Roughing It August 4, 2012

After one camping trip in a tent…which as you might recall included a puking incident…we decided we needed to upgrade at least a bit at long last.  Once you put an idea in Steve’s head, it doesn’t take him long to take action :).  So, we headed off on our first non-tent camping adventure.  It was SO MUCH FUN!  What great memories can be made in the dirt.  I once heard someone say that camping seems like nothing but a series of chores.  Funny.  Sort of true.  But it’s so much easier to spend time together without the other distractions of home (both theirs and ours).  So, we have enjoyed the “chore” of camping a lot this summer.  Here are some memories from our summer (sorry I am incapable of narrowing these down to one or two).

Parker is an amazing helper these days.  He can always be found helping set up the camper, gathering fire wood, rounding up his brothers, building the fire, and taking the camper down when it’s time to head home.  Such a blessing to have a boy who’s growing up :).

Tristan is chief resident in charge of giggling – or screaming – whichever suits him for the moment :).

To find Dylan, follow the sounds of a piggy, affectionately known as “Pibby.”

Most of the time we were ALL happy to go on a hike ;).

Favorites?  Fire.

Dirt.

Building “Pibby Cages” out of pine needles.

Chopping down trees.  In the campground.  Yes, Steve, that is against the rules.  Very good look of surprise, Steve.

Playing in the trees.

Sometimes all business.

Sometimes all out fun.

Always a happy ending to a day chilling with dad (Yes, I took the cushion off the bench for Dylan to eat his “bea rie” (translation: beans & rice – his favorite meal, most days requested for breakfast, lunch, and dinner). You know how I love a mess!).

There were a few problems and owies along the way of course.

We ended up with a flat tire that turned out to be the world’s most ridiculous ordeal – but about 6 big strong men later we got it tackled :).  Steve was not smiling.  But I must have said something funny so it looked like he had a good time!

Parker fell off the picnic table (but after he got over it, he insisted on recreating it for the camera!).  Tristan & Dylan did not get any laughs out of any of their owies…so no pictures there…but there were plenty of bumps and bruises.

My Little Zoo July 22, 2012

Dress up night :).  Such cute little dudes I have around here.

Of course dress up in a house full of boys had to turn in to wrestling, this time with lots of growling :).

Dylan is Two! July 21, 2012

We celebrated Dylan’s 2nd birthday in Piggy-Style.  Of course most of the kids thought the piggy cupcakes were monkeys, but I guess I was too lazy to color the white icing pink – brown is a good color for a pig, no?

You might think I have entirely too much time on my hands, but you would be wrong.  I’m just really good at not doing what I ought to be doing and making silly little pig noses and favor boxes instead :).

Sadly, the birthday boy was just waking up when the party started – and having a hard time of it – so I didn’t get any pictures of him posing with his “party decor.”  But some pretty cute pictures with Grami & Papa (now if I could just learn how to focus the camera on the boy instead of the cupcakes – argh)!  I guess I forgot to go back and try again after Papa made him happy :).

While Dylan was not interested, the rest of us had quite a good time playing “Chubby Piggy” with pink marshmallows.  As I recall, Grandma won :).  And by posting her “Chubby Piggy” face, now I’ve gotten her back for some of those bad pictures of me she likes to hang up ;).

Dylan was good at his Day-Dyous (translation: Thank Yous)

Watching a 2-year-old blow out candles is always a treat!  Such squeezable cheeks that can’t quite figure out how to blow :).

I *think* he liked his cupcake.  There’s so much chocolate in that mouth he looks like he’s missing some teeth!  Yeah for yummy gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free cupcakes!!

Parker’s Woodworking July 19, 2012

OK, so we need Uncle Chris to come do a lesson on construction basics, but Parker was pretty stoked about his life-sized frame :).  His favorite feature was that he could fold it up (since the corners are not properly cut or attached in such a manner to make it sturdy!).

Daddies Rock July 16, 2012

Dog pile!

Happy Independence Day! July 4, 2012

I love a party :).  We got Uncle Cesar & Aunt Sarah to join us this year for an Independence Day celebration and had a blast (no pun intended).

My little pyro :).

And his trusty sidekick.

Party food – as usual, no original ideas, just copying ideas from FamilyFun.com.

Bald Eagles, Star Spangled Blueberry Pie, Revolutionary Berries, and Patriotic Sodas.

I know pictures of food by a very poor excuse for a photographer is not exactly that exciting, and I’m no food stylist, so they’re not perfect, but I had so much fun getting it all ready I had to share with you.

Baths, check.  Jammies, check.  Good night baby Corbin, check.

Can we start yet????  OK…it’s dark enough…

Ka-BOOM!!

They are so loud :).

The sparklers I remember…

The torches they sell today…good grief…no wonder so many people end up in the emergency room…

No boys, those are not swords.

I’m almost 2 whole years old.  Can I light this on fire?

How about you?  Can I light you on fire??

Melanie wasn’t exactly a fan of the whole fireworks experience…but I *think* she had fun :).  We were sure glad they were there!

The torches a little later on…

No Steve, you shouldn’t sword fight either.

It was so fun to watch Dylan’s first fireworks experience.

My boys…

All of us…

And just because this is what they want to do for every picture…

Happy Independence Day!

Fun in the Mountains June 30, 2012

Another camping trip and fun in the mountains with Papa & Grami and Uncle Richard & Aunt Deann. They had so much fun, I’m quite sure they didn’t want to come home. Thank you!!

Parker was delighted with his multitude of playmates.

Tristan felt the same!

Dylan’s favorite activity? Throwing dirt at mommy. Pure delight.

Dylan’s First Camping Adventure June 23, 2012

I managed to make it to our first camping trip without a good camera, but here are some phone pictures of the boys having fun with their cousins :).  We started our first night out with Tristan throwing up all over his sleeping bag, but thanks to only being 30 minutes from Grami & Papa’s, we had clean beds and a much better time on night two :).

Parker and Uncle Dan gathered sap from the pine trees all day long so they could watch it melt in the fire.

Here’s Tristan trying to hide from the group picture requested by Grandma :).

Here’s all of the cousins super excited about that group picture :).

Lemonade Stand May 30, 2012

The boys couldn’t wait for summer to arrive so their cousins could come over and make a lemonade stand.  They had a blast and made a couple of dollars each.  The seven-year-olds were especially good at waving down cars (and drinking all of our lemonade!).

 

Road Trip for Memorial Day May 28, 2012

Steve opted for a short road trip for Memorial Day as that was one of many things he loved to do with his dad.  The boys weren’t so crazy about the road trip part, but they loved the hiking in the mountains once we got there!

Steve walked across the mighty canyon on a fallen down tree for his photo-op.  The boys were in awe :).  It actually was higher than it looks in the picture…I think.