Slight Link Between Eating and Chubs Discovered

*sigh*

Well, I uploaded these pictures several days ago, hoping that I'd find time to write fascinating captions and post them and maybe add some sort of high-techie 4D setting where a giant space heater blows 155 degree heat on the reader seated in a steam room so you could FEEL the heat that these pictures in no way convey.

But that isn't happening...so lame commentary will commence.
We had the awesome privilege of going to visit my friend, Amy and her two little handsomes--Hogan and Rece. We got to meet Rece for the first time and Hogan had doubled in size since we last saw them.

Despite the heat and talk of cat-sized rats swimming in the murky river to our left, it was so great to see them. It had been wayyyyy too long.

We were in such vacay mode that I even let the kids drink a Crush from the can with their lunch. It felt very villianous, seeing as parents JUST LIKE ME are blasted on the nightly news for recklessly offering their kids Coke and contributing America's obesity problem. But the heat needed some refreshment and some high-fructose corn syrup-dyed-orange did the trick.




NBC's health reporter would pass out to know that we had ice cream twice later that day. {Just glides down the throat so effortlessly, what can I say?}

Without a doubt, the fatigue from the 100+ degree heat on their faces is obvious. My fault, we strayed from the bread and butter of coolness: the pool.


Our friends Ben and Ayla remedied that.

We love them, we love their parents, the kids love each other, and we drank YET MORE COKE with our meal. Yes, a LOVE FEST. No matter how long we spend with them, it's always too short and very sugary.

Oh sweet heavens. I just looked down.

I uploaded these pictures a few days ago, and of course, forgot what award-winning photographic content was sitting on my very own blog.

Yes. MORE FOOD.

Although this is more of a light, heavenly, ethereal food. Barbeque. Ribs. Brisket. Sausage.

And I didn't even take pictures of the fresh, hot rolls they deliver straight to the table from the hot, buttery oven.

{I'm not kidding...they don't mess around. The oven is actually IN the dining room, which sounds hot, but is actually indistinguishable from the 100 degree outdoor temps.}

Brad, {who, YEA!, joined us for the last couple of days} likes to slide an entire pat of butter carefully into each roll and let it perfectly melt. On the conservative side, I'd say his butter to roll ratio is about 3:1.

The kids can pound a rack of ribs on their own. EASY.

And with feeling.

After all the heat and the eating, clearly, we needed to sit down and be VERY still. For a loooong time.

Brandon is at that cute age where he LOVES the movie "Cars." Loves.

The boy could not be interrupted to so much as GLANCE my way for a picture.

There are some genetic traits that are beginning to emerge from our family:

1. Chubbiness. Including, but not limited to: cheeks, folds, cankles, multiple chins, tummies, buns, rubberband wrists, and ear lobes.

2. Concentration. Have you ever had friends say, "my kids just won't sit still long enough to watch TV!" They are not my relatives.

3. Sugar obsession. I haven't even trained them in this...it is just there. Brandon literally jumps up and down {aforementioned chubs wagging} and twirls around and pants when we mention "ice cream." And would NOT eat it until I put the m&m's on top. And syrup. And crushed Oreos. These things are not taught; they're instinctive.

4. Swimming. Honestly, I wish I would've videoed this. Brandon is the last in a very short line of Jackson, Lilly, and Rylie who swam early, fearlessly, and without any knowledge that oxygen is part of the secret formula for being alive. Brandon doesn't want to be in the water, he wants to be under the water. At all times. Floats and life-preserving devices be shunned.

Lillers concentrating on the ice cream cookie sandwich.
Rylie concentrating on getting back in the pool.
Jackson concentrating on being the only one to cooperate.
And Brandon concentrating on holding in his tummy underneath the swim shirt.

Love this little bunch!