The Icing on the Cake…

I can’t help but love this big brown eyed toddler boy.  His happy little smile can just melt my heart.  HOWEVER…

…There are times he takes it just a little too far.  He has recently taken up “baby sitting”… literally.

Yes… an entire bag of powdered sugar.

This was almost a really big deal.  I found him asleep in the hall with this open marker, and I was just counting my blessings… and then I found the library book.

Below was a dumped container of sunflower seeds.  Look at those tired eyes.  He did this, and fell asleep on the spilled pile.  Can you tell our troubles seem to come when he is most tired and I’m helplessly nursing?  I had to just watch him do it… and sit there begging him not to.

And this was “the icing on the cake”.

Please note that I didn’t catch a picture of the 4 emptied containers of wet wipes today or the exploded ruby-red squirt pop can sprayed on all four walls, floor, and ceiling of the living room and kitchen… and I’m not exaggerating- I’m still finding little red spots to wipe up.  I don’t even like Squirt.  I now know what they mean by “the terrible two’s”…and yet, some how, I still love him to pieces.

Musical Beds…

…So, of course I was prepared for a new little baby to shake things up a bit, but not quite this much. :)  It isn’t even so much this little Brigham- he has been a peach and he actually sleeps really well so far- only gets up twice to eat and goes right back down.  It is my dear little Seth that has been a bit misplaced of late, not to mention he has also learned how to open doors, turn on lights, and climb out of his pack and play all at the same time.  We have seriously tried just about everywhere and nothing seemed to work for him: his toddler bed, the crib, the pack and play in the living room and hall, the foot of our bed, the couch, the floor, the bean bags, the top bunk (because he couldn’t get down- I know, we’re terrible!), in our arms, even just letting him wander until he crashed.  And of course all this “musical beds” required some shifting around of the other kids—hence poor Brigham in the laundry basket.  He is finally settling in with the girls in a pack and play—and by that I mean sort of settling.  It takes some SERIOUS threatening, occasional spanking, but alas…we are getting some sleep. :)

Couldn’t you just kiss that cute tummy?

My mother-in-law made this sweet little quilt for the baby- she did the beautiful edges- I think it is so cute!

Yet Another…

Yes… it’s true, another handsome little nephew.  Isn’t he precious?  This makes 16 (8 boys, 8 girls) on my parents side.  How fun is that?  Four cute little cousins right in a row- best buddies!  I love his name: Duncan Hatch Romney.  Check out the size of those paws!  He’s going to be a tough guy, and quite handsome!  Way to go Anth and Kylie!

Water Stand: A Sure Sign of Summer

“If life give’s you lemons, make lemonade”, but what if you don’t even have the lemons?  Well, Amberlee seems to think water will make the cut.  Check out my little entrepreneur daughter.  She set up a whole stand and charged everyone 1 penny per cup.  She earned 10 cents, and it allowed for a great lesson on tithing. :)  It was also cheap and easy clean up- I’m all for this! :)  I loved her sign, “Best water in town.  Real money.  A penny.”  (In case you were thinking of using fake money. :)  If only it were true about the water.

Park Hopping #2…

Here is our second park on the list for our summer park hopping: Lena Whitmore.  It is in the back of an elementary school and there aren’t many trees, but the equipment is great.  Amberlee’s favorite thing is the set of swinging monkey bars- she got some great calyces practicing here.  She was proud to have reached the 7th one.  Autumn likes the Rapunzel tower.  Seth likes the swings.  He’s learned how to “hang” in the swing and he thinks he’s pretty cool.  Brigham’s favorite place was the bench in the middle where he got lots of milk. :)

Park Hopping #1…

Because Doug is working for Parks and Recreation this summer, I have learned that there are several parks here that we have never explored. (Over 14 parks!) So this summer, I set a little goal. A fun little goal. We are visiting every park in Moscow. It has been great fun so far. Here was the first one on our list: East City. The kid’s favorite thing about this parks is definitely the sand box- even with all the fun equipment, that is basically where they spend all their time. We have to give them a good scrub down after playing here. :) I love all the trees and this one has a stage--it is where they have the Renaissance Festival.

Small Town, Cheap Thrills…

Last Saturday, we got all geared up and ready for “Genesee Days”. Genesee is a small town about 15 minutes away from us (we had never been there before). Between the car show and 15 high school class reunion floats (I’m not exaggerating, and they circled through twice) and of course the cotton candy, it was quite a day. :)

You’ve got to love a small town! We showed up way too early in blistering heat- the kids were quite anxious to get things rolling, but as long as they throw candy, life is good. :)

Yes, that would be Seth in the middle of the road. I wasn’t very worried because NOTHING was going on for such a long time and people were crossing all over the place, but then he very nearly got run over BY A POLICE CAR speeding through- oh the irony!

Mom said no, but Dad caved in. He’s just more fun sometimes.

This was what 95% of the parade looked like (please note the apparel and the man in front toking down a beer. Something tells me we’re not in Rexburg anymore. :) There were just a bunch of flatbeds with hay bails and it was either a farming family or a high school reunion. What ever happened to actual “floats”? Hard to come by anymore it would seem.

Is he not the sweetest thing? We quite wore him out, but he was a good sport, and so CUTE! (He asked me not to dress him quite so warm next time. :)

And we wrapped it all up with a diaper run and lunch at our favorite Taco Time- it has a cool solarium and a nice condiments bar, so we feel kind of fancy eating there. :)

We had to pull over and get a good view of Lewiston- pretty cool to see it from so high up! Made me wonder what Lewis and Clark were thinking as they came through here.