Mini me's

As a parent the one thing you strive for is to ingrain good behaviors and morals in your children. You want to pass things on that you learned and hold close to your heart. This morning I got proof that not only are they listening but they are wanting to carry on the "tradition". When I was young it was a "rule" that you were to make your bed every morning. It was our job. When I met Jeremy and he learned that it was something that was a necessity for me. So either he agrees with me now or he does it to just please me...either way our bed is made each morning. The kids help me each morning by bringing me the pillows. Even though they can't do it themselves, I have been making their bed since we now have the bedding sets. I never know if they are actually watching or not but go step by step thru the process. Well this morning I was making my bed...Alex came in and said 'Mommy making bed' and then disappeared. Zach was helping with pillows this morning, so after we were done we headed to his room. And what did I find...Alex making his bed...'no help mommy, I do' he said. After a little bit of help his was done. I then moved to Zach's bed...as I did this Liz ran out of the room. After finishing Zach's I went and found Liz working on hers. It feels great to know that they are getting "it" and want to do it. I am a proud mommy this morning! Just had to share.
Love, Jen
PS Things to come...playing in the sandbox naked, skinny dipping and more...stay tuned!

Happy Father's Day plus more...

This post begins with a little activity Alex likes to call choo-choo. The kids have now taken it upon themselves to play train. They line up pretty good on their own. While they walk around they say choo-choo, cho-choo. Watch out here comes the train...

Prior to Papa and Nana leaving on Thursday I was inflating the kids' pool. It seemed to be taking forever so Jeremy helped my with using the air compressor. Once we got it filled we headed to the backyard. We did not get far before it lost everything. Apparently the little gray furry creatures aka mice that used our garage as a home over winter decided it would be funny to put a hole in the pool. Luckily we have some patching supplies and Jeremy was able to patch the hole. After filling it a second time we were ready for water. I filled it quickly Thursday night, which was good cause some major storms hit here during the night. So Friday marked the official first swim of the summer for the kids. It was an overcast day but really warm. The water did not warm up as much as I had hope but the kids never noticed.

Zach be careful don't fall out...

Alex trying not to shiver...

Liz entertaining us with her impression of a squirrel...

The kids decided to get out and it was a good decision cause they were shivering pretty bad at that point. To make things a little easier I stripped them outside and wrapped them in towels. We headed for the house. Once we were in the towels came off. The boys decided it would be fun to pretend to weed whack and Liz went for the toy edger.
Liz being the modest one of the three, she kept her towel half on...

Alex used good placement of the toy...

as did Zach!

Saturday I worked in the morning. Once I got home Jeremy was able to continue on one last project before returning to the workforce on Monday...the kids' sandbox. He was able to get it completed and put into the playyard by the end of the weekend. He filled it tonight with sand, so tomorrow will be an exciting day in the playyard...don't worry pictures will be taken...lol! The kids have one heck of a sandbox!

Sunday was Father's Day. Jeremy spent the morning with the kids as I did the grocery shopping. Once I got home he was able finish up the sandbox. He took a break once the kids woke from their naps. They got him a couple "dad" t-shirts as well as beer tappers and some cologne. But the best present was the picture and poem. I wrote up the following poem:

We love to wear your shoes Daddy,

As you can clearly see.

Pretending we’re as big as you,

For soon that day will be.

We hope to be like you someday,

Strong, Patient, full of love.

You’re the greatest Dad on earth,

With quite the shoes to fill.

And then put this picture below it...

Let me just say with the reaction we got...I think I did good. Jeremy is such a good daddy! We love him so much! There were individual pictures taken too that went into a different frame as well as a few out takes. Here is another group pictures.
We have been enjoying the pool since we filled it. Today we had fresh water and more of it. Lexi joined us today. Today I said forget the swimsuits and just went with swim diapers.

After Liz found my sunglasses and started hamming it up.

After a quick snack and juice, it was back to playing and waiting for daddy to get home from his first day at his new job. So what better way to play then everyone sharing the cart. The only thing wrong with this picture is that Zach is in the cart and we'd prefer no one in the cart...we have seen it tip too many times.

Tomorrow is suppose to be extremely warm, so we are hoping to get outside in the morning. Lexi will be joining us, so we should get some good pictures of them in the new sandbox...something to look forward to in next week's post.

Love, Jen

Here it is...

I apologize it has taken almost all week to get the pictures of the "new" boys' room on here, but I have a good excuse, Nana and Papa. They came to visit us. We had a wonderful time having them here. Papa helped Jeremy with some of the things on his to-do list. Nana got to spend time with the kiddos. I think (and hope) they had as good of a time as we did. Thanks for coming! So there is my excuse...lol.
This first picture is what the sleep plan was "suppose" to be...all mattresses in Liz's room...cozy, eh?
Here is what the sleep plan ended up being...no mattresses at all! It was hard to get an agreement but we finally just put everyone on the floor. They did well sleeping together. This picture was taken before we cleaned up the room, so it looks a lot better then the actually tornado look it had for the time that they were bunking together.

Zach giving a tour of his new room...they kept saying "new walls, mommy do"...

Drum roll please....................

Yellow wall...

Green wall....

Red wall....

and blue wall....

So I was going to pull some nursery pictures from earlier posts but got too caught up in my trip down memory lane, so there are pictures in some of the 2007 posts. All four walls were yellow with baby farm animal decor. I was able to redo their room for less than $50. Many of the decor items we had. We have sports themed twin bedding so that is what we did for wall hangings. We got a great primary colors lego table from our mailman and I picked up primary colored shelves at a rummage. We only needed to buy two paint colors and used supplies we already had. We did add red tab curtains to help darken the room for naps and bedtime. I have the two shelves to paint yet as they are currently silver, but it is done and I am very pleased with it. Red is a very difficult color to work with...ugh!

I also picked up a toddler bedding set from the resale shop. Was lucky enough to find TWO with the truck theme...so they now have big boy beds. I found a set for Liz at a rummage, so we are all big kids now.

The boys sharing Alex's bed...nice smiles for the camera...then...

we kick off the sheet and act goofy...lol!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. And hey, if you got some free time...take a trip down memory lane. What a journey it has been!

Love, Jen

It is finally done!

I will be sad when Jeremy goes back to work on the 22nd. Today he had a farewell lunch with his co-workers. We have been able to get a lot of things done while he has been home. Plus I have been able to leave the house without having to plan around other's schedules and had some time to myself. And to top it off, Jeremy took the boys to the store the other day to pick up diapers (and beer for him...lol). The men of my life came home with roses! A just because/thank you for what you do roses!!! They know how to make a woman's day...thank you, thank you, thank you! So one of the projects I started working on yesterday is the redecorating the boys' room. I finished the painting today and will finish decorating tomorrow, so stay tuned for the new and improved boys' room pictures. We look forward to get more done this coming week and will continue to enjoy having him home.
Love, Jen
Here is Lucky waiting for the boys' room pictures too...at least you are not waiting alone...lol!

Fun in the mud!!!

Ok, let me set the scene and describe what was not caught on film. Jeremy was working outside today and that is where the kids wanted to be when they woke from their nap, so we headed outside to the roses bushes where daddy was working. The four kids (as I was watching Lexi today) were playing with daddy's rakes and shovels. When daddy completed what he was doing he rinsed his hands with the hose and turned off the water. Zach and Alexis saw all this happened and wondered down to the hose. Once they finally figured out how to get the water to come out there was no water left. That is where I come in...and turned on the water. Soon Alex and Liz joined in the fun. By the time Jean came to pick up Lexi she was soaked from head to toe, but clean. Soon after Jean left I started to take off the kids wet clothes. Just as I got the last shirt off the mud pud became the focus. At this point I could no longer just watch...I needed the camera. After a sprint to the house and back here is what I got my lovies doing.
3 kids plus 1 hose equals lots of messy fun!

Alex starting to lose his now heavy, water soaked jeans!

Liz taking a break from the action...those socks are actually purple!

Zach warning me not to get any closer...he knows how to use the hose and is not afraid too...lol!

Liz watching Alex...add water to the mud puddle...

the two of them enjoying jumping in it!

I finally got all their clothes off...

Zach taking a last few sprays of the hose...

Alex making sure the puddle is not neglected.

I sure once Jean see these pictures she will be VERY happy she left when she did...lol! The kids had sooooo much fun. I cannot wait to get the pool out and the sprinkle too. It just need to be a little warmer. These kids are water lovers! Swim classes start next week for the girls, so that should be fun! Hope you enjoyed the pictures. They giggled a lot!

Love, Jen

Dress-Up

What little girl does not like to dress up? My little princess is not different. Tonight before bed she decided to try on some of her dress up clothes. Not only did she put on the clothes (2 different dresses) but accessorized with a tiara and shoes. Isn't she just adorable?!?!?
Now having a sister pretty much leaves you no choice but to play dress up with her. No one was force to do anything in the following pictures...
Alex tried on the yellow dress...good color...lol!Zach went for the accessories...sparkly headbands...ALL of them...lol!

Due to need for blackmail for the future some of the "dress-up" pictures will not make it on the blog, but there are more...he he he!!!

Love, Jen

Exciting end to the week...

An exciting end to the week. We made a trip to Montfort to see Jeremy's family as well as taking part in some activities. We left on Friday. It was soooo nice to pack less...no booster seats, no meal stuff, no nuks, no sheets or blankets and no pack n plays. The kids each had their own bag which held their sleeping bags and a few favorite stuff animals. We got into town and visisted Papa on the farm...checked out those baby kitties again and fed the cows some corn. We headed to the house and played outside for a while. Bedtime was tough. Due to a late supper once the kids finished eating (which they did not eat well) they were ready for bed...of course this was just as mommy and daddy filled their plates to eat. After an hour and 45 minutes we finally had them sleeping. Ugh! Overtiredness, new sleeping arrangements, different house...all played a part. They actually did sleep fine once they were out. The following day's nap and bedtime did go better. Saturday morning we participated in a walk. Although the weather did not want to cooperate we were able to finish most of it. We were able to eat out Saturday night with Great Grandpa, Julie and Nana. Sunday was exciting. Daddy decided to have everyone go down to the chicken BBQ to help Nana. It is always a little weird having all eyes watching us. I find it easiest to try to ignore it and look away. The kids got to help carry some bags back to the house. After lunch we played. The parade did not start until 2. We were unsure of pushing the kids that far but in the end decided to have the kids in the parade. Papa was pretty proud to have his 6 grandkids riding in a wagon behind his Old John Deere AR. The kids helped the girls throw out some freezy pops. Luckily we had no meltdowns! We got on the road 1 1/2 hours past their naptime. Within moments Liz and Zach were out and Alex shortly after them. The ride was quiet for the most part. So sleeping bags were a success and their first time in a parade was a success. I have included pictures from the weekend as well as some misc. ones from the week.
Enjoy.
Jen
Ok, everyone smile...try to look at mommy.
Alex showing Zach some love...

Goofy girl...

Liz showing Alex some love.

Their favorite game is to use daddy as a jungle gym.

Alex using daddy as a recliner...yes his arms were up with his hands behind his head..he was comfy.

Liz bouncing on daddy's chest even after being told not to...that would be what the grin is for...lol.

Liz and Zach helping daddy up; Alex working to keep him down.

Daddy giving them a bear hug.

4 against 1...not good odds for Roxy!

"We do it, we do it" is what we hear when it is time to brush teeth.

Rub a dub dub, three cuties in the tub...

Bathtime pictures were a lot easier to take and get all three looking nice when they were babies.

Liz liking the new sleeping arrangements.

The three monsters trying to get ready for bed...

Alex enjoying himself playing on the tractor...

Liz hammin it up on Papa's tractor...

Zach checking out Papa John Deere tractor...what does this lever do?!?!?

Daddy chillin with the kids prior to the parade...no smiles given.

Daddy and the kids...

The Drury cousins..L to R...Mackenzie, Madalyn, Morgan

Papa with his 6 Little Deeres

Jeremy, the kids and the girls.

Alex ready for a new adventure.

Liz looking a little tired, but were only moments from the start.

Zach on the wagon right before we started on the parade route.