It's PARTY TIME~

Kurtis had his Grad/ BootCamp party on Sunday. There was much food and games. We had about 50ish people through out the day and STILL had tons of food leftover. It rained, but thankfuly Randy and the boys had set up tents and picnic tables. 97% of the pictures that I took did not come out due to the lack of light.  But really I should be used to it by now. It was rained 18 of the last 21 days. DID YOU HEAR THAT? Go back and reread.. 18 DAYS! I'm working on brighting them so you can see ACTUAL people.

Nick and Kurtis on the trampoline.. During the ONE TIME the sun came out to visit.

Small Hurricane on only my block.

Small Hurricane on only my block. , originally uploaded by Michelle.Dan.

Our on mini-hurricane complete with power loss was on the menu this evening.

I had been editing and creating before we had to shut down and it's too late tonight to finish.

Tomorrow I will post pictures and have much to say.

I promise

Kurtis goes to Boot Camp/Graduation Party!

Kurtis was accepted in the Naval Nuke Program.

He graduated last week from High School and leaves in 2 weeks for Boot Camp.

We had a graduation/going to Boot Camp party today.

We are exhausted, the kids are filthy, but I we had a great time.

I'll be sure to post one of 200 pictures tomorrow.

Congradulations Kurt. We just WOVE you.

This time last year..

The bestest kids in the whole world., originally uploaded by Michelle.Dan.

I love to look back.

To gauge how much the kids have grown, how we have all changed.

It's my favorite pastime.

They look so tiny in this picture. They are big kids now.

Covered in bug bites and bruises, they are not my babies anymore.

They go outside by themselves, they ride bikes (with training wheels), they don't need me to use the remote or get a drink of water.

I can't imagine what they will look like next year.

The Mundane yet oddly Peaceful

Today was a great day, a little boring for the average person, but to me it was nice. 

A day when both Dan and I here.

We went to the Pre-School Fun Day at the park.

We went shopping for clothes, rugs and groceries.

Had some down time where I THINK Aiden took a nap and I got some work done. 

Went out for ice cream with Danielle and Casey. Randy and Kurits got there at the last minute.

Came home, cleaned kids, picked up Coley from party, put kids to bed.

The End.

The Sun: Friend or Foe

Seriously?

I'm very disappointed with the sun today.

We got up early, packed, drove the 1 hour to the coast, woke up Lisa and her family, and then watched as the sun went behind a beautiful puffy cloud, TO NEVER BE SEEN Again.

Freaking Sun.

I love to hate you.

Being the "fish belly white" skin color my whole life, I have developed a healthy respect for you over the years. 

My days of basking in your light only to turn RED then peel, then WHITE again are OVER. 

The freckles that appeared all over my legs are not cute little "sun kisses".

They are actually SCARS from when I was burned so bad I couldn't walk for 2 weeks.

I'm smarter now! I wear sunscreen, I wear a HAT ( even tho I look like a LOSER).

I know the dangers, I RESPECT the danger of too much sun.

I understand that you can have too much of a good thing.

But seriously? 15 days of cloudy?

After we have been locked in this house all winter? I survived the 495 snow storms in a row, my kids have gone to school thru ALL of June, and the threat of flooding will soon be here.

I'm done. I want some sun.

No, I DEMAND SOME Freaking SUN.

Sunshine.. On a Cloudy Day..

Tomorrow we are headed to the beach.

The Atlantic Ocean which I'm sure is a balmy 45 Degrees will welcome us with OPEN ARMS.

We will brave the traffic, the hot sand and men is SPEEDO's in order to take advantage of the ONE nice day we have been promised. ONE out of the last 40 days.

Thunder Showers are predicted for the evening, but I'm ok with that.

We will be home by then all tired and worn out by waves and the sun.

Just give us tomorrow from the hours of 9:00AM to 4:00PM to enjoy a little Vitamin D.

School has ended. All schedules are clear.

I just need the weather to catch up..

She is no longer in Kindergarten.

emily, originally uploaded by Michelle.Dan.

Emily may be referred to from this time forth as a FIRST GRADER.

She gets so excited, to be a first grader . It's like REALLY making it to the BIG TIME.

She is a geek. We love her but she is my little geek. She loves the 8 boxes of office supplies Danielle gave her. She uses folders, markers and glue sticks like they are part of her wardrobe. She hides markers and word search books in her bed, in case she can't sleep..

I love this picture. Her eyes jump out and catch the color of her shirt. I added some light, but the color is all her. She cut her hair across the top a few months ago, it looks adorable the way it's growing in.

She is the light that makes us all laugh, because she is so serious.

The Grad Dance. .

Cole, originally uploaded by Michelle.Dan.

8th Grade "PROMOTION" it's called by the teachers.

After the ceremony there is a small dinner and then the DANCE. The girls dress up in formal gowns and the boys pretend they care.

It rained all day which forced the the ceremony indoors at the high school. The lighting was awful and everyone's camera had a hard time adjusting. I got a few pictures of Nicole from REALLY far away. I missed most of Christopher. There was a heart stopping moment when Nicole almost fell off the stage, ( BUT SHE DIDN'T). We snapped a few pictures at home, but had more lighting issues. I'm going to have to try and brighten them.

They are all still at the dance.

I'm sure there will be MUCH drama for me to write about tomorrow and I'm also sure that 2 minutes into the DANCE, they all took off their shoes and hopefully let their hair down.

Daddy Day

Nicole was two years old when Dan "came in the picture" as they say.

He was a football player right out of college and absolutely no experience with children.

Every Tuesday for 6 months he would pick her up from school and because he did not know what to do, he took her to Chuck E. Cheese. For 6 months while I took night classes, they played Ski-Ball.

He would let her ride on his shoulders making them about 7 feet tall, and he was always careful he didn't decapitate her with an EXIT sign.

Us three were a family and they had no problem ganging up on me if they wanted something.

It was the best feeling in world to know that I could trust him with my child. To know she was safe and that he would do his best to guide her. 

He may not make decisions like "I" would, but I respected them as "his" decisions, because he truly meant well.

Then we decided to make these small creatures:

To them and to all of us he is THE DADDY:

Daddy is the hero in every story, the one who will right every wrong, who can slay any villain, who will play catch with you for 2 hours and then let you play fight with him, because Mommy won't.  He is the reason that everything works, because if not HE WILL FIX IT. He's a giant so that makes him the strongest person on the planet and nobody ever has to be afraid.

Daddy will try not to fall asleep reading PRINCESSESS book over and over.. He will tell you how smart you are and TEASE you every day about how smart you are. (it's because he's so proud, don't let him fool you). He loves the park and watching his kids make friends and learn the monkey bars.

He will listen and follow along to all the 8th grade gossip and days later ask for an update. He will call you at random times and ask what your doing (even tho he totally knows you are hanging with your boyfriend).

My Sweetie,

You are so good for our children it's like they have an advantage from the start. A leg up on life because they were lucky enough to have you in their lives. You keep our family in balance, you are quiet and I'm loud. You take your time while I may make snap decisions. I'm so happy we get to do this together.

Happy Daddy's Day to the best Daddy in the whole world.