A Case of the Naughties

I have pretty good kids.

They are cute and charming and the apple of my eye.

But I should mention that they can sometimes be positively naughty.

Like last Friday for example.

Now, I make an honest effort to get in the shower everyday.

And for you young mothers out there, you know that sometimes that feels like a small miracle.

Well, that day, I should have skipped mine.

I enjoyed that shower, 

but I sure didn't enjoy cleaning fingernail polish out of the carpet when I got out.

Although, let's go ahead and give credit where credit is due.

Bradley (who is 4) painted his and Aubrey's toes and fingernails with surprising precision.

I must admit that I was mildly impressed...

right after I nearly laid an egg right there in the family room.

Curse you blue finger nail polish!

Well, after feverishly working to remove the stain in the carpet

(and trying to think happy thoughts!)

I went upstairs to look for those two little devils darlings.

I heard giggling coming from Bradley's closet.

I slowly opened the door to see Aubrey throw her hands out and yell

"TA! DA!"

And then Bradley slap his hands over his eyes.

Which is a sure sign that: 

A) He was being naughty

B)  He KNEW he was being naughty

C)  He thinks I'll never know...because obviously I can't see him there.

Sheesh.

Can't we spread out the naughtiness a little?

Two biggies in one day is definitely over quota.

Family Vacation

Dave's parents just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.

So, they decided that by way of celebration, they would take the family to Palmyra.

Sweetness.

I must admit that I was a little nervous about flying across the country with our busy little people.

But as it turns out, they've grown up a bit since the last time we flew - so it really wasn't too bad.

You know, besides the time when Bradley had to be pinned in his chair by the flight attendant, who put her hand in the apple juice he spilled, and thought it was urine.  Poor girl looked positively mortified.

And can you blame her?

Then he may have been yelled at for pushing on the back of the seat in front of him.

Oh the dirty looks.

All I can say is that I am extremely grateful for dollar store trinkets, a husband who can make a wicked awesome snail out of play doh, and Scooby Doo cartoons.

Without them, this small boy (and a few others) may have been checked as baggage.

Our first stop was Niagara Falls.

We rode the "Maid of the Mist" which takes you right up to the falls.

Amazing.

I was seriously wishing that I had had a pair of goggles just so I could see.

The picture below was taken before we got anywhere near the falls.

We weren't nearly so dry when we came back.

The next day we headed to Kirtland, OH.

We took a tour through the Kirtland Temple and then walked through the cemetary across the street.

Where Bradley showed full participation.

Tell us how you really feel about having your picture taken, Bradley.

He cheered up a bit after a quick wrestling match on the temple grounds.

Is that even legal?

On our way out of Kirtland, we drove through an Amish community

which I personally found to be quite fascinating.

It felt like you were taking a step back through time.

I honestly found much of their lifestyle to be strangely refreshing.

Cheers to a simple life.

The remainder of our trip was spent in the Palmyra, NY area.

We stopped to rest in the shade (and run up and down) the Hill Cumorah.

Saw the log home where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph.

We walked around the Smith property (and tried not to disrupt the other visitors)

and of course, the crown jewel of the trip for me was time spent in the Sacred Grove.

Our first trip through the grove (with the kids) included

one speech from grandpa about how you can lose an eye if you play around with sticks,

(I can't imagine what possessed him to give that speech...)

one family photo, 

some dust being kicked up by two nameless little boys,

and a smooch on the trail.

My second time through (without the kids) was a bit more like I expected.

It was early in the morning, dew on the grass, cool, crisp air, birds chirping in the trees, 

and hardly anyone around.

It truly filled my cup.

It was a great trip.

We saw and did SO much.

So we were very tired when we got home.

So tired in fact, that when we pulled into the garage, I woke the kids up and told them to go upstairs and go to bed.

I found one of them here:

And another one just a few stairs up.

The other two managed to actually make it all the way to their beds.

At this point, that was quite an accomplishment.

A HUGE thank you to Dave's parents for giving us an unforgettable trip.

First Day of School Round 2

Remember this sad little boy?

The one who was left behind when the big kids got to go to school.

Well I am pleased to present that same boy on HIS first day of preschool.

He was pretty excited.

And I'm not gonna lie...

I was pretty excited to run some errands with only 1 child.

I forget how much easier it is.

I didn't leave the store feeling like the ringmaster of a 3 ring circus.

Go me.

After our little trip to Target, 

Aubrey continued her favorite activity of changing into at least 1.1 million outfits throughout the day.

She branched out today though

and stole the clothes right off of the Build-A-Bear stuffed animal.

First Day of School

Well, it's over. 

The busiest summer of my existence has come to an end.

Kind of bitter sweet.

I love, love, love having the kids home and being able to take a break from the regular routine,

but yet, I love having a routine so I welcome it when it returns.

To start the year off right I asked Jack to pack his lunch.

Independence is a good thing, I say.

But what does a 1st grader think he needs for lunch?

Nice.

I may have stepped in and helped a little.

With a couple of oh, I don't know, maybe a baggie or two.

And maybe swapped the would-be-petrified-by-lunchtime-tortilla

for a PB&J.

Throw in a few carrots (in a baggie??) and we'll call it a lunch.

Now just take out the creepy Addam's Family hand in the corner and it would be perfect.

Here's our guy headed off to 1st grade.

Unbelievable.

You see, my heart breaks just a little bit at the beginning of the school year.

My little people off growing up.

I get a little sentimental.

Until I drop off  "Mr. I've got this."

He reminds me that he's got the situation well under control.

He's ready to lead the way to his classroom and rule the school.

You go, dude.

Just put your bowl in the sink on the way out.

Brooklyn however, embraces my sentimentality (is that a word??)

She's excited for a new year, but is also a teeny bit nervous.

Unlike her brother, she wanted me very close by as she approached her new classroom.

The difference in their body language and expressions in the pictures above tell the whole story.

She will be just fine though - she's got a whole classroom full of friends

and by the look of that stack of books, lots to learn.

I'm positive that by the time I pick her up this afternoon 

she will be bouncing around excited about the upcoming school year.

Our biggest problem this morning happened on the way out.

Poor Bradley couldn't understand why he couldn't go to school with the kids.

If you look closely you can see a big alligator tear running down his cheek.

He starts preschool next week, but he was heartbroken that he wasn't staying at the school today.

If he had had any idea how sad I was feeling for him he could have asked for 

3 banana splits and a pony and I probably would have given it to him.

He settled for a trip to the library and a popsicle.

Here's to a wonderful school year!

Birthday Boy Brad

My sweet blueberry boy has turned 4!

Ahhh...this kid is seriously the sweetest boy alive.

Go ahead, spend 5 minutes with him and tell me you don't agree.

I dare you.

It was so fun making his day special,

because he is so easy to please

and gets soooo excited over the littlest things.

We had a lot of other things going on that day, 

so we had to go meet Dave at the park for lunch, cake and presents.

Bradley wanted a truck cake.

And since it is currently 1 billion degrees outside,

a lovely dirt cake with pudding and cream cheese sounded nice.

My kind of cake I tell you.

Those little trucks were perfect outside toys 

(have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE outside toys)

for the sandbox we have been working on.

I love that sandbox.
But I do not love the large amounts of sand that get's transported into the house.
Speaking of outside toys,
Bradley also got a new Razor scooter with wicked-cool light up wheels.
(and a really cool Shark helmet from great grandma)

Can't beat that when you are 4 years old.
Love, love, love this boy!

Bradley Stats
Height:  39.5 inches  (30th percentile)
Weight:  36 pounds  (50th percentile)

Hume Lake

Check out this family.

The family that has lived at the base of the Sequoia Mountains for 5 years,

but has never actually visited those mountains.

Pathetic.

But, we have officially made up for our delinquency by going 3 times in about 10 days.

(Without anyone throwing up!)

Whew!

I'm feeling bad that we haven't spent more time up there - 

what a beautiful place!

The humongous redwood trees are pretty darn amazing.

Most of our time up there has been spent at Hume Lake.

Here's Brooklyn walking on water.

A Jumping Jack.  

(HA!)

Bradley showin' some skin.

Aubrey showing her extreme double coverage water safety.

Dave the cold water wimp trying to figure out how to keep as much of his body out of the water as possible.

Our most recent trip up there included a camping trip with some of our great friends.

Our kids are all about the same age so we are quite a crew.

We took our fishing gear and attempted to catch a few fish....

with 8 kids under 9 years old...

Riiiight.

I'm pretty sure every fish in that lake was hugging the shore line on the opposite side of the lake.

And would you blame them?

Although there are a few kids in that picture that wouldn't have surprised me if they caught a fish with their bare hands.

Fishing poles are for amateurs. 

The most important detail of our camping trip is that we all stayed nice and clean.

Yeesh.

It looks like Bradley was punched in the eye,

Aubrey is missing a shoe,

they are both missing more than half of their clothes,

and from behind, it looked like a porcupine had attacked Aubrey's diaper.

We're hardcore like that.

Scars

You know, I have never had to have stitches due to an accident.

And I'm turning 30.

My boys however have already managed to acquire a few battle scars.

Are boys just genetically wired to injure themselves?

Yes, I think they must be.

Here's our latest wound story.

The kids were in the backyard playing while I was on the phone and 

Dave was planning Family Home Evening.

My conversation was interrupted when Dave asked if I'd like to have Bradley stitched up.

Wait, what?!

I came downstairs to find Bradley crying and bleeding.

Definitely not a good combination.

I checked out the cut and decided that since it was on his face and laying wide open that we better take him in to have it checked.

[Insert groan]

As it turns out Bradley basically hit the jackpot.

He got to stay up late, eat popsicles and play Angry Birds.

Oh and get his forehead smeared with glue.

He had the nurses ooing and ahhing and nearly got his parents reported to CPS.

Apparently when Bradley says, "Jack hit me" it sounds a lot like "Dad hit me."

Dave stepped in and cleared that one up.

Yeesh.

Dave says that amongst "the special people" also at the ER last night that Bradley was kind of like a little breath of fresh air so the nurses kept watching him and laughing about his funny little personality.

Bradley sat in his assigned chair in the waiting room with his shifty little eyes looking around wondering what exactly was going on. 

One of the nurses came up and asked Dave if Bradley was always this good at home.

Before Dave could say anything Bradley replied with his simple, "Yes."

Riiight.

He ALWAYS sits so perfectly still, doing exactly what he should.

The story I am putting together is that Jack was making it rain by filling up a glass cereal bowl with water and then throwing the water into the air.

Apparently the bowl slipped out of Jack's hand, flew through the air and broke on Bradley's head.

Seriously?

Brooklyn (the Rockstar) said she pulled a chunk of bowl out of Bradley's forehead.

Have I ever mentioned what a wonderful Mother she will make one day?

So instead of having a lovely lesson on Baptism for Family Home Evening, 

we talked about how we don't throw bowls at people's heads 

and made get well soon cards for the victim.

Which lovingly included a drawing of a frightening looking ET character.

Complete with a brain.

(Jack claims that it was a sitting red chameleon...random) 

In the end, we are very grateful that it was nothing worse.

A $300 glob of glue is about all we can take.