New Boots

Josh Oliver got some new boots last week.

His yellow ones were pretty small so we traded them in for some red ones.

He was pretty exicted when he got them! He's been wearing them a lot and he refuses to let me pull his pants over them. I think he just likes to look at them!

All of my boys love to wear rainboots. They wear them nearly everyday. I'm always caught a little off guard when someone asks them if they are expecting rain as they chuckle.

It's just normal footwear around here, no matter what the weather is like!

Tattle-Tale

Let me start off by saying that Lucas is generally a very nice brother. He does have his pitfalls occasionally.

Last night, he and Josh Oliver had a rough night and Ben sent both of them to bed early. Henry, however, got to stay up and watch some T.V.

After being in his room for awhile Lucas came out with a notepad in his hand. He gave it to me and said, "Henry has been bad. I wrote down some of the things that he did."

His note translates into:

Henry is a bad boy.

Henry bit me.

and Henry wrestled me on Henry's

bed. Henry called 991 (911).

Henry wants the light up Sketchers and Lucas

does too.

I made him read it to me. I also made him clarify when Henry called 911 and he said that is was a long time ago "but I still remember it." As he was reading it to me Henry appeared and asked why we were talking about him. I think hearing that he was bad made him nervous!

That last part about the Sketchers is really just because the two are banding together against me for those terrible light up police shoes. It was a hard battle at the shoe store earlier this week, but I won out!

After Lucas read me his note, I told him I didn't appreciate him tattling on Henry and that he was in trouble because of what he did, not because of Henry. He got sent back to his room, and then Ben and I had a good laugh!

He needs to work on his spelling, but I do appreciate his good use of capitalization and punctuation!

Compassionate Henry

Lucas hates to get shots. I mean really hates to get them.

Henry hates for Lucas to get shots, too. It just really hurts his soul to watch one of his brothers be upset like that. I am so serious about that!

Whenever Lucas starts freaking out about an upcoming shot, Henry will start pleading with me to not make him go through with it. Last time, he even started crying and kept telling the nurse that Luke really didn't want the shots.

Today I took Lucas to the doctor for his six year checkup and to get all three of the boys their flu shots. Henry and Josh Oliver didn't seem to catch on that they also were getting a shot.

As we waited for the nurse, Lucas started losing control of himself and Henry started in on the pleading. He kept begging me to please, please not make Lucas get the shot. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he was going to have to get one too--plus I couldn't risk losing control of two, and maybe three kids, before the nurse even came in the room.

When Henry realized that his polite pleadings were getting him nowhere, he got down to business. He just stared at me, and slowly through gritted teeth he said, "HE. DOESN'T. WANT. THE G*D-DAMNED. SHOT!" Normally, language like that leads to a lot of trouble, but I couldn't stop laughing. I mean, he was desperately defending his brother, and he didn't know that he also had a shot with his name on it. Plus he just caught me totally by surprise!

When the nurse came in, it was terrible. Josh Oliver did pretty darn good. Henry put up a fight, but overall he did okay. Lucas just completely lost his mind--as in I have only seen him like that maybe once or twice in his whole life. It was a nightmare to say the least!

As we walked out of the doctor's office, and most of the way home, Henry just kept saying to me in his most bewildered tone, "I just can't believe that you would do that to children." I heard it over and over again no matter how much I defended myself--I mean come on it was one flu shot. You would think that I had chopped off one of their fingers for sneaking some food, or something equally terrible and ridiculous.

I do love Henry's compassion, but he just really didn't help me out today.

*This is apparently Henry's new favorite shirt because he wears it every other day!

Reading

This is my new favorite thing to see (and hear) at our house.

Lucas has been reading like crazy lately. He has just taken off with it. I love it and his brothers love it! They sit so well while he reads to them.

He's also been trying to teach Henry the boyscout pledge.

He's a really great kid!

Where Did You Find Daddy At?

At night, I usually sit outside the boys' bedrooms until they fall asleep. It really just helps keep the chaos down, plus I get some computer time in.

One night last week as I sat outside their doors, Henry kept asking me questions. Usually I try not to talk too much to them, but he obviously had a lot on his mind so I kept answering him.

H--"When you found Daddy did you ask him if he wanted to be the daddy of your boys and he said that he did?"

M--"Sort of."

H--"Where did you find Daddy at?"

M--"Target."

H--"Which aisle was he in and how did you know his and Gran's names?"....and on it went.

He also asked me if I was looking for a boy with Daddy's last name and he wanted to know how we knew what their names were when they were born. He was concerned about how they learned to talk and if we told them what our names were. He wanted to know where he walked at when he was a baby and if I showed him his room when he first came home. He also asked if I took pictures of him when he was a baby and if he cried when I took them.

I don't really know what made him start thinking about all of that, but sometimes the night time conversations are my very favorites.

Our Weekend Part II--Eberly Farm

Once we recovered from our night at Zoobilee, we took the boys to Eberly Farm for Papa's company picnic.

I love Eberly Farm!

There was so much stuff for the kids to do. They got to race rubber ducks, ride a train, jump in a moonbounce, and play in a fort. Henry also played a crazy game with a basket ball hoop strapped to his tummy.

Gillian, unfortunately, fractured her femur over Labor Day weekend and had to stay in her wheelchair. It wasn't really the greatest place for the wheelchair bound.

Henry also decided to brave the small zipline. He wanted to try the big one, but it was over a lot of water and too far across. I wouldn't let him. We did take them across the scary bridge. Lucas got a bit scared on it, but I was pretty scared myself. I was proud of us both!

I don't think I have ever been to Eberly Farm when it wasn't a muddy mess. This time was no different. Josh Oliver slipped in the mud a couple of times and was so horrified that his hands and pants were dirty. He was a bit over dramatic about it--I got way dirtier when I pulled the zipline across for HJ. I think the mud is one of the funnest parts!

One of the best parts of the day was the endless supply of soda! The boys could get whatever and as much as they wanted. Luke and Henry kept making suicide mixes. I did it when I was little, but I was totally grossed out as they went down the line of sodas with their cups.

We also got dinner. It was delicious! I was still a little depressed about missing out on more buffalo wings the night before, so I heaped up my plate of BBQ. I regretted that! I was beyond full!

The boys had a really good time. They were really tired when we first got there, and were completely exhausted by the time we left.

The best way to end a busy weekend is definitely with tired kids!

Our Weekend Part I--Zoobilee

We had a very busy weekend.

I am now super tired and my pants are pretty tight.

I'm not complaining--it was worth it!

On Saturday night, Ben and I dropped the boys off at Gigi and Grandpa J's for a sleepover. That is right, Ben and I got to go on a real honest to goodness date and it was even on a Saturday night! It's a rarity for us!

We not only got to go on a date, but thanks to our friends, we went to Zoobilee. Fancy! It was so much fun! There was so much food and drinks to be had. It was heaven!

Unfortunately, I started off just eating little bits of food so that I wouldn't get too full before making all of the rounds. We ran into a couple of friends and, before we knew it, almost all the food was gone. I was sad, but really I probably would have had a horrible stomachache had I eaten too much more food! I do wish I could have gotten some more buffalo wings. They were delicious!

Luckily for the boys, there was no shortage of alcohol. We kept ending up chatting in front of the Budweiser bar. It was convenient, but not necessarily the most ideal spot. Let's just say I'm thankful I didn't spend a fortune on my heels, because I would have been super depressed about the amount of beer that got spilled on them.

It really was a super fun night. Although we did not manage to pool together enough money to buy a baby lion, we did eat and drink our weight in delicious yummies! Plus it's always nice to spend a night out with my honey!

...And Off Goes Henry

Henry had his first day at Preschool on Friday.

It's his second year, but this time he is in the big kid class!

All morning long he walked around with his backpack on. He kept asking how much longer until he got to go to school. He was excited and it was a long morning--for all of us!

When we dropped him off I asked him not to run too fast. I wanted to at least sort of feel like he had some hesitation about leaving me. He jumped out and ran as fast as he could! When he got up to the door he did tell his teacher that he needed to stop and wave to me. I love him!

It was strange going home and only having Josh Oliver with us. Last year Henry went to school in the morning and Luke went in the afternoon. We always had at least two boys at home. This year is different, though. Everything has changed, and I am sad about it.

Henry had a good time at school. They did a project with paper flowers and he asked his teacher if he could take one home for me! Again, I just love that boy!

We Love Cars

Cars are a favorite at our house.

They've been a constant favorite for years.

All three of my boys can play for hours with just a bin of cars--I love toys that everyone plays with. They line them up, sort them out, race them across the kitchen, fight over who had which one first. The possibilities are endless.

We have so many cars in our house--I mean really a lot. I try to keep them together, but they just seem to infiltrate every corner of the house. I use to sort of fight the mess of cars, but I've learned to just have multiple car bins all over the house. It helps.

Years from now when I think back to when my boys were little, I'm certain that lines of cars will be pretty high on my list of fond memories--block towers and fancy train tracks will also be right up there!

(Yes that is marker on my curtains. Kids are great!)

The Donkey Farm

An unfortunate thing happened last week.

The phone rang, and there wasn't a name on the caller id.

I thought it was my cousin.

I don't know if he was just feeling spicy that day or he thought Jessica might want a giggle, but Ben answered the phone:

Jonker donkey farm! Which @$$ would you like to speak to?

He then quickly handed me the phone and said, "It's not your cousin."

It was, in fact, Luke's teacher who was not in a giggly sort of mood. I couldn't stop laughing as I tried to apologize for Ben. I also couldn't stop laughing as she was telling me about Luke's naughty behavior.

She probably hung up the phone and thought, "With parents like that, it's no wonder."

Hangin' Out

This is Henry's new favorite thing to do when he's outside.

He just hangs out up there.

He also has been digging for dinosaur bones and adding to his rock collection.

He's a fun kid!