since most of our blog readers know anyway . . .

Here is an approximation of a conversation that just occured at our house. Not as awkward as I thought--although my guess is I'll be repeating it alot over the next few months. Picture me lying on the floor doing a good impression of a human slug as my children drive robots and monster trucks on me.

Luke: Mommy, are you sick because you have a baby in your tummy?
Me: Yes, mommy's body isn't used to having a baby in it yet. In a while, my body will get used to it and I won't be sick and my tummy is going to get very big like Nolan's mommy's.
Luke: How does the baby get out of you?
Me: [long pause] Umm, good question. The doctor helps it get out.
Luke: How? Does it come out your mouth?
Me: No. Sometimes doctors cut open a mommy's tummy to get the baby out.
Luke: Will that kill you?
Me: No. It's a special operation. That's how your friends Luke Chandler and Nolan and Mason were born. [another long pause] But you and Michael weren't born that way. Usually babies come out of a mommy's vagina. That's how you and Michael were born.
[horribly long pause while I brace myself for his response]
Luke: Look, my robot has small wheels. Is it a girl baby or a boy baby?
Me: I don't know. Around December we'll have an ultrasound that will show us what the baby looks like in mommy's tummy. Then we'll find out. Would you like to come?
Luke: Yes. I can't wait to see what your insides look like!!!!
Michael: Baby in my tummy.

Remember, NO FACEBOOK COMMENTS please for another couple of weeks.

Sleepover

Luke had his first friend sleep over last night. Our neighbor Ethan is six--a bit older and wiser, so we decided that he should sleep at our house as we don't think Luke is quite ready to bedtime away from mommy and daddy. Ethan's parents and little brother came over for dinner and playtime and left about 7:30pm. The boys got into jammies, set up their sleeping bags in the playroom, watched some videos and fell asleep around 9pm. Michael had a rough time going to sleep without Luke in his room, but he was super excited to see Ethan at our house when he woke up. Matt made pancakes and there was an early morning swordfight/blaster battle. A good time was had by all.

Performance Art Camp

This week, Luke attended Performance Art Camp with some of his friends. After a failed attempt at Vacation Bible School, I was hoping that this would be more Luke's speed. It was. He LOVED it. He spent the week dressing up in costumes, dancing, telling stories, doing superhero moves and exploring his own Lukeness. These pictures are from Friday evening's "sharing" performance.

The director of the camp was Heidi, a mom from Luke's school. She's an artist and held the camp at her house in Clintonville. She even built the stage in her front yard.

Luke enjoying a pre-show snack in costume.

Luke joking around with the muscial accompaniment.

Showtime . . .Luke popped out of the trap door and introduced himself as "Power Ranger Ziggy."

Then he showed off his Power Ranger moves on stage.

Meanwhile, Michael played in the yard and colored himself with markers.

Luke's friend Alison was a Lollipop Fairy.


Alison's brother Charlie got into the act. I couldn't get a picture of the funniest part when Charlie snuck into the house, found a large pirate ship toy and began to quietly push it across the stage through the crowd of dancing children. His mom and I almost hurt ourselves laughing.

I didn't get any good pictures of my friend Diane's two older kids, but I got a good one of her one on the way--in costume, no less.

WOW!!!

Birthday Bash 2009

Time for the annual EBC kids birthday bash! Remember last year's? We were missing our friends that have moved away and one family was on vacation, but we had a great time. It was sure hot, though! Thank goodness Karla has a waterpark in her backyard!

Check out the cake! I can't believe Allanya convinced some poor bakery worker to pipe all of the names--in birth order, no less! This includes all of the out-of-towners. Amazing.

The group shots are always an adventure. I love the family picture, except that Alyssa didn't quite make it into the shot in time!

Here's just the kiddos:

And two more on the way--soon!

Bike shop

There's a group of neighborhood boys who come by regularly looking to borrow tire pumps and tools to repair their bicycles. Yesterday, I told them to stop by when our friend Mike would be over as his hobby is building bicycles--he built Matt's. Well, they took me up on the offer and we ended up with half a dozen boys in front of our house. Matt and Mike spent two hours patching tires and making other fixes while I chased after and made dinner for our collective six children. It was beautiful chaos.

Michaelism of the day

Daddy: What did you do at the park today?
Michael: Daniela.

Guess we know who he has a crush on!!

Ohio State Fair

We went to the fair on Thursday night and had such an amazing time! The kids are at a great age for being able to enjoy both the animals and the rides equally. Won't be long until all they want to do is ride, ride, ride. We hooked up with the Graham family and Luke loved riding with his friend Caleb all evening. We saw other friends there, too. It was just an awesome night!
By the way, for those of you who are wondering, Matt entered his beer again and won fourth place in the Belgian Ales category out of about twenty competitors. Well, in my mind, he won second place because the same guy swept first, second and third! Congrats, sweetheart!

Roomies!!!

There's been so much growing up going on around here lately, I hardly know what to do! First, Luke is finally dry at night and wearing big-boy underpants to bed. Then, we decided that the boys did such a good job sharing a room on vacation that we would go ahead and move them in together now rather than waiting until we finish the bunk beds this winter. As Matt had no desire to move the crib, I asked around and one of my mommy friends gave us this great toddler bed. So, Michael moved out of his crib and into Luke's room! Michael fell out of bed once the first night, but hasn't had any trouble since. They go to sleep great and the occasional cry from Michael doesn't appear to bother Luke at all. I'm so impressed with them, but I can't believe that my Baby Michael isn't a baby anymore!

What we came home to . . .

Lots of rain made the garden go crazy. Have you ever seen a green bean tree? I had to stand on a lawn chair on the deck to reach them!

El Paso, TX

Finally, we made it to El Paso to visit Grandpa S.T., who is 102 years old. This was really the main point of the trip. Grandpa looks great and seems to be feeling well. We got to see Betty, too. The boys were wonderful with Grandpa and it warmed my heart to see them together.This is the requisite Scenic Drive shot. I can't tell you how many of these there are in the old photo albums at my mom's house of me at various ages. Here is ours from our last visit to El Paso in 2006:Face it, there just aren't that many picturesque places in El Paso.

Lastly, we stopped by the cemetary where my dad and grandmother are buried, but I didn't take any pictures. It was hot and the sprinklers were on and Luke couldn't help running through them. I think my dad would have gotten a kick out of that.

White Sands

We spent a very hot morning at White Sands, just outside of Alamorgordo, NM.

Yes, you can sled down the dunes!


Check out the aluminum picnic shelters!

Cloudcroft, NM

Our next stop was Cloudcroft, NM to visit my stepmother Carole, who graciously paid for our airline tickets and made our trip possible. Ideally, we would have been able to stop off in Alberquerque to see my family there, but we just didn't have time this trip. But the Sacremento mountains were so beautiful that we plan on returning and next time, we might do an Alberquerque-Cloudcroft circuit. Carole and her husband Tony built this log cabin from the ground up and it is beautiful. Unfortunately, Tony was working out of town, so we didn't get to see him.The boys helped Grandma Carole feed the birds and other critters around the cabin.

Michael also liked the fountain.

More creeks to wade in and rocks to throw!


And a waterfall, too!

Georgetown Railroad

We rode the Georgetown Loop Railroad while we were in Colorado. It's an open-air train along an old mining route with spectacular views. The boys loved it!

Boulder, CO

We flew into Denver and spent several days in Boulder with Poppy and Nan. They have a great house (even if poor Matt is allergic to the cat) and a swimming pool right next door! The boys went hiking, threw rocks in Boulder creek and played at parks. We rode the Georgetown loop train (more on that later). We even drove into Denver one day to visit the Natural History Museum. On the way home, we stopped off in my old neighborhood to see my old elementary school and the house where I grew up. I even spotted an old childhood friend/neighbor who was out watering his lawn, turns out he bought the house from his grandparents a few years ago. I hadn't seen him in more than twenty years. Amazing.