"Mommy and Me"

It was so nice to have my mom in town for the past week and a half! She's the greatest Mom and "Nana" ever!
(I know we're a little 3-D, but Brooklyn was taking the shot)

Anyway, the kids are all so sad now, that she left. She was great at reading them bed time stories and taking them swimming, when mom and dad wouldn't! The kids were back to tough love when it came to going to bed last night. Brooklyn spent the night at a friends...so I think that made it even harder for Paris and Madison. I decided to let Boston sleep in Brooklyn's bed so he wouldn't be lonely. (My mom would lay next to him every night until he fell asleep! Isn't she nice?) I'm sure that she had so much fun...she'll be back really, really, soon!



I also really loved the fact that I could run and have some "me" time when she was around! I got to go to the gym...without 4 of the kids a couple of times...(Madison loves the gym!)and I got to get my "Toe Nail" and "Eyebrow" done as "Ti Ti" would say at Sunrise Nails & Spa...yes it actually says Nails instead of Nail, sorry to disappoint you Sarah and Shavonne! Hope you two also liked the pictures I sent of my beauty work on your phones! I'm putting up Ti-Ti's most recent design so Shavonne can view my beautiful toe artwork whenever she wants! (She's very picky about her flowers...and I just let them get creative...some times it pays off...sometimes it's "Classic" as my sisters and I would say!) You can decide for yourselves, which one this is!

Paris' New Stroller!

Okay, so everyone knows that Paris has a ton of Cabbage Patch babies, kids, and other dolls and loves every single one of them! In fact, every time we go to the store, she asks to see the "baby aisle" (the one with all the dolls)so she can see if there are new ones! Well she got some money from her Great Grandma Gae last month and decided she wanted to go to Toys R Us to spend it. She was in heaven! You could almost see the glow around the "Baby Aisle"! After a good 15 minutes trying to decide what she should buy...she decided on a double stroller! She was so happy! She couldn't wait to get it home and put a few of her lucky "children from the closet" inside! So we thought we would show Grandma Gae and everyone else her lovely new purchase!
She decided to "double" up so she could give more "kids" a ride!

Of course Madison had to give it a try. Usually when Paris was busy...but below she gets caught and is trying to give an explanation for hiding the stroller behind the couch! (P.S. Isn't Madison's outfit cute? Phil bought it last weekend!)

A bunch of "Try Outs"

In the last week, Seattle has discovered some new things to "try out" so I've put some of the pictures together so you can see what's new! First, she's tried out her walker for the first time and I think she really liked it! She doesn't move...yet, but she likes to giggle and move her head around.

Then she decided to "try out" her new head band that her Aunt Shavonne made her while chillin in her Bumbo seat.

Next, she decided to "try out" her new favorite toys...her feet! She's been obsessed ever since she found them! They're great for keeping her pacified!


Last, we decided to let her "try out" bananas. She thought they were nasty at first, but then she just kept wanting me to shove them in! Her tongue still isn't very smooth at bringing the food back...but with some practice I'm sure she'll get it!


I'm sure these won't be the last "tryouts" so stay tuned for more updates!

Things that keep us busy...

This week has flown by and as I said before...we're trying stay busy! Emphasis on the word trying. With 5 kids, the busy part comes easily...it's busy having fun that's the hard part!

My mom helped the kids decorate pencils into cute bugs and then I helped them re-create the wonderful world of "FLARP." (That word has been flying around the house a little too much lately!) They each got to make their own batch, I have to admit, we were probably having just as much fun as they were...that stuff is pretty cool!

Hanging at Lifetime

The kids have been wanting to play a sport and they finally agreed to one...Basketball. Phil and I told them they had to play the same sport, because my day is just too busy to be driving all over the place and having practices at different times. Luckily they're also in the same age bracket, so not only are they in Basketball skills training together...it's also at my gym! Yay! So I've just had to alter my schedule to go to the gym on Thurday evenings now instead of mornings. This week was awesome, because my mom was able to stay and take pictures of the kids at their first day of practice, while the other 3 kids got watched in the child center, and I was able to swim! I've been swimming religiously for the past 8 weeks 3-4 times a week and am proud to say that I am up to 1 mile in about 43-48 minutes! I know, I'm no Michael Phelps, but hey...swimming kicks butt! I started out being able to do about 10 laps before I about croaked and now I'm up to 64+. If you ever want a great cardio workout...I dare you to swim some laps! (just be prepared to smell like bleach...showering doesn't take the smell away:()

Enjoying the summer...while it lasts!

I can't believe the kids start school in less than 2 weeks! Wow that went so fast! Today Brooklyn and Boston invited friends over to play games and splash around in the pool.
The girls were downstairs on the gamecube, while the boys were upstairs playing baseball on the wii, before they switched.


Madison with Nana on her usual step.
Paris always up for a photo op!
Seattle was a sport and "swung" out with us for a while!

Cubs 0...Diamondbacks 2

I bought Phil 4 tickets to the cubs vs diamondbacks game for his birthday and the game was last night. I haven't been to a baseball game since my sister Shavonne sang the string of National Anthems for the Oakland A's and SF Giants like 6 years ago or something! We decided to fly my mom out to babysit for us, so we wouldn't have to take Seattle. It worked out perfectly!!! I bought Phil and I cubs shirts to go along with our hats so we could go in "style"!
The Chase Field stadium is about 20 minutes away and I loved the fact that it was a "closed" roof day, as shown below in the "roof report" that gets displayed on the big screen during the pre-game!
It was sweet to have air conditioning throughout the game, why don't all stadiums think of this. No game delays because of rain, snow, or heat in our case! Just close the roof! Phil invited two of his friends, Spencer and Mark to come along with us.

I don't think they're Cubs fans, but they weren't Diamondback fans either so it was alright!
As you can see, it was a great "double date" and Spencer even caught a "home run"! Okay, maybe it was just a re-enactment of them catching the last ball thrown into the pre-game crowd after warm ups...but it looked good!
I was amazed at how many Cubs fans there were at the game! I think there might have been more Cubs fans in the crowd than Diamondback fans! I've never been to a home game cheering for the opposing team and having a bunch of people around you cheering for the away team too! It was cool. I am told it was a short game. The game started at 6:40 and we were home by 9:40. No one scored any runs until the 5th or 6th inning. For the first 5 innings I think it was "3 up, 3 down"?
If that means every three players got out, then that's about how it was. Anyway it was fun, and I might go to another game!

Fun on the lake!

Well as promised, I just got the pictures from their trip to California, so I thought I would post them. Better late than never, right?

Their trip to the "Pit Stop"! My parents houseboat on Lake Don Pedro, near Sonora, CA. On 6/19-6/21/08.
Having fun with the Paddle Boat.
Boston and Paris, jamming on the new Tube!
Papa chillin with Boston's Sun Glasses!
Papa taking the kids out for a ride on the Wave Runner.
Boston even found a way to play the wii on the boat!
Swimming in the lake...moving their feet so no fish would come!
Paris being brave on the tube by herself!
Paris sliding down the houseboat slide.
Coming in from a swim with Papa.
Keeping up with great hygiene. Brushing their teeth on the boat.
Paris and Brooklyn, walking on the top deck.
Papa taking them out for a ride in the Sanger.
Boston and Papa paddling away!
Nana and Paris relaxing in the sun.