My Kids & Me

it's so hard to believe that oscar & elizabeth are 5 already. i can still remember back 5 yrs 9 months ago when beth was throwing up every 15 seconds; seems like it was just the other day. grandmom & grandpop came down from PA for the weekend with cousin gillian. we had a small family party today. here are the pics . tomorrow beth is having a pool party for them and their friends. they were both so excited to turn 5. elizabeth hasn't said a whole lot about it, but oscar is convinced that this is one of the major milestones towards manhood. they'll be graduating high school before we know it, but it's sure fun watching them grow up. the visit from gillian has been wonderful. she has been a treat to have at the house. she and elizabeth have played so much together, but she has also played quite a bit with the boys. michael really likes it when gillian reads since she is such a great reader. he asked me in private after the first time gillian read to us how he can

wow! what a great vacation we had. we made our annual treck to destin over the week of july 4th. the beach was so incredible, the water was perfect (when we could go in), and we got some time to relax. beth and i were both able to spend some time reading, which i haven't had a whole lot of time to do lately since work has been so busy. beth is hooked on the harry potter books now; she read 2 over vacation and finished another last night -- she really reads fast (makes me jealous). i enjoyed spending time with the kids in the pool, on the beach building sand castles, and swimming in the gulf (or the ocean as they like to call it). the kids and i spent about 5-6 straight hours in the gulf on friday and i got the burn to show for it. i showed them how to dive under waves, but michael preferred getting knocked over by them. elizabeth was doing handstands and swimming all over the place; she has no fear. friday was by far the nicest day in the water. most of the rest of the week

Taking a cold shower feels like you are being cooked in the microwave. The bathroom glows when you get out of the shower. Water beads off of you like you are a freshly waxed car. You wish you only had the pink sunburn like the person in the next beach chair. The breeze from the ceiling fan hurts. Note to self: pack SPF-150 for next year's trip to Destin and reapply every 10 minutes.