HW 2010

Four Handsome Boys {in birth order}

and a sweet and sassy girly girl (the oldest).

Our first time on the bumper boats {loved em}

And even though my kids were afraid of Holidog and Safari Sam

Gary Brackett (Indy Colts) was not.

Our annual Santa photo...

My BU roomie Katie called and said her family would be at Holiday World

yesterday, and so we agreed to meet them there.

We are so lucky that it is so close and such a great family value.

The owner was greeting everyone at the door

{you would have thought she was security if you didn't know,

had on the park uniform that all the workers wear}

We have come to this place since we were kids,

DH and I have this same photo taken by Santa -

when it was still called Santa Claus Land

and many of the kids rides have stayed the same.

And it was so fun to take our kids - all five of them-

who were rarely in the same place at the same time to HW. 

We spent most of our time in the water park, which was loved by all.

Katie and Matt,

Thanks for inviting us on your vacation trip.  We had a great time.

Next time we will put them all in a cage and sip on hot tea (yuck)

so we can visit more.

Tee, Hee.

My Little Man

This is my snuggly, get a little extra sleep, man

The one who wakes with a smile,

but that goes away if he has to rush around.

He would eat breakfast at 10am if he had a choice.

This is my I need a shirt boy.

Notice he is fully dressed, right out of bed, slept that way.

Loves the clothes he is in.

Doen't matter which ones,

just doesn't like to be bothered to change them.

So, I rarely get to see his cute tooshie.

This is my I'll get around to it boy.

He needs my help, always.

To pick out a shirt

and

put it on.

To pick out shorts

and

put them on.

This is my little man.

The one who loves the camera.

Smiles until mama is done.

Then grabs the camera

and snaps this picture.

My Boy

This is my early riser.

The one who is always out of bed by six thirty am.

Always, even on that day when just a bit extra could be the ticket...

He demands breakfast right away,

goes potty by himself while I get it ready.

This is my no shirt needed boy.

A new phase for us.

I think it is sooooo cute.

Especially on top of that size 2 tooshie.

This is Mr. No, By Myself boy.

He joins me on the entire morning routine.

Bit o laundry, bit o dishes, bit o internet

And while I grab a shower he always gets himself dressed.

I shall grab a bit o picture of that some day, he gets an A for effort.

And I am pretty sure I do extra laundry do to outfit changes.

This is my boy

The one who reached his arm out of the picture,

grabbed this elephant,

and placed it directly in my view {all why eyes glued to Hanny Manny}

in an effort to stop the picture taking - all without a word. 

High Seas

We sailed the High Seas tonight with Sam and Joe.

Sam spent each morning this week going to VBS at Grandma's church.

Joe got to go the last day and loved it!

Thursday morning, I got to drop him off.  The theme was great.

I love the CD that we got of catchy VBS songs.

and Sweet Dryce, who needs to come to our house to swim again!!!

Sam's class was sweet, they told us their favorite part of the week

Sam's loudly said the games.

And sang a couple songs.

After a fun picnic of hot dogs and carry in dishes

the kids were treated to

Flushies {according to Sam}

He chose Bubble Gum

and Joe chose Cotton Candy.

Happy Father's Day Daddy

“Blessed indeed is the man who hears

many gentle voices call him father!”

– Lydia M. Child

By the way DH, you were right about the boys new summer hair cuts.

They are sweet and much cooler.

You win, again.

Guat-mama.

bordem buster

bordem buster

Best Seat in the House.

Template Designer

Have you tried the new Template Desinger on Blogger - love it!  Had 10 minutes and look at the fun changes!  So go ahead, hit the design button on the top right of the screen.  Not you DH, I like the changes I made.

Wild Orange Streak

I got a call on Saturday morning at work from DH.

He doesn't usually call, can handle all himself.

Unless, of course, he is frustrated by me.

Where do you keep the craft paint? He asked as he handed the phone to the boys.

Sam:  I painted the house mommy, just for you.  It is orange.

Joe:  I paineded mommy, giggle giggle.

It really is a lovely shade of orange.

I think DH saw it as red, he was pretty hot (not at the boys at me)

By the time I got home he had cleaned most off the kitchen floor and cabinets.

But I got to see their work outside.

And I left it for our weekend swim guests to see.

But no one said anything.

Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought, or maybe they just expected it at  house with 2 boys.

In time it will all wash off,

for now I like our wild orange streak.

Rainforest Adventure.

Our church held VBS last week.

Sam loved it.

Everyday he jumped from bed to go to

Sonquest Rainforest.

His favorite parts:

the display of live animals in the foyer

his decorated classroom

the songs (CDs in the van for the last month)

the crafts

 

the stories

and

his teacher Landon (to right)

My favorite part was his enthusiam to go everyday.  Watching him learn and listen from the back during opening songs.  Learning with him as he tells me those basic bible stories.  And of course his excitement with his new blue Tshirt (his choice) and the inflatables that were there for the Sunday night program and picnic:

Mama bear was nervous as the boys waited in line with Grandma for their turn.

They had never been on one of these,

but they were not worried.

And once they entered....there was no stopping them.

not even for a much needed drink

and they loved every minute of it!

I tried to thank each one of Sam's preschool teachers, they averaged 18 kids...

and the committee, what a wonderful week of learning God's word.

Hoopaloop Hooray

Since the hoopaloopin was so much fun

Sam asked to have a Hoopaloop Party.

Of course we needed to decorate and make party signs.

I think the hoopaloop is around his neck {yikes}

but he has teeth.
Seriously, is a 4 yo supposed to make teeth???

and then we made the cake

and I tried to get Sam to wear the hat he made at bible school.

He is going every morning this week and loving it!

I don't think he was loving the hat though.

and Jello NoBake Cheesecake

{both of my brothers favorite}

has never tasted so good!

Hoopaloop Hooray!

Hoopaloop

Sam: Mama, will u hoopaloop with me?
Mama: In a minute Sam.
Sam: Mama, will u hoopaloop.  It is really easy, see you just take this hoop and twirl it.
Mama: Joining in.  How do we keep it up?

Sam: Well, you have to swish with your bu**.

Mama: Giggle

Sam:  Am I a hoopalooper?

Mama: {Can u guess how I answered?}

Yard Work

Today the 2 little boys and I turned this

into this.

Now, lets see if the grass {that I need to finish it off} grows?!?

Prayers for Guatemala

My heart aches for this country. 

I love this place where my children were born.

Devistation happens everywhere,

but in a country that already needed assistance...

 the eruption of a silent volcano followed by rains and mudslides and now giant sinkholes

could cause effects that last for years.

I know that these people are currently safe {thanks to facebook}.

I pray that they continue to be safe,

because these people are my family and The Reidesels' family 

and ultimately God's family.

and I pray for this family

because they loved Joe so much.