Cow Appreciation Day

Once a year, my favorite fast-food restaurant, Chick-fil-A, has cow appreciation day- meaning that we can get FREE food!! If you dress-up like a cow, you get a free meal- fun and free- 2 of my favorite things!!

Here are the kiddos waiting for their cow costumes to be taped to them.

Almost done- they have cow ears in their hair, spots all over them, "Eat More Chikin" signs, tails and cow noses!

April modeling the entire "outfit"- Goofy? Yes. Worth a free meal? Yes!!!

Addie LOVED the "Real" cow

All this food cost us $1.28- we had to pay the tax!! How sweet is that?!?

Everyone but Addie was a bit scared of The Big Cow, but after he walked around a bit, the other kids warmed-up to him. Alden didn't want to hug him (or leave his food), so he gave him a high 5.

BEACH!!!!!!!!!!

The kids and I are currently in our old stomping grounds, visiting friends! There is nothing better than the beach on a warm morning with calm water, friends, Rainbow Goldfish, and lots of sun screen!

Here we are at Roosevelt Inlet- a perfect place right off Lewes Beach but not crowded and free parking!! There was another Mom and her son that joined us- what fun!! The kids had fun together and wore each other out!! Perfect!!

She got busy digging as soon as we got back- she really is happy despite this face, I promise you!!

And Mr. Alden refused to look at the camera today.... He DID enjoy digging and toting sand all over the beach. Go for it!!

He and Grayson became attached at the hip- digging and driving cars together. So sweet!

Addie and her good friend, Anna! Anna, who is a full year younger than Addie, is now the same size!!

Allison and I - we had to prove that we were there keeping an eye on the bunch!!

We parked our stuff next to this pre-dug hole- we knew the kids would just love it! And they did! Here the girls have created a "new" game.... See next pic....

Allison would fill the big bucket and dump it into the hole- they would all kick their feet, "splashing the puddle" having the time of their lives!!

Here are the boys, doing their own thing- driving cars in the sand!

Addie did go swimming in the ocean, but because I was with her and Allison was keeping an eye on the other 5 kids, it sadly isn't documented. She LOVED it- but did comment that it tasted kinda funny!

More to come- FunLand, Rehoboth Board Walk, and who else knows what!!!

July 4th Fun!!

We had a fantastic July 4th!! For starters, Al was actually OFF- gasp!!

We started of by enjoying the pool- which thanks to the "cool" snap earlier in the week- was actually refreshing!!

Then it was off to the Wasch's house for an amazing meal- Sloppy Joes, corn on the cob, beans, chips and salsa, and a yummy and patriotic dessert.

The best part- being with friends! Addie just adores Avery- and Avery is a very good sport- I think she just may love Addie, too!

Aren't we patriotic??

Yum, yum, and more yum! There is a fudgy brownie underneath this whipped cream-cream cheese-y ness!!

After dinner, we headed off to check out some Fire Works at Dogwood Dell. We parked on the other side of the River- walked across the Nickel Bridge. The kids were SO excited!!

While we waited for it to get dark, we listened to the orchestra

Addie enjoyed her birds-eye view!

Alden preferred to be in the stroller or my shoulders (which I did not get a pic of for obvious reasons). It was CROWDED so we were happy that they didn't want to wander off!

Addie thought it was hilarious that the band (just to the left) was also on the big TV screens!

Me and my boy- sadly the one of me and Addie didn't turn out....

Since we weren't allowed to "stay" on the bridge- which has the best view, in my mind, of the fireworks, we headed that way right as the fireworks were about to start- and we timed it perfectly. They started going off when we were 1/2 across! We got the perfect view and beat the crowds!!

It was a perfect weekend! We are so blessed to live in this country- and are glad that we have 1 day set aside to be thankful for it!

Kissed By A Shark

I knew it was only a matter of time before Alden would create his first scar. I just hoped and prayed that it would be on my watch. Sadly, it happened on my watch.... But thank goodness it isn't too bad.

Here's how it happened...

He was standing in the bathtub, like he's been told not to umpteen times.

He was being silly, like he is 99.9% of the time.

He fell while being silly and chewing on his top lip.

He lost a crazy amount of blood in 2 min and then nothing after that!

Dressed and ready to go to an Urgent Care- he was pretty excited to get dressed AFTER a bath AT bedtime!

He was SO good about putting the ice and cold washcloth on the "boo-boo" when it bled

Up close- it clearly isn't bothering him- whew!

After talking to 2 different nurse-friends, I ended up NOT going to Urgent Care, but Super-Glued the cut- that's why it looks a little white around his upper lip.

He prefers this coverage- so cute!

It is NEVER dull with little boys around! I'm just glad that this 1)wasn't worse and 2)he doesn't have my pain tolerance!

Poor Sick Alden

Addie had a strange virus at the beginning of the week- and she then shared it with Alden....

Addie took this picture of poor Alden- even though it was a short-lived virus (24 hrs) I enjoyed the extra-time cuddling that he needed every 2 hours.

He would be this happy and chipper for a bit- here he is showing off his Silly Bandz.

And back to feeling droopy.

So cute and yet so sad....

Thank goodness he was up and chipper a few hours after this latest picture!

The Many Talents of Addie

Addie is a girl of many talents....

Tap Dancer

Ballerina

Fashioniesta

Athletic (not just anyone can ride an elliptical backwards!)

Shoe model

Outstanding sandwich eater (she typically eats 2 for lunch every day!)

Computer-game-player

She is DEEP in thought- look at that tongue going!

Craft-organizer

This is just a small glimpse of her many talents!! I love you Addie girl!!

Alden- aka Caveman

Those of you who have been around Alden know that 1)he loves to talk and 2)he is next to impossible to understand! Once he turned 2, I knew something wasn't "right" but was assured by the pediatrician that he would catch on.

By the time we moved back to Virginia, I knew something needed to be done- his vocab was growing, but his clarity was simply not there. Our amazing pediatrician here in Richmond agreed that I should be concerned and helped me get pointed in the right direction.

It wasn't easy- after 3 months of waiting, he has finally been evaluated and my concerns have been confirmed. His cognitive abilities are at or above 36mo, but his speech is that of a 20mo old. Since there is a greater than 20% difference, he qualifies for speech therapy through the country (aka using my tax dollars). The biggest "issue" is that he can only receive services through the county until his 3rd birthday- then he is referred to the local elementary school. And the kicker is that now there is a wait-list to receive therapy! Due to his short-coming, Alden is now #1 on the list, but who knows how long it will be before a therapist has an opening.... I have been given a few activities to do with him, to help him learn to say consents- so at least we are heading in the right direction!! Someday my little caveman will be understood!!

One thing that we were asked to do for his speech, was to have his hearing evaluated. I didn't think there was anything wrong with it- he can hear me opening a bag of cookies from the other side of the house!

In the waiting room at the audiologist's. He LOVED the dinosaurs there!

Showing the dino the ear poster and getting very excited about it!

He sat on my lap for most of the test and was a champ- even when the Dr poked things into his ear. Result- his hearing is just fine!

The Dr giving the kids stickers they were both so good!