P's Car Birthday

P enjoyed our first themed birthday party ever a few days ago.

CARS was the focus of the day, and I'd say it was very successful.

It started while we were all still in PJs, and the cars are still rolling all over our house!

It all stated with an interactive "cake".

We even worked a daddy back rub into the day's theme!

Yes - the thrift shop was a gold mine for this birthday's presents!

Oma and Opah's package arrived at noon to continue the celebration!

Yes - there was a LOT of car noises going on in the house throughout the day!

And we had friends over to sing and cut the cake in the evening.

Happy Birthday, P!

Love, Us.

A Break in the Clouds for Climbing the Nets

We spent a bit of time over the weekend at the local track.

The kids took turns getting net-climbing lessons from dad.

They did really well!

Love, Us.

Our Pool/Boat (Our Poat)

So... have you heard about the rain?

Well, ever since dad got home it seems like it has been constantly raining, dripping, or misting here.

As a result, the kids had an idea: to use the pool as a means of staying DRY instead of getting wet.

And... it worked!

Love, Us.

Patch is Excited!

I cannot recall another one of our children being so aware of their birthday at this age. 

Patchy is SO EXCITED! 

It must simply be that fact that he has older siblings, so birthdays have become a regular thing for him.

Whatever the reason, he is telling everyone.  In his words: "My Birthday Coming Up!"

He was so excited the other day while waiting for a store to open that he couldn't hold in the joy. 

Here was the result.

Enjoy!

Love, Us.

An Evening With Our Little Goddaughters

Alex and Vivian are getting so big!

We were blessed to be able to spend an evening snuggling with them and catching up with mom and dad last weekend.

Alex and I.

I even pulled Joe out of his conversation for a moment for this great shot!

T and Vivian.

P invaded my snuggle with Viv!

What beautiful girls!

Love, Us.

In Case I Didn't Mention It...

Dad's Home!

Love, Us.

Last Week's Nature Walk

We ventured through the backyard woods last week for our nature walk. 

It was a little wet (the rain decided to show up in force now that dad is not longer sleeping outdoors!). 

However, we still had some fun discoveries. 

The leaves are starting to change, which is always beautiful in the woods. 

And here are some other "finds" that the kids pointed out.

You can't see it, but there was a large spider web blocking the entrance to the wood. 

We had to duck under it to start our walk.

It is between David and the camera in this pic.

We wondered what made its home in this hollow log. 

It seemed obvious that something did...

The kids thought this tree sap was VERY interesting.

This isn't a "natural" find, but we talked about how it is there to preserve nature. 

The hills next to the stream were covered in these small ropes/nets in order to slow down erosion.

It wasn't the most exciting walk, and it always reminds me that I need to get better 

at identifying things in nature, but we had a good time!

Love, Us.