June 28, 2012

Memorial Weekend - Part 2


"Wow! Serene is so classy!" 

Said no one ever.


Ah well, what can you do. I've embarrassed myself so many times it's completely second nature. I don't even realize I'm doing it half the time!


As I was looking through all the park photos and trying to decide which ones to post and which ones not to, I was struck by one thing in particular.

I finally understand why people often comment on how much Alayna looks like me.

It's not the face, it's the hair!!


Clearly they've seen me when I first wake up in the morning.

I'm not sure how I feel about that.


The boys particularly loved to play in "the cage"


Is it just me, or does that seem like express permission to get a cage for the house?

Just sayin'.



 After we had been there for a while, Savannah, who had been feeling pretty lousy and had been sleeping in the car, finally managed to emerge and come out for some fresh air.


That was also my cue to bring out the snacks!


Apple slices and cheese sticks.

As I handed all the kids a cheese stick, I overhear a little girl ask Savannah, "Why does your mom call it a cheese stick?"


Savannah's awesome answer was, "Because it's a stick of cheese!


My kids do me proud.


Even Jacob, who dropped his in the dirt, was man enough to ask me to blow it off so he could eat it.


I confess, he gets that from my side of the family. (see first thing written in this post)


I thought for sure Claira would expire from extreme happiness. She thought this was about the coolest thing a girl could do.


Nothing like feeling the wind blow through your hair as you go down a slide!

Wait....


At one point Alayna discovered a spider on a tree.


I can only hope that's not what she has in her hand.


It takes a while for Alayna to really warm up to people. But Papa finally won her over. 

This was a monumental occasion.


I just hope they weren't bonding over a spider.


Ah, look at these two young-ins! I'm pretty sure they could be nominated, "Best Parents Ever".


Naturally I'd be a closer runner up.

Obviously....


We finally dragged all the kids back to the car and went back to my parents house where the kids were introduced to the movie "Pete's Dragon".


It's amazing we only came home with one invisible dragon.

But Jacob was always breaking out into song about Passamaquaddy. It was awesome.


Sunday was relaxing and church was great, and we all went to bed that night in great anticipation for the Memorial Day Breakfast that my dad was cooking at the next morning....


TO BE CONTINUED....


P.S. I'm sorry all the pictures are so pixely. Ever since my iMac died and I lost access to my photoshop program, editing photos in awful programs like Microsoft Office Picture Manager and Paint have been my waking nightmare.

June 26, 2012

Memorial Weekend - Part 1

Why... are you looking at me like that? Memorial Day was a mere one month ago! Wait until I get our Spring Break pictures done, then you can look at me weird.

But until then, I fully expect you to congratulate me for blogging about our Memorial Day so quickly.

We all have moments we are proud of.

Like that I've just finished off my ninth otter pop in a row without the kids even noticing that I was eating them.

That's call talent people.

Anyway, where was I... oh yes, Memorial weekend.


Due to the crazy summer schedules this year, it was decided that Memorial weekend was really the only time we could drive up to Montana to my parents place.

We were about five hours into the seven-hour drive when I realized I had forgotten my camera and told Hubby to turn around so I could grab it!

Okay not really.

Still, all the pictures I have are from my moms brand new fancy-shmancy camera which I really wanted to swipe borrow, permanently. But she kept it under lock and key and bodyguards stood watch whenever it wasn't in use, so I wasn't able to grab borrow it.

At one point in our drive up there, we stopped off at this particular gas station that we always seem to stop at whenever we travel up that way. It's big and clean...ish. As we made the rounds and rotated taking all the kids to the bathroom, I noticed that all the workers standing behind the counters were laughing and grinning.

At first I thought maybe I had toilet paper stuck to the bottom of my shoe, but then I realized they were laughing at the boys.

I had forgotten that Joseph was sporting his transformer outfit,


while Jacob, who insisted he needed to dress up too, was sporting a simple, yet stylish red bandanna.


I'm glad we could be a bright spot in their dreary gas-station filled day.


We arrived without too many problems, the exception being Savannah throwing up in the back a grand total of three times because she was so car sick.

Lesson learned: Savannah is never allowed to ride in the back seat again.


Claira was just so happy to get out of her car seat!


I know, she's adorable.

You can lavish me in praise for making such cute babies.

I don't mind.



It was on this trip that my dad introduced my boys to the computer game "Ballistic".  It's a rather old game, considering that as an older kid I use to sit by my dad and watch him play it.


If you happen to know what that game is, you have just been promoted to the level of "excessively cool" in my book.

Some habits are hard to break I guess.


Do you guys remember this little scene from Pixars "A Bug's Life"?


It's my favorite line to use whenever my Hubby walks by a television, or picks up his iPhone. He acts the same way. (I love you Hubby, you know I do. But you gotta admit, you know this is true too)

It would seem that our children have inherited this trait.


*sigh* What can ya do.

But if you start saying "I can't help it, it's so beautiful" every time your spouse gets sucked into an electrical devise while you're trying to have a conversation with them, don't tell them where you learned it from.

I don't want to start getting any hate mail.


The next morning, Saturday to be exact, the kids went out to see their cousins. Salt, Pepper, and Sirloin.

Claira was a little suspicious, she doesn't think they are related.


Neither does my nephew, Logan.


But it's the eyes that give them away. Just sayin'.

What I can't figure out is, my dad thinks baby slobber is just about the most disgusting thing on the face of the planet. But he doesn't care if a cow licks him?

Does anyone else find this to be a little strange?

Or a lot strange?

Should I be worried about him?

After everyone got acquainted, we loaded up in the car and went out to go ride the ski lifts that run up the side of the mountains.

Too bad they weren't open yet, we were about a month early.

On the way back, we randomly stopped off at a park to let the kids play for a while...

TO BE CONTINUED...

June 23, 2012

Why I Don't Have an Advise Blog

Everywhere I turn on the Internet there are people offering ideas and advise; especially, it seems, on parenting. 

How to play with them, how not to play with them. How to feed them, how not to feed them. How to discipline them, how not to discipline them. How to raise them, how not to raise them.

Gah!

So it is good to know that my children are always doing something highly important, extremely productive, thoroughly creative, and vigorously intelligent.


I'm especially proud of the way my children taught the neighbor kids how to play "Road Kill". 



And the importance of learning to speak "Cricket".


I recognize that these are rare, admirable, and highly coveted skills that all parents would wish their kids to possess.

See? I could start up my own advise blog!



Nah.

Besides, I'm not sure I'm ready to give up my secrets on say... how to blow up kitchenware, or how to back into the garage door while it's still opening. And I know people are dying to know how come my children are so logical, and why they are such profound readers and home decorators.

But these are skills, true talent that I'm just not sure I'm ready to impart with.

I hope you understand.

June 20, 2012

Nine Years


Happy Anniversary Hubby!

What do you say we do this for another nine years?


That's what I thought.


Photos by: Callie Ann Photography

June 18, 2012

I Deserve Candy Too!


Yesterday at church, all the men were handed candy bars in recognition of Father's Day.

I tried to explain to the young men passing out the candy bars, that without me, Hubby wouldn't even be a dad! So rightfully, I deserve a candy bar too.

For some reason, they just didn't go for that. But I don't understand! It makes perfect sense to me!

I mean, I would be totally fine with Hubby getting one of those flower plants that they always give out on Mother's Day.  (mine always die anyway) Why would I begrudge him that? So I still think I ought to have been given a candy bar.

Just sayin'.



And despite all the cute things I pinned to my Father's Day board on Pinterest, I didn't do any of those things.

Nada-one.

Not that I'm one to state the obvious, but I am really bad at planning ahead.

...................Was that too obvious?

But I spent just about my whole day Friday cleaning the house and all day Saturday working outside with Hubby on the flower beds, which in truth probably meant more to him that a cutesy card or a big stash of candy.

Pish, men are so weird with their priorities.  

What?... oh, come on, you know I'm kidding! *awkward silence* A little....


Happy Father's Day to a man who just so happens to be a rather fabulous dad. (even if I didn't get a candy bar in recognition of my part in that)

And he looks sexy in glasses too.


P.S. In case you happen to wonder where I get all my supreme awesomeness, I get it from my ------ All my weirdness though, I get from my ------.

What? I can't very well be starting a war between my parents now can I? Besides, deep down, they know the truth.


Happy Father's Day daddy! Love you!

June 14, 2012

Blogging is a Messy Hobby


See what happens when I blog while the kids are awake?


I may be in need of consolation gifts. You know, the pure cocoa value kind. *hint hint*


Not that I'm hinting at anything. Because I never hint. *sigh* Wouldn't some chocolate be so nice right about now?


But I think God in all His wisdom, made children ridiculously adorable for a reason.


Because seriously, how am suppose to get mad at this!?


It's just not possible I tell you.

June 13, 2012

Another Birthday Post?

Shopping for Hubby is down-right difficult. It seems like there's not a whole lot that he would particularly enjoy getting. Unless it was a new truck, a four-wheeler, a boat, or a motorcycle.

But those things tend to be just a wee bit out of the budget.

I mean, pish, I always carry about ten grand around in my back pocket, but twenty is kind of pushing it, you know? *insert eye roll*

And getting him ties and shirts for everything always feel a bit redundantly boring.

But in June, Hubby's birthday, Father's Day, and our Anniversary all pile up to come about in a week and a half time slot.

And I can never think of a dang thing to get him.

So ya, I'm still working on that one for this year. And since we just celebrated his birthday, I have about a week to think of something good that could encompass all three events.

*sigh* I'm doomed.

But we set about celebrating Hubby's birthday as best we could.


Claira helped me blow up balloons. She was a natural at it too.



 Oh... guess she just took great pleasure in chewing on them.



The kids took great care to decorate the table.


Especially Savannah. She put in a lot of meticulous effort to make it just so.


For starters note the little picture she made out of the exclamation mark. I thought it was weird she had drawn a picture of girl on it and figured it was a self portrait or something.

But then she informed Hubby later that it was a picture of him!

Bald with a beard.

Because Hubby teases that someday that's what he's going to look like.

All I can say is, that's quite a beard.

She also wrote him a special... poem? Note? Well, whatever it is, I think you'll get a kick out of it, so I'll let Savannah explain it to you herself.

 

But here's the icing on the cake. (so to speak) Let's see if you can follow along with me while I try to explain the birthday card Savannah made for him, just how she explained it to us.

It's beyond awesome.

So, there's a birthday fairy.


And poof! You have a card!

Now this next part is to be read like a conversation.


Savannah: "Dad, here."

Dad: "Yay!"

Savannah: "Yep. Uh huh. love you. I *heart* you


And now, for the "poem" written on the left side and a "letter" written on the right.


POEM
Nobody knows, the awesome power that blows with you. (at this point Hubby is laughing so hard he couldn't read any more. It took him about three or four times of re-reading that first sentence before he could continue.) You fly to the rescue, all that you do. Thanks.


LETTER
Dear Dad, I love you. Thaks for everything. Your awesome! Keep up the good work. Love, Savannah
P.S. KissyPoo!


Reading that was probably the best part of Hubby's whole day.


Now, Hubby's not much of a cake fan. So every year I make him an ice cream cake. I've had a lot of success over the years and every year I try to make it a little different.

This was this years attempt.


It sure looked yummy (unless you don't like malt balls) and the kids were super excited to dig in!


So after trying to light all the candles for about ten minutes,


we were ready! 


But really, we were just getting all excited over an epic fail!

You know, all afternoon I kept hearing this weird beeping noise, but between trying to keep five little ones entertained while keeping the house clean and making dinner, I didn't really bother to investigate.

But, I really should have.

Turns out, that beeping noise was coming from the garage freezer where I had stashed the cake. Apparently, the door had been ajar all afternoon.

So instead of an awesome ice cream cake, it was a failed ice cream soup.


Callie had a good idea though. We should have just tossed it all into the blender and made a shake!

So, the moral of the story is... always investigate the beeping noise.


Oh, and Happy Birthday Hubby!
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