Park play

We landed at Ryker's old elementary school today because there was a house showing scheduled.  I should have paid attention to the heat index before telling three littles the plan or outdoor play.  After realizing it was a 102 degree heat index, probably running around outside wasn't the greatest plan.  But they obviously didn't mind

We just made sure to take plenty of water breaks, and only played for about 45 minutes.

Truth - he is grabbing my butt in this picture, and then Jovie says in her mousy voice "we not a supposa touch people's butts!"

The majority of the tim I hid out under a shaded tree with the littlest love, taking pictures of the 4 crazies.

The boys were being super heroes, and watching their facial expressions cracked me up.

This is his "HULK SMASH EM'" face

Kip says "Look mom, I'm in jail, take a picture of me being in jail."

I spied a daddy sneaking a kiss.  Swoon.

There isn't anythings sexier than this...

Well maybe I am wrong, a daddy running around with his babies is pretty darn sexy too.

And after the final lap, when Miss Thang's little legs got too tired, she was slung over a daddy's shoulders like a sack of potatoes.


The view from our minivan backseat makes me smile, especially the sight of two sisters holding hands.

We are so very blessed!

Backyard racing

They get in "ready position" then yell "HEY MOM, COUNT US DOWN"

3, 2, 1….GOOOOOOOO!

And it is all fun and games.

Until Ryker gets there first, and boasts about it

"I WIN, I WIN, I WIN!"

and his tongue…hanging out, just like Michael Jordan, at the peak of focus.

and then Kip gets mad and says "I'm not racing anymore."

Jovie, well she doesn't care.  In fact I think she really just runs so she can look down and watch her "ballerina" swish around as she takes each stride.  I constantly have to tell her "JOVIE LOOK UP" whenever she is running with anything that resembles a skirt/dress as she likes to watch it swish around.

Bold move...

After busting our butts to get things squared away…

 Paul painted our deck

 Then we cleaned and organized and purged like we never have before.  Our house is seriously the cleanest it has ever been.

We set a goal to have it ready so that we could list it today.  We met our goal.  Since the house was spick and span, we decided to get out of the house with the kids, while the realtor came to do whatever realtors do…

We landed at Chuck-E-Cheese, Hartley landed in the moby wrap with me.

Jovie was a little afraid of this simulator game, so R jumped up next to her.  The way he volunteered and the way she snuggled up next to him made me smile.  Moments like these make me realize that Paul and I must be able to parent right some times :).

 Jovie wanted to ride the pony.  I laughed because it is called the KenChukE Derby ride.  Fitting for a pony ride at Chuck-E-Cheese when located in KY.

 She looked so petite on this huge horse, her little size 6 Saltwaters were about a foot from the stirrup.

 Kip and Paul played air hockey

The fantastic four on the car ride home.  Hartley slept through the chaos that is three older sibling chattering/bickering about being in the car so long.  Don't mind blurry Kip, the kid wouldn't sit still for me to take his picture, shaking his head all crazy like and belly giggling at me.  I have about 25 blurry Kip pictures on my phone.

After our morning out, we came home to a sign in our yard.  It changed my mood instantly.  

The first home that Paul and I bought together is officially up for sale...

A lock box and everything.

We are really doing this.  It is a bold, crazy, spontaneous step and I am anxious, excited, nervous, worried and just well…it is what it is, and we will see what happens next.

It has been a great 2 years in our first yellow home.  I hold out hope that wherever we land next will be just as lovely as this home has been for us.  One thing is certain, we will absolutely miss our neighborhood and wonderful neighbors here!

Whatever is meant to be, will be, and I just want to figure out what that will be sooner rather than later.

So much change, all at once.  Our life is a crazy journey.

House, please sell quickly!

4th of July

Holidays involve Funfetti cupcakes around here.  It is just what we do.  Don't get me wrong, I love a great adult cake, but there is something magical about the $1 cake mix and the way Kip tells me the ingredients -

"we need free (three) eggs, some water, and a cup of yoi-yul (oil).  Then turn the oven on, number three five oh (350 degrees), put em in, and watch em' bake"

And then of course watching them eat their tasty treat…adorable.  

 We are people of routine around here.  Seriously.  I look forward to the day of nighttime fireworks, but for now, in their littleness, we enjoy them when we can.  A 10pm firework start, the time it actually gets semi-dark around here, would be the recipe for meltdown mania.  And meltdown mania with sprinklers in hand is a recipe for disaster.

They were pretty adorable, these four.

Kip was terrified of fireworks last year, but this year he enjoyed them right alongside everyone else.

 

The highlight of this year…the parachute firework.  Thankfully they were buy one get 5 free.  If you know my Mr., well obviously those fireworks were among the few we purchased…because if you are going to practically light dollar bills on fire, you might as well get a few free ones out of it.

 They had fun watching the parachute fall to the ground, then ran to pick them up.

Little red parachutes, in little hands ;)...

While Paul would try and light the fireworks, the boys practiced their ninja warrior skills...

 Ninja warrior skills continued over some colorful smoke bombs as they ran and jumped continually over the stinky colors.

Jovie Reese rocking the pop its and sparklers.

Hartley Lane's first 4th of July.

 Such a chill little lady.

 Girlfriend seems huge today.

and a few last gems 

I was sitting on the rocking chair nursing Hartley, and Jovie left and came back with the little red rocking chair.  Little mama in the making.

to get out of the house with 4 kids solo...

My first outing solo was just to the gas station with the fantastic four.

Truth - there wasn't any caffeine in our house.  A house with one mama flying solo for the first time taking care of 4 tiny humans without any caffeine…well that is equally as insane as a house with a woman on her period without any chocolate.  So I figured I'd remedy this by taking a quick trip to the gas station for a large fountain soda, a small indulgence to aid in my new baby hazed sleep deprivation. The kids were game as I told them they could pick a treat, a rare occasion around here.

Getting 4 kids in a minivan, buckled in carseats is a mini workout in itself.  Pair that with a heat index of 100 degrees outside, and it is a sweat fest.  We get in the van, and are about 7 minutes down the road.

Side note - we live in the country so to get anywhere is at lease a 15 minute drive.  Yes, I was that desperate for caffeine.

So, all 5 of us are in the van, heading down the road, when the sky turns black.  Then it starts raining buckets, and the back seat villagers of the Loprinzi minivan break out in chaos.

"I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING." ~J

"We're gonna get zapped by a lightening bolt" ~ R

"WE GOTTA GET IN THE BASEMENT!" ~K

The leader of the loudness - Kiplin Miles.  Little K-man is highly anxious of storms, so anxious that he insists on seeing the weather prediction on my phone app.  If it is stormy, he hangs around me or Paul until it passes.  Rain alone gets him all worked up, because here in the amazing bluegrass state it usually never just inocently rains.

In fairness to the little minions creating the ruckus, it was pretty dang crazy.  I really couldn't see out of the windshield.  I slowed down and pulled over into a neighborhood.  Like most crazy storms around here, they are in and out in a jiffy, wreaking havoc as they pass.  Thankfully aside from my nerves and patience being tested to the max in those 5 long minutes of thunder/lightening/dumping rain whilst in a minivan full of 4 fraidycats, we were all just fine.

"MOM, we should just go home now" said K.

I assured him, I wasn't going home without caffeine.  So I proceeded to drive the rest of the way to that ghetto fab gas station.

We pull up, it is still raining.  I don't care, and get the clan out.  We storm into the store like a bad habit, all of us wet from the rain.  I let the kids choose something, because we are classy like that.  R picks powered sugar donuts, K picks candy corn, and J picks some "yo-reo cookies." I get a 32 oz drink and a fast break candy bar, both of which I am sure will be the cause of dooming myself with pre-diabetes eventually.

The lady at the front as I walk up, smiles at me and says - "Looks like you deserve to have your drink on us."  I laugh, and say we have a bunch we are getting but thanks anyway.

I pay, and get the kids back into the van.

turn the key and

It……………doesn't………………start.

I say OH SHIT.  Loud.  Because at that moment in the 100 degree humidity, and baby screaming, and 3 kids complaining I am really mature and stay on top of my manners.

The vulgar words paired with the noise that is the Loprinzi family was enough for two guys to pity me.

They get the van jumped, the boys watched on and were amazed.  Kip still thinks it is cool that a big car uses a battery to work.

We get home, I call Paul and explain my laughable first outing solo, and when I was getting out of the car…


I spilled the entire 32 oz soda that I didn't even put the straw in yet.

sigh.

good news of this outing - it only has to get better when we go out the next time :)