Lily--6 months old

Oh Lily. I was worried when I found out I was having a girl that I would struggle to love her as much as I adore my boys. I shouldn't have worried. This little girl lights up our lives--I don't know how we ever got along without her.

She is 6 months old now! I can't believe how fast time has flown. Here are her 6-month stats:

Length: 25 1/8 inches

Weight: 15 lbs. 11.5 oz.

She is 15th percentile for length, 50th for weight and 75th for head-circumference. Shorty.

This little miss is all smiles all the time. She is very much like her brothers--extremely social. She will smile and laugh at anyone who looks at her which makes taking her to the store a fun experience. Even crusty old men and little kids will stop and talk to her just to see her smile and hear her squeal.

Lily has the longest eyelashes ever. I'm glad our girl got them. They make her eyes so expressive.

She loves to "talk" and will babble to herself and to you. She's starting to say "da da da" and will use her hand to make silly sounds with her mouth. She is a squealer, too, which I think is absolutely adorable.

She is sitting up on her own! She's been doing this for a couple weeks now and is very sturdy. I love it when kids learn this. You can give them a few toys to play with and they're content for several minutes just sitting there playing. It also makes shopping easier because Lily is more content to sit up in the front of the basket instead of in her carseat. She can happily last a couple hours running errands if she gets to sit up and watch what's going on.

She is learning to crawl! She's almost there. Around 5 months old she started getting up on her knees and elbows rocking and she's now up to her hands and knees. She'll get up on her hands and knees and flop forward like a seal to get anywhere she wants to go or she'll lay on her belly and pull with her arms while using her toes to push. Although she's not "crawling" in the traditional sense, she is very mobile and we've had to be more aware with what we leave on the floor or how close she is to the stairs. 

I love this little "downward dog" thing she does now. I'm giving her a couple more weeks and we'll have a fully crawling baby on our hands.

She loves food. If you're eating or drinking anything, she'll try and grab it and put it in her mouth. She's been that way since she was about 4 months old. She doesn't have any teeth yet, but that hasn't stopped her from enjoying just about everything. Not one to be left behind, she is insisting more and more on feeding herself even though she's mostly unsuccessful. She'll grab the spoon and guide it into her mouth or she'll take the food out of my hand in her little fingers and attempt to eat her all by herself. 

George and I have a few nick names we use when we're talking to her. Our favorites are "Lillers", "Little Miss", and "My Squishy". I love picking her up, giving her a big snuggle and feeling her fit right in. She really is squishy and I adore it.

She loves her Daddy. When she wakes up in the morning I pull her into bed with me and George to nurse her. As soon as she sees George, she'll stop nursing and struggle and squirm until she can touch him. She smiles and laughs and smacks his face until he wakes up and tickles her. So sweet. George can't get enough of this little girl.

Jude is probably her favorite sibling so far. She can hear his voice and start laughing. He's rough on her, but she takes it in stride and seems to love it (for the most part). He can get her roaring with laughter and whenever he's around she'll try to get his attention.

She is a mama's girl. She prefers to be in the same room as me and if I leave she gets upset. It makes it a bit difficult to leave her. Lance, Jude, and Cole were the same way so I'm confident it will get better as she gets older. It does make me feel good, though, to take her crying from someone else and be able to comfort her almost immediately. 

I hope her hair starts growing soon. She was born with some decent hair but it fell out and she now resembles what her brothers looked like at this age. In fact, many people confuse her for a boy when we're out (to be fair, she's in a red and black carrier and is often wearing colors like teal, blue, and green). I think she's perfect, but it'll be fun when I can clip bows in her hair.

This little girl is wonderful beyond words. I love waking up to her smile in the morning. I love snuggling her at night before bed. I love watching her learn new things every day. I love hearing her laugh and squeal. I love watching the boys love on her and see her obvious joy at being noticed by them. I love this age because kids become your little buddy and want to be with you everywhere you go. I can't get enough of this little girl. So glad she's ours.

Cole--2 1/2 years old

Cole. I can't get enough of this little boy. I think this is my favorite age--18 months to 3 years old. I've never understood people who talk about how two is so difficult. Here are some of the precious things I want to remember about Cole at this age:

He has the softest voice when he's talking. Screaming with brothers is entirely different and he can hold his own, but when he's talking you have to listen carefully or you'll miss it. He also has an interesting cadence when he talks and will pause between words. "I build...my...train tracks." Cole has a large vocabulary but is reserved with his words.

He's my only child so far that is attached to things. He has his favorite items that he simply cannot be without and will carry them around wherever he goes. These items do change from time to time. It was his Wonder Woman cape (he's wearing it in the picture above) that he insisted on wearing everywhere including church, and a train he would carry with him at all times. Before that it was a TMNT sword and now it's a large Thomas train. He literally has it with him everywhere and sleeps with it at night. 

His biggest obsession is trains. Anything about trains. Any picture, any toy, any book--it's amazing to him. We'll be driving and he knows where all the tracks are in Charlottesville. If there happens to be a train going past he will watch it with this enormous grin on his face the entire time. Every single day he'll dump out our large bin full of trains and tracks and make his own little tracks which he'll run his trains on for hours at a time. His infatuation with trains is so deep that he see "train tracks" everywhere. That seam on your jeans? Nope, that's a train track. Loading the dishes into the washer? Well, be prepared to have the bottom "train" become a moving target as Cole slides it back and forth on the "train tracks".

His favorite thing right behind trains is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He loves the show, he loves the toys, he loves talking about them. His favorite turtle is Mikey. 

Cole loves playing with Jude and Lance but can be found most often playing by himself. He can entertain himself for hours. It makes me feel bad for him a bit--was he neglected and so learned how to have fun without a playmate, or is this just how he is? I think it's more the latter, but I do make an extra effort to lay down next to him and engage him when I can.

He is my little buddy. He wants to be with me all the time. Even if that means leaving his toys, he'll come run errands with me instead of staying home with the other kiddos.

Cole loves Lily and asks to hold her every day.

He doesn't know how to kiss. If we ask him to give a kiss, he'll lean his cheek up and press it to yours. 

He is tough! This kid can take a fall or skin his knee and after a whimper he's up and running again like it's no big deal. It takes a lot to make him cry.

He likes to color and paint. He'd much rather play with playdough, color with markers or play with his trains than watch TV.

He loves the movie "Frozen" and his favorite character is Elsa. He can sing parts of many of the songs. When we first watched the movie, he would run around knocking on doors and singing, "Elsa? Do you want to build a snowman?"

Cole calls all pine trees "Christmas trees".

Whenever he sees a candle, he'll start singing "Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!" and then try to blow it out.

If he wants to show you something, he'll grab your hand and start pulling you saying, "Come. Come here."

He hugs with his head. He'll walk over to Lily and say, "I love her!" and then give her a "hug" by snuggling his head down next to hers. It's adorable.

This child loves the water just like his brothers. He enjoys the pool, the creek, the lakes and the sprinklers. He and Jude will even try to hop in anytime George or I shower which means shower time is often a family affair.

I really cannot get enough of this little boy. George and I often talk about how he's just the cutest thing in the world. From his big almost black eyes to his sweet, happy smile, this child is 100% adorable. I just want to squeeze him and not let go. I love coming home from running errands to have him run and greet me at the door with a "Mom! You came...back!" I love having him bring me books and asking me to read him stories, or to sit next to him to watch TMNT or Phineas and Ferb. I love laying next to him at night (something that started with Lance and now I will lay next to each of the boys in turn at night) and having little conversations about the day, or his trains, or whatever. I love scooping him up and having a snuggle while he laughs. Love this boy!

Jude--4.5 years old

Oh my goodness. Jude. How can I possibly use words to describe this bundle of crazy when he so often leaves me speechless? I think the people who talk about how hard two year olds are just haven't gotten to four yet. When Lance was four, I was sure I had a delinquent child on my hands, or at the very least an ADHD diagnosis was in the near future. Now that Jude has reached that age I realize that nope, he was just four. 

My friend Sarah once told me that Jude reminded her of a quote from her dad: "Raising kids is like being slowly pecked to death by chickens." George and I both cracked up--it is the perfect analogy and if you know Jude at all you'll understand why.

Jude is constantly in motion. If he's not moving, he's asleep. Putting clothes on this child is like trying to dress one of those air dancers you see in front of car dealerships--you know, the tall man that moves erratically in every direction. 

Not only must Jude be constantly moving, he must also be constantly touching you. Or anyone. Doesn't matter how long he's known you, what you look like, how big or small you are. He will crawl onto your lap, jump on your shoulders, grab your face in his sticky little hands and snuggle right in. I feel like most of my day is spent reminding Jude of a little thing called "personal space". It's a foreign concept and he has yet to understand that not everyone wants his face one inch from theirs when he's telling them about his day.

This child melts my heart and blows my mind all at the same time. He is constant affection and endless irritation. He's a smiling mischief-maker, causing mayhem with his huge grin and sweet personality.

The great conundrum of my life right now is how to keep Jude focused and doing what he needs to do without squelching his personality.

Because this child is amazing.

He is the friendliest kid ever and has been since he was a baby. He wanders up to random people and will hold whole conversations with them, only to come back and tell me all about his "new friend". We were driving in the car the other day and he kept telling me that he has "so many friends and they love me! They really do!" Anytime he sees someone he knows, he's like, "look, Mom! My friends!" I need to be more like that.

He has no concept of volume control which makes everything he does extremely loud. Ask him a question at church during the service, you'd better be prepared for the entire congregation to know the answer.

He is obsessed with the fact that he's four years old. Anytime he meets someone new, he'll introduce himself like this: "Hi! I'm Jude and I'm four!"

He's a snuggler. Remember how he has to constantly be touching someone? He'll come into our room in the morning and climb right into bed with us. We actually have a "no touching in bed" rule because otherwise he'll literally lay on top of me with my face in his hands. He still tries to do this and will oh so slowly sneak closer, put one leg up, then the other until I remind him of our rule.

He will run to the door and greet me or George with a "You're home! I'm so glad you came back!" Nothing better. :)

He can't say "thirteen". It sounds like "fourteen" which confuses him when he counts to 20. It's pretty hysterical. It's really not so bad considering when he was two he pronounced his "th" like "f" making it quite awkward every time he announced he saw a "big truck".

He is into anything Lance is which means he likes Minecraft, although his latest obsession is a video game called Skylanders. He'll watch videos on YouTube of people playing it for hours and begs for the different characters.

He asks me every day if it's his Birthday yet. What does he want for his Birthday? The world's largest gummy worm. Yes, it's a thing and he's convinced he needs it.

He can't get his pronouns straight. Most of the time he says "he" and "his" even when he's talking about a girl.

He is a sponge when it comes to movie quotes, character's names, video games and TV shows but he can't be bothered to learn his alphabet. No interest at all.

He sleeps in his underwear just like Lance and even Cole has joined the "in your skinnies" club.

If he is hurt, he refuses to let anyone see or touch the injured area. I think it might be residual psycological scarring from hospital visits in the past, but he is convinced that even looking at an injury will make it hurt more.

He says "as well" instead if "too". I don't know where he got it or why we think it's so funny, but George and I giggle every time he does it.

He is extremely physical with his brothers and much of my day is spent repeating things like, "Stop hitting Cole--I know he's laughing now but he'll be crying soon." or "Jude, you can't lay on top of the baby!" and "Boys, if you keep playing that way someone's going to get hurt." Our house is very active and extremely LOUD, can you tell?



This year I asked Jude the same questions as Lance. He wasn't able to answer all of them, but here's what I got in Jude's own words:

What is your favorite color?

Blue

What is your favorite food?

A Pizza
 

Favorite animal? 

elephant--oh, I like a cat too, and I love a puppy too!

What is your favorite TV show?
Phineas and Ferb (now it's probably TMNT)

What kind of music do you like?
nothing. What's your favorite song? Radioactive and "What does the fox say?"

What are you really good at?
swimming

What are you not so good at?
building

Who are your best friends? 
Cameron and Jacob

What is the best thing about having a brother ?
I don't know. I like playing with them.

What's the best thing about having a sister?
they're fun 

How are you different from brothers?
cuz I'm big

What does Lance do that makes you mad?

bug me

What does Cole do that makes you mad?
hurt me

What do you want to do when you grow up?
eat ham sandwiches

Job when you grow up?
  play games

What would you do with a Million dollars?
be like you--go to the gym

What is the best thing about your mom?
loving you

What is the best thing about your dad?

What do you like to do with dad?
play with him on Lego Avengers

What do you like to do with mom?

play with him on Lego Avengers

Tell me something that is really funny.
Remember the fat guy singing a silly song? "Peanut Butter, Jelly! Peanut Butter, Jelly" That was so funny!

What is your favorite thing to wear?
Ninja Turtle sweatshirt

What makes you cry?
wrestling Lance and he wrestles me back!

What does love mean?
it means loving you

What does it mean to be a good friend?

give somebody flowers

What are you afraid of?
mosquitos, spiders and alligators

What do you like best about being a boy?
playing Lego Avengers and stuff

Describe girls:
They're different than us. Mom, even you're a girl!

What is your favorite book and why do you like it?
Ninja Turtles because it's so fun cuz I really love it.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

 a vampire

What is your favorite toy?
the Ninja Turtle sias and a Mashum

What do you like to sleep with?
a kitty cat (he actually sleeps with his red blanket and a water bottle, nothing else)

What is your favorite thing to do at the park?

um, pretend we're Mario and pretend we have to fight Bowser (he, Cameron and Jake would play this game on the park outside our apartment)

What is the best thing about being your age?
going to the castle at Busch Gardens is fun!

Why do you like being a kid?
nothing--I just like being a grown-up

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why?
a pig--for fun

What do you like to do for fun?
play at the park, uh, being silly is funny!

What is your favorite thing to do? Why?
well, I like playing the Lego movie video game

What is your favorite thing to do with your friends?
play with them

What do you love most about Lance?
 He keeps fighting me. You like that? No! So what do you love about him? I like watching Zack Scott with him.

What do you love most about Cole?
He does nothing. (thinking...) Playing at the park with him!

What do you love most about Lily?
uh, love her

What was the nicest thing you did for someone?
playing games is love and baking is love as well

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now?
getting married

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? 
walk with boots on

What is the grossest thing you can think of?

Let me think. Uhm, I have a mashum. Throw up!

What does dad do for a living?
Helps people. Where? At work.

 What does mom do for a living?

go to the gym!

Lance-- 8.5 years old

I meant to do this in January, but since life always gets in the way, later is better than never! (I started this in March...)

Lance is now 8 and a half years old (okay, almost 9)! I can't believe how big he's getting and what a little man he's becoming. He continues to light up out lives with his crazy antics and hilarious "Lance-isms". Here are the things I want to remember about this age:

He just finished second grade and enjoyed it! This is a big deal because 1st grade was as struggle.

He's getting much better at reading and will read for pleasure now. His favorite books are The Wimpy Kid series and Bunnicula. He and I started reading Harry Potter together every night and are now a good way into the seventh book! It's our special time together at night after teeth are brushed and everyone is laying in bed--I'll lay down on his bed and read a chapter out loud while Jude and Cole listen as well. It's been hard to do this every night now that Lily is here, but we try to make it a priority. I'm excited to finish the series with him!

He is into snakes right now. Most days he'll come home from school and jump right onto the computer to watch videos on youtube about the different kinds of snakes. He has a pet snake named Molty that he caught as a baby and is now anxious to expand his snake collection. 

He is very, VERY smart. He makes amazing connections in conversations and is extremely articulate. I am constantly amazed at the ideas he has and his ability to figure things out. His vocabulary is wide and varied--much more than the average 8-9 year old.

He loves his brothers and although they fight more often than not, he and Jude actually play together now. It probably helps that they're both into some similar things like Minecraft. Lance made the comment tonight that he could see how he and Jude would be great friends when they got older because they share so many of the same interests. Watching them play together and laugh melts my heart and makes the inevitable bickering that happens 75% of the time almost bearable.

Lance is still an extremely picky eater. I think it's getting worse. Food/meals that were his "go-tos" just weeks ago are now on his "I wouldn't eat that if I was starving" list. Why? He "just doesn't like those things anymore". Of all the kids, he's the hardest to feed. His favorite foods right now are fried tortillas, homemade rolls, baked eggs, and salmon "the way his dad makes it". Oh, and chocolate milk. That boy would survive on chocolate milk alone if we let him. He also enjoys Chick Filet's spicy chicken sandwich and will eat that with ranch and buffalo sauce. Steak just got added to the list about a week ago. :)

His latest obsession is Pokemon. He enjoys the TV show and will have extensive conversations about which Pokemon is better or cuter or more powerful. It's cute. He's still very much into Minecraft and is getting very good at crafting intricate, creative structures in the game. He will watch various people on YouTube play different Mods, his favorite being LanceyPooh and Ssundee (although George and I have a hard time tolerating Ssundee's voice...it's pretty grating on the nerves). Anytime we're up north with Callie and Bryce, he and Callie will play Minecraft together. It's interesting to listen to them talk about the houses they are building and their plans for their "world". They are quite the creative duo.

I love love love talking to Lance with it's just the two of us. He is a wonderful, creative, deep-thinking boy and sometimes I forget. Life gets busy and hectic with four kids when I can't give everyone my full attention and I'm mediating their interactions. It is so fun to be able to be with just Lance and talk about whatever's on his mind. These are the special moments I wish I could freeze, the moments I want to bottle up and take with me to be reopened and relived when I need a smile.

Last year I asked Lance about a million questions just to get an idea about his life and his interests. I decided it would be fun to do it again this year and see how his answers have changed. So here you go: all the answers are in Lance's own words. Enjoy!

What is your favorite color? 

(Thinking) Like, shades of green, red, brown, like a bunch of colors snakes have. No color is my favorite out of everything.

What is your favorite food? 

Protein

Favorite animal? 

Reptiles

What is your favorite TV show? 

I don't know... Tanked. (Mom's note: it's probably Mythbusters, but he was watching Tanked at the time.)

What kind of music do you like? 

Rock 'n Roll

What are you really good at? 

Gaming

What are you not so good at? 

Being patient sometimes

Who are your best friends? 

Killian and Kendall

What is your favorite thing to do at school? 

Uhm, probably recess

What is the best thing about having brothers?

Nothing. (Mom: "You can't think of one thing?") Well, like, uhm... yeah, literally nothing.

What's the best thing about having a sister?

She's cute.

How are you different from brothers?

They're part asian.

What does Jude do that makes you mad?

Starts videos when I don't want him to (talking about videos on the computer--usually about Minecraft)

What does Cole do that makes you mad?

Cry really hard, cry a lot

What do you want to do when you grow up? 

I just like getting my hands on animals, so I kinda want to be a breeder.

What would you do with a Million dollars? 

Hmmm... I don't know, spend it on game stuff.

What is the best thing about your mom? 

She's nice.

What is the best thing about your dad?

He takes me to places. (What places?) San Diego and stuff like that.

What is the best thing about DaddyG?

He's a good gamer and he's really fun to play with.

What is the best thing about Abbey?

She's nice.

What do you like to do with Dad? 

Play StarCraft.

What do you like to do with Mom?

Read Harry Potter.

What do you like to do with DaddyG?

Play Super Mario.

What do you like to do with Abbey?

Art

Tell me something that is really funny. 

Someone acting like their butt's on fire and they're an ostrich.

What is your favorite thing to wear? 

Sweatpants

What makes you cry? 

Getting a big scrape

What does love mean?

Something that means "deeply loved"

What does it mean to be a good friend?

Not yelling at your friends, but yell constantly at your little brother Jude.

What are you afraid of?

Spiders and stuffed animals with huge eyes. I hate those.

What do you like best about being a boy?

You get to do much funner things than girls do, like Cub Scouts.

Describe girls:

They play with stupid big girl figurines. They're divas, they like gemstones or diamonds.

What is your favorite book and why do you like it?

Bunnicula and Harry Potter. Bunnicula because before I found out I could read it, I was like, 'I'm bored, there's nothing to read--I just want something like Bunnicula.' Once the teacher showed it to me it seemed really interesting and really good. I like Harry Potter because my mom reads it to me so I don't have to read it and it's funny sometimes and interesting.

What is your favorite thing to do after school?

Go on the computer or watch TV.

What is your favorite toy?

Computer or the Wii--let's just say electronics.

What do you like to sleep with?

A blanket.

What is your favorite thing to do at the park?

Climb on things that are dangerous.

What is the best thing about being your age?

I'm better at video games.

What is your favorite memory?

Finding Molty, probably. (Molty is his pet snake.)

What is your happiest memory? 

Finding Molty.

Why do you like being a kid? 

You don't have to cook food for your family and you don't have to change baby diapers.

One word to describe you would be _shadowy or shady or dark_. I feel like I just want a private life.

What advice would you give your parents?

Don't give anyone but me candy, otherwise it will be complete chaos. 

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? 

A snake so I could fit through small spaces.

What do you like to do for fun? 

I like to play Star Craft with my dad.

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

When Jude learned how to say "no".

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Harass Jude--so he squeals.

What is your favorite thing to do with your friends? 

Play Super Mario.

What do you love most about your siblings? 

That they squeal.

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? 

I don't know.

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? 

Going to college.

What is your favorite thing to do in the summer? 

Swim

What would be the ideal allowance? Tell me how you would use it.

I'd say $5 or $10 every chore I do. It's decent money. I would use it to buy snakes and snake supply stuff.

What do you think makes a person good-looking? 

How their head is shaped. (What makes a girl good-looking?) Their hair.

Name two things we should do as a family on the weekend. 

Do something fun together like Chuck E Cheese or eat out.

What is the grossest thing you can think of?

Maggots and fly larvae--like larvae of every kind of bug and poop.

What does your dad do for a living? Where does he work?

Be an attorney. He works in the top level of a bank.

What does DaddyG do for a living? Where does he work?

He's a doctor. He works in the hospital.

What does your mom do for a living? Where does she work?

She's a jobless hippie. I'm kidding. Jobless great mom. She works at home.

What does Abbey do for a living? Where does she work?

Really, I just don't have a clue what Abbey's life is like. (Where does she work?) That's a question I cannot answer.

How much time does it take to make dinner?

From what I know, at least 15 minutes. At least. It's like 15 minutes to an hour.

Allen's Visit: Busch Gardens and Water Country USA

While Mom and Dad were in Yellowstone, Allen came to hang out with us for about 6 days. We tried to show him a good time. Besides s'mores with our neighbors, a BBQ with some friends, seeing a movie with George and visiting our puppy we also visited Busch Gardens and Water Country USA. It was a very busy 6 days!

As always, the boys LOVED being at Busch Gardens.

This little miss was a trooper and hung out in her stroller most of the day.

Lance was able to ride Apollo's Chariot for the first time ever and LOVED it! He says his favorite roller coaster is still Loch Ness, but Apollo's is a close second.

The Elmers happened to be there that day too, so we hooked up with them for most of the day. Allen took to Jayden immediately and stuck to him like glue, entertaining him with his usual questions about superheros and assertions that he was, in fact, as strong as one. Jayden was fabulous and took it all in stride. It was pretty funny.

I had promised Lance I'd take him on Roman Rapids, so as the park was about to close, the kids and I ran over and rode it twice in a row--didn't even have to get off to reload.

This was Jude's first time on the ride. He was a little nervous. :)

It was fun! Cole's favorite part of the day was riding the train twice. He and Daddy took a trip all the way around while the boys rode a few rides. He was in heaven. 

A couple days later, we drove back to Williamsburg to Water Country. Allen had never been before and was excited/nervous. They have a new slide up that is awesome! We'll definitely have to go back this summer.

Jude was loving the slides. This kid thinks he's a fish and can't get enough of the water.

Cole didn't cry on the rides, but this was his expression the whole time:

And of course Lance had a blast!

George and I took turns playing with Lily while the other took the rest of the kids on raft rides, or just Lance and Allen to the bigger slides. Lance and I rode Vanish Point together. It was totally scary! I'm not a fan of falling and this one I had to propel myself off into an almost vertical drop. Lance went first, no hesitation. I felt foolish as I hesitated realizing that my 8 year old is a braver soul than me. He rode that ride several times, once with me twice with George, once with Allen and a few times by himself. I think it has become his favorite.

Lily liked the water, although was a little reserved.

I love that they have these life vests for the kids. Cole is just like his brother and loves being in the water, but if his feet come out from under him he struggles to stand back up. We had a couple scary moments when he bobbed up and down in the water unable to keep his head up. Good thing we were watching!

Jude went non-stop that day.

We spent a good deal of time on the Hubba Hubba Highway, the coolest lazy river ever. I took the three little ones while George, Allen, and Lance rode a slide and we floated along together. We made little boats out of larger life vests which the boys thought were amazing. It was quite the exercise keeping us all together especially with Lily, but I managed until George came to help.

Jude became a prankster and would make Cole squeal by grabbing his feet or pulling on his boat.

Lily wasn't too sure about it, but took it in stride like she does most things.

Backup! Woohoo! Lance likes to swim the river without a vest so I don't have many pictures of him. He was weaving in and out of patrons and we caught up with him about 15 minutes later when we got out.

I think Allen had a good time!

On our way out of the park, we stopped by the candy store to get some goodies for the ride home when Jude spotted something amazing:

The World's Largest Gummy Bear (on a stick, so not really the full size)! He has been begging for the 5 lb version of this for literally a month and was tickled pink when we allowed him and Cole to pick one out each. 

Even though it was almost midnight, he had to try it as soon as we got home.

Crazy boy!

We had a fun time with Allen! So glad he got to stay with us while his parents were away. He was a great sport and a good help with the kids. Thanks, Allen! You're the best!