spicy

After playing outside all morning and soaking in the BEAUTIFUL weather God gave us yesterday, we finally made it inside for lunch. After finishing our lunch, it dawned on me that in the busyness of getting lunch prepared and getting everyone to the table, I forgot to make sure that the kids' hands were washed. When I asked Ivy if she washed her hands after she came inside from playing, she thought for a moment and then remarked, "No, I did not...no wonder my hot dog tasted so spicy!" :-)

acorns

Where there is an acorn...there you will find Owen.

Acorns are Owen's new favorite toy.

He will spend all day gathering them up in his little wheelbarrow...

hauling them all around the yard and driveway...

admiring them and showing them off...

then sitting down and rolling them down the hill of our driveway.

He even made a game out of them where he had to put them through the hole of the brick first and then allow them to roll down the road...

Really? Do we ever need toys?!?!

asking THE question?

Ivy has a friend named Eli. Eli is a boy who is a few months older than Ivy and is one of Ivy's good friends/playmates/classmates from our former church. He is a boy that has a lot of controlled energy and is so well-behaved and well-natured. We have known Eli ever since he was born and have been friends with his family for a number of years now. One thing that Ivy's Daddy prides himself with is the fact that Eli (a four year old and prospective boyfriend and/or husband to Ivy) is afraid of him, and he intends to keep it that way! In fact, if Daddy had his way, Ivy would not date or get married until she was at least 50!

As we were sitting at the dinner table eating our supper, Ivy posed an interesting and very clever question to her Daddy. Out of the blue, Ivy asked, "Daddy, do you love Eli?"

After A LOT of thought and with much hesitation, Daddy responded, "Yes, Ivy, I do love Eli."

With many dramatic pauses, Ivy then asked, "Do you...want...him...to.................marry me...when we get bigger?"

(You can tell that Ivy really knows her Daddy as she already realizes that it will take some time to warm her Daddy up to the idea of her getting married so she needs to get started at the ripe old age of 4!) :-)

Eli is the boy wearing the princess dress...

What do you think her Daddy said? :-)

30!

Today, someone turned the big 3-0!



NATHAN!!!!



To celebrate, I planned a small SURPRISE party for him. BUT...first, we had to make it look good so he wouldn't suspect anything and gave him his presents as though we were officially celebrating his birthday at lunchtime.



Our friends needed help picking up a wood stove and moving it into their house. It just so happened that they needed help today so while Nathan went to help, I threw the party stuff together. I thought Nathan didn't have a clue what was going to happen, BUT being the awesome detective (and storyteller) that he is, he figured it out and then put on a facade as though he didn't know! (Ugh! It's so hard to surprise this man whom God has given him a great talent in figuring stuff out and finding the truth!)

Okay, back to the party stuff...food was prepared, decorations were hung, everything was ready, guests were arriving...then, a phone call! It was Nathan! There was a problem...Nathan and Justin (the friend Nate was helping) were pulled over by the police and Justin had been arrested for operating his vehicle after his license was suspended due to a ticket he didn't know he got from a traffic stop returning home from their recent trip to Florida or Maryland (I can't remember which state). They were going to be late. As to not let him know about his party, I tried not to panic about this news over the phone and just said calmly that it was okay and to get home when he could all the while I was screaming inside and my pregnancy hormones were raging wondering what to do with this news as I didn't want to announce that a friend of ours was arrested and in turn embarass his wife who was there. I then just turned on entertainment mode until they would arrive.

Then, ten minutes later, another phone call! It was Nathan, again! Nathan was able to talk to the police officer to get him to just give Justin a must-appear-in-court ticket rather than officially arresting, booking, and bailing him out so they would be on their way shortly. Perfect! I didn't need to stress out about the long-gone guest of honor at his party any more.

Nathan and Justin the convict finally arrived, and the party was on! SURPRISE!!!! It turns out the whole story about Justin being pulled over and arrested and the police officer just giving him a ticket was all a LIE!!!! Why? Because Nathan knew about the party and wanted to get me all stressed out and wanted to see how I would react to the added stress of the birthday boy not being at the party! What a bum!

Some gifts Nathan got for him turning the ripe old age of 30 were...


...a pink poof to use with his flowery scented pink body wash in the shower...


...the all-important little blue pills...
...a pair of black knee high socks to wear with his flip-flops as he goes out to get the morning newspaper...
...a can of Barbasol for shaving his back as it becomes hairier than his head! :0)

And, of course, what birthday isn't complete without cake!

All in all, I think everyone had a great time chatting, eating, playing, and celebrating Nathan's birthday with us, especiall Nathan!

Happy Birthday to my best friend, to my husband, and to the best Daddy anyone could have!

Royal Ranger Law Enforcement Day

Today, we hosted a law enforcement day for the local group of Royal Rangers at our home. The Royal Rangers is sort of like the Christian form of the Boy Scouts. Nathan got dressed up in his uniform and put on a lecture/demonstration of the ins and outs of being a State Trooper.

First, he talked about the history of the State Police and instructed the boys about the different uniforms he would wear as a trooper. He also explained the history and significance of each part of his uniform... from why there is a picture of a ship on his badge and brass buttons to why there is a certain number of buttons on his uniform. Very interesting!

Then, he showed the group of boys his cruiser and all of the bells and whistles that are in there. He even allowed them to speak over the loudspeaker and use the sirens. (I'm sure our neighbors LOVED that part.)

After he was done talking and demonstrating, he gave a quiz to the boys to see if they were really paying attention and learning from him. The boy who got the most answers correct won a State Police patch. (And, of course, Owen wanted to be a part of the boys too. He got to hang out with his Daddy.)

Finally, Nathan got to be in the hot seat as well answering any questions that the boys and adult leaders had. I'm pretty sure the boys found the time with the Trooper interesting.