Livin on beach time

The James Gang (along with Brad's side of the family) packed up and headed off to Florida last week. So, picture eight adults and five boys ages three, 21 months, 13 months, 12 months, and three months living in one house for a week. Needless to say, we spent a lot of time outside at the beach and the pool. The house wasn't so bad, I guess considering it had two floors, and five bedrooms.

I'm pretty sure Brad and I had the quietest spot in the house since we had the only bedroom on the first floor with only one baby. The secret of course was to put the playpens in the walk-in closets. There was not an empty closet in the house and all of the babies got in some great naps at some point on the vacation.

Now, back to the fun. We started off the week by playing "Chopped." Brad and I had no idea what exactly "Chopped" was because we aren't Food Network junkies like his mom and sisters. And, needless to say, I'm still not a Food Network junkie even though I sat down to watch some sort of cooking show almost every day on vacation because that's pretty much the only channel that played on the TV(besides the Disney channel in the mornings). So, each night one of the couples made dinner while the other couples watched their kid or kids. At the end of the competition, we all voted to see who had the best dinner. Brad and I(shrimp scampi over linguini with a little help from Emiril . .. or E-Meryl as Brad calls him) were a close second to Beth and Clark(steak oscar). Our kitchen stadium was a fun place to be on those nights.

Probably one of the most memorable moments or pictures for me is that Taylor, Josiah and I had never been to the ocean. I wasn't shocked or overwhelmed by it, but I do think it is interesting that I am almost 30 and never had set foot in the ocean. I can finally mark that off my list of things to do.

At one of the beaches we went to I did get a moutful of saltwater, so I can tell you what the ocean tastes like, too. Not too tasty if you ask me. Its one of those look and don't taste types of scenery.

My boys were polar opposites when it came to the ocean. Taylor said the ocean was scary and would not set foot in the water. He had to be coaxed constantly to go into the ocean. He would sit at the oceans edge and play in the sand, but he did not want to go into the "big water." Josiah on the other hand confirmed that he is a water bug. He would squeal and scream and happily be put into the water and play in the waves and smile one of his big Josiah' grins. He got a little carried away and decided to eat the sand, too. This lead to a nasty case of diaper rash that is finally going away.

Taylor did enjoy the sunset cruise on Sunday night. He liked the boat and looking at the different things out in the ocean. He even got to steer the boat for a little while.

To sum up our trip, for the record Clark and Darren put on their flippy- floppies and swim trunks and went on a boat while Taylor ate Fruit Loops in Florida--that's what she said.

We are glad to be home, but I'm not so glad that I have to go back to work in a few weeks. Being home with the boys over the summer has been fun and I wish I could stay home more often, but work calls along with those student loans that have to be paid off. Oh well, I'll have something to look forward to next May.

In Case You Missed It

Josiah made his televison debut this weekend. And now he's off to make his ocean debut along with the rest of his family.



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The Big One

At 11:03 AM last year on this day, Josiah was just making his debut into the world. Yep, today my youngest boy turned the big O-N-E today. He woke up with a nose that was running like a fountain and would not stop all day long. Not even to get his one year pictures made. Fortunately, Josiah still had a smile on his face even though he felt yucky ,so his pictures turned out pretty good.

Josiah at 11:03 AM today. Exactly one year old.

After pictures, we came home and Josiah and Taylor took a nap. I made cake number 2 because cake number 1 decided not to cooperate and it fell in. GRR! But, alas, cake number 2 cooperated and we ended up with one happy cake.

Finally, it was time for the big party. The grandparents, great grandparents, cousins(the ones that are in town), great aunt and great uncle, and Josiah's Sunday school teacher showed up. He got his first taste of Gino's spaghetti. I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it. What do you think?

Presents were next. He got clothes and toys and more toys. Maybe Taylor will decide not to play with them. Yeah, right, who am I kidding? Oh, yeah, and he really enjoyed the wrapping paper.


For the grand finale Josiah had his cake. And when I say "had his cake "I mean dug right in and smeared it all over his face. No help required. Apparently, people don't think we feed him.

The owner of Gino's knows better. We're regulars. Its the best spaghetti ever! Even better than that place that has unlimited breadsticks.

He looks so malnourished.

Bedtime arrived so we cleaned him up and took him home. Well, Brad walked him home--something about not getting his car all messy--and I drove the car.

So, is this the last first birthday the James Gang will celebrate??? Only time will tell . . . .

Freedom IS NOT free

Selbert Gandy was a member of the U.S. Navy. Shortly before the incident at Pearl Harbor, Grandpa's ship was lost at sea. His family waited for days to hear from him. S.R. was unaware that his family did not know his whereabouts. Fortunately, he was found and that is partly why I am here today.
Earl Powell was also a member of the U.S. Navy and was very proud to flash his Navy pictures to anyone who would sit with him and listen to his stories of war. He was also a WW II veteran and another reason for why I am here today.

Gary Protenic, a member of the army during the Vietnam war suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The fireworks on the Fourth of July remind him of crouching down in barracks and listening to gunshots ring out. He now prefers to stand behind a pulpit on Sunday mornings in a free country where he can preach the Good News about the God that kept him alive.

So, thanks Grandpa Gandy, Grandpa Powell, and Uncle Gary for defending our country. Because of you, I can go out with my family and friends and celebrate like I did last night. We met up with some old friends from our church days in Lee's Summit and ended up at the Riverfest in Parkville. I'm pretty sure our kids enjoyed the get together more than we did.

Taylor ran from ride to ride. First, he ended up on the cars.

Then he went down the "big slide" on a burlap sack with Daddy.After that, he wanted to ride the "horsey" on the carousel. This was the first time he rode on a carousel without Mommy or Daddy standing right next to him. He's so big.
Josiah got to stay up way past his bedtime and watch all the excitement. They don't really have carnival rides for one year olds. But, no worries, he fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Brad and Kyle(the two bright orange specks at the top of the picture below) thought it would be a really good idea to go on this Zero Gravity ride before we left. Keep in mind, we had just ate dinner at Red Robin. It's a good thing we didn't have to see seconds of it! Happy Fourth of July, everyone. Enjoy your freedom and thank those that fought for you to celebrate with family and friends. Be safe!