Tree House Labor

When Pops and the older two arrived home from the lumber yard, the kiddos started to work. Even Cole got in on the action, so of course Momma had to start snapping. Poor Lizzy was at summer school so she missed out on the hard labor :(

Carter helping Cole get his board out of the truck.

Brothers can be such good helpers...sometimes!
Here goes Cole on his own.

Caden had to direct Cole on where to take his board.

Carter and Cole moving a big board.

Cole gave up and Carter was left to lug it on his own!

Cole decided he needed to take a break and finish the popcorn his brothers got him while at the lumber yard!

Caden must have unloaded 40% of the wood by himself. He was a great helper!

So proud of himself :)

After they unloaded all the wood, Pops put them to work pulling the labels off the end of each piece. They did this quite a bit yesterday, so I was impressed when Pops just handed him a tool and he went to town.

Caden was the designated board holder while Pops was using the saw.

Caden has been a great help all week. He gets bored at times and goes to play or comes inside, but Pops said he has actually done quite a bit of work!

More Than He Bargained For

After working a long day on the tree house...Pops got a little more than he bargained for. I was trying to hurry and fold some laundry for Lizzy, Cory was putting Cole in bed, and Carter got a little impatient! So sweet having Pops read you a story before bed :) Once again, Pops rocks!

A

Pops Rocks!

My dad arrived yesterday to come build the long awaited tree house! He got started bright and early today. He and Caden unloaded the truck full of supplies then it started raining. So we had to take a break for a bit...

The boys talked Pops into watching them play the Wii. Even little Cole thought he was getting in on the action! This pic also shows Carter's enthusiasm in playing the Wii!

After lunch the real work got started! Caden worked outside most of the afternoon with Pops and here is what has been done so far.
The boys think this is pretty cool...we have one AWESOME POPS!!!!

Killing Time While Daddy Was Away

This week has been a crazy one. Not only was it VBS at our church, but Cory also was out of town on business all week long. What was I thinking, being 24 weeks pregnant, directing the 4yr old/Pre-K class, and man-handling all 4 kids by myself all week? I survived thanks to Becca, our trusting baby-sitter who helped with play time, dinner time, and bath time! Also had some great helpers this year in VBS...Tisha, Ashlie, Kendra, Kyla, and Ashlie two older kids, made a great team and things went SO SMOOTHLY. But you really didn't click on this post to hear all that did you? Of course not, you want to see pics of our crazy kiddos :)

Well two days this week we got out the sprinkler for the trampoline. Lizzy and Caden told Cory this would be a great idea and he caved. He so graciously reminded them about the sprinkler Tuesday AM before he left for the week, which left them begging their big, pregnant Momma to turn it on for them while he was gone! They had a blast, and we only had one minor injury! Here are the pics of them playing. Not sure if I can post many of Lizzy yet, so these are not really the best of her, but I hate leaving her out!

The three big kids taking a break from jumping just to run through the water. Carter slipped on the trampoline and ran into someone's knee and got a black eye.

They had to take turns on the trampoline so no one else would get hurt.
Cole didn't really like being in the direct line of the sprinkler, so he just spent most of his time on the tire swing and the sprinkler would hit it lightly.

Carter had a blast once he got away from the big kids for a bit! He kept running through and posing for me!

How cute is he!!!

Caden, of course, had an equally great time running through the water.

Posing while running :)

Miss Lizzy could stand in the water all day, if I would let her! She begs to do this EVERY day and even go to the water park! She LOVES it!

The two little ones taking a break from all the water and just chilling on the tire swing.

All in all a great afternoon, and most importantly...they were good and tired by bedtime!

Are We Gardeners Yet?

Our wonderful previous neighbors had strawberries...lots and lots of strawberries! The boys would catch them outside picking them, smile the right way, and get lots of bites! Caden even once talked them into giving us a few starter shoots...but we killed them! So this spring when we were getting flowers to plant, my arm was twisted and strawberry plants were purchased. It is a little easier to keep them watered because of the sprinkler system so they are doing well.

The boys check them daily and wait, mostly impatiently, to find a ripe one! Well today their patience paid off...Caden came in with a big red strawberry!

At first he wasn't sure about the taste, a little tart...

But then he decided this one was pretty yummy!

So does this make us official gardeners???

Crosby - 5 months

Here is Crosby's 5 month picture. We were hurried today, but this will have to do! I can't believe I was 5 months last week (23 weeks). If Crosby follows Cole and Carter's lead we could meet him in less than 4 month...WOW! I know he needs to grow more, but I am already feeling huge!

Swim Lessons

We were able to get in early this summer for swim lessons! A girl that babysat for us last summer is a trained lifeguard and gives private lessons. She had some lessons going last week at an indoor pool so the kids weren't too cold yet! They both did great! They love the water, I just wanted them to gain some confidence and try not to use the floaties too much!

I was a little concerned with Caden after the first day...then he turned it up a notch! By the end of the week he was swimming the length of the pool like a champ! He really improved his breathing and his stroke. He has been able to swim without floaties for a while, but would never really swim just stand and move his arms. So when we got him in the deep end and he couldn't stand he had to swim! It was great! To see him compared to last year was awesome!

Carter also did amazing! By the end of the week he was doing so well! Here he is diving for some rings in the shallow end...with NO floaties! Wahoo!

On the last day, we convinced Carter he could jump off the diving board and swim to the ladder without his floaties...he protested some, but he did it!

He did so awesome. He popped up for air and then went back under and headed for the stairs. He did it a couple of times then begged for his floaties back! At least he tried. He is doing really well with holding his breath, if he can just remember to come up for air some and use his arms to swim!

Way to go boys...Momma was proud!

May Days

It finally got nice around here and we have been able to play outside A BUNCH! I took these a few weeks ago, and I know the grandparents will love to see them! Just a bunch of ornery boys playing outside!

I love this one because Carter was actually begging me to take his picture while he was riding...a rare treat!

Then it got even better...he came over close to me and took off his helmet and told me he wanted to pose! So not his character, but I did as requested!

Then we have little mess...he thinks he is a big boy too and can ride anywhere the big boys ride!

But then he got distracted by the mower...he tries so hard to push it.

Then just gives up on pushing and starts pulling.

We had so much fun, that I forgot to come in and cook dinner...ooops! I think on this night, we convinced Daddy to take us to get some fast food :) So healthy, I know, but playing with the boys was more fun than cooking anyway!