Scalloping 2013 - YEAR 9

As the 2013 scalloping season is coming to a close, 

it's time that I highlight our annual trip.

 As per tradition, Phil and I spent an entire day on the Gulf of Mexico enjoying one of our absolutely FAVORITE activities.

 I was 32 weeks pregnant (similar to our 2008 Trip when I was just weeks from delivering Clare), and it was a million-dollar-day!

 It turned out to be a pretty successful day, and we collected 120 scallops.

We went home with about 100 of them because Phil likes to eat them raw...
as fresh as you can get!

No Hillary trip would be complete without some mechanical issue.  This year's hiccup was that the water pump started malfunctioning on our 5-mile ride back to shore.

And then the something broke on the something.

Those were just little things, and they certainly didn't impact our day as a whole.  Mema graciously watched the kiddos while we enjoyed our mini-getaway, and we were home around 9:00 PM.  Guess what we had for lunch the next day?  Bacon-wrapped SCALLOPS and stir-fry with shrimp and SCALLOPS.  

Mmmm...Mmmm GOOD!

2008

2009

2011

2012

Bathroom "Project"

Our main bathroom has needed MAJOR work for a LONG time, 

and Phil tackled it this summer.

 We put money aside throughout the year, and Phil knew that he would work on this project while I was in Michigan with the kids.  The 37-year-old bathtub had rust and mold that just couldn't be "surface- repaired" any longer.

Phil literally started demolishing the old bathroom the very day that we flew up to Michigan.

He didn't expect to find such extensive damage beneath the surfaces of our tub, the floor, and behind the walls.  We should have known better.

He literally tore down the ENTIRE room...right down to the studs.

I'm so bummed that I wasn't living in the house during this mess.

Phil is versed in many areas, and now bathroom repair can be added to the list.

All of the plumbing needed to be re-done.

SO...he taught himself how to do that.

Don't get me wrong...this was NOT an easy process by any means.

In our 8+ years together, I've never heard him so frustrated or exhausted.

He would work all day at Busch Gardens and then come home and work on the bathroom into the wee hours of the night.

He was on a first name basis with many of the employees at Home Depot, and he ran into one roadblock after another.

These pictures show the progression of the room, but what will never be seen is all the time, sweat, and dedication that he gave to making it perfect.

One agonizing day at a time, he moved towards the beautiful completion.

Even after pulling a few all-nighters, and working on it NON-STOP while we were in Michigan, he didn't have it quite finished when we got home.

We lived over at my sister's house for two weeks,
and then we excitedly moved back home...

with a brand new bathroom.

- New bathtub
- New toilet

- New plumbing

- New cabinets

- New counter-top

- New sinks

- New floor tile

- New drywall

- New wall color

- New shower curtain

NEW BATHROOM!

I have said it before, and I guarantee that I will say it again, 

MY HUSBAND IS AMAZING!!!!

What NOT to Say!

I will start by saying that I generally love being pregnant. 
- I love feeling a baby move inside me.
- I love knowing that my best friend and I created a life together.
- I love the smiles that I get from total strangers.
- I love the anticipation of meeting our child.
- I love seeing how excited my other little ones are about a new baby.
- I love the way Phil loves it when I'm pregnant!
- I love the experience of childbirth.
- Overall, I just LOVE it!

That being said, I feel as though I should be allowed to carry a taser to ward off all the ridiculous people who say ridiculous things to pregnant women.

(Picture taken at 30 weeks.)

Examples of comments I've heard just in the last week:

(The responses were in my unfiltered prego brain...not actually spoken.)

- "You must be due today or tomorrow, right?!"

(No, I actually have 6 weeks left, so my baby would not do very well if born today or tomorrow.)

- "Are you sure they calculated your due date correctly?"

(Actually, we calculated our due date based on conception.  Want me to tell you more about that?)

- "There's only one in there?"

(What do you mean? I'm not pregnant!)

- "You're going to be done after this one, right?!"

(That is absolutely inappropriate and none of your business.)

"It's like you're not really fat...you just have a huge belly."

(Umm...let's talk about fat for a minute.)

 

"I swear you're pregnant every time I see you."

(I swear you're ________ every time I see you.)

Comparing Pictures:

(Picture taken at 33 weeks.)

(Picture taken at 33 weeks with ISAAC.)

 (Picture taken at 32 weeks with CLARE.)

As I was looking for old pictures, I came across this post from when I was pregnant with Clare.  Apparently, people just don't know what to say to pregnant women:

Post when pregnant with Clare

Clare is FIVE

Clare turned FIVE on August 13th.

While that was nearly a month ago, she had fun stretching her birthday celebrations over the course of several days.

Her first party was in Michigan...where she celebrated with the other August birthdays from the Hillary family.

Then she had another little celebration with Mema and Papa the day before we flew back to Florida (the eve of her actual birthday).

She showed genuine excitement for every gift she opened: new dress, new books, Finding Nemo DVD, lots of crafty stuff, and some new dolls/Princess stuff.

Daddy didn't show the same excitement for all of the Princess stuff.

Daddy and Daughter are in the mutual admiration society!

Clare celebrated a final time once we were back home...on her ACTUAL birthday.

 She received five presents on her fifth birthday, and she was thrilled!

Clare requested to decorate her own cake, and here is the masterpiece!

CHEESE!

Sweet Clare...you are one of a kind!  

We LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Clare at FIVE:

- Wants to make others happy.

- Loves her brother and is VERY excited about the baby on the way.

- Has a perfect blend of tomboy and girly-girl.

- Insists on wearing a dress whenever she hears music that makes her want to dance.

- Wants to do crafts EVERY SINGLE DAY!

- Sleeps with her "pink blanket" and "Pinkie" 

(the bear she made at Build-A-Bear when she turned four) every night.

- Eats every kind of fruit imaginable. 

- Loves Edamame...but she isn't crazy about too many vegetables.

- Checks the mailbox several times a day in hopes of seeing something with her name on it.

- Wishes that she could fly.

- Wants Daddy to do magic anytime something is broken or missing.

- Enjoys spending time in the pool.  She could swim all day!

- Brings joy to laughter to our family!

Weight = 45 pounds (75th percentile)
Height = 44.5 inches (90th percentile)

At Least 2 For the Month

I just peeked at our blog and realized that my last post was August 1st.  Today is the 31st.  It has been SUCH A FULL MONTH, and I can't believe that none of it is chronicled.  I was determined to have at least 2 posts for the month.

While this will hardly even touch all of the details of the last month, it will give a few highlights until I'm able to sit down and devote some time to getting updated.  At this rate, that might not happen until the kids are in college.

Speaking of college, our little lady turned 5 on August 13th.  WHAT?!

More on that later!

We spent 5 weeks in Michigan.  Phil was there for the second half of that time, and we had so much fun with family and friends.  More on that later.

I was BLESSED to have a "sprinkle" for Quatro.  I was literally showered with diapers and love.  More on that later.

The kids had an AWESOME summer.  AWESOME!

Much more on that later.

Fishing and Tubing

Michigan is wonderful for MANY reasons...

two of them being fishing and tubing!

 Uncle Phil was the hero of the weekend because he took the kids on several fishing adventures.  At one point, he was the only adult with seven kids.

Clare loves being with Daddy, and she loves fishing.

This rock bass was just one of their many catches.

 Clare is a perfect mix of tom boy and girly girl.  She can go from being elbow deep in the mud in search of worms to painting her nails pinky-pink to "look beautiful."

Clare has been tubing for several years, but this was Isaac's first summer getting pulled behind the boat.

I love watching these two buds have so much fun together.

 The little guy had no fear.  I was on the edge of my seat a bit as I watched my 2.5 year old swing from side to side behind a speed boat, but he couldn't get enough of it.

 One of his many runs behind the boat.

He kept saying, "FASTER, FASTER, FASTER!"

Ready for more fun!