Stink Bomb

Logan has developed a new way to deliver a stink bomb... via a fan pointed right at my face.

Thanks

GIANT BALL `O FUN

Amanda and Logan received this awesome toy for Christmas and the weather was perfect these past two days to give it a roll.  

AND ROLL THEY DID!

 They tried rolling themselves inside like a hamster, but the thick grass make it tough work.  They then started "helping" each other by rolling the ball with their sibling inside.

 It's a good thing that it's nice and kushy inside the ball because there were multiple landings on the head. Thankfully there were no injuries, but like I always say, "If it's not dangerous, it's not fun."

Logan developed this game where he poked his feet out of the bottom of the ball, started running, then purposely fell over and rolled end over end until coming to a stop... video to come soon.

This summer we will have to tote this monster to the lake to give it a whorl in the water.  I think it would be a huge hit.

Goodbye Old Friend

The winds of change are blowing in Monkey house.  Today we said goodbye to an old friend... our playhouse.  This has brought us so much joy over the years.  Tea parties, hunting games, dangerous stunts, and so much more.  But this bargain play set that Eric and I created from two giant wooden boxes was starting to rot.  It was unsafe for our monkeys to play on anymore.

I was actually surprised that the kids were not upset about it.  They took it all in stride and helped with the demolition.

Check out Amanda wearing a cute little dress while helping to rip apart her former play house.

 These kids were ANIMALS with the hammers.  If any of you need some walls taken down, just give these two a call.  

The End

Girls Weekend

This weekend Eric and Logan went on a Scout Campout and left us girls home alone.  Well, you know what they say about what the mice do when the cat is away?  Yes, we played!

Friday night we had a movie fest complete with popcorn, soda, and candy.  YUM!  We stayed up WAY past our bedtime and slept in the next morning.  Then we packed the car and headed to Fall River State Park.  I didn't take my camera on the water, but Amanda and I took our new kayak on a float trip across the lake and did some bird watching.  It's very interesting that the birds don't spook when you come at them from the water rather than the land.

After a picnic lunch on the water, we headed back to shore and explored some more of the park.  Amanda wanted to check out the dam.

 She enjoyed throwing big rocks in the water and making a huge splash... notice her shorter hair? She has been struggling with keeping the tangles under control so last week I took her for a hair cut and she said "CUT IT OFF!"  It's very windblown in this photo, but when it's freshly washed it's cute and curly.  

We also had to check out the playground.  Are you proud of me for letting her leave the house dressed like this?  WOW.  That girl has a style all of her own.

After playing at the park we headed back to town for a pasta at the Olive Garden.  Apparently it was prom night here because there were lots of teenagers dressed up in their fancy duds. 

That was the end of our girls weekend.  The boys return on Sunday morning.

Who's In Charge Here?

This morning I went to wake up Amanda for school and discovered a switch-a-roo. Amanda was sleeping on the floor and Casey was sleeping in her bed!

 "Comfy, Casey?  'Cus I don't think Amanda is! How'd you get her out of her own bed, you sly dog?"

Ships Ahoy!

 

Eric and I have been talking about getting a kayak for a while now, but we have been struggling with the storage and transport issue of two big boats.  A few weeks ago, Eric convinced me to try our an inflatable kayak...  I looked online, read the reviews, and thought about it.  Then on a whim, I was nosing around a local outlet that specalizes in camping gear and what to my little eyes lite upon???  A beautiful yellow tandem kayak display with a big read sticker that said CHEAP CHEAP! 

 On Sunday we took it out to the lake to test it out.  It blows up super fast, is nearly impossible to flip (and believe me, I tried), and is very comfortable to sit in.  Eric and I took turns taking the kids out, and even though it's a two person craft, Amanda had no problem sitting in the middle.  We even took Casey on a spin, but Hunter would not get in the boat.

The dogs enjoyed swimming and playing fetch in the water, but these photos were taken right before we left, so I had the dogs out and drying off for the car ride home.  They were kinda sad to be denied the pleasure of another dip.

And the monkey house give our two thumbs up to these inflatable kayaks!  Bring on the summer weather 'cus I see a float trip in our future!

Icy and Green

 Spring is here... and not.  The grass is green, the flowers are blooming, and there is ice everywhere!

 Very pretty... and we're lucky that there wasn't any major damage.

Kids For Hire

Logan and Amanda are very interested in earning a wage.  They have sold clothes and toys are our garage sale, set up lemonade stands, and attempted to set up a fire wood display with a giant FOR SALE sign in our front drive.  Logan has even asked me if he could start mowing the neighbors lawn for a fee.  With all this in mind, I asked my monkeys if I could hire them to do extra chores around the house.  Of course they said YES!  Logan did my laundry....

 And Amanda cleaned my bathroom.

I must say I'm loving this.  I sure hope it lasts because these kids will work for much cheaper than the local maid service!  And they do a pretty decent job too.

Rain Party

Our Big Red Dog, Hunter  loves to sit out on the deck no matter the weather.  This evening it started raining and he was scrunched up next to the house trying to stay dry, but still be outside.  We took out a couple of our beach umbrellas for him and he sat out there most of the evening (under the umbrellas) enjoying the fresh air.  

 Then the whole family joined him for a while out there!

 Cozy and dry.

Finish

I just asked my 7 year-old how spell a word... and she knew the answer.  *sigh*

A New Kind of Punishment

I have been butting heads with my strong-willed daughter for a number of years.  I blame my mother, really.  She was the one to curse me with "I hope someday you have a daughter and she JUST LIKE YOU!"

And I did.  And she is.  Just like her stubborn, strong-willed Mom.

I have tried timeout, grounding, loosing privileges, paying fines, and even assigned extra chores for misbehavior.  Nothing has gotten through to my little hard-headed girl.  

Then today, I caught her doing something that she knows is against the rules.  In fact, when I walked up to her, she tried to hide what she was doing.  Nothing gets me madder than knowing that she was aware that she was breaking a rule, but went ahead anyway.  

After placing her in timeout, I did some brainstorming... what could I do to get through to her.  Then it came to me.   My pretty pretty princess LOVES her pretty pretty clothes.  So I picked out 5 items from her closet to sacrificed as her punishment.  I showed her my choices and the tear dam was broken!  She cried, pleaded, shouted, asked me to spank her instead, ANYTHING BUT THAT!  But sometimes Momma needs to bring the Tough Love and I placed all 5 items in the trash.  

Gone for ever.  

Never to return. 

Not even to good behavior. 

 Eric raised his eyebrows at me.  "Really?  She can earn them back?"  NOPE.  NEVER.

And let me tell you, she has learned her lesson.  She has been mopping in her room for a half an hour now, depressed over the loss of her beloved clothing.  

Wow!  Guess she's not "just like me" after all.

ZumbAtomic

Logan and Amanda brought a flyer home from school today advertising an after school fitness program called ZumbAtomic.  I asked them if they were interested in enrolling and Logan said:
"No.  It's not appropriate."

HAAAAAA!