Day Trip to Virginia Beach

So, Nicole and I decided to take an impromptu trip to Virginia Beach with the kids. 

The Whittier gang

The boys loved playing in the sand...

...While the girls couldn't get enough of the water!

We knew it was time to go when poor McKenna fell asleep sitting up!

The Stork is Coming!

She's beautiful!  She's seven!  And she's all ours!

Introducing Liu, Yue Lan:

We are hoping to bring her home sometime next summer.  Until then we are diving into paperwork and beginning the oh so fun and ever popular Waiting Game. 

A French Friend and Fabulous Fun

This summer marked our 5th year hosting a summer exchange student from France.  Victoria walked into our home and became part of our family.  We love you, Vicky!!!

Washington DC

Myrtle Beach

July 4th

The Natural History Museum

The Cubs vs The Nationals

Playing in the rain

Monster Mania!!!

Today Emmett turned 5 years old!

In his mind this was the day when he officially got "BIG."  The first thing he said when he came downstairs was "I'm five now.  Where is my booster seat?"  According to Emmett, his size and weight no longer determine the type of riding apparatus he would occupy.

He is also officially old enough to go to Kindergarten.

So, to help the little guy turn BIG, we threw one-heck-of-a-Monster-Mania-Bash complete with a monster craft, mega monster stomp, feed the monster, monster tag and a monster hunt.  Not to mention some yummy eats that no monster would turn down!

Emmett was excited to get his very own ferocious Monster tee to wear to his party!

The party decorations were frightfully fun and colorful!

We were able to capture some of the most elusive creatures on earth as they stopped by to celebrate with Emmett.

Guests only had to follow the Monster prints to know where the mania would take place!

Monster lovers, monster hunters, and monster mashers!

Creating their very own cute/ferocious monster was super fun

Taking a walk on the WILD side

This monster wanted to be fed and the party goers were happy to oblige!

Monster tag - complete with tails!

What Monster Mania Party would be complete without a monster hunt?

Emmett led the mob in search of the hiding monster

And here he is!

NOTE: No monster was actually bashed during the making of this party.  

Emmett loved Monster story time

Monster cupcakes!

Each monster hunter went home with their very own monster bag full of all things MONSTER!

Running the Dolittle Farm

I don't know why, but wild animals think they live here. 

I'm not kidding.  Over the past 11 years that we have lived here we have experienced nature up close and personal. 

We have had birds living in our vents.  Try taking a shower with bird chatter over your head...Creepy!  And wait until one of them DIES and begins to STINK.  Delicious!

We have had rabbits dwelling under our porch stairs, in our flower bed, and (my personal favorite) in our square foot garden.  There is nothing more fun than digging in the dirt and discovering a nest of baby bunnies that you are in horror that you almost accidentally decapitated! 

Then the next day when you come down for breakfast and glance out your window, you see that all those cute babies are strewn across your garden in a bloody mess.  The guilt that maybe it was your fault for disturbing the nest is overshadowed by the cover story you have to invent to keep your kids from wanting to go visit the bunnies before school.

We have had lizards hiding in the garage.  Which is not so bad, until one day you discover that the garage door has squished one.  And your husband is out of town.  And you get to clean up the nastiness yourself. 

But most recently, we have had birds again.  This time they are roosting in the newspaper slot of our mailbox.  This is the fourth year they have set up home there despite Eric repeatedly removing nests (before they lay eggs - if there are eggs, we leave it alone like any good Samaritan) and despite blocking the entrance to the box.  Trust me they are persistent little buggers.

The problem with their occupation is two fold.

First, I shake in fear every time I check the mail because I know that at any moment a birdie missile will come racing out and startle me - even though I know it's coming.  Hate it!

And secondly, more often than not, there are casualties lying on the ground in front of the mailbox. 

We have learned that birds are cruel little creatures that have no qualms with throwing their babies out of the nest if they are not making the grade.  I know, I didn't believe it at first, either...until I saw it first hand.  It is quite harsh.

 

The Perfect Family Night

We all know how inexplicably wonderful getting your whole family together for an activity can be.  We all know how super easy it is to get them to sit still long enough to have an in-depth gospel discussion.  And we all know how marvelous it is to make food that everyone agrees on and no one complains or makes rude comments about.

Are you feeling the sarcasm yet?

Well,  I have to admit that this week was an (almost) perfect family night!

It was one of those times when all the stars were aligned, all the kids were cheerful AND helpful, and the fates smiled down upon us. 

I needed to record it for posterity because I fear it may never happen again.

First, we began with the activity - it was just about to rain and we didn't want to miss out!  Lilly saw some silly string at the dollar store a few days earlier and in a moment of inspiration planned the family activity. (Thankfully it was her turn to do so!) 

It was World String War I - every man or woman for herself!

When we finally ran out of string and it started to rain, we moved the party inside for a lesson.

We learned about the Sabbath Day.  We learned a new song about the Sabbath.  And we made a poster of fun things we can do on Sunday to keep the Sabbath holy.

It went extremely well.  Maybe there was some inspiration in having the run around activity first...

And finally, we replenished our sugar stores with some home-made microwaved S'mores!  YUM!

I am still in awe that it all went so well:)