Avery

Guess who is taking Tap and Ballet this fall?

Temporary

I have had this in my mind for awhile. This set of stairs is here at our house as a part of a project that involves moving in a mobile home. The painted word reads: "Temporary". I obviously took tons of photos with these monkeys sitting on the steps. The light was perfect when we headed out there and it changed very quickly and got too bright. I know I am not completely happy with the resulting photos so I might try it again later. I just saw those words on the side of the steps and thought it's sooooo true!

Today I was doing dishes and I thought I heard heavy footsteps through the house. Ron wasn't home, Rowdy and Avery were outside and Bodie was napping. I have no idea what the sound was, just my ears playing tricks on me. But I quickly flashed forward in my mind about ten years. I imagine what it will be like when Rowdy's footsteps are heavy through the house and I will turn around from doing dishes and I will no longer look down to meet his eye I will look up to see a young man standing there....Temporary!

My crew and two that moo!

Avery has never had a hair cut. Will her hair ever grow?

When Rowdy plays with his trains it is like he is in his own little world. He always has his face close to the edge of the train table so he can watch the train really close up when he pulls it by. He likes trains so much he even likes to watch documentaries about steam engines. He says he is going to be an engineer when he grows up.
This happy little boy that you see here was having such a good time playing in his crib and then tragedy struck! He did a little bounce on his mattress as he held on to the side of the crib and bumped his nose on the crib. OUCH! Poor little thing got a bloody nose! Yikes! It didn't last long and after he settled down he was fine. Boy, Motherhood keeps ya' hoppin'!
Meet two of our newest additions...Ponch and John!

This camera is fun!

I forgot to rotate...you'd think I have never posted a photo before.

These are two of Avery's favorite things on the planet. Millie is the cat and "Cozy" is her blanket. For some reason in my head that is the way it is spelled (No comments from you Nicole about my inability to spell). Millie and Cozy are included in much of Avery's pretend time. In fact, we do all sorts of silly things with them. Sometimes I roll her up inside her cozy and she instantly becomes cozy-rito (or cozy burrito). She literally is giddy when we do this although she is getting to big for it. Sometimes we make cozy peek around a corner at her and she again thinks this is absolutely hilarious. Cozy sprinkles little sleepy dust on Avery's face when I am saying good night to her. Cozy makes funny sounds and sometimes we are greeted by Cozy before Avery says good morning...the sound is something like Rrrrreeee! Ask me in person sometime it is pretty funny. I think it is sweet that her little blanket and cat have such a tangible personality and really are part of the family.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is my Dads birthday! I think he is so handsome. My Dad used to take me bowling when I was so little that they didn't have shoes to fit me (I just wore my socks). He taught me how to play golf. He sawed a putter in two and welded it back together to make a short one for me when I was about 5 or 6. He used to take me to the park to play on Saturday afternoons, just he and I. He loved Tom and Jerry and Road runner cartoons. He could do this silly trick were it looked like he was pulling his thumb off (have you seen that one?). He also could do this funny dive off the diving board and it was always one of the highlights of summer vacation. He drove me to gymnastics practice for 9 months in downtown Portland so I could beef up some of my skills for cheerleading tryouts my Junior year in High School. I never remember any true heart to hearts conversations with my Dad where he said mushy things Father to Daughter...but you know what? I know he loved me with all his heart and I know he was proud of me. He was not stingy on saying I love you and giving me hugs. He was always there to help me when I got into a jam. He just wanted me to be happy! He gave it such a good fight when he got sick about 7 years ago and was diagnosed with ALS. He would sometimes whisper to me "I wish there was a cure, Jules." He has been gone for just over 5 years. I miss him so much. Rowdy talks about him all the time. Their spirits seem to have a connection. When Bodie was born I saw my Dad in him. He has my Dad's hands. Speaking of...Bodie is waking up so I have to run. Happy Birthday Dad!

I took the plunge!

I told Avery make any face you want and among many other interesting ones this is what she came up with.

This photo is so cliche but the light is good.

I took the plunge and bought my new toy this week. So far I have taken about 150 really bad pictures and these truly are the only two worth posting. Learning this camera remind me how I used to feel when I was learning to play golf. For such a short little swing there sure is a lot to remember...head down, left arms straight, follow through, eye on the ball etc. Except now it is proper ISO, aperture, shutter speed.

I talked to Kim today and she gave me some really really great pointers and I already feel better. Thanks Kim!

More to come as I get to know the camera more and have more time. We have had the stomach flu around here this week....joy!

Country Boy!

The one below is my absolute favorite!!!!

This blue truck just showed up at our place one day and apparently it is ours. Ron always has these random automobiles around because of the towing company. Anyways, how could I not take Rowdy James out and take some photos. These are just a few that I liked.

The reason I have been having all these scrapbook nights, garage sales and returning soda cans like crazy (Ron said he is going to find me a shopping cart soon) is because I am saving all my pennies to buy a new Digital SLR camera. Ohhhh how I can't wait to get my hands on it. The kids will be watching a ton of TV that week while I get to know the camera. Wait they are my models never mind. But for now my point and shoot will have to suffice.

So if you see me pushing a shopping cart full of cans down the street don't be alarmed I'm just trying to get myself a new toy to play with.

My junk could be your treasure....

Hey I am having a garage sale tomorrow Friday August 1st from 9am to 1pm.

Scrapbook supplies
Stamps
Storage Systems (12 x 12 paper rack with 30 slots) and more
Household Items
Kids Clothes (Mainly 3T and smaller)
Stollers
Bassinet
Kids Chairs
Blah, Blah, Blah

You know where to find me if you live around these parts!

Bring your kids swim suits and they can take a dip in our swimming pool!

BLUE

We went Blueberry picking with our cousins a couple weeks ago and the kids had a blast!

Yummo! I made blueberry pancakes and a Crumb Cake with blueberries in it.

The blueberries were huge!
I tried to keep Bo-man in the shade...
Doesn't it look like Rowdy has two little blueberries for eyes!

Hush LIttle Baby

Rowdy was having a hard time falling asleep last night (probably because it was so hot). Anyways, I sang him "Hush Little Baby" and scratched his back (one of his favorite things in the world). I was secretly hoping that I would be successful in singing him to sleep. Mainly because maybe that would mean he is still a "baby". He didn't fall asleep as I sang to him. It made me sad because I can't remember the last time I sang him to sleep and watched his eyes get heavy and witnessed him surrender and drift off. Instead we had a quite little conversation about our plans for the next day which included visiting Grandma Linda. Anyways, he was able to project in the future and say "I'm going to be a Dad someday". I encouraged him to talk more about that and he added "you will be my kids' Grandma and Dada will be their Grandpa". He also said "I will bring them over to visit you". I thanked him for that. He also mentioned that Ron should go see his Mom because he has a hurt eye and she could make it feel better (he got a piece of metal stuck in his eye...yuck!)

Although, I wasn't able to sing him to sleep like I used to when he was younger we did share a nice little moment of Rowdy and Mommy time. Do you ever miss your kids and how they were when they were younger? I remember reading somewhere that we are usually so aware of when the "firsts" happen in our kids lives but are not aware of when the "lasts" occur.

A few of my favorites right now...

On our way to church...Avery has her hair in two low pony tails and let me tell you she was thrilled.

I had to take some photos of the kids in front of this huge daisy patch in our yard (I am sure they are just weeds).

Bodies cute chubby little ankles!

He loves the bunnies!

These are so random...

She picked this for me at one of her first t-ball practices.

Rowdy showed so much improvement this year. He would hussle to the ball when it was hit to him in the out field. Last year he would just watch it as it rolled by him. He really didn't even understand that he was supposed to go after it. He did much better this year and showed more motivation to play as well.
I forgot to post pictures about this little "Grandma Party" that the kids and I had for the Grandmas in our life. We had a nice lunch and the kids sang a song for the grandmas. I took a picture of the kids with each of their grandmas and sent it home with them in a frame. It was really nice and we will be doing it again next year.
Bodie's smile is just like the little sun above his head.
Proof that Rowdy put the hubba hubba on it when the ball was hit to him. I love this picture! It needs to be cropped a little but I love that is shows him looking at the ball and getting after it to go scoop it up and throw it to first base.

Just had to share...

There is a blog that I visit that I wanted to share with you because she has some really cute ideas for things to do with your kids. I think we are going to do the ice cream in a bag thing really soon.

She is at this site.

She just had a baby so I don't know how often she will be updating. But there is plenty of ideas in the archive to keep you busy for a long time. She usually posts something about everyday.

Just thought I would share...have a good day!

Meet Max and Ruby

This is Max...
This is Ruby...
They live here...

We got these cute little bunnies from the same family that Amanda got hers. They are the sweetest little bunnies. They are used to being held and being around kids and we love that about them. I wanted to post these pictures so I could show the young man that we bought them from where Max and Ruby are living now. Thanks again for raising such cute little bunnies....we love them.

A 6 year old lives here!

As I was walking through the house the other day I was noticing how Rowdy's toys have changed over the years. He has always loved anything on wheels and the sound of a engine running was one of the first noises he made as a baby...brrrrrrmmmm!

Bodie has been enjoying all of Rowdy's baby toys. But it is so funny to see how things have changed with Rowdy's interests. He loves Thomas the Tank Engine (well any train for that matter) but Thomas is taking a back seat to Transformers lately. In fact so much that sometimes I have to ask him to talk about something else for a change. It is just hard to see my oldest grow up. There is no toddler left in him at all...he is a BOY!

We will be having Rowdy's 6th birthday party this weekend and I will post some photos of the actual birthday boy after that.

Graduation!

Avery's Preschool graduation was last Thursday. She loves her teacher so much. She talks about her all the time. When they had their dinosaur week Avery came home and was talking about dinosaurs all the time. She was able to tell me all the neat little facts that she had learned from her teacher Ms. Dianna.

Rowdy has a Kindergarten graduation as well. It was so nice. He has done really well in kindergarten. We face a tough decision when it comes to placing him into 1st grade. We can't decide if we want to send him to the small school close by or the larger school in town. The small school he would get more one on one attention (I think) and the big school just has more resources (library time, computer lab, a gym). We are leaning toward the big school but still can't decide. He is a great little reader...many of the teachers have told me he is one of the top readers in his class. The teacher even gave Rowdy a bag of books that he could read to the other students in his class. I am so proud of him!

Best Buddies!

One more of Avery girl! She is smart as a whip too! She loves to draw, color, work on writing her letters and do basically any art project (wonder where she get that!) On one of the papers that came home from her class she said that she wants to be a Mom when she grows up...I thought that was a really sweet thing for her to say. She does have a very strong maternal instinct and has since she was tiny. I used to find her animals and dolls with real diapers on them when she was only 1 1/2 or 2.