Watermelon Feet Make a Tasty Treat

Of course today has been hot, but thankfully hovering in the 80's rather than the 90's..well what's better than a little left over watermelon from lunch to cool a person of.....not much, except for maybe an Otter Pop!!!

Sometimes I wonder if my children are the only random quirky ones mucking about.....Carter decided her pink rocker needed to be in the kitchen of all places.....whatever I said....does it really matter....nope....just keepin the peace around here on a hot day is just about all a person can ask for!!!

 How Owen ended up as King of the Chair I don't know (I was busy sewing!)  But I look over to discover my children actually playing together sweetly, Carter the servant and Owen the big Kahuna....being hand fed left over watermelon (yikes, not looking forward to that diaper!) I just thought they looked cute, and were being so pleasant, that I should take a few pictures.......just after putting the camera down to make a quick trip to the loo.................I COME BACK TO FIND..............................

 THIS.......stinky feet that had been running barefoot outside, nestled on the fresh sweet fruit that I myself was coming back for a bite of......YUCK!!! Perhaps watermelon has the same soothing and cooling effect that cucumbers do.......maybe my daughter is trying to tell me that we need to invest in yet another fan.....regardless of her reasoning, I passed on the snack....however Owen couldn't resist......

 I really should have stopped him, but I couldn't stop laughing...and lets face it, probably not the most disgusting thing he's ever put in his mouth....or the most disgusting thing he ever will!!!!

 Oh, the mischief these two get into together!!! SOOOOO much more to come I'm sure....still haven't figured out who's going to be the usual ring leader....we shall see!!!!

"Ta, da da da da da da"

If read properly this post title (in your mind) should sound like "Ta Da" sung with the following "da's" as notes going up the scale, but said/sung SUPER fast!!! This is something Carter has done since she was about 2 ish....we don't know where she picked it up, but we LOVE it....we ALWAYS get a good chuckle from it! She did it TONS last summer over such little things that she was proud of.....she hasn't done it in a LONG time, but yesterday she let a nice loud and fast "Ta da da da da da da" rip.....I started laughing and looked around to lock eyes with John to share that "smiley eye, so in love with our daughter" look......and OH SO SAD, but not surprising....he wasn't anywhere to be found......we're coming up on the week mark of him working in Wyoming, and although we've settled in to life as the Three Musketeers....we still miss him A LOT....especially Carter.....yesterday ALL day she was SO emotional, missing daddy, wanting daddy.....

 So after bath time, I decided to pull an old trick that worked like a charm for another Daddy's girl, who although is 27 yrs old and has a precious 3 yr old daddy's girl daughter of her own...still misses her Pa somethin fierce, and just wants a nice big bear hug, or golden kisses once in a while!!! When I was young, while my Dad was out of town working he allowed me to choose one of his T-shirts to wear to bed as a night gown so I could feel close to him, it seemed to always work....Soooooo, I let Carter choose one of John's old work T-shirts to wear to bed...of course she chose the "Ice Cream" shirt, once it was pulled over her head she proudly, loudly and quickly exclaimed "Ta da da da da da da da!" SO wish I could have shared that moment with John!

 As most nights, we killed a little time being silly, giving Owen a mo-hawk....dancing on Mommy's bed to the alarm clock radio....making funny faces and silly noises....tickling and giggling, and singing into the fan (come on you know you all still love that distorted fan voice)!!! We just wait, wait, wait and wait some more for the house to cool down, and the sun to fade so that the little people will settle down and comfortably fall asleep!!!

 Owen was passing out kisses....he still does the open mouth slobber kiss, which grosses Carter out so she forces his mouth shut by pinching his jaw closed....thankfully Owen finds it to be a great game and doesn't complain!!! We're all surviving quite well with John out of town....the first day or so are emotionally rough, and hard to get back into daily routine....but everyone has leveled out now.....unfortunately just in time for him to make a quick appearance and upset the apple cart again (we wouldn't trade our precious time with him though!) It feels like Summer is dragging on with him gone, but maybe it's this crazy thick and sticky heat that makes everything move in slow motion.....at least when I look at a calendar I'm shocked to realize we only have 6 weeks left of our "Summer"....ahhh, the life of college students...everything is defined by when school starts and ends....at least we get Labor Day weekend right after school starts, perhaps a camping trip will be in order!!!

Mud Makeup Mug

Today was such a HOT day, if I hadn't already planned to take the kids to Lewiston to Home Depot and Costco, we would have found some water to splash in, but alas, a trip to the "Pizza Store" AKA Costco was promised and much anticipated by one little girl! When we got home Carter and our neighbor friend Halli played outside while I cleaned the front room, the girls popped in and out of the house for more popsicles...etc.....when you hear "Look, we have make up on"......be prepared to see this!

 The girls had made a bowl of mud, and were painting "makeup" on each others faces....to top it off, they decided a little chalk drawn on the body here and there was a nice touch too!!! I just had to laugh....and GROAN...because the kids had baths last night....but oh well, I remember having glorious summer days as such....you know it's been s fun day when there's a bathtub full of dirt, and a pile of laundry  waiting for Mom to deal with at the end of the day!

 Daddy had a chance to call us amid the mud makeup episode....can you see on that muddy little mug, the sad little girl who misses her daddy SO much....the first day or so after he leaves she carries on like normal...then she gets sassy, whiny and very emotional over EVERYTHING....day 3 she's finally able to verbalize that she misses Daddy, only wants Daddy, doesn't like Mommy...etc.......hopefully we'll make it over the hump soon.....only then to have it all upset again when he comes home, oh well such is life!

 OH, that muddy mug makes me want to cry, what a sad and serious little lady...

 Owen misses John when he's gone too, there's NO mistaking his excitement when he gets to hear Daddy's voice on the phone, his face lights up, he gets a big jaw dropped toothy grin, and actually....can you believe it....for a moment...he is silent.....he's SPEECHLESS!!!

Fortunately for me, he's a little less emotional, and carries on as normal every day....case in point....crazy little climbing man child! He's now mastered climbing on the couches, getting on and off trikes, etc...climbing up me (rock climbing style or monkey style...you know dig in the toes, cling and swing!)He's mastered falling off the couch and my bed with grace and minimal crying, he's mastered pulling sister's hair, kicking her, pushing her, throwing toys at her head and annoying her by turning the tv on and off....and thankfully.....sweetfully.....mercifully.....he's mastered giving Mamma kisses and hugs!!!!

Dear Daddy...

I suppose I should begin by explaining the title to this post "Dear Daddy..." well, John is off and running on another adventure....or I guess just continuing on the same unorganized and unpredictable path that employment as a research technician has taken him! After we got back from Boise, we waved goodbye as he left for a weeks worth of work in Bonner's Ferry (3 hrs north), well, that was short lived because the river was at flood stage and they couldn't accomplish what they needed, so we were surprised to find him home 3 days later (just as we were kinda gettin used to being the 3 Musketeers with him gone) 10 o'clock that night his phone rings, and he's set back in motion re-packing to go help another research project move along in Cascade (4 hrs south)...well, he's really gone this time for two solid weeks, up in the mountains where he doesn't get cell service, and they work such long hours that he literally has NO time to drive down the mountain to call us :( We're missing him something fierce, but I think he's missing us more; away from the comfort of home, the soft giggles and snuggles of little children, home cooked meals and the lovin companionship of a wife (the cold hard ground aint to invitin after a long day of work!)SOOOOOOO even though we can't talk now, we will get a chance, but I KNOW I'll forget SOOOO many adorable, wonderful and even frustrating things that he missed out on, that I normally would talk and laugh with him about, and counsel with him on....So I've decided every few days to post about the latest goings on at our house, SO when he's back he can read all about it and hopefully know how much he's loved and was missed!!!

Dear Daddy....yesterday we went for a walk downtown to the farmers market....we had fun peeking in the booths, smelling fresh flowers and visiting the rattlesnake at the gem shop, we wanted to watch him get fed, but they feed him on Fridays now because he gets stage fright on Saturdays with SO many people around.....we had a nice afternoon napping and reading books, before dinner we took Travis out to get your truck, and then went to get groceries, after dinner we had a nice long bath and then snuggled up on the camo mat to watch "Tooth Fairy 2" that we rented from the library, it was a funny movie that Mommy and Carter really liked....Owen just crawled around like a crazy man throwing toys at our heads!

Today we went to church, Carter wore her new pink flower dress that Grandma Debbie picked out for her, she looked like a princess! Tonight Carter and Owen got to play at Grandma Gail's so that Mommy could go to choir practice (what a nice little break for Mom!!!) These pictures are from tonight, we wanted to show you how good we were for Mommy when we brushed out teeth....can you see what good tooth brushers we are??? And what fun too!!!!

 Owen is getting better at actually brushing his teeth, and tried to do it just like Mom or Carter, he's quite proud of himself.... if you can't tell by the smirk on his face! Carter is really good at it too, so obedient and careful to make sure we can hear the "chh chhh shhh chhh shhh" sound while she brushes!!! (Can you hear her sweet little voice saying "Look at me Mommy....watch me Mommy"...?

 2 Posers....one silly as always(when posing) and one sitting quite properly to have his picture taken while he says " Eeeeee e e eee e"!!!

 Concentrating really hard......

 SO PROUD!!! "YEA, I'm a BIG BOY!"

 Not one to be left out....Sis insisted on her own personal mini photo shoot!!!

Everyone is starting to settle back down and adjusting to you being gone again (not that we like it, or that it's easy....just adjusting)...we hear Travis pull in in the truck....I know you're not there, but I still look anyways (I don't know if we can sell that thing, the soft rumble of that sweet ride pulling in puts me to peace, and starts me thinking on a lot of great memories!!!)....I really missed hearing your voice singing in sacrament today...I missed watching your sweet smile and eyes light up when I got into the car all primped and ready for church....I missed hearing a comment about the vanilla lotion I put on....and I missed cooking Sunday dinner for you, and lazily lounging about our house watching fishing movies while the children napped......it's glorious to put the kids to bed, but then I realize I'm really alone....I pace the house looking for something to occupy me, but nothing works, i'm exhausted and try to sleep but I just toss and turn...I make a nest out of pillows to try to feel snuggled that's not working either....sleeping on my side of the bed is just plain lonely, so I try the middle for a while, then end up on your side sniffing your scent on your pillow...but eventually end up back on my side because there's easier access to the bathroom.....and then it all starts over again...it's hot  and muggy and I want to open the window, but I feel vulnerable, so I opt for the fan to move the air around but then I get cold and don't have you to snuggle with to keep me warm.......I sleep with the phone by my bed in case of emergencies, but mainly because I hope and pray that you'll get a moments time to find cell service so you can call me....I just want to hear your voice....remember when we were engaged and apart how we would run out of things to talk about and I would just make you stay on the line so I could hear you breath.....SO many times I'd fall asleep just listening to you, feeling close to you.....I know it's silly but I just want to listen to you breathe...to know you're there....that you're alive and well....I know I don't really need to worry, but I have an odd panicked feeling, like I've been completely cut off from you without any say in the matter (well, that's kind of what happened, even though not really!)

I just want you to know that although I miss being able to share the kid duties with you...etc....there are more important and personal things that are being missed....it's funny, the only thing I can think of to say is from Jerry Maguire...... "You complete me"....what a cliche I know, but so true...you complete me physically, you complete me emotionally and you complete me spiritually....you are my PB and I am your J!!!! We love you and miss you!

Love your little family...The 3 Musketeers