Fireflies

Since our first visit from the fireflies this summer, Parker & Tyler have been keeping vigil at dusk. They anxiously wait at the window for the first tiny glow, and then shriek with delight as one by one, these little wonders make their appearances. I tried one night to capture the magic...

Safety Town

For the past couple of weeks, Parker has attended a local Parks & Rec program called "Safety Town." It's a two-week long camp of sorts specifically designed for kids who are 4-5 years old, to teach them about different kinds of safety. He learned all about animal, water, bicycle, poison, school bus, fire, & tornado safety, stranger danger/bad touching, and calling 9-1-1. They also learned the pledge of allegiance & had recess each day - it was like mini-kindergarten! He loved it. Although I have to say, the "graduation" they held at the end rivaled my own high school graduation. Parents dressed up & flashing cameras everywhere. It was a little bit over the top.

Here he is with his favorite police officer and the director of Safety Town, Officer Galli.

With McGruff & Sparky, the Fire Dog.

And here is "Safety Town," where they learned bicycle safety by riding trikes around "town."

Bedtime Trends

1. Sleeping in nightshirts. We sleep in a place that is fifty years old, with equally ancient windows. This means that in the winter we put plastic on them, and in the summer we find ways to endure the fact that it's ten degrees warmer upstairs than down. We introduced the "nightshirt" concept on one particularly warm night, and it has been hard to shake them of the habit since.

Here they are in their "Dime a Dog" shirts that we got for free at a Columbus Clippers game. These are their favorite to sleep in, because they match and, of course, because they have hot dogs on them. On the off nights they have had to settle with plain old "ketchup" (red) shirts, "marshmallow" (white shirts). Either way, they love it.

2. Musical beds. It had become a part of the bedtime ritual to, when it was time for bed, see Tyler run and jump into Parker's big boy bed, pull the covers over himself and giggle. I think he loved this mostly because it made Parker mad, and then the inevitable wrestle match ensued. One night I was not up for the struggle, and suggested that Tyler stay in there, and Parker sleep in the crib. To my surprise (or maybe not), they agreed.

That was two weeks ago and these hooligans having been sleeping this way ever since.

Perhaps the funniest part about this is that Parker, at age five, has still not quite figured out how to climb out of the crib. So we leave our step stool next to the crib for him to get in and out.

10 Reasons Why I Won't Miss Tornado Country

1. Being awoken in the middle of the night due to tumultuous thunder, lightning, and tornado sirens.

2. My kids being awoken in the middle of the night due to tumultuous thunder, lightning, and tornado sirens.

3. Comforting said screaming, crying kids.

4. All while the power goes out, accentuating the strobe effect of aforementioned INSANE lightning, increasing child angst.

5. Dragging tired, confused kids down two flights of stairs in the middle of the night to the basement.

6. Looking for a flashlight in the middle of the night.

7. Finding flashlight, now trudging back up stairs (did I mention this was in the middle of the night?) to find radio.

8. Sitting in the basement, for almost an hour, in the middle of the night.

9. Having the tornado warning finally revoked, but still hearing the tumultuous thunder, lightning, and tornado sirens so the kids won't go back to sleep. Thus, it turns into a party in your bed.

10. Having your power still be off in the morning, the post-storm BEASTLY humidity, your basement flooding, your kids are cranky, you are cranky.

Bring on the desert.

Recent Discoveries

This is the tastiest fat-free ice cream I have ever tried, hands down. It's like gelato. They also have Creamy Vanilla, Strawberry & Cappuccino Chocolate Chunk.

It's on sale at Wal-Mart for $2.98 right now. Yumm-o.

And if you haven't yet discovered http://www.slickdeals.net/, you must. Another one is http://www.dealtaker.com/. Created for the lazy people like me who don't seek out deals on their own. Deals are updated throughout the day - all legit. I've already scored a free Thomas the Tank Engine from Toys R' Us. Sweet!

Progress!

They've dug for the foundation! Hooray!

When You Turn 32...

...that bright, shiny city you once reveled in - your 20's - becomes merely a speck on the horizon behind you. No longer are you able to turn around and catch the detail, imagining that you still live there. Oh no. You are now IN YOUR THIRTIES. An official "thirty-something." Heading away from the civilization you once knew so well, into the unknown. All of a sudden you feel like you should be more of a grown-up than you really are.

Luckily, I had some great people to usher me into no-man's land. My great friend, Sarah, invited some of my other good friends here over to her place and we had a little lunch celebration.

Lisa, Carolyn, Sarah & Holly. I don't believe any of these ladies have left the bright, shiny city yet. Your time will come :). And sorry, Angie, I didn't think you'd appreciate me sticking a picture of you on here while you were nursing a baby!

Some of our crazy kiddos.

Thanks for the love, girls!

I was also treated to a bit of Cheesecake Factory with my hubbie, sans kiddos (thanks, Carolyn!). He put signs up all around the house telling me how wonderful he thinks I am. It doesn't get better than that.

So farewell, bright, shiny city. I'm off to make a new settlement, in greener pastures.

Our Thoughts On...

Summer Fun

"Pleeeeease can we go on a walk? Going on walks is BESTER than playing t-ball." - Parker, after his first t-ball game last night.

"Let's go back to the pool!" - Michelle

"So THIS is why you've come to the zoo like forty times. IT'S HUGE!!" - Peter, after our all-day zoo excursion last Saturday, where we saw every square inch of the newly-renovated and totally awesome Columbus Zoo.

"Go back home!" - Tyler, usually because we've pushed it too far on our outings without an N-A-P.


Dissertation

"Where's Daddy?" - Parker & Tyler

"!#$%^&!" - Peter

"Yeah, honey! You're done with the revisions on your document!! Now it's the defense, and then you're home free....until you start studying for the EPPP, that is." - Michelle


EPPP (like the BAR, BOARDS, whatever of Psychology)

"!#$%^&*!" - Peter


Father's Day

"I love Daddy." - Tyler

"We made Daddy some wall art for his new office. We painted some canvases with fun colors and then painted our hands and put them on the canvas. It was fun. I love Daddy, too." - Parker

"Daddy needed to join our Croc club. So we got him some, so he could be cool like that." - Michelle

"I love my family. I liked all of my gifts, but my favorite part was the gourmet big pancake breakfast and the steak dinner. Oh yeah, and the Strawberry Shortcake that made Michelle sick. Not that her getting sick was my favorite, but yeah, you get it." - Michelle, reading Peter's mind.


Getting sick over Strawberry Shortcake

"!#$%^&*!" - Michelle


Our new nephew, Krew Leland

"We can't wait to meet him!" - all of us


The upcoming move

"Packing? What? Let's go back to the pool!" - Michelle

Okay, So I Lied...

...about renting next year. Peter & I just returned from a house-hunting trip to Washington & came back with a kill! We are so excited about this house. 2068 sq. ft, 4 bedrooms plus a den, and 3 full bathrooms. A HUGE thanks to our parents for watching our kids (John & Debra) & for the moral support (Mike & Marie)!

We are having it built, as you see from the first picture of Peter staking out our lot. So these shots are of the model home, not our home. There will be a few minor detail changes, but this is pretty much what it will look like, minus the crazy decor...I'll have to post another slide show soon of our exact color/material choices! We will also be a quarter mile from Parker's school, and a quarter mile from our brand new church building that will be finished when we get there! Doesn't get better than that!

It won't be ready for us to move into until the third week of September, so we'll spend a month or so in corporate housing. Our realtor promised to take pictures as the building progresses, so we'll keep you updated as it comes along! Enjoy the pics!

**If the slideshow won't load on here, just click "view all images" below and it should take you to it!**

Eternal Families Deemed Dispensable

Last weekend we had a yard sale with some other families who are moving, too. I asked Parker to look through his toys & books, and to put anything he wanted to sell on his bed. After an hour of searching, this is all he came up with:

Nice.