Hey, what's the big idea?

Now, this phrase can be used in many instances, with many different parts emphasized. Just imagine this coming out of a three old now, funny isn't it? At least I think so, but others might not when they hear him say it and take it out of context. This phrase comes from the show Imagination Movers and never is used in an "ugly" way, but sometimes when Nicholas uses it, it is almost in a context of, hey, why are you doing that. I find it too funny. It was especially funny this morning at 3:30am. Now, normally I would be not so happy, but first of all, he didn't come in our room just because, he actually had a good reason. His diaper had leaked and he was all wet. So, Burt brought him to our bed and turned on our bathroom light so he could change him and this is what I heard.....Hey! What's the big idea? Hilarious I might say. Oh out of the mouth of babes.

And, don't you love it when you go to see what your child is doing and he looks at you and says, "I'm just pooping" before you even say a word. Why on earth will he not go on the toilet???? I might have to start trying again with him because waiting on him after our first go at it is taking forever. Hmm....I will have to think on that one.

Lastly, the other night Nicholas told Burt that he wanted two Annie and Clarabels and Joshua needed two Annie and Clarabels (trains). When Burt said it was bedtime and plus that required money and we didn't have any, he responded with, "Daddy, you need to go get money". Okay then.

Trip to Arizona (better late than never)

I don't know why it is so difficult for me to keep up with blogging....maybe because I choose to read others before working on mine and then the kids wake up or it's my bedtime, but I figured I would try to post these pictures from our Arizona trip way back in May. We all packed up and flew to visit my Grandma, Aunt, Aunt and Uncle, cousins, and my Dad and step-mom flew in from CA to meet up with us too. As an added bonus one of my best friends lives in Phoenix so I was able to spend half a day with her too. It was actually quite relaxing given we only were there from Thursday night to Monday morning. Since we were only there to visit family we were not rushing from place to place to see stuff and could just enjoy being "still". The plane flights were the longest part of the trip, but the boys did really well. A few people gave us looks when they were being loud, but wouldn't you prefer loudness over crying???? So, without further ado here are the pictures, finally.

Four generations

One of our main reasons for visiting, besides to see family we haven't seen in over five years, was to try to get a four generation picture. My Grandma is the only grandparent that is still alive for Burt and myself. Seeing as she hasn't been feeling 100% lately and my Dad was about to have surgery we finally just picked a date and went. Not that we thought anything was going to happen to either of them, we just knew it was way over due. It was hard to get all of us to smile at the same time, to look in the same direction or even stay on the couch, but I think we did okay.

Great Grandma with her great grandsons. I can't remember how many this makes for her, but I think it is around 12 or so.

Grandpa building ships and "train tracks" with the boys. Nicholas loved to knock the creations down. My Grandma had these blocks in her closet from many years ago. She says she pulls them out whenever the great grandkids come to visit. It was a lifesaver to keep the boys entertained while we talked.

Lots of pool fun at my Uncle's house. It made it not so hot in the 100+ degree weather. I didn't really notice the heat that much, especially with their being no humidity.

We tried again with the picture of the five of us the next day.

Stacey came to my Uncle's house. Logistically this was much easier and this way she was able to see Burt and the boys. It was great to see her even if it was only for a few hours.

Uncle Ken with Nicholas.

Joshua trying to tackle Uncle Ken.

All the kids joining in.

What's better than a popsicle and juice???

Emily and Nicholas

My cousin Nicole has three children. We tried to get all five of the kids to sit still for us so we could have a 2nd cousins picture (I think that is right). This is what we got.

All and all it was a wonderful trip. We had some great conversations, tasty food and lots of relaxation. The boys slept well, thank you, and we were able to catch up with my family. The only thing is I didn't get a picture of everyone else. Next time....and hopefully that won't be in another five years.

Cutie pie

Click here to see pictures of Joshua. Our friend Anita took them and once again she did a fabulous job. She captured his personality perfectly. He's a ham even if he did take some prying to get these pictures taken. Although, he did love it when her husband came into the room. Go figure. Enjoy!

New Phrase

Nicholas has a new phrase around the house now when someone does something interesting or funny mainly.

(He, Joshua, that, etc)...is flat out silly.

Wonder where he got that expression???? The boy is a sponge these days I tell you. It is funny when he says things like this, but other phrases aren't so wonderful. We definitely have to be on our toes about words we use that's for sure.

Joshua- 18 months

Wow, is it that time again already. I can't believe we are already in July. On the 3rd Joshua turned 18 months old, crazy. We went to the Dr's today. All is well. He now weighs 24lbs 11 ounces (30%) and is 32 and 3/4 inches tall (70%). He says about 5 words that everyone could probably understand and 5 or more words that we can understand. He also signs about 5 or so things. He is a very active child. Loves to be outdoors doing anything, climbs like crazy, can almost do a somersault and loves to wrestle. He has some of the funniest expressions and still has curly hair. He is a hoot is all I can say. He definitely keeps me on my toes. That's all for now. Just wanted to give a short update on his progress. He is still a lightweight compared to Nicholas, but you can't tell him that since he doesn't seem to notice at all. Guess that's the second child syndrome.

What in the world????

So, isn't there a philosphy out there that once your child gets hurt from something that he probably shouldn't be doing, that they won't do it again??? For example: touching a hot stove, climbing over the couch, falling and hitting his head on the window seal, running too fast and making friends with the pavement, climbing on the kitchen chairs and falling, etc, etc. These are all examples of what my fearless second child does, cries about it, comes to tell me what hurt him with a small hug from me and then goes about his business to do it once again. Crazy!!!! I didn't get a picture of his first black eye, but here is his second one he received yesterday by trying to catch himself while falling and ended up sliding on the pavement with his cheek. I would say poor little guy, but he doesn't seem to care that much, but it is sad and of course I don't want him to keep injuring himself. I want to get 18 month pictures taken in a couple weeks, but at this rate I don't know if I will be able to. I am just surprised, but so thankful, that he hasn't broken anything yet. I will keep praying for him on that one, among everything else. Gotta love the second boy wanting to be like his brother way too fast.

Okay, so I had every intention of posting a picture, but after I wrote this I ended up getting sick and have been down and out for the past week. Today, the following Thursday is the first day I have had any energy and that's not that much to begin with. It hasn't been the greatest week. Thank goodness my mom was here part of the time to take care of the boys, but bummer that we missed days to do fun stuff. So, sorry there is no picture, just use your imagination.

Beach Weekend (back in May)

Over Mother's Day weekend we were able to go to the beach with our friends the Fureigh's. Joseph and Britney invited us down to their condo and who were we to refuse. We drove down on Friday afternoon and returned Sunday evening. We arrived in time to unload the car and head to dinner. The kids did fairly well considering they had been in a car for three and a half hours and we had some of the best grilled shrimp I have ever tasted. I don't know what kind of seasoning they use, but boy was it good. After dinner we stopped to have some ice cream and then back to the condo for bedtime. Joshua and Rylie went right to sleep, but Nicholas, of course, took a little longer. Us adults stayed up and watched tv and talked for awhile and then hit the bed ourselves.

The next morning after breakfast we headed out to the beach. The boys loved it. Nicholas went straight to the ocean, but we couldn't actually swim due to high tides. We just waded and splashed in the water as much as we could. Joshua loved playing in the sand and just hanging out in the puddle we made for him. Rylie wasn't so sure about the sand, but did play in it some. After a couple hours at the beach we headed to the pool and then up to the room to have lunch and take naps.

While the kids napped Britney and I headed to the outlets to shop. It was a lot of fun to go shopping with a friend and just go to look for myself. I haven't done that in quite awhile so it was nice. I didn't buy anything for the boys. Hard to believe isn't it. We met up with the men and children for dinner at Lulu's. While we waited the kids played in the sand and Rylie got her hair braided. Then at dinner we sat where we could see the boats go by which entertained the kids. By the time we were done and headed home it was bedtime. Yeah for that. Although, even though the kids were in bed and we had time to actually play cards or Wii or anything we just sat and watched tv and talked. What is up with that???? What party poopers we are. Oh well. It was nice to just sit and relax and listen to the ocean.

Sunday morning we opted to just stay at the pool. Joshua wasn't interested in doing much so he just sat outside the pool and played in a bucket of water. Rylie and Nicholas swam to their hearts content until lunchtime. We ate, packed up and tried to make it out before the meltdowns began. We did pretty well I think. Joshua slept the whole way home and Nicholas took about an hour nap and then watched his movie the rest of the way. All and all it was a wonderful weekend and first trip to the beach. Hopefully there will be lots more to come.

This picture has nothing to do with the beach, but it is one with all of us in it. This was taken back in February.