06.30.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 6:38 am by Elisa
and tired.
We got in close to midnight last night to a bunch of crazy happy to see us dogs.
Boys were up by 6:45 for football camp. Insane I know. But they really wanted to do this camp with Mike Vrabel
who plays for the Patriots but is back here during the off-season. He (along with a bunch of other former Buckeyes) host a three day football camp for kids each summer. It’s only 8-noon but the boys are going to be wiped out later today, and probably a bit grumpy.
More later on the rest of the trip-
tons to do today
loads of laundry
pay the pet-sitter
gift-card for my sweet neighbor that watched the house and dogs
clean the floors
un-pack
give Zoey a bath
grocery store
blah blah blah
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06.27.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 4:46 pm by Elisa
all the cousins in the sharks mouth
it’s hard to get a good shot of all of them together
When we got to San Antonio we had to stop for lunch
Seriously one of the things I miss most about Texas. How can you not love Taco Cabana? Super Good mexican food for dirt cheap. Black bean tacos. Yum.
Then it was time to head to the market
for treats!
Now it’s time for the river walk and more yummy food. I am not going to fit in any of my clothes when I get home.
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06.26.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 10:27 pm by Elisa
Grandad took the kiddos fishing today
Grace was the only one that could catch any
don’t worry, they let it go.
I love these reedy things down by the dunes, even more with a beach house looming in the distance…
Just came in from our last night at the beach, tomorrow it is off to SA.
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Posted in ElisaLou at 7:48 am by Elisa
and my bed.
Yesterday we took the kids to the Texas State Aquarium
silly looking gang
saw some cool stuff
it took a million shots just to get one decent jellyfish picture. They are so cool.
Today is the last beach day for my group- we are heading out early to show the boys San Antonio, the river walk and the Alamo. Then up to Austin for the day and then back home. Where Shiloh will be so excited to see us she will follow us around and nibble on our knee-caps like she always does when we come home, and Zoey will wiggle and pee all over the floor.
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06.25.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 9:04 am by Elisa
We call the trip to the beach each year “cousin camp” and to remember the trip the kids all do tie-dye shirts
Alex and Jim
Austin and Blake
Emma
They have to sit in plastic bags for a few days, I will take pics when they are done.
Last night Cole said, “this is the best trip of my life- thank you so much for bringing me here.”
He’s not always a little stinker.
sunset and the dunes.
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06.23.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 7:04 pm by Elisa
Sitting on the deck looking at the ocean, listening to the kids play in the pool. It’s almost dinner time of day two at the beach. The sun is hot down here so we try to plan beach and pool outings around the less intense sun times but we also put up two huge tent thingies down at the beach for lots of shade.
No major sunburns so far although Austin’s freckles are reproducing pretty fast. All is well and as Austin pointed out, it just smells good. Nice and beachy.
The boys saw a big turtle swim past them when they were out on their boogie boards today. How cool is that?
Some of the things that I love about Mustang Island and Port A is the warm water and calm seas. This trip the calm seas have been a bit of a downer as the waves are small. Usually they are a bit more fun. Yesterday I had a rare moment to go out by myself and I floated on a board up and down the gentle waves and it was so peaceful. The ocean is such a cool place.
Another cool thing about Port A is that you can go out pretty far into the water. Growing up in North Carolina the waves were rough, and it was always a challenge to get past the breakers to calmer water. Here there are small waves, a huge sandbar and then more medium waves. I have never gone so far out that I was up to my shoulders- I don’t even know how far out I would have to go for that. The beauty of always having this huge sandbar is that there is a little area close in where the little kids can jump in and wade around. The bad part of this is that clumsy girls like me forget where the sandbar ends- so yesterday when I wasn’t paying attention I fell into it and twisted my ankle. No big deal- but ouch!
The other not so good thing that happened last night when we were out on the beach doing a nighttime treasure hunt with flashlights and glow-sticks
one of our condos started leaking water all over the floor. We were wondering why there was almost zero hot water- turns out it had a leak.
By late last night the water was everywhere. I took a picture of the repair guy laying on the flooded floor with his big belly and loads of tattoos but it was a bit blurry so I won’t post it. Besides it would have been much more funny if his butt crack was showing, and it wasn’t.
So today we packed up all our stuff and moved to a new condo, with a better view
I think the best part of trips like these is that the kids are making such great memories. The cousins talk about places we have stayed in years past, which ones were the coolest, which ones sucked. Hanging with cousins that they get to see once a year can be a crap shoot- but they always seem to get along so well. Especially the three oldest boys.
Life at the beach is good!
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06.22.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 7:25 pm by Elisa
Blake, Austin, and Max
the beautiful Miss Emma
4 out of the 8.
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Posted in ElisaLou at 10:06 am by Elisa
After getting up at 5am and traveling all day, we arrived at the other end of the country and swam in the warm warm water.
The sun went down and we finally went in for a late dinner.
Love the beach.
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06.20.08
Posted in ElisaLou at 3:05 pm by Elisa
Off to salty air and tropical breezes.
This time to tomorrow I hope to be digging my toes in the sand.
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Posted in ElisaLou at 11:17 am by Elisa
The final birthday of the month is here.
Happy Birthday Austin! My cool now eleven! year old.
And I guess since I told how the others came into this world, here is his story.
Over a week late and breech. Went in for my weekly OB appointment and they said, you can go in tonight or wait until the morning but either way it has to be a c-section. I was sad- I had a midwife and was planning a natural birth.
So I chose to “go home, have a nice dinner, and a good nights sleep” as the dr. said.
Austin had other plans. We went out to dinner at Chili Verde (my fav local mexican food joint) and I started having contractions. I was UP ALL NIGHT with them. By the next morning I was tired, and just a little mad that I didn’t get to skip all the painful parts since I had to have a c/s. I went to the hospital and asked if they would let me skip the c/s since I was already in labor. They said no, the fluid was too low.
The first c-section is the worst (for those that have had them know…) because you have no idea what to expect. And even though I got the blow by blow from a good friend that had just had one a week prior, she failed to mention how scary the whole thing can be for someone that had never stepped foot inside a hospital. All I remember was feeling “this is how a caged animal must feel”. Every instinct was telling me to get up and bolt. But of course my arms were held down and I had to just lay there and try not to freak out. All in all it is a very quick procedure. And then I had a little squirmy 8lb 14oz baby laying next to me. Such a weird experience.
Andy and I had NO CLUE what to do with him. I really thought I was prepared, but he cried all the time.
But then around 5 months he stopped. And he started sleeping all night- my only baby to sleep through the night at such a young age (the other two didn’t sleep all night until they were over 2 years- no lie)
And then it all took off. He did everything early, such a typical first-born. By 11 months he could walk from our house in Clintonville to the local Kroger. We just sent him with our grocery list and he came back with all the food. Ok not really but he really could walk to Kroger, and back- which was 4 blocks away. He would never ride in a stroller- he wanted to walk/run everywhere.
It is really cool having an eleven year old. We like the same shows, and the same music. The other day in the car he said, “mom are the Beastie Boys teenagers? because they sound like it”. Loved the look on his face when I told him that the Beastie Boys are older than I am.
Austin is easy, he is the kid we never worry about. And best of all he is very very kind.
It’s not always fun being the oldest, and we certainly expect more out of him than we do the others. But he plays his role well and usually makes it works to his advantage.
Someday I want to sit him down and thank him for teaching me how to be a parent, how to grow up but still have fun, and how to love someone more than I love myself.
I would tell him now but he would get embarrassed and run away. He is eleven after all.
I am so very proud of this kid.
Happy Birthday Austin, I love you!
Oh and this bottom picture cracks me up- when I cross-processed it his teeth turned yellow. They are actually very white- he is VERY picky about his teeth.
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