Sunday, August 31, 2008

Chicken Pox House - Day One

Guess who has the chicken pox?
Contrary to what it seems, Sawyer and Tristan do not. Yet. They are playing parts in an elaborate game that involves boats made out of pillows and phrases like "Are you awake, friend?"
Here she is! Chicken Pox girl. I anticipated the outbreak (from Todd's shingles) and had all the kids on 1000mg Vitamin C and Ambrotose for two weeks now. It seems it worked! It's a mild case. It started yesterday with "I don't feel good". Later that night small red bumps appeared the size of gnats. Within only an hour or two they were fluid filled tiny bumps the size of millet.
She slept well, and today was feeling well enough to do this:
Sawyer thinks playing puppets means joining the gang. Kiki and Tristan think playing puppets means biting Sawyer's squirrel as hard as they can.
Last night while Kiki slept, Daisy stayed by her side the whole time. She's a faithful, loyal, intuitive dog...
The boys woke up and started a game of "Guns".
You win if YOU see the other guy first.
"I got you!"
Later on it turned into "boats".
Which was fine except that Sawyer chose a Daisy toy as his oar.
Daisy! It made for a crowded foredeck.

Inventory of a Suitcase

McKenna decided some time ago that she was too big for her Dora the Explorer suitcase.
Sawyer decided he was not.
These are the very important things you must pack in a suitcase: batteries, a flashlight key ring, a "gun", a "sword", and an "ax". Plus lot's of white K'nex. Just white ones.
Realizing this was probably more than meets the eye I asked him, "What are those white things?"
"Dollars." he replied matter of factly.
If you think about it, he's probably better prepared than most of us would be if we could only pack a few things.
Gun, sword, ax, flashlight, batteries, and currency. Good job!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

What They Built With K'Nex

Here's the car Sawyer built...



He uses it for his squirrel.



Kiki built a car of her own...



For her mouse.



Here is Tristan's car...

He didn't plan it to be for anyone. Which is just as well, the wheels don't roll.


Is This Smart....?

They've deepened the dinosaur swimming hole.
Does Greyson care?

No, he does not. Yet.
Maybe he does now. The fall was not as dramatic as it could have been.
But he did start something.
It's much more fun to swing on a swingset if it involves the possibility of sudden peril.
Tristan added a little drama of his own...
Kerploooom!

It's the Puppets Now...


That's a tasty looking strawberry. Do I get one?


Yep.


"Woody! Woooooooooooooody! There's strawberries! " calls Sawyer's squirrel.
"Yay! Strawberries!" That's enough to get Tristan off the couch and over into the kitchen.



Back on the couch, Kermit and Otto are fighting over if Kiki should make Kermit sleep and never wake up.
"I hate it when you play like that Kiki!" complains Greyson.
"You have to find a way to wake Kermit up!" explains Kiki.
Such a big sister thing to do.

California's on the Couch...

Can all your kids ages 4 to 12 enjoy a mini fire engine that turns into a city? If it's making it's first appearance since being buried in the toyroom for a year, then, YES!


The mini cars had a life of their own-
"I'm going to California!"


"California's on the couch."


"NO, it's over HERE" Kiki argued.
I didn't stick around long enough to find out where California really was.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Enough Big Cats For Everyone

Here is Kiki's lion. Named Aslan...


Here is Greyson's, named Scar....


Here's little Sawyer's Tigey...


Tristan's tiger was nowhere to be found....

DAISY! Look closely, who is biting who?

Monday, August 25, 2008

Little Three Shirts


"How many shirts should I wear today, Mom? One, or two, or three?"
"Why do you want three shirts?"
"One, or two, or three?"
"Three."
"I don't like this one because it doesn't look good on me."
Off comes the third shirt and now he's Little Two Shirts.

Lunch With the "Guys"

Look what we found buried in the toyroom! Guys. All the playmobile guys.
My kids have disappeared in the basement, setting up the Playmobil farm, the Playmobil airport, and the Playmobil castle. The guys joined us for lunch today.
Kiki knew that horses like oats (Rice Krispy treats).

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Lego Mountain

It's Spring Cleaning time at our house. We have to get ready for the new school year and that means as many piles as possible will be unpiled. Piles in my house hang like clouds over my head. And when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. SO, like the seven dwarfs we are whistling while we work (read whining) and unpiling like nobody's business.

Here is Greyson after several hours of working on his Lego pile. See the handy organizing tools momma bought him? Can you see the thankfulness on his face?







And then something happened that bolstered my heart enough to face another season of parenting:


Unprompted help, from a sibling!




Soon after, another sibling of the male species was seen in the clearing. A sight like this has never been captured on film before.



This feels so good.

Friday, August 22, 2008

She made it happen....

I'd like you to meet my brother's wife Brenda. She hosted 9 people in her house, and had just moved in.....


She's the perfect wife for Dan. She supports his endeavors, and is devoted to the four boys and their home. We love her.

Let's see....who else was there? Oh yeah!


My best friend Darlene and Aaron came to see us.



With her four kids...

Two Melissas!


They came just after a huge rainstorm...


That someone left the van windows open in.


Trip to Colorado....

This is my brother Dan's yard....
And these are his neighbors....
This is where I feel most at home because I was raised on the prairie...with a big, fat, sky and room to expand your lungs. You can breathe out here. Get ready to see it....
Rainbow!

Tristan says, "It look like Jesus is coming out of the clouds!"
Now lets take a tour closer to the house ...
There was a surprise in the garage. It doesn't belong to Dan. But Sawyer sure will be glad it was there......