Time to Blog

MAJOR BREAKING NEWS!!! EMMELINE LOST HER FIRST TOOTH!!! I figure I'd better match her excitement level. I think that the thrill of losing the tooth is matched by the thrill that EmJ, the wimp of all wimps, pulled it out herself--gore and all. Hooray!! The tooth fairy schedule must have been awry on Friday night because whoever had the early shift only brougth 25 cents, but whomever had the late shift missed the memo, visited EmJ a second time, and left a whole dollar. Dang that undermining toothfairy minion!

Now that the major announcement is taken care of, enjoy the rest of our random summer pictures!!

That's my girl!

My mom and I took the kids to the flight museum last week. It was heaven for Gus..."Look Joshua, it's a gun-sooter, a gun-sooter, Joshua, see it? It's a gun-sooter, Emmeween, a gun-sooter!"

Our first tomato and cucmber from the garden. We've been enjoying beans for a while, and now the tomatoes and cucumbers are ready! Yum!! Our corn is gorgeous and has been fun to watch grow, but I don't think it's going to produce anything. And we're still waiting on carrots.

I found the kids down here one day vacuuming. Love it!

Long story. We took the older kids school shopping for family night a few weeks ago. Distraught that he didn't get anything, Gus picked out a pack of play-doh and insisted that he needed it. He was dead set on getting the play-doh. I sent Luke and the kids to the car while I paid for our merchandise, and, true to form, left the play-doh with the cashier. Benjamin fell asleep on the way home, and I thought I was in the clear. NOT SO! The next morning, he went on a search for his play-doh and upon discovering that it was NOT in the bag became very upset. I, of course, blamed it on the cashier, which caused a string of three-year old insults to spew from Gus' little mouth..."lame-head" "stupid guy" "poop face" "dorky porky"...He even called Luke to complain about his fate (Luke gave him some more name-calling ideas). So, that afternoon, while Sam was asleep, we made play-doh. My penance for shafting my son and letting the unsuspecting cashier take the brunt of his wrath. The end.

Samantha--being sassy.

One hot Saturday, we ended up babysitting most of the cousins at our house. So, I put them to work washing the cars. Yep, I'm the coolest Aunt ever!

Sam's first pigtails--They were adorable, but my attempts to get a picture resulted in pictures of Sam trying to grab the camera.

Sam sat in Primary with me a few weeks ago. She grabbed a Book of Mormon and made herself at home on one of the little chairs. I was so proud! Furthermore, I like this picture because her hair is neat, her clothes are clean, and there is no food on her face. Plus, that wicked farmer tan needs to be showcased!

Did I mention the cherries on the blog? We picked cherries from a neighbors tree (a 5 gallon bucketful). It took three solid days of pitting to work through all the cherries, and I haven't yet been able to stomach the resulting jam or pie filling. This picture is of Benjamin's "cooking" with the cherries. I frequently find random kitchen stuff all over the house because of Benjamin and his projects. In the past few weeks we've also picked blueberries and plums...and our freezer is full to the gills.

And that's it. Maybe in the next few weeks, I'll be a little more diligent about posting our summer adventures!

Beat the Heat

I thought it was high time I post. I have much to say, but not much patience for sitting in the sweltering house to say it...

*Luke and I went on Trek last week. That deserves it's own post, and I'll do one as soon as I get my hands on some pictures.

*"Delicious jams and jellies," is from National Treasure. "Why can't it just say, 'Here's the treasure, spend it wisely?'" Great flick.

*Benjamin went to bed the other day with a bunch of goldfish crackers in the cargo pocket of his shorts. Way to go, Napoleon!

*Yesterday I sat outside in the kiddie pool. All by myself. It's about 4 feet in diameter and 12 inches deep. At one point, a bee was attacking me, so I started shrieking and splashing at it...I'm pretty sure my neighbors have pretty valid concerns about my sanity.

*We have a lovely city councilman running for re-election on an "ecofriendly sidewalks for our city" platform. What? Call me crazy, but I think we have bigger problems.

*I'm starting to lose my faith in public libraries. It started way back when Joshua was a toddler and was pulling board books out of the bin. The librarian said, "Oh, no, we musn't touch the books." It has escalated recently, as the library capped attendance on a magic show. Now, I have no problem with them capping the attendance, but it was a show for kids. So, doesn't it lie to reason that you let the KIDS into the show and ask the parents to wait in the library so more KIDS can enjoy the KIDS show?

*The heat wave is making me insane and grumpy. We have a growing list of home improvements to make, but I just moved A/C to the top of the list. Who cares if the roof leaks, at least I won't be hot for those three days in July...

*Have grocery stores ever considered installing a drive-thru for people who only need to pick up one thing? I may even consider paying a service fee for that.

*Did I mention that we are SWELTERING?!

*I'm going back out to the kiddie pool now. Maybe I'll run through the sprinkler while the kids are napping.

5K

Joshua, my dad, and I ran a 5K yesterday. I am so proud of Joshua! He ran every step of the race and came in first among the 5 year olds (all three of them) and 2nd among 5-6 year olds. In his age division (babes in strollers-13 year olds), he finished 38th with a time of 37:37.

My dad and I didn't fare quite so well. Next time, I'm signing up as a 5 year old!

Joshua, you the man!

Terror

Samantha just emptied my sock drawer. Then she found a pink highlighter and colored a little pink stripe on each sock, telling each one, "thank you," "thank you," "thank you," while stacking them into a nice neat pyramid of pink striped socks.

Aaaaaaaaand, she's disappeared with the highlighter. I guess this is the blog's end for today.

New Title

Hmmm, I've been trying to think of a new title for our blog...something clever, witty, and somewhat more descriptive and less boring than "Our Family."

a. Altogether "-ooky" get it?

b. The Adventures of Willie and Gus

c. Republican Yankee in King Obama's Court

Okay, I'm just kidding on option 3, this is after all a family blog.

Yum!

Here are some highlights of Samantha's short toddler career...

*Insists on using her own utensils. Not baby spoons, either. Both the utensils and the food on her plate have to be identical to the rest of the family.

*Has emptied cartons of eggs on two occassions.

*Took a marker to all the walls and the fridge the other day.

*Takes great pleasure in unrolling toilet paper and putting it all in the toilet.

*Can climb up the bunk beds.

*Loves cars and trains..."dars" and "nays". Sam was screaming while I was putting her in the car the other day, so I said, "No screaming in this house!" Benjamin looked at me and said, "This isn't a house, this is the car." Sam gives me her most precocious glare and finger point and says, "DAR!!"

*Yesterday, we went to a friend's home to pick cherries. I turned my back on Sam for approximately 6.3 seconds, turned back around, and found her on the top of a 6 foot ladder (not at the top, ON the top) with her hands in the air yelling, "So Big!"

What a character she is!

Pride

It's done. The slipcover is finished. Never mind that I started it a year ago. Nevermind that Sam will be moving to the bunk bed in 2 months. Nevermind that I'm not replacing the Mariner's blanket and navy blue sheet with something girly that matches the rest of the room. Nevermind that I'm not going to bother to iron it or fix it's multitude of other problems. Nevermind that I don't know any better now how to use a sewing machine than when I started. It's done. I can maintain my "I finish what I start" mantra. My pride is intact...sort of.

Lazy Eye

This is Lazy Eye....as in "show me your lazy eye"...Sam does it when she smiles, when she's angry, or whenever the kids start pestering her to perform.

I think she looks like you, Lin! Later in life you'll have to give her lessons on how to smile while keeping both eyes open!

Delicious Jams and Jellies?

(Name that movie.)

I've never met anyone who dislikes freezer jam, and, in a fit of domesticity this week, I have learned why. The sugar to fruit ratio in freezer jam is 2:1. Duh, no wonder it's so good.

Now we have at least 2 gallons of strawberry and mango freezer jam. I debated making mango jam because I fervently believe that mangoes taste like dishwater. However, when it's 2/3 sugar anything can happen. I think I'm going to puree some veggies and make veggie freezer jam. I bet my kids would eat it.

P.S. Laura, let's still have a jam making party. I'll be in charge of licking the spoon.

Last Day of School!!!

Well, our little EmJ is officially a second grader! Here she is making her last lunch of the school year...notice the mustard smile?! And, on the last day of school I had her wear the same outfit she wore on the first day, so I could scrapbook a "now and then" type page. (Sorry, I'm not motivated enough to find the first day of school pics, so all you get is Friday's photoshoot....I'm not sure what's up with the peace sign.)

Emmeline's most amazing acheivement this year...to me at least...has been learning how to read. I can't seem to get her to stop reading (making for some tired morning-afters), but if that's my biggest battle, then I really have no worries!

And, Father's Day!! We love Luke so much. Not enough to write something sappy or post a picture on the blog, of course...

Here is the top ten list that EmJ put together for Luke for Father's Day! We all concurred with her sentiments...

10. I love my Dad because he reads me...nothing. (Luke protests. "We've read The Boxcar Children seven times this year!)

9. I love my Dad because he helps me...learn.

8. I love my Dad when he makes me laugh by...saying Gina Bardoo. (Never a dull moment.)

7. I love my Dad because he taught me how to...do math. (This is actually true.)

6. I love to hear my Dad sing...something random. (He writes all his own songs. Most are about Gina Bardoo.)

5. I love my Dad because he finds time to...watch the ballgame. (Priorities.)

4. I know my Dad cares because he...loves me.

3. I know my Dad is smart because he...still goes to school. (I'm not so sure that attending (or rather attempting?) school is "smart" when you've got more than enough of a life, but it sure goes with our love of rice and beans.)

2. I love my Dad because he works hard at...work. (Notice she didn't say what kind of work or where...hmmm.)

1. I love my Dad because he is the BEST DAD EVER!!!

Motherhood Made Perfect

A quick head's up...

Besides being my best friend (which makes her awesome in and of itself), my friend Carly makes beautiful nursing covers! She has decided to start selling them to earn a little bit of money while she stays home with her little Cameron Rose!

Check out www.motherhoodmadeperfect.blogspot.com for yourself or for your next baby shower gift!

If you tell her I sent you maybe she'll make me a free one someday...

Marathon and other goodies...

Our strawberry patch has been providing us with a bowlful of strawberries for breakfast every day!

"Mom, we actually need a new sink now, it's my fault." (Willie)
"The bouncy ball is drowning, save it, save it!" (Benjamin)

Caterpillar torture has become part of the boys' daily routine.


Caterpillars were harmed in the making of this post. (And I never knew until just this moment that caterpillar is spelled with an "r". I thought it was catepillar. Dang, for years I've been wondering why I got cut from that 3rd grade spelling bee.)


And the marathon. I didn't actually run a marathon, nor do I have any desire to ever do so. But I did run a few support miles for my sister-in-law, Mari, last weekend. It's sort of well, not very funny, that my two sister-in-laws held up better than I...one being 30 weeks pregnant, the other having already run 19 miles. Yikes, I'll stick to 5K races! But, like my father-in-law, I get a kick of being able to say, "I participated in a marathon," and let people draw their own conclusions.

Preschool Graduate

Joshua graduated from preschool today! Are you loving the purple and white...how many LW alum are reading the blog right now chanting "Kangaroo Power!"

Receiving his diploma from Miss Vicki. Luke says, "That lady looks the same as she did twenty years ago." Seriously. She's ageless. But, she will be retiring in two years *wipe a tear* just after Benjamin gets to be in her class *yipee*!

Josh and Josh.
When we went for preschool orientation, Joshua (who goes by "Willie" most of the time) insisted that his name was just Josh. Okay. When I go to pick him up, if I ask for Joshua I get funny looks. "Oh, you mean Josh!"
Good thing for "Josh" there was a teacher helper "Josh" as well. They are good buddies...the big Josh even taught my Josh(ua) a super cool manly handshake that I am not permitted to participate in.



The Grandma's came to witness Joshua's "one moment in time"...and started reminiscing about mine and Luke's preschool graduations.

And, one final picture for the scrapbook! Goodbye preschool!

I am sooooooo excited for Kindergarten! (That was Willie speaking, I mean Joshua, I mean Josh...)

Strawberries

You have to agree, that looks pretty tasty. And I grew it all by myself!

Draino vs. The Shamwow

Draino is Victorious

I Hate...

My sister recently took a Facebook quiz in which she had to name five things the world would be better without. So, I've been thinking about it, and since I don't "get" Facebook, I'll put my thoughts on here.

The first bunch of things that came to mind were all proper names. So, I won't name them. Because that would be rude. And this is the internet and my hate list may possibly be here forever. Let's just say they included multiple people whose names start with the letter "O", a certain shopping establishment that starts with "Wal" and ends with "Mart", and the Boston Red Sox.

Without proper nouns, I could think of only one thing that I truly, truly hate and that the world would be better off without.

CROWS!

I hate crows. They are loud and obnoxious. They poop on your fence, your car, your swingset, and your head for sport. They steal your picnic food. I hate crows.

For his next birthday, I'm buying Willie a BB gun and I'm going to pay him for every crow he gets.

Then, when he runs for public office in 30 years, the media (because no child of mine will concievably hold views that will be acceptable to mainstream media) finding no trash on him will turn to PETA, who will say, "He earns disposable income hunting helpless birds."

PETA, his mother put him up to it. He also kills slugs, catepillars, and has a collection of dead ladybugs.

Speeding Tickets

Yes, I recieved a speeding ticket a few days ago. Willie has been telling EVERYBODY that his mom got "caught by the police." It appears to be a great conversation starter. Here's my favorite exchange though:

Willie: Mom, why did the police capture you?
Me: Because I was driving too fast.
Willie: Did you break the law?
Me: Yep.
Willie: (eyes as big as saucers) Then you can never go to church again!!

Oi!

(And speaking of traffic incidents...I saw a Toyota Tundra nearly take out a Prius yesterday. I started cracking up at myself (and felt slightly guilty) when my first thought was, "This is cute though, huh? You're saving the world for all of us. Go hemp!" (name that movie...))

Fearless is...

*Letting your boys talk you into giving them mohawks...or fauxhawks, more accurately.

*Taking out the garbage in your underwear (not me, Luke).

*Having the fam over for dinner at least twice a month (that's 36 people...)

*Making sure four kids are alive and happy...and keeping it that way 24/7.

*Letting Benjamin sleep in regular underwear because he's sick and tired of wearing EmJ's old princess pull-ups.

*Fearless is...

*Shamelessly admitting on your blog that you LOVE Taylor Swift!!
*Becoming a teeny-bopper for a night to attend her concert!! *Running into, of all people, your visiting teacher at said concert! *Screaming and screaming and screaming! *Dancing and dancing and dancing! *Singing along with every song! *Wishing that you were sitting two aisles over so Taylor would walk right by you down the aisle to the stage...hugging, shaking hands, signing autographs the whole way! *Pushing people out of the way to snag a free FEARLESS poster!

*Loving Kellie Pickler and Gloriana...they were awesome, too. *Being pleasantly suprised that Taylor Swift live was much better than Taylor Swift on the ACMs. *Enjoying a girls' night out with your baby sister!

Sally/Dobojet

Joshua, the newest Jenga master. I was very impressed with his Jenga skills, but I was forced to confiscate the game when Joshua and Benjamin decided that the pieces are more fun to throw than to play the game with.

We have a new catepillar. Emmeline named it Sally. Joshua named it Dobojet. Emmeline slept with it in her bed and carried it around while she got ready for school this morning. Joshua went running to look at it as soon as he got home from school and said, "I think Dobojet is a raccoon now!" (That would be coccoon, sweetie. Coccoon.)

And speaking of Joshua funnies--Every time Luke watches Rocky, Rocky, Rocky, Rocky, or Rocky I ask him, "Did he win?" Luke always replies, "Every time." So, Joshua just got the movie Kung Fu Panda, and we've watched it now no less than 10,000 times. Today he says, in a voice full of wonder, "I just knew he was going to be the dragon warrior!" I said, "How did you know?" "Because he ALWAYS is!!!!"

That's it! Happy Mothers' Day everyone! And Happy 8th Anniversary to us...tomorrow!

Teacher Appreciation Week

This post isn't actually about teacher appreciation, though I do immensely enjoy both EmJ and Willie's teachers, and their schools.

It's the PTA that stinks.

Seriously, how hard is it to plan an end of the year party?

Order some pizza, sell soda and popcorn, take photos in a decorated corner of the gym, make some posters to advertize, rent a bounce house, play some music, do some face painting, have a bake sale.

Not hard.

Or is it?

According to WA state law, we can't do a cake walk because it's a "game of chance". So is Bingo, but they have bingo nights all the time...

A bake sale is a liability. Is it worth the risk of sending a kid to the hospital because an item is mislabeled?

What?

Oh, and we have to HIRE a photographer and face painter. Because apparently kids nowadays expect professional peace signs and rainbows on their cheeks.

Am I crazy? Does this have to be so complicated?

I'm willing to wager that kids will find a way to have fun without needing all the extras. I'm willing to wager that they'll have MORE fun.

But I'm in the minority. And I'm passive aggressive. So, I've gone from party planner to just-tell-me-what-you-want-me-to-do person.

But I'm still not hiring a face painter. That's just silly.

Mom, what are you doing on the 12th? Are you good with peace signs and rainbows?

Willie is 5!!!

Well, my pictures are out of order, as usual, but at least I got the most important one first! Last weekend Willie celebrated his 5th birthday and my dad celebrated his 50th! Here are the birthday boys.

Willie is very much into basketball at the moment, so we got him a basketball outfit for his birthday. He thought that was pretty cool.


Willie enjoying the spotlight.

Willie on the morning of his birthday about to open presents.

We had pancakes for his birthday breakfast. Samantha decided to put her syrupy plate on her head...is this why you don't give your kids syrup, Sarah?!

I just thought this was cute...I can't get enough of her curly hair.

Yup. She's a keeper. She finally got her third tooth today. Hooray!

I love this picture of Willie and Grandma...sporting the new sunglasses and watch. Of course, Willie wore the sunglasses to school today and left them there. Go figure.

The kids at Willie's birthday party. Since this one didn't include any faces, I figured it'd be okay to post. The party was a blast, thanks to Luke-the-Entertainer. He had the kids running and screaming and giggling within three minutes, and he managed to turn my nice low-key party into a giant waterfight. The kids loved it, some of the parents will never let their kids come over again. Party Economics 101: Sidewalk chalk costs about $2 and keeps kids entertained indefinately. I pulled off this shindig for a whopping $24 (or, rather, Turtle Grandma did! Thank you!).

After the family party (before the friend party), Willie and I went to the Mariner's game. Our first of the season. We won in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the ninth, at which point Willie was asking after every pitch, "Are we going to stay here forever?"

Willie was mad we didn't get a ball, but excited to be sitting next to Ichiro.

And, the cake. I love the mess of wax and canned cherries that is my dad's cake! Willie's candles spell DIME (his first name...oh my, now you are all REALLY confused!)

For his 50th birthday, we gave my dad a box of Cracklin' Oat Bran, or as we affectionately call it, "Colon Blow."

Luke didn't have a bag for the wrapping paper, so he shoved it all in poor Sam's shirt. She was so confused!

And that's it! Happy Birthday Dime, Willie, Joshua, whatever your name is!