The world according to Grayson

I've been needing to record somewhere, before he gets too old and stops doing it or I forget, how Grayson asks for more food. Somewhere in his head he knows the word "seconds" but for some reason he usually asks for "nexts". So cute! and I guess technically correct. Also, yesterday I was transferring a bunch of pictures from old photo albums(like from the early 80's) into new ones. Grayson looked the pictures over silently, thought for a moment, and then inquired as to why everyone had such fluffy hair. I told him that's how we liked it then, to which he said "I'm sure glad we don't like that now! Me too Grayson, me too!

Rain, again

These poor kids, how sad that they live in a part of the country where cold and rainy days in June are not out of the ordinary. They have so many things they want to be doing, like going to the river or playing at the park, but are watching it rain instead. They and the other neighborhood kids crowd together on whose ever porch is closest and ride out the worst of the cloudbursts. Yesterday they had friends over and played inside most of the afternoon, but today have decided to just go ahead and play in the rain. In a rare moment of positive thinking, Grayson said his bike needed to be washed anyway.

This is too cool!

I am just tickled pink with felting! It is truly like magic! You knit this huge blobby looking thing, wash it in warm water, and voila! Big thanks to cousin Suzanne for the felt book recommendation, and inspiring pics of her own felting magic! So far I have made a beautiful pumpkin colored hat (if only it weren't June so I could wear it) and a pair of bright pink slippers. Now I just have to figure out what to make next. This makes regular knitted items seem so boring to me now. My only real problem is that I have a front loading washing machine, so I have to either drive an hour to my folks house and use theirs, or hand felt it. So far I have been too impatient to make the drive and have just been hand felting. Hope everyone likes the idea of something felted coming their way at Christmas.

New dos, forts, and true love

I have been threatening the boys with Summer hair cuts since pretty much the last day of school, but didn't get around to doing it until today. They were less than thrilled, and the older two tried very hard to convince me that they should at least get some candy or something for their trouble. I think they're getting a little old for that! Grayson has wanted a mohawk since last summer when one of his little friends was allowed to get one. I guess I'm just not progressive enough to let my six year old make such a statement. Lets save that battle for the teen years. I told him he could have one today for five minutes, and that I would take pictures, so he could show his friends if he wanted to. I think I made the right decision not to let him keep it since he danced around the house and acted like he was a rock star the whole time he had it.










































This is what my living room currently looks like, a huge fort. Not only can't you walk across the room, but you also can't eat at the dining room table since all of the chairs are integral parts of the fort.











This is what Buster does pretty much every night. I don't think the picture quite captures the extent of his loving gaze into Paul's eyes. I think getting fixed has confused him.

14 years of wedded bliss

I can't believe we've really been married that long! We've sure come a long way. From just the two of us in a tiny (so tiny you had to turn sideways to get through the door of the bathroom) one bedroom apartment, to now the two of us, plus three kids, one dog and one fish in a 4 bedroom house with three bathrooms. Life is certainly different! This weekend we had an opportunity to spend time together just the two of us, and remember why it is we love each other. Big thanks to Mom and Dad for keeping all three boys overnight so we could celebrate. So fun to go out and have grown up conversation, and remember how fun we both are. We had a great time in the big city- oh how we miss living there. Great food, shopping and people watching. We especially enjoyed the latino clown making balloon animals at the sushi place we went to. This was a good preview of what life will be like when all the kids are grown, it will be wonderful, (but I still can't stand the idea of the kids growing up.) Happy anniversary Paul, I love you!

FUN

We got a call from some friends last night inviting us to come play at the river today. The boys were so excited that they didn't even complain about having to do their reading and cleaning first. There is a lovely stretch of beach not far from our home, with good sand for playing in. There ended up being four moms and 10 kids, 8 of them boys. A good combination of kids for lots of fun. The kids had a great time digging a huge hole and playing in the waves that the big ships make when they come up the river. The water was too cold for my taste, but the kids said it was great. I had to keep reminding Grayson that he really isn't a good enough swimmer to go very far out. He somehow thinks the few swimming lesson's he has had will see him through. Rowan was also a little too brave for my taste! We arrived home too tired to cook, so we showered everyone off and went to get pizza. Luckily a new movie arrived in the mail today, so we ended a perfect day with pizza and a movie.


Check out that huge hole!











I don't know if you can quite pick up the glee in Rowan's face, but he had a great time trying to get his brothers wet!

In the presence of greatness

So thrilled to have spent parts of my weekend with truly great men. I so admire all three of them for the devotion as fathers. Love you guys!