Tampa Bay Free Summer Movies – 2010

It’s that time of year again! Free (or really cheap) Summer movies!!! I have already added all the movies we haven’t seen yet to my summer calendar. What a great, low cost way to entertain a large family!

Here the participating theaters in the Tampa Bay area:

AMC Summer Movie Camp – $1 movies for charity, Tuesdays at 10AM from June 15 – Aug 10

• AMC Veterans 24 – 9302 Anderson Rd., Tampa
• AMC Woodlands Square 20 – 3128 Tampa Rd., Oldsmar
• AMC Regency 20 – 2496 W. Brandon Blvd., Regency Square Mall, Brandon
• AMC Westshore 14 – 210 Westshore Plaza, Tampa

Cobb Theatres – Free Movies – every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

• Grove 16 – 6333 Wesley Grove Blvd., Wesley Chapel
• Lakeside 18 – 1650 Town Center Dr., Lakeland

Georgia Theatre Company -
Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10AM from June 8 through July 29. Admission is $1, kids soda and popcorn available for $1.50 each.

• Beacon Stadium Cinemas 10 – 12961 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville

Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival – Select G & PG movies start at 10AM each Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Admission is free. You can check the movies as well as a list of locations, dates, and times by clicking through and selecting your state. (Florida Showtimes Here)

• Largo 8 – 10500 Ulmerton Rd. E., Largo
• Park Place Stadium 16 – 7200 US Hwy 19 N., Pinellas Park
• Hollywood 18 – 6701 Cinema Dr., Port Richey
• Citrus Stadium 20 – 7999 Citrus Park Town Center Mall, Tampa

United Artists – Participating in Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival (link leads to Regal announcement).

Edwards Cinemas – Participating in Regal Cinemas Free Family Film Festival (link leads to Regal announcement).

Muvico Free Family Film Festival – Free movies on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June 15 to Aug. 3.

• BayWalk 20 and IMAX, 151 Second Ave. N, St. Petersburg
• Palm Harbor 10, 37912 U.S. 19 N, Palm Harbor
• Starlight 20, 18002 Highwood Preserve Parkway, Tampa

Easter 2010 in Pictures

The lazy woman’s post; the slideshow. Hey, if a picture’s worth a thousand words, what are 62 pictures worth?

I flew solo this year for Easter, as Rob moved to Pennsylvania for work. With a potential stomach bug circulating through the house and low energy on my part, we sat out church, skipped our traditional Easter photos, and hung out around the neighborhood — first visiting out next door neighbors for their traditional Easter egg hunt and brunch, then later going down to the neighborhood clubhouse for their annual Easter festivities.

As you can see from the photos, DeeDee *really* enjoyed the surprises inside those little plastic eggs (she’s already a candy-aholic), Rey made quite a mess with his chocolate, and Boo wasn’t feeling all that great by the end of the day.

More Baby Birthday Photos

Yes, I finally managed to get those photos uploaded to the computer. It was quite a task (you know, actually taking the memory card out of the camera and placing it into the little slot at the side of my computer) — I’m exhausted now…so you can forgive my delay, right?

Okay, enough with the sarcasm. On to the cuteness…

Baby’s first real experience with cake was priceless, but took place during her father’s and oldest sister’s absence, so we had to have a second birthday celebration a few days later (I told you she was the princess).

I think she loved her chocolate cake just as much the second time around!

We also waited until the whole family could participate for DeeDee to open her gifts. She *really* likes the drum set! You should see her rock out like Animal, from the Muppets.

And those soft blocks are wonderful! Big brother Rey can hurl them across the room without risking bodily injury to anyone.

Baby Meets Cake

Guess Who’s a Year Old?!!

Yes, ALREADY! I don’t know where the year went!

“DeeDee” went into the whole cake-thing with some confusion and even a little irritation…but she came out thinking chocolate cake is the best thing that ever happened to her (a girl after my own heart).

“What’s with this thing on my head? Get it off!”

REALLY not liking the party hat!

“Wait….what’s this?”

“Mmmmm….”

“Hmmm…there’s got to be a better way…”

Diving in…

Yeah, that works.

“Oh yeah…NOW you’re talking! This stuff is awesome!”

Pure delight!

Christmas 2009

Just sharing a few photos and captions to recap our family’s Christmas season….

Another strange Florida winter. As I write this in January, while experiencing one of the coldest winters on record for Tampa Bay (sleet and flurries this morning), December saw temperatures ranging from the 30s to the 80s. It’s no wonder flu season hit everyone so hard this year.

As we were decorating the house in the weeks following Thanksgiving, we were being relentlessly attacked by mosquitoes, and on December 9, our air-conditioning quit, prompting us to have to open all the windows and play outside where there was a breeze, while temperatures inside the house reached into the 80s.

Contrast

Above:  Dinky Tumblina, clad in Santa hat,
keeps Scout from escaping through the open window

Below:  Porch decked out for Christmas
while a bird-of-paradise blooms in the background

Baby “Dee Dee” enjoying playing barefoot outdoors
…in front of the Christmas decorations and pointsettias

….and keeping cool by playing with water

“DeeDee” vs. The Christmas Tree

I knew that interior decorating would present a bit of a challenge with baby Dee’s mobility, but I thought we could simply solve the problem with the whole gate-around-the-tree trick. Right?

WRONG!

Nothing stops this baby!
(Who, by the way, is also climbing out of her crib!)

A Visit with the Clauses and Gingerbread Houses

For the third year in a row, our neighborhood hosted a visit with “Santa and Mrs. Claus” and a gingerbread (or in this case, graham cracker) house building event. For the children, it was an opportunity to consume entirely too much candy. For me, it was a photo op!

Above, From left:  Dinky Tumblina (11), Gator (14),  Curly Top (6), Cricket (7),
Rey (4), Boo (8), Dee (10 months), being held by Ant (13), Lefty (10)
[Audrey (18) not pictured)]

Below:  And since Rob came home for a couple weeks to spend Christmas
with the family, we talked a neighbor into getting a shot of all of us.

Constructing the “gingerbread” houses

I think there was more eating going on than constructing!

Above:  The girls’ house
Below:  The boys’ house

Below: Cricket makes friends with “Mrs. Claus”

More Christmas Fun

Above:  Six young LeFebvres dress up during the living Nativity

Above:  Yes, cruel — I know.
When I found an elf and a Claus cat costume for 75% off at Target,
I just couldn’t resist dressing up the Siamese twins.

Never fear; the torture didn’t last for long — only long enough to get a few photos.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We were thrilled that Audrey made the trip from the great white North (Massachusetts), joining us in celebrating Christmas. Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without having all my children under the same roof!

Above:   An excited “Boo” opens up one of her traditional Christmas Eve gifts — pajamas!

Below:  Oh no! Every year I get a picture of all of the children together in their new pajamas…but I didn’t realize until after the fact that I didn’t this year. I snapped this lovely photo of the six girls, while the boys were off assembling a couple of Christmas gifts next door. I had intended to get a shot of everyone when they returned. *sniff sniff*  I’m so absent-minded!

Below:  ”Dee’s” first Christmas

Below:  Rey, clad in his new pajamas, opens up
his second traditional Christmas Eve gift — a new ornament!

Fun Reactions!

Above:  Gator reacts to receiving a season of his favorite television show
Below:  Boo, Cricket, and Curly Top react to seeing their new dolls

Below:  Dee’s favorite gift!

Baby Dee loves music — LOVES music! She has slobbered many a cell phone and iPod to death while trying to “share” tunes with her siblings. So I Googled “baby mp3 player” and found this.
Definitely a hit! Highly recommended by this mom of ten!

Below:  The Christmas Dinner Table
70 degrees = Christmas Dinner on the patio

A Busy 4th of July Weekend, Lefty’s Birthday, and a Trip to MOSI

The Independence Day weekend began on Friday evening, July 3rd, with a “luau” at our neighborhood clubhouse — a pool party with games, sand art, and a bounce house for the kids, lots of food, and a live band.

Food!

Below:  a. Rey, goofing off during dinner  –  b. Rey & Curly Top

Friends!

Above:  a. Dinky (right) and her friend M.  –  b. Boo, Rey, & some friends in the bounce house
Below: a. from left – D., (a neighbor), Gator, Ant, & Lefty
b. from left – M., (a neighbor), Lefty, Cricket, Curly Top, A., (a neighbor)

Sand Art!

Games!

Baby’s First Independence Day!

You can’t tell from the photo, but earlier in the day “DeeDee” had been very ill.
She woke up vomiting, and continued for several hours. By evening though,
praise the Lord, she was back to her old self — and enjoying the attention!

The Clubhouse at Sunset!

And Rey’s First Sparkler!

On July 4th we spent the day at the pool with a neighbor family, the Farmers, having a cookout, then spent the evening with the Dunhams, a family that I have “known” online for many years, and have finally had the pleasure of meeting in person! We had dessert, chatted, and watched the fireworks display that our across-the-street neighbors were putting on. Can you believe I failed to get a single photo of the day?! Ugh!

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Above: “Lefty” with his birthday cake – July 7, 2009

Lefty, turned 10 last week, on July 7th, so we began celebrating over the weekend, on Sunday, July 5th.

I can’t believe that Lefty is already 10!  I know that I always heard that time flies by so much faster the older you get, but I never totally believed it – until I had kids! They are growing up sooo quickly — this one in particular. This is the child who was a newborn when I discovered the internet. I sat, in my early days of surfing the web, in a big leather computer chair while nursing a tiny blond baby and listening to Mozart. That baby is now a 10-year-old water-loving nature enthusiast who can most often be spotted in a stained striped shirt (stripes are his favorite) carrying around an Audubon guide and a pair of binoculars.

Lefty, being the animal lover that he is, always loves to go to the zoo, so we skipped the big party and decided we’d give him a zoo membership for his birthday. So I investigated, and realized that the membership to the Lowry Park Zoo (in comparison to similar local memberships) is, quite frankly, a RIP OFF!

In order to get a family membership to the zoo — “family” being defined as “two designated adults & up to four children ages 3-17″, we would have to pay $125, THEN pay an additional $25 per child, for a grand total of $250!  (I, by the way, find these types of definitions of “family” to be VERY discriminatory! A “family” should be defined as the parents/guardians and all children living in the household. Period.) This $250 would not include any of the rides, and the reciprocal zoo program stinks! Not only are there no free zoos in Florida, as part of the reciprocal program, but they wouldn’t admit all of us anyway! Here is the policy:

“Members are admitted according to the membership rules of the other zoo or aquarium, not those of Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo (i.e. if their definition of a “family membership” limits the number of children to four, then that is the number allowed in on your card).

Reciprocal zoos that have free admission to the general public may offer free parking or other benefits, call them to confirm. Also, many of the listed facilities define a family as 2 Adults and 2 Children. Therefore, additional children may have to pay admission.

These facilities are only a reduced admission for reciprocal members. This is only a partial discount (approx. 50%), please call ahead for exact information.”

Um. No thanks!

So I looked into MOSI (The Museum of Science and Industry). MUCH better! They still have discriminatory membership policies, BUT at least their reciprocal program is better — and it includes a free trip to the zoo (anytime during the month of September)!

MOSI’s “family” membership WITH the additional IMAX membership, is regularly $150 for up to five people, and $20 for each additional person. But last weekend they had a sale. The museum + IMAX membership was on sale for $135 + $16 for each additional person (not including the baby, who is free), for a total of $231*. This includes all regular IMAX movies throughout the year, and free entrance to myriad other museums and aquariums, as well as ASTC membership. A much better deal! So, this was Lefty’s birthday present — a year of fun, beyond the zoo.

* The savings nearly began right away, without even visting a single other venue; as the regular price of just ONE trip to MOSI as a family, with ONE IMAX movie would cost a whopping $206.45.

2009/2010
Homeschool Field Trip #1
MOSI
July 5, 2009

A Visit to MOSI

One of our first stops at MOSI was “Disasterville”, where the children experienced several natural disaster simulators, including wildfire, tornado, and earthquake. And my personal favorite (to watch anyway)…the hurricane!

Above: Curly Top had a difficult time keeping her dress down in the hurricane simulator
Below: There’s a reason my children aren’t on the news!

Our children (and M, our honorary 11th child) as disaster workers

Next was the “The Amazing You” exhibit. I think the pictures speak for themselves…

Well…almost all of them speak for themselves. I do have one thing to say about that faux pregnancy suit that Rob is wearing. I think *every* man should be required to wear one during their wife’s pregnancies. Give ‘em a little taste.

Next we moved onto the “Kids In Charge” building where Lefty played the drums, and the boys took turns watching things happen…and un-happen…and happen again on the monitor. Pretty cool!

I don’t know what it is about play food. I really don’t. The kids just LOVE play food. When I mentioned going to MOSI, the girls asked, “Is that the place with all the food?”. Well, yes. There is a huge Publix grocery store area full of…what else? Play food! This is where the three little girls and Rey spent most of their time.

Gotta love the look on Boo’s face below when she tests out the bed of nails!

Winding Down…

Sometime around the beginning of our journey, back in Disasterville, our friend M lost her wallet, which contained money, gift cards, and an ipod. While I hung out with most of the children in the Kids in Charge area, Rob helped Dinky and M look for the missing wallet, to no avail. (It was found and returned to its rightful owner later in the week, minus the cash).

The last couple of photographs were taken as we were in the gift shop waiting for Dinky and M and preparing to leave. Baby Dee was sooo happy! I just love my baby girl!

Birthday Dinner

It is customary in our household for the birthday child to be treated to dinner at the restaurant of his or her choosing. Alone. With just the parents; no siblings. So, after returning home from MOSI, we headed out to Romano’s, Lefty’s choice, for a quiet meal of pasta, a birthday song sung in Italian, and a delicious complimentary chocolate cake!

Above: Lefty celebrating his 10th birthday at Romano’s Macaroni Grill

July 7, 2009 – Happy Birthday, Lefty

On Lefty’s actual birthday, Tuesday, we headed out to the mall for a free movie (one of three that we saw this week, due to the not-so-nice weather), Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Then we wandered around the mall for a while before treating the birthday boy to a kids’ meal at Taco Bell (everyone else ate from Taco Bell’s value menu).

And when Rob finally arrived home from work in the evening, it was present time and cake time!

Lefty after opening his gifts; one being a bottle of Mountain Dew.
(Having one’s own soft drink is a real treat around here!)
But WHO thought the highly caffeinated Mountain Dew was a good idea?

Beyond Marco Polo: 35 Fresh Swimming Pool Games for Summer

Above: Retro Photo – “Dinky Tumblina” & “Boo” – July 2002

It’s that time of year again…SUMMER. And summer in Florida is best survived by keeping cool — by means of either air-conditioning, or water play.

We don’t like to be stuck indoors for most of the year, so on any given day you may find us hanging out at the neighborhood pool, where the children enjoy splashing around and playing various games with their siblings and friends. Most of us are familiar with the old favorites: “Chicken” and “Marco Polo”, so (with the help of my boys and various internet sources) I have compiled this list of 35 *new* games to try at the pool:

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Butterfinger ball

Perfect for the younger children, this game can be played in the shallow end of a pool.

Needed:

• suntan lotion
• beach ball
• a group of 2 or more players

How to play:

Butter each child’s hand with suntan lotion and then wet a large beach ball. The kids throw a ball back and forth to each other and have a fun time trying to hold on to it.

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Treasure Toss Pool Game

Needed:

• A bunch of pennies (or other coins)
• Any size group of players

How to play:

Toss all of the coins into the pool. Either allow a certain number of children to go and get a coin at a time; or all at once.  The coins are the prize!

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Watermelon Relay

Needed:

• One watermelon per team
• Two or more groups of players

How to play:

Each team lines up in the pool behind a floating watermelon. The first person in line pushes the watermelon to the other side and back, but must not have their feet touching the bottom of the pool when they are pushing. They then pass it to the next person. The first team done wins.

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Battleships and Submarines

Needed:

• Two “teams” of players

How to play:

Divide a group of several people into two teams. Each team has a “base” against the wall of the pool, opposite each other. When the game starts, the battleship team comes off the wall and taunts the submarines into chasing them. The submarines push off when ready, swimming underwater and tries to touch/tag the battleships before the battleships reach base. If the submarine is successful, the battleship switches sides (and the submarine gets a free walk/swim back). If the submarine is unsuccessful, the submarine must swim back to its side. However, if the submarine has to come up for air and the battleship splashes the submarine, then the submarine switches sides! The point of the game is to try and get everyone on your team.

Variation: For advanced swimmers and to  make it harder, the battleships can grab the foot of the retreating sub, hoping to make them come up for air, but be careful, if the sub has enough air, they can turn around and touch the battleship, capturing them!

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Bumper Boats

This is like “Bumper Cars” at a fair or carnival, only in the water.

Needed:

• 5-6 sturdy tubes (or small, donut shaped flotation devices) – “Bumper Boats” – for as many players as you have in the pool
• several players

How to play:

Tell players kick off the sides of the pool and try to knock as many people off their “boat” as possible. Last one floating wins.

Obviously, no hitting, scratching, pulling hair, biting, etc. allowed

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Duck Thrust

Needed:

• several rubber duckies
• 3 or more players

How to play:

Put 3-4 players at one end of the pool and give them one rubber duckie apiece. When you say go, they must use their nose to push the duck to the other end of the pool. They can also “blow” the duck forward; they just can’t bite the duck and swim to the other end with it in their mouths; nor can they touch their duck with their hands or feet.

Further, the players can “distract” the other players by splashing water in their faces or splashing water toward their ducks to knock them backward. They just can’t actually TOUCH the other players or the other players’ ducks.

The first one to get his duck to touch the other end of the pool (obeying the rules) is the winner.

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Gator/Sharks & Minnows

Needed:

• a fairly large group of players

How to play:

Have one person designated as the “gator.” He or she treads water in the DEEP END of the pool while all other participants are standing on the side. The leader will then yell “gator!” and at that point, the players standing on the side of the pool have 30 seconds to successfully jump in, swim to the other side of the pool, and get out without being tagged by the gator.

Anyone who is tagged in the first round has to join ranks with the “gator” and try to tag the swimmers in the next round(s). The game goes until there is only one person who has not been tagged.

No jumping on the “gator.”

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Monster’s Ball Bonanza (Water Dodge Ball)

Needed:

• a group of 4-2o players
• several (3 or more) beach balls

How to play:

Have at least 4 players, but no more than 20. The number of beach balls you will need will depend on the number of players. If you have just 4 players, 3 balls will work. Try to maintain a “3 balls” to “4 players” ratio for this game. (For example: 6 players = 4 balls, 8 players = 6 balls, 12 players = 9 balls, 16 players = 12 balls, and 20 players = 15 balls.)

Now, have everyone except one player, called the Monster, go to the same end of the pool. The Monster gets a certain number of beach balls (depending on how many students are in the pool).

The objective is for the players in the pool to make it to the other end of the pool without getting hit by the balls the Monster is throwing. On “go,” they must swim to the other end of the pool. If they choose to swim underwater, they must surface at least twice. This gives the Monster a fair chance as he/she throws balls at the other players.

Once the Monster throws all of the balls, he can’t get them out of the pool until everyone gets to the other end of the pool. When the Monster hits one of the swimmers with a ball, he/she must get out of the pool and become a Monster in the next round, and help him/her in the next round. Play until there is only one player left in the pool, and that person is the winner.

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Pirates and Sharks

Needed:

• a fairly large group of  players (10 or more)
• pool mats/floats
• various small pool toys

How to play:

Have the players divide themselves into two groups. When this is done, designate one of the groups as “Sharks”, and divide the other group; the “Pirates” into smaller groups. Each pirate group claims a “ship” (one of the pool mats), and gets into the pool and climbs aboard.

Split up the “treasure” (the various pool toy) between the pirate ships.
After the pirates are all ready to go, let the sharks into the pool.

The game works as follows:
The pirate ships move around the pool (swimmers use their arms and legs to paddle), trying to steal an enemy ship’s treasure. While this is happening above water, the Sharks in the water try to pull the pirates into the pool – once a pirate is pulled in they become a shark as well.

There are two ways to win this game. The first is if one pirate ship claims all of the treasure before all of its “crew” is pulled into the pool, that team wins the game. The second way is if every pirate is pulled into the pool and made a shark before one ship can control all of the treasure. In this case, the original sharks (whoever started as a shark at the beginning of the game) wins the game.

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King of the Tube

Pool game where teams compete for best time.

Needed:

• any number of  players (2 or more)
• pool tube/donut
• timer/stopwatch

How to play:

Each team selects a champion who can stay on a tube the longest.

One at a time, a champion sits in a tube, and when the timer starts, the opposite teams all try to tip over the champion WITHOUT TOUCHING HIM, only the tube.

Time each champion, see who stays on the longest.

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Water Frisbee

Needed:

• four or more players
• Frisbee
• two laundry baskets

How to play:

This game is played in water with as many people as you want. You will need a Frisbee and two laundry baskets for the goals.

Split your group into two teams. One side defends, and one tries to score. Toss a coin to see which team goes first.  You will need someone positioned outside of the pool to retrieve the Frisbee as needed.

Once the scoring side is chosen, one person from their team throws the Frisbee from outside of the pool to a fellow team member.  The thrower may then join their team in the pool.  Once someone catches the Frisbee they have to hold it like they are a waiter. They can have NO grasp on the Frisbee!  It must be resting on the tips of their fingers. They also can’t swim once in possession of the Frisbee. They can only walk or pass it. The Frisbee can be thrown when passing.  Repeat this until you score a goal by getting the Frisbee into your team’s laundry basket. Then it’s the next team’s turn.

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Pass-the-Ball-Relay

Needed:

• two teams of players
• two balls

How to play:

Two teams each form a line. At “Go,” the player at the front of each line passes a ball over his head to the player behind him, who then passes it between his legs to the person behind him, who then passes it over his head, and so on. When it reaches the last player, he swims the ball to the front of the line (either through the legs of his teammates or next to them) and starts the relay again. The first line of players to return to their original order wins.

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Hide-the-Balloons

Needed:

• 12+ inflated balloons
• any number of players

How to play:

Place a dozen or so inflated balloons in the shallow end of a pool. Players compete to see who can grab and hold the most balloons under their bodies in 30 seconds. Our bet? It will be hard not to laugh as the balloons come flying out of the pool! But we’ll let you make the call on whether stuffing balloons into bathing suits is cheating. (When the game’s done, be sure to pick up any popped pieces.)

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Bottle Brigade Race

Needed:

• two or more players
• two or more empty plastic bottles

How to play:

Contestants race across the pool while pushing an empty plastic bottle with their feet.

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Piranha Ball

Needed:

• three or more players
• a ball

How to play:

Players hold hands and form a circle with a ball, the piranha, floating in the middle. The goal: to evade the piranha’s bite. When a player is bumped by the ball, she’s out. Those remaining rejoin hands and play again. Blowing the ball or pulling another player toward the gnashing fish is fair game — but lowering arms or ducking underwater to let the ball out of the circle isn’t.

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Ultimate Ball

Use a ball instead of a flying disk in this wet version of the fast-paced game

Needed:

• four or more players
• one ball

How to play:

As in the flying disk game known as Ultimate, the goal here is to move an object across a playing field (in this case, a pool) to score a point. Sounds easy, right? Did I mention that players can’t swim or run with the ball? The only way to advance it is to throw the ball to a teammate within 10 seconds of catching it. If it’s intercepted, falls into the water, or is held too long, the opposing team takes possession. A point is scored when the player with the ball touches the opposing team’s end of the pool.

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Crocodile Crossing (aka  “Colors” or “Color Blind”)

Needed:

• three or more players

How to play:

All players but one huddle together. Each picks a type of fish (goldfish, perch; younger kids may want to pick colors instead), then lines up along a wall of the pool. The remaining player, the crocodile, stands in the middle of the pool with her back to the others and begins to call out fish in quick succession. When players hear their fish, they begin to swim — underwater or above, but as quietly as possible — to the other side. If the croc hears or feels someone moving (no turning around to look), she tries to catch him before he reaches the safety of the other side. If he’s caught, he becomes the next hungry beast.

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What time is it, Mr. Sharkey?

Needed:

• three or more players

How to play:

One person is Mr. Sharkey and stands at the end of the pool while the rest of the kids stand at the other end. The kids call out “What time is it Mr. Sharkey?” and Mr. Sharkey says a time, such as 4 o’clock. Then all the kids take four swim strokes toward him. This continues until Mr. Sharkey answers: “It’s lunch time!” and the kids all turn and swim back to the starting end of the pool. If Mr. Sharkey tags one of the kids, he or she is now Mr. Sharkey.

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Island Contest

Needed:

• pool mattresses/floats (one per player)
• two or more players
• swim noodles (one per player)

How to play:

Each player stands on an air mattress. The goal is to knock down your opponent with a lance (swim noodle or other soft covered stick like object).

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Water Ball Relay

Needed:

• two or more players
• a ball or balloon

How to play:

A ball or a balloon must be transported back and forth. Hands may be used or to make it more difficult, players can only use their heads.

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Air Mattress Relay

Needed:

• four or more players
• two or more pool “mattresses”/floats

How to play:

The smallest player on a team must be transported back and forth on an air mattress.

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Island Mail

Needed:

• two or more teams of players
• pool mattresses/floats (one per team)
• several water balloons

How to play:

Water-filled balloons are tossed island to island (mattress to mattress). Which team gets the most balloons to the goal?

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A Different Kind of Leapfrog

Needed:

• 4-8  players

How to play:

2 teams (max. 4 players each) compete against each other. One team is on each side of the pool, standing in chest-high water with their legs spread apart. The last player must dive and swim through the legs of his teammates, stand and spread his legs. Then the next player goes. The winning team is the team that reaches the other side first.

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Long Jump

Needed:

• three or more players
• pool noodle

How to play:

Each player jumps as far away from the pool ledge as possible. A judge holds a water noodle to mark a spot. Each player tries to jump over the noodle. If he can’t or touches the noodle, then he is out. After each round, the noodle is moved farther away from the ledge.

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Turned to Stone/Statue/Freeze

Needed:

• three or more players

How to play:

Gather players in the shallow end. Define the boundaries of play so that everyone can stand up. (Adults, on your knees!) One person is “it.” At the whistle, “it” has one minute to tag as many other players as he can. Once tagged, a player must stand frozen or “turn to stone” and raise his hand. Before a frozen player can return to action, an unfrozen player must thaw him out by submerging and swimming through his legs. A player cannot be tagged and frozen if he is underwater. At the end of the minute, blow the whistle and designate an unfrozen player as “it.” Keep going until everyone has been “it.” The winner is whoever has the most frozen players at the end of his stint as “it.”

---

Canon Ball Jumping Contest

Needed:

• two or more players

How to play:

Who can make the best canon balls? Take turns making “canon balls”. (Hold knees up to chest so that body is small and rounded like a ball and jump into the water.)

---

Diving

Needed:

• three or more players

How to play:

Who can swim underwater the farthest distance? The diver sits on the poolside to mark the spot that he came out of the water so it can be seen who went the farthest.

---

Silent As A Fish

Needed:

• three or more players
• blindfold

How to play:

In the middle of the pool stands one player who is blindfolded. The other players try to swim from one side of the pool to the other without being touched or cut off by the blindfolded player.

---

Raft Races

Needed:

• whistle
• inflated rafts or tubes (one per player)
• two or more players

How to play:

Have the racers line up on their rafts at the pool’s shallow end. When you sound the whistle, they must kick, paddle and otherwise propel themselves to the deep end and back. The first racer to touch the wall back at the shallow end wins.

For a greater challenge, set a few rules before the race: Racers can only kick or only paddle; they must sing as they race; or they must retrieve a quarter from the edge of the deep end and carry it back to the shallow end. Another game involves seeing who can glide the farthest simply by pushing off with their feet from the shallow-end wall.

---

Scavenger Hunt

Needed:

• a variety of objects: dive rings, spoon, coins–anything that doesn’t float, isn’t made of glass and has no sharp edges.
• four or more players, divided into two teams
• lists of items to retrieve

How to play:

Strew the various objects at the bottom of the pool. Make sure there are two of everything (one for each team). Designate the shallow end for little kids, the deep end for bigger ones and grown-ups and give each team a list of items to retrieve. The team that collects the most things on its list in the allotted time wins; the other team has to scour the pool for the remaining stuff.

---

Duck

Needed:

• four or more players, divided into two teams
• soft rubber balls or beach balls

How to play:

Assemble two teams, one offensive and one defensive, at opposite sides of the shallow end, plus a referee with a watch on the deck. Armed with soft rubber balls or small beach balls, the offensive team tries to hit the defensive players. An offensive team member can retrieve balls, but he must return to the starting position before throwing again. Defensive players must get out of the pool when hit. After all have been hit, the referee notes the elapsed time, and the teams change roles. The team that stays in the water the longest before being wiped out is the winner.

---

Ping-Pong Scramble

Needed:

• two or more players, divided into two teams
• numbered ping-pong balls
• whistle
• two buckets

How to play:

Divide a group into two teams and line up the swimmers in the water on either side of the pool. Dump a basketful of numbered Ping-Pong balls in the center of the pool. At the whistle, both teams scramble to collect as many balls as possible and carry them back to a bucket on their side of the pool. No team member may collect more than one ball at a time. When all the balls have been collected, the numbers on the balls are added up, and the team with the highest score wins.

---

Sharks & Jets

Needed:

• three or more players
• whistle

How to play:

Two teams, the Sharks and the Jets, line up opposite one another in the middle of the shallow end, with 5 feet of open water between them. A referee on the side blows the whistle and yells, “Sharks!” or “Jets!” That team must turn and sprint toward its side of the pool, with the other team in hot pursuit. A player tagged by a pursuing Shark or Jet joins the other team.

The referee can let the chase continue all the way to the end of the pool–or he can sound the whistle anytime, shout out the other team’s name, and turn the pursuers into the pursued.

---

Centipede Crawl

Needed:

• four or more players, divided into two teams

How to play:

Two teams form separate lines in the deep end of the pool, with the strongest swimmers in lead positions. Each swimmer holds onto the ankle of his teammate ahead with one hand, leaving his other arm free for a modified sidestroke. At the whistle, the two “centipedes” wriggle to the other end of the pool and back, each swimmer tagging the far wall with his free foot. If anyone’s hand slips, the rest of the centipede has to wait until the link is reestablished.

---

Fruit Hoops

Needed:

• five or more players
• two plastic dishpans
• two each of several different types of fruit
• whistle

How to play:

Two teams spread out along the gutter at the deep end. Float two plastic dishpans at the shallow end corners. In the middle of the pool, distribute two of every fruit from the produce department: bananas, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pears, mangoes, cantaloupes, whatever. At the whistle, both teams collect one of each fruit and deposit it in a dishpan.

While it may seem a simple game, Fruit Hoops presents an intriguing strategic choice: should a team assign each player a specific fruit to collect and carry to the fruit pan? Or should it designate a team member to swim ahead and be in position to catch and dunk fruit tossed and retrieved by teammates? At any rate, the first team to collect a complete fruit sampler wins; the other team has to prepare fruit salad for lunch.

The REAL Easter Photos!

The Easter Photo Confession.

I can’t take the credit. I just can’t. Both Chelle and Colleen are impressed with the fact that all ten (well, at least nine…Baby D was screaming) children were actually all looking the same way and smiling in the 2009 Easter photo. The truth, however, is not all that impressive. While the rest of the photos on my Easter 2009 post were completely undoctored, when it comes to the group photo, let’s just say that digital photography, Paint Shop Pro, and Dawn are my friends.

The truth? Rob was standing behind me trying to make the children smile, while we were both snapping photos with two separate cameras (all while bribing the children with candy, to be consumed once we managed to get a decent picture — shhh…bad mommy). In all, there were 46 photos. Only three turned out…okay. And Rey, the three-year-old, was smiling in only one!  And in that ONE, others looked silly. Here is a sampling of what Rey put us through:

1.
Rey, with the deranged looking “cheese” smile
– it almost looks like he’s in pain, doesnt it?
(along with Lefty rubbing his eyes and Gator closing his)

2.
Rey had obviously had enough of Baby Dee’s screaming…
and Gator had obviously had enough of Rey…
and Ant seemed disgusted by the whole scene

3.
So I tell him, in response to the “cheese” smile,
“No Rey. Give me a real smile…think of something really funny.” 
Apparently this is what Rey does when something is really funny.

4.
or this…

5.
Apparently something happened here that everyone else thought was really funny.
But not Rey. He looks downright offended!

6.
Was it Boo that offended him? Why was he giving her a “look”?
And why was Cricket striking up a conversation with Curly Top?

7.
Rey’s body language says it all, doesn’t it?
I think he was done with the whole photo shoot situation.
Had he forgotten about the CANDY awaiting?

8.
Audrey caught in a yawn and Gator caught with his tongue out.

9.
Um….tired, Audrey?

10.
A typical family photo.

Anyway, you get the picture (no pun intended). About 40 more that resemble the above sampling.
So the ONE and ONLY photo of Rey with a cute, real smile, turned out like this:

Yeah. That’s where my very gracious friend Dawn and her Paint Shop Pro skills came in.
She generously photo-shopped Rey’s face from the above photo onto this…

Leaving me with this:

Yup. The photo was merged. Dawn did a great job! My photography skills and the behavior of my children…not quite so impressive after all, huh? Ya gotta love technology and good friends!

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Easter 2009

I know it’s late, but I have been sternly admonished by my 11-year-old for failing to upload a post about Easter. So here goes, Dinky Tumblina!

I know I had stated that we were going to avoid the egg hunts and such this year, focusing instead on the Christian aspects of the holiday; the Resurrection. However, we were invited to attend two separate egg hunts, so we went. Gotta be neighborly, ya know.

All Ten Children: Easter 2009
Back: Ant (12), Audrey (17), Gator (14)
Front: Cricket (6), Curly-Top (5), Lefty (9), Dinky Tumblina (11),
holding DeeDee (2 months), Rey (3), & Boo (8)

First, our next door neighbors planned a delightful Easter brunch and egg hunt for several of our neighbors on Easter morning. We had planned to only attend briefly before church, but we never ended up making it to church at all. Rob was feeling ill, and none of the children wanted to leave the brunch, so we spent the morning there, at “Mrs. Elizabeth’s” house, where they enjoyed food, an egg hunt, a bounce house, bean bag toss, and socializing.

Rey (above) and Cricket (below) sporting their “cheese-y” Easter grins.

Above: I rocked the baby to sleep, and nearly rocked myself to sleep in the process!
Below: Audrey

Below: The oldest boys
Have you ever noticed they can NEVER be serious for a photo?

After leaving “Mrs. Elizabeth’s” house, and before finishing off the day relaxing by the pool, we went down to the neighborhood clubhouse for the huge Easter hunt (as well as games, such as the egg toss).

Above: Lefty found one of the prized “Camo eggs”
Below: Curly-Top with her stash of eggs

Below: Let the Egg Games Begin!

Above: A smug (and very goofy) Dinky prior to the egg toss
Below: An “egged” Dinky. Guess who didn’t win the egg toss?

Mother’s Day 2009

What a blessed day. I absolutely adore my children!

My morning began with breakfast in bed: Creme Brulee French Toast and scrambled eggs (both made with soymilk), and fresh strawberries with non-dairy whipped cream.

Then I was greeted with a whole MOUNTAIN of handmade cards…

…and gifts.  Eight of the children made hand-decorated plates and “Shrinky Dink” key chains. Rob brought home the beautiful bouquet of flowers.

And Audrey and Rob presented me with a gift set and hand soaps from Bath and Body Works.

Then it was off to the beach (my favorite place) for a day of sun, sand, surf, and relaxation.

Above: Me, chillin’ out in the sun, nursing baby “DeeDee” (under the Hooter Hider)

Below: Mama (Me) with the whole crazy crew

Above: Curly-Top (5) finding and collecting treasures at low tide

Below: Rey (3) caught in the act! He’s a mean one!

Above: Two of my clones, striking a pose…

Below: …until their pesky brothers join in

Thank you all for a wonderful Mother’s Day! I am proud and delighted to be your mother!

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 5

DAY 5: EDIBLE “BIRD’S NESTS”

These are quick, yummy, AND a great way to use that Easter candy that you bought for 50% off the day after Easter.

HOW TO:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2 cups chow mein noodles
• jelly beans (we used the miniature “Jelly Belly” type)
• marshmallow “peeps”

1. Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
2. Place chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe container. Heat on 50% power for 1 minute. Stir, and repeat, until chocolate chips are melted.
3. Stir in chow mein noodles until fully coated.
4. Drop by tablespoonsful onto prepared baking sheet, forming a nest shape with your fingers.
5. Place a few jelly beans in the center of each nest for eggs.
6. Top the nest with a marshmallow “peep”.
7. Refrigerate until firm.

Cricket’s Birthday

My little “Cricket” had a birthday this month. She turned 7!!!

Her puppy cake was lovingly made by her big brother, Gator (14). Didn’t he do a great job?!

The rest of these photos amuse me. I was loading photos off my camera when I noticed a series of photos that made me chuckle. Here are a few of them. Notice “Boo”, the sister to the right of Cricket. I think she was having a battle with the little green monster that day.  As they say, “a picture’s worth a thousand words”.

Happy Birthday, Cricket!

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 4

DAY 4: A SPRING WINDOW MURAL

This was a fun collaborative art project that developed  in our house on a recent spring afternoon — a painted spring mural on our sliding glass door!

The children had loads of fun with this, each adding his or her own elements and touches. We had trees, birds, butterflies, flowers, clouds, a lake, a bright yellow sunshine…(Lefty even added his own personal touch — a bird flying over, pooping…BOYS! {roll eyes}).

HOW TO:

Only two supplies needed: clear dishwashing liquid and liquid tempera paints!

For each of the paint colors, mix about 1 tablespoon of dishwashing liquid with 1/2 tablespoon of paint (the mixture should have the creamy consistency of house paint).

I chose to have the children paint on the outside of the window, so it would be easy to hose off the project after a few days, but this can easily be done on the inside as well, making it a great rainy day activity — but make sure you avoid drips on carpets and furniture.

To remove the dried paint or fix a mistake, simply wipe it off with a moist paper towel.

Rey – Ever the clown!

Below: Recycling

The boys had the innovative idea of using water bottles, cut in half, as paint cups. This worked very well!
The top half of the bottle became a hand-held paint cup with a “handle”,
while the bottom half worked well for a tabletop paint cup.

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 3

DAY 3: EXPLORING NATURE

It had been a while since we had actually gone on our neighborhood nature trail strictly for the purpose of observation. I tend to enjoy going at least once during each season so we can see the changes, so I figured, what better way to welcome spring!

When we embarked on the trail last week, I was shocked at what I saw — very little water! Things definitely looked different than in the photos that I posted of that same nature trail in November 2007. I knew we were under some serious drought conditions, but had no idea it was THIS bad!

The Drought

The Wetlands that Once Were
Nothing but dirt. This all used to be under water.
(You can tell where the water level once *was* by the water line on the trees)

Above:  a view from the side of the big bridge
Below: I wonder who once lived here, when it was underwater

Below: Conditions are so dry that even the air plants are suffering; showing very little traces of green

Signs of Life

Despite all, thankfully, there were still some ponds that had not completely dried up, and some signs of green along the trail.

The girls wanted me to take photos of all the flowers, so we could come home and look them up. (How many do you already know?)

Thistle was abundant in all its’ stages – from bud…

to bloom…

…to thistledown.

You can always count on the little ol’ pine tree for some spring color.

Strangely enough, we didn’t see many birds on this outing; just one hawk, an aningha, and a couple of cranes.

We did see other wildlife though:

This guy was smiling at us from across the pond,
but the mole cricket (below) creeps me out far more

Other Florida Wildlife

The Water Which Remains

I just love the beauty of the Florida Wetlands

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 2

DAY 2: FUN WITH FLOWERS

I just love flowers!  I remember all of those cold dreary winters that I lived in Huntsville, Alabama. Everything would turn brown in the winter, and I would long for the days when my hyacinths and daffodils would peek up through the dormant brown grass and announce the arrival of Spring.

…So I thought it quite appropriate to celebrate the arrival of Spring with some flower-themed food and crafts!

First, for food (after all, what is a celebration without food?) I turned to The Pioneer Woman and her wonderful flower pot desserts recipe.  Here’s how they turned out.

I thought they turned out very cute and realistic-looking.  I’ll definitely be filing away this idea to use again.

For the next activity I turned to Family Fun for this adorable flower craft: Lilies made from the children’s handprints!

Celebrating Spring 2009 – Day 1

DAY 1 – THE EGG HUNT

Celebrating “Easter” has always been a bit of a challenge for me. It was my favorite holiday growing up — for all the wrong reasons. My father, who was typically the “uninvolved” type, always did Easter up really big! I have fond memories of waking up on Easter morning to find an empty Easter basket next to my bed, and the start of a jelly bean trail. I would follow that winding trail through the whole house, collecting the beans and placing them in my basket — down the stairs, around the legs of furniture, over the table…an entire obstacle course of colored beans! At the end of the trail, the jackpot awaited. Assorted toys and a huge chocolate bunny! (And not those wimpy hollow bunnies…nope, this one was SOLID chocolate — a sugar rush just waiting to happen!) I always felt sorry for the kids next door. They had to get up on Easter morning and go to church, of all places! Church, in our family, was reserved for weddings.

I had no clue. I knew nothing of the Resurrection. I knew nothing about Jesus. I knew of Him…but mainly as “oh yeah, that guy on the cross”. I had no clue of the significance…of my Savior!

I find it saddening that such a significant HUGE Christian holiday…the most important Christian holiday could be mingled with Paganism and thus become so secular that hoards of children don’t even understand what it is really all about!

I didn’t want the same thing to happen in my family. I want my children to celebrate Resurrection Day, not “Easter”. I want them to know.  But the egg and basket thing is so fun! On some years I have nixed the basket all together. On other years I have filled the basket with Christian items, such as Bibles or Veggie Tales DVDs. Somehow this still didn’t feel “right”. It was still, in a way, taking the focus off Christ and placing it on the Pagan aspects of the “Easter” celebration.

What do the eggs, the baby bunnies, the chicks, and the flowers really represent to my family anyway? Not the Resurrection of Christ, and certainly not the Fertility goddess Eostre, or Ostara. No, to us, these things represent SPRING! Spring is filled with new life. Baby animals are born. Dormant plants come once again to life. The sun shines brightly. Everything old is new once again! I LOVE spring, and am so thankful to the Creator for giving us this season! So I figured, why not use the eggs and such to celebrate our love for SPRING, keeping Resurrection Day completely separate. So that’s what we’ve done!

Our plan was to have a “First Day of Spring Party”, but you know what they say about good intentions. Life just sort of got in the way, so our party has turned into more of a “Spring Celebration Week”.

We started with an egg hunt at our neighborhood playground. Rob and Audrey drove down to hide the eggs, while the rest of us walked down to give them time. I think little Rey had the best time of all! Look at him showing off his candy stash.

Note to self – Bubble gum is a bad idea for a 3 year old. No more bubble gum as a plastic egg filler. Rey shoved a chewed up piece of gum into the pocket of his shorts (to save for later of course).  Oh dear!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

While we are neither Irish nor Catholic, the children always enjoy the holiday celebrations, so celebrate we did!

Although there are many downsides for a country girl like me living in suburbia, some of good things are the clubhouse and the planned neighborhood activities. (It takes a lot of work out of it for me). And while we intend to have our traditional vegetarian St. Patrick’s Day meal for supper tonight, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day this past weekend with the neighborhood. There was snack food and fun for the children, including a shamrock hunt, temporary tattoos, and crafts.

“Dinky” (11), sportin’ her green

The Goof Troop.
“Dinky” (11), “Gator” (14), & “Ant” (12)
Dinky & Gator are wearing the tie-dyed shirts they made for the occasion

Rob with his two look-alikes – “Gator” & “Lefty”

“Rey” (3)

Audrey (17) served a very important function – holding her baby sister so I could take pictures!

“Cricket” (6) and “Curly Top” (5) making necklaces

“Boo” (8) doing the same

Rey, Curly-Top, Boo, Audrey, and sleeping DeeDee

“Cricket”

“Boo”

Baby “DeeDee”
She actually stayed in her stroller for about 10 minutes without screaming!
(A record for her!)

“Lefty” (9) walking with his best buddy Isaac
This was the day that Lefty found out that Isaac is moving out of the country.
We are all very saddened by the news, but Lefty is taking it especially hard.

February

It just flew right on by with only one tiny update from me, and yet February is always our busiest month!

(You guessed it; this is going to be one of those “I’m-making-up-for-not-posting-in-nearly-a-month-by-putting-updates-on-100-different-topics-in-one-post” entries. And, as expected, it will contain a whole bunch of photos…because I think my children are adorable!)

Besides adapting to life with a newborn in the house again, starting school back after a lengthy break…then Valentine’s Day and our 18th anniversary (which we chose to postpone for a month, but I know the husband will likely forget about…hmph!), there were also…

Three Birthdays!

“Boo”

Boo celebrated her 8th birthday in the neighborhood park/playground, with Hello Kitty cupcakes, games, several of her neighbor friends, and all of her siblings.

(Methinks she liked the Love Monkey)

“Gator”

For his 14th birthday, Gator opted for a trip to Romano’s for a private birthday dinner (yes, we did embarrass him by having the staff sing to him), and a family-only party, for which he chose a very um….interesting cake.

Leave it to the family comedian to choose a litter-box cake.

“Dinky”

Dinky Tumblina chose to celebrate her 11th birthday by hanging out with three of her closest friends.

Landscaping

We bought this house last summer. It was the UGLIEST house in the neighborhood — no joke. Drab gray in color; graced by a combination of no landscaping and dead landscaping. Dead grass (live weeds though.) UGLY. Just plain UGLY. But the price was too good to pass up. The bargain price finally allowed us the ability to buy a home in the state of Florida, the second most overinflated real estate market in the nation.

The home was, in fact “brand new” (as in “never lived in”). It had been built by an investor who hoped to flip it for a huge profit…just before the real-estate market tanked. It was subsequently foreclosed on and we bought it from the bank for a fraction of the original cost. This (price) was worth living with the effects of three years of neglect…until now.

We spent the last weekend of February re-landscaping the entire front of the house. (“We” meaning the boys…primarily Gator). I am pleased with the results. (Can’t wait for everything to “fill in” — the annuals and perennials we chose are all spreading plants).

BEFORE
The day we looked at the house: May 18, 2008

A Work In Progress

AFTER
February 23, 2009

A Visit from Grandpa

The day we were finishing up the landscaping, my dad and his girlfriend stopped in to visit for a few hours on their way from Florida back to Indiana. The children only see him once a year, so I took advantage of the photo op.

“Dee-Dee”

Any entry of mine just would not be complete without making mention of my sweet baby girl, who turned one month old in February…but I have enough mommy-brag in me to post an entire photo-filled entry just for her…so stay tuned! I’ll try to get the latest photos uploaded tonight.

Our Christmas

I know, I know…it’s a little late. My blogging has kind of fallen by the wayside lately as I spend my time preparing for my upcoming little arrival — but here it is; an entry about our Christmas, 2008.

It was a whirlwind of a Christmas season! Although we did manage to go visit Bethlehem and participate in some neighborhood Christmas activities this year, due my medical problems, we had to miss out on some of the really cool things I had planned (such as choral concerts, and lighted boat parades). All in all, we still had a great Christmas season though — and Christmas itself was no exception.

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve as we generally do; with games and lots of snacks! (This year we were delighted to have a neighbor family join us) And then we opened our traditional Christmas Eve gifts — a new ornament and a new pair of pajamas.

Christmas Day

They do it every year — get up WAY before dawn to attack their stockings! This year certainly was no exception! The first person awoke at around 2:30 am, and was promptly sent back to bed, but by 4am they were ALL up, so I was too.

We always have a large Christmas morning brunch (although we tried some new recipes this year — all keepers!). Thankfully, Gator had prepared most of the meal the day before, so it simply needed to be heated up.

After eating, Rob read the Christmas story from Luke, and then present time began. Now, when your family is as large as ours, gift-giving is quite a lengthy process (especially when the Mama insists on taking turns — one person opening a gift at a time). It was well into the afternoon before we were finished — and children’s friends had even begun to arrive to join in on the fun before it was all over.

Before the Carnage

Sibling Gifts, and a Treasure Hunt

The very first gifts we exchange are those from siblings. The children all loved the blankets that Audrey made for them this year.

…but Gator made them *work* for his gifts. He sent them on a treasure hunt! (the”treasure”, of course, being their gifts).

 

 

Gift Reactions

One of my favorite parts of gift-giving, is to see the surprised reactions on the faces of the recipients. There were some classic ones this year!

 

Gator discovers his gift of an Indiana Jones DVD
(which had been cleverly disguised in a shirt box)

Shane’s self-proclaimed favorite gift — a big stuffed tiger

 

When Rey discovered his jumbo lion, he yelled, “I love it!”

Christmas Funny #1:

Prior to Ant opening his new RipStick, there had been three boxes of almost the same size. Two had been for Boo and Dinky (containing those big pink fuzzy chairs that Boo is using in the background), so when it was Ant’s turn to open his box, he had assumed he’d gotten a chair as well. Imagine his confusion as he tore open the box to find it was not a chair — but what was it?  He felt it, at first thinking it felt like a banjo. He didn’t know what it actually was until he got it completely out of the carrying case — thus the delayed look of surprise.

Dinky opening her new jewelry while her friend Megan watches

Christmas Funny #2

Poor Dinky. She tore the wrapping off a small box to see a label which read: Salt and Pepper Shakers. She was visably disappointed. She couldn’t believe we had actually gotten her such a lame gift. I mean, what kind of parent buys a salt shaker for a 10-year-old? That disappointment quickly changed to that look you see in the photo above, once she opened the box and realized that the salt and pepper shaker were ones to go with her very fancy tea set that she has enjoyed since her sixth birthday. She didn’t think I’d remember that she has been wanting some completer pieces to go with it.

Think they like their new dress-up shoes and clothes?

It sure didn’t take them long to change.

Gator was thrilled with his new Indiana Jones Monopoly, but this NEXT gift
(his Indiana Jones whip) had him sprinting outside to immediately put it to use.

He didn’t even bother to put his shoes on first!

I don’t think Ant was expecting that multi-tool.

Curly-Top showing off her new laptop.

 

…And some reactions just weren’t as…well, a picture is worth a thousand words
(Note to Dinky – if you aren’t so thrilled with a gift, learn to fake it!)

Finding Nemo

Rey is a BIG fan of Nemo (he calls him Mee-mo), so I was thrilled to find some Nemo pajamas on clearance at the Disney outlet store online. I think he was even more thrilled.

After jumping up and down for joy in the above picture, Rey wasted no time in
putting his new Nemo pajamas on — he stripped down right then and there!

And before long he transformed himself into a Nemo Jedi…

 

…before becoming Darth Nemo.

 

And speaking of Star Wars characters…who is that masked man?

 

Christmas Funny #3

Lefty (the masked man above) was very jealous when little brother Rey opened up the Star Wars action set, which included dress-up clothes and light sabers. His face just fell, and he said, “I wish I would have gotten that.” So imagine his delight when he soon realized he’d gotten a set also.

Christmas Funny #4

Lefty again. This time he had watched several people in a row open up a new Webkinz for Christmas, so he correctly assumed he’d be getting one as well. So he smiled as he held up a soft gift, and proclaimed, “I know what this is! It’s a Webkinz!” Then, a look of utter confusion overtook his face and he said, “Huh?”, as he ripped open the wrapping to discover a new Spider Man bathing suit instead. I didn’t capture *that* one on camera, but it was most certainly the most interesting, surprised, gift-opening expression of the day.

Two Very Appropriate T-Shirts!

If you know my husband you’ll understand. He was once locked in a broom closet by a teacher after being told he has “diarrhea of the mouth”. If I send him to ask the neighbor a question, I will likely not see him for another hour. He always “gets to talkin’”.  Maybe this shirt will help. (For some reason, he didn’t find it as humorous as I did.)

And for Audrey, who is often assumed to be the mother of the younger children when we are out shopping…

 

 Christmas Dinner

I revamped the entire Christmas menu this year. We ended up with some GREAT new dishes, but since it was our first experience with said dishes, everything took longer than expected, and we realized we REALLY need more than one oven — so Christmas dinner didn’t actually make it to the table until about 9pm, after two children had already fallen asleep while watching a movie.

But the table turned out pretty, I think. (I give Rob credit for the fancy folding of the napkins).