Discoveries and An Admission

We rode the bikes to Sonic today. Yes, my bike IS here, thank you, and I LOVE it.
The babies sometimes love riding in the trailer, and sometimes not so much. Today was a not so much day for Paige. She screamed "HELP!" and "WOOVIE, TWEEZE!"(MOVIE, PLEASE!) the ENTIRE ride to Sonic. We looked like kidnappers on bikes. But she was happy once we got there and she realized she could get a corndog. The ride home was much better.

Then Paige fished around in Jess's nearly empty cherry limeade cup, and discovered the cherry. She called it a little apple, until I told her what it was. She loved that thang.
Speaking of discovering things they love, Cason noticed the springy door stop thing, and spent a decent amount of time flicking it today.
Tonight the snails came out because we were watering, and Paige got a leaf to tickle them with. She also picked out 4 to be Mama, Daddy, Cason, and Paige.
So, we got a good look at the baby mountain lion finally, but in daylight this time. Not exactly the beast I swore it was at first. In fact, I don't even think it's one of those hybrid cats people have. I think it's just an abnormally large housecat, maybe one that has been on some kind of steroid, seriously. It's about 3 times the size of our stalker cat, pictured above with Paige and the snail. It's not really THAT tall, just really bulky. It has freakishly buff looking legs. Scott saw it, and claims he's owned a bigger cat, but then, he's a big liar.

Blockolate Chip Cookie

Cason stacked his first blocks this morning. But he plucked the top one right back off before I could take a picture of his first stack.

Paige requested shapes made out of blocks, as usual. We did the usual circles, ovals, triangles, and hexagons, but then she broke out of her routine and requested a choochoo.
Then she wanted a cookie, so I just made a circle, and put a few blocks in the middle, and told her they were the chocolate chips. So she of course ate some.
Our friends Scott and Shelby called in the afternoon, to tell us they were coming into town. So they came over for a while with their little ones. They have a girl a few months younger than Paige, and now a boy about 6 months younger than Cason. The girls had lots of fun, but spent most of their time having a tea party. Of course they wanted real water in their teacups, and Cason wanted to dump their water over and over. So I did a lot of refilling.
Then we all went to dinner with another friend, Megan, and her little man, who's just over a year old. It went surprisingly well, eating out with 5 little ones, all under 3. Then we came home and the babies stayed up late, playing in the backyard.

A Couple Things I Like

One: Turning around to find out Paige has gotten out of bed and is lurking behind me. She's always silent, smiling shyly, and waiting for me to find her there and tell her she looks cute in her pjs. (This time her pjs were actually an Easter t shirt she insisted on wearing to sleep. She had also brought her entire entourage along with her, as seen on the computer chair.)

Two: Stumbling upon cute things she's done, like this elephant princess finger puppet, driving an old pickup. :)
This is exactly how I found her. Something about her trunk through the windshield and her veil blowing in the breeze out the driver's side window makes me smile.

Domino Family

Paige and I were playing with dominoes tonight, lining them up and knocking them down. She started to get bored, so I started making them interact. I grabbed two, Bill and John, and made them have a conversation. She was watching, and started to smile. Then she grabbed one and had it "walk" over to mine, and it said "hi". So John asked what her domino's name was. She thought for a second, and then said "Um...Uncle Dan." So then of course she grabbed a Lily and an Aunt Veronica too.

My bike bell came in the mail today, so I was all happy because I was going to get my bike today too. But it wasn't there yet. :( Apparently the bike shop is in the business of breaking hearts.

Hopefully tomorrow.

Worth It

I'm so glad we put in some grass, for stuff like this.

Baby Trailer

We got our trailer today, but still have just one bike. So we took turns again. That thing is awesome, it really isn't even harder than riding without it. Paige was so excited. Cason just thought it was okay.
Jess, apparently rapping while he pulls them up the street.

Coat in Summer

Just because they're good looking.
We told Paige to put her shoes on so we could go for a ride in the car, after dinner. She insisted on wearing a coat for some reason, and really wanted me to wear one too.
As soon as I buckled her into the car she realized it was plenty warm out, and wanted it off. So we had a nice drive with the windows down, which she thought was wonderful.
She spotted the park, so we had a spontaneous trip to the playground, where she ignored us for a good half hour and played by herself. So we hung out with Caso in the grass.
Then we lured her away with the promise of an ice cream cone from Sonic.
She feels big sitting in the front seat with us. Cason stayed in his carseat because he was asleep. We ate our ice cream and marveled at our life.

Bikes and Snails

BAM!

behold my new bike. Don't think this bell won't be on it, because it definitely will.
Also a basket in the front. AND I'll be needing one of these babies:
OR I could just win that Madsen bike/trailer combo I put a link to------------------------------>
and ride it when I need to pull the babies.

My bike won't be here until Tuesday, but Jess got a bike yesterday, so we rode it all day, taking turns. I haven't really ridden a bike for more than a decade (ONCE since then actually, but for like a minute so it doesn't count). Riding a bike is the coolest. You feel like a little kid again. Some of my favorite memories are riding bikes all over the place with dad, Matt, and Cassie.

It was extra fun today because it was awesome outside, nice and cool, and going back and forth from rainy to sunny.

Speaking of rainy, these guys always come out when it is.
Paige loves them, because she's such a smart girl.
Today was also a family nap day, which made things even better.

Interrogation Station # 8

The beautiful, the smart, the active, the hard working, the cheerful, the athletic, Sarah. Long time friend to us, and now lady friend to Chris. She's also cool, because she has an alliteration name like me, Jess, Chris, and Megan. Although I guess Megan and I don't anymore.

Sorry, Sarah, I stole this, all the pictures we had of you were blurry.


and we're off:


Sarah

1) Why did you agree to date Chris?

Well after plenty of groveling at my feet I finally gave in! He isn’t all that bad I guess

2) What is your favorite thing about Jess and/or me?

Where to start! I Think that you guys are the most sincere, beautiful people ever and that you created Paige and Cason!

3) What are 3 things you’d like to do in your lifetime?

1. I would really like to travel to Italy

2. Get my master’s degree

3. Colonize Mars

4) Do you have a pet peeve?

YES!!! I can’t stand it when the toilet paper roll doesn’t roll over the top! And then there is Chris’s snoring at night which keeps me up on occasion

5) What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Finishing my nursing degree

6) What time in your life would you like to relive (to change things or just enjoy it all over)

I would go back to kindergarten, when all I had to worry about was coloring inside the lines!

7) Who is a better athlete? Chris or your brother Matt? (Haha, you don’t have to really answer. We just like to see how people react when we ask them to decide between loved ones.)

This is EASY, Chris is old and crusty now, way past his prime, so my little bro easily dominates.I played Matt recently in a softball game, and he hit the ball ridiculously hard every single time. Much like I do.

8) Do you have a hero?

Not really, although my mom is pretty cool J

9) What percentage of Chris’s day is spent spewing nerdy facts, probably about physics?

HAHA! Well he is upset that the discussion of antimatters creation in the movie of Angels and Demons is bogus. On a daily basis he spends about 30 minutes looking at neatorama.com

10) What are the best and worst parts of being a nurse?

a. Best: I get to save lives, help people, there is never a dull moment, and I get to learn new things on a daily basis

b. Worst: Death of patients and obnoxious family members that insist google.com has all of the answers they need

Thanks Sarah!

Beautiful Things

When we were in Phoenix we went to a Pottery Barn, where we saw the coolest globe in history. Jess, like the rest of his family, is into maps and globes, and just nerdy geography facts in general. So I'm always looking for a cool globe for him, but never found one. So when we found this one, we were together and I couldn't buy it. I tried to get it online but it was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, Caroline lives near Pottery Barn, and came to my rescue. It came today, and it's his Father's Day gift, but he gets it early. Paige calls it "the ball". Feast your eyes on THIS beauty:

Anyway, on to more pressing matters.

Let's not pretend this picture isn't one of the finer things in life.

Weirdees

We just looked at that picture of Cason with the Rock'n'Roar Dinosaur, and thought it was funny that he's holding a ball and a straw. Which reminded us of Paige's picture with said Dinosaur, but she's holding Scotch tape for some reason. She just liked the stuff.

Faif and Paige Fun!

Today we picked Jess up for lunch, and while we were driving Jess was telling me something. He got louder at some point in the conversation, and Paige started yelling "CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN!" like we were fighting or something! Haha. I think we tell her that when she starts to get really frustrated, so she was just waiting for an opportunity to say it to us. So she jumped for it the second the volume of our conversation increased even a little.

Here they are looking incredible before we left to see their daddy.
Then right after he had his fill of Paige force-hugging him for pictures.
We went to see Misty and Faith this afternoon (Alex was at school for most of the visit) and Misty set up the pool at the bottom of their big old slide. She even put the hose at the top of the slide to keep it wet, and they went FLYING down that thing. Paige loved it. She's been talking about it all evening. "FAIF and Paige FUN! Slide a pool! Fast and water!"

This sweet boy..
..has always done this thing when he sees someone new, or even someone he knows first arrives, where he smiles, and then lays his head down on the chest of whoever is holding him at the time, like he's really shy. It's so cute. He's been doing it to me a lot the last couple days just to be sweet though, and I love it. They had to be babysat for a couple hours yesterday while I went to the dentist, and he did it as soon as I held him when I walked in the door. It's the best. Jess says it's one of those things that will stick in his mind, when he remembers Cason as a baby. That and his crazy loud screaming.

P.S. Prepare yourselves, the Interrogation Station is back, beginning tomorrow.

Bitten

Cason said dada yesterday. I thought I'd heard him say it a couple times the day before, and he DEFINITELY did last night. He looks right at Jess when he says it. Sweet sweet.

Paige bit him today. It made him cry, but she wasn't trying to hurt him. It was weird. They were sitting in the grass together, making each other laugh. He was trying to grab her face, and his finger ended up in her mouth. She bit down on it, but was smiling as she did it. Then he started to cry and she let go, looking really startled and worried. So we had to tell her how biting hurts people, and to NEVER do it. She got really upset, and wanted to run in the house. She was crying and refusing to say sorry, because she felt bad and was embarrassed. Eventually she said sorry, and gave hugs. It was sad for all involved.

Today I was listening to Ray again, and must've gotten it stuck in Paige's head. I kept hearing her singing "Oh baaaayba!" She's the coolest girl.

Anyway, the doctor called today, and Paige's EEG looked normal, so we are not worrying about seizures or anything serious like that. I really just think she was sick that morning. Thank you for your prayers.

Rock'n'Roar, the Dog is Sore

Cason mastered the rock'n'roar dinosaur, which by the way, is the greatest baby toy known to man. He chooses a hole to drop the ball into:
Watches it roll:Retrieves it:Makes his way back up:And does it all over again:
This poor girl was spayed today. Paige asked about her all day long, and kept saying "Gia, doctor." and "See Gia?" She was so excited to see her when we picked her up. Gia was just sad.
Look at how pitiful she is. Poor baby.


P.S. Oh, and Jess commented that I made it sound like I think Ray Lamontagne's other songs DO sound like poo. Oh no. I just meant that even if they did, I would love him for that one song, anyway.

Otter Pop and a Little Ray

Today was a special day. Cason had his first otter pop. Or Otter Potter as Jess calls them. It wasn't open, but still.
They enjoyed the grass while I sat in the porch swing sewing a little something for a baby on the way. (Not ours. Yet.)
We barely left the house today, except to get stuff to make cookies and brownies. Then to go for a nice walk as it was getting dark. We danced quite a bit too. And by danced, I mean put the radio on and sat on our bed watching this kid have a crazy dance party to whatever music came on.
Sometime soon I'll have to post only pictures of the girl WITH clothes. But her dancing shot makes me too happy to leave it out.

We also listened to THIS song about a hundred times. I hardly ever hear any new music, but thanks to Cassie, I have a new favorite singer. I don't care if his other songs sound like poo, this one song puts him at # 1 in my book. Listen to this man's VOICE. Goodness.

He sounds like a Michael Bolton/Otis Redding hybrid, but BETTER.

4 Years of the Love

Happy Anniversary Jess! (Yesterday technically. It's 1 am)

I can't believe it's been 4 years. Remember deciding to go for the longest marriage in history? Yeah, you do, because we just said that today? Oh. Well, I just looked it up and we're gonna need to shoot for 81 years. So I'll be 102, and you'll be 103. Maybe we should start eating healthy and working out. Or even just one of those would help.

Although, it seems a little sad to take the title from these two:
But they won't be around by then, so let's go for it.

It kinda feels like we just started dating.

But no, apparently we've already been married 4 years and have 2 fantastic kids together.

You make me so happy. God blessed me with the best person in the world for me. Actually, just the best person in the world. I can't believe how much you love me and how much you do for me and our babies. You're the best and I'm so excited to shoot for 77 more years. (Maybe more!)

I love you.