Talk Back to You..

I came across this poem, written by a good friend, and adapted it just a little. It just struck a cord, so I decided to share it with all of you.


I'm a mother
and a fighter
and a daughter
and a loyal friend
and a spirited soul
and an organized mess.

I like baseball
and I like animal crackers;
I love cherry coke
and the hills and consume them both regularly.
My favorite people are the ones who know how to really hug.

I'm not tall
or a good high jumper
or a knowledgeable source of information about computers or cars.

I hate peas,
being blatently lied to,
being subtlely rejected,
and am not really a fan of blood or needles.

I have dreams
that I rarely talk about directly,
fears
that like to follow me around sometimes,
and could probably use a forklift for all my baggage right now...

but I know how to come through for my friends
when they just need to be loved,
and could talk passionately for hours
about my dreams
and my philosophy of motherhood
if you know how to ask the right questions.

Evening Ride

I love his face in this picture. He's just a handsome little man.
Mason all ready to go and a little ansy. We had to wait for Justin.
I love our bike ride each night (except when raining). It gives us a chance to talk about things going on and what we have to do yet tonight or even during the week. Its a good time. Sometimes we each pretend we are a different Mario Kart and race back home on the "home street track". Mason usually wins because he always turns around early and jets back home. Oh well, that just gives Justin and I a little extra quality time.

Look Mom - No Hands!!

One of our favorite things to do is go for a bike ride after dinner each night. THis night I decided to bring my camera and catch the boys doing "no hands". They've just started doing this and have been so proud of themselves.


We only had to take about 25 pics total to capture these 3.

I think we went up and down the road about 4 times.

FINALLY!!! We got the shot we were looking for. Thank God for digital cameras so we didn't waste all those pictures.

"I am not tired".

So, the other night (a while ago now, since these pictures are probably 2 weeks old), Mason was so crabby (tired) it was not even funny. He told me he was not going to bed, he was not tired and that was that.

After some arguing he told me that for "one minute" he would go into his bed but he would not sleep.

No more than 5 minutes later, I started a load of laundry, he was asleep.





















He is so peaceful when he sleeps. It is quite the contrast sometimes for all the ruckus he can cause during the day.

I love you Mason. Sleeep tight sweets. Don't let the bed bugs bite.

T- I - double GUH - ER

We semi-adopted/did a favor for a good friend and took in this monstrous cat named Tigger.

The boys love him. For the first week though he hid in the basement in the crawl space under the bathroom. Would not come out for anything except to poop and eat. You can see he needs to eat.

Tigger is a very loving cat. Likes to sleep with a person right on their head. His tummy is too big for that, but he still tries anyhow. He's a loud meower though and is a nice addition to our house.
This is tigger's big belly. He is not all fur. He is all belly. Kind of reminds me of a pregnant lady we have at work right now. lol.
My favorite part is when he lays on the couch or bed, moves just a little to adjust himself, but is too close to the edge and his belly just pulls him right off whatever he is laying on. Hilarious.

We adopted these two little kittens. The boys named them Ratchet and Boots. We found them at Fruitland Township Park. Someone had left them there. Their markings are the same though they are different colors. They would sleep right on top of one another and gang up on Tigger together. Sadly, we had to get rid of them. Three cats was just too much for one house to have. Tigger will go outside and spend some time under the deck. These cats would too, but were just too much to have around. They went to a nice farm in Montague to spend the winter in the barn.

To My Friends

I recently received an email from a good friend. It was very personal and to the point for my life right now so I thought I would share it..

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go. (especially at Hackley campus.)
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end, BUT

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you walk through that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself. the women in your life are on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will break the rules and walk beside you or just come in and carry you out.



I just want to say thanks to all my friends who have stepped up to the plate and swung the bat for me and let me know without saying much how they would be willing to help. I would not be getting through my life right now without all of you.

All I can say is THANKS to each and every one of you. Know that I mean it with all I can muster.

Extraordinary Onion

Mason :Hey Justin, how do you peel an onion? (we're sitting at the dinner table, not eating onions, and Mason asks his brother this question just out of the blue.)

Justin: first you chop, chop chop then you dice it and cut it in half, then you cut it in half some more, then you really just "fwap" it up. Try not to cry though while you are cutting it up.

Mason: Why do you cry? Is it because you cut yourself?

JUstin: No, onions just make you cry when you cut them. ( I don't think he has ever cut up an onion, so I am curious where he gets his info from).

Mom: Hey Justin, how do you know so much about onion cutting? Were you a chef in your last life?

Justin: No, I'm just extraordinary.

Mom: OH, well that makes sense then.

From Mason:

Hey Dad.

I like to go to the beach and the park with you.

I love you.
Mason Garth Inman

(he dictated I typed).

Catch Phrases

while playing Wii Mario Cart Mason was just throwing out new phrases left and right. It was so funny. I tried to remember some.. I might add more later.

1. After getting bumped off the road - "Man, that was awkward".

2. After winning 11th place (out of 12), just barely eeking by - "I don't think so son".

3. After we won a team race, "What cha got for me now BOOOYYY!" at really no one in particular. Maybe he was talking to Donkey Kong - I don't know.

I'm not sure where he comes up with his phrases, but he always brings a smile to my face.

I am a BLUE

This is yet another quiz where blue fits me. HAHAHAHAHAHA

http://www.blogthings.com/theumbrellatest/

Here's what the blue umbrella says about me:

**When faced with adversity, you can be counted on.
**You rise to the occasion when things are tough, and you are very dependable.
**You are cool and laid back.
**Everyone finds you easy to get along with.
**You are a good communicator and conversationalist.
**People pour their hearts out to you.
**On a rainy day: you should spend the day catching up with your closest friends.

What color umbrella would you pick?

School's In

Mason on his first day of ALL DAY SCHOOL!!!. So sad, Mom is going to be left alone for a whole day by herself... (weep weep sob sob) What a handsome little dude. Mason liked the first day, but I think he was a little tuckered out after going for a full day.

Justin on his first day at a new school. Ealy Elementary look out here comes a smart guy. He was so excited to go into 3rd grade..


Here's my two favorite people in the whole world!!!! Handsome boys on the first day of school. They had a great day though Justin thought it was kind of "boring" and didn't want to go back the second day. He ended up liking the second day since he got to play soccer and won. Here's to a great third day Justin...

Let's talk about Pokemon...

The title of this should have been "Mom, why don't you listen to me talk about Pokemon for a while..." By a while I mean at least 10 minutes. Good thing I had a camera handy to keep me occupied. His faces were so funny...


Let me start out by telling you about "Peekachoo". I know the spelling is wrong, but get over it. Then I'll tell you about all the other POkemon I can think of...

Let me think about something I haven't actually told you already... This might take a little bit. Such a face, deep in concentration (or is it constipation?).. lol.
Justin likes to talk with his hands. He was trying to show me how big a Pokemon (forgot the name) was compared to a human. He moved his hands back and forth while talking about this for a good couple of minutes.
There might have been something I forgot to tell you... Let me think about it.

"Do you have any questions?". Luckily I sort of understood a little bit about what he was trying to tell me so I had no questions... Pokemon is the most confusing things my children have gotten into playing yet.. You know there's a lot of them when they make a book called an index so they can keep them all straight. No wonder the games take so long to beat. There's only 400 Pokemon to defeat and that's just in one world. Good grief. Who thinks up all these pokemon?

Really Cool Spider Web

The kids were playing outside the other night when they came across this spiderweb up in the
tree house. They ran inside to get flashlights, (even though it was day time) and were just acting kind of goofy (more than usual for them), so I decided to wander over and see what they were up too.

They were fascinated by the way the webs were wrapped around and around the things that were caught in it. They looked but they could not find the spider.

This pic just shows how big the web really was. Then they started asking spider questions like how long did it take the spider to make that. When would the spider actually eat those things caught in the web and where is the spider at? Since I am a spider expert (University of MOM) I of course, had all the answers they needed. At least it satisfied them for a while..

This one is kind of hard to see, but below the web in that square portion is another huge web, or a continuation of the same one. I would have liked to have seen the spider that made it. The boys watched for it for a while, but then moved on to other things.

Skittles.

This is for Case.

So tough we'll sit on a rainbow and Skittles will pop out.

Mom.

Justin's birthday day!!

The 3 amigos before beginning putt putt golf on Justin's birthday. Ethan, Jack and Justin along with Mason went on August 16th, which was Justin's 8th birthday. Ethan scored lowest with Jack coming in a close second, followed by Justin and Mason closing out the group. I think Ethan and Jack have had a lot more practice at putt putt than my boys have. They all had fun, which was the whole point. I spent a lot of time laughing too.









Justin wanted a home made cake this year. (yeah for mom on a budget) so I made the required chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting and happy birthday written in white frosting. (This was what he wanted). It was a good cake, enjoyed by everyone.











Justin at Putters Creek waiting his turn. Are you winking at mom or is the sun in your eye?















We came home after golfing and had hot dogs on the grill, chips and of course cake and ice cream. We sang loudly and a rather interesting version of happy birthday to Justin, who loved us just the same. Something about a monkey, a zoo and a can of spaghetti. I'm not really sure what Mason was singing.. lol. He blew out the candles with one breath and made his wish. I hope your wish comes true Justin!!!






Blowing out the candles. Huff, Puff and blow the candles out.











After lunch Ethan had to leave and go to a Tigers game, so Jack stayed and played. We ended up going to Duck Lake swimming. The waves were huge. The boys surfed and had a great time. Then they played on the dunes for a while. My memory from there is still on my left arm in the form of a nice bruise which I received after running into the rear view mirror of a Astro Van parked really close to us..


At the end of the day, which was not the usual birthday party we have had in the past with the whole family over and friends too I had a chance to talk with Justin. He said it was one of his favorite birthdays ever. This made me feel good. He hasn't done a lot of smiling lately and it was a day where I saw him smile most of the time. That was good for a mom's soul.

I love you Case. Happy birthday!!

"Haywild"

Mason: Mom, guess what. (YELLING FROM THE BATHROOM)

Mom: What!!

Mason: There's a moth in the bathroom and its going "haywild".

How cute.

Eight year old on a tricycle.

Justin decided to ride the tricycle that is in our
garage. I think he is just a little too big.












He was having some trouble getting up the slight
incline of our driveway. Eventually though he did pedal over to me and the next picture is just how close he got.














Mr. BIg Mouth indeed. No tonsils there. He had those taken out last year. No fillings either. He just got his teeth cleaned last week at the dentist. Don't they just sparkle.









He rode down the slope in the driveway a couple of times before deciding that his legs were hurting him from pedaling at an awkward angle. I got a good laugh out of the whole thing though. He cracks me up.

My 2 favorite people.

Mason smiling nice for the camera.
Isn't he a handsome boy.









The two amigos on the couch. You wouldn't even know that minutes before that they were fighting about something.

Look at those dimples. What cuties.






These two boys have been my steady lately. I just adore them and LOVE all the extra time I get to spend with them now. LOVE YOU GUYS.

Furry Friend

I was outside tonight watering the flowers when I saw this little guy trying to make his way up one of our posts on the porch. All furry. I just couldn't help but pet him and then give him a bath with the hose. (shower setting of course). I wonder what kind of butterfly he will turn out to be.

Question of the day?

"Are those cows going to make out?" Justin asked Lesley this while we were at Country Dairy Farm today before we went tubing. What a fun day. What a funny question?

What would you like for dinner?

Mom: What would you like for dinner?

Mason: Well, I would like Dad to get his camouflage on, get his gun and get in his truck, go out to the woods by great grandpa's house, sit in his tree stand and shoot a deer. Then he could bring it home in his truck, and chop it up and we could bring it to grandma's house and she could cook venison steak for us.

Mom: Is that all?

Mason: Yep. Could you call Dad and let him know?

Mom: It's July, your dad can't go hunting right now for deer.

Mason: Okay, we can just have pizza then.

Pool TIME (2)

Just another lazy day floating by the pool. Mason liked floating.






His favorite thing of the day was "Diving for the rings".





This is Mason just coming up from diving for the rings.

He was such a little fish.








He asked me three times on the way home when we could go back again.






Justin in action. At first he was a little afraid of the diving board. Would not go even near it. Then Amiya started going off the board, so Justin got a little braver.

By the end of the day he was running and jumping off the board. He made quite a few belly flops/arm splashes that looked like they hurt a little, but each time he got back up and did it again. "The diving board" was his favorite part of the day.

I had such a good day watching the boys have fun and forget about everything else. It was good to sit with two friends and chat, learn new things and reinforce new friendships. Thanks for a good time. Can't wait to do it again.

POOL TIME!! (1)

Today we went to a friend's pool and had a blast!! When we first arrived the clouds were out, but then the sun came out and warmed us up. What a beautiful day to spend by the pool.



The boys at first were anxious to use the intertubes, then they discovered the goggles and the tubes were history.







The boys with their suction cup goggles that made a "oohheewick" sound every time they took them off. They loved the goggles. They were diving for everything under the water, looking around and just loving the pool time.






Above Justin is trying to do tricks, but they're not turning out so well. It is hard to swim underwater with a life jacket on. By the end of the day he was doing tricks without the life jacket and having a blast. It was awesome to see how much more daring he was in the water from when we first arrived at the pool.


Justin doing some sort of a summersalt. He's holding his breath though he never actually went under the water.









Jakers the egg - "I'm a magical egg". What a true little character. He is an interesting little man.

What are you thinking?

Mason what are you thinking about right now?

Mason: "Well, first I would like to go to chuck e cheese's but just to play, not eat the pizza and then I want to come home."

Mom: "What would you like to do next."

Mason: " I don't know. Anything with you mom".

drip drip, that was my heart melting.


Mom: Justin what are you thinking about right now?

Justin: "I'm thinking my "Mechoke" didn't evolve at level 41 and how long will it take to evolve?"

(this is a pokemon thing, his current obsession)

Water Fight

Tuesday, it was hot and muggy out and the boys
decided to have a water fight.

They got into their swimsuits, found their squirt
guns and went to town.

There was water everywhere.


Below, Mason is asking "Do you want some of this?"


















Refill time, then try and hit all the flies that come by. And the bubbles too.














Such a hansome boy. All geared up to get Mason, who was hiding behind Mom's chair.












Sneaking up from behind. SHHH..