And Christmas is......over!

Well as fast as it comes it seems to go. We actually had Christmas at our house for the first time since Japan. It was a bit lonely without all the family but we were so busy that the day passed in a blur. Tristan was up at 6, Jack at 630 and Jaesen and I finally got out of bed at 715 followed by Savannah at 725. Before we really did anything Jack wanted to ride his new bike from Santa. Always a bit concerned with that since the brakes are no longer on the pedals and I really didn't want to be visiting the ER so early on Christmas morning. But, he took to it great and rode up and down, up and down the street with no problems. Tristan received an iTouch from Santa and pretty much was glued to all the cool apps that Santa applied to it, man that Santa is a rockstar. Savannah only wanted Dora videos from the man in red and she was granted her wish too. I figure it's close to the last year that Santa will get off so easy for her. I went above and beyond in the food department and cooked for an army, 20 lb. turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin and key lime pies for dessert. It was all so good and I think I will run to the fridge to make myself a turkey sandwich (my favorite part of Christmas, the leftovers!!!!).

We Like to Move It, Move it!

Miss Savannah requests this song constantly and dances in the kitchen. She likes to "move it!"

Happy Birthday Savannah!

Happy Birthday to you my big 3 year old girl!!!!! From Japan to Jacksonville you have blessed our lives and we will never be the same because of you! We are better and more fulfilled. Happy Birthday beautiful girl. Love Mom, Dad, Tristan and Jack

Our Weekend in Orlando

Well we travelled back to Orlando for another weekend and although we did use our passes to hit Disney once more the big draw this trip was the ICE Festival. It is 2 million pounds of Ice carved by a team from China. They create different scenes every year and this years theme was the North Pole. We stayed at the hotel where it is located and they really put on a good show. There were musical events several times a day, huge decorated trees, dozens and dozens of pointsettias, a hidden gnome hunt. Tristan loved running around pen and paper in hand to search for these hidden gnomes-20 of them. We ended up finding a total of 12 I believe so not too bad. Our balcony opened up into their atrium where the Christmas Tree and daily shows were conducted so we sat on our balcony and enjoyed. All in all it was a great weekend, I had been dying to see the ICE for the last couple of years and figured we had better do it or it wouldn't happen. The kids favorite part was the ice slides. I personally liked the nativity scene and the 30 foot tall frozen Santa.

A Visit With St. Nick

The kids finally got to visit with Santa Claus and ask him for all those things that they want. Tristan of course took his list which consisted of mostly Harry Potter items, Santa commented that he must indeed like Harry Potter. Jack didn't ask him for fairy dust (thank goodness) which is what he had been wanting for the last two months and instead asked for things like a mechanical dog and cat, a certain Transformer and a Nerf sword. Savannah surprised us all first off by sitting in his lap. She insisted that she would not but as soon as she saw him, that magic overcame her and she just crawled right up. Secondly, she didn't ask for the pink skateboard (another thank goodness) that she has been talking about for a month. Instead she asked for Dora movies. I think old Santa can handle that request no problem. And although they are all dressed in sweaters it was almost 80 degrees out and they were all sweating! What they have to do for Mom and her Christmas moments. Merry Christmas to all of you and to all a good night!

Thanksgiving in Louisiana

Aaaahhhh the joys of traveling! Last Tuesday night I worked the night shift, getting off at 715 in the morning and then came home to have a quick shower and help pack the car. We were off officially at 815, ready for a 12 hour drive (or at least we told ourselves we were ready for a 12 hour drive). Our little Bean (otherwise known as the "mad puker") actually made it for 8 hours before she blew!! When it happened Tristan threw her a bag and leaned as far away from her as possible. I pulled over at the first gas station which was really close while Jaesen tried to get a bag under her chin. We pulled into the parking lot of this fine establishment and both boys bolted out of the car. I took over cleaning the seat and getting her undressed, yes she was standing in the middle of some gas station parking lot in the middle of Mississippi with nothing but her Hello Kitty undies on. Jaesen meanwhile got the new clothes and got her cleaned up and mouth rinsed out. The boys decided to play tag around the oil slicks in the parking lot and we were just lucky noone fell into one. Finally by Vicksburg we ran out of steam and had to pull over for food. We ate Mexican at the cheesiest restaurant I've ever seen and my dreams of having a margarita were quieted when I saw what they passed for a margarita in Mississippi. It was the most neon green thick and icy type drink that had no liquid content to it whatsoever. I settled for a coke and some caffeine to get me through the rest of the trip. We finally pulled in and the family visitation began. The kids were so excited to see "their Roxanne" again and the boys fought over sleepover spots at Aunt Jan's and Uncle Charlie's. We had a blast but being already sleep deprived we never did manage to catch up and the exhaustion is winning right now. We got to meet our new nephew and niece and I got my baby fix. We went to a Neville High School football game, a playoff game at that, and the kids had a lot of fun cheering on the team where their Dad and Uncle both played. Savannah just had fun in the acorn pile, you would have thought she had struck gold. And then, the dreaded ride home. I found some Dramamine and drugged up the baby and she slept hard (and did not throw up!). Originally we were going to stop in Pensacola but my hardcore husband decided to drive all the way through. We got home at just after 4 am. Although it was nice to be in our own home and beds I would have rather been in a hotel bed by Tallahassee, I was pooped out. Thanksgiving was fun, but I am definitely happy and thankful to be home in my own house and sending the kids to school tomorrow!!!

Happy Birthday Bug!

Happy Birthday to you! Who can believe it's been 9 years since this wonderful little boy blessed our lives. We love you to the moon and back Tristan. Happy Birthday, hope it was a great day for you!

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was so much fun. All of the kids decided to be something different this year. Tristan was Harry Potter-Quidditch Player, Jack was a vampire and Savannah decided she liked Snow White's dress at Target and so she was the Queen of Seven Dwarves. We went all around our neighborhood and although Bean was pooped out, Jaesen took the boys onto the next neighborhood for some extra treats. They all had a good time and the only Halloween sore spot was Savannah's feet as her Snow White shoes gave her some of the worst blisters I have ever seen. All in all, it was spooktacular!

Disney Getaway

Well our Disney weekend has come and gone. It started out with great weather although it was a bit hot, 90 to be exact. We got to see Snow White right away (Bean is going to be Snow White for Halloween), she was a bit shy though but we got a picture with her anyway. We rode tons of rides and even got the boys on the coasters this year. In a completely cool coincidence, Jaesen's best friend David and his family of 5 were at Disney at the exact same time and we were able to spend the next day at Epcot with them. All the kids are about the same ages so it worked out really well and the adults were all able to actually have conversations and catch up since the last time we all saw each other. It was too quick of a trip to really enjoy, we were trying to hit all the attractions that everyone wanted to see so it was power walking while towing children. We got some great pictures though and the kids got to meet and greet some of the characters (and we got to drink in Epcot) so all in all it was a fun trip. It's always more fun to go with friends, thanks Ackels for being there!

Performances at church

Well it was Children's Sabbath at church on Sunday. The boys had been assigned the task of passing out cookies. I thought to myself that this might not be such a good idea, I mean my kids and cookies usually means consumption, not sharing. They did great though and passed them out with big smiles. They moved down the aisle so fast though I was hoping they wouldn't miss someone. Our big surprise was bean performing with the other toddlers in front of the church. By her expression I don't think she knew what to make of it, but she did great, blasting away at that tambourine. We were so proud of her!

Homecoming 2009

This video just says it all. Jack had rockets in his shoes, he made it to Dad in record time. Although Tristan was helping Savannah so she wouldn't fall over in her pretty black shoes. Jaesen is home and everyone is happy again. The boys tried to pull the old, "I think I am going to throw up" trick this morning so they wouldn't have to go to school. I told them unless they were puking on my feet they were going to school, and off they all went. All I have to say is that it sure is nice to have my tag team partner home again, you can definitely take them for granted when they are home everyday but doing the job of two on a regular basis puts a dent in your patience level (not to mention sleep deprivation). The plane ended up being 40 minutes late due to weather between here and Key West so the kids ended up playing tag on the flight line. Only in the military do you see kids running around in nice clothes on a flight line. I always end up with tears in my eyes on homecoming day to watch everyone reuniting, it doesn't have to even be my own family. You watch a Mom or Dad come home and their kids running up to them and everything else in this world just seems so secondary. Welcome home Ba.

Opening Day of Soccer Season

And the madness has begun!!!! Jack started off our Saturday with back to back games. Before we even left the house he was a bit down and said to me that he isn't a very good soccer player and probably wouldn't score any goals this year. Well that boy scored three goals in the two games. Rock Star!!!! He did great even though he was getting used to the bigger fields this year. Both boys moved up a league and were a bit nervous about the size of their new fields. Jack's team, The Dragons, went on to tie one game and win the second by a large margin. Tristan's team, The Strikers, tied their first game. Most of those kids were intimidated by the size of the field as well as the size of some of the kids on the other team. It was a hard fought battle and our goalie who has never played before saved us. She was a rock star. Tristan played both on the offense and defense and I think after another week will have the idea down how to play on a bigger field. It's just going to take some getting used too. Savannah came prepared for the game and was dressed to the nines for soccer.

I on the other hand am hoarse from all the screaming. It was a great first day of soccer for us. I love fall!!!!

Labor Day at the Beach

Somehow I always think that these trips are going to get easier, but they never seem to do that. I picked the kids up early on Thursday for our drive to Pensacola and everyone was excited. Well until Savannah threw up about halfway into our drive. That put a damper on the driving real quick. We made it to Vickie and Jay's house (where we were spending the night) and dumped the kids inside while I scrubbed the car seat back into cleanliness. Vickie and I were able to do some good catching up that night and the next day she went off for a flight while we were off to grocery shop and check into our condo on Gulf Shores Beach. We got there early, unloaded and hit the pool before the group from New Orleans showed up. I had to sleep with Savannah in bed so that made the word "sleep" a play on words. I was steamrollered a lot though. We had fun catching up with the group from LA (good friends of ours that we have seen occasionally over the years) and the kids had loads of people to play with and then some. We made sandcastles, buried each other, the kids went on a crab hunt, we played Frisbee, caught jellyfish when they swarmed the beach (definitely not my idea of fun), swam, hot tubbed and drank copious amounts of wine and margaritas. I forgot to mention that during this time Savannah had also decided that she was going to potty train so we spent a lot of time running back and forth to various bathrooms. But she was 100% for the whole vacation though so we only do diapers for night time now, yea us! The drive home proved to be too much for the little girl as well and she puked in my car again, by the time we pulled into our driveway she had fallen asleep with her head bobbing in a plastic bag. Getting home was a relief, to sleep in my own bed, and breath fresh clean air again without being cooped up in a car with someone who repeatedly throws up. All in all it was a great vacation but doing holiday with only one parent is a whole lot of work. Can't wait until Jaesen gets home!!!

The First Day of School!

The first day of school. Jack was totally excited. He has about 7 or 8 friends in his class from last year. I am not sure if that is good or bad, bad if he does a lot of talking but good to make him feel comfortable. He got the teacher that I requested for him so that takes a load of my shoulders. She is great and will be hard on him and will discipline him when necessary (notice I didn't say if.....). Tristan also has several kids he knows in his class and is out in the portables this year and splits his day between two teachers. So a new setup all around for him. He was a little less enthusiastic about the first day of school but hopefully that is just left over from the remnants of the bad year he had in second grade (his teacher passed away and he was bullied by two kids in his class). Bean was excited to go to school too, she was just excited to go because we made a big deal of it all. She is going to start wearing undies instead of diapers and pull ups, the class she moves into today is potty training them and hopefully it will happen in a couple of weeks for her. Please keep your fingers crossed. So in anticipation I bought about 20 pairs of panties and 10 pairs of shorts, a bottle of wine for me (or 5), cause once we start there is no turning back. So off we go! Happy first day of school to everyone else out there.

My New Favorite Dance Craze

Savannah just makes me laugh. She has taken to wearing headbands on the back of her head, dancing and shaking her booty and in general just making me laugh. Since she is so much fun I couldn't keep her a secret but had to share her with our family and friends!

Happy Anniversary!!!

From then to now. Eleven years in the making. It's hard to believe we have been together for 12 and married for 11. Twelve years ago I was preparing for the knee reconstruction surgery from the injury that Jaesen caused during a soccer game. He's been stuck with me ever since :) So many things have happened in those 11 years, the end of one career, the beginning of a new one, 3 kids, moving around the world. And it's really only just the beginning. I love you Ba, wherever you are today. Actually I know where you are and am insanely jealous. I would love to be in Aruba drinking fruity drinks with you!!!! Love and miss you, hurry home.

Today was Fire Alarm Day

Well really the whole thing was my fault. I was in a cooking mood. I made Basalmic Chicken with Wilted Spinach and White Beans out of Rachel Ray's cookbook, plus a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately for me, when I decided to wash the hot pan that had vinegar and oil in it, the wave of smoke set off our smoke alarm and ADT's fire alarm. Well we have never had our ADT alarm go off before. So I ran in and reset it and then went about my business of waving the towel in front of the smoke detector and having the boys fan the doors at opposite ends of the house. All of this occuring as Savannah has decided to poop and Tristan kicked Jack. So I go back to the alarm panel and it still says "Fire Alarm". Well alarm bells go off in my head and I grab my phone to call ADT. Sure enough, fire truck on the way. It seems that you have to double reset the alarm so the fire department doesn't receive the call. Things you learn through experience apparently. Well finally I get it all resolved and sit down to our wonderful dinner. Jack ruins the chicken by putting ketchup on his plate for chicken dip. But first he decided to pour half a bottle of it onto the tablecloth and floor. Sigh! I guess that is why we have dogs, they happily licked up all the ketchup, what a treat. I am sure they will throw it all up later, about 3 in the morning is my guess. So now I worry about the dogs as I swat away the flies that are swarming through the house since we had open doors during the fire alarm. I guess another glass of wine is warranted!

The Tale of the Pink Toenails.......

Ahhhhh, I wish that I had a picture to post to commemorate this tale, but alas the culprit got away without a snap of the camera. It was at dinner the other night when the middle child decided that he needed to use the restroom, if you know Jack then you know that this is a common occurrence, and off he went. About 10 minutes later he still hadn't returned. I sent Tristan off to knock on the door and hurry him up. Finally I got up and went to check on him myself. I knocked and opened the door to find him opening it as well. "Hurry back to the table and eat the rest of your food please," I said. Off he went and I walked off to find Savannah so that I could get her bath running and clean her up. As I walked back into the bathroom an odor overcame me. "Jack!" I shouted. He came running. "What did you do in here? And own up to it because I can smell it!" His face exhibited nothing but fear as he meekly pointed down to his feet. My eyes were drawn down and lo and behold, the child had pink toes. Not just pink toenails, because that really does take more skill than a 6 year old can handle, but the whole toe was pink, except where he had obviously tried to scrub it off. It was then that I noticed pink on the white bathroom rugs. I ran to our dining room chairs, which are covered in white upholestry (don't get me started on that stupid decision!), but his chair was not dotted in pink nail polish. I ran back to the bathroom to find him sobbing onto the counter. I started to laugh uncontrollably. I just could not help myself. I knew I was making him more upset but still kept laughing. He had used his cousins pink nail polish but got scared and tried to get it off and was completely mortified when it would not come off. So I took him to my bathroom and proceeded to explain the wonders of nail polish and nail polish remover. His crying eventually subsided and I told him that he needed to ask if he ever again wanted to paint his toes (or anything else for that matter-because with him, there really is no telling) and I would help him and then we could take it off too with no problems. However, I think that he has been scared off the toenail painting binge (much to Jaesen's delight I am sure), but with him who knows what lies around the bend.

Soccer Camp Kids!

Well our week long soccer camp is over. It was a great camp and the kids had fun, but I am glad it's over. Camp meant eating at 4 in the afternoon, then getting everyone dressed (the kids still have issues pulling those socks up to their knees over shin guards), going to camp, keeping Savannah happily occupied for 3 hours for 5 nights in a row, keeping mosquitoes at bay when the sun went down, keeping the boys hydrated, getting everyone home and into the tub to wash away the sweat of the evening, then feeding everyone a second dinner, and trying to get everyone to bed by 10 at night. I would try and stay up to consume one much needed glass of wine, but most nights that didn't even succeed. So tonight we can once again eat at a normal time, although if we eat any later than 530 I am sure I will hear the grumbling from the kids, as well as my own belly which is on a much earlier eating time zone. Hats off to our two British soccer coaches, cheers mates, we had a blast!

A Mom's Gotta Brag.....

Well it has been a rough couple weeks around here. Jack has been on his worst behavior. No matter what I do to him, spanking, standing in the corner, taking his favorite toys or loveys, he is on a continued path of annoying me to the max. This ended abruptly yesterday when the boys played terrifically together, no fights, no arguing over who could be a wizard, or a pet, or a dragon, or whatever, they just played together. That even extended until today. Jack got several gift cards to Target for his birthday and today was the day to go and spend them. Tristan lost a tooth and had a couple more dollars saved up so off we headed to the store. Transformers are the toy of choice this month in the Yerger house and Jack knew exactly what he was looking for. He got himself a Transformer and then a semi truck that towed along a couple race cars. And lo and behold what he did with his leftover money shocked me to the core. He gave it to Tristan so he could get a Transformer too. Tristan pitched in his little bit of money so Jack was left with some in his wallet, but he ended up paying about $7 on Bug's toy. And the rest of the day was spent in the imaginary world of Transformers blowing up our shoe rack, the dining room table and total destruction in their bedroom. It was a sight to behold. Of course I won't be surprised if tomorrow they are once again arguing over who is the better wizard, who is taller or has the bigger feet (they actually have the same size feet now) or who likes such and such food better. But at least tonight this Mom can just rest easy knowing that her two boys are actually getting along, and for 48 hours, who knew???

Happy Birthday Jack Riley!!!

It's hard to believe it has been 6 years since we added Jack to the mix. I have to say that he has added so much personality to this family. He is either making me laugh until I cry or I am screaming at him. Never in my life did I think one of my kids would take me from one end of an emotional spectrum to the other in 3 seconds flat. And yet, I can't imagine our lives without this crazy kid. We sure do love you big man, on to bigger and better things, like first grade, losing teeth and another year of soccer. Happy Birthday big man!!!

4th of July

A Happy 4th of July to all! It's hard to believe that 233 years ago 50 some odd men sat in a bar, drinking beers and planning our country's freedoms. So we honored them today by marching around our house, waving flags, listening to patriotic music, eating a lot of BBQ and lighting off our own fireworks. All in all it was a good day. The kids helped make our patriotic dessert, angel food cake with all sorts of berries and whip cream. Sounds so good think I'll go have another slice. We ended our evening with a lot more laundry when Savannah decided that she was going to sit on the big person potty and ended up peeing all over her stool, feet and bath carpets. After a quick bath, and stool washing and carpet bleaching she was ready for her good job snack. Jaesen was able to call from out in the big blue ocean somewhere to wish us a happy fireworks day. They also had a steel beach picnic which is a BBQ on the flight deck, but today was back to the daily grind. No one got burned with fireworks or sick on food so it was a good day in our books.

Minor Potty Success

It seems that Savannah is more keen to use the potty once she has gotten herself all clean and is playing in the bath. A week ago I was called from the other room with a most alarming battle cry of, "Poop, poop, I poop!" You can imagine my distress as I replay in my mind all the things that could be in that tub. Fortunately, when I arrived in the bathroom, I only found Bean standing in the tub, knees squeezed together as tightly as they could go. She asked to sit on her potty and I left to the hall to give some privacy. I didn't think much of it when she announced, "I pooped in potty." I had heard it all before. Lo and behold, the child had indeed pooped though. I hugged her, got her cleaned up, dressed and we flushed the poop. That's when the real fun started. She had pooped so big it clogged the toilet. How does a 2 year old clog the toilet? It took a full 10 minutes of plunging, Savannah cheering me on the whole time and wanting to assist in anyway possible before the toilet was unclogged. Tonight she also said she had to poop, but instead got out of the bath and peed in the potty. It's going way slow but at least we are progressing towards that land of rainbows and lollipop trees, someday we will be in underwear and diapers will be a thing of the past. Until that day, at least her daddy can be proud of the two year old who clogged the toilet.

Bug's Baseball Party

And they finally got around to having poor Bug's baseball party. (so it was a good thing that the boys came home early from the in-laws or he would have missed it.) The coach told him that he just needed to keep doing what he was doing but that he was a great all around player. Bug was on cloud 9. And of course Savannah found the cupcakes, so life was grand. They swam at the pool, played a couple rounds of baseball, played on the playground and in general had a lot of fun until the thunderstorm broke up the party. Congrats Bug on another spectacular year of ball.

Naval Aviation Museum

Well I thought I would finally take the kids to the awesome museum there in Pensacola. We were there to drop the boys off with Jaesen's family so they could go and spend some time in Louisiana, but I detoured them to the museum first. The kids took off running, not sure if they were excited to see planes or just excited to get out of the car after a 6 hour drive. At any rate, it is such a great museum and there are plenty of hands on activities to keep them occupied. With my kids right now we can only attend museums that allow touching the pieces or we would all be promptly arrested for dismantling a museum. All in all it was a fun day of planes and helicopters, guns and the Blue Angels!

USO Military Appreciation Night

Well we got a really nice treat last week. The USO bought out Adventure Landing and all active military could purchase tickets for only $2.50 (a huge deal!) We focused on the water park and the boys were out of the gates early, Jack dove into the lazy river immediately and we didn't see him for about a half hour and Tristan hit the water slides. He and Roxanne (Jaesen's cousin who is staying with us for the summer) went on a water slide that goes uphill



And then it dumps you out into the lazy river. Savannah hit the little kids slides and the wave pool, which was intensely frightening for me as she was happy to walk right in over her head time and time again. We finally decided we were ready to head over for some laser tag once we got dried off. I think in our family that means something like: no really go ahead and spend 30 more minutes on the water slides, because we couldn't find the boys and then Savannah discovered that she really does like water slides and I couldn't get her to come off of them. I finally persevered, we all changed and Roxanne and the boys played laser tag. We got home just before 10, pooped out, but an awesome night. Thanks USO!

School's Out For Summer...

I was fortunate enough to get to see both boys awards ceremonies for school this year. Tristan got straight A honor roll for the whole year, citizenship and a multitude of others, I think 7 in all. Jack on the other hand got perfect attendance for the last 9 weeks. After all he couldn't get citizenship after the whole duck incident thing and he didn't have straight E's this year in kindergarten, but on the other he learned to read and just the other night read Put Me In The Zoo to me. And really that is more important. I am glad that he at least got one award though or he would have been sad. And now we get to hear everyday, "Hey Mom, are we going to do something fun today?"

And Baseball Season is Over!

And now we have a couple months off, before we start the insanity of soccer season. Tristan had the first game of the day and the coach played them all in different positions and Tristan even got to pitch. Obviously, we didn't care whether we won or lost based on where they played the kids, though that was hard for me to deal with. I am way to competitive and what is the point of playing a game if you aren't at least trying to win? We did not win, although we did lead for a great portion of the game. Tristan did not have a good game which was a bad way to end the year and hard for him. Alas, he has many years of baseball left to redeem himself. Jack had a pretty good game, but it was 95 out when they played at 330 and all the kids wanted to do was sit in the shade and drink Gatorade. Jack's baseball party followed the game and they had a bouncy house for the kids and a cookout. Unfortunately, Tristan came down with a fever so we didn't stay late but got him home and too bed. I will save oodles of money without having to visit the concession stand now, no more ring pops, hot dogs, cheese fries or nachos with jalapenos on them. Maybe I can afford gas for my car now. Until next spring and we start it all over again!

If You're Happy And You Know It......

This is Bean singing her happy and you know it song. It just makes me smile, hope you enjoy it too!

Any Day at the Waterpark is a Good Day!

My Dad and I took all the kids up to the Saint Mary's Aquatic Center for some much needed energy exertion. After 8 days of straight rain, not sure why we decided on more water but it seemed like a good idea at the time. The kids had a blast, the park was not crowded and we all got a bit of sun. Tristan last year was not tall enough for the waterslide, so he made up for lost time and rode it maybe a half million times. Savannah was all of a sudden afraid of the bucket that spills water on the big playground, and Jack made friends with another little boy and they played nonstop in the lazy river. On the way home we stopped for ice cream because I was craving a soft serve. Fortunately, we found a Dairy Queen so I wouldn't have to be grumpy. There is nothing worse than a grumpy Mom after the waterpark! :)

Feeling Moldy

It has rained here for 4 straight days, the pond is over the willows, almost to the fence, roads are flooded and closed, creeks are overflowing and my toes are getting moldy. It has rained well over 18 inches in Jacksonville, with some of the surrounding areas getting more than 29 inches of rain. We are in a several hour dry spell at the moment which is bliss, the street actually looks dry but the ground is full of squishy. Life here has been normal, as normal as Yerger fashion is for this family. Savannah has a horrible busted up lip from falling on her bedpost. Jack has a black eye from going to Pump It Up to play yesterday (had to try and get out some of our wiggles), and Tristan is doing well save for his 8 year old attitude getting him into trouble. We went to the boys art fair this evening and bought some of their Picasso pieces they have been working on. My Dad bought Tristan's and I bought Jack's. We will get more as the school year wraps up and I will send those out to all you other grandparents out there so don't worry. We are hopeful that we will see the sun again soon, I mean after all we don't live in Seattle or Portland, we live in the sunshine capital. I can only hope our house doesn't decide to float away in the middle of the night or we are in trouble.