Field Trip

Dutch's preschool class went on a field trip to the Bass Pro Shop here to look at the (dead) animals and the fish tanks. I wasn't super excited about having to go at first but it ended up being a lot more fun then I had expected. This store is connected to a casino, surprise, surprise anyways in the casino they have a huge salt water tank with tons of sting rays, sharks, puffer fish and other fish. Every day they have someone scuba dive into the tank and hand feed the sting ray and sharks (little sharks only up to 4 feet at the most, most are only a foot long). Anyways it is really awesome to watch him feed the sting ray. They get so excited, they know its feeding time and they just swarm around him as he puts fish into their mouths. Then on the weekends they have "mermaids" swim in the tank with the fish. So fun! We didn't stay for the mermaids but we will definitely be going back to see it.

Check out the sting ray behind Dutch here.

Nose Picking... CuTe!!!

Pretty sure I never thought I would hear myself say that I think it is adorable when one of my kids picks their nose. But I guess I don't know everything even about myself. Because I think it is FrEaKiNg adorable when Talli picks her nose. But I'm pretty positive that I have never before seen a 13 month old pick their nose. When Talli gets really sad she picks her nose. She doesn't actually pick her nose, she can't get her finger in there quite yet, but she gets her hand up there and picks at the outside of her nose but it looks like she is and it's just SO cute! Although I have already had the talk with her that even though I think it is cute now, it won't be when she is older, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to get a picture of her doing it yet. I'll keep trying. But here are some pictures of her cute face anyways.

Laundry

Monday is laundry day around here. I try really hard not to do laundry any other day of the week. So Monday's I have piles of clothes, usually anywhere from 7-10 loads of laundry. They get washed, folded and put away all on Mondays. So my bathroom is generally covered in piles of sorted clothes. And on this particular Monday Talli decided that piles of dirty clothes are super fun to play in and rather comfortable to take a rest and drink some milk.

Slacker....

Because I have been a major slacker on my blog lately, I'm just going to post some random pictures of our life over the past week or so...

Free baseball game that David's school gave out tickets for. It was so much fun.

Super Baby!

Random...

Talli enjoying a Popsicle...

Playing in the mud...

Life has been a little overwhelming for me lately. The kids have reached a new phase, one that every parent dreads and prays doesn't happen, even though we know that it will and it will be the biggest pay back we can ever get for putting our own parents through it, you know the phase, FiGhTiNg! I hate when my kids fight and it seems like they are at each others throats 24/7 lately. It grates on my nerves and makes me feel like I am going to have a major meltdown or explosion, one or the other. I try so hard to help them to be nice to each other, I just honestly have no idea what to do. I catch tiny, microscopic glimpes of them loving each other and I try really hard to treasures those moments because I know that in the next second I'm going to be breaking up another fight. I just wish they could understand now how much they are going to love them one day and what great friends they will be and why not treat each other nice now.

Talli doesn't help the situation much anymore. Her only saving grace is that she is just so stinking adorable that I can just eat her up. But she starts fights now, and she doesn't back down if Dutch or Maylee try and take something for her. She fights right back.

Side story... I'm at the park the other day and I hear this little girl, probably 6 or 7, say to her Mom, "See the baby, she's so cute, can I play with her?" Mothers response, "Sure, just go ask her if its ok.", So this sweet little girl, who just wants to play with Talli starts to walk towards Talli and it's as if Talli knew what was happening and she just wasn't up for playing apparently. Because she starts walking right towards the girl, holding both her hands up in her hitting position and starts swinging them while she is saying "NO, NO, NO". So I just said to the little girl and her mom while I was walking quickly towards Talli, to save the girl from getting hit, "She is tiny and cute, but she sure is ornery. "

Anyways this is a constant thing at our house now, I know some kids are biters or something else, but Talli is a hitter. Some times Maylee will just be standing in the room, minding her own business and Talli will walk right up to her and just start hitting her. Now I am just sure in Talli's little mind she is just trying to get revenge for all the things Maylee has put her though during the last 13 months but seriously, this girl is ornery!

Here is the finished product of the picture frame that my Dad and I built. It looks way better in person. And it is huge, almost 3 feet by 3 feet, that is a 24x20 picture in there. I love it!!!