My day with Alex

There was no school for Alex on Wednesday due to Thanksgiving, so he and I spent the day together. We played a lot of games and had quite a bit of silly fun, but there were 2 things from the day that really stand out.

At about 9:30 in the morning, Alex came up with an idea for Jacob. He took the stocking that he had made the night previous in scouts, labeled it with a note underneath, and put his only tiny Bakugan in it to give to Jacob for "keeps". Now, I don't know if any of you that read this have young boys that are into Bakugan, but let me tall you, it is like furbies all over again!!! You can't find them in the stores at all this season. Even Santa Clause is going to be hard pressed to find any if you know what I mean, so this is a huge deal!! He put the whole thing together and then began waiting by the door for Jacob's bus to pull up. I had to convince him that Jacob's bus would not be home for 6 more hours and that he shouldn't wait there that whole time! ha ha. It was very sweet. Jacob certainly appreciated it when he got home!

Can you see the note underneath? So cute!

Of course, perhaps I should have left him waiting by the door all day. Alex decided later in the afternoon that he wanted to make a pool for his toys, complete with water slide. We got him a bowl and some things to make the slide and put them in the sink. We used our water filter tap as the continual water slide water. Well, as soon as he got this set up, we needed to run to grandma's house for a bit, so he was disappointed, but I told him that we could start back up as soon as we got home. When we did get home, plans changed for the worse! These pictures should tell you most of the tale....




He added half a bottle of soap to the sink full of water because he must not have gotten the concept that dish soap doesn't instantly foam. The ENTIRE bottom of the sink was full of soap!! These pictures are from the 3rd sink fill up. The suds lasted a very very long time indeed! It seems that he wanted a bigger pool, and then I guess a bathtub? Oh Alex... All in all it was a super fun day and I was glad that I got to spend some alone time with my baby. He is growing up too fast!

Q & A with Jacob

Here are the answers that I got from Jake.I put them down verbatim, so some of this in going to be in something we call "Jacob". Believe me, sometimes he has his own language.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

"I love you." (Go me again!!)

2. What makes mom happy?

"Thank you cards." (True)

3. What makes mom sad?

"Well, one time you cried about fighting with Dad." (What can you say to that?)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

"Taking me to the clown circus." (I didn't even take him and I got credit, YES!)

5. What was your mom like as a child?

"You haded hair and little small body." (Good description.)

6. How old is your mom?

[shrugs] "mom, just tell me!" (I knew one of them would do this, I just didn't know which!!)

7. How tall is your mom?

"Maybe 65 inches." (good guess!)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

"Being with the family."

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

"Maybe you rest?"

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

"Um, let's see, um bestest fashion clothes." (Um, ok...)

11. What is your mom really good at?

"Hmmm, good at coloring stuff."

12. What is your mom not very good at?

"Um, giving Alex what he likes. You always give him healthy cups and it makes him sad." (Ha ha, favorite answer!)

13. What does your mom do for her job?

"To take care of our family. I know that cause you got fired at Joann's." (This started a big argument between him and Alex. Alex said I did not get fired, I quit, which is true.)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

"Asparagus." (WHAT?!?!)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

"I like your hair." (Always a point of pride...)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

"Mighty Mom."

17. What do you and your mom do together?

"Play catch in the summer. "

18. How are you and your mom the same?

"We have the same last names."

19. How are you and your mom different?

"Well, our bodies in places and our ages and your weight." (What are you sayin' Jake?!)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

"Let's see...write me thank you cards. Sometimes you make me, like me cause you sometimes give me a break on Wednesdays for scouts." (I don't even know what he is talking about! ha ha)

I tag Jenn (with Delia) and Francesca (with Noah)!

Q & A with Alex

I got tagged by Penny, so I thought I would ask Alex since he and I have the most alone time in the morning. I'll try to get Jacob this afternoon, and perhaps I can get Carl to do this as well. It was pretty funny to hear the answers that he provided.

1. What is something mom always says to you?

"I love you!" (Go Me!!)

2. What makes mom happy?

"Me" (My favorite answer!!)

3. What makes mom sad?

"Sad stories"

4. How does your mom make you laugh?

"Hmmm...I don't know. I don't remember" (Obviously not too funny...)

5. What was your mom like as a child?

"You were like, smaller than you are now." (hee hee)

6. How old is your mom?

"I think 29" (He thought long and hard about this one and he is only off a year!)

7. How tall is your mom?

"You are 10 feet" (Wow)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?

"Your favorite thing to do is read a book." (What can I say, the child knows me!)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?

"You hang with Daddy" (nice use of slang)

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?

"You would be famous for some money. For the allowances" (He just earned his, so it is fresh on the mind)

11. What is your mom really good at?

"You are really good at fighting Daddy" (This is a reference to my ability to wrestle with Daddy for long periods of time)

12. What is your mom not very good at?

"You're not very good at running" (So true, love!)

13. What does your mom do for her job?

"You are, I think you are the seller from the girl job." (He must still think I work at JoAnns!)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?

"Your favorite food is chicken." (This is actually his favorite food! ha ha)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?

"That you love me!" (Good job Mom!)

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?

"I don't know. Like Katara? No, actually you are like Panini." (I'M NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND!!!)

17. What do you and your mom do together?

"We play together."

18. How are you and your mom the same?

"We are the same because we both love each other." (Awwww)

19. How are you and your mom different?

"We are different because you are a girl and I am a boy." (Clear and to the point)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?

"Because we both hug." (Each other)

Well there you go...

It seems that Jacob doesn't even have to wait to be the president! Thanks a lot Grandpa. You made Jake's face light up!

Hello, Carl here:

In my quest to become, at the very least, an amateur photographer I have been practicing a lot with lighting. I am terrible in low unnatural light.

BUT... I have developed a new appreciation for my three most beautiful (and overly eager to help) models. So here is a tribute to them to say thanks!

Jacob's Aspirations

Up until a few months ago, it was Jacob's dream to be a cashier, namely one at Aldi's. Why you ask? Well, it's because they get to sit down while they work of course! Well, now he wants to become a nurse, so he can help other kids with diabetes. :) But, this morning I found this in Jacob's backpack and it seems that he might be reaching toward some higher goals. Of course the reasoning behind it seems to be from the less noble side of Jacob we are used to! ha ha

Poor Man, we hardly knew you

For Jacob's birthday as previously noted, he got a tank and 3 fish from the Williams'. He was super excited to be able to feed them and take care of them. Well, after a whole lot of hullabaloo, we convinced him that they shouldn't be fed until morning. Well, he got himself up and fed those fish before we had all come downstairs the next day. The problem was, he was a bit too generous with the food. I thought it would be ok since he had got a bottom feeder. Figured he would take care of the extra that fell to the bottom. Well, this morning we woke up to find that the water was all cloudy and gross. We had to run to church, but I was planning on cleaning out their tank as soon as we got home. Well, that didn't happen until later in the afternoon and by that time it was discovered that Man was dead Yes, he named him Man. The others are Friend (or Fred depending on which child you are asking) and Buddy. Well, let me tell you there were a lot of tears shed by both boys. Turned out to be a great time to talk about the Plan of Salvation and resurrection though!
Grandma and Gramps were coming for dinner and so we postponed the funeral until they got to our house. Jacob was appalled by the idea of a toilet burial so I dug a hole outside in the back and we made a headstone. It reads,

MAN

Beloved Fish

I think that the cutest and saddest part was Jacob saying his final words to the poor fish that he hardly knew and his brother patting him on the back the whole time to comfort him, tears streaming down their faces. They didn't even notice that my Father-in-law was laughing the whole time! They got me though and I actually shed a tear or two in Man's honor. Now I hope the others last more than a day and a half!

Jacob's Birthday and Party

Jacob's birthday was on the 4th of November, and since that was Super Tuesday we decided to have his birthday on the Friday following. On his actual Birthday we took him to a few fun places. Jake, Al and I met up with the Williams' at the fabulous new park that is in Westland for a picnic. Then after Carl got home from work, we headed out to the Henry Ford Imax theater to see "The Miracle of Flight". It was a film about the Blue Angels and was really interesting when you weren't dzzy from all the spinning! After that we went for a spending spree in the bulk food warehouse, then onto Pizza Hut for dinner. It was a super fun night!

So, Friday we had the actualy party. Jake invited a friend from school to come. The funny part was that he didn't tell me about it! So, when his friend called for directions, I was a bit suprised. But, we worked it all out and Brad was able to join us after-all. jake got a lot of cool stuff. 3 new games for his DS, a few board games and even fish! It was a super fabulous night.

Jacob's party was Spongebob themed, so we made a cake that looked like Spongebob. Carl has the idea to make it a neopolitan cake, and I think it turned out really wel!

Jake with one of his DS games he got.

Jake and Bradley. Jake pulled the glass up right before Carl shot the picture. I think it looks really cool myself!

Goofing around with the camera

technical difficulties

Seems the link I sent was bogus, but not to fear, here is the legit one. Sorry about that!!

Gator Jacks Sub Shop

Sisterly Pride

My brother's business is flourishing! I am so proud of him and his Family. THey have had to put a lot of hard work and sacrifice into starting up their own restaurant. I wanted everyone to know that they now have their own website, and while it is still "under construction" I think that it looks really great! So, here it is, and for those of you back in Idaho check him out and tell him I sent you!!

Gator Jacks