Utah Trip

Here are a few pictures of the boys in Utah with Eric.  As you can see, this is the entire selection.  Daddy isn't as diligent about taking pictures as mommy.  But the boys had a blast.  Tyler especially.  He got to go fishing a couple times.  The first day he didn't catch anything but he caught some the next day.
And he was most excited to tell me about how he got to drive grandpa's boat!  Apparently he and Eric had so much fun that now Eric is set on someday getting a boat like this.  
Happy boys!  But crazy drivers...
I love the lifejacket in this one...
So that's all.  They definitely had fun.  Jacob's new thing is telling stories.  Whenever Eric puts the boys to bed he always tells them a story (and they love it--I however, can never think of any interesting stories about my childhood whatsoever....I must have done SOMETHING fun when I was a kid....).  His story starts out, "When I was a little boy..."  In Eric's story, it progresses to say that he was camping and heard a noise outside of his tent like a bear or something, and blah blah blah it turns out to be Grandpa.  So Jacob now always asks me (and I used child spelling to help you envision it coming from Jacob), "Mommee, do you wan to heer uh story?  Win I wuz liddle boy, I herd noize.  It wuz a (insert dangerous animal here)!  An it sed RRROOOOORRRRR!!!!" Then Jacob proceeds to tell about how he thwarts the beast, usually involving throwing rocks at it and biting it.  And his story always end off the same, "An then I ade it and had bear meet!  ARRRRR!"  The details vary a bit, but the general idea of the whole thing is the same.  It's like you could do a mad lib with it:  "When I was a little boy I was at (name a place) and I heard a noise.  It was a (dangerous animal).  It had (a scary adjective about the animal, i.e. sharp claws, big teeth. etc.).  So I (any way to conquer the beast--including rock throwing, shooting, yelling or hitting) and then I ate it and had (reinsert animal) meat for dinner and it was yummy!"  So now you know the story I hear at least 5 times a day.  If you ever wonder what I am doing at any particular moment during the day, hearing this would be a good guess.

Pics of Maggie and the Joys of Bunco

As promised, here are a few of my favorites of the pictures of Maggie my friend took.  I like the ones I posted earlier the best, but these are also worth posting, especially for all of you who live too far away to bask in her cuteness...  


I especially love this last one...

Oh, she is so cute and so sweet.  I went to my mom's house for a couple days (Eric took the boys to Utah so it was just me and the Magster--how great is my husband?) and my mom cried when I left--not because of ME, but because she was going to miss MAGGIE.  That just shows what a joy she is to be around.  It makes me scared to have any more kids--should I just "take the money and run" or should I roll the dice one more time?  

As for Bunco,  I started a group when I moved here and it is still going strong--everyone loves it.  I was worried when I started it that it would fizzle out, but something happens at Bunco that everyone wants to go on--and it is more than a game.

I don't mind setting up, rearranging furniture or the crowdedness of my tiny living room with all of ladies there.  I don't even mind cleaning up afterward.  At Bunco, we get to talk.  Talk to people older than 5 years old.  At Bunco, we get to eat without having to grab whatever we can eat in the car on the way to soccer practice.  We get to make jokes about our husbands; we get to worry about how many friends we get to talk to instead of worry about getting children bathed; I get to just be "Kelly" instead of "Mommy" (not that I don't love being mommy--st'd just nice to have a break).  I always find it amusing that even though Bunco is my break from full-time mothering, most of what we all talk about is just that--mothering.  I suppose it is what we know best.  But I love Bunco most of all because, as we talk and laugh, I learn that I am not the only mother whose sweet children misbehave.  I learn that sometimes every wonderful hubby (like man) can act like an unfeeling oaf.  I learn that I am not the only one who sometimes loses my cool with my kids.  I learn that I am not alone in the world and we all struggle with the same issues as we try to be good mothers and wives.  And just being able to vent and laugh about it makes it better.  So my advice for all of you out there who are feeling a little frustrated?  Start a Bunco group--it's magic.

The Swimming Cool

So what do you do the first day it reaches 100 degrees at Fort Irwin (besides dread the upcoming summer)?  Get out the swimming cool!   No, it's not a typo--that's what Jacob calls it.  And that's exactly what we did.  The boys had a blast!  Right off the bat Jacob doused Tyler with the hose...But not to worry, Tyler got him back pretty good...
And while the water-chaos was going on, Maggie was happy as a clam watching her brothers act like, well, boys.  She really did watch them the whole time--and even laughed a couple times at them!  
The most amazing part of it all was that there was no fighting!  Although I had to keep getting on their case about not getting me and Maggie wet (even though secretly I enjoyed the cooling off when they did), it was so fun to watch them.  All was well in the world of boys.  Well, that is, until Jacob got a booger in the water (it wouldn't be truly Jacob if it didn't involve boogers).  I was expecting the police to pull up what with all the screaming going on.  But good old mom fished it out (isn't that what moms are for--cleaning up every possible kind of bodily fluid?) and we were okay again...after a careful H2O inspection by Tyler.
Jacob's favorite activity was "fireworks", as he called them.  Splashing as high and hard as he could.
Tyler's favorite activity was "swimming", as HE called it.  Basically it entailed him laying on his stomach in no more than 6 inches of water, thrashing around, then standing up shouting, "I swam!  I swam!"  He may just be the next Michael Phelps....except that Tyler never eats anything.
Of course I needed a shot with the goggles.
And I threw this one in just because I busted out laughing when I saw it.  Notice the boogies once again.  This is the boogeriest kid I have ever seen.  I have all but given up on it.
Jacob came up to me and tried to give me a hug but I said, "No, you're all wet!"  Then he said, "Mommy, I just want to love you!"  How could I resist that?  So I got a nice sopping hug.  Totally worth it.  The coolest thing was that even though it was mid-day, the moon was out, and boy, was it full.  Maybe Jake will be a plumber when he grows up.  He is well on his way!
More splashing--I am surprised there was any water left in the pool!
And of course with Tyler having no body fat to keep him warm, he got cold so the boys laid down on the grass to warm up.  And then got up and got back in the water so now the water is filled with dirt and grass.  Great.
In my last post I talked about the sleeping bags as unexpected toys but here is an even cheaper one.  Water spray bottles.  My kids have had countless hours spraying these things on everything.  Mostly bugs.  I think this one cost me 99 cents.  Can't beat that!
And to top off our day outside Tyler went in and surprised me and Jacob, each with our own plate of goodies.  Tyler did it all completely by himself.  A tangerine, saltines and skittles.  Not too shabby--he did give himself a few extra Skittles, and by a few I mean about 20....but I can't complain because he gave me the pink plate "because you are a girl and girls like pink."

All in all it was a successful afternoon.  Definitely worth the effort of getting out the pool/cool.  Plus, to top it off, we don't even have to pay for water here at Fort Irwin.  Does it get any better?  Not in my book.

Disney Cassanova

This past weekend we went to Disneyland with some friends.  They have 2 cute little girls, Gracie and Emily.  As we were walking into the park, the kids were in front of us and this is what we saw...
It was so funny.  Tyler is such a ladies man.  Even at school when they have a party or something his teacher told me that all the girls want to dance with Tyler.  Should I be worried?  Later that day I was watching the little ones while the adults went on a ride.  Jacob and Emily were trying to get a drink of water.  They were both too short to push down the button and drink the water at the same time.  I, of course, didn't help them because I was too amused at their trying to get water, as well as my legs being like jelly after a lot of walking.  After a few minutes, they figured out a great system and took turns.  One pushed down the button and the other took a drink, then they switched.  Good teamwork!
We stayed at my mom's house for the weekend (thanks mom!) and of course Jacob knocked over a big vase and cracked it right in half.  The kid needs a room with padded walls.  

So, you know how you sometimes buy expensive, nice toys for your kids, thinking in your mind how much they will love them, and then transfer that love onto you for being such a wonderful parent?  And you also know how after they open the toy they are more interested in the box the toy came in?  Well, we recently got indoor sleeping bags for the boys for sleepover and campouts on the trampoline this summer.  I wasn't thinking that the boys would care too much but I was wrong.  It is their toy of choice.  The whole afternoon the first day we got them this is how they spent their time...
That one is Jacob.  It was pretty funny because they would get in them head first then walk around, bumping into everything along the way.  Who knew?  And I did promise more pictures of Maggie.  Here is another one my friend took, ready?  All together...one, two, three.....  aaawwwwwwwww......
And yes, I do have two other children.  Sometimes I feel like I neglect my boys on the blog..."This is my child, Maggie.  And these are my other children, Maggie's brothers."  But believe me, they get plenty of attention at home.  The problem is that they are usually fighting about something, so I don't deem it picture worthy.  But I did catch them in a quiet moment watching a t.v. show, actually SHARING a snack.  
Ah, the peaceful moments!  Well, that's all for now!

Another Great one...

My friend took this shot yesterday....she was practicing for her photography class and asked me if she could photograph Maggie.  Boy did I luck out!  There were tons more cute ones I will post when she gives them to me!  And you know what the best part is?  It isn't that she is too cute for words, but she is so sweet!  Such a good-natured little thing.  I guess this is my reward for not selling Jacob....totally worth it.

Is she cute or what?

It's almost more than I can bear...