Last few days of Daycare for this school year...

As the school year winds down, so do my daycare duties. The kids and I are enjoying our last few days together.

Here is a recent shot of the "big boys" playing in the fort they have built at the end of the hallway.


And, the babies, (who are not allowed to go down the hallway and into the fort) blocked off by a toy box put into place by me per request of Jackson and Dawson.



Rainy days = playtime in the garage. Yippee!

Yard work with Dad.

Jackson loves to help dad with yard work. Whether it's trimming the bushes, raking leaves, or mowing the lawn, Jackson likes to be daddy's "little helper." Here are a few recent shots of the two of them working in the yard together last weekend. When they are finished, Jackson likes to have Jessica and I come out and see what they've done; he also likes to tell me about what they did while I'm looking at their accomplishments.




Grandma Chris and Grandpa Bob stopped by for a short visit while the boys were working outside. Of course Jessica wanted to be part of the action too. Here is a picture of her and Grandpa Bob.

Sunfish Days parade, May 2009.

We watched the Sunfish Days parade with a couple of friends this year. Jackson really enjoyed it, which was fun to see. Jessica napped through most of it, but seemed to enjoy the little she was awake for.

"Do fish drink water?"

Well, it's starting already...
Jackson is at that age where he is beginning to ask those puzzling questions parents dread the most...
Here are a few of the most recent "deep thoughts" conversations between Jackson and mommy:

* "Mom, how do airplanes fly?"
* "...but, how did Jessica come out of your tummy?"
* "How did dinosaurs die?"
* "...then what happened to them (dinosaurs) after they died?"
* "What happens to people after they die?"

Oh yes, those last few questions provoked me to give the "kid-friendly" description of heaven and hell. To which Jackson responded with a confused, yet interested facial expression, followed by lots of smiles and laughter (as pictured below)...
I took these pictures of our inquisitive little boy immediately after having the heaven/hell discussion.

Eating chocolate cookies in the car...not such a good idea, Mom!

There are times when a good snack comes in handy to quiet a couple of noisy kids in the car. Of course, the snacks of choice would be graham crackers, animal crackers, vanilla wafers (things that don't make much mess)...none of which I had with me on the twenty minute car ride home from the hell! The only food I had with at the time was a box of chocolate cookies.

My very hungry, very tired, and very fussy daughter was not about to "go down without a fight." Even Jackson, who was sitting in the carseat next to her said, "mom, make Jessica be quiet; she's scaring my ears!"

So, I was faced with the decision: Do I let Jessica continue to cry and make it a stressful ride home for Jackson and myself?
Or
Do I give in, and let her eat a few chocolate cookies in the car to keep her quiet?...




What can I say?...
Desperate times call for desperate measures.

These pictures don't really do it justice - she had chocolate all over her hair, we needed to change her entire outfit, and wash the carseat cover.

Jessica, May 16, 2009.

She's quite the wanderer, always on the move!




A common pose of Jessica's, as if to say, "what's that?" or "go get that, mommy."

Play-Doh + Dinosaurs = big trouble for mom and dad.

After my friend, Sarah, introduced our son to the idea he can make dinosaurs out of play-doh, he's been asking us to help him do this almost every night. So here's our third attempt...I think we are getting better at it...


For those of you "non-dino fans," pictured above from left to right is triceratops, stegosaurus, and T-rex (might have to use your imaginations just a bit).



Might I just add that attempts 1 and 2 were both followed with the response, "that's not how Sarah does it." According to the smile on Jackson's face, I think we may have finally gotten it "right"...third times a charm. :)

Storytime with Grandma Gundy.

Jackson loves stories! He enjoys being read to (he also likes to picture read some books on his own) and being told stories. Here are a few pictures of Jackson with his great-grandma Gunderson. They are reading a book about DINOSAURS...I know, shocking isn't it?

You know your computer is slow when...

you have time to put in a load of laundry, go to the bathroom, and tidy up the computer desk while you are waiting for it to boot up and log onto the Internet.

I took a moment to clear my browser's cache (something I've never done before), and it is seems to be running a bit faster now.

Aside from our lethargic computer problems, we seem to be having trouble opening hyperlinks. The result of any sort of an attempt is a frozen computer, which we then have to shut down and re-start up again...very frustrating!
So, I apologize for my lack of posts lately; a computer functioning in either slow or idle speed is one I cannot handle.

Jessica's ruptured ear drum has healed.

We received good news at Jessica's follow-up doctors visit; her ruptured ear drum has healed together nicely. It should not affect her hearing at all.
Thank goodness!

Outdoor fun with Jackson.

Riding bikes and playing hopscotch are two activities Jackson enjoys doing outdoors. Here are pictures of him doing them both...

Bye-bye big trucks, hello DINOSAURS!

Jackson is no longer (only) obsessed with big trucks. Ever since Easter, when the Easter bunny left dinosaurs in his basket(s) at Grandma Chris's and Grandpa Bob's house, Jackson has decided to expand his interests a bit. Jason and I are quickly learning that our son tends to have some obsessive behaviors when it comes to something he likes. When Jackson was "into" big trucks, he learned as much as he could (names of trucks and jobs they do) about each truck he saw (in books, videos, and real-life). Big trucks consumed his thoughts, playtime, and apparently his dreams (according to Jackson he'd dream about bulldozers and excavators almost every night:)). We are seeing much of the same patterns with dinosaurs now. He's learned many names of dinosaurs; and, he can tell you which ones are "nice" (plant-eaters), and which are "naughty" (meat-eaters). Despite the fact that T-rex is a "naughty" dinosaur, it remains to be his favorite -with Triceratops coming in a close second.
His collection includes several dinosaur figurine toys, dinosaur books, dinosaur videos, and rumor has it that a dinosaur t-shirt may be in the works (he's supposed to be getting that tonight from Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry).

Here Jackson has built a home out of Legos for his dinosaurs...




Although Jackson wasn't very happy with me, I convinced him to let his sister hold onto one of his precious dinosaurs for this picture. He picked out one that he doesn't play with much and gave that one to Jessica...