Oops!

I think I failed to mention that we moved into our house right before we left on vacation.

And by right before, I mean 3 days before.

Yes, I have been home from vacation now for almost two months, but I am still 

unpacking...

hanging curtain rods...

trying to get the paint off the windows...

installing doorstops...

finding little this's and that's for the contractor to fix...

and having too much fun with these two...

And somewhere in the midst of everything else going on this little lady turned nine months and isn't so little anymore.

Our Summer Adventure

Because a certain someone came home from their mission...

...we flew (what felt like) across the world to see my family. We had a family reunion of sorts. We went to Lancaster County, and then we to Hershey, PA because Bennett needed to meet someone.

 We also went to two of the Smithsonian Museums. 

We discovered the museums aren't as easy to go to with two kids and short attention spans.

By far, my favorite license plate of the trip! It made it easy to remember what car we were parked by.

One of the best parts of our trip was meeting up with the Oesterle's at the National Zoo.

Kai and Bennett were like long lost friends reunited. For days afterwards Bennett kept asking when we were going to see his friend again.

Kevin had to go back to work, but I stayed with the kids for a while longer and we had lots of time to just relax and enjoy summer. It was great!

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us crash your house! 

Can we come back soon?

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

 OH!

THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!

You'll be seeing great sights!

You'll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

With banner flip-flapping,

once more you'll ride high!

Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!

(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray

or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,

you're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting.

So...get on your way!

Oh, The Decisions!

Today I had a terrible time deciding which knobs should go on our closet doors. I sat. I debated. I agonized. I realized they are just knobs. I just picked some.

In building our house I have spent a lot of time agonizing over the littlest details--the way the paint was put on the crown molding, which way a door should swing, knobs vs. pulls, and on down the list.

But in the end it doesn't really matter.

Yesterday we got carpet. We are pretty stoked!

And we didn't even have to agonize over this decision.

You've Had A Birthday Shout Hooray

This little boy turned three on Mother's Day...

  

 On Saturday Ben celebrated by playing in the dirt (yes, he really loves playing in the dirt), 

going to Chuck E Cheese's, and eating dinner at McDonald's.

With it also being Mother's Day also he was pretty confused for most of the day. Half way through the day he wished me a Happy Birthday! However, when the cupcakes came out he knew it was his time. I think all he wanted was to blow out candles!

I hope the next three years don't go by quite as quickly!

Happy Easter

Out of the Mouth of Ben

Ben: Mommy, I think the cushions really miss me. I better take them off before they get really dusty.

Ben: Grandma has a baby in her tummy. (Long pause with some very obvious deep thinking) Grandpa will be so happy.

And my personal favorite; if you ask Bennett what his daddy does for work he replies, "he makes soda."