The "adventure"

So this past Sunday Ty is sitting at the kitchen table writing letters. I didn't think anything of it until I hear him asking his dad if he'll take him over to Camille's house to drop off a letter to her. It was obviously urgent as he wasn't interested in waiting to take it to school the next day. Moments later, Jack has agreed. I ask Ty what exactly was in his letter to Camille and he responded that he was "inviting her on an adventure." I quietly reminded Jack that he'd better take a close look at exactly what Ty had written in this "letter" (which was already sealed in an envelope and covered with all sorts of stickers). I hadn't seen it for myself and since Jack was going to actually be taking Ty over to her house to deliver it, it made the invitation seem even that more authentic. Jack kind of brushed it off and the two of them jumped into the car.

I hadn't given it any more thought...until today! So this morning I get a call from Kiara's mom (another one of Ty's classmates). She mentions that Kiara had told her that "Ty invited me, Hallie, and Camille over for an adventure this Saturday and that it's OK with his mom". She was calling to get more details about this "adventure". We share a good laugh and although I'm tempted to let the adventure happen, since I'll be out of town, I know Jack would probably die if around noon kids start unexpectedly getting dropped off at the house. Shortly after Kiara's mom called, I hear the answering machine picking up another call. It is Camille's mom leaving a message. When I call her back, she too is asking for more details about this Saturday's "adventure". I alert Jack to let him know that parents were RSVP'ing for this Saturday and that he may want to take Ty's silly notes a bit more serious.

The jury is still out on if the "adventure" will actually take place since Jack will have to be in charge of it. When I asked one of the parents if it was clear as to what type of adventure Ty said it would be, all they said was some sort of hiking adventure. All I know is that the idea of Jack, Connor, Sage, Ty, and the "ladies" all hiking together is enough to make me laugh and wonder just what adventures am I missing out on...Jack with the kids for three nights or Jack hiking with the troops. All I know is that this adventure will be one that I won't be participating in!!! :)

I'm still younger than Jack...

One thing that gives me comfort each year as my birthday comes and goes is knowing that I always have been and always will be younger than Jack! Granted I'm starting to look older with my wrinkles starting to come in and getting my haircut this week didn't help matters either. Here's how it went down: I asked for a cute stylish cut for my 20 year class reunion that is coming up. I thought I was doing it all right by making certain I got it cut a few weeks before the date just in case my bangs got chopped too short which commonly happens to me. The outcome was my bangs turned out fine but the trade off was a mullet. You know, the bi-level look from the 80's where the bangs continue halfway across the sides of your head and the long hair hangs from underneath. Even my hairdresser mentioned that "it's a little top heavy on this side so let me try blending it more" at which point it was getting worse. So most people age one year each birthday and I aged a decade... or perhaps people will think I'm trying to keep my youthfulness by living in the 80's still. hmmm.

Anyways, since Jack was away for my birthday it was nice to have my great friends and family who remembered (something I can rarely claim to do) and made me feel special. Gina, thanks again for lunch and making the drive out to my neck of the woods. You got off the hook with a photo! Below is a picture of my other sweet friends Amanda, Erin, Jen, Rachel, Marlo, Somer and I enjoying a celebratory dinner which got me out of my house for a few hours to have that much needed girl time. Thanks for the yummy food, cards, and gifts! I can hardly wait for our weekly girls night to start up again this week.



I know Amanda is going to kill me for posting this shot but I had to....



Anyways, enough about me growing older and onto better things. No hair losing stories involving the boys this week (since I can't blame them for the hair loss that took place at the salon) but I did notice that my more recent posts spent a lot of time talking about Ty and Sage and I felt bad that unknowingly I had very few posts that included Connor. Probably because Connor is our child that manages to fly under the radar much of the time. We were so proud of him today when he took on Ty's responsibility at Church to read an assigned scripture in primary (which is in front of a larger group of kids). Ty was all bent out of shape about having to read in front of everyone so without hesitating Connor offered to do it for him. He did and did a great job. Connor has such a strong desire to always try his best to be good and choose the right and what a joy it is to have his sweet spirit in our home. Here's my handsome boy who I happened to capture while taking Sage's photo:



Jack and I were over in Singapore years ago (before the kiddos) and for memory sake we brought back a bunch of kids sized robes, pj's and dresses that they were selling all over the streets there. Ty has gotten plenty use from his robe and pj's (see Hugh Hefner photo below) but I had forgotten about the dresses we had stashed away. Finally, almost 10 years after being purchased, Sage debuts the dress today. Here she is:



And finally, thanks Erin for forwarding on this lovely photo you took of us last Saturday at the party! Nothing beats a photo with John Wayne...

Oh My Ty!

Ty, not excited about being put into a time out by his dad decides he's "moving out". You'll notice the packed suitcase (which even included his piggy bank) attached to his go cart. He meant business!!!



Looking for a reason to come back after we didn't go running after him but instead peeked out the window watching him, he returned and said he had forgotten a couple things. I then reminded him that we would be so sad to not have him with us for our fall vacation, then Jack casually mentioned that Connor would now be the beneficiary of all of Ty's future Christmas presents. At this point you could see his mind working. He returned and said he was "still running away but not until after Christmas when I get my motorized go cart". As you can see running away would be easier with the go cart that has the engine.



So within a short while, he is happy to be at home and our smart child has again worked the system to his advantage because through all of that we forgot to return him to his original time-out.

Later today, this is what was taking place on our stairs. Leave it to Ty to come up with this on his own. He even placed a blanket at the bottom that would slide across the floor as he landed on it.



Of course, Sage has to give it a try but she drags Ty to the stairs she feels more comfortable doing...

Who wants to be like who?

What can I say, Sage wants to be just like her brothers. It actually scares me at times to think of how much their example plays a role in who she is and will become. This is just another example that cracked me up this past week so I had to capture it. The boys have gotten into this terrible habit (that I neglected to stop) of sitting on the kitchen table while eating breakfast so they can see the TV in the family room. This is a battle that I have chosen not to fight and is only permitted at breakfast. What cracked me up though was to find Sage doing the exact same thing without quite the same benefit. Sadly, she has no view of the TV but indeed she is copying just what her brother does...



At first one would think Ty was running around in some sort of Speedo or a pair of tight undies... at a closer look he managed to find some old 'little swimmers' in his bathroom. When I asked what he was doing wearing Sagie's swimming diaper, he reminded me it was "actually mine from when I was little and look it still fits." I did draw the line when he asked if he could use it for it's designated purpose... Now let's see who's trying to be like who?

And then there was PEACE!

School's in session! What can I say...I love it! I will admit there was not one tear shed this week. How could I be sad when I would now be getting over seven hours of peace a day. Sure, there is Sage but she is easy when not being provoked by busy brothers. As I watched the boys jump onto the same bus this year to go to the same school even attending the same class I almost felt guilty for the excitement that filled me, especially since just a few weeks ago as we were gaining altitude before our skydiving jump my instructor asked if I liked being a stay at home mom. It took me a moment to respond which I assumed was because at that point in time my mind was elsewhere, thinking about the thought of jumping out of a perfectly fine airplane, possibly having said my final farewells to my children. But what makes being a stay at home mom so great? This past week the question popped into my mind a dozen times. I've heard people say "I was born to be a mom" or "being a mom is the best job in the world" but now that my job of being mom has been cut to part-time (at least as far as the boys go) aren't I a tad bit too excited? Perhaps I'm more of a part-time kind of mom! :)

In the meantime, here are a couple pictures of the joyous occasion...