last few weeks, the boys imaginations have really kicked in. It is so amazing to see how they are comprehending, internalizing, and applying the things they are learning. We watched a Wild Kratts about platypus eggs hatching and Michael spent all of the Easter Egg Dying trying to "hatch" the eggs. <br />
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My sweet Michael sitting with Mommy. I love cuddling with my boys. I know that when they are 40, I probably won't get them to sit on my lap, but I sure am enjoying having my snuggles now.<br />
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My baby. I can't believe how big they are getting. The other day, we measured the kids, and James is the shortest at 39.5 inches. Ryan and Michael are both a smidge over 40 inches. They are wearing 4-5T clothes. How did it happen so fast?</div>
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The superheroes hold a convention in the dog bed.<br />
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Superheroes also have an artistic side.<br />
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Currently, Michael's namesake godfathers share an apartment at Baylor, and Uncle Stephen gave the boys these wonderful Baylor shirts for Christmas. We have had lots of reason to show our pride and say GO BEARS in the last few weeks. Hopefully those baseball Bears make us all proud as well. I have a feeling that I might have to figure out how to pay for three private Baptist college tuitions unless the Gators convert them in the mean time.<br />
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My pah-fye-urr lovin' man. We are trying to wean him off of the pacifier (half-heartedly). He has started accidentally biting through the nipples and telling me that they don't work. Hopefully this will help either make him more responsible with the one or two that "work" or encourage him to learn to live without it. We'll see. I've always said I don't care if he carries it to kindergarden in his pocket. He's pretty much fine without it during the day if you take it away from him, but he can't seem to go to sleep without it.<br />
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Ryan is my most independent child. He will decide he wants something and go get it. He's gotten more and more clever, and I am running out of hiding places. He is most deserving of his nickname "Eagle Eye."<br />
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I would describe Michael as a unique child as this photo of him laying naked on the floor with his blanket over him eating ice cream would attest. He loves to read books especially the monkey book and Rise and Shine. He is the best singer we have. A rendition of the Veggie Tales theme song could last a half hour. He will tell you if you are allowed to sing.</div>Angela Newhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08642174771809243516noreply@blogger.com0