First, they got instructions and the rules.

Then they got to jumping. For an hour non-stop. I have never seen them so sweaty.

After a while of practice, maybe they can be as good as this guy.

This is what Thing 3 looked like at the end.

This long, long, long weekend I celebrated Thanksgiving. My Uncle, Aunt, and Grandpa came.  We watched Football. We watched the Packers vs Lions. The Packers won 27-15. We watched the Dolphins vs Cowboys. The Cowboys won 20-19. We watched the Ravens vs 49ers. The Ravens won 16-6 Ravens…9 sacks. 49ers…6 points. I also go a DSI and two games for it. I got Super mario bros. I also got MLB2K11. On Sunday I watched Football. I watched the Bills vs Jets. The Jets were losing 24-21 with 3:00 left. They had the ball in their own territory on 3rd down. I was so nervous until…

First down! First down again! Another first down! Another first down! Again a first down! Now it’s first and goal. Incomplete pass. 2 and goal…
TOUCHDOWN JETS! Then the Bills were in the Redzone with 0:15 left. Incomplete pass. Incomplete pass. Incomplete pass. Incomplete pass. The Jets win! 28-24!

One scenario is that he remembered just as he was walking out the door. It was the first day back after a long weekend, so it’s plausible that he forgot until this very last minute.

Or, another scenario that is just dawning on me as a likely one, is that he purposefully waited until the last moment so that, in the confusion, I would not read it and just sign it.  If that was the plan, it worked.  I assumed it was another reading log.  We sign it to verify that he did his reading assignment.

As it turns out, the paper was to inform us that Thing 1 got in trouble at lunch on Friday.  He was being loud and disruptive along with a bunch of other kids.

Lesson learned.  When your kid hands you a paper and says “sign it”, make sure you read if first.

Here’s a picture of Thing 1 from this weekend.  Don’t let the cuteness fool you.  While he was picking apples and cheering for the Jets, he was also plotting a “sign and dash” that worked perfectly on me.

SuburbanMommy made them endure the yearly ritual of hair combing, collared shirts, and lots of pictures.  One day they will thank her.

Thing 3 and Thing 4 eagerly watched their brothers from the front door.   Thing 3 started pre-K today.  New teachers, new friends, but he adjusted  well and enjoyed playing with all the dinosaurs in his new classroom.

Thing 4 was feeling a little left out, but she felt better once she found a backpack so she could be like one of the boys.

Thing 1 got comfortable in a reading chair in his second grade (wow!) classroom.

Thing 2 tried his desk out in first grade.

Is it Thing 1, who breaks into tears and has crazy endurance for a 7 year old?

Or is it Thing 2, a master at deception who and is continually entertaining us?

Or maybe you think it’s Thing 3, with his bumble bee dreams and unique style?

What about Thing 4 who is full of determination and tries to do everything her big brothers do?

Put your guess in the comments.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 were very excited to be at the beach.  Here they are bright and early our first morning, bathing suits on, showing off their booties.

Suburban Grandpa joined us for the first few days.  Here he is enjoying a game of Chutes and Ladders with Thing 3.  Note the glass of wine by his side.

Thing 3 normally walks around with little to no clothing.  But at the beach, it seemed to take on a whole new appeal for him.

With four kids, you don’t just get up and walk to the beach.   There is at least an hour of preparation, packing, applying sunscreen, with many false starts due to forgotten items, and then, finally, lugging all the gear across the sand.

Keeping Thing 4 on her nap schedule was not easy.  We’ve learned over the years to take advantage of nap times whenever and where ever they may occur.

There was a lot of boy bonding and surprisingly little fighting.

We all climbed to the top of the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.  Well, all of us except Thing 4 who I carried to the top.  As if walking up 214 stairs in the brutal heat weren’t enough, try it with an extra 24 lbs in your arms.

Speaking of brutal heat, the temperature hit 110 on the deck of the pool one day.  The heat put a damper on some of our daytime activities, especially for Thing 3 and Thing 4.

At the the end of the day we took in the ocean breeze and a swing.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 played some mini-golf.

Probably the best part of the week for the kids was the daily ice cream.   We relaxed our dessert rules and often had it before, instead of, or as a meal.

Unlike the way he sleeps at home, it was no trouble getting Thing 3 to sleep.  He even slept in a bed with a blanket.

We were lucky to have Suburban Babysitter and her boyfriend join us for a few days.  He was a very good sport and let Thing 1 and Thing 2 bury him in the sand.

The drive back home is always the worst part of any trip.  It took 7 hours to get there but almost 9 hours to get back home because of traffic.  The boys took it well with almost no whining or complaining.  But by the 8th hour Thing 4 wanted O-U-T and the last hour was filled with crying.

The money goes children with leukemia. So I told Thing 1 I would give him $3 per lap. I figured he would swim ten, fifteen tops. I almost offered $5 a lap since it was a good cause.

Well, he came home from the swim-a-thon tonight and announced he did forty-four laps! He wanted to keep going but the time ran out.

Thing 1 was quick to inform me it’s $132. At least it goes to a worthy cause. And it’s a good thing I didn’t pledge $5 a lap.