What is Family?

After having spent the last week enjoying the sand, sun and surf of North Carolina's Outer Banks with my parents, my siblings, all my nieces and nephews, my husband and our children...I am left pondering the question...

How am I supposed to live the eternities with these people when a week with them is pushing it?

Do not get me wrong here...I love my family more than anything in this world. I have amazing parents who love me and have given me a solid foundation which has allowed me to grow and develop in this world. I have terrific siblings who would do anything for me...they are selfless, kind hearted and beautifully opinionated. I wouldn't change them or their personalities because that's what makes them who they are and quite frankly I like who they are as people. Though I might divert their attentions elsewhere at times.

But this Saturday, I found myself driving home thinking if I never vacation with these people again it wouldn't be too soon. Why is it that this same family I was so eager to drive away from are also the same people who if I haven't seen in a while, can actually make me so homesick that my soul aches until it physically hurts.

I think maybe that is part of the plan.

I mean...if staying at home with your Mom and Dad for the rest of your life were really that enjoyable you would want to do it forever. After living away from my parent's home for 17 years and spending the last 10 years creating a new life for myself, Mitchell and our children. I am starting to see that as I child I thought many of the same ways that my parents did. But part of becoming a healthy adult is stretching yourself which may mean not always thinking the same way as your family does. In some cases....and in some families...that at times leads to disagreements.

But I think the good new is that means that my parents did their job with me...Yes, It might bite them in the butt at times (I love hard and I fight the same way...lol) but, they taught me to be independent, to be a problem solver, to think outside of the box and for myself.

I must say despite the "tidbits" of drama. It was a once in a lifetime vacation.

Not only was my parents, siblings and all of our kids there but in the identical house next door....was my Maternal Grandparents, two of my mother's sisters and one of her brothers and their families. It was a blast!

We spent the week doing it like the Lenharr's do!

9-4 on the beach...in the waves, on the sand, under the ugly green umbrella with the fringe. No one ever gets lost when we have that sucker! We caught up on the missed stories of the past, shared Beachy treats, and passed around the sunblock. We spent the nights cooking dinners, playing in the Pool and the Hot Tub, shopping and eating Ice Cream.

The best investments the Mitchell Clan made this trip were two shovels @ $3 a piece and two Boogie Boards at $10.44 a piece at the WalMart in Kill Devil Hills.

Stone, Jonas, and at times Ethan spent the majority of their days on the beach digging holes in the sand. Who said manual labor wasn't good for them? Stone's behavior was the best it has been in months! When the boys were not digging they were out on their Boards taking on the NC waves which were quite tame until Friday and then the kids were being rolled on a consistent basis. At one point Stone got rolled so bad his nose started to bleed. I thought it was kinda cool and I think he did too. He still got back in the water and kept on riding the waves!

Phoenix took to the water like we all know she does and never got out. The whole entire time she was either Boogie Boarding or braving the waves as the crashed down on top of her. She was a Fish! When we got back to the house from a day of Ocean fun the first thing she asked to do after being showered and fed was to get into the Pool. I am surprised the girl is not permanently water logged. :) I must say she is a girl after my own heart! On that Friday with the rough waves Phoenix got rolled a good 20 times and each and every time she came up with a giant smile. We were taking about a cup full of rocks out of her suit almost every hour.

Avery being the character that she is was everywhere. She did well in the water and on the sand. She was once found trying to follow a man and his dog down the beach. Apparently all it takes to steal little Miss Avery is a dog with a ball. She was pleasant and loved every part of the vacation...except for the top of her swimming suit it seems...lol

The twins did well. They slept a lot...We did have one incident when Zion tried to bury himself to death in the sand but he was saved and no perminate damage was done. Both babies did well in the Ocean water for the first time. Cy LOVES the water and took to it very well. Zion...he needed a bit of warming up and he still was a bit unsure of the whole process. On the last day I took them both in all the way and was jumping the waves with them. They enjoyed it but the water was a bit too cold so they didnt stay in that long.

They loved playing in the sand...but unfortunately they also like to eat it. Cy was shoving it in by the fist fulls. So on the beach they were either being held by sweet Olivia or in the port-a-crib that we hauled down to the beach everyday.

Mitchell took the kids to play Putt-Putt, on a Ferry Ride and to a Lighthouse, and we all went Go-Carting and to a early morning Pancake breakfast. He likes the beach but where I am content to just sit and stew in my vegetation all week Mitchell seems to get a bit bored...Go figure!

So he found himself a nice balance of things to do. With the bigger house in NC equipped to the hilt with amenities I do believe he will do NC over Rehoboth anytime.

I...Myself...anytime I am on the beach...I am happy as can be and the longer I can be there the better!

I had an Amazing time! My children had an Amazing time! My Husband had an Amazing time!

I guess that may be the point of it all. Everything doesn't have to be perfect where family is concerned...it just has to be!

Thanks Mom and Dad...You are appreciated~!

Love You!

I Thought I Left That Mess Out West!

Two weeks ago Phoenix had her last field trip of first grade to Wicked R Ranch.

I attended this particular field trip with Stone two years ago and was astounded by the fact that (A) There's a Rodeo in Delaware and (B) I have never had so much fun at a field trip....EVER!

So when the permission slip arrived home for this little gem....I wasn't about to miss the fun.

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The day at the Ranch starts out with the Cowgirls riding their horses. They start with Barrel races and then move on to another event where they go in and out of these poles (you see how knowledgeable I am about the whole subject) They even had the daughters of the family who owned the Ranch riding and they were 9 and 5...it was so fun to watch!

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Next was the Bull riders and the kids went crazy over that jazz! I must say even I myself who hate all things "Cowboy" was getting the adrenaline flowing over the hype of it all. There were five Bull riders and three were able to stay on for the allotted eight seconds. This was much better than the year we were there with Stone's class...that year no one made it to the horn.

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My dear sweet Pheaney was not impressed as she is apparently all about the girl power. At lunch...which directly followed the Bull riders the Cowgirls and Bull riders came out to sign the kids neckerchiefs and Phoenix wanted none of the Bull riders autographs...she only wanted the girls to sign! I love it :)

After that we went to the petting zoo part and was able to meet pigs, bulls, lambs, ponies, horses, bunnies, and other friendly animals. Phoenix was being a little momma's girl and holding my hand the whole time. I did not mind at all because Phoenix is usually the exact opposite and it completely independent and has no time for me so I enjoyed the extra minutes of love! (She was really tired that day)

Next it was on to the pony ride. Phoenix loved the ride...Ride em Cowgirl!

She then jumped onto the bulltrain... making sure to pick the yellow car (her favorite color of course) and got a special ride to the playground to await the hayride to the ghost town. At the playground we took the fun picture below as I was the cow and Phoenix wanted to be the horse. (Moooo...Neigh, Neigh)

To end the day they had the kids back to the arena where they played Tug of War and had Sack Races on teams. It was crazy competitive! The kids loved it and so did the adults.

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The festivities ended with the infamous bull ride. It was a great day!

I cannot wait until Avery's in first grade and has her Wicked R Ranch experience! It's always a full day of fun...Maybe next time I can talk Mitchell into checking it out too! Ride em Cowboy Mitchell!

Full Circle

So about a month ago I paid way too much money to join the only swim team in the surrounding area within a 30 minute drive from us. I was disgusted with the price but I don't know how I could put a price on giving my children the opportunity to experience the greatest love of my life. Over the years as they have gotten older without being involved on a Swim Team I have felt guilt as I wondered if I was neglecting to share with one or many of my children the many, many personal positive attributes that I have received from the Sport. Most of which I owe the core of who I know I am to. Without the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Swimming I don't know that I would have made it in this world...as a matter of fact I'm pretty sure I would not have!

So today for the first time I took my five children to to pool. Stone and Phoenix were properly attired for the team. BTW: The Speedo's of this generation....boys...are much less nut hugging. I am sure that I can speak for us all when I say it is a welcomed change! lol. They each had their goggles and Phoenix "forgot" her cap as she was a bit unsure about the whole thing but once she got there and saw all the other girls with one on she was then asking for the one she hid from me before we left the house.

(I am going to skip the Stone swimming story for now and just focus on Phoenix...I will hit Stone on a different day as it is just as amusing in its own right)

So I was sitting on the side of the pool in the humidity, smelling the familiar smells, hearing the familiar sounds, getting splashed by the teenage girl in the far lane who obviously needing work on her kick. I sat there feeling tortured that I had to sit on the sidelines to a sport which runs through my blood. There was nothing I wanted more than to be in the water but this wasn't about me as I found Phoenix swimming and was filled with pride as I watched her and my legacy live on.

My parents had told me as a child that they put me in the water and that I just kind of began to swim. I believed that until I gave birth to Stone and the boy sank in the water like and anchor. It took a lot of work to get him to learn to blow bubbles let alone float...heaven forbid something that actually resembled swimming. Then when Phoenix was three and she attended Pre-School at St. Andrew's (which is where we were actually practicing tonight) Once a week the Pre-School program had a free swim for all the kids and I took Phoenix. I am not lying when I say the girl just started to swim. (by swim I mean floating doggy paddle) On the first day I had her in the pool she went off the diving board and swam to the other side to climb up the ladder by herself. I was amazed...I guess my parents weren't mistaken in their old age!

So here we are almost four years later...in the same exact pool and I am watching my little protege do her thing. She is swimming like a 8 and under champ...A few strokes that resemble freestyle, some doggypaddle, and at least one break per lap for a second or two on the wall. I was so proud!

And then it Happened...Swimmers to the Block.

I walked over with my camera phone in hand like the goofiest mother in the world...I couldn't believe I was actually going to get a picture of my daughter on the block for the first time in her life...I'm sure I looked goofy to all the other parents, but I did not care. I was fighting back the tears which were welling up inside me. My heart knew the weight of this situation ~ My oldest daughter was standing on the deck. She took the first step and then the second...The instructor told her to wrap her toes around the block...I snapped a picture as my life was flashing before my eyes yet knowing this moment had nothing to do with me...I was proud...I was almost passing the torch if you will. It felt as if I was giving my daughter one of my greatest gifts ~the secret to my happiness to my self esteem to my strengh. To the knowledge that I can and will do anything I put my mind to. All of these things I learned about myself by being one place and my daughter was standing there and had just looked over the glory of it all and was jumping in with both feet. It is my hope that she will know these things about herself...If she doesn't learn them through the pool as I did just as long as she learns them!



When we got home I told her how proud I was of her that she finished the whole practice and kept on swimming even though I know it was hard. She said to me that it really was hard and that she wanted to quit many times but that she really likes to swim in the pool and even though one time she thought she was going to drowned she didn't and she wont ever give up.

~That's my girl~

Stoney B turned 9...

Look who's getting older...

Stone is a spectacular kid! I tell him how special he is because he was my first born. He was the first child to ever make me a Mommy and the first child to ever make Daddy a Daddy. Sometimes it is hard being the first born in a family as both Mitchell and I can attest, but we tell Stone how proud we are of him for being such a great kid and a strong leader in our home. We all buckle under the pressure sometimes...but overall I would choose Stone on my team 100% of the time.

Stone left me feeling a bit old this last week, which to me is quite strange because for the most part my age is not something that has ever bothered me...in fact I quite enjoy getting older. My dear child turned nine years old on May 28th and I thought my goodness that is almost a decade that I have been a Mother...How in the world did that happen? He is closer to a teenager than to a toddler, and in nine more years my child will be eighteen. Someone pass me a pill I think I feel a migraine coming on!

So in honor of my son's birthday I will tag him for some valuable information so that you may get to know him a little better.

Full Name: Stone Greyson
Favorite Color: Red
What do you want to be when you grow up: In the Air Force
What is your favorite Sport to play: Football
What is your favorite Food: Macaroni and Cheese

What makes you Happy: Playing Football
What makes you Scared: Spiders
What will you do right after High School: College

Do you collect anything? Yes...I collect air.

What are you good at? Video Games

What is your favorite part of your family? Staying up late sometimes
What is your favorite subject in school? Recess
What is your favorite TV show? SpongeBob
What is your favorite Book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid
What is the best thing about you? That I am smart

Happy 9th Birthday Stoney B.

I love you and am so proud to be your Momma!