Grease Monkeys

Layne got this Power Wheels truck two years ago for his birthday from my mom. I would say he averages 10 hours a week in it. Driving has become one of his most time consuming hobbies. He has worn holes in the tires and is on his second battery. He has been asking for a real car that runs on gas for almost a year, but for now he blows off steam in his electric vehicle.

Layne has convinced Brik that he is completely incapable of driving. Brik gets all nervous when we ask him to park it or even drive it across the yard. He pushes the pedal in 2 second intervals to make sure he is never going too fast or about to hit something. He is a great passenger and always makes sure to buckle up with the Velcro seat belt. Some days they just pull out in the middle of the yard, crank the radio on the Spanish station, fill the cup holders with their Diego sippy cups, flip down the tailgate and chill.

Saturday while I was running around to meetings, Jarom got some yard work done and the boys gave the truck a tune up. Layne was enthralled with the jack and Brik was tickled to be assistant mechanic.


It won't be long before this little guy is squeezing in beside his brothers. Already perfecting the sounds and actions of cars, Roxwell has proven to have a boy's heart. Notice the gurgling from the back of his throat. This sound is reserved for playing with cars.

And those are misquito bites all over his arm, he was completely attacked!

Herbivore

Roxwell is nearly 11 months, still working on the crawling thing, but he rolls all over. Still a happy boy, content, sleeps 11 hours a night and puts up with Layne's rough handling. He still loves his baby swing as the motor can barley sway his 21 pounds. Only two teeth have made their way into his gummy grin.

Although he is my third boy which is old hat by now, he has a few quirks that are totally original to himself. Roxwell has a very developed palate and much prefers whole food over pureed. Often times he will refuse his own food if you are eating real food in front of him. I am most amazed at his ability to enjoy leafy vegetables and strong flavors from herbs, spices and garlic! How I love to see bits of myself in my child, finally.

Remembering Bugles

The boy's raspberry eating strategy reminded me of when my brother and I used to put Bugles on our fingers. We were limited to man-made finger foods because we lived in Podunk, where raspberries didn't even exist in real life. I mean, Bugles are clearly better in every way; they last for months without going bad, they don't stain your clothes, they don't have to be washed before eaten and they are cheaper. Remind of why we even eat raspberries at all.

I got these big, honking, delicious raspberries at our favorite produce market where prices are amazing. At the typical grocery store they will go on sale for $2.50 for a 6 oz. package, a warehouse store will have them for $9.99 for 6-6 oz. containers. These were 50 cents per 6 oz. container. I am recording these exciting facts for posterity...I wonder what raspberries went for in 1985.

When did nutrition get thrown out the window? I am looking forward to the day when the snacks and refreshments dished out at school, church, meetings, parties, ect. are a little less Bugle-ish (goldfish, Graham crackers, cookies, "fruit snacks, Little Debbie's, wheat thins, Gatorade...) and a lot more like plain old, God-made raspberries.

Looks Older Than 6

It seems like Layne has been 6 for awhile, but technically he just turned yesterday. He is so dang tall! He had a fun day.

Since he was born at 9:19, we used it as an excuse to not start 'the birthday until after breakfast. This saved us from getting up extra early and having candy for breakfast. We had planned on going to the pool, but the weather was too rainy.

Layne started out by opening presents, his favorite being the one Brik chose...a truck with a trailer and jet ski ($10 no batteries!) Next, we took him to Toys R Us so he could spend his birthday coupon and money. He bought some cars and a gum ball. We stopped by Cold Stone where he chose banana pudding and sweet cream ice cream with a pound cake mix-in.

On our way home from the toy store we were stopped at a light and a bird flew into our window. A few seconds later the electric window went down, after trying to put it back up we realized there was no bird and the window just gave out. Lucky for Layne because while his brothers took naps and I made birthday cake, Layne and Dad got to go to the car dealership. Sulking about the $300 bill, Jarom let Layne climb in and out, push all the buttons, check out the trunk, under the hood and the driver seat of the shiniest cars (Shiny cars are Layne's favorite.)

We ate cake before dinner and let the kids run around in the fountain after eating at Liberty Market. He loved his day, it was so simple. Happy Birthday giant six year-old.

How Sweet it is to be Loved By You

Layne's first baby sign was "food", Briks first sign was "more", Roxwell's is "I love you." This kid is so sweet. He throws out the sign when he sees us in the morning, smiles when we sign it to him and he will sign it right back. So now you know when this munchkin is gazing your way with his arm in your direction and his fingers all funky -- that just means he is sweet on you too.

All by Myself

This Little Piggy Skipped The Market

Hobo Days

You know how cities have random celebrations; Renaissance Festival, Country Thunder, County Fairs? Britt, Iowa, my parent's hometown is a teeny, tiny town in Northern Iowa that actually celebrates hobo's. This is the point where originality crosses the fence to absurdity, I know. Hobo Days is actually a long time tradition in the area and besides the exceptional friendliness towards hobos, is most like any other small town festival.

We do not make it out to many parades, so it was a novel experience for the kids. Especially MY kids, who are candy-deprived, where the most they have ever had in their possession was from trick or treating less than 20 houses. They ended up with over a gallon of candy, mostly tootsie rolls since the bigger kids grabbed the bigger stuff. This parade was an hour long, and every other float threw a couple fistfuls of candy.

The kids got the wave down pat

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Even Roxwell learned real fast.

Collecting their loot

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This is what happens when they actually throw candy AT you...stinking hobos.

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At the end of the morning when we were heading back to our car (because that is all we could stand of the blasted humidity) I told my mom that I hadn't gotten a picture of a hobo. She looked around where we were and turned to a man with a long beard and asked "Are you a hobo?" I was mortified. Luckily he was and he graciously posed with the kids. So here is "Jump Off John" and all hobo pride. Notice how Brik kept a stroller's distance, that was on purpose.

"I Skieded!"

We really thought Layne could have fun water skiing. Dad pulled out his kiddie skies, the same Mickey Mouse ones that I learned on at a young age. They are short, wide and tied together with the handle connected to the skies. A rider on the boat holds the other end of the long rope and lets go once the skier falls, lest the kid be drug. Dad worked on pulling Layne off the shore with the jetski while Jarom arranged the skies and I readied the camera. Each day we worked with him we could only talk him into a few tries before he was adamantly done.

On our first day working with Layne, Brik agreed to giving it a try. With low expectations,we were set to grab him within the first few feet of the shore so that he wouldn't get freaked out when he fell. With sheer amazement, we watched ort little three-year-old effortlessly ski a circle the width of the river and with confidence bounce his skies on the water to add to his enjoyment. First try, every try.

A bit timid when it was go-time, but after one sucess he was all smiles.

After that, Brik was an expert on the subject, telling anyone else that skied "You have to jump so it is more funner." He was sure to tell every one "I skieded." By our last day he was waving at us from across the river while casually gliding across the water.

Brik was very encouraging to Layne, always telling him how good he was doing on every try. Eventually Layne was able to go a decent distance before wiping out, on the last try of the third day he actually skied too. Fun memories.

Murky Glory

It is obvious that we trek our family of five (quite a load and expense) to Iowa (a very unglamorous destination) for the sole purpose to unite the grandparents and grandkids. It is no secret that as parents we are only in attendance for transportation purposes. Even still, I have many memories of my old stomping grounds; Manchester, Lake Delhi, The Country Club, Britt, Hobo Days...It is invigorating to remember childhood.

Lake Delhi was where I first learned to ski and spent many a weekend being pulled behind the boat via various blow-up devices (inner tube, ski rocket, torpedo). Engine Joe is the cliff we jumped off of when I perforated my eardrum in middle school. Freddy's Beach is where we built castles, moats and rivers in the sand, jumped on their super bouncy trampolines or swam out to their floating dock with a slide, rope, trampoline and diving board (I wonder if that is still there).

Dad now has a condo on Lake Delhi with jet ski and pontoon. We got out in the boat most every day. Layne, of coarse was into driving as much as possible. Roxwell was not too fond of the life jacket so we tried to make arrangements so that he would not have to be along for the ride. I gave skiing, knee boarding and tubing a go and was pleased to still be able to hang on with minimal day-after-stiffness. Jarom absolutely loves hanging out on the Lake and participating in the various water sports. Brik, well, we'll get to him next post.

P.S. My husband is hot.

Stress? What Stress?

As if packing up one city girl, two monkeys and a baby for a 10 day trip isn't hard enough...

Throw in a car accident,

A storm that lays trees across the road, causes a full (Sabbath) day power outage and 3 stir crazy kids pent up in a non-child proofed house,

An allergic reaction,

A teething baby,

Falling down the stairs in the middle of the night while tending to awake kids,

Getting to the airport late after the flight is closed and not even having to pose as a pathetic family with small children because we already were that family,

Loosing every card game known to man

And juggling face time between divorced grandparents.

Yeah, I'd say that is stress.

Hickville

We are wrapping up our trip to Iowa, yay. No, really it was fun just A LOT of work, stress and sweating. I am looking forward to wrapping myself in a dry towel after showering and getting my hair flat again.

We surprised my Dad by coming in a few days early for his 50th birthday party, a big outdoor celebration for the ultimate redneck. Complete with homemade yard games, raunchy gifts and coolers of party beverages.

In this game you take turns hitting a nail with a hammer, first one to get it all the way in the stump wins.

You all know the Hawkeye bean bag toss.

Ahhh, a normal game--volleyball.

AH-MAZE-ING!

Gone on vacation, too busy to properly blog.

Here is a sample of our day...can you tell who this is?

Tan Lines and Water Slides

Ahhh, beating the heat is no easy feat unless you have this wet wonderland at your disposal. We know these super nice people that built this incredible backyard and pretty much beg people to come and use it. We can't thank them enough.

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...

Yes, it just a tooth folks, don't get too excited. I guess I need to work more on my foreshadowing skills. Congrats to Mrs. Fish who has been making secret guesses via email (lame). She wins a family swim pass to the pool we are sitting for.