Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Tents EVERYWHERE and a Buzz Obsession

If you were to go upstairs in my house, you would see this... As you walk further upstairs, you would find two more tents in the hallway and one in Seth's bunkbed. The kids have shut all of the blinds, confiscated all of our flashlights, made pretend fireplaces, and have probably made our upstairs the biggest mess its ever been. And that is really saying something.

But, they ARE having fun.

They were having so much fun and getting along so well yesterday that we skipped Evan's nap to let them play more. Yup, I paid for THAT later.


You would have thought with skipping his nap he would have slept in this morning. Nope. This boy's internal alarm clock tells him he needs to be up and going full force by at least 6:00. The past couple of mornings he has brought his Buzz Lightyear (that he sleeps with) to the window to show Ryan, his fellow Buzz-obsessed 3 year old neighbor friend. Then he proceeds to ask me if we can go play Buzz Lightyear with Ryan. It's hard for him to understand that 6:00 might be too early to ring our neighbor's doorbell. :)

Ryan sleeps with his Buzz too. Apparently, after Ryan goes to bed at night, he sometimes can hear Evan outside for a little bit (later bedtime...a perk of having older siblings). He keeps yelling, "Evan, do you have your Buzz Lightyear too?" His mom has to tell him that Evan can't hear him. I feel terrible...we might have to bring the kids in earlier for a little bit. :)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

In case you were wondering...

Moxie is still not getting a bit of rest around here, and the Buzz Lightyear craze has hit these two three-year-olds big and bad. I love that Evan and his buddy, Ryan, needed to swing with their Buzz Lightyears and...

that they show each other their Buzzes through the window.
How cute are they?!

Big Mama's Birthday Club

I just read a post on Big Mama's blog that made me laugh out loud...the kids all thought I was nuts. If you need a good laugh, click here.

I think that the "Birthday Club" sounds like a FABULOUS idea. :)

Monday, June 28, 2010

This is one of the many reasons...

I love my husband.



I'm so thankful for 13 years with him, and I'm looking forward to many more.
Happy anniversary, Dave!

Here's our beautiful girl...

in front of the garden she and I planted last year.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

A Sunday at home

Most Sundays in the summer, you'll find our family up at the lake. We love it, with wonderful extended family with which to spend time as well as lots of fun stuff to do.

However, today we decided to stay home. Between camping, the new puppy, work on the basement, and catching up on housework, we had a lot to do. We primed all of the walls in the basement (Caroline and Henry helped too!), trimmed all of the bushes, and did an insane amount of laundry. The kids were helping to put the camping stuff away, cleaning up the playroom and their rooms, and taking care of the dog. As much as we missed the lake today, it was good to have an extra weekend day to get things done. It felt good to be so productive!

After all of our work, we had a little family night. Tomorrow is Dave's and my 13th wedding anniversary, so we all went out to dinner to celebrate. We came straight home afterwards to go play in the backyard with Moxie. I took this picture of the boys after we came in for the night...can you tell they got their exercise and had a fun time?!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Webelos Camp

Henry was a tired boy today. It's no wonder. He and his dad fit a lot in to their three-day camping trip. They did archery, BB-guns, swimming, handyman activities, campfires, hiking, rowboating, cooking, as well as

human foosball,
and rock-climbing. I can't believe he climbed this!




Henry came home with so many stories to tell us. Seth listened intently, no doubt dreaming about his turn to go as a Webelos scout next year. :)

Friday, June 25, 2010

Henry's home!

Of course, Dave's home too. However, his name does not alliterate with home, so Henry gets the post title. :)

This car was full of some tired campers! 3 days of camping will do that to you. Both Henry and Alex fell asleep on the way home.
They decided to come home a day early because there were thunderstorms and a tornado watch predicted for tonight. God bless them!

I am so happy that Dave, Henry, and their friends are all home safely. We missed them!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Happy, HAPPY Henry

I just got off the phone with Henry a few minutes ago, and I honestly smiled the whole time he was talking to me. He was calling from his Webelos camp and talking a mile a minute, happily and excitedly sharing all of his adventures there. Here's my favorite bits of our conversation...

--They went swimming and rowboating. He talked of making sandcastles at the beach, jumping off the pier with all of his friends and how they had an "oar splash war" in their rowboats.
--They made tinfoil dinners at the campfire. There's nothing that tops that at a campout...hamburger, potatoes, carrots, onions, seasonings wrapped in tinfoil and cooked over a campfire. YUM!
--Their tent was by all of his best buddies. :)
--They caught some snakes (!). One of the snakes got nervous and peed on his friend, Ian's shirt. Of course, hilarity ensued amongst his friends. (Ian even thought it was funny, but promptly changed his shirt.)
--They caught a "legless lizard", but apparently it was NOT a snake. Hmm...I might have to google that one.
--They went rock-climbing! I'm kind of glad that I (and my fear of heights) wasn't there to see that.
--They are sleeping MUCH better than last year. That might have something to do with the fact that there have been no lightning strikes this year. :)
--Dave and Henry are once again sharing some good laughs. This year they were compliments of another camper and his mother. They were all in their tents for the night, when Dave and Henry heard a loud (sorry for being crude) fart coming from a nearby tent. A camper started giggling, while his poor mom, in the small, enclosed space of her tent, was gasping for air. Henry, Dave, and many other campers couldn't stop laughing. Hee-hee!

I am so happy that Henry is having such a wonderful time with his dad and his friends. Scouting is such a good thing!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Mom...

...this really tickles... ...when Moxie does this!

God, please watch over Dave and Henry...

How fast time goes! It seemed like just yesterday that we were packing up the car for Henry's 1st Webelos camping trip, and it has already been a year! Just like last year, Henry was filled with anticipation for his big trip. How could he not be when contemplating 4 days with his Dad to himself, 4 days with his good buddies, 4 days CAMPING? I mean, what is NOT to like about that?

He was so sweet this morning to all of us. He was so anxious to go that he probably said goodbye about 5 times each, being very affectionate with hugs and kisses, making sure that we all knew that we would not be seeing him for 4 DAYS. He even took the time to explain that to Moxie. :) Evan was not too happy with the whole idea, but he eventually let go of Henry's leg.

Dave and Henry were able to drive up with their good friends, Tom and Alex, which made Henry even more happy. All was perfect in Henry's world this morning.

On the other hand, I was a little nervous. Last year, lightning struck the ground (originally it was thought to have struck a tent) about 20 feet from where Dave and Henry pitched their tent. This is what I wrote on my blog last year on June 19:

"Thank God.

I got a phone call from Dave this morning. There was a big thunderstorm at their campsite last night. Lightning struck a tent about 20 yards from Dave and Henry's tent. The scout in the tent was found unresponsive, and his Dad couldn't feel his legs. (This was the same campsite where another scout was struck by lightning a couple of years ago. Looks like they need to change up their policy for severe weather.) There was one more person in the tent, and I am not sure what happened to him. But by the time the ambulance brought them to the hospital, they seemed to be ok. Everyone at their campsite was rounded up and brought into a shelter. When Dave called, Henry was still sleeping, as they obviously did not get a lot of sleep last night. Dave said he was very brave."

So this morning I put on a brave face despite the fact that there were thunderstorm warnings for today where they were camping. The last thing that I said to them was, "Please check into a hotel tonight if there is a thunderstorm. Please." Honestly, I have checked weather.com many, MANY times in the past few days trying to get the latest about the forecast for their trip. Fortunately, two of the days of their trip, there is no chance of thunderstorms, and the last day there is only a slight chance.

Please say a prayer for them, will you?

Here are links to my posts about the lightning strike last year...

Bottom line...they're all ok.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Squeak, squeak, squeak...

I put the kiddos to bed, and that's what I hear. Squeak, squeak, squeak...As is her puppy duty, Moxie loves to chew, especially on things that squeak. And the kids have chosen quite a few very squeaky toys for her. The following video displays Moxie's squeakiness. Such excitement on my blog for you tonight. :)


How is it that I find even the way she chews on her toys adorable?!

And would you just look at these paws?!
Ok, moving on...enough paw-obsessing...

It was a good day. After a day like yesterday where I felt like I got nothing done, today was a Godsend. Moxie had no accidents in the house. I went grocery shopping, so we now actually have food in the house. And I COOKED that food for a nice dinner tonight. It might not seem like a lot, but it worked to encourage me. :)

We also got Henry packed for a 4 day, fun-filled Webelos camping trip with his dad. Plus, I secured all of his new patches and pins to his uniform. To say that he was excited tonight would be a huge understatement. He actually crawled into bed at 7:30 so that the morning would come faster. :) (Although the fact that he stayed up until 1:30 last night when he slept over at a friend's house might have contributed to his readiness to go to bed.)

Speaking of readiness to go to bed...

I think that Henry and Moxie (and everyone else in this house) have the right idea. Good night!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Spinning my wheels...

To and from Vacation Bible School,
to and from friends' houses,
to and from camps,
packing for scout camp,
house training the dog...
Really, who needs to do laundry? or go grocery shopping? or cook? or clean?
All of those things are over rated, right?

I'm not the most productive right now, but I'm just reminding myself that eventually it will all get done. Take a deep breath and enjoy the good stuff. And there's a lot of good stuff happening right now. :)

Happy Father's Day!

We spent Father's Day up at the lake with two of our favorite fathers, my husband and his dad. (My dad is vacationing at another slightly bigger lake, Lake Michigan.) We are very blessed by having these amazing men in our lives, and I thank God for them.

We got the boat cleaned and in the water last week. It's good to have lots of hands for this job!




Moxie supervised. I loved it that Great-Grandma called Moxie her Great-Granddog today! Here she is in one of her favorite spots yesterday, under Great-Grandma's chair.
Now that the boat is back in the water, my children and their Daddy got to do a lot of tubing together. I'd venture to say that this is exactly the way that my husband wanted to spend his Father's Day. I love you, Dave!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Congratulations...


to these two cutie-pies, Caroline and her friend, Audrey, on a FINE Disney on Broadway performance at their Christian Youth Theater camp. Caroline said that she is DEFINITELY signing up for next summer's camp. On our way home, we had to drive right into a huge thunderstorm. Right when we pulled into our driveway, the tornado siren went off. Dave and I grabbed the kids and the dog and headed into the basement. There wasn't an actual tornado, but wind gusts reached 75 mph, and trees and power line poles were blown over. That led all of the little ones in this house to be a little skittish for tonight's storm. We have one sleeping in our bed, one sleeping in the living room near us, two in their own beds, and one furry one at my feet. :)

Rain, rain, go away!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Moxie, AKA...

...my new excuse for why I don't get anything done or get anywhere on time. ;)

Puppies are a lot of work. I knew that before she joined our family, but now that she's been with us for a few days, I really, REALLY know it. But I am hopelessly in love with her. And I think that she loves me too. When I get up early in the morning with her, it doesn't matter if I am sitting, having a cup of tea, or if I'm doing the dishes at the sink, she curls up in a soft little bundle of fur at my feet. Its one of the hundreds of things that I love about Moxie. :)

Like all puppies do, Moxie is definitely exploring her new world with her mouth. She tries to put everything in her mouth, especially on our walks. So she's tried to sample mulch, leaves, flowers, dirt, sticks and lots and lots of grass. Henry reminds her several times a day that she should not eat the grass, that she is not a cow. The kids agree that she firmly believes she is one. So the kids came up with a new nickname for her...Moxie MOO.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

So, what's this young man so excited about?!

Evan came outside with me to walk Moxie for the 103rd time today. ;) Under the bushes, he spotted...
THIS.
This frog was HUGE!


He asked me if I would get it for him. I said that Daddy was better at that kind of thing. (And truthfully, between you and me, I'm not such a fan of holding frogs.) I suggested that Evan run inside our house to ask Daddy to catch the frog for him.


So, I kept walking Moxie down the sidewalk. Suddenly I heard him yell, "Mom! MO-OM! I got him! ALL BY MYSELF!!!"
He did indeed. I was a little worried for the frog, as Evan had him firmly grasped along the middle. Perhaps a little too firmly for the frog's comfort and health.


I heartily congratulated him, and then suggested that he put the frog in a bucket. Caroline brought over a sandbucket, which was probably more comfortable for the frog, but maybe not as good for containment.


This bucket was better, but this frog was good. He hopped right out of this one too.
A deep wheelbarrow did the trick. We kept him for about an hour, and then decided that the frog probably had enough fun. Evan released him to the pond behind our house after a rather sad goodbye.

Farewell frog friend!

After all the rain...

...that we've had the past few days, we were treated to the perfect summer day. It was the perfect temperature, and again, there was mostly NO RAIN, so we got out to enjoy it.

Evan napped while I dropped Henry off to track camp and Caroline to drama camp. He's an ingenious little boy (at least I think so). Look at how he ensures that his head doesn't keep falling down as he sleeps.

The kids played basketball and hide-and-seek tag outside all afternoon with some friends. After dinner, Dave and Evan went out to cut the grass.

We mulched around some trees. We introduced Moxie to some neighbor dog friends, which the kids thought was the funniest thing ever. Fortunately the "friends" were very tolerant of our energetic and curious puppy. (This is our neighbor, Chet, of our "ditto house" adventures. We love him!)
Playing with her friends wore Moxie out, so she slept in the grass while the boys loved on her.

She is very secure in how we feel about her. ;)

Saturday, June 12, 2010

A Day of Rest

After Moxie's big day yesterday, where the kids played with her non-stop...



and woke her up a lot when they were "just watching her" sleep...
Moxie was able to catch up a little more on her rest today. She's sleeping beautifully at night, as long as her cage is close to us, and that is a real blessing.


What more could a puppy want? Some play, some rest, and a lot of love...


make Moxie a happy puppy!

Friday, June 11, 2010

HERE SHE IS!!!!!

We met and brought home our sweet little puppy today!

Introducing...Moxie Lu Magoo Nosek!
Here's the kids meeting Moxie for the first time!

LOVE this picture...it's pure happiness! Tears were shooting straight out of my eyes!

Our hearts are melting!

Here's Moxie after a very tiring play session with the kids. :)

When the kids aren't playing with her, they are watching her sleep.
LOVE!!!

Our Own Cowboys

My mother-in-law, Jean, arranged for a horse experience for Henry and Seth. And what an experience it was!

We worked with a funny, full-of-personality four-year-old horse named Shadow. When we arrived, he came running up to the fence and checked us all out.

The owner of the farm gave us a tour, showing all of the hay that their horses eat,

the horses' stalls, the horses being trained,
and how to groom the horses.


THEN they were able to ride the horses. When they were asked who wanted to go first, Seth responded as quickly as I've ever heard him respond, "I WILL!"
Jean said that he looked like a natural, and he was so proud!

Then it was Henry's turn. He was one happy cowboy!

He looks pretty good up there too, huh?!
It was a day full of sweet memories...

and big laughs compliments of Shadow. ;) Apparently, every time his saddle is taken off, he does this...

After visiting the horse farm, we came back to my sister and brother-in-law's house to find Evan all worn out from an afternoon of play with his cousins.
We topped off the day by going back for a tasty dinner at my in-law's house. I love this picture of Evan and his Grandpa enjoying an appetizer of Cheetos :) together.
Thank you for a wonderful day, Jean, Nacibe, Mark and Denny!