To Mississippi and Back!

It's a parasaurolophus--can't you see the head crest!

After much anticipation, we have finally traveled to Mississippi for Steve's 12th year speaking at Lake Forest Ranch.  It is the first time Marcus has ever gone and it has been 5 years since Zach, Eli and I have gone.  The boys had been looking forward to the trip all year and with our beach vacation schedule right afterwards, we made it one long 2 week journey.

It began Friday afternoon, June 5th.  Steve came home at lunch and the boys and I had: everything packed, the van loaded, frogs fed, bunny and plants taken care of-- and we were ready to go!  That night we drove to Durham, NC (6 hours) and picked up our rental van (a huge luxury compared to our old, high mileage van) and stayed the night in a hotel.  The next morning we took the time to go to the Museum of Life and Science.  We spent a very hot morning looking at butterflies in the arboretum, taking a dinosaur walk, sailing remote sailboats, and taking a short train ride.  The butterfly arboretum was a real treat since we had studied butterflies in great detail this year.  We timed our visit during the daily butterfly release (which is when the newly emerged butterflies get to join the others in the arboretum).  These 'baby' butterflies tired quickly which meant that each one of us (including small family members who don't like to hold still) got to have at least one perch on our fingers!  Steve had many, many butterflies land on his brightly colored hat during our visit, which, alas, shows that the butterflies do not have discerning taste--or at least not in football teams.

By 2pm we were on the road again having spent a lot of pent up energy and ready to face another 6 hour drive to Atlanta, GA!

May adventures

Before we head out for our long road trip to Mississippi and the Outer Banks, I thought I should probably post some pictures from our May adventures.  We have finished up school (Hurray!), been strawberry picking twice, attended a Shorebirds game and had dinner on Yia yia and Papa's sailboat.

The boat may have been the favorite as the boys enjoyed exploring every inch of the boat.  My father grilled chicken and we all squeezed into the cabin for a cozy dinner, then we took a short jaunt out into the Nanticoke River.  The highlight came when each child was able to successfully use 'the head' (they are boys after all)!

Baseball wind-down

As we gear up for summer, here are some pictures from our spring baseball seasons.  Both of my older boys really enjoyed playing and being with their teams.  Zach was outstanding in the field and even assisted in a triple play! (He got 2 out of the 3 outs-caught a high pop, tagged first and then threw to second!!)  Eli continues to be a natural on the field, his coach was nervous to pitch standing so close to him.

I didn't bring my camera until Eli's last game of the season and I had to planned to do the same for Zach's--but unfortunately, it was rained out and we will be away for its rescheduled date.  I will need to grab him for some action shots in the yard.

Big guy birthdays

This guy turned 3 years old on Saturday.

Marcus has a lot of promises to fulfill now that he is three, such as: using the potty, no longer hitting or calling anyone 'stupid'.  I am skeptical that these things will actually take place in the immediate future. (sigh)  

While there are many big-guy behaviors that I hope come sooner rather then later, there are some that I don't want him to phase out of.  My favorite expressions are: "My love you" and "Can I be full?" (when he wants to be done with dinner).  Marcus loves to tease.  He has to 'beat' you going up the stairs, and down the stairs, and into his bedroom, and into the bathroom.....  He wipes off almost every kiss he receives.  And he and Steve always play-fight over baths versus showers; Marcus loudly declaring, "My take bath.  Shower's are crushy!"  This precious, exhausting baby, toddler, preschooler(???) loves chewing gum, making funny faces, playing baseball, sleeping with a blanket over his face, and keeping up with his brothers.  We are learning to parent this extremely determined child, who never ever forgets what he has been denied.

On the front lawn

No.  He is not playing hide-n-seek.
(Yes, he does play hide-n-seek by covering his eyes only!)
No, he did not have a late night.
No, he is not sick.
No, he is not pretending.
He is sound asleep.  In his glove.  During a game.

Yes, apparently he needed a nap.

Next Stop: Fenway Park

Last month brought us back to the Newport area for a family wedding--and when you're in Newport, you're only 1 hour away from Boston, which proved to be too close without making a detour to Fenway Park!  The Red Sox were kind enough to at least win the game we attended which made the whole long day (plus the bleacher climb to the last-row-possible-while still-in-the-park), worth it!  We dragged Steve's mom and his brother, John along with us since they were riding in our car and we had to assist Lillian up all those steps (we didn't consider this aspect when purchasing our last-minute tickets).  Once seated we informed her that she couldn't leave her seat until the end of the game.

After the game, we did actually arrive at our intended destination and enjoyed a beautiful wedding in Newport!

Photo credit: Paul Greenlee

One thumb, two thumbs. Where is my thumb?

Last week, during a rapid fire exchange at dinner, Steve gave Marcus a 'thumbs up'.  Marcus quickly tried to respond in kind by pointing his index finger at Steve.  After some smiles and reminiscing about how Eli used to do this, I gave Marcus another 'thumbs up' and asked if he could do it?  He stared intently as his fist, lifting each finger multiple times and then rejected them as 'the right one'.  Finally, he tried his thumb and held it up triumphantly as if to say, "I found it!"

Unfortunately, I did not catch his first thumb discovery on video and the subsequent requests were accomplished much more quickly, but this little video will give you the general idea.

Hard Work

We received a few more inches of sloppy, wet snow yesterday and after homeschool we went outside to start clearing it off of the driveways and steps.  Lillian entertained the boys by building a snowman while I worked their snowblower(!!)--which beats shoveling any day of the week!  We were only outside for an hour and a half but when I was done I found this sight waiting for me at the door in the garage:

Here is a picture of the snowman that was apparently very exhausting to build (Please enjoy the missing nose-Zach ate it, and the egg eyes!!):

And this picture is just because he is so cute!

A Snowy Valentine

This February has provided us with plenty of unusually cold days and snow!  We started our Valentines Weekend by going to visit our friends, the Nelsons, where we had -4 degree highs! and plenty of snow and sledding for the stout of heart (which most of us finally enjoyed this year...except for Marcus...oh well).  We came home to more of the same (except for the sledding part) and now....enough snow.... I am ready for spring!

Stamping our Valentines for Co-op

Sledding!

The Joy of Silence

Four weeks ago Steve treated me to a weekend home alone!  He packed all the boys up and took them to a small hotel and indoor pool about 30 minutes away from our house.  Steve sent me a few pictures chronicling the boy's adventures....I did not take very many from my own.  It started with cleaning the house Friday afternoon and then sitting in silence enjoy the temporary state of cleanliness for 48 hours.  Ok...I may have had a few friends over for a game night (that never actually progressed into any game playing) and I did go out to dinner, but otherwise it pretty much looked like this:

Which, as any sane person would tell you, is absolute bliss!  Steve had a more action packed view involving much swimming, indoor golf and an arcade.

 And the poor guy was pretty tuckered out by the time he got home on Sunday!

From the backseat

Last night while driving home, a fight  (which I was religiously ignoring) continued to escalate until I overheard this conversation:

Zach: "OWWWW!!  Eli!!  You just hit me in the face for Nothing!!"
Eli: "No!  I hit you in the face for something!!"

Being the great parent that I am, I started to laugh of course, which, was not really effective on teaching them that hitting doesn't solve anything but was very effective on ending the argument.