Help

They started out helping me fold the laundry.

Lessons Learned

Adults are not allowed to go down the frog slide.

Alas.

Still had fun.

And by the end of the afternoon, I think three of my kids were actually swimming in the big pool.

We kept marveling at how we basically had the pool to ourselves with four life guards watching over.

Nice.

Happy Birthday Ladies

We had a smallish party for the girls last Saturday with Aunt Brian and Aunt Lori and Noah.

I was so against ever letting one of these cakes into my kitchen with all of the things stuck on the top, that I gave in entirely and let Elaine decorate the whole thing.
She loved it; I shook my head.



Alida took a nap.

We were all set to head across the street to have a pizza party with cake and gifts.

Then a whole other party rolled into the pavilion with a bouncy house, face painting, a carousel (yes, a carousel), a popcorn machine, and a picnic table full of gifts.

So we opted to keep in low-key and inside. It was so hot anyway....

Happy Fourth ladies.

Rapunzel, any princess garb, and lip gloss made you happy.

And the debate continues whether these ladies are identical or not.

A Whole Other Level of Creepy

Um, no words here.

The over-friendly bird has nothing on this guy.

No one will be running down by the riverside any time soon.

So Fast

When I saw Noah at the end of January, we watched him roll himself around.

When we saw him a month ago, we watched him crawl around.

Last weekend, we all went on a walk, and little man hung in there pretty good!

Well, That Lasted

All of

five minutes
before I was stepping on little butterfly hairclips and not saying nice things.

The USS Texas: Lessons for the Stuber Home

We visited the USS Texas a couple of weekends ago.

Lesson 1: We don't belong anywhere without air-conditioning in Texas in July. We look forward to visiting again in the Fall.

Lesson 2: Don't let harsh conditions cramp your princess style.


Lesson3: Even in rough conditions, everyone can sit down and have a civilized meal together.

Lesson 4: Stock up on the things you need.

Lesson 5: Stack 'em

Lesson 6: Cage the things you don't want messed up.

Lesson 7: Defense

Lesson 8: Even in harsh environments, you can find beauty every time.

And Then You Were 4 Alida!

Our bonus child, July 19, 2007




And then we turned around and you were 1.

Then all of the sudden you were 2.

And we were amazed by 3.

Suddenly you are 4, and I really can't believe it lady.

You are full of energy.

You've always hung right in there with the boys.

You are fearless.

You are smart.

And you can already tell some pretty tall tales.

I can't wait for more.

Happy Birthday Alida

And Then You Were 4 Elaine

July 19, 2007, Baby A, quickly our Elaine.

And then you were 1 right before our eyes.

Too soon you were 2

Three was sweet.

And now you are 4, and 4 is hard for me to believe.
You are smart.

You are obsessed with cutting with scissors.

You are not likely to want to take a nap.

You are cautious.

You are shy.

You are my little girl.

Happy Birthday sweets.

Moving

We finally had all the moving boxes hauled off out of the garage.

All but a couple.

Two Weeks

Two weeks with grandma and grandpa in May, and they can't wait to go back again.

Visiting Patric and I's old stomping grounds.

Finding new places to play.

Making mom a necklace--how sweet.

A parade (with jackets on none-the-less).

Play

And lots of imagination.

Here is their rocket.

That Was Cute, Till It Turned Creepy

While crossing this bridge on a walk-turned-death-march, if you ask the children,

We stopped to notice the turtles waiting for a hand-out below the bridge.

While we were discussing the pros/cons of these turned-tame sort of creatures, Nicholas wandered off to find a bird. He currently believes that he can catch them. Alida thinks that if she just holds out her finger, they will land and sing with her, but that's another story. So we kind of ignored Nicholas, because he's loud, and birds tend to flee as he approaches.

But then we noticed that he's just kind of sat down with this bird in the grass and started talking with it. And it was starting to turn into an episode of Little Bear.

And then this.

I'm not comfortable with this, but I was equally stunned.

And Ben was put out because it was about here that I started yelling that it was time to go and get away from the bird already.

Room to Roam

He Hangs The Moon

We found a Moon in My Room when we were unpacking that I had put away for the boys at some point. It was such a great success with everyone, that the girls had their own the next weekend from their daddy.