Mall Day... (Courtesy of My Cell Phone)

Once again, these are cell phone photos... and pretty much all of them are blurry.

Today, Greg helped his mom move, as did his other 4 brothers. His sister-in-law, Jeanne, had to work, so that left two kids without a parent available to watch them. So... Sarah came to my rescue and volunteered to help watch the extra two kids with me. We originally thought we'd be picking them up around 12, but didn't end up doing that until 2:30. We ran a few errands and played around in the mall for a while.

Here's Sarah with Benjamin... Yes, she fits into a child toy car. And yes, I'm jealous.

Jacob showing off his cool moves. He had to get down a minute later because the moves started getting even "cooler" (more dangerous).
Benjamin in the pink ice cream truck. He really enjoyed the steering wheel and making "vroom" noises.

We picked Brianna and William up around 2:30 and took them to a different mall. Sarah had to look for a dress, so after a quick round of playing, "Who Can Not Touch Anything," we then stayed outside to have more SUPER exciting games.

I think this was, "Who Can Stay Still?" game.
Taking a quick break to smile, laugh, and wiggle around a bit.
I think this one was Jacob's, "Who Can Be Quiet?" game. Note Brianna's mouth. She had some trouble with this one.
And Benjamin begging with his eyes. Please take me home. Please. Let's just go home.
I can tell you for sure that it is a lot of work to have four young kids in a mall play area! Jacob and Brianna were running all over and then trying to climb up on the walls of the play area to walk on them like a balance beam (not a good idea). William just seemed to be in a daze, and we were afraid he would just wander out of the play area. Benjamin needed help getting up the steps to the slide, help sliding down, and then I had to remove him from the bottom each time because he liked to just stay there smiling (while other kids were waiting to come down). Unlike when Jacob was this age, Benjamin loves to run out of the play area... We were on our feet pretty much the entire time they were playing.

Time With the S Family

It had been several months since we had last seen the S Family. Jacob talked all week about being home by the 11th, so he could see his "new friend Ryan." He was VERY excited. Here's Jacob on the way:

Benjamin didn't remember Addyson, but was excited on the way, too. Maybe Jacob's excitement was just contagious.
We spent a good chunk of time in the car driving to meet them. Benjamin's excitement didn't last the entire trip. Jacob took a few photos to entertain himself. Here's one he took of Benjamin.
And one of me. I was told to make a silly face. Initially I did an excited face, with my eyebrows raised and my mouth wide open. Jacob didn't like that, and told me to do this:
Jacob and his "new friend Ryan" had their own table at Chili's. Ryan is an 8-year-old version of Jacob. His mom had to tell him not to discuss terrorist attacks with a 4-year-old. Ryan was a little thrown off and then not sure what he could talk about... I mean, if you can't talk about terrorist attacks, what else can you talk about??? (Background info: At 7, Ryan told me about how he had to earn money for toys and actually said, "By my calculations, it will take about 1 and a half months to earn _____." Really. He also dressed for Halloween as JFK.)
Benjamin took a few moments to check out Addyson. She passed the test. He soon started stealing her cereal puffs.

We then went to their house and had a fabulous time talking. The kids had a great time playing. The only down point was, after much discussion about their finished basement and how the upstairs was completely fine for anything the kids might do to it but the basement carpet and tile were special and how Chris wanted to keep those nice.... I managed to spill my drink ALL OVER IT. I was only down there for 3 minutes. How did I do this? Why did I even take my drink down there?

Because that's just what I do.

They were, of course/as usual, completely wonderful about it and said it wasn't a big deal at all. I still felt pretty bad/stupid.

A Week of Photos!

Looking like trouble.

Greg made a cardboard house for Jacob when he was about a year old. Now it's Benjamin's turn!






George Bob and Papa brought Jacob back yesterday (they're awesome).
After a fun-filled week, Jacob is home and back with us and (most importantly), his toys.

He Makes Me Laugh

Benjamin laughs when we drive over speed bumps.

Benjamin calls everything "cat."

Benjamin thinks "peek a boo" and "How Big is Benjamin?" have to include food-covered hands in his hair (and then only covers one eye during "peek a boo").

Benjamin can do a mean head bobbing dance.

Benjamin refuses to say "mama," but he definitely knows the word.

Benjamin thinks one sock is definitely better than two.

Benjamin likes to throw everything in the trash can and then applaud.

Cell Phone Photos... Please Excuse the Blurriness

On the penny ride at Meijer.

Jacob getting his dark orange stripe belt!

A Very Humid Visit

On Thursday, Jacob had his first trip to the barber. It was interesting (note the wolf).

While getting ready for our car trip, Jacob wanted to help get the "travel snacks" ready (grapes). He told me not to look because he was making a surprise. This is the end result:
Not sure what this is? It's a "grape cake," according to Jacob. The middle section just has whole grapes. The outer layer is made up of grapes Jacob bit in half. It was very tidily arranged, and he was soooo excited and proud of himself.

Here's Benjamin enjoying himself at George Bob and Papa's house. Auntie Anne was feeding him apple pieces (tiny, tiny diced pieces).

It was SO humid. The camera kept fogging up!
Greg and Benjamin crossing the bridge in my parents' backyard.
The parents versus the kids in a game of badminton. None of the adults playing were parents, but a 7-year-old from the neighborhood kept calling them parents.
Rachel and Hilary playing a game of corn hole. It was so good to see them! :)
Of course, Jacob found a pretty girl to teach him how to play. He's quite talented at picking up the ladies. :)





Here's my photo that looks like it was taking with the camera I had in elementary school (yay, 110 film!).
Dad and son watching the fireworks together.


Benjamin playing peekaboo on the way back home.

Benjamin helping me unpack.
We had a super weekend. We got in late on Thursday night and pretty much went to bed after saying hello to my parents. On Friday, we visited my mother's hair salon so she could show off her grandbabies.

On Friday night, we went to Sarah and Bryan E.'s house, which is always a good time. We don't get to see them often enough. They are hilarious when they tell a story, tag team-style.

On Saturday, my parents had a big Fourth of July gathering. We got to visit with neighbors and family friends. Anne and Ben invited some of their friends over, so it was a really nice mix of people.

Jacob decided to stay in St. Louis for the week. It's not really surprising, considering that by the time Greg, Benjamin, and I arrived home (a 4 hour drive), Jacob had already had a play date, played in the creek, and gotten new rain boots, shorts, t-shirts, a chocolate bar, a water gun, and a Gone Fishin' game. And the complete attention of my mother, father, sister, and brother.

June 23, 2009: An email from Greg

The kids were fine on the way today. Jacob wanted a cereal cup just before
we left, and he was upset, even though when he got up at 6:00, he declined
because he wanted to watch TV. So we discussed how he made the choice, but
he still wasn't happy. Then, later in the trip we had the following
conversation. I didn’t have a menu in the car, so we didn’t know what was
for breakfast:

Jacob: I hope it isn't eggs and toast today.
Me: Why?
Jacob: Because I like ketchup on my eggs; and if I say no, then I
can't get any.
Me: If you say you don't want any, you can't get
any?
Jacob: No
Me: Well, if they ask, say that you DO want some.
Jacob: But if I say no, then I can't get any later.
Me: Don't you always want ketchup on your eggs?
Jacob: Yes
Me: Then, when they ask if you want ketchup, say yes!

As it turned out, it was oatmeal day.