It's HOT!!!

Today we were driving around town and the local bank's temperature sign read 92! 92! Hello~we are in Seattle~it isn't supposed to get that hot in May. You should have seen the people. Women running around in bikini tops and guys with no shirts. I took the boys to Wal-Mart and got them some new flip flops. People in this area aren't used to it getting so hot. We enjoyed ourselves in Wal-Mart-wandering around in the nice air conditioning. The boys thought it was great until we had to ride in our car~the car that needs the air conditioning refueled or whatever you call it. It's run out anyway. So, we drove with all the windows down, wind blowing in our hair, and "Mickey" by B*Witched blasting on the radio.

Speaking of "Mickey"~I don't believe I have ever mentioned the obsession that our family has with that song. The boys love it. They especially love playing it in the car on full blast while they clap and sing along. At first it was really cute how the boys sang along and said "again!again!" and how Joseph sang the chorus over and over while he sat at the table drawing, or hearing Connor sing "hey Mickey...pity...unustand...heart...hand...Hey Mickey!" over and over and over and over. Do you see where I am going here? It was all fun and games in the beginning, but now we are to the point (especially me), if I hear that song many more times, there will be violence of some sort. To the common man on the street, it would seem so adorable. To Travis and I...getting old. But, we know how phases go and pretty soon "Mickey" will be a distant memory and a new song will have taken it's place. (on a side note~Toni Basil came up with this song in honor of a crush that she had on Mickey Dolenz from the Monkees-everyone knows how much I loved the Monkees when I was younger-okay-still do...)

Anyway, yesterday we had a nice day over at Grandma's again. The boys will probably spend a lot of time over there this summer because they were promised a slip 'n slide this year. Grandma has a big fenced in back yard, so that will be lots of fun. Travis repaired their lawn mower and then I mowed their yard while he did the weed whacking. The boys baked cookies with Grandma while we were outside. It was a fun and productive day. Speaking of slip 'n slides~ I remember when we were kids~none of us had lots of money. Well, my best friend Shauna's dad, Leland, got out a great big piece of plastic from their shed and we just put the running hose on one end, placed it on a little hilly part of Grandma Sis's yard, and off we went. I remember we spent all day doing that. It was great fun and it didn't cost $9.97. Actually, this was wider than the original, so it would have been $19.97 cause that's what the double slip 'n slide goes for these days. (o: Happy memories.

Oh, and Travis said he would definitely enjoy a slip 'n slide, so for all of you Kohl's friends out there reading~I will be posting photos of that. (o:

Memorial Day

Yesterday was Memorial Day. We took the boys to Greenwood Memorial Cemetary where Travis's sister, Kim, is buried. Every year they have a very nice ceremony. This year was no exception. Memorial Day is very important to our family. For me, it is important because I grew up in the military. Dad in the Army, and David and Nate in the Air Force. Military will always have an extra special place in my heart. Heck, one of the reasons I married Travis is because the first night I noticed him at Ricks he was in his BDU's~having just come home from playing weekend warrior. (o: It is special to Travis because he served, his Dad and brother served (his Dad served in the Korean War), and his Grandpa Peterson was wounded during the Battle of the Bulge. We love our Military. We love our Country and we are so grateful to all of those who served and sacrificed so that can be free!

Below are some pictures of the ceremony that we went to and also a funny little shot of the boys. We went to Mom and Dad Nelson's after and had a nice little bbq lunch and the boys played their hearts out.

Sundays

I thought Sundays were supposed to be a day of rest. Now I don't have any huge callings like Relief Society President, or even a teacher. I get to lead the music in Sacrament meeting and call it good. I think it's a good thing I don't have more than that, because I'm not sure I could handle more.

Today Travis had to work, so I took the boys to church myself. We have a sweet girl named Ashley that helps me out when Travis can't make it. She sits with the boys the first part while I sit on the stand. Then I go down and sit with them until the closing song. Sometimes, like today, I really don't want to leave the stand because then people would know that the little monsters down on row three belong to me. I have to admit that 90% of the time, they are very good little boys. One time not too long ago, Travis had to go up and say the opening prayer. That meant that the boys would be left alone for a brief time. Those three sat quietly the entire prayer. Couldn't believe it! Anyway, back to today. Joseph was under the bench with Connor, tickling Connor. This made Connor laugh loudly. Spencer was busy trying to tell anyone who would listen about his stoplights and cars. Poor Ashley is trying to keep them quiet. Then I go down there. I make Joseph get up onto the bench and tell Spencer to hush. I put Connor on my lap. Heather Bailey, a friend and a fellow homeschooler and my visiting teacher, (they have 6 kids) turns around and hands my boys foam stickers of trucks and stoplights. The boys start sticking them all over the place. (the entire Bailey family was busy sticking them in each others hair etc) I have to say that I didn't hear a word of what any of the speakers said. I feel bad about that. The stickers are pretty cool and it was very nice of the Bailey's to share too.

I admit that I was very excited to send all three packing off to Primary. (apologies to all of the adults in Primary) The boys love their teachers and their classes, but today when I went to pick them up...Spencer's teacher wanted to know where he got all the stickers (he had smuggled a bunch of them in his pocket), Connor's teacher wanted tips on how to keep him from climbing onto everything (ha! good luck with that), and the first thing Joseph said when he saw me was, "I was no trouble at all!" His teacher just smiled.

When we got home I asked the boys what they learned about in their classes. Spencer goes, "Umm, how about...Jesus! Yep, and Heavenly Father too!" I looked over at Joseph and he said,"I'm pretty sure we talked about Jesus too. We looked for yellow paper and Anthony told a funny joke." Brother! (o:

Needless to say, I'm still glad that we have a chance to go to church each Sunday. I'm thankful that the boys have their 90% good times, and I'm much more appreciative of the Sundays that Travis gets to come with us. Wouldn't life be so boring if we didn't have that 10% once in a while?

Well, Connor just smacked his head on the wall and is now carrying a pack of frozen corn on the cob on his head. (he didn't want the ice) I better go start dinner and wrangle the corn away from him. It's part of the dinner.

Connor

Connor is quite the character in our house. Here are a couple of pictures of him being him. He is so busy and loves to get into trouble! He is now sleeping in his toddler bed, but everytime we go in to check on him, he is curled up on the floor somewhere in the room.

The other two pictures are just of us reading. Travis snapped a picture of me one night, so last night I got even. The boys love being read to. It's their favorite past time I think.

Tall, Skinny Spencer

Just a quick note on Spencer. I took him to the doctor yesterday for his annual checkup. He has great vision and great hearing. His blood pressure and cholesterol are amazing and his iron is normal, but slightly low. He still has hyper-mobility (extremely flexible) and because of it, is considered slightly developmentally delayed in his gross motor skills. (he can't jump or run very well. The poor kid is like rubber!) Doctor isn't worried too much about it though. He told me to take him to the parks a lot this summer and have him practice jumping, but otherwise-no big deal.

He is 75% for height and 55% for weight, so he is following in his uncle David and Nate's footsteps. He is long and thin. All three of my boys have measured on the very high end for their height, but that isn't surprising since their dad is 6 feet and my brothers are over 6 feet.

So, all in all he is a very healthy little boy. He was very silly when they did the eye test and had a little audience of nurses and doctors watching him because when Nurse Anne pointed to the little pictures on the chart, he couldn't just say-that's a plus, or that's a mug- no, he had to say-"That's a mug. I have a mug with a penguin on it." Or, "that's a lower case t, or a plus sign, or a cross." Took forever to get it done. Everyone was cracking up. Then, when he got his finger poked, he jumped and then yelled, "Hey, you hurt me!" He was very unhappy. Lastly, when the shot nurse came in to give him his shot, she said, you will only be getting one shot today. Spencer replied,"I don't think so!" He was very good and didn't even cry.

Ah, Spencer. He's such a blessing to our family!

Time

I can't believe how fast time flies! Today I have been working all day rearranging rooms in our home. We originally gave the boys the Master room as a playroom and we took the middle sized room. They really haven't been playing in the playroom lately~just pulling the toys out to the living room~ so I decided that they can have the middle room for their toys and Travis and I can have the big room that we so rightfully deserve. (o: I am going to have a reading corner for Travis and a treadmill area for myself. But, anyway, I was saying about time...I started working on stuff at 1:45pm and was forced to stop at about 8 to put Connor down. I could not believe how fast the time went as I was working. The boys were a great help and we just had fun doing it. We stopped for sandwiches, but then got right back into it after. I still have at least one more full day of work ahead of me because I am not only moving stuff around, but also cleaning and throwing stuff out as I go. Takes longer, but will be very nice when finished.

Another time related issue is the fact that my little baby is no longer in a crib! Today I took his crib apart and tonight he is sleeping in the little toddler bed. I can't believe he is old enough to do that! Although, Joseph was not even 2 when he went in (cause Spencer needed the crib), and Spencer was just over 2. (cause Connor was on his way) Connor is what, 30 months? Time really does fly. Well, except the first night that you put a 2 year old in a toddler bed. I had planned to continue my cleaning efforts after Connor went to sleep, but it turned into a 3 hour battle that ended just mere minutes ago. Ahh, it's all worth it in the end though. (o:

One other story. Today as I was working on the "new" playroom, Joseph came in and said,"Mom, I am so thrilled with this new playroom! It's going to be great!" He's thrilled. He's never used that word before. Then, just before he went to bed, he went in and looked at my bed (in it's new place) and said, "Wow, Mom! Your room is going to be glorious when you are finished!" Glorious???? This kid never ceases to amaze me. So cute-so priceless.

Explorers

Saturday we decided to be adventurous and try out some new and exciting places to visit besides the same Seattle trip we take each week. We looked up parks for the Tacoma area, then loaded up the kids and off we went. (The pictures are a bit out of order, but I loved the family picture so much, I wanted that first.) We first went for a drive across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. In the picture, the one we drove across is on the right. The one on the left is the new one they are building. We wanted to take the boys across it before they started taking tolls. I think that starts in June. Spencer loves bridges and was absolutely thrilled. Then we went to a great little park by the bridge called Optimist park (we loved that name!) and played on the little playground. It was really windy and chilly, so we didn't stay for long. We took the kids to a McDonald's and got them their traditional cookies. Then we headed off to Dash Point in Federal Way. It's a very nice beach. (Puget Sound waters)

It was also cold and windy and slightly rainy at the beach, but there was a low tide, so we were able to walk out pretty far and explore. The boys enjoyed this little picnic area next to a little bridge. (again with the bridges) Travis wondered if he could figure out the timer on the camera (we've never tried it before) because there were two tables close to each other-perfect for a self-group photo. Didn't take long for him to figure it out and here is the finished product. Good looking family I must say. Although, being the girl that I am, I was very disappointed in the wind blowing my hair right in my eyes. Lovely! But don't I have the cutest 4 boys in the world? I think so.

PBJ's and Zoopa!

Just now I was in the kitchen watching my two year old make his own peanut butter sandwich. He has a big old spoon to scoop out the peanut butter. We use Adams all natural~it's very runny if you don't refrigerate it. (which I don't usually) Needless to say it's everywhere. Then he tried to get the jam out, but was frustrated because he didn't want to put the spoon in the jam jar with all the peanut butter on it. He tried to lick the peanut butter, but because it's kinda runny it was dripping all over his hands. Anyone who knows Connor knows that this is a problem. Connor does not like dirty hands. I finally went to his rescue, but it was kind of cool to watch him take a shot at independence. So I had to clean up a little peanut butter off the floor...it was worth it to me.

Yesterday we went to Zoopa's for the first time. I think there are only 2 in the entire state of Washington. They cater to Vegans and health nuts. I was in heaven. No, I'm not a vegan!!! BUT, being the faithful Weight Watchers member that I am (mostly), it was really wonderful. You make yourself a gigantic salad as soon as you walk in. Everything was so fresh and beautiful. Then you can partake in their other treats around the room. They have a little bakery, soup area, pizza and pasta area, baked potato bar, and dessert area. I had a little clam chowder and tried some of their baked goods. It was all so yummy. Plus, there are lots of healthy options. Tofu, ff dressings, whole wheat breads and muffins. It was great. The kids loved it because they got a slice of pizza, a little salad, and then icecream. Travis and his mom were with us. It was nice having three adults and three kids. My kind of ratio!

Anyway, it was a lot of fun and if you have a Zoopa in your area, (or a Fresh Choice), I highly recommend trying it out. (www.freshchoice.com)

Better go. I have visiting teachers coming this morning and then I need to make a fruit salad for a party I am going to tonight.

Boys!

A quick funny story before we head out to check on the growth of the baby ducks by the library...

The other day when we went out to Seattle Spencer brought home an entire bucket of little rocks and pieces of bark and wood. Every time I vacuum now I have to carefully check the floor around the tables to make sure that there are no rocks that could kill my poor vacuum cleaner. These kids have been very clever with their rocks and sticks. Making pretend rock slides on their train tracks, pretend paving of roads, building fences and bridges...the list goes on, but these things are a pain for me. I was expressing my frustrations to Travis and he said, "Well, some day soon they will be bringing home bugs to play with instead of rocks." I agreed and decided that I would rather clean up rocks than bugs.

Fast forward a couple of days to Saturday. We were at Travis's parents house. The boys were out back digging in their favorite little dirt hole. Next thing I know, Joseph hands me three roly-poly bugs. (or pill bugs-whatever you want to call them) We ended up handling and studying these bugs and and several others along with a nice juicy worm. Travis was right! As I was explaining to Joseph why the bugs roll up and how similar they look to an armadillo, I couldn't help but think how much fun it is to have these three inquisitive, slightly rambunctious boys. They have really helped me to leave my comfort zone on occasion and do things that normally I would never do. I love it!

So, to summarize-I love my boys! I love having boys! I am grateful that we were given three such special and very individual little boys!

The End! (o:

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I hope you all had a wonderful day. My dear husband gave me a gorgeous candle and handmade cards from him and the kids. I'm a lucky mom!

The past few days have been busy, fun and slightly icky. Travis had Friday and Saturday off, so Friday we did our usual Seattle trip, only we threw in a trip to a park in West Seattle. The boys got a good dose of multi-culturalism since we were very close to the city. There really were samplings of every culture imaginable there and the kids had a blast. It's so amazing to me how little children couldn't care less what color of skin other people have. They just play along side each other and treat each other like equals. I believe that's how Heavenly Father wants it to be with everyone. We could all take a lesson from our children.

Anyway, it was a really fun day. The kids went to bed early that night. We really wore them out. Saturday we went to Travis's parents house. Travis mowed their lawn and we had lunch. Then Spencer started looking not so hot. Pretty soon he was puking his little guts out. Lovely! We came home and he was sick all last night. Not sure what it was that he had. He was sick this morning for a while, but by afternoon was back to his old self. Needless to say, Travis and his Dad stayed home from church today and Joseph and I took Grandma Deone with us to church. Joseph got up with the primary children and stood there waving at us while all the others sang mother songs. He still looked cute. In Primary, Joseph gave his talk. We practiced it a lot last night and I think he was pretty prepared. He got a bit distracted by the microphone and had to really concentrate on not being goofy in front of all those kids, but he did a great job repeating what I said and he sounded quite grown up. He talked about Brigham Young and even had visual aids. We are very proud of him for not being even the slightest bit scared to get up in front of a group of people and giving a talk.

Travis had to work today so after we got home from church he had to dash off. I fixed a roast for Mother's Day and fed Mom and Dad Nelson. It was a very nice dinner and we had a good time. It's nice to have one mom close by. I wish my own mom was closer. Atlanta is a bit of a drive for her to come here for dinner though. I guess I'm just grateful that I have a wonderful mother who raised me with so much unconditional love and taught me how to be the mother that I am. I really am a very lucky and blessed person!

No Glasses!

Went to the eye doctor today with Joseph. He said that he feels that Joseph does not need glasses. He said that at his age Joseph's eyes are still developing and that Joseph can still see small letters from a distance right now. He does want him to go back in one year instead of two years though because of the fact that both of his parents are near sighted. He has very good vision as far as far-sightedness goes. He could read the tiniest letters I have ever seen. The one thing the doctor did say he wanted Joseph to do was to wear his sunglasses in the sun because he has very pale blue eyes and he is very sensitive to the light. That was also something our pediatrician told us to do because of the migraines. The bright light can be a trigger, so we will just continue with the sunglasses.

In other news, Mallard is back to visit. For those of you who have never heard of Mallard, here is a brief history... Inside a kit on Ponds that I got from the Library, there was a mallard duckling puppet. Joseph named him Mallard. (soo original!) For one month Joseph loved this little puppet with all his heart. Then it was time to return him. There were many tears and really utter devastation! We felt so bad for Joseph because he really loved this thing. But, we had to return the duck so we visited e-bay and found a smaller mallard duck that came with the name Mally. We ordered her and when she arrived we told him that Mallard had called his little sister Mally and asked her to come live with Joseph while he was away at the library. This worked very well for a while. The other day though, he told us he really missed Mallard and would like to have him visit again. I put the kit on hold and today after the eye doctor, we went to the library and picked up Mallard. Joseph hasn't stopped smiling since we got home. Here is a picture of him and his ducklings. (pay no attention to the chocolate face)

We are most likely going to either talk to the library about purchasing this particular puppet, or finding out where exactly we can get one exactly like it. We think it will make Joseph eternally happy. (o:

Busy Days!

The last two days have been very busy for us. While poor Travis has been slaving away at Kohl's, we have been out having a lot of fun enjoying the gorgeous weather. It has been about 70 degrees here the last couple of days which is perfect for us. People in Seattle don't deal with heat very well. I think 80 is our limit, but 70 is perfect!

I will start though, with today and go backwards. That way all of the pictures will be at the end and you can view them at your leisure. (o: Today, we took Daddy to lunch with Grandma Nelson to Taco Bell/Pizza Hut. It is very rare for us to go there, so a special treat it was. Then we kissed Daddy good-bye (he had to go to work) and we headed off to the Super Wal-Mart in Federal Way. The kids love going there and Grandma spoiled them rotten as usual. Joseph especially has her wrapped very tightly around his little finger. He just bats his eyes and she's putty! We bought some very beautiful bright red carnation flowers and then took them to Aunt Kim's grave. It has been 10 years since Travis's sister, Kim, passed away from brain cancer. I didn't know her as well as her family of course, but I was able to get to know her very well her last months because we moved in with Travis's parents to help take care of her. She was a very brave soul. She dealt with everything that was thrown at her and showed all of us what a special person she really was. She was just 2 weeks shy of her 28th birthday. We are all so grateful for eternal families and the knowledge that we will see her again someday. I'm sure she is very busy up there in heaven. She was a hard worker and someone that could be depended on. After we dropped Grandma off, we came home and are now just hanging out.

Now, yesterday! We picked Grandma up just before lunch and headed off to the park. We went to the one that has the Soos Creek Trail where we have been observing the skunk cabbage. We all brought our picnic lunches (Buzz Lightyear lunchboxes included) and had lunch in the little covered area. Then we played. I was so proud of the boys because they were very polite to all of the little children that were there. Anyone who's afraid that homeschool kids are social rejects shouldn't worry. My boys talked to the other kids, helped the tiny ones down the stairs, and took turns. A woman came with her dog and Joseph very politely went up to her and asked if her could pet her dog. She said yes and he did. They had a blast. I was afraid that they wouldn't ever want to leave, but I had a secret weapon...

Toys R Us!!! I enrolled the boys in the birthday club there. They sent Spencer a birthday card last week with an invite to go shop at their store and a $3.00 gift card. So, we went to Toys R Us and turned in a little card they gave him at the service desk. They hooked him up with a crown and balloon. (see bottom picture) He used his birthday money and bought a Geotrack suspension bridge. (my little engineer in the making) It was such a fun day! Then Grandma came home with us and stayed the night. (she does this often just for fun-she even has her own bed in the playroom)

Quick funny story~the young women just knocked on my door. They are doing a Service Scavenger Hunt. I let them wash the dishes. I only had a few, but hey, now they are done. (o:

My Handsome Little Men

Today before we left for church I looked at the boys and couldn't help but think that they were the cutest ever! They each had on their white shirts and ties and looked very much like little missionaries. I snapped a picture and then off we went. They got a lot of compliments on how cute they looked. They also got a few comments on how much they look alike. The Primary teachers give me a hard time because I dress them alike a lot on Sundays. The teachers are always calling the boys the wrong names. This is what Travis gets for joking about people who have "cookie cutter" kids. Now he has produced his own. (o:

Joseph has been asked to give a talk in Primary next week. Since it's Mother's Day, Travis's parents will be coming to our ward to see the boys sing in Sacrament meeting, so it was a big bonus when Joseph realized that Grandma and Grandpa were going to get to see him give a talk too. He loves talking in that microphone in that big room. The topic is how my spirit has grown as I learn about the restored gospel. Gonna have to start thinking about what he's gonna say. Luckily, we have visual aids thanks to Grandma Teese and Papa Clair because they gave us the Gospel Art Kit for Christmas and that has pictures for everything in it. I'll have to post the final results on that.

Our Solar System

The boys have taken an interest in the solar system and the planets, so that is what we have been discussing in school the past week. Yesterday we made a lovely mobile of the solar system. I was very proud of them because they knew each of the planets and the order they belonged. Well, most of the planets. Joseph calls Mercury "Hercules" and they both have some sort of mental block with Uranus. They just call it the planet that spins on it's side. I think their love of this kind of stuff comes mostly from their dad. Travis loves space, weather, all that good stuff. He and Joseph were looking at pictures of space junk on the internet the other day. If you are interested in neat space pictures, visit NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day page. It is fascinating and can be very addicting. You start looking and can't stop. If you are interested, their website is http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html


Here are a couple of pictures of our fabulous solar system mobile! I got the pattern from enchantedlearning.com.

Glasses

The other night Joseph was laying on the floor. I sat down at his feet. He laughed and said,"Mommy, you're all fuzzy!" I asked him a bunch of questions and had him back up and read letters on a paper, then I moved closer and closer until I was about 3 feet from him before he reported that the page was no longer fuzzy. Guess what this means? Glasses! I was in 3rd Grade when I got my glasses. I believe I was just barely 8 years old. Joseph is 6, will be 7 in September. Not too much younger than I was when everything went fuzzy on me. Yesterday I had to call about a billion different people trying to get a referral for an eye doctor (one that our insurance covers). I got a couple of different places close by us. I am going to call and make an appointment for him to go in. I asked him what he thought about wearing glasses like Mommy and Daddy~ he said "Cool, I want round ones!" Good attitude. We were kind of warned that he may need glasses. About 2 years ago Joseph got a blinding migraine (thanks to my side of the family). We actually ended up spending several hours at the hospital. They did a CT scan and found nothing. My pediatrician said that some of the indications for migraine prone kids are sensitivity to light (he's always wearing sunglasses) and sensitivity to sound. Ever since he was a baby loud sounds really bothered him. The doctor said then that he may need glasses soon. I'm not exactly sure what the connection was that he made then, but he told me to give him a call and get the name of his favorite child optometrist at the first sign of fuzzy vision. (wish it was that easy yesterday) (& we couldn't even use that fabulous optometrist)

Sometimes he tells me he doesn't want to practice reading because it's too hard. I was confused because he is really good at putting letters together and remembering sight words etc. I thought he really enjoyed the reading (he hates the numbers and counting). Yesterday, keeping in mind things are fuzzy for him, when we were doing his reading lesson, I put the book a bit closer to him and a little higher (he usually has it in his lap). I noticed that he could read it better and got less frustrated. I'm hoping glasses will help him be less frustrated.

Here is a picture of him with his beloved sunglasses. Green of course, his fave color!

As for the rest of the bunch. Everyone is all healthy and happy. The other day Travis made a very eclectic cd for us to just play whenever. He and I have had difficulty letting go of the music from our past. (we really do love the 80's!)Plus, we like a very wide range of music types, so the kids are exposed to some very interesting stuff. Today we were playing this cd and they were dancing and singing along. We had to laugh as our kids were singing to Kenny Loggins, Allen Jackson, George Strait, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Cher...The list goes on. Then after Travis left for work we listened to some Georges Bizet to calm them all down. (that's classical for those of you wondering) (o: Connor is our music man. He has loved music since before he was born. I led the Sacrament meeting music when I was pregnant with him (and still do). When I led, they have me stand next to the organ. Every time my organist, Beth, would start to play he would start moving all over the place. He's not changed since then.

Travis is doing very well at work lately. I think he really enjoys his newest role as the Customer Service Area Supervisor. He has had to deal with some crazy people, some angry people, and some thieves, but it keeps his days interesting. Kohl's is a good place and I am so grateful that we were led to there. Of course things can be tough on occasion~it's never easy all the time to have a huge group with so many different personalities working together, but I am very proud of Travis and the way he conducts himself and the example he is. He really enjoys himself there and I always say it's important to have a job that you enjoy. Now we are just crossing our fingers and praying that when he goes to the Executive interviews in July that his superiors appreciate him as much as we do. (o:

Okay, enough of the babbling. Better go do some laundry. It really has been piling up lately. I found out why today though. Joseph changes his clothes more than a teenage girl! He wakes up and dresses in warm clothes because it's chilly in the morning. Then when it starts to warm up, new outfit-cooler clothes, then in the evening-warmer clothes again (fresh ones, not the ones from the am) and then his pajamas at bedtime. I had him spend some time this morning hanging clothes up that he had only worn for an hour. Crazy kid. Can't help but love 'em for their quirky individuality! (o:

Spencer's Party

Spencer's birthday was very nice this year. We weren't going to celebrate it until today, but Grandma Nelson injured her knee (we just call her gimpy now), so we moved things up a day. We had Little Caesar's pizza for dinner and finished it off with some chocolate birthday cake. Spencer helped design the cake. We still don't understand his intense fascination with stoplights, but he loves them, so that's what we did. Speaking of stoplights, he got one for a gift from Grandma Teese and Papa Clair. It has Cars on it, as in Cars the movie. It's a lamp. We plugged it in expecting for the entire thing to light up, but no, it started flashing and acting like a real stoplight-only on weed. The kids were thrilled. We actually have it hanging on our living room wall flashing away right now. Travis said it's kind of relaxing to sit and watch. He also got lots and lots of art supplies and the living room looks like a tornado went through an Office Depot! So a big thanks to all who sent him cards, gifts, and birthday wishes. It was a great day! Joseph is now counting down the days for his birthday. He's got a while to wait. (Sep. 13)

Father and Son

Tonight Travis and Joseph had some bonding time that really was sweet and I thought I would share a couple of pictures. The boys really do adore their dad. He is their hero. Can you see why? In the top picture they are reading a story in The Friend and the bottom two are of them taking apart our gas grill that died. We are so lucky to have a daddy in our home that is smart, funny and loving!