The Wonderful World of Words.

AJ hs started talking non-stop and will literally repeat you like a parrot. He has two new favorite words that he over uses.

The first is"Okay" used both in the sense of "Is that correct or alright with you?" and also in the "I'm alright" sense.

"AJ go outside, okay?" or after he falls down with a car in his hand, "AJ okay. Car okay."

The other word is "Nope". No explaination needed.

He is also in phase where is says, "Hello" to and hugs e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. Mom, dad, the door, teh clock, his fork, etc...

As I type this (we are outside), he just said, "Hello, water" to the spickett then proceeded to say, "Hug water" while he hugged the spicket.

Just because they're cute.

Without boys underfoot.

Tuesday morning, we started up our new Beth Moore Bible Study. I am excited about it. Unfortunately, while there, AJ decided to have a blowout of infant proportions. Through the clothes, up the back, the whole works. Now, he's at an age where I hardly pack a diaper bag anymore if were are only going to be gone a few hours. I merely throw a diaper and few wipes in my purse. Fortunately, I borrowed more wipes, someone had an extra pair of sweatpants in their van, and he wore a borrowed adult sized t-shirt home. However, we had to stop at Sam's on the way. I'm sure I got funny looks like I don't know how to dress my child.

While there, I got a call from my parents. They decided on a whim to come visit for a few days. They got there Tuesday evening and, of course, the boys were ecstatic.

Wednesdays are usually pretty busy for me since we have our Bible Study at our house, so my folks took the boys to the playground in the morning. It's amazing what one can accomplish quickly without boys underfoot. What is normally a nutty day, turned into a pretty relaxing one.

That evening, we had Taco Night with our young adults. After dinner, my parents ran some errands with the boys during our Bible Study. We then were all outside playing yard games until it got too dark to see.

Thursday, we took the boys to see the Veggie Tale Pirates movie. It was alright. I don't think the boys were thrilled with it, although we did make it the entire movie, thanks to dum-dum suckers. Fortunately, the movie wasn't crowded and they could move a bit. My parents left yesterday afternoon. Because Marc wasn't feeling well, I ended up taking Andrew to his pee wee basketball class.

I am currently at the gym with the boys trying to get a few things done via their wi-fi. Hope your weekend is super.

It's totally different from scrapbooking!

This is Marc's new hobby.. making spinner baits. Not only did he make all the lures pictured here, but he also made the stand they are hanging on.

For sale:
Spinner Baits - $5

Look what I won!!

My blog friend, Amie, is an amazing seamstess. She made a tote to give away and I won it!! I am so excited about it and can't wait for it to arrive. Thanks Amie!

It's the most wonderful time of year...

Yesterday we walked to Cone City! Well, Andrew rode his bike. We shared a large chocolate cone and managed to make a complete mess of ourselves and had a great time!

Today we went back to the Gardens. You are going to get so tired of hearing about the gardens and seeing picture of the gardens, but the Gardens are really Grand! I love them! We met some friends there and since the weather was nice, we got to do the outside gardens (which is really the majority of the place) along with seeing the butterflies again. It seemed like the butterflies doubled since we were there last. And, it was the least busy day so far as well.

There is so much to do outside that we were there for three hours and I feel like we only scratched the surface. But the great thing is... We can go back whenever! I like it so much, the boys may even be tired of the gardens by the time the summer is over.

Tonight, I managed another successful attempt at roasting a chicken (if you've read in the past, I am very hit or miss when I try this meal). Then we all played outside for a bit, meaning I got my tail handed to me in MonkeyBall by my hubby. This evening we had a couple come over that we are going through premartial counseling with.

Oh! And I made a cake. Out of the blue, at dinner, Marc asked for a cake for dessert. But of course, not just any cake. A cake with his mom's icing. So- that's what he got. Except, because I made it so late in the evening and since we promised the boys a piece before bed (they couldn't sit there and help/watch me make it and then not have any), I had to ice it while it was still warm. That's interesting. But it still tasted fine and was nice to have around for our company tonight.

Tomorrow, I start a new Beth Moore Bible Study, Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms. It's only a six-week study, but it should be good. Wait, it's Beth Moore... it will be outstanding.
Wednesday we have our young adult study here with taco night. On Thursday, I think I am going to take the boys to see the Veggie Tale movie, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. They have it this week free for kids and only $2.50 for adults. So, I think we will try. We won't have much to lose. But I'm not one of those pirates, so I need to go get things pulled together for tomorrow.

How to impress my boys...

One of the guys from our college/career class stopped by today with his new ride. His family owns a body shop and he does paint work. He's been working for a year on this one. The boys were thoroughly impressed!

It's Rootbeer Float Season.

I'm tired. It's past my bedtime, but yet I'm here. I did get to get out this morning to do a little garage sale-ing. I think I did pretty well. For $20 I got both boys water shoes. I got sandals and 2 shorts for Andrew, and swim shorts for AJ. I also got a pair of shorts for myself and 3 brand new in-the-package toothbrush heads for our rechargeable toothbrushes. I also got a few $.50 items as well.

I then hit the grocery store and bought a frozen pizza to bring home for lunch. I now know we've reached the point where one pizza doesn't cover it anymore. I put AJ down for a nap and worked around the household, while Marc took Andrew to Home Depot for yard trimmings. We've spent the afternoon spreading mulch and planting flowers, and getting the house ready for our little dinner party.

Eight adults and 7 kids were over for steak, hotdogs, sides and rootbeer floats. The little kids played in the backyard, the big kids (Daddies) played in the frontyard and we made it through the night with only one head wound. It was a fun night, the weather was beautiful, and we ate great food thanks to Chef Ryan and spent time with great friends, thanks to God. No complaints here and now I'm off to bed.

My All-Star.

Last night, Andrew had his first pee-wee basketball class with daddy. They stretched, then had stations set up for shooting, passing, dribbling, and agility. Andrew's coordination level wasn't quite as high as his energy level, but he had a good time. He told every single person about his new shoes (and every single person we've seen since). He even got to wear his 'basketball clothes' (great garage sale find last year).


I took more pictures, but between the gym lighting and trying to keep AJ from running out onto the court... they didn't turn out. During the class, I took AJ out to the playground where he had a blast and got extremely dirty. We stopped at Home Depot for playsand and Burger King for a cheeseburger before heading home.


This morning was gym day. I am going to miss gym day when they stop having it at the end of April. Yes, the weather is nice and the kids can get outside... but it's a nice chance for us mom's to get together and chat without running in 15 directions. Anyway, I met a couple of my friends there today and had a nice time while all the kids played.


We had Noah then from lunch on this afternoon. After naps, I took the little ones on a wagon ride while Andrew rode his bike to our neighbor's house. Andrew's friend, Arianna, claims that Andrew is her boyfriend. Anyway, they have a trampoline, so all the boys and her jumped until they were red and sweaty and all giggled out. We came home and had grilled chicken with the Noah's parents. It's just been a nice day! The beautiful weather helps tremendously.


I am hoping to sneak out a little in the morning. Garage sale season is starting and there are a few rummage sales (efficient!) tomorrow. Then we are having 3 couples over for dinner tomorrow night. So the rest of the day will be getting the house & food ready and possibly sneaking in a nap. It is a Saturday after all.

If Walmart really knew... they would charge more.

Today, at lunch, the new shoes helped Andrew eat his food 'superfast'. Yes, they are miracle shoes.