The Aquarium

Today the Darling kids and I went the Aquarium. Sometimes I feel like a very brave , (or dumb) person taking 5 kids out by myself. It is always an adventure. Luckily, today we didn't lose anyone or get kicked out. Good day. Lala has a very bad habit of taking off wandering. Baby is following in her sisters footsteps. Baby thinks she is much too old for her stroller. She can walk so why shouldn't she. Both girls also object to having their hands held so it's a lot like herding cats. They divide and conquer. My bigger kids are so very helpful. They do object to being "in charge" of one of the little girls. I don't blame them. Bubba was "helping" me with Lala and got his face scratched up as a thank you. As Auntie Em has always said, "Lala is an animal!"



(She definitely gets that feistyness from her dad, her mom is too sweet.)

She has that angel face and she is a complete crack up. Her voice is honestly the cutest voice I have ever heard. She is totally rotten. I adore her as we all do. She is always the first one to give a hug to someone who is sad. She is incredibly shy. She is a lot like her Bubba. She is the best share bear. I love it when she comes and gets into bed with me in the morning. That is the only time I get to just hold her. She is always so busy.

Baby thinks she is a big girl. She doesn't want help doing things. She is so sweet and precious. I sometimes wonder if she can really be mine. I tell everyone I deserved this baby. Truthfully, I don't know that I do, she really is just too perfect. Dear must have deserved her. Anyway, I feel so grateful to be her Mommy.

Muffy is growing and changing so much. She is such a help to me and I don't know what I would do without her. She loves Lala and Lala loves her, sometimes she is the only one Lala will listen to. She asks the most random questions. She is starting to be more girly. She likes to have her hair and nails done. She worries about how she looks. But no fear, she still runs with the boys and can take them both down a notch if they need it. Sometimes it scares me to have a pre-teen girl in the house. Payback and all that, you know.

Bubba is buried in a book most of the time. If he isn't hiding and reading he is glued to the TV. I have never seen a kid so eager to devour anything with writing. He does help but only when asked. We love our Bubba. He makes us all laugh. He is honest and very responsible. He has great manners and is very popular with the girls. He is the voice of reason I hear in the back of the car. He is also the bad word police. (Not that anyone around here would say one.)


Oz is going to be 12 soon. He is very interested in origami. He spent most of the day folding dollar bills. He is quiet most of the time. He knows a lot about stuff and he'll let you know when he knows. Oz is always willing to do whatever he is asked and he never even rolls his eyes at me. He has an awesome attitude that would be nice to have rubbed off on some other kids in this house. He is going to be spending more time here until school starts and all the kids really enjoy having him around. He is always willing to play whatever they suggest. He is a great sport.

We got to see these Mayan dancers dance and it was so cool. They did a traditional wedding dance. Beautiful. They were so friendly. I know you can't see just in the picture but their costumes were the best part. They were the best part of the Aquarium for me. We had a really wonderful day. Since we were downtown we went to visit Dear at his new office building. He is now on the 50th floor. The kids were so excited to go down into the tunnels and then ride the elevator up 50 floors. Some of the remarks made today by the kids about his office were "Fancy", "Awesome", "Wow", "Where is the fridge with the sodas?" Dear has a lovely corner office on the 50th floor of the tallest building, and the kids were most impressed with the free sodas. I'm pretty sure the free sodas were the best part of the day for them. Ahh, to be a kid again.