manning gets chatty

manning is doing stuff too.  he is getting to be quite the chatter box (when he is full anyway), getting pretty good at getting his thumb when he is in the crib and tummy time.  he doesn't really mind tummy time, i just forget to let him do it when we are home and not on the go (the floor can be a dangerous place around here).

i noticed that he was just talking away while i was working on the computer so here is a little for your listening pleasure. love.

first day of (pre)school

today was another first day of school!  this time it was mason's big day.  he was really, really excited too.  he was sad that madelyn was already going to school and he had to wait but that is all behind him now.

i was a little worried about the drop-off timing and we were running a little later than we will next time.  the earliest madelyn can be dropped off is 8:40am.  i have been parking and taking her (and the boys) in each morning (at her request), so i underestimated how much time we needed for the drop-off line.  and then mason's school starts at 9am.  it is a 5-10 minute drive depending on lights and traffic. 

mason is really happy in these pictures and not in pain.  that is his super excited camera face.  i put the second picture because i thought madelyn's outfit deserved a full view.

well, today it was raining.  that really made everything slower.  it didn't help that madelyn wasn't happy about the drop-off line instead of walking in either but there just wasn't time.  we got to mason's school about 2 minutes before 9 and i still had to unbuckle and haul everyone into the school - in the rain. 

i did have mason pause for a quick picture by his classroom door. 

and walking out i remembered - tuition.  yep, didn't have that.  oh well.  at least i remembered that i hadn't completed all of his paperwork when i got up to feed manning at 5am...  i can just bring it when i pick him up (and i was late for that too because of traffic and one too many errands).  he didn't mind (madelyn hated being the last one) and it sounds like he had a great day with a new teacher and a few old friends. love.

after thought... one of the papers i needed to complete for mason was an "about me" sheet.  i was supposed to include pictures (obviously that wasn't going to happen before school) but soon discovered that mason isn't in many pictures.  granted he usually is asked to be in them but isn't interested.  i am going to have to work on that.

golf day

it didn't look very promising for golf today, but when we woke up this morning the weather forecast had changed and the guys were able to go play.  nana and liz came over to the house and i let them play with the kids while i made myself busy elsewhere.  we went out for some lunch at chick-fil-a which was a nice treat for the kids and me.

now madelyn had an utter and complete meltdown when she heard that we were going to chick-fil-a.  it was largely the tiredness of the week setting in and thankfully she got over it before we got there but i was throughly embarassed to have her behave that way in front of guests.  the essential argument was that she was never going to eat another meal unless we went to mcdonalds.  i told her that would be fine but we are going to chick-fil-a.  eating or not was her choice.  and she loved her lunch once we were there and was sweet as sugar.

liz was able to catch up with a very social manning while the big kids and nana played in the play area.  apparently, manning told liz that he wants a green jeep when he turns 16, but she told him that he would have to get a job to pay for it.

the guys finished up their round while we were at lunch and we all met back at the house for a pizza dinner.  then one last treat before saying good-bye - ice cream! 

maddux knew that he hadn't been in the group shot and asked for a separate picture.

the yummy treats were a nice way to end our visit.  we had to cut it a little short in order to get the kids home and in bed for their school week.  thanks for coming (and feeding us), guys!  love.

what happened to the rain?

while the threat of rain was very high for the day, the sun came out for most of the day (much to the dismay of the golfers...).  it was still humid but had cooled off a little by the time we got home from dinner so we stayed outside to play and ride bikes for a bit.

a few brave souls let the boys trace them with chalk.

madelyn decorated her outline

 mason moved on to show off his athleticism with some tee ball and soccer with madelyn.

papa trying to coach mason

laughing hard while batting - starting to get a little silly

there was some bike riding around the cul-de-sac too.  mason is getting really comfortable on his balance bike and asks to ride it all of the time now.  we can't wait until everyone is riding and we can try taking them on the trail (there are a few big hills so it might not be until next year that we give it a try).  i was very thankful that the rain held off a little because it was fun to play outside.  love.

salsa surprise

matt prepared and jarred his own salsa from our garden last month!  we were saving it as a surprise for papa and nana, which is why i hadn't posted/bragged about it yet.  but matt ruined the surprise before letting them taste it.  oh well.  they were still pretty impressed.  especially because it is so good!

now you might be thinking - big deal, right?  well it is a big deal when you know that matt's idea of cooking is heating a can of chili.  this was a huge task and he did it all by himself.  i just helped with finding the jars and suggesting which pots to use.

i don't care for salsa in general but this is really good.  it has a nice heat at the end.  mason really likes it too (he is so like his dad when it comes to eating). 

so proud of my husband!  love.

rain out

unfortunately (or fortunately) the guys decided that the weather was too iffy for golf this morning so they joined us for church, then brunch (bagels and coffee) before heading to the mckinley museum for some indoor exploration.  with the holiday and the weather, this looked like our only day to really go do anything during their visit. i think that the museum worked out great and the kids enjoyed sharing one of their favorite places with the group.

you can tell by papa's face that the ride spun just a little too fast...

 maddux had fun discussing the trains with nana.  in the second picture he is asking "where did it go?"

the men took the kids up to the top of the memorial while the ladies watched and took pictures of their climb.  on the way up, madelyn did push-ups every few stairs ("to exercise") and she and mason slid on the sides of the stairs like a slide on the way down (it is fairly smooth marble and they don't go very fast - they have to scoot with their hands a little to move).

i thought that it was a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon and think that everyone else enjoyed themselves too.  love.

pack rats

most holidays we get an email or text with a picture of a stuffed rodent (of unknown variety) from john and liz.  i had been meaning to ask what it was and what the story was behind it - because there had to be a story.  today we found out - it's a pack rat!  apparently, nana and her california friends have an inside joke about pack rats and they all have one.  (i also learned that nana had given madelyn a pack rat book while we were in kansas this summer.)

so here they are having some 'pack rat' fun with madelyn and mason before dinner.  love.