Kids update...

So this is my last chance to get in a post for September and i thought i'd use it to catch everyone up on the kids. Bailey and Noah are both in school this year. Both attend Northern Hills with Noah in pre-K and Bailey in Kindergarten. This has had a positive affect on Noah because Bailey will bring home 2 books every couple of days and read them to him until he memorizes them. Which sounds bad at first because it appears that he can read when he is just memorizing the books but he points out the words and keeps up with the story. And really most of us don't read these words you see them and you know what they are because you memorized them way back in kindergarten. So basically were setting Noah up to be the freakishly talented reader next year. Of course that's what Bailey is this year. She also getting really good at basic math and has started dividing numbers and counting by two's and not slow, she's counting quicker than she would by one's. its weird but so is she most of the time. Reagan is about the same, still wants to go to school everyday. its funny how the older kids make the younger one's learn faster. Taylor is walking 6 to 9 steps at a time, she still hasn't said mama. feel free to ask caryn about that <---obvious sarcasm. thats about all for now. coming soon, halloweens costumes 2008. last year the kids were vegetables, 2006 the kids were the wonder pets, 05 they were carebears and before that we were themeless.

Trading Places...again

Well I'm heading back to Meridian, we had a manager give some short notice and so I got some short notice. 2 weeks to be exact. There are a lot of pluses and minus' to this move, but I'm leaving a store that just started training certification and heading to a store that lost this status. Which is very important to me because I'm the one in charge of training. Meridian will be much slower and even though its kind of a fixer upper because of a lot of turnover, it shouldn't be too difficult to get turned around.
Also, we recently spent the weekend at Branson. This isn't entirely uncommon because we used to go quite frequently when Caryn's parents owned a time share. But we went back for the first time in a couple of years to use some silver dollar city season passes that we bought this year. I mean you go twice and you save money. Well Bailey and Noah got to ride their first roller coaster. Fire in the Hole! It isn't much of a roller coaster but its inside a building, its very dark, and while it doesn't do anything for the bulk of the ride, the end is 3 small drops and its very jerky. Noah freaked out, Bailey loved it. So since Caryn doesn't do the rides, nor do her mom and dad, and her nephew colton has never been much of a rider either. So after years of not getting to ride the rides or just riding the little ones, or waiting in line by myself. I finally have my co-pilot. At 5 years old she is the only other brave person that can ride the rides. We rode so many different rides and she never got tired.

Bye Bye Manny

So this post has nothing to do with Manny being traded to the Dodgers. Anyway, tonight Caryn took one of our children, just one, to Hobby Lobby. Bailey is a girl. A girly girl. Caryn isn't so much. Bailey is more like me in the fact that she likes to shop and shop, of course eventually there must be some buying but sometimes shopping is enough. So basically Caryn is gone from the house easily twice as long as she expected. I had the other 3 for dinner and a bath. Now the funny thing is that everyone is expecting some great story about how here I am as a hopeless dad stuck with 3 kids but it was quite different I kept looking for the other kid. I mean 3 kids just felt easy. It was weird. It made me think about all the times I see people struggling with their one kid in the grocery store or even the lesson the other night about involving our children in our day to day activities. It really suprised me that more people don't just take their kids with them. I've always got at least one kid with me, usually more. Of course Caryn has them trained well and I somehow teach them that Steinbrenner is evil and its obvious that the good behavior comes from her instruction not mine. But all things considered, tonight was just too easy.

My jungle

So a few of you know of my hatred for mowing. Every year I can give you a different excuse for why I let my lawn get out of control but the truth is that I just hate mowing. Anyhow, here is this years excuse and honestly its really not that bad, thats just what the guy who sprays our yard referred to it as. We have had this drainage issue since we bought the house and have finally developed a plan to permanently deal with the water and make it look good too. We are currently in phase 1 of this 3 phase project. So we built a retaining wall. I personally spent 3 weeks working on this, digging the trench when the ground was too high, filling in the dirt when the ground was too low, carrying the railroad ties, and filling in the dirt behind the wall. Now, it should be noted that others have helped. A big thanks to JC, Phillip, Micah, Doug and of course Caryn's dad Terry. Back to the story, then the rain came. almost all of the dirt that I filled in disappeared into my backyard. Basically, phase 1 is just that, only part of the solution. I got depressed about the project and left the backyard alone. So I did mow the rest of the lawn, and the front lawn about once a week. But where the wall is, I didn't touch it. And now we have a small line of shade weeds. Its really sad when the best method for mowing the grass is a hatchet. And yes, I really was using the hatchet. So now I'm about half done with the lawn and we'll finish phase 1 and start phase 2 within the next couple of weeks. I'll keep you posted. Anyone want pictures of the jungle?

Not another sports post!

I mean seriously, Red Sox is in the blog name. But anyhow, we went to a Redhawks game with the kids (minus Reagan) on Tuesday. I highly recommend this as a family out and about event. We had a great time and there were several moments that the kids actually paid attention to the game. Mostly we had to explain why we were saying "lets go Redhawks" instead of "lets go Red Sox." And Noah booed the Yankee's for the entirety of the game and kept asking where steinbrenner was. The kids were bummed when we didn't eat at IHOP after the game but did pretty good with the late night.
Reagan came home today, she's been at her grandparents house for the last 4 days going to their VBS. Noah and Bailey had swim lessons this weeks so they couldn't go and she was all by herself. So she got more spoiled, which is fine. I missed her sooo much. It was good to see her lying in her bed when I got home.
Oh, and so now after the pool party we went to yesterday, my three oldest children have all almost drowned this summer. FYI, I am totally against ever having a pool. Why? Every summer (and I'm so sorry if you've ever been affected by this) some child drowns in a pool. Whether its the neighbors pool, or their pool, or the grandparents pool. So they freak me out. So 3 weeks ago reagan who is sitting on the first step of the pool next to me, not even wanting to be that much in the water, suddenly jumps into the water while I'm holding bailey not even paying attention. She sinks a couple of feet before I see her and pull her out. All is well, shes a little scared but really not that freaked out. Other than she didn't get back in the water. Bailey in the same day falls off of her floatie and sinks. This one barely counts because she was drowning in water in which she could have stood up in. Anyway, she didn't get back in the water either. Yesterday was a little different. Noah didn't have any floaties on because he wasn't going to get in the water. He was so afraid that we'd make him swim, he wouldn't put them on. Then, when he is on the other end of the pool, he reaches out to get a kickboard in the water and falls in. He did good, he kept his head above water about 15 seconds, enough time for me to run about halfway around the pool. And he was still kicking when i jumped in and pulled him back up. He did great though.

And now the entire family is home and all is well. Next big event? Peach Festival, 8 days away.

You know you're getting old when...

Well ya know there are the normal things like when Bailey started school, and then the fact that both Noah and Bailey will be in school next year. But those don't really make you feel old they just make your kids seem old and you wonder when that happened. No this is worse, the first band I ever saw in concert is having a reunion tour. THATS how you know you are getting old!
While most of the girls and preston probably had the New Kids on the Block Cassette and Rick was jamming out to his Styx 8 Track, neither of these bands are the one i'm talking about. The Toadies just don't seem that old to me. Its been 13 years since I saw them in concert the first time, 13 years! And I'm gonna trek to Cain's Ballroom on the 29th to watch them in their almost assuredly lack of glory. The music will probably sound about the same but now I'll be the lame old guy. Sad.

You've just won the super bowl, what are you going to do now?

We're going to Disney World! But not until next June. Have you ever been to Disney World? or Disney Land? Most adults that I know that have been as a kid do not have that desire to go as an adult. But for me, I think i'm more excited than my kids. But we are doing the unthinkable. We are driving our FOUR children to Florida to go to Disney. Yes, I've mapped it out and I think that I will be able to get enough sleep the night before to drive the distance, stopping only for gas, food, and bathroom breaks. We are giving ourselves 24 hours to get there. Sound completely nuts? it probably is, but for me getting there is just as much fun as being there.

So now we have started the massive planning process. Trying to figure out which parks to visit, where else to go, where to eat, and how to do it all fairly cheap. Plus we're organizing with Caryn's Mom, Dad, Sister, and nephew. So as much as it is for our kids, it is for everyone as well. Anyway, so we need ideas. Anyone who has been or knows someone who has been. Let us know where we should go and what we should do. The only certainty is that we will spend at least one day at the Magic Kingdom and that we will be staying in both Orlando and Daytona. We'll be gone a total of 10 days with 2 of them driving so we've got plenty of time to do whatever. Talk to us, let us know.

Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The Sonics are coming, Soon there will be two more Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie clones, and the 4th of July is almost here. The 4th of July is by far my favorite holiday. Most people know my detest of Christmas, mostly because it seems to bring out the worst in people and if you've ever worked in retail or the service industry, then you know this to be true. But the 4th instills so much pride in your country. And yes there are other holidays that are US specific but that don't accomplish this same feeling. Memorial day is great in concept until you realize that you spend the day wandering around a cemetery making sure that everyone is still there. Labor day is also unique but a lot of people work on that day and its really just become a mark for the end of summer. Thanksgiving is great, Valentines day is an evil ploy to point out men's failure at romance and isn't even a paid day off, President's day? Seriously can you name half of the presidents? Anyway, spend one 4th of July in Boston and you'll come around to realizing that it is the best holiday. Everyone including Dick Clark knows that the place to be is New York City for New years Eve and Boston holds the same prestige for the 4th of July.
I mean why not celebrate the holiday where the revolution was happening? Go to the Site of the Boston Tea Party, or the Boston Massacre, or Paul Revere's house, or the Old North Church, or maybe Bunker Hill. Then go to the Park and listen to the Pops perform and then sit back and watch the fireworks go off over the Charles River. Its amazing.
Anyway, its my favorite because its at the height of summer. I mean July is when it starts to get hot and August is usually unbearable. The 4th is just right and the water in the pools and lakes are finally warm enough to get in without the 20 minute process of getting past your sensitive areas. So basically its not too hot to grill, or be outside for extended amounts of time. Plus we usually make homemade ice cream and who out there who hasn't been burned by fireworks doesn't love them? I mean next to bubbles what makes kids happier? Anyway have a happy 4th, enjoy it and be safe.

Also did anyone notice that since my last rant against the NL the Red Sox lost series to both the Cardinals and the Astros? Both of which are the teams of the Whites? Seriously, take the voodoo spell off were about to get swept by the devil rays.

39 pts?

So I guess the finals really were over in L.A. and nobody found out until last night. I mean the Lakers showed up last night, but for only one quarter. And it was fun at first be eventually it kinda became sad. I mean it was supposed to be a good game, it was the finals. Of course watching Garnett after the game was worth the wait. "Top of the World MA!" and "I'm Certified!" were my two favorite shouts from him last night. And before the postseason I was pretty sure I was gonna get a Garnett jersey now I'm torn and have to decide, Pierce or Garnett. Also did you know that Parish, McHale, and Bird won a championship the first year they were teammates? And another thing, there are only 10 or 12 cities with the big 3 sports and Boston/New England almost had all 3 championships at the same time, I mean I'm not a Patriots fan but seriously they were a sack away from winning the super bowl and then Boston would have all 3 titles at one time. There is no better place to be a sports fan right now.

And a special side note to Colin, the AL is beating the NL in interleague play even when they play at the NL teams home. So the AL isn't only better, its better at the NL's game.

Sonics Fever?

So I have been a celtics fan since the early 80's. Mostly because my mom is from Boston and the celtics dominated during the majority of her lifetime. She lived there during their streak of 8 championships in a row and saw numerous great players make their mark on Boston basketball. Anyhow, once she moved to Oklahoma, Boston sports didn't really make it on TV that often but since the Celtics were in the playoffs every year and almost assured a spot in the finals. I grew up watching the celtics-lakers. This is why I hate the lakers. Anyhow, years of futility have made my loyalty wane and I was pretty sure that as soon as the Sonics came to town I could easily switch teams. But now the celts are back on top. What to do? I mean one is eastern the other western so i could split loyalty based on the fact that they will never play each other in the playoffs until the finals. But that would be like supporting a national league baseball team. And seriously, how can you support the NL when its the only level of baseball that doesn't have a DH. Even their minor league teams have a DH. Pitcher's hitting was a thing of the past before pitching got specialized with refief and closing pitchers. Its not the same game, don't pretend. Not having a DH makes baseball weaker. But thats just my opinion.

So...its been awhile.

So a lot has happened and I got a little off track with my consistent updating but here are all of the updates. Firstly, I stepped down as General Manager of the Northwest Expressway store. While I still Love Panera, It was just becoming too stressful to continue to do the job well. This was effecting my performance and wasn't fair to myself or the company. So now I am an asst. at the S. Penn store. Which is a huge change because I went from the busiest store in okc to the 6th. So right now I feel like a rockstar because I have time to get everything done that I need to get done and then I help out the others. Its a positive change that already has me enjoying my job more, like I did in the past.
Bailey is enrolled in Kindergarten at Northern Hills and we found out yesterday that Noah will be joining her at Northern Hills in the Pre-K program. This is really great for us because we can see the school from our back door. Quite literally right now because we recently tore down our fence rather than let it fall down slowly. Anyhow our kids can walk to school if we had to and thats nice. Back to the fence, so we tore down the old fence. When I say we, I mean me. Caryn's dad and uncle helped me in stacking up the pieces onto the trailer though and helped with all of the railroad ties that we got to build our retaining wall. Two weeks later and now the wall looks great and were finishing off the leveling of the yard where we are going to build the fence back. Level this time. This will be the end of phase one of the outdoor renovations. Phase two is the irrigation/deck and phase 3 will be the new roof. This should take us most of the summer but will greatly increase the value of our house. Plus the deck will be nice and we'll finally get to enjoy our back yard after years of drainage issues. Anyhow I'll keep you updated and will get back here more often to limit the number of obsenely large posts.

Were Back!

Well I have never been so excited to get back to freezing temperatures in all of my life. We had enjoyed the 60-70 degree temperatures of the southern california/baja mexico area all week. Although at least once a a day it dipped into the 50's. This would not be so bad but we had packed for the low to be in the mid 60's so we got chilly. We partially doomed ourselves because Caryn had read every single review of the ship and cruise area so she knew everything that we were going to be doing. So basically everything met our expectations. Which is really okay. We just weren't suprised.
Everything was just as everyone said it would be. A lot of food. Good food. The formal night was my favorite and dinner was always the highlight of the day. We met some really awesome people. Josh and Chesney from Tuscon, Arizona and Shelby and Nathan from Upland, California. It was neat how they seat like people together. (Which was really strange for the 1 gay couple on board) Overall we just relaxed a lot and enjoyed the time. Caryn read most of a book and we did a lot of shopping. Not a lot of buying but we shopped the mexican market areas and the shops on catalina island. The one odd thing about the cruise was all of the alcohol. It wasn't just at dinner, it was everywhere and all of the time. Everyone was shocked by their bills and ours was only 220 dollars. And that was with 80 in tips, 85 for a watch i bought, and 30 dollars for the unlimited soda pass. Anyway it felt odd being the only ones not drinking.
So the kids all got strep throat while we were gone. They missed more school in this week than every other time combined. Special thanks to Caryn's family for taking care of the kids. The kids have literally not stopped climbing on me since i have been home. its fun though.

OVerall we had a blast. Im sure I gained at least 5 lbs so it is time to start weight loss plan phase 2. This is where i actually start running again, other than basketball. The pushups and the situps. Hopefully this will help for the Red Bud this year. I am hoping to improve on my 5K time. My best is 28:12 and that was a year ago when i wan not in as good of shape as I am now. So a little running over the next month or so should set me up well. Also If it goes well I am hoping to run the half marathon later in april and just maybe the marathon in Tulsa. That last part is optional but the big goal is the memorial marathon next year. So I guess vacation time is over.

and away we go

Well this is definetely the saddest departure for a vacation that Caryn and I have ever taken. Never before has Caryn left a child this young for more than a couple of hours if not minutes. This will be especially trying for her. All of my employees and friends at work too do not want us to be gone long. I know we will have fun and the next couple of days are going to be a blast but right now we can only think of everything that we are about to leave behind. Look out for our kids while were gone.

Textually Active

I may be the only one who gets a heartly laugh everytime i discover a word that my phone dictionary brings up before the word that I am trying to text. For instance, once i told someone i was three instead of tired. Also i received a text that said that they had gone to the ER to get alone. They meant blood, which is odd true but alone didn't quite elicit the quick response that blood would have.

Even funnier was when Jordan came up Korean. That made me laugh for quite a while. Another funny one that luckily i caught before i sent it off was Panther. if you don't watch you just might be talking about panties instead.

Also I found this t shirt design on the right and thought that it was appropriate but its not quite as funny as this one. i couldn't stop laughing.

dinner : impossible

have you seen this show? this is my first time. they are constructing a restuarant in the middle of the mall. like seriously in the middle. everyone walking around them. They can only use items in the mall for their place and have to have a meal for 600 people ready in 6 hours. its crazy. they go to sears and get like 6 ovens and have them hooked up while they raid the macy for cooking utensils, then they go to the existing restuarants and steal alot of food. Its pretty awesome. After 1 hour they have like nothing done but within the next hour it is obvious that they are going to be done on time.
Anyway, here is a little clip of Noah singing in his ultra high counter tenor voice. he's pretty cute, and if you watch you'll see him playing with his ear. tucking it in. years from now, this will be proof of his ultra flexible ear.

For spaceship skies

Bailey came home singing this one after her second week of school. She's tried teaching it to the others but they just like listening.

learn d abc's

Here is Reagan singing the abcs. she gets louder the long it goes.

im a nerd

So while at work it is easy to talk about the many things that make me a dork or a nerd or dweeb. Whatever the phrase that fits for the situation at hand. It is easy to talk about because for the most part they kids can only make so much fun of me because i am their boss. Plus they almost all love me in some way and don't want me mad at them. Anyhow, one of the biggest issues lately has been chess. I have an associate that works for us that I saw playing chess online one day. I mentioned that we should play sometime, he immediately ran out to his car and grabbed a chess set.
I play nervously when I am out of practice, playing someone for the first time, or I know that they are better than me. So playing him for the first time I was out of practice, so double the issue. I beat him pretty convincingly. He was very frustrated the first game, we both made mistakes but mostly due to how locked up I had made the board. In our second game, I left it very open and destroyed his pieces from far away. Not a good game for him. Since then we have probably played somewhere between 200 and 300 times. I have taught him quite a bit, and it works out well for me. If there is someone new that comes along, i let them play him. Then I can tell their level of play and have an edge going into the game. Maybe its not fair but you still have to make the moves. Anyhow, i got off track. Now i am completely possessed by chess. I am reading a couple of different books about it, I dream about it. I play about 30 or more games per week. Let me clarify. I am not saying that I am amazing. There is no Bobby Fischer here. Anyhow now half of the staff is playing chess. I'm giving lessons to no less than 3 people in a week, all who have the same goal. To beat me. Meanwhile my biggest competitor is Micah, the original kid i played. I'm sure he's keeping count but why would I, i think he's beat me like 15 times. maybe 20. So the most exciting part of going on vacation next week, is the thought of finishing my last chess book so that I can get another one on a differnt strategy. Sad?

Cruisin' USA

So I am really starting to get excited about this cruise. I've got a guy at work who is so excited for me that I think that he is jealous. All he talks about is all of the food that I am going to get to eat. The food is probably the most exciting part for me as well. I have always loved to eat well. Most people know that I used to be very skinny. Weighed 120 lbs when I graduated high school at 6'1''. I remember that I lost weight my freshman year of college because I just didn't go eat. I think I got down to like 115. I never felt sick or anything, I mean I was still exercising and staying fit but I bet my body fat was less than 3%, If that high.
The best thing that ever happened to me physically was getting together with a couple of freinds at OC that had me lifting weights on a regular basis. I was thrilled when I got to 150lbs. This is also what I weighed when I got married. Now I look back and can't believe that I gained just over 100lbs since high school in only 10 years. I have always loved the idea of seconds as opposed to eating dessert. Thats the main reason the food is the most exciting part.

Of course the ocean will be fun, I've never been to california or seen the pacific. Never been on a boat that large. Definetely never slept on a boat. I think it will be very relaxing. I'll get a chance to finally finish my last chess book. Study up on some finer points of my game. Sleep, Eat a lot. Sleep some more, and just relax. Now I've just got to make it through 10 more days of work, an audit, a manager change, packing, and the thought of Caryn leaving the kids for 5 days in a row and the excitment can begin.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone is enjoying the day. I know that I hate most holidays. But slowly the longer I have kids, the more i remember why i enjoyed them when I was a kid. And Valentines day was one of two major candy holiday's. The lesser of the two sure but candy none the less. Now that Bailey and Noah are in school they get to appreciate the holiday more. Parties, candy, and Valentines. Bailey decided to make one of her own. I'll decode it for you. It says "Be My Valentine, Hailey, hope you are OK. Love, Bailey"

Caryn thought it was so cute she called me at work to let me know. Bailey also invited at least one boy to come to her house and play for valentines day. Isn't that exciting?

For those of you who don't know, Caryn and I are going on a cruise in about 2 1/2 weeks. This is most upsetting to Caryn who spent her first night away from Bailey when Noah was born. Her second night away from Bailey (her first away from Noah) when Reagan was born. It changed a little bit when we went to Boston last May. Five nights away from the kids. It almost killed Caryn to be away for so long. Of course Reagan was over a year old at the time and we fully trusted her parents but here inlies the current issue. Taylor will be 3 months old at the time and Caryn started feeling guilty about a week ago.

lifetime membership

this title actually has two meanings one of which is quite morbid. firstly, you may or may not know that I am a life time member of the girl scouts. Sure this does not sound that weird until you realize that I (Bobby) am writing this post. So anyhow, I am a lifetime member of the girl scouts. This was my birthday gift from my mother on my 18th birthday. You know I already had a car and really what does giving money really say and so she got me a lifetime membership. This has brought a great amount of laughter from my freinds on numerous occasions. I mean who really gets their 18 year old son a lifetime membership for Girl Scouts? 10 years later it all seems like its coming together. I bought some GS cookies the other day and got to thinking about when Bailey would start in scouts and the the membership and all that. This is when I realized that my mom is to blame for me having 3 out of 4 girls. On top of that Noah can sing higher than any soprano i have ever heard and is currently wearing a pair of Disney Princess Edition Eye Glasses. Of course he loves the Red Sox and i'm sure he'll eventually grow up and be my manly manly boy (this being said by the guy who likes to shop more than his wife and is a lifetime member of the girl scouts!) Anyhow, for the first time since the gift that I didn't really want 10 years ago, I appreciate the forethought of my mother. Soon it will become very useful.

Now the morbid thought, My dad died at 52. For years I claimed 26 was when I would go through my midlife crisis. While the crisis never actually happened I have always had this vision of a clock, in my head, counting down from 52 years. Despite this I have always been in perfect health. Recently this has started to change. I was recommended for a procedure. Which I am not excited to talk about but am willing but for now we will just refer to it as the procedure. This "procedure" had me very nervous, I didn't sleep much the night before and was very tense. No one really picked up on this because I have an insane ability to hide my stress. I just deal with it in a way that I believe helps eliminate future stress. (Basically I keep it inside and let it hurt my body rather that other peoples feelings.) Anyhow during this procedure my heart rate never dropped below 90. This is extremely odd because I was completely sedated for about half and hour. I'm talking about gas, I mean I was drugged and completely unconscious. And the heart never slowed. On top of this the heart read out picked up on a number of odd beats. Things that I later learned are PVC's.

People in the health field are funny. They want to insist urgency without inviting panic. I understand this much better now. First I talked to my sister. An RN for roughly 27 years with the last 12 or so in a ER unit in the OKC Metro. She was there when I had the procedure and said that she would document these PVC's as very frequent if she were monitoring for a doctor. Also said that its nothing to worry about but that I should let my doctor know about it. I said okay and that was that.

Two days later I get a call from my sister. "what did the doctor say?"(Tammy) "I thought you said it was no bid deal?" (ME) "I said that you shouldnt worry but you should let your doctor know" (Tammy) "I just didn't realize this was an urgent matter" (ME) "Let your doctor decide, GO TO THE DOCTOR!" (Tammy)

This caused me some concern and so I decided to consult everyones favorite free medical consultant, Dr. Kyle (a.k.a. former kappa president Kyle Hollingsworth) Kyle basically says that these are very common, usually caused by caffeine and stress but that a lot more people that have these than people who know they are having them. He said I should let my doctor know about it just to be safe. I am calmed, I thank him and go on about my merry way.

Two days later I run into Kyle at church and he says "what did your doctor have to say?"

You get the point. By the way, it turns out that my heart is fine and the PVC's were only caused due to the "procedure" and had no evidence of any PVC's now.

Back to the morbid point, I lost just over 12lbs in January. Most of this due to my concerns about caffeine and fat that could possibly make my heart worse off. So I ate a very low fat diet, ate a lot of healthy foods, high in grains, nutrients, and vitamins. And really almost no fat whatsoever. Then after I have lost this 12 lbs I give some blood at the CofC blood drive. Yesterday we got the results back. Every area was elevated. High Cholesterol, High Blood pressure, high whatever else they measure. The only positive is that my pulse was 68. Anyhow after the slight delay caused by my good news about no more PVC's, I'm back in count down mode. But don't worry, I've still got at least 24 years.

just so Noah doesn't feel left out

well on the basis of most incriminating evidence, this picture has to rank pretty high. yes? no? i mean come on, i had to hide these purses!

Holy Cow I am tired of our kids being sick! We haven't quite gone more than two days without one of our kids having a temp of at least 103. I should invest money in children's motrin. I say this as I give Reagan another dose. Last week it brought noah down from 104.5 to 99 within an hour.

Of course we get what we deserve, we always get strange looks when we take our kids out in public within the first week of their lives. With Taylor we went to Ted's the Sunday after she was born. An older couple saw her and asked how old she was, when we said a day and a half I could tell the didn't approve but really with 3 other kids are we really going to keep her from getting sick. Also throughout this entire sick season the only child that hasn't gotten sick is Taylor.

special quote from caryn

put this in context, caryn said this while looking at our nov 06 post, i think it might be our only post for 06.

"two kids was soooo easy, look at how happy they are. you know we'll never have another picture with all of them smiling"

P.S. This is what happens when you tell our kids to "really smile."

Blackmail in waiting

Just a couple of photos that should prove their worth when these girls are old enough to embarass and show any would be boyfriends. Reagan's hair is priceless, the funniest part is when she refuses to let us put her hood of her jacket on her head because she doesn't want to mess up her hair. And of course everyone knows "Meow." Here is a pic of Bailey laying down with Princess Meow. In clothes that Bailey made for meow herself. Here is a closer pic. Note that Bailey drew on the papers prior to turning them into clothing. Also note the red boots. Meow has never been happier.

Just to cover all of our bases here is an updated photo of Taylor. She's starting to become a chunk and doing great.