Ouch!

During OTG Boy's last Water Polo match - Junior thought he'd try running away.

Now he's had his first lesson on why they have all of those "no running" signs at the pool.

He bit his tongue, cut his lip & scraped his chin!

Oh little boys... I Love 'em!

Home Away From Home

OTG Boy has spent a lot of time at the pool this summer.

He has swim team practice every morning.

Then for two weeks he went back for another hour each day and was able to earn his first two Merit Badges

Swimming

&

Life Saving!

Then back again in the evening for Water Polo...

his team took 3rd Place!

You've been working hard this summer!

Great Job!

Under the Sea

We just took a trip to the new

Arizona SeaLife Aquarium

it's just 12 miles down the road in Tempe!

When we got there Junior was asleep - tried as hard as I could but he just wouldn't wake up...

poor guy :)

The boys had a lot of fun, the aquarium has questions for the kids to answer throughout the aquarium and they also had a hands on section where you could touch starfish, shrimp and a few other little creatures.

When Junior woke up he didn't know what to think - there were fish everywhere he looked!

They also had these fun bubbles in several of the tanks - next best thing to scuba diving.

The fish and corals were beautiful.

Of course, Bubba loved the the Tylosaurous skeleton with the sharks swimming all around... if you didn't know he is VERY in to skeletons and sharks!

The boys had a great time!

And here's a tip for anyone wanting to go (which I discovered by accident) -

buy your tickets online!

I just happened to buy mine online, because I was able to get a discount - when we arrived at the aquarium the ticket line wait was about 45-60 minutes, but because I had pre-purchased my tickets we got to go through prepaid ticket line - which had no one in it and we got to walk right in... very nice!!!

"We Have a Dog!?!"

A week ago I had a really nasty stomach flu... I mean yuck... I felt like I was on the verge of passing out most of the day. Then the next morning Handsome Hubby took OTG Boy to his 8am Water Polo Game. As I'm waking up I hear The Professor yelling at the top of his lungs,

"We Have a Dog!!!"

I come out of my room to see what's going on, because I'm pretty sure we don't have a dog... I know I was pretty out of it, but I'm thinking Handsome Hubby would've let me know if he was bringing home a dog.

Well sure enough, I look out the window and...

we have a dog?

Now, I'm not very brave when it comes to larger dogs I don't know - especially when they have a resemblance to the pit bull family. But, I poked my head out and all of our gates were locked and closed.

I called Handsome Hubby, "Did you know there's a dog in our backyard?" "No? What do I do?"

So, I put a bowl of water outside the door (it was already 100 degrees) and decided to wait for Handsome Hubby to get home.

45 minutes later the dog was gone.

The boys are sad - they really want to be dog owners.

But, I have to say, huge sigh of relief for me - I'm not quite ready for the dog commitment...

yet :)

Question of the Day

Whenever I go shopping with all my boys the inevitable question of the day from any, and every, cashier..., "Wow, four boys. You gonna keep trying for that girl?"

When I was the mom of only two boys - I would laugh and chuckle at that question. After three boys I got really tired of that question... then I got bitter about that question... and then the tables turned...

Now when they say, "Wow, four boys. You gonna try for that girl?" One of my boys will pipe up and say, "we actually have five boys, but our other brother died when he was a baby." How's that for awkward silence in the checkout line?

But, it does give me the opportunity to think about and share with others how much I love being the mother of a flock of boys! Sure a girl, or two would've been fun, but having my boys has been quite the adventure. Instead of the Little House and Nancy Drew books I grew up reading - they've exposed me to Percy Jackson and Artemis Fowl, they think I'm cool because I'm not afraid of a little soccer scrimmage in the backyard and my boys keep me hopping - they all have different interests and that keeps me busy learning new things, too.

As for our "Other Brother", I miss him.

I love all my boys!

I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a mother.