Summer Fun

We’ve been busy here enjoying the sunshine lately. I think I’ve finally hit a workable balance between play and work, and it’s been WAY more fun for all of us, and has resulted in more “in the moment” times.

This week the blackberries are beginning to ripen, so we spent some time searching out the bushes while father was at work. Oh those kids had an absolute ball, and ate and ate and ate. We still ended up with a ton of berries, and made some yummy cobbler this weekend. I had forgotten how good fresh blackberries taste on cornflakes and milk - oh heaven and such memories from childhood.

We also put together a stock photography set while we were picking - the kids loved it, and had some great suggestions on what all to add. Here’s Berry Pickin’:

Horizonal Headstands

Okay, bad blogger me lately, eh? SO many funny things happen in this house everyday. I wish my computer could just type my thoughts and then let me moderate every night, lol.

Tonight Sprinkle wanted to learn how to do a headstand, so I explained the whole tripod stance to him, then instead of me actually showing him (I’M THIRTY FOUR, you know) I googled it and showed him some images. So off he went to the living room and began his attempts. By the end of the night, we were all rolling and laughing. SOOO funny.

Here’s Sprinkle. Sparkle’s coming next and it’s worth it to stick with this post, lol. (Trust me!)

Whoops, a little too far now . . .

Woohoo!!! He conquered!

And now Sparkle . . . notice her look of horror, most likely mirroring my own, lol.

And this. This totally cracks me up. She was balancing, fully believing she was in a perfect tripod perpendicular to the floor. When she saw this picture she about wet her pants she laughed so hard at her own silliness. (And yes, she’s given permission to post these. She’s at that age where I feel I should now check with her first.)

And all the while father was on the couch watching first Hillary’s then Obama’s speech tonight. Yes, you can tell we were at it for quite some time.

And should I share the story of our coffee pot? Father was convinced it was broken. For about two months, it would only brew ten cups of coffee instead of the normal twelve. Every morning he would stagger to the kitchen, make a pot and scratch his head when the water trickled down at the end to a measley ten cups. So he would add more water. Every morning. Two months.

All the while I watched with a steaming hot cup of coffee in my hand, smiling, wondering why he kept weakening the coffee. Finally the other morning he was about to throw the whole thing out and run to the store for a new coffee maker. And finally I realized what he was thinking, and that he didn’t realize that at about eight cups I would grap a cup and then let it finish brewing. And when that realization dawned on both of us . . . what a beautiful thing to have harmony in the morning after all this time, lol.

We love our coffee pot once again.

Tickle Wars

Fidget was playing with some legos tonight when I dubbed it an official tickle fest. See? Here he is all serious and playing so well. . . I love this angle and how HUGE his feet look.

Then he’s beginning to realize that mommy is doing more than just crawling around on the floor with a camera. (Yeah, that’s a normal occurrance around here, unfortunately. . . )

And then a full-fledge battle was underway. . . I think we both won that one, heehee.

The Power of Ebay

Oh the power of ebay. The children were being somewhat enthusiastic yesterday afternoon, so I told them we needed a family powwow at the dining room table. (Little did they know we were really going to have a yatzee fest . . . ) Sprinkle was leading the bad behavior pack, so we had a little fun at his expense.

This is the look we got when he found out we were selling him ebay, and the family powwow was to decide what to say about him to garner the highest profit:

And we went on and on . . .

But their behavior was SOOOO good after that, heehee. Then just a few more moments around the house today. I got a new lens this weekend, so have been enjoying the playing with it. Woohoo! Can a nerd have more fun?!

And the “Mom, I LOVE water!” comment is still cracking me up:

And this is just a pretend sweet moment. He was really being quite ornrey about it all:

And that has been my day. Mother’s Day was wonderful - I spent a few hours with my mom and dad, just chatting and talking theology. I’m so blessed to have parents I can do that with. And so blessed by them in so many other ways. I love you, Dad and Mom!!! Thanks for all you do.

Mornings at our House

We have a very steady routine at our house every morning. Namely, the kids get up before they’re coherant and wander zombie-like to the living room where they do this:

(Can you believe that hair?! She’s actually looking at the camera, lol.)

And there you have it. The way we start our day - every day, without fail. Now I’m off to motivate them toward some cheerios.

Fidget Draws

I don’t even know where to begin on this one, so I think I’m just gonna put it up here and let you giggle.

Counting Puzzles

Fidget has been enthralled with puzzles this week, and has been working on some counting skills. One, three, seven, sixty eight, four hundred, nine . . . you know how it goes. He knows better, but likes to make mommy laugh.

And the reason for that look? No, it wasn’t the puzzle causing consternation - he had to go potty!!! He’s laughing all the way to the pot ’cause he fooled me, lol.

Yahtzee Fest

Oh gracious, do you ever have those moments at your house? Yeah, THOSE moments. You know the ones I mean - the ones that are unforgettable, and will be etched in your brain forever and a day? Well, I had one of those last night. The kids and I sat down at the dining room table, and I taught them how to play yahtzee. Well the older two and I played while Fidget played with the little yellow disks that you get when you get double and triple yahtzee. They each understood it very quickly and were very enthusiastically tossing the dice each turn they had. Sprinkle, though. Oh Sprinkle. He grabbed the cup, I reminded him what he still needed and he glibly said, “I know. But I’m getting a yahtzee.” And then he winked at me. My six year old. Winked at me. THEN he rolled a yahtzee. Stinker. Two games and he skunked us both times. And to get even with him I washed his lucky underwear today.

Go play a game with your kids. At best you’ll get some great memories. At worst, if you’re like me, you’ll get the laundry done.

(Yes, I’m kidding. We had a ball. . . . )

Eating Again

Confession time again. I’m realizing how obsessed I am with food of late. I found the last of the cookies this morning (and my how good one of them was with the freshly brewed coffee)!

Did I share those cookies here before? Whoops! Go check out the Cookie Monster story over on my photography blog, and from now on I’ll try to do a better job over here keeping things up to date. . .

And then the other night I realized I hadn’t taken a single photo all day long. And I also realized that a friend of mine would give me exceedingly hearty grief if I didn’t get one (thank you, Chris!) so I had a little fun. The broccoli took center stage in front of my lens . . .

Yes, it still cracks me up. So what, you ask, happened to this poor, terrified broccoli’s head? Well, dinner was delicious:

And one more to share with you. My dear, sweet husband went above and beyond the call of duty today, and showered me with love. The cake is his work of art - his first cake-baking experience. The birthday was mine - not my first.

Isn’t it beautiful?

Gun Slingin’ Pickle Man

This little treat is making our boys very, very happy tonight.

They each had a little Valentine/Christmas money, which they combined, and are now in the process of Wild West competition. And even though it’s just a silly little game, we’re teaching them a bit about gun safety and proper manners at the rangem, heehee. Fidget - oh man, I have to get some pictures of him completely absorbed, completely INTO trying to hit the target. How hilarious. (Speaking of the little man, he was selling pickles in the bedroom while I folded laundry yesterday. I asked if he was my little pickle boy, and he promptly replied, “NO! I’m the Pickle MAN.”