The Voice

This is the voice that David uses everytime he is telling us what Luke is saying or when he is talking directly to Luke. He comes out with it unexpectedly and I've been trying to capture it for months. Classic.

Family Projects

Brian is a hard worker and quite handy. Before we had kids, we used to work on projects together. I have lots of memories from the old house of hanging drywall, mudding, painting, sanding, drilling, etc. But once the babies came along, it's been Brian working alone while I keep the kids out of his hair. I look forward to the day when we can all do projects together again.

Katy is always wanting to help, and finally Brian had an idea in which she and David could get involved. Last year when we bought our playset, there was only one disappointment: the previous owners had never treated or stained the wood, so in 5 short years it had gotten pretty yucky. Brian was worried that it would start to break down and not have the life span that we are hoping for, so this week he powerwashed it and stained it. A family project!

Notice Katy working hard on the lower railings. She did most of the lower half!

David, well...he liked the idea of painting more than the actual task.

Perfect because drips didn't matter!

The back BEFORE

The back AFTER

BEFORE again

AFTER! The playset looks brand new and we're hoping it will last for the long haul. The kids are really proud of their work. (I enjoyed watching from the AC - baby duty has it's privileges)

Kicking It Up Another Notch

After months of insisting that she did not want to cut her hair, the summer heat got to her and Katy asked me about cutting it short. So two youtube videos later, I gave it a shot, only slightly less nervous than when I cut David's hair.

Before - it was down her back!

We cut off over 6 inches!

First glance - she said, "I look like Kimmy! It looks a lot better than it did!"

Is it just me or doese she look like a school-ager? *sniff*

Jungle Jack's Landing

Every once in a while, I come across something that I just want to share with you, even though this is not a review blog. I'm not getting anything in return for this opinion, I just don't think that Central Ohio has discovered Jungle Jack's Landing yet!

Jungle Jack's is the new mini-amusement park at the Columbus Zoo, in between the main zoo and the water park. If you have already paid admission to one of the two parks (or gotten in with your membership), then you can stop by JJ's for a ride. There's a booth to buy individual ride tickets right as you enter that section, and rides are $1 each. Or you can do what we decided to try, which is go to the zoo with the intention of just riding rides and buy all-day-wristbands for $8. We got them for Katy, David, and Brian, but we could've gotten away with only Katy and David. Many of the rides they could ride alone, and once they had gotten their feet wet, they wanted to be big kids and go by themselves.

Once your kids are 36 inches (mine are and they are SHORT, so most 3 year olds are), there are about 5 rides that they can ride alone, like the swings, the train, the elephant ride, the tea cups, the frog hopper. There are also another 2 or 3 rides that they can ride with an adult, but they are the spin-spin-spin-spin-spin variety, and after one try, my kids went back to the easy ones.

We went on a Friday morning - both the zoo and the water park were packed, but we did not wait in line for one single ride. Most of the time, we were the only ones riding. And bonus! Your wristband also allows you to go into the main zoo and ride the boat ride in Australia, the carousel, and train ride in North America.

I feel like we got the King's Island experience without the long drive, the long lines, and the hefty pricetag. It wouldn't satisfy a teenager, but for parents of preschoolers in Central Ohio (especially if you already have a zoo pass like most people I know), it's the way to go!

They Make Me Laugh

*I was in a waiting room with all the kids and it was time to go. I was struggling to gather all of my belongings, capture Luke, make sure all 6 shoes were on their 6 feet, etc., when Katy looked at the employee and said, exasperated, "Having three kids is a lot of work!"

*We were walking to the first morning of camp at the park in our neighborhood (a nice warm-up gig for preschool), when David started asking again if Katy was going to be there the whole time with him (yes), would she be close by or far away (close), etc. Then he said, "Mommy, I'm feeling a little nervous, but in a minute I'll be better." (He was right.)

*Typically the kids each pick a "video" (which is actually a show on the DVR) in the morning, and they don't see Brian and I watch TV, because we only watch it after they're in bed. Yesterday David came down the stairs and saw Brian watching the World Cup, and said, "Daddy?!!? Did Mommy let you pick that video?!?"

*We were playing at a friend's house when Katy picked up a toy fish and sighed, "A fish would be a nice pet. I wish we could have a pet, but we have Luke instead."

*David frequently mixes up opposites, like hot and cold, long and short, etc. He'll walk into the air conditioned house when it's 90 outside and declare, "It's HOT in here!!!" or he'll declare, "I can't reach the monkey bars because I'm not short enough."

QT in the hometown

Not to sound like a broken record, but the kids had a blast again, this time visiting my Dad and Sue. We did so many fun things while we were there, and Brian and I even celebrated six years of marriage. It was surreal to go out in my hometown, eating and shopping entirely in places that did not exist when I lived there. The area has changed SO much.

The spray park is always a hit! Luke has no fear and lots of people were pointing and laughing/cringing as he plowed through the water.

My Dad is such a good sport - the person who chases Luke gets SOAKED.

He's cautious at first, but he warms up.

They spent lots of time playing "tow truck." The bungee cord between the two bikes makes it a fun game, and Grandpa's tools make for hours of entertainment.

We took the big kids to a Dayton Dragons game. It was hot as heck, but they still had a good time.

Cool Relief

The night before we were there, the Dragons broke a record for consecutive sold out athletic events. Since the team's inception, they have never played to less than a sold out crowd!! Amazing!

After the game, they let the kids run around the bases. We almost didn't do it because we were 20 minutes past meltdown, but I'm so glad we persevered. David's little legs (and his tongue sticking out - too small to see in this video) are priceless.

Then we went to the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. My kids LOVED it. Huge hit. It's aimed at the younger kids (compared to our local children's museum), and if you have a Columbus Zoo membership, you get 50% off admission.

Katy now understands how a microscope works!

I love how his hair is blown back by the wind.

Several truck focused exhibits, including a landfill and a recycling truck.

Could've played in the grocery all day.

And the pizza making station? Perfect!

We also met Kelsey there, but I didn't get any good pictures with her family. The kids really enjoyed each other, though.



They recently remodeled the little zoo area and my kids loved it. It's mostly Ohio animals.



We visited my Grandma on the way home. Nothing like a lap full of great-grandchildren.



They surprised me with a Graeter's birthday cake. David came up to me and said "shhh...it's a secret," and Katy cried that he had ruined the surprise. But I played along and worked it out. Great visit!!



The (Third &) Fourth, 2011

The cousins spent a day with us on their way through town

It's quite difficult to get a picture of 6 kids

So you remember that I've mentioned the zip line behind our house?

They waited until I went inside and put Luke in there. Stinkers!

David doesn't let Kimmy out of his sight.

Bros.

Carrie is 7, heading to 2nd grade

Flames still too high for S'mores

Perfect!

Blurry, but captures the joy of sparklers

Post haircut, waiting for the parade

Lucky to find a spot big enough for her chair on the street.

Have you ever tried to get a 12 month old to sit and watch a parade?

Much too busy for that!

Only at a parade are you allowed to stand in the street and eat candy off the ground (thrown by participants)

Boys

Going to sound cheesy, but the parade makes me cry. Something about our country and the feel of community and hope.

I took Katy and David to see fireworks for the first time with their friend Rachel.

They caught fireflies while they waited, which was just as exciting as the fireworks themselves.

A rare moment in his chair. They were SO rambunctious that I was worried they were bothering the people around us. They jumped around dancing and shrieking like crazy.

Didn't take long to figure out the best way to view them. Hope you also had a fantastic 4th!

Never thought it would come to this

I tried to trim Katy's bangs myself once. No, maybe twice. Both times I ended up taking her back to the salon to get it fixed within a few days. I remember that one of the times was right after David was born, so then all of his newborn pictures are plagued with the choppy banged toddler next to him:

That cute baby is thinking, "Keep me away from mom's scissors."

So I never even tried to cut David's hair. Took him right to the kids' salon (which we love) to the tune of $15 a pop, after coupon and tip. And I preferred a scissor cut to clippers, so it had to be done every 6-8 weeks.

Recently it occurred to me while running my fingers through Luke's hair that soon that cost would double as I need to take TWO boys to get haircuts every 6-8 weeks. Yikes! Money's tight for us as it is for everyone right now, so I took a deep breath and started to watch some YouTube videos on how to cut boys' hair. And in the end - this blog post was the one that I found most helpful.

And then I tried it. I used a combo of clippers and scissors. We already had this stuff because Brian has been cutting his own hair for years (obviously).



Shaggy Shag Before



And complicated by a cow lick

Nervous Mommy and David During (I did actually nick his ear - poor kid!)

Side view after - Katy said, "Ahhh...I think David looks cute with that hair cut!"

Cute indeed

I'm pretty happy with it, especially for my first try. I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll be able to cut hair on all 3 of them and save some signifcant cash over the years. And hopefully my technique will improve too. Another effect of the economy: cutting my kids' hair myself!