Getting Everything Packed and Ready for the Trip!

We have been busy around here getting everything prepped for our trip to spend time with family.

Here are just a couple images of what we've been up to.

The house has become cleaner faster than I had expected, mainly thanks to tantrum-throwing kids! 

So far, one or more of the boys have washed my toilets, tubs, and fridge... it has been wonderful!

We have also almost completed packing the van. 

Princess was out helping us, and she happily claimed a spot in the trunk.

Patrick said he wanted to travel with her there.

Probably not, Patch, but your hug from "Bumpa Patch" will be here sooner than you realize!

Love, Us.

More Splash Park Fun

We visited another of our favorite local splash parks last week.

It was again around 100 degrees, so it was very much enjoyed by all the kiddos.

Thankfully, my little ginger likes wearing hats, which are a wonderful extra line of defense against a sunburned nose.

Another note about Romie: He sure loves his siblings.

He would run off by himself for a moment, enjoying a spray here and there.

He would then return to a sibling and join them in whatever exploit (or lack thereof) they were currently enjoying.

Love, Us.

Three Monkeys in a Blanket

You can tell this picture is "old", because the boys still have mops on their heads. 

I had just washed Princess's blanket, so they decided to enjoy the cleanliness and snuggle in!

Love, Us.

Celebrating Summer at the Zoo

I don't know about your kiddos, but mine LOVE zoos! 

We both wanted to celebrate summer and our annual zoo pass was expiring within weeks, 

so we made sure the zoo was the main event of our "School's Out" bash.

As usual, it didn't disappoint!

Here are a few pics and videos of us enjoying our fun, furry, feathery, and wet friends at the zoo.

One of T's favorites this time around: The zoo's peacocks roam around like they own the place, which is always fun.

However, an added bonus this time was that each lady peacock had a gathering of chicks following behind her!

It was right around 100 degrees that day, but we had good shade, a nice breeze and kept hydrated. 

It really was enjoyable and not at all unbearable!

A highlight for all of us, as usual... Mr Jerry Otter and friend! 

A video of Jerry "playing" with our little binoculars!

And a final video of the "coolest" animal at the zoo... Mr. Hippo!

He sure knew what to do on a 100 degree day!

Love, Us.

Our "School's Out" Celebration!

The kiddos and I took a day last week to celebrate our school year ending.

T graduated from 2nd grade, and David successfully finished Kindergarten!

We started the day with a HUGE treat... Krispy Kreme - our first experience ever!

Each kiddo got to pick out their donut... and I dare say they all enjoyed them VERY much.

We then continued our fun by picking up FREE BOOKS for the kids at two locations, 

thanks to the kiddos' efforts on summer reading programs.

And, the highlight of the day, we headed to the Zoo!

Stay tuned for those pics tomorrow!

Love, Us.

Our Father's Day

We started our Father's Day before dad woke this morning.

I snuck into the kiddos room, pulled them outside in their PJs, and they happily scrubbed down his car!

Dad really appreciated it.

Then, after some scrumptious breakfast and a few little (some homemade) presents, 

dad cleaned guns with his little helpers!

I can now smell supper cooking in the crockpot, so I think our Father's Day will continue to be great!

I hope yours is as well!

Love, Us

At the Car Wash

With the use of three sponges and some kiddos who enjoy getting wet in the summer heat, I got a clean van!

Love, Us.

Roader, Wooder, and Yarder

Turtles, Turtles, Turtles! 

There are so many turtles around our house! 

It seems like every single time David takes Princess for a run, he comes back with two animals.

One day, the runs were so close together that we still had the first little guy hanging around.

So... we introduced "Roader" to "Wooder." Can you guess where Dave found them?

And the next day, right before we headed to the zoo, Dave found another while out with Princess.

This one, "Yarder", was our first non-box turtle, and he was significantly larger.

And he was cute!

Unfortunately, due to time constraints with our plans for the day, we didn't have time to study this guy.
Maybe Yarder will come by again some time and let us figure out what kind he is.

Love, Us.

A Close Encounter with Princess' Nails

Romeo LOVES Princess.

Princess... well... she endures Romeo.

She is very sweet, though, and never tries to hurt him.

She simply tries to let him know when his love is a little closer to torture then desired.

One evening Romeo was playing on the ground, as usual, right next to his Princess.

Something alarmed her, and she got up quickly and ran off.

Unfortunately, Romeo's nose was part of her runway.

Here he is before the encounter:

And after:

Surprisingly, Romeo definitely felt the pain, but never paused in his affection for his "Puh-Pa".

He is still loving her a little too much all day long.

Love, Us.

We LOVE Splash Pads!

This is definitely one wonderful thing that the military life has introduced us to: Splash Pads!

They are brilliant! 

Babies can't drown, all ages love them... perfection!

          

Love, Us.

The Daniel Boone Gang

The kids (read "boys" - T was busy with crafting) spent an entire day playing the Daniel Boone Gang recently.

They even came to the lunch table demanding some viddles and gave me (the bar maid) 

less than acceptable payment (2 wooden tokens with images of animals on them). 

They were having quite the fun time!

Love, Us.

Hair Cut Results

I haven't taken a picture of the three boys next to each other after their cuts yet. 

However, I did take this "brand new haircut" pic of Romeo.

 I love how obviously different his hair color is when it is mixed with his brothers' hair on the ground!

Love, Us.

T's Super Heroes Sewing Projects

T is busy keeping herself busy with projects in order to make the time go by faster while waiting for the baby.

Here is a recent finished project of hers.

She made super hero outfits for one of each of the kiddos' special stuffed animals/dolls.

She even made Aana's "modest". 

I thought she did an amazing job, with no help from me!

And a video of her explaining all of the outfits.

Love, Us.

The Results of Having a Swamp in the Neighborhood

No-one can figure out why, but for some reason we have a perpetual stream/swamp
between our house and our neighbor's house.

For a moment I thought I may have caused it with our sprinkler afternoon, but I'm now confident that the hour of sprinkler could not possibly have caused this constant swamp situation for weeks.

So, unfortunately, we have a prime mosquito breeding and egg-laying habitat within steps of our front door.

On the up side, though, it has brought nature that much closer!

For today, two new nature studies that have come our way as a result of our swamp:

Mr. Frog (whom David DESPERATELY wanted to keep)

and LOTS of mushrooms!

   

Love, Us.

Box Turtles - All Boxed Up!

We've got to know the Three-Toed Box Turtle up close and personal here in Missouri. 

Our first two little friends were very friendly and not shy at all.

You've met friend #1, if you have been "following" us here.

Here is friend #2:

Just a day or two later, Princess found our third Box Turtle friend. 

However, since Princess was the one who found it, we got to see with our own eyes why they are "Box" Turtles!

So cool! 

However, this little guy was pretty scared and was NOT willing to come out inside the house. 

So... we set up the iPad's video and used it to capture his "unboxing" outside where he/she was comfortable. 

Enjoy!

Love, Us.

SaveSave

A Little Sleepy Stinker!

We are currently trying to break this habit...

Do you see how he stole the "real" pillow and pushed T to the fake one?

T was NOT a fan, but she was too tired in the middle of the night to put him in his own bed.

What a stinker!

Love, Us.

Memories of a Rainy Day

It has been a bit dreary here lately. 

In fact, I woke up concerned that we had slept in too late this morning, 

simply because the lack of clouds made is seem "too bright" out!

So, on this beautiful day, I am finally posting these pictures from a recent day full of thunderstorms.

The kids appreciated the dry warmth of inside, but loved watching the rain.

So, they created a fort with the large living room window acting as one of the fort walls.

Love, Us.

The Feast Day Tradition Continues

I've attempted many different Feast Day traditions in our family, and many have stuck.

However, I think this is the one that I look forward to most. 

I just think it is super cute, very fitting, and SO easy!

It being our anniversary yesterday, I decided to celebrate the "Feasts of the Hearts" on their vigil.

Don't worry... we have plenty of strawberries and sprinkles and toothpicks to continue to party today and tomorrow!

P was my sous-chef. 

He got pretty sentimental about Jesus and Mary's hearts having "owies". 

Love, Us.