at least they're funny

it's not easy to raise kids, but at least they're funny. here are some funny stories:

maria had a check-up yesterday. she knew she was going to have shots. before her appointment she was pacing around the house saying, "i don't want to have shots. it's so saturating!" i said, "do you mean frustrating?" "it's so frustrating," she continued.

i love what hudson says when he want us to move or scoot. for example, we will be at church sitting on a bench and hudson will want to sit where i am sitting so he says, "moob! scoop!"

a few weeks ago hudson was holding libby. he gave her a hug, kissed her on the forehead then said, "i wub you." so sweet!

these pictures are of maria and her "glasses". just out of the blue one day she said, "ugh, my contacts are bothering me. i'm going to take out my contacts." she came back wearing these:

in the middle picture she is saying, "i can't see! i can't see!" because she took her glasses off for a minute. she wears her glasses now and then.

right now the kids are in their room, supposed to be sleeping! i tried to get them to take naps this afternoon but they didn't surrender. then i went to the store and they were really whiney and ornery so i put them back in their room for a short nap before dinner. boy, are they being stubborn. maria said she is tired of being in her room so i said, "maybe you should just take a nap so you can get out." i am not exaggerating when i say that i heard silence for fifteen seconds and then, "mom, i just woke up. i slept." i keep trying to tell her that i know when she's been sleeping or not. so then she tried something new. "mom," i hear from her, "i can't survive in my room. i can't survive in my room without food." nice try.

another mystery solved

every summer i fight an epic battle with the ants. i hate the ants, i mean really hate the ants. i want them to die, die, die. this year has been particularly bad. it's really hard to keep the floors in pristine condition when you have three kids to take care of, or is that just me?

these pictures, however, could explain part of my problem:

someone has been feeding the ants!

and yes, it was maria who, since she's been about two-years-old, has considered the ants her "friends".

truth be told i actually blame ethan for this particular incident. a few days before this happened he and the kids saw a bunch of ants on our sidewalk. ethan thought it would be fun to gather some different kinds of food and see which ones the ants like best. turns out they love cheese. i think maria was just trying to recreate this experiment in the house. we had a discussion about how feeding the ants in the house on purpose is not okay.

another day i had to discuss the fact that it is not okay to try to kill ants by covering them with yogurt . . .

one of those days

here's a list of some of the things that have happened today (all happened before noon):

• maria spilled her cereal all over the floor and herself.
• about a half-hour later hudson also spilled his cereal all over the floor and himself.
• hudson took libby's diaper off of her while she was in her bed and she peed all over her blankets.
• one of the kids (i will not name names) threw a major tantrum including kicking, screaming (the banshee kind) and hitting when i asked them to make their bed.
• i watched all our money fly away as i payed the bills.
• i stepped on gum in the parking lot.

i am really looking forward to nap time.

bear lake pictures

finally, here are some bear lake pictures.

cousin cole pulling maria and hudson in the raft.

cute little beach babe. she really liked the water.

hudson was ready for a hike through the cave which we didn't end up doing because the wait to get in was so long, but he still looked cool.

cousin jenna and hudson. i love this picture.

this was at maria's birthday dinner. we had just finished the fried ice cream and hudson sat there, almost in a trance, with his tongue going around and around his spoon.

maria, libby, cousin sarah and cousin maddi.

hudson really liked when we had pancakes and sausage for breakfast.

bear lake

this is my favorite bear lake picture.  i don't have a lot of time right now so i will post more pictures later but i really wanted to get this picture posted because it is so cute!

ethan says she's a "babe".  i sure think she was the cutest thing on the beach that day.

maria is five!

we just got back from a fun weekend at bear lake!  we left with a four-year-old and came back with a five-year-old.  maria didn't mind in the slightest that we happened to be at bear lake for a family gathering during her birthday - what kid wouldn't like a birthday at the beach in a cabin with all her cousins and some aunts and uncles and grandparents?  

"i'm five now!"

what a beautiful five-year-old.

we took maria to cafe sabor in garden city for her birthday dinner.  they gave her fried ice cream for her birthday.  that scoop of ice cream was as big as her head!  after the waiter sat it in front of her she said thoughtfully, "uh, i think i can eat this by myself."  i said, "i don't think so!" we all enjoyed it.  it was delicious!

ready to be five.

i will post more bear lake pictures within the next couple of days.  we had so much fun!

funny buddy

today while driving in a hot van i suddenly heard from the backseat:

hudson (sounding bewildered):  mom, my hair is wet!  mom, my hair is wet!

mom (trying not to laugh):  hudson, you're just sweating.

hudson (still bewildered):  mom?  mom?  my hair is wet!  my hair is wet!  and my neck, too!

mom (laughing):  it's okay, bud.

when hudson wants me to tuck him in at night he says, "mom, will you buckle me?"

one of my most favorite things is that hudson calls his grandpa hawkins "bawkins".  and not even "grandpa bawkins" but just "bawkins".  it's like this:  "hi, bawkins!"  or "bye, bawkins!"  i love it.