It's been awhile!

I know, I know it's been like two weeks since I've updated anyone. I am convinced that end of the school year times are just as busy as Christmas! Gracious we have hit the ground running these days. Anyhoo, lots has been going on as always. John and Jason just got back from 5th Grade Camp. The entire 5th grade packs up every year and heads out to a camp in the Redwoods for a week. John got to be a counselor and they had way fun together....yes, "way fun" is a term I am certain of it. I am sad to say that neither of them ended up in the Bannana Slug Club; where membership is determined by finding and placing a bannana slug on the bridge of your nose for 10 seconds. Ahhh yes, the things that 5th graders come up with. No bannana slugs for my brave men! Jason conquered the "Flying Squirrel" which is a giant zip line; and he had a blast which for all of you that know my cautious Jason, that is a very BIG deal!

Where did the video's go?!

I am having some formatting issues so all of the videos are now at the bottom of the the page so you will have to scroll down to see them! Enjoy!

I thought I was a good mother

I so thought I had this parenting thing nailed. Everyone was alive, happy, their homework was getting done promptly every evening after baseball practice...and then Saturday rolled around. John was working at our church for a few hours that afternoon, then he went to Costco for groceries(because he's a cool husband) got my oil changed in the mini-van(because he's a REALLY cool husband) went to Sports Authority to get a new trampoline enclosure for the kids(because he's a cool, really cool, safety minded husband) and then went to the commissary to get even more groceries(because...well, you know, he's just cool like dat) Anyhoo, it was basically an errand day for him and the boys and I hung out at home and had lots of fun. We busted out the slip and slide, I planted flowers and mowed the yard, they "washed" John's truck, we played in the sprinkler, it was just an all around good day....until.... Until it was time for bed and we went in and my eyes adjusted to the indoor light. My precious twins were replaced by lobsters. Burnt red lobsters. Yep, I thought I was a good mother...until I forgot sunscreen. Go ahead, you have my address, send me your hate mail. I deserve it.

Bathing with dinosaurs...

I will miss it when I crawl into bed at night and don't find hot wheel cars in the sheets, or dinosaurs in my shower. There is nothing quite like showering surrounded by Star Wars ships, dinosaurs and R2-D2. You should try it! It's something else! Just be careful where you step, those war ships are killer on bare feet.

Long day at the office

Whew! Kindergarten is rough these days! There is all that painting and glueing and playground climbing! All that just wears a kid out by Friday afternoon!

How we doin'? One blog author checkin in!

How is the blog workin for ya? Are the pics & music working? Any trouble viewing anything? Feel free to leave your comments and tell me how cute my kids are!! Come on, it's easy! You are already signed in so leaving a comment is only one click away and the boys LOVE to read what people write!

Bella's new doo

The master and his apprentice

Jack's first time on skates...Jordan wanted to take him around the block....they got as far as the end of the driveway.

World's biggest Diamondbacks fan

The twins love to cheer on the bigs as they play...well, when they are not at the playground next to the field, or having a snack at the snack bar, or digging in the dirt, or climbing on the bleachers, or their gameboy battery is dead, okay well maybe they don't like to sit and cheer but they sure do look cute not cheering!

As if!

As if a double header last Saturday two hours away wasn't enough baseball we decided to grab some dinner with friends from the team and head over to a Minor League game in the city. It was the twin's first profesional sporting event and they spent most of the time rolling down the hill and playing tag but a good time was had by all. We left the base at about 7:00am that morning and rolled back into our driveway at 11:00pm. It's a good thing we are still young! 30 is the new 20 right?!

The daughter we never had...

A little girl at the game on Saturday took quite the liking to John. He taught her how to wear the glove, put on the batting helmet and almost had her in catchers gear. Too cute!

Take me out to the ballparks

Let the games begin! So let our free time be over! No better way to spend just about every weekday evening and every Saturday than on a set of cold hard bleachers with the sun shining down and watching these boys play some ball. We love it, we love it, we love it. I don't know who has more fun, the boys playing, John coaching, or me watching the whole thing happen. It has kept us hopping though that's for sure. This is the twins first season and they are playing coach pitch so the addition of a second teams schedule has been something else! Enjoy the pics, I'll put some up of the twins on Saturday after their game!

Get your tissue ready!

I've heard this a few times before and it still moves me. Thought I'd put it on here in case you haven't heard it, this kid called into a radio station a few months back and this is what he said: (You will need to pause the music on the side to hear him)

Welcome Back!

Well welcome back to our blog! I am glad you are here! Thanks for taking the time to sign in, as my friend Megan said, this world is a crazy one and we can never be too careful with our kids. Enjoy!

The Martins take on Yosemite!

Once again we hit the road with the kids, this time to celebrate some spring break time off. We chose Yosemite and had a pretty good time. There were some bumps, and turns....lots and lots and lots of turns on the road which led to Jack puking in his carseat about 1/2 mile from the hotel....he almost made it, poor little green thing. I will spare you the pics of that, but trust me....hour old Round Table pepperoni pizza coming out of a 5 year olds mouth on the side of the road in the middle of the forest was not pretty! The first night the big's and I signed up to go on a nightime flashlight hike with the guide. The stars were amazing and it was all of our first time in snow shoes so that was an adventure all in it's own. We went on some hikes, had some good food, saw some trees, and more trees, and swam in the hotel pool...a lot and saw some more trees! Did I mention all of the trees? Next Martin family vacate.....San Diego, coming to a blog near you; Fall 2008!

3 out of 4?!!!

I took the boys for their 6 month dental check up today.....let's start with the good news....not a cavity in the bunch! Now, the other news......3 out of the 4 need braces. Jason, Jack & Justin. Jason needs them now and the twins will need some sort of correction for a 100% overbite when all of their baby teeth fall out...which is good because that gives John and I both the chance to get second jobs to pay for this. I always wondered what grocery store clerks get paid... I think I am about to find out! 3 out of the 4? Are you kidding me? Am I being punked? Jason has some freaky tooth(that is my technical name for it) that sticks almost straight out right next to one of his front teeth that will apparently not correct itself as I have been secretly hoping it would for months now in addition to the same overbite that the twins have. Sigh----3 sets of braces.....this was SO not in the mommy book...especially as they are offspring of two people who never needed braces in their life...what on earth?! Standby for more posts on this as we meet with the orthodontist in the coming weeks, ya'll know I'll be complaining further about this! :)

Baseball Draft

It only took 11 years but Jason finally broke John down and convinced him to let him do his own fantasy baseball draft. You will notice that this post is remarkably short, as I don't know a lot about that; but what I do know is that my living room is currently full of very excited boys who keep shouting out names that I have a vague recolation of hearing before on Sports Center.

Surgery Successful?!

He lives! Justin came through surgery a few tonsils and adenoids lighter and is 100% back to normal! He was such a trooper! Everyone took great care of him and his nurse said that he was his favorite patient ever!(I choose not to believe that he says to everyone and instead believe that he really meant that!) They gave him a "special doctor's shirt", a stethescope, a party hat and off he marched right on into the operating room. It was quite funny as he was walking through the doors they shouted, "Here comes Doogie Howser!" Very, very cute, and he loved all of the attention. He had a rough time waking up in the recovery room and was in pain and disoriented but as soon as I got in there and bent down and talked in his ear he immediately turned over and went to sleep. So, so sweet what a mommy's voice can do. I love that little bean. We have been having a great time together, the first four days were just he and I as the other boys were still in school so we snuggled, watched lots of movies and many episodes of Sponge Bob and ate through 4 cartons of sherbert....come on people, I couldn't let the boy eat alone! :) John took a day off and spent with him when I had to go to work for a day and they had great man time together. With mom you watch Bambi, with dad you watch ESPN, and a well balanced child you produce. Thanks for all the great presents and well wishes, he felt loved!

Surgery on Wednesday

Survey says......Sleep Apnea!
Aha! I knew my son wasn't losing his mind and going to be expelled from Kindergarten for no reason! He is just very, very tired!
Justin will be having his tonsils and adenoids removed on Wednesday so a popsicle shopping we will go. Even more exciting it means I have 19 days off of work(his recovery time runs right into Spring Break) to spend snuggling on the couch with him! Woo-hoo, happy dance! We will keep you posted, pre-op stuff tomorrow but will try and post on Thursday. Pray for our sweet baby Justin!