Doctored Pictures

Farming Fun

Took the boys out to Life Is Good Farm today.

As many of you know, we have been working hard at our house to move to more locally grown produce and meats as well as trying to make more things from scratch. Believe me, we aren't there yet, but I think we do a pretty good job. Debbie and her clan have some great products if you live in the area.

Here are a couple of pictures. The boys got to pet some baby chickens, chase some free range hens and roosters, see the 3 billy goats gruff, and just enjoy their time. We had the added bonus of getting to see her 2 new baby cows. The baby girl is only 6 days old. As always the boys had a blast.

The Tooth Fairy

I can't believe it. I am a tooth fairy now! At the ripe age of 5 years, 1 month and 9 days, Anthony lost his first tooth. It is his lower right front tooth. Because I am the most awesome mom ever (no bias) I have both before and after pics.


I am so proud of how he handled it. We were eating breakfast. He told me that he didn't want to eat the apples because it made his tooth hurt. No problem. Then he came in and said, "That's ok, I just took my tooth out. Now it doesn't hurt to eat the apples." He is such an amazing kid.

The Tooth Fairy brought him a $2 bill and a $1 coin. He was more excited about the certificate...but that will change with time I am sure.

I'm a big kid now

I always loved that Toys'r'us commercial. I guess marketing really does work. But I digress.

William has been growing so fast. It is hard to believe that just a few months ago he was nothing but a soft fluffy ball who hardly moved.

He is now trying to crawl



He is now eating at the table with us






He is developing a great little personality (like there was much doubt that he would). When we pick up the big boys from school, he cries the entire time we are in the car line. Then as soon as the door opens, he starts giggling and cooing at his brothers. It is so fantastic to see.

The Nose Incident

From here on out, that is how it will be known.

On Mondays Anthony goes to school without Gabe. This always makes Gabe sad. So when he wanted to take his favorite toy with him, a play mobile man with a small pistol, I caved. This is known as enabling. I am aware of my role in the incident and will work to not enable it anymore.

So he is in the car on the way to get Anthony from school. We are talking. He tells me his nose is itchy. I say we'll get some medicine when we get home (3/4 of a mile mind you). He says that's ok, I'll just itch it. WARNING WARNING WARNING. I should have seen it coming, but alas I was enjoying a Dropkick Murphy CD and wasn't listening. Again, I recognize my role in this.

Apparently he used the little bitty tiny pistol about 1/2 and inch long to try and reach the itch in his nose. You can see where this is going.

"Mommy I can't reach the itch."

"We are almost home, I can help you."

"Mommy it is stuck." (at this point he is speaking in a fevered pitch and crying)

"What is stuck?" I am truly confused how he went from an itchy nose to crying in 3/4 of a mile...although I shouldn't be.

"The gun, the gun." Sobbing commences.

I tried to remove it with tweezers. That didn't work. I would have needed the arms of an octopus to hold him down, use the tweezers and keep William from crying. So back in the car we go.

At urgent care we wait 1 hour (through lunch mind you) to find out they can't get it either. Yes, it is really shoved that far up his nose. So the wonderful PA calls in a favor from a great ENT in Savannah. He normally doesn't see kids, but will take Gabe as a favor. So we rush through the DQ line to get some horrible food and head to Savannah (40min).

When we get there the nurses are amazingly awesome. So sweet. They work to keep Gabe calm as they use 7 different tools to try and remove the gun. Finally it is out. The first question from the kids....

"Is it ok to take it home? We really need it!!!"

We got home in time to do grilled cheese for dinner.

Needless to say all kids were asleep at 830, I was asleep by 9.

Stephanie's Visit

We are so lucky! We have developed life long relationships in every location we have ever lived. To be honest, this is what makes the military so amazing to me. Even better, most of our long time friends from each location are not military. This summer we were blessed to have Stephanie come spend some time with us.

She is great. My kids think she hangs the sun and moon. To make it better, she showers them in love and attention. And yes, it gets better, she is simply a delightful person to be around.

During her visit, she held my baby to give me a much needed break. She played with the older boys. She chatted with me. I wish she could have stayed a bit longer.

So, here are pictures of some of our adventures. We mostly hung at the house to get some things done, but managed to make it to the beach, around town, and to the park.

File This...

under things you can't make up.

Lately the boys have been obsessed with Star Wars. They talk continuously about Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. In their world, these are real people. So most days I just tune it out while nodding and smiling. But then I heard this in the car:

Gabe "I have something stuck in my pants"
Anthony "Maybe it's Darth Vader"
Gabe "No it's just my light saber"

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

That's right, Will is officially a roller. Found him in his bed this morning on his stomach. So excited, but also petrified. We must begin baby proofing and I will need to start figuring out the small parts situation with the big boys.

School Days...

School days, school days
Dear old Golden Rule days

The boys started school this week and love it. Anthony started on Monday and Gabe on Tuesday. Gabe was crushed he could not start on the same day as Anthony. They are attending Richmond Hill Methodist. It is only a half day program, because I still wanted a little more time for them to be kids.

Birthday...Again

So Anthony lucked out this year and got yet another birthday. This one had just one friend and Grandpa Keith. There was no elaborate cake, just cupcakes and tacos for dinner.

We gave Anthony some LEGOS (always a winner) and 2 new Wii games. He had his friend from KS over, Thomas, so that was the big treat.

It is hard to believe I have a 5 year old. He is turning into such an amazing person and I am lucky to get to watch that happen.

Sword Fighting

Watch out...here comes Anthony. I got the Wii Resort Sports for the sword fighting and the boys love it. They are so funny and animated to watch. Here is a video of Anthony

Quilts

Our friend in Alaska made my first 2 quilts when they were born (fish themed of course). So as an amazing gift, she sent William one too so he wouldn't feel left out.

Recipe for Fun

1 Grandma
1 Aunt
3 kids
A mom to schlep the gear
2 dozen animals
Sunshine
And a cool breeze

It all adds up to fun.

We went to the Como Park Zoo in St Paul. Free zoo that is awesome!!! Highly recommend it.

At the Lake Place

As kids, my brother and I would go with my mom to spend at least a week at the lake in MN. My grandfather built a house there to enjoy. And we all did. In TX, the summer is brutal in August, but we would escape for a bit to northern MN where is was warm in the day and cool at night.

Now I can take my kids. This year was special since Kraig, Nara and the girls joined us. The kids saw each other last summer, and it was like they were never apart. I love that.

We played in the water

On the boat







With the neighbor's dog

On the cabin floor


We tried to feed some ducks, who were smart enough to swim away quickly from our rowdy herd.


We roasted marshmallows

and painted toes

Sometimes we just spent our time relaxing


Mostly, we just enjoyed each others company.

We played cards and drank (that was not a kid activity). Best of all, it was like we saw each other just the week before and would of course be getting together in another few days.

I love easy friends like that. The friendship where you pick up when you need to and allow it to go dormant when you don't. No one gets their feeling hurt over it, you just understand each other and how life is happening. It was worth the trip for just those few days.