take me back to days full of monkeyshines

Who would have ever thought four boys all afternoon could be so much fun for a mom? The boys each invited a friend for a little after-school adventuring, and it did my heart good to hear them laugh and watch them run around like crazy...hopefully they are sleeping as peacefully at their house as ours are here!

The bouncing foursome

Harry practicing his game face

Cheers to fun with friends!

JB's Barefoot Children

pool explorerS from the days of THEIR misspent youth

Friday was our boy Zach's 6th birthday, and there was no better place to be than twistin' by the pool with him.

Zach and Harry ready to par-tay

Wait, now he's ready - all decked out in Spidey gear

Jack in a traffic jam

Harry, Zach and Jack checking out a cool new gift

I can't find it at the moment, but I have this exact same picture from 4 years ago :wub: :sniff:

This is as close as I could find on short notice - in about the same spot, which will show them how much amazing work they've done in the last few years.

Father and Son 2

Father and Son 1

The day ended with good friends, good music and a whole lotta laughs - thanx for a fantastic Friday afternoon, Zach and crew!

You're going to make a huge splash in Kindergarten - welcome to SIX!

Enjoy graduation - here's to another great summer!!

JB's Coastal Confessions

The baby cows and the mama cow she'd say Moo Moo

One of the kindergarten teachers at the boys' school married a dairy farmer, which means....Field Trip! It was a lot of fun, a lot of facts of life moments, and a lot of getting used to the aroma.
Checking out the feed and acclimating to the smells of nature

Getting up close and personal with a few of the cows

It's hard to see, but these are the water beds the cows sleep on - actual water beds covered with sand....pretty poshThe kids got to have a dance party on a sample water bed - the cows weigh about 1500 pounds, and each of these cute kids is about 50 pounds, so they could accomodate a couple of classes!

Jack got to feel the milking machine - this farm operates 24 hours a day and makes a LOT of milk

Jack found a new calling - he was checking out each machine to see how many pounds of milk each cow produced....they have several consistently good producers who make 30 pounds or more each session!

They got to pet a couple of calves before heading to the park for lunch and play - all in all a great field trip - Thank you Mrs. A!

Laurie Berkner's Farm Song

Like a big-a pizza pie

Wat
Watch out, Emeril - unless you're going to join forces with Rocco, two chefs are better than one, I know Cleaning up

Pouring out

Tasting....ewww

Kneading

Watching

Watching...you know what they say

maybe it doesn't boil, but it browns up nicely

These are pretty cool cutters.... Jack had burned his hand on the pan but rallied for the cutting

Dean Martin's That's Amore

The guy behind you won't leave you alone

They were playing school the other day, and it just looked so sweet and magical to me. Then I realized that in that few feet are a table and lamp owned by my grandparents, a chair owned by Dean's mother, the desk where I learned to write, and a lighthouse from the place where we honeymooned. There's a lot of history and a lot of potential in this picture....

Chuck Berry's School Days

What a field-day for the heat

Field Day 2010 was a big hit! They were excited, and started the day boarding the bus armed with their new water bottles. The jungle gym was converted to all sorts of skill tests, and Harry was proud to earn some prizes. They had sack races, balloon pops, time with friends, sponge passes ala last week's Survivor, tug-of-war, and Harry's favorite moment - popcorn! Somehow I missed pix of the bouncey houses, but they were bit hits - thank you to the weatherman for a perfect morning, and thanx to all the parents and teachers who worked to make it a wonderful event.

Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth

I Love Everybody, especially you

Have I mentioned that they are a *little* enthusiastic? Lately the enthusiasm has been a lot more consistent than the drama, for which I am thankful.

This has been a long week, and Dean's been gone, and the days always drag ... tomorrow is the end, tho, and it's Field Day!

This morning was all snuggly and somehow we made it out the door with pleasant voices. Maybe it was Harry making us laugh when he told Jack "You're being so loud it disturbs the ENTIRE United State of America, EVEN Hawaii and Alaska!"

It's nice to get reminders of how lucky we are - a friend at the bus stop mentioned that she loves to watch them get on the bus because their feet just fly in an excited bounding thing. This morning, I was watching them and their friends happily greet Mrs. G and thinking about how lucky I was when I heard Alan Jackson's Sissy's Song and my heart squeezed a few tears.

Thanx to Sarah for being a wonderful hostess today and sharing her whole family with us - we're going to have a great adventure soon :-) Thanx to Christina and Brayden for sharing a great mid-morning. Did I mention that I'm one lucky mommy?

Happy week-ending everyone!

Lyle Lovett

Who's gonna keep these ivories talking

When we went to Papa Bernie's birthday party, we got to stay in the model cottage at the old folks' home....they had this lovely piano, and Jack practiced a bit. A good use for those long fingers - he's a natural :-)
It's been a good few months for him, he was invited to participate in a special program at school, and he and Harry have gotten a lot closer. It's nice to see them getting into a better groove - not having siblings, it's all new to me - I am always happy when they can balance the competition and friendship.

They made this zebra mask in class the other day, and he has hardly taken it off all week - does he look a little happy??

Here they are working together - Jack as the face of zebra, Harry as the voice.


Jerry Lee Lewis' Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano

Camp is very entertaining

The count-down finally hit zero today - every day for the last seven one or the other have told me in excruciating detail how many days there were before their GREAT PLAYDATE. They could hardly sleep last nite, and Harry bounded into the room gleefully announcing "It's finally here!" The boys had a playdate after school today - they rode the bus with a friend and had all sorts of adventures. This was their first playdate sans mom, and it was great for everyone, and I only missed them a *little*

Thanx for the fun afternoon, Summit! Next time it's our turn :-)

Hello Muddah (A letter from camp)

Ain't no doubt about it, we were doubly blessed

Harry modeled the latest in prep fashions yesterday at their Mother's Day celebration. Too sweet, being serenaded by 50ish 5-6 year olds. The videos are too long and I don't have permission from the other moms, but trust me, it was su-weeeet!
Jack has been in a flower-giving mode, and I wasn't able to find any pix from yesterday's Mother's Day celebration at school that didn't include his other favorite girls, so I'm recycling this one from April....

Their classes made all sorts of sweet gifts for moms and had a morning filled with delicious treats and thoughtful kids....the only time it's ever sad is when I can't clone myself and share every moment with each of them. Luckily, they are really good at sharing.

Here are Harry's treasures - can you believe how big their handprints are now? I remember having to do a bunch of them to fill space for Dean's first Father's Day gift :sniff:...and if this portrait doesn't keep me at the gym, IDK what will - he's going from stick figures to more detailed drawings, but still...nothing like a rectangle body to make you question having seconds! His teacher appologized for encouraging him to add the hair, but I guess it will make a cute memory - My Mom, The Bearded Rectangle Lady ;-)

If you click on the picture, it's more legible, but basically he said it makes me smile when he takes a picture and says cheese. I had to laugh about the spaghetti and sandwiches - not, but the butterfly in a jar gift idea made my heart squeeze because he knows how much I love butterflies and really thought about what would make me smile. Love him!

Here are Jack's gifts - they are definitely going to have to use shorter poems or longer paper next time ;-) Jack said he makes me smile when he gives me hugs and kisses, he loves, me I am the best, and he likes to play with me :wub: He got the pizza right, took a more literal approach to the picture than Harry's descriptors, and thought I'd just LOVE a big Lego police set (interestingly, exactly what he would love!)

And if all the sweet words and pix weren't enough, they made these flower pots and grew these lovely plants.

All in all, it was a great day - big thanx to their teachers for giving us moms such sweet memories! I can't think of anyone else I'd rather share my kiddies with - you ladies truly ROCK!

Happy Mother's Day Weekend to everyone - hope your times are filled with sweet memories of you own moms and new adventures!

Meatloaf's Paradise By The Dashboard Light

in the spring becomes the rose

We have about six knockout rose bushes that are in full bloom. I'm hoping to make use these and the pink version as gifts for the teachers and lunch ladies tomorrow. It's amazing to me that these bushes will be full of these gorgeous blooms for the next 5 or so months.

It's also hard to believe that I saw the Bette Midler movie The Rose when I was 13 - yikes, it was a big couple of years for racy movies what with Saturday Night Fever and The Rose.....man, I'm old! But blessed :-)

Bette Midler's The Rose

It was the pleasure of my life

Mother's Day is fast approaching, and this year has been filled with so many amazing changes. We have boys with their own personalities and preferences, and it truly is a pleasure to watch them stretch. There is no way to capture it all in a picture or two, but here are a few that move me at the moment.

I always dreamed of the day I could introduce my children to my beloved Gramma....she got one of the first laughs out of Harry just about the moment this picture was taken. She taught me all I know about love and mothering, the fun and the tough parts. I miss her every day, but know she and the other mom-types we've lost are holding our babies and watching over us all.

Some sort of photographic magic happened back in 2007 and they actually looked at me at the same moment - love this picture!

And last year, in about the same spot, deep in conversationand running like the wind - love the shadow

At Easter this year, they had a great time visiting a local horse farm with their friend, Zach. This one really captures their presonalities at the moment.

May this weekend bring you lots of wonderful memories and give you a chance to make more. Thanx to the mothers and others who helped us all get this far

Zac Brown Band's Highway 20 Ride

That's my window on the world

I learned to write on this desk. Our children love to play school (how appropriate!) with it. Harry has been in a window-drawing kick....if the eyes are a window into the soul, what are the 20-odd differently shaped windows here? I hate that his 'crooked' window didn't end up on this version....it's been fun watching his windows evolve

JB's Window On The World

Just My 'magination

Harry has been Mr. Imagination lately - he hasn't gotten all the way to Imaginery Friend land, but he's close with all the revisions he does to daily life. His kitten, Wubbzy, is a frequent character who typically does everything Harry does (or wants to do!). He's gotten pretty good at explaining to anyone who looks at him askance "that's just my iMAGination!". Love that boy!

Spring 2010 school picture

The Temptations, and many others

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

This morning, I walked into the kitchen to find Jack standing by the sink
"Oh, Mommy, I was just having a morning dream" - it was so sweet in his little boy voice with all the potential for amazing things to come his way. Love him!

Spring 2010 school picture - he's practicing grins ;-)

Louis Armstrong