Pecos Bill

Avery was in a play at school, and his character was Pecos Bill. There was one part of the play that he didn't care for, and that was when he had to get married! He was very excited about wearing the cowboy hat to school, and even kept it on when he got home that afternoon. I just think the picture of him reading in it is funny. He is so into the "Gregor the Overlander" series, that we actually have to make him stop reading and spend time with the family. There are four books in the series, and number five is coming out soon, so he is rereading all of them to get ready for the next one. Brady doesn't like when Avery is into a book, because he's left to play on his own. I'm so thankful for his love of reading(wonder where he got that?), and his ability to read anything he wants.

Daddy Time!

The boys love wrestling and playing with Keith, but Chloe has always just watched them from a distance. A couple of nights ago, she decided that she was done watching. She had so much fun playing, and the boys were great with her as usual. She would run and jump on Keith over and over, just asking to be tickled. When it was Avery and Brady's turn to "fly" on Keith's feet, she thought she should get in on the action too! She was so tired after 30 minutes or so, that she was ready for bed! I think Keith wore out before the boys were ready to quit. They have unbelievable amounts of energy!!

Chloe

These are just a couple of pictures I took of Chloe today. I don't have a big story, I just thought they were cute. One is of Chloe in her new booster seat. She has been rebelling against her high chair lately, so she loves her new chair. The other picture is Chloe loving on the neighbors cat. ( It only looks like she's choking it.) She gets very excited every time he comes for a visit. He's always trying to get into the house, probably because we always give him attention.

House

This a picture of a house like the one we are planning on building. We will probably be signing a contract in the next week or so. I'm really excited about having more room, and Keith being closer to work, but it's getting harder to think about leaving our friends.We've made some really great friends here. I was so excited about our kids growing up together. I know it's less than an hour away, and we can still get together easily, but it's still not as close. We have close friends just around the corner, literally, that always have milk, eggs or sugar when I run out. Who am I going to call for that? It's also hard to think about changing congregations. Every time someone at church comes up to me and tells me that they heard we're moving, it gets a little harder to think about. Well, I guess we just have to make sure that we don't let life get in the way of being good friends.
This post was actually going to be about the house itself, but I guess I had more on my mind! Anyway, back to the house. The lots in this neighborhood are pretty good size, so the houses aren't on top of each other like they are where we live now. So, maybe in a few weeks I'll have pictures of our lot to share with you!

I'm mommy, not mom!

Today, Chloe called me "mom". I couldn't believe it! I am not ready for her to call me just mom. It's so funny how little things like not being "mommy" anymore make you feel so old. I love being mommy. I'm not willing to give that up yet, so I told her she had to call me mommy! I'm going to try to remember this the next time she starts chanting mommy over and over to get my attention. I'll try to appreciate her needing me still, instead of wishing that she would be quiet for a moment. This makes me think of all the things my kids do, or don't do, that make me feel old. Already, the boys rarely call me mommy anymore, unless they want something! They're all growing up too fast! Avery still enjoys when I volunteer in his classroom, but you wouldn't know it to see him. He barely looks at me, but he loves all over Chloe! I can handle that because I love watching him with Chloe. Plus, he allows me 15 kisses a day: 5 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon and 5 at night. I usually try to sneak in a few more, but I have to hold him down to do it!! Luckily, Brady not only enjoys when I help in his class, but he actually almost attacks me! Once again, it's nice to feel needed. There's such a fine line between being needed and being annoyed! :)

Finally...a haircut!!

I decided that today was the day for a haircut. We went to drop off our recyclables, and on the way, we made a surprise visit to the chop shop(the actual name). They were a bit upset at me springing it on them, but it was the only way to avoid all the whining and complaining. We had let their hair grow out a little bit, which they really liked, but it was getting out of control. I don't particularly care for the popular, shaggy looking, in your face hair, and that's what it was starting to look like. It was constantly in their eyes and they would have to flip their hair like a girl! It drove me crazy, much like it drove my mom crazy when I had my hair in my eyes as a teenager!! Sorry, mom, I get it now!! I'm sure that's not the last time I'll say that! Anyway, I feel much better now that you can see their handsome faces. I think they are secretly happy as well.

Decisions, decisions

One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog, is because we are planning on moving this summer. We are thinking about building, so I thought it would be neat to post pictures of the house at different stages. I think it might turn into me venting about the many frustrations of moving and building a house. We haven't even started, yet I'm already stressed out about pretty much everything! The timing of it all is a big issue for me because of school. I would love for the boys to not have to change schools during the year, but I don't think that's very realistic, especially if we decide to build. When we moved into our house that we're in now, it was new, but mostly built already, so there were very little decisions to be made. It's not going to be that way with the new one. (Keith and I both are pretty much already calling it our house.) It's so exciting to think about getting to pick colors and fixtures and all that stuff, but it's also stressful. Being an adult is so not fun sometimes. I think Avery somehow already understands that because he doesn't ever want to grow up! Am I that bad to live with? Don't answer that Keith!! Anyway, if anyone has any helpful hints about moving/building a house, please pass it on. You would think that after moving seven times in our first seven years of marriage, that we would be used to this, but the air force isn't making the decision this time. Plus, we've been in this house for almost five years, so we are a bit out of practice. I hope that after this move, I don't have to think about this for a long time.