A million and one

I have about a million and one things bouncing around in my head right now.  I think everyone could probably be a complete post on it's own, but I don't see that happening.

1) I look back on life before I had Colton and I'm amazed at what I could accomplish.  Now, by the time I've wrestled the kids into bed at night I can hardly keep my own eyes open.  I have to psyche myself up all day long to do anything other than collapse on the couch after the kids are in bed and I've cleaned up the mess of the day.  I also don't have reliable nap times to work with.  Colton seems to be in the same nap category as Madison was: short naps only.  Jaxon sleeps like a teenager.  Really.  He gets mad when I have to wake him up, even to do something fun.  Point is, the whole "get stuff done while the kids sleep" approach just hasn't been working too great since #3 came along.

2) Yesterday there was a tornado warning while Chris and I were at the temple.  I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life.  I wasn't scared for us.  I was scared for my kids at home and the babysitter. We had to evacuate to the basement of the temple in the middle of our session. I didn't have my cell phone.  I didn't have a computer.  All that the temple workers were saying is that a tornado had touched down in the Dallas area.  Panic!  I'm not a worrier.  But this time I did.  I was terrified that something was going to happen to the kids and I wouldn't know.  I was even more concerned that I knew they were scared and I couldn't comfort them.  We all survived, obviously.   The tornado wasn't too close to us.  Evidently this was only the second time in 26 years that people at the temple had to go to the basement for a tornado warning.  All I can say is that I never want to feel helpless like that again.

3) My kids are really funny.  They also drive me nuts.  I wish there was a way to explain how they drive me crazy all day, but I can't get enough of them.  It's a weird paradox.  I want to find a way to balance the things I need to do for the house/church/people in need etc. with the things I want to do with the kids.  I don't have a spotless house and I don't care, but it kills me when I'm making dinner, but I really want to be squishing the baby and reading to the kids. Confession: sometimes I let the kids skip their baths so we have more time to play.  I need a wife of my own I think.

I ran out of deep thoughts.  I'm sure they are in there but I'm fading fast.  I guess three thoughts isn't a million, but whatever.

We also just got back from a fun trip to Florida.  In the past year we have been to the beach in Hawaii, Florida, and California.  Hawaii is obviously the most exotic and the water is the clearest, but I have to say, for the money and the proximity, Pensacola, Florida is gorgeous!  The sand was literally white and the water was clearer and warmer than in California.  I'm definitely sold.

This is the only picture where my hair wan't crazy. 

Madison was obsessed with building sand castles

See, crazy hair.

Mermaid Madison, if only it were true.  She's be in heaven.

The only one of our kids who like the ocean.  He thought the waves were hilarious.

Jaxon pretty much hid in a hole the whole time we were at the beach.  Literally.  He liked his hole though, so that's something.

Naval air museum.

Look at my little standing man.  There's a story that goes along with the pride I feel every time I see this kid put weight on his legs.  Evidently we have a very happy, complacent, fat, content, lazy baby who isn't too eager to overexert himself physically.  He's made great strides in the last month, though, thanks to the Sarah Wise therapy program.

Captain Jaxon