An update from a nonexistent blogger

I don't really know why I have been nonexistent on my blog these days. It is turning into a mommy blog all about kids, when I originally set out to basically journal. I want it to be about me, darn it!!! However, lots of my readers are checking in on the kids through this anyway, so I may as well embrace it. It has also not become quite what I expected. I haven't put a lot of time into finding friends or bloggers, so it just isn't the friend tool it can be. I'm also having a hard time lately with wondering what creep-o's out there could track us down -- let's call it security issues. So instead of figuring stuff out, I've disappeared. I'll get back into this one of these days!

For now, I'm so far behind, that I'll just update most recent events. Here are the kids with summer hair - look how light, and what a buzz cut on my big boy. I got a little carried away teaching myself how to use the electric clippers...... But it has grown on me, and Matthew loves it!

We are just getting back from a trip to sunny CA, which it really was this time! It was fun for all the cousins on my side of the family to see each other. And can I preface this all by saying I was the worst photo journalist of all time on this trip??? Now that I'm back, I realize I have next to no pictures. We were there to see my 6-week now 7-week new niece, and do you think I took any pictures of her? NO! Well, 2, but they weren't even great shots. And no, not because of my niece, because she's absolutely adorable, but because I apparently do not take good pictures. And now that there's a load of little ones, most of the time none of us had the time to even think of breaking out the camera. I sure hope someone else did better than me! Swimming? No pics. Airplane ride? No pics. Newborn? 2 mediocre pics. Fun with family friends who have triplets? A few mediocre, if that, pics. So here are some from the night the whole CA branch of the family met up with us.

Staredown between cousins Ellie and Mackenzie -- this lasted quite a long time with the two of them standing in this exact spot - they looked back and forth from each other to the kitty toys in their hands, since there are so many kitty toys associated with the presence of FOUR cats in a house. (I won't be running out to get 3 more to add to our house!)

Random silliness -- Mackenzie has discovered somersaults and rolling around like a crazy woman!
And here's the closest pic I have to kids in the sunshine. Why am I lame? Who cares about my lameness, aren't they darling?

Matthew was a dream come true on this trip. No problems with him. Ellie did pretty well on the flight out, minus a couple outbursts, but the 2nd leg of the flight back was horrendous. My Ellie dear fights sleep like a professional, and she was completely exhausted and crabby, but unwilling to let herself sleep. Sorry NW flight companions. That flight was only 2 hours, and it felt like 14. I can say this since I don't anticipate it coming to fruition, that my idea of hell would be being trapped on an airplane with an overtired child. But all is well, we had a great time, we're back safe and sound, and if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go continue the post-trip re-training. Apparently we were a little too lax on rules while traveling or something. Sheesh. Lesson learned. FINE. :)