Quirky Me

I've been tagged to post 6 of my quirks, but it's such a dilemma. I don't want to share anything too weird. So here goes:
1. I'm a chronic, terrible tooth grinder. (Dentists have gotten very rich off of me because of this!)
2. I can't whistle. People have tried to help me, but I just can't.
3. The smell of hand sanitizer makes me gag, bad. So does mustard.
4. I have an irrational fear of driving over bridges.
5. I HATE gum! I don't like to see or hear people chewing it, and I have an aversion to the smell of bubble gum. (weird huh?)
6. If I'm flipping through the channels and happen upon a movie from the 80's with Molly Ringwald in it, I absolutely HAVE to watch it! Even though I've seen Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles a million times already.

Flashback Friday- Toys

I wish I could find a picture of my dad and his brothers, sometime in the 1940's, playing with this erector set. I don't think one probably exists, so I'll have to settle for these pictures of my boys and my dad playing with it, that I took yesterday.

How amazing that this 60 some year old box of fun has survived, and even the motor still works.

I loved watching my dad show the boys how everything works, and telling them about how he and his brothers would spend hours and hours building with it, especially in the Winter when they were snowed in.

I'm so glad that my grandparents held onto it all of those years, so that my children could get a little glimpse into what their grandpa's childhood was like.



It kind of makes me think I might need to hold onto a big box of Star Wars legos once my kids are grown. I might want to play with them with my grandchildren someday.

Grayson's special day

Yesterday was a very special day for our whole family, Grayson was baptized and confirmed. Grayson had been having some anxiety and nerves about his baptism, but ended up being just fine. His baptism was just like him, short, sweet, and with a few bumps along the way. He started his day off with some special father/son time. Paul took him out for hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll in the morning, and then they headed to the church book store so he could get his own set of scriptures.


When I think about Grayson's baptism I wonder what his memories of it will be. Will he remember that no children's baptism clothes could be located, and that he had to wear adult clothes rolled way up? Will he remember how much he giggled as he tried to exit the font with those long, wet baptism clothes weighing him down? I know he won't remember his sweet smile right before he was confirmed, but I will. I hope that he will always remember what a gift it is to be baptized, and what a wonderful event this is in his life.



I know he will remember Grandma and Grandpa being there, and the beautiful leather journal they gave him. He started writing about his baptism in it last night.

I'm so proud of him!

I like the way he thinks!

Have I ever mentioned that this is my favorite kid?

(Just kidding, I don't play favorites. But he does a really good job of making himself look good sometimes.)

Yesterday we went and registered Fuller for 6th grade, and payed for his year book and daily planner. While we were driving home the boys got into a conversation about the future. They realized that NEXT year they will all be in school full time. I said "Boy I guess I'll have to get a job then." Fuller said "Yeah Mom, you need to get working." Then Rowan put in his two cents, he said "No Mom, you should just stay home and clean the house all day, it's really messy." Then Grayson (Also known as my favorite child) said "Mom, I think you should just go to the craft store and get fun stuff you can do while we're at school." Goodness me, I love that kid!

Ick, Ick and MORE Ick

It would appear that our sunny, Summer fun days are over. I should have known that the weather would get cold and rainy once soccer practices started. I spent a very chilly Monday evening watching Fuller's team run around in the rain. Tuesday brought with it a whole different kind of ick, in the form of Rowan throwing up all over the house. I let Paul freeze through Grayson's cold/wet practice that night. After being up with Rowan most of Tuesday night, I spent Wednesday with the dreaded knowledge that he had given me what he had. Such a generous bug! We're all feeling slightly better today, but it's raining again. Both Fuller and Grayson have practice tonight, so I guess I'll have to sit through one or the other's. Is it too much to ask for a few more nice, sunny, carefree days? I need a few more afternoons of sitting in my backyard reading a good book, and watching the boys swim. I'm just not ready for all the schedules, rain and illnesses of Fall!

Sometimes I just crack myself up

This morning when I was telling the kids about our plans for the day, I gave them the dreaded news that we were cleaning our bedrooms today. Not good news for this bunch of slobs. Fuller asked if they had to clean their WHOLE room. To which I responded, "No, just the bottom half." He looked excited about only having to clean half of his room...and then he figured it out. He didn't think it was nearly as funny as I did!

How do you keep cool on a scorching hot day?

We have a big water fight!

Phelps Fans

We've been having a blast watching the Olympics with the boys. (Well, except for when Rowan declares that he's bored, and it's time for a kid show.) They have all become die hard Michael Phelps fans. They want me to check on the computer every morning to see if he won any more medals or broke any more records while they were asleep.

I think it's amazing for them to watch history being made.

The other sport that it's been interesting to watch with them is men's gymnastics. They crack me up as they run around and do somersaults, and proclaim that "that's not that hard". I think Grayson already thinks he could give some of the Olympians a run for their money! I can't wait for the track and field events to begin so they can start throwing "discus' and javelins" around my living room.

When wishes come true

It's such a wonderful feeling to know that you have helped make your child truly happy! Last night as we drove home from Grayson's birthday party he sleepily proclaimed, "That was the best birthday EVER!" Grayson is not one for big parties or being the center of attention. He likes to have fun, and he likes to be with family. For his birthday this year he really wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese, so of course we went. It's not Paul or my favorite place, but it's a really easy way to make Grayson's day.
We dined on cheese pizza.


The kids burned their way through about 200 tokens. We came to the conclusion that we need to keep Grayson away from Vegas. He could develop a seriously bad gambling problem!


Grandma and Grandpa even braved Chuck E Cheese! (And when I say braved, I mean braved! It was a hot, loud, crowded nightmare in there).


Then we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for presents and cake.
Grayson's big wish this year was for a camera. He loves taking pictures and videos with ours, and really wanted one he could use "without permission".

The excitement on his face when he saw his camera was priceless.


He got many other exciting things, like LEGO Indian Jones sets, a new Wii game, an iDog, and some very generous envelopes. He was so tickled with everything!


This year Grayson decided he wanted red velvet cake, just like Daddy and Grandpa.


And make a wish!


Of course no family party would be complete without Rowan using the guests as climbing equipment! Sorry Uncle Jim and Aunt Enid!













He was the happiest kid ever! As he was about to fall asleep in the car he said, "Mom, can you put all my presents on my desk for me? I want to see everything RIGHT when I wake up."

This morning he started out his "real" birthday with his annual bowl of cookie crisp.

Then we were off to the zoo for a day of fun. It's been a very full birthday weekend, and so great to get to enjoy our special birthday boy! And be on the watch, he said now that he has his own camera, he'd like to have his own blog too.

Great to be Eight

Eight years ago this wonderful 10 pound bundle of joy came into our lives, and life hasn't been the same since! I hadn't looked at these pictures in a long time, I had forgotten what a little chubby thing he used to be!




















































A few facts about Grayson, at eight:

Favorite food: Homemade macaroni and cheese
Favorite Restaurant: Red Robbin
Favorite TV show: Johnny Test
Favorite Movie: Spongebob movie
Favorite thing to do: Chew Gum
Best Friend: Kaden
Favorite Game: Soccer
Favorite Toy: Legos
What makes you laugh? Being tickled
What's one thing you don't like? Onions
What's the most important thing you learned while you were seven? Harder Math
What do you hope to get for your birthday? A Camera


HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAYSON! WE LOVE YOU!

Flashback Friday- Boys and Guns

I've always been amazed by how much my boys are drawn to weapons, of any kind. It's like they have some kind of genetic pull to be near them. If there aren't any toy weapons around they'll make one out of whatever they can find. So when I saw this picture of Paul and his Uncle Steve I just had to laugh. Not that him holding the big gun is funny, what makes me laugh is the red plastic one in his pocket. You can just never be too prepared!

28 days

Can it really only be 4 weeks until school starts? There was so much I wanted to do this Summer, and pretty much none of it has gotten done. Now I'll have to start worrying about things like buying school supplies and making sure everyone has shoes (not just flip flops) that fit. Then I'll have to worry about getting everyone back on track with going to bed early, and probably think evil thoughts about the fact that Grayson and Rowan's school is apparently moving their start time up to 7:45AM. And if I really wanted to make myself crazy I could think about the fact that last Spring I signed all three of them up for Fall soccer. I don't even want to think about how that's going to complicate my afternoons, not to mention rob me of every Saturday in September and October. Plus we'll have boy scouts for Fuller and cub scouts for Grayson and I, and did I mention that I gave Fuller permission to try band this year, another after school activity? Deep breaths....need to take more deep breaths!

I'm sorry...

...but until I finish reading this:

I won't be answering calls or emails, cooking dinner, cleaning, paying attention to my kids, or anything else I'm supposed to do.