My Cutie Pie Kiddos

We visited Portland this past weekend and had a wonderful time. Adam and Tyler really enjoyed playing with their cousins Lola and Tanner. Here are the pictures from the zoo. They had a blast. Dawn (my sister-in-law) and I took Grace and went shopping for the day, while the dads took the "big kids" to the zoo. Talk about a wonderful day!


Tyler, Tanner, Lola, Adam (sorry I don't know the bears names !)
Okay, I just have to share the story behind this one! The first thing the kids tell us about the zoo...we saw an elephant and it went poop and it almost stepped in it!!" I think this must be what they are watching right here in this picture....way to make a memory!
And here are my kids PETTING a goat. For those of you who know my kids, you know they are super scared of animals. Justin said they walked right into the petting zoo and had a blast. It must be Lola's good influence! :)

I just had to take this picture of Tyler. He is so funny the things he comes up with! He told me he had to wear socks with his crocs because that rhymed. How do you argue with that? :)




Here are some pictures of Miss Grace. She is 9 months old now! Time really is flying by although some days and NIGHTS feel long. As you can see she keeps us busy. She really loves to help unload the dishwasher, not exactly the help I am looking for but oh well. :-)She is a happy little girl and always makes us laugh. My favorite thing that she does right now is when she mimics me. She'll blow through her lips or making kissing smacks back and forth with me, it's precious.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I wanted to share a funny conversation I had with Adam this morning. To preface: we were eating our cereal which was Frosted Mini Spooners (the generic brand of Frosted Mini Wheats).
Adam: "mom, I love this cereal for men"
Me: (half asleep) "Hmm?"
Adam: "This cereal, it's for men or boys right?"
Me: "Adam it's for everyone, why would you think that?"
Adam: "Well, it's called Frosted Men Spooners, so I figured it was just for men."
Me: "Frosted MINI Spooners Adam, MINI, not men".
Adam: "oh."
All before 8 am mind you. :)

Then, tonight at dinner Justin and Adam were talking about Parmesan Cheese.
Adam: "Dad, why do they call it Parmesan Cheese?"
Justin: "Because that's what it is, that is it's name, like there is Jack Cheese, Swiss Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, Provolone Cheese".
Adam: "Oh wow Dad, you know a lot about cheese, I know how to cut the cheese! "
Tyler pipes in: " I know how to cud da cheeeese toooo!"
We all laughed, thank you God for giving me boys, may the dinner conversation always be this entertaining. :)

Why Buy Expensive Toys!

For about an hour now the boys have been having an absolute blast playing with my recent costco purchases: paper towels, diapers, wipes, etc. They are making choo choo trains, building towers, jumping around...once again I think why buy expensive toys! :)

Weekend

We had a very fun filled weekend. On Saturday we went to our annual neighborhood picnic. As you can see they had some super fun activities for the kids. The boys loved it. The picture on the left is like a jumping circle and the one on the right is of a fire engine slide!
We also did a lot of swimming this weekend. We joined a nearby neighborhood pool and the kids have really really been enjoying the water. Especially Gracie! She laughs and kicks the entire time. It's so nice because it's not busy like the public pool. Adam has not enjoyed swimming lessons at all this year. We got the opposite result we were looking for with lessons. He is now more scared than ever of the water. He won't even go near the swimming lesson instructors or the water. So we are not pushing the lessons and instead Justin and I (and Alex and Anna) are working with him at this neighborhood pool. After only two times going, he has made leaps and bounds! He even swam by himself with water wings on yesterday. It's funny, Uncle Alex has a deal made with Adam. If he puts his head under water, Alex will buy him a big blow up dolphin (that another kid had when we were there). I'll keep you posted when and if that ever happens! :-)


On Sunday we spent the day on the beach and boating with my brother Alex and his wife Anna, and my Mom and Dad. It was great. The boys had a blast! Gracie took a nap in the tent. I can't believe how well the kids did. They loved playing the water and the sand.

Gracie Girl

Does this look safe to you? Me neither, yes I probably should have gotten her down but instead I took a picture. :) She is asking for trouble! Climbing already...keeps me very busy!
She walks all around the house pushing this wagon.
She's a busy busy girl, but she's darn cute isn't she?

Swimming Lessons!

The first day of swimming lessons. Here they are all ready to go! Tyler had a blast. He is in the parent and tot class, so Justin got in with him and he also had 2 friends in his class. Adam didn't have as good of a time. He is in the big kid class this time where the parents don't go in. He was quite nervous and reluctant at first but by the end he participated and even enjoyed himself some. Here's hoping tonight's lesson goes better for Adam because we have two weeks of this! :)

Advice

Happy 4th of July everyone! We had a nice weekend. A weekend full of family events! A 4th of July picnic, a Baptism and a bridal shower all in one weekend. It was busy, but lots of fun. To celebrate independence day, we colored a flag. Tyler was not impressed that he couldn't color it green and orange :-) We also made brownies baked into an ice cream cone. It was so much fun! We decorated them with red/white/blue sprinkles. They were a big hit! I am happy to report that both boys cooperated well and we had a fun time making these! :)
So at the bridal shower this weekend we played a great game. Everyone writes a piece or two of advice for the new bride. In attendance at this shower were all of my aunts and great aunts, my grandma and a few cousins too. The bride then reads all of the advice out loud. I just thought I'd share some of the memorable ones with you! Some of the good serious ones included:
-marriage is like the ocean, it ebbs and it tides.
-always take care of yourself, if you are worn down you are no help to anyone.
-marriage is not 50/50 it's 100/100.
-when the going gets tough, think of 5 things you are thankful for.
-marriage is about giving.
-always keep your sense of humor.
Now the hilarious ones!
-it's not about his jobs or her jobs...just tell him what to do!(from my fiesty grandma)
-if you are tired, send him to bed first! (from her fiesty sister)
-the man be the head of the family, but the woman is the neck!
-always give your husband the attention he needs/deserves (then this person's gift was a silky nightie! :)
-keep a journal of where you spend each holiday, it will save an argument next year.
I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did !~:)

Beaver Lodges

It all started with the damn beaver lodges, no pun intended :) In one of the darling little magazines the boys get montly was a project to make beaver lodges... a no bake cookie. Well stupid me, I tried it with my boys. Why? I guess I was asking for 2 tantrums and a half hour of misery! A simple project that required minimal listening skills and my boys failed miserably! It ended with me making the damn lodges (again no pun intended) and them both on the floor crying and sreaming because they were "hungry" and needed to do nothing but eat the chocolate and lick the spoon. SIGH! Some days I just think why do I even try! ...oh yea and the screaming fits woke up my 8 month old after only a 30 min nap...is this some kind of sick joke because it isn't funny! :)It is now noon and they have both been put TO BED...not because they were tired but because I was ready for a break. I am quite certain everyone will feel much better after nap time, most of all me. :) It's moments like the one described above that make me fat...why? because when the going gets tough I hide in my pantry and eat chocolate chips :) :) :) HA ! LOL!