Virginia Beach

The Friday of Memorial Day weekend around 3:30pm, I ask Josh if he wants to go to Cedar Point the next day, "it's free." I say (for military). He says "do you have anything going on this weekend??"

Nope, nada, nothing planned.... this NEVER happens for us, one of us has something planned ALL THE TIME. He says "let's go to the beach", hmmmmm...."OK..."

We get on the horn, start calling hotels for the next night, we finally find something on the ocean and start packing. We drove until it got to late, stayed in a hotel and started out the next day. Traffic was AWFUL! everyone and their brother had the same idea I think! But we wrestled through and finally got to the beach, it was magical (as it always is). I love the ocean, the sand, the waves all of it!

Here's a view of the hotel to the right and down the beach -


The boys had NEVER BEEN to the ocean, had NEVER knocked over by the waves, had NEVER tasted that salt water, had NEVER built real, honest-to-goodness sandcastles, had NEVER seen a sun rise on the ocean or seen dolphins in the water but that weekend we rectified all of that! We played for hours that first day and then went to an ALL YOU CAN EAT seafood buffet. It was mediocre, but that didn't even matter because we walked the beach after in the dark, and then walked the board walk.


The next day we did it all over again.... and the last morning we were up at 5:45 like everyother day, but this day we actually didn't go in for a while after the sun set, we stayed out in the ocean and played and played.


There was sand EVERYWHERE! and the kids were THROUGHLY BURNT! and the trip ride home was very, very LONG!! But it was worth every second, every moment to take them to Virginia Beach

Pinning

Well after many, many, many years, I finished Nursing school. It was a long, long, long road one that if I'd known from the beginning how hard it would be I wouldn't have taken it, but totally worth it!

The pinning ceremony was a really neat experience, it was more like a "mini" graduation with just the CSCC nursing department and family and friends. There were talks from the head of the department and the student presidency and then there was the actual "pinning" of the RN pin onto all the students and then the lighting of the ceremonial Florence Nightingale lamp.

Josh and the boys along with Leah (my mother in law) and Helen (my grandmother in law) were there. It was special to have them in the circle of all the nurses when we passed the Nightingale lamp. (both Leah and Helen are nurses). The boys were generally well behaved but to head off any nuisance I packed IPODs, Itouch, and Ipad and DSI and snacks!

Along with the family, I had 2 good friends come. It was wonderful to have Megan and Crystal there!

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Preschool Graduation

Collin graduated preschool today, it was adorable to see him all dressed up in his cap and gown, and looking like such a big boy. He sang songs and got a "diploma" and then we had a luncheon outside in the picnic area. Next year I'll be sending him to a different school but he has so enjoyed his time and I've enjoyed seeing his personality shining all by himself without the assistance of his older brothers. He really is so funny and happy all the time!

Changes

Times they are a changing, as much as I'd like to freeze my kids in the ages they are now, what with the snugging into bed and kisses given freely at any given moment, I realize that life is happening even if I don't want it too. The boys are getting bigger and bigger and more mature each day.

For example, last week I get into the car and here the end part of something not meant for my ears, Clay was teaching Cregan how to spell "fun" - Yes---- F.... U.... n - he was teaching him how to mini cuss ----!!!! You can imagine my horror at this and here's another example

Tonight, Cregan is on his big boy couch pitch team, this is the real league, everyone is on the field, in "ready position" which means hands on knees looking at the batter, nope not Cregan, he's kicking the dirt and picking his nose!

Yep, the joys of children growing up.... then there's Collin who really, really believes there is a Mario world and if we would just look at the yellow pages we could find it, I am apparanetly incompetent as a mother because I don't know how to get him there!!

Cinco de Mayo

Cregan had a Cinco de Mayo party at school and had to give a presentation, well the whole class had to and Mrs. Dapoz told them to give them "with expression". That is NO problem for Cregan, he gave an outstanding and expressive presentation on the volcano in Mexico. Here is a copy of his talk

Paricutin Volcano

by Cregan Hughes

There was a farmer and his son working in the corn field.

When the farmer was almost done, the plow went into the earth.

The earth cracked.

The farmer and his son ran away.

A volcano was born. Lava and ash shot out of the volcano.

They call it "The Monster".

This happened in 1943.

Health fair

We are at the VERY END of a long journey in our family. I'm just about done with school!! My final is done and I just finished my 2 healthfairs, and all I have left now is the pinning ceremony next week. Well actually I have to pass the state boards, that's kina a HUGE deal, but as far as Columbus State Community College goes it's over!!

The health fair was really nice, we had the first one at the college and it was nice and all but the one the next day was even better. We did the Health Fair in downtown and it was not the nice side of downtown if you get my drift. We were in a church that holds a free store, where people can come in and "shop" for clothes for free. As I looked around at the different people coming in, it really hit me these people need to see this health fair stuff more than anyone else. As I see a mother with 2 kids walk by and take some pamplets for Domestic Violence, or see an elderly man get screened for diabetes it makes it worthwhile! Also we got to go help with the free store and that was amazing! I will definetly be back and want to bring the boys and let them see how fortunate we are.

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school and the kids and I have a mini tradition that we go to Tim Horton's and I get them all "sugared up" before school. I like to think of it as a fun last present to give the teachers before finishing out the school year. Something to really help them appreciate the summer that much more... I'm just a giver you know...

After Tim Horton's, I drop them off and plan for when they get home. I made a big banner this year (which I should have made a picture of before the boys came home because it was ruined pretty quickly after that, and I attacked them with water balloons! It was so fun!! and now I have officially a 4th graders, 2nd grader and a Pre-Ker...

Camping Out?

Cregan asked Josh if he could sleep on the trampoline a few weeks ago, It was a night on the colder side and a Saturday night, so I wasn't super thrilled about the idea. Josh forever was like "sure let's get ready", they got double PJ's on, double blankets and ofcourse the laptop to watch movies...
Clay and Collin went to and Collin almost made it through the whole night, but came in around 5:30. As for me and Laynie (the other female in this house, even though she's a dog) slept soundly in a quiet home, not too soundly though. I seriously had a hard time falling a sleep not having all my munchins in their own beds...

Clay had a special "ball" at school the other day, he was the narrator in a play and then there was a dance afterward for the whole 3rd grade. No one said so but the boys took it upon themselves to ask girls to the dance, Clay didn't ask anyone, but one of Clay's friends asked a girl for Clay, she said yes, but the next day said she couldn't go with him because she was going with someone else, I was secretly worried for Clay, was he sad, embarrassed, hurt that this girl had backed out? I asked him if he was OK, and he replied, "oh yeah, I asked Mrs Tucker and she's going to be my date... so ofcourse I had to get a picture of Clay and his "date"!!

Friendship

We went to the park the other day with Sophie and Jack and my cousin Zeek, and on the way we picked Andrew from down the street and when we got there we found our other neighbors there with there son Ben. What a fun afternoon it turned out to be all these boys playing together, I just had to capture the moment, it goes so fast!