a funny reminder

Christmas Eve, which was last night ... when E went to bed ... he made this sign and hung it on the door.  

{Daddy had been teasing him that he might sleep in and we might forget him when we left for Rapid City ... and perhaps E thought there was a chance it actually might happen?}

(photo coming)

"Don't leave me behind!  Ezra! ZZZZZZZ"

nuts to the world!

I let G wear shorts while we went to Panera last night.

*** This morning ... ***

Is it cold this day (always says "this day" instead of today)?

Yes.

Oh nuts. 

It's winter.  

Nuts to the world!

It will be cold until it's summer again.

Well ... can I wear shorts today because I am three?

I don't know.

Camo shorts?
I got you some new jeans last night that you could try ...

Are they short jeans? (shorts)
No, they are jeans ... long pants ... because it's winter.

Oh.  Am I three years old?
Yes.

Can I wear shorts this day because I am three?

We'll see ...

a little conversation

G and I were talking about something and I was explaining something and I said ...

"Well ... remember when J and I went on the cruise?
G: "Yes ... and I was so so sad.  And I missed you.  And I cried.  And I wanted you to come back.  

And you DID!  You did come back and I was YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!"

Mommy: "I did come back." 
G: "Was I a baby then?"
Mommy: "No, you were three ... and now you are three and a half.  We celebrated your birthday when it was your last day of being two. Then, the next morning it was your birthday ... but I didn't see you because J and I had to go to the airport so early."

G: "Will I have another birthday?"
Mommy: "Yes, in May you will be four."

G: "And I'll be as big as E!"

Mommy: "No ... you won't.  He will still be older and he will be turning 8.

And when you turn 5 he'll be 9.  And so on.

When you turn 6 he'll turn 10."

G: "What the heck???  I have a bunch of birthdays!?!"

more about the darling bear outfit

This morning ...

G knows I think his bear outfit is so cute -- but he doesn't like it.  I hadn't even mentioned wearing it -- but apparently it was on his mind and he was trying to figure out how to avoid wearing it.

G: "Can you wear bear shirts to church, Dadda?"

Daddy: "Yes, you can."

G: "No, you can't.  It's against the law!"

Mommy: "No, it isn't.  You can wear bear shirts to church."

G:  "No.  The pastor says you can't!"

a little moon sliver

Gun: Ezzie called me a dork so I'm going to make a "wanted" sign.  (E often makes signs about his older brother being wanted.  They're pretty funny ... but the oldest brother always destroys them before I can get a photo taken.)

So Gun plopped down with a marker and pape ... stared at the paper briefly and put his hand on his head ...

Gun: I can't because ...

Daddy: You don't know how to spell?

Gun: Uh-huh.  So I'm just going to make a moon ...

He started drawing his moon.

Daddy: You're making a sliver.

Gun: Yes, it does look like a sliver (meaning tiny foreign object in your hand/foot) ... but it's a moon :)

fun fun fun fun fun

Out of the blue G started telling me this ...

"Once last winter I remember a giant funfunfunfunfun!

Halo was pulling us in the tube and she was going so fast 

and Ezzie was not holding on.  

I had to hold on so I didn't fall off.

I was like hold unhold hold unhold hold unhold hold unhold."

Me: "Why were you unholding?"

G: "For fun!  Just for fun!"

Me: "You just told me a story."

G: "Uh-huh."

Me: "It's good practice for school ... when you get older and have to write journals and stories."

G: "Uh-huh.  It's a good idea."

G: "Oh,and once she flipped me up then down.

And I was holding on. The whole time I was holding on.

I was holding on for a long time and holding on and I didn't fell.

Isn't that so funny, Mama?"

Then he proceeded to sing "I love my mama!"  

He probably sang this a dozen times.

Three year olds can be so delightful :)

Also, G is so thankful ... for even the most basic things ... 
Like ... thank you for taking me to church ... thank you for taking me to school (he says this and he doesn't even attend ... we drop the kids off and pick them up and he says hi to people so he loves it anyway).

foofie-isms

I like to over-achieve every time!

I was thinking I could do my math book in a month and then I'd be math-free the rest of the year! 

Don't drive behind cars with "baby on board" signs ... they are always slow.

blue jacket for sale

I think this was 6 days ago (or maybe 13?).  G and I dropped Foof and Ez at Awana and then we were going to run a couple of errands.  It was pretty chilly but G wasn't dressed for it.  He has been protesting wearing pants all fall ... he is slightly open to wearing pants if his camo pants are clean ... otherwise no way.  We've had lots of issues trying to overcome his pickiness.  I got him this darling outfit at Costco ... it has a vintage look to it and it has a big bear head on the shirt ... but the sweatpants are tight at the bottom.  I made him wear them this outfit and it was painful for all of us.  Anyway ...

It was chilly and he was in shorts and a tee short ... and lucky us ... I found a jacket stashed under one of the seats in the van ... and it was even one of G's jackets!

Me:  Hey, look!  Here's your blue jacket ... now you don't have to be so cold walking across the parking lot.
G: I won't wear it.  It's we-ud!!!  (weird)
Me: No, it isn't.  Why do you think it's weird?
G: It has bullet pockets.
Me: Well, I would think you would like bullet pockets.  You could put your bullets in them ...  Where are these bullet pockets anyway?
G: Inside, I think.
I couldn't find any inside pockets ... and only two regular pockets on the outside.
Me: I know you don't like the bullet pockets ... but some people get upset when they see little kids without warm clothes on when it's cold outside. So let's just put it on anyway ...
G: I'm not wearing it.  I'm SELLING it.  Seven dollars.  Sixteen dollars.  Nineteen dollars.
I laughed ...
G: Actually it's FREE.
I laughed again ...
G: It is, Mama.  It is!  It's FREE and it's not mine.
He won ...

Then ... a few days later while we were in the van, G spilled on himself and that's always upsetting to him.
I jumped in the back and looked for something to dry him with and all I could find was the blue jacket.

Me: Here ... we'll just dry you off with this jacket you're selling ...
G laughed :)

a little math vacation

NOTE: I started this 3.5 months ago and it isn't done ... but I'm putting it out here anyway :)  Maybe I'll add more captions and edit more ... in the future.  Just trying to get back into it however I can ...

J and I went on a cruise in early May.  He won the cruise for two because he was selected to compete in a math competition.  

Foofie bought each of us some treats and wrote notes on them.  She woke up early and rode along to the airport.  When we got out of the van, she surprised us with goodie bags :)

Daddy "bumped" us up to first class on the way there :)  We enjoyed the extra space and tasty breakfast -- and (of course!) he only wants to fly first class from now on ...

Fluffy, friendly-looking clouds :)

Mini-golf ...

New friends ...

Lots of ice cream ... because it's hard to pass up free (already-paid-for) ice cream ...

Rode in this van with a driver named Jimmy ... prayed for safety most of the way and for Jimmy to be patient about passing enormous dump trucks and the like.  About a half hour ride ... no seatbelts ... and the only signs on the sides of the road were things like "SLOW DOWN!  ARRIVE ALIVE!!!"  and "DRIVE WITH CAUTION!" and my favorite ... "UNDERTAKERS LOVE OVERTAKERS!  DRIVE CAREFULLY!"

Thank the Lord, we did arrive alive.  Paradise Cove ... where it's $4 per person just to step on the beach. Another $5 per person if you want to sit on a chair and so on :)  This was our adventure day before the competition.  I said we don't need a planned excursion ... we'll just make our own :)

This guy was supposed to tell us where to snorkel and where not to snorkel -- and the painting above his head was used as a map to point out the dangerous and safe areas.  Unfortunately, we had trouble understanding him ...

Yes we did :)  And ... why is Deadman's Reef in Paradise Cove???

Favorite lunch.  Two burgers and fries for his first course ... and then another plate of whatever ... and then ice cream ...

Butterfly I spotted on the ship ...

Alligator bites ... kinda weird ...

Our dinner booth :)

J and a few of his friends ...

Doing card tricks ...

G in july

"See my AK-40, Hayley?"

"47," she corrected.

"No, it's 46," said G.

I was plugging G's ears at the 4th of July fireworks ...

"I can do it!  I'm a good plugger!"  

"When I get big I'm going to drink coffee and like it!"

a little mover and starter

May -- G started the toro ride on lawnmower.

June -- While I was hanging up some laundry to dry (outside) ... G moved the trailer from the turnaround space to the driveway!

June 16 -- While we were getting ready to leave and gathering this and that ... G found the keys to the van (which was on the driveway) and started it up!  

a little teaser

3 year-old G is still keeping us on our toes.

With his hands behind his back, he said to Jensen in a taunting manner, "I'VE got someone's big huge KNIFE!" (Jensen has a few knives for collecting/fun/whatever? that are supposed to be safely put away -- but sometimes aren't.) So Jensen approached him ... slowly and carefully in order to disarm him ... and then when he got right in front of him to peek over his head and reach around him, Gunnar shouted (while starting to crack up with laughter), "I'M JUST JOKING!!!"

lady on Sanibel

On Sanibel ...

We stopped to watch a red-headed woodpecker while walking back from the beach ... and then a lady stopped as well and asked what we were looking at ...

G: "It's a woodpecker. Do you have one at your home?"
Lady: "Yes, we have them in Virginia where I live. Where do you live?"
G didn't say anything. So I whispered to him, "Minnesota".

Then he whispered to the lady, "Minnesota".

She said, "What?"
He whispered again: "Minnesota".
She still didn't hear and so I said, "Minnesota." 

"Yes, I come from Minnesota," G responded importantly.

Lady: "Well ... you will have to come to Virginia and Washington DC where I live since there is a lot to see there. And I will have to come to Minnesota to see YOU sometime."
G looked at me and said, "Her FUNNY!"
I said, "You're charming!!!"
He said, "No, I'm not, I'm a big boy!!!!!"

middle names and tea

G asked, "What is Gunnar's middle name?"

"Ernest ... your name is Gunnar Ernest."

He didn't respond.

"What do you think about that?" I asked.

"I DON'T know!" 

"Do police officers drink tea?" G asked ... while having some tea.

"I think they do.  Some of them probably drink tea.  Do you think so?"  I responded.

"Yes."

"Do you think they drink coffee ... also?"  I asked.

"No ... just tea.  BIG TEA!"

a little singing

Ez and Foof with the kids choir in their Christmas best -- they sang in church close to Christmas :)

a little photo shoot ... again :)

Halo has this ... thing about fall photo shoots and kids throwing leaves. She does it every year.Takes photos and has the kids tossing leaves ... here are this year's:

a little medic

I went into the boys room one night and Ez fell asleep wearing this :)

He and Foofie had been acting out history and playing "Florence Nightengale!" :)

a little photoshoot

I found a great Craigslist buy this summer. A Little Tykes playset for the kids! We have a big yard for it so I persuaded J to drive the (long) ways to get it and take it apart there and put it up here. It was a hit!! G and Ezzie really enjoyed it :) they converted it into a waterslide too and put a kiddie pool at the end of the slide.

Anyway, Halo thought it'd be a good place for another photoshoot!

a little first day of school (2015)

First day of school photos from this school year :)

Foof, 5th grade

Ezzie, 1st grade

 And Halo 10th grade!

Buddy didn't get in on these photos unfortunately :)

a little state fair

The kids won state fair tickets this summer so Foof, Buddy, and I all went.