Two, Four, Six, Eight...

One Year, 12 weeks

What a crazy busy week this was!  But I guess that's the way it goes, and we wouldn't have it any other way.  Too much down time isn't allowed in this family, especially with 3 very energetic and active kids.  We have to give them some kind of outlet!

Let's see.  We had a jam packed, activity filled weekend planned for the holiday.  Friday Tangie had off but worked a half day at Panera Bread to get some things off her plate (ha!) as she and her team will start their busy season with a client the following Thursday.  We decided to pick up some smoked beef brisket from our local BBQ place in Winter Garden (protein for the diet, right?) just before we picked up the kids from school.  It was a nice reprieve from cooking every evening.

Dinnertime!  So much easier now that the twins can feed themselves.  And messier.

Maddy shares some of her dinner with Mommy

Remember that YouTube viral video of the one socked twins talking to each other?  Here is a video clip of our version of that.



Brae decided to join me for a whirlpool bath

and almost got lost in all the bubbles!

Sabbath morning found us heading to church as Braelyn would be attending her new Sabbath School kindergarten class.  She was very excited, especially when she saw Calleigh there and all the new cool and neat things/props they had in the room.  This class was more for arts and crafts after the lesson as they had several different colored tables with assigned seats for the children.  So we left them there and proceeded to go back to Cradle Roll for the twins; They have a new layout for the program and a teacher that is an early child specialist so it was neat to see structure and activities for the younger ones.  Afterwards when we went to pick Braelyn back up we found out that we had left them in the wrong classroom and that they had transferred to the right one in the middle of Sabbath school.  Oops.

This is a clip of Braelyn sharing her breakfast yogurt with the twins.



My 3 lovely ladies

What's up little man?  Really, he is like a little man!

That afternoon was a scorcher so after naps we decided to go to downtown Winter Garden to take advantage of the water fountain park and to let out some energy.  Braelyn has so much fun there, which was totally different a year ago when it was impossible to coax her out to any water park.  Maddy immediately followed her in, dress and all.  Kohl, as usual, observed from the distance at first, but then warmed up to the splashing water and joined his sisters.  It was hilarious to watch.

So much fun!

What happens if I put my hands out...Ahh!



One soaked little boy, coming right up!

I don't have any words to describe what she's doing.

Sunday morning we had a 10 o'clock appointment to join the Bergherm's birthday party at the Altamonte Springs fire station, right across from the church.  We were planning on having some folks over for the 4th the following day and the yard needed to be mowed, so I took an hour  beforehand while Tangie fed the kids breakfast to mow the front and side lawns before heading out to the party.  The tour of the fire house was neat to see, and Braelyn got a chance to give a fireman a high five, although she first jumped away when he knelt right next to her, all decked out in his gear.

All the kids had little fire hats on

You can see Braelyn and Calleigh scooting away as the fireman approached them.

Learning about the trucks.

Now I know how the Duggars feel.  (19 and Counting on TLC)

Duncan and his two eldest children.

Then it was off to their house for lunch and cake, and man, what a welcome of confectionary prowess awaited us!  Now, I pride myself in putting together events and parties at our house, but it's nothing compared to what Jennifer can put on.  Talk about Sweet Expectations, which is actually the name of her baking company, and a clever way to put my thoughts into words while giving her a little plug.  Yes, definately check her company page on Facebook and use her if you are planning on throwing a party or shower.  You'll not regret it!  Jenn, if you're reading this, I expect at least a 20% commission!  :)

Just look at this display!  What a selection of goodies!

Brae tries out a "smore's on a stick"

Even the twins tried some cake pops

Sunday afternoon was another scorcher of day, so after I had finished mowing the rest of the backyard and after the kids' naps I set up the slip 'n slide and kiddie pool for them to cool off and expend some energy.

Zoe got a little thirsty and found a perfect place for drinking water!

Monday was the Fourth of July and we started the day's festivities back at Winter Garden for the local parade.  We had opted out of the previous night's plans where we were to go to Crane's Roost in Altamonte Springs to see the fireworks display with the Grodacks, but it being so late and having to prepare for the party at our house the following day, we knew it would have hurt us rather than helped.  Maybe next year.  Anyway, back to the parade.  The Winter Garden Moose Lodge has a fund raiser each year and you get breakfast with a $5 donation, then if you have kids you can decorate any bikes/wagons/stollers, or in Braelyn's case, a scooter.  It was totally spur of the moment to join the parade but absolutely so much fun to walk with hundreds of people and kids all waving flags past the spectators.  We were lucky our double stroller  was red and it fit perfectly with the holiday colors and decorations.  Some lady hollered to Tangie and teased her about buying the stroller just for the parade!

Putting up some flags

There was a ton of people participating.

She looked like a little Pocahontas with the headband on.

I had to take a picture of these suped up golf carts.  Check out those wheels!

Lining up, getting ready to start!

We bumped into one of Braelyn's friends from school, Grace, and hung out with them throughout the parade.

All in red.

That smile just says it all.

Madelyn shows her country pride.

Walking down Main Street Winter Garden.

After the parade we made a quick stop to buy the children some new shoes for school.  As you know how quickly little feet grow, we also wanted to buy some shoes that would be impossible to take off by the twins, as they have made it a habit of taking off their shoes almost immediately after you put them on, and especially at school.  Braelyn and Maddy ended up getting matching ones while Kohl's light up when he walks.

Kohl tries out his new shoes.

Around 4 pm the festivities started at our place.  First we all gathered at the pool and swam around, trying to cool off.  The weather forecast said there was only a 20% chance of rain that day, and I guess that 20% chance was over our house, for as we just all made it back from the clubhouse a deluge of sheer magnitude just dumped on top of us, diverting any outdoor plans and activities back inside.  The news that evening said we got 3 inches of rain from the storm.  But that didn't dampen our spirits or food for that matter, as I was able to grill some fantasic burgers and 6 day aged steaks for everybody.  I mean, literally, I felt like I was running a restaurant!  But it was lots of fun, and most importantly, delicious!  We topped off the evening after the soaking from the gods to light some fireworks and add to global warming, but to the shrieks of delight from the children, and when I say children, I mean dads.

Duncan throws Zachary Zbarschuk in the air as Karis (Zach's dad, in the hat) looks on.

Taking advantage of the cool water.

Food, food, and more food.  Everyone ate to their hearts' content.

Lisa Deininger made a fabulous flag cake, sitting in front of Amy, in honor of the holiday.  Delicious!

The adults catch up as the children play in the background.

It's a good thing it rained ~ nothing could catch on fire!

Lots of bright lights and sparks to end the evening.

Rob Deininger was our official fireworks lighter.

He brought a nice stash of fireworks over.  Next year he's going to bring the big ones that go Ka-BOOM!

A few bystanders watch the show.

The big news of the week in Orlando was the verdict of the Casey Anthony case in which the jury found her not guilty and acquitted her of the 3 major counts, including first degree murder and aggravated manslaughter of a child.  She was found guilty of 4 counts of lying to a police officer and sentenced to the maximum 4 years, but because she's served almost 3 years since her arrest she gets out for time served and good behavior next week.  So on Wednesday she's a free woman.

I'm torn both ways in this decision because as a parent you feel for the injustice of the child and cannot fathom how someone can neglect or even bring themselves to do what happened to Caylee.  On the other hand, as a juror not influenced by media bias or the opinion of others, isolated and sequestered to only the evidence brought by the prosecuters for a total of 8 weeks, I respect the ruling they made based on the law.  It's amazing to see the amount of hatred and animosity made on the people chosen to make the decision, and they were just doing the job asked of them, as a civic duty.  I invite anyone to step in their shoes, see what they saw, and make an educated decision, without listening to such biased news pundits like Nancy Grace, who had decided to put the defendant on a cross even before the trial began.  It's a tough call.

Okay, change of subject.  We are finishing week 3 of our diet and we can see both a shift in food attitude, as well as eating culture,  although I have been craving pizza and sushi a lot.  Here is a sampling of our homemade dinners this week, in accordance to our meal plan diet:

Tuna salad with cottage cheese

Baked tilapia with vegetables

Greek veggie burger in wheat pita with veggie tray

Mustard lime salmon with steamed brocolli

I've been trying to make meal times fun for Brae, here her food is arranged in a happy face, as shown by her own face

and an angry face, again, shown by her interpretation.

As implied by the title of this post:  2, 4, 6, 8 has some high significance for this week.  We celebrated our wedding anniversary this past Wednesday, and can't believe how quickly time has passed since our wedding.  We started out just the 2 of us, and usually celebrating each year on the Fourth of July holiday, we also have now been parents for 4 years.  As our anniversary date lands on July 6, we will have been married 8 years since 2003.  Pretty cool,  huh?  Cheesy anyways. 

I think we're gonna make it...  :)

July 6, 2003

July 6, 2011

The children continue to delight and amaze us as we witness new changes each day.  They are developing each their own different personalities, however their interactions with and their affections for each other are priceless.  The twins are communicating with us and each other more, Maddy even going so far as tickling Kohl and saying "tic, tic, tic!"  Braelyn is learning the value of trading things rather than just taking things away from them and experiencing the repercussions.  The other evening while Tangie was putting her to bed, someone in the neighborhood decided to light a firework, days after the holiday was over.  Tangie made the comment, "Listen, someone has leftovers" to which Braelyn retorted, "That's fireworks, not food!"  Her association with the word leftovers meant food.  Makes sense!

With that I leave you with a picture of Madelyn throwing a temper tantrum on the floor early Thursday morning as Mommy prepares to leave for work.  Ah, the joys of parenthood!

Living up to her nickname:  Mad-a-lot

Have a great weekend!