CHEESE!

Loose Tooth!

Miles was SO excited to discover his loose tooth last night (definitely on par with a trip to Disney)! I let him select his favorite of 3 pewter tooth-holders that my mom bought for the boys. He selected a frog with a fairy (a boy fairy, mind you) on the back. He was very excited about it (which of course got Noah excited about using his someday).

True to form, Miles mentions in this video that he 'hopes the tooth fairy is a boy'. Hilarious!

Noah B - Back at School!

Noah's favorite part of his first day? One of his teacher's names is "Ms Dana". He thinks its awesome to have a teacher named after his super-fun aunt. Cool!

Guess Who's the Slow Poke?!

We picked up these cool, old-school sneakers for Miles last night. They'll suit him well for school and the 1-mile run required of kindergarten kids in September (yikes!).



With shoes on the brain this morning, Miles and I had the following conversation.
- Me: Hey Miles, after breakfast we should all go outside and run around in the backyard. You could wear your new sneaks. We could have family races!
- Miles: That doesn't sound like fun. Daddy is really fast. He would win.
- Me: Huh. Well, maybe the adults could walk and the kids could run. That could be fun!
- Miles: That sounds like a good idea. But Mom, you could run.

Nice. Apparently I've let the kids win too many times. Look out, boys, mommy just might start getting competitive!

Feline Fright!

Griffin loves to 'ride bikes' so Miles & Noah & I took him outside to play.


Miles launched Griffin off and Noah positioned himself at the end of the sidewalk to greet him there.


As Noah waited, I positioned my camera to catch a cute picture of him greeting Griffin. Instead, Noah turned slightly and saw a neighborhood cat approaching. He let out a blood-curdling scream and leaped into the air. It lasted a fraction of a second and I can't believe I got a picture of it. I laughed out loud watching his shift of emotion from gleeful anticipation to feline fright (sorry, Noah)!



Miles immediately ran over to Noah and said, "Noah, its just a cat. You don't need to be afraid! Come with me, I'll show you." The held a united front until the cat scrambled away. Now that's brotherly love!

Shopping Trip for Seven!

With two adults and five kids (ages 5 and under) our outlet shopping trip could have been disastrous --- but instead it was a great success! The boys got to play with some of their favorite friends and Trish and I snatched up some great deals.

We had one close call when I caught Miles and Noah, wide-eyed in a furniture store, plotting to race each other by jumping from couch-to-couch. Needless to say, we quickly escaped to the food court and playground.


I love Jack's smile as he watches Ella hang from the bar.


While Trish took her turn shopping solo, I let Jack throw sand. Relaxing the rules is what godmothers are for, right? :)


The older kids found a shady spot and played in the sand. Not the best sand for castles, but still lots of fun!


The boys improvised and used their crocs as shovels. Doesn't Noah look like he's 'heading in ready to take care of business'?


If Griff was able to talk, I think he may have said, "I'm feeling sticky from the gummy worm Miles just slipped me, extra sandy because of all of my candy slobber, and hot-hot-hot. I'm not getting the appeal of this playground."


On the other hand, Noah yelled out, "I love this place!" (Perfect! We'll be sure to do this again!)

Let This Be Me!

Yesterday night, during rush hour, while in my minivan, with my three boys, singing along to children's music, I pulled up to a traffic light...looked up...and saw this amazing sight:



My first thought? This woman is a rock star! She MUST have a zest for life and MUST be busting at the seams with passion. In 50 years, I want this to be ME! (Want to join me?)

Haenni Time!

Nothing compares to time spent with special friends...and we enjoyed every minute with the Haenni's tonight. The kids have been a constant in each others' lives from the start and are so cute (and rambunctious!) together.



Kathryn's eyes speak volumes...she is an amazing little girl -- one of my favorites!



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Kathryn taught Miles how to do a flip on the play-set bar, all of the kids had fun on the slide, and Griffin ate his dinner in a little chair (for the 1st time!). Awesome!




The kids enjoyed a little hopscotch...Miles decided to "just watch" since the hopscotch numbers weren't set up in order. That's my Miles. :)




This was Austin's "funniest-face-ever". Funny indeed!



Austin looks deep in thought, doesn't he? I'm sure he was just preparing to trample down the slide. Definitely all boy!...LOVE him! :)

Jack is 3!

Our sweet godson, Jack, turned 3 on August 2nd and we all celebrated the big event at his Pirate Pool Party. Jack was so excited for his party and the kids had so much fun playing on the slide and eating his yummy pirate cake!

You can see Trish's pictures (including Griff in a pirate bandanna!) at: http://picasaweb.google.com/redish76/JackSPirateBirthdayParty




Miles and Noah had so much fun that they continued to "play pirates" until they went to bed that night. Miles named himself "Captain Sweet Tooth" and immediately gave Noah the name "Captain Helper" (then he handed him a Swiffer and told him to 'swap the deck!'). Both boys woke up the next day saying that they want their next birthday to be pirate themed --- certainly the sign of a great party!

US National Whitewater Center

With one day left of our vacation, we decided to check out the US National Whitewater Center. What an amazing place for active fun! This nearby Olympic training spot offers zip lines, hiking & biking trails, rafting, kayaking and rock climbing. Miles and Noah both said that they 'can't wait to grow bigger' so that they can raft themselves. (Miles also added that he'd like to come back when its 'much cooler'.)



It was so much fun to watch the rafters go by!


There is a kid-sized "boulder garden" for the kids. Miles & Noah loved it!


Mike was anxious to try to the adult rock-climbing course. This will certainly be a great date-destination!

Our Beach Week: the Moments In-Between

We spent so much time at the beach and the pool each day that its hard to believe we had time for anything else...but we squeezed in so much more!




Miles and Noah appeared to be preparing for an endurance coloring event. Anytime there was a moment of downtime, they leaped to the table and got to work.


We introduced the kids-free Schuberts to Noggin. Jason immediately whipped up this Sportacus-style mustache for Lindsey. Work it, girl.


These three amigos hunkered down and completed a 500-piece puzzle in just over 2 hours. Impressive start to the day!



Turns out Uncle Jason still carries a torch for the ninja turtles. He created costumes and story lines all week (here Jason and Noah are fighting bad guys on the deck....this was a reward for Noah finishing his dinner -- nice touch!)




A large collection of my dad's photographs from Ghana were showcased at The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum. His photographs are amazing -- he has a way of capturing people's eyes and facial expressions -- its as if you can see their souls. We are all so proud of him and are excited that his work was shared with so many.




Rock Band was an all-around favorite. Miles loved it almost as much as Gram did!



My dad just got back from a trip to China. He arrived at the beach bearing gifts for everyone...and the boys could not have been more excited. During prayer-time that night, Miles said that it was his favorite part of the day. The next morning Noah said, "Mommy, I want Pop to go to China all the time...so that he can keep brining us presents."



We had an early birthday celebration for Lindsey. Dig in, Noah!


Could my sisters be any cuter?....



......or these boys?