Quarry Qwest Pictures

(The bad thing about blogspot is...once you upload your pictures it is a pain to move them around and change the size. So the pictures are in a crazy order until I have time to come back and fix it....which, let's face it...it's not likely to happen.) The highlights of the photos are riding a school bus for the first time; playing with cousins, aunts, and gram and rocks while standing in line; riding the airlift; riding the crane; shooting rocks in a lake via a sling; checking out construction trucks, getting a cool toy....and Carter sleeping on the way in on the bus...and on the way out in Mommy & Daddy's arms. A stroller would have been heavenly. :)





Carter was hitching a ride on Alex's shoulders...and loving it!

Da Bears Party

Yesterday we hosted a Bears party at our house. Sadly the Bears lost...again, but a good time was had by friends...so it was a good day!

The ladies seemed to hang out around the food table. We could say it was so we could keep an eye on both playrooms to watch the 12 toddlers and 3 babies....but I think we all know it was because there was so much delicious food and we couldn't stop snacking! It's funny how versatile cream cheese is in an appetizer or dessert! Oh soooooo yummy! The guys hung out in front of the tv and near the food. Conversation was constantly flowing.

What was also nice is that the kids ranging in ages from 5 months to 6 years all got along! They bounced along from one playroom to the other, stopped to take a nibble of food, played with some play-doh and zoomed cars in Logan's room. Nobody was pushing anybody around or stealing toys or not sharing. It was just really nice. The ladies raised a glass to raising great kids! :)

I had such great intentions of getting more pictures including pictures of all the ladies and all the kiddos...but it just wasn't in the cards. Here are the pictures I did capture:

Logan and Maddie cheering

Carter and Jonathan playing with play-doh

Some of the kids playing in Logan's room

Will and Vann (we were seconds late of the picture of them riding on the dumptruck together)

The boys with Charlie
(This may very well be the first captured picture of both boys 'checking out' the same girl)

My football cookies! They turned out pretty cute!
(I also made football-shaped pb&j sandwiches)

It was a super-fun day....but boy were we exhausted! We put the kids to bed and fell asleep!

Funnies...

After Logan woke up from his nap, we were hanging out on the bed. I scrunched my nose at him like a Bunny. He pointed to me and said 'You're so cute'. Hm...do you think he hears that a million times a day?

Logan's favorite new phrase is 'Whatcha talking about?'

Logan was in the backseat. He took off his shoes and socks, put his feet as close to my head as possible and said "Mommy, smell 'em". He also did this the other night on the couch. I swear John and I don't do this...where oh where did he get it?

Today Carter was flailing a bit and slapped me...hard. He got a time out. Tonight Carter very sweetly gave me a kiss after the cutest pucker ever. John asked for a kiss too (as we do every night). Carter puckered up...John leaned in....and Carter slapped him across the face then laughed. Oh this is not a good trend. He's in bed a bit early tonight.

...Carter is currently having trouble getting to sleep. He came to the door. Logan met him and the door and told him to get back in bed and made him get in his bed. He did...then 2 seconds later he continued screaming. We just thought it was funny that Logan was trying to help.

Ta - Daaaa!!!!

The past few weeks that John comes home, Logan runs to the door, unlocks it and then runs into the hallway so he can see me. He squeals, "Mom, Look! Ta-Daaa!!!!!!! It's Daddy". Please picture it with, him in a Vanna-White-like stance. I finally had the video ready today (granted it was my camera phone so the quality was not so good...especially since John came home late so it was not super-bright), but I captured it!! It was funny though because Logan saw that I had my phone out taking a picture and he didn't think I was paying attention.....so he kept pulling my hand down and saying 'Look, Mom!' I hope to capture a better video off my actual camera tomorrow and I'll try to post it...he cracks us up!

Quarry Quest

We had another busy and fun weekend! We went up to WI to hang out with John's family. We drove up Friday and swung by a different train station to get John after work. We stopped in Kenosha to wish John's cousins son a farewell-good luck in the Navy! It was nice hanging out with some extended family that we don't see too often. We continued our drive up to Milwaukee to hang out with John's brother and his fam. Then we finally arrived at our destination late.

Saturday we went to Quarry Quest! It was everybody's first time going....and boy was it quite a production! "Everybody" includes: John's Mom, our lil fam of 4, Aunt Sandy, Alex, Aunt Brittany and Myella (my almost one year old niece). We parked in one rock quarry and got to ride a school bus (for the first time) into the other rock quarry. Upon entering, the boys each got a bright orange construction vest. Very cool. There was a sea of people! Here we had an impression that it was just a small town production....but no, I swear all the kids from Appleton, Green Bay and Milwaukee were there!

The basic concept is that they have all the construction trucks out there and the kids get to take turns riding on them. We knew both boys, especially Logan, would love it. We did the first thing we saw (hind sight....could've kept walking). We waited in line to ride an airlift. After we got in line, we realized just how slow it was moving...but for some reason, didn't get out. So we waited for at least an hour to ride it. We each got harnesses and were clipped in. We went very high and the boys enjoyed it. Was it worth the super long wait??? Probably not. Then we waited about 15 minutes to ride 'help' operate a giant crane. That line was much more reasonable. We walked over and saw a line of digger trucks. We hopped in one of those giant lines. In this ride the kids got to pick up a pile of dirt with a huge digger, move it and drop it. The problem was, each kid got to do this about 5 times!! With 18 kids in front of us, this line was not going anywhere fast. This line was smart though and had large piles of sand in between the lines with buckets and shovels. So while the adults stood in line, the kids could play in the sand. Carter had a blast; Logan wasn't wanting to get dirty. John grabbed us lunch while in line, but we quickly realized there were many, many more activities to do and did not want to spend all day in line. We stepped out of line and moved on. However, Carter then fell asleep in my arms. Oh, did I mention that because we didn't realize how big this thing was...and coupled with the fact that we never bring a stroller with us up to WI....we did not have a stroller? That's right. So we had to carry Carter since he is not a good hand holder. We carried Logan some of the way because it was a lot of standing and walking.

So we shot some rocks via a slingshot into a pond. Logan thought that was pretty cool. Then we checked out a few trucks. Carter was getting some heavy and my niece was done as well. So we left. On our walk out, we stopped at a few more trucks and a toy sale....we got Logan a bulldozer with a drill so he can take it apart and put it back together. He was very excited!

I will post pictures later after I transfer them off the ol camera. We really did have a good time and have several lessons learned for next year. Bring a stroller is numero uno! We also will skip the air lift and crane rides and head straight to all the other activities that we didn't get to touch this time. Days before we go, I will check out their website and pre-plan which activities we want to hit first. Plus the boys will be even older and will have more input...it will be even more fun! We will pray for the same weather....it was upper 60s and sunny. Not too hot, not too cold and not an ounce of rain!

'Tude from a Dude

Today Logan got dressed upstairs, with the exception of his shoes. We went downstairs for breakfast and I said that I was going to start making something delicious. He said he wanted to put his shoes on. So I told him 'sounds good - they are upstairs, go get your shoes'. He said 'okay' and started up the stairs. On the second step, he stopped and turned around and said 'You go do it'. I did a double-take and took a couple steps back into the hallway and said 'Excuse me?'. He repeated himself. Um...no. If you want your shoes you go get them; you do not talk to your mom like that.

Why do I feel this is just the beginning of little bits of attitude. For what it's worth, he did go back up the stairs and get his shoes without a fit...but I mean...really!

Sharing

The boys are pretty good at sharing - even their water cups...which I do on purpose in a pinch....and sometimes not. The deal is the person gets to drink while I say '1, 2, 3' (I say it slowly). Then they have to give it to the other person. They are very good about it. Just now I told them to share a water (it was the only cup we had upstairs and I admit...I was lazy to go get another one). As soon as Logan took the cup, Carter said 'Twoooo....Twoooooo'. Then when Carter gets the cup he says 'Twoooo...' while drinking. Such a cutie! He has such a good memory and is such a smart cookie! He says so many things!

Oh and as soon as I sit down at the kitchen table, regardless of the meal he puts his hands together and says 'Amen'. Even if I get up from the table and sit back down....he says 'Amen'.

Oh this kid....love him!

Fall is Here!!!

So, okay. Officially fall doesn't start for a couple more weeks, but I am so excited about these temps! High 60s, low 70s...it is lovely. Fall is my favorite time of year. I do love all the seasons (yes, even winter), but fall just seems to be my favorite. Leaves changing, jumping in leaves, cool, crisp air, pumpkin patches, apple picking, pumpkin carving, halloween.....all of it! It is so great. So needless to say, as much as I love summer too, I was super excited that the temps required jeans and a long sleeved shirt! Here are the boys on their first fall day!

Sports Man

As I was emailing myself a few pictures to post from the last couple days, I noticed a theme....

Logan was working on an awesome football play.
(Yes, the ball is Packer colors...my niece's boyfriend who is a die-hard Packer fan gave it to him after GB won the superbowl last year....)

Then Logan moved on to practice some baseball. He is a hard hitter....but he often hits the tee...so we need to work on his aim. Judging from the picture, we also need to work on his follow-thru as he is not even looking at the ball. Sure is a cutie though!

Haha - this is at my friends house today. I showed Logan that I could touch the rim...so of course, he wanted to also. He hung on and said 'let go'! He hung there for awhile! (And for the record, I was right underneath him except for the 2 seconds it took for me to take the picture) Such a daredevil. Love him.

Random Cuteness

Every so often I see a cute pair of pj's and get one for each of the boys....these are SUPER CUTE!

Logan said 'Take a picture of me'. Okay. :)

Bathtime pics:

Just being silly!

Carter's Closet Remodel

As mentioned in the Labor Day post, we redid Carter's closet to make better use of the space and to create more storage. Here are some pictures of the before and after and our special little helpers. :)

BEFORE (almost a little embarrassed to show its messiness before, but that is the point, right?)

AFTER

*It is not the same angle, nor time of day, but you get the jist! Now I need to re-organize their rooms and make the best use of the space!

We are going to add a shelf between the clothing racks for more storage bins. Also, in the after picture to the left of the narrow shelving unit, there is about 6 inches of a bar on just the top (to hand long stuff...or like for us....store the crib rails and such). I love it all, but am especially am diggin the narrow shelving unit so I can hold and show the photo albums and use those cool storage bins in awesome colors (thanks Martha Stewart!).

DURING

Logan helped John & I sand

They played in the shelving unit as John was assembling it...

They chased each other with the storage boxes on their heads...

...and they showed us how they can fit on the shelves. Greaaaaatttt......

Labor Day

This past weekend was a good one!

Daddy got home early on Friday (yay) so we got some extra family time in. I picked up some Pizza Hut and we had a nice night in. Saturday morning we headed to Home Depot. It was their monthly Make a Free Project and we were ready! Carter really loves going there as it is a huge place for him to run around. While Logan and Daddy built their Dry Erase Board, I chased Carter around - then we switched. Carter's attention span was good enough for a 1.5 year old...and he did do better with a hammer this time around - I was not nearly as fearful. :) Here are the boys after they were both done building (Daddy drew some football plays on Logan's board - the other customers passing by though it was adorable!):


Logan didn't nap on Saturday and did remarkably well. I was craving Oberweis, so I snuck out while Carter was still napping and Logan and John were watching a movie. It was lovely. It was raining out and I sat there in the parking lot in silence eating my favorite - strawberry sunday with chocolate ice cream, whip cream and pecans!! Later on John installed our kitchen blinds. I had ordered them about 5 months ago when we were thinking of putting our house on the market. When that didn't happen, we didn't feel rushed to fix the blinds. This weekend was it - John randomly went out to the garage and busted the package open. They look fantastic!

Sunday morning, John took Buddy out for a run (this doesn't happen often and Buddy loved doing it). They hung out back by the dog park long enough for me to get worried. John didn't have his phone on him so I couldn't call him or check the gps on his phone to make sure he wasn't hurt or something. He walked in the door with 2 minutes to spare of me loading the boys in the van to check the streets...I think he was gone for about an hour and a half! Glad he and Buddy had fun, but next time...take your phone!

While he was out galavanting with the dog, the boys and I made brownies and got our things together for the day. We went to a Fall Festival and watched the parade - both my nephews were in it this year. Michael was in the junior high marching band with the trombone and TJ was in the high school marching band with the baritone. They both did so well! The boys enjoyed the parade - got some candy, heard the loud trucks, played with the fam.

At the start of the parade.

It was cute - my parents each had a kid and kept checking to see what part of the parade was next!

Love this picture of Carter and Papa (my Dad)

Afterwards we went to my parents house to hang out and eat. The cousins had fun playing and the adults had fun watching them....and of course, talking! One of the jokes of the day was Hearts of Palm. So my Mom had a dip at a restaurant and tried to duplicate it. She was telling me the ingredients and said '...and I had some hearts of palm, so I threw them in there." I said "who on earth just 'has' hearts of palm' on hand?" I proceeded to joke with her. Then my sister walked in. Without me mentioning anything to her, she asked the same exact question! So of course, we made some more jokes with my mom. Then Carter comes in sits down and starts eating a cracker - he picks up the spreader in the 'hearts of palm' dip and starts spreading it on his cracker....several times over! So now we say that his favorite snack is 'Hearts of Palm!'. If you're not laughing, it's probably because it doesn't sound that funny....typing it out it's a 'had to be there' kind of moment. :) Anyway, it was a good time. Here are a few pictures:

This one is of Carter dipping into the 'Hearts of Palm' and putting it on his cracker.

Outside playing in my parents driveway.

Logan kept dragging this gas pump around (it is not on wheels).

Meanwhile, Carter had me chase him to the backyard to show me this angel. He wanted to sit next to it. So sweet.

Logan got Aunt Dawn to swing him around and around - they both were so dizzy they fell over!

Logan took off his over shirt....and sat next to his Daddy....boy were they then dressed alike!

Today, Monday, Labor Day - we remodeled Carter's closet. Saturday we emptied it out and putty'd and sanded it. This morning I painted it, then we all headed over to Home Depot and got the shelving. John assembled it while the boys napped and I cleaned and graded. Then when Carter woke up, John started installing it and anchoring it to the walls. It was a GREAT improvement and I have SO much more storage now! I always complained of the lack of storage and when I looked in their closets I realized that the space was not being properly utilized... So we fixed Carter's closet and Logan's is next. Yay for fun and quick and helpful improvements!

We had such a fun, productive and relaxing weekend!