The Beach!

Last week we drove to Gulf Shores, Alabama and spent five perfect days on the beautiful white sandy beaches.

This is the balcony of our condo. What a view!


The boys LOVED the beach! They immediately jumped in the waves and never looked back. Not an ounce of fear.




Aiden




Abbott





We brought our little kickboards with us, but quickly discovered that these beach bums needed bigger boards! (Including dad!)


Anna did great. She insisted on wearing her life jacket the first day

but she got much braver




She had fun playing in the waves with mom



Adeline HATED the beach. She hated everything about the beach...the sand, the water (salty water!), the waves, the unending sun, did I mention the sand?

She kept trying to run up to the condo and we had to run after her and drag her back. She tried everything to stay off the beach.


The little diva wanted to stay on the lounge chair...but at $25 at day to rent...I don't think so.


Dad tried to get her to warm up to the waves...no way!


Someone lent us a little baby pool that we filled up and sat her in. That made her pretty happy...well, I won't go as far as happy, but at least she wasn't crying.


Our sandcastle had a moat that went all the way to the water


We also spent plenty of time at the pool. There was a kiddie pool (think big bathtub) that was perfect for Adeline. She had so much fun...she couldn't figure out why we kept wanting to go down to the stinkin' beach!






We went on a dolphin cruise which was a blast. Adeline was especially thrilled with the dolphins!


We saw three dolphins swimming together. My pictures are horrible because they were back under by the time the picture snapped!


Adeline did not approve of wearing a life jacket, and the little stinker got it off without unbuckling it! Here she is triumphantly giving it back to mom.


And here she is in the new one mom strapped her into...mom wins! In case you can't tell, she is throwing that little fit on the floor of the boat.


I had to include this picture...It is out of focus, but I am trying to take a cute picture of Anna in her Hannah Montana life jacket. It's fuzzy because I shifted the camera when I noticed my boys strangling each other in the background! Sheesh!


I knew we would be spending our downtime together in the condo and I wanted it to be special. I ordered a million legos off ebay and wouldn't let anyone touch them until the trip. This is REALLY special because I have banished legos from our home. Baby Adeline put everything in her mouth and they didn't keep them picked up, so in the trash they went! Now that Adeline is 2 and has outgrown the whole mouth thing (and there aren't anymore little Pattersons coming along!) I decided to give legos another chance. Anyway...this was a huge hit. Everyone (including mom and dad) made spaceships and I think they had as much fun with the legos as they did on the beach.


I tried to do a photo shoot on the beach. I really need to stress the TRIED part. It was a fiasco. I should have taken into account the fact that one of my four children HATES the beach. The other three weren't much better. I was so bummed because they looked so cute! This picture sums it up:


This is the best one I got:


Anna wouldn't stop picking up the shells...but she looked really pretty doing it!



Handsome dudes


Man...I miss these sunsets. I want to go back to the beach!


Here is the really cool souvenir shop where we bought our hermit crabs.


Yes...we really came home with hermit crabs and that is a whole seperate post!

Twilight Trivia Answers

I have been such a slacker...I never posted the answers to the Twilight Trivia from my twilight party and I have had many requests for them. Here you go!

Twilight Trivia

twilight

1. What day is Bella’s human Birthday?

September 13th

2. Name the Cullens in order of induction into the family.

Carlisle, Edward, Esme, Rosalie, Emmet, Jasper and Alice at the same time.

3. What food did Edward eat to show Bella what happens when he eats food?

Pizza

4. When and where was Edward born (as a human)?
a. 1918, New York
b. 1901, New York
c. 1918, Chicago
d. 1901, Chicago X

5. What happens to vampires in the sun?

They sparkle

6. Name one of Bella’s teachers at Forks high.

Coach Clapp- gym
Mr. Mason- English
Jefferson- Government
Mr. Varner- Trig
Mr. Banner- Biology
*Mr. Molina not one of her teachers!

7. Where does Bella’s mom move to at the end of the book?

Jacksonville, FL (because Phil is signed by the Suns)

8. Where does James lure Bella?

A ballet studio

new moon

9. What color were Edward’s eyes before he became a vampire?

Green- the same color as his mother’s

10. Who is not one of the 3 Volturi?
a. Caius
b. Aro
c. Demetri X
d. Marcus

11. Name one of the 3 things Bella got for her birthday from the Cullens.

(Question should have been three from the Cullens…it’s more than three if you count Carlie and Renee)
Radio for her truck
Plane tickets
CD from Edward of him playing the piano

12. What is Edward’s FULL name?

Edward Anthony Mason (Cullen)

13. Who finds Bella in the forest after Edward leaves?

Sam Uley

14. What type of music does Bella put on in Jessica’s car on the way to Port Angeles?

Rap

15. What is Sam’s Fiancée’s name?

Emily

16. What kind of car does Alice “borrow” in Italy?

Yellow Porche 911 Turbo

eclipse

17. What book is Bella re-reading?

Wuthering Heights

18. What foreign country does Bella call herself?

Switzerland

19. How many people has Rosalie killed?

7: The 5 men who attacked her and 2 guards (She saved Royce for last!)

20. Where is Jasper from?

Houston, TX

21. Who was Rosalie set to marry (as a human)?
a. Bryant Knight
b. Royce King X
c. Garrett Prince
d. Bryant Duke

22. What two charms does Bella have on her bracelet?

Wooden wolf and diamond heart

23. What does Jacob call himself in the tent?

A space heater

24. What city does Charlie want Bella to stay away from?

Seattle

breaking dawn

25. What does the cover of Breaking Dawn represent?
a. A chess game Edward and Alice playing
b. It does not represent anything; Stephenie had no choice in the matter
c. Bella starting out as the weakest, but ending up the strongest X
d. Edward protecting weak Bella

26. What is the name of Edward and Bella’s daughter?

Renesmee Carlie (nickname Nessie)
Renesmee for Renee and Esme, and Carlie for Carlisle and Charlie

27. Who ratted out the Cullens about their daughter?

Irina (Tanya’s sister)

28. Who does Bella hire as her bodyguard so Edward won’t force her to get an abortion?

Rosalie

29. What makes Bella so mad that she almost kills Jacob as soon as she is a newborn vampire?

Jacob has imprinted on her daughter

30. What is Bella's power as a vampire?

She is a “shield”. Her own mind is protected even as a human, but as a vampire she is able to push her shield out and protect other people.

31. Why does Alice leave?
To go find another half-vampire

32. What is the title of the final chapter? (Do not open the book!)

The Happily Ever After

Movie

33. What is the population of Forks?

3,120

34. What color is Bella’s comforter set?

Purple

35. In Biology class, what is the prize for the first team to correctly identify the stages of mitosis?

The Golden Onion

36. Who was the first “out” in the baseball game?

Rosalie

37. What does Bella order the 1st time she goes into the diner?

Garden Burger

38. What is the Forks high prom theme?

Monte Carlo/James Bond

39. What food does Edward compare his diet to?

Tofu

40. What is your favorite scene from the movie?

Surgery Went Well

I haven't been much of a blogger lately, but I wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that we are home and Aiden is doing great!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Aiden had surgery at the Arkansas Children's hospital in Little Rock on Wednesday.

A few months ago he had a large cyst develop under his tongue. His ENT drained 22 cc of fluid out of it...that thing was huge! That gave him temporary relief, but in order to keep it from coming back, he had to have the haywire salivary gland removed.

Usually a regular ENT can do a ranula removal, but Aiden's was in a really weird place so his ENT sent us to Childrens. The CT showed that the cyst was "midline" (apparently very unusual) and they thought that both sublingual salivary glands would have to be removed.

The surgery took half as long as expected, and it turned out that they only needed to take one gland! He checked all the others and they look fine. Yippee! Everyone was very surprised and happy.

It was such a struggle to decide to do the surgery. He could have gone years without the cyst coming back. Three ENT's and an oral surgen all agreed that we should do it. But what really made me feel good about it was the calm reassurance I got in answer to my prayers.

Aiden has been such a trooper and I am certainly happy to have it over with! Thank you all for your prayers and offers of help.

TEA Party

Hey everyone! I'm going a TEA Party tomorrow and I want to invite you to come with me. No, this isn't a Fancy Nancy style tea party, this is a tell-the-government-to-quit-spending-money-we-don't-have Tea Party.

TEA stands for Taxed Enough Already. And you better believe our taxes will be going way up- and soon.

If the Patterson family was in a recession- say Aaron lost his job- and we decided that borrowing and spending lots of money was the best solution, would you support us? I hope not. If we announced that "things are kind of tight for us right now, so we decided to buy a new van and take a trip to Disney- all on borrowed money". You would think we were nuts. We try to teach our kids FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, yet we have a government that ignores the "responsibility" part completely.

The government has taken on an enormous debt burden in order to do things like buy energy efficient vehicles and bail out companies that are failing because they are forced to pander to unions.

This debt will destroy us.

The bigger problem: that's exactly what they want. The worse shape we are in, the more control we will be willing to give up. The more willing we will be to accept government "programs" and "regulations" and "bailouts".

Well, you know what? I don't want the government to control my life!

So that is why I am attending a TEA Party. I am standing up and saying WE THE PEOPLE! This is our country and we are taking it back! I am going to take my kids with me. My kids WILL know that the constitution is important.

If you feel the same way, I hope you will attend with me! For those in Bentonville, there is one on the Bentonville Square tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15th (Tax Day) from 5:00 to 7:00. Or visit http://www.teapartyrevolution.com/ to find one in your area.

Twilight Party!

Two of my favorite things...parties and Twilight! So I combined the two and had a Twilight party to celebrate the release of the DVD. It was a blast (it was also a week ago...I'm so behind, but I just had to post these pics!)

James greeted my guests at the door...I thought the "you brought a snack" was so cute because everyone brought a snack!



Here are a few shots of my decor. I had a few people tell me they weren't expecting decorations. Do they not know me at all! Anna loved the decorations and wanted to help with everything (that's my girl!). She said "Mommy, is it your BIRTHDAY?" I was a little confused and said, "no, mommy's birthday is in August". And she said "then why are you having a party?!?!" I guess that's one of the benefits of being an adult. You can have a party whenever you want!










We started the evening off with some Twilight Trivia. It covers all four books and the movie. Everyone thought it was pretty hard. Melissa won with 34 out of 40 and Alissa came in second with 30 out of 40...very well done ladies! I will paste in the questions at the end of my post for those of you who would like to give it a shot!

I mentioned that everyone brought "a snack". Actually, they brought a twilight-themed snack. I was so proud to have such creative friends! I didn't think to take pictures until after we started consuming, so everything doesn't look quite as pretty as it started out.
















The prize went to Jessica for "Rosalie's Werewolf Kibble". I think the dog bowl was the perfect touch!



Second place was Lacy's "O+". A very yummy interpretation of what Bella drank during her pregnancy.



Here are some pictures of the group. Don't you love it when someone snaps your picture while you're eating?







Watching the movie was a blast! We sort of picked it apart (in a loving way!) I will never watch it again without thinking about Bella's constantly open "wants to be kissed" mouth. Thanks Linsey! My biggest pet peeve about the movie (besides the butchered meadow scene) is Rosalie's roots! Come on, vampires don't have roots. Thankfully, I read that she is wearing a wig in New Moon. Sorry...back to the party!

Everyone left with a party favor. Twilight Conversation Hearts...aren't they fun!



I can't wait to throw a New Moon party!

Here is the trivia I promised (the formatting is a little off):

Twilight Trivia

twilight

1. What day is Bella’s Birthday?

2. Name the Cullens in order of induction into the family

3. What food did Edward eat to show Bella what happens when he eats food?

4. When and where was Edward born?
a. 1918, New York
b. 1901, New York
c. 1918, Chicago
d. 1901, Chicago

5. What happens to vampires in the sun?

6. Name one of Bella’s teachers at Forks high.

7. Where does Bella’s mom move to at the end of the book?

8. Where does James lure Bella?

new moon

9. What color were Edward’s eyes before he became a vampire?

10. Who is not one of the 3 Volturi?
a. Caius
b. Aro
c. Demetri
d. Marcus

11. Name one of the 3 things Bella got for her birthday from the Cullens.

12. What is Edward’s FULL name?

13. Who finds Bella in the forest after Edward leaves?

14. What type of music does Bella put on in Jessica’s car on the way to Port Angeles?

15. What is Sam’s Fiancée’s name?

16. What kind of car does Alice “borrow” in Italy?

eclipse

17. What book is Bella re-reading?

18. What foreign country does Bella call herself?

19. How many people has Rosalie killed?

20. Where is Jasper from?

21. Who was Rosalie set to marry (as a human)?
a. Bryant Knight
b. Royce King
c. Garrett Prince
d. Bryant Duke
22. What two charms does Bella have on her bracelet?

23. What does Jacob call himself in the tent?

24. What city does Charlie want Bella to stay away from?

breaking dawn

25. What does the cover of Breaking Dawn represent?
a. A chess game Edward and Alice playing
b. It does not represent anything; Stephenie had no choice in the matter
c. Bella starting out as the weakest, but ending up the strongest
d. Edward protecting weak Bella

26. What is the name of Edward and Bella’s daughter?

27. Who ratted out the Cullens about their daughter?

28. Who does Bella hire as her bodyguard so Edward won’t force her to get an abortion?

29. What makes Bella so mad that she almost kills Jacob as soon as she is a newborn vampire?

30. What is Bella's power as a vampire?

31. Why does Alice leave?

32. What is the title of the final chapter? (Do not open the book!)

Movie

33. What is the population of Forks?

34. What color is Bella’s comforter set?

35. In Biology class, what is the prize for the first team to correctly identify the stages of mitosis?

36. Who was the first “out” in the baseball game?

37. What does Bella order the 1st time she goes into the diner?

38. What is the Forks high prom theme?

39. What food does Edward compare his diet to?

40. What is your favorite scene from the movie?

I'll post the answers in a few days.

Magic Tree House Date

On Saturday I was able to go on a date with my Abbott. We went to see “Magic Tree House: The Musical” at The Walton Arts Center.

Here is Abbott before the show. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take ANY pictures during the show (even without a flash). I decided to be a good example and obey.

 

The show was actually pretty good…better than I expected. Abbott’s favorite part was when all of the people in Camelot were frozen. He thought it was pretty neat that they could stay still so long. He tried it, but discovered that being still isn’t one of his talents. My favorite part was when Jack and Annie fought off the dragons!

During intermission we saw Mary Pope Osborne (the author of MTH) sitting a few rows behind us.

 

The picture is a little blurry because there were so many kids moving around and I didn’t want to use the flash. I figured pictures were legal because it wasn’t actually part of the show, but I didn’t want to draw attention to myself. It was really neat to see her. She was on stage before the show and talked about how she doesn’t go to many shows, but she really wanted to come to Fayetteville because of all the neat things the Walton Arts Center was doing.

After the show with Jack and Annie (sort of...)

 

After the show we went to lunch. I really, really love going on dates with my kids. We only do it a couple times a year (each), and I think that is what makes it really special. I get to spoil them for this one day. Soda with lunch? Sure. 50 cents for the dumb claw game? Sure. Eat without your hands? (only Abbott!) Sure. You get the picture. All of the things that I say no to every other day of the year suddenly become a yes.

Needless to say, they LOVE dates with mom! Abbott gave me a big hug on Saturday and said “this is the best date ever!”

Which is why I do it. I want them to love dates with mom when they are 16. Do you think there is a chance? It will probably cost me more than 50 cents.

How to keep your kids away from the Thin Mints

I am a little psychotic about my Thin Mints. I hoard them, I love them, I eat way too many off them. Thank goodness they can only be purchased once a year!

Seriously, they have to be laced with some kind of illegal substance. How else could they be so addicting? Those sneaky girl scouts!

When I was pregnant with Adeline, I went in for a monthly doctor's appointment. I gained 12 pounds that month, and I had to tell Dr. Sarver that it was all Thin Mints (I went to Wal-Mart two weekends in a row when they were selling them out front, and re-loaded up. I now have a rule that I only get what I originally order. I have forbidden myself from getting anywhere near Wal-Mart or Sam's Club on Saturday!)

Restricting myself to the six boxes that I originally ordered has made me a little nuttier about hoarding them. Seriously, can the kids appreciate the pure joy of a Thin Mint?

I try to only eat them when I'm alone, so I don't have to share. Unfortunately, that doesn't always work. So I figured it out. When the kids say "mommy can I have one of your cookies?" I sweetly say "Sure honey, let me get you one."

Then, I reach into the cabinet and pull out one of these



Keebler Grasshopper cookies. For the record, I don't like them. They are a sad imitation of a Thin Mint and have a weird texture.

BUT...kids can't tell the difference!

So I get to be the nice mom that shares her cookies, but I don't actually have to share any of my cookies!

I feel so smart.