Sidewalk Chalk Festival 2012

We went to the sidewalk chalk festival today in Burlington.  We had a good time eating cupcakes, drinking water, playing in the park and drawing on the parking lot.  Considering that there isn't any rain in the forecast for the next 5 days in Burlington, these works of art may be up for a long time. 

Here's a photo of the kids marking the combination of sidewalk chalk with ninjas.  Christopher's red ninja drawing is at his feet.

Think she's telling us something?

Many mornings Molly gets sprung from her crib and then makes a run to jump under the covers in our bed. Do you think she's trying to tell us something?

Pez Lessons

Annette took some time after dinner tonight to teach the kids how to load up their own pez dispensers. (Ignore the laundry in the background. We usually do.)
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PJ's and Penguins

The kids popped a squat on the driveway on Tuesday night after spending the evening @ Granny's. In their pajamas they waited patiently for the Ice Cream truck to travel by on the off-chance their old man would spring for a treat. The juxtaposition of pajamas on the driveway during daytime was more than I could handle.

Why penguins you ask? Because they call the truck "Pat Penguin" after the Kona Ice mascot.

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Bedtime

Adam here - I have to put down all 5 kids tonight since Annette's at class.

So, I recruited some help. Christopher is reading to Clara and Sabrina while Lucy is munching on books nearyby. Good times...

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What do you say?

Sabrina insisted this morning as I was leaving for the office that I come back to her room. And I'm glad I did. As soon as I entered the room she jumped up on her bed, struck a pose and said, "Say cheese animals!"

Cute...
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Christopher turns 7

7 years ago Annette and I welcomed our first baby into the world.  And now, we're talking with a fully functioning child who is officially able to brush his teeth by himself.  My how the time flies.

Christopher had several friends over for his birthday on Sunday.  The boys made some "battleships" for the kiddy pool using a roll of duct tape and recyclables.  Then, they took a few steps back and "bombed" the battleships with water balloons.  We had ingenuity.  We had water balloons.  We had carnage.  A great time was had by all. Christopher is second from the left and Clara is furthest to the right. 

Here is a photo of a happy 7 year-old boy with his water balloon. 

And here is a photo of a boy opening presents while being surrounded by other boys.

"Can I help?"

When you get bigger, Sabrina, then you can help Mama do this. But for now, you have to go to bed.

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Helpful painters

Clara and Sabrina came to Katie and Paul's house to help paint their foundation this morning. Giving a 3 year old and her 5 year old sister paint brushes to help out on a house is usually not wise. We found that asking them to paint inside the basement window well worked great.

In this photo Emily's the supervisor.
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Fireside chat

 Christopher, Clara and I went on a campout with the scouts this weekend.  Here the two are enjoying a moment by the fire.  My allergies kicked up overnight making the next day less pleasant, but I'm grateful for the moments we had together. 

Harvest Meal

Last night for Father's Day we ate the turkey that was harvested on April 15th. And that prompted a question... Could we have an entire meal made with ingredients from hunting success and our garden?

We're working on the menu now. I suspect it will include deer chili and zucchini chocolate bread.

Here Molly is tending to the garden. We're just glad she's not eating much dirt anymore. (Sorry if the image is on its side.)
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Cub Scout Campout

We had a great time on the campout this past weekend with Christopher's Cub Scout Pack.  We learned how you can make breakfast, lunch, dinner and even dessert using a foil pack.  Christopher and Clara were in great spirits throughout the weekend.  I'm hopeful that will continue as we enter Vacation Bible School Week.  Annette and I have another name for VBS week, but we won't get into that just yet. 

Here's a photo from Saturday night by the fire ring.  Good times!

 Another photo near the fire ring on Saturday night.

Breakfast was eggs, hash brown and sausage - all in a foil pack.  (We learned the difference between a flat pack and a tent pack ... and yes, there is a difference.)

Camping Adventures

Clara, Christopher and Adam have spent the last 2 nights camping with the Cub Scouts. Clara was a workhorse with gathering firewood and Christopher makes a mean 'Smore.

They've gone to bed late for the past two nights and have been playing very hard during the day. These puppies are tired and having a hard time getting up in the morning - but who can blame 'em!
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Laundry Basket Time

Every kid needs a little bit of time with the laundry basket.  Here's a photo of Molly showing Lucy the ropes...

Will it float?

While Annette rested in the afternoon, Adam employed a little bit of creativity with the kids on Memorial Day.  Using the recycle bin, a roll of masking tape and Molly's new pool, he created a game for Christopher and Clara.  The object of the game was to build something using the recycled materials that would float in Molly's pool.  Later we added weight to see how many rocks the new boat could hold.  Christopher is proud to report, "I got the most with four rocks."

Workin' at the Car Wash

Clara and Sabrina decided on Memorial Day that they would use Molly's new pool to wash some of their "cars." 

Christopher reads

Last night, we were able to convince Christopher to read an "Olivia" book to his two younger sisters.  He did a great job and we're very proud that he's able to read to them as a first grader.

What are you going to be when you grow up?

Clara has told us from time to time that she'd like to be a construction worker. And other times we've heard her say she'd like to be an artist.

But after seeing this photo, do you think she could be a fire fighter?

Hanging out in the backyard

 Four of the kiddos are just gathered at our home in the backyard eating ice cream and making observations about life around them.  

The Graduate

 Clara at her Preschool Graduation event last night.