Words to live by
If it is to be, it is up to me.
The boys can often be found curled up on the couch playing Mario Kart on the Wii.
Wyatt loves his Angry Birds. He sometimes likes to hang out with them on the kitchen counter while we fix breakfast.
Jack was sad that I was taking Wyatt's picture. He called out to me "SOMEONE needs to come take MY picture too."
John and Jack spent last week at Boy Scout day camp. Each day Jack managed to come home dirtier than the day before. Believe it or not, it was after camp was over that Jack managed to pick up a tic. It took us half an hour to get it out of his head. His doctor says we see a very low rate of tic related disease in Kansas, but we are to keep an eye on the site for the next 6 weeks for a ring or a rash. Until then, the nasty little tic gets to stay in a baggie in my freezer. It makes me sick to my stomach just to think about that nasty little thing let alone think about him sitting there in my freezer - even if he is dead.
Jack likes to think he is a connosieur of pizza. He ordered pepperoni and sausage. The server asked what kind of sausage and Jack replied "Oh, comedian, please."
Wyatt invented a game that he likes to call Magniflying glass tennis. Imagine Ping Pong played with large plastic magnifying glasses and a hacki-sack. Wy was taught his brother the rules of the game and when they decided it was time to start Wyatt grabbed the table and stared hard at Jack. In a slow, low voice he said "You are going down harrrrrrrd, brother."
We decided to go to the park after dinner. Before we left Wyatt drew us a map of "Where the bad guys are, so we can stay away from them at all times." He asked me to follow the map to get us safely to the park and home again. (The red at the top of the page is the BAD guys. The other bit is the speed boat that will get us away fast if we get too close to those bad guys.)
The boys had to demonstrate a very complicated skill with a made up name the boils down to watch me walk on the rail road tie.
The Great Double flip of 2012.
Jack loved our shadows and asked me to take a picture of our shadows cuddling.
Jack made me a book of coupons. As you can see, I am eligible for a massage. I told him I thought this was a great coupon and he told me it was good for a massage from Aunt Beth (the massage therapist.) I do not believe she is aware that he issued this coupon on her behalf...
John took the boys in for their annual well visits. The nurses give you a sheet of paper with lots of questions to ask and tasks to have your little one perform. Once you have reached 3 things your little person cannot do, you stop and give the paper back to the nurses. One of the tasks is to have your sweetie draw a picture of a person with as many parts as possible. Wyatt drew a person complete with "shoulders, shoes and a cape."
The boys love to watch Pineas and Pherb. The bad guy in the show is Dr. Doofenshmirtz. He is always inventing evil machines to wreak havoc on some portion of the world. His machines area always named things like "shrink-inator" or "rancid-inator" "etc. His most recent invention was an "inator-inator" which inspired Wyatt to build a "Grab-inator". He built this from the tool kit his Papa sent from Chicago. Thanks for the supplies, Papa!
The boys love to wear their Mario & Luigi Halloween costumes. They wear them around the house. They wear them while they play around the house. They wear them to play Mario Brothers on the Wii. They wear them to dinner. They wear them to the grocery store, the Kmart, they even ask to wear them to bed.
Here they are enjoying some brotherly conversation on the front porch while Poppy was mowing the lawn.
Wyatt wanted to have a pic nic with his cuddle ups but he needed help carrying them downstairs. These were the ones he could carry by himself.
Wyatt was thrilled to get a scooter for his birthday. Jack got one for his birthday and it has been a little bone of contention since then. Thanks Gammy & Poppy!
Nothing better than celebrating your birthday with your friends!
And then getting to have a sleepover with your cousin to top the whole thing off! Happy birthday Wyatt!
Wyatt worked up the guest list for his 5th birthday party. Our favorite part of the guest list went like this "Uh, Beth & Doug's daughter. Beth & Doug. AND Beth & Doug's dog." Unfortunately the daughter couldn't join us, but the rest of the gang made it to the party!
Somone cannot believe his good fortune. Thanks, Beth & Doug's daughter!
The boys are obsessed with Charlie Brown and will often quote one of the episodes they watch on DVD. One of Wyatt's favorties is to look at me sadly and say "A boy without a dog is like a day without sunshine."
One of these days I am going to get around to actually making some strawberry shortcake from scratch for my birthday dessert. Until then, this one will suffice. I got a little fancy and added some fresh mint from the herb garden.
Each year Garmin reserves a day at World's of Fun for their Employees and their families. I was dreading the day this year because the last time we went, it was cold and miserable. Thankfully it was a gorgeous day and the stars aligned for a day of fun.
Waiting in line isn't bad when you have a friend with you.
Jack's soccer team after the last game of the season.
Part way into the season coach asked if any other parents could help keep the boys in line during practices. I know nothing about soccer but I can seperate kids and break up fights with the best of them so I volunteered. I was surprised to hear "Coach Amy" in the first 15 minutes of my first practice (and yes I have to think about it before I call it practice instead of rehearsal and intermission versus half time...) Unfortunately the boys didn't win any of their games this season. That is not entirely based on their skills or lack thereof. At this point the league is broken up by grade and a lot of boys on the other teams are a year or two older even though they were also in First grade. I have come to learn that a lot of public school parents opt to hold their kids back a year so their classes will have stronger sports teams - the older the kids are, the stronger their skills should be. It was shocking to see how much bigger some of the kids on the other teams were. I mean shocking. Better luck in the fall Yellow Dragons!
They fellas have now put together two birdhouses and they love projects like these. I am thinking we can display a wall of birdhouses in the back yard after John tears out the old and puts in the new deck this summer! Keep the birdhouses coming!
Melanie's family came down to spend Easter Sunday with us. As they were getting ready to leave, the boys started begging for a sleepover. They were so excited when we all agreed they could head back to Noah's house for the night.
Each class participates in the Spring concert each year. Here are the First Graders singing The Rainbow Connection. It doesn't matter who sings that song: it makes me cry every time I hear it.
The boys named John's truck Mavis - after one of the black trains in the Thomas the Tank Engine series. Mavis had not been doing so well and after locating a replacement, John drove Mavis away for parts. It turns out the folks who took Mavis in actually put her to work so she is still truckin' along in a rock quary - or a dump, I don't remember which.
The boys had a sleep over at their cousin Noah's house. Doesn't look like anyone missed Mom or Dad!
Here he is with his 5K money. Jack asked people to sponsor him for "maybe like a dollar?" and he wound up bringing in over $100 from his friends, family and neighbors. He was very proud of his bag of money. Thanks for your support!
