Rice Krispies...not a treat!

If you ever wanted to know what an entire box of Rice Krispies would look like on your carpet, then this is the post for you!!

Caught red-handed!! (not that it would have been anyone else's doing but Olivia's. Kevin is trained now. LoL)

Trying to hide the evidence in her mouth?

I felt better after I could see the deep remorse in her little eyes...not to be confused with the little Rice Krispies on her lips.

I was on the phone with a friend who is the mother of James. Even though I was tempted to pick Livi up and smother her...in kisses...I realized that Olivia, like her friend James, is just having a good time!! And James' mother is such a good sport! So, I can be too!

We had James' siblings stay over for dinner tonight. They were playing Crossfire with Benjamin and Kevin and we just figured that we might as well make an evening out of it. It is nice to have them over. They are very well mannered! At one point during dinner Amara was telling me how she didn't really care for tomatoes. Josiah piped up and said, "I don't either, but I am going to make a choice to eat them anyway!" He had dinner with us another night this week and said the same thing then as well. That makes me feel very happy. I told Josiah that his mother would be very proud of him for saying such a thing!! Good job, Steph! Here's our dinner crowd:

Splash Pad Fun!

Wednesday was a fun day!! Laura, Stephanie, and I took the neighborhood kids (11 in all) out to the Splash Pad. We met Adriana and Jessi out there. That added 5 more kids! I didn't know if Olivia would like it because she hates to have water splashed on her face, but she enjoyed herself immensely. Everyone had a great time. All of the children played happily. Yes, it is the truth!! Here's the proof:

Olivia ran around everywhere!

Benjamin was acting like he was going to chase her. She'd get very excited!

Benjamin and Jasper sitting on the sprayers. All of the children thought that was the best thing to do!

Olivia cheerfully running away from the sprayer when it kicked on.

Benjamin "sitting" on a sprayer.

Benjamin taking a drink from the fountain. Gross!

Hanging out with the water dial.

Josiah enjoyed riding his scooter through the sprayers.

Olivia walked over the the swings and frantically made her "help" sign until I put her in the swing. She loves swinging!!

James does too! James is one of Stephanie's sons. He and Livi are very close in age and enjoy each other very much.

Stephanie is so much fun. Such a good mom!

Isaac was doing a hula dance on the sprayer. It was hilarious!

Lucy, Beth Rose, Ethan, and Olivia. The big kids mostly played on the playground and just came to the water to cool off.

The always beautiful, always smiling, Amara Grace!

Adriana's boys and Josiah.

Good times, good times.

Clones aren't always bad...

It was a very fun weekend around here. We were supposed to have a garage sale, but as garage sale fate goes, it rained. Our neighbor Stephanie, in true "Stephanie Style" said, "Hey let's have an impromptu surprise party for Jasper!" Keep in mind that it is like WayTooEarly o'clock. She said the plan was to start it at 10am. We all still thought it was a great idea.

Benjamin and I went out to the store to get a gift for Jasper. Before the pictures, I guess you need to know that the boys in the neighborhood all love Star Wars. I am not sure if it started with Jasper or not, but Jo and Amara's Dad is quite the Star Wars fan too. Benjamin has never seen it, but he is still convinced that he is an expert. *shrug*

Ok, back to the story....I had remembered seeing a Star Wars mask in the clearance aisle of Wal-Mart for $3. When I got to the store, I found that it wasn't just a mask. It was an entire costume!! For 3 bucks! I thought that it might be more fun for the boys if they all had one and could play together at the party, so I bought one for Jasper, Jo, and Benjamin. They were devastated.



Or perhaps not. The boys wore them ALL DAY LONG!! They ran around the neighborhood in them, they wore them into the night at the chai party, etc. I have never had a Clone clear the lunch table before, but I guess there is a first time for everything, right?

Benjamin even wanted to wear his out to dinner, but one must draw the line somewhere.

Jo's sister, Amara, seemed a bit sad that she didn't have a costume. I told her that she had to be Princess Leia. So, I brought her in and put her hair up in those buns on the side of the head. She makes a beautiful princess!

Benjamin had a great time. This neighborhood is amazing. Whenever I think of wanting to live somewhere else (more storage, indoor laundry room, etc), I have to remind myself that finding a neighborhood as great as this one is very rare. I love this place and my neighbors!

Because he lives...

....I will not walk into my laundry room. That's right! The rodent is not lying in the trap as I had hoped. Kevin has relocated one of the traps in hopes of catching him warming up by the dryer. Cross your fingers!

Luckily for me, Kevin is willing to save me the trauma of walking into that room and seeing the creature and is toting the laundry back and forth for me. I can handle that.

In other news...today the boys (Benjamin, Josiah, and Jasper) decided to dig a hole. This was not just any run of the mill hole, mind you! This was a hole that started on both sides and met up in the middle. It would have worked too if it weren't for the excited jumping on top of the hole when they got close. Now, while this may sound boring to some, to a group of boys this is great fun. We're talking about fun that keeps them busy for an hour. It also helps to keep my garden aerated. So, we both win! Nothing like a little child labor disguised as happy play time! (j/k) They were proud of themselves!



Today I also worked with Benjamin some more on his math. For those who don't know, Benjamin only goes to school for 1/2 day. The school does their academic stuff in the morning and uses the afternoons for centers and playtime. I figure I can save money and he can have playtime here. In the afternoons, I do some work with him at home as well. Today we worked on double digit addition. He wasn't so sure about it, but I knew he could do it. He loves math. He surely didn't get that from me (I may have to call it quits after this double digit addition). I showed him 2 problems and he just caught right on. He did the rest on his own and got them all correct. He was just tickled with himself...well, and Mommy was tickled too!
Well, this blogging thing isn't so tough after all. Sweet!