Happy Birthday Will

Happy Earth Day

For two years this bird house in our yard has shown no signs of life until today, Happy Earth Day!

Dirty Little Boys

BOYS + MUD =

Jake Married Another Woman!

Erin and Mark asked Jake to perform their wedding ceremony. He did a great job. Amazing what you can do as a FL notary!

Porch Pics

Inspired by Cooper's Cabana we did some back porch improvements of our own. The steps have finally been added at our new screen door. Poor kids had to make a 2 foot leap for a few weeks. Mocha is now sporting "real" steps out her doggy door instead of the stacked up pavers and bricks she's been used to these last 2 years. And we finally found "that table" we've wanted by the grill and new porch fans. I think it's time for a BBQ.

Did anyone else see Oprah's show about being wasteful? I was so happy she did this show. I think we do pretty good, but I did invest in a water filter dispenser to keep in our garage frig so we can cut down on bottled water. And I vow to only use juice boxes/bottled drinks for school lunches!

Congrats to Jen on her new job!

Makes Sense To Me

Obama's comments regarding the picture of him not putting his hand over his heart during the national anthem:

"My grandfather taught me how to say the Pledge of Allegiance when I was 2," Obama said, his annoyance obvious. "During the Pledge of Allegiance you put your hand over your heart. During the national anthem you sing."

A woman also asked Obama about the photo Tuesday night during a town hall meeting in Cedar Rapids, evoking a similar reaction. "This is the classic dirty trick of the campaign," Obama said. He added that he's often the target of anonymous criticism on the Internet. "You've got e-mails saying I'm a Muslim plant trying to take over America," Obama said. "We've seen this before." He advised the woman to tell the sender of the e-mail the real story. "You don't have to curse them out, just tell them they've got their facts wrong," he said.

Spring Break Wrap Up

Spring Break comes to a close today. We've had such a great week. The kids picked out new fish for the fish tank (I killed the others when I cleaned the tank last) and the store gave us 7 baby Molly's since Reese had picked out the mommy. As expected 6 of them died, but "Elf" the little runt is still with us.

We met up with Cheryl and Olivia for some fun at the fountain. Cheryl and I sat under a beach umbrella for some R & R and watched the kids play.

Both Gran and Nana scooped up the boys one at a time for some Grandma spoiling. I told the boys who ever was at home with us could plan dinner. No rules. Reese chose Honeynut Cheerios and chocolate chip cookies. Nathan's dinner was Tortellini and ice cream sandwiches.

We planted a vegetable garden. Cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomatoes and squash.

Jake played hooky from work and we spent the day at Animal Kingdom, a first for us. The kids were angels. Reese walked for miles, never asking to be held because he was tired. We passed gift shop after gift shop and neither of them asked us to buy anything. There wasn't one fight between them, complaint about the heat or end of the day grumpies. It was a day to remember.

Jake's cousin Jessica and her hubby Joe from Maine were here for the weekend and we had a great visit. Reese begged them to stay...precious.

Naked Idiot

As I'm driving down the road yesterday afternoon to pick up the kids from school I see two guys walking along the sidewalk towards me, one waving a shirt over his head. As I get closer I notice it's his shirt waving in the air and that he's holding up his pants in the front just enough to cover his goods, but low enough to share a view of his pubic hair. As I pass I glance in the rear view mirror only to see that in the back his pants are way down below his butt. I think, "What an idiot". Then, I realize I'm about two pick up two 6 year old's and a 3 year old and drive right past him again. I get mad. I remember I have the police department's phone number in my cell and call and report the naked idiot. Not sure what if anything happened with it, but he was gone when I drove back through.

Reese scraped his leg the other day and says, "Mom, did part of me fall off?"

We just got a screen door added to our back porch so the kids can get to the back yard without having to walk past the pool. What a relief! Now, the can go in and out all summer long. It is so cool they are old enough to go play in the backyard without having to wait on me to go with them.