Autumn in Ohio.

2012-01-30T22:41:00.001-05:00

I have so much blogging to do and so little motivation :) There will be more posts this week for sure.

I know it sounds crazy- but I wake up every morning to the sun shining in through our windows and I get all sad inside. Where or where is my snow?! where is my winter?! where are my gloomy days?! I need them. If we skip winter altogether- I may get depressed.

We've gotten a few light dustings- but it is NOT enough. And it all melts immediately.

The kids are pretty disappointed, too. Zeb has been dying to make a snow angel.

The boys LOVE the binocs that Kent got me for Christmas. We get to bird and squirrel watch in the back yard every day.

We had preschool at our place last week and we learned all about bodies. Hearts, lungs, brains, our senses, the digestive system, and more. We even did all sorts of exercises to match. Brain exercises were learning and matching games, heart and lung exercises were races and the game 'hullabaloo'- and we even did digestive exercises at snack time :)

Zeb and the other kiddos LOVED doing full body tracings of themselves and then decorating their organ systems! I did this very same thing when I taught junior high :)

Zeb is going to school next year for reals and I can't believe it. Full day kindergarten!! any suggestions on making full day the best experience?! I'm pretty confident that he'll absolutely love it- but I don't want him to get too tired or burnt out!

2012-01-24T22:38:00.001-05:00

Kent is on a rotation at the Air Force hospital so he isn't getting free food everyday- and that means I've been making a lot of food so he can take leftovers for lunch every day. I've included four great and pretty easy ones here so I can add them to my rotation.

None of the pictures are mine. I've been really lazy with the camera lately!

PF changs lettuce wraps from 'the culinary life'. The recipe has intense wording (not including it all here!)- but it's actually super easy to make. They were delish.

Chicken Florentine by me. Picture by Paula Deen- but mine looked pretty darn close. I used a bunch of recipe ideas and then made it all my own. Kent LOVED it. I liked it. It's pretty creamy.

Mix:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 c milk
2 large crockpotted/shredded chicken breasts
1-2 cups mozarella cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 container (4 oz) italian herb cream cheese creamy stuff. You could do reg cream cheese or sour cream with italian seasoning.
1 bag of fresh spinach chopped and sauteed with an onion
10-14 oz al dente bowtie pasta

350 degrees. 30 minutes.

Mexican Lasagna. From Sugar and Spice. Super easy recipe and super tasty. I even used 1 can cooked chicken to make it faster and easier! I topped it with chopped lettuce, guac, salsa, and sour cream.

Crockpot cavatappi and broccoli Mac n cheese. I read a zillion recipes and came up with my own. It was CRAZY easy and pretty tasty.

picture from Blake's All Natural

8-10 oz half cooked cavatappi pasta
1 can evap milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup mixed asiago/parm/romano cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
Mix it all together and throw it in the crockpot for 2 hrs high or 4 hrs low. I added the broccoli at the end already cooked. And added some bread crumbs on top for the last hour.

the dark side

2012-01-22T20:32:00.000-05:00

We've been so lucky with health the past few weeks. I feel like everybody around us is sick and we've managed to stay clear of the germs. Although Kent caught some nasty bug that left him with a sore throat for ten days- but I steered clear of him for that long and I seemed to have escaped whatever he had. It's pretty easy to avoid him when he's never home anyway! I really don't want to get sick in this last homestretch. I feel like if I get sick now I won't be able to recover until post baby. Less than six weeks now. I can't figure out how eight months flew by. I'm terrified for this baby to show up. We are in such a good happy place right now. My kids are so self sufficient. They sleep in. They feed themselves. They dress themselves. They entertain each other all day. I can shower and eat and even read without being bombarded by needs. Two adults, two kids. Life is too easy. WHAT ARE WE THINKING?!

Post Christmas life has been pretty normal. Preschool, gym, meijer, the library, and home. That's what we do around here.

Here's Ike and his ritual of a pb and syrup multigrain waffle for breakfast. While watching cartoons of some sort. I loved watching cartoons while eating breakfast growing up. I hope that's a not a terrible tradition to pass on to my kiddos.

Also- in the past three weeks I have amassed more Star Wars knowledge than I have in my previous thirty years of life.

Since we got married Kent has been saving his collection of old Star Wars figurines to give to our kiddos. Last Christmas the boys got light sabers but were only mildly interested in them so Kent didn't get out his old toys. This year Kent prepped Zeb by showing him youtube snippets of Star Wars movies for a few months- and now all the boys are hooked. Zeb asks NONstop questions about characters I've never heard of. We scour library shelves for books about Star Wars. He asks me at least seven times a day why Darth Vader wants people to join the dark side. I don't have any of the answers to his questions. He does however regularly inform me that right before Darth Vader dies- he decides to choose the right. I honestly had no idea until he told me.

And we FINALLY have enjoyed a little snow! I want winter! good cold snowy winter. Maybe we'll have to put in for Alaska on our next air force assignment. These boys are getting to wear their angry birds hats around and they love them! thanks again, gma Pat!

last of the visitors!

2012-01-20T21:57:00.001-05:00

For the remaining days that the whole Oswald fam was in town we partied. Kent had five straight days off and that made it even better!! We got babystitters two nights and went out kidless to great Thai food and barbecue, went to the children's museum, saw the 'Muffets' movie, swam at Nannie Annie and Gramps' pool, and spent hours at the air force museum, and played with new toys.

We love the children's museum here! although I seem to lose a kid every time we go. The crazy slides connect all three levels and it's really easy to lose children when they zip down a slide and you can't see at all where they've gone.

Zeb thinks the best part of my parents visiting is definitely the hotel pool benefit. Everybody had a blast at the hotel!!

We went and saw the muppets movie. The three rugrat boys (and clair) partied it up in our new swagger wagon.

and I've got a gazillion pictures from the air force museum. I can't believe that this place is free. It's a little boys dream come true- and keeps visitors entertained for a day!!

Have I mentioned how funny this Milly girl is? Plus she has GREAT clothes that will be hand me downs if we have a girl.

Daysa the astronaut.

And Zeb, too. You know- this is a real space suit.

Ike is obsessed with Clair. After they left- Ike got sick and kept asking if Clair could hold him!!

Here's the turkey pushing clair around in his stroller.

The whole fam dam got to ride in the simulator. Except for me. The man wouldn't let me on because of my 'condition'. Seriously. I went skydiving pregnant - I think I could have handled the simulator.

As much as I miss my family being close- living far away sure does make it exciting when they come and visit!!

family pictures.

2012-01-06T18:54:00.001-05:00

The day after Christmas we all got together for a big family photo session! It's not often that we are all together in the same place- so we had to take advantage of the opportunity. I wasn't uber excited about it all considering I really don't like to see myself pregnant (call me vain if you'd like- I just don't like my pregnant belly!)- but I survived! I am surprised how smoothly it all went. We seriously spent less than thirty minutes and got some decent shots! I have a beautiful family!

My dad appears to be a floating head in this one- but everybody else looks good :)

Best sisters ever.

a day late- but just as great!

2012-01-03T22:29:00.000-05:00

Christmas Evening was our Christmas eve this year and it was splendid. After we picked up Gramps, Nannie Annie, Daysa, Metta, and Clair from the airport- we all feasted on a fabulous Christmas dinner. And then got busy with our traditions!

Best tradition ever is the christmas eve pixie pal gift exchange. Every body picks a secret pixie pal back in October or December and has to home make a gift for them. And then we take turns guessing who has whom. I am so glad we were all together this year to do the exchange! much easier than via skype :) I only got this one picture of the event- but Laney is holding the gift that she crafted for me. Some amazing red flower felt accent pillows. Loved them.

Christmas morning was also just perfect. Christmas is definitely one of the things that gets better with kids! we all slept in until eight and then made our way downstairs for the chaos. I made Henry and Zeb pause for a picture. They were still pretty tired since Ike decided to wake them up because he couldn't wait any longer.

Here's our 'before' shot of the gifts. Can you guess what our little rugrats wanted for Christmas? Cars stuff. With a splash of Star Wars for Zeb.

I love their little faces here.

coolest hats ever that Grandma Pat made and sent! Zeb has been buzzing around like an angry birds bomb since Christmas!

I loved the excitement of these rugrats as they inspected each new gift.

all of the cousins comparing cars.

Zeb kept looking for this one until he opened it. We've watched it several million times since that Day.

and this little Milly goat takes after her mom, Laney. She's all about clothes and hair and accessories. She wouldn't take off her sparkly new boots ALL day.

All of the kiddos were pretty interested in the adult gifts, too. Thanks Mom and Dad for the Kindle Fire! Each of the daughters got one- and I think I'll even share mine with Kent :) I've had to remind Zeb and Ike on numerous occasions that this was Kent and Leisy's gift- not theirs!!! They both call it the 'candle fire'.

I am so so so so glad that my family was able to come and visit for Christmas this year!! definitely one of my favorite Christmases ever.

Zeb and Ike were equally as excited to have everyone in town! I think I would have been a lot grumpier having Kent gone the whole week had I not had my family around :)

Thanks for the great Christmas, Mom and Dad!!

the christmas eve that really wasn't.

2012-01-02T22:31:00.001-05:00

Kent's holiday schedule wasn't nearly as torturous as I'd anticipated. He worked Christmas Eve and Christmas day- but the days ended up being shorter than scheduled and I had extra friends and family around.

Christmas Eve he was home by four and Laney and Taylor were in from Buffalo! we celebrated with half of our normal Christmas eve festivities We did our 'takeout' smorgasbord and had chinese, pizza, subs, breadsticks, famous Cincinnati chili, shrimp, and lots of other fabulous stuff.

We also had the elders over for the fun-

and our good friends, the Stewarts!

Since Kent had to go to work early Christmas morning - we just postponed it until the next day.
I was a little worried that Zeb was going to freak out or wake up thinking Santa had skipped us- but he just ended up thinking that Santa comes the night of Christmas- so it all worked out. Next year depending on Kent's schedule we'll have to make some changes- but this year was perfect!

Christmas day we went to church- and spent the afternoon staying busy making a full Christmas dinner of turkey, potatoes, pie, and everything else. Plus- Zeb and Ike had cousins to play with and I had my sis and her husband to keep me company.

Having Laney's little girl, Milly, around really did get me a little excited for the fact that we may have a girl. I've kind of been set on the idea of another boy since mine are so great- and I already have everything I'd need- and I really do love little boys- but Milly was just so darn cute and fun. Maybe I could do a girl. and I'll totally put birds in her hair wear to church.

I still have no idea if ours a boy or girl- and it's pretty exciting to think that we are just eight weeks from finding out! I am not excited for a newborn baby- but I can't wait to see what it is. That's really the main reason I don't find out gender- it gives me something to look forward to :)

I think that our family is ready for three. The van sort of cemented it. And Zeb and Ike really are excited.

the year in a BANG.

2012-01-01T22:34:00.001-05:00

What a whirlwind past few weeks!!! holy smokes.

I've spent the past three days searching for my camera -so that I could blog- and finally found it in the cereal cupboard. Don't ask. And now I'm going to have to blog backwards so that I don't forget anything.

Happy 2012. I can only hope that this year brings as many exciting times as last year- but I just don't think it's going to happen. Is it possible that I just lived the best year of my life?!? I"m sure I've got plenty of grand adventures ahead- but honestly- our year 2011 was UNBELIEVABLE. If I didn't live it I wouldn't have believed it myself! Kent and I accomplished a lot of life goals and checked quite a few things off our bucket lists! we worked incredibly hard and we were incredibly blessed. I'm going to do a little year end review in pictures just to remind myself how great I have it :)

To end the year we decided to start the family tradition of a "Miller Family Awards" ceremony on New Year's Eve. I got the idea from my cousin Rachael and I LOVE it. Both boys were old enough to really understand and enjoy it. We gave out awards and little prizes for the rugrats' biggest accomplishments of the year. I can't wait to do this annually!

The boys were so excited to clap for each other and hear about their awards. It was really cute.

Zeb definitely had an amazing academic year. He's counting into his thousands and reading like a champ!!

And Ike poos!! I wouldn't normally give an award for a normal body function- but honestly- that poo was an accomplishment for the entire family. And sharing. this kid is naturally gifted at being willing to share (usually). He deserved the award.

I didn't print out certificates for Kent and myself but I should have!

This year we went to AUSTRALIA on a dream vacation. Have I thanked all the people that made this possible? THANK YOU again mom, dad, dave, michelle, metta, clair, melynda, brent, pat, and everybody else!

The vacation was so needed and so enjoyed.

Kent was made a Captain in the U.S. Air Force!!

AND Kent graduated MEDICAL SCHOOL and became a real live DOCTOR. Best pediatrician ever :) Kent has been working towards this since as long as he can remember and it finally happened!

I ran a FULL MARATHON. definitely fulfilling a life long dream of mine. It was terrible and wonderful and I'm pretty proud of myself :)

We made a baby, too. that's a pretty big deal. It may not arrive until 2012- but I've been working hard at growing it for the past seven months.

We moved to DAYTON! into our first real HOUSE!! The transition from apartment life to house life is just plain wonderful. A garage is life changing :)

We jumped out of an airplane!! one of the most exhilarating moments of my life so far.

And most recently- we BOUGHT a car!! after much trepidation and many sleepless nights (for me anyway!!)- we finally took the plunge! spending money makes me so anxious- but we saved and saved and bought our very own minivan and it's all paid for. It's a Honda Odyssey and I absolutely LOVE it. I guarantee it's the nicest car we'll ever own- and it's for the darn kids. Our rugrats are so spoiled. But so am I. I really have been so excited for a van for awhile now. The color is not my very favorite- but everything else is beyond perfect and we got such a steal on it!! I've been searching and researching for MONTHS now and I was so happy to see my hard work pay off!!

come on by-I'd love to take anybody for a ride.

Welcome 2012!!! can't wait to see what's in store!!

2011-12-21T22:41:00.001-05:00

Kent says Ike looks like a little Middle Eastern girl here. I was just trying to check the lighting at a certain time of day and Ike volunteered to be my little muse.

I'm a little worried about Ike. I've been talking lots more about the impending sibling lately to try and prep him- but not much is working. I told him I'd have to hold it a lot and he suggested that we "just put it upstairs and hold me" instead. Today I was talking about how we are going to have to feed it and love it and take care of it. Then I asked him:"will you help me feed it and hold it and love it?" to which he responded: "no! I'm going to hurt it!". Yep, we're toast. Any suggestions??! I don't know if Zeb was too young when Ike was born- or if it is simply differences of personality-but he never bothered Ike or touched him or really cared much about him. What do I do for a jealous child?
At least he's pooing, though. My two goals for him before the arrival of rugrat #3 were pooing in the toilet without coercion and learning to recognize his alphabet. The kid is almost three and Zeb seriously knew his alphabet BEFORE he turned two. This Ike has got to get crackin. He can sing the song and can recognize the letters he likes- but he's still got at least half to memorize. I really shouldn't compare the two so much! He's going to resent me for it at some point. Good thing he loves Zeb so much. I really hope they stay best friends forever!

Zeb was so good to teach Ike how to do the balance beam at the gym this week. Although it did make him a little crazy. Ike just wanted to run across it as fast as he could.

Zeb is far more patient and meticulous with things like the balance beam. These boys are so different in so many ways.

Today at the library Zeb made me laugh so hard. Just last night I was talking to Kent about what I would do if our kids were irresponsible with money once they get to be teenagers. I think it would drive me CRAZY. Zeb reassured me a little today that he is following in his cheapo mother's footsteps. We went to the kid's section of the library and there was a little boy who had constructed a variety of little lego weapons out of the toys they have there. He had them set out on display and was 'selling' them. Zeb looked at each one and asked the prices. The little boy rattled off some nonsense numbers and Zeb asked him: "are any of them on sale?" the little boy was confused and asked: "what?" to which Zeb responded: "which of the weapons is the cheapest?". I laughed out loud. He shops with me way too often.

things I'm enjoying this season.

2011-12-16T16:39:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite parts of the holidays are the PARTIES!

Kent's work party was on a night he worked- but his program actually got all of the residents' evening hours covered and let everybody go to the party. The party was geared toward kids- which shouldn't have surprised me considering this is a pediatric residency- but I spend every single day with kids and that makes me want a BREAK from them! I actually asked Kent if we could just get a sitter and go without them- but we decided they'd enjoy it and took them along. Luckily they loved the night and were very well behaved the entire time.

Santa came and brought lots of fun treats and prizes for the kiddos. Our boys just aren't that excited about Santa. I'm pretty sure Zeb will figure it out by next year- and I'm totally okay with that. Mostly I think it's because he's smart enough to realize he doesn't need Santa. His list made the rounds to plenty of people before Santa got to take a shot at it and Zeb was well aware of that fact. He's told us on several occasions that 'we don't need Santa'.

Here is Kent trying to convince Zeb to just tell Santa what he wants- even if gramps possibly already got it for him.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the pirate eye here. Zeb was super grumpy about having to wear a church shirt. He just kept telling me: "reverent shirts aren't for parties, mom". But doesn't he look so cute and grown up? I compromised and let him wear jeans with the 'reverent shirt'. He is such a rational thinker sometimes. It drives me bonkers because I don't think like that AT ALL.

Zeb went up independently and asked his friend, nadia, to take a picture with him. Nadia is another intern resident in Kent's program and Zeb is infatuated with her. We've been to a few parties/events where she was there and Zeb asks endless questions about her. She is so nice to him and even offered to take him for a drive in her car when he asked her: "How do you drive if your legs are so short, Nadia?" He asked Kent if she missed her birthdays and that's why she's so short. I love his honesty and openness about it. He calls her a "little adult".

I think there are about six other inerns missing from this picture- but this is the 'first year resident class'.

Today we enjoyed Zeb's preschool Christmas pajama party! I even busted out his new Christmas pjs for the event and he was beyond ectstatic. He helped me pick them out- so I figured he might as well get some great use out of them. They are Mario/Luigi pjs. He is such a mini Kent with his love for Nintendo at such a young age. He actually called my parents AND my sister to see if either of them could bring their wii on the airplane when they come to visit so he could play them.
Zeb loves his preschool pals. I hope I can get Ike into some sort of preschool group next year, too. He's going to flip when he finds out that Zeb is going to school all day every day without him next year!!

With Kent's busy schedule and my pregnancy- we've also been enjoying some extra baking. I'm not very good at making dinner nightly- but I will make treats!!

Creamy PB/chocolate fudge! from Best Bites.
I've never attempted fudge because I've always been scared of it- but this year I decided to take the fudge plunge. It's one of my favorite holiday treats and I wanted some. The picture isn't amazing- but the taste was!

I found this recipe on best bites and it was surprisingly easy. It was my first attempt and I think it was delicious. The only trick is owning a candy thermometer- using it was as easy as holding it. For some reason I thought it was going to involve some insane amount of time and attention- but start to finish- it took maybe 20 minutes. The recipe has some detailed instructions so I'll just include the link. The only differences I made were doing half pb chips and half chocolate. And I used half and half instead of evap milk. Fudge is amazing.

big soft ginger cookies from allrecipes
I LOVE soft ginger cookies. they smell and taste just like the Holidays!! click on the link to get the recipe. I used butter instead of margarine. Just make sure your butter isn't too soft and you don't beat the dough too much or the cookies will go flat!

Honey Soy Sauce Chicken in a crockpot! from mmmcafe

this tasted a lot like 'teriyaki stix' bowls from the good old days in utah. It was great.

chicken (about a pound)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/8 cup chopped onion

1/8 cup ketchup

1 clove garlic, minced

mix in crockpot and cook for 2-4 hours depending on setting. After the chicken is done- take 1 tbs oil and cut it up in a frying pan for just a few minutes to sear it a little bit. SO good. Add cooked broccoli. Serve over rice.

tmi, I know.

2011-12-13T18:22:00.000-05:00

For the past two months I've been begging Kent to get a referral to a 'poo psychiatrist' for Ike. They have food therapy for toddlers- so I figured they had poo therapy, too. We potty trained him two months ago- but have had some #2 issues. Kent talked to a pediatric GI doc he was working with who told him that since Ike was 2 1/2 he wouldn't even consider there to be a problem until he turned 4. And then he told us the best solution would be to just stop potty training him for now. The only problem is he is already trained! 100%. Doesn't wet the bed- doesn't have accidents. And will NOT pee in a diaper anymore. Our problem is- he doesn't poo. When he finally needs to go- he'll beg for a diaper. If he doesn't get a diaper he'll just hold it for DAYS on end. Even with miralax. One night he woke up vomiting because he was so backed up!!!! I called Kent in the middle of the night with him screaming bloody murder about terrible stomach pain. Even all of his coworkers were worried because they could hear him wailing!!

And then we pumped him super full of miralax- and two days later he had the world's biggest fecal explosion. Up to his neck, down his socks. All over his carseat. EVERYwhere. and you know what?! I think that was the last straw. He was so disgusted with his poo (and so was I! Zeb was even totally grossed out) that the next time he had to poo- he sat on the toilet and went. and now he's cured. We don't need a poo therapist after all.

Here he is excitedly telling me he went poo. He gets excited about stuff.

and here he's counting on his fingers 'how many poos'. He LOVES to count on his fingers.

and here's the second time this week we had to make a call to the doctor. He keeps pulling his elbow out of his socket. Or- Zeb keeps pulling it out. Kent has always been home to deal with it- but this time I was all alone. So I called him and got step by step instructions on how to put it back. Ike asked me to just leave it alone- and hand feed him this fruit roll up. I snapped his elbow back into place and he wailed for a bit- then ate the fruit roll up by himself.

These kids keep me on my toes. Luckily they are best friends and keep each other on their toes, too. I can't imagine what it would be like for them if they didn't have each other. Or worse- what it would be like for me!

It makes me think that I'm going to need to have two close together again so that they have a built in best friend.

And then they go and get nasty to each other and I think- maybe I'll just take another long break after this one.

Here are some funny snap shots from the past week.

Here's his 'smak- kiss me' face. He HATES kisses- but loves this shirt.

I realize it may be a superficial thing to worry about- but I don't want my kiddos to be super nerds. I don't mind a little geeky. I just don't want them to be over the top awkward teenagers. What can I do if Ike already LOVES to wear his pants up like this? He really does like it.

advent dilemma

2011-12-04T20:06:00.000-05:00

I love my advent calendar. It was a splurge a few years ago- but it's possibly my favorite Christmas decoration.

Check out this cute little picture of Zebby when he was Ike's age!!

The kiddos chose 'airheads' for the advent calendar treat this year and loved putting all of the candies in the slots. But we have an advent problem. It causes a little bit of discord in the family.

Advent calendars with treats do NOT work for half of our family. During the day I can't help myself. I eat the candy. And so does Ike. And it drives kent and Zeb CRAZY. Except for all of the gross flavors. It's only December fourth and I think our calendar has seven days with orange candies in them. The rest have been pilfered. Both Kent and Zeb are stressed about it. Ike and I are just stressed that all of the good flavors are already gone. We are trying to come up with a solution so I'm just finishing up some 'Christmas activity' cards to put in all of the slots instead :) can't eat those.

On a sidenote- I made these rolls to go with dinner last weekish and they were WAY WAY WAY too easy to make. I should have never tried them. I got the recipe on pinterest. I'm not crazy about pinterest- but I have found some pretty amazing recipes on it.

Easy Parmesan Knots

1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits ( I used Pillsbury Golden Layers Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits)
1/4 cup canola oil or melted butter
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I did use the green can stuff)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

roll each biscuit into a 10 inchish rope and tie into knots. Bake 8-10 minutes at 400. make sure they aren't gooey on the inside!!

add the other ingredients together and brush over warm rolls.

one of my greatest loves.

2011-11-30T23:26:00.001-05:00

Growing up I remember going to the Orem rec center- a lot. We swam, ran around the raquetball courts, and played on that terribly scary basement track. And I loved going! I hope that my kids grow up with similar memories of the YMCA. It is such a lifesaver to me. I LOVE the Y.

Yesterday Zeb finished his first round of swim lessons there. I'm not sure why we never signed him up before- but I had a free session coupon that expired this month that we finally decided to use! I was a little nervous because he can be a bit of a water chicken (probably because we NEVER go swimming!), but he was a champ for his lessons.

It's amazing what other people can get your kids to do.

Kent got to come and watch a lot of his lessons with us and Zeb loved that. After diving in- or going underwater- he'd always look at Kent and give him a big thumbs up with a goofy smile.

Too bad he always wants to go swimming now! I really don't like to swim at all. Hopefully Kent can take him a few times during his break after Christmas.

Besides the pool- both kiddos LOVE the playplace at our Y. It's kind of like a giant McDonald's playland. And it's the PERFECT bribery to get the kids to go to the gym on mornings when they aren't so excited to go! If they promise to go into the kidwatch and behave- then after my workout- they get to play for awhile on the slides.

I love it because they can run around and get more energy out while I talk to friends :)

sidenote: Over the black friday weekend we finally got ourselves a new point and shoot camera since ours broke during the move somehow! hopefully it will get me back on track to blogging more often. So far I LOVE it.

finally- I get my holiday :)

2011-11-27T18:01:00.004-05:00

One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is eating turkey/cranberry/stuffing/potato and gravy topped sandwiches and random pie slices for days after the actual feast- don't you agree? And I wasn't going to miss out on that part of the festivities just because we didn't do Thursday Thanksgiving! So we did Friday Thanksgiving. After my morning of shopping madness- I plopped the kids in front of the tv and got to work on our own thanksgiving dinner. Homemade rolls- turkey- the works. I even made Kent's favorite green bean casserole that always seems to taste better when I'm pregnant.

Kent got home to the fabulous smells of Thanksgiving and we dug in. Can you see my turkey? it's slightly hidden by some delicious slices of cranberry sauce. I love the canned stuff. I love that it sits on a plate in the shape of a can- with the ridge lines and everything. I love that you can slice pieces off. I may love it even more than the turkey itself.

I also made the world's most incredible and easy Key Lime Pie topped with fresh blackberries. Prep time- 3 minutes. I LOVED it. I'll include the recipe at the bottom of my post :)

Once Kent got off Friday- he had the whole weekend off! I was determined to take advantage of the break and make up for my last two days.
Friday night we headed downtown for Dayton's downtown tree lighting and children's glow in the dark parade. It was wonderful.

The rugrats were funny all night.

We took our picture with a few strange people and the kids didn't want in on ANY of them. Zeb HATED this moose.

And this is as close as he would get to Santa and Mrs. Claus

Ike wouldn't get much closer. They weren't really afraid- they just didn't want to be a part of it.

Then there was the saxophone man who insisted we get a picture with him after we gave him some change. Zeb was pretty bugged that he kept playing so loud while we stood next to him.

Although Kent caved and bought them these crazy glow in the dark flashing swords. Zeb insists they are 'light savers' (we've tried to convince him the word is 'lightsaber'- but he is unbending). After they got their swords they were happy little boys. I love this picture. Zeb and I are making 'lightsaber battle faces'. I'm not sure what Ike was doing.

The actual parade was really really fun! and not too cold. Plus- we got fabulous holiday glasses that make every light a snowflake!! it even worked through my camera lense. Zeb insists on wearing them whenever we drive at night now.

The floats were really fun- and the night was perfect :) Hopefully we can make it a tradition!

Key Lime Pie! the actual link is here

2 cans sweetened condensed milk (the recipe calls for three cups- but two cans is PLENTY sweet!)
1/2 c sour cream
3/4 c lime juice (20 key limes or I just used the stuff from the bottle!

mix together and place in graham cracker crust (I put mine in a pre-made shortbread crust)
bake 9 minutes at 350. chill completely in fridge.
Top with cool whip and fresh berries!!!

I couldn't believe how amazing it was. way too simple and fast!!

I'm not going to lie...

2011-11-26T14:33:00.002-05:00

Honestly- it wasn't the best thanksgiving I've ever had- but our day was still great! we had dinner with some great friends here and ate a lot of fabulous food! I missed the Starkeys (our Ohio family)- and family from home- but most of all I missed Kent! He worked a 7am-9pm shift at the hospital.

Luckily the day was pretty quiet- so we got to spend some time at the hospital with him. We had dessert in the cafeteria and hung around in the resident's lounge for awhile. The boys think it's quite exciting to visit kent at the hospital- so they had a great day!

I made some fabulous raspberry/blackberry cream cheese pretzel salad that the rugrats wouldn't touch. I loved it. It was supposed to have fresh strawberries or raspberries but they were 3 and 4 dollars a container. The blackberries were an insane 50 cents/pint so I bought a bunch of those and used them in several recipes this weekend :)

Kids can be such good reminders of positivity and good attitudes. They were oblivious to the fact that this Thanksgiving was different. And in fact- had the best day. Even though Zeb did tumble down a full flight of stairs at our friend's house! Our kids only fall down stairs when Kent is away!! It has got to be my least favorite child injury. It always makes me think my kid is going to die even though they appear unharmed.

The hospital was completely decorated for Christmas- and that really made Zeb upset. He has been CRAZY frustrated with the fact that people didn't decorate for Thanksgiving. We hadn't mentioned anything about it- but he's so particular. Every time we went somewhere with Christmas decorations- he'd ask us REPEATEDLY why people were ignoring thanksgiving.

As we were leaving the hospital we saw these snowmen out front. Ike screamed: "Mama! let's take a picture!!"- and then wouldn't budge until I got out my camera. He's definitely my kiddo.

Worse than having Kent gone Thanksgiving day was definitely the fact that he had to work black friday!! I love the excitement and exhaustion of it. I love all of the people and chaos. Luckily Amazon saved the day and we got our 'big ticket' item via the internet. Plus I did get up semi early friday and lug the kids around to five or six stores with me. It's a lot harder to shop for them while they are with me. Zeb is far too bright these days. I don't think this Santa thing is going to last much longer.

long post!

2011-11-21T15:12:00.004-05:00

The past month has been far too pleasant! but Kent starts another nasty month tomorrow. just in time for the holidays. unfortunately when I'm pregnant I'm a gajillion times more emotional- so there could be some holiday tears :) Luckily I've got some great friends here so I'm hoping to stave them off for the most part!

I taught preschool a couple of weeks ago. kent was home. the weather was amazing. The best conditions for teaching preschool!!

we did some 'junior jungle safari hunting' in the backyard and played in leaves.

And last week we had a Thanksgiving party at our place. Complete with American Indian head feathers and handprint turkeys.

oh, and a cornucopia (sugar cone) full of rainbow goldfish. Ike will only eat the 'purple' ones.

We've been trying to get our Christmas shopping finished early- so with some of Kent's days off we hit Ikea, the amazing Cincinnati premium outlets (j.crew, gap, etc), and other spots.

Something about retail and sales gets me so excited for Christmas :) kent gets excited about the swedish meatballs.

I found this bookshelf that I want to turn sideways and use as a table/shelf unit for our front room. Ikea has some of the greatest stuff. I was so excited. And then it wouldn't fit in our car. luckily we figured that out before we bought it. we really need a mini van already.

I've been loving the gloomy weather that's come around this week- but I keep being disappointed when the rain doesn't turn into snow! come on already!! I want snow!! we've been wearing galoshes a lot- and just staying warm inside. I love Ohio for it's assortment of weather. I can't imagine living somewhere without the seasons.

Kent gave the rugrats haircuts last night and they look so much more handsome. Zeb is TERRIBLE at getting his haircut. You'd think his hairs had nerve fibers attached to them. The screaming is ridiculous!! and the thrashing resulted in a few strange spots :) but he sure is cute. and grown up.

Zeb keeps talking about his little sister. He's completely convinced that the fetus looked like it was wearing a skirt during the ultrasound so that means it's a girl. He's also been asking all sorts of questions about how it's surviving in utero. I told him that it lives in a sac of water connected to a cord inside a giant muscle. Then I showed him these pictures from when Ike was born. Both he and Ike were completely shocked. Zeb sat with his mouth wide open. Ike said "I don't like that!".

Ike is still having poo problems. Although with the amount of miralax, black beans, and quaker oat squares he's eating- I can't figure out how he's keeping it all in as long as he is! At least he isn't constipated at all anymore- just refusing to poo on the toilet. Every three or so days- he asks for a diaper and goes. He stays 100% dry otherwise. even all night. We are going to try and get him pooing normally again (at least every other day) and then try to poo potty train. Zeb had NO problems with this- so I'm still trying to figure it all out.

Zeb loves taking pictures lately. We even put out a bunch of plates of birdseed on the back deck to attract some birds so that he could try and take some pictures of them. So far- no luck. Zeb doesn't think the birds know the birdseed is for them. Kent suggested we make a sign.

Here's a picture zeb took of us this morning. We'd just returned from the gym. I feel like I'm not all that talented when it comes to a lot- but I am quite the talented pregnant person. I'm still teaching my bootcamp classes- and going to spin. I feel great. Although I think I may have gotten heartburn the other night for a few minutes. The only annoying thing is the rude (in my opinion) comments from other gym goers. I don't mind the funny looks- but it is NEVER okay to comment on the large size of a pregnant person. NEVER. One lady asked: "are you sure it isn't twins? because you are awfully big.". I was shocked. Not too shocked to tell her that what she said "was a very rude thing to say to a pregnant person", though.

amazing and easy cinnamon scones.

2011-11-21T14:06:00.000-05:00

Here are the easiest and most delicious scones :) from the Pioneer Woman. dipped in swiss miss dark hot chocolate. I even left out the cinnamon chips and substituted milk for cream. still amazing.

3 cups All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Sugar
5 teaspoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
2 sticks (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter
¾ cups Heavy Cream
1 whole Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Cinnamon Chips
Topping
½ cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1-½ teaspoon Heavy Cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and baking powder. Cut butter into pieces, then cut into dry ingredients with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cinnamon chips.

Mix together cream, egg, and vanilla extract. Pour into flour/butter mixture, stirring gently with a fork to combine.

Turn onto work surface (mixture will be very crumbly and falling apart.) Gently press together on the sides as you flatten (or roll, with a rolling pin) the top. Form either into a large circle or a large rectangle. Mix together topping ingredients, stirring with a fork. Sprinkle over the top of the dough, lightly pressing.

Cut into wedges (from a circle) or triangles (from a rectangle.) Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool completely. Serve with coffee.

Zebba debba ding dong.

2011-11-13T18:48:00.000-05:00

I sent Zeb to time out and told him he could get off once he'd counted to 100. He ran into the kitchen after just a few seconds and told me he was finished. I questioned his ability to count that quickly and he replied: "I counted by tens, mom. It's faster that way." I couldn't argue with him. Next time I'll be more specific with my instructions. He LOVES to count. He'll sit in the car and go ON and ON and ON and ON. He can count to 1000. seriously.

Here's a nasty face he's been pulling the past month or so. I took the picture sometime last week and showed it to him. I told him it was hideous and that he really needed to stop making it. I think he agreed because we haven't seen it in almost a week. Hopefully it's gone for good. Ike says that it scares him. I think he looks like some Star Trek alien.

He's still loving school and loves to 'practice' when he's home. His reading is improving a ton- and his handwriting is slowly but surely improving as well. Tonight he asked me to write up his Christmas list- but I told him it was only acceptable if he hand wrote it himself. He happily agreed! It was the best handwriting practice we've ever had :) Usually he gets bored really really fast. I obviously helped him with spelling- but I only had to correct him on the writing of a few of his letters. It's crazy to me how fast kids can learn.

I asked him if we should fold it up and send it to the North Pole- and he answered: "Maybe we should just send it to Nannie Annie and Gramps' house instead". This kid already has it all figured out.

Here's the translation:
Max Schnell
Shu Todoroki
Submarine Finn
Nigel Gearsly- British Champion (for some reason he insisted on including that last part)
and Cars 2 DVD.

This kid loves 'Cars'. Disney is genius for making another movie with more characters.

p.s. for those actually shopping- we already bought Nigel Gearsly. If you get any of the items- let us know so there isn't any double gifting!

We'll try to publish Ike's list soon :)

odds and ends.

2011-11-09T23:37:00.001-05:00

photo of the week (his smile reminds me of auntie metta!).

Happy breakfast: black beans a la ketchup.

Such a crazy little duck. He still loves his black beans. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. With buckets of ketchup. He's always shouting: "Just one more squirt, please!"

At least the beans are helping him poo. We've had the most RIDiculous pooing issues. The kid pee potty trained in a snap. He's never even wet the bed. But he will NOT poo. He goes 4-5 days and then spends hours screaming until it forces it's way out. I think he needs to see a therapist. He really is afraid of letting his poo go. He's not actually constipated- he just holds it. We've started daily doses of miralax and we'll see how the next week goes.

This week has been great and busy again. preschool is at our house. I'm teaching lots of Y classes. and Kent is on a crazy ER schedule. It hasn't actually been all that bad- but he gets home a lot in the middle of the night and my sleep gets all disjointed by it- although I know his is much worse :) We've been able to see more of him than usual- and we get to go to the gym a lot as a family in the mornings.

I've also been doing some recipe experimentation. A few weeks ago Kent said to me: "I forgot how much I love when you're pregnant!!". Want to know the reason? because I'll cook/eat/buy/allow all sorts of foods that would normally be loudly shunned.

I actually made Navajo tacos a bit ago. I think it's the first thing I've ever truly fried. And I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. Just plain delicious. I went the super duper easy route by thawing rhodes rolls- flattening them out- and dropping them in oil. We topped with turkey chili, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, guac, and cheese. So dang easy and really very tasty.

We've also had some exceptionally great fall weather days. And with Kent being home- we've had family yard days. Which means I've got lots more leaf pictures of the rugrats.

I love this picture. I have two little rugrat toddler boys and sometimes it's just crazy to me.

The boys are pretty darn crazy with the leaves. We have leaf bits ALL over the house and inside of clothes. Zeb got a little itchy with leaves down his undies, though.

Here's his sneaky face. Ready to pounce on his little brother.

I love the happy scream/giggle.

How is it that my kids always have bruises on their heads. I don't beat them, I swear.

the blog where halloween happened a week later than everywhere else.

2011-11-06T15:50:00.001-05:00

Okay- so really- it's just the blog where I didn't post about Halloween until a week later than everybody else. Lame-o, I know. Last week was crazy nutso. With preschool, swim lessons, teaching my classes, subbing extra classes, a church activity, and halloween itself- I just wanted to sit and veg when I actually had a moment to spare. I'm really grateful that while Kent is experiencing the busiest three years of his life- I just happen to be crazy busy as well. It's a lifesaver for me.

Halloween was 100% perfect. Somehow Kent had the full three day weekend off?! not sure how that happened- but don't get too jealous- it's just helping to make up for his HORRENDOUS holiday schedule. three full work days on the next big three holidays. We won't go into details so I don't get too depressed :)

The weekend of Halloween we had parties like crazy :) The church trunk or treat was INSANE. Kids EVERYwhere. There are so many kids here! There are seriously THIRTY kids Zeb's age. And possibly more in Ike's age group!

We dressed up as a family and had so much fun. Although I got really homesick for Toledo that night. I sure miss that place and the people.

The boys got matching face paint. Purple butterflies?! I have no idea how that was decided. I'm going to blame it on the young women doing the painting :)

After the trip around the parking lot- Zeb was SOOOO done and wanted to go home. Ike asked if we could make another round. One of these kiddos is a lot like his mom and the other a lot like his dad. Take a guess who's who.

Saturday morning we woke up early to do the neighborhood costume contest/parade. It's a pretty big deal. Our neighborhood is HUMONGOUS. Like 2000 houses or something. and guess what?!

We won (in our category) and got these nifty sweatshirts and walked in the parade.

Although we are pretty lucky that we pulled off the win. This kiddo would NOT wear the top to his costume without a major scream fest- so we entered with a headless hot dog :)

These rugrats were pretty good sports to put up with heir parents' shenanigans, though. It was a cold morning with a decent wait to be judged. It's all about forcing fun family memories, right?

When all was said and done- Ikey actually wanted to stay and get more candy and listen to the marching band. Why do I love crying pictures?!

On halloween evening we did the trick or treating thing. The neighborhood right above ours goes ALL out for the night. Haunted houses in garages- scary scary displays- and tons of candy.

The kids were MORTIFIED by most of the garages. Kent tried getting them inside a few- but they started shrieking when he got within ten feet. We loved it.

Check out Ike's face. So funny.

Zeb got to trick or treat with his pal -Barrick- and loved it. I love Zeb's double chin in this picture.

I love Halloween. We get to make fools of ourselves and eat lots of candy and have fun together. What could be better?

2011-11-01T17:10:00.000-04:00

Worst blogger ever award goes to me. I've been busy- which is great- but no excuse not to blog.

In the weeks preceding Halloween we did a lot of fun stuff.

thing#1

ghosts and goblins race downtown. Kent worked that night so I got a sitter and ran it with friends!

thing #2 took the kiddos to the pumpkin patch. rode the cow train and the hayride out to the pumpkins. in the freezing cold.

Zeb is upset here because he wanted to ride the red tractor- but the green one was coming to get us.

we even shot off some corn cannons. the boys loved it.

Thing #3. went to the police station for a preschool field trip. the boys loved that as well.

Ike totally think he's a big kid.

Thing #4 watched some cool storms pass through. I love these clouds. although they did make me a little nervous for a minute.

I took a gazillion pictures. I love storms in the midwest!!! Can't wait for the snow and ice! especially since we have a garage this year :)

There were some pretty cool funnel holes that went straight up these clouds!!

2011-10-31T16:03:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween from the creepiest fetus around.

2011-10-19T15:21:00.001-04:00

Kent worked on Sunday and we were going a little stir crazy after church so we ventured out for a 'hike' to Carriage Hill Metropark. I thought the kids would get tired- and I could get some pictures! Zeb kept calling it a hike- but it was more of a nature stroll. And they kept complaining about their legs being 'sooooo tired'.

Here they are 'battling villians'.

I don't feel like fall is quite as vibrant this year as last- but we found a few great patches of colors in the park! This was my favorite spot!!

We spent a lot of time tossing rocks in the stream. Zeb and Ike could do it for HOURS. Although they did keep asking me to 'skip rocks like dad does'. I'm not quite as good as kent is when it comes to quite a bit. They tend to miss him especially much on the weekends. I do, too.

This whole residency thing has been just about exactly what I anticipated. Some things are MUCH easier -than I expected- and some things are harder. Kent's schedule hasn't been as bad as I'd imagined. I can't stand the weeks when he works 8 or 9 days with no break- but at least some of those days are early days and he's home around 4 or 5. Since he works on a new rotation every 4 weeks- we don't have to deal with really rotten schedules for longer than that. He usually alternates between easier and harder rotations so we get a reprieve every other month! I've totally lucked out with Kent being home most Sundays and Holidays- although I'm sure that isn't lasting forever!

The rugrats are very resilient and just deal with his change of schedule. Every morning when Ike wakes up he asks if kent's coming home to sleep or if he just left to work.

And Zeb asks Kent if he's being 'nocturnal' or 'normal'. It's pretty funny.

On our walk -Zeb spotted this little guy. I can't figure out how he possibly found the thing! but I was pretty excited. I haven't seen one in ages!!

The boys wouldn't hold it for some reason- but I brought it along with us for awhile.

It was a pretty nice Sunday distraction and the kiddos got out some of their energy. But I'm looking forward to the next few weekends - Kent has a bunch of time off!

and this last picture is Zeb's favorite. I think he's going to be a naturalist :) He found this mushroom and found great joy it digging it up! and then he threw it into the road and watched cars run over it.

lucky duck zeb.

2011-10-16T21:47:00.001-04:00

I think that Zeb had one of the best days of his life this past weekend. Here's the proof. He slept in the full ensemble you see pictured here.

We stopped at a random yard sale on the way home from the gym on Friday and stumbled upon these beauties. Little kiddo Nike Shox. Zeb has wanted 'real adult running shoes' (that's what he really calls them) for AGES now. Only I wasn't about to shell out 30 dollars for shoes he'd outgrow in less than a year. We got this pair for ONE dollar. And I think they are almost brand new!! they are one size too big- but that just means he can wear them for more than a year :)

He honestly has not taken them off besides for church. Two nights now he has begged to sleep in them! It's so funny to see him pose in them- and stare at them. He keeps running around the house as fast as possible and then asking if he's faster than the time before! He's convinced that they make him '100 fast'. And in case you were wondering- that means faster than Lightning McQueen.

Kent had Saturday off- so we tried to pack in as much fun as possible. We went to a fall festival and Ike was obsessed with the basketball game.

The rugrats both loved racing kent on the triple slide.

and Zeb must have just been having a lucky weekend because at the festival he ended up winning this pumpkin sugar cookie.

Although Ike was just as happy about the sucker he ended up with.

Saturday night we did a little more post birthday celebrating- and went to a corn maze with a bunch of friends (thanks for the pics, Kera!!) . The maze was ridiculously big and we had so much fun. We're missing a few people in the this picture- but here's part of the group.

It was so fun to get out with friends and withOUT kids. After the maze we went for bbq and had the most delicious fried dill pickles. I don't even like fried foods- but fried pickles are one of my favorite foods!

And then we went to the world famous 'Graeters Ice Cream' for dessert. I was totally stuffed- but Kent ordered Cotton Candy Ice cream. SICK. I seriously asked him: "Who orders Cotton Candy ice cream?!" Well, apparently the other Pediatrician there that night got it, too. We decided it must be some pre-requisite for Pediatricians. Here they are with their most childish grins and blue ice cream cones.

I think we are going to take our kiddos back to the corn maze sometime in the next few weeks! We still haven't done a pumpkin patch this year- and this place had a hay ride, cow train, play area- and all sorts of other great stuff. I guess some stuff is still fun with kiddos :)

2011-10-13T15:21:00.000-04:00

One of my best ideas in awhile:

race tracks in the leaves! With a photo finish in a big pile.

I think next week we are going to make a maze in the leaves. Or at least a squiggly racetrack. The kids were entertained for OVER an hour. and that's pretty hard to do for a 2 and 4 year old :) plus- I got some raking done.

We also had some pretty intense 'leaf battles'. Zeb calls everything a 'battle' right now.

happy b-day, ralph.

2011-10-11T13:27:00.001-04:00

Kent (I call him Ralph) deserves the 'best guy ever' award. I'm not sure how he does it- but he always seems to make my life wonderful :) Yesterday was his birthday- the BIG 30!! and he worked. ALL stinking day. And he was happier than ever. As long as he doesn't work for fifteen hours on MY birthday- I'll be as happy as ever, too.
Sunday we opened presents and had great food and spent time together. Zeb and Ike loved decorating and wrapping. And Kent loved his presents. I think I'm a pretty darn good gift giver :)

Check out that tongue action.

Why is little kid handwriting so cute?!

For his actual birthday- we went and visited Kent at work. I wanted to take him something fun and a little out of the ordinary (although he does love just plain old cupcakes) so I attempted cake pops from scratch. My success was moderate. We'd had a cake pop demo at a church activity and it didn't seem too difficult to attempt so I made my way to hobby lobby and- voila. At first Kent didn't believe that I'd actually made them myself! I'm obviously not too crafty :)

After passing out treats to the other residents- we went downstairs for a bit to play at the playground. There are definitely some great advantages to kent working at a children's hospital! there are tons of cool toy rooms- and little kid activity centers all over the hospital, too!!
and it just happened to be almost 85 degrees this day. gross. give me my fall. luckily it didn't last too long and we are back to the happy 60s and 70s.

After playing- we went and decorated his car and left him some more presents. I should have taken some pictures. The rugrats were so excited to be filling his car with balloons! He ended up getting home by eight so we got to do a little more celebrating with take-out chinese and more singing from the kiddos.

Love you, Ralph. The next thirty years are going to be even better than the last! mostly because you'll get to spend all of them with me :)

autumn in the park

2011-10-09T22:04:00.000-04:00

As much as I love Fall- it kinda stresses me out. Maybe I'm the only person in the world with this problem- but it kind of makes me crazy. Every day when I wake up and drive around I get all worried that all of the leaves are changing too fast. I'm afraid that I'm going to wake up tomorrow and everything will be brown- or fallen to the ground. I'm afraid we haven't taken enough pictures or spent enough time jumping in the leaves! What if somehow I've missed driving down the best roads and missed the best foliage?! I just have to keep telling myself- it will be back next year. and honestly- I'm a pretty big fan of this next season so I'm not sure what all the worry is about.

Today- in order to try and remove some of the anxiety- we went out and enjoyed the perfect weather and great colors. And I took plenty of pictures :)

Four houses down from ours there is a short little pathway that leads to a giant piece of neighborhood green space! We really should be taking bigger advantage of it- but our yard is big and fabulous so we don't.

There's even a playground at the end of the field that you can see if you squint hard enough!

The playground equipment reminds me a little of rickety russian playgrounds- but the boys loved it!

Kent went flying off the horse right after I took this picture!

We spent today doing a pre celebration of Kent's birthday since he works ALL day tomorrow for the real deal. We opened up presents and just had a fabulous family day.

Zebby was pretty good to actually look at me for pictures. I think he realizes that if he just looks at me a few times- I'll leave him alone and let him play :)

Ike -on the other hand- is a little spazzoid when the camera comes out. Such a little turkey.

Kent told him to look at me here- and he gave me the most ridiculous side smirk.

He continues to make me crazy with his two year old antics. Today we drove to church with him COMPLETELY naked. Honestly. No clothes. Not even undies. He had a freakout just as we were trying to get him dressed and full on refused. Kent and I- together- could not physically restrain him long enough to even put on his underwear. It was RIDiculous. We finally just took him to the car naked. Kent said he hopes this kid never has to get an IV :) He calmed down on the drive and I got him dressed in the parking lot while Kent and Zeb went into church. Church, surprisingly, was pretty problem free. He just didn't want to get dressed at the moment we wanted him to.

weekend

2011-10-05T09:26:00.002-04:00

Conference weekend was nice and calm at our place. But, for whatever reason- the weekend always makes me especially homesick. Even more so than holidays!

Saturday wasn't too bad! we ran some errands in the morning and made it home in time for the noon session. And then enjoyed the two sessions as a family. The rugrats did a really really good job this year. For the most part I got to enjoy every talk. We had a few activities for them- but mostly they were content to just sit and listen while playing with cars and trains. The more I tried to force an activity or game- the worse it got- so we quickly changed gears and had a pleasant watching experience.

Sunday the boys did just as good- but Kent was working and I felt like we were trapped in our house for twelve hours with no relief!! and it may not look like it- but our house was FREEZING that morning. It had gotten down to 35 that night and we aren't turning on the heat yet- so we just bundled up. The kids stayed in footie pjs until 3:00. And actually we got to go over to a friends house for the four o'clock session and watch with them- so the day wasn't THAT bad.

Ike is so funny right now. Everything is so exciting to him. He turned around in this picture to tell me: "I love this one!!"- in reference to Henry B. Eyring.

And here's Zeb trying to be grumpy. Even when he's angry, if you tell him you can see his smile- he can't help but start smiling and laughing! It's a pretty nice tool to have when he's grumpy.

On Monday- for family home evening- the rugrats got haircuts. They needed them SO badly. And thanks to some bribery- it was our best haircutting experience yet. Kent is a pro at giving them the buzz- so he did the honors. Here's the result!

I love the age of four. Zeb gets better and better every day.

age 2- I don't love so much. Ike did one of his library freakouts at a bookstore this past weekend and I am so glad that Kent was around to remove him. Maybe it's just books that incite this kiddo?! When he finally calmed down enough to talk- we asked him what was wrong- what exactly he wanted so badly. He replied: "I just want to be angry!". He reminds me of me. Kent laughed and just looked at me when he said it. I think I've said that same thing on more than one occasion.

He's a lot like me in his excitement as well. He gets excited about pretty mundane everyday things. Here he is showing his excitement about his trains.

school.

2011-10-02T09:11:00.000-04:00

As I researched preschool for Zeb last year and this year, I just couldn't bring myself to pay the 120+ dollars a month (remember-I'm a cheapo) for him to go and have a lot of 'free play'. There are a very few preschools that do true kindergarten prep (as far as academics go) so I'm so lucky to have been able to do co-ops both years with friends. Zeb still gets the social learning and the 'school' experience- and besides teaching once every seven weeks- I don't owe anybody anything! It's perfect. Plus- we do our own reading and writing skills at home. And although he still doesn't like to write- he's getting much better. I hope there's not something we are completely missing that he could be getting at preschool!

We taught preschool at our place a week ago- while Kent was on his vacation. I planned it that way so I wasn't left to deal with the seven (plus Ike) rugrats by myself. I'm really not great with toddlers.
Our lessons were all a little science heavy and we spent one day as paleontologists digging for fossils in the backyard and then making fossil prints with what we found.

I'm all about hands on. It means I do less teaching and the kids do more 'enjoying' :)

The next day (first day of fall) we spent time as leaf hunters looking for leaves who had shut down their chlorophyll factories to show off their xanophylls, carotenoids, and anthocyanins :) Those are the scientific terms for red, orange, and yellow leaves. We then read some leaf books and made our very own leaf people.

I can't believe that Zeb is going to be headed to kindergarten next year! so exciting.

sidenote: He's been asking some pretty good questions lately. He's loved cemeteries since he was two- and loves talking about bodies. This week he asked me how our spirits get to heaven once our bodies are buried. I told him I wasn't entirely sure - to which he answered: "they probably just use pixie dust."

Final hocking hills post.

2011-09-28T23:29:00.000-04:00

We only spent two days in Hocking Hills- but I feel like we saw so much! we will definitely be headed back to get in the stuff that we didn't on this trip.

On our last day the morning started out drizzling- but the rugrats couldn't have been happier about getting to wear their galoshes and rain coats. Plus they made for good pictures :)

Although by the end of our day the boys were EXHAUSTED.

We climbed a lot of stairs and did a lot of hiking for two and four year old little legs.

Ike kept sitting down and asking for a break. On our last hike out of 'The Rock House'- it started raining a little harder and we ended up hiking out with Ike on my shoulders and Zeb on Kent's. These little boys are spoiled rotten.

Old Man's Cave had a trail with two caves to walk through and then an amazing huge open face mountain. I really had no idea that Ohio had natural features like this.

One of the highlights of the trip was being able to use Kent's head lamp. The kiddos thought they were miners or mountain men or something. We'll be buying a second for sure.

My pictures just can't show how big and magnificent this place was. It was my favorite hike for sure.

I took so many dang pictures- I feel like I have to post at least some of the great ones!!

Our very last stop was 'The Rock House'. We debated on stopping but I'm so glad that we did. This place was really really cool. We were just hiking along and almost missed it. There are just a bunch of holes on the side of the mountain. Then you step inside and find yourself here.

The one end of the cave opened up onto a big ledge and dropoff. Our kiddos didn't really get that it was just a big deep and dangerous pit. And that made Kent really nervous. We almost lost Zeb's boot off the edge while looking over.

In the rockhouse we ended up running into some fellow teepee campers and they snapped a family picture for us.

Come visit and we'll take you to Hocking Hills to tire you out, too :)

teepee time.

2011-09-25T21:31:00.001-04:00

We turned our trip to Hocking Hills into a full blown camping adventure. After a lot of searching - we decided on leaving our tent behind and camping in a teepee!! How cool is this? we got to sleep in a real live teepee. The kiddos loved it and were happier than ever the entire time. Best way to camp. No tent setup/clean up- but it's still 'roughing it'.
This next picture of Ike is HILARIOUS. Every time Kent and I look at this we can't help but laugh out loud. He was such a happy little camper and was beyond ecstatic about roasting marshmallows. We were waiting as Kent got the fire started and I told him to show me how excited he was about the marshmallows. This is what he gave me. Crazed lunatic face. Doesn't he look insane?!? we love it.

Being out camping with just us was pretty fun. Sitting around the campfire with our little rugrats trying to scare them with spooky stories and teaching them camp songs made me feel like we really are our own little family.

It also made me realize just how old these kiddos are getting! They actually just sit and talk with each other a lot. Their conversations are hilarious. Ike kept asking Zeb if he was going to sleep in the teepee.

There were lots of giggles in the teepee that night. The teepee had four cots but we put the boys together to keep each other warm. The shared cot thing didn't last long for these two- but as soon as we separated them Ike zonked almost immediately.

Unfortunately for Kent- Ike woke up in the middle of the night wanting to share a cot with him :) I can't imagine Kent slept very well! This kid is impossible to share a king size bed with. A teeny cot must have been torturous.

It rained a little during the night and the morning was perfectly chilly. I love the rugrats' sleepy faces.

Donuts woke them up pretty quickly, though. They were super excited to pick them out at the grocery store the day before.

Zebby loves his 'Captain' shirt. He thinks that he's a captain just like his dad- and insists on saluting people when he wears it. A veteran at the library actually complimented him on his 'tight' salute at the library last week :)

I've got one more day of pictures to post and then I'm done with Hocking Hills :)

2011-09-24T20:14:00.000-04:00

First and foremost, I'd like to know how we made it in Ohio this long without ever visiting Hocking Hills. We went camping for part of our vacation and decided to venture here on the raving recommendation of next door neighbors. I'd heard a few things about Hocking Hills here and there- but nothing that prepared us for our trip. This place is AMAZING. Like- ranks right up there with lots of the sites in Utah and Yellowstone- amazing. And we didn't even get to go on some of the bigger hikes! The views and the hikes and the caves and everything else we saw were stunning. It didn't hurt that it was pretty empty and transitioning into fall!

We'd had a lot of rain the days leading up to our trip and it made the colors so vibrant. I feel like the green was fluorescent! Our first day was picture perfect weather (therefore I took almost 500). Sun shining- no rain- and just a few clouds.

Our first stop was at Ash Cave. It is labeled as the most majestic of all the sites in the park. My pictures don't do it any justice. It was just too big to try and capture all at once.

Our little rugrats were really impressive the whole trip. Not until the very last hike on the last day did they start complaining about their legs being tired. They did a lot of running and stair climbing! and we were all pretty dirty when all was said and done.

I was also impressed with how brave the kiddos were. At one point I had all three boys (kent, zeb, and Ike) trying to climb up separate cliff walls. It got a little treacherous.

And the boys were even happy to go into caves. They asked if there were any spider webs and when we told them probably not- they were happy to explore with us!
Honestly- this place was so much fun. I still can't believe we hadn't been. It would have been worth the drive from toledo for sure! It's only about two hours from us here in Dayton- and would have been three from Toledo.

Ike did get pretty nervous here, though. Kent was trying to maneuver his way back down the cliff wall and Ike just wanted him to hurry.

The Ash cave is so big it's indescribable. Sometimes I think Ohio is trying to keep all of its greatness a secret so that more people don't come. Nothing we do is ever crazy crowded- all of their parks (city and state) are so well taken care of- and everything is free!! If any of you Ohioans or veterans of Ohio know of any other great places- let me know!!!

Getting these rascals to sit still for pictures is ridiculous right now. This is the one and only shot of the day where they actually agreed to sit and smile. Maybe it's because we had them sitting on a giant rock ledge and told them if they moved they would fall to their deaths.

There were only a handful of other people on the trail the day we hiked so we got the park almost to ourselves. There was one couple getting married here when we first arrived, though!

We could have sat here and played in the sand forever! Zeb kept running ahead of us trying to see what was next. He told Kent that the place was 'kind of beautiful'.

The only way to get the boys to smile here was to tickle them like crazy. At least they aren't fake smiles!

After the Ash Cave we decided to head to Cedar falls. We saw a gazillion mushrroms and both Zeb and I were obsessed! Mushrooms remind me of Russia- and Zeb of mario-kart.

Look at this one! Red with white spots!!

And the falls were pretty cool, too. Nothing better than a big pot of muddy water to stir around.

The one thing about waterfalls here is that they are almost waterless- but pretty nonetheless.

For some reason-EVERYthing these boys do has to be a race or a contest. It helped speed up the hikes immensely- but resulted in lots of frustration when somebody came in second. Finally we convinced them to play as a team and hold hands for a 'two way tie'. At the last second -on this particular occasion- Ike ran ahead at the very end- touched the car and then pointed to each of us individually and said: "you lose! you lose! you lose!". I encourage speediness and doing your best- but I've never taught them to rub losing in other people's faces! and he's only 2!! I honestly think that he was born competitive.

But these two really are best friends and even though having them close in age can be horrific sometimes- it sure is wonderful that they have each other.

and so begins our vacation!!

2011-09-18T21:49:00.003-04:00

Friday night Kent got off work and he's off for nine straight days!! Well- besides the one night shift he's covering for another resident who had a family emergency (grr! during our vacation!! at least he's just gone while I'm sleeping! and I'm happy he was willing to help).

Early Saturday morning I went to a giant kid consignment sale with a friend and got lots of fabulous stuff for my rugrats. And then I came home to a completely clean house. I always feel guilty when Kent cleans. Probably because it happens so darn often- even after he works crazy long hours. He knows I abhor cleaning- and he's just an all around perfect husband.

After a long morning of Kent cleaning and me shopping- we took off for a little adventure. It was the most amazing fall day. Not hot. Not cold. Just perfect. It even just smelled 'autumny'. we ventured out to the Little Miami river to go canoeing!! It was so much fun.

We packed our little family into one canoe and shoved off. The trip was just under two hours- perfect for us. I was really impressed that the kiddos didn't even once ask to get out or go home or be done! I was a little nervous about being stuck in a canoe on the river with screaming rugrats

I didn't take my nice camera (for obvious reasons) but did take cell pictures and some with our point and shoot. Most of our pics turned out pretty decent considering that when we turned on our point and shoot - we found the screen shattered and nonworking. It still takes pictures- we just can't see what they look like. Why don't digital cameras come with view finders!?

The canoe place piled us onto a bus and dropped us off up river somewhere. Then we got in and paddled our way back. Our boys paddled almost the entire way! It was pretty impressive. They loved it.

We got out in a few spots to throw rocks, look at turtles, and just play around in the water.

Zeb loved that he got wear river shoes just like mine! I found him a pair of kid 'keens' at a yard sale for a dollar! I love my keens- if you don't have a pair- you should!

Just as we got out of the canoe to head home- Ike walked right up to Kent and said: "I had so much fun, Dad!" Here's his 'thumbs up'. The exact same way Zeb used to do it!

After our canoe trip- we got a sitter and went out to dinner with friends. I'm a pretty boring eater and really just prefer basic American food. I decided I'd be a little adventurous and agreed to go to a famous restaurant here in Dayton called Thai9. Kent had previously been- and loved it.

Not only did I eat some crazy thai dish (delicious cashew nut chicken of some sort) I actually tasted Sashimi. Is that what it's called? Our friends got a plate full of raw fish. It looked terrible. I can't believe people pay money for raw fish!!! more than anything I can't believe that I agreed to taste it. I took a teeny little chunk of something reddish (tuna? salmon? not sure.) and chewed it up as fast as I good. It wasn't nearly as bad as I'd anticipated- but I honestly didn't like it at all. I felt like I'd bitten of a piece of my cheek flesh and was chewing on it. Maybe my tastes will mature some day and I'll appreciate 'fine foods'. I am getting better with fish in general- but things like sushi still terrify me. Is there a good 'calm' type of sushi to start with if I'm trying to learn to like it?

We'd be happy to take any visitors to Thai9- we just won't be getting raw fish.

2011-09-16T13:38:00.000-04:00

Here's my turkey waiting on the real turkeys. I asked him why he looked so glum and he replied: "this is making me sooooooooo bored." He gets that inability to wait from his mom.

Earlier this week we went to "turkey fun"- a program put on by the local metroparks. It was free and included wild animals- so we couldn't resist.

Plus the kiddos got to do this turkey craft. Let's be honest, though. Most of it was a little intense for toddlers so it was mostly a joint effort. But Zeb is now fully versed in turkey terminology. Just ask him about the snood, carbuncles, or wattle.

And the wild turkeys they'd advertised were caged. I guess 'wild' refers to their species and not where they live. Plus- most of them looked an awful lot like chickens to me. Of course, none of that mattered to Zeb and Ike. They loved petting the animals.

Zeb (and then Ike, too) kept asking the birds why they weren't talking to us. I tried spraying them with water to make them cluck or gobble- but we didn't get even a peep.

The pigs on the other hand were crazy. They loved Zeb and Ike!! I love this picture because Ike is making the exact same face as the pig.

The pigs followed the boys all around the pen- and kept snorting.

And then we got tired and went home. Ike was furious with me for gobbling in the car. Honestly- he is going to be so much fun to harass as a teenager.

2011-09-14T14:26:00.000-04:00

This weekend we ventured downtown to "Island Metropark" for our pal, Penny's, birthday party. She's a friend that we met at the YMCA. We see her almost every single day and the rugrats love her. It helps that she has really cool parents as well!
It was the perfect weather for an outdoor party- and we all enjoyed ourselves. There was lots of sidewalk chalk and dirty hands.

All of the boys thought it would be funny to rub their faces in the drawings- so we had some dirty chins as well. I really love this picture. This is one of those sincerely happy faces. No cheesy grin- no fake smile- just a real happy kid.

Penny towers over Zeb and I thought for sure this was her fifth birthday- but it turned out to be number 4. She really is the greatest little girl. Her family is fabulous. I absolutely LOVE meeting new people in new places and I'm glad we've already made these great friends!

The kiddos even feasted on vegan cupcakes! How amazing is that?! Barrick- the kiddo in the middle- is our pal from church and he also frequents the YMCA and is friends with Penny.

For part of the party they had a little 'photo booth' set up to take pictures. There were all sorts of great props and clothes and funny stuff to wear and pose in. The rugrats loved it.

They used an I-Pad ap to take pictures and send us the copies! We have totally lucked out with Kent on the weekends so far and once again he was able to party with us.
After the party we did a little park exploring and enjoyed fall. I can't say enough good about the Ohio Parks. Just plain amazing.

and fall, too. It's just plain amazing.

kicked out.

2011-09-12T16:22:00.003-04:00

Thank heavens fall is here and bringing some of my favorite chilly gloomy weather!! On a day like to today- I could use some happy weather! We just left the library prematurely because we were kicked out. Have you ever been asked to leave the library (as an adult anyway)!? 2.5 yr olds sure can be terribly difficult and embarrassing. While Ike can be a trouble maker- he rarely gets us into these types of predicaments (zeb did all the time!). In his defense- another unaccompanied toddler was majorly harassing him and so I ended up pulling Ike out of the situation because I could tell he was about to start fighting back. When I removed him from the area- he freaked- already at his boiling point. And then- while I was trying to calm him down and gather my things to leave anyway- a librarian approached and asked us to leave. We were in the toddler section- you'd think they'd give you longer than two minutes before kicking you out for a crying violation. I was not happy. I even sent them an e-mail simply stating it would have been more effective to offer help rather than ask us to leave. Kids are so embarrassing!! I'm already planning ways to pay both these little rugrats back when they are teenagers. Maybe that's why my parents reveled in embarrassing me as a teen.

Once we got outside- Zeb offered a suggestion: "Maybe we should just ignore him, mom." If only he could have offered that advice to the librarian.

Zeb is a such a good little kiddo. Last week he kept begging to play on the slip'n'slide. The highs last week were 65. On one particularly rainy and gray day he was very persistent. I told him that if we set up the slide- he had to play for AT LEAST ten minutes.

He totally did it. And it was seriously freezing!!! He's totally going to be a polar bear plunge kid.

By the end he was shivering uncontrollably :)

2011-09-07T08:23:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our first day of school- and I promise that Zeb was happier about it then he lets on in these pictures. I wanted him to stand out on the deck because the lighting was better- but apparently it was too cold. And it interrupted team umizoomi.

His backpack is HUGE. We got it for a quarter and it fits his Cars 2 folder (unlike last year's thomas backpack) so it's a hit.

Here's Zeb in his favorite 'position'. We have pictures of him sleeping like this when he was 18 months old. He loves to cross his feet and put his hands under his head!

We got in to a little co-op preschool this year with six of Zeb's little pals from church. I only have to teach once every seven weeks- but he gets school twice a week, every week. And it's free. Seven kids will be a lot- but I scheduled my teaching week for Kent's vacation week so I'll have plenty of help!

Zeb keeps asking what Ellie, Matthew, and Cohen are doing for preschool this year, though. They are his preschool pals from last year and we all miss them immensely!!!

We had a little back to school party last week to introduce the kiddos to the teachers and my two rugrats loved it.

Luckily one of the kids decided not to join- so Ike got to paint his placemat and sit in his spot. That's why his placemat says Jeremiah.

Our first real day of school -yesterday- was RIDICULOUS. Ike was beside himself in devastation when we dropped Zeb off and he didn't get to go with him. He seriously cried for twenty minutes- wailing about leaving Zeb and wanting to be with Zeb and wanting to go back to get Zeb. Any suggestions? Obviously this kid loves his brother more than his mother. And I am absolutely okay with that. He also really wants to be in school, too.

better than the botanical gardens!!

2011-09-03T21:45:00.002-04:00

Despite the intense heat we ventured to Dayton's discovery gardens to spend part of our day. The place is astounding- and free! Like toledo's botanical gardens- only way better. Far more kid friendly- lots more to do- and lots more shade!! Although we did miss all of the crazy ducks and geese.

Best part about the place was the water features. Fun streams, waterfalls, and cool caves to play in.

It was so hot I wish I would have worn my swimming suit! Heat index was above 100 again today- but the high for monday is supposed to be 71. PURE HEAVEN. I LOVE fall. good riddance summer.
The kiddos didn't mind the heat in the slightest.

I loved the caves. Remember our last cave encounter? with the terrified and wailing children?! Ike remembered, too. He was a little cautious walking in to this one. It didn't help that I told him these were spooky, too.

He warmed right up once he realized they opened up on the opposite end- and weren't dark at all.

We couldn't figure out how the place was so empty on a holiday weekend- but we didn't mind at all. Maybe everybody goes out of town for Labor day? I love that we have the weekend with Kent. I needed a good weekend!

I think this picture looks like we are up in the mountains somewhere. Dayton is even greener than Ohio. It's absolutely beautiful.

The sand table was a hit. Ike kept getting pummeled with sand by another little boy- but remained very calm. It was a rewarding parenting moment. Our kids tend to be reactive sometimes (where in heaven's name do they get that!?)- and it was so nice to have an afternoon completely free of tears and drama. Maybe this parenting thing is working out.

Did I mention it was hot? In the three minutes I spent getting a picture of a bee- I became completely drenched in sweat. Beads pouring down my face like they do in spin class. gross. gross. gross.

They also have this GIANT stick snake maze. We lost the kiddos several times.

I can't believe that I even got the kiddos to stand in one place for a single picture. They exhausted us today.

Yet another reason to come and visit! any takers?!

2011-08-31T22:50:00.000-04:00

Lately I've been taking gobs of cell phone pics. Sorry about the terrible quality.

These little rascals are partners in crime. Which means that they are usually partners in consequences as well. This is the result of some sort of wrestling match that turned into a full blown battle.

They always start out laughing and smiling- but somehow we always end up in tears. Ike is pretty feisty and usually throws the first punch. I want them to be able to play together and wrestle but how can I keep it 'friendly'? I don't think it's possible at this age!!

And here's what I found after my shower earlier this week. Luckily it wasn't done in a fit of rage so the consequence was simply remaking their beds.

And finally this picture that I've been meaning to post for ages. When the Hawes stopped back through on their way home we let the boys run around in the backyard on the slip n slide. It would be really nice to live closer! Zeb loves his cousin Henry! They skype often and just make funny faces at each other and laugh. I'll have to get a picture next time.

ah. the joys of being a parent.

2011-08-26T22:56:00.000-04:00

gag. the joys are overrated and often seem to be far and few between.

okay-okay-it really isn't that bad. and there are many joys. tonight we just happened to have a major explosion with rugrat #1. and kent had to go to work right in the midst of it all. I was left to deal with damage control and I'm just plain pooped because Ike has decided that since Kent worked nights this whole past week that he would wake up EVERY night around 2 or 3 wailing for him. And not go back to bed for quite some time. I'm not complaining- just documenting.

exhibit 1. here's what I mean by damage control after the breakdown of rugrat #1. Ike is checking out the destruction.

This has never happened before. Is it normal? or do we have a budding psychopath on our hands?!?! every book off the shelves, every blanket and stuffed animal off the beds. Pure chaos. He'd been sent to his room by Kent for yelling at us. Apparently he decided to take out his anger on his room. I sentenced him to clean up the books and not leave the room until tomorrow (it was seven pm). With a little help from me- he did clean up the books. Although he swears he 'can't remember' who made the mess.

and here's exhibit #2. proof that this kiddo isn't sleeping at night.

If only I could fall asleep while standing at the couch. Or at the kitchen sink.

And one final picture/story to illustrate my stress. This actually happened last week and was panic inducing. Kent was working late and Laney and Taylor had arrived earlier in the day. We had put all of the kids to bed at about 7:30 and hadn't heard any noise since about 8. Taylor went up to check on Henry at about 8:15 and I asked him to look at my kiddos, too. He was gone for a few minutes and came back down to report that he couldn't find Ike. Seriously- he had checked all of the rooms and couldn't find him. I went up to check out some of his spots and also couldn't find him. I came back down to ask for Laney and Taylor's help searching the other parts of the house. I wasn't too nervous considering there were three adults in the house and Ike would have had to pass us to get much of anywhere besides out the front door which was deadbolted above his reach. They helped search the basement, garage, cars in the garage, and front room while I continued upstairs. After about five more minutes I started getting frantic. Our house isn't that big! I was checking drawers, cupboards, the laundry chute, out windows, in bathtubs, showers, closets, etc. At this point I was convinced he had been taken or was hanging dead by some cord or was suffocated in some small space. Taylor decided to go outside and start searching. After about three more minutes I grabbed my cell phone to call the police. I had no idea what else to do. He was missing.

At the same time I was looking for my phone- Kent had pulled up from work. Taylor was already outside and went straight to the car to tell him what was going on. I got to the door to see if Taylor had any luck outside (phone in hand to call the police) just as Kent was coming in. My face was completely frantic. totally panicked. He told me to wait one second and ran upstairs. Within ten seconds I heard him yell, "I found him!".

There he was. Hiding in the corner of our closet. All three adults had searched there already- dumping out laundry baskets-checking drawers. The lighting is minimal (the flash lights it up more than usual) and he was shoved in that corner pretty tight- with no feet or hands or face showing. The little rascal. I guess he'd run in there to hide from Kent earlier in the week so he knew it was his new 'favorite' spot. I haven't been that scared in a long time. I'm glad that Kent showed up when he did.

Raising kids is really stressful- and it's really hard work. And sometimes it's pretty monotonous and unrelenting. Let's just hope it's all worth it in the end :) I'm glad my parents worked as hard as they did on me! thanks, mom and dad. Does it get any easier?!

our week in blurry pictures

2011-08-23T23:18:00.000-04:00

At least every other day Zeb asks: "Mom, is summer over yet? When can summer be over?" This kiddo is definitely related to me! Luckily August has been really nice-but still hot enough to play in the water and go to SONIC! There are two dangerously located Sonics here. One less than a mile from our place (and across the street from the splash pad) and the other right next to the gym. I don't even stand a chance.

The boys always want to get out and sit at the tables. We went for family home evening one week and saw a girl on her skates crash HARD with a big tray full of food. Zeb just kept asking why she was wearing the skates in the first place!

Blue coconut slushes and corn dogs. Life does not get any better. Unless you get a sprite zero with limes and grape flavoring. That's my regular favorite.

And here are the boys playing the new 'Cars 2' DS game that gramps and nannie annie sent back with Taylor and Laney. Zeb LOVES it. and as much as I promised to not be the mom of a kiddo with a gaming device- I LOVE THE DS (we got it at a yard sale WITH games for fifteen bucks!!). Such great leverage!! he gets his 'play minutes' after his reading and writing time- plus it works as a great threatening tool!! I can threaten to take his minutes away and get him to do just about anything in record time :) Such a great parenting tool, right?!
Thanks Gramps and Nannie Annie!!!

We are just keeping busy with regular stuff. Zeb starts preschool in two weeks (we are doing a coop with a bunch of friends)and while he is ecstatic- Ike is going to be devastated!

I'm adjusting to kent's schedule finally. We had it really easy for awhile there and now things are picking up! Luckily he goes back to easy hours next week again. This whole residency thing has been just about what I expected so far. Kent loves what he is doing and a majority of his rotations this year are clinic hours so he gets to be home pretty frequently. I'm pretty sure he's felt more stressed than I have the past few months, though :) I'm certain that being a first time real doctor is more intimidating than just about anything you could imagine!! but he's amazing with rugrats and hasn't even almost killed anyone yet!!

2011-08-21T21:57:00.002-04:00

The Carriage Hill Metropark is literally right up the road from our house (and it's free)! They've got a real 'working' 1880s farmhouse! with woodworking, cooking, sewing, and other demos- plus farm animals wandering around :)

The kiddos especially loved the play kitchen and schoolhouse. Zeb spent quite awhile making and passing out cookies.

Zeb couldn't believe that these speckled chickens were real. He couldn't grasp why they looked the way they did.

In the mock school house they also had this GIANT stuffed cow. We'd spent a long morning outside so I was pooped and couldn't resist flopping down on the (gross and germy)thing.

My absolute favorite part of the farm was the penny candy store. A real live penny candy store! With 3 cent candies. We ate ourselves silly. Like two dollars worth. If you come and visit- we'll take you! They have pin wheels and charleston chews!!!

Both boys insisted on getting pixie sticks. And neither had a good reaction.

and two more shots of the grown up kid. He's a keeper.

back in blogging business.

2011-08-20T23:23:00.002-04:00

Apparently- our computers only last four years. And one move. But- we are back up and running with our first laptop ever. We're moving along the technology spectrum :)

And now I've got so much blogging to catch up on. And so many pictures. I'll have to just start with today's adventures.

I really really love Dayton. I will always miss Toledo and the friends I made there- but I'm finally finding my niche here and am perfectly happy. The people, the ward, the YMCA, the parks, the area- ALL of it. This is a really great place to live!! I'm not sure why I am so lucky to have found such a perfect place all over again!

This weekend we decided to go exploring. I love moving to a new place and finding all of the greatnesses (is that a word?).

Today was our outdoor day and started with a hike to Charleston falls. This fabulous place is all of fifteen minutes from our house and was beautiful!! A definite visitor attraction.

According to online pictures- the falls are usually bigger. The rugrats loved them nonetheless! This place must be stunning in the fall. I can't wait.

This kid is not in the best picture taking stage. That cheesy grin is pretty goofy looking.

Along the trail we found all sorts of fabulous insects. Zeb stumbled upon a little caterpillar and was very excited.

We also saw some HUGE spiders and webs.

My favorite part of the day was the cave. These little boys lost all sense of adventure and bravery the minute I put my hand in a bundle of spider webs and shrieked. I didn't mean to spook the rugrats- but from that point on they were TERRIFIED. Spooky spider webs and dark caves did not make for happy boys. But it did make for laughing and tormenting parents.

See Zeb trying to escape my grasp?
.
Then Kent went far enough into the cave that the boys couldn't see him and they were beside themselves sobbing and screaming. While I took pictures and laughed.

The hike actually had some hills and bodies of water, surprisingly. By the time we were headed back to the car the kids were EXHAUSTED- but they did really well considering it was getting hot. They only asked to be held a few times! But Zeb did keep complaining that his legs just felt 'soooo slow'.

They were even pretty good to smile/pose for the camera occasionally.

Zeb made us carry this huge rock forEVER.

The only other tears occurred when Zeb was trying to be Superman with this tree. He let go of the trunk and it came flying up into his face. It was pretty sad.

After the falls we visited a local 1880s working farm. Those pictures will have to wait.

2011-08-16T12:40:00.000-04:00

We aren't dead- it's just our computer! It's ill and driving me bonkers!! We can do ANYthing except sign into blogger! How is that possible? I can read blogs- watch tv shows- anything else. It's making me crazy!! So this blogging is happening through my I- touch. Super annoying.
Hopefully we get a new computer soon!

visitors!!

2011-08-08T08:21:00.003-04:00

Zeb has been SO excited this past week awaiting the arrival of Henry. He had planned the sleepover and was even excited to take Henry to church with him. We totally lucked out that the Hawes found much cheaper plane tickets flying out of Dayton than they did flying out of Buffalo. They came and spent the weekend with us before flying out to Utah- and will be heading back this way on their way home!

And having visitors gave me reason to try out one of the three famous bakeries here! We'd tried one last week famous for cupcakes and I wasn't all that impressed. I don't love cupcakes, though. This time, however, we tried out 'Ele Bakery' and tested a variety of their brownies. I LOVED them. I promise to have these waiting for any other visitors as well :) You won't be disappointed! I'll even take orders. german choclate, cream cheese, mint, buttercream, peanut butter, turtle, and more!

Besides the occasional tears, the weekend was great. Milly hates when other people cry so she cried any time any one else did.

and Henry happened to be the pour soul that Ike decided to torment. I think that Ike likes to see people cry :)

Honestly- we all had a lot of fun.

I wanted to get some cute pictures of milly- but she's such a mover. Most pictures are a little blurry!

Or she looks too much like a boy :) Check out her chunk. Laney's kids are so chunky for the first year!

She's definitely getting more personality. She was CRAZY at church. Trying to sit through church with a 13 month old is IMPOSSIBLE. I forgot.

And speaking of church- It never ceases to amaze me how much people think laney and I look so much alike. Several people at church were extremely confused! even with completely different hair- and clothes- we still get mixed up by people!!

2011-08-05T12:26:00.000-04:00

Can you see this poor little guy's swollen face? he got a bug bite and swelled immediately. He hasn't said anything about it so hopefully it goes down soon! It happened last night and is still pretty big!

Luckily he's a superhero and things like that don't phase him.

I think we have finally hit 'superhero' phase. He's always shown slight interest in superheroes- but lately he loves them. He especially loves talking about 'villians'. He loves the Captain America commercials that are on tv right now. Too bad he won't be seeing the movie. He was crazy excited when we found this spiderman costume at a yard sale today for fifty cents :)

And then he made Ike put on the old batman costume we had in the basement. And they flew around fighting villains.

I love this picture of their superhero tough faces.

But I love this one, too. Zeb is flexing a muscle and Ike is being Ike.

life

2011-08-03T21:03:00.000-04:00

I think we are completely settled in to our new life and I am pretty darn happy. I feel like we are real people now. We live in a real (rental) HOUSE! and even though residency is still technically part of Kent's education- I no longer tell people that my husband is in school! we have a real job! oh- and we have real expenses :) that part was more fun when it wasn't real.

Kent LOVES what he does. He spent the last month in the clinic on base just seeing kids all day. Well-child visits, sickies, and stuff like physicals. His hours were fabulous :) 7:30-5 with all weekends off. It was pure heaven. This month won't be quite as nice- but not too shabby. He's working hospital shifts at Dayton Children's just working the regular admissions floor. He has two weeks of days and two weeks of nights. I especially love when he works at Dayton children's. Every day he comes home with a little pack of lorna doones for me. He sneaks them from the resident's lounge because he knows that I LOVE them. This is going to be a really good three years :) I'm lucky to have a husband who knows I love gifts- no matter how small.

you've already seen these...

2011-07-31T14:08:00.001-04:00

I realize that most everybody has seen these pics- but I've got to document the entire experience. For christmas I surprised Kent with two (nonrefundable) tickets to skydive. We've both talked about it here and there and always said we were going to do it someday. When I saw the passes show up on Groupon- I could NOT resist. Life is full of things I want to do 'someday'- but if I don't act now- they'll never get done!

We finally made our reservations and went yesterday. May I start out by saying that EVERYone should go skydiving. I think it should be a life requirement. You HAVE to go at least once in life. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Honestly. It definitely compared to having a baby- and running a marathon- only without all of the hard work and pain involved!!!!

Once you get up there in the plane and they open the door and people just start diving out- it's CRAZY. 13,000 feet in the air!! and you just walk off the edge of the plane. Kent and I were the last two people to go and it was so amazing to just watch all of these people go flying out into nothingness!

I totally lucked out with the coolest tandem instructor EVER. His name was Gila (as in the gila monster lizard) and he was crazy! I told him I wanted to get the most out of the experience and he let me!! We got to the edge of the plane and just dove. That first sixty seconds of freefall is like nothing you'll ever experience. My instructor did all sorts of cool crazy spins and tricks. We got going really fast into a crazy spin and I thought I was going to lose my head. I loved it.

After the freefall- the chute is deployed and everything slows way down and gets much quieter. I really wanted to dive through a big cloud- so we did. Plus we did all sorts of more fun spinning and twisting. It feels like the world's best roller coaster. Being up there just looking at everything is crazy. It's so strange to just be up in the sky floating around. It honestly feels like you are flying. I felt like harry Potter on his Firebolt.

Kent had a slightly different experience! Once they landed my tandem instructor told me they had missed the landing zone altogether and had reached the ground faster than the others (strange since they jumped last!). Apparently they were ONE second away from cutting away their chute to make room for their reserve. The chute was tangled and falling with them- not above them! Kent asked how much longer before he would have cut away their chute and his instructor said literally one second. If only we had come home with a reserve parachute story :) Maybe next time!!

Here's a sign on the whiteboard where you put on your gear!

We both LOVED it and would be VERY happy to take any visitors who come :) Best safety record in the U.S. and the least expensive!!

the perfect kid task and more of our place...

2011-07-29T12:40:00.000-04:00

I have found the perfect task to keep these kiddos busy for thirty or so minutes every day. The car wash.

I just send them out into the garage with wet rags and they scrub their little hearts out. It isn't necessarily super effective- but they actually get a lot of dirt off- and they stay happily busy for awhile!

The next pictures show some of our other rooms. The more I look around our house the more I realize how much of what we own has come from other people. Thank-you! Thank-you! I'm such a cheapo and love that so many friends have given us their old stuff :) It's new to us!!!

Here's the upstairs kiddo/guest bath. The whole matching set is from a friend in Toledo who was moving and getting rid of it :) Who ever thought I'd have a matching bathroom?!? The kids love it.

And the play room. My favorite part of the house. This is where the toys stay. They aren't allowed downstairs or in the boys bedroom once bed time comes - or the toy monster comes and gobbles them up. I love having space that we don't have to clean every night. I can shut the door and put the kids to bed without a mess at their feet,

A huge portion of the stuff in here came from friends/family and yard sales. I really am embarrassed about how many toys my kids have. It's ridiculous. I am proud of the cute wall decals, though. Yard sale. 25 cents for the lot.

Please come and visit!!!

2011-07-28T08:34:00.000-04:00

Binky or blanket anyone?! these two must be related. They are just a few months apart and obviously struggling with the same addictions.

We had visitors at the end of last week and had a lovely time. The Starkeys dropped by for a few days while craig was working in cincy.

I've been terrible at taking pictures since our move here- and I'm not sure why. My apologies. Here's one I got of cousin Katie. and that's all that I got. The whole time they were here! we had a lot of fun talking- eating- and just relaxing. I know I say it often- but it's so nice to have family semi-close. We just happened to be missing the big family reunion in Utah at the same time so it was nice to have our own mini reunion here.

We had a brief heat reprieve for a few days and I got some good yard work in- but the stifling humidity is back today and it looks like another long couple of days indoors.

This kid is one big ball of CRAZY energy. He seriously runs around the house like a crazy animal. Every night when kent gets home he goes especially crazy. I'll have to get a video. Honestly- it's nutso. And then always comes the crash. Why do these crazy bouts of choas always have to end in tears?!

Zeb is in a really good phase. Besides being fed up by Ike's antics and the occasional retaliation against him- Zeb is perfect! HE does ask me regularly: "Why does Ike love to make me angry all of the time?!". Good question, Zeb. I'm asking myself the same thing.

We've been working lots on writing this summer. He's a natural at reading and loves it- but writing is a different story. It drives me BONKERS! and I keep reminding myself- he just turned four. I still make him do 3-4 worksheets a day- and it isn't always pretty- but we do it nonetheless. Any great ideas or games or workbooks for writing?

2011-07-21T07:39:00.002-04:00

Due to the weather -we've been under house arrest for the week and I really don't have much to post. The mornings are spent at the YMCA. But in the afternoons we've been reading lots of books, working on 'school work', playing with toys, and watching tv. Pretty lame-o. Sometimes I let the kids out in the backyard to run around with the hose- but I don't go out. It's too hot for me. I don't consider myself a wimpy person- but when it comes to heat and humidity I'm all over that wimpiness.

Plus my kids have COLDS! how is that possible?! Lots of coughing and sneezing. And getting up early. yuck. Here's Ike at 6:30 this morning. After waking himself up with a coughing fit he comes wandering in to our room: "I'm hungry. I'm HUNGRY!!". The first thing he thinks about in the morning is food. So different from Zeb.

And Zeb actually has been insisting on sleeping in the basement on the guest bed. He's always been a sleeping nomad. He doesn't sleep walk- but he wanders before bed time and ends up sleeping in different places. Remember when he slept in the bathtub for a few months last year!? We find him on the futon in the study quite often- or in the basement. Down there it's nice and cool and really dark. And the bed is huge and comfy.

odds and ends and our happenings.

2011-07-18T14:01:00.004-04:00

The insane weather around here has created a whole lot of laziness. We all feel tired and groggy half the time. here's our current weather:

95.3 °F

Feels Like 111 °F

DISGUSTING. Maybe that's why Ike keeps falling asleep on the kitchen floor!!

and maybe it's why he's drinking ketchup?! probably not. This kid totally has my taste buds. No- I don't drink ketchup- but I do LOVE it. His favorite snack is a bowl of luke warm black beans slathered in as much ketchup as we'll give him. He's nuts.

Here's Zeb asking for a picture in his self proclaimed favorite shirt. I can get him to NOT wear it more than two days in a row by allowing him to wear it to bed. After he's slept in it- it seems rational to him that it can't be worn out in public that day. I'm not sure how this kid's mind runs- but I'll take whatever works.

And here he is in the very shirt posing next to all of the nintendo toys he stumbled upon at the store. He loves taking pictures and sending them to Kent. And he LOVES nintendo. Every day he wakes up asking if we can go to Nannie Annie's house to play the wii. Too bad the drive is 26 hours. He's going to have to be happy with his daily DS minutes.

Kent has been busy working lately. It's nice to be into a regular routine again. He's home by six at the latest- usually by 5 or five-thirty and hasn't had to work weekends yet. Our schedule will get harder soon- but I'm super happy for now! I've been busy teaching classes, going to dentist appointments ( I had my THIRD root canal in as many years!! and it was the most painful thing EVER!!!), and starting physical therapy for my knee/hip. I LOVE the air force and the amazing and free medical care we are getting here. We are so so blessed.

Oh-and we went and saw HARRY POTTER. We first went to the coolest Harry Potter party at a friend's place with fever fudge, cockroach clusters, Butterbeer and more delicious Harry Potter fare. It really was so much fun! and then to the movie. Every time we go to see a Harry Potter movie I remember why we RARELY go to the movies. This was our fifth time to the full price movies since we've been married!! that's seven years. We spent nearly thirty dollars on tickets. INSANE. But Harry Potter on the big screen was definitely worth every penny. And check out the AMAZING souvenir I brought home. I realize this is a ridiculous picture- but how cool?!?! Harry Potter 3d glasses.

We LOVED the movie. As soon as it started I got all glum- realizing that this is it. I even shed a tear when Snape died. I'm just so devastated that it's all over.

2011-07-14T16:57:00.000-04:00

Come and visit us! there's a really cool children's museum :) it's also a mini zoo-so anybody with a zoo or museum pass from around the country can get in cheap or free!

We've been a couple of times and the kids keep asking to go back! They especially love the big play area that has tunnels and slides that connect three levels of the museum!

Kent was also in heaven at the museum. They have a big section called 'mindbenders' where you can solve all sorts of puzzle, riddles, and play huge games. He would have LOVED this place as a kid.

Here's my fabulous 'Mindbender's Society' certificate. The hair is green and the shirt is bright orange. I looked like an oompa loompa.

They've got all sorts of kid play stations. There's a fake grocery store, a dinosaur excavation, a pizza shop- and lots more. Ike was really serious about this strawberry.

My favorite place was the giant tree house. For whatever reason- it's always empty. You can see all sorts of great birds and the view is amazing.

We are well on our way to loving Dayton- now we just need people to share it with. Visitors are welcome :)

2011-07-11T07:49:00.000-04:00

Apparently Sundays are just too much for this monkey. He crashed on the kitchen floor during dinner.

free food?! we're in.

2011-07-10T18:30:00.000-04:00

It's tradition now. I think this is our fourth year in a row getting free food on Chic-fil-A's cow appreciation day (we really missed our toledo pals this year, though)! you dress up like a cow and get your pick of the menu!

I can never believe just how much free food we get here every year! and it's so good. Something about their polynesian sauce takes me back to junior high and the days of hanging out at The University Mall on saturday afternoons.

Zeb remembered going last year and was really excited for this year. I was SHOCKED at how many people were dressed up this year. In Toledo we always looked a little foolish- we totally stood out. But here- we fit right in. The entire restaurant was PACKED with cows.

We went as soon as Kent got off work- and so he was still dressed for work. He isn't allowed to alter the uniform with spots or anything- so I made him a cow mask.

Ike was a little nervous to meet the cow- but warmed up in the end.

These cow costumes cost me two dollars a piece at the GAP many many years ago. They are actually sized 6-12 months- but I think we'll be able to fit Zeb in it at least one more year! My costume was some remnants of kent's woody costume and my jessie costume from Halloween!

Here's Kent herding our little cows to the car. It was a pretty muggy day but the boys loved their costumes.

Can't wait for next year!

2011-07-06T16:36:00.000-04:00

Happy belated fourth of july. And don't you like this lovely framed picture? thanks to my pleas for help decorating- I got some great suggestions and made this beauty for $1.50. Did you all know there are sites all over the internet with free prints/art/etc?! I'm not a 'craft blog' browser- but I may have start checking them occasionally. I printed off some of my favorite freebies at Sam's Club for super cheap. Plus I already had frames!! thanks for the idea, kenna!

I got this beauty pictured below, too (plus a few others not pictured).

The home print (from a free site) and the cross stitch (from my sis in law) are going in the dining room for now.

On the 4th we celebrated with a barbecue for lunch and a barbecue for dinner! The fourth always makes me really homesick- but we tried to make ourselves as busy as possible all day!

Here's the Zebster with his pal, Barrick, at our ward bbq.

and the Ikester with a football. He always finds the balls.

Our day was really fun. full of great foot and lots of new friends.

The kids got a little crabby with the heat and no naps- but we still managed a good day Here's Zeb in his angry stance. He's such a grumpy little man sometimes.

Luckily most of the day was smiles.

partial tour of our place!

2011-07-03T22:43:00.000-04:00

After a month of living here- I'm finally posting some pictures of our place! I don't like unpacking, decorating, or organizing- so this has been a long month. Any decorating ideas are more than welcome. seriously. Most of these areas are still quite bare as far as walls and decor go- and I'm totally fine with the simple clean look - but if you have any great ideas- please chime in!

The lighting for the pictures isn't perfect- but I figured a nice sunday while everyone is napping was the perfect time to take pictures.

My favorite part of the house! the kitchen! after our crazy small galley kitchen in toledo- I LOVE having so much room to move around! and an island where I can prepare food!!! The walls aren't quite as bright yellow as they appear- but I love the color in here.

Here's the view from the front door/hallway.

The inside garage door opens right into the kitchen. And also right there at the garage entrance is our patriotic main floor bathroom. What should I put right above the toilet?

The dining room is also bare. Suggestions?!?! It's right off the kitchen and connects to the living room. The walls are a light tan. We eat lunch and breakfast at the bar- but dinner here.

I got this rug from a friend in Toledo and I love it! The background here is our living room and is TOTALLY empty for now.

Here's the view from the living room to the entryway. It's painted gray and I LOVE it.

And finally- the view up the stairs! Zeb tells me that by the time he gets to the top every day- his muscles are really tired.

I'll get pics of the family room, kids room, toy room, our room, basement, and study soon. I can't believe we live in a house and that it's so wonderful! We really do love it and every thing has worked out perfectly. We are so blessed to have found such a great place for such a great price in the perfect neighborhood!

I'll get some pictures of adults- I promise!!

2011-07-02T23:13:00.000-04:00

The rugrats are just easier to take pictures of! The past two days have been action packed- and we've got two more scheduled :) Kind of our last big family weekend with no worries!!

Friday started out with a visit to the gym. I'll have to get pictures of the ymca here. They've got a giant slide/climbing sturcture (like at mcdonald's playlands) for the kids to play on- and our boys love it. We spend time there every single day! and even better was that Kent got to come. He even went down the slide with them and made it lots more fun than I do!

After that we took the monkeys to CARS 2. I can't believe how much movie tickets cost!! the boys brought their race cars with them and had a pretty good time. The movie got a little long and Zeb cried when he thought the bomb attached to Mater was going to blow up and kill them all. Definitely not as great as the first- but they still like the toys.

We've also spent the last two days playing in the yard. Have I mentioned how AMAZING it is to have a YARD?! and a hose!!! wow.

I love this picture. Today while I was cleaning the kitchen- the boys were out playing on the deck. Zeb peaked his head through the door and asked: "Mom, can we put our swimming suits on?". I told him no because we were headed to a barbecue with friends shortly. As soon as I finished loading the dishwasher I went outside and found this:

I never actually said they couldn't go swimming. I'm going to have to be more specific with my answer next time. Funny thing is that Zeb can NEVER get his clothes off by himself when asked- so I'm not sure how this exactly happened.

dayton summer

2011-06-30T22:15:00.000-04:00

I was watching the weather earlier today and I am SO SO SO glad that we are in Dayton and not in San Antonio. Or in half the other states across the country! our highs have been mid-eighties with low humidity here and it has been pure heaven. This is what summer should be like!!

We've been playing like crazy this week and I have just a few pictures.

Kent and the rugrats love throwing around boomerangs in the backyard! Our backyard has it's own little jungle. Half is shaded- half is not. We have the greatest deck and patio. It's perfect, really.

Unless, of course, you aren't any good at boomerang tossing. And then you are constantly searching for the mis-thrown ones!

We also have a fabulous splash pad less than a mile from our house. Splash pads are fabulous inventions.

Tomorrow starts Kent's first 'real' day of residency. And because of the holiday- he actually gets a four day weekend. This residency thing isn't too bad so far :) not a bad way to start residency! Hopefully we'll get some good pictures this weekend.

did you see a goat born this weekend?!

2011-06-26T18:52:00.002-04:00

This past week we got the sicks at our house. A little vomiting- diarrhea-some fevers- sore throats-headaches-sinus pain- you know. The regular. Everybody got it in some form. I was thankfully spared everything but the minor headaches and sinus issues. And it's about stinking time. I'm the one who's had the throw-ups the past THREE TIMES!

Friday night Kent was still sick so we decided to get some Papa Murphy's pizza (I'm so happy they have it here!!!) and stay in. But then I just couldn't take it. They were doing constant flyovers of cool planes that we could see from our yard and that night there was going to be a huge fireworks show on base. Since Kent is working during the 4th of July fireworks- I decided we HAD to go and watch the base fireworks!! We left our house at 9:30- saw the ten o'clock fireworks and made it home by eleven with the boys fast asleep in their carseats.

We just put out or blankets on a grassy hill and enjoyed the show. They were actually pretty good fireworks and I think we made some family memories. Kent keeps reminding me that Zeb is going to be remembering stuff we do from here on out so we have to make good memories :)

Ike was adorable with his 'bobo'. He kept hugging him and telling him about the fireworks. and then he threw him in the road. Such a little turkey right now.

Saturday was even better. I taught my first bootcamp class here and loved it. We went to a church service activity, did some of our own yard work (it's taking some adjusting getting used to having our own yard!!), and then had an adventurous afternoon with friends.

We took a short drive out to the 'Young's Jersey Dairy' in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with some friends and had a blast.
I'm sure we looked like quite the spectacle with all of our kidlets running around- but we loved it. And the weather was perfect. Warm and sunny but not hot or humid.

Our boys have no fear when it comes to animals. I think we actually cured them of the fear when we tortured them at the Safari last year. If you haven't read that post- you must. Our kiddos loved feeding the goats and letting them lick their hands and arms. It totally grossed me out.

Everybody (including the dads) loved riding the 'moovers and the shakers' train.

Here's our party of people :)

Zeb was so excited to be in the plane caboose.

Then we played a round of 'putt-putt'. That's miniature golf for all you non midwesterners. This is where we looked most like a zoo. The kids had so much fun and did astoundingly well until about hole 14.

Ike chose a pink ball and a pink club. It's his favorite color right now.

I think this is hole 14. All five kiddos trying to play the same hole at the same time. We went straight to 18 after this.

To end out the afternoon we got ridiculously large ice cream cones and made an insane mess. The ice cream was really good and really fresh.

Just before leaving we decided to take one last look in the animal barn- and stumbled upon quite the experience. We spotted what appeared to be a VERY uncomfortable goat in the corner. The goat started writhing and bleating loudly- and then her belly started heaving. She was totally in labor and we saw the whole thing from start to finish. The goat gave birth right there in front of us. It was really really amazing to watch.

Don't mind the graphic pictures :)

Thanks for the great afternoon, Stewarts!!

We can't promise anything that exciting for visitors but we'd still love to take anybody to the dairy :)

adventures in the new neighborhood!

2011-06-23T13:12:00.000-04:00

Kent officially started residency the Monday after graduation- but the real stuff (long hours/nights/etc.) doesn't start until July 1st- so for now we are just enjoying a month of easy hours and a real paycheck :)

Yesterday I made a quick trek back to Toledo to take care of a few unfinished things, return a library DVD, pick up left items, and see some friends. It was fast and short- but really nice.

Tuesday Kent got off super early and we spent the afternoon checking out our new neighborhood.

We've got THE greatest neighborhood pool! There's a kiddie pool, lap pool, diving board, and regular pool area! It's AMAZING. Too bad I don't love to swim! But I do love the kiddie area and we'll be going frequently- as long as the constant thunderstorms let up!

There's also a playground down by the pool area. Zeb found himself in a precarious situation on the monkey bars. They are in a giant arc and he got to the top with no way to get down.

We also found a very cool 'hidden passageway'- according to Zeb. He LOVES things like that right now and insisted on going exploring into the woods! It was a pretty cool little area- although very hot and muggy.

The kids LOVED throwing rocks in the water and 'hunting for cool things'.

So far so good here in Dayton :) I really miss the good friends I had in Toledo but I realize it takes time to start over and get into those types of relationships again! I'm just doing everything I can to stay busy! Just today I went in and signed the papers to start working at the YMCA here! I'm super excited and teach my first class on Saturday!! I'm addicted to being busy and I'm glad I've got stuff started up to keep me going.

last few days.

2011-06-21T21:19:00.000-04:00

Here's a SUPER belated zeb and henry birthday post ! Zeb's birthday was june 1- and henry's was june 6th- so we had a little party for the two of them when the Hawes came in to town!

Nothing more fitting than a race track for these two crazy boys. They both adore trains/cars/trucks/planes, etc. I really wanted to do a fancy fun cake for Zeb's b-day but all of our stuff was packed by the time I remembered!

I'm not entirely certain why I decided to get black frosting on a toddler's birthday cake- but they did love it.

We made a last great trek to the zoo for the kiddos' party and they loved it.

I have no idea what Laney and Henry are touching here. It looked like a ginormous rat.

Ike dropped his popcorn on the road and would not budge until every last kernel was picked up.

Kent's parents took the little rascals on the train and had a blast. Not once while we lived in toledo did I ride the train to see the 'African Safari'. I guess I'm just too cheap!

I had a bunch more pictures- but our computer is being looney and I can't access them right now.

Here are three last pictures of our Toledo adventures! I got way too stressed and busy the last two days to get too emotional about leaving- but when I had to say goodbye to Roxanne- there were some tears. She is the most amazing lady EVER. Every day in the winter she'd scrape my car windows AND shovel a path from the door of our apt to the car! She'd always leave treats for the boys hanging on our apartment door and on the car. She really is one of my favorite things about toledo! and Ellen- the most amazing manager ever. We were so well taken care of there. I really really miss them. We love you Roxanne and Ellen!!!!!

The last morning looking out the window of our apartment. I miss toledo a lot. I even miss our cramped apartment :)

And the HUGE truck that BARELY fit our stuff. My goodness. Every packing calculator I tried said our stuff would fit with extra room- but it was mighty tight- and this thing was a BEAST!!!

he's a Captain! oh- and a doctor, too!

2011-06-16T16:09:00.001-04:00

Graduation!!!

The big day came and went in a giant whirlwind of chaos!

The seven military graduates wore their dress uniforms instead of the typical grad gowns and I think they looked pretty impressive. This is their 'military face' picture. Kent's military face isn't too intimidating :)

I'm a pretty big fan of the dress blues! and it was nice to have Kent stand out a little so I could see him amongst all of the graduates!

During the ceremony all of the grads are 'hooded' with colored hoods (all doctorate programs hood their grads. it's some sort of weird scholarly tradition)- but the hood was placed over kent's arm instead over his uniform because it's against military rules to alter the uniform in any way.

They did get their own special part of the program where they were all commissioned to the rank of Captain. It was pretty cool.

Here's Kent with his four other friends from BYU who all did school together here. We were all in the same ward and they got to know each other pretty well.

Kent's parents came out for the big event and were a humongous help with moving and cleaning and watching kiddos! Thank-you!!!

After graduation we went out to dinner with Kent's parents and Laney and taylor and it was great. Laney and taylor missed out on the actual graduation (although I don't think they were too upset about not having to sit through three hours of hearing 200 people's names they cared nothing about!) to watch our kiddos. It would have been torturous to wrestle Zeb and Ike for the three hours- so thank-you Laney and taylor!!

Dinner was delicious and I'm really sad that there is no Elephant Bar and Grill in Dayton!!

I realize that I make this face in quite a few pictures- but I do it so you can all sense my enthusiasm and excitement about things. :) Here I am pointing to Kent's Captain bars. I got to put them on him. I'm told it's tradition for the wife to do it.

The day was pretty bitter sweet. So sad to think about this chapter of our lives coming to an end. I really have loved living such a crazy/busy- yet pretty simple life. I can't even begin to try and write about how much I have loved Toledo- but the past four years of blogging have partially shown that!! It's also so crazy and exciting to think about everything that Kent (and I) have done in the past four years. We took a HUGE and ridiculously heavy tub full of kent's school notes to the dumpster the day we left and Kent told me that's what his brain feels like sometimes. I can't even begin to understand the amount of information he's piled into his brain. It's unimaginable. Kent's amazing and I couldn't have found a more perfect person to be with forever :) Thanks for your fabulous brain capacity, kent!! Way to go муж! тебя люблю.