Tomorrow's the official 1st day.....

...of preplanning for me and all day sitter for my kids. Please pray for all three of us! This will be Makinley's first full day ever staying with someone other than family. Needless to say, I'm nervous. I rest assured that God is going to take good care of my babies and watch over them when I can't, but I'm still suffering from a little anxiety. Pray specifically that they will both eat and sleep okay away from home! Also, pray for good health. I realize that it's inevitable that they will get sick.....HOWEVER, I desperately need them to be well for at least the next two weeks. I need to get through preplanning, the first week of school, and MOVING. So, all "good health" prayers are much appreciated!

This should be fun!

I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to make a slideshow of pictures from our beach trip to put on here. So, here I am attempting to pick just a few of the 100's of pictures we took throughout the week. It's almost impossible to do because we got so many that were awesome. I'm beginning to think that Joey missed his calling- he should have been a professional photographer instead of a CFP. I thought I was decent with the camera, but he takes some awesome pictures. Anyway, we had a great time at the beach, as always. However, I have to admit that the definition of vacation has changed since we had children. I remember the days of getting a book and a bottle of suntan lotion and laying on the beach all day long. Not any more. For one, I have to take my entire house with me. Second, the kids can only tolerate the heat and sand for so long before they are ready to call it a day. Plus their sleep schedule is all messed up so Tripp has more tantrums than I care to deal with! BUT, at least I can see the ocean! This year, Trey and Jennifer also went with us. Also, I have to share one of the funniest things about the week. My dad tends to hang out a lot without his shirt on when we are at the beach. Tripp began to think that he should have his shirt off all the time too. Any time someone went into my parents room, Tripp would say "Take off your clothes". It was hilarious. So, I have several pictures of all the guys hanging out in my parents room with no shirt on! Rest assured, the girls did not participate (although Tripp tried very hard to get us to!) We really did have a great time. If you want to see more pictures, check out my facebook page. I really couldn't get nearly as many on here as I would have liked!

Touching the sand for the first time

Playing with Daddy

Family picture

The whole clan

Trying to figure out how to use a shovel

Playing with Mommy

LONG Day....and very sad.....

We had a great time on vacation; it just went by way too fast. We came home today and it was an extremely long ride. Makinley didn't sleep the whole ride (other than maybe 20 minutes) so there were a lot of tears. I'll post more about vacation later when I figure out how to condense almost 400 pictures into one post! (We got some GREAT ones of the kids!)

On a sad note....I officially start work tomorrow with new teacher orientation. I'm having a REALLY hard time with this. In fact, so hard that I'm not going to write any more about it for fear of crying. Just pray for me as I make the transition back into being a teacher. My heart right now is crying out to still just be a mommy!!!!

Big Girl Shoes!

Yesterday was the day that Makinley decided to officially become a full time "walker". It is so crazy to me how one day they mainly crawl and then the next day they're walking EVERYWHERE! Since she decided that walking was going to be her main way of transportation, I knew it was time to put shoes on her. She has never really had a need to wear shoes (I know, Erica, there is always a need for a girl to wear shoes!). Anyway, I put on her "walking shoes" for the first time yesterday and she freaked out! She had no idea what she was supposed to do. She just stood in the middle of the floor with a terrified look on her face crying. She wouldn't move for anything. It was funny, but sad too. I thought I would just try it every day for a little while until she got used to them. Well, today, you would think she was an old pro! She's been walking in them fine! These pictures are not the best quality b/c I was using the "action mode" to catch her in action! Notice she is carrying her brother's train track in her hand; the only reason she can get away with that is because he's taking a nap! Yes, we are already experiencing sibling rivalry, but that is for another post!

Don't forget me!

I'm trying to get packed for our annual family beach trip. With two kids as young as ours, you can imagine how long my list of things I need is! Anyway, I guess Makinley wanted to make sure I didn't forget one of the most important things: her!

Addicted

Most days, Tripp is content to only have his paci at bedtime, naptime and in the car. Other days (like today) this is how he is...... He's never been content to just have one. He always has to have a handful. Ever since he was a baby, we've had to put him to bed with at least five. If he wakes up in the middle of the night and can't find one, all heck breaks loose. I'm confident he won't go to kindergarten with a pacifier. But I have NO IDEA how I am going to break him of it! He is very addicted; it's his "crack cocaine" and when Tripp's happy.....we're all happy! :-)

Car Seats

Well, as Makinley is getting bigger, we are facing buying her a new car seat for my car. While we are doing that, we are also going to get Tripp a new one because we need both cars to have 2 car seats. Joey will take the kids to the sitter and I'll pick them up every day. It is way too much of a hassle to have to move car seats twice a day, so we are just going to buy Tripp a new one for my car. Buying two car seats is no cheap task. Luckily, my parents are going to get Makinley one for her birthday. So that means we just have to get Tripps. The problem I'm having is figuring out which ones to buy. I want Tripps to be a five-point harness until at least 65 pounds... in fact, it just hit me, I should buy both of them the same seat. The question is....WHICH ONE? I'm going crazy trying to research and find the safest/most affordable ones. One little "accessory" I want them to have is a cup holder and I want them to recline for long trips and easy rest. The options I've come across so far: Graco Nautilus, Evenflo Triumph Advance, and Fisher Price Safe Voyager Deluxe. Now that I say that, I don't think these go to 65 pounds; I think they just go to 50. I don't want my kids to have to sit in a booster seat. I want them in a five point harness until they are big enough to go straight to the seatbelt. I know I have some moms that read this that can give me some insight. Which car seat should I buy?!?!?!!?