Riddle Me This...

Today the kids spent the day with Grandma and Grandpa after church. On the way to their house, they were teaching Big A about riddles.

The first riddle they asked him was, "Can you name three consecutive days of the week without using Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday?"

Of course he couldn't at first but then Grandma explained it to him and explained that the answer is yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Then they asked him, "When is a door not a door?"

Again, he didn't know and I'm sure he didn't even know what the word 'ajar' meant, but they explained that the answer is a door is not a door when it's ajar.

Grandma was asking Big A the third question, something about if he'd done something REALLY, REALLY, REALLY bad and was going to be punished, what he'd rather his punishment be. She was saying, "Would you rather spend the day in a room that was on fire, a room full of lions that hadn't been fed in three years or....."

Big A blurted out, "A room full of lions! If they hadn't been fed in three years, they'd be dead!"

Grandma was BLOWN AWAY! She was AMAZED that he'd caught on so quickly and amazed at how well his brain works.

I'm telling you.... This boy is going to give us a run for our money! YIKES!

I Heart Red Box

Have you ever heard of Red Box?

Have you ever seen this bright, red machine at your local grocery store, 7-Eleven, Walmart or elsewhere?

What? What's that you say? You subscribe to Netflix? You purchase movies from your cable/dish provider? You go to BLOCKBUSTER?

Now I KNOW that sitting in your recliner and clicking a few buttons on the remote control is easy, but it also costs quite a bit of money. Red Box costs one dollar. That's right, ONE DOLLAR! Okay, it's actually $1.09 with tax, but still... It's cheaper than Netflix (unless you receive 10-14 movies per month in the mail from them), movies from your TV provider, and Blockbuster and it's EASY! You can go online and rent your movie then run out and pick it up. There's even an iPhone app for it!

They have the newest releases, movies for adults and kids, and locations all over the place. You don't have to pick-up and drop-off at the same location, either. We've actually discussed renting movies near our home and returning them along our trip route when we go on long car trips. With Red Box the possibilities are endless!

So what do you say? Why not run out and try Red Box today? I promise you'll like it!

Big Aisms

Big A is full of them, coming up with some real good ones... He is SO funny sometimes, and the things he comes out with... I tell you, I have no idea where he gets some of them. I LOVE the fact that he's so quick witted, even at five years old!

A couple of weeks ago we were driving home from a party and out of the blue Big A said, "Mommy, I just said a prayer. I asked God to bless all of the people who are bad that he can make them heal up."

There I was, reveling in my proud mommy moment, thinking about how thoughtful Big A is and what a grown up boy he's becoming when he followed it up with, "So now I don't have to say prayers before bed!"

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Last night Grandma and I took the kids school clothes shopping at Kohl's. While browsing in the boys department, Grandma called Big A over to try on a shirt. He looked at it and asked if it had any pictures on it, to which we replied that it did not. He looked at us and said, "Now that's what I call BORING!"

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On the way home from Kohl's I was on the phone with B and relating a story about something that had happened at swim lessons that evening. I said, "Kim, the pool manager...."

Without missing a beat Big A blurted out, "Don't you mean girlager?"

It took me a minute to figure out what he meant, but I'm telling you... THAT was a good one!

Appology Accepted

B and I had an AWESOME weekend together camping with our kids and our friends. We'd laughed, talked, enjoyed each others' company and were both really happy and relaxed. As a follow-up to our weekend, last night we had a big fight minor disagreement about some things that had happened during the course of the day.

The real problem was probably that we didn't have a good chance to talk about what was wrong. He was at work, I was at home, we were both upset, I went to bed angry and didn't sleep well, etc. Had we had an opportunity to talk face to face, it probably would not have escalated, but it did and we were both pretty angry.

This morning, while I was still very angry, I came downstairs to find this...

How can I stay angry now? I mean really... The whole thing wasn't worth what we made it to begin with (is it ever?) but.... WOW!

Well done, B... Well done!

Genuine Happiness

THIS is genuine happiness!

LIFE IS GOOD!

Mr. And Mrs. Nathan Patterson

Last February I revived a phone call from my cousin telling us that she'd just gotten engaged and asking if the kids and I would be in her wedding. Without hesitation I told her that we'd be honored and last weekend was the big event.

The wedding was at Edwards Mansion in Redlands, California. Knowing what the weather in this area can be like, we were DREADING the heat of an outdoor wedding and tent reception, but boy did we all luck out! The weather was hot, but not too hot and it cooled off nicely come evening.

The wedding was at 5:00 in the evening and we had to be at the mansion before 3:00 to dress and take pictures so there were no naps to be had that day. The kids had a difficult time with the waiting, got tired of posing for pictures and the ceremony was long for a busy five year old, but all in all we had a wonderful day.

Big A spent his time before the ceremony playing with his new tractor but couldn't understand why we wouldn't let him have it with him during the ceremony. Perhaps we should have, as it would have kept him occupied but he did SO well. He came over to me in the middle of it and complained a bit, but I'm REALLY proud of him.
Little A spent her time before the ceremony playing with Sarah, the other flower girl, and hanging out with the 'girls'. She likes to get right in there and be part of everything. I LOVE this picture of her looking out the window right before we lined up outside to start the bridal procession.

Kevin, Julianna's oldest brother, moved home from Kentucky just in time to be in the wedding. Seeing him from afar he looks like a clean-cut, handsome guy, huh? He had the honor of walking our grandma down the aisle and I had the honor of being paired with Kevin for walking out and for photos. That could be dangerous, huh Kev?

Here's Julianna's youngest brother, Christian. He had the honor of walking his mom down the aisle.

And here I am. While all of the bridesmaids loved the color, we were all a bit hesitant about the strapless dresses. We all pulled and tugged at them all day, but we looked good.

And here is the most handsome ring bearer you've ever seen! I LOVE THIS BOY!!

Enter the flower girls... See all those nice petals they were throwing out? Little A, my little recycler, stood in the front and picked them all up during the ceremony so her basket wouldn't be empty.

Here comes the bride....

Exchanging vows...

First dance...

Remember those two handsome boys walking their mother and grandmother down the aisle?I know Kevin and remember him as cute little two year old so I know what's really behind all that metal but I must say... If you saw him walking toward you on the street, you'd probably walk the other way. No offense, Kev, I LOVE YOU!

And here's Big A pretending to be chugging beer... I have NO idea where his obsession with beer comes from lately, but I think we need to find new camping buddies. (Kidding, Kennadys and Koenigs, kidding!)

Dance lessons have paid off! Little A was a dancing machine! She was out on the floor during EVERY song. She moved right along with everyone while they line danced to Boot Scootin' Boogie, she slow danced, she rocked out, etc. She had a BLAST!

When the cake was served Little A had a minor meltdown. I found her wandering around the center of the tent crying. When I asked her what was wrong she told me she wanted some cake. We got some cake and went to sit down but she asked to use the bathroom first. While we were doing that she looked at me and said, "I'm tired, Mommy. Can we go home?"

We left about 9:00, changed clothes in the parking lot, and headed back to our hotel EXHAUSTED! Thanks, Julianna and Nate, for a great day, and CONGRATULATIONS Mr. and Mrs. Patterson!

A Visit With Great Grandpa

While in Southern California over the weekend, I had the opportunity to spend some time with my Grandpa. Perhaps it wasn't the kind of visit you'd expect when you hear me say this, but it was a visit nonetheless.

You see, my Grandpa passed away eight years ago and is buried on the side of a hill, under a tree, in a beautiful cemetery in Southern California. B and I stopped by his grave on our way into town and on our way out of town Big A asked if we could visit again. I think it's wonderful that he has such interest in 'knowing' and 'visiting' his Great Grandpa.

This was Little A's first visit to Great Grandpa since she's been old enough to understand the situation although I'll admit that she was a little confused when we pulled up and she didn't see anyone there to talk to. I explained to her that Great Grandpa is in Heaven and that we can still talk to him, she can still show him her princess, etc. She teared up with this new information and by the time we actually walked over to his grave, she and I were both in tears. My kids are so sensitive and loving!

By the time we left the kids were fascinated with the whole place. They were asking questions, looking at all of the different stones, and enjoying their time with Great Grandpa.

A few of the headstones had balloons on them, which caught Bit A's attention. We explained to him that the family of the person who was buried there was remembering the person on their birthday and so they brought balloons. This prompted the question of when Great Grandpa's birthday was and when I told him that it was the same day as Grandma's, he decided we should come to Southern California to celebrate Grandma's birthday this year. What do you say, Gram?