the zoo and the rain

We have been having a great time with our friend Bob, who is here from New York. But before I catch you up on all of our adventures, here are some pictures from the past week or two. . . we visited the zoo on the first cool day of the year (well, maybe COOL is the wrong word. .. less-hot would be more appropriate) So we had a GREAT time, and enjoyed the nice weather. Then, it got a little (well a LOT) rainy, and I let Bryce play in the rain for a little while, which of course he TOTALLY LOVED!!!!

And super big thanks to everyone who voted for me, in the stamp contest. . . .I made it to Round 3!!!!!! Voting will start again on Monday! :)

if i beg and plead. . .

will you vote for me again!? I made it to Round 2 of that scrapbooking/stamping contest. Voting is open from 12:00MST Monday - 12:00MST on Thursday. The layouts should be up on the contest blog shortly, but mine is already up on MY blog if you'd like to see it now!

www.stampcontest.blogspot.com

Thanks everybody!!!
XXOXOXO

aunt B's visit

Finally, here are some pictures from our visit last week with Sabrina (adoringly known as Aunt B to the kiddos) We had lunch at the "outside mall" and then went to visit with the ducks and fish at the pond. (As well as went took a ride on the pelican fountains!)

Aunt B showed all the kids how to throw a coin over their shoulders and make a wish. Bryce just chucked his. Jillian attempted to hold her coin behind her head, but I'm not sure it ever made it out of her fingers!
Sabrina was such a sport, playing the usual Legos, racecars, and assorted games of Bryce's choice. He is excellent at politely demanding the attention of our guests and visitors. "Come on Aunt B. You drive this one and I will drive that one. Nooooo, Aunt B. . .like THIS." :) Thanks for coming to visit us Sabrina!!! Come back soon!!! XOXOXO

vote for me!!!

Okay, so I will spare you the long-winded story about this silly contest I entered, but I am in a scrapbooking contest and if you want all the details, you can look at my blog. . .

but in the meantime, will you go vote for me PLEASE!!??? (my name there is lauralooloo) and you can vote as many times as you want, from Monday at 12:00 MST through Thurday at 12:00 MST.

http://stampcontest.blogspot.com/

THANKS!!!! OXOXO

sabrina's photo shoot

sabrina (Aunt B) was here this week, and we had SO much fun. i really could have used another two or three or twelve days with her!!!! i needed a new photo of myself, so that i can finally update my profile photo, and have a decent headshot. . . .so we went out and played. here are just a few fun ones. and watch for my new profile photo SOON! we love you Aunt B!!!!

It has begun . . . .

September has hit, and my brain has begun its seasonal overtime, pondering ideas about Halloween costumes, birthday parties, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, and all the celebrations packed into October through December in this lovely little household.

So here's the progress we've made so far. . . .
Bryce's Halloween costume, (or something remotely based upon this) can be seen HERE
(and by the way, i LOVE that website. . .for all things kid and family friendly!!!)

And yesterday, Bryce has begun the following Christmas list . . .
-a robot with a ray gun and a space shuttle. (hows THAT for specific, santa? I'd like to see you make THAT happen!)
-two stuffed animal camels (I guess the one he already owns needs some more friends of his own kind)
-new books (because apparently the weekly trips to the library just aren't doin' it for him anymore)

Mr. Sassy-pants

Mommy and Daddy have had QUITE enough of Mr. Sassy-pants and his big bad attitude. Today I printed out one of these and we are becoming a sticker chart society around here. Stickers for good choices, and for using self control. (Self-control would be something like, saying "No Mommy, I would not like Cheerios for breakfast, I would prefer Rice Krispies instead," rather than throwing oneself down on the ground screaming, "NO!NO!NO! I don't want that. I'm not your friend anymore!") I hope to report LOTS of stickers on the new sticker chart, soon!

here ya go.

just so you can all stop complaining. :) here are some pictures of bryce in the pool a few weeks ago. yes - weeks. i haven't been doing very well taking pictures lately!! but wait - there's more. allow me to entertain you with what Bryce said today. First he was on the phone with Doobie, and told him that he needed to make Lizzie and Gigi stop shopping. (Which we all know is NOT going to happen.) Doobie told him that he couldn't get them to stop. And Bryce said. . ..are you ready for this? "Well when I tell people to stop, they listen." Wow. Seriously? So funny.

So have a happy Labor Day, and I will be back in a week or so - if you're lucky. With more pictures :) tee hee!!! (Bad Laura, Bad!!!) XOXOXO

Guess WHAT?!

it's still raining. we haven't been past our doorstep, since tuesday i think. yes. today is friday. it has been raining basically non-stop for two days. it has been ridiculously windy. for two days. we're getting a bit stir crazy. just a bit.

Hey Fay!

In case you were wondering, we are doing just fine over here in the midst of Tropical Storm Fay. Granted, I don't think we have seen the worst of it yet, but we took a quick moment when things were quiet outside to snap a few pictures for you!!! :) Bryce looks classy in his boots and no shirt, doesn't he??

Happy Birthday Lizzie!!

Saturday is little miss Lizzie's 18th birthday!! Here are a few pictures taken this week of our favorite girl!!!! She will be enjoying her birthday driving to and from, and playing in a soccer tournament all day. Sniff sniff, we'll miss you on your big day sweetie!!! WE LOVE YOU LIZZIE!!!!! XOXO

no photos for this one . ..

bryce took a big sniff of the ground beef i am cooking for our sloppy joes tonight. . .and he said "Whats that mell?? (smell) It mells like the puppies at that puppy tore. (store)"

Lovely. my dinner smells like puppies. I dont know if i should be afraid, or horrified . . .or both!

:)

more from a few weeks ago. . .

since i haven't been taking pictures, and since i haven't been blogging. . . here are a few from a few weeks ago. i will take photos this week. i will. its my goal. i promise.

so what is bryce up to these days? he is having a blast with a giant cardboard box in the living room. he carries a stuffed animal with him everywhere he goes (and sometimes two or three.) his meals of choice are cheese quesadillas, peanut butter and jelly (but NOT crunchy peanut butter!), or chicken. he still can't pronounce the s-consonant sound. . .so "scoop" sounds like "Toop" and "stop" sounds like "TOP". It is actually QUITE adorable and I am in no hurry for him to get it right :) So thats whats new with the B-man. Oh, and he is collecting post cards. So feel free to send him some mail if you'd like!!! We are tucking them into the slats on his bunk bed, so he can look at them while he goes to sleep at night. Some of the more interesting ones we have accumulated have of course come from nancy. . ..like the one with the hippopotomus statue, and the UFOs flying over St. Louis. (Where does she find this stuff???!)

family photo at church

Sweet Beth from the church emailed this to us last night, taken a few weeks ago at church. Cute, cute - huh!? We have been working hard over there, and lots of great stuff has been getting accomplished. The building needs quite a bit of work, but people are really fired up to get things cleaned up and some renovations done. Bryce and I have made the nursery/"big kid room" our mission . . .there really wasn't much to it, and what was there was either 20 years old, broken, or disgusting. . .Remember, Bryce is the only child right now, and no one has been using that room for quite some time! It's all cleaned out now though, and just needs some new toys and some fun stuff on the walls and bulletin board!! (Oh, and perhaps some more CHILDREN!!!!) Right now we are functioning under the principle of "If we build it (or fix it or make it functional and pretty) they will come!!!"

bryce and his pal, the sprinkler

just a few pics from a couple of weeks ago, that i finally got uploaded and edited for ya!!! enjoy!!

XOXOX

bug-eyed monkey boy

the weekend that poppy came to visit. . .

the day that bryce knew that Poppy was FINALLY coming to visit, Bryce pooped out on his hall floor, with his sleeping bag and a pile of stuffed animals. This was the first time that Bryce has EVER just fallen ASLEEP somewhere (other than his bed!) He RARELY takes a nap anymore, so this was a HUGE surprise. Then Poppy came, and we spent a wonderful morning at the zoo on Monday. We saw the giraffes up close, and tried to pet the sting rays. Bryce even had time to play in the splash park for a little while. Apparently the zoo trip was just too much for him, so after Poppy left to head home, here's where I found Bryce during Quiet Time. . . .passed out again, in his hallway!!! So stinkin' cute!!!

stay tuned . . .

for a new banner.
i hope.

ETA: okay. .. .whatcha think???

Flags, sticks, and watermelon stars

Heart be still. . . .is that really a photograph of two moms AND three kids, and everyone is basically looking at the camera? A MIRACLE I tell you! We had some friends over for the 4th, and the kiddos had fun parading around in the front yard, and trying to make their usual mischief together. Eric cooked hamburgers on the grill, and we made watermelon popscicles. . ..so seriously fun and easy. (recipe below!) Before Eric and I headed to bed that night, I walked by the front window, and realized that we could see fireworks over the rooftops of our neighborhood, way in the distance! So although we hadn't planned to see the fireworks, we got to see some after all! Hooray! Hope you had a fun Forth of July!

Watermelon popscicles. . . .Just slice watermelon (about an inch thick) and cut a star with a cookie cutter. Stick a popscicle stick in it, and freeze it for about an hour. Ta-Dahhh!

Happy 4th of July!

Wooohoo! Two posts in two days!!! It's a Fourth of July miracle!!!! We are all ready for the big day: hamburgers, corn on the cob, 4th of July decorations, flags out in the garden, sparklers, and our Snoopy Snowcone Maker all ready to go! Sounds like perfection to me! Have a great day! I'll try to be back AGAIN tomorrow, with pictures from patriotic partying! XOXOXO