1932-George Zinck

1938 Mary, George and Doris 1955 George Kean, George Zinck and Pop Pop

1950-Doris Mary, Joyce and Herb (Dad)

1977-Christmas Eve

Old Family Photos

1978 Delores, Vernon, Herb, and Mary (grandma + pop pop and Vernon and Delores)

1947-Doris (Go Go), Joyce, Mary (gma) and herb (dad)
1951-Joyce and Herb (Dad is the big boy not the baby)

1961-Mams and George (The Zincks Gma's parents)

1958-Mams and George

More to come.

Few pictures from Christmas for you

Merry belated Christmas to all of you who venture to read this. Actually I am not really sure who reads this anymore. Leave me a comment if you do so I know who I am talking to.

Anyway, Disney was great again. We always have such a great time there. This year we got a great campsite just feet away from the boat to take you to the Magic Kingdom. We loved it and it was so convenient and cut down tremendously on our travel time to and from places. We didn't need a bus to get us back to our campsite this year. AND we didn't need to rent a golf cart either.

We returned just in time for Christmas and Christmas Eve and day were great. The kids were worn out by the end of it all and didn't complain one bit about going to bed. Santa was good to them and so was Mamaw and Grandpa. They gave them Nintendo DS games!!! All three learned quickly that you can "text" each other if you are close by. So that night I found them all in their beds in their own rooms giggling and texting each other. I think a new rule is coming....

I leave you with a few pictures of the day.

Hanging up the stockings:

Kenneth's Grandmother:

The Bean fashioning a boa fleece scarf made by your's truly!

Gotta love Mom's duck lips!

Thanks Aunt Jenn for the Webkinz! (Can I adopt them now, now,now???)

New sweater from Mom!

I just love gift sets! The man of the hour got a bread dipping set!

Santa time!!!

We went to see Santa today and it was fun but the kids decided that they enjoy seeing Santa but just don't want to go so early in the morning. We got them up at 6:30 and were out of the house by 7:15 to be there by 7:45 so we could see Santa at 8! We bought tickets to see Santa prior to the general public. They only allowed 25 families and it cost us $50, but it was well worth not getting extra family help to stand in line and wait out in the freezing cold for HOURS (yes, hours!!) until they opened the doors. So we went in a side door and by 8:30 we were done seeing Santa and off to breakfast.

The kids were whiney (but not with Santa) but we survived the morning. Caroline didn't want to wear her dress and worse her pantyhose!! Allie was just whiney and Nicholas picked on everyone which just made the girls more whiney! When we got home from breakfast we shuttled the kids into the family room and we took a quick impromptu Christmas family picture. This was a "one take wonder" and we were surprised at how it turned out well on the first take. I think it is a pretty good picture. But check out Nicholas! I think we have a cheeseball on our hands. But then again, we are all pretty 'cheesy'....

Apple Picking, becoming a family tradition

A few years ago, well 5 years, we went apple picking for the first time. The kids were squirts and we actually didn't even pick from the trees. It was super cold on top of the mountain and we got out of the car, well not the kids and Kenneth, and I bought a bunch of apples and some cider and some apple cider donuts. I hopped back in the car quickly and we headed back down the mountain and started back home.

Since then just about every year we have taken the kids apple picking. No, we didn't go 4 years ago, we skipped that year, but we did go 3 years ago and last year and this year. Anyway, we have been going. Sometimes we make a day out of it and pick apples, eat a picnic lunch and have a great time. Last year it was hotter than all get out on top of the mountain but the kids had fun climbing the trees and picking the apples. We bought the requisite donuts and headed down the mountain with about 100 lbs of apples. This year was no different. Well it sort of was. Today we went apple picking. We woke up late this morning and in no real hurry or time table we mosied up the mountain to pick. It was crowded more than I remember in the past. Oh my, the apple paying for line was 20 minutes long and the lines for the donuts were so long I didn't even try. The kids were hot and thirsty and we headed for the car after picking our apples. This year we were lucky because we were there for the Golden Delicious picking. Last year we picked Winesaps which were fine but our favorite is Golden Delish! So with our car laidened down with 125 lbs of apples we headed down the mountain, sans the donuts!

Instead of heading straight home, we decided to take a little ride to UVA and we showed the kids Edgar Alan Poe's dorm room and we crossed the street and I showed them the whispering wall. The kids loved it and thought it was great that you only had to whisper to hear really well on the other side and if you stand at the fountain in the middle you can't hear a thing. I told the kids that this was a very special school for kids who do really really well in their grades and they get to go to college here. They were a bit impressed but they didn't understand why anyone would want to go away from their moms and dads and live somewhere else other than home to go to school. "Oh, don't worry, when you get older you will too, I promise you." Nicholas said never and Allie thought for a minute and said no I don't think I will move away either. Caroline, didn't have any response. I think she will be the one to go far far away, and then I will cry.

So I leave you with a few pictures of the day:

Welcome Annabelle!

Say hello to our newest member of the family.

This is Annabelle! She is 7 weeks old and a Golden Retriever.

Isn't she cute???

Roberts Family Reunion

I am a bit remiss in posting the pictures of all of the family reunion. Jenn, I know you have been dying to see these. So here they are in their full glory!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's BESTEST when Family is there...

Caroline lucked out this year for her birthday. She got to have her family party at the same time as our family reunion. She couldn't have planned it better. Aunt Traci is the bestest when it comes to planning a party. Not only did she do an awesome job having 27+/- people at her house for not one day but two but in the midst of all that she planned a party for Caroline.

Caroline was so excited when the cake came out, but first we have to talk about all the activities going on. Aunt Traci has a big blow-up waterslide that the kids spent the better part of the day on.

Then the birthday cake came out: Strawberry creme filling cake!! Mmm Mmm good!!

Then we had a PINIATTA!! Just what Caroline wanted for her birthday.

Then she had tons of presents and she got exactly what she wanted - MORE WEBKINZ!!

She also got High School Musical flip flops from Aunt Joy and Uncle Steve.

Swedish Fish from Uncle John Craig and family.

A horse Webkinz!

A pig Webkinz!

Then we went next door and the neighbor gave the kids COTTON CANDY!!

That evening once it got dark we had fireworks!!!

I guess I don't have to tell you that the next morning she slept in.

Allie gets a haircut!

Allie got her twice yearly hair cut yesterday evening. Her hair was well below her waist and it was time for a trim. So I pulled out the scissors and started chopping away. I cut 3 inches off and it brought her hair back up to the top of her pants waist. This way she doesn't have to pull it out of her pants when she is getting dressed.

I asked her today if anyone noticed her hair cut. She said not one person.

Fall Schedules

This year we signed the kids up for fall soccer. Last year we didn't and had intended to use the free weekends to go camping but we never did that so this year we went ahead and signed them up. All three a playing and that means two nights a week we have soccer practice and then most of the day on Saturday we have the games. It is good that the games are all at the same location so we literally pick up our chairs and move them from field to field on Saturdays.

We also have started back to church from our hyatus. Sunday school has started and the kids really enjoy that. It was good to be back last Sunday. While we were there we also signed up for their "Logos" program for Allie, which is an afterschool program from 4:30-7pm on Wednesdays where they do arts and crafts, activities, lessons, children's choir, and have dinner. It will be nice because the others have soccer that day and Allie gets bored hanging out on the sidelines just waiting around.

At church we also signed up for Kenneth and I to participate in their "supper club" which meets once a month with 3 other couples and we have dinner together centered on a theme. I figured that it was time to meet more people and this was a great way to do it.

Moving on, Monday, Nicholas had cub scouts and they had signups for a camping trip and we got our schedule of cub scout events for the year. Man is our calendar filling up.

Caroline announced that she wants to do Girl Scouts this year and she will be a Daisy. Yeah, we will squeeze it into the schedule...somewhere.

So, I have now done exactly what I didn't want to do and that is fill our week with activities all the time. It really just seems like that and isn't really that. With three kids they each have two things that they do each week. But when it is all together, Kenneth and I are running raged just trying to keep up.

Okay, before you all tell me "just wait until they are teenagers", I know!! I am waiting but hopefully I will be a bit more organized....not.

Back to School

When I was a kid I remember the weeks prior to returning to school. Now, of course we were at the beach for most of the month of August and we would return the Sunday a week before school began. Mom would return to work the very next Monday, as she was a teacher so she started the week before school began. We would spend much of that week out shopping and getting our school supplies and a new outfit or new shoes for school to start. In the weeks prior to this week while we were at the beach I would scour the fashion magazines, teen magazines, and newspapers to figure out what I wanted. I loved new school supplies, the new notebooks, pencils, and markers. We didn't use a book bag or back pack back then but I remember as a kid thinking about what lunch box I wanted. I had a Holly Hobbie lunch box and a Peanuts one. It was such an exciting week.

Nowadays, that week has turned into a month long series of sales. I have been collecting school supplies for my kids for the past several weeks. Nothing goes on sale at the same time and they never are at the same store. Walmart will have crayons on sale, Office Depot will have glue, Staples will have pencils. My kids are barely involved in the process anymore.

While I don't mind having the super sales and getting packs of pencils for a penny, I do miss the excitement that no longer exists. The biggest excitement we have had was back to school day (or really half hour) where the kids get to take their supplies to school and meet their teacher. It is a madhouse at the school for a half hour but the kids really enjoy it.

Does anyone have anything that they do to help get that sense of excitement back like we had?

Alexandra Quits School After 1st Grade

Last night Alexandra announced at dinner, "Mom, I've been thinking and I don't think I am going to go to school this year."

Kenneth looks at me with a look like, "so, what are you going to do with this one honey?"

Nicholas stops eating in mid bite and looks with wide eyes as if to say, "oh no Allie you have done it this time."

Without missing a beat (and you all would be so proud of me), I say, "okay, if you have really been thinking hard about this and you are serious about not going to school this year, then you don't have to go."

"Really? I can stay home?", she asks.

"No you can't stay home because you aren't allowed to stay by yourself yet, and since Daddy and I have to work you can go with Daddy to work everyday." Kenneth still keeps silent.

"Now of course, since you aren't going to be in school anymore then you will have to start paying rent here and helping out with the bills, so it will be important for you to work hard so you can earn enough money to help us out."

"Okay," she says, "I can work with Daddy."

Kenneth then says, "We will drop off Nicholas and Caroline at the bus stop in the mornings and the you and I can go right to work." (for those of you who don't know, Kenneth does lawn care and maintenance, so this isn't a desk job but manual labor mostly.)

And I add, "You don't have to wait for school to start to start working for Daddy. He has a job tomorrow and you can start then." She smiles and agrees.

This morning at the breakfast table, Kenneth reminds her that she is working with him today and she said she remembered. They, then worked out a fair payment schedule and an hourly rate.

Two hours after they left to trim some bushes at a customer's house they return. Allie walks in and gives me a big hug and says I am going back to school now. Nothing else was said.

We were willing to play this out, even though it didn't take us long to convince her that school was the best choice. We were even willing to go as far as not sending her to school on the first day of school and having her work with Kenneth, but luckily she saw the light early.

Happy Birthday Pop-Pop!

This past weekend we celebrated my grandfather's 90th birthday. He is doing well and had a great time having his family celebrate with him. He enjoys watching my kids play in the pool and he has a running joke with Caroline my youngest. He tries to kiss her and she likes to run away. At first she was a bit frightened of him but now it is a game. I am sure he will have many more birthdays.

Our Fourth of July Float

For the last several years our neighborhood has had a Fourth of July parade. The kids decorate their bikes and moms decorate their strollers and we all parade around the neighborhood to the community pool. Last year some moms built floats. This year we had floats and old time cars and of course our decorated bikes. It is a lot of fun and the neighborhood comes out to watch the parade if they are not participating.

This year Kenneth drove our 1959 Farmall Tractor pulling a trailer with straw bales with the kids for an old-fashioned, all American hayride.

The neighborhood loved it and asked lots of questions about the tractor and practically rushed Kenneth as he parked the tractor at the pool at the end of the parade. This was great for Kenneth as he "stole the show" with the men of the community, but it left me to setting up the tables, chairs and canopy at the pool for our family alone.
Here is Kenneth entertaining his "fan club".

My Cuddly

This is a picture of me with my Mutsy. the other day I wrote about favorite snugglies or cuddlies. I felt you all needed to see me with mine. This is my monkey. I do still have him but he is packed away in a box. The picture was taken by my father. He dabbled in portrait photography when I was young and took most of our portraits in the early 1970s. This one was taken in August 1970 which would have put me at 8 months of age. Wasn't I cute? My monkey looks pretty good too. In this picture he still has his ears!

Over then next several weeks I hope to be able to get out our family slides and start scanning them and printing the photos so they can be put in photo albums. It is interesting that in the 1960s and 1970s the fashion was to take slide photography. But it makes it difficult to look at the pictures when they are in slide format. My kids want to see what I looked like as a child their age and I can't show them that many photos because they are all in slides. So I am going to transform them all into photos and in albums.

Does anyone know why slides were taken and not photos?

Don't get me Wrong!

I had a comment from Agent of Entropy and he said "A[n] intresting post. My wife are about to begin to have kids soon, and we were just discussing how they should be spaced. Your post provided another intresting presepective on this issue"

Please don't get me wrong. I love having my kids close together and I wouldn't do it differently if I had the choice. They are each others' best friends. They play so well together. The first two act and probably should have been twins. The youngest is just as much a part of the mix as the others. They seek each other out first to be with or to do things with and they always remember the other siblings when they are getting something special like candy at the store. They always ask if they can get one for their sister and/or brother.

There are days though when I feel overwhelmed but it is usually self-induced. I will have scheduled too many things to do or I get them overtired. Their interests are similar and their maturity levels are similar so I don't have to worry about a younger one watching inappropriate stuff on TV because an older one is watching it. They all watch the same shows.

I had a fear when Nicholas was one and Allie would be learning to walk that they would run in different directions but the reality was that Nicholas would run and Allie would run after him. Then I had the fear that I wouldn't have enough hands to hold each of them when we would cross a parking lot but the reality was that they were just as comfortable holding each others' hand when crossing the street so I would hold one or two hands and the third would hold a siblings' hand.

Currently our biggest problem is who gets the favored green cup to drink from. None of the other rainbow colors will suffice. They all want green. So we just take turns.

For the record: we would definitely have another one if it was possible. We tried three times for a fourth but it just didn't work out for us.