Our everyday staycations....

As my family puts it....

Less words.

More pictures.

Summer Evenings

We've had some LOVELY summer evenings lately, and as a family we have taken full advantage.  This was one of those *PERFECT* nights for us.  We started out with steak, shrimp, carrots, corn on the cob and salad for dinner.  The boys ate a little, then took off to play in the backyard.  Since Tyler and Wyatt and I were left alone in peace, we were okay with that! 

Mmm..

The boys LOVE corn on the cob though, and we found the best little stand at the corner of Timon and Northwood.  The corn started at 3 for $1, and has now come down to 4 for $1.  When I was a kid, we sold it out in front of our house, and it was 13 for #1.  Yikes, that's some serious inflation in the corn market!

After dinner, we cleaned up real fast, and then headed for a walk to the park and then the river.  The boys walked themselves, and we tagged along!

Weston loved these swings.  He loves to swing, and wants to go as high as you'll push him.  No fear!

Once we made it down to the river, the boys all worked together to build a ramp out into the water.  We love projects.

Oh Wy-Wy.  You are darn adorable!

A serious blogging drought

is going to come to an end, I hope!  The past week has been busy busy, and I haven't felt much in the mood for blogging.  I know, I know, so not like me.  Forgive me! 

We have been eeking out every bit of summer fun that we can, because the mornings feel like fall is in the air.  Our afternoons are still hitting the eighties, but with the chilly mornings...  Summer is on its last leg. 

With fall coming, there are some ch-ch-ch-changes coming for us too.  Wayne is going to start preschool!  He will go Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 2 1/2 hours in the morning.  He is beyond excited, and talks a lot about Teacher Pam, his backpack, what school will be like, etc.  He came into our room at 3am one morning, telling me that he had a great idea, he could take the bus to preschool!  Why he came up with that one at that hour, I'm not sure, but I told him only mom's take their kids to preschool, not buses.  His only concern about going has been, "Will there be food there?  I will be hungry!"  He is OBSESSED with food lately, and from the markings on the trim inside the laundry room closet, it looks like he's grown almost two inches in the last six weeks or so.  No wonder he's eating me out of house and home!  Because of that, we needed to do a little "school shopping."  He is growing out of almost everything in his closet, and is down to 2 dress shirts and 2 t-shirts that are wearable in his closet.  His stained and holey play clothes are not preschool worthy!  So Grandma and I took him yesterday.  It was so much fun to spend time with him, and to have the shopping skills of my mom along (you should see her in TJ-Maxx....  impressive!)  TJ Maxx, Target, and Old Navy were all the stops we needed to get him school clothes, a few play clothes, a coat, and wedding clothes for Kelsey's wedding.  Wayne is a bell ringer, and he just had a conversation with Kelsey that went something like, "I am excited to ring the bells at your wedding.  But I need a flower for my pocket.  Like Aaron.  A red flower with a long stem, that's what wedding boys need.  Will I have a flower?  Hey!  Will you have food?  If I'm going to be in your wedding, I'm going to need food!  I like to have a ham and cheese sandwich with mustard.  That's my favorite."  Then later, I overheard him talking to Tyler, "Dad, why is she going to marry that boy?  Why would she do that?"  Such a funny kid!

With preschool, my work schedule will be changing to Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I'm looking forward to the change of pace and schedule.  Tyler will still watch the boys one day each week, with Tanya having them on the other.  The boys ADORE their Aunt Tanya, and I couldn't feel more at ease when they are with her.

Wyatt is growing up.  Really growing up.  He stood all by himself today, for about thirty seconds.  He was so proud of himself, giggling and swinging his arms until he fell down.  I was BEYOND shocked.  One second he was leaning against the ottoman, and the next, standing on his own two legs.  He has also started waving "bye-bye" and is pretty stinking proud of his little trick.  If you're over for coffee, and backing out of the driveway as you leave, look on the porch, and you'll see him waving!

Weston is just a little monkey, but a very helpful one.  His latest obsession is keeping the kitchen floor clean, especially underneath Wyatt's highchair.  When Wyatt makes a mess, Weston runs and gets the broom and picker upper thing, and cleans it all up for me.  SWEET!  :-)  He is also talking more and more.  Today he said "Beppe" for the first time, and was clear as day.  Also new to his vocab is "no."  Lovely! 

So today was a crabbing and cleaning up sort of day.  Tyler took Wayne crabbing with Uncle Jason, Ethan and Brenna, and they had fun.  I stayed home and did some wedding stuff, had Beppe and cousin Tim over, made applesauce, cleaned and cooked, and am working on taking down the pool.  It's been a fabulous day! 

And me... well, I'm doing okay.  All of these changes are hard for me.  I like change, but not uncertainty.  And I've had a really hard time lately with the kids growing up so fast.  Ulgh.  I am working on it, but deep down I know that this is how it should be.  And that I better hurry up and embrace where they are today, because one year from now I'll be wishing they are this age, instead of last year's age!  (Did that make any sense at all?)  I have also felt a little... overwhelmed, I guess.  I do a lot of things for a lot of people, and have pretty high standards for myself.  Sometimes, something's gotta give, and I think in the last few weeks, it's been my mind!  :-)  Tyler tells me to say no, but let's face it, it's not in my personality.  And I WANT to do the things I do to help people.  I just can't do them all at once!!!  I am looking forward to some nice long, quiet, scrapbook days this fall!  :-) 

Okay, more posts to come... I have lots of pictures to share!!!!

SHOCKING!  :-)

Oh yeah.... and be looking for my photography blog to come back... I miss it, and some of you do too!

off to the Fair we went...

...at 9am, and we didn't get back home until 8pm.  A total first for our family since we've started bringing the kids to the fair.  We ALWAYS go home for naps in the afternoon, and then come back again in the evening, but things were going so well, we decided to stick it out.  And they did AMAZING!

We started off by cruising through the chicken and rabbit barns, which have been and continue to be big hits for the boys.  It was strange having Wayne walking, not in a stroller at all, but it seemed right too.  He did really well, listening and sticking close by.  Both he and Weston know that they have to hold the built in handles on the stroller when we are walking, and that helps. 

I think Weston's favorite part of the day was SCREAMING at the geese.  And I do mean ear-piercing, glass breaking, turn-your-head-and-pretend-it's-not-your-child SCREAMING.  That kind of screaming.  But he wasn't mad, he was just happy, and the geese all HAPPILY screamed back at him.  I don't know who was louder, I was too busy running away to notice.

Wayne loved looking at all the Lego displays.  Guess what went on his Christmas list already?

I don't remember ever seeing this reptile exhibit, but it was a major hit with the boys.  I think we went through it 2 or 3 times.  The first time through, we saw a lizard, with it's tale bent in half, and it was licking its' open wound.  It was gross.  Then we saw a sign that said that a fair goer had tried to pick it up the day before, and it was injured.  Later when we came back, it was gone completely, which of course Wayne thought meant that it was dead.  But, the sign told us he was going to be fine, he was just visiting the vet.

Weston thought the tortoise, or whatever they were called, were really neat, and couldn't believe that he could touch it as much as he wanted.

The trip to the Beef Barn to see the Beld's cows is always fun, and they always take the time to let the boys pet/sit on their most docile cow.  Brenna actually placed 2nd in fitting and showing, and got to go on to the grand champion round.  That's pretty impressive!!!!

The boys love the petting zoo area.  Okay, I think it's called the "Small Animal Experience" but you and I both know I don't care about those details.  What I do care about are those poor animals.  They are mauled by children for 6 days, before they are released from their prison time.  I know that a fair bit of their torture was dealt by our two big boys!  They loved holding the cats, rabbits, and petting the cows.  Wayne got to give Squirt the piglet water too, and he told the volunteer "Just like feeding my dog!"  Almost Wayne, almost.  But don't count on us getting a piglet anytime soon!

For lunch we had beef on a bun, zucchini sticks, and curly fries.   Best fair food, ever!!!  At that point the little boys were getting tired (do you like how Weston is sometimes "BIG" and sometimes "little"?) so we decided to divide and conquer.  Tyler took Wayne to go on the rides for awhile, and I took the little boys for a walk to see if I could get them to fall asleep.  We ended up by the grandstands, in time for the afternoon horse show.  Wyatt fell asleep, and Weston was pretty close to it, until the Nooksack Riders came FLYING by.  He was SOOOO excited, and that was it for sleep for him! 

After awhile, Tyler and Wayne joined us, and the boys had a blast watching the horses, cheering them on, and being so close to the action.

Can you see Weston clapping?

With all the noise, Wyatt didn't sleep for long, but he was still happy!

We walked around for awhile, and it started to get warm, so we decided to find a spot in the shade to rest and let the boys run in the grass.  They had other ideas!  I think this was Wayne's favorite part of the fair...  We found two girls who were also taking a break, they were hired as garbage picker-uppers.  The boys GLADLY took their sticks though, and did their jobs for a good 10 minutes.  The girls warned them that the novelty of the "the stick" wears off after the first hour, but I don't think Wayne believe them!  Our area was SPOTLESS when they girls were ready to get back to work.

Wayne started getting tired, so he hitched a ride on Dad for awhile.

Time to perk up, let's go on the carousel!

And then climb 100 feet into the air!  (are you kidding me?)

And Weston's favorite part... slide back down!

Just when I thought the boys were hitting their wall, we found the Discovery Kids tent.  We played with their games and toys for a good 30 minutes while we refreshed and recharged our hot and sweaty bodies by sitting on their chairs in the shade!

Next, I headed over to watch the Beld girls show, and after the little boys both conked out in the stroller, Tyler took Wayne on a few more rides.

We grabbed a quick ice cream cone, and it was time to head for home.

What a fun, fabulous, and memorable day we had!  When we got home, I told Tyler, "I'm surprised with myself, I didn't take that many pictures today, I just enjoyed the moments!"

Then I loaded my pictures, and I had taken 250.



Oh well, maybe next time.

Nit Nat Fishing Trip - 2010

The boys had a FABULOUS time, and created some "lifelong" memories while bonding on their fishing trip to Nit Nat.  I sent Tyler with our Powershot camera, and he snapped a few pictures for me.  He is becoming quite the photographer!

They had to hit a Starbucks on the way up.

And then they drove down "the road less traveled."  It was REALLY less traveled folks, and you know it's rough when....

...your trailer tire AND fender!

I'm told that the first day out was ROUGH.  Really rough.  And no fish were caught.  That made for some unhappy fisherman, but they were more determined than ever by Friday to bring in the catch.

Hmm.  This was the kind girl who offered to dive to the bottom of the boat launch.  For $20.  And I won't say for what.  I'm told Ryan also borrowed gear and dove down to the bottom, isn't he adventurous!?!

The Dads.

The sons...  At least one of them.  How was net duty, Tyson?

I love this picture... my Dad does that with his jaw and teeth when he's concentrating. 

I guess it worked.... because this fish was HUGE!

Uncle Loop and Joe.

I think this was the straight they had to pass through, where the waters got a little dicey because it's where water from the river meets water from the ocean.  Perilous or not, it's a pretty picture!

And here's another whopper.  Ryan gets all the credit for photography here (yeah, I'm totally throwing him under the bus) and managed to cut off the fish's head AND tail.  Ryan might plead "artistic expression" on this one, that he was trying to make the fish appear so big it couldn't fit inside the frame, but I'll let you be the judge!

Tyler took this picture.  I guess that shows Tyler's training, and Ryan's lack of training, right?

My husband made me PROUD with this last shot!!!  :-)  He likes the fish, and I like the pictures he got!!!  :-)  I like his fish too, it's VERY tasty!