Today is my 35th birthday. My mom asked how it felt to be half way to 70. Over all the day was uneventful, and calm. Joshua came back home from a visit with Granny, we celebrated james R.’s one year b-day, and the church sent me flowers. Facebook friends sent me tons and tons of “Happy Birthdays”, and Kimberly and my parents told me my gift was “in the mail.” whatever. You don’t have to be 35 to know what that means (just kidding guys). God bless and thank you everybody — I feel loved.

Today was Caleb’s seven year doctor’s appointment. Joshua is staying with his grandmother this week so he got out of it (we rescheduled his appointment for the fall). So Isaac, H-G, Caleb, Kimberly, and I (plus a nurse and doctor Tores) crammed into the little examination room, and we went through the battery of tests and examinations. His eyes, ears, abdomen, etc… were checked and everything is fine. As the doctor examined him Caleb did not stop laughing — he is so ticklish.

The bigger the kids get the smaller that room seems to feel. The exam ends with a shot or shots — which they ask about all throughout the day — “will I get a shot?” We say yes, and try to encourage them, and explain how getting a shot is a good thing (fighting diseases, growing healthier, etc..) but this is no comfort to a seven year old. Caleb was asked to urinate in a cup, which was dropped by mistake in the toilet. So we filled it back up at the end of the exam. As I paid, Kimberly helped in this area.

As an aside, have you seen the Everybody Loves Raymond episode where Ray teaches his brother how to mess things up so that his wife wants to do everything, and the wedding invitations accidentally get sent out — and they are all messed up. Enough said — now back to peeing in a cup.

Hannah-Grace never stopped smiling, she knew that Caleb was getting a shot. I discovered that the way to make her sit down and be quiet was to threaten for her to have to leave the room. She smiled all the way to the van afterwards. Isaac was a hyper handful who realized that his voice sounded different in this tiny cramped room so he kept yelling to hear himself.

screaming, crying, laughing, smiling, tooting (I’m not even going to go there but yes), it’s all apart of a yearly check-up.

So let me know what you think about the video and pictures — and I do remind you that I do love my son.

Every year I like to try out a new piece of technology, or gadget on my vacation. Last year I purchased a “Flip” digital video camera. It was great for taking to the beach and it only cost me $150. I wanted something that I did not have to constantly worry about it getting salwater or sand in it. I really didn’t expect much for the price tag, but I was greatly pleased with the camera. In order for it to work well it has to be close (about 10-12 feet at a max.)to its’ subject and in fairly bright light – so if you can keep these things in mind it will be a great investment. I could have gotten it cheaper had I ordered it online ($10-20) but I needed it for the trip. This year I ordered a waterproof housing for the camera, as something new to try. It cost $30 almost 40% cheaper than it was last year (1st generation flip), and I ordered it online and had it delivered to the beach house (3-5 days). So for under $200 I have a great underwater/waterproof camera that I would highly recommend to all my friends! http://www.amazon.com/Flip-Video-Underwater-Generation-Camcorders/dp/B0012YSSRK

To tell you the truth I was a little nervous taking my crew of six (the youngest is two) and my mother on a kayak adventure in the Port St. Joe bay. But the nervousness subsided when we found out that the water was not very deep (several times throughout the four hour tour we walked in knee deep water). Isaac, the two year old, whined to be in his mother’s boat and once he was there slept for over an hour in her lap. We saw all kinds of sea creatures (snails, horseshoe crab, left handed something,small fish, etc…) and we stopped all along the way to investigate and learn (and rest our arms!). The week had been extremely hot, but today it seemed to cool off, and when we did get hot we just took a dip in the water. The boys (Joshua and Caleb) were on the look out for sunken pirate ships and gold, but alas we didn’t find a single “shiver me timbers” clue. My mom was a trooper and I was amazed that she had the arm power to move her boat all along the bay — even getting away from our group from time to time for her own adventure seeking. We all had fun and I would suggest it to any family as a way to have a nice break from the beach and have the kids discover a neat part of nature.

www.happyourskayak.com