Thursday, April 22, 2010

hooping it up

Before...

and After...


(well, after waiting several days for the utilities to be marked, finding out the gas line was right where the hole needed to be, carefully digging around the gas line, blisters, very sore muscles, 5 trips to Home Depot, 6 bags of concrete, a little swearing, and almost smashing the glass 3 times, that is...)




capturing a moment of the grumps




I know, kid. Life's rough sometimes.


Having to push your little sister in the swing so I can take pictures is so not fair...


But whatever you do, don't smile...


No, really...




it's the big swings now...



When Ainsley wanted to swing the other day, I started to lift her and put her in her "baby" swing. She very quickly let me know that she wanted to swing in the big swing. And then she kept asking me to push her higher. I told her I didn't want her to go too high, to which she replied, "I can go higher. I'm not a baby anymore, Mama. I'm an Ainsley!"


(The messy face is for you, Auntie Nancy!)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

i think he may be a little too "plugged in"


I'm reading a book to Jackson and he says, "Um, can you pause this? I need to go to the bathroom!"


Saturday, April 17, 2010

lunch with the birthday boy


Ainsley and I volunteer in Jackson's class every Wednesday. (Well, I help with Math and she sits at the back table, looking cute and soaking up everything!) She's kind of a rock star with the class...we usually stay for lunch and everyone wants to sit by her. But on Jack's birthday? I got to sit next to both rock stars. It was awesome!

on being 6


I asked Jackson, "What's the best thing about being 6?"


"Well, opening presents, I think."


"Anything else?"




"Oh, yeah! And eating cake!"



Well said, my son.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

way better than olan mills


The week before leaving on our Spring Break trip, I contacted a friend from high school, who happens to be a fantastic photographer, and asked her to meet us in Danville to take some pictures of the kids. You can click here to see some of the photos on her blog. They are wonderful and I'm having a hard time deciding which ones to order!! Thanks, Jessica!

don't worry...she's not contagious.




Ainsley with a case of the blue and magenta spotted fever. Also known as what happens when you leave your 2 year old "watching Max and Ruby" while you take a shower. Sigh.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

there are times i'm glad she has a phone. and then there are times like these...


I had some phone problems on our trip and didn't have service for about 3 days. (Which is why I wasn't able to tweet some really fun things we were doing...New Fort Wayne Tin Caps stadium is awesome...would love to see a game here! It's been such a long time since I've been in Trinity...the remodel is gorgeous...but the Chapel will always be my favorite part. The people at the Verizon Store at Jefferson Point are getting on my nerves!! Fideo and Nachos at El Azteca! First Dairy Queen of the season! Giant slide at Science Central looks so fun...Ryan and Emily heading down in under 3 seconds!) I haven't had too many problems since I've been back, but yesterday my phone was doing some weird things so while I was waiting in the carpool line for Ryan, I called Emily and asked her to send me a "test" text.

Emily's text: kgfvcjkfdl

Me: Thanks...

Emily: your welcome

Me: You're...Not your.

Emily: this is txt language it is short

Me: Never an excuse for bad grammar...

Emily: whatever

(I do realize I just opened myself up for a critique of my own grammar. I know it's not perfect...but the misuse of you're and your? Ranks right at the top with the misuse of there and their in terms of my biggest grammar pet peeves. And one of these days I'll learn how to correctly use a comma and stop ending sentences with prepositions. Baby steps, people.)


Monday, April 12, 2010

bat buddies




Jackson and his cousin, Brady, on Easter Sunday. Jackson actually started out the day wearing his black Batman t-shirt, but had to change once he saw Brady's was grey.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

spring break

Tomorrow I'll be driving to Indiana with the kids. (Doug will be staying behind to work and try to finish all 27 items on his honey-do list!) We have a ton of plans, and I'll have very limited access to Internet, so I may not be able to post anything here until we return. However, I will be tweeting! Have you seen the Twitter bar on the left? I can update just by sending a text message. So, even though there may not be any new posts next week, you can still check in and see updates of all the fun we're having!! Now, rest assured, I will not tweet while driving!! One of my "navigators" will update for me if I have something exciting to say on the road. And speaking of navigators...Emily will be taking the co-pilot chair on the way to Indiana tomorrow. I let her know that she will be responsible for making sure we get all the directions right. (Part of our route is still closed due to a rock slide last October, so I'll need her to help guide me through the detour.) So, she grabbed the atlas and started looking through it:

Emily: Oohh! Here it is! I found Indiana already!!

Me (glancing over at the atlas) : Um, honey? That may be, but you're looking at a map of Pennsylvania.

So, if all goes well, we will arrive at our destination in time for dinner! But just in case, does anybody know any good places to eat in Pennsylvania??


the jackson dictionary


The area behind your knee = leg pit.