Le Artiste'

At the Bowen home, there seems to be something about being three.

Being three and being drawn to Sharpies.

Oy.

Maybe not my favorite thing.

Well, besides potty training that is.

Which we are also experiencing with the little artiste'.

Oh yeah, that's the guy.

I'd know him anywhere.

Beautiful blue eyes, birthmark on his forehead, and mascara on his face.

Wait, what?

Apparently he has expanded his use of art mediums.

And on a side note, doesn't this picture make him look like a Bobble-head?

Seriously, I would love to have that little face bobbing at me while I'm cruisin'.

Ahem....anyway, back to the artwork from the infamous artiste'.

(If you read it with a French accent, it sounds way cooler.)

There were many works of art that I could have chosen to display,

but here is his finest work.

His bedroom door.

At least he makes it personal though, right?

I mean, these pictures clearly aren't meant for just anyone.

He was being very considerate in thinking about what picture

would mean the most to his dear old parents.

He took no less thought when he also got his dresser,

my kitchen counters,

my kitchen cabinets,

his bedroom carpet,

his baby sister,

aaaand the interior of my in laws car.

Naughtiness.

 I know what you're thinking.

Uh, Hello! 

PUT.THE.MARKERS.UP.HIGH.

But you guys don't know what I am up against. 

We are talking about a

gold-medalist-climber-part-ninja-child

who can create an extraordinary mess without making a sound

and can look (and act) incredibly adorable and innocent.

I mean, he's so good that you don't know the damage is done

until after you've already given him a cookie for being such a good and quiet little boy.

Right.  Quiet.

You'd think that by now I would remember that as lovely as a moment of quiet is,

Ninja + Quiet = 1 box of Magic Erasers and lots of elbow grease

Note to self:  Do NOT give cookies to the small boy without first inspecting the premise.

First Day of School

I must be getting old. 

Look at these grown up kids!

I can't possibly be old enough to have a second grader!

I had to show a picture of her entire outfit

because she definitely put some time into planning it.

Yesterday at church, her and her friend Mia plotted matching outfits and matching hair.

This is of supreme importance, you know.

One must always match their best friend on the first day of school.

And this adorable little fellow is a new Kindergartner.

I didn't show you his entire outfit because that was a matter of some debate this morning.

Good grief.

The night before I told him to pick out some clothes.

He didn't want to so he told me to do it.

So I did.

Well, when it came time to get dressed this morning, 

he didn't want to wear the "grown up shirt."

The kids might laugh at him!

So he howled and moaned in his Superman underwear all morning until
finally he accepted the consequences of his previous choice

and put on that handsome devil shirt.

Of course, that might be the last time he ever wears it because

you better believe that he picked out his own clothes for tomorrow!

Saturday Chores

Being the responsible mother that I am, I repeatedly beat my head against the wall,

uh, I mean,
lovingly teach my children responsibility
by nurturing them through a list of Saturday chores.

Unfortunately, by requiring them to do their chores, I really can't get all of mine done.

I now completely understand why you hear parents say
that it is easier to do something yourself

than it is to make sure the kids do it.

Last Saturday I assigned Jack the job of cleaning the sliding glass door.

At our house, this is the ever coveted job.

There have been many tears shed over not being "the door cleaning chosen one."

But as I watched,

besides seeing large amounts of Windex sprayed,

I realized that I should no longer wonder why that door never looks clean.

Or why there always seems to be a smudge the size of a human head

complete with a nose and mouth.

(Bradley's face kills me)

And I definitely will stop wondering

WHAT TAKES SO LONG??!!

Do you think there are any super cleaning powers that come with that cape?

Oh, and don't mind the naked baby...Saturday is a special day.

A Mother's Work is Never Done

I only have 4 kids, right?

Let's see...we've got Brooklyn,

and then Jack,

and then there's that little artist (more on that later)

and of course the littlest one.

Hmmm...yep, I guess there are only four.

Because I am telling you people,

sometimes it feels as if there must actually be at least 12 people living at this house.

They move so fast!

So fast in fact, that sometimes it feels like they are doubling my workload.

Oh wait, I guess they are.

One bath just wasn't enough for miss Aubrey tonight.

Summer Vacation Part 2

During our time in Idaho we headed to the mountains to spend a few days camping,
fishing, and getting absolutely filthy.

There are a few constant things in life.

One of those things is that some people don't mind handling a live fish,
and some people do.

Me? 

Not a fan.

I remember fishing with my dad as a kid and being moritfied
by the thought of touching one of those slimy, wiggly, stinky things. 
Then he'd throw one on the bank and it would flip around when I would walk by.

Bleck.

Definitely not my thing.

But, my little family got their chance to see how they like it.
Here's the report:

Dave: 
He actually enjoyed catching, slicing, dicing and eating. 
All of which I haven't a need.

(But I do think he looks cute and manly out there)

Brooklyn: 

Good grief - she probably gave that thing a little smooch when I turned my back.  :)

Jack: 

Definitely my favorite picture, 

but I have to wonder what us going through his little mind.

My guess is that it's something like, 

"I wonder how Bradley would like this in his sleeping bag?  Bwa ha ha!"

What do YOU think he is thinking?

Bradley: 

Poor Bradley.  His exact words were,

"NO!  NO FISH!  I NO WANT IT FISH!

He didn't mind looking at the fish from afar, but he DID NOT want to touch that thing. 

Of course, you wouldn't either if your brother was sticking it in your face and chasing you with it!

(Look at that dirty face!  Where is his mother?)

Aubrey: 

Well, she was too busy eating dirt to notice,

but she would have likely just poked it in the eye.

But here's a picture of the cutie anyway.

Summer Vacation Part 1

We wouldn't be having a proper summer if it weren't for a big ol' road trip.

We covered 2,310 miles in 8 days.

That amounted to about 35 hours in the car.

That much time in a car is not healthy for the average human.

But, all the time NOT spent in the car sure was fun and worth the trip.

The kids were actually superstars in the car.

Well besides the time when Bradley graffittied the inside of my in laws car.

And the time when Aubrey smooshed an entire banana all over in her car seat.

But really, Jack didn't throw up,

and we didn't even have to threaten to "TURN THIS CAR AROUND."

Not bad, huh?

We brought some headphones because the parents in this family

were worried about their sanity.

You see, Brooklyn (as I've said before) has a lot on her mind

and can easily talk her way all the way to Idaho.

Luckily, the headphones helped with that and made Aubsie-face feel like she was something else. 

There are a few things you can always count on when visiting the grandparents.

1.  Your kids will get away with things they never would at home.

Like spending an hour or two running through mud n' stuff.

(I prefer not to think about the other "stuff" that may have been in that mud hole.)

My boys in particular thought they had died and gone to heaven.

They were splashing through the water absolutely delighted to have that nasty water

flying up their nose and in their eyes.

Suit yourself.

I am fairly tolerable of mud while we are at home, but I definitely don't let the kids play on large power tools.

Especially THAT kid.

Brooklyn?  Maybe.  But Bradley?  Definitely not.

But hey, Grandparents have the liberty to let the grandkids do whatever they want!

Yipee! 

No wonder kids adore their grandparents so much.

And no trip to Idaho would be complete without being tormented by the uncles.

If you look closely, you can see my brother laying under the trampoline launching the kids.

They were loving it!

But of course, as it goes with uncles, the fun cannot end until someone gets hurt.

My uncle (the guy in the red shirt) decided to get on and bounce the kids. 

He ended up falling through the trampoline and sending

spring-shrapnel flying through the yard.

Nice.

It's always fun to get together with the WHOLE family

and let my kids experience a little torture from the relatives.

Summer Check-in

Well hello everyone.

I have completely checked out of the blogosphere for the last month.

I've been doing a little house shopping.

Oy.

It started out fun,

but considering I have to drive 50 minutes away every time I want to see a house,

and I've been looking for a month now,

I'm ready to just find one.

Well, not just one - I want the right one.

And for the right price.

Too much to ask?

ANYWAY, besides going crazy trying to find a house,

we've been having a great summer.

I just realized though, that I haven't taken many pictures.

Shame on me.

I do have a couple of goodies though

Here's my baby-cakes showing off her locks.

(She gets those from her mother)

Awesomeness.

The boys have spent hours in the dirt.

Seriously, how can boys be so dirty and gross -

ALL THE TIME?

I feel like I don't even want to put them in my bathtub

because my bathtub may never recover.

And then there's Brooklyn.

Ahhhh Brooklyn.

Now that she's kind of growing up, (sniff)

I'm feeling like I'm peeling back the next layer of parenting.

She's so fun and quirky and talkative.

I don't think her brain or her mouth ever take a break.

No really.

She doesn't stop.

Like ever.

On that note, wish me luck on my 14 hour road trip this weekend.

Dave asked me not to forget to pack the earplugs.