Hot Gardens

Before we left for St. Louis we were experiencing 60s and rain and in St. Louis it was… oh… I don’t even remember… HOT!  Hot! 80s possibly even super high 90s.  So we were not use to it at all.

Anyway – we decided to go to the gardens – it was a free day and one of my cousins lives right next to it.

We just walked into the gardens and here are my kids already looking hot and exhausted. 

Pretty flowers.

All my kids were worried about was finding the koi fish.  At the wedding another cousin of mine had gone here and showed my kids a video of these fish.  They wanted to see them in real life.

Tons of them!  And they are all begging for food!

Then it was time to cool them off.  So we sat in the shade for a bit.

Family Picture! 

Then we found some water to cool them off- because the shade was still pretty hot.

Mallory found a leaf on the ground she carried with her and brought it to the water.  Well she started scrubbing this little raccoon with her leaf.

Scrubbing behind his ears!

Then it was time to go and Max let us know loud and clear what he thought of that idea.

Mallory decided that she should clean her shows before we left.

Max fell asleep on the two minute drive back to my cousins and we were getting ready to leave for the drive back home and he was completely soaked.  I was able to get him out of the vehicle, into my cousins house, lay him on her hardwood floor, change all of his clothes and diaper, re-dress him… and he never woke up!  I call that success… or extremely tired boy! 

This concludes our trip to St. Louis.

St. Louis Wedding

I had a cousin getting married in June in St. Louis.  My Mom was going by herself… I was still living in a camper in the rain… so I told her – wouldn’t it be so much fun if the kids and I came with you to keep you company?!  She foolish thought it would be a blast!!  So we went!

I don’t have a lot of pictures – but I was trying to get pictures of the kids and I all dressed up on my phone.  Not sure why I didn’t dig out my big camera… but I didn’t.  Traveling with 2 kids and 1 parent is… um… exhausting!!  Don’t get me wrong – Grandma was right there to step in when needed and I had Ellyn too – but you know how kids are they only want Mom!!

So here is my attempts at pictures…

 

 

Can you see Ellyn laughing in the background in the picture above?  And then Mallory broke that necklace she is wearing… it was a necklace from my Grandma!  Little stinker!

My Mom steps in to get a good picture.

Well maybe just a picture… not a good one where everyone is looking.

We leave for the wedding.  I bring a few snacks because it is a late wedding in the middle of my kids routinely eating supper.  Max brings a Monster Truck to play with.  We decide to park where the meal will be and take the wedding bus to the church.  We sit in the bus and wait for it to fill up.  Max starts driving his truck around the back of the seats.  Now this is a like a limo bus, so not very big and not bus like at all.  Well, Max drops the Monster Truck behind the seats and I can not get it!!! 

The other passengers on the bus are laughing!  Me not so much!  This kid has been carrying around this Monster Truck since we left Wisconsin!  It is a prize possession to him right now!  So the passengers tell Max to go ask the driver if he would help him.  Sure enough… my not-shy-at-all Max walks up to the front and asks the tuxedo-wearing bus driver if he could get his Monster Truck.  Driver looks at two-year old Max and says “Is it valuable?”  Max says “Yup”.  As if Max understands the word valuable.

Tuxedo-wearing driver comes back and gets the truck with a broom and hands it back to Max and says “I suggest you don’t do that again.” and walks back to his driver seat.  Now… everyone is laughing!!!  But I am thinking… wow this driver is not so kid friendly!

We get to the church and of course to the front we go because we are family.  The wedding goes – full catholic wedding.  During a kneeling prayer – Max spills his goldfish crackers all over the pew in front of us!!!!  Seriously!!!!!!  So I’m catching fish and putting them back in his cup.  The people who have a pew full of fish – don’t even look around and check what is going on. 

Then… it is time for communion and people are getting out of our pew and those dang fish spill again!!! 

I could not wait to get out of that church!!  This kid has not been schooled enough on how to act in a church – he goes to the nursery and plays at our church!  : )

Max is kind of like Chandler on the show Friends… he locks up when he has to get his picture taken and comes out with the craziest looks/expressions on his face. 

And that was the wedding.  My kids were really super shy during the dance and they sat on my lap the whole time.  And then my little Mallory missed her Daddy so much she had a break down in the coat closet!!  We went in there to call Jesse (it was the only quiet spot) and she cried and cried and cried when she heard his voice.  She couldn’t even talk.  She may or may not get that from me!

Summer Guest

My niece, Ellyn, has “moved in” with us for the summer.  This is so very special for her and for us. 

She is a huge help.  My kids love her to pieces and don’t ever get tired of seeing her.  Never.  Ever. 

I signed her up for 4 weeks of summer school at the public school here.  She absolutely loves it!  It is fun summer school – swimming, photography class, cooking classes!  She bravely rides her bike to and from!!  Which is a huge help because sometimes my kids are still sleeping and if there is anything I don’t like more it is waking sleeping children!

She had a break from summer school for a few weeks and it just happened that Mallory had swim lessons during that week at 8:30 in the morning for 30 minutes.  I talked Ellyn into staying home with Max and letting Mally & I go.  She (Ellyn) was a rock star at staying at home with Max.  She would get him dressed.  Feed him breakfast.  Clean up breakfast dishes.  Get dressed herself.  Make her bed.  Brush teeth… all in 45 minutes!! 

Then I had the brilliant idea on the second week of swim lessons to potty train Max.  Ellyn would put him in his underpants and make him go!  No accidents on her watch!  This is how she did it “Max you want a marshmellow??”  He would of course say yes and then she would say “Then lets go potty first!”  Off he would go! I’m not sure how many marshmellows were consumed in those 45 minutes – but hey!  No accidents!  I’m not going to judge/complain about her technique!  : )

It has been a huge blessing having her with us this summer!  We have truly enjoyed her company!

Bowling

Mallory’s birthday party this year was at the bowling alley.  We were living in the camper & had no house – so I wasn’t really too excited to have everyone over here and throw together a party out of the camper.  We decided to have everyone meet up at the bowling alley and it was great.

I had a cake made… wasn’t confident that I could cook a cake in the camper oven.  : )

Opening presents!  Another swimsuit!  Mallory has so many swimsuits – she just finished swim lessons this last week and they made comments every time Mallory walked in “Another swim suit!”  I was sure to tell them that I have never bought her a swim suit – her Grandmas have swim suit issues and they buy them for her.  : )  But oh my they are all super cute!! 

A little personal shout out to my sister, Shannon.  Thankyouverymuch for the Doctor Kit!  I have pink rubber gloves everywhere!  I have bandaides stuck on my couches!  I have them dressing up in doctor gear from head to toe and chasing after me telling me that I need a check up!  Then shoot me with pretend shots and dose me with pretend medicine!! 

Mallory & Her cake!

She was really shy when we were signing to her.

Blowing out candles!

When I was putting the candles in her cake – I only put three candles in.  I didn’t think anything about it.  Then my Mom says… Lynn!  She needs FOUR candles!  WHAT?!!  OMG!  She isn’t turning four is she?!!?  ; )  I pouted my lip out and stuck another candle in the cake.

All the cousins.

Can you see each child’s personality in these photos?  I even think Max is sticking his finger in the cake!!

On to the bowling!

Bothering Uncle Adam… or is Uncle Adam bothering her?

Uh-oh!  Max is going to get in on this!

Grandma Great made it!  She loves watching all these kids run around… then she was off to the gambling machines!  : ) 

Now Auntie Steph got in on the action!

 

Oh my favorite guys!!!  These two are so similar sometimes!

Jesse would hold the ball on the ground and Max would kick it.  Yeah… that’s how they teach him how to bowl?  Lets hope he forgets that style before he becomes a teenager!

It was a fun little celebration for our little Mallory!!

Back to June 7th

I’m afraid we have to go back and catch the blog up on all the other important highlights that happened during all this remodel but never made the blog.  First up… Mallory turned 4!

The day before she turned 4 we went to a ballet recital for Katherine (our nanny’s daughter).  Mally was in love with that!  She wants to do that so bad.  Anyway, while we were gone Jesse and Max were in charge of putting together her birthday present for the next day.  I got a text that Max was super excited about putting her present together and jabbering non-stop about it.  Her present was a little kid ride on, battery operated RZR – but in green her favorite color.

So we get home late from the recital and I am telling Mallory we need to be quiet (we are still living in the camper then) and we walk in and Max is sitting at the table eating string cheese, wide awake.  He runs up to Mallory and starts jabbering about a present for her and “a new four wheeler”.  However, she didn’t understand a word he was saying so she didn’t pay much attention.  She was too excited about the flag she got from the recital. 

I can’t remember what we did on her birthday – but I have pictures of us giving her her present.

Jesse opening the door to the shop for her to see her present.

Walking to where it was hidden.

Running to get in it!

Max is going too!

Climbing in

And they are off!

Waiting to get outside.

Free!  They are off and this kept them entertained for hours!!

Now today, July 16th… it has been a month now since we had it and it has become Max’s.  Mallory lost interest in it – she can now ride a bike without training wheels so all she wants to do is ride bike.  Max is lazy about physical work – he knows how to peddle – but he would rather ride around in something with a motor/battery.

This past weekend Jesse decided that they were ready to go full speed in it – so he removed the screw that kept them from going fast and now they can go fast.  Mallory runs in the house instant and tells me that Jesse made it go fast.  I look out the kitchen window and I see Max going super fast with a gigantic smile on his face and screaming with glee.  This kid loves fast!  I can’t get him out of it anymore.  He doesn’t want to sleep – he wants to ride rzr.  He doesn’t want to stop for lunch – he wants to ride rzr.  He is so very much Jesse!  So very much!  Although Jesse likes physical work.  : )