Football Memories

Sean is thinking about canceling our trip to Nashville because that is the weekend we play Boston College.  He thinks it is a bad sign because last time we went to Nashville together, Notre Dame was on a winning streak and then lost that weekend and Sean detailed out the whole weekend to me, including how he had to hide his rage watching the horrible game.  He practically raged at me when I asked who beat us that year.  How could I not remember?!  Well, I remember when Boston College ruined our winning streak back in 1993, doesn't that count for something??  I'm sorry, in 2002 we were adjusting to life with Megan, moving to San Antonio, starting residency, etc etc.  Kind of had a few other things on my mind.  And when we were visiting the Finnegans, Carrie was pregnant with their first child.  I bet the women were not even watching the game, duh.

Ah, but 1993, who could forget watching them light up the #1 on the top of Grace Hall (err, or was it Flanner? Sean is shaking his head in disgust at my lack of attention to detail) after we beat Florida State and held the top spot for one precious week.  I know I will never forget that because my friends and I were standing about five feet from the hottest football player on campus and we snuck some photos.  Oh, I should find it and scan in!

(Sidenote: the highlight of going to the Rudy premiere that fall (thanks to my awesome and very sweet roommate who won front row seats and took me with her) was not seeing the "celebrities" walk across the stage before it, but was running into the same hottest football player on campus there.  Again, we snuck photos.  Anyone noticing a trend to my interest in football and memories in general?)

And perhaps this is why I don't recall specific win-loss records for any years or really any games in particular.  I just have an overall feeling that we've lost a LOT of games at the last minute in various heartbreaking ways in the past 19 years.  I do recall details to that Boston College game in 1993 when Notre Dame choked and gave up that #1 ranking.  I remember everyone in the stands holding hands and yelling, but I also remember that there was a squirrel on the field.  I bet Sean forgot that part!  In the end, we were just cheering for the squirrel, there was no hope left...  Has the hope returned this year?  Will we survive the Boston College game in two weeks?  I don't know, history suggests that we go to Nashville anyway so I can be distracted by our friends and won't have to deal with Sean's rage because he will be polite and hide it.  We're driving, I will bring plenty of cider and wine, so please don't uninvite us, Krauts and Stouts!

Smart buy

I finally made it to Lawrence to meet up with my friend Carrie who moved there and who is missing the seven minute rule of Manhattan (which is: nothing is farther than seven minutes away in Manhattan).  Okay and now this reminds me of how Manhattan Heather is always having to clarify on facebook to her friends that she is  in the Kansas Manhattan and it makes me laugh.  With Frankenstorm coming I am beyond thrilled to be in this Manhattan.  Wow, I've gotten a bit off topic already.  Was there a topic?  Yes, going to see Carrie's new house and going shopping  in Lawrence.  I finally got the chance to go to those little antique and home shops that everyone else talks about and finds great stuff at when they go.  We did have some good luck, although there was an over abundance of stuff from my grandparents' generation which makes sense but still isn't old enough to be hip again.  Sorry.  The find of the day was a wooden box similar to one that I found locally for $300.  I got this one for $22.50 and it came with the pinecones, which I've been known to pay for in the past...

No idea what this really is, made in China? Antique?  I don't care, I just like rustic things.  Sean probably disagrees but is too happy about football to comment.  I'm sure he's thrilled I didn't pay $300 for it at least.

The other buy for the weekend was iPhones for Sean and me.  Yes, I finally got rid of my flip phone, actually traded it in so they could display it in their museum no doubt.  It was really easy to carry when I walked or ran so I do miss that.  I can barely use the new one and am hesitant to get addicted to it.  At this point I am just happy to have a calendar that will remind me of things.  It does that, right?  Now I should plan some things to do...

Sean just couldn't bet against ND

So in the end, we didn't lose any money after all.  I'd like to thank Rick Reilly for throwing ND under the bus before the season even started to kick this off.  Pretty sure he's the one who isn't relevant anymore and it's fun to prove the "experts" wrong.  Sorry to disappoint 80% of the viewers tonight but thanks for tuning in haters, you keep our ratings high and the bowl selection committees are paying attention.  I sure hope no one is hating on Manti though, what a role model, we need more like him.

Sean works in three hours, can't imagine he will get any sleep after this game though.  Props to Timer for staying up until midnight to rehash on the phone as is their tradition.  Male bonding at its finest.  Oh and Sean just revealed that it wasn't that he didn't bet on the game at all, he just didn't bet on ND to lose like I told him to do.  So hey, more winnings for the hot tub fund!  I feel like karma might be trying to make up for a crappy six months in Djibouti.

Poker Face

Photo credit to Kevin (formerly Chip) Banks.  Sean at the final table in the tournament last night.  They chopped the pot at 7 people I think and the night before they chopped it when he made the final 3 and then he had some luck in the cash games.  I'd like to buy me some free time with those winnings.  Sean apologized for never winning this much back during residency.  He also never moonlighted then because I think it was against the rules or something, although he had friends who had the radiology van from some poor clinic on the southside drop hard films at their houses to read.  I think one guy was even just holding it up to a bare light bulb until he broke down and bought a light box.  For real.  That's some quality health care for the poor people right there.  This is kind of a tangent, hmm.

Sean's other story is that he busted a beefy guy out of the tournament and he threw his chair and had to be escorted out.  Sean was happy to have his entourage to leave with, and leave quickly with after the tournament was over.  I think the key to doing well at poker is to not need the money.  Sean is just doing it for fun, to be able to say he won a tournament, not to pay the mortgage.  Although we'll see about buying a new furnace.  So far so good, I am going to gamble on this old one as long as we can!

And now today I will have the song Poker Face in my head.

Rolling the windows DOWN

Patrick's latest routine when turning on our street is to unbuckle (of course), roll down his window, hang his head out, and yell, "THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!!".  He does this several times a day, every day.  I'm hoping the neighbors think that I just give my kids the best day ever EVERY day, instead of thinking that I'm a bad mom for letting him get out of his car seat to yell movie quotes picked up from the excessive screen time he gets.  That's from Bolt, by the way.  My child is a dog.  And now Emily is joining in too but she doesn't yell as loudly.

Sean hasn't won much in Vegas this time but I told him to bet as much as it would take to make him happy when ND loses this weekend to OU.  I am buying myself a good mood either way because after the week I've had with these kids I deserve it.  The littles are in bed after I finally washed all the sand out of their hair and held firm to "kitchen closed".  I also finished The Happiness Project book today and highly recommend it to everyone.  I would loan out my copy but I need to keep rereading parts.  It would make a great book club project, if only other people had time for book clubs.  Hmm, I need to go reread the part about having a bad attitude.

Roll up the windows

Perfect day to drive around with the windows down but I find that at stoplights I need to roll them up so the college students nearby don't judge my music.  I'm not being ironic listening to 90s music... I know all the words.

Ears

The girls had been begging to get their ears pierced for a while and I couldn't remember why I said they couldn't, so we headed to the mall on their day off from school last week.  Anna took a friend for moral support and then she didn't want anyone watching because she thought she would cry.  Yeah, the piercing station is right by the door so the whole mall can see.  She did fine though and the girls are managing to do the cleaning themselves.

 Anna is a bit nervous here but her friend is having a good old time.

 She was thrilled that I was taking photos during it, ha ha!

 Everyone ended up with prizes for being good during the hour it took us to get it done.  Not a cheap trip to Claire's and I don't intend to ever go back.

So happy!

None of the kids are happy now though.  Has been a super crabby day, so much fighting.  Not sure if it's related to Sean being in Vegas this week or just a Monday mood, but either way I am due a whole pile of presents.  And I don't know, maybe an actual girls trip sometime???  Not sure how it is that Sean, who makes practically zero effort to keep in touch with friends, manages to go on so many guys trips, while I make a huge effort with friends, old and new, and the best I can manage is getting someone to meet me at the Chef for breakfast during my 5 hours of non-driving free time each week.  Oh my, finding some friends to go away for a weekend to shop in KC even seems like the impossible dream.  I finally caved in and ordered a ton of clothes online to replace some of the stuff I got rid of for not fitting right and I returned 80% of it this morning.  Can't.  Win.

More Pumpkin Patching

Sean headed to Vegas this afternoon so I met up with friends here to go to another pumpkin patch.  The weather was much better today and this place was a lot more fun than the last one.  Wore the kids out too, Emily pretty much put herself to bed at 7pm.  Patrick is not far behind, nor am I.

 Emily getting off the slide just in time.  Not sure why she decided to wear one of Megan's hats today, feeling the ND pride I guess.  Not really the right area...

 Megan bringing the zip line back.  Anna was thrilled that this was a zip line she could use, after a disappointing summer of no zip lining at Wintergreen.

 Megan was a huge helper as usual, kept track of Emily for me.  This was not a good place to have 4 kids split up so at least I didn't have to worry about 2 of them.

 Barb and Lydia pet the donkey from Shrek.  Everything is better when associated with a movie.

 Everything is more fun with a friend.

 Is she really 5' 4"???  I suppose, geez.

 Anna spent most her time trying to pet a bunny who was under this thing and then later she somehow missed the part where I told her to wash her hands.  She only ate a little caramel corn before I figured that out.  Hmm, this could be an interesting week, health-wise...

 Get your hay allergy on!  Patrick was jumping into the hay piles for a really long time.  Probably should have done baths tonight...

 This was Emily's favorite, a tire swing so low that I don't know how she didn't scrape her knees.

 Here Patrick is falling off his tire swing.  He and Anna also fought over this one, there was some shoving.  Yes, we were that family.

 Someone thinks every day is a photo shoot now... kept on posing...

 The girls managed to pop the tire on their train car...

Even Emily got to do the zip line.  Overall a great afternoon and much better than my original plans of staying home and fighting over the TV.

Best photo for last.  Patrick is desperate to prove he is as tall as Greyson.  Notice the tip toes, not even close.  I told him Greyson is taller because he eats vegetables.  Here he is eating a smore though...

Tackle Soccer

Patrick just finished up a blissfully short soccer season for 4 and 5 year olds.  I think the coaches may have glossed over some of the finer points of the sport, like no tackling, no dog piling, no pushing and shoving.  Also, I believe there is only one goalie?  More often than not all three of the boys on Patrick's little team were lining the goal.  This is a very effective strategy, FYI.  Patrick usually scored a goal (legit or not, he didn't know the difference) so that was enough to make him happy.  I do see a lot of bad sportsmanship in his future though as he's super competitive and likes to cry.  He is going to love to read this post in the future, ha!  I do plan to work with him on his attitude though because clearly I will not be the one working with him on his actual soccer skills.

 Sometimes we didn't know which blond boy we were cheering for.

 Best action shot I got.  Sidenote: it was super windy and chilly but you'll notice that one kid insisted that he only wears shorts for soccer, regardless of weather.  I've been that mom, whatever, natural consequences!  This was the game that Patrick played against his buddy Greyson and they are so used to playing together that they thought nothing of wrestling a bit, grabbing each other's arms to keep away from the ball, etc.  We were laughing so hard because it was ridiculous but the coaches weren't intervening.  We had a talk with Patrick later at least.

 Yes, the coach also thought it was hilarious when they dog piled on each other.  My favorite part was when the kid on top joined in towards the end, just came and jumped on top.

 Ah, the participation medal... the most coveted of all... seriously, they were so excited for that and Anna even is considering playing a sport now so she can get one.  Where is my medal??  I do all the driving and the rearranging of meals and the gear gathering and the car cleaning out...

Patrick and his buddy, wrestling complete.  Emily was too wimpy to cheer on the boys like Lydia did.  She stayed in the car with the big girls, which went pretty well except for Anna somehow got kicked in the head.  Of course she did.

Chores, I mean, fun times!

Once in a while I claim a major victory, like coming up with something that Patrick enjoys doing, it keeps him busy for a while, and he accomplishes something positive.  No, not soccer, but I will post that next.  I'm talking about picking up sticks!  It was actually his idea, although I've suggested it no less than 32 times in the past year.  We usually go for the natural look around here which includes leaving sticks where they fall in the woods.  I gather the ones on the patio and paths and put them in the firepit but we actually burned those a few weeks ago (again, if we're still under a fire ban, this is an old post from last year) and Patrick thought we should fill it up so we can make smores again.  I like the way he thinks.

 So proud, as always.  Not quite in the pit though...

Emily and Patrick "muy forte" as Dora would tell them.  Even better, "muy sleepy".  No, they don't look sleepy at all but somehow Sean got them to bed before I got home from a meeting.  Gracias!

Pumpkin Patch Paaarty

Although I wasn't super excited about another trip to the pumpkin patch, I knew it was time to Make Some Memories.  Plus, I keep sending Sean on field trips, at some point I have to go too.  When the weather report includes the word wind in Kansas, they are not messing around so I knew there would be memories indeed.  Also, a fine dusting of dirt on every inch of us.  Emily came along of course since it wasn't her school day and she was so cute when she stood with the kids for the story part, holding hands with some girl in the 3 year old class.  But unlike the 3 year olds, she wanted to be carried the whole windy way through the corn maze which was billed as the "easy" maze and it was, except for the mud factor and the carrying a child factor.  Then we ended up in the pumpkin patch and the kids quickly found the pumpkins they wanted because they wanted to hurry up and get on the hay wagon.

These were the three who rode in my car, the girl was a good sport.  Here they are doing super hero poses and she immediately knew what to do.

It was also a wind festival on the hay ride and along with the dust and dirt stinging us from the fields that we rode through, we also enjoyed the hay bits that were being tossed around by Emily.  It wasn't worth getting my camera out for.  The trip ended at the playground area with a bounce house that surprisingly no one got hurt in, a pretty big crowd.  I let Emily play in it alone at one point when everyone else was off having snack so she was happy.  After that we went over to the animal part and eventually Emily even went in to see the animals.

 The lady in charge asked Emily if she wanted to hold a chicken and to my huge surprise she said yes AND she did it.  So proud of herself and the chicken survived.  Soon afterwards she had enough of the wind and cold and we snuck back to the car while the classes finished up playing.  She was pretty weepy by the time we got in the car and was pouting, just so miserable.  I asked her if she had fun getting a pumpkin and she nodded yes with her big sad eyes.  And she did that in response to every thing I reminded her of but still, the last few minutes of being cold just ruined the day for her.  There is nothing like finally getting out of the wind though, I was done too.  Just thinking of it makes me want to go to bed.

Didn't learn this lesson...

I tried to have Dora babysit so I could shower today, something I haven't tried in a while except with only Emily home.  Not only did Patrick and Emily get into my kitchen drawers and fight over stuff like the cheese slicer, but they also helped themselves to more ice cream, resulting in a sticky mess and a sugar crash (2 hour nap from Emily, no complaints from me but perhaps from the sitter tonight...).  Patrick also opened the door for the mailman and then ripped open the package I received and spread the mail all over the foyer.  I won't try that again, so much for working out for real.

In other news, today is Sean's birthday and I couldn't find anything exciting for a gift.  So he got grilling supplies that I picked up when I got the charcoal he requested.  Let the record show that I recently bought him all new clothes since he lost weight and his pants no longer fit and oh yeah, he is headed to Vegas with friends on Sunday.  He also bought himself every DVD, video game and book he could ever want while he was deployed so there isn't much he wants (that I know of).  Yogurt maker?  At least we are getting out to dinner after soccer.  His cake from Caroline's Cakes arrives tomorrow but clearly that is for ME.  So hungry.  And no ice cream left...

Sunday Lessons

Woke up to a flat tire on my car yesterday.  It had been a slow leak the day before but now it was real.  I knew we had one trip left with it, right to the tire fix it repair shop, as they call it in children's literature.  Now that we know how to use the air compressor I knew we could fill it up and leave immediately.  Yes, we are real adults now, can use the compressor!  Anyway, before we did that we had to somehow all get to mass in Sean's Civic.  What kind of fool buys a second car that doesn't hold the entire family?  This one, and her husband.  I also told Sean he could get something with four wheel drive before what is sure to be a stellar winter but he is holding firm to his bonus money.  Oh wait, the bonus is late.  His LAST October bonus, bittersweet, as next October we will be preparing to transition to civilian life and thus won't take it.

Anyway, Sean shuttled us in shifts to church which is thankfully close by so Patrick didn't have long to play in the mud puddle outside while we waited for our turn.  Then I figured we'd be shelling out a bit for a new tire which reminded me of how there were many years in which that would have put us in a panic.  PS Money does buy happiness. Not worrying about how a $200 tire could mess up your tightly budgeted month is something I appreciate very much.  And then of course it turns out there was just a screw in the tire and it was $23 to patch it.  That never would have happened during med school years, oh no, I know we had to replace a full set at one point, so they would all "match".  Suckers.  Anyway, all is fine now and I can commence driving children again.

The other lesson yesterday was teaching Megan to make cupcakes from a mix.  As a rule I am not a fan of mixes but it was caramel apple, a seasonal one in cute packaging, so I picked it up.  And then I realized that Megan is in fifth grade, at some point she needs to learn how to survive on her own and yes, baking from a box is part of that.  She did great and I didn't get my hands messy and she was so proud.  Now to train her as my sous chef.  I am feeling a bit like Ina these days,  when she makes real meals for Jeffrey, the world's luckiest man.  It's easier to be Ina with a sous chef.  Chop chop, children!

Oh we also taught the middles a lesson last night and held firm to making them try the vegetables at dinner.  Yes, sweet potatoes, which they loved as babies but gag on now.  I guess Anna never did finish hers but she also didn't get dessert and went to bed early.  Patrick finally finished all of his after talk of trophies and winning and being like his idol (whom we may exaggerate stories about for greater effect).   Sean even made him open up his mouth Fear Factor style to prove he finished them.

In keeping with church lessons I did a very thorough cleaning of my closet and got rid of everything that I bought at the last minute before an event and don't like enough to wear again, along with all the stuff that makes me feel guilty when I never get around to wearing it.  The ladies at the Budget Shop behind the girls' school assure me that lots of people come in shopping so I hope some of it gets worn again because it is expensive stuff that was worn once.  And now I am going to avoid shopping at the last minute and stop the cycle.  If I plan enough I will just rent the runway some more, lots of casual options for $30.  Barely more than a screw in the tire!  Wish they did rentals back in the day...

After Auction Report

There's a little army humor for you, AAR.  Anyway, we wore our SYR best, the uniform that everyone wore at some point to a dance at ND... I will scan in a photo from those days to prove it later.

I just realized that I'd never Rent the Runway for a college dance though, can't imagine how many drinks would get spilled on it.  The Catholic school auction was WAY more tame but still really fun this year.  I didn't even drink, kind of thinking the red wine was communion wine which is better when just a sip....  We did win a few things we wanted and a few things that may show up as gag gifts later.  Sean got box seats for the KSU game in a couple weeks which makes up for not getting tickets this year.  With the deployment we didn't bother with any tickets at all, ND or KSU.  On track to play each other in a bowl game though, that won't get awkward around here.  We tried to win a pig roast and then later found out that we lost to a group we know so they invited us to join in and host the party too so that will be fun.  And I won't have to clean my house for it.  Wait, unless they asked us so we could have the party here, ha?

We also won a computer for the kids to get them to stop using mine for school work.  They lost some letters to the ancient laptop they'd been using so this is kind of a necessity but we will still make them earn it somehow.  The kids also love those creepy face things that you put on tree trunks and I guess we were the only ones to bid on it.  Our friends were talking about it when Sean came back with our box of winnings and I pulled it out for some big laughs.  I will post a photo of that when we find a tree trunk to decorate.  Neighbor's yard?  The top item was something I will be nice and not post a photo of.  It is a craft item and someone spent a lot of time making it but it's hilarious and tacky.  Destined for white elephant gift!

Happiness Project

I just started this book called The Happiness Project and I am enjoying reading how this very logical gal is trying to maximize happiness in her life.  Just her personal experiences putting all the happiness and inspirational quotes and studies to work, interesting to see what is successful for her.  Of course I love how many of the tips I already do or started doing while Sean was gone, like making sleep a priority and organizing everything.  Anyway, now I am focusing on things I can do now that he is home, just enjoying life more after it was so crappy for so long.  So I will spare you all the quotes and crap, you can figure out what ones I've been inspired by I'm sure, and will just go right to some concrete things I have done lately.

First of all, I upgraded my plan to borrow a dress or wear an old dress that wasn't quite right to the Catholic school auction this weekend by renting a designer dress.  Yes, for a Catholic school auction in Kansas.  (Insert your own inspiration quote here).  I have always admired the Herve Ledger dresses and I found one that is only slightly inappropriate.  I also added on a back-up dress for only $25 in case I bust the zipper on the way out of the house.  I will post pictures later of course.  They arrived yesterday and I had one on when Sean stopped home for lunch after going on Megan's field trip (more on that later), just a preview for him of what life will be like when he works from home.  Anyway, now I am really looking forward to going out and I think I will just rent dresses for every occasion from now on, they have tons that are for more casual events too.  I know better than to think I can buy a dress, when I can even find one I like, and wear it many times.  The best I ever do is find someone to pass the dress on to so they can enjoy it too.  If I have inspired anyone, you can save $20 by going from this link to sign up.

http://www.renttherunway.com/referral/koenigkeenan

Of course I get $20 if you rent, so there is some more happiness.  Oh and if none of your dresses fit you do get a credit to rent again.  I was concerned about that.  I also loved that I could add on a second dress for $25.  You can usually get each dress in two sizes also to make sure something fits.

Another fun thing I've done lately is sign up for the Must Have Box from Popsugar.  Go here to check it out (and make me happy with referral rewards, then you can tell your friends and get rewards too!):

http://popsu.gr/zCv

Anyway, every month this pop culture  website puts together their favorite new items valued around $100 and you only pay about $35, depending on what subscription you get.  I loved what they've had in their boxes so far and I can't wait for my first box to arrive in a few weeks.  I rarely get any surprises so this is exciting for me.  And I figure it's a small splurge compared to filling my gas tank lately.  Oh and if you sign up use this code to save $5:  REFER5

Now for some things I have done that don't involve spending money.  I have involved Sean in this too. Since he missed the kids so much while he was gone, I jumped on that motivation and signed him up to help on some field trips.  I know it's a pain to get out of your normal routine and make the effort to go so he was grumbling a little but I know in the end he made some great memories with the kids and they were so thrilled that he went.  Now I am trying to motivate myself to do more with the kids but more often than not I can't bring the little ones along and so far this lack of extended day at preschool has interfered with everything I could do.

In general we are just making an effort to not overschedule ourselves with stuff we don't like to do and we've stopped wasting time on chores that don't really have to be done.  Lots of time just sitting outside with a Bold Rock.  Sean is easing back into the moonlighting so he isn't too overwhelmed or tired and since I'm using to not having the extra moonlighting money this is fine with me.  The fact that he's making any money at all is huge but he better not lose it all in Vegas later this month...

That's enough for now but I will end with a photo of Patrick's booby trapped room that I walked into a couple weeks ago.  He somehow tied his shade to the basketball hoop thing and his water bottle to the other string (out of frame).  He told me that was so he could easily grab his water when he wanted it in bed.

Friday Catch Up

Lots of random stuff not worthy of a separate post, so here we go.  Sean is continuing with no soda which he stopped drinking in Djibouti because he got 14 hours of sleep each night and no longer needed the caffeine.  However, back home he is not getting that much sleep so he agreed to try my green tea and seems to like it.  So before he has a shift I make sure there is a pitcher to get him through it.  I am almost out so I just ordered more and I love a website that asks if I want to use my "store credit" towards my purchase.  Umm, yes?  It must be from ordering so much because I certainly haven't returned anything.  This is kind of like my hair place where they finally asked me if I wanted to redeem some of my points.  Points?  I had saved up quite a few apparently since I had never used them before.  Love these secret reward programs, unless I never find out about them.  And then I hate those places.  If only I knew what places those were...

Now for the photo part of the day:

 Best in-laws ever brought us our favorite cider (have I mentioned this?) for our birthdays.  I'm so glad they like to drive out here...

 Delivery man enjoying a break with his favorite Buddy's glass from Friday Night Lights.  Oh we miss that show but I'm kind of excited to watch that Nashville one with the wife on it.  Also excited to head to Nashville in a few weeks to visit Krauts and Stouts!

 Finally burned all the sticks in the fire pit.  If there is a fire ban going on right now, then this is a photo from last year.

 Nana and Emily, doing her thinking pose.

 Everyone was cleaned up for family photos with Beth as we won a big portrait at an auction before Sean deployed.  It was rained out a couple weeks ago so we rescheduled and as luck would have it, we were able to squeeze Nana and Pops in for some shots.  These are obviously the shots I took while we were waiting for Beth to arrive.

 Always fun trying to get four kids to cooperate at once.  I hope Beth had better luck than I did!

 We also tried to get good individual shots of Megan and Emily to go with the big ones we got of Patrick and Anna back before Sean left.

 Patrick was mad that Beth wasn't taking individual shots of him too so I had to appease him and get some myself.  You can see his level of cooperation here.

 Sean brought us out a Bold Rock to split when things were getting tense with the kids.

 They are such double trouble, but look so innocent here.

 And here.

 This is more like Patrick.

 And this crazy pose...

 Poor guy, you can see his little scar from stitches still, above the eye on the right.  I didn't even touch up this photo, he has rosy cheeks from racing around.

 I am really hoping we got some good shots of Megan because I feel this is the last time she will look like a child, starting to really grow now and she'll be a teen before we know it.  Tiffany pointed out that this is the age when you want to get that family portrait to have up forever, not when your oldest goes off to college and already looks like an adult.  Oh the pressure to get a good family shot now...

And this is how we got Patrick through the photo shoot... by increasing the number of Hersey bars we would give him.  I think he ended up with five of those little ones which he then broke up and piled up and then ate.  Sean wanted to put him to bed sleeping on a towel because he was pretty sure there would be barf in the night.  But there wasn't, what a trooper!

It's a festival!

 First act we saw.  This was about the time that I told myself I was staying for the blog fodder.

 Umm, Renaissance costumes combined with Furries convention?  I'm out.

 Sean was a sport and went on some rides with the kids.  Took him a while to recover from the spinning one.

 No adults allowed on this one thankfully.  Apparently Emily threw up on the merry-go-round at our local park when the sitter took her there during our party last weekend, so I was a little worried about this ride.  (Ahem, who is going to comment with the Andrea story?  Flying swings and barf, an old favorite.)

 Just a random photo because I love her in a hat.

 Archery in my coat and boots.  Love that she's my size for some things now, we can share and I can buy more!

 Aim high.

 Aim at Sponge Bob.  Really.  He was painted on the target.

 All four in a flying swan.  Hmm, makes a mom a little nervous to have them all on the same sketchy ride.

 This is for Manhattan Heather.  She knows why.

 Tried to post this photo first, blogger angry at me for posting so many at once so it is seeking revenge.  Anyway, here is the whole crew besides me.  Of course I was in costume as you already saw.

 Patrick not so sure about the flying dragon.

 Here he is headed to slay the dragon.

 Now he is being made a knight and he has the paper ribbon to prove it.  Unless it ripped.

 Sean has been talking about the sword fighting area ever since he took the girls last year to this.  Patrick enjoyed it of course and this older boy was a good sport and played with him without hurting him.

 Here Emily is confused when Patrick tells her, "get my back".  Oh, she'll get his back all right.

 Patrick picking out his sword and shield as a birthday gift from Nana and Pops.

 I don't want to think about what he is going to do with this.

 That's enough horse riding for my kids.

Umm, furry handcuffs?  At least they were up high so the kids didn't ask to buy them.