Puppies and Tractors

Last weekend, we took the Hollar crew up to the next town to visit some friends. Steve was in our wedding as the best man; Susan is his wife. They breed Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Since the litter is nearly 8 weeks old and ready to move out, we decided to take the kids to check out the puppies. Mommy and Daddy had never seen a litter of RR puppies before either, so we were excited. We knew a few of their older dogs... and beautiful, well-behaved dogs they are. We all had a blast. Ben is not a big dog-fan, so he usually stayed clear of the dogs especially when they were jumping up a lot. Grace liked them until they began to jump on her too... then she watched them from afar. Tommy loved to run around to encourage the puppies to chase him... then he panicked when they got too close. Reagan was the most adventurous, allowing the puppies to play with her and sit on her lap.Grace, watching from afar, as two puppies play before heading into the crate to sleep.

Caught a good photo of one puppy as he was playing on the doggie step.


Ok, we didn't cage our children... they just loved to play in the puppy pen!

I LOVE Aidan's (the dog) eyes in this photo!

Here, Reagan plays with a puppy.

Mealtime for the pups! See the ridges on the backs?

After some time with the puppies, we went outside to see Steve's cool tractor. Talk about a tractor! Wow! Each kid got to ride around a bit and scoop up mulch and move it. They had a blast. Now Mommy wants to move to 11 acres and get a tractor, too. :-)Grace and Steve on the Tractor.

Ben and Steve on the Tractor.

Reagan and Steve on the Tractor.

Tommy and Steve on the Tractor.

Gang's all Here

Just a photo of all six, in case anyone is interested. I sent to some friends, and my college roommate Moe commented on how nice it was to see the WHOLE family, parents included. So, I thought I'd post it. Most are looking in different directions, which is what happens when 8 people are snapping photos at once... but at least we're all there. This was at the Family Reunion a few weeks back.

Twins again

Didn't think it could happen again, but it did. One day last week I took all four kids to the mall by myself. (Crazy? Maybe.) I'd heard about a mega sale on summer stuff at Children's Place. Despite placing three online orders in the last month (for super great sales!), I still wanted to see what could be found in person. We found a handful of good deals... I was pleased. Reagan and Gracelynn will be set next summer. We also found a neat lunchbox for Gracelynn. I had already ordered her a pink and leopard spots nap mat from eBay... this lunchbox matched it. OCD me loved the fact that they matched. So, as we walked around the store, Grace carried it with her. We checked out. The lady behind the counter (who obviously couldn't see the kids) saw the double stroller and said, "Oh, are they twins?" What, do people just assume twins with a double stroller? How many moms of two or more have used double strollers? Again, I said no and probably embarrassed the poor lady when she saw who the kids were.

After paying, we started walking to the other side of the mall to Old Navy (and more sales) when Tommy asked for his new hat. As I was rifling through the bag, it dawned on me that we never checked out with the new lunchbox. I figured Gracelynn had dropped it in the store so I was about to just not worry about it and go back another time. But as I was looking in the bag, I mentioned that we never got the lunchbox. Reagan said, "Oh... it's in here..." and then proceeded to pull it out of the back of the stroller, where Grace hid it. Ok... teachable moment... moral lesson time.

We all marched back down the mall aisle and down the elevator and back into Children's Place to pay for the lunchbox. The lady was sweet and thanked me for returning. (How could I NOT return with four kids watching?)

Surprisingly, I remained calm and never lost my patience, even after shopping at a few more stores (and finding $5 sweaters at Old Navy!!) Four kids and me at the mall. Wow. I can really do this "mom of four kids" thing!!!

Quilt Book... almost done

Well, one of my summer things-to-do is nearly complete. The quilt book. I decided not to be perfect and cutesy... I never would've finished it if I had tried too hard. Instead, I just made sure everything made it in the book. I used an Asian-silk look scrapbook pack. Here are a few photos. If you do not see your fabric and/or writing, I'm not quite finished....

I'm hoping to include some photos and names of the ladies that took on this project. We are forever grateful to them!

Gracelynn, meet your family!!!

The Fourth of July this year was more than just a parade and fireworks. We missed the parade this year (hope to catch it next year!!), but we went to Mike's grandmother's family's reunion. So Grace didn't only meet her Great-grandmother, but she met Mamaw's nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, sister-in-law, and great-great-nieces-and-nephews. :-) She did remarkably well... as she always astounds us... and within 2 hours, she was playing as if she were one of the gang. She'd run around the house and backyard without us, even climbing the fence to try to get into a neighbor's playground! We all had a great time seeing people we usually only see once a year. We bought her a special tee shirt to surprise all those Southern family members. Don't you just love it! Here are a few photos of her with "new" relatives...

Gracelynn and Miss Anita (Gran's first cousin).Gracelynn and Uncle Bob (Gran's brother).

We got home with about an hour to spare before fireworks. We must be some of the luckiest people around. We walk up the street about 3 houses to the corner. From that location, we can view the town's fireworks set off from the park. We can also see about 5 or 6 individual displays from neighbors putting them off around us. How awesome! Gracelynn did great. She loved the views... the noises were another story. We figure she has issues with sounds due to her limited exposure in her first three years of life. Even telephone ringing makes her cringe and plug her ears with her fingers. The fireworks were no exception. No tears, no screaming... just plugged ears.

Where a Kid Can Be a Kid

Well, today we had a busy day full of "firsts" for Gracelynn. This morning I surprised the kids half-an-hour before the local pool opened to say we were going. We haven't been to the outdoor pool in a year, so they were excited. Gracelynn even enjoyed herself. It was her first pool experience (to our knowledge). She was hesitant at first (cold water), but then she got used to it and loved it. She stuck to the baby pool area most of the time, but eventually got brave. In fact, a little too brave as she turned around and jumped into 2.5' deep water (while I was about 10 feet away in the shallower end of the pool). She panicked and floundered a bit, but I got to her in time for her to not have really swallowed any water. In fact, she got over it quickly and motioned for me to put her down so that she could run back into the water. So... guess we need to get her into lessons soon!After the pool, we came home and showered and napped (Grace and Tommy). Then after awhile (and lots of asking "When are we going?"), we headed to Chuck E Cheese's to meet Daddy and some friends. It was Grace's first visit to Chuck E Cheese's, and I think it's a new favorite place. She loved bopping from ride to ride... forget the tickets thing. Her favorite was the ice-cream truck ride (see below). She must have ridden it a dozen times and didn't want to give it up even when the tokens ran out and another child wanted on.

Somehow we even managed to get a group shot of all six kids at the end of the visit. Not everyone is looking, but what do you expect?