Big Truck Day

Big Truck Fail Day

We tried to make it fun

And tried

And tried some more.

Even the barefoot music dude

Couldn't get the boys to get over

how loud the horns were blaring.

We thought it was a bad idea to allow all the kids to have fair-game at the truck horns.  But we had a good time anyway, despite our quiet-seeking children!

Daddy Long Spider

Aiden has a love/hate relationship with spiders.  He finds them fascinating, but is dreadfully afraid of their webs.  I call him my spider-web police: always alerting me to them.  Lately, the daddy long leg spiders have been having their month of glory on our fence.  I pick them up and show them to Aiden in an attempt to break his little phobia.  Courtesy of the dead tree in our back 40 (40 feet, but hey, it's 40!), some big branches have been landing in the yard after rainstorms.  Active imagination turned on: they are called "Daddy Long Spiders!"

Snacktime

My Little Ham

Celtic Woman

If you've never seen their outdoor concert in Ireland on PBS late at night during a telethon, you don't know what you're missing!  I like Celtic Woman for the romance & history ad Andy likes them for the thunderous drums & Braveheart-ishness.  Our fabulous friends Jack and Jen took us to the concert at a local amphitheater venue just 5 miles from our house.  Samantha the Magnificent came over to watch the boys, and they were, quote: "Great!"  (It would take another blog entry to go on and on about how wonderful Sam is!).  Anyhoo ... we were the youngest at the concert by 50 years, but we still all enjoyed ourselves, even despite the $5 bottles of Pepsi!

Yay!  We're out without kids!  

Jack & Jen

No cameras were allowed, but I tried to get a pic of the bagpipe player on our way out ... in the mass exodus, I got bumped, and ended up getting a pic of this sweet nun instead!  LOL

My favorite song was 

Spanish Lady

And the dancing fiddler was as always, most entertaining!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wzMfSiOkMQ

Parking Lot

I cannot overstate how obsessed attached Aiden is to his cars.  They don't have to be Matchbox, but be really anything that has four (or more!) wheels.  He organizes them on the dining room table to keep the organization from being demolished by his little brother.  His growing imagination and real world role-play encompasses his cars.  I present to you: "Parking Lot."

Another Day at the Duck Park

We absolutely adore the duck park in town.  The boys and I made it a date last week, and we hit the library, the pub next door, and then the duck park 2 blocks from that.  We worked on manners and eating etiquette at lunch, and Aiden even ordered his own lunch for the first time.  He was quite proud of himself.  And the park was abounding with ducks: the boys were actually overwhelmed!  ...  and then there was the squirrel! 

 Reading a book while waiting for his sandwich

It's a Germany Day

It's raining cats and dogs.  Mom and I always call days like this Germany days, because they remind us of our stint in Bavaria.  But I'm not complaining.  It's a wonderful change from sunshine, forces us to relax and take care of inside business, is great sleeping weather, and washes the world clean again.  Reminds me of Jesus and how his blood washes us clean of all our ugliness and sin ... revealing a clean, refreshed new creation.  And that's just not a one-time deal: "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfullness."  ~Lamentations 3:22-23

Proof That We're Sick

In accordance with things that Aiden wants (or doesn't want!) to do, he is either "sick again" or "feewin' awl better!".  Ashton and I do not have that luxury: we are definitely sick.  I'd post a pic of me, but no one really needs to see me in this state of no-makeup and stuffiness. 

Such a sad, I-don't-feel-well face!

Does the mess and boy-wiping-nose-with-shirt say it all or what?!

Action Shots in the Park