SOCKS

Sometimes rugby socks stay wadded up in a wet ball in a backpack all week. And then on Saturday morning, two minutes before we are leaving for a tournament, a rugby player starts whining about gross socks. Sometimes an angry dad washes them really fast and, if said rugby player is really lucky, someone will help his socks dry on the way to the tournament.....

SUMMER!

Last day of Sissy's freshman year and Nick's first year of middle school! WAHOOO! These two are ready.for.summer. 9th grade and 6th grade are know to REALLY take it out of ya.;)

CLAW

This morning I took Kitty and Ben to the grocery store for donuts. Super great day!! Donuts for breakfast!! Then Ben found a quarter. And begged me for another one. I gave him one, not knowing he was headed straight for "the claw." My dad LOVES the claw. I am pretty sure he can't pass one up, and neither can Ben. I was checking out with the groceries and turned around when I heard my name.....

Good old Ben. Started off his day right, obviously. Conquered the claw. He quickly pointed out that "SOMEONE told me it was rigged.....";) Kate immediately started crying because she wanted the butterfly. Ben jumped to her rescue and I plunked out another four quarters.

No luck on the butterfly. But Ben was still happy. His new friend was promptly named Jacob. And I was informed that "Jacob has skillz. Skillz to pay the billz." Now If that's the case, Jacob can stick around as long as he would like. And maybe he has a few friends?! 

SISSIES

These two girls L.O.V.E. taking selfies together.....❤️

DEER

In the Pinery, we love our deer. Well, we love them as long as they aren't pooping in our yard. There are a ton of them and they are pretty used to people. So much so that they "watch" us through our windows. It makes the dog craaaaazy. We have neighbor's who feed them, but we have never. We just talk rudely about them and how they are nuts and endangering all of us. Then this happened the other day at our friends house. We became one of "those" people.....

SUNRISE

I love when Ben comes and grabs my phone first thing in the morning because it means he is loving the sunrise of the day. Here is the latest picture:

SNOW DAY

Tuesday was our THIRD snow day this year! Ben wore his pajamas inside out the night before and did something with a frozen spoon, hoping to seal the deal. When it worked, they were really excited. Chris had a "snow day" too so he and Liv skied for the day. The other kids played outside and I had a warm cozy day by the fire.

HILARIOUS

I completely love my children. They are so unbelievably funny! I just found a bunch of notes I had written of funny things I overheard them say. Here goes......

Nick: Mom, Ben's trying to bite me.
Ben: No. I'm not. I'm just tickling him with my teeth.




Ben: Nick is the WORST wiper EVER! I have poop in my pants.




When we first moved here, Chris and I desperately needed a little date. Without kids. So we took them to some random drop-in daycare. And they have never forgotten it. Probably two years later....

Ben: You dropping us off at the daycare or what?!
Nick: Olivia might find her true love at the daycare......he may be hovering around age five tho...
Olivia: YOU ARE TAKING ME TO DAYCARE????




Ben and I were teasing each other about our lunch choices and he said, "Mom, you are an awful woman."



Me: Ben, put that food in the sink.
Ben: It will clog it.
Me: Then put it in the garbage if you'd rather.
Ben: I would RATHER throw it at you......



Nick was bugging Olivia, and she told him to "GET OUT OF HERE!" He quickly responded
with, "I LIVE here......"



One of the cutest thing Ben says is "Wa-WA!" He means to say "Wa-La!" like a magician but never says it right.



The kids love "The Singing Cactus" restaurant, a Mexican place in town. It actually has a completely different name but they nicknamed it after the very entertaining singing cactus out front of the establishment. Why do they love it? "They have the BEST chicken nuggets and fries on earth!"



Ben copies a lot of commercials these days. Today he was asking, "Did anyone order a little kick butt?" from a Nickelodeon advertisement. The other day he was singing, "Nationwide is on your side....." all around the house.



While on a trash pick-up project for Cub Scouts, Ben came tearing out of the trees screaming, "Victory is MINE! I found a dollar bill!!" As he waved his hand widely, I noticed a zero. It was actually a $10! The big kids couldn't stand it.

And Ben could hardly stand to wait till the next day to spend it. When I asked him, "What are you going to buy? A game? A puzzle?" He responded with " A weapon."And a weapon it was, a big white noise-making gun that lights up and shakes. At first we couldn't find a price tag and Ben was chanting "Please my money, please my money" over and over. Then we saw it. Clearance price? $10. Ben let out a "Yes!" and a fist pump, and grabbed his new gun.



Ben: "MOM! MOM! Come quick! Get your phone! We gotta order this! Have you passed 18? Cuz you have to be 18 or older to order....."

KISS

Nick: I will let you go if you will give me a really, really really long kiss.

Kate: Then can we wrestle and you will not do this to me and my bunny?

Nick: Yes. But it has to be a really, really, really long kiss.

Kate: Let me think about it...........................................hmmm.......... No.

Nick: Then I will never let you go. 

(Torture begins.)