Thinking "INSIDE" the box

It's amazing what fun cardboard can be....

Little Fish

My friend Theresa invited us to go swimming last week with her & baby Aedon at their neighborhood pool. (We were little fish last week!) Jackson was pretty excited, but Eli was NOT! He was intimidated by the depth of the water i think, so he screamed for the first 45 minutes (off & on... but still it was constant fuss!)Jackson had so much fun though (after we convinced him to try the arm swimmies). He splashed... he kicked.... he even ended up jumping in from the side! Brave Boy!After watching all this fun take place from the sidelines, Eli decided he FINALLY wanted in on the action.....
He "jumped" in, then he did it again.... then he splashed & giggled too...Jackson is practically doing a backstroke behind us here...

Before we were done, all of our feet were like raisens, but not nearly as cute as Baby Aedon's.... have you ever seen such an adorable wrinkled foot?Thanks for the fun invite Theresa!!

Out to Lowes...

Yesterday the boys & i went to Lowe's Home Improvement store to get a new ceiling fan (one of ours unfortunately broke!!) Usually Daddy is with us if we ever hit this store, but today he was working so i had to fill in for him- I had to let the boys sit on all the lawn mowers out front. Who knew how exciting this could be? This is the reason these boys love to go to Lowe's with Randy- all the big lawn mowers!

The funniest part of this trip to me was that i noticed when we got out of the car (as Jackson was already asking about the lawn mowers), was that Jackson was also wearing a pink, beaded, strawberry shortcake bracelet! He loves to play dress up, but he also loves a good ride on a lawn mower! Eli enjoyed this too, even though he doesn't look like it in the pictures. He was irritated at me with the camera & just wanted me to move him to a different mower!

Say Ahhhh!

This week i happened to catch this shot of the boys. They can play so nicely together sometimes. Jackson said to Eli, "Open your mouth, Buddy. It's okay, Buddy.... it only take a minute... it won't hurt" They can be so cute! I couldn't believe how cooperative Eli was since he HATES this part at the doctor's office! Go figure!!

Playdate!

We went over to Meredith's house Tuesday to let the kids swim in their neighborhood pool (waterpark really!) & for the adults to have dinner together (don't worry, the kids ate too!). Jackson just drools over this pool when we pass it in her neigborhood & what kid wouldn't? He had been asking about going over there & this night was his lucky night! He was so excited that he was walking so fast ahead of us to get to the pool! I was so surprised that he actually went down this waterslide by himself! What a big, brave boy! I couldn't believe it! Eli went down too, but with me- i was afraid to let him go himself, but he didn't want to anyway! He was a little unsure of the water honestly, but he did manage to have a good time in the .5 inch area with water toys & a ball! He just doesn't like water splashing in his face. We are hopefully going to get over that before our beach week at the end of the summer. Fun times! Thanks guys!

More Water Play...

Water play is what is going to get our kids through this already hot summer. I am amazed at how hot is already is during the middle of the day. We went over to Aunt Becca's for lunch after church Sunday since Randy had to go to work for the rest of the day. Since it was a last minute invite (Thanks for thinking of us Becca!), the kids didn't have any clothes to wear other than church clothes so the boys are wearing Emma & Leah's clothes (including shoes!!) They were quite a sight.

Anyhow, to pass the time & get the kids out of our hair while we were finishing up lunch, we kicked them outside! But it was soooo hot, that we convinced Uncle Todd to find a tote or something to put water in on the porch in the shade to keep them entertained. Well, they certainly entertained themselves & SOAKED themselves. We went ahead & let them eat out there too while we enjoyed our meal indoors!! Of course we could see them through the glass in the door, but we had to lock the door to keep them from bringing water inside....

A Sunday Treat

Most every Sunday lately, there are treats for the kids (& adults) after church. A young lady that works at a local bakery brings in the "leftovers" from the Saturday night before & props all the boxes of goodies on the trunk of her car after services are over. We don't choose a treat every sunday because i don't want the boys to "expect" it & obviously none of us need it, much less just before lunch! But the last time we were going to let the boys get a treat, there were no more cinnamon rolls left & Jackson literally fell apart at the seams because he wanted one soooo bad! So this week, there was a cinnamon roll with his name all over it! And Eli chose a cookie (he was thrilled!) Thanks, Kimber for all the yummy treats!

Is your Mama a Llama?

I couldn't resist that title, being the teacher at heart i am & my love for children's books!

Anyhow, we have a new favorite, free outing... to watch the nearby llama's! We pass a field almost everyday that has 2 llama's in it (honestly, they could be alpacas, but i can't tell the difference & jackson can't say alpaca!). One day, they were RIGHT at the fence so we actually pulled over & whisted to them. They were so close to us, that even i felt like an excited kid! But to my disappointment, i didn't have my camera!! So today, we rode past & they were the closest to the fence they had been since that day so i got a shot of them. They actually perk their ears when you say, "Hey llama, llama!" The kids get so excited when we pass them & they ask long before we get to the field if we are going to get to see the llamas!

Sesame Street Live!!

This past weekend, my friend Meredith invited Jackson to go with them to Sesame Street Live since they had an extra ticket. Wasn't that so nice & generous? It was super helpful too since Randy & i were working in the yard all day & for half the day, it was one less child to have to keep an eye on. He got to go with Meredith & Hailee, Courtney (mere's sister, hailee's aunt) & Sarah Grace (Hailee's cousin, Mere's neice). They apparently had an absolutely wonderful time & the pictures Meredith gave me are great! Jackson was glued to the stage the whole time & didn't want to miss a beat!

THanks so much Mere, for thinking of Jackson! And Grandad, maybe we ARE ready to go to the Backyardigans Live show in the fall.........

Water Play

While Randy & I worked in the yard yesterday, the boys had a blast playing outdoors as well. It was super hot, so i filled up the bucket that holds their outdoor toys with water & let them have at it. This kept Eli entertained most of the morning while Jackson was gone to a show with a friend (Thanks, Mere!) & then they both had a blast in the afternoon when i refilled it again. Of course, when Daddy got the hose out to water the yard, the boys became targets, too!Running from the water hose...But liking it all the while....Eli shielding himself from Daddy's unexpected spraying...And NOT liking it at all... in fact, he gave Daddy this nice face....Fussing after getting wet by Daddy...