May pictures, birthdays, Lake Chelan

O.k., so no real reason why it has taken me 2 1/2 months to download pictures to the blog. Yes, we are all busy, but it just got away from me. In May, we did our birthday celebrations with Stacy, Jonah, and Nolan. The weather was actually nice back then. Since that time, the weather has been awful. Think about it, there was one weekend in May when the sun came out and the next time was July 5th.






Nolan turning 7-where does the time go?


















Jonah is too cool for 8 so he slid over to the 9 column.


















Stacy was tired of being 35 so she danced her way to 36, only to find out that 35 wasn't half bad--can't go backwards now Chica!











We always have a great time celebrating all the birthdays and yes, it is chaotic, and fun.












The bat and ball came out. I think this is a hilarious picture of Jacob trying to hit the ball. he actually did hit it and it went over the fence. He looks like he should be yelling, "Attack!!"










Sophia had to be one of the gang too and she made some attempts at hitting the ball.












Jonah working on his bunting skills--still some work to do.












Fire doesn't usually mix with children, so we let Tom be in charge. Was that a good idea or not? Probably not.











Switching to taking the kids to Lake Chelan where my parents have a time share. Jonah and Noah out on the lawn playing catch. It was beautiful over there.











It was non-stop activities from the time we arrived to the time we left. Swinging, baseball, miniature golf, swimming, boating, you name it.











Kids having a great time building a fort at the beach on Saturday morning while the adults sat and looked out at the water with out coffee.

Grandpa Doug taking some time relaxing. There was very little of this kind of time, but we all tried to sneak it in.

I took out each child in the canoe and then my dad took out each child and then we each took different combinations of children at different times. Sounds like a math problem to me. They got more time on the water and in the water than they did sleeping.

then of course there was skipping rocks, which always brings to mind running to an emergency room at some point. They all stand right next to each other or in front of each other and begin to throw. It is a miracle that they don't peg each other more often.

Grandpa in the canoe with Jacob and Noah.

Jonah starting his early career in modeling. Actually, right after this picture he jumped in the water with his clothes on. Real nice.

"Canoe is coming in too fast, too fast I say." Thank goodness the dock was there. We won't talk about the 35 people that fell off the dock when the canoe rammed into it.

Oh, I forgot about the tennis lessons that Noah and Jonah took one afternoon. Again, they did every single thing they could do in a 72 hour period of time. They had a lot of fun with the pro.

Noah was a little tiger out on the court. He loved it.

Look at the other kid who took lessons with them. He was so tiny, but pretty good. Jonah did a couple double takes when he hit the ball over the net.

You know that prior to this picture, they were all fighting. Just thought I would clarify that fact. Don't want you all to think that we have the perfect family or anything.

Noah did end up jumping off the dock but Jacob looked down and saw fish swimming around, so he didn't. At first, I said, "there aren't any fish in there." But there were actually some pretty large ones swimming around. I need to learn to trust my children.

They really wanted to take a dip in the lake in the evening, even though it was cold.

Nice goggles boys.

This was the morning view from the deck. I could have sat there for hours with a cup of coffee, but sitting is child's play. We had to be moving at all times. That is why couple go away on their own sometimes, so you can just sit.

More of that rock throwing that I love so much

We did play domino's but that is because it was 7:00 a.m. and it was too early for the kids to go outside or to the pool.

the kids finally turned into prunes from being in the water so much.

Jonah with his best friend, Sam. They tire themselves out because they run non-stop. Jonah had a great May birthday month.

My boot if off--Just in time for vacation

So I had to wear the boot for about a month and went to get x-rays the day before we left on our trip to Priest Lake. The hairline fracture has healed nicely, so my doctor said I can start transitioning out of the boot. The first day we headed to a water park in Moses Lake and I did wear it around on the cement but did take it off to do the lazy river with Noah. Doctor was specific and said no water slides. Now that I am at Priest Lake, I am just trying to wear my normal shoe and it feels great. My doctor, knowing me well, said, "No water skiing, knee boarding, or riding he jet ski over enormous waves. I have to ride the jet ski like a 90 year old woman, sitting on my butt and taking in the sights. It's better than nothing. Anyway, happy not to be in the boot anymore. Vacation will be sweeter. Pictures to come later.

Robb

So it's official, I'm a dork!

My left foot has been hurting since last week when I fell out of the recycling can as I was jumping up and down in there trying to make more room. The first three days, it hurt, but I managed. After that, it took it felt alright with a steady stream of advil. Then, the other day, it really became uncomfortable again. I had made an appointment to see my doctor this coming Tuesday, but this morning, it was hurting too much. I went to urgent care hoping to get a "not to worry, there's noting wrong." Instead, they came in after the x-rays and said, "You have a hairline fracture and you need to wear this boot. I have to admit, I was shocked. So, now I am part of the boot world, where people stare and wonder how you hurt yourself. I'm sticking to a skydivng accident instead of falling out of the recycyling can. Pictures to follow at some point in the future.

with my head held low in embarrassment,
Robb

10 Things you should never have to say outloud

Since I have been a parent for 10 years now, I've figured out that there are so many things that I can't believe come out of my mouth. The boys and I are in Lake Chelan this weekend with my parents while Rebecca has to work. We have had a full day of events that seem to never stop. In the midst of all the "fun", there are so many things that we just shouldn't have to say out loud.

1. Everyone must wear underwear at all times during the day, no exceptions.

2. Everyone must flush the toilet and wash their hands at all times, and I mean everyone!

3. We don't hit each other in the penis, ever, is that understood?

4. The shower curtain always goes on the inside of the bathtub, never on the outside. (That was a messy one to clean up.)

5. No, you can't hit your brother with the bat, even if you are mad. (I am so glad he asked first, but still, did I really have to answer that question?)

6. You don't run out to the car naked to get a toy, even though you felt like you couldn't wait to get your hands on those lego's.

7. Everyone must use toilet paper after pooping even though you think you may not need to. (It is wrong in so many ways, I can't even understand.)

8. That fish isn't that big at all guys, just jump in. (Once I looked, it was about a foot and a half long--ooops!)

9. Make sure to turn off the water when you get out of the shower each and every time.

10. Noah, stop grabbing yourself in front of the other kids on the playground!

And there you have it. These are all just from today. It is amazing that we have to say these things as parents, but we do. Have had a great day, but I feel like a burnt out cruise director who doesn't want to re-up my contract for the next year. Bedtime is soon. Have a great Friday night.

Three strikes and your out!

Now it's not too often that I just blog without pictures and discussion about what fun things we have done that week. This week, I'm just sharing what stupid things I have done. It started out Monday night when I had to take the garbage and recycling down to the curb. The recycling bin was once again, too full. So, I did what I always do. I get step ladder and climb into the bin and jump up and down, making more room for the pile of recycling waiting to be shoved in. This time, I got a little too extreme, and the back wheels gave way and the whole thing came tumbling over with me inside. I went flying and fell on the stairs. I scraped my hand, fell on my arm, and hurt my foot. I had originally thought I had broken my foot it hurt so bad. The best part is that right afterwards, Noah came out with more recycling and walked over my tired body lying on the stairs. Once he stepped over me he said, "What are you doing lying on the stairs dad?" I told him I fell out of the recycling bin and he then said, "What were you doing in the recycling bin? That's dangerous." Thank you Noah. He did help me up and helped me clean up all the recycling all over the floor. Like the good (stupid) husband I am, I still rolled both garbage and recycling down to the curb before I cam back inside and promptly iced my foot with a three pill advil push. That was only Tuesday.

I woke up ten minutes late and hobbled to the bathroom on Wednesday, took my shower, popped more advil and made my way to Starbuck's for some good brew. While sitting in line stationary, not on my cell phone or any other electrical device, all of the sudden, a car back into the passenger doors of my car. So, a coffee run has now turned into exchanging information and hearing a story about how she doesn't want this to go on her insurance. I think to myself, "I better slow down today, this isn't starting out well." An hour into work, as I am running around doing too many things, I begin to get multiple text messages about patients who need me to call, but they aren't my patients. I come to find out that this is the one day of the month where it is my turn to be the "social worker on-call". Once a month, we rotate and cover other social workers who are sick or off on vacation. It makes the day crazy, and you are supposed to plan your day very lightly in order to deal with the crisis at hand. I hadn't done that. In fact, I had a fully packed day. Strike two! By the time I got home that night, I noticed that my eye was hurting a bit and a little red. As the night progressed, it was clear that I would have my first ever in grown eye lash forming a large, red, protruding, bump, that is quite uncomfortable I might add. Strike three, I'm out.

Thursday was spent working and trying to get quotes from auto body shops on how much this is going to cost to get my car fixed. The only redeeming quality about the day is that I am taking the kids to Lake Chelan to meet my parents for the weekend. Oh, I forgot, our dog Lego, hasn't been eating the last three days and is pretty lethargic, so Rebecca gets to take him to the vet on Friday morning. She had to stay home this weekend because she has three classes. I know she would rather be here, but work calls. Anyway, I am hoping that the end of the week proves to be much better than the beginning of the week. Three strikes and your out! Have a good Friday.

Robb

Jonah's 9th Birthday Party

Jonah's birthday is this coming Monday, and as any good parent knows, it's mean to make a kid wait until the weekend after the birthday for a party, so we threw it this weekend. His request? A sleepover (cue dreadful music). We agreed to 4 friends. One could not come because of baseball, and one came for the party but not the sleepover (also because of baseball), so we had 3 for the party and 2 for the night, which worked out perfectly. This is them eating their dinner on the trampoline. Jonah's choice was meatball subs.

Jonah's best friend, Sam, with Sam's gift: A gift certificate to the local mini-golf place cleverly disguised as a rock, wrapped in a box!

Here's Jonah, Sam, and Evans--The 3 sleepover hooligans.
And, this is what we ended up with this morning. What you see here is Jonah, Evans, and 5 extra kids from the neighborhood. Not pictured is Sam, who was reading in the back yard quietly, and another extra neighbor boy. That's 6 extra kids all before 10 AM. We're not exactly sure how it happened, but apparently our house is the place to be.

All in all, it was a great birthday party. Jonah had a fantastic time, and it was just what he wanted. Go to sleep time: 12:45, Wake-up time: 6:05. Oh, to be a kid again...Happy almost birthday, big guy!

Mother's Day-What a beautiful day

On the ferry to Seattle




Jonah got a lesson in how to train a seeing eye dog. He loved this.

wrong way Noah

















Noah made this for Rebecca from school and she wore it all day long for him.


We saw this "Rubiks cube guy" last year and Jacob couldn't stop talking about him. We saw him again and this time we bought the CD and Jacob got a picture. He is the man who can complete a Rubik's cube in 17 seconds. Jacob is always mesmerized.


Jonah got a chance to be involved with card tricks. He loved it and now wants to be a magician






























Always a great time to look at the smelly fish. they love it when the guys throw them around.

We did have time before church to get up and make breakfast for Rebecca. Each child got to carry in some sort of the breakfast. Jonah wanted to carry the coffee since he thought he was the most responsible. So, we brought in Rebecca some breakfast and gave her the present she had once asked for....her very own automatic screwdriver that no one else can use.
We went on a hike in the grand forest of Bainbridge the weekend before with my parents and had a great time. We brought Lego and Andy with us and they did great.

Jacob wants to be a surgeon when he grows up so he often dresses up and does surgery on stuffed animals. This is what his surgeon outfit consists of. Who knows why the Santa hat is a fixture, but sometimes we never know. By the way, he also wants to be a engineer.