Mark turned 35!!!

Whoa!!! Check out all that smoke!!! HaHa! I love you Mark!

Meet "Beast"...

A month or so ago, Sam asked me to sign a letter allowing him to bring home a beetle if he won the "raffle" in his class. His teacher was going to let one of the students take home the Madagascar Hissing Beetle and KEEP it. Well, I really didn't want to have a beetle in my house, but I also didn't want to disappoint Sam and be a party-pooper mom so I signed the note. I figured that out of 20 plus kids there would be no chance of Sam bringing home the Beetle. I was right! Sam was fully disappointed when he came home from school that day WITHOUT the beetle!! There were only two other parents that signed the note allowing their child to win the beetle and his friend Spencer won! Sam was SOOO sad and I was SOOOO relieved!!! But, he said if Spencer got bored of the Beetle then he could give it to Sam or the other girl Brooke.
Well, weeks went on and to tell you the truth, I forgot about the Beetle....until last week when Sam got into the car after school carrying a plastic aquarium. He was smiling from ear to ear! "Mom!!" he said, "Spencer got bored of the Madagascar beetle and so he gave it to me!!" UGHH!!! I looked in the aquarium and saw the most terrifying HUGE cockroach that I had ever seen!

I tried to act brave. Rach was in the back of the car freaking out because it was so "disgusting!!" I was trying to make Sam feel good by saying how cool it was, but the only thought going through my head was how are we going to get rid of this thing?
Before we even got home, Sam had already named it "Beast"...you know, for Beast the Beetle.
If it doesn't already freak you out by just looking at it, you should hear the noise it makes when it's scared! It hisses!! When Sam reaches in the aquarium to pick it up, it will hiss! But Sam calms it down and gently holds his new little pet...
It doesn't freak him out at all! He LOVES it!

I got on line to learn more about our new pet. I was trying to find out the life span of the little critter, hoping it was only a couple weeks. I was disappointed to find out they live about two years. And, it also stated that Madagascar Beetles actually make good "pets." They are clean, don't bite, easy to feed (they eat fruit), and fun to watch.
So my heart has softened and I have decided Beast isn't so bad after all. It really is growing on me and maybe it's because I get to see the nurturing side of Sam, that I LOVE!! I love to watch him talk to it in his little voice when he's holding it, saying, "It's OK little buddy, I got you." It really is sweet!
So, if you're looking to buy a pet for your child, you should really check out the Madagascar Hissing Beetle! You won't be disappointed! HaHa! I still think it's disgusting!!

Williams' Weekend Party!!

Last weekend before Joe's farewell, a lot of the Williams family were in town. We had such a great weekend together. I LOVE my family!!
On Saturday, we had a swim party and BBQ at Michelle and Jeff's house. It was so hot...we were all slathering on the sunscreen. My mom still has to take care of BBB (nickname for my brother Ben that only my siblings would appreciate! ):)
The boys favorite thing to do was this catching game. It's really simple and hours of entertainment. Not only for the person catching the ball, but for those watching too!
There's someone who throws the ball ...
...and on the other side of the pool, someone jumps off the diving board and catches the ball, or attempts to catch it! :) They even had a point system because it's not just for fun and games, someone HAS to win, right??Here was the line to catch the ball...
And a group shot of the "boys"
Another entertaining game to watch was all the noodles wars...
This was Uncle Nate vs. all the boys. I think the boys underestimated Uncle Nate...
.

There sure was a lot of craziness going on...
but hey, I grew up with a lot of craziness with nine brothers and sisters!
I think my mom and dad were feeling right at home!! :)
And us girls were having a great time chatting...
Thanks Michelle for hosting the party!

That night we all went out to dinner and then went to the water show at Bellagio. I think this was my kids first time to the strip. Tommy asked if he had ever been there before and I said,"I don't think so." He said, "Well, I have been learning about it social studies, but I didn't think I had ever been there." How sad that he lives in Las Vegas and had to learn about it in a text book! I guess that shows how much Mark and I love the strip...we have lived here for 6 years and our kids have never even been there! :)
Well, it was a great night to go. The weather was great and the kids loved it! While we waited for the show to start, the boys were dancing to the music...

and the girls were again the calm ones, just hanging out...(or maybe they were just tired because they were sunburned and only had four hours of sleep from their sleepover the night before!
Here's the group...

And here was the show...
It was such a great time.
I will have to say though, that the best part of the weekend was Sunday at church. Danny, one of my other very awesome, coolest nephews (that's my shout out to you Dan!) gave a great talk and so did Joe. It was such a great meeting.
Now the weekend is over and I'm sad. Too bad we can't get together more often because it sure is a party when we do! I sure love you guys (ha ha, like any of them even read my blog! :) Well, except for my most awesome amazing favorite nephew, Danny!!! :)

Shout out to Joe!!

I have a nephew named Joe, but we like to call him Joe-Joe. He is the greatest! Anyone who is around Joe, loves him....especially my kids! He has been a great "big brother" to them! Before he leaves on his mission (tomorrow), I wanted to give a shout out to him!!
Thanks Joe, for playing with my kids and making them feel important!

Without you, they would have never been able to make the sand castle they were begging to build!
Thanks Joe, for playing with them when you came to my house. You always got on their level and acted like a kid yourself (that's a compliment!!) :)
I wish I had pictures of all the fun things you did with my kids, their games and events you attended to support them, etc. You are such a great cousin to them!

But most of all, Thanks Joe, for coming over the other night to spend time just with them. Thanks for making them feel important by letting them cut your hair for your mission and for giving them a little "FHE lesson" about standing strong and being a good example and making good choices. They will always remember that and I know they will think of the things you said in the future.
You are going to be the best missionary!!!

We love you Joe!

This girl ROCKS!!

She did it!! Going on five days and only two accidents!! I guess her independent personality is paying off! (Or maybe it's her age!) Whatever it is we are all happy!! Phew!

HERE WE GO!!! Potty-training...one LAST time!

I just dropped the older kids off at school and thought, hum, I should start potty training Jessica today. I don't know why the thought came to me today? Maybe because she is over three and not potty-trained, maybe because I'm feeling like life is a little easy and I need a challenge, or maybe because it is so HOT out there today that I want an excuse not to go anywhere! Whatever the reason, I turned my car around and we headed to Target (Megan and Jessica still in pajamas!) We picked out some new underwear and some treats and headed home.

We said goodbye to Elmo...
And Hello to princesses...


She is now drinking lots of water

and full of SMILES!!!
and so am I, but we'll see how we are doing by the end of the day. I'm not sure either one of us will be smiling much. Ughh, potty-training, my least favorite part of parenting. But ready or not, here we go! I'm just glad I have this little one to help me. She is the BEST big sister!! (Update since I started this post....we are now on the second pair of underwear....)

BOSTON!!

We are here!!! Mark and I came for the AAO (ortho meeting) this weekend. It has been so much fun. The city is great and it has been so fun to get away together! We are also with his brother and wife and that has been a ton of fun too!! We've done lots of sightseeing, shopping, walking, eating and laughing! Mark and Zach were even able to go to the Celtics/Bulls game 7 last night! I didn't bring my camera, sometimes that is too much of a distraction, but Zach did take a picture of us on his i-phone for documentation.

Mark is in classes right now and I am just packing up to go home. I could stay here for a lot longer if it weren't for my kids that I miss a ton and my mother-in-law that I need to rescue from my kids! :) Goodbye Boston, I hope to come back again!!