Butterflies, Battles, Bags, and Bananas

Jake got a butterfly habitat for his birthday from a neighbor. We ordered the larvae online and watched the process from larvae to painted lady butterflies. We ended up with three butterflies that survived. I think all 5 would have made it if I had been paying better attention and moved them from the cup to the habitat in time, but that's another story.

We decided to release them Tuesday when Izzy was here. Izzy got a little bossy in the process.

There were tears. Izzy didn't want Jake to touch the habitat. I had to remind her that the butterflies were his birthday gift. I finally caught the sad face on camera. Look at those cheeks! Look at the lips! Pathetic, huh? Doesn't it just make you want to give him anything he wants?

Jake opened the top, and they flew out so quickly that I couldn't catch them on camera. I think they were anxious to get away from the crying and fighting.

Kate and I have accomplished a lot of college shopping this week. I don't dare point my camera at her while we are out. Shopping is not her favorite thing to do.

She finally owns more than 2 pairs of jeans. She never needed much since she wore a uniform every day. I was relieved that she was able to find a bunch of pairs that fit and feel great. She's been spending a lot of time organizing her college stuff. She's really getting excited about moving in.

I introduced Jake (and Izzy) to a snack/breakfast item that use to be a favorite of Kate's. For years I would slice a banana, put a dab of peanut butter and a chocolate chip on each slice, and serve it to Kate for breakfast. We've discovered that Jake and Izzy like it, too!

This morning he ate the entire thing! :)

Almost time to order...

I'm almost finished with our vacation book. Here are just a few random pictures from the trip.

I was dreading the sleeping arrangement. Jake would be spending the week sleeping with Dan and me. I figured that meant a full week with little sleep for  me. The first night was difficult, but after that it was ok. It's not something I want to do regularly, but we managed without too many middle of the night disruptions. I was also relieved when we returned home and he returned to his own bed without any problems.

We packed some toys to bring along on the trip. I didn't over pack because I knew we would be buying quite a few new things in Disney. I shouldn't have bothered bringing or buying anything. Jake was completely entertained by a pile of coins.

He also spent some time playing with and watching videos on my iPhone. It really is amazing to watch a child just shy of 3 operate an iPhone and flip through the apps like he's been doing it all of his life.

I just thought this next shot was so funny. At one point, Jake went into the bathroom in Marco to use the potty. I heard the water running and was so surprised. I knew there wasn't a step stool or anything to stand on in that bathroom. This is what I  found when I walked in.

I don't know why I was surprised. This is the child that walked at 9 months and climbed out of his crib at 20 months.

I have one more interesting trip story to tell. I hired a "professional" photographer to take some family pictures on the beach. I linked her to my website, so she would be familiar with my work, too. I must admit that when I found her site, I was swayed by how inexpensive she was and the fact that she would turn over the files to me. You get what you pay for.  When we met on the beach, I was shocked by the fact that she had a huge external flash. This is outside at sunset. I took plenty of beach shots and never resorted to using a flash. Right away she started posing us. That was fine, but I made it clear that I wanted more photojournalistic stuff after a few posed shots. We were struggling with location because the little sand fleas were driving us crazy. We made our way closer to the water to escape them. Dark clouds were rolling in, and we could hear distant rumbles of thunder. I was hoping we could move quickly to get the shots I wanted. She was anything but quick. She would take a few shots then check them and shake her head. The lighting just wasn't right. She wasn't happy with the camera settings. She wasn't happy with our positions on the beach. It went on and on. At one point, she asked me to check her camera settings! She couldn't figure out the lighting, and she's been doing beach photography and weddings for 10 years!  We had to head inside when a light drizzle started. I asked her to take some quick shots while we were walking in. She commented that she doesn't like walking shots because they are too hard to focus. What?  Seriously?  She told me on the walk in that I would not have to pay the balance. Good. That would have made me very crabby. She sent me her RAW files, so I could work on them myself as she doesn't work in PS or Lightroom. I have no idea how she edits. She got a few shots that I liked. I wasn't expecting much. Oh...then when we got home, I got an email from her with some shots asking me to critique her work. She's been at this for 10 years! I set up my website in April! LOL
I have some to share that I liked. I spent quite a bit of time editing her files.

See my big smiles?  They were FAKE!  I was so pissed with how this shoot was going! 

I thought I was doing so well...

I handled graduation without a single tear. I've handled all the planning and preparations without a single sad thought. I know she's ready. I know we're ready. I just wasn't planning on my kids making this transition harder for all of us. Kate has admitted that she's going to be homesick for Jake...not me. LOL She has given herself permission to visit at any point. (For the longest time we were told we would not see her until Thanksgiving.) She tells Jake over and over that she wants to skype with him every night. Then...he starts! Oh brother. These kids are breaking my heart!  Before we start dinner we always pray:
"Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen."
Then we say, "Thank you, Jesus, for..."  Jake fills in the blank with whatever food we are having for dinner. So Thursday night I was expecting, "Thank you, Jesus, for the pizza and strawberries, and tomatoes."  Instead he says, "Thank you, Jesus, for Sissy."  My eyes met Kate's, and I thought we were both going to cry!  Then today Kate started reminding him that she will be moving out soon and going to college. He says in response, "I'm gunna cry 'bout you go bye bye."  He's killing me!

Kate has been spending lots of extra time with him this summer. Today they made muffins. There was a lot of this going on...

Jake complained about a stomachache when they were done. I have no idea how much she let him eat!

Kate's MacBook Pro came yesterday!! I am a little bit jealous. I would definitely like to make the switch over to a Mac. It didn't take Kate any time at all to figure it out.

I am happy to say that Jake will finally sit and watch a movie. I don't want you to think I plant him there all the time, but it's nice to have some quiet time in the afternoon occasionally.  He loves Toy Story right now...the original.  I know what you are going to say after seeing this next picture. Doesn't everyone watch Toy Story naked while sitting in a big plastic tub?

Bunches of Good Stuff.

I can't believe I haven't posted since Monday. This week has flown. I have lots of cute pictures and stories to share. Last Friday, we spent the afternoon with Kathy and the boys. It was all about the Cheez-Its and juice with just a little swimming thrown in for good measure. I was thrilled when Kate announced she was coming along, too.

We spent a lot of timing chasing this ball. I should say that Kathy did. I only chased a few times. ;) In the shot below you can see that the boys found a great place to dry off in the sun.

On Saturday night, Kate and Katie went to the Lady Gaga concert and had a blast!

There is quite a story behind this next shot. I went into the bathroom to check on Jake who was taking way too long washing his hands. This is what I saw:

Naked Jake was washing his shirt. I didn't say a word. I stared at him with my hands on my hips. He started talking really fast. It was hilarious. It went something like this:
"I pumped soap. I washed my shirt. I'm rinsing it. There's lots of bubbles. I pumped three times. I'm sorry."
The "I'm sorry" just cracked me up. I didn't have to say a word. He knew I wasn't happy.

On Sunday, my sister invited us over to swim in her neighbors' pool. When the neighbor is out of town, they give Em a key and permission to enjoy. We did! The new puppy, Frannie, was there, too. Kate really enjoyed her and doesn't seem to be allergic to her. I want to borrow the puppy for a weekend and see how we all react.

The picture above looks like Mimi is trying to convince Jake to come in the water, and he's not buying into it.

I had Izzy Monday and Tuesday of this week. Monday was rough. My mom will agree. She saw the two of them in action when she dropped Izzy off at our house. Tuesday was a different story. It was a love day.

Parasailing

Kate has asked to parasail for years. She couldn't get Dan or me to agree to do it with her, and she had to be 18 to do it alone. Well...18 was finally here. She didn't hesitate for a minute. In fact, she paid extra to go up as high as possible. She loved every minute and talked about how she could see the entire island. I'm very tempted to go up with her next summer.  I was kicking myself for not bringing my biggest zoom lens.

Now...a Jake funny from today...

Kate decided to start doing her own laundry today. She is moving out and into a dorm in a few weeks and knew it was time she learned how. When the washer buzzer went off, Jake told his sister that it was time to switch her laundry into the dryer AND told her that he would show her how. I am still laughing...hours later.