June Randomness..

For the last day in June, I thought I would share photos that I didn't post this month due to one reason or another....

Sam and my mom on her 70th birthday!!

Moose (of course!) wanted to be in the photo, too.

Jack and Nanny on her birthday.

My mom and sister have the same birthday. So happy day to meg, too!

And a typical picture with Aunt...Sam was trying to get the fan to be on top of his head and look like the statue of liberty.

How the boys watch a movie on our "two story" couch.

Moose can also double as a foot rest!

Jack had the super power of reflection one day with his shiny duct tape.

I signed the boys up for an on-line scrap class this summer. They each got a Smash book in the mail. Sam is decorating his cover with footballs, Vikings and Harry Potter stickers.

Jack's is total monkey...

Hope your summer is going well!!

Moose and Esther...

Wanted to share some pictures of Moose and her new BFF, Esther.  I shared in a previous post that we babysat Esther, that was before Moose. Esther's "mom" hooked us up with Moose's first family...i must say that we owe her a HUGE THANK YOU for doing that...we owe getting Moose to her...again, Miss B.  THANK YOU!!!

Jack LOVES Esther and his loyalties were a bit tested between the two, but he did very well.  Esther remembered the boys and Moose made sure that the boys remembered her when Esther was around.

Jack walked and petted the dogs at the same time...everyone was treated fairly...at the same time.

The boys threw balls and treats at the friends.  Esther was smart...she knew the boy could throw far and so she was ready!

Sam is working his Caesar Milan magic to get both dogs to sit and wait for a treat.

Love this picture of the two of them!

Hope to have more play dates for the two friends...Esther and Moose that is!

An Evening at the Park...

Our town has between 30-35 parks. Some are challenging themselves to visit each of the 30 some parks this summer. We visited 2 the other night (off to an amazing start!) took Moose so she could get in some good walking...

After we took this picture, the boys took off up the steps and Moose was not far behind...

Everyone could see for miles...

Now only about 33 parks to go..

Summer T-Shirts...

Last week was the first week of summer that we had nothing going on...no swim lessons, no VBS and no safety town. Unfortunately, some of the days got a bit long (already!) for the boys, so in true parent from, I told them to go find something to do...and they did. They got out some white t-shirts and drew on them with fabric markers...


Jack drew a funky monkey with shading himself under a coconut tree.
 "Oh! I forgot the coconuts!" declared Jack when he was finished.

A monkey pose for a monkey shirt. (As you can see in the background...Moose is not far away!)

Sam drew the vikings logo..yep...free hand!

A football pose for his football shirt.

Of course we had to get a picture with Moose...doesn't it look like she has a fancy crown on...actually it's flower in a vase behind her.

Love this picture of the boys with their Moosie...nice flower crown on Sam's head!!

A Spa Day...

Ever since we got Moose, Jack has wanted (SO BADLY) to put bows in her hair. "Why do you want her to have bows, Jack?" He replies, "So she knows she's a girl and everyone else will know she's a girl."

Well, last weekend Moose had a spa day (she went to the groomers.) I had to work, so Jas took her. I thought about telling Jas to ask the groomer to put bows in her hair, but I already knew what Jason would say to that...

I got home from work and the boys were picking up Moose from the spa. When they got home, Jack ran in and announces "Guess, who's home!" I play along...I thought..."You are!!" Nope, wrong answer. "No. Moose is back from the spa!" (funny how I get the kids to use my terminology!) He was so excited..."YOU HAVE GOT TO COME LOOK AT HER!!"
My first thought is, oh no, they shaved her....and then I saw her and realized something could be crossed off Jack's bucket list...Moose had bows in her hair!!!


Little purple and green bows with white paw prints...how sweet and how girly!

She worn them proudly...one was off in about 30 minutes...

The other one stayed on for a couple of days...I still have it. It will eventually be an embellishment on a scarp page! :)

How lady like, with little bows in her hair, tearing the living daylights out of a "flat" raccoon.
(Moose will tear the stuffing, literally, out of stuffed animals, so we get her the ones that do not have stuffing in them..they are called flats...they look like road kill. She basically just tears their heads off...seriously.)

She even got a report card on her spa visit! The groomer told Jason that if we bring her back that she wanted us to request her, because Moose was so awesome. (Wish we could take all the credit for that, but that is due to Moose's first family.) As my dad would say, "Atta girl, Moose!"

I WANT ONE....

Remember those Polaroid Instamatic Cameras (like from the 80s?) Well, THEY"RE BACK...kind of...

Say hello to my little friend...the Fuji Instax Mini Camera.  And they aren't kiddin" about the mini part.  The pictures are about the size of a credit card...how fun!!  (perfect for Smash books!)

You can actually get different color borders for your pictures!!  WOW!!!

Check out these mini albums for you mini pictures!!! Be still my heart!

How fun is all of this??

And that is why the little girl in my is yelling, "I WANT ONE!!  NOW!!!"

Happy Father's Day!!

I completely spaced off a Father's Day post for yesterday...OOPS!!

So here are a few photos from yesterday...

First we let Jason sleep in - which is a treat at our house! While he was sleeping, we got fraps from Starbucks (ventis!) and some cinnamon swirl coffee cake.

We sat outside and opened gifts. One thing we gave Jason was the new book "River Monsters" (do you watch that on TV?) above the boys are checking out all the pictures in the book..

We then had to get a dad photo...and, which has become par for the course, Moose was included (I just love her...and my boys, too!!)

Happy Father's Day, Jason!!

My dad was driving to Wisconsin on this Father's Day...but we haven't forgotten it was you day, too!

My mature men...

Grandpa's birthday!

Hugs....

My dad with his girls...

Hope your dad had a good day, too!

Going to Oprah...

As I mentioned in my Oprah tribute post, I have been to the Oprah show. I KNEW I had pictures, but i really had no idea where they could be. So when I was going through pictures that are loaded on my hard drive...I FOUND THEM...YEA!!!

The guests that day where the stars from the movie Wild Hogs: John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence ..... I hope you can spot me. I am in the second row, with my hands in the air, clapping. I have a pink shirt on, white sleeves...I am right above the "c in a circle" before the 2007.

Can you spot me here...my friend Jenny is to my right.

Oh look at this one...I am in the second row first one in the frame on the left....AHHHHH!  Can my grin be any bigger!!

I think Oprah is talking to me....

You can spot me pretty well here on the right side.

Side story: You are NOT to wear white on the show (expect if you are a special guest.) When driving to Chicago, at Iowa City I realized I had left my perfect Oprah outfit hanging in the laundry room...sheer panic!! So we made a quick stop at the mall in Iowa City and I bought a new outfit...pants that were a size too big, but a belt fixed that and then a bright pink t-shirt. It was in the winter, so I had to get something for underneath...bought a white tee...not even thinking how you cannot wear white! While seating us at the show, the "seater" person looked at me (she was standing on stage and I was sitting down...everyone was at her mercy!) and said, "We Told you NOT to wear white!" I looked up at here and said, "I KNOW! But i left my clothes at home!" She didn't care....or hear me.  I guess it didn't matter, because she moved us to the second row center from second row outside.

And there I am in all my pink. I think this might have been the time I purposely sat down last, just so I could spot myself on the TV later.

It was one of the best days of my life...besides getting married and having my kids..well, not the actual day when I had the babies..that wasn't much fun..you know what I mean.