Goals

I head out to Germany this afternoon.  I have a couple of goals for my time there:

1.  Have a great time with my sister (easy).
2.  Gain 5 lbs due to a significantly increased chocolate intake (sadly, way tooo easy).

Strawberry Festival

Today was an absolutely perfect day to head up into the "mountains" and attend a festival honoring a succulent red berry, so we did.  We've lived in this area for almost 5 years now and every year I hear about this Strawberry Festival and every year I forget about until the day after.  This year our friends at Groupon had a deal, so we snatched that up and headed out of town.  We arrived about 15 minutes after the official start time and had to park in the fourth row of the huge meadow they use as a parking lot for this event.  We had a lovely morning and were done with everything we wanted to do just as the place started getting crowded.  I guess there are some benefits to having early risers!

First off, we went on a hayride (not seen here), but while we were waiting in line Josh saw people walking on stilts and he had to give them a try.

On the hayride, the tour guide pointed out the pony rides and Michael had to try that out.  He was disappointed that the ride was so short, but he really enjoyed it.  I was surprised that he was so interested on riding the pony since he doesn't normally initiate contact with animals and usually follows Josh's lead (Josh was not interested in this), but I was excited that he enjoyed it so much.

When he got back from his ride, we went to the face painting table.  Those sweet volunteers - I think they were a little relieved when we left as Josh wanted a black widow spider, Michael wanted Batman (he had settle for a bat) and Ben wanted a strawberry drawn on the "boo-boo" on his knee (no, really - he has a good scrape there that I tried to wash off in the bath later not realizing it was a real boo-boo and not more paint).

Then we found an empty piece of meadow and sat down to eat our picnic lunch.  While we were eating, the boys saw another kid rolling down the hill.  They really got into the "rolling" part, they didn't quite catch on to the "down the hill" part.  But they had fun rolling in the grass.  Which is when we realized that neither one of us had given Josh his Zyrtec this morning.  Oops.

This also seemed like a great opportunity for some more jumping pictures.  Michael wasn't interested and Josh was only willing to jump a couple of times, but Ben was very excited about jumping for me.  Sadly, the kid doesn't really catch much air on the way up so the pictures don't show much jumping, but he gave it all his little legs could give.

After lunch we walked through the craft fair area with Nana.  No pictures taken.  Too busy preventing kids from destroying expensive crafts and fielding the "Can you buy me _____?" questions.

We left Nana chatting it up with the hammered dulcimer guy and found these mini-tractors to ride.  Can't go wrong with John Deere.

Our final stop of the day was the petting zoo where the kids got to see and touch a horse, cows, goats and sheep.

At this point, Jason's itchy eyes were threatening to swell up and the park was beginning to fill up, so we took our leave.  The weather was gorgeous and we had a wonderful time.  I am so glad that we were finally able to  go to this strawberry festival.

Happy Birthday, Josh!

Happy Birthday to our oldest boy!  Josh turned 7 years old today and in our family tradition he got to pick dinner, dessert and a movie.  He picked pasta, jello with marshmallows and Star Wars Episode V.  I know what you are thinking - yum, yum and fun!

Josh is a study of opposites these days.  He is so sweet with Ben and also enjoys knocking the legs out from under him.  He loves to read but hates the 15 minutes of reading he has to do for homework.  He loves to eat but doesn't like most food.  He loves to play soccer as long as he isn't playing in a league.  He is the most reliable of our children and also the dallying daydreamer.  We love him and are so blessed to have him in our family.

Feelin' the Love

Michael's best bud is J.  J and Michael have known each other for years.  This last year, they attended the same preschool and would take turns going home with each other.  So, we've had J over quite a bit. 

Ben loves J too.  J loves Ben too.  I am always so thankful when J is here, because J is so sweet with Ben and that niceness rubs off on Michael.  It is temporary to be sure, but I will take what I can get.

When Ben and Michael play together alone, Michael is likely to haul off and punch Ben for some trivial offense like copying what Michael is saying (or, just as likely, Michael thinking that Ben is copying him).  Granted, making Michael mad was indubitably Ben's intention, but I still think punching someone 10+ lighter than you doesn't show great problem solving skills.  In any case, in this scenario, both Ben (hurt) and Michael (mad) are in tears and I (irritated) start seriously considering the nanny option.  

Enter J.

When J is over, Ben is included in games and playing like an equal.  J told Ben that he is his "favorite baby."  J does things to make Ben laugh and is just all-around very loving.  Michael, not to be outdone, forsakes his belligerent ways and gives at least the semblance of being loving to his little brother.

I took some pictures of these three cute boys the other day that seem to demonstrate this crazy dynamic:

J and Ben sitting together very sweetly.

Michael "loving" Ben so much that it hurts.

The line between a hug and a headlock is very fine sometimes.

Marbles

Back to North Carolina.  After graduation and a BBQ, we headed up to Raleigh to spend the night with my cousin and his wife.  They have a lovely home and a cat.  

Teddy.  

Teddy might need some counseling after spending a few hours with my boys.  They weren't necessarily cruel (for the most part), but they loved that cat soooo much that he eventually fled and hid under my cousins' bed after discovering that the couches, table, ottoman, cat tree and spare bedrooms were not good enough hiding places.  The boys called him "Catty" and found everything about him fascinating: ears (they twitched), paws (they were soft), tail (it was fluffy) and so on.

So, after harassing Teddy into seclusion, we met up with Doug, Dad, Diane and Mom for lunch.  I do have to say that I found Raleigh to be very charming.  I have only been there a couple of times and haven't done very much exploring, but everything I have seen is lovely and a nice change of pace from the frenetic DC area.  

It helps that our destination on Friday was Marbles Kids Museum and it was a fabulous museum.  Huge and fun.  There was a dress-up area, Thomas the Train tables, water tables, fish tank, ocean playroom, scientific submarine, pirate ship, building area, car track, money room (where Uncle Doug had a great time lobbing plastic balls at Josh), art tables and sports area.  

The older boys did everything.

And Ben danced.

The boys had such a wonderful time that they begged to go again even though it is a 5 hour drive away.   

You Never Know

You never know what you'll find at the Spring Festival!

Graduated

In the wee hours of Thursday morning, we loaded up in the van (have I mentioned how much I love our van?) and headed south.  For five and a half hours (have I mentioned how much I love our portable DVD player?) we headed south.  We watched 4 Scooby Doo episodes, 1/4 of the movie Babe, 2 Bill the Science Guy Videos and 1 hour of a Wiggles movie that we found inside the Magic School Bus DVD we borrowed from the library.  The last one was a great disappointment as we broke our 6 year 11 month and 3 week no-Wiggles-family record, but we were getting a little desperate at the end.

But it was all worth it, because we were very excited to see Doug graduate.  

However, we were very relieved that graduation was in a sports complex that was filled with families and small children and wasn't the quietest of ceremonies.  Of course, the fact that there were soldiers everywhere meant that the whole event was a big hit with the boys.

In any case, after that long trip we had a difficult time getting a nice picture of them with the family.

Although, if you give a boy a cool hat, he will give you a nice smile and even keep still for a nice picture.

We are so proud of my brother and had a wonderful time!

Jumping

Some friends of mine like to post pictures in their blogs of people jumping.  The pics look really fun, but I always assumed that I would not be able to take that kind of picture with my point-and-shoot camera.  Last Wednesday, I attended a little photography workshop at a local park and learned that I can (turns out that Tv setting doesn't mean that I can watch The Simpsons Sundays at 8pm)!  Wahoo!  My first victims subjects were, naturally, my unwilling lovely children.

Getting in position for synchronized jumping.

Ready!

Set! 

Jump!

Okay, not quite.  First, one was up and one was down.

Then one was down and one was up (waaaay up).

Finally together!

So much fun!

We did some solo jumps as well.  

 We'll have to branch out to some locations that aren't our front yard because these are definitely fun pictures to take!

Hiking

Yesterday, I roped Jason into my grand scheme of doing more hiking with the boys.  Not only is Jason another pair of strong arms to help carry Ben, but he also provided a great deal of entertainment and education for the boys.  For good measure, we brought along a friend of Josh's based on the assumption that that he would motivate our kids not to whine.  D was a total trooper and the boys loved having him along.  I brought up the rear with the water bottles and, often, Ben.  Not that Ben didn't walk a lot, but even when he is walking he is a bit slower on those cute, chubby, short little legs of his.  

Jason, the educator that he is, often had things to show the boys.  So, from behind, I often saw all the boys together like this as they examined animal tracks:

Or like this when Jason found a cool bug to show them:

Or like this when Jason found a cool dead bug to show them:

We ended up following some horse tracks and a bike track on a meandering walk through the forest and were very grateful for clearly marked trails for a quick hike back.   I love this state forest as it is just a few miles out of town and a perfect location for hiking with little boys.

We did end up hiking a bit farther that I expected.  And on the walk back (which actually was much shorter), I developed a new rule of hiking that upset Michael quite a bit:  

Anyone old enough not to wear diapers does not get carried.  

Magic Eraser

O Magic Eraser!
How I love thee!
Let me count the ways:

1.  Josh
2.  Michael
3.  Ben

Smells good?

Josh found a little green buddy in the front yard today.  It took not a few commands and not a little yelling to keep Michael from killing it.  But once Michael got past his homicidal tendencies, both Josh and Michael had a great time watching it crawl around.

Top Ten Signs

Top Ten Signs I Am The Mother Of Three Small Boys

1. I received flowers for Mother's Day, but I have to keep them on the counter in the kitchen because the boys want to make the flowers "open up more."
2. When I do laundry, I have to remember who has Power Ranger underwear and who has Star Wars underwear.
3. We own SIX lightsabers - that is one for each child's hand.  And, according to the boys, that is not enough.
4. The stuffed animals hang out in a basket in the basement while Thomas the Tank Engine and plastic dinosaurs get taken to bed.
5. My Mom planted white flowers in the plant boxes in front of our house, and one of the boys whacked off the flowers with a lightsaber because they were storm troopers.
6. Any joke with the word "poop" or "pee" is hysterical.  
7. Any joke can be improved upon by adding the word "poop" or "pee."
8. Sticks are for three things:  pretend swords, guns, and fires.
9. Our Netflix streaming queue is full of superhero and dinosaur cartoons (although I suspect Jason is mostly to blame for the former).
10. Every time I get stressed about having crazy little boys, I tell myself, "At least they will never be teenage girls!" and I feel better.

Birthday Party

The way I see it, there is no time like Thursday to write a blog post about what happened last Saturday, so here it is!  On Saturday we had a family birthday party for our boys and two of their cousins down at the property that Dad and Diane own in King George.  They have ten acres (correct me if I am wrong, please) and the front five or so have been cleared.  They even have a shed with a chemical toilet (hooray for not having to go in the woods!).  They have cleared a huge swath of land and grassed it in (seen below), a hunting platform high in a tree and they have some nice big equipment (also seen below).  We had never been before, but we had a blast and need to go again to do more exploring on the back five acres.

Ben was drawn immediately to the sit down mower in the shed.  He was going nowhere but loving life.  I swear they come this way as I have put some time in on this kind of mower and it holds no attraction for me.

The weather was gorgeous (just like I ordered) and the kids all had a great time playing on the grass with soccer balls and footballs.

Josh showed off his mad soccer skills - he is totally into soccer now that he doesn't play on a team.

Ben appropriated Uncle Aaron's hat because he (Ben) is a cowboy.  Looks pretty good on him, too.  I am sure in a couple of years he'll be asking for some boots, too.

After a picnic dinner, hot dogs roasted on the campfire, awesome presents and dessert, this is how we ended the party:

While Ben loved exploring and eating, he spent a lot of time trying to sneak over to the mower and this tractor (read: the ultimate toy).  So he and Michael climbed up with Opa's supervision.  Based on how Jason was eying it, I think he would have liked to sit up there, too. 

It was a great time and a great end to a very busy day.  Sadly, the boys stayed awake the entire one and a half hour drive home, but we did get them bathed and their new toys kept them busy all Sunday morning so Jason and I could recover.

Let's Play Ball! (finally)

Thanks to one of the wettest Virginia springs that I can recall (all 7 of them), t-ball opening day was rescheduled and games started this last Saturday.  

Finally.  

The suspense has been killing me.

Here are the boys in their uniforms (which I made mistake of calling "costumes" once to Jason's great disgust).  Michael is on the Cardinals and Josh the Astros.

The nice thing about opening day is that the games were at the same field.

The bad thing about opening day is that the games were at the same field.

Nice because we could all be there and only had to drive to one location.  Bad because the games were not at the same time, so we had to keep Ben occupied through two games for a whopping total of FOUR hours.  Luckily, food was served and a bouncy house was inflated.  In the future, one of us (=me) will take Ben and the other person (=Jason, the unexpected assistant coach) will not. 

Yep, Jason is an assistant coach for Josh's team.  Josh is so excited.  From what I hear, Josh volunteered Jason for the job.  Josh is even more excited that he is number 11 and Jason is number 12.  

Jason, on the other hand, is horribly burned on the back of his neck.  I think he'll be a bit more excited once the pain subsides.

I am sure the initial glamor will wane as the season progresses and temperatures climb, but I thought t-ball was great.  The games are 3 innings long; a perfect length for parents.  Every kid gets to bat and run the bases.  There are no outs.  The coaches cycle the kids through different positions on the field making sure that  each kid gets a mix of boring and exciting positions (Michael was catcher and that may be the highlight of the year, if not his life).  An hour and a half later respectively, the boys finished their games feeling successful and excited. 

A great start to the season!

Another One Bites The Dust

I know that Josh is at the age when kids lose their teeth.  However, out of the 4 teeth he has lost so far, only 2 have been through natural causes.

Unless you consider Michael to be a "natural cause."

Which I don't.

So, here is the story of how Josh lost his fourth tooth, in his own words:

"I was lying on the floor with my baby brother and Michael was getting like this close to my face (insert gestures here) and then I pushed him away and then he hit me like this (more gestures) I think with his elbow and MY TOOTH CAME OUT!  And the tooth fairy gave me 5 dimes and now I have $1.57!"