Delivered

After failing Everett the last two weeks on his quest to get mint chocolate chip ice cream (who knew not all ice cream places had it?), I wasn't going to fail again tonight.  I took him to Baskin-Robbins...terrible ice cream, but with 31 flavors, they'd certainly have it.  Turns out, they needed 32 flavors.  Luckily, in their frozen case, they had one quart of it left.  It wasn't the cone he dreamed of, but he's not one to complain about a bucket of ice cream....

Roomy

Everett is roughly 3 and a half feet tall. Why, I ask, do I have a bathroom in my house that he can barely fit into without bumping his head???  Who lived here before that felt this was a necessity???

Charging Up

This was Everett.....BEFORE he went to a sleepover with a friend last night....and directly from there to a swimming play date with another friend.... it's safe to say my man was a tiny bit grumpy and a large bit tired today.

Role Reversal

Who knew we'd get to the day where Everett reads bedtime stories to Amelia...."Little Mama" is normally the one taking care of him....

Strumming

The ukulele instructor probably didn't know she was getting a seasoned professional at the string pluckin' game....



Feeling the groove in 2011...

Practicing on her new axe....

Father's Day

How was my Father's Day?  Let's see, I got to sleep in (for our house), got multiple gifts including two custom drawn shirts from my kids, had lunch reservations at my favorite restaurant, and was given a back massage by both my favorite little boy and my favorite little girl....I'd say that's a damn good Father's Day....



One of my lunch dates...

Father-Son Day

On the eve of Father's day, I got to spend a little time with my main man.  Amelia was gone for a play date and Meggan had some shopping to do.  This left us to our own devices....which apparently included a haircut, playing at Dave and Buster's, lunch at Ev's favorite place, a quick stop at Toys R' Us, going to see The Incredibles 2, and coming home for some Nintendo battles.  I'm not sure what's on the agenda for Father's Day tomorrow....but, I hope it's as good as Everett's saturday.


Ready for a Mario Kart race...

Setting records at skee ball...

Kenya

A friend of mine recently had the luxury of attending a wedding in Kenya.  Given this is not a luxury afforded to many, I was very appreciative when he brought back gifts for the kids.  All the gifts were made by hand by locals.  He brought Amelia a necklace, Everett a tribal mask, Meggan a blanket, and me an animal skin drum (which Amelia loved so much she stole it).  Maybe I can repay him one day with gifts from a place he's never been....then again, he's up to 111 countries visited, so that might be tough.

Creating a Monster

While it's been a blast helping Everett learn how to play video games, I'm starting to regret my decision.  First of all, he has actually started beating me at some games. Secondly, his trash talking has really gone to another level.  Tonight, I told him I would take a few minutes to beat him at Mario Kart after dinner. He responded with "Wellll, you're headed in the right direction, but I'm so sorry you have the names wrong....because I'm totally going to whoop you tonight."

More to Them

Here's a glimpse at what we're dealing with on a daily basis....


Amelia (after having a good idea):  That's right people, there's more in here (pointing to her head) than just air!

Me: You don't have to tell me that.  Nobody thinks you're smarter than mommy and daddy do.

Amelia: I'm just saying there's more

Everett:  Yeah, just like there's more to me than just being amazzzzzzzing!

Me:  Is that so?  You're more than just amazing???

Everett:  Yeah, I'm also awesome at beating you and mommy at Nintendo ...


Stay humble, buddy. Stay humble.

All Smiles

There's nothing like a set of school pictures showing up to remind you your little babies aren't little babies anymore.  I love it and I hate it.

Pay Phone

We have entered a weird time where our kids are not old enough to have their own phones, but are plenty tech savvy enough to use mine.  If I turn my back on them, I'll find entire text conversations with their grandparents.  Additionally, I can forget about using my phone at night because I commonly find it with less than 5% battery power after a day of kids' Netflix watching.   That said, I can't complain too much because on a positive note, any time I check out my camera roll I am treated to random pictures that I would have never taken or downloaded.... like tonight's little friend.... 

Landing Gear

This little ball of feathers is a small bird who made a crash landing into the netting around our garden.  Needless to say, it was not too happy about the situation.  Luckily, we were able to cut the netting around its head and wings and he flew off with a new lease on life.