Family rules
I have to admit, I was a little unsure of how it would go with Laura and the kids visiting from Ohio but it's been a lot of fun.. and this is only day 2. On Monday they are taking off for Burning Man.
Yesterday, I saw the kids for the first time in nearly 3 years. We have Emily (18), Alan (16), Andrew (14) and Ian (soon to be 12).
Emily is the rebellious kid. She took off from home about 6 months back and went to Savannah with some friends of hers and was doing who knows what and finally came home when her friends decided they wanted to 'jump' trains and travel. Luckily, her brain kicked in and she called home for a plane ticket. However, we were SHOCKED to find out that she had been DUMPSTER DIVING and was telling her mom about all the "GREAT STUFF" you can find for ... free. Ugh. It's embarrassing for me to even write it out let alone think of purposefully DOING IT.
Alan is the good kid. He makes nearly all straight A's, never complains about anything and is basically a momma's boy. Laura said he reminds her a lot of Ben and I have to say she's right. He has a lot of his qualities. It was SOOOOOO weird when he opened his mouth and his voice was manly LOL
Andrew was always the scaredy cat. He was a super cute kid and I must admit that now he's the ugly one LOL He's really quiet and doesn't have much to say but sure doesn't mind making disappointed sounds when you walk in front of his view of a hot girl hahaha
Ian is the baby. He's always been really adventurous and talkative and that has NOT changed. He wears glasses now and eats everything off of his plate, which he never used to do. It's totally true that growing boys eat more than anyone. I saw it myself!
We all went to Caesar's Palace and the Stratosphere yesterday and Ian rode with us in the car while Laura and the others followed. Here are some fun lines from the trip:
"Yeah, that game is really really fun but you have to start from scrap." (start from scratch)
Everytime we would explain something he would say, "That makes sense." Even when it was in the wrong context.
And then of course he was telling complete strangers exactly how he screamed on the ride atop the Stratosphere. He's hilarious.
I know it might now seem funny but you have to know the kid to enjoy it.
I wasn't sure how they would all take to the baby but she smiles at them and they play with her. It's very cool that she gets to spend time with all of her cousins... probably won't get that chance with them together ever again.
Today, Ben and the group are out at Red Rock Canyon in 106 degree heat driving the scenic drive and stopping at a few of the trails. I stayed home with Bailey because I think yesterday's heat was way too much for her - we stayed inside the casinos but the trip in and out of the packed parking lots was hot hot hot. She didn't feel well and threw up nearly every feeding while we were out and the one once we got home. She's doing a lot better today and getting her beauty sleep.
Tonight we are grilling steaks for the kids and talapia for Laura since she's a newly found vegan.
The kids were telling me yesterday how much they hate Thanksgiving now that I don't cook it every year so we decided to do Thanksgiving in August and I am cooking it tomorrow. Couldn't find a turkey that wasn't worth a fortune so I am roasting chickens and making all the fixin's:
Chicken
Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Baked Beans
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
Rolls
Salad
Chipped Beef and Cream Cheese spread
And... I made an Oreo Ice Cream cake
Maybe we will have some PS3 and Wii bowling tournaments while we are chilling out tomorrow. It should be fun!
Yesterday, I saw the kids for the first time in nearly 3 years. We have Emily (18), Alan (16), Andrew (14) and Ian (soon to be 12).
Emily is the rebellious kid. She took off from home about 6 months back and went to Savannah with some friends of hers and was doing who knows what and finally came home when her friends decided they wanted to 'jump' trains and travel. Luckily, her brain kicked in and she called home for a plane ticket. However, we were SHOCKED to find out that she had been DUMPSTER DIVING and was telling her mom about all the "GREAT STUFF" you can find for ... free. Ugh. It's embarrassing for me to even write it out let alone think of purposefully DOING IT.
Alan is the good kid. He makes nearly all straight A's, never complains about anything and is basically a momma's boy. Laura said he reminds her a lot of Ben and I have to say she's right. He has a lot of his qualities. It was SOOOOOO weird when he opened his mouth and his voice was manly LOL
Andrew was always the scaredy cat. He was a super cute kid and I must admit that now he's the ugly one LOL He's really quiet and doesn't have much to say but sure doesn't mind making disappointed sounds when you walk in front of his view of a hot girl hahaha
Ian is the baby. He's always been really adventurous and talkative and that has NOT changed. He wears glasses now and eats everything off of his plate, which he never used to do. It's totally true that growing boys eat more than anyone. I saw it myself!
We all went to Caesar's Palace and the Stratosphere yesterday and Ian rode with us in the car while Laura and the others followed. Here are some fun lines from the trip:
"Yeah, that game is really really fun but you have to start from scrap." (start from scratch)
Everytime we would explain something he would say, "That makes sense." Even when it was in the wrong context.
And then of course he was telling complete strangers exactly how he screamed on the ride atop the Stratosphere. He's hilarious.
I know it might now seem funny but you have to know the kid to enjoy it.
I wasn't sure how they would all take to the baby but she smiles at them and they play with her. It's very cool that she gets to spend time with all of her cousins... probably won't get that chance with them together ever again.
Today, Ben and the group are out at Red Rock Canyon in 106 degree heat driving the scenic drive and stopping at a few of the trails. I stayed home with Bailey because I think yesterday's heat was way too much for her - we stayed inside the casinos but the trip in and out of the packed parking lots was hot hot hot. She didn't feel well and threw up nearly every feeding while we were out and the one once we got home. She's doing a lot better today and getting her beauty sleep.
Tonight we are grilling steaks for the kids and talapia for Laura since she's a newly found vegan.
The kids were telling me yesterday how much they hate Thanksgiving now that I don't cook it every year so we decided to do Thanksgiving in August and I am cooking it tomorrow. Couldn't find a turkey that wasn't worth a fortune so I am roasting chickens and making all the fixin's:
Chicken
Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy
Baked Beans
Green Bean Casserole
Sweet Potatoes
Rolls
Salad
Chipped Beef and Cream Cheese spread
And... I made an Oreo Ice Cream cake
Maybe we will have some PS3 and Wii bowling tournaments while we are chilling out tomorrow. It should be fun!