Camdynism #4

We were in the kitchen at my brother and sister-in-law's house this morning, and Camdyn seemed a little irritated. Maybe she was just hungry. After one irritated comment, Camdyn calls to me with that assertive little voice, "Mom! There is something in my brain!!"

My Friend Wendy

Wendy, remember this one??? If only you could see the expression on her face a bit more clearly...it is hilarious!!



This is Wendy, one of my very best friends from college. She had a funny picture of me on her blog, and commented on how I made her laugh, and it was a little ironic... she happens to be hilarious, as you can see in these pics! There are from 15 years ago...WOW. It seems like yesterday!

Skim-board Mania

Ever since Reilly heard about this "skim'board" set (I guess you could call it), he has been begging for it. We finally made a deal with him, and Kurt picked it up yesterday. Reilly and Sean (our alternative sports hero- he's seriously so good at all of those x-games sports) spent literally hours outside playing with it today. They had a blast! Our backyard isn't conducive to this- we actually had it on the cement because we have no flat space large enough on the grass- but it worked great with a few towels underneath. What cute kids!

Ouch!!

Reilly came running in from outside crying with blood pouring out of his mouth on Friday when we were at a friends house, and what happened was a little unusual. He had fallen out of the tree house (it wasn't that high), and had knocked his chin on his knee, and his tongue happened to be in his chompers. He seriously chomped his tongue soooo hard! I felt bad for him- it was stinging with everything he ate for the rest of the day. I thought the picture was gnarly and I don't post many of these- so here it is.

Writings from a NORMAL 8 year old boy

Reilly wrote a continuation to a story that he read in class. I was struck (you will be too!!) by the mind of my 8 year old boy. He is a very normal 8 year old boy- loves baseball, pancakes, mac & cheese, playing with friends, watching movies, etc. Here it is. I think Margalo is a bird.

"If Margalo was found, I think she would be eaten by a cat in Sweden. She would freeze to death and a shark would swallow her whole. She would come alive again and get out and sink to the bottom and die. And again she would come alive again. She would fly to the top, go to Mount Everest, and fly to the top. There was a fire below and Mount Everest turned into a volcano, boulders fell from the sky, the volcano was blowing up, and aliens were attacking. Her wings were falling off. An alien takes her to outer space. Margalo sufficates to death. The End."

No comments are necessary, I know. However, I cannot refrain from making a couple of observations. Okay, just one. Margalo died five times in this story. One more. I wonder what poor Margalo was feeling like while being captured by those aliens after freezing to death, being eaten by a shark and a cat, sinking to the bottom of the ocean, being blown up out of Mount Everest, and her wings falling off...

Here is a writing Reilly did about "Earth". I get the idea from how he started that they were supposed to write about how to save the earth, treat nature kindly, etc. Here's how Reilly's went.

Earth is a very important place. If I were a king (I think he means tyrant), everyone would have to recycle. If my soldiers don't see people recycling, the family would die (I think Hitler was a little more lenient than this).
I would also make everyone plant 1 oak tree every two years. If my soldiers tell me they ain't (the teacher did not correct this in the rough draft, ARE YOU KIDDING??), they go to jail until they die (rough punishment...don't ever vote Reilly Gebhards president).
The last way I would help the earth is to turn off T.V.'s and computers when I am not using them because they (who is "they"??) could get electrocuted.

I promise, he is a very sweet and NORMAL boy.

catching waves

Ty- Reilly's friend enjoying the ride!

Shea- catching a wave

Kinley and Macy playing in the sand

Macy in her usual spot, near the food.

Sweet Camdyn!

Shea, collecting sand crabs

Cute Kinley!

My little surfer boy!

pictures

I guess pictures aren't wanting to upload tonight...I'll try again tomorrow!

Beach Fun

I took the kids to the beach today and we had a blast! They played in the sand pretty much all day, except for Reilly, Shea and Ty. Those three rarely came up for breath! Macy, on the other hand, earned the nickname seagull today. Any guesses why? Well, my mind triggered when our clan all headed to the water with all of the little ones, and we were all turned around facing the water. I glanced back for some reason, and the seagulls were scavenging everything- our bags, the trash, the towels, etc. trying to find any food. Macy spent most of the day doing what your average seagull does. As soon as you turn your back on her, she is searching for someone's leftovers. She had leftover chips, sandwiches, lollipops, goldfish, and more. And as you can see in the picture, most of her snacks were garnished with a healthy handful of sand. She didn't seem to mind at all! Tomorrow's diapers should be interesting...

The Good Old Days

This weekend my four best friends from college got together for a reunion. Kim flew down, and Wendy and I drove down to the O.C. to Heidi's house. We had so much fun just being together, and we reminisced through the college years. The weekend wouldn't be complete without pedicures, a visit to Target (like we used to be obsessed with), a little mall shopping, staying up late, giggling about how silly we were (and a bit crazy), eating lots (Hot T's and Junior Mints rock!), and lots of Starbucks coffee. Wendy posted lots of old college pictures on her blog if you want to check it out! Their blog is the link at the bottom of my friends list- The Penberthys. We need to get together more often! I love being able to pick up where we left off... there's something about being with people that know you so well- who know all of your strengths as well as all of your weaknesses, who have been hurt by you and have forgiven, and who love you the same even through all of the years of little communication. These girls witnessed the transforming years of my life- they watched me make lots of mistakes (and tried to help me), were the brunt of some of my sinful habits, saw me through relationships gone wrong (and teased me appropriately), we walked through the fire (seriously intense volleyball training-borderline bodily abuse), and these girls still were so good to me! The Lord is so good to bless me with these girls! I love you!

Sweet Sleepers

I love smooching sleeping kids!! The other night we let the big kids sleep downstairs (wild slumber party!!) and I smooched those cheeks over and over. No running away from me, no wiping them off, no "ewe, yuck"s, etc. I love it! I wanted to capture those sweet sleepy faces so I will always remember them. I also thought Reilly and Shea had super sleeping poses...

Camdynism #3

"Mommy, do I look like a Christian???"

(That's an American Girl Doll Christmas dress on her head, cheetos and other lunch remains on her face, face paint stains from last night, no clothing on except underwear)

A Poem by Shea

Shea wrote a letter to our old next door neighbor Kaylee (9) today. Our kids were best of friends with their four kids, and we miss them dearly! On the back of her letter, I found this poem that I knew had to be posted. Too precious!
We are friends no matter what
did you get a hair-cut?
Or get 200 dollars
cause I can here your hollars
I can here your shout
so get out
We're friends forever!

Reunited at Last!!

Kurt returned from his Israel trip and we are so glad to have a week with him! The kids were so excited to see him, and have loved having so much time with him.
Macy will not let him out of her sight- I went to console her after a fall this morning, and when I tried to pick her up, she actually said, "NO! Daddy!!!" and turned to find him to console her in her crying fury...
We celebrated the 4th yesterday with a carnival- hugh inflatables, painted faces, silly games and prizes, ice cream and a barbeque- all-American traditions in full swing! The day ended with a concert and then the whole family (extended cousins and all) stayed up late on the beautiful redwood deck under the trees chatting and laughing. We love Mission Springs! We've enjoyed the teaching here this week as well- an added blessing to say the least. Pictures to come (hopefully).