More Than Meets The Eye

Kaden: Mommy, did you know that your eye is a little red?

Me: I know. I have a little eye infection.

A huge smile spreads across his face.

Kaden: That's so cool! You look like a Decepticon!

It's really hard...

...to potty train the Littlest One when he can't sit on the potty for more than 2 seconds before he's wondering what the big boys are up to.

Why God Gave Moms Eyes in the Back of their Heads

On Thursday morning...I found Ry hiding under the bed at my mom's. He had found 4 pieces of rich chocolate and eaten them all.

On Friday morning...I found Ry hiding under the kitchen table. He had my purse with him, found my gum and had chewed 4 pieces of gum...with the wrappers on.

On Sunday morning...we found Ry hiding quietly in a corner of the cabin. He had a container of children's Tums and had eaten 1/3 of the all the tablets. Poison Control was called and he was fine.

Today...I found Ry hiding under the kitchen table. He had managed to find his brother's leftover Valentine candy and decided to finish it off for them.

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a few more photos of Trouble up to no good...

As I walked into the kitchen the other day, I found him smooching the honey bear.

Here he is helping himself to a nice, chilled, refreshing beverage.

Still waiting on my computer, a new camera...and for health to be restored to the Vollmer family again.

I'm coming back...I promise!

I'm Coming Back...

With a broken computer and a broken camera it's made blogging a little difficult.
But I'm determined to try and keep the stories and pictures updated.

See you in 2010!

Summer Reflections

I have not been a very good blogger this summer. It's been intentional, actually. We've had such a fun time playing the past few months as a family that I really haven't wanted to devote much time to technology.

Today was the first day of school for Zachary, which marks the beginning of whole new season for us. It got me thinking about what a great change of pace the past few months were for us.

We...

spent a few weekends at Grandpa's cabin,

celebrated Justin & Rachel's wedding,
went to the zoo,

went to NW Trek,

went hiking,

had a scavenger hunt at our local beach,

had lots of picnics at our local beach,

blew bubbles,

played with silly string,

played with water balloons,

had a family water gun fight,

tried new bike and stroller trails,

played on Kaanapali Beach in Hawaii for 2 weeks,

went to YL camp for 1 week,

picked flowers,

picked berries,

went to the Children's Museum,

ate over 100 otter pops,

had play dates,

went to free morning movies,

went to lots of parks around town,

grew pumpkins, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, peas and thousands of zucchini,

chased butterflies, and

had tons of family movie nights.

But more importantly we just slowed down. We...

read books (and not just Harry the Dirty Dog, but interesting adult books, too),

watched lots of morning cartoons,

stayed in our jammies till 10:00,

savored full, warm cups of coffee without having to re-heat them two or three times,

had dinner as a family most nights,

spent hours at the table coloring millions and millions of pictures, and

didn't worry too much about being in bed right on time.

It was a good summer. I don't know that I'm feeling too ready for the get-up-and-go (and go and go...) pace of the school year but I'm thankful for the seasons and how they offer us something new and fresh to look forward to. For today, I'm just thankful for a really terrific summer and hopeful for a really fantastic fall.

Beach Boys

We had a wonderful family adventure in Maui.

15 simple days filled with beach, pool, family dinners, family game nights, family movie nights and early bedtimes.

What a gift!

I love what an adventure family trips are with boys.

Here are some thoughts about the beach from my boys' perspectives (according to Mommy)...

The sand and water are a perfect place to practice my ninja moves. This is kind of a dream come true...I can do kart wheels, flips and kicks and always have a soft landing.

Sand is kind of like mud, so it's it's part of the experience to get it caked in my hair and my body to be covered in it every. single. time. I go the beach. Don't bother trying to keep me clean. It won't work.

The beach is not much of an adventure without the threat of bad guys, so I will be yelling "Shark!" and "Alligator!" every time I hurl my body into the waves.

Mommy, when I say "Come swim with me," I don't mean come take a nice dip in the water with your hat and sunglasses on. What I mean is, roll around in the sand and actually put your head under water. Sheesh! What's the big deal?

Can you fill this bucket with wa-wa? Again? More please? More please? Again? More please?...

I will not stop running, jumping, splashing or building for a second. Chilling out is just not in my

vocabulary.

Silly Mommy. See that book you brought in your beach bag? I have way too much planned to keep you busy...don't expect to read that.