Flashback Friday!

Give a kid toys, books and stuffed animals and what do they play with?
That's right, shoes. Brooklyn loved shoes. (Typical girl!) She could barely walk but she carried those things around the house all day! I cannot think of a nastier, dirtier thing for my child to play with. Well, I can but that's just disgusting. She licked everything too, making it extra gross. She never played with her shoes, just big ones. I wonder why... I'm not surprised though, I love shoes too. Notice all the toys around her. My parent's living room was really just a big toy store.

**I was not blogging when my older three kids were little. Well, no one was! I was not even very good at keeping up with baby books. These were the days before Internet was mandatory and I had not even heard of a digital camera. My goal is to post some photos and stories of the kids from way back, pre-blog.**

An Indoor Picnic - With No Food

Wordless Wednesday!

Darn Near Perfect Weekend

A trip to McDonald's. This is an extremely rare treat. Usually I go through the drive-thru and just get the 20 piece nuggets for them to share. Ayden said, "Take my picture!" So I did.

Caleb wanted in the picture too. Ayden wasn't thrilled.

So Caleb squeezed in with Dillon. Dillon is actually smiling and yelling there. He was thrilled to be eating McDonald's, playing in ketchup and sitting at a table with us instead of a high chair.
It was on to Target to look for shoes for Ayden. (They did not have his size) Dillon is two so his happiness melts quickly into tears. He wanted a big Boba Fett head. He is child #5 so by now, when my child throws a fit in the store, instead of being embarrassed, I laugh and snap a picture. I couldn't help it. Telling my child he could not have a giant head was extremely funny to me. Yes, I'm that mom.

Sunday was bliss... We left church after the sacrament because Bobby was feeling extremely ill. He went right to bed. I lounged with the kids then went for a nap myself. Bobby woke up to take over with the kids and I slept and slept and actually woke up feeling wonderful! Later, when Bobby wanted a 'power nap', how could i deny him? Then Dillon joined in. Too cute.

He caught me!
Ayden, of course saw me taking a picture of Dill and would not be forgotten. "Take my picture!" he yelled. So I did.

Tents and Tragedies

Ayden started begging for a tent yesterday. I have no idea where he got the idea. It was a much cheaper idea than the DSi he was begging for. I found one on Craigslist for $5, granted it was a Dora tent, but for five bucks I figured we couldn't lose! Someone else had the same idea because it sold two hours before the lady got my email. *sigh* That was a tragedy, if you have kids, you'll agree.

Today we went in search of a tent at Target. Well, let me interrupt myself to say that we were there, more importantly, to ask the pharmacist about Dillon's arm, aka Tragedy #2. This strange rash appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Once that was settled, it was on to the tent.
There were no small, cute character tents at all. There was only one, this one.

It was the Target brand. Can I just say here I resent when distributors put pictures of items on the box that are not included in the box? What mother with four boys in a Target has time to read that the tube does not come with the product? So frustrating. Ok, rant over. This was the one they had, so this is the one I bought. I figured it would save my sanity on rainy and ultra-hot days.

It seemed I was right. The boys were thrilled. Ayden and Dillon jumped excitedly while Caleb and I put it together. Seth could not keep those two contained, the anticipation was so great. I miss getting that excited about things. They played for quite a while, going in, going out, sitting in the tent, laying in the tent, putting a sleeping bag in the tent. It was quit a blast - just what I hoped when I bought it for too much money.

Then it happened. I will not say that it was due to a child playing 'monster' and chasing the other children. I will not say that it was due to a child mistaking the tent for a gerbil ball that they can roll around in. I will just let the picture speak for itself.
The good news, the pole did not snap. The bad news, it did do some kind of funky stretchy bendy thing. That is a technical term by the way. The culprit got a light swat on the bottom and a moment in time out. Tragedy #3. Not that the culprit really understood what he did. So, the tent is still up and they can still sit in it, but I guess I'll have to call, already, about a replacement pole. Tragedy.

And Richmond Cried

Brooklyn is leaving us... for TWO WEEKS! She'll be in heaven and we will be here, missing her. See what the weather was like that day?

Richmond was sad too.

Ok, so I'm being dramatic. My sister was awesome enough to buy her a ticket, and I am very excited for her that she gets this fun trip, all to herself. Holly promised to do the same for each of the kids once they were twelve. Before the age of twelve there is huge fee from the airlines for unaccompanied minors. EEK. So this is a much better deal.

She really wanted lunch before her flight so I took her out, just the two of us. I was surprised she had never been to this restaurant. She has eaten out more than just about any of us! Can you guess where we went? I wonder if the glass gives it away because the decor at this one is a bit different than most.
Lunch was great, we were stuffed full of... wait, I can't say or it'll be too easy to guess. It was time to head over to the airport. I was hoping they would let me walk down to the gate with her so I wanted to get there in plenty of time. For the tiny Richmond airport, plenty of time is about an hour early. They let me go with her and we had time to spare!

We had even more time than we wanted. A bad storm rolled in just as it was time to board and we had to wait another 45 minutes! We passed the time chatting, taking pictures, and playing games on my phone. We also listened to a lady freak out about the bad weather. Good grief!
Around 3:40 it was still raining outside but the lightning and thunder had let up so it was time for her to board.
Brooklyn is our own, personal little ray of sunshine. When she left, the sky was crying. It poured most of that night AND the next. We'll miss you Boo! Have fun!

When It's Just the Boys

Brooklyn has been at girl's camp. I think I'll let her post about her experiences on here since she never posts on her own blog anymore. Anyway... it's been just the boys at home. I took a few photos and I think they cover the week fairly well.

We visited King's Dominion two times. One time we were able to go with Daddy. We saw Linus on that day and could not resist since Ayden is our little Linus. He has his own blue blanket and is never without it. I love it. I think it's sweet.
On Friday the boys were asking to go again. I had already planned on taking Dillon to the babysitter so I looked up the weather. The high was 88! I agreed it was a good day to go. We had a fantastic day. All the boys were so great about taking turns and picking rides we could all go on. We decided to pick up Dillon and go back. That plan would have been great except it took Dillon FORever to eat his dinner (toast - yes that is all he would eat) so we got there much later than I wanted. We did get to go on three rides and one was the Ferris Wheel so we could see the park lit up below. We watched the fireworks and came home exhausted. This was taken as soon as we walked into the park - just before it got dark.We've spent some time just playing around the house. I was at the computer the other day (big surprise) and looked over at Dillon right beside me. He had a dinosaur in each hand and was playing a rather intricate little game with them. It was too cute. Excuse the boxes and mess behind him. All my school stuff is being housed in my living room, fantastic huh?
Dillon speaks so well. I can understand just about everything he says and he has an extensive vocabulary for a little one. He even has some reasoning skills that surprise me. We had just parked at King's Dominion and I told Caleb to get the stroller out. Dillon cues into that immediately, "No stroller, no stroller."
I said, "Ok, then you have to wear the monkey." (Yes, I put my child on a leash.)
Dillon shakes his head, "No monkey."
I did the good parent thing and offered him his two choices. "You can sit in the stroller or wear the monkey."
Dillon quickly offered, "Hold hands. I hold hand!"
Fair enough. He held my hand the whole time and walked that massive park. He slept well last night.

Dillon's favorite thing to do with Daddy is to climb up next to him on the couch and give him kisses all over his head. Ayden does not like to be outdone so he'll climb up there too. Seth just likes a photo op.

This next shot was actually a while back, before school let out. Ayden had a Stepping Up ceremony at his daycare/preschool. I bought him a new outfit and new shoes that tied. He was thrilled and he looked very handsome. He sang and did a great job in the program and afterward we ate cookies and candy and drank punch.
It looks like our fun boy days are not over since Brooklyn will be heading to Houston next week. Maybe I should plan something really great for them! Any ideas?