Visitors!

We were so happy to have our most wonderful visitors this past week. Jen and Emma came out to VA for about one week and we played all week long. It was wonderful. Liam and Sean went to the airport with me to pick them up and dressed up as Optimus Prime and a tiger. Jen and Emma were so excited to see them. Of course the first thing we did was head to the beach. Everyone worked hard on building sandcastles and playing in the ocean.

A picture of Michael and I playing at the beach. It is not often that we have another adult to take our picture. We have really enjoyed this summer of beach excursions. We've got a good system down with carrying babies, beach umbrellas, sunscreen, towels, snacks and beach toys. We make a very good team. I love my Michael.

Here they are, Emma, Liam, Sean, Michael and Ryan all playing out in the water. Emma, Liam and Sean are all major water peeps. They could play in the ocean all day every day.

One day we decided to head up to Jamestown. We rode a free bus that took us from Williamsburg to Jamestown. As you can see, it was nice to have Jen and Emma out here to help with the babies. Jennifer watched all the kids one night while Michael and I went out for dinner by the ocean and a nice drive to VA beach. Thanks Jen. Also Jen and I were able to go see The Proposal which I thought was a good movie. I miss my Jenny and wish she lived in VA with me.

Emma, Sean and Liam putting on colonial armor at Jamestown. Liam was so happy to have Emma here. He has missed having cousins and friends in his life so readily. I think when he starts school it will help bc he's getting a little sick of hanging with two babies and me. He's ready for more adventure.

Liam, Adam, Emma, Ryan and Sean looking cuter than ever. All these cousins having a great time.

Adam is one of the cutest people I know. He's been a lot more interested in exploring the sand and water when we go to the beach. He doesn't love getting sand on his hands but he does love chasing the water as it comes in and goes out. Lately, he has found his shadow and loves looking at it and clapping his hands. Every time Adam would escape a wave without falling we would say "Yaaay" and then he would come hug us and give us kisses. His kisses include him approaching you with a big open mouth. It is pretty cute.

This isn't too clear but here is my dad who drove the black truck out here for Michael to use while we're here. We are very grateful for this. My dad left Thurs morning and did the 28 hour drive in two days. He got here late Fri night and so on Sat we went to the beach and had some yummy dinner. We love my dad and we are grateful for him taking time out of his schedule to deliver the truck. We had fun with him while he was here.

I liked this pic bc Adam is sticking his head in the sand. It makes me laugh a lot. Liam is my guy who I enjoy talking to, Sean entertains us and makes us laugh and Adam is just a pleasant guy to have around. He is quite entertaining as well.

Adam has adjusted pretty well to the Ryan addition. We use the bumbo a lot with Ryan so of course whatever we do with Ryan, Adam is interested in. He tries to hard to get into the bumbo but his legs are just too chubby. I thought this was a pretty hilarious picture.

My dad playing with all the boys. This is Sat night and I found out that back in CO, my sis Allyssa was visiting and all the girls went to see the Time Traveler's Wife Sat night. Here I was in VA with six, SIX boys. Sometimes I wonder what the heck is going on. I said this to my dad and he said, "OH shelley, you always were a tomboy." But I don't want to be a tomboy, I want to go to the movies with all the girls. Oh well, like I tell Liam, we can't always get what we want. The great thing is I was hanging with six of the coolest boys that exist. After the beach, we stopped at Dunkin Donuts and then ate some delicious grilled salmon. It was a fun night.

Ryan has made a lot of advancements while he's been here. He now sits up perfectly without falling and he's crawling. He can go from his bum to his tummy back to his bum. He's loving bath time now and he's loving all the boys. He like the ocean and he really enjoys sitting in the sand and playing. What a cute baby.

We are so grateful for the visitors and the fun that we've been having. Since last post, I am feeling much better and Michael starts school very soon. We have a few more visitors coming before school starts and we are looking forward to that. Thanks to Jen, Emma and dad for coming to VA.

The month of July

This is a picture of the beginning of July when we were feeling pretty good, eating delicious food, feeling pretty unpacked and organized and life was good. The only thing missing was CO and our friends and family. Michael has been creating wonderful dinners on the grill and I am the lucky eater. This is a picture of a grilled salmon with a roasted red pepper sauce, black beans and rice, and grilled asparagus. Yummy.

Here we are at the beach doing more beach activities. Liam has taken up snorkeling. He loves the water. Sean is getting a little more brave with the ocean. It is a little scary for a three year old. He loves to chase the birds and build sandcastles.

They decided to cover Adam with sand. He liked it. Michael is out in the ocean with all his boys. We have been slowly purchasing beach gear. The blown up intertube is good but also bad bc sometimes Liam floats away. Overall the beach is wonderful and a fantastic free activity.

Here we are for the fourth of July. We live right next to Ocean View park where they had a display so we just walked a few blocks to the party and watched a fun show. Liam and Sean loved it. Adam was a little nervous at first but just cuddled up next to me and watched.

We played soccer and ran around before the show started. This same park offers music and dancing on FRI and SUN nights and is very close to our house so we go to this park sometimes for the festive activities.

We were so excited to drive to the airport and pick up grandma and grandpa. They brought a little visitor with them on the plane, our new little brother Ryan. Ryan belongs to my sister Emily who has been in the hospital so we are watching him for now. He is a sweet little man. He did very well on his first plane ride. Thanks to Michael's parents for delivering him.

The grandparents had a hotel five minutes away with a pool so we went there a lot to swim. It was right next to the ocean and very beautiful. Here is the clan getting ready for swimming.

Ryan has been enjoying his stay in Norfolk Va. His life is very busy with three older boys to entertain him and lots of activities to participate in. He has a sweet smile and he's a sweet baby. He's 8 months old and fits right in. I must say though that it has been a bit of a change around here with another baby. Lots of work and attention needed.

Here we all are at the pool. The boys are absolutely loving all the swimming. We try to keep them covered so they don't burn. We've done a pretty good job so far. No serious burns yet.

Michael's dad took all the boys on a fishing trip where Liam and Sean caught some croakers. They had a great time and we are thankful to grandpa for the fun boat ride and fishing trip.

Liam and Sean are not afraid of fish or the squid that they used to catch the fish. Liam would take the fish from the hook and put it into the bucket. Maybe he'll grow up and become a fisherman. After the daily activities, we would come to the house and grill more delicious food. What a fun trip with grandma and grandpa.

In the evenings, we would sit out on the front porch and talk and one night we found a frog so Michael caught it and put it into Liam's frog house for the kids to look at in the morning. They were so excited about the frog. Liam decided to let the frog go around noon to live back with his brothers and sisters in the wild. Good job Liam.

Unfortunately, toward the end of the trip Grandma, Liam, Sean and Shelley got sick with a flu bug. We all were weak and sad and we were trying to take care of two babies and life. Michael gave Grandma and myself a liter of fluid to help us get back on our feet. What a wonderful husband I have. I'm lucky to be married to an ICU nurse who knows how to take care of sick people.

Grandma extended her stay for some extra days to help out with Ryan. We are so appreciative to her. Unfortunately after she left I got a terrible case of mastitis that took me out for another few days. It's been a little rough around here lately. No more beautiful grilled dinners or beach excursions. We're just trying to survive. But I'm finally feeling better, I'm on an antibiotic, and it's looking good. We're trying to figure out little Ryan and his schedule. With my being so sick, Michael and Ryan have become very good friends. Liam and Sean have been very helpful and of course Adam, well ..........

That pretty much tells it all. He is my wonderful little baby who keeps us all entertained and laughing. He walks around the house singing and trying yet again to be five instead of 1. He does a pretty good job.

PS. The bugs are under control. Michael used ortho home defense and we haven't seen a roach in weeks. We continue to use Terro for the sugar ants and we've kept those to a minimum. This is good bc bugs are disgusting and they make me angry and frustrated.

Adam turned 1

Adam's first birthday!
Adam turned 1 on June 25th. We have had him in our family for one whole year. What a fantastic addition he is. Michael calls him the Golden child. He looks a bit different from the other two. His hair color is golden and he doesn't have the dark eyebrows and hair like Liam and Sean.
Adam thinks that he is five. He tries to do everything that Liam and Sean are doing. Here in VA we have a fantastic front yard and sidewalk with no car traffic, (we're used to 17th Ave in Denver) and so Liam has learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels. He's doing a great job and absolutely loves this activity so I'm often on the front porch while the kids ride bikes. Sean also loves to ride his bike and thus Adam would also like to ride a bike. I was telling this all to Michael's mom and so she sent this cute little blue bike in the mail that she had sitting in her garage for Adam to ride. He loves it. Plus it arrived on the day we celebrated Adam's bday so it was a bonus present. Thanks Grandma!

Here is Adam with his party hat. We've never celebrated a bday with only the five of us. Adam's first bday was a good time to do it because he certainly didn't mind. Liam and Sean aren't crazy about cake and ice cream so we bought a snow cone maker at Target. (my favorite store that I go to because it makes me feel like I'm at home) The snow cones were a hit. Adam loved it and we can make these treats every day since it is so hot.

I told Liam and Sean that they were invited to Adam's bday party and they each needed to find a toy, wrap it, and bring it to the party. Adam loved the idea and opened all the FREE presents. It was great. Sean picked some pretty random toys but Adam enjoyed ripping the paper apart.

Liam spent more time on the project and made him a cute card and chose some baby toys that he got when he was one. It was all very cute. Adam's birthday was very fun and we missed all our friends and family who were not able to come. You're all excused since it would have been a 27 hour drive.

Here is Liam with his cape and his hat and his sunglasses ready to ride his two wheeler. His goal was to go fast enough to make the cape fly in the air. He made it happen a few times.

Here is Adam and his Fantastic legs. This is two months of walking on them as well. They used to be even chubbier. What a cute boy.

Here is my Seany cakes. He's always entertaining us. Sean has more facial expressions than the average boy. He makes me laugh a lot.

Here they are, Sean and Liam. They have become even better friends here because there are no other children in their lives right now. We're working on making more friends. So far everyone we've met has had 2 and 3 year olds. Liam is looking for a five year old friend. School will start Sept. 8th so we're looking forward to some friends there and hopefully we'll meet some more in the mean time.

A few other things.

Thanks for the bug suggestions. We finally went and got some Terro which is a liquid poison that actually does get rid of ants. Thanks to Layna Maxwell and others for the suggestion. The sugar ants are going away and I only see one occasionally instead of twenty crawling around the counters at any given time. That was driving me crazy. Michael actually found one in his cereal after he finished in the milk. Yuk.

Now for the really scary story. Michael has been working nights here and so one night this past week I was brushing Sean's teeth and Liam was in his room previewing his books when he ran into the bathroom and told me he saw a giant bug crawl across the room and under the tree part of his bunk bed. I told him to calm down and that I'd be right in. However I knew exactly what this meant. Days previous I had gone into their room and saw the same cockroach and it crawled very fast into their closet and I couldn't find it. I hate cockroaches and they freak me out. Now I knew I needed to stay calm because my reactions would impact the way they felt. So I went into the room and assured Liam the cockroach was gone and not to worry. He was worried and wouldn't come sit on the floor to read books. I crawled under the tree trunk part of their bed where it is dark and moved a toy and sure enough, there it was, gigantic and scary. I stayed calm even though I was scared out of my mind, I told Liam to hand me a yellow sand castle bucket and I put the bucket down very quickly and caught him. He was trying to move his speedy legs under the bucket and I could here the scratching on the hard wood floors. I moved the bucket along the floor out into the open room and found a zip lock bag big enough to put around the bucket so as not to let the roach escape.

Anyway we looked at him after I caught him, he was huge. I told Liam I would just leave him in the trap until Michael got home the next morning. So that was that, Liam was a little nervous going to sleep that night but I told him there were definitely no more cockroaches in the house. Yeah right.

The next morning I looked in the bag and it was gone. Michael had already come home and was sleeping so I assumed he got rid of it. Later that day when he woke up we were all talking and I asked Michael what he did with it and he said he never touched it. Oh man.

Finally I got to talking to Liam and found out that he and Sean had some fun with it that morning while I was still asleep. I asked him if it was dead and he said yes but he said it was split into two. I asked him more about that and got him to tell me that he had gotten a hold of my kitchen scissors and cut the cockroach in half and then took it out to the sidewalk and left it there. I of course then had to go into the chat about going outside while I'm asleep and how that is absolutely not allowed. We went into the stranger danger talk but in the end I told him he was very brave and I was thankful that he got rid of it. I washed the scissors for a long time with soap and hot hot water.

So that is the bug story this week. I hate these cockroaches, some are trying to tell us they are water bugs or Palmetto bugs. Whatever they are I hate them and wish they never existed.

The end.

2nd week in VA

Our second week in VA has been lovely. There is quite a lot to do here so we haven't had too much time to get sad yet. It might feel a little little bit like a vacation so far with the beach aspect. We live only blocks from the beach so we go there often for it is free and fun. Here is my little Adam building sandcastles with Michael.

Adam loves the ocean but he has a hard time walking in the sand. He falls a lot but he just gets right back up and keeps going. This little guy sure loves his brothers. He tries to do everything they are doing. They keep him pretty entertained. Thank goodness for siblings.

Liam can't get enough of the ocean. He loves it out there. Here is Sean doing some of his Kung Fu moves. We love free entertainment. The only danger here is the sun. It is beating down on us and we must apply plenty of sunscreen. So far, no burns on the boys.

Michael keeps calling me a wuss because I'm not jumping into the ocean at every chance I get but I'm trying to convince him that someone has to stay dry to take care of Adam. Maybe that is a lame excuse but once you get wet, the sand really sticks to you. Eventually Adam gets tired and needs to nurse and I'm sure he doesn't want to nurse on a salt water breast.

What a happy, sleeping boy he is. He has taken three or four lovely naps on the beach so far. It is a very soothing place to sleep. I'm still trying to figure out Adam and his hair. It is so different than the other two. I wonder what he'll look like when he is three.

Here is Michael covering the children in sand. Liam was getting a little chilly from swimming in the ocean so he kept laying in the sand because he said it was very warm and it helped to warm up his body so Michael offered a full sand blanket.

Of course Sean wanted in after he saw how cool it was so here are my two little boys all covered with sand. They stayed here for quite awhile.

Our first VA visitor. Emma Lou. She was driving through with her dad and step mom after touring the white house and other D.C. attractions. Adam kept looking at her to see if it was real because he's going through Jen and Emma withdrawals. I've been Gmail chatting with Jen and Adam just loves seeing her but still doesn't understand why he can't touch her.

We all went out for lunch at a place on the fishing pier next to our house. Then she came over to our house and looked around. We wished she could have stayed longer but she had more driving to do. We love her and we're happy she stopped by.

Today Michael took the boys back to the fishing pier and did some fishing. There are a lot of very serious fishermen here who have very expensive equipment and such. Liam showed up and sat down with a cheap rod, threw the line in with Michael's help and immediately said, Papa I think we caught something. He said, no Liam the waves are strong and are pulling on the pole, but sure enough they caught a fish. Here is the proud Liam with his fish. Good job Liam. Michael said he really enjoyed fishing and could do it all day. We'll have to do more fishing.

Here is Sean with his fish. I think Liam caught it but he let Sean think he did. Liam is a good brother and much like his Papa always helps to make other people happy.

Here they are, my little fishermen. They had their sunglasses and poles and their blood worms. Not really my thing so I'll just enjoy the peace and quiet I get when they all go fishing. Today I made some dinner while they were gone. We had our delicious salmon with roasted red pepper sauce. We had black beans and rice and then grilled corn. It was delicious.

Sean walked in the door from fishing and laid down on a stuffed animal and fell right to sleep. I love it when they just crash in the middle of the floor. It makes me laugh a little. Sometimes I wish I could take naps in the middle of the day but too many little people need my attention. We woke him up a little later for dinner.

Liam has been bit by all the mosquitoes that live here. We need to do a better job with the OFF spray. We all seem to have bites all over. I'm still not happy about all the bugs that live here. I've learned that I have what they call sugar ants in my kitchen, which are very hard to get rid of. Then of course the stupid cockroaches that come out in the night. I hate those things. We did some research on them and they really try to scare you and say that they will chew on fingernails and eyelashes. They better stay away from all my people and their eyelashes.

Well there they are reading the evening books. We really are just fine here. I've had one very bad day but that is all. I told my mother in law that I had a bad day and she said, "only one? I've had more than that." I guess I forget that other people are sad too and not just us. We look forward to the visitors that are coming this summer. Michael's parents are coming in July. I think Mary and family are coming sometime and my mom is coming in Aug. It will be exciting to look forward to these dates.

ok, this was the second week. I will keep on posting and I am grateful for the comments. It is great to hear from all my people. I'm hoping to meet a friend at church tomorrow. We'll see.