Park Day

Tuesday the boys had a co-op learning class on US Government to go to. Luci and I went shopping. One of the treasures we found: pink goggles! Apparently they are necessary for riding in my minivan. After the class, we all went to the park. It was absolutely the most gorgeous day here that I can ever remember.

Here is my baby, showing everyone what children born in the Year of the Monkey can do. She was there for quite a while. Bryan is behind her, but he really isn't holding on to her (even though I wanted him to hold on!!).

JT going nuts on the swing.
JT up close.Bryan on the slide--he had a lot of fun bending around the corner on this one.
Up so high!
See? No brother holding on. Brave girl!

For John

John's out of town and we made this video for him.

John--we went to the park yesterday. It was absolutely gorgeous weather. It was hard to get JT and Luci off the playground, but I figured out a way--get them to roll down the hill! It worked.

Look for 1) JT to almost run over Luci; 2) Bryan to run past the camera making a funny face, and 3) Luci was told to "wave to Daddy"--I meant for her to wave to the camera but she kept looking around for you.

Training

Ok, I wasn't going to say anything about potty-training. Here it is anyway. (OOPS! apparently there is another post on potty-training on this blog! I can't keep a promise, can I?)

The other day Luci did her business in her little princess potty chair (it even plays royal music when something is deposited!). Afterwards, I congratulated her on being that much closer to being "potty-trained."
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Luci got all excited. Wow! She seems to "get it!" This may potty-training may go pretty fast from this point on, I thought.
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No, she was just excited because she thought it had something to do with Thomas the Tank Engine. He's a TRAIN. Now do you see why she was so excited? Potty-TRAINing.

Oh, brother. Another kid with a mind that goes where it wants to go.

Photo came from here: http://www.thomas-tank-engine.com/thomas-tank-engine/thomas-fun-stuff/picture-of-thomas.html

Melodie!

Bryan has inherited the "Bryan Brow." Melodie, I don't know if you remember this, but one hot summer day we were swimming at the pool behind Fairmont. I was in the middle of some incredibly interesting story (ha! to my own ears, maybe) and you stopped me short. You told me to "fix those eyebrows!" It was so funny, and ever since I've been making sure that my eyebrows are going the direction they are supposed to go. Every once in a while I have to tell Bryan to "fix those eyebrows," too.

By the way, you'd love him. He is a lot like my brother Tom was as a teenager--all gangly legs and ferocious appetite but sweet as all get-out.

Trees, Trees, Trees

John ordered some trees recently. He was home Sunday afternoon, so that's when we put them in. After living in the woods for so many years, being out here on this nice lot seems so bare. There are trees here, but it is definitely not the woods. Here are some shots from Sunday. There was a nice, soft rain falling--not much, but enough to make you really damp. I tried to make this a family affair...that means I dragged the boys outside with us. Bryan was agreeable, JT spent the time showing us his karate staff skills and Luci looked so cute in her pink boots and pink dress, trying to help Daddy. My job was to take some pictures to show the grandparents and then scoot inside before everyone else and do the dishes from lunch. Hey, Woman! Why aren't you helping?
Daddy, my shub-el (shovel) works as well as yours!
Three trees? Are you sure there are three trees here? Looks like a bunch of sticks!JT helping by demonstrating how to clobber bad guys with his staff.
This little twig will someday be a red maple.
Helping again.
We don't have pretty grass--you couldn't practice putting here, but wow it really is green. And we like it just fine! What we have now is much better than we had in the woods at the old house. (We mostly had moss and mud there.) County Road 8 is in the background. Down that hill, beyond the closest trees, is the neighbor's meadow.
Hey! Wait for me! Momma was taking my picture! John and boys planting some poplars. We have missed the cooling effect that trees give the house, and we are hoping that the poplars grow well and produce some needed sun-screening for us. That's the west side of the house.


It was fun getting dirty!

Things Luci Did Today--and I'm Tired!

Came running to me:

Mommy, I have a hurt paw!
Hid underneath the rocking chair.

Tried on the dress from the Raggedy Ann doll--Mom, this is the one I made:

Mommy, This dress do not fit!

How did she get this thing on??
Not Luci, but JT and Clay had fun outside today.

Clay is our next door neighbor.

Bryan Recognized Himself in the Funnies

He was right--on Friday, it took Bryan 4 minutes to inhale a 12" sandwich from Subway with everything on it (and I do mean everything! The young lady fixing the sandwich had trouble putting the top on the sub).

Sunday

JT's Tang Soo Do Clinic in Mississippi

John took JT to this clinic. JT earned points towards earning his black belt.

Luci Wants a Pet

Today she asked if we could get her a sheep. That really puzzled me, but maybe she has something there.....


Thanks to Lori for sending me this cartoon!

Random Numbers

How hot it was today

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Roundtrip mileage to John's office

41 miles

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Only comment here is I guess I am thankful I don't drive a car that needs deisel.

In Search of a Prince

Luci put on this outfit (she has a veil on, too!) and wandered around the house. I asked her, "What are you doing?"

"Lookin' for my Prince."

Cole, you'd better run!

Will the Real Pat Morita Please Stand Up?

Love that chocolate pudding moustache!

Science Class

Why I Don't Live in Florida

or anywhere else near the southern coastline...

OLDSMAR, Florida — A Florida woman found an 8-foot long alligator prowling in her kitchen late Monday night, authorities said.

Sandra Frosti, 69, said the alligator must have pushed through the screen door on the back porch and then walked through an open sliding glass door at her home in Oldsmar, just north of Tampa.

The alligator apparently then strolled through the living room, down a hall and into the kitchen.

A trapper removed the alligator, which was cut by a plate that was knocked to the ground during the chaos.

But no one inside the house was injured.

Fox News Story

Pretty as a Picture

Our azaleas finally bloomed! I was so tickled. The azaleas in town have bloomed and are looking tired...the azaleas on our road (about 11 miles from town) bloomed a week ago. So, why not ours? I don't know. I checked them every day and nothing...until Monday!

So, what did Luci do? She plucked every blossom on our two little bushes. There are more about to bloom, so maybe I can save those from her cute little fingers.

A bonus: Luci wanted to look like Lilo--the Hawaiian girl in Lilo and Stitch. I think she makes a pretty Lilo.

Luci and JT as Lilo and Stitch.

Now, THIS Is Green!

Monday, April 7

Saturday, April 12

Monday, April 21 (just 2 weeks after the first picture!)

New Phrases

At the church picnic, the boys took turns watching Luci for me. At one point, I asked Bryan to take over. Apparently, he'd never heard the expression I used. Here was the conversation:

mom: Go spell J.T., Bryan.

Bryan: J.T.

mom: (rolling her eyes) Bryan, go spell J.T.

Bryan: (in an exagerated voice) J-dot T-dot.

mom: (finally understanding) Go watch your sister!


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How funny that this was today's Family Circus!

Church in the Park

Sunday was the absolutely most beautiful day we've had so far this Spring. It was also the day planned for our "church in the park" day. We had evening services at a local park--love the new place!--and everyone had fun. Even when plates and the plastic silverware were late getting there, it was fun.

Cole
Bryan, figuring out how to manage his food since plates were late getting there. I thought this was pretty funny, and only a teenage boy could get away with a pizza box for a plate! JT (in the black shirt in the background) playing football with friends.
JT
Luci climbing--eek! This place was all new to us, and the climbing made me nervous. John said, "The ground is padded, quit worrying." All I could think of was that she could hit her head on the way down! I worried. She did fine.

Soccer Saturday

JT had his Upwards soccer game today. I know that one of these weeks it is going to be blisteringly hot, but for now I'm enjoying the cool weather. I don't like it hot, so this suits me.
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Luci and Hannah loved this little puppy. I loved it because it kept Luci close by and entertained the entire game.
Bryan thought the sun was too much and got creative with Luci's chair. Until Luci saw it and demanded her chair back (which she did not sit in the entire time!).

JT as goalie. I love this shot! I used the sports setting on my camera, zoomed in, and turned on the flash. I think the flash helped the zoom not to look shaky. When we enlarged it, we saw that JT has a special thing he does to concentrate. He didn't even realize he was doing it! Double click on the photo and look at his mouth if you want to see.
Luci begging me to get a puppy "with hair like mine! Please!"
I nearly cried when I told Luci to put the doggy down--she didn't lean over and set the puppy on the ground, she just let go! I felt so badly for the puppy, but she was fine. Thank goodness!