Mom's visit...

Mom came to visit us this past week.  She brought Kendall, Victoria, Tyra and Shelby with her.  We had a very nice visit and did lots of things.  I had a Shelf Reliance/Thrive party while she was here - got to sample some really good stuff!  We also did some Grandma-Shop and Thrift Store shopping.  It was a great time!  Here is more of what we did while they were here...

Played some Catan...

That's Marcia playing too - she's visiting us with Jack & Ani.

Sat around the firepit and roasted marshmallows

Enjoying a nice quiet evening together

Played 'Tackle Keaton' - that's always a big hit!

Grandma and her two oldest grandsons

All the kids together.

The only thing I didn't get a picture of (and I don't know why) was the kids swimming.  There was a LOT of that going on, with the very warm weather we're having now!

Keaton

"I'm a MAN now!"

(You have to read that in a silly little 'sponge-bob voice)

My Keaton turned 18 yesterday.  This is a picture of him after getting home from his 'deconstruction' job.  It goes to show that the boy can work when he puts his mind to it.  He actually works pretty hard at his job, and we're proud of  him.

We had his birthday party yesterday.  He was lucky enough to have both of his grandma's here, Aunt Kendall and a bunch of his little cousins.  All the little ones had fun watching Keaton blow out his candles.  He knows how to ham it up for an audience!

We joked around about blowing the candles out.  He said if he didn't get them all blown out it will show how many girlfriends he has.  Preston said "No, it will show how many boyfriends you have"  And Keaton said "Oh, I better get them all blown out."  The little kids had a great time saying "Keatons got boyfriends!"  It was pretty hilarious.  He made sure ALL of the candles were blown out.

This is what AWESOME looks like!  Ha-Ha-Ha!

The best part of all...

A whole Kahlua Pie all to himself!

If I had a daughter...

... I would make curtains like these for her room...

(from theheartfelthome.com)

If I made them for me, I'd be banished from this he-man household.

And Now - A favorite thing...

Preston gave me the middle figuring for mother's day.  They are 'Forever in Bluejeans' figurines and I LOVE them.

I liked the one Preston got me so much I had to get more of them.  What I like about each of these is how they represent each one of my boys.  If anyone is going to give me flowers for any reason, it will be Preston.  So the middle one is definitely him.  Winston loves dogs - brown dogs especially, so the one on the left is definitely Winston.  The one on the right is definitely Keaton because he's drawing "I Love You" in the sand.  Keaton tells me he loves me on a daily basis - usually in a goofy cartoon-ey voice, but it's nice to hear it anyway I can get it!

I bought this one because it reminds me of Tom and I in our 'Younger' years.  It also completes the set as a family.

I really like how they look on the piano

underneath our family picture!

There you have it - one of my favorites.

TOADY!

Winston has been so excited...

...the hot weather has brought out the toads... 

...and that makes one very happy boy!

Harleys, Hondas and Vulcans... Oh My!

We have been lucky enough to be the stopping spot for my Dad and his Motorcycle friends.  We really enjoy having them stay with us.  They are such a fun group!  Dad stayed in the camp trailer, and Winston decided he needed to have a sleep-over to keep his Grandpa company.  They also had a great time playing in the pool...

They played Winston's favorite pool game:  Water Dogs!

Winston was the water dog, Dad was the water chicken.

Sitting around the firepit... 

...a Moore visit special.

Dad and his little biker buddy.

There were four Honda Goldwings, One Harley Davidson

and One Kawasaki Vulcan (My personal favorite). 

The Gang!

On their way to Canada.

I'm a Whiner.

That's right.  I'm a BIG TIME whiner - when it comes to exercise.  So here comes the 'Whaaaaa-mbulance'!  Have I ever told you how much I dislike it?  I think it tops the list of the things I don't like.  There-in lies the heart of most of my problems. Waa-waa-waa.  Some people really enjoy it.  I think that's great - for them.  For me, it's a necessary evil.  I don't like feeling the pain of extreme exertion.  Pain in the calves, pain in the lungs, pain in the head.  So when I actually do go through with exercise - it's quite a milestone for me.  So, cheer with me... I've walked two-miles every day for the past three days -  Woo-Hoo!  (It may not sound like much, but for me that's huge).  I'm not going to worry about tomorrow.  Tomorrow will take care of itself.  Today I did it - and that's enough for Today.

So, on a lighter note...

I was reading a blog where the Mom planned as one of her exercises to have a dance party with her kids.  It reminded me of our 'Punk Rock' parties my brothers and sisters and I had when we were kids.  I bet we burned a lot of calories doing all that dancing.  It sounds like a fun way to get the dreaded deed done and have some family time too.  I bet Winston would be game for that!

Well... Huh.

I just finished this book.  It kind of left me hangin'.  It was written in a really abstract way, mostly from different people's points of view.  Very different.  It's about three brothers who live on the family farm all of their lives.  They do things the 'old fashioned' way.  Most of their lives are spent giving their all to their farm.  Then one day, one of the brothers is found dead, in the bed the three of them share.  There's a little bit of mystery involved with that.

They're old guys, but not quite as old as the hills - they just look like it.  My favorite part of the book was when they went into town.  They didn't have a car so they drove the old tractor with two headlights, but one was broken.  One brother would drive and the two others would hang off the sides of the tractor.  The funny part was that they wore overalls and had white hair and long white beards that flew out over their shoulders as they were going down the road.  It just put such a funny picture in my head - three old men, beards flying, balancing off of a tractor that came bouncing into town.

They were kinda backwards in how they did things, but they didn't care.  I liked reading about their idiosyncrasies and their relationships with each other and other people.  I didn't care for the use of drugs by other characters in this book - but I have to admit it's a big part of the plot.  There was also a little bit of hard language too.  It was entertaining, but at the end made me wonder why I found it so.  Anyway, wow - that's two books in one month between this one and 'Little Bee'.  I'm on a roll!

Ooooh, Toilet Paper rolls!

I saw this on the Red Ted Craft site.  It looks a fun project for Winston and I to do sometime.  Who knew toilet paper rolls could be so much fun?  We also want to paint rocks, so we'll have to decide which comes first.  I love being home with my son!

But first, I was up to the wee-hours making these...

... to go on the glass pickle jars I'm using for our coffee and tea.  I got the graphics off of the 'Graphics Fairy' site.  Then I photoshopped them with french words.  It took a long time to do.  I need to affix them to the glass today.  Not quite sure how I'm going to do it.  I learned recently that Mod Podge and glass don't work together so well, so I'm thinking of using varethane.  It will be another experiment.

I also need to stain the wood rail that Tom bought for our stairway so Tom can have it in by the time Dad comes to visit.  Tom's Mom will be pretty happy about it too.

Those are the projects for today, along with the typical stuff.  Maybe I'll come up with another genius idea for those left-over TP rolls!

Winstonville

Yesterday afternoon - after the bug habitat - Winston asked me to make his favorite playdough.  I didn't have enough salt for it, so I said we'd have to find something else to do.  I remembered that I printed off some color pages I found on education.com last summer.  They were cut-outs of buildings, trees, people... a little town.  So I pulled those out and copied them onto cardstock for Winston to color.

One of the things I liked about these is that they fit perfectly with matchbox cars, so the possiblities of play are endless. 

I helped him cut them out after he finished coloring them.  When I cut them I cut down an extra inch below each picture.  that makes the little flap that we folded over so the structures could stand up by themselves.

Winston went the extra mile and drew the insides of the buildings on the other side.  I like how he added lights and made sure the windows were where they were supposed to be.  There's a big chair and sink in this one.  He also decided that the town needed a store and a motel, so he drew and colored them by himself.

He worked on it for a couple of hours - then spent the rest of the afternoon and evening playing with it.  He got it out first thing this morning, too!

Bug Boy!

Today Marcia asked me if I wanted her to throw away an old plastic pickle jar that we had just laying around and I told her to go ahead.  Then Winston said "No, I need that!"  So I told him he could have it.  He used it to make...

...A bug habitat!

He put grass in, for the bugs to eat.  A leaf for the bugs to sleep on.  Rocks for the bugs to play on, and two wet sponge pieces so they can get a drink of water.

Then he went out and saved a Box Elder Bug from drowning in the pool and put it in the habitat.  He watched it for about 20 minutes, then let it loose.  This boy has no problem with entertaining himself!

I can breathe again!... And Slugo, the Slug Dog

It seems that I have caught a summer cold.  Actually, it's not just me, all of the boys except Tom have caught it too.  For a couple of days I was totally miserable - I couldn't breathe and my head felt like it was going to explode.  At one point, I told Tom that I think it was the mosquitos in Yellowstone who decided to nibble on my ankles about 20 times.  I told him I thought they were trying to give me the West Nile Virus.  He told me not to be so dramatic and to go see the doctor.  So finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I went to the doc.  I knew I had a sinus infection - that seems to happen every time I catch a cold.  He put me on antibiotics and MucinexD.  I'm telling you, that MucinexD stuff works!  I had to sign for it at the pharmacy because I guess some people like to use it to make meth.  Probably within 30 minutes, my sinuses opened up and everything came out - I know, gross huh.  But I feel like I'm going to live again (more dramatics - hee hee).  I still sound terrible, but I'm feeling much better.

So enough about me...

This is a June picture.  Winston was playing in my flower bed. 

He likes to use the toad house, and he was using his little yellow bus. I asked what he was doing and he said, "This is my house. And this is my dog." And he pointed to a little slug that was next to his house.  I didn't get a picture of the slug dog.  I named him Slugo.  I love my son's imagination.

Farewell, Trenton and Katlyne...

Trenton and Katlyne:

 As you head back home today,

 we just want to say...

...Well...

... It's been real...

...And...

...It's been Fun...

...And...

...It's been Real Fun...

...Really!

So we hope you have an easy trip home...

...And thanks for spending your Summer with Us!

What My Kids Did On Summer Vacation...

Between the obvious traveling and their workschedule, here's a run-down of what Summer Vacation is here at our place:

The kids went swimming with their cousins

And their friends

(Good shot Trenton - pegged Keaton right on the back!)

 And swam by themselves

There was LOADS of 'Settlers of Catan' playing

And many hours of computer/video game playing 

There were the few times of lounging around a good campfire 

And the daily lazing around in PJ's or Swim trunks

while consumming mass quantities of edibles 

And some afternoon naps, or sleep-ins

to make up for being up 'all hours of the night'

Yep, it's great to be a kid on Summer Vacation!