Our laugh of the day came first thing this morning. Will, our sleeper, was woken up by Chris. He came out into the hallway very sleepy and hugged me. He then headed off straight to the bathroom. He lifted the seat and was getting ready when Chris heard in a very sleepy voice, "There is a frog in our toilet." Chris said, "What?" Then Will, in his ultra tired voice, says, "Daddy, there is a frog in our toilet." Chris went in and sure enough there was a GIGANTIC tree frog in the potty! I guess it takes more than a gigantic tree frog to wake up Will.

Chris tried to catch the frog and put him in a container in order to free him outside. Before he could grab him though, he swam down through the water and disappeared into the pipes. He hasn't shown up since.

This week has been busy. Despite what Chris and I were both hoping for, when we woke up this morning it was only Thursday! We both thought for sure it would be Friday. The boys all had soccer practice last night. They are all doing great. Ethan impressed his coach and teammates. He was a little shy in the beginning and didn't want to steal the ball away from anybody. By the end of practice he had opened up and scored 6 goals in the scrimmage against the dads. Since Chris coaches Will and Noah's team and their practice is at the same time, I wasn't able to watch them. Chris said they, along with Emma, all did great. Will was happy that he won the pirate game- whatever that is! Saturday is team picture day and their first games. Between the picture schedule and game schedule we will be at the fields all day on Saturday! I will try to get some pics of the games. Their games are at different times so at least we can watch everyone play their first organized soccer game- very exciting!!! We are also hosting a birthday dinner for Melissa. Yes, she has been 30 for ages now, but we were away for her birthday. Good thing I have my youth to keep up with Saturday's schedule. I don't know how others manage!!

More pictures from the hike including a self portrait!

Chris and I hiked around the lake at Rocky Gap. It was such a nice, peaceful, kid-free hike. I could have spent all day there. The weather was perfect and there was no one else on the trails.

Hanzie enjoys racing the 4-wheeler. A lot of the times he wins!

Will hanging out at the pond.

Here are the boys hanging out by the pond.

We went on a bear hunt throught the mountains. I was impressed with Alina. I barely had to carry her at all! She decided to play in a pile of leaves during one of her little rests.

Here are a few of the deer that the boys fed.

Well, I posted as many pictures as I could last night before blogger kicked me off. All we did yesterday was unpack, clean, and run errands. The boys were awful almost the entire day. At 7:15 I couldn't take it any longer and put them to bed! Between the boys being bad and our drive on Saturday, Chris and I needed a break. We got in the spa for 45 minutes and drank mudslides! I really needed Kate to coat my cup in chocolate and whipped cream! Feel free to send her harassing emails convincing her to move here with us. I found the perfect townhouse for her! I'll post the rest of the pictures now.

The boys tried to fit in just about every activity into their first full day in the mountains on Tuesday. The drove the 4-wheeler and tractor, fed the deer and horses, hiked around, played in the yard, chopped firewood, and managed to squeeze in celebrating Grandma's birthday!

The boys were greeted with a new tire swing that Pop-Pop installed for them. Noah absolutely had no interest in it, in fact, he was pretty much scared to death the entire minute that he lasted on it.

On our way to Pennsylvania we stopped at Sideling Hill. All the years we had driven past it we had never actually stopped and walked it. The boys had fun walking to the top and checking out the cars way down below. On the way back down Noah said, "I've wanted to do that my whole life!"

We went to Aunt Lori's house on Monday morning. The boys were dying to check out her new playset and I wanted to see her new kitchen.

Well, Aidan and I fell completely in love with one another. Really, we did! He is such a good baby.

Our last day in Maryland was spent hanging out with Grandma, Pop-Pop, Aunt Kate, Uncle Bill, Gavin, and Evan. Pop-Pop made an awesome dinner and we spent a little time at the park. Leigha is apparently sunning herself on Aunt Kate's lap. Gavin, well Chris told him to make a funny face and he did!

And finally there was sleep!

The kids had a dance party just before bed! Even Pop-Pop got in on that one!

Evan deciding which one of the cakes he wants to sample!

Also celebrating birthdays were Eric and Dan, Vera (her 1st), and Grandma. Apparently Grandma was trying to "skip" her birthday by not having a cake. It won't work, but I think I like that idea myself! Here are the cakes.

My delicious birthday cake! I must add that unlike Melissa, I am NOT actually 30 yet.

Steph keeping me company while I was on waffle duty!

Aidan having a snack.

Asa and Vera hanging out!

Isabelle arriving to the party!

Leigha blowing bubbles.

Aiden outside playing. I'm not sure what game they had going on here!

Noah having breakfast on his first morning in Maryland. He fell in love with Cracklin' Oat Bran while he was there.

We are back from our Maryland/Pennsylvania trip. The boys had a great time playing with their cousins and hanging out in the mountains. I will post a few of the many pictures Chris took. It may take me a couple days, but they will eventually show up!

Well, we made here! The boys have been having an AWESOME time with all of their cousins! I got my Baja Fresh for lunch today, so as you can see we are all happy. I did just spend some time on the exercise equipment to put a small dent in all my "Maryland binge" guilt. Tomorrow we head off to the mountains. It is nice and crisp here. I'm sure it will be even colder in the mountains. The boys don't seem to mind it.

I never got a chance to post these last night, so here you go. I didn't get to watch much of Will, Noah, and Emma's practice since I had to stay with Ethan on his field. Ethan was very excited and scored a goal during their team scrimmage.

The boys went over Eagney's house this afternoon to jump on their new trampoline. They had tons of fun. They are very excited for tomorrow to arrive. Noah still has a fever. He already had an appointment tomorrow to recheck his ears so that worked out well!

Tonight is the boys' first soccer practice. They are very excited! Since the day is finally here, they have moved on to asking, "When is our first real game?" Last night Chris took them to the skate park to ride around on their scooters. If they create a sports competition that includes swimming, soccer, and scootering our boys may just stand a chance! I'll post pictures later tonight of the big practice.

Another day of warmth and swimming! The boys swam for an hour when we got home from school today. I know they shouldn't be swimming with their ears, but it's so hard to say no to them. I'm going to have to go out and get them some sort of ear plugs to wear while they swim. While the bikers left town yesterday (http://www.news-journalonline.com/special/bikeweeks/2006/index.htm) the spring breakers arrived. It should all be over when we get home from spring break and traffic should be back to normal. The boys will have to prepare themselves for the cold. I'm sure they'll be a bit confused on Friday! Ethan, Will, and Noah are looking forward to their first soccer practice on Wednesday. I'm hoping Chris will take them to shoot hoops tomorrow while Melissa and I work out. They really like that. Nothing very exciting going on- except the fact that I drove the tests to the county warehouse today and did a little dance on my way out! I still have to go back on Thursday to deliver the materials that aren't scored, but there is no pressure involved in that! Ah...

Fun weekend! On Friday night we went to the Eagney's for a pizza party. After the pizza party we went to Grandma Bobbie's to try out her new spa. The kids all had a blast. Yesterday morning we went to the beach. We went early and it was still a bit cloudy and chilly for me! Melissa somehow managed to get burned through the clouds. No chance for me getting burned since I was wrapped in a towel the entire time shivering! Last night the kids had a sleepover with Emma and Paige. They all watched Yours, Mine, Ours. They seemed to like it. The adults watched Just Friends which was really funny. Melissa brought over donuts for the kids today when she came to pick up Em and Paige. We went to Target and Super Wal*Mart with the boys. As usual, it was not a fun trip. After the boys took a nap we heated up the spa. They stayed in the spa for about 20 minutes and then dove into the pool. Today was the official first day of swim season at our house. They haven't been in since last fall. They had a blast and just ate a HUGE dinner. After swimming is about the only time we don't have to fight Noah to eat!

It's a warm, sunny, breezy, FRIDAY!!! We have another child in the house with an ear infection. Ethan had a fever for a couple days and was complaining that he had a headache and that his neck and back hurt. I just assumed he had the same flu that everyone else got and just kept giving him Motrin. Well, yesterday he was fever free so we didn't give him any. Halfway through the school day his teacher called to tell me that he was in the clinic saying his stomach hurt. He came back to my room and lied down for 15 minutes and said that he was ready to go back to class. When I saw him at the end of the day he burst into tears and said that his ear was killing him! I immediately called the doctor but they couldn't see him until the morning. Chris took him at 8:00 this morning and he has ANOTHER ear infection in his left ear. I really don't get it. They haven't been swimming or anything. So he is on another round of antibiotics and she also put him on Flonase. I guess we'll be traveling with a cooler to transport all of their meds. It is supposed to be in the upper-80's all weekend so we are definitely going to the beach tomorrow. Last night Chris took the boys to the YMCA to shoot hoops and kick around the soccer ball in the gym. They LOVED it. I also have to give props to Chris for staying up until 2:00 am cleaning our house. I try my best from 3:00 to 5:30 but between arranging snacks, doing dishes, cooking dinner, and breaking up disputes I rarely get much done. By the time the boys go to bed I'm done and ready for bed myself. It was a wonderful treat to see the house so gleaming this morning.

Well, we are inching our way closer to the weekend! Today Emily came home from school with us. They actually played quite nicely today. Emma, Paige, and Sophia joined in the fun for a bit as well. They had some sort of fort party in Will and Noah's room. They advertised it with a "party" sign taped on the door. Emily stayed for dinner and then the boys walked her home with Chris. The boys did Tae Bo with me tonight. It was quite funny watching them. Will was the only one that stuck with it for any amount of time. Before bed we finished up Night of the Ninjas. We only have one more Magic Tree House book before we need to stock up again.

Not much thrilling news to report. Will got beat up by a girl at school today. Okay, not really, but she did split his lip! All reports were that she did it on purpose and Will was innocent! Apparently, she wanted a toy Will was playing with and Will wasn't ready to give it to her. He was very proud and said that he didn't hit her back. I promised the boys we could make chocolate chip cookies when we got home from school. Of course we get home and I realize that we are out of sugar. I have NEVER run out of sugar. We all loaded back in the van and went to the store to get some. We also picked up the new Harry Potter at Blockbuster for Chris while we were out. The boys are all watching it now- I'm sure they'll all be in our bed tonight from being scared of the movie!! Melissa and I went to the gym this afternoon. I worked off the guilt of making cookies- I didn't even eat one! Off to read to the little Gremlins before bed!!!

We went to the "Easter Egg Park" today. The boys have given a nickname to the load of parks in our area. This one got it's name because it is where they hold the annual Easter Egg Hunt. The kids had a blast once we got there. Our normal 3 minute drive turned into a 10 minute drive thanks to all the motorcycles! We had to drive past 20,000 motorcycles on the way. Okay Greg, I might be exaggerating that number thanks to the mix of my strawberry daquiris last night and the early hour we went to the park, it may have only been 15,000!

The duck encounter! These are the mutant ducks native to Florida. Lucky for Will they are very friendly and tolerant of little boys. Melissa was going to call social services on us for allowing Will to pet the duck. She is quite afraid of the killer ducks!

Happy Noah!