Clean and Sparkling Cousins...For Now

Look at this bunch of hooligans! That is just what they are too....hooligans! When they are all together, WATCH OUT!

Mischievous describes this crew perfectly. I shudder at the thought of what it will be like in 7 years. That little blondie on the end will be driving then, and those two next to him will be his partners in crime. (Good thing my two have a couple of uncles that are lawyers. We may need their help.)

Here they are after they had been scrubbed clean. In fact, they are so clean, they almost sparkle.
I wish I had a "before" picture to share with you....After an entire day of playing outside on the farm, they were filthy! It was a such a scary sight. Just too scary to share. Especially that guy in the middle. I don't know how he does it...it's like he's a dirt magnet. Dirt just seeks him out.

Sludge. That is the only word I can think of to clearly describe what is left behind in the tub after his bath. So nasty! He's lucky he's cute, or I just might not put up with his love for dirt.



They love being together. And when they are, they're inseparable.

I hope they will always be the best of friends.

Just do me a favor guys, and stay clean!

S

Summer....where has thou gone?

Waaaaaay back in June, when I saw nothing but long and lazy summer days before me, I thought I would get so much blogging done and was really looking forward to it. My goal was a blog a day. I was so excited about all the blogging I was going to do that I was almost giddy! Well, I officially have one day of vacation left and didn't accomplish a lot with my blog.

Everywhere we went I had my camera in hand to chronicle our events and outings, but we would get back home and I just couldn't seem to find the time to get on the computer to post the pictures and write the stories. The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our summer, and it went by way too fast. I loved doing nothing but staying at home with the kids day in and day out, going on long walks, bike rides, trips to the zoo and the children's museum, our walks around the corner to the ice cream shoppe, and, of course, our trips to the farm.

In the upcoming days, I will post our summer memories. So please check back and see what we have been up to. Now that I will back to work, maybe our lives will have some order and structure, and I will make better use of my time. OK, who am I kidding....but one can always hope!

S

"This is going to be the best night EVER!"

I am currently in the middle of having my Big Ass Garage Sale. I really needed to purge some of the "junk" we have accumulated over the years and what better way than to have a garage sale.

In order to make my life a little easier during my Big Ass Garage Sale, my mom came up and took the girls home with her so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping an eye on them. I have such a wonderful mom! Thank you, Mom! Let me tell you that it is so different having just TWO kids. Way different! Much slower paced. However, every now and then, I did look over my shoulder for the girls, and Chi-Chi asked a couple times where "The Law" and
Q-T were.........and for a brief moment I would become panic stricken......then Chi-Chi would say, with his fat little tongue, "Oh yeah, Mom, they went home with Oma. Rememba?"

So for a few hours, we were just a family of four.

Here is the part that just melted my heart. Last night was the "last night" of Bible School for the boys. There was a big finale with a program and carnival. (It was wonderful but will post more about that later. ) After it was all over, the boys and I piled into the car. As the doors the slammed shut, Chi-Chi turned to Dew and said, with his fat little tongue, "You are the best brother I have ever had." I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Was the sky falling?
Dew turned to Chi-Chi and replied, "You're the best brother, too, Chi-Chi." They had this wonderful conversation all the way home, and I sat happily behind the wheel with the biggest grin plastered to my face thinking, "It doesn't get any better than this!"

To top it off, they wanted to have a slumber party with Mommy and Daddy in our room. So they made a pallet out of blankets, and Dew read a chapter to us out of his Magic Tree House book. Yes, they were thrilled about the fact that it was just them for one night. Yes, their prayers had been answered when we said they could sleep in our room. But the highlight of the evening was sleeping with their little lanterns they made in Bible School which consisted of a jar covered in tissue paper and then a glow stick was the candle. (As simple as those lanterns were, they were pretty cool and still glowing brightly this morning when I got up.) Dew and Chi-Chi carefully placed their lanterns on the floor just above their pillows. And as they were drifting off to sleep, Chi-Chi turned to Dew, and I heard him whisper (with his fat little tongue), "Dew, this has been the BEST night EVER!"

Dew answered, "Yes, Chi-Chi, it was!"

Once again, I ran to the window to see if the sky was falling, but it wasn't. For a few hours, they were brothers. Brothers that loved each other. And two little boys who were thrilled to get all of our attention.

And as I drifted off to sleep I took a moment to thank God for giving me that moment and for giving me those two wonderful little boys!

S