Silly Kidlets

 Okay, I know I haven't posted in a while... but I was just uploading pictures to my computer and thought I would share... because I find some of them amusing. :)

Often, after Jer comes home from work, I will walk through the living room to something like this:

 I hit my "wall" at about 1-2pm and feel like I need a nap... he hits his right after dinner.

On this day Turbo was making a weird face... often. Jer and I were trying to figure out what was up with it.

 He would even do it upside down...

 Then Missy decided she wanted in on the action... and Turbo decided he wasn't done apparently.

Then it turned into the "Duck Face"

Jer and I got laughing pretty hard about this... you know how some girls pull this face thinking it's somehow sexy? Yeah? well... we don't get that and think it's absurd and a little atrocious looking.

The other night we went up to my parents house... the kids were having a lot of fun and at one point Jer used my parents washable markers to make a mark on Missy's face. Missy got upset and Jer had to show her that it washed off... then the boys saw it and decided they wanted to be "Spider man!"

Yeah, I'm starting to think that "washable markers" should also be called "face paint markers".

And here is Goober's "Serious" spidey pose...

And Turbos "spidey" pose...

Peace out. :)

Telling Stories

Goober decided to read a story to his siblings this morning! :) So glad his reading skillz are getting better and that he is getting more confident.

In other news: They were supposed to have school Monday and Tues but it's been canceled due to potential weather narstys...

Also... I made out like a bandit... you know that couponing thing? Ya well take THIS:

$25.90... oh, and I forgot to include a fifth bottle of dish soap in there... yup, once in a while I DO figure the stuff out. :)

Skipping Services

For a while now our family hasn't attended any church services. I think that most of this has to do with the fact that I no longer believe in the LDS Church (which is where we always used to go), though I have to be clear... I'm not opposed to going to the ward.

I was talking with a family member a while ago about this and mentioned that Jer and I had come to an agreement. I would come to the ward every other time we went to any service, and I would help him the the kids etc, if I was allowed to go to another congregation the rest of the time. I asked him if he would please come with me when I went, mostly so that I would be able to talk about the services without having to do a "play-by-play", he was amicable to that.

When I recapped a recent conversation between Jer and I with this family member, One were I made clear to Jer that if he was more adamant about wanting to go to the ward, which he hasn't been, then I would be more adamant about making sure I went to another congregation. He stated that honestly if I were more set on going to another congregation, he would then be more insistent on going to the ward. Both of us shared the opinion that if one view was exclusively shared with our children, we would want them to have a counterpoint.

In response to my conveying these ideas, the family member I was talking to stated "So, your discouraging him from attending the ward?"

Now, this family member is LDS and I have to admit, I understand where they would want to fault me for Jer's inactivity... I am, after all, the one that is doomed (according to their beliefs) but I find it somewhat interesting that they don't see it the other way as well... that Jer is "discouraging" me (and the kids) from going to another congregation as well. I figure that our family is more important than what may happen after this life... and if being tolerant of each others religious beliefs is necessary to help our family run smoothly, then that is fine with me. It really is a small price to pay when it comes to the people I love dearly, which my husband is no small part of.

What's amusing to me is the fact that I'm not really discouraging anyone to do anything religion-wise. I'm just no longer the one that makes sure everyone gets out of bed and dressed to the nines. Church is no longer important to me... if it's important enough to Jer then he will make sure that we all get up and out the door, or at least make a really good effort towards that. I'm not discouraging, I'm just no longer encouraging. I'm sitting firmly in the middle... though I have to admit, I don't know if the kids "church clothes" even fit them anymore, I kind of think not.

So for now we are considered "inactive" at church. We are not attending any church. Isn't "inactive" better than "not a member" to those that adhere to the LDS belief system? And on the flip side (from my point of view), isn't "inactive" better than only sharing one sects opinions on life with my children? I do, after all, want my children to always use their intellect when deciding what they think about things... and that includes God.

I don't want them to ever just "take someones word for it" when it comes to their belief system, I did that for far too long and I think if I had really thought about my beliefs sooner I probably would have been more likely to retain the belief system I was raised with, as it is, I'm don't... I want my children to believe things because it feels right to them, not because someone tells them it is right.

Oooooo lights....

So today I slacked off (I know, I know... I need to get a handle on this slacking off addiction I have going... I've determined after long -cough, cough- minutes of study that laziness breeds itself! Boy am I hosed!) and I went to my parents house for the day.

The kids adore my parents and my mom is the bomb and plays "hide-and-seek" with them over and over again (even though my kids always hide in the same places every time).

Today when I left to come home my dad gave each of my kids a little light that he manufactures for work. This light is cool, it changes color each time you turn it on and its -dundundun- waterproof. Which means that it's a little kids heaven! All the way home my kids begged for me to let them take a bath with their lights when they got home.

Turbo took the first one (hence the picture at the top of the entry, yup, that's Turbo in be bath with his light!) and each of my kids took their turns after that.

Ahhhhh how would life be if I could be entertained  by water and lights for hours?

Oh, wait... I still can... maybe that is why I never seem to have enough time!

First Time Out...

In a really, really, long time!

Since last fall Jer and I have been discussing the fact that we really need to go camping with the kidlets more... now that Turbo is going to be 3 at the end of the summer it shouldn't be as big of an ordeal as with an infant (you know, the whole... Pack-N-Play,  bottles, baby back-packy thingy, etc etc)

Well, we still hadn't gone till this last weekend, and part of it was because we didn't have a clue where to go ...

Apparently my parents decided that they needed to prod us in the right direction! They invited us to go with them (can we say YAY for bathroom facilities and other adults whom the kidlets adore?!).

So, off we went!

This is the first time Jer and I have used our tent since we went and visited my sister for her graduation... ya, we're kind of pathetic... I know. :)

But we had a blast this time, due in large part to my mama and my papa!

Dad found the perfect spot to say in, that not only would fit their 5th wheel, but our tent and all the vehicles. PLUS it had a stream that the kids loved to jump over and play in AND we didn't have any traffic there besides ourselves running back and forth on the Rhino. :)

I think my kids were in shock due to not being allowed to watch any movies etc (I wouldn't let them, even though my parents did have a TV, DVD player, and a generator.... GOODNESS SAKES KIDS! We are OUTDOORS... and not just in the front yard! Go explore!)

They found sticks to swing around and asked repeatedly if any adult would go on a hike or take them on a ride in the Rhino. (which the adults didn't mind doing at all, that thing was fun!)

 (Gpa J and Missy at the top of the Mountain)

They picked flowers, and generally got themselves really dirty! They even had an incident with Jer where the Rhino tipped over, but alas... everyone was fine :)

There was even a deer that must have lived near our campsite, because we saw her often!

They even had Smores for the first time! (poor deprived children...)

Jer's foot started to hurt (darn gout, and me forgetting that shrimp triggers it... and dang-it everyone loved that meal!) So, now we are home, bathed, showered, and all but me in bed.

It was an awe-some weekend! Thanks to the 'rents!

July 3rd... cause that's how our city does it.

So on July 3rd we went to the Parade... because as I mentioned in a previous post, our city has issues with celebrating our country's independance day on the sabbath... even if that country was founded on the principal of freedom of religion. Hmmm.

Anyways, it was bitter freezy COLD at the parade. My kids all had long pants and jackets and were still complaining about how cold it was! Thank goodness it started to warm up after a bit!

The parade started...

Then it stopped... for about 20 minutes. Come to find out later that one of the BMX bikers hurt himself and thought he had broken his ankle... glad it wasn't worse. As we waited a couple of helicopters flew by....

And I think the kids were more excited about them than about any of the rest of the parade... and that included the horses and the BMX bikers doing awesome tricks and flips and stuff!

After the parade we went home and made everyone take a nap... because, lets face it, late night watching fireworks at the parents house and an early morning at the parade PLUS a late night planned for watching fireworks that night equals.... notsomuchfun. So our kids were mad, but we were glad!

We took a nap.

Then we headed to one of Jeremy's coworkers houses for a BBQ. Mmmmmm yummy kebabs with zucchini and squash and Parmesan cheese on top! Heaven!

And besides Turbo got to get exposed to dogs...

 Shamus the boxer.... sooooo cute... want one!

Turbo was fine as long as he had a water gun handy. :)

and he had a blast shooting the adults! It wasn't so much a game of avoiding being shot as it was of standing still and hoping he didn't hit you. All the people there were awesome though and seemed to enjoy his antics!

We had a great time... and so did the kids!

In the end we walked down to the river to watch the fireworks and then we headed home to enjoy the rest of the weekend!

July 2nd... because that's how we do it!

As I mentioned in my last post, our area moves Independence Day celebrations around according to the day of the week that they fall on. This year, because the 4th lands on a Sunday our city has moved the big celebrations to the 3rd, which put the little towns in the area in a bind because they usually have their celebrations on the 3rd. So this year they moved theirs to the 2nd.

So on Friday my little family went to my parents house for a BBQ, some personal fireworks, and then to watch their little towns fireworks from the back porch!

The BBQ was WAY good (Go Mom and Dad!) but because this post is going to be picture heavy anyways I will spare you the mouth watering goodness (because it would just make you jealous and hungry anyways) and get on to the family fun!

Dad and the kids danced around in the back yard for a while, while we waited for the sun to get to a point where fireworks would be fun... Then we went into the front yard for some firework fun... but we had to break the kids in slooooowly :) You know, since they had been asking since they woke up this morning when we were going to do fireworks!

With hand held fireworks and PopIt's!

But even with the slow "breaking in" we still scared a baby dear out of hiding! I don't know if you can see it in the middle of the road there... it was moving pretty quickly and my reaction time with the camera wasn't as fast as it needed to be! He was a lot closer when we first saw him!

Then we went back to doing the Roman Candles... the kids loved then and we all counted up to ten as each one used up it's 10 charges :)

And, yes! That is a rare picture of me! I know... your amazed... I actually remembered to hand my camera off! And then Goober decided he needed to get into the picture too...

Silly Kiddo!

He cracks me up! Ahhhh the firework glasses (they had a prismatic effect so they made the fireworks all that much more colorful!)

The kids were ecstatic as they each got to take turns with helping light the fireworks and running as fast as their legs would carry them! Sometimes bringing expired fireworks back to put in the trash pile :)

And then there is the never fail Sparklers! :) Those are always a hit! Turbo even got a little bit of freedom with his....

Goober was nervous about the ones shooting in the air falling on him, so he decided the safest place was in the back of grandpa's truck in the garage! lol

Guess we didn't start out slow enough! :D

"Flowers" are always fun to chuck in the water... nothing puts those suckers out once they get going!

After a few more fireworks we moved to the backyard to wait for the "big" fireworks! The kids each borrowed one of Gma and Gpa J's jackets because I forgot to gab theirs from home before we can up... then Gpa started the fire pit until the cities fireworks started.

It was a great night! Thanks Mom and Dad! Your the best and our whole family had a blast!