We painted the Chicken Coop

 And ourselves...

 Nothing a little bath won't fix...

"Six Years Ago We Would Have Been on a Boat with a Beer"

True quote from my friend Heidi as we sat on a blanket eating pb&js at the Tot Lot.  My how things have changed.  During summer break six years ago, I slept til noon, hung out with my friends all day, and yes, I would have been on a boat with a beer.  Today, I woke up at 7:30, played trains, went for a run/bike ride with my friends before we had a picnic at the park.  All good fun.

 It wasn't until after nap that the drama started.  You see, it has recently come to our attention that Stinkerbell might be a Rooster.

 Robbie has been telling me this for weeks but I was just trying to convince him that it was just a masculine hen.  Unfortunately, the other day I had to give in when I heard "rrrr rr rrr rrr rrrrrrrrrrr" coming from the coop.  So Robbie put him on Craigslist and a nice lady came to pick him up today.  She said she has a farm.  We took her word for it.  She and her mom and sister stood outside the coop and watched for 10 minutes as I tried to catch the rooster.  Eventually, Robbie got home and the lady decided to help.  She probably does own a farm because she snagged that sucker in under a minute (which makes me wonder why in the world she just watched me for so long).  Sometimes, timing is everything because just as she grabbed him and shoved him in a box, the kids wandered outside from their nap and Abby started screaming.  Pretty soon Ben joined her and I'm confident that the screaming and carrying on could be heard throught the greater Pierce County area.

 Eventually, it slowed down but by bedtime the grief was just too much to handle again.  Ben called Grandma and told her that strangers came and took Stinkerbell and it started all over again.  Aye yi yi.

 I got them calmed down and dropped them off at Grandma's for the night.  Hopefully they arent crying themselves to sleep as we speak.

So now I have a quiet house and what else would I do but fold the ginormous mountain of laundry.  It is no secret that laundry folding is my houskeeping down fall but this is probably as bad as it has been.  It's been a busy week and my laundry fairy was in Ohio but the kids have no undies and Robbie spent 45 minutes digging for clothes to wear to work so it must be done.

So there you have it.  I ate lunch at the Tot Lot, cried over a rooster and am about to spend the evening folding 76 loads of laundry.  Six years ago I would have been on a boat with a beer.

Happy Summer!!!

The pool is up,

my eyes are scratchy and the kids are smiling,

must be summer!!!

You have no idea how long I have been waiting for this.  And it's not just the whole no work thing (although that really doesn't hurt).  It's the sun.  And the being outside.  And the sun.  And, well, the whole no work thing.  But mostly, it's the sun.  Because I LOVE when it is sunny.  Life is just so much better when you can be outside all day.  Eat, play, nap, boat, swim...I love it all.  And I hate being cold.  And ten months out of the year I am freezing!   And I'm still a little (who am I kidding? A LOT!!!) bitter about last summer so I have high hopes for this one.  Just two months of sun.  That's all I ask.  PLLLLEEEEEEEEEASE?  

Evil Knievel

Here at the Miller house we are really into bike stunts.  They have been able to ride their bikes for almost 2 weeks now so it stands to reason that it is time to up the risk factor a little.  It started with hutting.  What?  Don't worry.  I had to ask too.  Apparently hutting is when you pedal as fast as you can and then take your feet off the pedals and put them on the cross bar and then scream "I'm hutting!!" at the top of your lungs.  Besides hutting, we have also been experimenting riding with one hand and looking behind us while we ride.  Unfortunately, some of these tricks have proven to be a bit advanced for my little bike riders.  We had a little hutting incident when Ben mowed me down from behind while hutting (and then proceeded to blame me for not watching where I was going) and the whole looking backward thing backfired when Abby smacked into a mailbox.  With her head.  Thank goodness for the bunny helmet.

Since all of the other stunts were going so well, the kids decided that it was time for a ramp to jump...

 Even my big kid got in on the action...

We've only had one major crash so far but both Ben and Robbie swear it was because of the rocks, not the ramp.  Riiiiiiight.

If these bike tricks are any indication, I see a few ER trips in my future.  Either one of the kids trying something something risky or my husband forgetting that he's not a kid.  Or maybe me when I look out the window to see one of my babies flying through the air and my heart stops.  I think it is time to review our medical insurance!!

Girl Day

Around here we l-o-v-e girl day.  That's when the boys go do something together so that Abby and I can do something just the two of us.  Yesterday, Robbie needed to run an errand so I told him if he and Ben went to the grocery store while he was out Abby and  I would stay home and clean the house.  Well he couldn't pass that up and asked me to make a list.  Abby heard "clean the house" (which as you know is one of her favorite activies) and could hardly wait to get the boys out of the house so we could start our girl day.  "I'll write the list, Momma.  Tell me what we need."  So I sat on the couch and rattled off the groceries to buy and she sat at the table and wrote.  I was half expecting (more than half, actually) to have to rewrite the list but when she was done I couldn't believe my eyes.  Even better, Robbie could read it too!!

 Here's what she wrote:

2 Propel

1 Toothpaste

Ceasar salad

Yogurt

2 Milk

Blueberries

Raspberries

6 Frosted Mini Wheats (which she then had to cross out when I realized we were a day early for the sale)

Butter

1 Margarine

12 Eggs

4 Chips

Bread

Olives

2 Cream cheese

Pretty good if you ask me!

Finally the boys got on their way and we could get to doing what we live for...cleaning the house!

I sure do love girl day!!

T-Ball is a 2-inning sport

Or at least it ought to be.  Yesterday was the final game of the season and things started out just great.  Ben got to play pitcher (you know, stand on the mound) which was exciting for him.

 Especially when he got to run the ball home to get someone out!

 And Abby did a great job running the bases.

 This was all for the first two innings.  By the third inning, they had all hit the wall.  Half of the team was complaining that they didn't "want to play baseball anymore" (and by half of the team I actually just mean Abby).  The outfield was lying down on the job.  It really is quite a mess.

Here's Ben.  My once serious T-ball boy could focus only on drawing in the dirt...

 And could she look less interested in the game??

 But they weren't the only ones.  Here are two athletes preoccupied with putting their mitts on their heads...

 And then there was this...

 And this...

 And this...

Now I don't want to give the whole team a bad rap.  I do think there were at least 3 kids paying attention to the game.  Luckily, we stopped after 3 innings.  (One game we tried 4.  Oh.  My.  Gosh. )  Can't wait for next year!!!

From the Mouths of (My) Babes

Today was the much dreaded last day of preschool.  Dreaded by Abby because she is worried about never seeing her BFF again (you know, at least until their T-ball game tomorrow morning) and dreaded by me because I am not emotionally stable enough for the end of an era.  The kids were lucky enough to be in the same class with the same teacher and most of the same kids for two years and you know how well I do with goodbyes.  I was able to choke back my tears and squeak out a thank you before I dashed off to my car to cry in peace.  As I was trying to get my mind off my extreme overreaction, I remembered the card Abby wrote to her teacher.  "Deer Mis Kilcup.  I love you.  Hav fun withawt me.  Love Abby."  A few giggles later and my eyes were dry before I hit the freeway (which was probably a good idea).

Tonight, we had planned to go to a baseball game but the torrential down pours made us reconsider.  Instead we rented a movie, ordered a pizza, popped some popcorn and snuggled up to watch, I mean answer 10,000 questions about,  "Yogi Bear."  This evening, however, it came to my attention that although Ben graduated from preschool today, he talks like he just graduated from Harvard.  In just a few hours, I have heard the following:

While picking out the movie, the two of them couldn't seem to agree so I said that one could pick the movie and the other could choose dessert.  Ben said, "Abby can pick dessert.  I'd prefer to choose the movie."  He'd prefer?  What?!

As we watched the previews for the movie, there was one that had something to do with space.  Ben turned to Robbie and asked, "What are they preparing him for?"  Robbie gave him a blank stare so Ben brought it down to his level.  "That guy in the space suit.  What is he getting ready for?"

Just a few minutes later he must have had some popcorn stuck in his throat with all the racket he was making so I asked him if he needed a drink of water.  Pretty soon he was back on the couch saying, "Much better.  That was a good suggestion Momma."

Suggestion?  Preparing?  Prefer?  Does this kid know he's five??

While their summer vacation is just gearing up, my school year is winding down and we have 2 more weeks until the much anticipated "70 whole days together"!!

Operation: Wood Chipping

Ahhhhhhhh!  Finally a chance to put my Crocs up.  Today was a busy day.  The day we've all been waiting for.  The Chipping Party!  Yes, you heard me.  We had a wood chipping party.  And boy oh boy did we get a lot done! 

 Remember this pile?

 Well it and three of its best friends are now tiny little scraps of wood, thanks to the chipper we rented.  Do you also remember that I told you we have been saving up for this day?  In that pile (which by the way went back about 30 feet) were all three of the Christmas trees that have graced this house along with every branch and piece of bark that we have come across since we unpacked in December of 2009.  Believe me when I tell you that this should maybe be a once a year activity from now on.

The kids have been excited about our party for weeks now and they were eager to help out.  At first we were letting them help with the chipper.  And then I saw this:

 I seriously can't get that picture out of my head.  So they moved on to less life threatening, but equally important, jobs.  Abby was in charge of filling her bucket with sticks and little pieces of wood and bark.

 And Ben took it upon himself to bring bark from the other corner of the yard.

 After some hard work, it was time for a lunch break.

 Ben and Abby weren't our only helpers today.  Robbie's parents came for the party too.  Which was especially nice since it was his mom's birthday.  Or maybe it was nice of us to throw her a Chipping Party.  Whatever the case, we are so thankful they were here because you couldn't ask for two better helpers.  Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!

 After lunch, the kids got back to hauling bark.  We had Abby vacate her bucket job because Ben was way back in the woods by himself.  And we couldn't hear because of the chipper.  And six days ago there was a bear spotted less than a mile from our house.  And I figured that two small people are always better than one.  Especially if you're going to encounter a bear.  And besides, when they are together they are pretty crazy and pretty loud and a smart bear would just steer clear.  They both made it out alive, so mission accomplished.  But their load was so big they had to use team work!

 And they weren't the only ones using team work today...

 After FIVE HOURS of straight chipping, we had three big mountains of chips, each almost as tall as me.  (Stop laughing.  I know I'm not that tall but that is a lot of wood chips!)

 What are we going to do with all those?  Well I thought you'd never ask.  One pile I have already spread out in front of the play house.  Usually, the weeds around there get so tall that we can't even make it to the front porch.  Will this solve that problem?  Who knows but it sure looks pretty!

 We also put some out around the few plants that we do have, these bushy things in front of the house

 and our Papa Pete tree that we got to remember Robbie's dad.  (Yes, that is a golf club holding the tree up.  Papa Pete wouldn't have had it any other way.)

 The best part of the day was when I saw this:

 The ground where the big heap of branches used to be.  It's a Chipping Party miracle!!

Next up, the wood shed.  A little bad news about that.  Yesterday Robbie told me that it would be done by the end of August.  What!??  I was kind of thinking next weekend.

It Didn't Rain on My Parade!

Now I'm no Steve Pool but I'm pretty sure today turned out about 100% better than predicted.  Which worked out good for us because we had a parade to attend!

It started at 8:45 (again with the 8:45 on a Saturday!!) with the Kid's Dash.  The kids came downstairs dressed in their track shirts and ready to run.

 They were a little nervous at the starting line.  While they weren't the smallest in the race they certainly weren't the biggest kids either!

 And they're off!  Can you see them right there in the middle? ( The sprinter in me is secretly proud of Ben's high knees!)

 Ben held his own against some of the bigger kids and as the friend next to me pointed out, "I think he was first for his height!"

 Abby finished close behind him and they were both so proud of their ribbons!  Next year, they plan to run the 5K Fun Run.  Considering all the belly aching about our half mile walk back to the car, it sounds more like a 5K Nightmare Run to me, but we'll see.  We do have 365 days to train.

 After that, it was time to stake out our spot for the parade. 

 We got all settled in and waited for the fun to start.

 And boy was it fun!  Ben watched very seriously and had (surprise!) questions about each and every float.

 Abby waved at all of the princesses and hugged every mascot that walked by.  (I'm not going to lie.  That kind of creeps me out being that we have no idea who is in the suit but one of my goals as a mom is to not share all of my irrational fears with my kids so I just let it go.)

 And they were sure to invite Grandpa to the parade.

 Because he buys the ice cream, of course!

 The parade ended with just enough time to get back to our car and get home before it started raining!  It was a perfect day with lots of fun, lots of candy, lots of friends and family and, best of all, lots of smiles from my kids.  Totally worth starting at 8:45.