Pickin' Strawberries

Today was strawberry picking day at Greenbluff. Grandma Nancy came with us too! First we explored the farm, pet the goats, played on the tractor, and played in the sand pit filled with peas. The boys were pretty unhappy to leave to go pick strawberries, but were alright with the promise of returning afterwards. We spent about 30 minutes picking strawberries before the boys decided they were done. We paid and played and drove back into town. The highlight of the trip was that both boys stayed dry the entire time! HOORAY!

After dropping off grandma Nancy, we met grandma Patti for lunch at McDonalds. The boys were excited to run freely in the play structure and I was happy to sit and chat with my mom. Unfortunately both boys filled their pants (and I mean filled their underwear) with poo so it was quite the mess to clean up before we got back in the car. YUCK!

After a great nap, the boys went with daddy and grandma and grandpa to a park to ride bikes. I stayed home and made homemade strawberry shortcake with the strawberries and some Chex Mix. I also ran to the store and got some food for the firefighters. Spokane is having some incredible fires right now. The firemen across the street have been working their tails off all day long. In appreciation of them, and understanding that they aren't even getting time to eat, just refuel and head back out, I got them some chicken and doughnuts to keep them going. Hopefully it helps!

Bedtime was late and rough, but they crashed fast around 10:00 PM. This bedtime thing is something we will be soon focusing on. Our time has become inconsistent which does not appear to be helping them. It's nice to be lax in the summer, but is not working out for their temperaments.

You Can NEVER Have Too Much Cereal

For a Tuesday, today was pretty typical. Preschool was great fun. We did ladybugs and the boys thoroughly enjoyed it and we reviewed the life cycle of a ladybug and insect information all day long. It's so much fun to watch your kids gain interest in something and really enjoy learning! I also found out that Joshua knows way more letters than he lets on. He did them with another mom at preschool and did awesome! Way to go Josh!!!! He's holding out on us!

After a great nap, we spent some time outdoors and had dinner. I had to run to the store for milk and randomly found a great cereal sale. I came home with 10 boxes of cereal and 4 gallons of milk. The guys at the checkout were laughing. Little do they know, all of that will last less than 2 weeks. Sad, I know. When they are teenagers, we are screwed. I realized today, we go through 3/4 gallon of milk a day, meaning we buy about 20 gallons of milk a month. It's crazy!

Just Another Day In Paradise

Monday mornings bring breakfast with grandpa. After 3 trips to the bathroom at IHOP, both boys were well-emptied. They did really well all morning! We ran home to grab swim gear and off we went to Millwood Park. Joshua actually asked to go potty twice! HOORAY! Thomas promptly peed on the tennis court. Despite the pee, both boys enjoyed playing tennis with each other. It's amazing their memories. We've been to this park multiple times, but never seen anyone play tennis. Apparently Thomas remembered the courts though and insisted on bringing his "tennis." I realized he remembered and wanted to play himself, and that's where he spent nearly the entire playdate!

After a naptime filled with biting, tears, and arguing, the boys were separated and slept peacefully for nearly 3 hours. A trip to Northwest Seed and Pet for ladybugs and the boys were off with daddy. I got a blissful 4 hours by myself with the other organizers from my Mommy & Me Group. I "accidentally" "forgot" my phone, so there were no interruptions!

I've just finished painting 40 lima beans red for preschool tomorrow. About 20 of the 1500 ladybugs purchased today are in jars (don't worry, holes have been poked) waiting for those eager hands tomorrow (the other ladybugs are already in the garden). The boys are asleep and I'm getting stuff ready for preschool tomorrow. For us, just another day in paradise.

Loooooooooooooooooong Weeeeeeeeekend

Boy, this has been a long weekend! Potty-training is going alright. The boys are spending all day in their underwear. There are accidents, and we have not yet mastered pooping on the potty, but it seems to be getting better. I think the big moment comes when Dan goes back to work. Two kids and one adult, and it's just constant.

We spent Thursday and Friday night out at the river and the boys had a blast. They were able to spend a little time on the beach (Hey, where'd the sun go?), but mostly played on the merry-go-round and airplane. Aside from getting them to sleep (as in they didn't actually fall asleep until 12:30 AM the first night), it was super easy to stay there. The boys enjoyed the fireworks. Joshua was a little disturbed with the loud ones, but once back inside, he enjoyed watching them more.

We came home this morning and continued the potty-training experience. The good news is, we bought more underwear, so we're better stocked for the coming days. The bad news is, we have a busy week, so this will be challenging.

Dan says to me this evening, "Today's only Saturday? I don't even get to go to work tomorrow?" You know it's bad when he's ready to go back to work. I had to assure him this potty-training thing would get easier. Hope I'm right.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

In case I don't get to write tomorrow, Happy Fourth of July to all our friends, family, and other readers! I'm just finishing my 2 batches of Chex Mix before loading the van and heading out. Tonight it's off to Post Falls to my in-laws place on the Spokane River. Dan is currently biking out there! Impressive! Because the "poop and smear" incidents continue, this weekend we are going to work really hard with the boys on potty training...at least Joshua (the offender). Wish us luck!!!

You Look Like Updog

Today we had a free class at My Gym. No pics, but it was fun! Joshua is getting pretty good at the monkey bars and loves to volunteer in class. Thomas is pretty shy but once he gets going, he's hard to stop. They both have great balance and did well with the balance beam and hanging on the trapeze bar and doing flips. Pretty impressive! I wish we could sign up for actual regular classes, but the free ones will do for now. After class, we went over to Millwood Park for a Mommy & Me Meetup. I was a little late, so some people were heading out, but we did get to sit and visit with some friends. After such a busy morning, we were home by 1:00 PM and the boys passed out for a great nap. We (and I do mean WE) woke up 3 hours later and hopped into the car again. Northwest Seed and Pet is a great store for kids. The boys absolutely love it. Today there were pigs, cats, dogs, a goat, and the usual alligator and fish. We then got some supports for our beans and peas that are growing in the garden. Daddy met up with us and we went to Costco for our monthly shopping and dinner. Costco, bath, bed. Easy day for us!

Dan today taught Thomas to say, "Mommy you look like Updog." Then I say, "What's Updog?" And Dan cracks up. The joy of having kids.

We Like It Hot Hot Hot!

It was crazy hot today. We were busy this morning with preschool. It wasn't necessarily an academic day, but the kids did some great Fourth of July crafts that turned out really cute! The boys were still exhausted from camping and being off schedule, so they crashed a bit early (and really hard). They took a great nap. This meant I got to clean up and make some home made bread. YUM! It turned out really good and is really yummy. We went outside to play while dinner was in the oven. Ba (Aunt Kim) came over and watched the boys while Dan and I went to a church class. It's nice to get out once a week and have some time to chat. Got home, put the boys to bed. Dan is currently putting in the 2nd air conditioner. I jimmy-rigged it in the window today. He's doing the job for real now.



Left to Right: Joshua, Jordan, Natalie, Gavin, April, Thomas, Jameson