first picnic of the season.....

a few weeks ago, we 'broke in' the new table and freshly cut lawn with a picnic with my family. we commented a few times on what a great age our kids are at! the adults sat for hours chatting while the kids playing a roaring game of soccer. my dad even managed to throw 'story time' in there. an amazing tale about a friend of his from high school that allegedly drown in Lake Michigan. OR so the tale goes. fascinating story!! but that's for another post.....

i love close up pictures so i had to add a few here. so precious!!!

SNIPPETS.....

alright all you 'blog nagging friends'(those who ask me OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, "when is your next post?? where have you been? is your life THAT busy/boring that you can't blog???").......geez, i have a life outside of this thing! :)
since i have now gotten so far behind, i may as well just give you little snippets of the latest happenings. a few pics & a few words. that's as good as it's going to get at the end of a busy day. ta.ta.


THIS IS WHAT THREE 7 YEAR OLD'S (JACK,KAIDEN AND ZACH) PUT ON FOR THE DAY WHEN MOM ISN'T LOOKING. AFTER ALL, IT'S 70 DEGREES AND THERE'S A WAR TO BE FOUGHT. DUH.
AFTER THE 'WAR' THEY DECIDED TO TRY THEIR HAND AT SELLING WATER BOTTLES, HANDFULS OF CARMEL POPCORN (NO TAKERS) AND PAPER AIRPLANES. SERIOUSLY, THE CUTEST DANG THING! I KNOW THIS WORLD CAN BE A MEAN PLACE BUT LET ME TELL YOU, FOLKS THAT TRAVEL THE VISSER ROAD ARE ANYTHING BUT. I ACTUALLY SAW A LADY TURN AROUND AND COME BACK TO SEE WHAT ALL THE 'FUSS' WAS ABOUT. SHE ENDED UP BUYING TWO PLANES. :) I HAVE A WHOLE NEW APPRECIATION FOR KIDS SELLING STUFF BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IF ONLY YOU COULD HAVE SEEN THE JOY IN THEIR FACES WHEN THEY HELD OUT THEIR DAYS EARRINGS. ($3.50!!) WHEN SAM AND MAX GOT HOME LATER THAT DAY, THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD TRY THEIR HAND AT IT TOO. WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, THEY ALSO MADE A FEW BUCKS. WE EVEN HAD A LADY STOP THAT GAVE THEM A FEW EXTRA COINS FOR WORKING 'OVERTIME'. :) THE BEST ONE STORY OF THE DAY HAD TO BE OF THE CANADIAN THAT STOPPED, BOUGHT A PLANE & PAID THEM 3O CENTS INSTEAD OF THE GOING RATE OF 25 SINCE HER MONEY (CANADIAN) WASN'T WORTH AS MUCH TO THEM. :) OH, THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE.
















my mornings are chaos. always. no matter how hard i try to have everything in order, something always comes up that makes it crazy. could it be that i have to repeat the 'normal' order of things ("get dressed. brush teeth. find shoes. blah, blah, blah.") about 20 times??? anyways, i try and have lunches made and papers set out so that things can run just a tad bit smoother. what i love about summer??? hundreds of little things but this bedtime ritual for me is something i WON'T miss about school.


who needs roller coaster rides when your VERY OWN dad can bring home a 'man lift' from work? again, lifes little pleasures.

a great question.....

"mom, can i ask you a question?"

"sure Sam, what's up?"

"Adam named ALL the animals in the garden, right?"

"yes, Sam he did"

"do you think he named the Carolina Wren? wasn't America discovered LONG after Adam's time?"

"well, now there is a good question! i don't have the answer to that but i bet when you get to Heaven you can ask Adam yourself."

"oh,ok,thanks mom!"


and off he runs upstairs, seemingly content with my attempt at a 'smart' mom answer.
SHOULD i have known the answer to THAT?
do YOU know the answer to THAT??

chores...

since i'm asking for advice, thought i'd throw this one out there.

we are searching for the PERFECT solution to get our children to be just a tad more helpful around here! (cuz, ya know, if we find the perfect one, my children are all the sudden going to want to DO their chores, with NO COMPLAINING! ya, and pigs fly!)

anywho....

i think we've tried it all.
-the tickets. (earn so many, get stuff)
-we've done the charts. all different colored, thinking that the prettier i make them...ah, ya, not happening.
-i am not afraid to admit, we're not even above bribing. yes, you read it right. we bribe.
still nothing.
-we've done the 'time' thing. "alright boys, i'm giving you 10 mins. and this had all better be clean or i take all the toys away and give them to children that will take care AND appreciate them"!!. threat,threat,threat. come on,moms,you've ALL said THAT at one point.
today, a job that should have taken about 5 mins. took 45. i'm not kidding. 45 MINUTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i feel like we don't ask much of them. i don't make them wash toliets, change their sheets or even put away most of their laundry. after all, kids must be kids, HOWEVER, how do you teach them good work ethics and yet, let them be little? at this age, what should we expect of them? cleaning their rooms usually consists of them throwing most of their worldly possessions under their beds or in their closets. i hate being this mother that comes behind them and says "sorry babe, you didn't do a good enough job. do it again". i want to teach them to not do a 'half-way' job. i hate it when things get MOSTLY done. BUT i also want them to feel like the job they do is ok. i always tell them "do a job you're proud of."

don't get me wrong. they work. earlier this week, they made me SO proud. together, the three of them rid the yard of all waste (that would be sticks and grass). sam drove the mower with the trailer and the other two loaded. they laughed and worked together as a team. of course, lame mom that i am, i didn't bother to go get my camera. for me, it will cemented into my memory as one of those sweet childhood memories of them. i told them over and over again how proud i was of them! all i had to pay them was a Popsicle. such joy. :)
so, please all you wonderful parents out there. what are some of your great ideas?? what little tricks do you use to Get the job done??