The Fall Schedule has begun

B had a great first day of preschool and Awana. His comment over and over after preschool was "I had so much fun". It is nice because we are not real crafty at home and now he will be bringing home lots of papers, etc for his keepsake box. I hope to post some pictures soon.
After we dropped off B, J and I headed to the park. He played and I enjoyed some time in the grass. We then headed to the tennis courts, hit some balls. Just so nice not to be rushed. I sat for a while and watched J chase tennis balls. Then I went for a 30 minute bike ride. Just a beautiful fall day here!
I just checked the draw for the tennis tournament. My first doubles match is 8:30 Friday night and my first Singles match is 6pm on Saturday. Very strange schedule. I saw were some matches were starting at 10:30 Friday night. I guess they had lots more entrants than they anticipated. Just goes to show that maybe Bozeman needs a few more tennis courts in town.

Quiet Labor Day

We had a great time at our friends's house. It was nice to get away and enjoy some peace and quiet - however much peace and quiet you can have with 4 boys. They live on 20 acres and far enough away from the highway that you get no road noise. When we went to bed it was cool to see all the stars outside as we laid in bed. We don't get those views anymore
Not much happened over the weekend. I had planned on playing lots of tennis but waking up to 40 degree temps and rain did not allow for any tennis. Yes, we actually got snow in the surrounding mountains. Seems a little early, but it is September.
Tonight we head to B's school to see how classroom and teacher. Then it is off to school tomorrow. I think he is excited!
Other than that, not much going on this week. Trying to stay close to home as the gas is still high - 3.89. When it was at it's highest of 4.19, some friends from Bozeman went on a road trip. They said a town just a few hours from us had gas for 4.00. Not sure the difference but it does not seem to be dropping as fast around here.

September is almost here

Some exciting stuff going on around here! Yesterday we were at a friends house and Jacob fell off their deck (only 1 1/2 feet high). When he landed he must have bit his tongue because it bled and bled and bled. Now, if you have never experienced holding an 18 month old down and stuffing a wet rag in his mouth, you have missed out! He was so mad at me and kept biting me! After about 15 minutes it finally stopped. If I had thought they would stitch the tongue I would have taken him in. However, I had always heard that mouth injuries tend to heal quickly and I could not believe how good it looked today. Of course it has not slowed him down a bit.

Earlier in the week I went and played tennis with a new gal I met. She is just getting back into the tennis scene after years of not playing (just like me). She convinced me to play in the upcoming tournament....next weekend. So, I registered today for singles and told the tournament director if someone needed a partner I would be willing to play doubles or mixed doubles. The only thing I am a little concerned about it the level I am playing. The national website has me listed at a 4.0 because of a team tournament I played in 5 years ago. I was told rankings are good for 3 years and I could probably appeal the ranking and be moved down to a 3.5 since I have not played much in recent years. However, I kept getting kicked around the website so decided not to appeal but just to play as a 4.0. I think going to the backboard for the next week will get my strokes back but I am concerned about my conditioning. I guess I will have to run sprints all this next week to atleast warm the ol' body up to that kind of moving! I am excited though to get back into it.

Today B had his pre-school play date at the park. His teacher is a lot of fun. It appears that there are about 10-12 kids in his class and he is only 1 of 3 boys. I have also found a local church that does AWANA and am excited to get him into that. One more avenue I can use to help instill God's word into his little heart! However, it means for very busy Wednesdays. I will have Bible study from 9:30-11, B has preschool 12:15-2:45 and then Awana 3:30-5:15. I don't think I will have to worry about B sleeping that night.

We are headed over to Livingston (30 miles east) when JR gets home. Some friends recently moved over there and we are gonna get away for a night or two. JR and Mike can do some hiking and all 4 boys can play! Should be a beautiful weekend! Here is a video of the boys playing at the house!

YYIIPPEE

Two nights running. We have done our bedtime routine/schedule for 2 nights and it has worked like a charm. There has not been any fighting or coming out of the room! I pray it continues. JR and I almost don't know what to do with ourselves when the house is quiet at 8pm. Feels like I can get so much done in an hour without little feet underneath me. (Maybe the verse of the week that B and I have memorized and repeat often has helped - Phil 2:14 - Do all things without complaining or disputing!)
Also, fruits of my labor starting to peek through. The other day I went for my weekly chiropractic appt. I decided before we went in there that I was tired of the boys reeking havoc while I was getting adjusted. So, I put J on the chair and told him to stay and not get up. The chiropractor looked at me and said "Good Luck". J sat in that same spot for my whole adjustment (okay, maybe only 4 minutes, but still, pretty good for 17 months)!!!! He did not get up. Then after my adjustment it was his turn and I looked at him and told him he could get down now. It was his turn. He got off the chair, climbed up on the table face down! He has never been adjusted while laying down but I guess this was the first time he had sat still long enough to actually watch everything. The Chiropractor was quite impressed. He has a daughter a few weeks older than J and he said he must be too soft on his girl. I just told him this stay at home mom is tired of it and ready to whip everyone in to shape.
I even bought two new books today - The Five Love Languages for Children and Boundaries for Children. Can you tell I am getting my arsenal ready! Will have to let you all know how we like the books.
Thursday B has a one hour time at the park where he will meet his other classmates and his teacher. They will play a few games, sing songs and do a craft. I am looking forward to hopefully meeting some other kids (boys) for him to play with that might live in our neighborhood!

Fall is in the air

I actually woke up this morning and wanted to put an a sweatshirt. However, then I realized that we were to hit high 90s and decided against it. But it is that great time of the year where the Aspens will be turning soon and the cool crisp air.

I don't know what it is about the start of school, but seems like everytime this year I get motivated to whip things in to shape. We are starting a new bedtime schedule this week. The boys have never been on any kind of a consistent bedtime routine/schedule. It certainly cannot hurt or disrupt things.

I have found myself starting to pray a lot more for the boys. Just knowing that as they get older and are exposed to more things, how critical it is going to be for them to have that protection. Also trying to instill scripture more in them and teach them how to apply it to their daily lives. We have a great book called My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt. It has a verse for every letter of the alphabet and a story about Missy and Bill (siblings) that incorporate just how that verse can be used and applied. One of B's favorites is the verse "Even a child is known by his deeds" (Prov 20:11). (Missy and Bill don't argue with their mom in the grocery store when they want candy and chips - the store manager notices and tells them how well behaved they are - Missy and Bill tell the manager that it is because they know Jesus and try to obey Him - the store manager and his family start going to Missy and Bill's church) On more than one occasion I have used that verse and story to help remind Benjamin how people are always watching him and how his behaviors and attitudes can affect/influence other. He seems to understand it but, like all of us, forgets to apply it. I am also trying to pray outloud more to model that for them - when we hear sirens, see a car wreck, etc. we pray outloud for those involved. I am even finding, and it is pretty effective, when I get frustrated with him, if I will stop and pray outloud about my frustrations and for God to help both of us. Not only does it redirect me, but it also perks him up to 'hey, this is serious, mom is praying'. I just don't think you can overdo it/over model it to kids at this age.

One really cute thing - yesterday B was really tired and probably frustrated with me. I kept reminding him of his bad attitude and how it needed to change. He sat down in the chair and sighed. He said "I think I am just going to spend some time with God." Then he got out his picture bible book and sat for about 10 minutes looking at the pictures, etc. Those are the moments that touch my heart the most.

Not much going on this week. Pretty quite. We are just hanging low! Oh, yesterday for church we had a boot day. The whole family wore their boots. We put Wranglers and boots on J for the first time. It was hilarious watching him try to learn to walk in them. He is getting it though! Here are the pictures.

Getting smart

Today the boys and I took a bike ride. We had to stop as several stop signs so B could sound out the letters. He also was wanting to read the street signs. He is reading Exit signs too. I sure hope he picks it up quickly so that he can start reading to J. However, I anticipate it will be another 6-12 months though.
Little J cracked me up today. I often tell him no toque (no touch in Spanish) and then I often will give his hand a little hit. Well today I told him no toque and then he immediately started hitting his own hand! Too cute.
Boy, they are getting big! I am trying to be more consistent in training J than I was with B. He is learning now how to clean up toys, put clothes in laundry basket, throw things away, etc. Not that B was not taught, but somewhere along the way he stopped doing it and I started doing it. Enough of that. Today I did a major clean and once again, we will see how long we can keep things someone picked up.

A great weekend!!

What a busy weekend it was. The boys had a great time at their 24 hour playdate/sleepover! Mom and dad had an equally good time. We hiked 11 miles round trip to a nearby lake. Spent most of the day out there. (I have realized that I am in dire need of some more hiking boots. I guess after 9 years, it is time to get a new pair. How many miles have they hiked?? Into the triple digits for sure!!!) The weather was beautiful and the lake will be a perfect spot for an overnight. There were tons of fish rising, although J did not have his pole.
On Sunday it was more softball for me! We are now 0-3! We really have a decent team. At least we are getting beaten, versus beating ourselves!
J went on a 20 mile bike ride. We have decided our next date we will load up the backpacks and set off on our bikes and see how far we can go in an afternoon. Let's just hope the mountain snows hold off for a few more months.
Here are some recent pictures!

Another week gone!

A pretty good week here! The last 10 days or so B has really expressed an interest in the letters of the Alphabet, the sounds they make etc. Sure is fun starting to see the fundamental blocks of reading falling in to place. We have checked out a couple of Leapfrog videos from the library. One of them we checked out about 6 months ago and he would not watch more than 5 minutes of it. This time around, he will watch it 4 times through in one sitting if I let him.
I still have a desire at some point to maybe homeschool, but for now went ahead and enrolled him in a Christian preschool just down the road from us. We got the confirmation letter in the mail today that school starts Sept 3rd. He will be going Mon and Wed afternoons from 12:15-2:45. I am really excited for him to meet some other kids outside of church. My plan (we will see how well it works) is to put the boys in the bike trailer, go drop B off, then J and I take off on a long bike ride before heading back to get B. Sure would be nice if I could pull it off and get some great exercise, without having to pull both of them around. Amazing how much easier it is when you take away 35 pounds.
Had J's hair cut this past week. I was hoping to get a short video clip, but no, I had to hold him down and hold his head still. Not because he was screaming or scared but he loved the chair that spun around and would not sit still for a second. He insisted very early on that the cape was not going to stay around his neck. I did get a few pictures while it was being cut but have not gotten a good one of the finished product. Maybe I can get some this weekend and download them. It does not look a whole lot different. After cutting some of the length off, his curls bounced back, so still has the tight ringlets.
A family from church is going to watch the boys all day Sat and Sat night so J and I can do an all-day hike then come home for a quiet evening. Sure am looking forward to having no 'kid responsibility' for a day!!

Quiet Weekend

We set the tent up in the backyard over the weekend. J and the boys slept out there Friday night and B and I slept out there Saturday night. While we were out there it rained, so sure was nice - even though we heard the occasional dog bark and the train. B loved it anyway. He was sad when we took it down!
Played a little bit of softball today. We are now 0-2. At least today we got beat, versus beating ourselves!
Have a great week!

Hot days here

Montana has not escaped the heat. We have seen our fair share of days in the nineties and a few have hit the 100 mark. The nice thing though is it is a very dry heat and it cools down a bit (last night upper 60s) at night. This past week I took the boys to the park after dinner. We took the bike and trailer. The tires were low and I could not get enough air in them with the bike pump. Anyone knows what happens when you overfill them at the gas station. I began to look around for the one that had fired the gun and then realized everyone was looking at me. Fortunately J was home to come pick us up in the car. Not much planned for the weekend. A little softball, tennis and some down time. J is going to get the boys out of the house for most of Saturday. I might just lay down and take a nap. Hit a few garage sales this morning and against my better judgement, I bought a huge set of lincoln logs and legos. Oh well, J and B will have fun building with them, if I can just keep them contained to the table or blanket. Here is a video, B wanted me to take this...normally he runs from the camera. As you can see, J still has his 'bush' as my brother puts it. Everyday I say this is the day and then at some point during the day someone stops me to tell me what awesome hair he has.

Praise

I recently came across something on another blog that I thought I would share here. It has really challenged me....

“Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.” -Psalm 117:1-2

I recently received this story from a good friend, and it is a beautiful reminder of the power, not just of prayer, but also of praise. I hope it will encourage you as it did me. This young woman has been battling cancer, and she explains one way that God has met her in this trial:

“I just wanted to tell all of you who have supported me throughout my treatments that next week is my LAST chemo treatment! HIP HIP HOORAY! After the last treatment, they will continue to monitor my blood work weekly for about a month. If everything comes back negative, then I will see the doctor once a month for the first year.
“It's been on my heart to share an experience I had a few weeks ago. It was the Thursday after Christmas and about an hour after I got home from my treatment I started to have a reaction. My entire body started shaking like I had the chills, but the shaking continued to intensify and I couldn't get my muscles under control. It was very painful as my muscles repeatedly contracted. A call was made to my doctor, who said to go to the emergency room. My mother-in-law, Dinah, got me into the car and started the 10-minute drive to the hospital. I was praying out loud for God to touch my body and make the reaction stop. I had been praying for about 5 minutes of the ride with no obvious result.
“Suddenly, my thoughts focused on a sermon my husband Bill had taught to the children in our Children's church about David. He and his men were returning home from battle and found their city had been attacked. It was burned to the ground and the women and children had been taken as prisoners. David's men fell to the ground sobbing and turned on David in anger. In the midst of his grief, David found strength in the Lord; He began to praise God. God sent David after the attacking army and gave him the victory over them. Everything was restored to David and his men.
“When this sermon came to my mind, I decided to follow David's lead. I started to pray in a different way. I praised God for who He is, regardless of whether he chose to stop the reaction or not. Within 30 seconds, my muscle contractions had been reduced by 50% and within a few minutes they were gone. By the time we pulled up to the ER, I was okay. They ran a bunch of tests but found no explanation for what happened.
“After thinking about what happened, I feel I was given a glimpse of God's heart. He desires our praises more than anything. In fact, the Bible says that is why we were created and if we don't, then he will cause the rocks to cry out. This experience has impressed on me the importance of praising God regardless of my circumstances. I know that all of us go through difficult times, and I wanted to share this with you and encourage you to praise God through everything. He won't disappoint you.
“Please feel free to share this with anyone in your life that you feel needs to hear it. It has been a powerful experience for me and I feel led to share it with as many people as I can. I love you all!”
-Brandie

We are enjoying the first week of August here. Hard to believe how quickly it is going by. I have finally had enough and took all of B's toys away. I am tired of picking them up. I have sorted them into 4 different tubs and will rotate them out daily if needed. How do you teach kids responsibility? (mom, quit smiling...)

Camping!!

We had a good time camping. Got out there just in time to set up the tent, cook dinner, have marshmallows, play for a short bit and go to bed. One of the few times I remember actually being comfortable. Not that I got a lot of sleep. Between B's talking in his sleep and rousing periodically to tell me he was cold, I got lots of cat naps. But for one of the first times, I woke up in the morning and was not sore or stiff. Maybe those weekly maintenance trips to the chiropractor are starting to pay off!
We had a little bit of excitement. We went to a campground that is only accessed by crossing Ted Turner's land. Everyonce in a while we will see some of his buffalo, but this trip, wow....Going into the campground there were probably 1500 head of buffalo right along the road. Several times we were idling down the road to give them time to clear. On the way out, the buffalo had moved farther north, but still hanging out right next to the road. At one point, I was a little nervous. I was driving and there was a HUGE buffalo on my side of the car, about 1 and a half feet a way. He kept looking at my and snorting. There were lots of calves around so not sure if I was in between a momma and calf. We finally got around the buffalo without incident. I tried to imagine what would happen if a buffalo charged us and got their horn stuck in the door. I hope my nervousness was not seen by the boys. I try not to let my fears show because the last thing I want is them being scared of a spider or grasshopper or snake just because mom is!
While camping we headed to the river so Jose could fish. B and J found a little eddy to throw rocks into. As I sat watching them, I thought, I hope J does not fall in. Guess what, he bent over to get a rock and just toppled head first. It was just deep enough for him to be face in the water when on hands and knees. Fortunately, although the water was very cold, the air had warmed up a bit. We stripped him down and threw him in a sleeping bag in the tent! I wish I had had the video going.
Our church is participating in a softball league. We have our first game on Sunday. Excited about the boys getting to cheer mom on. At practice I was put in left field. There was no outfield fence and lets just say we had some huge hitters and I got lots of exercise.

Summer rolls along

Not much has been going on the last week. We have been laying pretty low. Trying not to make any trips in the car. Gas is still just above $4 here! Have not even been on the bike much lately because we are having problems with the hitch on the bike trailer. I sure miss it though. One day I loaded up the kids and went across the railroad tracks to both grocery stores. We had a great time and sure was fun.
Still have not cut Jacob's hair. I did recently buy shampoo plus conditioner. It gets to be a rat's nest at times.
Hoping to do our first tent camping of the summer tomorrow. Will try to get lots of pictures!

The tables are turning

Had a pretty uneventful weekend. It stormed Friday evening so instead of our special outing, we went outside and played in the rain. The boys had fun stomping and splashing in the puddles of water.
Seems that J is starting to give B a run for his money! More than once this week B is running through the house trying to get away from J. J is armed with some kind of 'weapon' and finds it funny to hit his brother. Of course B running only encourages J more. I guess it is time for little more forceful discipline, other than the 'he is still learning what is right and wrong'. I anticipate in a few more years, despite B being bigger for a while, that J will start taking him down! I am still waiting for that first ER visit. Such a little climber and way more adventurous than B ever was at this age. I think a lot has to do with trying to keep up with his big brother but I also think some of it has to do with J's personality!!! Will be interesting to watch!

A word!!!

A word, we have a word Houston! Yesterday J said his first word. If you had not been accustomed to his communication style, you would have missed it. He was sitting in his high chair and held out his now empty peach bowl, looked at me and said "mas". "More" in Spanish. I have not heard the word since but it was a word and I let him know at the time how excited I was. Oh to be done with the whining. Okay, so I won't be done with the whining but I will be done with the whining anytime he wants something.
For B's birthday we got him 2 Nerf guns (one for him, one for dad). Upon our first shoot out, we realized that as you pumped the gun, the barrel did not fully rotate so about half the time you actually got a shot off. I was a little miffed since we had bought them at a Toys R Us, which we don't have here. So, I got online and emailed Hasbro. They told me it was discontinued but they would send us a replacement of equal value. I thought 'sure, what cheap toy will that be'.
To my amazement, the box arrived today. It was a Dart Tag Complete 2 Person Set. Too cool. Had two Nerf guns that held about a dozen bullets each, 2 safety goggles and 2 Velcro 'target' vests. Even I got excited. JR and I went at it once and boy, those little things stung a tiny bit when I got hit in the neck but I foresee lots of play time, especially this winter. Throw in the other 70 darts we had already purchased and a full on war will take place. A definite must for any boy (are you listenin' little bro? Sam has a bday coming up...). I have included a video of them at the end.
This morning we loaded up the bike trailer, complete with baseball and bat, tennis racquets (racquetball rackets for kids), soccer ball and football. Also packed lunch and plenty of liquids. We had a great time. JR was off and lots of running for the kiddos.
Hopefully the weather will hold for our fun evening planned...more on this later. It is fun trying to see how creative you can be without jumping in the car and driving someplace!!!

Camping

It has been a beautiful Montana weekend. Not a cloud in the sky. Anywhere from highs in the mid 70s to low 90s. We rented a forest service cabin this past Friday night with our pastor and his wife. The boys had a great time. J loved exploring and B loved eating all the 'junk' food. Seems like J always had something in his mouth, it was constant monitoring. B loved making the run down the hill to the outhouse!

Getting ready for another week!

Home again

Boy, is it good to be home. It has taken me 3 days to catch up. I was exhausted. I think I am getting too old to keep up with a 16 month old!Sure had a blast in Ohio but always nice to unpack and sleep in your own bed. The boys miss all the commotion of their cousin's house, but hopefully with our new schedule and routine, they will get plenty of 'social' time.

On Sunday we celebrated Bs birthday a week late with a few friends. He is now set. He got a nerf gun (dad got one too) and the laughter in the house as they chase each other is priceless. J also has a blast retrieving the bullets. B also got two super soakers - all of those toys are always more enjoyable when in pairs. His athletic ability will be sharpened with his new Jr. glove and baseball and he loves his football uniform, complete with helmet!

This morning J woke up and I thought for the first time, 'poor pitiful kid'. He looked like Albert Einstein. Hair all over the place. We just don't have the humidity for those nice tight curls. It looks nice and wavey but unkept here. So, as we were on our bikes running errands, we headed for the barber shop, camera in hand, but just could not bring myself to cut them yet. Strange how all the moms tell me not to cut it yet and all the dads are like 'boy needs a hair cut'. So, maybe in another week or two.

Trying to finally start our summer routine. Monday and Wednesday the boys head over to a babysitters house from 9-10:45 while mom works out. (Yes, I do pull them in the bike trailer over there and back, so an extra workout). One morning a week I have it set up to play tennis with a friend. Then on the long weekends (JR works 4 days a week right now) hopefully lots of hiking and camping! The summers are just too short here not to get out and enjoy.

Here is a picture of J and his bed head - just to show how long it really is when not curly. Also pic of B in his uniform - Seattle Seahawks - why Seahawks, because they are somewhat 'local' team and I liked the color with his blue eyes!

The stuff I don't miss

Not having girls or cable/satellite, I am so thankful for the things I don't have to learn about. B has gotten indoctrinated into Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, Disney Channel, turning up music and dancing around, etc. I forget how much my boys are boys, until we come here. The last two days have been pretty low key. Playing around the house, swimming at the pool, going to my niece's swim meets. We went to the park yesterday and J climbed the ladder to the slide all by himself and figured out how fun it is to go down by himself (see video). He is also quite the scavenger. Every time we go to the pool he is either in the water and walking around looking for food. On more than one occasion he has crawled under the pool lounger chairs and grabbed food off the ground!
Looks like we are going to stay one extra day and fly home Saturday. They have a bike parade on the 4th so B is looking forward to that. He has not wanted to try the bike without training wheels yet, but he is learing how to let go of the handle bars as he rides.
uv7vvhgyhfgtcgrcdttijrgrijeijreihrghjtgrjjirtgijtgjtgjirrjrjrtirttjtjjrttojoaabgfnjivnmkgibhgoogknoh8
(B WANTED TO TYPE....)

Birthday and Baseball

Yesterday was a very low key day as we celebrated Bs 4th birthday. Did some running around and then for dinner we had his requested meal of spaghetti. Then had cake and ice cream and presents. The superheros seemed to be the theme of the night. Batman, Superman, Spiderman...

Today we went to a minor league baseball game. The Lake County Captains. They lost by one run. Not a bad game. There was a little bit of excitement as both benches cleared as a batter got hit. We were feet from a foul ball and a bat broke as contact was made and flew into the stands not far from us. At the end of the game all the kids were invited out on the field to run the bases. I was nervous that B would run off course but he did great. I tried to get pics of him but did not turn out very well. The blue stuff in the pics dripping off of J is cotton candy...thanks to Aunt Kelly!!!!

Cedar Point

Cedar Point

This part of the country is beautiful. So many trees. They have a great Parks and Recreation Department with lots of huge parks, trails, swimming pools, etc.

We spent all day at Cedar Point, known as the roller coaster capital of the world. The park sits on a penisula on Lake Erie. Beautiful. It was pretty hot and humid until about 4pm when things cooled off, the wind picked up a bit and the clouds moved in. I think the longest wait we had was 20 minutes. They have 14 roller coasters! I am glad I don't live close to an amusement park because I love the rides but having equilibrium problems is not good. I rode a twisty, loopy roller coaster with my nieces and that just about did me in. Then later in the day I rode a small roller coaster with B and then the swings (that go around in a circle) and that sidelined me for the rest of the day. B had a blast. There were 2 different roller coasters he went on. He rode the tilt a whirl (I almost got sick watching it spin), did the bumper cars and bumper boats and rode several other kid rides. J got on his first ride with his older cousin and loved it. I think he had the best time though playing with the chains that are used to rope off entrances and exits. We were at the park 10 hours and both boys did really well, despite J only taking a 30 minute nap.

There was one ride/roller coaster there that I could not get over. It is called the Dragster. It lasts probably 1 minute, if that. You go from 0 to 120 in 3 seconds and you climb straight up 420 feet, loop over the top and come back down. I have enclosed a pic of it in the slide show.

Several of you have asked about leaving comments on the blog. I think I have fixed it so that you don't need to log in. Just hit the word comments at the end, then type your comment, hit name/url and enter your name. Then just publish the post. For those that want to leave a message, hopefully this will work.

Tomorrow is B's 4th birthday! Hard to believe!

Bowling

We had a pretty laid back day. We anticipated rain but it did not happen until later in the day. So our plan had been to take B bowling. He had never been bowling and had a great time. I got a few pictures and just as I was starting the video, they turned off the light and turned on the flourescent lights. Will have to try to go again to catch it on video. J had fun getting chased all over the place. He sure feels like he has to do whatever his brother does - only natural huh? He kept trying to pull the balls of the rack and picking them up.

Off to Cedar Point, an amusement park on the shores of Lake Erie, from what I hear.

Pictures from Cleveland

I wish I could get the formatting down, but atleast I got a slide show. Lots and lots of Sun. We are having a lot of fun. We have quiet mornings, playing out in the front yard. Eat lunch and then tend to head to the pool for at least part of the afternoon. J is going to bed easier and easier every night, can you say exhaustion. The more he is out in the sun, the less he looks like me. Although I don't know when the last time was I saw so many freckles on me. B is getting quite a few freckles on his nose but seems to be tanning nicely. We plan on spending all afternoon at the pool tomorrow. B loves the little kid area. The water is about chest deep and he takes off for the water before I get my shoes off. I have even been able to swim some laps the last two days. We have two amusement parks in the next couple of days, plus some trampoline time, making snow cones and gearing up for their July 4th celebrations, which last most of next week.

Ohio

We are here and the boys are enjoying their cousins. My neices are 4, 7, 13 and 16 so lots of activity. Yesterday we went to the park and swimming pool. The city has a program where they offer arts and crafts throughout the summer at the park - pretty cool set up. Then the pool has a baby area, a toddler area and then a big swimming pool, with swimming lanes. There is a separate area for the two water slides and then a separate fenced area for the diving boards. I went down the big, long twisty slide, the speed slide and the high dive. Hopefully I can get videos of it next time!
J is enjoying all the new cabinets and drawers to explore. Today he got into the cereal cabinet and made a huge mess. As I was vacuuming up the mess he grabbed another box of cereal. He was ready to make another mess when I took it away from him. As I was putting the cereal up, he walked over to the wall and tried to unplug the vacuum. What a squirt!
B is enjoying playing Wii, he is pretty good at golf. He has discovered their 'dress up' box and loves the spiderman costume. Both boys are getting plenty of activity and are sleeping very well at night!!!
More later!

Life is Crazy

Tuesday afternoon I finally found some flights to head out to my sisters house in Ohio. Have been watching the frequent flyer flights and nothing was available. The only downside was I needed to leave pretty quickly. So the boys and I are headed out today and will return on the 4th of July. Will be cool to see the fireworks from the air!
I know I will have more time and access to a computer so promise to do better with the blog.
Lots to do before our 11:15 departure.

We are home

Okay, I can't figure out how to place the pictures and text....so it is all jumbled up.

B at the pool...........J at the beach..............

J playing soccer with the guys

These two are of us at the zoo!!

(Lets try this again. My first blog did not happen because my computer froze up and shut down before I could save it.)

We are home and had a great trip. Always great to go but always great to get back home. The boys loved getting reacquainted with JR's family. J is definitely going to be our water baby. He loves playing in water. B enjoyed it but spent more time in the sand digging. He also befriended people everytime we were there. We enjoyed the Miami Zoo, shopping in downtown Miami, the beach 3 times and Bs favorite memory - Chuck E Cheeses! The weather was really nice, especially when I heard that it rained/snowed back home the whole time we were gone. They said the sun did not shine the whole time we were gone! B spent one night with his cousins and watched endless tv! He got to see Diego at the Miami Zoo. Probably the worst part of the trip was the tired boys - we got some endless whining and arguing at times!

I give up with messing with these pictures. I will download a few more tomorrow along with a video or two. (I realized am not in a lot of these because I was behind the camera....)

The water is great

Yesterday we had a good time swimming and playing. I am pleased to announce after two days of sun, no sunburns for anyone! I enjoyed a lot of fun on the trampoline and realized I still could pull a lot of the old tricks out of the hat, although I could not nail the landing on the flip. I did impress B though! J loved the water, his first time in a swimming pool.
Still enjoying all the 'cultural foods'. Last night we had chicaronnes, which are the real pork rinds. Lets just say I liked them so much I ate more than I should have. I knew it would come back to get me and at 4am, I was up this morning for several hours. Everything finally cleared the system. The good news in this, if there is good news, is that at one point in my life my body would not have been bothered by all that greasy food, but it sure was this time around.
We managed to go to the beach today where B loved digging in the sand. We then went to a really cool 'garden' that had an perfectly sized splash park! I was excited when B wore his bathing suit this time around.
Tomorrow JR and I are headed into downtown Miami to have a day off.
Still having problems downloading pics or video but will keep trying.

We are here!

Before we left for Florida, JR called the state to find out about his test. He made an 82. He was a little bummed, he was hoping for better but then his boss reminded him that some people fail the test the first time and he made it through the book in 4 months and the average is 6 months.
We are in Florida. Both legs of the flight were okay. Jacob slept a fair amount. A lot of turbulence, especially just outside Miami. To the point that I grabbed the 'motion discomfort' bag. I had a headache for several hours after. Miami - what can I say: palm trees, humidity, Abuelo (grandpa), traffic (why do I complain about traffic back home in a town of 8,000), Prima (cousin) Gabby, lots of concrete, playing soccer with Tio (uncle) Roland0, crazy drivers, homemade tortillas, sweat, Miami Zoo. I don't recall ever seeing B sweat before but both days he has. I loves running with his cousins and chasing Abuelo. We went to Miami Zoo today. B is so funny, in the past when we went to a water park he would never take his shirt off. So, today we got to the Splash park at the zoo and what did he do, he wanted to take his shirt and shorts off. My kid was the only one in his underwear and then he wanted to wear his tennis shoes. I was mortified but figured I would never see any of these people again. Of course he was not wearing any of his cute little boxers that could pass for a swimming suit but he was wearing whitey tighties. Now picture those on a kid that is fairly pale to begin with (this is the first time his stomach has seen sun) running with all the hispanic kids. And for some reason, he kept his arms crossed across his chest the whole time. Too bad the battery on the video camera was dead.
Having a hard time finding a good computer connection but will try to post photos or videos later.
Tomorrow we are hanging out at JR's cousin's house - swimming pool, play scape and trampoline with BBQ. Should be fun!

Test was great

We are busy trying to get everything ready for the trip to Florida.
Jose took his test Monday at lunch. There were 50 questions and he said it took him about 10 minutes. He felt like he had either a low A or high B. Will know results next week.

Will email more from Florida!

Gymnastics

We have had a good weekend. JR is preparing to take his test Monday evening (he won't know the results for a week or so). Nate joined us Thursday and the boys are really enjoying having another person around to play with. We drive to Billings on Wed and fly out for Florida early Thursday. Hope to post lots of pics and videos during the trip.
Friday was the last day of gymnastics for B. A few short video clips are attached of him 'performing' or lack of performing. (I wish I knew how to cut and paste the videos into one longer video).
I have decided that our first ER visit is going to be because of J. He is way more adventurous than his older brother.
Yesterday we went garage sale-ing and B found some rescue heros at his friends house. There were 7-8 of them and I was prepared to buy them all (they were a great deal). He said he only wanted 3 of them. Imagine that. Then later that day I was scooping him some of his dairy free ice cream and after the third small spoonful he said 'mom, that is way too much and will hurt my stomach.' So he made me put one spoonful back. Everyday it is something different that just makes me laugh. This morning at church I met a guy that had been watching B that morning and he commented that he was an elementary ed major and had never seen a 3 yr old with his extensive vocabulary!
B is begging me right now to type so I will let him and then attach the videos.
I am so glad that one of you (mom!) has figured out how to leave a comment. It was beginning to look like Pinky was the only one reading my blog, although I know others of you do.
fhdfnfncj fvjkfv kfdjqwjrfmjkfemki (from B)
B is obviously in the green shirt!