A Stop Along the Way

Some dear friends from our previous city moved to Alaska two weeks ago, and we were a lunch stop for them on their twelve day journey to their new home.

Jonathan and Erica have the sweetest friendship... she is still named as his "best friend" when asked about who he likes to play with and ride bikes with.  They were our bike riding buddies and we all looked forward to our weekly adventures on the bike trails.  We are hoping to visit Alaska sometime!

 Jonathan, Erica, Julianne and Caleb

 Julianne and Caleb

 The two mommas

 On the run

 Sweet friends

Baseball Boys

The boys got these shirts in "goodie boxes" from Jamie's cousin, Bruce.  What fun!!  They wore these outfits for two days in a row and were irritated when they were dirty on the third.

Date Day

My Mother's Day gift from Jamie reflects how well he knows me... it was a day of fun for the two of us, and babysitter for the boys.  We biked, went out to lunch, I enjoyed a little time at a spa while Jamie read, and we went on a walk and out to dinner.  A perfect gift!

Marriage

While driving in the car one day, the conversation went a bit like this:
Jonathan: Caleb, you can marry Mommy and I'll marry Daddy.
Me: Daddy is a boy and he's married to me.  Do you know any girls you want to marry?
Caleb: I marry Grammie.
Me: Well, what about Grampie?
Jonathan: I'll marry Emily.
Caleb: I marry Cala.

The end.

If Ever I am in Danger

If ever I am in danger of developing pride in my parenting, my children will guarantee that does not occur. Caleb bit a child in the church class on Sunday.  Broke the skin.  We were serving in the nursery when the two year old teacher arrived at the door of our classroom to fetch the children's director with the news of the biting incident.  Before even knowing it was my child, I had a sinking feeling.  Sure enough, we were soon fetched to deal with Caleb.

Later in the weekend, the fun continued when I glanced out the window at the boys who were to have been "helping" their father for a few minutes in the yard.  They were not helping but were playing with toilet plungers (that have been used for the toilet) in the mud.  The mud I can handle but plungers that have been used in the toilet... not so much.  Apparently they "found" them in a corner of the garage.  Where we keep them to avoid such an occurrence.

Lastly, I colored my hair.  A very different color that the "cheating" blond that it usually is.  Being blond when I no longer am naturally so, is a lot of work.  So, my hair is dark.  Its "natural" color according to my hair lady.  I arrived at the park to gather my children from the friend who was watching them and said hello to the children.  They were busy playing and I started talking to my friend.  Twenty minutes later, Jamie showed up and asked Jonathan how he liked my hair.  Jonathan looked at me strangely and then smiled, "I wondered who that was talking to Emily."

Rain boots

There are several things that I would have once thought frivolous that now seem necessary with boys:
 - Rain boots: they do not absorb mud or sand and can be easily hosed off.  Necessary for my sanity and the life of their shoes.
 - Stools: for reaching things, washing hands, using the bathroom, and all sorts of other very strange ideas.
 - Handheld vacuum that actually works: for the aforementioned sand and dirt... all over the house.
 - Rain boots for me: because I cannot escape the fact that fun is to be had in the mud, and these boys sometimes need redirecting while in the mud. (ie: please do not eat the mud (Caleb), we do not drop big blobs of mud on other children's heads (both boys), and so on)

Anyone with regularly very clean children want to come over and play?  We'll surely corrupt that cleanliness.

Sleeping with a Hat

Jonathan rarely sleeps during "quiet time" but on occasion he is tired enough to do so.  I found him like this the other day.  The "hat" is a swaddle blanket that we found in a box from Caleb's infanthood.  He likened it to a hat good for sleeping.