I thought of you, Emily and Mom!

Noah's New Trick.

Our Dinner Conversation.

Lily: Noah, I love you and I'm going to chase you and kiss you.
Noah: No you're not.
Lily: Yes, I am.
Noah: If you try to kiss me, I'll have to pin you down.
Lily: No you won't.
Noah: Yes, I will.
Lily: I'll have Jackson deal with you and he bigger.
Noah: Oh, man!

Noah and Lily had their physicals today. After last years break dancing extravaganza for the benefit of all the nurses, I was pretty tense waiting for what was in store for me today. But, it went well. My favorite part was when the doctor asked Noah if he did a good job eating the dinners I make and if he liked what I make. He hemmed and hawed and then said, "Well, she makes a really horrible green bean casserole, but everything else is pretty good." Lily got a finger prick and 4 shots. She was not happy. Her nose was out of joint most of the afternoon. Poor baby girl.

Hike With The Kiddos.

There always has to be one crazy one of the bunch that needs to take a crazy picture (99.5% of the time it's Noah).

Diffuser comparison.

This is a diffuser. This is a NORMAL diffuser. A NORMAL diffuser that NORMAL people leading NORMAL lives use to dry and style their NORMAL hair.

This is an ABNORMAL diffuser. ABNORMAL people use this ABNORMAL diffuser to dry and style their ABNORMAL hair. Using this ABNORMAL diffuser leads to ABNORMAL behavior, ABNORMAL faces, and ABNORMAL picture-taking.

(Jill is taking orders for copies of this picture. I think it would make a nice Christmas card. This picture will continue to haunt her for the rest of her life.)

Lily's 4th Birthday.

Getting cozy in the cozy coupe...
The birthday girl. (Whose mom was too busy to make her hair look decent.)

A princess cake for a princess. Below is the kind of shenanigans that happen when a grandma is involved. Would she have let her own children do this 30 years ago??? NOOOO-OO!

Blowing out the candles...

cheesy grin...I don't know where she gets it. Probably her brother. opening presents... horns... trying to make Barbie ride her bike....she kept at it like this for a whole block! Happy Birthday, sweet girl. You are getting so big!

Noah's Soccer Goal (WOO-HOO!!).

The Most Bizarre/Entertaining 30 Seconds.

Noah put on quite a display of excitement upon opening his Nintendo DS for his birthday. Not sure how to even describe it since there is no video, but I think I speak for all who witnessed it...our lives were changed that day. It was perhaps the most bizarre, entertaining, testosterone filled 30 seconds I have ever witnessed. Here is a picture sequence, but once again it pales in comparison to the real deal...

Last Day Of School.

Last time taking the flag down (sniff, sniff.)

The blacktop demolished in silly string...

Last hug from a favorite teacher...

Some aftereffects of silly string mania...

Good friends...

Awesome teacher... coolest friend ever ("It's like he's my twin...only with braces.")...

A Story By Lily.

Lily is big into telling stories...I've heard many today. Here is an example...

"Once upon a time, there was a little pink puppy.
Once upon a time the puppy wanted to be a helper for his mommy.
Once upon a time the puppy went to the mailbox and got the mail for his mommy.
Once upon a time there was a real, real, real, real, real, beautiful girl and her name was Princess Lily. The End."

I need to brag on my son for just a quick minute. I'll try not to be prideful! Yesterday at the end of the 6th grade award ceremony they give an award to a boy and a girl called the Citizenship Award. It is awarded totally on a person's character inside and outside the classroom. It is based on the school's core virtues, friendships, respect, compassion, attitude, etc. And Jackson totally won it! We told him how proud we were of him and that meant so much more to us (and God) than any "achievement". He loves the Lord, and it's so cool that others saw what we see in him. Gotta go...I'm going to cry now.

Hey! Today is the last day to sign up for this giveaway! You can go over to our art blog to see more pictures of it. I'm drawing a name at 10:00 tonight!

This Is A Story With A Happy Ending.

So....yeah....last night when we were outside playing I put my nice camera on the roof of the van where it would be "safe". Today I drove to school and back twice, to Scheel's, to Target, and then back home again with my camera going for a little ride up top. Not a scratch. I think I came really close to giving my husband a heart attack, though.

Awkward Parenting 101.

Joe had an awkward parenting moment tonight. SO glad it wasn't me! He was upstairs on the phone with a Verizon operator trying no doubt to hide away to have a quiet phonecall. Lily found him and plopped herself down next to him and passed some major loud gas in the process. She then proceeded to yell quite loudly, "EWWW! THAT SMELLS LIKE POOP!" Joe then heard a chuckle on the other end of the line and was faced with the dilemna of pretending it never happened or chat about farts with a complete stranger. Hmmm...what would you do??!??