One Moore Family

Sullivan in Utah

2011-12-30T21:18:00.000-08:00

Sully also had a fab time in Utah, but boy did he start out the vacation with a bang!! The night before we left, Sullivan cut open a toe. It was late and we were leaving early the next morning, so I just bandaged it up tight and hoped he didn't need stitches. Everything went great until we got to our final destination in Utah....a beautiful home with white carpet...and his toe almost immediately split open. I told Mike that we absolutely had to get him stitches because I didn't want to spend the vacation worrying about ruining nice carpet. We found a place nearby and within about a half an hour, Sully had three stitches in the bottom of his toe. Whew. After that, he had fun for the rest of our time in Utah!

Keats in Utah

2011-12-30T21:00:00.000-08:00

We went to Utah at the end of August and stayed for about week...and I am just now posting pics from our trip! Doh!!

With the new changes to the blog set-up, I can't figure out how to fix the order of the photos! Sorry they seem to jump around, but you get the general idea. Which is that Keats had a fabulous vacation in Utah!

Keats on the tram at Snowbird. We do this ride every time we visit Utah.

At the top. I think it's about 10,000 feet.

Being brave and looking down on the world from the tram.

Above, he poses at the entrance to the Snowbird resort. Fun place for kids!

Keats mostly loved playing with his cousins. Here, he is goofing around with Nicole.

Lots of wrestling with Bryce. Keats and Bryce share the same birthday.

Above, he wrestles with his cousin Jessica.

Below, he is with cousin Katie (pregnant with Maddie at the time.)

Above he's at In n' Out Burger.

Below, he's riding a tube on Provo Lake with Bryce and Nicole.

So proud of himself for getting in the lake! Nicole offered him $10 if he'd jump in (he's not a good swimmer and is pretty scared of water) and he JUMPED at the chance to earn some cash! He had such a good time that he went in several more times that day.

Above, he's at a natural history museum at Thanksgiving Pointe.

Below, give a boy some rebar and his instincts kick in!

Luckily his feet aren't as big as the dino's!

We spent a day at Lisa's condo in Park City.

Above, he plays with a drawing set Aunt Lisa gave him.

Below, riding an airplane.

More time on the boat.

And, finally, holding a sunflower on a hike near Grandma and Grandpa's home.

The Chase

2011-11-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

I took the boys to the indoor park today so they could burn off their energy. They had such a good time! Towards the end of our visit, a group of girls noticed Keaton. They quickly decided he was cute and the chase was on! They chased him, everyone giggling, and tried to put a play dress on him. This went on for so long and was so funny to watch. Poor Keats. He's such a cutie that this isn't the first time a group of girls have chased him around the park; I suspect this won't be the last time, either. You can see by his happy face that he wasn't as troubled by the attention as he'd like you to believe.

Sully, on the other hand, spent the entire time trying to get the girls to leave his brother alone! You can see in the "dog pile" photos that Sully is trying to help Keats (who is on the bottom of the pile) by pulling at the dress as the girls try to put it over Keaton's head. So funny!

Let them frost, apply sprinkles, and eat cake!

2011-11-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Today we baked cakes. Initially, we were baking a cake for Vince's birthday (this is my sister's husband). The boys were excited to help mix the batter and everything, so I thought, hey--why not bake two cakes, letting each boy help with one whole cake. So, this is what we did.

Keats helped with the first cake and we made two round cakes out of that batter.

Sully helped with the second cake, and we made a standard 13x9 cake out of that.

I let each of the boys frost and decorate one of the round cakes. The rectangular cake was cut in half and I made a double-decker cake for Vince's birthday.

Keats made his cake into a Lego brick with four studs. He is so funny, using the frosting extremely sparingly and not making a mess at all. He also used the sprinkles very frugally. He has always done this with art and with decorating.

Sully, on the other hand, is all about the frosting! The more the better, in his opinion. He did a great job with frosting and was very careful to make everything even. Then he was extremely liberal with the sprinkles, too, and in the end he put a smiley face on his cake using his fingers to draw.

You can see above that Geddy was terribly interested in the possibility of eating some cake. She is such a scavenger, even licking the frosting off of Sullivan's frosting knife!

Sullivan's Christmas List

2011-11-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Sully cracked me up while we were doing his list. He would act out parts, as needed, when describing what he wanted me to write down. And some of the stuff on the list is just too cute. Here's his list.

Robot that walks

Green Lantern Toothbrush

Green Lantern Pajamas

Cat toys

Green Lantern Backpack

Green Lantern shirt

Green shirt with frogs on it

R2D2 Lego watch

Tiny little Alien Conquest Lego set

Tiny little Pirate Lego set

Big Alien Conquest Lego set "Like the one Jamey got for his birthday"

Nintendo DS

Dora or Diego sheets "for extra for the times I accidentally pee in my sleep"

Green Lantern Books

Green Lantern pencil

Green Lantern glasses

Green Lantern guitar

A whale that jumps like they do in the ocean

I think it's safe to say that I'll be surfing for Green Lantern gear in the near future!! I have no idea how to get a whale that really jumps. I have no idea where to get a green shirt with frogs but I'm pretty sure he only said that because he loves green, loves new clothes, and frogs are green; I think I could get any green shirt and he'd be happy. I also do not know what Lego set Jamey got for his birthday. And, I had no idea he cared which sheets he had! He has Green Lantern in there now, but we do have several extras. He's only wet his bed a couple of times so I'm surprised he was worried about having extra sheets.

Helping them with these lists was pretty interesting!

Keaton's Birthday and Christmas Lists

2011-11-08T20:56:00.000-08:00

I sat the boys down tonight and had them tell me what they want for Christmas ('cause I had no idea what they really, really, really want and would like to start looking for sales!) Keats, of course, wanted to write his birthday list as well. The whole process was pretty interesting with Keaton. He meticulously drew a line down the middle of the page, labeling one half "Birthday" and the other half "Christmas". He would write something in the birthday column and later decide it belonged in Christmas; he would write something in Christmas and later decide it belonged in birthday. He added a couple of things to both columns because "I just really, really want it and this way I'll have two chances to get it!" Another funny thing he did was wrote which store to get certain things. I'm sure you can get a Ukelele anywhere, same with the Lego stuff, but he apparently thinks you can only get them in these exact stores. This is the first year he's thought about where to get things, which is just an interesting thing to see develop. Anyhoo, here are his lists.

Birthday

Lego Star Wars alarm clock, from Target

Lego Star Wars Obi Wan watch, from Target

Ukelele, from Cost Plus

Monopoly game (the real kind with paper money!)

DS Pokemon game

DS pens (in different colors)

Microscope

Legos, any but especially Lego City

Science toys like they have at Toys R Us (they make goo and stuff)

Christmas

Bass guitar

Ukelele, from Cost Plus

Lego Millenium Falcon

Super Mario Galaxy for Wii

Super Mario Brothers game for Nintendo DS

Lego Star Wars 3 Clone Wars game for DS

Lego Star Wars Obi Wan watch, from Target

Lego Star Wars pajamas

Car charger set for Nintendo DSiXL

Cash register bank that knows how much money you are putting in and taking out

Welcome Geddy Lee!!

2011-10-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

Mike has been hinting that he'd like to have a cat that hung out in his office with him during the day while he was working. For his birthday, my neighbor was able to find us the adorable kitten you see in this post. Geddy Lee, named after the frontman of the band RUSH, is an absolute sweetheart! She was born around August 10th, and that is the "official" birthdate she has been given. She has fit in so perfectly without any issues. She immediately took to her litter box and now has started using the "big boy" potty in the garage. She sleeps great! When she's tired, all you have to do is pick her up and put her somewhere and she'll go to sleep. She's been sleeping in the green kitty bed (which I refer to as her bucket) right next to Mike. Geddy is so tiny that it can be scary to sleep with her-- having her sleep in her bucket takes the worry of squishing her away.

Sully is in LOVE with this kitty!

Here, she was attacking my leg as I was getting ready to go to work.

We gave her some Gerber chicken the first few days because she was so young and tiny. She loved it. So did Moose.

Raise your hand if you're super cute!

I love the colors on her face here. She almost looks exotic.

How much is that Geddy in the window?

Isn't she so very pretty??!!

She is also very sweet and LOVES kisses! She will put her face towards you as you come in for a kiss. You can tell she likes it. :o)

Tiny kitty in a basket

Tiny kitty in a bucket

Welcome to the family, Geddy!!

In Stitches

2011-10-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

The day before we went to Utah in August, Sully and Keats broke a champagne glass on the kitchen floor. Mike was very careful when he picked it up: the housecleaners were coming this day and he didn't want any of them to get cut. As he walked through the garage with the dustpan, he bumped into something and heard something hit the floor but he didn't see what had fallen. Fast forward a few hours, I was upstairs packing and the boys were out in the garage playing. I hear Sully crying as he is running up the stairs, and I can tell this is a serious cry. I ran out of my room and got to the stairs just as he came to the top. He was holding his foot and I instinctively picked him up and ran to my bathroom. I set him on the counter and put his foot in the sink and OH.MY.GOD the sink filled with blood! It was crazy. The cut was only about a half-inch long but was very deep. Mike and I debated stitches and decided to try skin glue and bandages as we were leaving in a few hours for a long drive. During the drive, the wound was fine. I kept checking and there was no bleeding at all. About four seconds (possibly a slight exaggeration) after we got to Paul & Marilyn's, Keaton came running to get me, yelling that Sully is bleeding. And he was-- and Paul & Marilyn have white carpet...so, I told Mike we needed to take him to an urgent care clinic. We happened to find one that was closing in about 15 minutes. They gave Sullivan three stitches, would have given him a fourth if he'd held still, and they sent him away with a green popsicle, so he was a happy boy.

These photos are of him trying to be brave before the stitches were placed.

So, he got the stitches and I got the instructions not to let him submerge his foot and get the wound wet. Uh, yeah....Grandma & Grandpa have a pool, Aunt Lisa has a pool at her condo, and Aunt Catherine was taking us out on her boat....not much chance that this wound will remain dry! I did tape it up each time, but each time the sucker got wet. We were to have Sully's regular doc take his stitches out on September 6th but the wound wasn't healed enough. I took him back the following week (so his stitches were in for exactly 14 days! Yikes!) and it took four adults to hold him down to remove the stitches. That is one strong kid!!

Halloween Boys

2011-10-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Well, this isn't what they are going to be for Halloween, but this is what they were for a Halloween party at a friend's house last weekend. I bought the skeleton costume at Value Village, a second-hand store that has loads of costumes, but I thought it would fit Sully. Turns out it is a perfect fit for Keats so he chose to wear it to the party. Our wonderful neighbors gave Sullivan the Spiderman costume last summer. Sullivan would wear a costume 24/7 if we let him.

At Value Village, I found a Darth Vader outfit that has working lights on the front. Keats is just a little bit excited about wearing this. We bought the talking Darth Vader helmet at Value Village last year (or the year before that) and this year we also found a Darth Vader trick-or-treat bucket for the candy. Keats is set!

Yesterday, I found a Green Lantern costume at Target and was so excited to get it for Sully! I bought the size for 5-7 year olds....but it almost fit on Mike! Wow. I'm not sure who has children that giant, but it isn't me. So we'll be swapping that one out tomorrow. Sully is very excited to be Green Lantern!

Field Day

2011-08-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

Keaton's last day of school was Field Day. I walked over and followed him around a while so I could take a few photos. There were baby bunnies there....almost four weeks old-- how cruel is that?? Seriously. The cutest things I've seen since, well, since the last time I saw precious, sweet, adorable baby bunnies! Keats, being a huge fan of the soft & cuddly creature club, wanted to hold the bunnies the entire time, but he did do some other stuff, too.

Cute Sullivan

2011-08-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Another Walkabout

2011-08-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

Just another field adventure we had this summer. Notice how tall some of the grass is on the boys...but they still insist on taking these adventures with me!

After School Adventure

2011-08-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

These photos are actually from the last day of school for Keaton, which was June 14th. I missed posting a lot of photos this summer and am going to try to make up for it now. I have about two weeks before I go back to school!

I love to take the boys on adventures to the field near our home. There are "mountains" that they love to climb and just lots of bugs and miscellaneous stuff to look at and do; we also come out at a big park, which the boys love. Here are photos from one of our adventures.

It's like Lord of the Flies! Pick up a big stick, start making the rules, you're in charge, boy!

Here they are at the top of one of their "mountains".

So cute! Sully does everything his big brother does, and goes everywhere his big brother goes.

Normally this behavior makes Keats yell "STOP COPYING ME!!" but I guess it's okay for Sully to copy Keats when they are trying to take over the world....or at least the local field.

This is a little bridge next to our home. The boys love looking at the creek and trying to see sharks. ;o)

By The Way...

2011-07-24T20:49:00.001-07:00

...did you notice it had only been four days between my postings??? Thankyouverymuch I RULE!!

Green Lantern Birthday Party

2011-07-24T20:32:00.001-07:00

Sully wanted a Batman-themed birthday for the past several months. (yes, they discuss their birthdays year-round!). When it came time to actually get the party set up, I asked if he still wanted Batman and he said nope--he now wanted Green Lantern. I'm not even sure how he knew about Green Lantern; he'd never seen a movie or cartoon of the character. But, come on!! A green superhero?!? Who needs to know more than that when your favorite color is GREEN and you've never met a superhero you didn't like (or wouldn't dress up as/wear underwear printed with their image)!!!

The next five photos are my favorite. Of course Sully is cute blowing out his candles but watch the changes in Keaton's expression. So cute!

I know, I know...

2011-07-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

...I suck at this blog-updating thing lately. Again--- sorry! My newest excuse is terribly lame: I am taking an upper-level art class this semester and we have to post photos of our work on a Google site called Picasa. To do this, I have to log out of my blog and log into the school folder. Apparently it is just too much to ask to have me log out of my school folder and into my blog. See? I told you it was a ridiculous excuse!

So, my youngest child is now FIVE YEARS OLD! I'm not entirely sure how that happened but, considering how much sleep I've lost in the past five years, I'm not entirely sure I want to relive the time to soak it all in! Sully is such a good kid! He is mellow and snuggly and very, very silly. Even his tantrums are extremely mild, in contrast to his brother at least. His one issue is sleep, or lack thereof. One day he'll be a teenager and will sleep all day, right? RIGHT??!! Better be right!

Here are some photos from his actual birthday on Monday. His party will be this Saturday. I promise I'll have those photos on the blog within, ohhhh, a year. ;o)

The Graduate

2011-06-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

Egg Hunt

2011-06-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

We lucked out on the day of our annual egg hunt--the sun was shining! Last year I took zero photos because it was absolutely pouring rain and I didn't want to ruin my camera. This year I took loads of pics.

At the egg hunt, aside from the Moore boys, were Jamey, Kenna, Alex, Sophie, Nora, and Tasha. Everyone seemed to have a fun time.

I may not get to have a hunt next year as I am hoping to do an international medical mission for college. (crossing my fingers that I get to go!) If I do the trip I won't be able to host the hunt. That makes me doubly glad that the weather was great this year and the kids were happy.

Easter

2011-06-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

Sullymander (and one BooBah)

2011-06-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago. I used my iPhone and some of the retro-looking photos are also from my iPhone, just using a cool photography application.

Instagram

2011-06-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

I recently became slightly addicted to a photo application called Instagram. I love the retro feel you can give to photos, and it is so easy. Also, it is very easy to waste a bunch of time looking at everyone else's super cool retro photos!

The following pics aren't exactly new, but I've been able to tweak them in the Instagram application. Fun!

Back Yard Oasis

2011-06-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

We stayed home for Memorial Weekend and did a whole lot of nothing. We had fun roasting marshmallows and hot dogs in our backyard. Nice to not leave home but to have these experiences for the boys!

Boys Of Summer

2011-06-01T12:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, it should really read "Boys Of Spring" but...but that isn't a song title and wouldn't be as catchy.

I took Sully and Keats on our first bike ride across the footbridge and we then rode to the carousel park where there were about seven gazillion people. At least. This is what happens on a sunny weekend day in Oregon: every single person goes outside to soak up some sunshine. 'Cause you never know how long it will stick around.

Anyway, the following pics are of the boys messing around at the park, plus some fun they had at Orchard Heights Park. It was the most perfect sunny day!

Nutrition Project At Preschool

2011-06-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

I had to do a teaching project for my advanced nursing class and I chose to teach at Sullivan's preschool. I wanted to do a whole health & safety thing but settled for some fresh & healthy food choices as time (and patience) was limited.

I brought a craft for all the kids where they chose one fruit & one vegetable cut-out to put on their paper "plate" and then let them choose from a bunch of smaller fruits and vegetable stickers. They seemed to have fun with that. I brought different fresh foods and a couple of healthy drinks. Each kid that tried something new-to-them got to choose a puffy sticker. It was a good experience overall and I scored 100% on my paper describing the event, so I was happy

Preschool Grad

2011-06-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

I snapped a couple of cell phone pics of Sully when he tried on his cap & gown. His official graduation date is June 8th. I'll post more pics after the big event.

Is This Thing On?

2011-05-25T09:35:00.000-07:00

I promise I will post some pics very soon. I am in finals week at Linfield....hopefully I will be finished with everything by tonight. I have loads of photos to share but haven't had the time.

To Mom and Marilyn: I have had photos ready to send to you since (actually, for) Mother's Day. As soon as I packaged them, Keaton's soccer photos showed up. Two days later, his spring school photos showed up, and Sully had preschool graduation photos taken at school. So...the envelopes have been patiently waiting on our counter all month. I received Sully's photos this morning but I absolutely like nothing about them, aside from Sully being in them, so I am not going to order any. I made an appointment for Friday to have his photos retaken in his cap & gown. As soon as we get these in our hot little hands, we shall send your photos out. I promise.

Snazzy Outfits

2011-04-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Question: How do you get two boys, with the cumulative age of 11, to hold still and pose together for a photo?

Answer: You don't.

You just deal with what you get. Keaton had his first singing concert last night at his school. His school has three first grade classes (two English only and two dual language classes) and they all sang together. It was really cute. I've tried uploading a video but I can't seem to do so from my MacBook. Boo!

Soccer, Once Again

2011-04-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

It's soccer time again in the Moore household. Keats is playing for his fourth season with Keizer Soccer Club on the team Liverpool. He has two other players (plus the coach) that have been with him all four seasons: Reid and Leo. Three other players, Zanden, Matthew, and Gray (Grayson) are on their third season with Liverpool. There are also two new players, Ben (who has played on other teams since age three) and Patrick (his very first time playing soccer).

Reid is the coach's son and he chose their shirt color this season: white. Again. Lol. Last time they had blue/black around the neck and arms while this time they are solid white, so a slight change. Hopefully we get a color that is easier to clean next time!

Above: going for the goal

Below: glowing with pride after making the shot

Getting ready to try out being the Keeper. He did a pretty good job!

Gorgeous Day For A Bike Ride

2011-04-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had 27 days, in a row, with measurable rain in March. March definitely went out like a lamb...it was a very nice evening last night. April came in like a gorgeous, sunny, makes-the-rainy-days-worthwhile, blue sky, finally feel like skipping while you walk, kind of day.

I took Sullivan to the Capital Mall to ride his bike. The cherry blossoms are awesome right now so I thought we should see the blooms before they fly away. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my "good" camera and had to make do with a crappy little Kodak thing. I played around with the photo editor on my MacBook and (hopefully) made everything viewable, one way or another.

He looks like he's up to something, huh?

Sully loves his new bike! Since he got it from Santa and it has pretty much rained since December 26th, he hasn't had a whole lot of practice on it but he does great! Here he is in front of the fountain sculpture with the Capital building in the background.

The above shot was actually taken last night but it was cute enough to let it sneak in here.

I have a "cartoon" camera option on my iPhone. Here's what the Capital building would look like if it had it's own animated TV series. ;o)

It Was A Very Green Day, Indeed

2011-03-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

I had St. Patrick's Day off work and neither of the boys had school. We started the morning with them each finding gold chocolate coins in their shoes by the front door. They were ecstatic about that, let me tell you! Chocolate first thing in the morning = a very good morning for little boys. :o)

Then we decided to go to the indoor playground. Just before we left, I remembered we had leftover green hairspray. The guys were all excited to be covered with green, so we used up the entire can of spray. They sure got a lot of attention for having the crazy green 'dos!

At the indoor park, we ran into Sharrie and her mom, Bette. They had Alex, Kenna and Jamey there, so the kids got to run around and have fun together. That was a nice surprise.

After the indoor park, I took the boys to a restaurant called Rockin' Rogers. It is a 50s theme diner. After their meal, the boys were offered a free ice cream sundae. Keats had noticed a brownie sundae on the menu and I told the waitress that I promised him that so we would forgo the free ice cream. She said she could add brownie bits to his ice cream for free so we took her up on that offer. OMG. Keats nearly died with delight from that ice cream! He kept saying "This is the best one I have ever had and I'm not even kidding, Mom!"

After the meal, I had the boys each give the waitress a dollar and say thank you for the great sundaes. She was one of those waitresses that kids love and that parents love, too, since they make their kids happy. :o)

Then we came home. Keats told me that this was the "third best day of my life." Lol.

Time With Sullivan

2011-03-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

Above, Sully is just adorable on a swing.

Below, he is some sort of ninja tiger on the playground.

I'm not sure how the above "photo booth" strips will show up on here but I thought I'd try it out since they are so dang cute!

Here is Sullivan as we start our trek through the zoo.

Above, he is getting ready to climb/slide down the hollow tree...

...and below is him at the finish line. ;o)

Beneath that photo is him with a big, cheesy grin!

I love the markings on this turtle!

At the petting zoo section of the big zoo. The goats are the most friendly.

Check out the guy above...notice his rectangular pupil? So weird.

Sully got a few minutes petting this guy before they both wandered off to find something else fun to do.

How cute is this polar bear? He is awesome!

He walked right up to Sully and stopped in front of him! Of course I had my super-zoom and couldn't back up far enough to get a good shot but you can see that he was directly in front of Sully.

I made Sullivan eat some carrots before I'd let him have something "good" to eat. This is his "I'll eat it but you can't make me like it" face.

After the zoo we went to Family Reading Night at Keaton's school. There are lots of activities related to books and also seasonal creations to make. Here, Sully is showing off his binoculars that he made. He also made a bird feeder, a hat, and a Valentine's card.

Keaton just ran around the gym like a mad man. ;o)

I Love These Boys!

2011-03-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

We only had one snowy day at our home this year. We had a few sprinkles of snow here and there but only one time did it add up enough to make it worth going out to play. The snow came late, I think it was March 3rd. School was running two-hours late due to the inclement weather which gave us just enough time to play before it all melted. The snow was literally gone by the time school started at 11:00 a.m.! Sully and Keats had a blast being silly in the snow (as you can see in the video I posted earlier.)

I Received This Email Today

2011-03-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

Flag this message

Shout Out

Monday, March 14, 2011 12:53 PM

From:

"DIANA WANEK"

Add sender to Contacts

To:

"BILL WITTMAN"

Cc:

furrball_mama@yahoo.com, "MARTHA OCHOA"

Keaton in A-4 for being a real leader in class and showing how to follow the directions when coming into the library, finding his spot by looking at the directional cards on the white board. Following those directions quietly and continuing to be a great leader in classroom behavior today

Diana Wanek
Library Media Specialist
Harritt Elementary

STOMP

2011-03-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

I took Keats to see STOMP in Portland yesterday. We both loved it! I was tipped off to a "pre-sale sale" and was able to score box seats for a pretty good price. Our view was great and the length of the show was perfect for a wiggly seven-year-old. Every few minutes, during the show, Keats would lean over to me and whisper that it was awesome or WOW! or that is so cool!

The cast of STOMP uses everything you can think of to make music. They had basketballs, kitchen sinks (even using those yellow dish-gloves for their squeaky quality), garbage cans/lids, innertubes, and brooms. They are an incredibly talented crew!

And I hope Keats picked up on how very cool it is to use brooms & dustpans! Perhaps I'll get some housework out of him if I can convince him that it will be building his musical talents?

Snow Day!

2011-03-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

Bees

2011-03-01T10:03:00.001-08:00

Bees have nothing on us around here. They are busy? Whatever.

I started back to school last month. My classes are online but it is crazy so far! I have one day a week where I have about 5 hours all to myself. Mondays I take Keats to his appointments and that takes up more than half of my "free" time. Tuesdays are my solo day. I usually work on Wednesdays. Thursday and Friday I have Sully with me since he goes to preschool just three days per week.

So, I'm trying to find a balance. I worked all weekend and yesterday cleaned the house like mad but barely made a dent. I think Santa should have brought me a housekeeper!

Mike bought me a MacBook for school and my hopes are that this baby will allow me more freedom to do what I need to do online. My point there is that I don't intend to neglect this blog forever. I would actually post some photos right now if I knew how to transfer files from my Dell to my Mac. ;o)

Off to the library now. Well, after I do a couple loads of laundry....

What A Difference Eight Years Makes

2011-02-10T09:12:00.001-08:00

Cannon's original due date was eight years ago today: February 10th, 2003. His due date would have been moved well into January if he had gone full-term but I have always held on to the original plan, so to speak.

I like to use this date to do something very fun with Sully and Keats. Today is a school day for Keats, however, so I'll just have to hope he has a very fun day! Sully is spending the day with me and I will try to find something fun to do with him. Last week I took Sully to the zoo; I guess I should have saved something that fun for today. But we will find something. And, eventually, I may do a blog post WITH PHOTOS about the adventure. Imagine that! ;o)

The begging for donations in memory of Cannon commences now. My sister is joining as a team member this year which is very exciting to me! She has always helped raise a large portion of my donations each year (we've done this every year since 2005 so this is our seventh year!) and I'm happy she will finally get recognized. Up until now, I would share my March For Babies (previously Walk America) with her. Now she can get her very own gear!

Click on the link to the right and check out the page.

Christmas

2011-01-19T22:17:00.000-08:00

Tire Alarms

2011-01-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Sully Ate My Blog

2011-01-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

So, I don't even know where to start.

I guess I'll start with saying sorry.

Sorry.

I never intended to abandon this blog. It just happened. We moved the computer into the master bedroom. In the master bedroom is where Sullivan usually ends up during the night. My best times to blog are after the boys are in bed or before they get up. Having Sullivan sleep with me really cramps my style! I feel like a prisoner in my own bed sometimes. Seriously, with Mike sleeping on the couch downstairs and Sullivan (and sometimes Keaton, too) sleeping with me in bed, I feel stuck in bed until someone wakes up.

*sigh*

Sully has slept all night in his own bed, top bunk, four times in the past month. This may not sound like much to the uninitiated but it is HUGE. Huge, I tell ya. I am shocked and thrilled and amazed and disbelieving when I wake up to find no Sully in my bed. We started giving him Monopoly dollars to sleep in his own room, as well as to do a few chores and things. He is sorta into it-- says he wants to buy Buzz Lightyear-- but on the bad nights he'll say "I don't want Buzz. I don't need any money. I want to sleep with Mama!!"

Too bad Sullivan doesn't know the value of a dollar because Mike gives him ten bucks (Monopoly money) when he stays in his own bed all night.

On a side note: Why can't Mike pay me to sleep in my own bed? I'm the only one in the friggin' house who sleeps in my very own designated bedroom, in my very own designated bed, on my very own designated side, every single night. Everyone else around here sleep like gypsies. Or frat boys.

I'd be rich!! ;o)

So, we moved the computer and I stopped using it. I cannot blog from my iPhone (possibly the technology exists but my eyesight doesn't exist) which is mostly where I am on the Internet.

I guess my excuse is this: Sully ate my blog.

But, I'm going to try to be more consistent. I know I have vast numbers of readers (five?? at most six...) and I don't want you to think I don't care about you. I do. I know you want, NEED, to see random photos of the Moore boys and the Moore kitties and read random tidbits from our lives. I know this. I know we're an exciting bunch.

Unfortunately, we're an exciting bunch that frequently rearrange our furniture and electronics locations.

We're absolutely a work in progress, you know.

Coming Soon....

2011-01-16T21:56:00.001-08:00

...actual updates from me!

...but not yet. I worked all weekend and am exhausted. Soon....soon....I promise.

Punkin' Patch

2010-11-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

Sully wasn't able to go on the pumpkin patch field trip with his school so I took him to one the weekend before Halloween. He immediately found a "corn" pit, where you scoop dried corn much like you would in a sandbox; he had a blast in there. Nect, we climbed to the top of a hay pyramid and gazed down at the fields from high above. We caught a tractor ride (we were the only two ready for a ride but the driver is a sucker for little boys as he has his own two-year-old son, so he took us for a spin) around the patch. Then we grabbed a wagon and found several nice pumpkins. Sully insisted on pulling the heavy wagon by himself...but did end up letting me give him a ride at the end of the trail. He had a great time.

Buddies

2010-11-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

We had Jamey for the day last month. The three boys had so much fun! We squished into the new Subaru and went out to pizza, to the Riverfront Park, and played a whole lot in our back yard.

First Day Of First Grade

2010-09-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Keaton started first grade on September 8th. He is in his second year of the Spanish immersion program. Just a week into the school year he is already speaking quite a bit more Spanish at home. He will say a sentence to me that is half-English, half-Spanish. Keats is mostly excited for recess and lunch, as you can imagine. First Graders get recess every day, regardless of the weather, AND they get to have REAL BASKETBALLS AND RED RUBBER BALLS during recess. Lunch is in the REAL CAFETERIA and this is very, very exciting. His school has a program where I can go online and put money into a lunch account for him so we put $25 in there last week. This means he can eat school lunch if he wants. He is excited to try this but has thus far been too nervous to try it out.

Why must they stick out their butts when they want a shot of their backpacks?? ;o)

The shoes. This is as important as backpack and lunch box choice. Keats loves the brand Geox. They are, naturally, very expensive. However, I buy them on clearance at Nordstroms a size or two ahead. He loves them and I love that they don't fall apart after two weeks!

First Day Of (Actual) Preschool

2010-09-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Sully started his first official day of preschool on September 8th. He will go to the same class as last year but this will be his last year of pre-k. Cannot believe my baby will be in kindergarten in a year!

Showing off his Toy Story backpack and lunch box.

Sullivan was noncompliant in regards to smiling for the camera this day. I did manage to talk him into the fake-but-cute smile above; below, pictured with his teacher, he put on a serious, serious face for the camera.

Little North Fork Of The Santiam River

2010-09-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

I took the boys, separately, to Little North Fork to play in the water. What a perfect place for kids to play! Shallow, clean water and rocks for throwing or climbing upon; my boys were thrilled out of their minds.

Notice how gigantic the rock is that he's trying to grab in the above pic? He was absolutely pissed that he couldn't pick it up and kept insisting I help him. Um. No.

I only had my iPhone, again, when I took Keats since this was my first trip in ages and I didn't know if I could hold my camera in the water. But I got some cute shots anyway.

Fun At Bush Park

2010-09-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

The boys and I had a fun afternoon at Bush Park recently. I was trying to get some of their energy burned off. We were there for a long, long time and walked most of the park (which is huge for those that don't know). We splashed in the creek, bought a Mexican popsicle from an ice cream guy on a bike. The boys were thrilled both that their tongues (and Sullivan's hands) turned blue AND there was a piece of bubblegum at the bottom of their popsicle! Happy boys.

Pacific City

2010-09-08T10:05:00.000-07:00

Lisa, Steve, and Lucy visited Oregon and we met them at the beach for two nights. We were five minutes into our drive when I realized I forgot my camera!! Argh. So, I couldn't take any good pics but here are a few iPhone photos...

This sand crab was sooooo amazingly high up a sand hill. I have no idea how he got there...possibly someone took him up and dropped him off or he stowed away in someone's backpack? He had barnacles on him so I know he had been in the ocean before but have no idea what he was doing on the hill. Anyway, here he is. Very cute in an icky-creepy-crawly-too-many-legs kind of way. I hope he made it all the way to the water!

Mike up on the hill.

Sully, about halfway up the hill.

What a pretty day it was at the beach!

I want this puppy. No, really. I want him.

Keats, in front of Steve & Lisa's condo.

B-52s Concert At The Zoo

2010-09-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

On August 13th, we took the boys to their first "real" concert. The zoo in Portland has concerts every summer. They are general admission and you just bring a blanket and/or low chairs and find a good spot. Lots of fun!

When I heard the B-52s were going to play, I knew I had to buy tickets for Mike. Then I thought, hey, why not take the boys. Seemed like a perfect concert location for little dudes since they didn't have to sit in one spot and had freedom to move around.

Everyone had a blast. We met up with our friend Veronica and her son Cole, along with another little boy named Sam.I can't seem to overpower my computer and rearrange these pics without deleting them and then uploading them, once again, to my blog. Phooey on that-- just know they are out of order!

The above shot is a from the start of the show. I didn't bring my big camera as I thought they were forbidden; turns out they weren't. So, we'll have to suffer with iPhone-quality photos.

Keats and Sully, sweating it out before the show. It was over 95 this day and we had to wait forever for the show to start! It felt soooo nice when the sun finally went down.

Daddy and Sully, waiting for the sun to go down and the show to start!!

Riverfront Park Play

2010-08-18T17:37:00.000-07:00

Our beloved footbridge reopened back in May (closed for 6 months to remove lead paint) so we can once again walk across the river and over to Riverfront Park. They installed a splash fountain last year and the boys love it!

Above: this is how we eat....very separated. Keats still cannot stand listening to Sully eat so he stays as far away as possible. Cannot wait for this phase to pass!

Camping Trip

2010-08-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Since we had to spend so much money on Moose's surgery, we decided to go camping for our anniversary instead of the usual trip to the beach, staying in a nice hotel, inn, or rental home. This was our first camping trip as a family! Mike and I would backpack in to camp sites before we had the boys so we weren't sure about car camping. Turned out that it was fun for all!

Fishermen's Bend is only about 35 minutes from our home. We only had to hear "Are we there yet?" about ten times. ;o) Very nice campground with real bathrooms and showers and even a playground nearby. We immediately reserved the very same spot for the third week in August! Now we know to bring the boys' bikes, scooters, soccer balls, etc. We will stay for three nights next time.

I'll fill more of this in later...gotta go for a bike ride with Keats now!

Sully's Fourth Birthday

2010-08-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

For the longest time, when I would ask Sullivan what kind of birthday party he wanted, he would only answer "raspberry". I believe he meant the cake. lol. Finally, one day he answered "robots", so Erin and I took off to find robot birthday stuff...but had no luck. Sully is a huge Toy Story fan so we went with this theme; the birthday boy was not disappointed!

I didn't get many pics of the party. Mike took a lot of the photos during present-opening and general party time but the camera was on a weird setting and nothing came out; my neighbor took lots of photos so I'm hoping she will have some good shots to share!

The cake above is my own creation. I think it was supposed to be Buzz & Woody standing on the moon...and the blue and stars of course being outer space. I thought the colors worked with the general colors of Toy Story pretty well so went with this rather than trying to replicate a scene or part of the movie. I do better when I don't have anything to compare my work to! Otherwise, I will never be satisfied that my creation is "perfect".

I made my own fondant for the cake. Much easier than I anticipated!! I made the #4 and Sully's name out of leftover fondant.

Below are the alien cupcakes that Erin and I made for the party. We copied this idea from a website. They turned out so cute!!

Above, Sully stands in front of his birthday spread showing us how "big" he is now. ;o)

He loves his Buzz Lightyear wings! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!!

A very cute close-up of one very dirty and very pleased birthday boy.

A Dozen Years

2010-08-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken almost exactly 12 years ago. Michelle and Steve were married August 29th, 1998. Their wedding photos were takent he day before the wedding in downtown Salem, on the Willamette University campus. In this photo you can see the state capital building reflected in the doors and windows behind us. That was a neat touch by the photographer!

So, I'm just missing Michelle and came across this pic while searching for photos to place on my blog. Thought I'd dedicate a bit o' the blog to Michelle and to the past in general.

Michelle's family is doing as good as can be expected. Steve misses her, of course, but he is looking really good these days. He stays active and has Jamey enrolled in activities to keep him busy as well. Jamey started going to the same daycare as Keats & Sully back in May. Once or twice a week all three boys get to tear it up for a while. Jamey is a doll baby. Very sweet kid and very typical little boy. I can't wait until our boys are ready for sleepovers and Jamey can come here for the weekend. I would love the opportunity both to help Steve have some free time and also to let my boys play with Michelle's boy...seems like things coming full-circle as well as making me feel a little closer to Michelle.

Also, my boys fight less when Jamey is around! Lol.

We spread Michelle's ashes at Lake Billy Chinook on June 27th, the day before what would have been Michelle's 39th birthday. What a beautiful day! It was good to be with "everybody" and help put Michelle's ashes where she'd want them to be: in the water, specifically her beloved Lake Billy Chinook. Jamey was first to spread the ashes; talk about a lump in the throat! Sheesh. He was very brave. The day ended up being a very positive memory to add to my reflections on Michelle's death.

Anyhoo, I just love this photo and thought I would share. Now, if only I looked half that good today!! I think this will be my new "goal" look...not the girlie hair & make-up but to make myself look like I actually care about my looks! I shall use this as my encouragement!

Teh Six Million Dollar Kitteh

2010-08-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Moose had surgery on July 7th. He had a procedure called a "FHO" which is, literally, the removal of the head of the femur. Kittehs don't need to have the ball of the hip replaced as they have such strong muscles in that area to hold the hip in place. Moose's surgery took four hours!! Yikes. The vet wasn't able to get every little bit of the bone she wanted to remove. She said that his bone was very soft and spongy, not normal at all. We're still not certain if Moose had an old fracture that healed wrong or if he had some congenital anomaly in the hip, but I think the vet is leaning towards the congenital issue.

The first pic is Moose just as he came home from surgery. He wasn't even totally out of anesthesia yet, poor boy. The second pic is the actual bone fragment. I hope it doesn't surprise anyone that I asked to keep it: of course I asked to keep the bone!! Lol. Keats wants to take it to school for show & tell. :o) The last pic is the final tally. It doesn't include about $500 for the pre-op assessments, xrays, and all the pain meds, but it sure could have been a lot worse! The vet, Dr. Trumbull, gave us a great deal considering she worked on him for four hours!

Camp Moore & The 4th Of July

2010-07-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

We have quite the set-up in the backyard right now. Mike bought a HUGE tent and that is set up next to the play structure. We also have a fire pit and some inflatable pools & that sort of thing out there. It has been pretty fun! No need to leave home :o)

Mike volunteered to be our target for about 75 water balloons the other day. The boys had no trouble throwing stuff at Daddy!

Keats is just gorgeous.

Sully was insisting that Daddy cuddle with his (Sully's) little "baby".

The view from our deck.

The 4th was a busy day. Here are some pics from a bbq at Sharrie's place.

Keats & Jamey.

A very patriotic Sullivan.

Alex, above, MY baby...but I'm letting Sharrie think he's hers until he's potty trained. ;o)

Debbie and Vince at the very end of their 5K on the 4th.

A very patriotic group!

Vince, Mason, and Erin before the run.

Sully is.just.too.cute!!!

Sully

2010-06-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

Sullivan hasn't really cooperated with a camera since before his second birthday. Even then, it was iffy. He tends to run away or look up/down/all around/anywhere but the camera. So, imagine my suprise when he actually smiled for me on Saturday! He and I walked across (well, he scootered across) the footbridge over to the Riverfront Park where the annual "World Beat" festival was happening.

I see many family members represented in some of Sully's expressions (I even think I see a bit of Nicole & Bryce, which I've not noticed before) so I decided to post them all. That, and they are too cute and I'm not able to choose which pics to cut from the page. ;o)

On a daily basis, I see expressions on Sully that remind me of his Grandpa Paul and his Aunt Lisa. Mostly, however, I agree with Debbie that "Sully just looks like himself" rather than anyone else in our families. Funny that this kid came out looking a whole lot (scarily so) like me, gradually added Paul, and now looks like bits and pieces of everyone.

Last Day Of Kinder

2010-06-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Keaton's last day of kindergarten was June 14th. Instead of the usual classroom routine, the kids were treated to several fun crafts and experiences. They were able to fish for prizes using a magnetic fishing pole and magnetic fish, there were several adults around to paint faces, outside were balls & ring toss games & jump ropes & stilts. It was just a very fun way to end Keaton's first official year of school.

I love how the two boys are peeking in from behind Keats.

Most of the boys chose snakes.

Above, Keaton checks out the final product.

One of Keaton's very best buddies, Blane. Isn't he cute!

On the left is Micah, also one of Keaton's buddies.

Here they are, loading up their backpacks for the very last time. They were all a little shocked that they were taking home all their nametags, placemats, and other items that they usually leave at school.

Snowcones & Pizza

2010-06-20T11:20:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we took the boys to the Riverfront Park to play on the splash pad (water fountain) since the day was so warm. Unfortunately, the splash pad will not open until sometime this week or next...so we changed plans and played at the park & got the guys some snowcones.

In the above shot, Sullivan had just spilled his snowcone down his chest. He was a little annoyed, as evidenced by his expression.

This is what I get when I ask the boys to stand next to each other and smile. I get superheroes.

Sweet little face!

Daddy was making jokes about the flavor of the snowcones (probably had something to do with pink, poop, or underwear, judging by the huge smile on Keaton's face.)

Mmmmm....

I thought the light was great for photos here. Luckily, one of my boys actually cooperated!

And, even though he wouldn't cooperate with most of my requests, I was able to snap the above cute shot of Sully.

Goof. Ball.

It just cracks me up how Sully puts the bottle inside his mouth.

Keats takes his pizza eating very seriously.

And this was my view of Mike during lunch. So romantic having kids, isn't it?!

Kinder Friends

2010-06-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

Keaton's school had their end of year carnival last Friday. He met up with a few friends for snowcones and some games.

Michael & Keats

Michael's ability to make Keats crack up as in the above pic is a big reason that Keats spent so much of his kindergarten year in time-out. Lol.

Blane, Keats, and Sully

Blane, Keats, Sully, and Michael

Kindergarten Graduation

2010-06-16T19:06:00.000-07:00

Sully In A Tent

2010-06-16T19:01:00.000-07:00

Twins?

2010-06-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

This picture of Mike was taken in 1973, so I assume it was the start of the school year, sometime in September/October 1973. Mike would have turned 7 on September 23rd, 1973.

The photo of Keats was taken in April 2010, so he is nearly 6-1/2.

The ages of each in the photos are very close and look at the similarities!

2010-06-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

Stuff

2010-05-29T10:41:00.001-07:00

I don't really have many new photos of the boys. Okay, I don't have any new photos of the boys! With my working night shift and everyone around her alternatively being sick the past couple of weeks, I just haven't had much opportunity or enthusiasm for grabbing the camera.

Let me assure you that both Keats and Sully are still exceptionally cute little boys!

Keats lost his 8th tooth a couple of nights ago. Now he has just the canines (upper & lower) and he's on to molars. Crazy! I guess the good thing about losing them all so early is that if he does need braces we can get started on them early.

Sully is really liking his full-time preschool. His language has taken off like crazy in the past month. He is super-duper sweet and cuddly the past few days. He was driving us nuts with his grumpy three-year-oldness so this is a nice switch. He loves, loves, loves to snuggle. He can write his name, though when feeling particularly stubborn he will place the "U" after the second "L". ;o)

I'm hoping to get them both into swimming lessons soon. We are also considering tennis for Keats but doubt that Sully is ready for lessons there so we need to find something else for Sully. He's probably ready for soccer lessons but I'm not sure if summer soccer is going to happen. Last year it was so hot that we missed half of the sessions. I've heard that a summer session is held in an old (acutally, brand new building but they went bankrupt right away) Circuit City building, and that it is nice and chilly in there. Maybe we'll do that.

With them both being in the same summer school, they'll have lots of opportunities there as well. I think they go bowling once a week, have lots of picnics, and also work on swimming lessons.

I heard the other day that I get to go to dayshift, but I'm not sure how many hours or when the switch will happen. Rumor is mid-June but I don't know how they would hire & train new nurses by then. Two of us are making the switch so there will be two positions to fill. Even if I have to wait, I'm very excited to get off of nights. Sully is just not tolerating my being gone at night and it is very disruptive to Mike's sleep. It also makes Sully 100% likely to crawl into bed with me on the nights I am home.

Today we are separating the bunk beds and will move Keaton out of the boys' room. His new roomwill be the new room. He threw the biggest, longest tantrum last night, not sure why it started, but it ended with him up on his top bunk and screaming at Sully for, literally, breathing. To be sure, Sullivan makes a LOT of noise when he eats and breathes. This does not, however, mean that Sullivan does not have the right to both eat and breathe. Keats believes it is not Sully's right to make noise as he exists. I had to take Sully out of their room last night until Keats fell asleep because I just didn't think he needed to hear what Keats was saying about him. I know there are going to be arguments and chaos as these boys grow up, but making them share a room in order to get used to dealing with each other & learning to get along (which was the reason they were roomed together) is turning out to be very unfair to Sully, and he isn't the one who needs the lesson on how to coexist. So, I am waving the white flag and Debbie & Vince will come help us separate the beds and tonight will be a peaceful night in the Moore household. Cross your fingers!

Four Legged Critters

2010-05-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

It has proven extremely difficult to capture Reuben on camera. He usually doesn't show up! This was taken with my iPhone and, if you squint and use a little imagination, you can see how amazingly sweet and adorable he is!

This is Louie (the puppy formerly known as Badger...he didn't respond to that name so they changed it. Vince is from St. Louis, MO so this is an homage to that.) Louie is my canine nephew and was born around Christmas Day. Debbie's birthday is June 2nd and we pitched in for a DNA test for Louie as a gift for her. Any guesses as to what mix he is???

As a friend on Facebook said: Basement Kitteh is watching u.

Lol.

Direct sunlight is a great (but rare in this state) way to capture Rooby-Doo on camera.

The brothers are soooo sweet & snuggly together. I cannot imagine if Moose had died from his urethral blockage or his new leg problem....Reuben would be devastated!

Dryer Kitteh stealz teh warmiez.

Moose LOVES to climb into the dryer when it is warm. As evidenced above, he usually sneaks in before I have the clothes out. But don't worry: I always have him in sight before I turn the dryer on for the next load.

Spring Season Comes To An End

2010-05-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

Keaton's soccer team at their awards ceremony last week. I wasn't there (had to work) but one of the moms sent me some pics she took.

Changing A Photo

2010-05-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

I was just playing with a photo application and thought it was cool how this one photo can be made to look soooo different.

Liverpool Game 5.8.10

2010-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a great day for a soccer game! Keats did a great job, scoring at least 4 goals.

Sully's viewing station for part of the game.

Going for a goal...

...and its good!

Quickly gets the ball for another goal...

...and its good!

Keaton's teammate, Reid, giving him congrats.

Sometimes Sullivan just needs my attention...and standing in front of the camera during a game is a great way to get it!

When he needs too much of my attention, I give him my iPhone to play with so I can watch Liverpool play the game.

Keats takes the ball in for another goal after halftime...

...and its good!

Awesome 3000

2010-05-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

The boys participated in the Awesome 3000 last Saturday. This is an annual running event that has been held in Salem since the 1980s.

Keats ran with kindergarten boys for 1500 meters; Sully and I ran together with 3-years and under. I couldn't take pics of Keats running because I had to wait with Sully.

All the kids get a medal for finishing the run. The leaders refer to it as "not a race but rather an experience in running."

The mascot of the Awesome 3000 is an aligator. Of course, Sully really really really really really wanted to give the aligator a hug...but just couldn't do it. Then, along came Clifford the Big Red Dog! Sully loves this guy...but was still too scared to hug him. The above pic is a close as Sully would get to Clifford and turn his back for the camera. Lol.

New Scooters, March For Babies, And My New Garden Boxes

2010-05-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

Keats has wanted a two-wheeled scooter for over a year. The problem has been that he hasn't been *ahem* good enough to get a $50 out-of-the-blue gift. I looked at scooters a couple of years ago and had that fifty-dollar price tag in my head. At Target the other day, I happened to notice that the Razor scooters below were $9.98...and that wasn't on sale. I checked the price since I assumed the first number had been cut from the tag, but they did, indeed, scan at that price. So I bought two. I thought Sully wouldn't be able to use his for a year or so (age on box is 5 and up) but he got right on and rides pretty much as good as his older brother.

In the above shot, Keats wanted me to take his pic but said "Its too sunny and this is the only face I can make!!" Lol.

Sophie & Sully had a stroller caravan at the March For Babies. We did a 10k (about six miles).

Sophie insisted on riding in the boys' old stroller...looks like we should have made it a convertible so she could fit!

The Riverfront checkpoint offered a superhero theme, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed.

Above are my new garden boxes. I bought, measured, and built everything myself!

Sunny Day Play

2010-05-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

We had a nice day at the end of April and were able to break out the hose & sprinklers. The boys had a blast, as you can see.

Soccer

2010-04-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Keats is on the same team as last fall, Liverpool, but their jerseys are now green and Keaton is #4. He has played three soccer games already this season, but yesterday was the first game I attended. The boys are so much better than six months ago! There are three of the same boys (from last fall) on Keaton's team (Leo, Reid, and Keats) and one little boy, Zanden, that we know outside of soccer. The other two new guys (Matthew and Grayson) are really great little players!

Aunt Debbie, Uncle Vince, Papa, and Tari also came to watch the game. It was a very mild morning which made it nice to watch the game. Usually it is miserably hot, miserably cold, or miserably wet. I think Keaton's team won yesterday but no one really keeps score. The winner & loser aspect is not something that is promoted in his league, at least not for his age group. I think all the boys made at least one goal yesterday. :o)

Notice how long his hair is!

Photo Play

2010-04-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

Not a new photo of Keats, but I made it glow with more vibrant colors.

Above is a close-up of an airplane part.

The floor of playground equipment at the school.

(Yes, I know I'm a nerd to take pics of it!)

The flowers above were what Keats dubbed something like Kool-Aid Flowers last summer.

Moose.

The one above is from tennis last week but the shot below is from last summer.

Dandilion above and curly just-unfurling fern below.

These pics are old(ish)...from the beginning of the school year. I looked like an idiot, I'm sure, taking close-up shots of my neighbors' weeds and spiderwebs!

Drips above, from the tennis court.

I'm not sure how old this shot is-- I don't think it is very old, though, unless you count that I made it look like an antique!