I'll be there to raise you or to roost you

As an only child, I constantly marvel at the relationship ups and downs of these two. I pray that they will be there to raise or roost - these smiles give me hope!

The Muppets' A Friend Is A Friend

You better not let 'EM in.....aaahoooo!

The boys officially became wolves last week. They had a fun year as Tigers, but looked so proud to get their new yellow neckerchiefs!

They got to make smores afterward. Their friend Zach (background) will be a Tiger this fall - welcome to the wild-er-ness!

Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London

Mommy, daddy, you and I

Mother's Day was gorgeous and full of love from my three favorite men - I'm such a lucky mommy!

The boys are so silly and love to make goofy pix, posing here in front of the 'treasure' - they led me on a treasure hunt with sweet clues. Definitely worth the effort!

We went to see Soul Surfer and completely enjoyed it - they had read about Bethany Hamilton's run-in in one of their Shark books. Jack was into the attack, while Harry wanted to know all about how she learned to do everything again. The movie was a great family picture!

After the movie, they took me to one of our favorite restaurants to wrap up a fantastic day - thank you to all my men - love ya lotsa!

Talking Heads

Come on, take down your fishin' pole, and meet me at The Fishin' Hole

The boys' scout den got together for a little fishing on our neighborhood lake this afternoon - couldn't have asked for better weather or make biting....just missed Daddy something fierce!

Jack, Joe, Harry, and Grayson checking out their chances

Jack has mastered the chill of fishing
Joe and Jack

Jack reeling one in while his number one fan cheers him on

Harry and Jack investigating one of Jack's catches

Harry baiting the hook with Jack chilling in the background

Harry mastered the worm

Joe watching Harry reeling in his catch

Harry got a little help from a friend's mom

He caught a little beauty

Fishing and a cookout - pretty great afternoon in the country :-)

The Fishin' Hole (Andy Griffith Show theme)

....never stop 'cause it's too much fun

We took advantage of the gorgeous spring weather and their good behavior to take a little jaunt to the park after school. They slid, they ran, they scootered, they posed....

Lucinda Williams' Buttercup

Let me sleep on it

Sometimes I struggle with whether I've taken 'the sleep nazi's' book *

too seriously, then we go to a late lunch and .....

so what do we do??

we are not the most mature of parents ;-)

Harry wanted to get in on the silly, and Dean is always happy to oblige

*there is no chapter on tormenting your child in the book, that's all our doing

Meatloaf's Paradise By The Dashboard Light

Hollywood Hillbilly(S)

Silly goofy boys have dug into AJ's tricks and pranks kit....

Jack getting his GQ on
and Harry can't resist an opportunity to show those gaps....dad has convinced him that he'll have to move to the mountains if he loses another

Dale Watson

Write About Love

The boys have been making use of the chalkboard in the kitchen, and it sure is a nice way to start a day....here they are posing, sweet and silly, with a note for Dean when he was traveling.

Belle and Sebastian

To see just what went on in our own backyard

Harry hanging out at Jack's soccer practice recently
Jack finally got lucky and won $20 from a dollar scratcher....so far, he doesn't seem to need GA, but he hasn't cashed it yet

JB's Comin' Down Slow

Philosophy is the talk on a cereal box

The boys' Book Club is finishing up their third book, Pippi Longstocking, a classic that I remember well. My friend Lisa Weaver and I went to see the movie the week that I moved from SC to VA when I was twelve years old..yikes, what a blast from the past!

Their culminating project is a Cereal Box Book Report, which turned out to be a really fun way to incorporate some of their favorite scenes. The front included identifying information and a picture of their favorite scene from the story, the first side had a list of characters with descriptions, the second side described the setting/s, and the back included a game that related to the story in some way. They are to include a surprise inside that is something real and reflects something about the story.

Here is Harry showing off his box and 'surprise' (this is probably the best shot I've gotten of his three missing teeth, bonus!)
He drew a picture of his favorite scene, the silly one from Chapter 1 where Pippi cracks an egg on her head - he did a great job with the yolk and it falling over her nose

His 'cast of characters' highlights Pippi, her two friends Tommy and Annika, and her monkey Mr. Nilsen

He drew a picture of Pippi jumping from drain cover to drain cover during a game they play, and noted that most of the story took place outside, but a few scenes were inside, including Pippi's 'berthday' (her spelling) party

His favorite part was the back, where he created a maze to get Tommy and Annika to Pippi's birthday party, including obstacles that were birthday-themed: hats, cakes, balloons, and noise makers. He even put a few directions for the non-maze types ;-)

Jack proudly displaying his cereal box before soccer practice

His front cover depicted the scene where Pippi whomps up on two bullies, who end up in a tree. He was really proud of his 'dots, like teachers make on their letters'

He described the same characters, the kids and Pippi's monkey

He mentioned the town and a neighbor's house, where they had a tea party as settings

Jack's back cover had a Differences game, and he took great care with the details of her clothes and shoes that were discussed in the book and her expression.

They had a lot of fun with the project, and since Pippi is such a funny girl, there were a lot of laughs at our house.

Edie Brickell's What I Am