kool-aid stands already???

last weekend when jack and zach came and asked me if they could have a kool-aid stand, i threw all caution to the wind and said, "sure, why not!". it's warm. it's sunny. and it's saturday. not to mention the fact that it would be good for these two to work a little bit on a saturday. the extra cash couldn't hurt either.

so off they went.

they built a table. (thanks dad!)

they made signs. (granted they were so small that people needed to roll to a complete stop before being able to see what it said but still, super cute!!

they even made the drinks.

they did however ask me to bake some cookies, which in a weak moment, i agreed to.

and wouldn't you know it, these boys can sell!

they would flash their pearly whites and get even the Border Patrol(hey, if they are protecting our land, we at least need to keep them hydrated!!) AND the mailman to stop and buy!

although, i did have to quickly put a stop to them THROWING up their arms when someone wouldn't stop. um, yup, that didn't last long.

during their 'downtime' they would lounge out near the mole hills, trying to catch them in action.

side note. when i went to get the mail on monday afternoon, i noticed that they had written, on a piece of scotch tape, a thank you note to the mailman. inside of the box was a note saying 'thaks for baing koilaid'. how darn cute is that?

great little salesmen and polite to boot.

great job boys!!

oh yeah, they made a whopping $2.40!! not bad for a days work!

sweet em....

those who know me well, know that i'm not a huge baby person. don't get me wrong, i love babies but i really love the ages that my boys are right now. i don't know if it's because back when my boys were babies i had so much going on emotionally that i feel i didn't take the time to enjoy them as much as i wish i would have. truly, i ADORED my babies. i really did. i remember staring, for hours, realizing how BLESSED i was to be their mama. a WHOLE different blog post someday and i'll explain those crazy days, just not today. too many thoughts to write tonight.
anyways, i had the honor of babysitting my sweet niece, Emily last week. when you hear the the term 'so cute you could eat them with a spoon', well, that's Emily. she is precious. and those little lips. i love this little one.

that's crumby...

i know i have floor issues.

issues as in i hate having a dirty floor.

i vacumn almost everyday. friday was no different.

while the boys are at school, i must vacumn.

i had to laugh (ok, not really), after they were done with their snack THIS is what the floor looked like.

really, what is the point of even making them sit down at the counter with a plate???

does it really matter anyways?

i think not.

when they are adults, will they even remember if the floor was always vacuumed anyways?

again, i think not.

will they notice when their children do the same thing to their wives?

i think not.

in the big scheme of life does it really matter??

um. i think not.

on another note. i had to laugh (again, not really) when i looked down at the table, mid-meal and noticed that my hub, God bless him, decided that he didn't want his Doritos touching the rest of the food (after all, those sloppy joes can be SO sloppy!) so he laid them NEXT to the plate. as in, NOT ON A PLATE!

really now, is it any wonder my floor is always crumby??

truth be told, at the end of the day, i KNOW that this too shall pass (although, should i worry that part of the issues are coming from the hub? :))!!! crumbs and all, i'll keep um!

ANYWAYS, what WOULD i do with all this extra time on my hands if not for vacuuming?

i'm just saying....

wallet mania....

really now, who needs leather when you have duct tape??

my eldest is SOOO my fathers grandson.

making something out of 'nothing'.

figuring out how to 'build' something with no direction.

actually creating something functional without spending a buck.

yuppers, that's my dad.

and now my son.

sam decided that he would figure out how to make wallets. let me tell you, this thing was COOL! it even had dividers in it!i let him in on a little secret that duct tape came in a plethora of colors. oh, what that doesn't do to a creative soul. sam asked if he could spend ALL of his allowance, which i might add is a really small amount, and go down to the hardware store and buy a roll in EVERY color!

he's coming up with a business plan already.

i think someday i may have to let him sell his stuff on eBay.

give him an idea, he'll figure out how to make it.

i'm taking orders.

anyone?

anyone?

i just may trade in my darling teal leather wallet for a cute pink duct tape number.

On a Whidbey Island Whim.....

finally home. no point bringing all the filth into the house.

lining up for lik's famous pancakes.

doing the makorania!!!

a roaring game of Star Wars Monoply.

no washing machine + 7 kids=improvising.


maxwell grant




typical jackson (nice pink boots). this kid is confident! :)



samuels sweet hand holding the only star fish found all weekend!


second grade men

sideline whale show

the crew-minus eli

my favorite beach boots!

i like last min. plans so when my SIL,lisa called a few weeks back & asked us if we could be ready in 7 hours to head out to Whidbey Island for a long week-end, i was ALL over it!

Lisa's family has had this cabin in their family for years. lucky for us, they are also willing to share. The cabin was snug for 11 of us but we didn't care.

we were on an island...

on the ocean.

we rolled in on thursday evening, 'set up camp', tossed the kiddos in bed (strategically spread them out on the floors) and vegged out. which i might add is what the adults did all weekend.

bliss. pure bliss.

friday morning the kids were up LONG before the adults, itching to hit the beach. you must know that technically, it was still winter so hitting the beach means something entirely different in the month of February than it does in July. stinking cold if you ask me.

but whatever, they are kids. temperature doesn't much matter to them.

there was adventures to be had.

when i tell you that all 7 of them spent a total of 10 hours outside that day, i'm NOT kidding!

i must mention socks. i must give a small tid-bit of advice here. when you pack for a weekend away, near water, where it's wet AND sandy, two pairs of socks per kid is NOT recommended! these children made their mothers CRAZY! "i can't find a match. that one is gross. that one is wet. that is Zach's. i'd rather go without than wear Max's smelly sock". well, you get the picture. in fact, i'm posting a picture of all the dirty, wet socks just because it ended up being sorta funny.

i guess you had to be there.

it was funny in a maddening sort of way.

lis, bai and i snuck away to the antique store (one of the Best ones i've been in in years) a few different times! such fun treasures.

on friday morning, while SOME OF US, (TIM) were still sleeping, we heard MUCH cheering from the kids. wouldn't you know it, a MASSIVE WHALE WAS SWIMMING BY OUR WINDOW!

i know, you must be thinking, 'how big could this thing have possibly been'?

it was GIGANTIC!! i have never, in my life seen something SO massive and so graceful. it's like it knew we were watching him (could it have been all the screams of delight?) and he put on a big ol' show. doing these perfect 'little' back flips! really, really amazing!

the rest of our time was spent combing the beaches, making 'forts', board games, movie watching, watching COPS, food, lots of food,eating far more sugar than humans should consume in a given weekend (robin egg candy), scavenger hunts, Apples to Apples,even a little air soft war.

and laughing, we did a LOT of laughing.

such sweet, sweet memories.

thank you denbleyker/fisher family!

bacon.

i HEART bacon.
i full on admit, if given the chance, i'd eat a pound (or three) in one sitting.
crispy or near burnt.
i don't care.
i really, really HEART bacon.
so, if you're looking for a birthday gift for me.
buy me bacon.

catching up.

i'm back. i won't apologize. life gets busy and i'm done with the dreaded guilt. so to relive some of that guilt, i'm giving myself permission to miss a day here and there. (ok, so 10 days is too long but whatever) i have officially fallen ONE month behind on my Project 365. i've been beating myself up over this. and i need to stop. stop the beating, not the project.
a wise person (my niece, taya) gave me a challenge. she's yet to lead me astray so i'm going to take her good advice. once a week, i'll blog my weeks worth of pictures. that way i don't need the daily guilt. (of course then there will now be the weekly guilt! :))
so here goes nothing....