Happy Memorial Day!

We went over to Clearwater for a 'too quick' trip to see Papa and Gigi as well as celebrate Aiden's 5th birthday!



We started at this great splash pad where Aiden was having his birthday party. It was so great to see my friend Kimmie:)

James walked around pointing at all the little sprinklers.



The twins found the largest sprinkler and stood right underneath it! No fear!



Blowing out his candles...



Stella still loves to 'mother' James.





We were also able to visit with my Gram Audrey. She was thrilled to show off her great grandchildren:)



Stella Audrey with her Great Grandma Audrey:)



It was ~impossible~ to get all three kiddos to sit still with gram.



We love you gram and can't wait to see you soon! We were back in Orlando the next day...never enough time but it was such a nice trip.

James at Gymboree

The Final Journey

Last night was the season finale of LOST. I have some mixed emotions about the ending. I loved, loved, loved the show up until the last five minutes.

I loved that the writers went back to the characters....that was the reason we all watched for six seasons. I loved the LOVE stories! So fulfilling to see Sun and Jin, Jack and Kate, Sayid and Shannon, Claire and Charlie, Juliet and Sawyer..etc. I am a sucker for a good love story and what amazing love stories these were!!

I also loved that certain characters on the island were finally able to fulfill their purpose. Jack was able to save the light (and all of mankind), Claire was given her happy ending and was able to get off the island, Hurley (!!) was chosen as Jack's replacement and BEN....was FINALLY given a purpose! He made a great number two:) I was so thrilled with the way these characters ended up.

Here is where I need some help...the church. But I read this recap at E! Online and it makes sense to me. Here is what I read:

Obviously, precisely "where" these characters were were going will be long debated, but for what it's worth, here's my take: Damon and Carlton told the truth when they said the island was not purgatory. It wasn't, and what happened there happened, and everyone was alive.

However, the Sideways world was a post-death place of limbo where Jack was waiting until he was ready to "let go" and cross over to The Light, which is basically Lost's form of Heaven. The Losties who appeared in the church at the end all died at different times in different places (some much later on) but came together in that space to help Jack move on.

But it wasn't only about helping Jack. The Losties all gathered in the church to cross over to The Light because Jack saved that very Light when he rescued the island. As we were told this season, if The Light "goes out here, it goes out everywhere" and "everyone you love would simply cease to be." If the Light had gone out, the Losties could never have reconnected with their loved ones again. But because Jack saved it, they all get to live blissfully ever after. The (brilliant) end.

And something you probably caught, but just in case: Throughout the season, the blood that appeared on Jack's neck was an indication that Jack was already dead/dying and on his way to "another life, brotha." (A little Sixth Sense-ish.)(Source)

I have thought about it for a night and I like the ending.

The finale gave us love, action, drama, and hope.

Yes, there are many questions I still have but hey, it's LOST. :)

Jump!

Thomas

Thomas and Stella are taking Spanish lessons and for whatever reason, yesterday, Thomas did not want to go. Tony ran Stella over to the lesson and I was left with a sleeping James and Thomas.

There was a time when Thomas would cuddle up with me every morning. Well those cuddles don't happen as much. He is still such a sweet boy, just getting older.

When the house was quiet, Thomas asked if he could crawl up in my lap. And so he did. I wrapped my arms around him and we cuddled for a good 30 minutes. I looked at him in my lap. His legs are so long. He is lean and tan and resembles a grown boy!

I know that he is growing up and someday will be a young man but I swear if he asks to get in my lap at 45, I will do it:) It reminds me of one of my favorite children's books, Love you Forever by Robert Munsch:

I'll love you forever
I'll like you for always
As long as I'm living
My baby you'll be

What They Died For

Wow! Wow! Wow! I have had a night to process last nights episode of LOST. You can definitely tell we are at the end. We are getting answers thrown at us left and right now. This series is one that I will have to go back and watch again from the beginning.

I am feeling so sad that the finale is so soon. I am not ready. I do not think there has ever been a show that I have watched for this long and have been this dedicated to.

Well, last night. There appeared to be a theme of "letting go". Jack is the only one who can let go of his attachments to the mainland to become Jacob's replacement. Flash-sideways Locke lets go of his reservations and agrees to let Jack perform surgery that might help him walk again. Jacob lets go of his need to be cryptic and just deals directly with the remaining candidates straight-up. Many characters are taking this 'leap of faith'.

I liked the scene with Jacob sitting around the fire. I liked his explanation of why the others had to die. I liked Jack for stepping up. I liked that Hurley was glad that it wasn't him. I liked that Kate's name was crossed off because she had developed an attachment (Aaron) off the island. I like it when things make sense to me. Keep it up please!!

What shocked me the most was...BEN! What a great scene when he shoots Charles and says, "He doesn't get to save his daughter". Soooo evil. I have always been intrigued by Ben...is he good? Is he evil? And last night I thought he played a great villain. It appears that he can not lose his quest for power and now has gone to the dark side.

Lastly....Desmond. I need this cleared up for me a bit more (Desmond for Dummies). I loved the flash sideways story where is he gathering up the Losties and seems to have this pan in place. I would like that plan explained to me. Also, is Desmond Jacob's last resort? Was Charles telling the truth? Yeah...I needed more clarity on Desmond.

Thoughts?

Who Does James Look Like?

Stella?





Thomas?

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Pool Time

My Mom came over today for some mother/daughter bonding time. Yay:) We took the kids down to the pool so James could try out his new floaty.



Needless to say, James LOVES the water. The only time he gets upset is when I won't let go of him. He does not understand that he can not swim. (yet!)



Stella and Thomas had this burst with their swimming skills. They were swimming underwater and doing these crazy jumps. Here are some action shots:





Tomorrow my mom and I will be organizing closets and enjoying the baby while the twins are at school!

Art Show

Last night we walked over to Family Fun Night at the twins school. What a good turn out! There was the science fair, the book fair and the art show. We bought some books and then headed over to see the art displays.

Here is Thomas':

A cool art deco Monster!

And Stella's:

It says "My mommy and daddy are dancing together"....Love it!!

Across the Sea

I am so confused.

I am a smart woman. I have a MASTERS degree. But...I am not sci fi.

I am so confused. I want the writers to hear this....from me, an average fan. I NEED this to make sense! I need to walk away with a certain level of understanding. Please, please, please do not end this with Kate, Jack, Sawyer and Locke in a jail cell. (Still upset about the Seinfeld ending!!)

Last nights episode of LOST explored the relationship between Jacob and his twin brother the Man in Black. We know they are twins and we know they were not raised by their own mother.

Jacob dressed in white and MIB dressed in black. Jacob the good son and MIB who runs away to be with the 'people'. Jacob who agrees to protect the light and MIB who wants to use it to get off the island.

Ultimately, Jacob sends MIB to the light and since the light is "life, death and rebirth" AND since Jacob and MIB can not kill each other, MIB goes in and smokie comes out! And we know who the 'Adam and Eve' skeletons are that Jack and Kate found in season one. Did the writers really have this all planned out??

I will say we got many answers last night. But in true LOST fashion, many more questions were raised.

Who is the woman who raised Jacob and MIB?
What was in the cup?
Why can MIB see dead people and Jacob can not?

I am interested to hear your thoughts....

Sneak Peak

Lessons

There is nothing like a homemade Mother's Day card "frum" one of your children to bring tears to your eyes!! Tony and the kiddos made my Mother's Day so special:) I had a moment yesterday to think about what motherhood has taught me and each child is responsible for teaching me such different lessons!

Stella has taught me....

to dance in the rain more often...

that we always have room for more animals (in our heart NOT our house:)...

that fancy can be fun...

and to think outside the box.


Thomas has taught me...

to be thoughtful with my words, because he is listening...

to ask more questions...

to explore the mundane (even the backyard can be fun!)...

and organization makes a happy heart.


James has taught me...

to trust my instincts...

to let the dishes sit so that there is time for silly kisses...

to be kind to myself when trying to balance it all...

and that my family is the most important thing to me in the world.

The Candidate

Have you ever watched a TV show and wanted to call it up and yell at it??

That is how I feel about tonight's episode of LOST!! Lets get right down to it. Sun and Jin just found each other and tonight the die in each others arms??

NOT OK!

But....we did see Jin walking in to Sun's (??) hospital room at the end of the episode. What does that mean? If they die on the island do they still get to live in their flash sideways lives? How are the writers going to wrap this up for me in a nice and neat package which all makes sense.

Nice and neat!!

We also have more of the flash sideways story where Jack is realizing the people on Oceanic 815 are all connected. They are all coming together in one spot (the hospital) much like Flocke wanted them to do on the island. Turns out, Flocks manipulated all of them to get on the submarine without him. Only to try to blow them up.

I was very interested with what Jack was saying in the submarine. Maybe Flocke can not kill them....because why wouldn't he have done it already? He has killed others on the island, but maybe he can not kill that core group of survivors? Does he want them off the island? On the island? Or dead? Why are there so many question marks in this post??

Nice and neat!!!

I am feeling hopeful (I am not but I am trying to fake it) that is the next two? three? weeks this story come to a NICE and NEAT conclusion.

Rocking Chair

Grandma Stella and Grandpa Kerry gave James this cute rocking chair that is just his size. He loves it! He tries to climb up and sit in it all by himself.



So cute!!

Leu Gardens

The kids had their first field trip this week and I was so happy to be able to go with them. Two of the kindergarten classes went to Leu Gardens. It was such a pretty day and I was able to see the kids interact with all their friends. They have had such a good year and I can not believe they will be in first grade next year!