Just Some Pictures

Sunday we were all ready to go to church with some time to spare. I know. It was almost like a miracle. We pulled out the camera and received full cooperation from the boys during the brief photo session. No, really. See for yourselves.

Fletcher took this one and did a great job.

Mmmmm! Tasty!

(Some of you probably saw this on my Facebook status this weekend. I had to repeat the story on the blog for posterity's sake.)

Friday night. I pick up take out. BBQ. The family pack which includes 1 lb. of pulled pork, three sides, and a slab of ribs.

Kevin and I are eating the ribs (the sauce is a tad too spicy for the kids). Fletcher notices the obvious bones.

Fletcher: Where do those ribs come from?

I knew he wasn't asking which store because he knew which BBQ place I was going to.
I didn't want to say anything because I was afraid I would freak him out and turn him into a vegetarian for life. Finally, I decided to answer him (briefly) in a very nonchalant way.

Mom: Pigs

Fletcher: (with relief) Oh, good. I was hoping you weren't going to say people.

I'm Almost Five

In just 2 weeks, Luke will turn two years old. We are starting to see evidence of the wonderful world of two already.

(My original intent was to get Luke to sing the Bob The Builder theme song on video. He knows all the words and typically walks around the house singing it at the top of his lungs. He's also been known to sing it in Target or the grocery store if the acoustics are just right. However, tonight he would not sing it so we captured this video instead.)

We've been trying to teach him that he is almost 2. But he hears Fletcher say that Fletcher is 5 so he has gotten his wires crossed, so to speak. He cracks himself up.

Here's what life is like with him. Do not adjust your monitor. That orange hue you see on his cheeks, forehead and chest is indeed spaghetti sauce (and yes, he insists on having a napkin at every meal). I love the way he can switch gears from comedian to Mr. Cranky Pants. His face and those furrowed eyebrows make me smile. Let's just say that at this rate I don't think we will have to worry about someone/anyone trying to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. He can be a teeny bit stubborn.

Throwback Thursday

The date: Labor Day weekend, 1994 (or maybe 1993)

The place: Cancun, Mexico

The mood: Nine girls having the time of our lives. Three of them were engaged so I suppose this was sort of like a Bachelorette Party of sorts. These are the same girls that are part of our annual Girls Weekends. A few are missing because they were already married or about to get married. It was such a fun trip. One of our friends (Linda) was a travel agent at the time so she made sure we had great accomodations. We laughed and laid out by the pool or on the beach and laughed some more.

While we were laying out poolside (with no sunscreen I am sure) the Mexican band there tried to teach us a little song with hand motions called the "Macarena". It had not "caught on" in the states yet. We thought it was a little goofy. Little did we know, we were on the cutting edge of dance history!!

I'm Gonna Miss This

I know I'm supposed to say that.

Here a typical conversation we've been having lately with our 23 month old.

Luke: Mommy, dess wha? (Translation: Guess What?)
Mom: What, Luke?
Luke: (silence)

Five seconds later...

Luke: Mommy, dess wha?

Mom: What, Luke?

Luke: (silence)

Mom: Do you want to tell Mommy "I love you Mommy"?

Luke: (silence)

Five seconds later...

Luke: Mommy, dess wha?

Mom: What, Luke?

Luke: (silence)

Daddy calls from out of town.

I put Kevin on speaker phone so the boys can talk.

Dad: Hey, how's everybody doing?

Fletcher: Good, Dad. How's your day going?

Luke: (interrupting) Daddy, dess wha?

Dad: What, Luke?

Luke: (silence)

Fletcher: Luke, you have to TELL Daddy something after you say "Guess what?"

Luke: Daddy, dess wha?

Dad: What, Luke?

Luke: (silence)

And on and on and on it goes.

Singing In The Rain

Just the other day I was thinking about all the camps and retreats I went to as a kid and as an adult leader. Several of them stood out for various reasons (like the time I accidentally left one of my youth in a mall in Albuquerque, NM). I remembered one because the camp speaker had us "make rain" with our hands and feet. We were in a very echo-y (probably not a word) building so the acoustics were perfect. I just couldn't remember what all we did to make the different sounds.

Then I ran across this little gem. They start singing at the 1:52ish mark but the first part is awesome. Make sure your volume isn't muted. Watch it once to see what they actually do with their hands and feet, then play it again and close your eyes and just listen to the sound.

Thanks for the memory Perpetuum Jazzile.

Big Meanies!

Lately, Fletcher has been fascinated with military stuff. Kevin let him watch something on PBS about War Planes. He told me the other day that he thinks he might grow up to be in the military to go get the bad guys. (He also added that six years later he would go find a wife. While that has nothing to do with this story, I am impressed that he is planning ahead.)

He remembers from previous conversations that his PawPaw served in the Air Force and his Papa Charlie was in the Army. We also talked about Mr. Steve who was in the Marines and the other division of military service called the Navy. Kevin started telling him about the Navy Seals - how they were an elite group of the best, strongest, fastest, toughest men and how they had to go through intense training to do what they do.

Fast forward about two weeks. We are sitting at the breakfast table and Fletcher says out of the blue, "Mom, I think dolphins are probably pretty mean."

I seize this as a teachable moment and launch into this mini lecture to correct his thinking. I immediately say, "Oh no, honey, dolphins aren't mean. They are very gentle creatures." I tell him how smart dolphins are and how they can do tricks and how there's a place where you can swim with dolphins. I remind him of the dolphins we saw at Sea World a few years ago.

He appears to be listening intently and taking it all in.

After I finish, he says, "No, Mom. I'm talking about those Navy Dolphins."

Oops. Right concept. Wrong aquatic mammal.

Mom: Ooooohhhhh. I think you mean Navy Seals. Not Navy Dolphins.

Fletcher: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Navy Seals. Those really tough guys Dad was talking about.

Mom: Well, I don't think they are mean. But I wouldn't necessarily walk up to one and call him a dolphin...