Darth Vader dies again

Salyer's Bday #3

Kite's gone wild

When thinking of what to do with Salyer today I thought it might be fun to run to the store and pick up a kite. Little did I know I was going to fit my daily exercise routine in at the same time.

Not even 5 min. from going out in the field behind the house, the kite was launched as high as our superstring allowed it. Salyer, as expected, was bored with it as soon all the string was let out and wanted to go back inside.

In the last 2 days I'm pretty sure the wind had not let up for more than a 5 sec period...until right at that moment. The kite dive bombed to the roof of what I thought was the house on the corner. I know the guy and even though he has two large dogs I wasn't too worried. Haha. Well, about 30 min. later as I was tracking down string ( had to hop into a few neighbors backyards to untangle it from trees and bushes) I realized it was so much further than I thought. Instead of the roof On the corner, it was on the roof across the main street and several houses down. I knocked on the door and got permission to get it.

Needless to say my 5 min. Of kite flying lead to an hour of chasing it down and winding up string. Chalk it up as just another Stayton adventure to remember.

My view

This is life through my eyes for the past week. Life is great!

Snoring Caroline

We have been home with little Caroline for a week now and we all seem to be adjusting quite well. Bethany is healing quickly and getting more energy every day, Nolan is already showing signs of being the protective big brother by saying, "I worry about her when I'm at school all day because Salyer is so rough", Salyer is handling it best of all considering we though he would immediately be jealous of someone else taking the place in Mom's arms. He is loving the role of big brother with more interest in potty training, wanting to hold Caroline every morning and night, and having non-stop time with Dad. Speaking of Dad, I am blessed to be home from work for the month and take care of the entire Stayton gang. Minus forgetting Nolan's backpack and then forgetting his shoes the next morning, (we didn't realize until he was getting out of the car at school), and going a little crazy driving the kids all over town things couldn't be better. Especially since I have time to make sweet videos like this..

PS. Happy 9 yr anniversary honey!

Salyer's wheelie

Our little dare devil went to Mommy's boy in no time. Haha

The Name Game

Our daughter has a name!  After a fun scavenger hunt to tell the boys; we thought we could just post the video for others to find out as well.  Hopefully you won't be as sad as Nolan initially was...

Lemonade Stand

Parenting can be so frustrating but you have to love it when everything comes together.  This weekend was one of those rare occasions when the stars were all aligned.  Nolan had recently seen a new Wii video game he wanted, Bethany was having a garage sale, I was home with no major projects or plans and so I presented the idea of Nolan running a lemonade stand. He seemed excited enough so, of course, I saw this as a great learning opportunity and put on my coaching hat...

Step #1

He got out a pen and paper from his "spy drawer" in his closet to make a list.  The 1st thing his mind came to was A BOX.  I told him a table might be more sturdy and he agreed.  After completing the list he drew the boxes and checked everything off that we already had at the house.  The next day at the store he make an executive decision to get both regular and pink flavors. He and I both learned that the Koolaid packs are much cheaper than Countrytime, especially when you tap into Mom's sugar supply..haha (we spotted Mom a free cup or two for that one)

Step #2

Set up was a little delayed. We had every intention of getting started at 7am when the garage sale started but he and I both woke up around 8:30am, whoops.  We were set up in no time though and making sales right away.  (Nolan was right; the pink flavor was the most popular).  The popcorn you see was a nice touch that Nolan's uncle Benni did.  Unfortunately his item was not as much of a hit.  I thing a 14 yr old having a little less cuteness factor may have played into it a bit.  (Sorry Ben, you are still cute in my eye's..haha.)

Step #3

This was one of the most important steps, finding are target base.  It seemed like the 2 yr old brother was the bulls eye.  He must have gone to Mom for a quarter to get lemonade about once every 15 minutes.  As faithful as he was we sill have to give a shout out to our customer's of the day:  Our friend Kristen from church and her Mom took this award when they left a nice big tip.  I'm pretty sure Nolan met his quota and could have packed it up as soon as they left. (I think the stand had been in operation for about 2 hrs total at that point.)

Step #4

Having fun was the main agenda and with two full days of sitting there had to be some wrestling at some point. He also managed to take a break each day to go to the pool but I must say he stayed pretty focused.

Step #5

Accounting was the last step which proved it was a great success.  Nolan learned a little more about counting money, profit and loss, as well as tithing.  He also made sure he paid me back for spotting him a few bucks at the store.  I told him to keep it since he worked so hard but he insisted.  I have to say that made me pretty proud.

For those of you wondering about his video game; he is almost there.  The stipulations were that he could get it if he paid for half ($20), did a chore everyday for the month of June, and read all 6 of his library books.  He has a few days left of chores and one book to go.  I guess now I will have to post a pic of him playing the new game wen he gets it (to be continued)...

Visit from the Gramps

As far as the boys are concerned, this summer's high point has already happened.  Mimi and Grampa came in from Texas for a few days.  With late night baseball games, getting everyone ready for the pool, screaming at the TV during the Thunder games, and the usual craziness of young parents, I'm sure they were ready to go back home to some peace and quiet.  Let's just hope they still want to keep the kids for a week later this summer.  wink wink...

Nightly bedttime stories (thanks Mimi for reading the potty book..classic)

Out to eat (hopefully Salyer will still think Grampa is the coolest as he grows up)

And, of course, Mimi rules with her IPad.  (Bethany and I just can't keep up with the techno savy grandparents)



Happy Mother's Day

Catfish for Nolan

We went to the neighborhood pond for 30 minutes before church tonight.  Who said fishing takes patience..haha



The results are in:

brotherly love

A view of the family from Dad's eyes. I think my favorite thing about the boys interacting so far is when Salyer picks on his older brother. Tonight he was pulling his hair and ears. I think he will be able to hold his own just fine.

Battle Ship

Bethany had plans tonight so it was me and the boys.  I was starting to give myself credit because I felt like I was doing fairly well at multitasking.  I had Salyer in one hand, the phone in the other, and I got all of us feed before hanging up.  From there Nolan and I settled in for a good ol' fashioned game of Battle Ship with Salyer still on my lap with a full belly and a clean diaper.

Well, Bethany got home and sat down and was watching us play the game.  Just when I thought I was doing enough to impress she noticed and pointed out that my sly little 4 year old was moving his ships from one spot to another causing me to be unable to know where he might be.

So much for brownie points with the wife.  She laughed at me for a while on that one.  And so much for my sweet inocent little son.  He is already cheating to beat his Dad.  Well, Salyer still thinks I'm cool... I think...

Bedroom Soccer on MLK Day

Bethany and I bought a new mattress. It won't be here until tomorrow but we put our old one away today. I took advantage of the rare oppertunity of having a bedroom with no bed and had a little soccer game with the boys. As you will see, Nolan was practicing his skills, and Dad was giving Salyer his first lesson.

Nolan's Idea

I promise!

Nolan got new shingaurds with birthday money.  I can't wait until he starts playing team sports next year, I mean, he can't wait until he starts team sports next year.  Below is a video of his first practice in the homemade backyard stadium.

Oh My! There's a Monster Truck in the Backyard?

Getting projects done is usually a race for time with me...especially when I am working two jobs and studying for a big fat test. But sometimes, you have to take a break and enjoy the moment. My son helped me push the pause button on my tearing down of the old storage building and the putting up of a new one. I guess I will have to put the new one up next on a later date...

beginner

advanced

Fight Club

Nolan and Carson were play wrestling, but Karly thought it was no laughing matter.

Friday the 13th

The scariest thing about Friday the 13th was having 3 extra kids over.  Just kidding.  It was a blast!  The night was full of events.  Everything from playing hockey, cheerleading, making Valentine crafts, wresling, watching a movie and even hide-n-go seek.  Sorry Amy and Andy, while you were having a nice romantic evening out, your kids we beating up on each other.  Believe it or not there was not one tear shed.  Are we great babysitters or what...