Today it was his turn

Here he is on the first day of his last year of preschool.  It was old hat for us today and this little man was more than happy to start the routine again.  Of course it helps that he has the same teachers this year that he has had for the last two years.  Next year, when he starts Kindergarten, will be a lot different for him and much harder for me.  But we don't have to think about that now.  This year is going to be great!

We had a birthday last week (Miles, these pictures are for you)

Last week my little boy turned 11!  I guess that I really shouldn't call him my little boy anymore, but I am in denial that he is getting older.  We had a low-key birthday since it fell on the second day of school and we were busy, busy, busy.  Still, I think he had a good day.  (Sorry the pictures are so bad.  Between the horrible lighting in my dining area and the color of the walls, pictures don't stand a chance.)

 Giant birthday cupcake, which he was unfortunately too stuffed to even eat.  That's what I get for making a super tasty dinner with all of this boy's favorite things.  And when you never eat and can live off of a thimble full of food, it doesn't take much to fill your tummy.

 "Really, Mom?  It's a jar of pickles you say?  Alright!"

 Just kidding.  It's a card from the cousins.  Oh, how we miss the cousins.  Thanks guys!

 More Pokemon cards.  Apparently the love of Pokemon will never die.  No matter how badly I wish it would.

This boy just loves gum and his sister knows it.  She also just loves her brother, and her love is strong.  Happy 11 big guy.

First day of school

Fifth Grade and Third Grade

Love

Was this really 15 years ago?  It seems like yesterday.



I'm glad I married you my love.

In the backyard

The kids built a tepee

A different Perspective

Tiger has been quite sick this week and has therefore been left with the inability to cope with any disappointment that might come his way.  Basically he has been an emotional wreck.  Last night we were sitting around the table eating dinner and Sparky and I were getting ready to leave to do some school shopping.  Tiger immediately lost it because he wasn't able to go as well.  He was crying his poor little eyes out and could not be consoled.  Finally Doug had enough of the crying and told Tiger that he had to stop crying or he wasn't going to be allowed to do anything fun, meaning he wouldn't be allowed to secretly watch Pirates of the Caribbean after I left.  Tiger rubbed his eyes, and while still crying said, "I'm not crying, I'm sweating through my eyes."

Track Season

Once again Sparky ran track.

 Here he comes . . .

 and there he goes. 

 On a side note, his new tennis shoes (although slightly roomy on his feet) are the same size as my feet.

So, how do you really feel about it?

Tiger:  Where are you going momma?
Me:  I have a meeting at the church.
Tiger:  Do I have to go to the church?
Me:  No.
Tiger:  I get to stay home!  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  (yelled while waving his arms in the air and bouncing on the couch).

Summer of Fun - A trip to the zoo

Last week our cousins came up from Cincinnati to go to the zoo.  They are fun and we like them, so we decided to join them.  The day did not disappoint.

 

While in the Lorakeet house, Sparky worked so hard to get a bird to land on his arm.  It took awhile, but he was finally successful.

Thanks for a great outing guys, we'll have to do something fun again very soon.

Cuteness

I am sitting up in my room folding laundry (shocking I know).
Tiger is sitting on the couch playing Wii (of course)
Suddenly I hear him calling to me.
Me:  What is it Tiger?
Tiger:  Mom, did you know that I like you?

Summer of Fun continues- The State Fair

My kids have had an incredibly fun summer (at least in my opinion).  I feel like it has been non-stop fun and this past week has been no exception.  We haven't been to the fair since Sparky was a wee little spark and so we decided to not only go to the fair, but to do it up right.  My mom and brother-in-law Chad were kind enough to accompany us as well.  Fortunately the fair did not disappoint.  We saw horses, and sheep, and of course, chickens.

As you all know, my little man loves chickens.  Not only did he get to see chickens galore, but he was able to pet a couple in the poultry house.  He was one happy little man.

What would a trip to the fair be without the consumption of copious amounts of fried food?  Sadly my love was not able to accompany us on this day and so I sacrificed by eating a corn dog for him.

Giant slide

 This was my baby boy's very first ride and being the thrill seeker that he is, he chose the "roller coaster".

 KK and Grandma on the double Ferris Wheel.

 I was with Tiger for most of the rides and so I don't have pictures of the other kids.  Uncle Chad was kind enough to take them over to the big rides where there were more thrills and chills.  A million thanks Uncle Chad.

 Tiger riding a tractor through the little straw maze.

 Milking a "cow"

 Climbing the corn wall

Even though there was so much that we didn't get to see, we still had tons of fun.  We definitely need to go again next year. 

A recent little purchase

I recently purchased this little e-book in an effort to help me understand my camera a bit better. If any of you are in the same boat as me and you are bit overwhelmed at where to start when in comes to these amazing DSLR cameras, the I recommend checking this out. A professional photographer I am not, but I sure have fun trying.

http://kristendukephotography.com/?p=5138

A bunch of pictures from our trip to the farm

Not too far from our house, in one of the city's beautiful metroparks, there is an actual working farm run by volunteers that anyone can visit.  The great thing about this farm is that it is set in the 1880's.  How cool is that?   There is a house, a barn, several gardens, some pastures, and all sorts of farm animals.  The very best part of the farm, at least for Tiger, were the chickens.  The boy just loves to watch chickens.

He could have stayed here watching these chickens for hours.

A bit further down the path there is this quaint little gazebo that had old toys for the children.  Sparky immediately wanted to try out the stilts and KK headed for the hoop.  Doug and I were just happy to enjoy a quiet moment in the shade.

Outside of the farm house there was a hammock and a tree swing.  Here the kids decided to take a little "nap".

Tiger stuck in his "spider web".

After swinging we headed off to find some more animals and sure enough we found some sheep.  For the past couple of years Tiger has been scared to death of all animals.  I believe he is finally coming out of this fear because he actually touched the sheep and he thought is was hilarious.  He would stick out his little pointer finger, touch the sheep, and then he would just giggle.

Tiger also loves cows, which he calls bulldozers.  I don't know why he calls them bulldozers, but he does.  Lucky for us this little baby was born just a few weeks ago.

After touching animals, it's a good idea to wash your hands so we headed back to the house and cranked the water pump.

Grinding corn for the animals.

My sweet little Woo loves horses, but I think she was a bit surprised at how big they are up close.  She was a bit shy at first, but in the end I was able to get her to pet the horse.  She was one happy girl.

Here is the "farmer" walking two of the horses back to the barn after an afternoon of working the threshing machine in one of the pastures.

Baby chicks = giggles galore

Again, the love of the chickens

My Woo really fell in love with life in the 1880's.  She was ready to strap on a petticoat and a dress and head into the kitchen of the house.  She just thought that everything was so cool, especially when the kitchen ladies had the kids come and dig up some potatoes for a dish they were making.  This farm really was so cool.  Perhaps in the fall we'll head back again.  Maybe we'll get lucky and it will be slaughter day.