Naughty Painters

So, my friend has this saying that goes, "I can't be too mad if I wasn't watching them." That is pretty much how I felt about this situation. I love letting the kids paint and they love it...but it seems like lately, simple paper is not enough for our budding artists. Does this indicate a future as tattoo artists? I hope not...but it was pretty funny after my initial annoyance at having to clean them up. B was upset that I was taking a picture...he gets very embarrassed and hates for people to look at him.

Classic

Just a classic pic of our little eater. I love that this girl will at least try just about anything. She is very, very independent and insists on feeding herself. I love watching her...she will hold the spoon in one hand and grab food with the free hand and shovel it into her hand. A utensil decoy...very smart, young one.

Sticker Charts

This summer I made sticker charts for the boys. It was an attempt to keep us all sane and motivated and it worked some of the time. They got points for things like keeping their pants dry, being gentlemen, "whine free" days, healthy dinner eater, obedience, etc. Then there was a chart of rewards they could earn. I spent a lot of time trying to come up with really good things that I thought would be fun...and do you want to know what happened!? After reviewing their prize options, M said that he wanted to add one more thing in the blank line at the bottom. "Great," I thought...what was it going to be...a vacation to the beach, something from the lego store...nope. He wanted to get out the Halloween bins and play with the costumes and spider webs...and what was more interesting - he gave it the highest point value on the page...above Sea World, bowling, the zoo, ice cream....hmmm, go figure. Next summer I am going to have them make up their own incentives!

Airman Adam Hrncirik...Reporting for duty

I really hate to admit this....but I am pretty sure I have taken my freedom for granted until now. There is just something about having a family member in the military that makes you feel really proud and grateful...not to mention your baby bro! This is the boy I used to change and feed and carry around singing "The Skeeters and the Bedbugs" song to in a chipmunky voice. This is the boy I couldn't imagine was old enough to drive, let alone carry a weapon. But, he enlisted in the air force and rocked basic training as he embarks a three year journey to becoming a member of a special forces team.

We had the privilege of going to his graduation from basic in San Antonio. I won't even go into the details of our ghetto fabulous hotel or tell you how long it took to get the smell out of our clothes because the week was wonderful. Adam is hardcore to say the least. Out of...oh, I can't remember how many there were...but he was at least in the top 5 (not percent...I'm saying #5 or better) of all of the graduates. Based on the sheet they gave us of all their physical stats...he was either 2nd or 3rd overall physically (when ranked in running, push ups, pull ups, sit ups, etc) and he graduated in the top 10% and was awarded "Honor Graduate". I was as proud as any "mother" could be...and I am not even his mom.

The boys were so excited to see him. They idolize their uncle. I just loved that we were a part of it and I LOVED that M was saluting like all the airmen during the ceremony. I also had to document the level of order and cleanliness never before seen or embraced by little bro...just had to show it for posterity's sake.