I Need My Boy 'Bugs'!

I know this little boy...well he's not so little anymore...he's 12.  Man those were a quick 12 years!  I digress!  This boy loves bugs and animals, therefore his momma nicknamed him 'Bugs'. 

I kept finding these on Charlie while we were camping...at first I thought it was a Tick...scared me silly.  Why I don't know but whatever.  My brother in law didn't think so because it had too many legs...

Three of these things later and my skin is CRAWLING!!! WHAT is this thing!?! 

Nasty is what that is!!  Bugs...is this a spider??

OK, my skin is crawling again...gotta go!

Boat Ride

Boat rides are a big deal while camping, shoot just getting the boat there and running is a feat in of itself!  This year it was running (well most every year it is running) and my boys along with their cousins could hardly stand it they were so excited to get on that boat!

Last year Eli went for a ride and hated it..cried the whole time and then passed out or blocked it out.  Either way I was skeptical he'd go this year, well I was wrong.  I know the life jacket is always a hurdle when they are young like this but he has really fought the life jacket.  Well this year we tried it with out doing the clip that goes through the legs...wonder of wonders he was a happy camper!  Who knew!?! So off he went with his daddy for the first boat ride of the year.  Yippeee!!!!

There is the boat with the other travelers (don't worry Frank got in and made the children vs. adult ratio more even...so to speak). 

My boys had so much fun and then wanted to go on their Aunt and Uncle's Jet ski...I so do not like those things!  They look so unsafe and no walls to keep you in from falling into the Columbia river!! FREEZING water right there!! I know most of this comes from me and my unfamiliarity with things like this...boats, wave runners, jet skis...those kinds of things...but man they don't look safe!  Thankfully for my boys they have a dad who doesn't freak out like I do and let them on the jet ski...left to me it would have been a definite no with no budging room...I'd aptly be named my many as Captain Kill-Joy of the camping trip.  Wait!!! I've been called that before!  Oh well!  Ian and Lee went with their Aunt and Uncle and lived to tell about it...what do I know??? 

I did go out on the boat the last day, I didn't want to but in the end I'm glad I went. The weather was good but not fabulous and I didn't want to be cold.  I was actually quite comfortable for the most part.  The boat ride was decent and we took Charlie...he dug in his paws and come Hell or high water if he was gonna get on that boat it was gonna get ugly.  Well not really ugly so much as I had to go and pick him up and sternly tell him that under no uncertain terms was he to piddle on me!!  He didn't, thank goodness for him or he might have had a very cold bath.  Once on the boat and we got going he actually started enjoying himself I think...his tail was wagging so I assumed he did have a good time.  Maybe he'll get on the boat next time with out me having to pick him up.  Who knows.

Well I'm tired and I need some sleep...I'm living with  a few Typhoid Mary's over here with Strep and last night was a bit tough.  Ian and Eli both have strep and Dru was given medicine just cause...KILL THE COOTIE (to the tune of kill the wabbit...with Elmer Fudd).  Lee, however, is my ticking time bomb...it's too close to school being out and summer coming to be this kinda sick...right???

Well off I go folks...

Bumping Basketball

War wounds from an intense game with Uncle Ted and Auntie Megan. 

You see my handsome nephew here...wait until you see the other guy!!

Yup! That's right.  The other guy is my son Ian.  I actually think he got hurt less than my nephew!  My nephew's lip looked WAY worse to me!! 

What a game of basketball!  I think I'm glad I wasn't there, sounds like there was a lot of blood involved...wiping on clothes, the grass, anything available.  Most of that blood was from my nephew...he's OK and looked better in the morning, thank goodness!

Camping

Memorial Weekend camping!!! Woohooo!!!! Such excitement and anticipation!  It's the first camping trip of the year for our family.  It means summer is just around the corner and school is almost out (again as with every year I'm still on the fence about that, it does however turn out ok in the end and we all end up surviving yet another summer).   This year however instead of tenting it Frank wanted to rent a cabin.  I wasn't sold on it this year because I wanted to pop up our new tent we got for Christmas.  Well...I'm glad we had a cabin this year...it rained and hailed off an on while we were there.  If anyone remembers last year it rained for 3 days and I was miserable and cranky and just all around nasty that year because our tent was wet and our stuff was wet.  I'm  not sure I ever dried out...so in the end I was thankful for the cabin this year.

Eli and I went back to the cabin for a rest.  We are on our way back to Grandma and Grandpa's 'camping' (that's what Eli called it).  I found his shades from Disneyland and he let me take a picture of him.  He is SO darn cute!!! I know someone has to be the last and I was aware this would be hard.  It, at times takes my breath away at how hard it really is, but that's a different post...someday.

Isn't he just huggably cute??

 

Frank and Ian having an intense conversation...about what I don't know.  If I had to guess it has something to do about Ian's camera and batteries...as in where are my batteries you promised to bring me dad???? Ian is like a dog on a bone and until he is satisfied about said income he won't let it go...when used properly it can be a great characteristic!

 Here are my boys...well most of them anyway, Lee was off doing something important I'm sure.  Notice Ian is with camera...his dad got him batteries!!! He is a happy boy now...now if he could just operate his camera correctly and keep his pictures instead of accidentally deleting them he'd be even happier.  All in good time I suppose.

Grandma and Eli.  She almost had him asleep...but the chocolate milk and chocolate bar...well I'm sure you can understand.

I'm not sure any of my stopped riding their bikes for any amount of time the whole weekend, those bikes got their moneys worth this weekend!  Dru was so happy riding that bike!

There is my guy!  Poor guy was so tired!  Long day of work and then driving to the camp site and then unpacking, along with that mountain air...exhausting!


All in all we had a good time and can't wait for our summer to start! 

More to come!

Park

 We (don't forget I'm using the royal we) are coming along.  The boys don't stop hounding their dad about getting it done and is he working on it and does it really look like he's done much to it.  Poor Frank!!!  The farther along he gets though the boys are funny to listen to.  Dad! You are doing a great job! Dad! You are doing awesome!  Frank just grumbles and says thanks guys!  I find it funny but I'm not the one being scrutinized.

So by now we have the swing set arm up, the canopy up and the rock wall along with the ladder.  We are now working on the slides.  We have one up and are working on getting the second one up.

 Eli using the ladder out and helping daddy by making sure it was sturdy.  Dru using the rock wall!!!  All the boys love that one!

 We now have the second slide up!  Eli and Dru are beside themselves with excitement.  It took Frank and I both of us to keep them off before the slides were bolted down and usable.

Finally they got to try the slides out!  WHAT FUN! 

Eli, from the start, has been calling this set his park.  He cracks us up.  He is always asking to go play at his park, I love how he processed this in his head! 

Camping is in the future and the count down has dwindled...I have 4 very excited boys beside themselves with anticipation for this trip!

Play things

My dreams are finally coming to fruition!!! We are getting/building (and by we I mean the royal we) a swing set right now for the boys!  This just might make the year for me, really!  If I hear "I'm bored" at all this summer...so help that child!  This set is going to be HUGE!

Here is the starting of it...the beams and such.

Frank and his brothers solving the world's woes.

It's starting to come together with help from the 'supervisor', Grandpa Lee.

When the frame/structure went up the boys really started to get excited and can't wait for the finished product. For that matter I can't wait either! 

We (again royal we) still have more work to do.  Envision if you will, adding some swings, a rock wall, 2 slides and a ladder.  Then of course somehow anchoring the whole thing down.  Frank is hoping to get it done this weekend but the weather has changed on us so who knows.  Soon I hope though!  Of course there will be more pictures later of further progress.  Excitement at our house!  Thank you to my parents for going in halvesies (like the new workd I coined?) with us and Frank's parents for the physical help and spotting us the chunk of change for our part.  It was a deal TOO good to pass up, truly!  Thank you doesn't seem to be enough but it's what I have.

Well, I think I'm going to go do some weeding.

Enjoy this beautiful and bright weather we have today Washingtonians!

School Picnic

Today was Dru's school picnic at the park and boy were we excited!  A day to play with friends and cousins...when you are 4 and 2 what more could you ask for right? 

Eli had as much fun as Dru did, other kids to play with and slides that needed someone to go down them and gorgeous weather to boot!

(yes I know Eli needs his bangs cut, we are working on getting Auntie to come to the house and blend them)

Two boys who were so excited to be at the same place and same time, they had some fun playing with each other and then it was good to see them go their separate ways to play with friends.  Although it was easier to keep track of where they were when they were together though. ;)

We were playing Peek-a-boo...I miss cuddling this boy when he was a baby!

Colton was so happy to push Dru, what a team!

Eli's turn on the swing!  Thank goodness they called for lunch cause I'd have been there until the sun went down pushing that kid!  He loves to swing and loves the slides!

We had so much fun today and I even got to visit with some friends and watch the kids get some energy out.  We were kept busy with Ian and Lee's baseball game tonight and I'm very thankful that we had good weather for that, no winter coat tonight!!

On another note, when it's my turn to bring a snack for the team...I'm bringing a snack FOR the team...not the team and their siblings!  In all my years of participating in sports (which are few mind you) I have NEVER been accosted by so many kids from the team asking for a snack for their brother or sister.  And I had to turn them away, now before the game was over there were 2 kids that asked if there were leftovers could they have them and I said maybe.  MAYBE! Not yes, but Maybe...I said I had to make sure there was enough for the team first.  Well I had one kid come up and tell me that I had told his sister she could have one and he was ticked at me cause she was crying and I said I didn't tell her she could I said maybe.  The problem was it ended up not being those 2 but ALL the kids coming up to me and HOUNDING me for snacks along with their siblings!  I'm not feeding Ethiopia people!  Honestly I left there feeling like I was the bad guy because I had to tell all the siblings, no they couldn't have one...I can't give to the 2 and not the rest!  As you can see I'm still fuming and upset with this.  I NEVER go to a game expecting someone to feed my other kids a snack also and most of the time I don't let them take the leftovers either, they didn't earn it so to speak. Tonight was bizarre...thankfully one team parent (not his family) told the kid berating me, to stop and say thank you for the snack and then reminded him it was a snack for the team and another mom thanked me for bringing snacks.  Man oh Man!  Ggggrrrr!!!!

What are people thinking? Better  yet why do these kids think it's a free for all in this world? (Mine included at times!)

Well got that off my chest...I still don't feel good about it but it's out there now.  And now I'm off to bed, cause I'm up WAY later than I'd like to be. 

Sleep tight people!

Awkward

He fell asleep like this watching Despicable Me.  He was pooped!  He just looks uncomfortable to me.

Graduation

I don't know what makes this kid so darn cute but he's so pinchably (I should coin that word and become rich! Spell check didn't like that word.) cute!  He's wearing his new shirt from Elmo and he's ready to go to his Preschool Graduation Ceremony (that's what Dru calls it). When I took this picture I asked him to say graduation, I think I took the picture at the right time.  What a smile!

 Dru's Auntie Nikki would be so proud of him.  His class signed the alphabet and Dru can do it by himself, he teaches me often.  I'd like to think the sign language I taught him as a baby helped...didn't teach him letters though, so probably not.  They sang several songs and sang his favorite song "I'm in the Lord's Army".  I do have to say (probably again) that Dru has been far more entertaining in these events than Ian and Lee ever were.  He sings, moves/dances and you can hear him and he smiles.  The other 2 just stood there like dear caught in headlights (can't blame them though).

 My graduating preschooler!  Handsome fella!

He did SO good during the whole thing, I was so proud of him.  The last part of the program they have each kid come up to the microphone and they ask them what they want to be when they grow up.  Well as you can imagine that's a lot of kids and they get fidgety and since Dru is in the front row he was second up.  He sat so still and quiet for all the others, I was impressed! Now, why can't he do that when I need him to?  They asked Dru what he wanted to be...He said a Rock star!  When asked why he said cause he likes to play the guitar!  Not quite sure when he's played the guitar recently or ever but dream away my son!!  The best one said tonight however was a friend of Dru's her answer was to be an animal doctor so she could clean crocodile teeth and make sure they don't get cavities!  Cracked me up! BEST one yet!

Well, it's been a full day and I'm tired, so off I go to bed!  Enjoy the wonderful weather, I know I am and so are my boys!

E-L-M-O!!!!

So today was the day!!! We saw Elmo!!  This year's play was called Elmo's Healthy Hero's! 

Because I am who I am, I forgot to grab my camera to take with me to the show.  I am so mad at myself!!!

Here is Eli posing for me in his Elmo gear, he has no idea what he's in for!!

Here are the littles!   Can you tell which one is excited???  Dru had such a big day today...Elmo and we went out to eat!! His pick even!

This years Elmo was much better with the story than I thought last yeaqrs was.  They also included more things from the show Sesame street than what I saw last year...they had Elmo's World and Journey to Ernie which my boys of course love.  So all in all I think the 4 of us had a blast.  Lunch was at RR (red robin) although if you ask Eli where we ate he will tell you we at at McDonald's.  That was his pick and he spent a few minutes trying to convince Dru that's where we should eat lunch, Dru didn't budge.  Thank goodness!  And since Eli lives on air he had 3 fries and a side dish of Mandarin oranges...*eye rolling* On the other hand, cheaper bill...I guess.  He did promptly eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when we got home though.  I loved seeing Eli get excited when the characters came on the stage, I'm not sure what he was thinking but there was some excitement.

All in all it was a good day, filled with as Dru put it, our hearts were laughing.  That pretty much sums it up!

I'm Back...For Today Anyway

OK, I have not been ignoring you guys, honestly I haven't!  I just have a REALLY old computer and a wireless router that is giving us problems! Something about a password being changed and not letting anyone know what the new one is! SO ANNOYING!!! Truly it's really annoying.  Then to call the people who make our router you are talking to someone in India, with a really horrible and heavy accent...gggrrrrrr!! 

Suffice it to say, right now Frank has made it so I am just hooked up to the modem and I can get Internet access that way.  Thank you Frank!  I can get some much needed things done!!

I have been sick the last week with a chest cold that has been kicking my butt!  Oh man it's horrible!  I haven't felt this bad with a cold in a long time and my chest hurts SO bad.  I am feeling better cold wise but man my stomach is killing me!  I have to get better by Wednesday because we are taking two little boys to see Elmo and I don't want to miss that!  Especially since it will be Eli's first time seeing Elmo...the look on his face would be priceless!  His own personal Disneyland you know?

So here's to a continued use of the computer and me getting better so I can go see Elmo! Important things going on!  If I'm not back, well you'll know it's the computer...although on the flip side I have been going to bed SO early and getting LOTS of sleep.  HA!

Just so people know, there is something going on with my kids...something wrong!  They are all cranky and nasty!  The 2 big ones woke up before 7am fist fighting, Eli was up off and on all night and morning (that hasn't happened in a long time, I can't even remember how long), Dru is just whiny and crying a lot (terribly annoying).  Is there something in the water??? Honestly I really want to duct tape them ALL to the wall and walk away for an hour and come back and see where we are at or where they are at.  Is anyone else have children acting like this???

Count down to camping over the other side of the mountains...2 weeks in case you haven't spoken to my kids lately :) 

OK, I think that's all the updates I have for right now.

Here's to better weather this week!

Last Day of Preschool

Today was Dru's last day of Preschool!  I can't believe a year of school for him has gone by, at times the year flew by and others it just drug on! He does keep asking about starting Kindergarten so we've had to talk about how he won't be starting Kindergarten next year but he'll be going back to Preschool.  I'm not sure what he's grasped but so far he doesn't seem to be too disappointed.  Before too long it will be time for the big boys to be done with school...am I really ready for summer?  Every year I think I'm not...now I'm walking the line unsure (like I have a choice right?).

Take care!

Mother's Day Gift

Every year, for the last couple of years anyway my Mother in law has taken the Daughter in laws to get Pedi's.  This last year I have gotten Pedi's I get different colors each time...Well I did 5 different colors and asked Frank what color I should get.  He is color blind so I suggested black, he laughed and said get Bruin colors.  For those of you who don't know what the Bruins are they are a hockey team from Boston, they are Frank's favorite hockey team.  So I got my toes done in yellow and had a black flower put on, those are the Bruins colors...well the yellow is as close to Goldenrod I could get.

So Happy Mother's Day