We didn't have a VCR or DVD recorder so I had to record it low tech--with our camera's video recorder. Sorry it is so shakey and at a slight angle. Oh, and the phone rings about halfway through the video. Again, sorry 'bout that.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Holiday Pictures
Santa came to the hospital where Jack and Colin were born and we visited him there. Jack was a little hesitant to meet him.
Making a Gingerbread house.
And you may be wondering where is Colin and what has he been up to. Well, he spends a lot of time on Bridget's hip or sleeping or eating. But occasionally he gets a ride in a dump truck. Or he plays with Winnie and Pooh in his bouncy chair. And he is bundled up because it is chilly around here.
Making a Gingerbread house.
And you may be wondering where is Colin and what has he been up to. Well, he spends a lot of time on Bridget's hip or sleeping or eating. But occasionally he gets a ride in a dump truck. Or he plays with Winnie and Pooh in his bouncy chair. And he is bundled up because it is chilly around here.
Snow...Pictures
The house this morning. It has been pretty windy, gusts over 30 mph, and so none of the snow on the roof survived.
Sledding this morning...
This was just the warm up. We got going much faster and longer later going down the nearby street.
After a bit of this Jack was ready to go out to a street with a bit of a hill to it. We were able to sled about around a 100 yards before coming to a stop. We must have sledded that street for over an hour before the boys just got too cold and wanted to come in. I don't blame them, it was 23 degrees and their little feet were getting cold from the snow getting into their shoes and melting.
I promise, there really are steps under the snow.
This picture was taken back when the first snow fell a week ago.
And this is back when we actually cared to shovel and sweep the snow away. Now, we just did the steps and let the rest lie. This was taken 6 days ago, last Monday.
Sledding this morning...
This was just the warm up. We got going much faster and longer later going down the nearby street.
After a bit of this Jack was ready to go out to a street with a bit of a hill to it. We were able to sled about around a 100 yards before coming to a stop. We must have sledded that street for over an hour before the boys just got too cold and wanted to come in. I don't blame them, it was 23 degrees and their little feet were getting cold from the snow getting into their shoes and melting.
I promise, there really are steps under the snow.
This picture was taken back when the first snow fell a week ago.
And this is back when we actually cared to shovel and sweep the snow away. Now, we just did the steps and let the rest lie. This was taken 6 days ago, last Monday.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Snow....serious amounts of snow
For the second week in a row we were told that church has been cancelled. We have gotten about 8 inches of snow in the yard today, with drifts that are quite a bit deeper. The Portland International Airport is shut down, as are other airports in Washington. Highway 84 is closed and they are trying get to people on some sections of it that are stranded. Epic.
We had our own little adventure today. We were having a get together at Ilene's house today with some extended family on Grandpa Leroy's side and for some reason, despite the weather we went on with it. Some were coming about a 100 miles or so from the south which made their trip interesting. Well, mostly slow. But their trip down ought to be worse. We arrived home is safety. Our main problem was the windshield icing up.
Earlier in the day, I was told to stay home from work and as a result I got to go sledding with the boys. And we had a bunch of fun and that was back when there was only about 2 inches of new snow (there was 2 or three inches of old snow/ice from earlier in the week below that). Tomorrow is going to be a blast for sledding. This seems more like a storm that we would have gotten in Utah--and it would be a strong one for there too. But in Portland--this is storm borders on a disaster. We don't have the equipment to handle a storm of this size very well. As a result of the past storms over the last week Ryan will have a 3 week Christmas Vacation instead of the planned 2 week one. He missed all of last week due to weather. I was never so lucky, geesh.
Anyway, I will post some pictures tomorrow or Monday.
We had our own little adventure today. We were having a get together at Ilene's house today with some extended family on Grandpa Leroy's side and for some reason, despite the weather we went on with it. Some were coming about a 100 miles or so from the south which made their trip interesting. Well, mostly slow. But their trip down ought to be worse. We arrived home is safety. Our main problem was the windshield icing up.
Earlier in the day, I was told to stay home from work and as a result I got to go sledding with the boys. And we had a bunch of fun and that was back when there was only about 2 inches of new snow (there was 2 or three inches of old snow/ice from earlier in the week below that). Tomorrow is going to be a blast for sledding. This seems more like a storm that we would have gotten in Utah--and it would be a strong one for there too. But in Portland--this is storm borders on a disaster. We don't have the equipment to handle a storm of this size very well. As a result of the past storms over the last week Ryan will have a 3 week Christmas Vacation instead of the planned 2 week one. He missed all of last week due to weather. I was never so lucky, geesh.
Anyway, I will post some pictures tomorrow or Monday.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Jack is going to be on TV...sort of.
The Sprout television channel as a show called PICME that uses pictures submitted to their website to tell a story. Jack was chosen to star in an episode. Not that we cared, well actually Ryan cared because he wanted to be chosen. I just submitted a picture online so that we could play some of the activities. Jack looks like this at SproutOnline:
The episode will air December 28th between 5 and 6 pm. Jack was initially mad that he was going to be on TV. He didn't want to be on TV. Now he just doesn't care. At least not yet. Ryan may be jealous, it should be interesting.
Note: Ryan handled the news just fine.
The episode will air December 28th between 5 and 6 pm. Jack was initially mad that he was going to be on TV. He didn't want to be on TV. Now he just doesn't care. At least not yet. Ryan may be jealous, it should be interesting.
Note: Ryan handled the news just fine.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Nocturnal Animals, by Ryan Flynn
Ryan gets to make lots of little books while at Kindergarten. Much of the time he is supposed to draw something and then try to write down how he thinks it should be spelled. This leads to some, well, interesting spellings. He has come along way since Kindergarten started. He was not interested in writing letters much at all before school and now he likes to write quite a bit.
Some of the books that he makes have a theme. The book I am posting has such a theme. I will post the book page by page with a description of what he was drawing.
The Title Page
A Firefly
An Owl that eats snakes
A firefly again. Ryan tried to put the first letter of the various body parts. There is a backwards "h" for head, an "A" for antenna, "w" for wings, and even a "w" for light or rather "wight" the way Ryan thought it would be spelled.
This is the first page that made me chuckle. A Skunk. Notice him spraying. Yeah, Ryan thought that was great. Remember he is making this at school. I wonder what the teacher thought. At the bottom he tried to spell two words. I am unsure of the first and the second is skunk.
Then if a regular ol' skunk is funny then what does a boy do to top that? Well you make the skunk have super powers of course. BEHOLD, the FIRESKUNK! Instead of spraying regular stinky stuff, this skunk shots fire out of his rearend. Brilliant! Again Ryan tried to spell "fire" then "skunk".
And that was it. For some reason when I read it I was not expecting anything like this. I belly laughed. Bridget was a little put out that I laughed, "I made sure I didn't laugh when I read it, you're encouraging him," she said. Well, what can I say, I thought it was funny. But then I was always amused by body function related humor. Like father, like son.
Some of the books that he makes have a theme. The book I am posting has such a theme. I will post the book page by page with a description of what he was drawing.
The Title Page
A Firefly
An Owl that eats snakes
A firefly again. Ryan tried to put the first letter of the various body parts. There is a backwards "h" for head, an "A" for antenna, "w" for wings, and even a "w" for light or rather "wight" the way Ryan thought it would be spelled.
This is the first page that made me chuckle. A Skunk. Notice him spraying. Yeah, Ryan thought that was great. Remember he is making this at school. I wonder what the teacher thought. At the bottom he tried to spell two words. I am unsure of the first and the second is skunk.
Then if a regular ol' skunk is funny then what does a boy do to top that? Well you make the skunk have super powers of course. BEHOLD, the FIRESKUNK! Instead of spraying regular stinky stuff, this skunk shots fire out of his rearend. Brilliant! Again Ryan tried to spell "fire" then "skunk".
And that was it. For some reason when I read it I was not expecting anything like this. I belly laughed. Bridget was a little put out that I laughed, "I made sure I didn't laugh when I read it, you're encouraging him," she said. Well, what can I say, I thought it was funny. But then I was always amused by body function related humor. Like father, like son.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Patrick
First, a couple of family pictures from last week.
We had Patrick here for Thanksgiving. He flew out and it was a great week for us. The boys absolutely love him. I think he has nearly superhero status with them. When he left Jack was so sad. He still asks if he is going to come back after he unpacks after flying back to Michigan. We tell him it will probably be a long time until they see him again. Ryan misses him too, but he understood that Patrick has to work.
He played Legos with them (Ryan's favorite thing to do with him), rough-housed with them, played outside with them, and who knows what else. It was like he was on duty all of the time for their benefit while he was here. They just could not get enough of him. All I could do was try and give him a break now and then by getting out of the house for a bit. We hit Five Guys a couple of times and also had a bit of cheap Mexican food. I don't think it was a particularly restful vacation for him. He would go to bed late, as per usual Patrick style, and the boys when they woke up would immediately want to go downstairs and pounce on him to wake him up (this was Jack's favorite thing to do while he was here he said).
He really is a great brother and uncle. But seriously, he needs a woman. A good woman.
Thanks a bunch brother. Seriously. I am so grateful for the way you treat our boys. It shows the sort of person you are.
We had Patrick here for Thanksgiving. He flew out and it was a great week for us. The boys absolutely love him. I think he has nearly superhero status with them. When he left Jack was so sad. He still asks if he is going to come back after he unpacks after flying back to Michigan. We tell him it will probably be a long time until they see him again. Ryan misses him too, but he understood that Patrick has to work.
He played Legos with them (Ryan's favorite thing to do with him), rough-housed with them, played outside with them, and who knows what else. It was like he was on duty all of the time for their benefit while he was here. They just could not get enough of him. All I could do was try and give him a break now and then by getting out of the house for a bit. We hit Five Guys a couple of times and also had a bit of cheap Mexican food. I don't think it was a particularly restful vacation for him. He would go to bed late, as per usual Patrick style, and the boys when they woke up would immediately want to go downstairs and pounce on him to wake him up (this was Jack's favorite thing to do while he was here he said).
He really is a great brother and uncle. But seriously, he needs a woman. A good woman.
Thanks a bunch brother. Seriously. I am so grateful for the way you treat our boys. It shows the sort of person you are.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thanksgiving
We had lots of fun At Steve's and Ilene's house. We had great food...
We had lots of family around...
And the kids all had fun running around. For some reason they thought it was great to put page markers on all of us. But if it kept them busy and happy we were all fine with it.
Later, Patrick, Steve and I played Guitar Hero...
At the end we had a song by Ryan and company.
We had lots of family around...
And the kids all had fun running around. For some reason they thought it was great to put page markers on all of us. But if it kept them busy and happy we were all fine with it.
Later, Patrick, Steve and I played Guitar Hero...
At the end we had a song by Ryan and company.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
More Jack
This morning Jack was whacking Ryan for some reason. I wasn't around and Bridget can't remember why this was going on. Bridget told him there was no hitting. Hitting, she said, makes Heavenly Father sad.
Jack responded by saying, "No it doesn't. Jesus told us to hit."
Bridget then said, "Oh yeah, when did He say that?"
Jack responded, "Jesus told us to hit the Lamanites."
In elementary school that sort of exchange would have been followed up by someone saying, "Burn!"
We have been reading recently in the Book of Mormon reader about Ammon protecting the sheep. Apparently, the Book of Mormon may be a little too violent for our household. But it appears he is paying attention which is nice.
So he is performing inductive reasoning at 3. I feel pretty good about that. Even if it is for a mischievous purpose.
Jack responded by saying, "No it doesn't. Jesus told us to hit."
Bridget then said, "Oh yeah, when did He say that?"
Jack responded, "Jesus told us to hit the Lamanites."
In elementary school that sort of exchange would have been followed up by someone saying, "Burn!"
We have been reading recently in the Book of Mormon reader about Ammon protecting the sheep. Apparently, the Book of Mormon may be a little too violent for our household. But it appears he is paying attention which is nice.
So he is performing inductive reasoning at 3. I feel pretty good about that. Even if it is for a mischievous purpose.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Yams and Apples recipe
Sunny I don't have your email address but I heard you wanted my sister's Yams and Apples recipe so here it is.
Bridget, Here is the yams and Apples recipe. Please let her know that the mixing the corn starch with cold water then adding to the syrup mixture also works, if she prefers to do it that way. I sometimes find mixing the cinn. sugar and corn starch in a zip lock bag makes the syrup too thick. The cinn. has to be mixed with the sugar before adding to the water or the cinn. just floats on top. Ilene
Yams and Apples
3 Yams 1c. Sugar
4 Granny Smith Apples Cinnamon to taste
2T Butter 1c. Boiling water
2T (rounded)corn starch
Preheat oven to 350
Boil Yams in skins until almost done. Cool Yams and remove skin. Slice Yams about ½” thick and layer bottom of oven proof dish. (9”x13” will work). Peel, core, and slice apples into wedges. Layer apples on top of yams. Repeat layers. In a ziplock bag mix sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon by shaking closed bag. In a sauce pan, melt butter in boiling water and then add sugar mixture. Whisk as it comes to a boil. It should begin to thicken. (don’t let it get to thick). Pour over yams and apples and bake for 45-60 minutes.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Quote
Jack: Why is this planet called Earth?
Me: Because people got together and named it that.
Jack: Why did they name it that?
Me: Because they called the dirt earth and so it seemed like a good name for the great big ball of dirt that makes up most of the planet.
Jack (not really believing what I said): But why did they name it "Earth"?
Me: I guess they just liked the name.
Jack: How did we get on this planet?
Me: You were born here, and so was I.
Jack: Why were we born here?
Me: So that we could learn and make choices and learn how to be happy.
Jack: How did all the people get to this planet? Did they fly here?
Me: They were born here and a long, long time ago Heavenly Father put the first people here.
Jack: Why did Heavenly Father put us on this planet?
Me: Because he made it for us.
Jack: How did he do that?
Me: Through a lot of hard work
Jack: How was I born?
Me: You came out of Mommy's tummy like Colin did.
Jack: And then I got bigger and bigger and bigger?
Me: Yes.
Jack: When is Colin going to get big?
Me: He grows a tiny little bit every day just like you. You just don't notice it because it is such a tiny amount.
That is pretty much the way a conversation went today between Jack and I after we ate lunch at Five Guys. It was just the two of us in the car and it was good. It was interesting to see where he was heading with this. Smart dude. Can't believe he is three.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Me vs. Jack
Sometimes it seems like Jack and I just really butt heads. And since we don't beat our kids it sometimes makes it hard for me. Not that I want to beat him or anything but Jack can be frustrating. Common example: Jack is doing something that is destructive or against some rule and he won't stop. I tell him to stop and he smiles and keeps going or increases his pace and ferocity in whatever endeavor that he has been told to stop. Time outs are sometimes the answer, but these sometime seem less than effective. Or maybe I just want to mix it up so I tell him he is going to have a toy put into "toy timeout". This is when Jack becomes suddenly very helpful. At least in one regard, he gives me suggestions as to what toy to put into timeout.
Tonight he said I could put his Lightning McQueen car in timeout. I said no, that I was instead thinking about putting the Leapster in time out. He said, "Sure, I don't really like the Leapster anymore". This is not true, he loves the Leapster. But he is trying to win or save face by saying that he doesn't care what I do. I told him once that he would not be able to watch TV if he didn't stop doing something or another and he said the same basic thing--"that's OK Daddy, I don't like to watch TV too much." He says all of this very calmly and happily most of the time. His helpfulness is exactly what I don't like and he knows it. I am used to Ryan who will cry or feel bad if he is punished. Jack, at least sometimes, could not care less.
I go ahead and put the stuff in time out and he blows it off. They have lots of other toys after all. Tonight I found his Achilles Heel, the Batman costume. He looooovves that costume. He wears it or wants to wear it everyday. Tonight he was being noisy in bed and I told him that if he kept it up that the Batman costume was going into toy timeout. He paused and said that it couldn't go into toy time out, but was I going to put it into costume timeout? Yes, I told him it was going into costume timeout. He was quiet and would have gone to sleep soon had not Ryan been messing around a little while afterwards. Still, it was a minor thing. They are both out now.
I don't know for how long I can milk the costume timeout thing, but it seems like a winner for now.
Bridget says that he butts heads much more with me than with her. I think it is because she beats them and I don't....kidding again. But it is true. I am not sure what it is. But he is a good kid and he and I did have some fun today going to Five Guys and so forth.
Oh, and I downloaded a Clone Wars episode off of Itunes tonight. It was pretty cool. It was the first time I have seen any of those computer animated Star Wars shows. They only last a little over 20 minutes each, but the one we saw was sweet. The boys were impressed as Yoda kicked some serious booty. Thumbs up.
Tonight he said I could put his Lightning McQueen car in timeout. I said no, that I was instead thinking about putting the Leapster in time out. He said, "Sure, I don't really like the Leapster anymore". This is not true, he loves the Leapster. But he is trying to win or save face by saying that he doesn't care what I do. I told him once that he would not be able to watch TV if he didn't stop doing something or another and he said the same basic thing--"that's OK Daddy, I don't like to watch TV too much." He says all of this very calmly and happily most of the time. His helpfulness is exactly what I don't like and he knows it. I am used to Ryan who will cry or feel bad if he is punished. Jack, at least sometimes, could not care less.
I go ahead and put the stuff in time out and he blows it off. They have lots of other toys after all. Tonight I found his Achilles Heel, the Batman costume. He looooovves that costume. He wears it or wants to wear it everyday. Tonight he was being noisy in bed and I told him that if he kept it up that the Batman costume was going into toy timeout. He paused and said that it couldn't go into toy time out, but was I going to put it into costume timeout? Yes, I told him it was going into costume timeout. He was quiet and would have gone to sleep soon had not Ryan been messing around a little while afterwards. Still, it was a minor thing. They are both out now.
I don't know for how long I can milk the costume timeout thing, but it seems like a winner for now.
Bridget says that he butts heads much more with me than with her. I think it is because she beats them and I don't....kidding again. But it is true. I am not sure what it is. But he is a good kid and he and I did have some fun today going to Five Guys and so forth.
Oh, and I downloaded a Clone Wars episode off of Itunes tonight. It was pretty cool. It was the first time I have seen any of those computer animated Star Wars shows. They only last a little over 20 minutes each, but the one we saw was sweet. The boys were impressed as Yoda kicked some serious booty. Thumbs up.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
November News
Well, not much news. Maybe it is the absense of news that makes the news this week.
Jack and Ryan are currently wound up and either beating each other up or making each other mad. Jack ended up breaking one of Grandma Joans knick knacks that she has around the house. Grandma was out at Black Butte so Bridget called her and had Jack tell her what happened. He didn't really like that, he refused to talk for a bit because he was afraid or nervous. Everything is OK now, except they are still wound up. They have been banished to their room. At least then they are not running around endlessly. In their room they at least won't wake the baby.
Colin continues to grow. He focuses in on us more and he seems to recognize faces. He still spits up--a lot.
In disappointing news we have decided that we will not be going down to California next year. We don't know when we will be travelling next. I can't get a job which angers and frustrates me. I have given up trying for now. So I am going hang my own shingle as they say. For the time being I am going to work from home until I have enough work to warrant an office. The sooner the better on that front. I have talked to a couple of people who have done this from home and it worked out at least decently, if not well. At first I won't be able to charge much because of the lack of experience, but soon I think all will be well. The goal will be to either develop it so that we are doing well and I have enough time to spend with the family at the same time. And if worse comes to worse I will do this until I get enough experience to apply for the majority of positions that ask for 3+ years of experience.
Also we can't wait for Uncle Patrick to get here. We are all very excited.
Jack and Ryan are currently wound up and either beating each other up or making each other mad. Jack ended up breaking one of Grandma Joans knick knacks that she has around the house. Grandma was out at Black Butte so Bridget called her and had Jack tell her what happened. He didn't really like that, he refused to talk for a bit because he was afraid or nervous. Everything is OK now, except they are still wound up. They have been banished to their room. At least then they are not running around endlessly. In their room they at least won't wake the baby.
Colin continues to grow. He focuses in on us more and he seems to recognize faces. He still spits up--a lot.
In disappointing news we have decided that we will not be going down to California next year. We don't know when we will be travelling next. I can't get a job which angers and frustrates me. I have given up trying for now. So I am going hang my own shingle as they say. For the time being I am going to work from home until I have enough work to warrant an office. The sooner the better on that front. I have talked to a couple of people who have done this from home and it worked out at least decently, if not well. At first I won't be able to charge much because of the lack of experience, but soon I think all will be well. The goal will be to either develop it so that we are doing well and I have enough time to spend with the family at the same time. And if worse comes to worse I will do this until I get enough experience to apply for the majority of positions that ask for 3+ years of experience.
Also we can't wait for Uncle Patrick to get here. We are all very excited.
Friday, October 31, 2008
One More Thing...
Can someone please explain how a baby can be smiling at me at the same time that a substantial amount of a creamy spit-up is coming out of his mouth and on to my shirt?
Halloween Pictures
At school Ryan had a Halloween Parade on Thursday. I went and checked it out and took some pictures. He was Superman that day.
Tonight, Halloween, Ryan decided to be Jack Sparrow again, just like last year. Jack was Batman. He looooves his Batman costume.
Colin was a peapod, and a happy one too! He slept most of the time we were trick or treating.
We went with a few families from the ward. In the past we have gone with Cassie and Sabrina, but this year they wanted to go with friends.
This haunted house scared Jack so much that he almost stopped trick or treating right then. He did not like the scary stuff. This house had scary noises and a fog machine. It was pretty cool.
In the "real world" Joker and Batman are friends. With Batman is Joker, AKA Eli, an older boy that goes to church. He has a couple of younger siblings, Isaac and Zoe. Zoe and Jack play together quite a bit. It was nice of him to hang with Jack and help him out. Jack really liked it.
For most of the night Ryan was running from house to house trying to get as much candy was possible. Not so much to get the candy, but to beat all of the other kids to the door.
For the pumpkins we only had two, one for Jack and one for Ryan. Jack's is right below and Ryan's is the one with the square nose. Ryan drew out what he wanted on a sheet of paper and then he and I tried to replicate it on the pumpkin with a pen prior to me cutting it. Getting the guts out really, really grosses Ryan out. I thought it was funny so I had to make a big deal out of getting the guts out and plopping them on to a towel on the floor. Ryan retched and ran to the bathroom as he couldn't stomach the sight nor the sound of me making throw up noises while the string nasty stuff and seeds flowed out of each pumpkin. Jack watched but he wouldn't touch the stuff. I really tried to cut exactly what they drew. In the case of the wide mouth I drew what Jack said--he wanted a really big smiley mouth with big teeth. He helped draw the teeth and he drew the eyes, nose and one ear. Ryan drew his own pumpkin mouth and I copied his design off of his paper for the eyes and nose.
The pumpkins aren't nearly as scary with the flash on.
Tonight, Halloween, Ryan decided to be Jack Sparrow again, just like last year. Jack was Batman. He looooves his Batman costume.
Colin was a peapod, and a happy one too! He slept most of the time we were trick or treating.
We went with a few families from the ward. In the past we have gone with Cassie and Sabrina, but this year they wanted to go with friends.
This haunted house scared Jack so much that he almost stopped trick or treating right then. He did not like the scary stuff. This house had scary noises and a fog machine. It was pretty cool.
In the "real world" Joker and Batman are friends. With Batman is Joker, AKA Eli, an older boy that goes to church. He has a couple of younger siblings, Isaac and Zoe. Zoe and Jack play together quite a bit. It was nice of him to hang with Jack and help him out. Jack really liked it.
For most of the night Ryan was running from house to house trying to get as much candy was possible. Not so much to get the candy, but to beat all of the other kids to the door.
For the pumpkins we only had two, one for Jack and one for Ryan. Jack's is right below and Ryan's is the one with the square nose. Ryan drew out what he wanted on a sheet of paper and then he and I tried to replicate it on the pumpkin with a pen prior to me cutting it. Getting the guts out really, really grosses Ryan out. I thought it was funny so I had to make a big deal out of getting the guts out and plopping them on to a towel on the floor. Ryan retched and ran to the bathroom as he couldn't stomach the sight nor the sound of me making throw up noises while the string nasty stuff and seeds flowed out of each pumpkin. Jack watched but he wouldn't touch the stuff. I really tried to cut exactly what they drew. In the case of the wide mouth I drew what Jack said--he wanted a really big smiley mouth with big teeth. He helped draw the teeth and he drew the eyes, nose and one ear. Ryan drew his own pumpkin mouth and I copied his design off of his paper for the eyes and nose.
The pumpkins aren't nearly as scary with the flash on.
Life with all boys
Yes it is sadly true I am the only female, even our cat is a male. So a typical day here. . .
Jack pours Cap'n Crunch Berry into his hands and then proceeds to say "Uh oh I am leaking I need a bowl". So we get the cereal into a bowl and Jack only eats the berries and throws the yellow pieces on the floor. Which I have him sweep up but to him this is not a punishment because he likes to pretend he is the house cleaner and tries to send us all downstairs so he can clean the house.
Colin, the Vomit Comet, spits up on me even though I have a burp clothe he turns his head just at the last second to get my clothes. Colin spits up soo much that I do at least a load of laundry a day. Although I do get to try out several outfits a day and try combinations I wouldn't normally try.
Ryan the big kindergartner use to like to say underwear any chance he got. We have finally got him to stop saying underwear and now he says skunk. He replaces words with skunk. For example, go put that in your skunk instead of go put that in your drawer or Ryan just said "Who wants a Skunk?". He thinks it is hilarious.
Clyde the cat sleeps in all things baby related; the car seat, the bouncy chair, the bassinet and today it is the changing table.
Then there is all the wrestling and then when someone gets hurt they want sympathy. Well I guess they will have to find a nicer mom if they want sympathy. Then there is also the arguing. Ryan says "Today is Halloween!" Jack responds "No! It's not. It is not dark." They go back and forth until I say enough.
My great aunt that had eight boys has a very well developed sense of humor and sees the humor in things. I believe that I will have a good sense of humor before I am done raising boys or else I will be in a mental institution talking to myself. I must go now. Ryan wants to play computer games and Jack wants to put on his Batman costume for the 20th time.
Jack pours Cap'n Crunch Berry into his hands and then proceeds to say "Uh oh I am leaking I need a bowl". So we get the cereal into a bowl and Jack only eats the berries and throws the yellow pieces on the floor. Which I have him sweep up but to him this is not a punishment because he likes to pretend he is the house cleaner and tries to send us all downstairs so he can clean the house.
Colin, the Vomit Comet, spits up on me even though I have a burp clothe he turns his head just at the last second to get my clothes. Colin spits up soo much that I do at least a load of laundry a day. Although I do get to try out several outfits a day and try combinations I wouldn't normally try.
Ryan the big kindergartner use to like to say underwear any chance he got. We have finally got him to stop saying underwear and now he says skunk. He replaces words with skunk. For example, go put that in your skunk instead of go put that in your drawer or Ryan just said "Who wants a Skunk?". He thinks it is hilarious.
Clyde the cat sleeps in all things baby related; the car seat, the bouncy chair, the bassinet and today it is the changing table.
Then there is all the wrestling and then when someone gets hurt they want sympathy. Well I guess they will have to find a nicer mom if they want sympathy. Then there is also the arguing. Ryan says "Today is Halloween!" Jack responds "No! It's not. It is not dark." They go back and forth until I say enough.
My great aunt that had eight boys has a very well developed sense of humor and sees the humor in things. I believe that I will have a good sense of humor before I am done raising boys or else I will be in a mental institution talking to myself. I must go now. Ryan wants to play computer games and Jack wants to put on his Batman costume for the 20th time.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Busy Weekend
This weekend we were all over the state. Friday Bridget, Ryan, Jack, Colin, Grandma Joan, Grandpa Leroy, and GiGi Lois went to Black Butte Ranch. The goal was to put some new TV's in up there and to get the digital cable set up. Since Grandma Joan was involved this meant that she also wanted to get a host of other things done up there too. Grandpa promptly got sick which did nothing other than torque Grandma off. Bridget said that she gave him a hard time about being useless even though he was obviously feeling pretty horrible. Nothing like nearly half a century of marriage to help one to feel empathy for your spouse....
Anyway, here is the "long-story-short" version of Bridget's weekend up at Black Butte: Cranky kids, cranky adults, various errands and work to be done, and even few times when everyone was pleasant and played well together. She didn't get to relax at all.
Where was I? Saturday morning I was heading to Astoria, Oregon to race cyclocross. I won't bore you with details here. That is what the RCMT blog is for afterall. After the race I jetted back to home about 100 miles away. I showered, changed and headed off to work. Then at 8:30pm I ran to the Fred Meyer to pick up a birthday gift for Ryan's friend. Then drove down to Black Butte Ranch another 140 miles or so. I stayed there for a total of 8 hours until Ryan and I left to head home at 7:30am. Ryan watched Scooby Do on our video Nano for most of the trip. At 11:00am we were inside Out of This World, an indoor jungle gym for his friend's birthday party. He had an absolute blast. Afterward he and I hung out and watch a Scooby Do movie together, played some wiffle ball until it got too windy, ate some good food, ate some tasty-but-not-so-good-for-you food, and then we watched Star Wars--the Remastered Episode IV. We had a grand time.
Meanwhile, Bridget continue her time in purgatory with a Jack that was absolutely at his most frustrating, and Colin who was not cooperative either. That night Bridget drove back and inbetween the crying and the complaining she managed to hit a deer. The car, her mom's, was only slightly damaged luckily. When she pulled in I could tell that she was totally frazzled. Soon things were calmed down and everyone was asleep or feeding.
A lot of driving and a lot of stuff. Today we just sort of relaxed and only did what we had to. It was nice. I had a great time just being one on one with Ryan. He is such a good kid.
Anyway, here is the "long-story-short" version of Bridget's weekend up at Black Butte: Cranky kids, cranky adults, various errands and work to be done, and even few times when everyone was pleasant and played well together. She didn't get to relax at all.
Where was I? Saturday morning I was heading to Astoria, Oregon to race cyclocross. I won't bore you with details here. That is what the RCMT blog is for afterall. After the race I jetted back to home about 100 miles away. I showered, changed and headed off to work. Then at 8:30pm I ran to the Fred Meyer to pick up a birthday gift for Ryan's friend. Then drove down to Black Butte Ranch another 140 miles or so. I stayed there for a total of 8 hours until Ryan and I left to head home at 7:30am. Ryan watched Scooby Do on our video Nano for most of the trip. At 11:00am we were inside Out of This World, an indoor jungle gym for his friend's birthday party. He had an absolute blast. Afterward he and I hung out and watch a Scooby Do movie together, played some wiffle ball until it got too windy, ate some good food, ate some tasty-but-not-so-good-for-you food, and then we watched Star Wars--the Remastered Episode IV. We had a grand time.
Meanwhile, Bridget continue her time in purgatory with a Jack that was absolutely at his most frustrating, and Colin who was not cooperative either. That night Bridget drove back and inbetween the crying and the complaining she managed to hit a deer. The car, her mom's, was only slightly damaged luckily. When she pulled in I could tell that she was totally frazzled. Soon things were calmed down and everyone was asleep or feeding.
A lot of driving and a lot of stuff. Today we just sort of relaxed and only did what we had to. It was nice. I had a great time just being one on one with Ryan. He is such a good kid.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Pumpkin Patch
Here are some pictures of our trip to the pumpkin patch. It is a pretty sweet patch! I also have some video to upload from it of our train ride and our meeting with the Lake Shark. Maybe I will be able to have that up by late tomorrow night.
We rode the train to the pumpkin patch drop off point. Then we used the wheelbarrows to get a couple of pumpkins. Instead of riding the train back there is a boat that you take to get back to the beginning. The train passes through a haunted tunnel and while on the boat we passed a sea monster that popped out of the water and a shark that sprayed water at us(not pictured). None of the rides are very long, but it is pretty fun. We all had a good time and the weather was great.
We rode the train to the pumpkin patch drop off point. Then we used the wheelbarrows to get a couple of pumpkins. Instead of riding the train back there is a boat that you take to get back to the beginning. The train passes through a haunted tunnel and while on the boat we passed a sea monster that popped out of the water and a shark that sprayed water at us(not pictured). None of the rides are very long, but it is pretty fun. We all had a good time and the weather was great.
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