What's That You Say?

Sorry we missed the blog posting last week, the weekend just went by in a blur and before we knew it, it was time for this week's blog post!  Part of our excuse was that the whole family came down with a nasty illness - starting off with 1-3 days of fevers, that then turned into a lot of phlegm and mucus.  Amy's actually turned into an ear and sinus infection.  Imagine, an adult with an ear infection!  While she's on antibiotics, this germ seems to be a super germ and isn't actually clearing out of her ear.  It is very annoying to be half-deaf! There is as lot of "huh?" going on!

The weather has cooled down now in Florida, so we are enjoying the time spent outdoors.  Zachary has started to play catch with Karis, so it is a perfect time of year!



We headed out for a walk last weekend, and Kaleb decided that walking was for the birds, so he and Addison enjoyed the double stroller - much to Zachary's dismay who wished that we had a triple stroller!  You'll notice in the picture that Karis had sprouted a full beard - for the month of November in honor of prostrate cancer, it is no shave November!  That lasted until we had to head to the Gala last weekend, so off the beard went!  The gala had two entertainers this year - Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight.  It made for a later time to actually eat, as Smokey Robinson performed before dinner and then Gladys Knight was the "closer" for the evening.  Karis was starving, but we were actually quite disappointed this year in the food, it was quite possibly the worst that we've had in our 13 years of going (although to be fair, not everyone shared our disparaging opinion of the fare)



Grodacks, Deiningers, Biris, Zs and part of the Isidros!

Here is the rest of the Isidros - wouldn't want to miss Allen!

Karis has been busy trying to replace the toilets in the house - they all get plugged very easily, and with the amount of toilet paper that little boys use, we found ourselves having to plunge the toilets more often than we'd like, so he's replacing 3 of them.  The kids have found the boxes to be great fun - turning one of them into a slide!

Phrase of the week:  We've had several memorable conversations with Kaleb lately.  One was with Amy last week while she was on her deathbed with the 102 degree fever - he was adamant that she had to get up and come to his room to snuggle for bedtime.  She encouraged him just to get up into bed with her as she was so sick.  He refused, and she replied "You're being selfish Kaleb, Mommy is really not feeling well" - to which he said "I know I'm being selfish, but I REALLY WANT you to come to MY ROOM! I like my blanket better!"

The next came while he was in the van with Evan and Miss Jennifer.  Evan and Kaleb were having some random conversation and Kaleb stopped to say "I love you Evan!" and Evan replies "I love you too Kaleb!"  Those two are just too precious!  Brings a tear to your eye!

Face Paintings

Last weekend was the first Adventurer campout - the Z-men headed off to Pine Lakes to enjoy sleeping out in a tent while Amy and Addison stayed at home.  The kids of course loved being outside and playing soccer from sun-up to sun-down, and Karis was happy to report that they actually slept pretty well!  The ladies had a relaxing day at home, and headed over to Johnsons for a visit that evening for supper - it is always a treat to visit with wonderful friends as well as not having to cook for oneself! :)

On Sunday, the boys started a soccer league that was organized by the Apopka SDA church - Kaleb's level is Happy Feet and Zachary's is Legends.  It will be every Sunday morning for the next 6'ish weeks or so.  Intramural soccer at FLEC is also winding its way to the conclusion, and the boys have been enjoying it very much.  Zachary is proud that he made 16 goals over the season!

Great action shot!



Kaleb and Kieran battling it out at the net!

Kaleb apparently enjoys having his tongue out as he runs and kicks the ball! :)

 An inaugural event also happened last week - Addison had her face painted for the first time!  Addison rarely sits still, but she was enthralled and didn't move a muscle until they were done! :)

Pretty princess!

Zachary and Blake

Fierce Kaleb and Evan

Phrase of the week:  I wonder who I am going to marry when I'm older?  Amy replied " Only God knows, shall we pray for her"  so then we had a little prayer.  Kaleb replies"  Thanks, I really needed that prayer!"  So concerned about his future spouse! :)

 

Practicing her artistic side with sidewalk chalk!



Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall

Last weekend, as we were getting ready for Adventurers when Zachary started to chase Kaleb (who was in socks), who subsequently fell and started to cry (not unusual in the least when the big brother is chasing you!).  After going to Adventurers, Karis texted Amy saying "Kaleb may need x-rays, he is guarding his left arm and not using it very much......  We weren't 100% sure because when he got home he said that it wasn't hurting, even when we moved it around and 'played' with his arm/wrist.  The next morning, he came into our room saying "It doesn't hurt much!" - Amy's thought is "Why should it hurt AT ALL?"  Amy took him to the Centra Care and they in fact decided that he had a hairline fracture in the ulna and the radius was extremely bent.  The next day he went in for the cast - thankfully he is young enough that it will only take three weeks to heal.  I guess this is the joys of having kids, but growing up never having broken a bone, Amy has been quite disturbed - hopefully this is not repeated anytime soon!

A blue cast of course!

While Karis took the boys to Adventurers, Amy had taken Addison over to the Johnsons with Heather and Devin for a short visit.  The 'young kids' had fun chasing each other around - we attempted to get a picture of them together - Elin, Erik, Addison and Devin.

Last Sunday was Zachary's last game for flag football.  They won one of the two games that Sunday but did end up losing the second game.  They had a fun time, and learned new skills as well to work together as a team and listen to a coach's instruction.  The picture of the team is below.

We had a special treat on Monday when Aunt Marion (from Texas) and Aunt Louise came over for a short visits.  They had been on a cruise, and Aunt Marion was about to head back to Texas.  The sad news is that her oldest son passed away in his sleep while she was here - we're not sure exactly what was the cause of death, but our thoughts and prayers go out to them as they mourn his loss.

Phrase of the week:  Uh-oh - Addison has learned how to say "Uh-oh!" - it is super cute because when she says it, she drops the pitch of her voice lower - so now we're wondering what her normal "speaking" voice will be like once she starts to talk regularly!

A Watery Grave

Last weekend, the Wolverines (Zachary's flag football team) decided to have a vespers out at the beach as the weather was cooling down and the days of going to the beach may be coming to an end.  It ended up being cold (very few adults even in bathing suits!), but it was fun - Almodovars, Deiningers, Hilliards and the Z-family were the only ones to come, but it was lovely to enjoy the fresh air and visit.

 

It was Addison's first time to the beach - we put her down for a single nap that day and then off we went. She has been refusing to nap two naps a day consistently anyway, so it looks like she'll be giving it up much faster than our boys (who were around 19-20 months before they stopped.....but alas, she is teaching us that she is definitely her own person!)  Anyway, back to the beach, she took to it like a fish to water! :) 

Sitting pretty!

 

Loving the sand!

 In true Addi style, she sat on the sand for about 0.2 seconds before deciding to high-tail it to the water and off she went.  Amy followed of course, and was taking pictures of her enjoying the water.  The boys were both nervous about the water at this age, but she loved the waves splashing over her and sat right down in it.  Amy put her camera in her shorts pocket after taking a few, and then a very large wave came and bowled Addison over.....she was laying there with more waves coming and crashing over her, so Amy ran over and scooped her up before she could get a face-full of salt and sand.  Then it happened....the camera in the pocket fell out into its watery grave.  NOOO!  This is not good!   We have put it in rice to try and dry it out, but it is definitely dead.  It was a great camera, and not wanting to spend another $300, Amy is seriously considering buying a used one on Ebay for about $75.  We'll see!


Trying to escape to the water after her brother Kaleb

No fear - loved sitting down and feeling the water and the sand.

Kaleb jumping in the waves....right before the camera's demise.

 This time of year is always full of Fall Festivals, and a few weeks ago we headed out.  Zachary was over at the D's playing, so it was just Kaleb and Addison and we met up with the Cochrans.  Addison was too little to ride most of the rides, but she did get her very first carousel ride!

 

 

We had the pleasure of celebrating little Victoria F's first birthday last weekend.  It was a "Lil Bo Peep" theme, completely with a lamb petting area!  Addison didn't actually attempt to touch a lamp, but she did stand calmly looking (vs Kaleb at this age would have been crawling up your leg!  Amazing the difference in these children!)

Poor Kaleb has spent the last few days with a fever (probably from Zachary who had it two weeks ago).  He woke up on Thursday and said very sadly "Mom, I don't want to go anywhere, can Grandma come watch me?"  Isn't the world a better place with Grandmas?  Especially retired ones who love to spend time with grandkids! :)  She of course came over, and Kaleb loved having the day to play games and stay in his PJs!