Go Browns!! (say Mike and Carter)

On Sunday Mike got the opportunity to take Carter to a Browns game.  He was so excited when Mike told him, he started a countdown, asked daily when he was going and told everyone he knew.

Ha ha, I just had to laugh at this one, Mike looks so confused about how to take a selfie.

Carter had a great time.  He was so excited because Mike bought him a "really expensive" hat.  He loved getting shirley temples and pizza.

It looks like the boys had a great time!

At one point during this day I told Dawson the Browns were losing.  He said under his breath "the Browns are the worst!"  I looked at him smiling and he said "I almost said that!"  

Bowling Party Fun!

This weekend I took Ava and Dawson to a bowling party, while Carter went with Mike to the Browns Game.  For some reason I always forget how much fun they have bowling, I'm going to have to remember it when we are all feeling the cabin fever that we will inevitably be feeling.

Ava is a surprisingly good little bowler.  She enjoys it too!  

Dawson invented his own technique:  sit down on the floor and roll the ball as hard as you can.  When you get a little bigger and stronger we will teach you an easier way!

Dawson won a prize with Meme's FUN money.  She gives me quarters for horsey money, gumball machines and game machines.  Thank you so much!

Crazy Week

Well, it's been a crazy week as we all know.  I'm so thankful for my little guys, they have helped me to smile and have fun in spite of everything else going on.  Here are some of these little moments that have brought a smile to my face. 

Recently I had gotten out of the shower and put on a little perfume.  I was cuddling this silly little face and he told me, "Mommy, you smell really good today.  You must have used soap today in the shower."  Ha!   Point of fact: I do use soap during every shower.

He is holding a helicopter lego toy that he recently picked out in this picture.  Then he told me that I made his dreams come true.  Glad I could make your dreams come true!

We finally had family pictures taken.  I haven't paid someone to take pictures of our family since Carter was a baby, we've just taken pictures on a tripod.  I'm so excited to see how they come out.

We stopped by a state park where the boy scouts will be camping in a few weeks.  It was beautiful and the kids had fun exploring the grounds.  

Ava wrote this during church this morning, so sweet.

This cracked me up, Ava wrote at the bottom: Help others that need it!  Then the man with his hands up is saying:  Help!  I'm poor!

Yet another Ava note that made me chuckle.  She was brushing her teeth and Dawson wanted to put his toothbrush away in the cup.  She elbowed him as he moved between her and the wall.  I had a talk with her and this is the note she wrote to him:  I am sorry for wut I bun.  I love you Dawson!  I am mor srey!  

And to be filed under things I never thought I'd say until I became a mother:

Why is there underwear on the chandelier again?

(The kids throw their laundry over the balcony for me to wash and every couple of months it seems like a pair of underwear ends up on the chandelier.)

Whirlwind

It was a whirlwind weekend.  We spent one night with Aunt Margie and family, although the kids wished it could have been longer.

Riley is also obsessed with Harry Potter, so the kids had a Chamber of Secrets viewing party.

Also, gillie suit party!

The girls needed pictures too!  What gorgeous girls they are both becoming, inside and out!

We then went to Cincinnati for the day (Saturday), drove home that night, got up early for church and then in the afternoon Daddy took Carter to a pack meeting.  I had to get a picture because Daddy is now the Outdoor Activities Coordinator, so he gets to wear a sweet uniform as well.  I'm still the den leader, but one of us needs to stay home with the other two. 

I think I need a break from my weekend!   

Weekend Fun

This weekend Grandma and Bo came to visit so they could watch the kids in their activities right now:  Carter is playing flag football while Dawson and Ava are enjoying gymnastics.  I asked the kids if there was anything they wanted to do this weekend and Carter immediately responded with ice skating!

Everyone else was in agreement, so off we went!

Doc and Bo

Dawson is a fast little skater!  He prefers to skate with the cone or holding onto someone's hand.

Ava had a little fearful initially but by the end of our time she was skating around normally.  

And of course it was tough finding pictures of Carter skating because the kid is whizzing around the rink and I barely saw him most of the time.

After our skating time was over, they enjoy watching the Zamboni and even got to watch the hockey team practice for a minute.

I love watching the kiddos growing and enjoying new activities!

Playground Silliness

This week I dropped Carter off at football practice and walked the other two over to the playground.  They make me laugh so hard, and this day was no exception.  

Ava brought her baby doll to the park to enjoy the sunny weather.  She loved the swing!

But Ava somehow squeezed herself into the baby swing to enjoy it with her doll.  

Monkey see, monkey do.  They look so huge in these swings!  Thankfully the park was empty so there were no other children (or babies) looking to use these swings.  They lost interest pretty quickly because they couldn't swing very well, but it was silly fun!

Columbus Fun!

For labor day weekend we went to Columbus to visit Uncle Patrick and Sara.  We had the best time with them, and it was so nice to see them!  We also went to the zoo because Ava has been missing her giraffes.

Carter was so puny, he saw the chickens in the coop and said "Those chickens look so cooped up!"

It was also pretty cool because they were able to brush the goats and pet them.  In our zoo they are behind a fence.

Sara and Ava loved the goats!  We should have gotten Sara a goat for her birthday!

Dawson needed to take the train, still a huge thrill in his book.

Meme and Bob Bob and their grandchildren

As you can see the sugar rush from Ava's cherry ice has kicked in!

Dawson was also telling jokes:  Mom, do polar bears eat hot hot dogs or cold hot dogs?  

Well, they don't eat hot dogs at all, Dawson.

Mom, it was a joke!

Camel rides, fun for all!

Thanks Daddy for taking Dawson on the camel ride!

Secretly Brendan loved the camel ride.

Ava's giraffes! 

Then off to dinner with shark fingers

and crab painting

Carter loved his life straw.  Thanks so much Meme and Bob Bob.  So far, we've only tested it in water from the tap, so it's worked great!  

Thank you everyone for the great weekend, we had a great time seeing everybody!

So Much Miscellaneous

All right, a big jumble of miscellaneous pictures and stories that have been hanging out in my phone for awhile and I wanted to get down.

For his birthday a neighbor friend got Carter a real army helmet.  As you can imagine there has been a lot of army play going on around here.  (In this picture Carter was sweeping for mines.)

Here is Carter running across the field for youth football night.  Unfortunately I couldn't find a really good spot to take a picture of the polar bear head but we still had a fun family night together.

We also finished up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and had our family book night together.  Carter and Ava made "magic wands" and dipped pretzel sticks into chocolate and topped with sprinkles.   Haha, caught Carter taking a taste test!

Snuggling on the couch watching the Chamber of Secrets

During dinner we talked about which house we would belong to at Hogwarts.  Ava and Carter choose gryffindor but Dawson choose slytherin.  I guess that's really not too far from the truth!    

At the end of July we saw my Uncle and cousin performing at a concert and they have been playing rock band ever since.  Here is Carter's first stab at writing a song:

It is dark (pause) Home

Start Side BEEEEP Summer

Awesome

heel heel heel

It is dark (pause) Home

Wow, very deep my little songwriter.  I don't even think I know what you are talking about!

So, all the time in the basement:  this.  Lots and lots of rock band.

Miles of Smiles

Dawson has really been enjoying his new preschool, and every day he comes skipping over to me with a big smile on his face.

I decided to take some pictures of this adorableness.  He is so excited to see me and he always has so many important stories to share.  It seems like such a small moment, but it puts a smile on my face every time I see him and it's definitely one of the little things I want to remember in the future. 

During his one full week at school (four days) he ran into either his brother or sister every day!  He really likes seeing his siblings at school.

Wow!  His feet aren't even touching the ground!

Hi Buddy!  I'm so excited to see you too!

Not a Morning Person

Ava had a rough time waking up this morning, she spent at least fifteen minutes with her head on the table before she started to eat her breakfast.  She also asked me if she could have a snow day yet.  Sorry kiddo, it's only September! I really hope we don't have any snow days soon!

But no worries, she perked up pretty quickly and ran out the door with a smile on her face.