Hello Muddah...

Paul and the big kids went to church camp last week.

They had a really good time. This is the second year that Paul and Carrie have gone. William went for the first time this year. Only kids from our church's 5th, 6th and 7th grade go with parents from our church as counselors. It's a fun time for them to all get to know each other better.



I stayed home with the little boys. Josh had a pretty hard time. He kept asking when his best friends were going to be home. Carrie anticipated this and took a picture of herself and Josh before she left. She then put it through the printer on 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Josh carried it around all weekend.



I tried to keep things exciting so Josh wouldn't think about how much he missed Paul, Carrie and William. Thankfully GG (Great Grandma) came and spent the night with us the first night. She has a special way of giving all her attention to the kids. She plays with them and tells them stories. Josh didn't feel quite so sad while she was here--except for a little while right before bed when it got dark outside. It was so much fun to have her here. I enjoyed being able to just sit and visit with her.



My brother, Rob, came the next day. He stayed with us the rest of the weekend. We went to Dunkin' Donuts (Josh's request--I was happy to oblige), and we went Pirate Party shopping for Josh's upcoming third birthday. We also ordered pizza and watched a video of Josh's choice. I think that Rob was happy to just sit with Josh on his lap and watch "Oswald," one of Josh's favorite TV shows.

He surprised us by riding his new motorcycle down to see us!

Oooooh! Aaaaaaaah!



Paul, Carrie and William came back home with lots of stories, sore muscles and sunburns...




William with a particularly bad sunburn...



I've never seen a sunburn blister in person before! I hope to never see one again!

Once the pain is gone, I'm sure the memories will be sweet.

Wordless Wednesday...Happy Birthday, Uncle Brian!

The Corn is Always Sweeter...

Isn't my neighbor's corn just beautful?!




I know, for anything to be better on the other side of the fence, you have to have something to compare with the "what is better."

I admit, I ain't got nothin' when it comes to corn on my side of the fence. Anyway, not of my own labor.

But I do have corn from our local orchard--and boy was it good!



Isn't it fun when you reintroduce something to a 2-year old? He was only one last summer, so he didn't remember the joy of corn-on-the-cob! He sure loved it and was telling everyone he met up with the next day about his sweet corn-on-the-cob.



My dad grows a pretty big sweet corn patch up north. When William was very young, he would tell people that Papa B was coming down and bringing sweet corn. There's just nothing like home-grown sweet corn!



And here's Carrie. She gets to cut hers off the cob this summer. Braces! It goes so slowly that way! Maybe next summer she will be able to eat it off the cob again.



And then there's Matthew. He's been joining us at the table lately. He just can't figure out what all the slurping, crunching, and mmmmmmming is all about.



Sorry, no pictures of Paul and me eating our corn.


But we'll leave you with this.



Watch out, Tonya! This bunny looks like he's hungry! I don't know how high he can hop, but he might be in for something closer to the ground.



And my dog isn't going to be much help.

Fruit Bobs

One morning as Josh and I were watching TV together, and we saw one of those little shows between shows featuring a young boy making Fruit Kabobs. Josh said, "I wanna do that Fruit Bobs."

Since I am not the model mom when it comes to feeding my kids all the fruits and vegetables that they need everyday, I thought that it would be a fun way to serve some extra fruit. I even had some skewers in one of the drawers in the kitchen.

So, off we went to the new Wal-Mart to check out their produce department. We were pleasantly surprised at the variety and quality of the fruit we found!

And I was pleasantly surprised to see what a popular idea this was!

What was especially fun was to see the combinations that the kids put together on a skewer. Some skewers had more variety than others...




And Josh just kind of ate as he went...




Everyone enjoyed Fruit Kabobs! We also served them for the family on the Fourth of July instead of a pan of brownies. Can you believe it?! I've even had the kids asking for Fruit Kabobs.



Do you think that asparagus, lima beans and brussel sprouts would be as popular?

Wordless Wednesday...Just Yesterday

Wordless Wednesday...This is what we look like on a good day.

A Very Special Day

Fifteen years ago today, Paul and I got married.
Fifteen years!

You know how it is--in some ways it seems like such a long time ago, but in other ways, it seems like just yesterday.


Here's a fun picture taken with Paul and his groomsmen--brother Brian, friend Todd, friend Carey, friend Bob; and brother Scott.

I'm afraid it's too late for you to run, Honey!



My handsome groom...
I don't think he's changed a bit.
Too bad I can't say the same about the bride. :)



The very happy couple...
In case your wondering, we were very kind to each other when eating the cake. No sloppy frosting pictures to share.



Thank you, Paul, for fifteen wonderful years. I thank God everyday that he placed us together. You truly are my best friend.

A Special Treat

Last weekend, my brother Rob came for a visit.

I thought it was fun to have them here, and I think that Joshua would agree.

New playmate!



Someone to hold him when he sleeps.



This next picture isn't from last weekend, but it is one of my favorites of Uncle Robbie--which is what the kids call my brother. (My favorite name came when Carrie was little--she used to call him Uncle Roggie.) :)
Josh doesn't look too happy in this picture, but as I recall, he was the one who just had to try on Uncle Robbie's boots.



Thanks for a super fun weekend, Rob. It seemed to go way too fast!

Success!

Success in our house begins with P!

O.K. That was pretty bad, I know. It just popped into my head, and I went with it. I have to tell you, though, I am pretty excited!

You guessed it! We've been potty training at our house. It's been just a little over a week, and Josh is in big boy underwear except for sleep times--but even then, he has had success in keeping his Pull-Ups dry while sleeping. And the most exciting thing to me is that even when he is wearing Pull-Ups, he still tells me when he has to use the bathroom.



We've all been celebrating success with popsicles. I haven't bought these for a long time, so they are new to Joshua. He loves them.




We all do!






To tell you the truth, I wasn't at all ready to potty train. I knew that it would be tough with a nursing infant in my arms a lot of the day.

I have to give gobs of credit to William! He has faithfully taken his little brother to the bathroom many, many times this past week. I told Paul that I think he and Josh get the credit for potty training.

I told William that someday his wife will be so impressed, knowing that he potty-trained his little brother.
He was speechless--which isn't natural for William. :)

The Fly Whisperer

Have you ever had a fly bite your ankles?

Call in the Fly Whisperer!




After catching this unsuspecting predator in a plastic popsicle tube, Matthew and I made our escape into the house.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.
Carrie followed us into the house just moments later and said that she had to release the biting fly. She couldn't stand to think of it suffocating in the plastic.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood...a favorite in our house!

This is one of Joshua's favorite books. It was one of William's favorites. And, it's one of my favorites too. It's so much fun to read!


Here's my Little Mouse. He adores strawberries! Last weekend we went to the local farm market to pick out some strawberries. I set them aside until I had time to clean them.



And here is a closer view of those Red Ripe Strawberries...



Irresistible, aren't they?

And now, The Big Hungry Bear (me) looks over at Joshua who is chewing something.

Bear asks, "What are you eating?"
Mouse replies, "A strawberry."
Bear says, "They aren't clean! Don't eat any more."
Bear continues to stare at Little Mouse.
Little Mouse says, "Go sit on couch!"
Bear asks, "Why?"
Mouse says, very honestly I might add, "So I can eat strawberries."

Grandma, who is visiting Little Mouse, says, "I'll go clean some strawberries for him."




This is just a sample of what she found...



"And this one must be from yesterday," she says. It was a little rubbery where he took the bite.



You can't keep a Little Mouse away from his beloved Red Ripe Strawberries!

Wordless Wednesday...Sleepy