And the zookeeper is very fond of THEM

Jack's always had a thing for arranging his stuffed animals, and with the recent additions from fairs, he has spent the last two nites grouping and classifying and finding just the right spot for everyone. He assured me tonite that there was still room for him to sleep ;-)
Simon and Garfunkel's At The Zoo

sometimes you're the bug

Boys and bugs naturally go together, right? The boys got these little containers at a friend's birthday party, and have been putting them to good use with all sorts of things...this morning it was a little one we found flying around the house.
We ordered those caterpillars for a butterfly project, but one week in, it looks like they were a bust - will be sending for replacements and trying that one again.....

Dire Straits' The Bug

It's all happening at the zoo

If you've been around a while, you may remember that Harry has a penchant for walking like this:

April 06

Well, he's added an accessory - what a difference 4 years can make!

The school took a field trip to a zoo yesterday, and it was a lot of fun to chaperone. We truly lucked out as the weather back home was not great, and we dodged all sorts of storms on our way there and home. The kids were a dream, and I thanked my lucky stars as I watched some moms running after excitable kiddies. It would have all been worth it, regardless, this morning, as Harry said "Thank you for being my partner at the zoo, Mommy! I love you SO much!" :wub:

This zoo is really cool because they have built a high sidewalk where the giraffes can come right up to you and enjoy treats.

It's a big hit with the kids!

I didn't take many animal shots, but thought this guy had the right idea....lazing on a sunny afternoon, indeed ;-)

And I'll be surprised if someone didn't send this to the coke people - this peacock was screaming for a coke....know how that feels!

After a fun lunch, we went back to the giraffes for a second round of treats, and Harry just let this guy dive right into the cup, skipping the middleman....

..getting nose to nose at one point about his behavior and concerns that he might still be hungry even tho we'd fed him numerous times and there was a line waiting for their chance

Thanx to the teachers, bus drivers and amazing kids and parents for a fun day! Thanx to my DH for making it possible for me to share these wonderful times...love you!

Simon and Garfunkel's At The Zoo

Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens...er, turkeys

The animals are scrounging for food, and we have this little rafter (or gang) of turkeys in our yard. And, yes, about 1/2 of our yard is still dusted with snow more than two weeks after the last big blast....there is more in the forecast, but we're hoping it ends soon. Spring is just a few weeks away, don't ya know ;-)

BBKing

Did you know that Santa has a secret agent bird?

The mystery of the mssing bird feeder....this disappeared overnite....who knows who or what took it, but I'm hoping they don't try to eat the base/mold.

Penguin, James Penguin

Deck The Halls

This is the second load of Christmas decorations...I am one tub away from finished - yay!

The picture is awful, but these three deer stayed right outside our front door while I walked right up to them....so sweet

Follow me in merry measure, indeed - they get on and off the bus with equal glee!
Lined up to load the batteries into the many, loud and rather annoying, Christmas toys they have

They were thrilled to find these hats from last year (thank you, Ms. Carol!), they are learning the words to Low Rider for that ridiculous car, and Jack told me about 8 times that Harry bought him that Telephone Santa, the greatest gift EVER! They are a little bit excited ;-)

Oh, and Jack also said this may be a good year not to ask for any toys since they have too many to get into their playroom door! We'll be purging and sharing with Goodwill next week

They're also loving the carols this year - they were both trying to figure out the DTH lyrics today, and it was all I could do not to bust out laughing as I thought of that final scene in A Christmas Story where the Chinese restaurant workers serenade the family...sounded a lot like that

Happy December!

I made up reasons to go down the road

We're loving the new house and yard - my friend Colleen came over yesterday and mentioned how similar it seems to our current home....we've had some neighbors over and gone walking to visit friends. I forgot how nice that could be! Here the boys are posing near their favorite rocks....they are getting so tall!

I hadn't seen any deer in our new yard until yesterday afternoon when there was one in our new driveway and three in our old. Today as I was driving out of our new drive, these three ladies were chillin in the front yard. It feels ever more like 'home' now!

Kenny Chesney and Mac Macanally - Down The Road

How We Roll

After getting our Chick-A-Wow-Wow on with Alvin, Theodore and Simon this morning, the boys decided to stroll around the pet store for a while....oh, the joy of simple things, eh?

Grayson, Zach, Harry and Jack

We lucked into one of the workers letting the boys meet a pretty bird
Then enjoyed a little lunch and dessert - yum!
Thanx Mrs. C!

Alvin and The Chipmunks

Cranky, cranky, make a pest a pet

All-in-all, it was a very beautiful day - we're working to make some rough moments smooth. Here are the highlights ;-)

I've started giving the boys credit for all the chores they do without complaint - for every ten checks they earn, we'll do a treat like the movies. Jack was a few shy for tomorrow's movie and decided he could wash the dishes (yes, I have an instructional video LOL)
We went to an exotic animal show at the library today - it was cool...

....a close-up, just in case you missed the pest on Jack's arm - it's a tarantula :eww: He actually volunteered, brave little thing! We saw lots of creepy, slimy things - oh, boyjoy!

After swim lessons which went great, I asked who did a good job and got this response ;-)

They had an exceptional day with lessons, a minor miracle given that Harry was very upset about something that happened before the lesson and Jack had his back - I left them both mopey and in tears, only to come back to happy, smiling boys who had learned several new skills and earned ribbons! (Look at those clouds reflected in the van windows)

Tho the pic's not great, that sign to their left shows that they are both well on their way to 4 feet tall - eek!

You can't really see it, but Harry had christened most of his face

Jack lost his scoop, so we shared - you can see his tear and his skinned nose if you look closely

Happy week!

Age of Electric's Cranky

Twistin' By The Pool

At the half-way mark of Swim Nazi school, the boys have earned a few ribbons and surprised themselves a few times - I'm looking forward to what next week brings.

Tho Harry was thrilled to earn his first ribbon and read both of Jack's, he was too exhausted to put much of it to use at yesterday's Pool Fest at Zach's :-(



clockwise from top: Harry, Jack, Asher, Grayson, Zach and Carter
It was a perfect day, with the exception of Jack's spill and tired boys and Mommy, and we couldn't look forward to next week any more (we'll all sleep more this week with Daddy home).

I got a few great pix that I'll share with the moms but this one shrieked Boys of Summer to me - Zach has become a frog whisperer this summer, and he and Asher bonded over their frog-catching adventures yesterday

Thanx again for all the fun!

Dire Straits

You Oughta Be In (At?) Pictures

We started going to this year's summer movies last week, and it's going to be a pretty busy week with movies, swim lessons and tball. They, ok me too, are starting to crack under the fatigue, but they rallied a few times today, and tonite we made it thru almost the entire nite with no whining or tears...a small miracle. After a really rough afternoon, they knew that they had to listen to the coach, play and refrain from whining or crying in order to go to the movie tomorrow. We'll be picking up friends early :-)

They've gotten into a good routine - Harry gets the popcorn and Jack gets the snack in the kids meal.
Nothing makes them much happier than a trip to the pet store, and they earned it during the movie this morning. If only it could have lasted....they flipped this afternoon, and Jack balked about lessons while Harry trooped on (180 degrees from yesterday). It was a terrible whinefest; I yelled and they cried themselves to sleep, but a nap seemed to do the trick

In the dugout during their first game:

I'm not sure of the first two names, but then it's Jack, Grayson, Harry, Asher and Zach

Here's Harry flanked by two of their great coaches: Chad and Andy

Jack getting ready for a grounder - he did a great job hustling for balls tonite...he didn't do much throwing after stopping them, but he did share with a few friends, which is a good start on the teamwork ;-)

This is Harry's first pitched hit (that I can recall) - he was so excited!

You can see the ball about 1/2 between him and Coach Andy.

I will remember my camera next time....I will remember my camera next time...I will....

Brenda Lee

Little mEn you've had a busy day . . .

Have wheels, will travel - we took Grayson over to Asher's Mimi's house for some excellent adventures today!
Asher, Harry and Jack heading out to feed the horses and explore

It was an absolutely beautiful day

Grayson and Jack feeding one neighbor horse and donkey

Another neighbor's pair were happy to see Mimi and her carrots

Pretty much the definition of bucolic

Siesta, boy style

Asher and Jack stole a trick from Dean and left chalk love notes for the neighbors

We heard construction noises and checked out the diggers working on a new house's basement

Jack found out that he's pretty good at ping pong

They picked a few flowers for me
and I got a nostalgic blast from the past - we played croquet pretty often at my aunt's house when I was a kid, and I think this set is from close to the same era
Asher and Jack tried a little teamwork

Jack makes his first wicket

then Harry has some success

Still working on form ;-)

Four friends and a wonderful Mimi

A little Jenga before heading home

Believe it or not, lunch and all that fun happened in just a few hours and only had my head spinning a little bit ;-)

Perry Como's Little Man You've Had A Busy Day