Extreme Makeover

One of the many nice things about having a daughter is that she likes to do hair and makeup. When she first started she was about Liam's age. She would roll my hair around a hairbrush to use as a curler and then she would get it stuck. Bill tried pouring olive oil on my hair to get it unstuck but it didn't work so I had to cut chunks out of it. I was leery of her trying after that.

She's improved a bit since then. She loves to straighten my hair and I love it when she does because it's so smooth. I never want to wash it afterwords. We had fun taking these before and after photos because my curly brown hair scares her. I think she will make a great beautician if that's what she decides to do. Otherwise I can just enjoy good hair for a few more years before she moves out.

Things for sale!!!!!!!!!

Quilted Pillows $10 each.

Here are some doll clothes that I still have for sale. The shirts, pants, shoes, shorts, backpack, and hats are all $5 each. The fancy dresses are $20 each. The leotard is $10. The tablecloth is $15. The quilted pillows are $10 each. I can ship what you want to you at a flat rate for $4.95. Please email me at wendy.william@att.net to let me know what you want and to get your address. Local pickup is free of course. I can take paypal or a check but have to wait for the check to clear before shipping the items. Thanks for looking.

If you are leery of ordering from my blog through email I would be happy to list the item on etsy. The link is http://www.etsy.com/shop/taaudy I have the purple dress, Christmas dress and the hat and muffs there already. That way you could pay with a credit card too. Just email me the item you want listed. If you buy multiple items you only pay one shipping charge, the other items are free.

Hats $5

Table cloth $15

Sunflower hat $5

Christmas hat, shoes and dress $25

Blue satin and lace dress $20

Two piece blue satin top and yellow skirt $20

brown jumper and peach shirt $15

Apron hat set $15

Two piece colonial dress $20

Red calico shirt $5

BLue skorts $5Striped pants $5

Plaid skirt and shoes $10

Fall dress $20

Pink satin dress, white lace and ballet slippers $25

Pink hat $5

Red/silver sleeveless dress $15

Cardigan, skirt and shoes $15, hat and muff $5

Red silver dress and jacket $20

I have a son I call my Eeyore. You know the type, glass half empty, expect the worst type. He was going on and on about the things that were wrong in his life. I then reminded him about all the things that were right. He had athletic abilities (doesn''t get a chance to use them), he had friends (they like Taylor better), he had little brothers that thought he was the greatest (they like Taylor and Dad more). He then went on to do a complicated grammar exercise and got it all correct. "Ha!" I said, be negative about that.

"I wasn't sure I got any of it right!" I had to laugh. In the past I felt that if I just loved someone hard enough that they would be more positive and FEEL loved. I've since realized that you can't do that. But I did give him a hug and told him I love him just the way he is. But I still can't help but pray for him just to be a tad more positive!

Halloween Fun....a little

Yes, I know it's almost Christmas time and I'm just getting the Halloween pictures up but I'm behind. This Halloween Austin and Taylor invited friends with us. Dylan sewed his own costume, complete with chest muscles! Liam was of course Spider man but without the mask as it scared him. Gavoo was warm in his Elmo costume. This year was a little different in that we started out as a family but we let the kids go on by themselves. The boys were out late and then spent the rest of the night trading candy with each other. The girls were cold and Taylor's friend was "bored" . Oh how times change quickly. Liam was just fascinated by the fact that he could go up to the door and say, "Trick or Treat" and people would give him candy. He got over his shyness right away!

I know some Christians don't celebrate Halloween and that's fine. We view it as a chance to visit with neighbors and dress up in cool costumes. We've talked with the kids about the origins of Halloween and what it means. We don't glorify the macabre or the death and violence that seems to permeate the day but instead look on it as a family activity with sweet treats.

Party Animal Liam

Liam had his first birthday party to go to a couple of weeks ago and he was so excited. He got to even skip a nap to go to it. We went to the store to pick out a present for his little friend Nick. He proudly picked out a remote controlled truck and a Spongebob gift bag to put it in and then he carried it all the way through the store. When the cashier greeted him he proceeded to tell her all about the party he was going to and how he was going to give Nick his present, eat cake and see balloons. He was also going to play with Layna (Elaina). She listened wide eyed to his story and sent him on his way.

The party was fun. There were many children to play with, chocolate cake with blue balloons on it to eat, and many toys to play with. The topper was the spiderman car he got as a party favor. Do my friends know Liam or what? He just loves Spiderman.

I forgot how much fun this stage is when they experience new things for the first time. I hope to have many more such days of this.

A celebration? Perhaps not.

We went on our first field trip of the school year to Hermann, MO and it was really fun. I took Gavin on a human backpack ride and he loved that. After we went to lunch we had to go to a custard place for dessert. Taylor got him a birthday cake flavored cup but every time we fed it to him this is the reaction we'd get. It definitely wasn't his cup of tea. You'd think we gave him lemons or something. It was such a pronounced reaction that people would stop to look at him on the street. That's Gavin for you!

Trying new things

My family is in the process of trying new things. Taylor's trying her hand at yearbook class this year. Austin's got a babysitting job. Dylan's doing an art class with a professional art studio. Liam tries getting his poop in the potty. And Gavin's trying to pull up on everything.

Me? In addition to keeping up with all the change here I'm trying to organize my house (not easy and definitely going slowly at that one), planning school one month at a time, coordinating schedules, trying to bake gluten free stuff for me and Taylor (in front of my very sceptical husband who doesn't believe it makes much difference), and lastly I'm doing sewing jobs for people.

I'm repairing a wedding dress for one lady, a backup for another lady in case the first one's too much money, and a guy just asked me to make a weatherproof table cover. I enjoy learning how to do new things and really enjoy making them for people. I met one couple one time that had me make this guy some magic pants. They were so fun to talk to and I was able to do a good job on them. He swore me to secrecy on the pants so I can't divulge any more details.

Sometimes my head swims at all the things I'm trying to do. I keep hearing the Lord say, "Hey, slow down....look at Me!" I tell Him, "Okay, but first let me do thing one, two and three!" I know, it's a problem for me. I do things for the approval for others but then neglect the One I am supposed to be serving. I worry about other's approval but not the Lord's. Why is that?

I guess at this point I feel unfocused and a bit loopy but that's to be expected. I'm taking the week off this week to recoop and ask Him, "What are YOur priorities for me today? This week? This year?" I have the feeling His list looks different than mine.

The Gavy video.

Here it is, an actual video of Gavin doing the boot scoot boogey. The kids just have a blast getting him to move around. He looks amused but overwhelmed. Par for the course!

Boot scoot boogey.

I would think that since I've had the fifth child that nothing would surprise me but I was wrong. Since I've had Gavin it's been an interesting ride to say the least. His latest way to throw me is his crawling. He doesn't really crawl, he scoots on his butt, while doing a complete split and gripping the carpet with his heals. It's really interesting to watch. I'm going to get a video of it when I figure out how to charge the video camera.

Here's a picture of him scooting on my bed. He's so proficient now that he goes across rooms this way and down hallways.

In a Pickle

We love to garden but really aren't very good at it. We either kill or thieves take most of what we try to grow. Occasionally we have problems with neglect too. The first year we had a salsa garden and every week Bill would make these amazing batches of homemade salsa. That was several years ago and we haven't been able to grow decent tomatoes since.

This year Austin decided to grow cucumbers and we have had a great crop. We've had over 40 so far after picking twice. We made 12 quarts of spicy pickles and have given raw cucumbers to neighbors and friends. The pickles have gotten mixed reviews. Bill and I like them but they are very spicy. I gave a quart jar to Melanie's family and her husband called them, "strangely addictive." High praise from Mark I suppose. Her son liked them too. My kids sort of like them.

I've been having cucumber and tomato salads that have been fabulous. The tomatoes are unbelievable again so yeah for us!

The spinach died before we got any (rabbits!). We have a huge mass of fresh basil and the chili peppers are starting to sprout. Our pumpkins are taking over one corner of the yard.

Dylan has been diligently watering every day and gives us the report of male/female flowers. He's so excited to see some fruit grow. Last year we tried watermelons and when he got one about the size of a baseball he was so curious that he kept touching it until it died. Hopefully the pumpkins won't meet with the same fate. Gardening is a sort of passion with him. He's been saying since he was four that he wants to be a florist. His great-uncle Henry had a nursery for years so maybe it's in the blood!

Sunrise, sunset.

Here are two of my favorite pictures of my nephew Robby and Taylor. They are only 10 months apart. Robby is the son of my SIL Wendy, which is confusing since my name is Wendy too. So they both have an Aunt Wendy in their life. They are the best of buds and have been since they were yea high to a junebug! They live faraway so we only get to see them about once or twice a year. Robby told her when he gets older he's going to move near us and be her next door neighbor. What will they do with their pesky younger siblings though????

Holy Roller

Here's a book I've just finished reading called Holy Roller by Julie Lyons. It was very interesting. It's about a woman who is white who starts attending a black pentacostal church and what she learns along the way. Although I disagree with some of her theological views I can relate to her on many levels. I remember feeling some of the same things she felt being an outsider in the black community when I was teaching in Chicago. I really liked what she said about the proof of salvation being in the evidence of a changed life. She really hits home the point that many evangelical churches don't reach the heart of a hurting person. I have found this to be the case sometimes. On the other hand I don't think that hyper emotionalism is the answer either.

Regardless of your views, it's a facinating book and one that I'm recommending. I have a copy to give away. Leave a comment on my blog and then I will pick from those who do. If you have trouble leaving comments then email me and I will copy and paste them!

Happy reading!


Summary
Julie Lyons was working as a crime reporter when she followed a hunch into the South Dallas ghetto. She wasn’t hunting drug dealers, but drug addicts who had been supernaturally healed of their addictions. Was there a church in the most violent part of the city that prayed for addicts and got results?At The Body of Christ Assembly, a rundown church on an out-of-the-way street, Lyons found the story she was looking for. The minister welcomed criminals, prostitutes, and street people–anyone who needed God. He prayed for the sick, the addicted, and the demon-possessed, and people were supernaturally healed. Lyons ’s story landed on the front page of the Dallas Times Herald. But she got much more than just a great story, she found an unlikely spiritual home. Though the parishioners at The Body of Christ Assembly are black and Pentecostal, and Lyons is white and from a traditional church background, she embraced their spirituality–that of “the Holy Ghost and fire.” It’s all here in Holy Roller–the stories of people desperate for God’s help. And the actions of a God who doesn’t forget the people who need His power.

Gavin Lalapoopa!

All of my kids have zapped me with poop at some point in their lives. It's not a pleasant experience. It's one of those things that you don't know about before you have kids. I thought I'd dodged the bullet with Gavin since he had yet to get me...until today.

We'd had a pleasant day with going to church, swimming, and napping. I'd sewn a pair of comfortable shorts and had just put them on to wear. Gavin woke up from his nap and I was feeding him a bottle. Taylor originally was going to do it but I offered to get the bottle.

I started to notice a smell and couldn't believe how bad it was. I looked down and saw it was no longer in his diaper but all over me. I don't know how it was possible but it was dripping out all over my new shorts. I was holding him standing up hollering for help. Taylor launched herself downstairs and I heard her yell, "Everyone upstairs to help." They all ran upstairs and started gagging and laughing. Taylor got a towel and she took him to the changing station. Dylan got me a package of wipes and a plastic bag so I could clean myself up. They kept saying, "Oh mom, you're new shorts." Bummer I know. I know I'll miss the kids when they leave me but I will not miss that!

At least it wasn't at the pool!

Here's a picture of him pooping at the pool but it was contained.

Diary of a sleep deprived mom day ...whatever it is! I lost count.

Well, Liam woke up at 8:50pm, 11:04 pm, 1:30 am, 4 am, and 5:45 am. I did the first two shifts and Bill did the last two so at least I was able to get some sleep. Gavin was coughing a lot last night so I kept waking because of that too. Liam's figured out that he can get out of bed so he's been exploring early in the morning too.

The good news is that he's been accident free for a couple of days now. He ran to the potty this morning and produced a huge turd in the big potty (yeah! No cleaning the little potty seat for me!) He proudly flushed and then said he needed a hug. When I got him a diaper for his naptime I said, "Liam we need to but night night pants on."

He quickly said, "No it's a diaper." "Oh, but it's for night night!" I said.

He looked at me funny and said, "It's still a diaper." What a smart kid!

I then explained that it was to keep the sheets from getting wet. Okay. And with that he went to bed without a sound.

Diary of a sleep deprived mom day two.

Last night went way better. For one, I had lots of friends praying for us. Then I moved his potty chair next to the bed. That way he could just go rather than get woken up by the bathroom lights. I also didn't give him milk after lunch, only diluted apple juice. He woke up only twice, once at 11:44 and another time at 5:45.

Tonight Bill gave him milk so I will see if that makes a difference. He does seem to pee a lot more after he drinks that verses other things.

Hope all is well with everyone else. We had a great time visiting the M's in from Colorado/Washington. We don't see them often so it was fun. Some of them were Taylor's age when I last visited so now they are all grown up. Liam had a blast with the little girl who is almost 3. They were the same height and talked up a storm. Matthew and Dylan ran around the house red faced. Dylan got quite emotional when we had to leave. Who knows when we'll see them again?

Diary of a sleep deprived mom take 2!

Okay, so I decided to potty train Liam like I did all the others. It's been going well for the most part. He has 1-2 accidents a day but is much more willing to go than he was in the past. With the other kids I just put them in diapers at night and they just woke up dry one day and then that stopped.

Last week Liam decided that he needed to get up to go potty. Okay, no problem. I took him potty and then put him back to bed. Unfortunately he needs to go potty 5-6 times a night now. Don't get my post wrong, I love him and I know that this is a phase that will pass. It does help me to blog about it though so take it in that spirit. Don't tell me dumb things like why did you have all those kids? This just goes with the territory sometimes and I know that.

10:30 pm, go to bed
11:00 Liam sits up in bed half asleep and is crying. I tell him to go back to sleep and he does.
11:30 Liam cries again. Goes and sits on the potty but doesn't go.
12:30 Cries again, Bill gets up with him.
1:00 Bill goes in several times in a row and ends up frustrated so he goes downstairs to sleep.
1:30 Cries again, I take him potty and he goes.
1:40 cries again, I tell him to go to sleep.
2:00 He yells that he has to go potty again, he does....I tell him I'm not coming back for a while so he better sleep.
3:30 Cries again, I take him potty and he goes.
4:00 we both sleep out of exhaustion.
6am Gavin decided it was time to wake up. Liam joins the fray.
1pm we all take a nap
2:30 we all wake up and go swimming.

Lingere shopping.

One of the nice things about having a daughter is that we get to do things that interest us separate from the crazy things boys/men like to do. Taylor loves to go shopping and so do I under the right circumstances.

About a month ago I had to get new bras. The others wore out or didn't fit anymore since I've been pregnant/nursing/postpartum the last two years. Taylor really wanted to go with me. They were having a sale at JC Penny so I decided to go there and invest in some nice ones that would last.

Now I don't know when this happened but apparently I like boring old lady bras according to Taylor. I winced because it's true. Years ago I used to get the Fredrick's of Hollywood catalog sent to me, but no longer. I mean really....it's not like it stays on that long anyway!

I was in the dressing room trying on my boring old lady bras, Liam was climbing under the changing room door and yelling loudly since it had an echo, and Taylor was busy browsing. She came in and turned up her nose at the tans and whites I'd picked out. "Mom, oh my word, these will never do. I will pick some out for you." And with that she hopped out of the room and went looking around. She came back with hot pink lacy numbers, frilly purple ones and some black bra that was something out of a midevil torture chamber. Most of them were so impractical or didn't fit. She brought one of lavendar satin though that was so pretty. I tried it on and it did fit., so I bought it and it is my favorite and most comfortable one.

All in all I enjoyed shopping with her and letting her push me a little over my comfort zone. It's a humbling experience but a good bonding one too.

It's Swimming Time

My kids love to swim. You'd swear they were fish. I'm always the one who wants to leave before they do. Swim team really gives them confidence and helps them expend their boundless energy in a healthy way. They start at 7:45 am swimming laps. Some moms think I'm crazy for doing that but really I'm up at 4 or 5 am anyway so it' s not a big deal to me. This first week however has been nutty between potty training, diarrhea, and cold temps in the morning. It hasn't been a good week for practice. I took these shots on the first day of practice. Even Gavy is happy to try on Taylor's swim cap. Liam always starts strippin and yells that he needs sun screen (said, "ice cream") but when he realized He's not swimming he's sad. We make it up to him in the afternoon.

At first Taylor was concerned that since a "mom" picked out the new suit it would be lame. She said to her friend, "It probably has something awful on it...like daisies!" I thought that was funny. She gave a thumbs up to the new suit though.

Hopefully we'll have a good season this year. If not, at least my kids will be in shape.

Big boy pants!

It's been almost a week at potty training and so far so good. I must explain that I do it in a rather unconventional way. At one year I introduce the potty. We start giving m n m's for anything that makes it in the potty. Usually by 2 he and the others are going regularly about 5-6 times a day. I then take the kids shopping for underpants and that day they start wearing them. From then on we just bring changes of clothes wherever we go. Taylor was the easiest. She only had one accident the first day and then one about a month later on vacation. Austin took a month, Dylan took 9 months.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Liam. He was willing to go regularly 5-6 times a day like the rest of them, poop included. THe first day we had about 8 accidents...not real good. He kind of started to freak out about using the potty. After that though each day has been getting better. Today he only had 3 accidents and even ran up to Bill and said, "Daddy, I have to go poop!" Yeah! He even made it too! Liam's been enjoying the extra attention that he's been getting from me. Poor Gavin gets fed and played with by the other kids more so he really doesn't know what to do. All in all I'm glad with the way things are going. He has such a big smile on his face, especially when he's wearing Spider-man ones. What a great milestone.

I love potty training!

Evolution of a marriage

When Bill and I were first married what we quarreled about most was food. He grew up on Ding dongs and Velveeta was it's own food group apparently. He has very sensitive taste buds. Veggies are really awful to him and fruit is okay. He lives on Diet Soda too! Anyway, I love to cook and make fancy food...not a good match with Bill. The only fish he eats is square and he only goes to restaurants with ketchup on the table. There were times that he would take one bite of something and throw the rest of it away in the trash....not very sensitive to his new bride. I would get angry and continue to make yucky food to "change" him.

We finally compromised and said that he would eat veggies, brown rice and other things as a good example to the kids but he needed to make the plate himself. If there was something he really didn't care for he would say, "Thank you for making dinner." so that at least he was acknowledging my efforts in making the food but it was code for, "Don't make that again."

Yesterday I was making a BBQ chicken pot pie which is normally quite good. Unfortunately I didn't pay attention to what I was doing and added 1/4 cup vanilla instead of apple cider vinegar to it. I thought I could cover up the vanilla by adding the vinegar and other things to it. When the kids came upstairs they asked me if I'd made brownies. Not a good sign.

When Bill was about to take a bite he started inspecting what was on his fork and smelling it. Another bad sign. He gave me "the look". This means, "What on earth have you done to my dinner?" I started laughing and explained the gaffe. He jumped up and got some spicy salsa and then sat back down. He took another bite but just shook his head. I can chuckle now at my husband's sense of taste and don't take offense at it like I used to. After all, love is not easily offended. Besides he does many other wonderful things for me and the kids that I can only shake my head in amusement about his food issues.

I'm glad that God has taken us this far and we can still have a tranquil marriage. When I apologized later for ruining his dinner he said, "That's okay, we have another memory. Now I don't just have banana meatloaf, I now have vanilla chicken!"

What a guy!

First 100 days

Here's another video detailing Barack Obama's first 100 days in office. Let me know what you think.

Adoption

I just love this ad. It shows what potential could be wasted should moms choose to abort rather than give their babies a chance through adoption. I hope you enjoyed this ad as much as I did.

A funny thing happened at the picnic.

Bill's work had a family picnic complete with rides, inflatables, and carnival games. It was amazing. Liam spent most of his time in this bouncy inflatable or drinking juice boxes. Taylor, Austin, and Dylan climbed the rock climbing wall, rode a mechanical bull, slid down a 20ft slide and played a lot of games.

Taylor begged me to go on this inflatable obstacle course with her. She said that there would only be two people at a time so we could race each other. Okay, I can do that. Ready, set, go... and off I went. Most of it was too low so I was crawling through it. I got to a hump that was about 3 ft high. When I shimmed up the inflatable bar was too low and I got stuck. I was still struggling to squeeze through when I felt these little hands on my butt. I turned around and there were two little tykes there smiling at me. I still couldn't get through so they decided to crawl over me. I was laughing hard at this time so I really couldn't get through. They came around again and this time they pushed on my butt hard enough to send me flying down to the bottom. I was laying on the floor with my head but my legs were stuck up in the air. At this point my kids and Bill were all wondering where I was. I emerged sweaty, hair all wild, and laughing hysterically.

"Want to do it again?" Taylor asked.

"Ah, no!" I laughed.

The day ended well and we went home tired but refreshed. The little guys were really well behaved all things considering. We left with a family picture a bag of goodies and sleepy kids. A day well spent I think.

Future Baseball player?

Spring is here and that means only one thing for our house....baseball. Austin's promised me to take me to a Cardinals game WHEN he makes the team. He's out there most days practicing his pitching. Bill takes him to the fields when the weather is nice to practice batting.

On thursday his Grandpa took him and Dylan to the Cardinals game AND the batting cages. They were so excited. They paid for it later with tummy aches because of all the junk food but hey, that's the price that you pay for being at the ball park...even without the Cracker Jack.

Dylan plays too but he's not aspiring to play ball professionally. I think he just likes having something in common with his brother, which is a great reason to me.

Are you the homeschoolers?

When I asked the kids at the beginning of the school year what they'd like me to do more of they quickly answered, "More field trips!" I promised I would but then life happened and consequently our first real field trip was on May 1st. We went to a Civil War Reenactment down in Cape Girardeau. When I emailed the leader he told me friday would be a school day with activities for the kids to do. He told me to try to be there by 9. Seeing as how that was 2.5 hours from us and I was traveling with 6 kids (we adopted a friend's daughter for the day!) that didn't seem very likely that we'd be leaving by 6:30 am. Keep in mind that what I was expecting was a huge festival where people are milling around all day (like the Mideavil festival in Wentzville) when you read the rest of the story.

When we got there at 10:20 people were already well underway. There were only about 30 people in attendance total. As we crested the top of the hill everyone stopped and looked at us. The leader who was speaking to a group of kids stopped his talk and yelled, "Are you the homeschoolers?" I'm pretty sure a few in the audience gasped at the question.

"Yes," I replied sheepishly. I don't get embarrased easily but I'm sure I was blushing at this point. I had hoped to slip in unnoticed but since we were the only kids not in school uniforms and I had a baby and toddler in attendance we pretty much caused the who affair to screech to a halt.

"Well, just join a class or walk around and observe."

"Okay." We started at the first tent that had a lady with a very pretty hoop skirt in it. "Are you the homeschoolers?" she asked.

"Yes," I gulped this time, really not liking the fact that I was being asked this...again.

"We are too."

I breathed a sigh of relief. It turns out that they started this to get their kids more into history. The sold things like old toys, and clothing articles. I loved the silk hairnet but it was $14 dollars. Oh well, maybe someday.

We skipped the tent with the sullen teen sitting in it not facing anyone. WE then went to the ammunition tent where the guy was explaining how to make bullets and pack gunpowder. He made a point to stop his talk to goo at Gavin. All the teenager students looked at me like what was I doing there. Oh well, at least Gavin was not crying.

The next tent had three women in it cooking over a campfire and explaining what it took to cook for the men. When they described hardtack Dylan wrinkled up his nose in disgust.

Next were the horses. Liam refused to pet them but they were very sweet and well behaved. We decided to step away when they shot off the cannon and the gun for us. I didn't want Nelly to get skittish and kick us!

Then the program was over. WE'd only been there an hour and had only gone to half the stations. When I asked the leader about it he said it was closed and everyone was taking a break because there was another school group coming soon. "That's why I told you to be here at 9!" He admonished. Hmmm, he really didn't emphasize the fact that he would be ending at a definite time! Uggh! 2.5 hours in the car for 1 hour of presentation.

I decided to make it up to the kids by going to Taco Bell for lunch. I then decided to make a detour to the Trail of Tears park. The sign said it was only 11 miles away. What it didn't say was that it was 11 miles of windy back roads. The kids were almost sick with hunger and motion sickness by the time we went there. We spread a blanket out on the grass in front of the visitor center to eat. Gavin was so happy to be out of that car seat and suck on my car keys.

After we ate we ran around and played catch with napkins we balled up. We went to the visitor center and found a nice older lady that told us lots of things about the Trail of Tears. It's a very sad chapter in our history. Then we looked at the animal and Indian displays. Gavin decided the Indian maniquin was horrible and started crying everytime we went by it. It was kind of funny.

On the way home the littles slept...not long enough. We passed through some thunderstorms and I had to stop for coffee. I had been up all night with Gavin the night before (had I mentioned that he was sick?).

We made a day of it and we had fun. We were all dissapointed that the Civil War demonstration wasn't longer but oh well, can't change that.

Here are some pictures of the cheesy toy Taco Bell gave us for Liam's lunch. It was called an ancient cave dwelling writing tool. Liam was very unimpressed!