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Once in a while, I pack a lunch, load the children into the car (a task requiring no less than three carseats, these days!) and make the seven mile journey to the office where Dan works with my dad, selling kitchen cabinets.
It’s certainly the highlight of our day.
The girls dress up for the event…
Trux, too – though he remains cool and unimpressed, throughout.
The girls work on some difficult floor plans…
mooch the trademark mints and sunflower seeds off of Granddad…
get held by as many aunts and uncles as happen through the doors…
and educe tickling from anyone:
It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.
We’ve been wondering why bedtime has become such a struggle. This video clip may have shed light on the problem…
To the tenant in my belly, in possession of the below described premises:
I am issuing an immediate notice for EVICTION. You will have 2 weeks in which you can either gather your belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, you may be forcefully encouraged to remove yourself from the property.
You are being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the front of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made.
Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.
After 2 weeks from this day that you don’t comply with the notice will result in immediate and possibly forceful action to dislodge you from this location.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Signed
Your Mama
Landlord
(I do not know who the original author of this piece is, and can’t seem to find the source anywhere, but there are several similar versions floating around on the web.)
It was almost too much for the girls to bear when I drew back the curtains in the living room to show then the lovely large snow flakes blowing by outside. They started making plans at the rate of about a thousand per minute…
They would make a snow man. They would sled.
They could make snow ice cream. They could drink the snow, if we ran out of water.
They would make snowballs to put in the freezer so that they could have snow when the snow was all gone.
Which made Kinsley think of summer. Which made her think of plans for a summer day, again. She and Papa must play baseball at the park. And football. And they should wear the new hoodies which Uncle Zion gave them when they play football. And they needed a special hat with a fence for their faces, for baseball. And for football. And patches on their knees for baseball. And a bat, and a ball, and a glove. And we could store it all in the basement so we will be ready for summer.
Jared got a Mac, and has been having tons of fun with iPhoto…
It just sort of brings out the natural beauty in everyone…
I think our next family photo should be an iPhoto – it’s just too hard to get a decent family photo these days… so why bother?
On the other hand… I suppose photos like this might be disturbing to one’s great grandparents.
This is more or less my view of my lap, lately. Everybody wants to shungle, as Sophie says. They’re a brood of needy little people….
But at least they’re sweet. Kinsley was reading to Sophie, and then showing her what all the various animals were.
Then, they went back to Getting Cozy, which really is rather frantic…
Shoes come off… everybody wants to feel the baby…
And the whole scene really only lasts a moment. Then everyone has to climb down to look for a certain book, get a drink, go potty, or attend to some other pressing matter. Then the whole process begins again.
I was recently informed by my eldest daughter that her nose “felt like it was full of rotten rice cakes”.
Photo Credit goes to “digitalART2“
Ever since she learned that her cousins Nathan and Natalie were going deer hunting, Kinsley has become obsessed with the idea of hunting hippos. Specifically, Hippos with Cook-able Feet. She has laid out a very detailed plan for the Hippo Hunt, which I will transcribe as she re-explains it to me (for the fifth time today):
“We need to check to see if we have any string in the basement, and then IF we do, then we need to attach some chain to the end of it. Then we head out the door. When we get to Uncle Eric’s house, we can ask them if they have Any Hippos on their farm, and when they say that they do, then we go out to The Rocks, and you will hold The String, and I will tackle the hippo and then get The String from you – and tie it around The Hippo’s neck. Then, I will lead The Hippo home, (and we will need a towel for The Hippo), and we will take it into our kitchen, and Uncle Jared can come to our house (because he likes hippos to eat) and we can cook it, and eat it. It should probably be a Baby Hippo, because Smaller Hippos, are long enough to eat. And we may need a gun, to shoot The Hippo, in case it tries to sing.”
I admit, the girl is bonkers.
She has been obsessed with Hippos for over a year now. She saw the below video, and took such an instant and terrible dislike to it, that she literally drops to the ground screaming with fright if she sees this clip, or even hears a bit of the song by the Tokens. Sad.
My two assistants thoroughly enjoyed this photo-op with their uncle.
See that helpless look of bliss on his face? They’ve pretty much got him wrapped around their itty-bitty baby girl fingers.
But, at least they give back rubs…
