Wear 'Em Out

We walked down to the "Tot Lot" the other night. It was a last ditch effort to wear the kids out before bed. Jack loves climbing on things and Josie isn't far behind him. She wants to do everything he does.

...including watching TV even though she's really not cut out for it. In this picture, she pulled up a pillow for a viewing of Bubble Guppies, but only lasted a few minutes. She actually prefers looking at books, raiding the pantry, and finding/stealing Jack's toys to taunt him.

Over the Weekend

We had a fun weekend in Northville. Nancy & Denny came up Friday night for a quick "Jack & Josie Fix." They got to visit our new favorite breakfast diner and they saw Jack's new pre-school. After some shopping, they were back to FW before I could even snap a picture of them.

Saturday night we went to a neighborhood Movie Night. They set up a projector & big screen - kids watched a movie while their parents socialized. It was fun! Of course, my two social butterflies had a blast!

 Jack and Josie (left) watching the movie with the Festa boys.

Josie decided to eat her breakfast in a basket on Sunday morning. Not sure about that… I think we need to speed up the purchase of a kitchen table!

Sunday afternoon we took a walk and it was HOT, so we came home and got ready for the pool. Josie is a FISH! The girl loves swimming and she has NO fear. Swim lessons are a must this fall & winter!

See how excited she was!

We have a big week ahead of us, as we get ready for Uncle Devin to come into town! I know two kids who are pretty pumped to see him! 

All The Better to See You With...

4th grade

The best part about unpacking {again} is finding treasures. For example, I found my HUGE blue glasses that I wore in 3rd-4th grade. My friend Abbie had the same pair in red. They were cool. We were cool for wearing them. Yet, somehow my husband always makes fun of me when he's sees old pictures. 

Luckily, they've made a comeback - so there.

Best Potty Prize Ever.

WoooooHoooo - it's FRIDAY! But we'll be doing more of the same...unpacking, unpacking, unpacking. And maybe a pool break.

One Week Later...

Annnnndddd we're back! Only a week later. Gosh. Moving is hard.

We had a successful and pleasant closing last Thursday evening. Jack and Josie joined us...which is always a tad stressful, but we stopped by the new house afterward and Jack ran around without pants on. "Welcome home, kid!"

On Friday, Grandma Nancy braved Ikea with Jack & Josie...while Tyson and I directed the movers. It was fairly painless, but somehow tiring. (Haven't figured that one out yet.)

On Sunday Jack and I ventured to our new pool (just 7 houses down) and Jack had a blast! So many kids and families! The best part was - when we were done, we walked away. I'm not kidding. That was the best part.

Later that afternoon Jack gave Josie a ride on her "princess car" and she scraped up her foot. She was really mad and rightly so... She's been hobbling around all week, milking this injury for all it's worth. Doesn't she look ticked??

My parents came Monday night to check out the new house. They have been spending some quality time with the grandkids and grand dogs.

And finally - Jack's BIG announcement:

He is 100% POTTY TRAINED. And it only took a day. Okay, well three and a half years (give or take) but honest to God - ONE day. He was like, "Yeah, I want to use the potty." Done.

And now he's cruising around on this. Because, let's face it, a new bike is WAY cheaper than 10 more boxes of diapers. And I'm not above bribes incentives - whatever.

Stay tuned for my potty training post...coming soon.

Beautiful Butterfly

The other day the kids and I took a walk around our AA neighborhood - to mail some "fan mail" - and we saw the most beautiful butterfly! Every time I see a gorgeous butterfly I think of my friend, Erin, and her sweet baby boy, Christian. You can see her post about Christian's Butterflies HERE.

Anyway, when we saw the butterfly we stopped to watch it for a while. Jack asked a lot of great questions...and thanks to my stint in Kindergarten, I was able to answer them.

Josie liked the butterfly, but preferred to watch it from a distance.

And this would be the part when Jack picked up a stick and pretended to drink nectar from the flower with his long "butterfly tongue." I'm sure the neighbors think we are completely normal.

It's Moving Day! I will be SO happy to see all my "stuff" unloaded off the truck. But I don't want to see the truck again for a LONG, LONG time.

Building Towers

Jack has been really into building things lately. I think it's a "boy thing" because I remember my brother, Joe, spending hours building with his legos. Since Jack has recently traded in his nap time for more awake time…I'm thinking about giving him a big tub of legos during "quiet time." He seems to enjoy it and it keeps him pretty occupied.

The other night while I was cooking dinner, Jack & Josie emptied all of the canned goods onto the floor. At first I was annoyed - ANOTHER mess to clean up. But then Jack told me they were building a "tower."

Josie was an "assistant" - her job was to look cute and not touch anything. She is actually WAY better at demolition than she is at construction.

Jack worked hard while I cooked dinner. Aside from having to avoid cans as I moved around the kitchen, it was nice to watch Jack in action, not mention I didn't have to break up any fights!

And this was the final product…which was still standing the next morning.

Today is THE day! We will close on our house this afternoon and then move in tomorrow. To say I'm excited is a bit of an understatement.

Don't abandon us through the move…we have lots of things to share, including some BIG news from Jack.

The Difficult Thing About Blogging

Why is it SO hard to blog? Well, these two don't make it any easier - that's for sure! This was me - trying to make a post the other day. It's shocking I don't have more misspelled words…

Clevenger Invasion

This past weekend my family "invaded" the lake and we had a great time! My parents came, along with Uncle Jon, Uncle Joe & Aunt Gina - and their two girls "Sissy" and "Rue."** Jack and Josie had so much fun playing with everyone.

 Jack gave some tractor rides. Here he is showing a "carrot smile."

 Josie got in some cuddle time with Grandma.

It's always fun to see the family! It's especially eventful with the addition of Joe & Gina's girls! Jack was teaching them how to jump off the couch into a sea of pillows (and other questionable things). Sorry about that!

Later that night after everyone had left, Jack and I spent so time watching a HUGE spider make a web on the pier. And we fed some fish.

It was a fun & relaxing weekend at Lake George. Our week is about to get CRAZY as we get set to close and move in! 

**Joe & Gina are adopting and we will be protecting the identities of their girls on the blog. Trust me, they are ADORABLE and if you want to see how cute they are, let me know. I'm pretty proud to be an Aunt!

Rush Hour

On Thursday we had a Kelley (IU) event for GM in Royal Oak. It was taking place in a park and it was family friendly. My friend Christina and her husband (Lucas & Chloe's parents) recently built a new house in RO and I thought I'd swing by before the picnic to say hi. 

Apparently my 15 months in Fort Wayne made me forget that BIG cities actually have traffic and a real "Rush Hour." I left  Ann Arbor at 4:30 - an hour and a half before the event was supposed to start - and sat in bumper to bumper traffic for thirty minutes. I think this is a classic case of Road Rage Karma for all those times I got mad about the 15 cars backed up at a stop light on Illinois Road in Fort Wayne... 

Jack - who recently announced that he "only sleeps at night time" (aka: has given up his nap) - was napping in the backseat. I checked on Josie and she was doing this:

Then - 15 minutes and ONE MILE later - she was doing this:

Very lady like, Jos. You really need to stop spending so much time with your brother.

Lunch Date

My kids and I are in full-on "summer mode." I honestly never thought it was possible for them to sleep in past 9:00am and be up past 10:00pm... But it's happening. The late nights are kind of annoying, but the late mornings - well, they are amazing. And it's only mildly embarrassing that I have to tell people I can't be anywhere before 10am... Honestly, after rushing them around for the entire school year, I will just embrace these days of lounging in our PJ's. Who cares?

Yesterday after some phone calls for the new house, I asked Jack if he was ready for lunch. He said, "NO" and that he wanted to go to the park and play. So I packed up a lunch and we went to the park.

Jack scaled the rock wall with ease and told me he wants to climb one that "goes up higher in the sky." Lovely. He's {still} fearless.

15 minutes later he announced he was pooping. And we had to go home. Potty training? Well, Josie seems to like it. 

Excuse me, I think I need a drink.

What's Going On?

Not much is going on in Michigan these days...other than the Tigers are on a winning streak. And we will have a new house in ONE week. I must say, I'm tired of living out of a suitcase and judging by Josie's 2am cry-fests lately - I think she's tired of sleeping in a pack & play. Poor Jos.

I bribed my kids with rides on Sandy the other day at Meijer. It's the cheapest bribe out there: one penny.

Jack insisted on eating his dinner wearing his "work glasses." It may have been a nod to the Despicable Me minions...but regardless, he ate his dinner.

And, finally - I'm {still} not a millionaire.

Ja-casso

Tongue out - channeling his inner Michael Jordan.

"Volcano and Hot Lava"

Anyone who knows Jack - knows that he is go, go, go. All.The.Time. I swear, even while watching TV, the kid continues to move! So I attempted to "calm him" yesterday with some painting. He was pretty excited about it and even MORE excited that I was painting, too! It held his attention for about 20 minutes (that's a WIN!) and his masterpiece was complete. He called it, "Volcano and Hot Lava" (two things he is currently obsessed with for no apparent reason).

Ironically, he insisted on taking my picture holding my masterpiece called, "Ant Flies a Kite." But this is how it turned out:

Perhaps we should enroll him in a photography class.

Lake George and Lake James

We spent Saturday and Sunday on Lake George and Lake James - enjoying some Becker Family fun time. 

Josie and Chloe reading Nursery Rhymes

Jack and Josie got to spend some time with Grandpa Denny & Grandma Nancy. Everyone was happy.

Lovin' the Lake!

Uncle Bill and Kinley

Momo (Alice - Linda's mom) and Hadley Alice (Kinley's baby sister)

Grandpa Denny, Josie, and Aunt Becky

Uncle Bill proudly flies his IU flag on Lake James!