resemblances

Oh my goodness!  Can you believe how much these kids look alike?  Two sets of two!

Times A-Changin'

I got a little caught up in my UK pictures. I've also been busy on a bunch of projects that I will share over the next few posts. But I realize that it has been a little while since you've seen pics of the little squish. She's still squishy, but she's not so little. Her newest role around here is as the local King Kong.

"I will destroy your puny, miserable train track! And then I will eat this bridge!"



The repair crews hurried out to replace the bridge so that train traffic could get in and out and around the city. But the giant attacked relentlessly.



And this is only the beginning of the story.

Splash Zone

Spring is here, but it feels more like summer. Don't get me wrong, we've had a few nice days, but they are quickly disappearing. Several weeks ago the boys thought it would be warm enough to swim, so they did. Crazy boys!





I thought they would hop in and hop out and that would be the end of it. But, no, it just made them more excited to swim more often. The truth is, it really isn't that warm, but okay.



As for me, this is exactly as far as I'm getting in until the water warms up a lot more.

Antics

Fiona is getting so much more interactive, I started getting out the baby toys. I didn't know that she'd have to take turns. Christmas could have been so much less expensive ...

At the Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch last night. Can you tell that the boys had a little bit of fun? Why is it always more fun to pick a pumpkin from a pile of hay bales, than it is to pick it out of a bin at the grocery store? Who knows? It just is.

And there's always the added bonus that I might get a photo of my boys hamming it up after I tell them to act like they like each other.


All in all, a fun time was had by everyone.

Toothy Grins

Trevor recently lost his first tooth. He was extremely excited- only I was traumatized by the experience. My baby is getting so big!! The next morning, he discovered a new tooth pillow, hanging on his bedpost, with a crisp one dollar bill tucked inside the pocket. His first words on the subject were, "I'm surprised that the tooth fairy is real, because usually I don't even believe in fairies."

funniness

In the interest of keeping at least one or two of my readers, I've decided to abbreviate the vacation pics. If you really want to see more, I'll have them posted on my Shutterfly site. The link for that is also in the sidebar. My last few shots of vacation are of some funny things we saw on our trip. We spent a lot of time on the road and covered many miles. So we saw a few things that we don't normally see at home...


wildlife... I asked the raccoons to do our laundry while we slept, but I forgot and locked them out of the truck bed. Ooops.



more wildlife...this time on two legs...and he caught my unsuspecting niece...



Lincoln City, OR: President Abraham Lincoln riding a horse. There's nothing strange about that- oh wait- he's multi-tasking! He's reading a book while he's riding a horse??? Okay...



Braden got his finger caught in a whale's mouth...we're having more trouble with the wildlife on this trip...



just too funny to pass by without stopping. Don't worry. Paul Bunyan was there as well.



no comment.



Okay, so there's nothing truly unusual about this picture. Except the fact that Everett was able to pry my fingers out of a death grip long enough for me to hold my camera and take this picture in the center of the Golden Gate Bridge. Two gold stars for me!



Whew! That was a whirlwind tour. Now that we're all caught up from vacation I can get on with showing you what we've been doing lately!

Water Balloon Fight

We love visiting with Nana and Grandpa, because Nana is always full of fun ideas for special things to do. (I get tons of fun ideas, but let's be honest: only rarely do they see the light of day) This one was definitely a big hit with the crowd! For some reason, though, they seemed to be more hesitant to catch the water balloon than a baseball. (yes, Braden is cringing) Even before they got splashed with one! Still, it's a good day that includes water balloons. My mind is fast-forwarding about four years and imagining the havoc they will be wreaking when they can make some without help.

Hello World

Mom, look at what I can do!

Home Sweet Home

We can't wait to show you what we've been up to, but you'll have to be patient. We just got back from a great vacation! Now it's VBS week, and frankly, we're pooped. We'll have something for you soon, though!

what shall we do?

We're pretty casual around here these days. We don't make any plans. We might do quiet things like reading and playing memory all day. Or we might run around. We might stay in or we might go out.






We'll get in the pool for a while. We might get in again later, or we might not.

When it's time to get dressed, Braden might put together an ensemble like this one.





Or he might not.

Yoga Masters

My own kids are putting me to shame.

Charmer

Let me start by apologizing for the quality of these pictures. I was halfway to Dana Point, CA when I realized that I had remembered none of the three cameras that I own. We were headed there for the wedding of one of Ev's good friends: from the Academy, flight school and also a fellow cobra jock.

The wedding was beautiful- orchids everywhere, beautiful California sunshine, fresh seafood and a reception at the Ritz-Carlton right on the ocean. But that's not even the good part. I'm going to tell a story now that still amazes even myself. Many of our friends and family have commented on Trevor's ability to charm those around him. Give him about 70 seconds- he's like jedi master. On friday night, we attended the wedding rehearsal; Ev was leading the sword detail and needed to discuss with the groom where it would take place. Trevor watched the rehearsal intently, and finally commented on the fact that there was a flower girl, but no ring bearer. "Where is the ring bearer?" he asked. Well, I didn't have a good answer, except to say that not everyone has a ring bearer. So, at the rehearsal dinner, he decided to bring this issue to the Bride's attention. After they were introduced, he was chatting her up, and suddenly a few words caught my attention. . .something to the effect of, "I could be your ring bearer." (You have to understand that he does have experience from his Aunt Heather's wedding last May. Apparently he thought he might make a career of it.) Anyways, everyone laughed, including the Bride, "Oh, how cute! See," she said as she turned to the Groom, "I told you we should have asked them. I saw their Christmas picture and thought how cute they are and said we should have them as ring bearers!" Ha ha ha! Everyone laughed, and I told Trevor to stop bugging the Bride. End of story. Right? Wrong. Trevor continued to charm the Bride with his clever conversation and sunny personality for the next 20-30 minutes. About an hour later, the groom comes over to Ev and announces that, "Alright, they convinced me. They're going to do it." Do what??? "They'll be ring bearers." I don't think I've ever been so shocked. Only Trevor could convince a Bride to include him in the wedding party 18 hours before the weddding. So, that's how Trevor and Braden came to be Ring Bearers this past weekend. They walked down the aisle, one one either side of the flower girl. I have to admit, they were pretty darn cute.

Ode to Moms

Don't forget, Mother's Day is coming up this sunday! The first time I saw this I laughed until I cried...or maybe I cried until I laughed. (It probably depended on the day.) I hope all you moms out there get a laugh!

Carnage

I left and came back, and this is what happened. I just can't leave these guys alone for even a minute. When Iron Man recovers, he's going to have a serious bone to pick with Human Torch.