Looks like a few Jackasses, or are they Mules?

Yep, they're Mules, as confirmed here. Well, the big one may be a jackass. That is still unconfirmed by me at this point, though.

Anyway, if you read the link above, you will know that the boys are wearing Camelbak Mini-Mules. I use a Mule for all of my outdoor adventures and the boys have wanted their own for a while now. A few weeks ago, I bet them that that they couldn't go two weeks without video games and their computer. I didn't figure they would win, but they did, hence the Camelbaks.

I hid in this tree while the kids were walking around a small loop by themselves.

And this is the part where I made a loud noise, jumped out of the tree, and scared at least one of the six kids. (Notice how high Ethan jumped!!)

As usual, we have barely been home this weekend. Friday after school we headed to the dog park. Although it may surprise you, the kids like going just as much as the dogs. They play in the empty "little dog" section and build all sorts of sculptures with the sticks, palm leaves, and shells.
Hanzie in Finley watch the girls play.
Abby always has fun with Daisy. Although Daisy is much smaller, she is actually 5 weeks older than Abby and eats more than her. I think Abby Yo Yo is the perfect name for her. In case you have never read the book Abiyoyo, you really should. It is one of my favorite children's books. It is about a big, oafy giant named Abiyoyo, so needless to say, Abby has now been coined Abby Yo Yo since she too shows many tendencies of a big, oafy giant!
Friday night we went to Paige's soccer game. Since Will told Pop-Pop Wayne that Paige was Noah's girlfriend, Noah has decided that Paige can no longer be his girlfriend and he is not going to be marrying her. He does not want to hear Pop-Pop's teasing and thought that was the easiest solution!

Saturday morning the boys had their soccer games. This time Noah scored. Both teams won so I suppose it was a good day! The boys spent HOURS in the pool Saturday. It was rather perfect out. While the outside temperature was in the low 80s, the pool was 90! We also went for a short hike. We tried out some new trails and they were pretty non-existent. Today it is cleaning, yard work, pool, and possibly the dog beach. We'll sit what we can squeeze in. Chris has soccer tonight so perhaps we'll go to the dog beach while he plays.

Tonight while we were playing in the backyard Chris came out and snapped a few pictures of my furry guys. Here Abby tries to sneak a kiss from Hanzie.
She took great interest in Chris' camera but thankfully didn't charge it!
Watching the boys play football.
What you lookin' at?

Um, something is seriously missing from this picture!
I think Abby is beginning to look like Hanzie!

Okay, as Jen mentioned in the previous post, I "volunteered" for the Relay for Life Mr. Relay event. As promised, here are a couple of pictures. Go ahead, laugh it up. I just keep telling myself that it was for a good cause. That makes me feel like less of an idiot. Okay, well not really. Anyway, enjoy...

Where to begin, where to begin?? Friday was quite a busy day. At school it was spirit day and the theme was pajama day. So, of course I wore my pajamas to school. I also had a meeting at another school just north of Daytona Beach. I walked into the office at the other school to sign in and they looked at me like I was crazy. I said, "What, you don't have casual Friday here?" Sadly, they believed me. I decided to fill them in that it was actually spirit day at my school. Ethan nearly refused to go to class. I guess all the kids in his class missed the reminder announcement on Thursday because they were on the playground. He was the only one in his entire class to wear his! I went in with him to show them all my pajamas and he was then fine with it! Friday after school we had kid/dog playtime at Melissa's house. We got pizza for dinner and after I headed straight out to Relay for Life with Abby and everyone else went to watch Paige's soccer game. After the game they all met me up at the park. Chris had agreed back in October to do Mr. Relay. We were told that involved him walking a lap in drag. Well... we were misinformed. Even Friday night, our team's leader told him that he just had to walk a lap. He took the boys home to put them to bed and get his outfit together and I stayed to walk a few more laps. I flew home so he could get back to the Relay by 10:00. He showed up just in time and they put him in line. They went up to him in line and asked him what his talent was going to be. Um, what talent??? Apparently it was a "beauty contest." So, up on stage Chris went in front of TONS of people. Amazingly enough, he came in third place! Next year, with so much time to prepare, we expect him to take first! At some point I'll have some pictures to post.

The kids had team pictures on Saturday morning. For some reason their soccer pictures were taken inside the gym!?! Chris and Mike snapped a few outside. Here is their serious look.

And then the goofball look.

Ethan's team had pictures as well. They are not nearly as organized a team so no pictures of that.

After soccer, the boys, along with the Eagney's, went to Turtle Day. They started off at the marine science center for a look at how the turtle was cared for there.

They then moved to the beach where Old Boots, the 175 lb turtle, would be released.


Go, Old Boots, go!

Today Will, Noah, and I headed out early to get to the skate park before the teenagers got there with their smoking and cursing. Will and Noah skated for an hour. They decided to bring their skateboards and scooters. Normally they only skateboard for a few minutes. This time they spent nearly the entire hour on the skateboards. I was a nervous wreck. Noah had quite a few crashes out there. He was doing even the steepest drop ins. Ugh... I could barely stomach it! After their morning at the park they spent the rest of the day playing outside and went for a couple of swims. The pool was up to 87 degrees so it was warmer than the outside temperature. It made for good swimming. Even Abby went for a dip. We are trying to teach her to go to the stairs in case she ever falls in. She needs a few more practices I think!

Abby weighs 26.6 lbs! We just got back from the vet and she is a very healthy baby girl.

Here are more pictures of our hike than you could have ever wished for...

This is us at the beginning of the trail.
Three goofballs!
These bugs were in huge swarms along the ground on the path. They have very bizarre mannerisms.
Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, It's off to Bluff Point we go.

So cute! Notice the pink leash? Chris finally fixed Abby up with a proper pink leash for a girl! I was making her use Hanzie's old blue one!
A view from Bluff's Point.

A boy and his puppy... what is left to say???

This is at Oxbow Lookout. There is a fairly sizable embankment down to the river. Abby was not so sure about going down it. Hanzie and I were waiting at the top in case she changed her mind and ran back up.
Since she just stopped in her tracks near the top, I let Hanzie go to show her how it is properly done. He went down a googillion miles per hour!
She finally begins to make her way down.

By the time she gets down Hanzie has already gone for a nice long swim.
Then it is back up!

This weekend we did a lot of catching up on house projects. Saturday morning the boys had their soccer games and all of them scored a goal! Woohoo!!! The rest of the day was a blur of cleaning, fixing, and organizing! Sunday was quite chilly here. It was only 63 so we decided to go for a nice hike. Since heat wasn't a factor we got 4 miles in! Abby and Hanzie were even still pulling at the end. Normally they tucker out after two miles or so. The best part was that there wasn't a single complaint from the boys and after 3 miles they actually asked to continue on! Chris has some pictures from the hike but they are not yet converted.

Today when we got home we went to the park. The boys rode their bikes and the dogs and I followed along. Since everyone had soccer practice this afternoon, Melissa brought Finley over to play. They started in the house and then worked their way outside. I can't tell you how funny it is to watch them play together. Hanzie actually showed a lot of interest in getting in on the action today and the puppies were more than happy to oblige. His interest didn't last long, but he sure is coming to like the idea of having someone like him around.

Here is Abby after she chased down the ball. She had been playing for quite a while at this point and was too tired to bring it back to me!
Tomorrow Abby goes to the vet. I'm anxious to see how much she weighs. She was 17 lbs when we brought her home. Here are the little munchkins playing...

Yesterday was my birthday and I had a pretty good day. I wasn't at school because I had a testing meeting all day in Daytona Beach. After my meeting I met Melissa and the boys at Melissa's house. The kids played, the dogs played, and we relaxed. When we got home I fed the boys dinner and headed off for my one birthday request; a walk at the dog beach. The kids had fun running up the beach and the beach was completely empty which is unusual. The weather was perfect to add to the enjoyment. After the beach Chris went to get me Mi Mexico for take-out. Mike and Melissa were able to come over and eat dinner with us thanks to Bobbie's kindness. I ended my birthday evening with a White Russian.

My walk on the beach...
The kids making their "7 mile" track in the sand.
What is that you say, dogs are not allowed to play??? Up until recently, dogs were allowed all the way up to the jetty. Now these lovely signs are as far as they can go. Lame!
The two lovebirds resting before we head back.

I'm hot, I'm tired, and I have a HUGE tongue!
Noah has spotted this gopher turtle on our last two walks at the dog beach. They were surprised that a turtle could actually make it 2o feet in one week ;o)

After their trip to the beach these two were out!

Since I wasn't at school yesterday, my friends from school had a birthday lunch for me today. It was very nice and it made my birthday even more enjoyable since I got to stretch it out for another day. After school we went to the dog park. The kids got creative in the sand...

Tonight Hanzie and Abby had a little one on one bone chewing session.

Not much to report- ooh, except the report cards! The school week has been, well, going! The boys all got their report cards and continued to earn amazing grades. We are grateful that school is so motivating for them thus far. Working with struggling students every day, really makes me thankful that the boys all do well and most without any extra help! Ethan earned straight A's again. Will and Noah do not yet get letter grades but did terrific in all areas.

The dogs continue to adjust to their new lives. Hanzie is beginning to actually show some interest in playing with Abby. He runs up to her with a toy in his mouth to get her to chase him. So far, that is the only game he'll play with her. He loves it when she chases him all through the house. Chris could do without that action since they bark at each other during their chase sessions! Melissa has been totally awesome and has been coming to the house to pick up Abby for play dates with Finley while we are at school. Today Melissa had to work so I ran home at lunch to let her out. Of course that meant that I didn't eat any lunch! Oh well!

The boys had a blast during Grandma Ann's visit. They went to the beach a few times, spent a lot of time in the pool, went bowling, and went to see Nim's Island. Tomorrow it is back to school for all of us to face the final 9 weeks.

Mid-week we took the dogs to the dog park. This helicopter was flying directly over us. It was insane how close it was before it finally landed right next to where we were walking. The boys thought it was pretty cool.

Here we are on the way to "our spot" on the beach! "Our spot" also happens to be where everyone gets bit by sharks. This of course is why they allow dogs on this part of the beach I suppose! I kid got bit last week while surfing here at the inlet.
Abby pounced around a bit in the water and then parked herself in the shade of my mom's beach chair. I think Hanzie had more energy than she did on this trip!

Yesterday the boys had their second soccer games of the season. Here Noah is getting ready for the big kick-off.

I believe that this may be a picture of Will's goal.
Ethan's team lost 0-3, but that didn't diminish their spirits. Ethan had a nice shot, but the other team had an even better goalie. Even the refs were talking about how they can't believe he saved that shot!