My itty ballerina

I know, she is the cutest ballerina in the world. Her receital was ADORABLE. She was center stage and did a fantastic job (if I do say so myself). She was also the smallest one on stage all evening. So cute. I love my itty red head. 

A little sugar....
She kept checking her feet to make sure they were in the proper position...ahh!

After the receital we enjoyed some frozen yogurt (in her tutu of course). 

Mom and Aunt Ky and MyMy.
Landry was so proud. Side note: Check out Rinn's eye (hehe) she does this often for pictures (apparently she thinks it's cute). 
Receiving gifts from Aunt Ang and her Prima Ballerina Cousin, KK. 
So, remember how I was worried about Rinn's middle child syndrome....umm....welp, I am pretty sure she knows she is well loved (seriously). 

Lil' Ballerinas

We had a weekend of receitals! Congrats to Campbell, Landry, and KK....so graceful and beautiful little sugar bears. Love you!

My baby sis...

Yep....I know, hard to believe....she is my sister (skinny-ness, blonde hair and all! and no, I did not do any photoshop or airbrushing!!!!)

I was so happy to be able to hang out with she and her hubby-to-be Aaron and the sweetest little sugar bear in the world, Carson (Aaron's son). Although I am not taking tons of pics now-a-days (post Jude) I really do LOVE to do pics for my loved ones. It gives us a chance to hang out and have a fun time. 

Kels is going to be getting married in March and I seriously cannot believe it!!! It just sounds crazy that she is grown up so much. I cannot wait to be a part of her special day. 

Side Note: Aaron was having the time of his life, I could hardly get him to stop wanting to take pictures....I thought we were going to be there FOREVER with this guy and all his posing ideas :)

Grump

Hand+Foot+Mouth=GRUMPY

So, this virus called "hand, foot, and mouth" (otherwise known as the coxsackievirus) really, really stinks. Apparently this is what Jude had over the last 5 days. It was MISERABLE for him and for all of us. I know that Creed had this when he was little but it wasn't difficult at all and he got over it quickly. Not Ju Ju. He had a high fever (103), wouldn't eat, drink, or sleep, cried for 3 days, was miserable, and had ulcers all in his mouth, cheeks, and lips.

It was AWFUL. Our pediatrician saw him on Wednesday and at that time all he had was a fever, some vague "virus" , and an ear infection (no mouth ulcers, no extreme irritability, etc). By Friday (our Dr. was out of town), I was at the am/pm clinic BALLING my eyes out to this Dr. whom I don't even know BEGGING for help. 

My other two children have NEVER acted this sick...ever. He was dehydrating, and hadn't slept for 3 days. So, after I gathered myself, all I was explaining to the unknown doctor that I promise "I normally have it together." He was quite sympathetic and told me Jude was going to be okay (despite the fact that he had been SCREAMING his head off in the office for a full hour and a half) and that he was going to make it. I just felt like he was wasting away (he had not eaten a bite of food for three days). 

Fast forward three and a half days and we are feeling much better (thanks to a few meds to help with the pain) and I think we are on the mend. 

Through this I am praising God that something as simple as a virus is the hardest thing my children have ever been through physically. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with healthy children. Be with those who have so much more severe illnesses.

Sickos

What Creed looks like sick.....What Jude looks like sick....
Still cute, I know. Creed has to pretty much have a 105 fever or higher to stop him. Juju, however, is a fuss guss. Creed did think he was dying of the swine flu yesterday because he ate bacon :). His neck was apparently hurting like nuts, but has miraculously gotten better. (It may have something to do with the distraction of a Wizard of Oz show that he and his sister are working on. 

We took Creed to the doc and he just has a virus, JuJu we are waiting it out to see if he just has what bubub has. Poor guy, he is grumpy. 

Out in the wild

Despite a rough start, we had so much fun on our camping trip. I have to tell you a little bit about the rough start......To prepare for the trip I took our van to a quick oil change place in our area (won't be going there again....read to the end). The guy recommended a radiator flush and said I really needed it, even though I was hesitant. I agreed reluctantly. Fast forward an hour and a half. The guy comes in and calls me out of the waiting room to a private area. He asks me if I was having any trouble with my van before bringing it in, I said "nope, it was running perfectly." He whisked away saying something about the battery maybe. Fast forward another hour.....He comes back and says they don't think it is my battery because it won't jump. I would need to leave it overnight. We are leaving for the camping trip EARLY the next morning. Fast forward a few days (we worked out details of getting to camping after a lot of work), the company towed it to a mechanic and the mechanic told us that the fast lube place ran our van WITHOUT ANY OIL AT ALL!!! Our engine is "ka-poot." Stink. They are replacing our engine, at least they are being nice about ruining our van. 

Okay, on the fun parts......Camping.


It can't be camping without s'mores....
Look at this HUGE bass I caught. I mean, the picture only makes it look small, it was like 14-15 inches (in fishermans term). 
Creed actually did get a big bass (in fishermans terms again) and here he is enjoying it fried up by bapa. 
Water was a little chilly
How come every photo I am in seems to be one like this where I take it of myself? I also love camping (other than s'mores) because you don't wear makeup, you don't care what you wear, and you don't bathe (nice, I know). 

Bapa and the big kids.... Rinn told bapa "Bapa, you are the smartest person in the world....well, besides God." :)
Rinn being a butterfly on the butterfly exhibit. 
Creed is shouting down the chimney in the tower. Bapa, Rinn, and Jude could actually hear him down at the bottom of the tower through the chimney. We aren't really sure if they could hear him because of the chimney or if it was due to Creed's amazing ability to project (which we all have learned to love, of course.)
Of course, Rinn found an animal to love on. 

Presenting: The stars of the show

A few weeks back (bad blogger) Creed starred as Avery in Charlotte's Web and Rinn made a cameo as the baby spider that says "Salutations!" It was an AMAZING show all due to the fact that it was filled with incredible kids (who I love like they are my own!) and an hugely talented director, Mrs. Marcelle (who happens to be one of my best buddies.)

The cast photo....

It appears as though Creed is about to curse. However this line is where he says "I bet the judges are FFFFFat." Just so you know, Creed is all serious when it comes to theatre performance. No joking around with this kid, he treats his acting as a serious profession. 



You should have seen how well Rinn memorized her cute little lines and oh, the projection of that girl during rehearsals.....

Apparently, a frog got in her throat the night of the performance when she whispered her lines "Salutations," it has to be (unbiasedly) the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. She told me after the show "mommy, I don't know why you couldn't hear my voice, I think I just needed to cough." I could eat that little baby spider for dessert she is such a sugar!


The bows, one of the best parts. 

and, of course, the adoring fans....
Avery and his sister Fern
Our buddy "Tamen" came a long way just to cheer her buddies on.....love her heart (and her mommy too!)
The biggest fan of all, baby bub bub. He even insisted that he wear a Charlotte's Web shirt that said "Creed and Rinn's Lil' bub bub" so everyone could know who he was there to support.