Mission: Impossible

After I had Erik my awesome cousin, Monica, sent me a link to a game that she had been playing. I was hooked. You'll see what I mean. It's called The Impossible Quiz, and while it may not actually be impossible, I have yet to finish it. It took Kent and I a week to get to question 76, and then we got busy with packing and, well, life with a newborn. But tonight I thought I'd give it a try- just one, mind you- and now I'm on try #3. I know that I sent the link to some of you before, but for those of you who I either didn't send it to or you didn't try it, TRY IT! Except don't hold me responsible for work that you begin to neglect. And let me know how far you get. Now that I'm trying it again, I don't remember all the answers, so I'm pretty much starting over.

The Impossible Quiz Challenge your mind as you try to answer all the questions in this quirky quiz.

Thumb Out!

Yeah, that's what I spent all 30 minutes yelling at Taylor yesterday. He had his first day of soccer practice, and while he did just about as well as I could have hoped, it wasn't the most successful practice ever. He spent the majority of it carrying his ball and sucking his thumb. He did do a little bit of dribbling the ball, but not much. Granted, the coach wasn't too helpful. It was painfully obvious he had never coached anyone under the age of 12. Not that he was mean or too hard on the kids- you just could tell that he wasn't quite sure what to do with 3- and 4-year-olds that were running every which way. He has his next practice Thursday... we'll see how that goes. I didn't spend $60 to watch Taylor suck his thumb.

3 Years and Counting

Taylor turned 3 on Friday. Man, how time flies! I can't believe that he's already three. For all the complaining I do about him and his tantrums, I love this boy. He's so much fun to have around, and he provides us free comic relief.

Here's Taylor on the day he was born. A little scruffy at first:

Here he is at 1 year:

And at 2 years:

And look how big he is now!

And I just had to post this photo. It's rare indeed when you see a picture of Chris smiling with teeth. So prepare yourselves- this photo may come as a shock.

And here is a slideshow of pics from the party. We're a bunch of mooches. We snagged Chad and Beth's awesome idea (and their painter's tarp) for an awesome slip-n-slide in the backyard. Add some dish soap and the kids loved it... with some water balloons thrown in for good measure.

On a Roll

So the other day I put Erik down on the floor to go do something in the other room. When I went back to get him, he wasn't there. Fishy... until I found him on the other side of the room. He has now graduated to rolling as a means for transportation. I must admit, this is a new thing for me. Taylor was so fat that he didn't learn how to roll over until he started crawling, which made rolling over pointless if he already knew how to crawl. But alas, Erik proves to be more talented than Taylor in this area. So I guess it's time for me to stop laying him down at the top of the stairs...

Roughin' It

Last week we went camping. With kids this young, it's almost more work than it's worth. But we actually had a great time, regardless of the fact that there were a ton of mosquitos eating us alive the whole time. On one of the hikes we went on, there were actually a ton of flies that swarmed around us, and a few of them would bite. Great stuff. But it was nice, and Taylor loved being in the great outdoors. Both kids slept well, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Thank goodness.

So here's a slideshow of our good times. Enjoy!

Am I In High School Again?

For the past couple weeks, whenever Kent goes into our backyard, I start having flashbacks. You see, we had a fun little friend that took up residence in our green grass. Just a cute little garden snake- about a foot and a half long with a light green stripe down his back. Sweet little thing, really. But apparently Kent, in all his manliness, is just a teeny bit afraid of snakes, and that's putting it mildly. It was comical being in the backyard, with Kent doing some random yard work, or just walking in the grass, and hearing a loud shriek. I swear, it sounded like a high-school girl screaming. It's the only time I have ever heard him sound like that, and I'm sure it's the only circumstance in which I ever will.

So I'm cleaning the kitchen, and Kent comes to the back door with a very nervous expression on his face- and holding the snake's tale as far away from his body as he can. So I hurry and grab the camera (and a box as an afterthought) and take a few pics. While I'm taking some pictures, I guess I startled the snake, because he moved a bit, and Kent screamed and dropped him. So after another 10 minutes of trying to catch him again, I bravely snatched him up and plopped him in the box. And Kent takes him a block away to drop him off in the woods.

I tried to get Kent to pose while dangling the snake over his mouth. This was the closest he'd do.

Nope, it doesn't end there. The next day I walked out our front door, and there was the snake- just curled up right on our porch as if he was just stopping by for a visit. I called Kent (as brave as I am, that's a man's thing- akin to mowing the lawn). Kent took one look at him and let out a sincerely devastated, "No way!" But before we could catch him, he slithered away into our bush and we couldn't coax him out. Kent insists it wasn't the same snake, but I think he's grown quite fond of us.

Now he's a little jumpy. He was startled by a frog as he was about to mow the lawn this morning. We'll see how long it takes for Rufus to show himself again (I've decided to name him Rufus- it's the name I give all random animals that find themselves in our yard).

Park-Hopping

We (Carlie, Beth, and I) have decided to hit a different place every Wednesday. Today it was a park down in Olympia. The kids had a blast, us girls just chatted, and the babies ate and slept, with a little whimpering thrown in for good measure.

When Brody first got there, he asked to hold Erik. It's cute how much he likes babies!

Lexi cracks me up.

What Erik does best.

So close! Out of 15 pictures, this was the one with the most kids looking at the camera- all but Lexi. That has to be a record for 7 kids.

Business Meeting

So I figured I should get on the ball. I've been toying with the idea of starting to sell some stuff that I like to make- mainly burp cloths and "hooter hiders." What is a hooter hider, for those of you that don't know and might ask? You can check them out here, but pretty much it's a cover that moms use while nursing if they don't want the people around them to feel like they're at the local Hooters. Pretty clever, actually.

I've decided that I need something to do during the nights when Kent is on-call. I love to sew (yes, I know, it sounds totally cheesy and homemakey, and I cringe saying it, or typing it in this case), but there are only so many hand-made items that my house can hold, and, truth be told, I really don't like doing quilts all that much. But I love doing baby stuff because you can find the CUTEST fabrics. So I've decided on "hooter hiders" and burp cloths. However, I'm pretty sure I can't call them hooter hiders (the whole trademarked name and legal stuff and all), so I need a new but clever one. My mother-in-law thought of most of them (even, my personal favorite, "melon mu mu" but that might offend some softer people), so I thought I'd ask everyone else. What name do you think I should go with? Take the poll at the right (yes, another poll), and if you have any other suggestions, leave them in a comment!

The Results

Thanks for taking our poll for your weapon of choice. Not surprisingly, "axe" won. I can't imagine most people would be willing to go face-to-face with danger armed only with a gun that shoots plastic. Though my sister-in-law, Kelli, did mention that a poopy diaper might be just as effective.