amusement

 I'm not saying people should have children just for their general amusement, but there is amusement, ya know if you stop yelling and freaking out every morning (this is a note to self) before they go to school.

I also got great amusement that I ran into 2 people I knew at the Costco gas line and another person who asked me about my kids in school (cause of our school stickers on the mini van) cause his wife taught there.  And then got all chatty with the gas attendant because I couldn't turn my dang gas knob, what are they guns on my arms good for dang it if I can't turn a knob!

Then this morning when I was at the wally mart, a place I avoided all summer (5 kids + walmart, not cool), I ran into two of my friends and chatted it up there while feeding my girls gold fish.

so, these two incidents made me realize, I love where I live.  Or really I love living in a place long enough to run into people.  Or we are officially in adult where you get a kick out of running into people at the store and gas station (like the 5 kids didn't thrust me into adulthood long ago)

anyway, so basically instead of being the grumpy pants, I'm embracing 'amused person' ...gotta get a better name.

 Ivy is officially in 'that phase!'  ya know where babies turn into destructive toddlers that can climb and open anything and stick butter on their fingers thats on the counter and dump out food coloring that stains their hands and ruin 3 lipsticks cause she ate them.  Ya know, that phase.  but it sure is a cuuuute phase, a sweet phase and I thankfully realize how smart this phase is even their verbal skills haven't caught up.  smart smart those 1 year olds are. but no way do they stop moving. 

 Jason reading to his daughters.
look at all that pink.  no i didn't plan it.  girls gravitate to pink and I get great amusement of the moms who avoid it because its like suppressing a boy with a sword or a mom with her chocolate...will not be contained.  embrace the pink people.  girls like it.  thats not all they like, but they do like pink.

oh yes, so here is the picture from my camera right before the second wave of cousins left.  I'm still banging my head against the wall that we didn't get a big picture of all of McCoy cousins together, so pretend there are five more there...big ones :)  and little Emma was asleep.

on another amusing note, luke told me about 20 times when we got to his first football practice that he didn't want to play anymore.  mom, i don't want to play football.  i'm not playing.  no way i'm playing.  mom i don't want to play football.  over and over and over and over again like 2 minutes before he started.  last minute nerves.  but of course i just ignored him and remember the other times he freaked out right before in my head (swim lesson, baseball, football, cubscouts, etc) and the fact that I just packed, loaded, and hauled four little girls to a park far away and messed up dinner to get him there and just knew it would pass.  he told me i was the most obnoxious mother as i was introducing him to other boys (and i think he is probably right about that) and that boy had the best time ever.  loved it.  he even 'juked' someone and was impressed with himself.  so i was amused.  cause he loves football and is good at it.  and maybe don't listen to your kids.  cause sometimes we know better. unless they are 3 and don't want to take swim lessons, don't do it. 

and then we had a talk that nite that he better not be saying that to me right before his mission if he gets nervous cause i can't make him do that and it has to be on his own and it will be the best most rewarding thing he does for two years of his life.   ok, enough amusement for one day.

ps.  my sister courtney is driving BY HERSELF with three small children from Dothan, Alabama to Dallas, Texas right now as I type this.  May she find some amusement on her drive somehow.  When I talked to her last they had gone through 3 movies and had 6 or ten more to go, I forgot.  I hope its six.