2017 Summer Bloopers

Chase's picture made the Richmond Times! This was from the Chesterfield County Fair magic show. 

Chase got to ride Alpengeist for the first time this summer (rollercoaster at Busch Gardens that has a snow ski theme)

On top of the Hatteras Lighthouse on our 16th wedding anniversary

My silly Gabe

Enjoying the waves in OBX. Rock on!

Gabe, Bella, and Chase in Auntie Laurie's pool; we were celebrating all of the summer birthdays 

Made in the USA!

Probably one of my favorite pics from summer with Tim's family in Snowshoe, WV over the 4th of July holiday

Gabe, Jaycee and Chase enjoying the pool at Smithfield Swim Club; we were celebrating Tim's birthday (and mine) with his family

These two can conquer the world! They can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens them. (Phil 4:13)

Instead of one of my traditional blog postings, I figured it would be more fun to just note the summer mishaps, but with a positive spin. We live in a world with enough negativity so I always say we should make lemonade out of the lemons life throws at us. I hope you enjoy reading the following bloopers as much as I enjoyed living them.

• Crappy Summer Part 3: I'll forewarn you that this first blooper is gross, but I still find it hilarious. For some crazy reason, my kids and my niece think it's an adventure to do #2 in the backyard at my grandmother's house. There are a few logical reasons for this; for one, kids get to playing and having fun outside and don't want to interrupt the momentum by having to run inside when nature calls. Second, my grandmother keeps the bathroom door shut and locked in the house so the little kids can't get in there and decide to have a play date with the toilet; with that said, the older kids don't feel like going through the hassle of having to ask an adult to unlock the door when they're in a rush to take care of business. It started a few summers ago with my niece pooping in the backyard and of course denying it. Chase thought the scenario was hilarious so he did the same thing last summer. Somehow an imaginary stray dog always got blamed even though there are no roaming dogs in my grandmother's neighborhood to my knowledge that have ever jumped the fence to get to the backyard.  The tradition has continued into this summer with someone doing it again, but of course none of the kids fessed up right away. The older kids decided to blame Gabe, but he said there was no way he could have done it because his "products" weren't that big and they were more green in color (the brutal honesty in this situation kills me). We finally narrowed it down to Bella who was already punished enough by stepping in her own poop. Somehow, she's the kid every summer that steps in poop even if she wasn't the one who dealt it. Anyhow, which kid is going to carry on this crappy tradition next summer?
• Our past annual OBX trips have been tainted by a variety of issues: a cooler of ours getting stolen with our whole week's worth of food (this dates back to our camping days), a flat tire, a broken half axle, a hurricane (or two), a tropical storm, and just several days of rain from some other storm systems.This year we faced a different challenge. With all of the construction going on with the new Bonner Bridge, the construction workers accidentally drove a steel casing through the transmission cables that connect power from Nags Head to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. Sooo, the southern OBX islands had no power while we were there. Unfortunately, the damaged cables weren't a quick fix and the power outage occurred for several days (it ended up being a full week), so we decided to cut short our vacation. We toughed out one hot, sticky night in our motel but still got in some beach time. The day after we left a mandatory evacuation was in place for all Hatteras Island visitors so we made the right call by leaving early. Sometimes we just have to laugh at the OBX curse that seems to strike us every year during our vacation. However, God blessed Tim and me with a gorgeous 16th anniversary trip at the beach at the end of August...the pirate cursed is finally broken!
• Gabe's life continues to be a musical. This little boy sings all of the time. He was even singing and dancing in the orthodontist office. There's nothing like hearing a 5-year old break it down in a waiting room with, "someone call 911. Shortie fire burning on the dance floor, whoooa!" Or how about being serenaded by, "I beweive I can fwy..." while you're grocery shopping? He also sang "I Believe I Can Fly" while he was jumping at the bounce-house in Williamsburg...very fitting song as he jumped high!
• Going along with the last bullet about the serenading at the orthodontist office, Chase is actually excited to get braces and was bummed out that he didn't get them right away at his first orthodontist appointment. He was equally bummed that he still doesn't need glasses at his recent eye doctor's appointment. Since when are kids excited about braces and glasses? I'm just thankful he can see clearly as braces have already put enough of a dent in our pocket. He gets his upper braces put on at the end of September and already has the expanders in place. So far, he has handled his expanders like a champ. 
• There's nothing better than relaxing poolside with your arms up over your head all to realize you forgot to shave one of your armpits. Yep, that happened to me. Amazon Lady!
• Although we thankfully haven't had a busy hurricane season on the east coast so far (and we're praying Irma stays away), I have a tornado that hits my home several times a day: Gabriel Lee Breeden! I've given up on trying to keep the boys' toys organized. Right now, I'm lucky if I can just keep them off the floor. For instance, I used to keep each Lego set in specific box or zip-lock bag, but Gabe keeps integrating Legos with everything else so I've let go of some of that Type A behavior of mine. Tim was sweet enough to surprise me one morning while I worked by having the boys organize their toys downstairs and purge the ones they no longer wanted. This was a step in the right direction since toys have taken over nearly every room of the house. I had the boys do the same thing the following weekend with the toys upstairs so we're slowly but surely making progress.
• Chase is addicted to watching screaming goat videos on YouTube. I don't know what's funnier: the screaming goats or hearing Chase roar with laughter watching them. 
• I've been lecturing Gabe on how he needs to stop whining about brushing his teeth and do a thorough job or else his teeth will fall out. As he discovered his first loose tooth this month, he freaked out and started crying and ran to me saying, "I don't want to lose all of my teeth. I'll do a better job brushing." 
• I more or less scared Gabe out of looking outside at all during the day of the solar eclipse with all of the warnings about how staring at the sun for too long can damage your eyes. He said, "I just wish this day was over," the day before the eclipse. Better to be safe than sorry. 
• Chase is interested in magic tricks and optical illusions. He even got to be a part of a magic show at the Chesterfield County Fair and his picture made the Richmond Times newspaper! His little brother has already figured out a few of his tricks and called him out on them, but Chase is still determined that he is a good magician.
• After doing yoga and a few cardio classes this summer, I was feeling pretty good about myself....until Gabe pointed at my "abs" (hey, I think I have at least the top two) while we were in line at Water Country and said in disgust, "oooooh." There's nothing more awakening than a child's brutal honesty. Of course I took the high road and told Gabe that he was the reason my belly wasn't a washboard. 
• Last but not least, for some unknown reason, the boys started referring to their rear orifice as "Tina." I have no idea where they got the name "Tina" and why they have linked it to their "bung-hole." They also sing some made up song that goes, "Tina, weena, Tina..."

The bloopers of our lives go on and on and I know there will be many more as we enter fall and get into the back-to-school groove. We have lots of adjustments and transitions coming with the boys starting a new school tomorrow and a new childcare center for before/after school. I can choose to get all worked up about it like so many other parents do or I can just roll with the punches and trust that God's got this! I'm going with the latter option as we begin exciting fall adventures with a new school, a new childcare center, a new soccer season, etc. I think the key to life is to learn to soak in the new and unplanned-not-so-pleasant moments, to learn to laugh at yourself, and to seek God's face during life's bloopers instead of going the anxious route...that's when you experience true joy and peace!