Bunch o' Boys

A wise woman once said, "Boys are nothing but noise with dirty faces." While we agree with her 99.9% of the time we occasionally have a sweet moment in our house where there is no noise and no dirt and we just have to snap a photo for all to see. We would love for Emma to have a sister, but we are greatful for the "bunch o' boys" we have!

Little Philip

Philip is now 4 months old!

How time flies when you nurse, change diapers, wipe bottoms, feed and clean all day! I wouldn't trade jobs with anyone though, simply because of the great milestones we get to have along the way. Philip ways in a hefty 9 lbs. 10 ounces. Yes some babies are born bigger than this. I asked the doctor if he was concerned. He first said "yes," then he looked at Benjamin's charts and informed me that Benjamin was this size at this age as well and then declared, "All is well evey baby is just different!" I find this amusing because didn't he just say Benjamin was just like Philip?

Photo Fun

Our latest trip to the photo studio was really fun. I only got one good picture out of Philip and then he was Mr. Grumps.

Benjamin on the other hand just wouldn't smile. He gets stage fright or something. He just sat there saying no. A couple of these you can see he is almost smiling. But he was trying to hold on to that straight face as long as possible.

Finally I asked him if he would like to hold and kiss Philip and of course he said, "Yes!" This is Benjamin's favorite pass time. I told him if he would say "cheese" I would let him hold Philip. So "cheese" he said. . .

And a big huge kiss Philip recieved.

Though Philip was not too happy about it I was pleased. Then we all came home and took a LONG NAP!

Lost & Bought

While we were on our Disney Trip Benjamin lost his blanket. Well, the blanket was lost at least, but it wasn't Benjamin who lost it. One morning while we were traveling on the bus to the park Robin realized that she had forgotten to bring it, or Emma's blanket, along for the day. The kids were fine in the park for the day without, but the return to the room that night wasn't a happy one. We couldn't find it ANYWHERE! We checked everything about three times. We even check, Robin's sister, Ina's room which connected to ours. Ina's husband Gregg had recalled seeing Benjamin toting it around their room in the morning, but no one had seen it since. Luckily Benjamin was so tired it wasn't such a big deal. The rest of the trip was fine because each night he was so ready to sleep he didn't care. Before leaving we searched and searched both rooms. Robin just prayed it was in the dirty laundry or somewhere and it would just show up. The drive home was awful. Now that Benjamin was in his own familiar seat he began to miss his blanket and nothing else would do. The next day we called lost and found but it resulted in nothing. The days went on and things became worse. He would wake in the middle of naps looking for it and cry and cry. He wasn't sleeping well anywhere and he was the biggest grump during the day.

We were advised to try eBay and low and behold we found the blanket. Brand New $40.00 plus $2.50 shipping. At this point we felt powerless. This blanket was a gift from the Hoopes family when Benjamin was born and those who know Tracy Hoopes, know that she is a master shopper and always makes the most for her dollar. We almost thought it would disgrace Tracy to know we were buying a replacement at such a price. Then we were overcome with a resentment for the people who buy up these little blankets for those of us with attached kids just to make a profit. Finally we landed on an appreciation for the effort these sellers have put into their businesses. For when the parcel came we opened it and Nato took it with him to wake Benjamin from his nap. Benjamin looked at it, smelled it, rubbed it against his check, stopped to wonder about it, smelled it again and then screamed with joy. "My Mine!" Ya it was expensive, but definitely worth every penny.

Caught in Action

Jacob and Emma perform all the time at home, but when we get in public they always decide to just play it shy. We have seen this show called Playhouse Disney at Disney's Hollywood Studios about a billion times and they never want to get up and dance with the charaters. But with their cousin Tyson in the house it is hard to resist dancing. Tyson was so fun to have along on our trip this year and we are so greatful for all the fun he, and his brother Kaleb, brought alot with them. Our kids LOVED having someone to play and dance with. I know this clip is EXTREMELY short and dark but as a tribute to Tyson and the great example he was to all of us I had to post it! Thanks Tyson! We love and miss you!

Typhoon Lagoon

Today we went to Typhoon Lagoon. I think all of us were expecting to be worn out and ready to head back to the hotel by early afternoon. But there was so much fun to have, we ended up staying until the park closed and rushing to our dinner resevations that night.
Here is just a short clip of Jacob going down one of the littlest water slides. I thought I had a clip of Tyson and Emma as well but I can't find them. Rest assure we all got wet!

Walt Disney Vacation September 2008

Here are just a few of our favorite moments of our 3rd Annual Trip. This year we were joined by many from Robin's family. Her mom, brother Cliff, Sister Ina and Ina's family(Gregg, Tyson-3 and Kaleb-1) all came out. It made us a party of 12 and boy did we party!?! We spent ten days enjoying as much of the Disney life as possible. For the first time ever we tried a day at a waterpark. With 6 adults and 6 kids we had many hands and MANY little feet to try many things. I will post more photos and tell more detailed stories of our wild adventures as I find a little time. The best part of Disney is all the smiles it creates in just being there.