confession

im not gonna hide it...

I LOVE THESE BOOKS!

we are reading the hunger games series for our book club. i had heard a little about them, but they were not what i was expecting..... in a good way. I COULD NOT PUT THEM DOWN! i should probably be embarrassed of the fact that i stayed up until 3:30 in the morning reading the second book, but im not. or the fact that i read the first two books in less then 3 consecutive days, but im not. i dont know if i can wait till next week to discuss it at book club, i liked it that much! i am very excited for book 3 to come out next month. and i highly recommend these books if you want a clean and intriguing adventure to take your mind off of your normal routine. after all, that is why i am in a book club :)

now if only i could convince chris that he should make time for a "young adult" novel...

this is totally off the subject of books and intriguing adventures:

tonight for dinner we had subs from publix (yummy) and while jack was eating a bite of chris' with salami he said

"this salami tastes just like the man at the store!"

and i said, "what man were you eating at the store jack?"

"the man at publix, he tasted just like this salami!"

and chris, being the wise parent in our household said, "jack we do NOT eat people"

jack giggled.

after a little while jack said, "mom, i made that up"

thanks for clarifying you silly boy

(this is the sweetest picture of BOTH my silly boys - naples zoo july 2008)

recently we have...

... been grillin' ribs and making homemade blackberry ice cream...

... been fishing and frolicking on the beach...

... wowed passersby with jack's amazing casting skills...

... been bathing beauties (or grumpy buns, take your pick) ...

... received a phone call at 2 in the morning to come pick up the boys due to a dead battery on the boat... (thanks guys. you owe me. big time)

... paper mached a volcano science project...

... eaten yummy desserts at uncle bo and aunt larissa's house... (if you are wondering it was a berry fool, and i aint foolin')

... been having play dates with everett buddy...

(all 3 of these silly kiddos love grilled cheese sandwiches by the way)

... and, finally, jack's been baking BLUE cupcakes!

its been a fun week!

HE said SHE said

during snacks this morning i decided to be a reporter and interview the kids.

i promise i didnt change or make up any of these answers- even ellie's. i just listened for anything that was an actual word and wrote it down.

whats your favorite food?

jack: steak and grapefruit

ellie: grapefruit

whats your favorite color?

j: purple

e: yellow

whats your favorite thing to do?

j: go on the boat with daddy and grandpa

e: eat grapefruit

favorite movie:

j: madagascar

e: madagascar and thomas and incredibles

favorite thing to wear?

j: pants and short shorts and long sleeved shirt

e: thomas underwear

your least favorite thing to do?

j: not going on the boat

e: go potty

(can you tell we have been attempting to potty train?)

favorite animal?

j: i like the rhinoceros the best

e: animals...NO!.. snakes and kitties

favorite word to say?

j: fish

e: oooooooo ah oooooo ah

(jack said, "oh, that IS a fun word to say!")

Favorite thing to dream about?

j: rhinos and fishies and big giraffes and fish

e: apples

if you could be a dinosaur, what would you be?

j: i would rather be a lamb

fine, i would be a t-rex

e: triceratops

once i mentioned dinosaurs they were off pretending to be one. luckily i had the camera handy. and now jack is watching cooking with julia child. what funny kids they are. i really liked these pics of the two rascals.

KaBoom!

we feel extremely fortunate to be able to celebrate a day honoring our country and our many freedoms. we love our country!

we had a ward bbq on the 3rd, like usual, along with a big firework show put on by a local outlet mall. and it was a wet one this year. but i would much prefer to be wet from rain rather than sweat!

the primary was in charge of the activities while we waited for the fireworks. there was a fun cupcake walk (with no pics), a waterballoon toss, and a pie eating contest.

so without further ado...

patiently waiting for the waterballoon toss

it took me a couple hours to fill up 200 hundred waterballoons that afternoon and i had to keep reminding ellie to be very very careful not to pop any of them. well, when the first few balloons were tossed at the party, ellie was so confused and worried she started to cry. it took a little while for her to figure out she could now throw them and pop them. of course, by the time she figured it out, all the balloons were popped!

the young men and women were kind enough to help by wearing scrub bottoms and trying to see how many balloons they could catch in their pants. its much more entertaining that way :)

ellie learned the art of puddle-jumping by a master

jack and ellie love their friend bryce (or bryce-rice as jack calls him)

and here are pictures from the pie-eating contest...in the rain nonetheless. the kids had so much fun and it really wasnt a pain to clean up afterwards like i was expecting, bonus!

get it jack, get it!

he got it!

our friends:

connor

charlie

emily

and tom

ellie loved to show daddy the 'pitty' fireworks

a little bonding time with Obispo

jack was very quickly banned from sparklers for trying to poke other kids with them... what a kid!

what a nice way to celebrate independence day!