"Thar's A Hurricane Acomin'!"

1 year, 19 weeks.

Not really, but very close.  Remember last week when I was venting about our need for rain?  Well, almost immediately after that post we saw a forecast for a tropical depression coming straight for Florida!   But as the storm continued to get stronger and stronger and is now currently a Category 3 hurricane, Irene's projected path has shifted East to completely miss the entire state.  Seriously?  I was just beginning to believe in the rain gods again.  And, of course, we always get shafted. 



Actually, I'm a little relieved.  Although a hurricane would definately bring the much needed precipitation, it would also bring other things, namely, devastation and disaster, things that we could just go without.  Not to mention the panic and evacuations inland from all over the coast.  And please, all you wonderful meteorologists, I know you're only doing your job and that this may be the highlight of the season, but please...can you give it a rest?

Last weekend was very busy indeed.  On Friday morning I had mowed the lawn with just enough time to jump in the shower and take off to pick Braelyn up from school by 1, as they let out early on Friday afternoons.  Thank goodness Tangie reminded me about it otherwise Braelyn would've been left wondering who was going to pick her up. 

What happens when you give 4 year olds cupcakes to celebrate a classmate's birthday?  This.



Later that evening after the children had gone to bed I made sure we were all ready for church the following morning:  outfits picked out and pressed, diaper bag stocked and ready, milk and snacks prepared.  I was trying to alleviate the workload for the morning and perhaps save us some time so we could actually leave early and attend the actual service AND Sabbath school.  Well sure enough, all that work paid off.  After a nice hearty breakfast and baths/showers, we were dressed and out the door only five minutes earlier than we would normally have left.  Needless to say, we ended up only going to Sabbath school.

Jesus made the bubbles!  How do you correlate?

4/5ths of the Grodack clan.

One of Maddy's favorites:  the rocking bear.  I mean, c'mon.  Who sits on a bear in real life?  Really?

Brae and Calleigh show off the ribbons they made in class with Aubree in tow.

After naps we had an impromptu get together with the Bergherms and Zbarschuks over at our place for create your own pizzas and water play for the kids.  Jennifer got the dough from Publix and we made several pizzas with different toppings.  And of course it wouldn't have been complete without a dessert pizza Jenn had made of a brownie crust topped with bananas and strawberries and whipped cream ~ absolute heaven.  Almost as good as my favorite brownie delight dessert that Corey makes. 

The kids just loved the cannonball splash pool, just as much as Bruce loved filling it up with water!

Fearless as usual, Maddy dives right in.

Here they come around the corner...Zach Attack weaves out of the yellow lane as Brae Burn settles in the blue while Blake the Great brings in the rear!

Amy keeps a really close eye on the smaller kids.

Kohl enjoys a peaceful and quiet pool all to himself! 

"Look Ma!  No hands!"

Taking a breather, the twins lounge on the adirondacks.



Brae seemed at ease and kept up with the boys.  Should I be worried?

Nightcap Skype session with Papa and Nana.

Keeping in touch with loved ones halfway around the globe.  Hi guys!



The evening was topped off by a session of physical therapy from Karis who was trying to help me remedy my crippling plantar fasciitis.  The years of working on my feet are starting to take it's toll.  I'm breaking down and getting old, dangit!

I've been wearing this splint and hobbling around the house to keep my foot ligaments stretched out.  I thought I still had several years left on my warranty!

On Sunday morning I took the kids for a ride on the wagon around the neighborhood, before joining the Grodacks and Bergherms at the Family Fun Festival for the Adventurer's programs at Forest Lake Church.  It's kind of like Pathfinders (that's like boys and girls scouts for all of you reading that are not SDA's) but for the little kids.  Tangie and I were both in Pathfinders growing up and loved it, so we thought it would be nice to have Brae join her friends in this experience as well.  That and her Daddy just loves to take any opportunity to go camping and live like Man vs. Wild.  I also signed up to teach one of the honors.  Soap carving, here we come!

Kohl helps Mommy look through the coupon section for some great deals.

First time the twins rode on the wagon.  It gets real heavy to pull with 3 children in it!

The twins loved it, can't you tell?  It was a very warm and bumpy ride.

I heard her say "Cheese" and turned around to see her take this picture of herself.

Using the car headphones so as to not disturb the twins sleeping.

"Hey bro, you awake?"  Maddy holds on to Kohl's finger while he power naps.

Braelyn had fun with Calleigh going down the big water slide.  I was very impressed with her fearlessness, simply because it was a pretty tall slide and she was the smallest kid in line.  But the girls kept going for a good hour at the least.  The twins joined Aubree in the small kiddie pool.  They hadn't changed into their swimsuits yet but by that time they were already soaked so Tangie just had them climb in.  While the kids played Duncan and I reverted back to our childhood days and showed off some mad hula hooping skills...scary!  We enjoyed hot dogs, pizza, and watermelon and then it was back home for naps.

The twins wait for some Italian Ice from Mommy while Brae plays on the big slide looming in the background.

Big kid, big kid, medium kid, Braelyn, medium kid, big kid...

There she goes scampering up the ladder!

Pretty cool shot of Braelyn sitting on top of the water.

Maddy got soaked by her big sister's splash.  The camera lens did too.

Do these two look like they're having the time of their lives?

A really small kiddie pool!

The big boys just wanna have fun!

This week's dish:

Rice and beans with grilled chicken sausage and tortilla strips.

On Wednesday I attended a lunch and seminar at Florida Hospital on the topic of bedwetting.  Now, now, I know what you're all thinking, but I swear I haven't wet the bed in months!  All kidding aside, this lecture was led by a pediatric urologist and he discussed the physiology of children and the bed wetting years, how to diagnose and treat, and remedy the problem.  It was very interesting and educational, as we have been working on this with our crew now and in the years to come, so I was sure to take lots of notes.  But I must admit I wasn't prepared for some of the graphic slides and pictures that accompanied this topic, especially ones on deformed genitalia.  And, of course, I was in mid-bite of my sandwich wrap when they came up on the large overhead screen.  Hey doc, I know this is a medical lecture but hows about a little heads up first?

Change of subject.  Remember the nest we found last week?   Well on Friday Brae and  I checked it again and saw that the other egg had hatched as well.  She dubbed the second chick "Sleeping Hair", again because of it's Native American heritage (?)  So now we are checking up on "Sleeping Feather" and "Sleeping Hair" daily to see their progress and they are growing up really fast, just like another set of twins I know.

Day 2:  two little chicks!

Brae was so happy "Sleeping Feather" has a sibling.

Day 7:  1 week old morning doves.  Feathers are developing nicely!

There is a song we heard on Sirrius' Kids Place Live called "Speedracer" from the movie that has become one of Braelyn's favorites since who knows when.  Anyway, we listen to it at least once a day in the van, and the twins have gotten to know it as well.  There is this part of the song where the bass goes up and the rhythm has this funky beat, kind of like thug gangster style (seriously?) and the kids start waving their hands up and down like rappers do.  Normally I wouldn't condone this type of behavior to people, let alone little kids.  But it's just so funny to watch when it's your little kids!

Looks like Braelyn's love for music and dance has passed down to her little sister!  I can just see them going out and having fun together when they get older, with brother Kohl watching from the sidelines ready to rescue them from the boys.

Speaking of rescuing, there was an incident at Starchild this past week that involved some biting.  I had to sign an injury report as Madelyn was bitten by another girl that left some teeth marks.  Turns out that they had both wanted the same toy so the other girl bit Maddy in the arm.  But before the teachers could break it up, Kohlden had gone to the perpetrator and retaliated for his little sister by biting the girl in her arm.  Again, I don't condone this behavior, but way to go little buddy!  As they say, a bite in the arm for a bite in the arm.

Braelyn is just like a sponge, absorbing anything and everything she sees and hears.  A couple of anecdotes for this week:

• At school they have been learning about David and Goliath.  So at dinner one evening she said her prayer, "Dear Jesus, thank you for a beautiful day.  Thank you for this food.  Help me get big and strong, just like Goliath..."  Um, did the teacher mention that Goliath was the bad guy?
• The residents' gate to our subdivision was broken temporarily so we had to be in the visitor's entrance with our id's which made for a very long line.  When it was our turn I asked the guard when it was going to be fixed and stated to him, "This is such a pain in the butt, especially for you."  And as we left the gate she asked me, "Why does he have paint in his butt?"  The hilarity continues to ensue. 

We went to visit the large branch in downtown Orlando on Monday.  She was so excited and was going nuts with all the books there!



She couldn't wait to start reading them all.



Here she shares one of her favorite stories to Zoe.





She wanted to help me prepare dinner so I had her cook the stir fry vegetables.



Such great fashion sense!  Wonder who she got that from?



She just loves to play with her food!

Have a great weekend!

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain! (Like the Christmas song, except that it doesn't snow in Florida. Pretty long title, eh?)

1 year, 18 weeks.

Boy do we need it.  Rain, that is.  As it has been a summer of high heat and record temperatures, we are dry and hurting for some moisture.  And by moisture I don't mean humidity.  We have tons of that.  Aren't we supposed to be deb smack in the middle of rainy season, not to mention hurricane season?  And yet we haven't had a storm worthy of a name dump enough rainfall for my lawn to revive, as it's been on life support for the past few months.  Yes, I'll even admit, I cheated last month and turned on the sprinklers more than the allotted 2 times per week, but even that didn't help much.  It also didn't help the water bill, and I'm not going to tell you how much it was, but $500 is a lot of money just for water!  I'm so jealous, I just finished reading our friends' blog where they had just gotten back from a 2 week vacation to Nova Scotia and it rained pretty much every day while they were there.  Couldn't they have shared some of that water and brought the rain back down here where we need some?  The daily forecast always calls for scattered thunderstorms and that's what we pretty much get:  lightning and thunder.  I want one of those drenching, soaking storms like the one we got over the 4th of July where it rained with a fury for at least an hour straight.  Yeah, and a side order of cooler temperatures.  Thank you!

Another day, another triple digit temperature.

Well, enough of my ranting.  Last weekend we started early on Friday afternoon, where I picked the kids up from school and met Mommy at a family work function.  That was the last day of school at Starchild for Braelyn and so we brought some gifts for her teachers and cookies for her friends.  I picked her up just before nap time and ran a few errands before going back to pick the twins up as they were asleep for their naps.  We drove down to I-drive to check out the new Dave 'n Buster's, a restaurant and game place, to meet with Tangie's co-workers and check out the new place.  Brae had fun playing lots of the games to collect tickets, although she's still a little small to play skee ball as each shot just barely made it up the ramp and plopped over.  She turned her tickets over for (what else?) more random stuff which are lying around the house somewhere.  

Head teacher Ms. Priya, who was very devasted when she found out Braelyn was leaving her class.

Assistant teacher Ms. Vanessa with Brae holding an elephant watering pail she had made.

Braelyn shows off some of her tickets which she decided to detach piece by piece.

I'm sure when they're all old enough we'll frequent this place a lot.

Friday evening Braelyn entertained her parents to a puppet show on their bed.

She had a lot of fun making up songs and characters.

We were delighted to have Lolo and Lala join us on Sabbath and over the weekend.  We hadn't seen them in 4 weeks so it was nice to have some help and for them to see the children.  They met us at church and attended Cradle Roll with the twins.  Maddy and Kohl vaguely remembered them at first and kept staring at them, like they were saying, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"  Kohl kept looking at Lolo and was probably thinking, "You look like an older version of my Daddy."  But soon they were going up to the grandparents and giving them hugs, and it was like that through Sunday, where the kids didn't want to see them go.  

Mommy guides the crew up the path to church.

He reminded me of a lab student with polo and khakis and lab coat.

The grandparents enjoy seeing the twins in action at church.

How quickly did these two grow up!

"Please Lolo, don't leave!  We're just starting to have fun!"

After naps Tangie and I stole away for the evening to visit and bring supper to our friends Kent, Kelli and her parents, to celebrate the arrival of their new baby boy Erik and just to catch up.  They shared their experience with the delivery day over a carb spread of pasta, garlic knots, and pizza from a favourite haunt, Cafe Positano in Apopka.  It was nice to share in their stories and it brought back many memories of when we were first parents with Braelyn and then with the twins.  It's an amazing journey that changes the way we look at things, especially life and it's priorities.  We were also treated with a formal grand tour of their new house and spent a good 2 hours just talking about projects and features that made them want to buy it.  A particularly lengthy portion of the conversation happened inside the master bathroom shower where we gushed over the total 9 top and side showerheads!  Talk about a cleansing experience!  Congrats, Kent and Kelli,  we are so happy for you!

Finally!  Enough said.

The proud parents of a brand new family!

The best thing was eating off paper plates on top of the formal dinnerware used as chargers!  They are still getting settled in their new place.

You almost forget how tiny they start off.

Late Sunday morning after my parents had left we joined up with the Grodacks at the Shady Oaks Splash park in Winter Park for a picnic and some fun together.  We had a chance to catch up since they had just gotten back from their 2 week vacation to Nova Scotia (see paragraph 1) and enjoyed watching the kids play in the water and with each other.  It was nice under the shade of the big trees with some slight breezes, but still with the humidity it made for another hot day. 

Kohl shows his frustration at the grandparents leaving by plopping himself on the kitchen floor and resting his head on the fridge.  Wouldn't you do the same?

Looks like Calleigh is ready for some flute lessons!

"But I'm the baby!"  Madelyn isn't so sure how to react to Mommy holding little Brady.

The kids were enthralled with a bubble pail Tangie had brought along.

Daddy Duncan, relaxing under the shade.



After naps Braelyn and Kohlden went with Mommy to get haircuts, as the next day was officially the first day of school for Brae.  Kohl did pretty good on his first visit to the Hair Cuttery, and when he came back it reminded me of another boy I knew about 25 years ago.  Like father, like son!


Me, circa 1982. 
Aren't you digging the turtleneck?
C'mon, you know you love it!

Kohlden, 2011.
You can see how still he sat for the stylist by how straight his bangs are!

Braelyn was so excited she jumped out of bed as soon as Tangie went in to wake her, about 30 minutes earlier than when she would have normally woken up.  She did good to whisper and keep quiet as she scuttled about, getting her new uniform on and making sure her supplies were in her back-pack, which is bigger than she is.  A quick hug and kiss for Daddy and the girls were on their way. 

Pretty in pink!  Brae shows off her new and full backpack before heading to bed the night before.

As I was getting the twins ready I had this wave of emotion and sadness come over me, realizing that my baby girl is already on her way to inevitable independence.  I know that every parent goes through those same feelings, but I never realized how quickly the past 4 years went.  And even though I knew I was going to pick her up from class at 3 that afternoon, a mere 7 hours away, I couldn't help but feel just a little sad.  It sucked, actually.

She had a great day, and did very well, her teacher beamed at me.  We all knew she would.  I guess for the next 2 weeks they will be getting to know each other and learning the routine, before actual school work begins.  Good, because I was getting a little worried she might be back tracking a bit from the advanced curriculum at Starchild.  I ask her each day if she learned anything.  "Nothing," she would reply.  "We just sing a lot of songs."  Okay, next question.  "Are you making new friends?"  "Yes."  "Well, what are their names?"  "I don't know."   Hmmm.

First day at OJA, happy Daddy was on time to pick her up!

Is it just me or does she look a little taller today?

A quick stop to the park before we pick the twins up.

This week showcased an incredible explosion of vocabulary development for both Maddy and Kohl.  They both are now making appropriate sounds for noises animals make!  Lion, cow, dog, rooster, and horse, to be exact.  Still working on the pig.  Maddy can now say "yes" to answer questions, instead of her usual "ya" and when I asked her if she can say "no", she pointed to her...wait for it...nose!  She can point to her eyes, ears, mouth and nose when you ask her, since I think her favorite song is "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes".  One day Kohl saw a picture of an apple in one of the baby books and pointed and said "appuh" and his favorite song is from the famous effiminate purple dinosaur,  Barney's "I love you, you love me" song, where the part of "a great big hug and a kiss from me to you" he smacks his lips and makes a kissing sound.  So cute!

She too wants to grow up fast.  Here, trying on Mommy's sandals.

Everytime he eats he reminds me of the Cookie Monster messily gobbling down cookies. 
"Me love cookies!"

That's watermelon juice dripping down her neck.

This is a video Braelyn shot of Kohlden in the van after I had picked them up from school.  I apologize for the shakiness and sometimes out of view shots ~ she's still an amateur videographer!

I was cleaning the front lawn area this past week, trimming the hedges and clearing away dead brush and weeds.  As I was removing the old branches from the palm trees I happened upon a morning dove's nest which contained 2 tiny eggs.  I had to tell Braelyn about it and the following day when I brought out the ladder for her to see the nest and eggs we found that one of the eggs had hatched and there was a baby chick!  She was so excited and very careful not to touch the nest.  And she was very brave too, being so high up on the ladder, with me behind her of course!  She gave the baby chick the Native American name of  "Sleeping Feather".  We'll keep you updated on the constant wildlife we continue to encounter in our yard.

Hardboiled dove's eggs for breakfast, anyone?  Just kidding!

She's definately Dora the Explorer here.

It's alive!  Actually, sleeping.  Hence the name "Sleeping Feather".  Where she came up with that is beyond me.



Dish of the week:

Grilled salmon with tomato and mango salad.



Hope you all have a great weekend!