Aunt Lori and Aunt Brian

 Hi Jacob, utter cuteness.

Would you like something?

 Shhh.  Don't tell mommy.

 But we'll always share our chocolate chip cookies with you when you come to visit.

 And we'll share our pirate patches and swords matey.

 Be our guest at the pool.

And maybe sneak in an afternoon nap as well.

I love having my brother and his family here--they remind us to slow down.

Brothers

There are moments they aren't trying to kill each other.

Here is proof.

Oh no she didn't

Being the good mommy that I am, when he threw up the other morning, I helped him wipe up his face and brush his teeth.

Then I took him to school.

Because he told me he felt better.

Really, the boy throws up all the time.

Really.

Half an hour later, the school called to tell me he threw up all over his classroom.

On the way  home after picking him up.

"The nurse was asking me why  you brought me in here when I didn't feel well..."

"Nicholas.  You told me you felt fine.  I believed you."

"I didn't want to miss school.  We're doing a project on whales."

Brother.

Oh, don't feel too bad for Nicholas.  Within literally half and hour of bringing him back home, he was jumping on the furniture, eating Oreos he snuck out of the pantry, and playing video games.  He ate three helpings of salmon at dinner, and got in a brawl with his brother as soon he came home.

Some Day

Fresh flowers will be the centerpiece at dinner.

Oh Yeah, the Boys Went Camping Too

Good spirits after our frozen slumber.

Nature Walks

Den 5 Artwork

Here is where they spent most of the weekend.

An interesting lesson on proper flag disposal.

The Den

Aligator gazing

And Alida.

A little like Waldo, in the Where's Waldo pictures, only generally a little more obvious.  The girl is as comfortable here as she is in the beautician's chair.

Professional Cuts

The ladies were in heaven.

Elaine in a smart, straightened bob.

Alida with curls and hairspray all over the place.

Heaving a Heavy Sigh

Seemingly normal wall.

Excep,t see that spot directly between the thermostat and the outlet?

Too small?

Let me zoom in.

And I'll show you a Stuber game--it's called Number Search.

Yes, Nicholas wrote numbers randomly all over the walls of my house, then sent the others out to find them in order.



Where is a Twinkie When I Need One?

Honey Bunches of Oats, Almonds, huge chunks of Chocolate I needed to use up, held together with marshmallows and butter.

My children would not touch them, no not one.

Neighbor down the street:  Susan, you have to stop bringing this stuff by, I just ate three of those....

Clearly, I see their eating habits as a challenge to overcome.

Pool Open Last Weekend

So long pasty white skin; hello freakishly tan trying-too-hard middle-aged look.

Swim team started yesterday afternoon.

Background: CRAZY kid birthday party with inflatable slide, ice-cream truck rented just for the party, a smoker team arrived on a trailer, balloon animals floating everywhere.

"I know mom, that's not my party."

They still wound up with ice cream and balloon animals...

Mommy-Daughter, gender-specific camping with the Scouts

Seems my pictures from our camping have a lot of these ladies.

By the fire.

With Grandma at a snake show, because the boys were playing in the dirt.

Dramatic story telling

Even a little mommy-daughter fishing while we waited for the boys to roll down a hill.

And perhaps a little archery.

Good weekend for the ladies.

Next time I've promised manicures however.  Maybe once I have the tip of my pinkie finger back from the unfortunate knife incident.

Camping

Grandma and Grandpa airplane came down to do a little Stuber camping with the boy scouts a couple weekends ago.

As my frosty hand reached out to check the weather the first morning, I may have cursed their intelligence a bit and their decision to go back to our house to sleep at night.  Maybe a big curse when I saw it was 40 degrees the first morning.  The yahoos didn't even mention that we nearly froze them to death though.

Back in the sunshine, grandma and grandpa rolled in during the day to enjoy the more recreational parts of the trip.

Bugz

The Bugz Play--the boys first theatrical performace in elementary.

Um, too bad that the professional recording equipment, and the, I'm going to guess here, mommy blogger who stood in the remainder of the empty space for the entire thing blocked the view of the performance. 

Elaine

Gave up winning Monopoly for this.

Pretty good trade.

Not that the girl ever eats.