Trip to Grant's Farm

We had soooooo much fun at Grant's Farm. My mom took the day off work and we took my kid's, Katelyn, and a little girl that I babysit, Victoria. The weather was perfect. We arrived around 9:45 so we were in and out before lunch and the major crowd hit. The goats were the first thing that we went to after our tram ride in. For $1 you can buy a bottle of milk to feed the goats, so we got one for all of the kids. I HATE the goats!!! They are nasty, jumping on you trying to eat your clothes creatures. (Just my opinion, of course!) Mom took in all of the kids. Yah, that lasted for about 2 minutes, if THAT! Brennan was the first one screaming and crying to get out, Katelyn was a quick second, and in turn Chrissi was next. It was quite the scene. We lifted the kids over the fence verses them exiting the "correct" way. Ian and Victoria LOVED feeding the goats and had a blast. I was surprised, because this was the first time that Ian had wanted to. We did feed the goats through the fence and that was MUCH better.

The big turtles were really active, well for turtles. I don't think that I had ever seen them move, but they were walking around and "playing" in the water. The elephants were really cool. One of them was bathing in dirt, but the other was bathing in water and that was super cool to see.

After we left Grant's Farm we headed to the best place in the world to eat, if you are a kid anyway, McDonalds. They were all starving and ate really well before they played in the Playplace.

What a GREAT day!




Mom and Chrissi making the goat perform for a drink.





How many goats can you feed at once, Ian?





"That's a good goat!"





Mom getting ready to hand me Chrissi and Katelyn.





Look how much fun he's having.





Watch out, Ian, you are about to get invaded!





"Hey, give me a bottle!!!"





"This is the way I like to feed the goats."





"You are NOT getting me back in with those goats!"





Ian had lots of rocks in his sandals after feeding those nasty creatures, I mean goats!





"I want to see too!"





AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!





This turtle would really scare Grandma. (And, Grandma, this one is too big to put in the middle of the road.)





Just cooling off.







Splish! Splash! The elephants taking a bath!





Time to go home.

Happy Father's Day

Jesse and his little princess!!



I bet you can't tell these three are related.



Not sure where Ian was, but I do not have one picture of him with Jesse on that day. But the two "babies" are always around, especially if snacks or drinks are involved!



PaPa and Chrissi sharing a snack!

For Father's Day we woke up and made Jesse breakfast. A real HEART stopper that consisted of fried eggs, hash browns, sausage, and bisquits with butter and strawberry jam. What the hell, it's not like we eat a "big breakfast" except for a few times a year. Then Jesse got to spend a lazy morning laying around and watching the history channel, well that was after I made him stop pittling around. Jesse's idea of pittling is a few loads of laundry or just cleaning in general. (I know, I know........I'm a SUPER lucky girl!!!)

That afternoon we went over to my brother Danny's and his girlfriend Erika's house for a fish fry. My parents had been on vacation the previous week and spent it at the Lake. I think it was the Monday before Father's Day they (my brothers and my dad) caught over 35 fish, absolutely their record. So we played Bolo, washers, and had a HUGE fish fry. Along with the fish we had all of the traditional sides you would expect, corn on the cob, cole slaw, onion rings, and french fries. Again, another heart stopper!!

It was a great day!!!

Already a busy summer!

So what have we been up to since Ian's birthday? Last weekend I took the boys to the Lake and Jesse stayed home with Chrissi. Jesse's leg still isn't the best from surgery and he wouldn't have been able to go up and down all of the steps to the boat, much less have climbed on. And to be perfectly honest, I needed a break from Chrissi. She was sick last week, one night she had a 104.5 temp. Needless to say, she was held a lot that week and was to the point that I couldn't put her down even when she was better. It goes without saying that I love my daughter immensely, it is ok to need a break. By Saturday night I was ready to come home. =)

Sunday the boys and I left the Lake in the morning fairly early. When we got home, Jesse and I went through the basement and completely cleaned it up and rearranged things. NOW I have somewhere for the kids to play when they get super hot outside. (Which is everyday, since my house is full sun ALL day long and trees are still pretty non-existant.) To everyone else, it will just look like an ordinary basement, but compared to what it looked like before it is freakin' amazing!!!

Brennan is in a summer reading program (summer school) for three weeks at his school. He loves it so much and has such a great time. The only problem that I have with it is that parents have to provide transportation. Normally that would not be a problem because my parents can help out on the days that I can't get there, but they are on vacation this week. My Uncle Gary was a big help on Monday picking Bren up and I can't thank him enought. Next week will be easier when my parents are back.

Today after Bren was done with school (at noon) we went to Aunt Linda and Uncle Gary's to go swimming. We had such a good time. Even though it is 94 degrees out, the water felt awesome. I brought my camera to take pictures, but with just me and 4 kids (one of the kids I babysit was there as well) that didn't happen. Chrissi did not want to get in the water. I did trick her to get in with me twice and we did "bouncy, bouncy" around the pool until she cooled off. But the rest of the time she sat in the shaded chair. The boys are doing terrific in water this year. Brennan's swimming is really coming along. Ian is still a bit more timid, but I know that he will come around.

So in a nutshell, that is what we've been up to.

Happy, HAPPY Birthday Ian

Wow! My FIRST baby is 6 years old. Where have the years gone? Ian was so excited last night that he got to stay up late and play Mario Party 8 with Mommy and Daddy. he woke up bright and early this morning and jumped into bed with my grinning from ear to ear. I am proud to have been the very first to sing Happy Birthday to him (as always). Last year I was going to start a tradition of making the kids a cake the night before their birthday and surprise them with it in the morning. Only problem is that Ian HATES cake. So much for that tradition. Instead tonight will be make your own sundaes. Yummy!!

Today I'm going to drop the boys off with my Dad and go run some errands and get everything ready for his birthday celebration tonight. His cousins, Bradley and Dylan, are going to spend the night tonight and I promised they could have their own Wii party, meaning that Mommy and Daddy won't get to play, well not too much anyway. I plan to get some balloons from the dollar store and I will probably pick him up a few dollar presents. The Wii was the main birthday present, but he has to have something to open on his actual birthday. New coloring books and puzzles from the dollar store are always a hit!

Happy Birthday, Ian! I hope that you have a great day, lots of fun, and another year full of laughter. You are genuinely one of the most sensitive people that I have ever met in my life. You have a heart of gold and look out for everyone around you. I am so lucky to have you in my life. My thoughts today are filled with joy for you today, Birthday Boy. But at the same time my heart does ache for your Birthmother in Guatemala. I hope that in her heart she knows how much you are loved and I hope to someday contact her so she can see the beautiful, sweet, and caring young man that you are.

I love you, E.B.!!!!

Are you kiddin' me???

Is today really only the SECOND day of Summer break. OMG!!! My boys are OUTTA CONTROL!!!! We are off to clean up the basement and get some inside runnin' room for them. They played outside for awhile today, until they were soaked in sweat and then about 10 minutes later it started raining. UGH! If you have any advice as to how to keep them entertained, let me know. (Keep in mind that I babysit and am stuck home MWF.)

Until then, BASEMENT HERE WE COME!!!

Salute to two GREAT teachers

Yesterday was the last day of school for Ian and Brennan. I can't tell you how much their teachers have meant to all of us.


Mrs. Mosley was Brennan's kindergarten teacher. My friend recommended her as a good fit for Brennan as he is extremely "energetic". Brennan was absolutely crazy about her. For that matter so were Jesse and I. She had so much patience with Bren and was always there with a loving smile or hug.



Ms. Killer was Ian's Kindergarten teacher. She was a new kindergarten teacher this year, but we were thrilled to have her as Ian's teacher. Ian tends to be the shyer of the two and Ms. Killer was what he needed this year. After our super bad experience with his Pre-K teacher I was an apprehensive Mom to say the least. Ms. Killer understood the fears that I had and kept the lines of communication open.


I can not begin to explain how awesome these teachers are. I think that it takes a special type of person to be a teacher. And we all know there are a lot that have that calling and then several that wish it were so. These two ladies have been so much fun and laid back that it was a thrill to see the boys get off the bus everyday with that sparkle in their eyes letting you know how much they were enjoying learning. (Ok, occasionally there were the days that Bren would get off with his head down because he didn't get his stamp for the day, but that is a great learning lesson as well.) I credit this to their Kindergarten teachers!! I think the foundation has been laid for the boys to enjoy school. I wish that both of these teachers could follow the boys at least for the next few years. I feel sorry for their teachers next year, they have big shoes to fill as we have high expectations thanks to Mrs. Mosley and Ms. Killer! =) Sending my two baby boys to school was hard enough, but thanks to these two remarkable ladies I felt at ease right away.