What Kale will do for M&Ms!

Batman has began his potty training adventure. He's doing pretty okay with it. Occasionally he will actually tell us he needs to go but it is still rare. Usually it is just Steve and I remembering to take him. He doesn't really complain about trying and is pretty quick about it. We started pull-up as soon as we came back from vacation and it made him mad! He told me to take it off and change his diaper. Once he figured out we were moving forward with this he was on board. Now if he goes in his pull-up he gets a sad face and says, "Sorry. Maybe next time." We he does get it right his face lights up and he says with a grin, "I get M&Ms!" Then he flushes, waves it bye-bye and proudly tells anyone near him about his accomplishment. Our goal is to have him in big boy undies by the time he goes back to the babysitter but that deadline is coming fast and I'm not sure that we will make it.

He is also really into saying,"Watch me" and then doing some uneventful activity. I think in the car ride home from church today he said,"Watch me" at least 50 times and he just putting a string on different parts of his outfit. Sometimes he is actually attempting to be tricky, like doing the splits or walking on his hands and feet at the same time. I would love to know what goes on in that thinker of his.

Logan Skied!!!!!!!!!!!

Logan may be the youngest of the Johnston family to ever ski. I was pretty surprised when he showed an interest but he asked several times. So this week we picked up a pair of learning skis and we went to the lake tonight. We had the cove to our self and the water was like glass. The skis are strapped together with a bar and the rope clips to the same bar. The rope as a handle on each end so that when he fell he wasn't drug around Steve could just let go of the rope. After the first try he was freakin' out and pretty afraid but gave it another and got right up. He gave it 10+ attempts and got to where he would ski for a short way and then lose his balance. He is really proud of himself and if it were up to him he would have stayed after it until the sun went down. I was in the water helping him get started so I had to swim the distance he skied. I got a pretty good workout! Steve had a tough job as well. He had to watch 2 kids in the boat, drive, be the spotter, hold the other end of the ski rope and properly document this feat. He was able to get a pretty decent video.

Lucas tried one time and gave up within milliseconds of Steve putting the boat in gear. I really think he could have done it had he not been so afraid. I was proud that he tried. Here's proof that he swims like a fish now.

Cinco de Drama

Tooth #5 finally came out but not without a lot of drama. Yesterday he agreed to let me pull as it was really wigglely and driving him crazy. Well, he let me in to get one not-so-great tug on it and boy did it bleed. I think it hurt a little and it definitely freaked him out so he wouldn't let me back in to finish the job no matter what bribe I threw at him. The tooth was barely hanging on and about 2 hours later he admitted that it was driving him crazy and he would let me try again. Before I could even try, he freak out and wouldn't open his mouth. He's a strong little guy so Steve held his arms and I eventually got in and with one little tug that baby was out. He was really glad once it was over! Now he say it just feels funny and he keeps putting his tongue in the gap.

Weekend Wrap-up

Although it's Monday and I'm just now posting stuff from the weekend I'd like to think it's because it was such an amazing, fun filled weekend that I just didn't have the time but, the truth is I wanted to watch Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel. This doesn't really count as watching the History Channel as it's Ice Road Truckers and should be considered part of my passion for mindless TV.

Although, it is true that we did have a great weekend. We spent nearly 7 hours on the lake on Saturday and just over 3 hours on Sunday. The big news is that Lucas, the boy who really fears very little, has conquered his fear of swimming in the lake. By Sunday he was swimming wherever he wanted and was even jumping off the back of the boat. He even swam away from the boat to the rock with the Dad's and big kids. He's not in the picture as he was exploring around the rock at the time. We are very proud of him and he is very proud of himself. He said, "Now I don't have to take naps anymore since I use so much energy swimming so I won't be super silly." While we applaud his effort the nap stays.


I too investigated the rock and will not go back. When they tell you it's slippery under the water, it is. I have a bruise on my backside to prove it.

Kale(actually all the boys) learned the important lesson on why Mom never let's them take their life jacket's off when he fell in trying to jump off the back of the boat into the tube. He was perfectly fine but it scared him just enough for a few alligator tears. Sunday evening we practically had the lake to ourselves and took the time to get this out of practice, out of shape girl up on the slalom ski. All the boys were amazed at my ability to ski for a grand total of 5 minutes. I am slowly recovering the use of my arms!

Logan had a milestone this weekend (other than losing his front tooth). He had his first sleepover at a friends house. After the lake on Saturday he spent the night at Cole James' house. Cole & Logan both went to the same babysitter until they were 3 and have reacquainted through soccer, baseball & the lake. He had tons of fun but came home with the sleepover hangover. Lot's of whining and complaining due to lack of sleep. I sounded just like my mother when I said, "Perhaps we shouldn't go on sleepovers if that is how we are going to act when we get home." FYI, that did not help with the whining.

Number 4 Gone....

Logan let me pull his fourth tooth today. He had to be bribed with a handfull of M&Ms, oh well. Number 5 is not far behind. He won't let me touch it right now. One tooth a day I guess. I would say within a week my big boy will be missing his 2 front teeth. He is calling Em right now to tell her that now they both are missing a top tooth.

Gulf Shores Vacation

We had the best time on our vacation last week. We made the long drive to Gulf Shores, Al. We piled in one car and the Kaiser family piled into their hot red Impala that they rented. We made it there in 12 uneventful hours. They kids handled it like a champ. The drive was a dream come true for Lucas since he was able to watch hours straight of Scooby Doo! Our condo was on the 9th floor and it was very important to predetermine who got to push the buttons to avoid the mad dash and WWF wrestling event at the elevator. Our approach to each day was to stay up late, get up late, eat fried food (usually at the Shrimp Basket) for lunch, nap some of the kids, hit the beach, go to the pool, crab hunt and crash. If you ask any of the kids the pool was way more fun that the beach. Logan and Em were the bravest of the kids and "surfed" their buggie boards and jumped the waves. Em even let Steve bury her in the sand. We watched the Sea Turtle volunteers dig a huge hole in the sand trying to find a nest to relocate the eggs for safety. Kasey and I still remain the Baggo champions as I think Steve and Ryan only won 1 game. Keep trying guys! Several mornings we saw dolphins from the balcony. One day we took a dolphin and nature boat trip and were able to see several dolphins and a couple of babies. We also became very aware of the abundance of jelly fish in the area. Our guardian angels were with us as no one was stung.

Here are the top 10 things we learned on vacation: 1. Camden can wear 8 swim suits at once, 2. Not all Kodak cameras use the same chargers, 3. Some sand makes noise when you walk on it, 4. Kale is an amazing dancer 5. Never count on the dryer to work, 6. Putting sand in your hair is really fun but fixing pony tails is not 7. Teenage kids draw inappropriate things in the sand over night, 8. Making up songs to get the kids to eat dinner is not always a good idea, 9. Ryan is not young enough to use a skim board and finally, 10. Always take Kasey as she is walking pharmacy/drug dealer (Steve and his kidney stone are very thankful!)

Steve made sure to keep the drive home long and interesting. Our first stop in Mississippi was 2 hours and $200 for a new tire. We later made another emergency stop just after lunch when his kidney stone started moving. It wasn't pretty. While 5 kids in a 3 bedroom condo can be really noisy after 7 days we are all definitely glad we did it and are willing to do it again. Here's a short video from the trip and a link to our pictures Kasey posted on Kodak Gallery (warning there are a lot of them!).