Wordless Wednesday: TRA LA LA!

(Captain Underpants)

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Becareful What You Ask For...

It seems like about once a week, I look over and say to Rich, "Do you think the elves will come tonight to do the dishes?"

Granted, this usually happens after glass of wine or two when I'm really tired, but alas, they have yet to show up.

Until the other night....

I was tired. I could feel a cold coming on (again). Dinner was over and it was time to do the dishes... but the dishwasher was still running.

I told the kids we'd have to stack the dishes and I'd do them later.

Then Josh turned into an elf.

He decided he wanted to do the dishes.

The old fashioned way.

It wasn't long before Sam decided he wanted to do it too.

Josh thought it was fun ....

Now, I can't do the dishes without Sam "helping."

I'm trying to look on the "bright side" that they want to help. And not the fact that it makes it near impossible to do the dishes, empty the dishwasher or get anything done.

Wear 'em out Wednesday

Today Sam had his class field trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

It was a fun morning. We went to a local YMCA Day Camp where the kids learned about Colonial Toys (and did a craft), we heard a story about Colonial Children and what their life was like and we got to go on a tractor ride to a little pumpkin patch to pick out a small pumpkin.

It was also an "early release" day for Josh which means we had to meet the bus at 12:30. So we rushed home from the field trip (we didn't have time to play on the playground) to meet the bus. Josh was invited to go to a local bounce-house-type-place after school with some friends. This made Sam very jealous so of course we had to go too!

The boys loved it. Sam called all the bouncies Roller Coasters....

And Josh ran around like a mad man....

Both did their best to wear themselves out! And just to make sure they were COMPLETELY tuckered out, I brought them to McD's for dinner.

It worked. The boys went to bed without a fuss.

And it didn't just wear the boys out. I'm knackered too!

Love Thursday: The Anniversary Edition

Yesterday was our anniversary.

And true to form, things did NOT go as planned... but at least Rich's work was not to blame this time!

My morning was great! At breakfast, before Josh went to school he whispered across the kitchen, "Hey Dad! After Danny Phantom, let's go get Mommy some flowers!!" Of course I heard. He "whispered" so long I think the guys in the space station heard him. But, Daddy told him to "shh!" and they put their heads together and came up with "a secret!"

Of course Josh had to tell Sam the "secret" and let's face it -- 2 year olds are not exactly Fort Knox when it comes to keeping "secrets!" Sam immediately ran to me and said, "Mommy! I have a secret to tell you!" I managed distract him long enough for him to forget... And that's not difficult either... "Hey, where's Thomas?" usually does the trick.

It was Sam's first day of school so I met a friend at a coffee shop and just gabbed the morning away until it was time to pick him up. It was refreshing to be without kids for a few hours. So that was nice.

We got a new HDTV last week and the satellite people were scheduled to come today between 1:00 - 5:00 to install the new HD equipment. They had a four hour window to get here. We made plans so we would be here for the four hour window. At 5:30 they called to say they were "on the way." Guess what time they showed up?

7:15!

We still had not eaten, we were waiting for them to leave so we could enjoy our evening. They left at 8:30 and not everything was done adequately, there was trash all over our drive this morning, the old dish was left on the drive, boxes all over, cigarette butts all over, the old dish bracket is still on the roof along with trash. Trash. On. The. Roof.! We were on the phone to the satellite company about 3 times last evening trying to get the stuff "set up." But we're good now and trying not to dwell on what idiots those guys were.

Anyway, I digress... Before the boys ate dinner, they ran out to Publix for "the surprise." When they came home, the boys were both holding on to some yellow roses for me -- they had to do it together! And according to Josh, they looked for tulips but couldn't find any! Awww... He knows they're my favorite! And, they bought a few slices of cheese cake (Publix has great cheese cake!).

And after they left, I made dinner and we had a nice evening -- on the phone to the satellite company for some of it -- we started watching a new DVD -- Hot Fuzz. Very funny, but it was getting late so we'll watch the rest on Friday or Saturday.

So, although the satellite ordeal put a bit of a damper on the evening, all three of the boys made it a great anniversary. The joy and wonder and excitement that Josh and Sam had were all I needed. The look on their faces when they gave me the flowers reflected all the love I have for them and their father, right back to me.

And I have a babysitter for Saturday so we can celebrate again!

Fishing with the Grandparents

We are home from Grandmother and Grampa's now, but while we were out there we had heaps of fun! I've already posted about our adventures Horseback Riding. That was lots of fun and Josh is now talking about taking lessons next year!

We also went fishing while we were out there. My dad (Grampa) belongs to a hunting/fishing club out in Metamora, Michigan. It's a beautiful place with lots of land. I know there are a lot of pictures on this one, sorry... I took 155 of them that day and think they are all wonderful!

Picking out his fishing pole.

Stylish new hats?

All set and ready to go catch some fish!

There is a lake for fishing, which we had to go out on!

The fishing from the boat was a huge success! We only caught sunnies, but they were quick to bite so we got lots of them. We did throw them all back, none of us were too keen to eat them! Josh even caught one on an artificial lure -- a nice bright pink "worm"! We were using real worms for most of the fishing!

Also at the club there are trout ponds. You're not always guaranteed a bite, but your odds are better than average out there.

How many people can say their Grandmother taught them how to fish? Josh is one lucky boy! Grandmother AND Grampa fish! (Sam is too, but his attention span was a bit short this time around!)

Josh caught three big trout which we kept. He actually caught four, but the first one "got away!" Now we tell him he can tell stories about the one that got away. He did really well. Trout are quite hard to land because they like to jump.

Fish #1 -- The smallest -- notice that Josh does not want to get too near?

Fish #2 -- the middlest -- he's getting closer to the fish!

Fish #3 -- The biggest! And barely afraid of it!

My mom and dad got the fish on the line and then Josh landed the fish. My dad was there with a net to make sure no others got away!

Josh, proud of his fishing efforts!

Sam tried to fish but quickly lost interest. He was okay on the boat for about 1 minute, and then he was ready to go in! And at the pond he lost interest after the first cast!

The nice thing about fishing at my parent's club, not only will they clean the fish for you, but they will also cook it for you....

Here's lunch! The three trout that Josh caught with smashed potatoes and green beans in lemon butter sauce! As Josh said, "It's the best fish I ever caught!" It was tasty!!!!

After lunch the boys got to play with L. C. -- my dad's English Setter that is out at the club for "Summer Boot Camp" (to get ready for hunting season). The great thing about this is, my parents have 2 dogs, L.C. and a Gordon Setter named Tess. The boys were scared to death of these dogs last year and never warmed up to them. This year, it took about 3 days and the boys were in LOVE with L.C. and Tess! They missed L. C. when she went away!

So, it was a successful day of fishing. Sam even fell asleep in the car on the way home! Big surprise!

More fun with Grandmother and Grampa coming up next!

Random Pictures

Here are just a few pictures of the boys taken over the last two weeks or so. Enjoy!

For Father's Day, we went to a friend's house for a BBQ. The boys were playing in the basement... Move over Red Hot Chili Peppers, you've got competition!!!!

After dinner enjoying snow cones....

This was taken as soon as we got home from the Braves game. Note the blue mustache -- left over from the Icee that Josh had!

Sam before the Braves game. He just looked too cute! I had to take a picture!