documenting summer...

Little boy feet that scream summer....dirt, flip flop tan lines, scraps, bruises and cuts, bug bites, and oh my gosh the DIRT.....
Next up sweaty faces with kool-aid moustaches....

Alex's Run

If you're in the Milwaukee-Madison-Chicago area and want to support a good cause.

The race site has been updated.
The race is July 12th at 9am.
You can mail your registration in, or just register at 7:30 the day of the race.
It's a wonderful way to celebrate Alex's life, by honoring what she loved doing.

I wish I could say we'd be there this year, but unfortunately moving every year has put a damper on our funds, so we'll be praying for the race from home this year.

Much love to everyone that will be there....

In Jack's words...

"Because I'm going too fast and I push on my brakes but I'm still going, so I used my shoe to brake"

and
Why is it a bad idea to use your croc as an emergency brake while biking?...

"Because it ruins your shoe and gets a giant hole in it"...

Yes it does....

Put the snacks down ma'am, and nobody gets hurt.

I think they intentionally make you wait at the pharmacy for just an absurd amount of time,
so that you inevitably wander around the store and collect things.
Like it really takes 30minutes to place the prepackaged medicine into the bag?!
We left today with a snickers bar, a sprite, a Hershey's bar, some planter's nuts, some kashi golean roll bars, a vitamin water, some dark chocolate calcium supplements, some sharkies for kids, and...two inhalers. Wha?!? I don't get it.
So Jack might have asthma (got to love doctors when they clearly have no idea)
...he goes to the ear, nose and throat doctor Monday.
Until then, I believe we have a few snacks to tide us over....

And, can I just say I'm so excited about this premiere tonight....
I laughed so hard when they took Monkey to the vet last season...I cried.
Just a train wreck...
I can't wait.

Well, yesterday was nice...

Yesterday was lovely. Always nice to celebrate my husband...he's such a good daddy.
It's hard to believe he was only 19 when he became one... So, yesterday was spent playing FIFA on wii, and watching sports....
(boys really just get bigger, they don't change that much)
eating BBQ chicken, homemade potato salad, corn on the cob and sugar cream pie (yum)...
and giving little gifts of our love...

the boys and I made this super simple little album for his desk at work.
(we make one every year, next year he's getting a little basket for all his mini-albums)
Just had the boys list some things they love about their dad...
And I did a "top 10" with photos....
Then the boys wrote love notes on the back of each page....super simple, but sweet. That's how we roll...

So it's definitely Monday now, and I'd already like a do-over (please)...
this day has started off a little rough...(quite possibly the understatement of the day)
one boy is in time-out for an unspecified amount of time.
one is hovering a fine line and might find himself there shortly...
and one has a tonsil the size of a ping pong ball (no seriously, it's GROSS)
so I'm just sitting here waiting for the doctors office to call me back...
yelling "Not yet!" in reply to the constant "Can I come out now???" line of questioning coming from the other room....
hope your Monday is off to a better start.

eta: It's amazing what a little food and outdoor play will do to make everyone happier. whew.
The littles are out playing with the neighbor kids...
Jack has a dr appt tomorrow,
and things are looking bright.
Mondays...whew.

Random Thursday

So, I was going through some photos from Erin's wedding the other day to scrap,
and came across this one....
and had some observations.
Like...
1. Why does my hair look so dark?
2. Why in the world does that stupid dress not fit me?!? Come on now...
I really need to wear it saturday to a wedding....
3. My husband looks so cute.
4. Erin looks SO pretty...
5. I love August, we all have anniversaries. (Gabby too!)
6. And...I didn't notice one little detail until yesterday...

look closer... ignore my hair, that looks almost black....see it?
awww...Jack is holding my hand.
I didn't notice that before...but now that I do it's just the sweetest thing.
Clearly I didn't notice we were even doing it during the photo.
As you can tell, we're really a "formal" photo bunch, as my son is standing on top of a giant rock and all...
nice.
Anyway, that was my bit of cuteness today.

ETA: I got this dress today. It's a casual wedding, so I think it'll be ok? With fancy heels? Or is it not dressy enough?...
My thought process was if I have to get another dress I'd like to be able to wear it around w/ flipflops... and it's black. And that's always a good thing ...in my world anyway.
And in case you were curious Ann Taylor has some very cute dresses...

SharkBait says send Help

First of all, we can check slip-and-slide off the summer 25 list...
although it was a struggle.
The first slide we got broke the second we turned the water on...
Everything now has to be so "fancy", you can't just have the big giant yellow piece of plastic and and a sprinkler anymore,
like when I was a kid...
nooo, it's got to have a blow up pillow at the end and a "splashpool"....
and that's the basic one...
good. So this one will probably last another day or so...
It's hot though, so it's $10 well spent...
Hot. Arkansas is HOT.Completely unrelated to slipping and sliding.
Jack has been asking for a bonsai tree for a few years now. (I know, strange, huh?) I'm not really sure how he became so enamored with the little trees, but he definitely wanted one...
So Colin and I have looked on and off, at nurseries and garden centers, with no luck...
Until this weekend when we came across a bonsai forest by accident.

Meet Miyagi (if you ask Jack) or BingBong (if you ask Jared or Cole)
Isn't it just the cutest little thing? Sadly it doesn't really stand a chance with me taking care of it... Exhibit A: Meet Bob.
This is Bob before the move to AR....I was quite proud of Bob because it was the first plant I'd kept alive for more than a few months....
This is Bob today...

He's really suppose to be in the trash, but hasn't quite made it there yet. Very sad I know. I'm not sure why I can't manage to keep any living thing that's not a kid alive in this house, but it's a struggle for me.
In case there was any question why we don't have a dog...
Ask Shark Bait (the goldfish), he's the soul survivor of the goldfish trifecta (poor Foxy Cleopatra and Bikini Squid)....
This is clearly why my boys think that you're suppose to name plants. They don't know any better...
No pets,
No plants....
Sigh.
I'm reading up on bonsais, so hopefully little Miyagi will grow to be as big as the (still tiny) bigger bonsais that were older than me.....and so expensive I almost died.

While they read...

Jack drew.

I like the fact that he used a still life, and 2 sheets of paper.

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica

Fact.
We are horrible parents.

We moved here the middle of March and the littles are still in a room that is.....
PURPLE.
Still purple June 2nd.
"Actually, it's lavender mom"
Great, huh?
Yeah, it's really nice. I especially like the fact that sometimes when they walk in their room Jack will say things like "It's starting to look more blue I think..."
Yep. Horrible. Parents. I wasn't kidding...

I know it's hard to see, but it's purple.
And no their room isn't normally that clean, or without wall hangings (aka photos/posters/drawings/art)...but we'd just moved in when I snapped that lovely photo.
Anyway, I felt the need to confess....but I swear we're painting it. Soon.

On to better ...
We took away tv and video games from the boys this week. Not because they did anything. Just because we're horrible parents (see the example above) and we felt like seeing what they can come up with without their number one go to. (the wii)
Today they played outside until they were exhausted,
then they read and played boardgames...
Now they're doing something they "can't tell me"...which concerns me slightly, but it involves paper and writing, so hopefully it's a good thing...

Coley, all sweaty and reading...
and Jack beside himself because his brothers are reading, and not playing with him...
These pictures crack me up because Colten was being so patient with Jack, when really I know he just wanted to tell him to leave him alone.
And that's all I've got this monday....

Times when I know he's mine...

Ok, so...
I'm not sure why I found this funny, but I did....

Jared reading the new Time magazine.
"Hmmm...I thought Tony Blair was a magician?..."

Me, trying not to giggle.
"Ahh, I'm pretty sure that's David Blaine"

"Oh yeah that's it!...David Blaine. So... Tony Blair was a Prime Minister..."

Yes, yes...that would be correct son.

Top 25 (for now)

So we decided to make our list of things to do this summer at dinner the other night,
and the first thing out of the boy's mouths when asked
"What do you guys want to do this summer?" was...kid you not..."MOVE!"
Ok....
after explaining that is probably not going to happen this summer....
we came up with our short list:

What we want to do this summer (besides move):
By-Jared, Colten, and Jack

1. Go to the pool
2. Go camping
3. Have a bonfire in the backyard
4. Make smores
5. Watch the fireworks
6. Go to the pool
7. Get a slip-n-slide
8. Go to a Memphis Redbirds game
9. Go to the BMX park in Little Rock
10. Go to Graceland (Jack is REALLY hip to see "Elvis's house", why, I don't know)
11. Go see this (ok, this one is totally the mommas, but doesn't it look cool?!)
12. Take family after dinner walks
13. Get frozen custard from Andy's
14. Go to the lake
15. Plant a garden
16. Go to soccer camp
17. Go to the movies
18. Get a new TV
19. Have a squirt gun fight
20. Tie dye t-shirts
21. Get a basketball hoop
22. Have family game night once a week
23. Catch fire-flies
24. Use the juicer
25. Get/use a weight bench (Jared)

Not as good as our list last year, but not too shabby.
Some of the same things, mixed in with some new ones.
I'll change them to red as we complete the list...or try to.
And maybe we will add to it.
As you can see,
we already managed to complete somethings last weekend.

We also plan on reading....a LOT.
I am trying to finish up this, I'm reading this outloud to the littles, and this, and Jared is working on this one. (which I may want to read when he's done, I can't decide)

What do you have planned this summer?
Give us some more ideas to get our list to 50!

ETA for Mike: Of course "see Evansen" is a given, and doesn't even need to be on a list ;)...
you can't list Ev next to "make smores"....so not the same. The boys can't wait to meet their cousin....

It's a Happy Thursday

Not that much can make me happier then the words
SUMMER VACATION.
Which officially begins, umm.....RIGHT NOW.

But there have been a few other happy little things around here making me smile...
Like for instance,
Lots of boy art coming home from school.
And this story journal by the Jack couldn't be any more precious.

Yes, I love that he wrote "encouraged", so Jack....

And then this little bundle of goodness arrived in the mail yesterday all the way from Germany. I LOVE it Essie! I can not wait to go to the store now.... I'm so excited!
I've already hooked the little one onto my keys, and
How stinking fabulous is the one that hooks into the cart?!? ooooh....I just LOVE it.
Es- the post office a la Arkansas has been located and scrap-goodies shall be sent on Saturday. (It has actually worked out well for you, I've just been adding to the pile so it's getting bigger daily...lots of scraptasticness heading your way.)

And then the mailman delivered some more hazelnut coffee for my newest love....Isn't she lovely?! It is one of those things that you don't realize how much you'll love until you try it, and then it's all over... you are head over heels.
I thought I'd like one,
Colin convinced me it wasn't practical...
and then I tried Gabs and well, practicality went out the window.
It's that great.
AND because I have the best sister and parents,
I received my own fancy coffee pot for Mother's Day.
Way too generous....but very much appreciated.
The great thing is you can make tea and hot chocolate with it too.
So Jared, who tries very hard to channel his inter-Brit, loves the tea feature
and the small ones are all about the hot chocolate.
(Colin, who still mutters about cost effectiveness, will join the dark side when he tries his new Gloria Jeans mudslide coffee that arrived today...I'm sure of it)

I've also been scrapping lately, which is part of the reason I've been neglecting the poor blog.
However taking photos of the pages has proven too much for me, so I am going to try and get the scanner hooked up, and then maybe I can post them?!
Or, maybe not...

With what I have

The last time I was forced to go to the mall here,
we passed the dimly lit store that is Hollister,
and I commented to Jared (half joking) that that was one store I'd never take him to...
(I am just not a fan)
Of course that's what the "cool" kids wear here,
so Jared looked at me with a rather pained look on his face.

Last night at Jack's game Jared and I were talking about schools,
we are thinking about having him transfer to a different school...
and the school we are thinking about sending him to is what has been described as the "preppy" school.
I said, well, I guess we'll have to go shopping then and I may be forced to go to Hollister.
(cringe)
I told him it's not that we mind getting him clothes, he just never asks for them...
to which he replied....
"I'm just really happy with what I have Mom."

And with that, my heart melted.

I wish I was always just happy with what we have.
I'm getting closer.
I am, and I'm an adult.

Such a hard age, thirteen....I remember being awkward and unsure,
and somehow I have this kid that's moved countless times,
and been to almost as many schools as grades,
and he's just like
it's fine.
I'm happy with what I have, and I'm confident with who I am.
I have no idea how he ended up that way,
but I really really love who he is.

And that's all the sappiness I have for today.
I've been a HORRIBLE blogger,
but I wanted to get that down before I forgot.

More about my love affair with my new coffee pot,
and other bits of random tomorrow.
One more day of school here before summer break.....
How awesome is THAT?!?

Tricks on Trikes

Meeting postponed.
Perhaps I'll make sense now... or knowing me, maybe not.

So we have a kettler trike.
It was great when the boys were little, because it has a handle,
so you could guide them along on family walks,
and with big brother(s) on bikes,
it helped make the little one feel like they were riding too.

Fast forward to now.
It's been in storage or in a basement, until this house,
where it's just in the garage awaiting our big garage clean up.
(house = organized - garage = big gigantic mess of crap)
I told Gabby I'd hang on to it for Ev.
Anyway...
The other day I went out to check on the boys...
who were on direct orders to stay in the driveway/yard.

Apparently, stay in our driveway translates in boy-speak to....
Let's take turns riding the trike down the hill (that would be in the street folks), while one of us hangs on to the push bar, and rides their skateboard.
Excellent.

Please keep in mind all three of them have their own BMX bikes.... sigh
So hopefully the trike is still in one piece for Evansen?!
Of course when I was trying to find a site to link "Kettler" to, I read the specs and it says there is a 400lb weight limit?!?!?
So I guess all three boys can ride on it?
Or Colin and I can try out that skateboard trick later...?!?
Interesting.
Why a trike would need to support that much weight will be the mystery of the day.

The Early Worm Gets the Worm

Just wanted to capture my littles in the morning...this is what they do during breakfast.
They love a good book.....

Figured I'd try to get a least one more happy post in before our second IEP meeting Friday.
I'm forewarning you...
In case I post something random on Friday involving nothing but incoherent words and vulgarity.
I apologize in advance.

Welcome to Weiner

Successful trip to Little Rock. Number 40 is a boy by the way. Boys sometimes have to wear ponytails when their hair is so long that they can't see the ball....
(Back of hair photo for you Gab)I love when Jared is on my side of the field so I can just snap random photos of him standing around. This is a "WTH Mom?!?" shot...He is really a fantastic soccer player.
I realized I hadn't taken any sports shots in over a year. Indoor was hard because of the lighting, and now that the boys are older, the game is so exciting, its hard for me to watch from behind the lens.
Anyway, Jared is just super talented, and super modest, but at the same time very sure of himself....
(You have to be to wear your hair like that in AR...seriously, much self confidence is needed)
And he's so handsome....He is also 5'9" now, so I have to look up to him.
I would anyway, even if he weren't taller than me.
I can't describe with words how much I love that kid.

Ok....
or these kids for that matter...
They kept themselves entertained by, you guessed it, playing soccer.
As you can tell, Jack decided his best shot at beating Coley to the ball was to use his size to his advantage, and, well..
take Coley down.I have no idea where he learned this tactic from?!?Poor Coley....
he's just too quick for his dad and little brother.

Because Jared's team made it to the finals we didn't have much time on Sunday to explore Little Rock, but we went downtown for a little while.
In the parking garage I told the boys they had to "hold a hand"....
This is Jared being funny and holding his own hand. Loved this building with all the stars.
The sun was at the worst possible point in the sky, so these photos are less than great, but I found some cool places for future photos.
This one, just because it's novel to get all three in one shot.
The car trip home was pretty quite. One was sleeping, the other two watched movies and read out of the Book of World Records. My favorite thing overheard. "Planet with the hottest surface" "Venus" "Too bad it's not Uranus, that would be a good pick up line."And...we drove through the BEST town ever.
This will be hanging in the boy's bathroom. Love it.

Baseballs

At baseball practice tonight
Jack is throwing the ball with one coach....
the other coach is gets out of his car and yells

"David You got your balls? I forgot mine!"

And
I
laugh hysterically
because I am a very, very immature mom.
But really,
what choice did I have?!?