Holiday Crafts

You know...(as much as I loved crafts as a child) I have learned there are crafty people (like my mother who puts Martha to shame) and then there's me. There's no domestic diva to be found here. I don't cook, I tidy but don't clean and I'm too anal for crafts. They drive me insane!
This is our sad attempt at a ginger bread house....oh and as I mentioned I don't cook so you know it was one of those prepackaged deals. Everything including instructions is provided so how can you screw it up....by being me that's how. After fighting to get the walls the stay together for way too long I should have just let the kids eat it. Instead I insist it can be saved....that was before I realized you have to let it set for 2 hours before decorating. So we (I) let it dry and in the mean time of course the rest of the frosting drys out so I have to moisten it down again and obviously added too much water. Then I proceed to make the red and green frosting following the instructions for the white frosting...obviously that wasn't a good idea. Finally I let go of my anal tendencies and went crazy just trying to get the stupid thing done. It looks like a trip gone bad.

So on to craft number two. Leah's High Five magazine had a recipe for home made play dough in it that she insisted she had to do. So I send Scott off to the store for cream of tartar (which I'm still not sure what the heck any one uses it for) and while he's gone I realize I have run out of flour (from my attempt at holiday sugar cookies) so I call him as he's at the check out and tell him to grab some. Get off the phone and realize I need 2 cups of salt which I certainly don't have so I call him again. Any how we get everything and make the dough and I decide let's make ornaments for the tree. Our little family would be cute wouldn't it? Well here they (we are). Note the little nibble out of Tyler's head. One should know better then to leave cookie shaped objects out to dry with in a 2 year old's reach. Needless to say he was not a fan of the taste of his own head. I'm not cut out for this whole Debbie homemaker crap. I'll leave it to Martha and Nana.

He Did It!

Since Tyler moved to the Two's room he suddenly is very interested in the potty. Last night I was trying not to get discouraged that he proceeded to pee on the floor 30 seconds after getting off the potty or the fact he put his hand in the toilet water attempting to dispose of the toilet paper. If we're not potty training why should I have to deal with cleaning up the messes that come with the territory? Well he actually peed in the potty tonight!...well mostly in the potty. I guess I need to figure out how you teach a little man he needs to aim. I'm not ready to say we're "training" but I'm proud all the same...and just imagine if he figured this whole thing out before I even thought about tackling the subject.

Happy Early Birthday

We celebrated Tyler's 2nd Birthday a week early with Nana Pat and Papa. I think Scott was relieved to see Tyler was as excited about his new power tools as his boy baby doll. Am I raising a sensitive manly little boy or what?

A Girls Afternoon Out

I have some vacation days I have to get in before the end of the year so I took the afternoon off and surprised Leah with a girls afternoon out. I picked her up from daycare and took her to her 1st movie in the theater. It was such a pleasure to spend time with her one on one and remember she's not just the bossy big sister that I expect too much from. She's an absolute pleasure. Her smiles and sweet voice are enough to give me butterflies in my stomach. She was so estatic and I really think I needed a mental health day.

The Passage of Time Through My Bathroom Window

I know there's a poem in there some where. I've come to realize I've shared alot of time with the shadowy figure of tree limbs outside my bathroom window. After 3 pregnancies and delivering a 9 lbs baby I still make more late night trips then I'd care to admit. I find myself looking out the window and watching the season change. After seven years of looking out that same window I realize there's just no stopping time no matter how much I'd like to.

Better then TV

Who needs DIY Network (sorry Ross) when you've got Pop the tool man terror?

Halloween Fun

Sunroom update

Yes it's November and I have a HUGE hole in my house....what's your point?

The sad thing is these shots were taken 2 weeks ago. The floor and ceiling are now gone too.

Mini Language Explosion

After seeing Leah jabber from a very young age I've always been a bit nervous that Tyler was speach delayed. I've done my best to lay low and let him do things at his own pace. I'm proud to report in the past week Tyler has gone from less then 10 words to nearly 30. Now most words aren't quite there but I think the average person may be able to figure it out if they gave it a few minutes.

New to the list this week

Leah (E-ah)

Apple (think he liked the trip to the orchard?)

Frog (fog)

Duck

Quack (does that count as a word?)

Hot dog

Five (as in high five)

I love you (so sweat)

My (said before everything - oh to be 2)

Baby ("my baybay" - adores Leah's baby doll)

and not so new but used more often in the past week

Outside (usually heard as "side")

Sock

Shoe

Dog

Dow (aka Shadow)

Daddy

Mama

Cookie (co co)

More (mo..."mo co co" heard often)

Juice ("mo juice" another favorite)

Please

Thank you (ank Q....so cute)

All done

Book

Ball

Bubble (aka anything floating in the sky ie dust)

Balloon

Sit (aka chair)

ah man

No (he's almost 2 - that one's a given)

bye-bye

Apples and Pumpkins

Shaker Family Fest

IMG_0287, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Last weekend we took the kids up to the end of my parents street for Shaker Family Fest. Tyler had his first pony ride and Leah had a blast on each of the bouncers. Walking the gounds I couldn't help but think of the days I went to grade school in the building. I was the last graduating class before the school was closed. It has since been converted into part Early Childhood Enrichment Center and part community family center. I think I even spotted the lollipop tree that the PTA used during events at the school back in the day. Things change but yet remain the same.

Bruiser

October 028, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Ain't he a cutie? Sad thing is no one knows what he did. His sister comes within 5 feet of him and he'll scream bloody murder but he bangs up his face and doesn't even cry. I don't get it. Needless to say I've become a bit over protective this week. Do they sell face shields for 2 year olds? Maybe I'll just wrap him in bubble wrap before I send him off to day-care in the morning.

Where To Start

In general I try to keep this blog free of the downers that life brings and to focus on the things my children do that make me the mother I am. The bumps, the tears, the smiles and milestone. However before I continue with any further post I feel the need to express my sincere sympathies with the passing of Scott's Aunt/Godmother Bev earlier this week. We traveled to Pittsburgh this morning to say our goodbyes and spend some time with family. I knew early in my relationship with Scott that his Aunt Bev held a special place in his heart. Not having been raised catholic I didn't know what the role of a Godmother was and if the title was the primary reason that he felt an extra special tie with her. Once I met Bev, I quickly learned the reason for his tie. She was the person who always made you feel welcome, needed and cherished. She valued what you had to say and honestly cared about what was going on in your life. She was the cool aunt that was a friend and yet some one that you looked up to and respected. She loved deeply and when some one was hurting you could feel how deeply she hurt as well. I think of her each night when I tuck the kids in with the beautiful blankets she knitted for them before they were introduced to the world. My heart goes out to her husband, brothers and sister. Heasley gatherings won't be the same without her warm smile.

But I Love You was all he could do

Giggles, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Tyler's still not talking much but I got a big "I Love You" in sign this morning. You just keep melting my heart little guy.

Deaf Donald met Talkie Sue
But I Love You was all he could do.
And Sue said, "Donald I sure do like you."
But I Love You was all he could do.
And Sue asked Donald, "Do you like me too?"
But I Love You was all he could do.
"Good-bye then, Donald, I'm leaving you."
But I Love You was all he could do.
And she left forever and she never knew
That I Love You means I Love You!

- Shel Silverstein

Original Baby

Shadow, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Leah starts a new unit at school this week. Her assignment was to bring in a picture of her pets, which of course mortified me when I realize I hadn't taken a picture for Shadow for well over 3 years. My poor neglected puppy. She was my original baby and she barely gets any acknowledgement aside from a shout to stop growling or get out of the way. She's such a sweet, sweet dog and is so good with the kids. She's not as spry as she used to be but she still gets spurts of energy that could rival any 2 year old pup. To think when we 1st bought this beautiful animal home with us, she was so tiny and skinny we thought she'd maybe get up to 35 pounds. Little did we know how sick and dehydrated she was. Once she was on the mend her paws puffed up and we knew she wasn't nearly as small as we thought. 10 years and 65 pounds later she's still my little puppy.

More Day Dreaming

Scott and I drove by a repo house I have flagged. They recently lowered the price and it's a complete fixer up but it's in a neighborhood I would normally only have only dreamed of living in. Great school district, close to shopping and not too far from the highway....only about a 30 minute drive to down town. It's on a full acre lot (4 times as much space as anything else we've looked at) and backs up to a huge open space with tennis courts and the rest of the houses on the block must easily go for 2 times as much. I figure a fixer up may be the only way we could ever afford to live in this burb. We haven't seen the inside but from the outside I get the impression it's so bad we wouldn't even be able to live in it while renovation were being made. Still I think we'll call the agent this week and see if we can't schedule a viewing for next weekend. Note to self : must get projects around the house done and get house on market ASAP. In other related news a couple houses down from us had an open house today and I was the nosey neighbor and went to check it out. They're asking about what I hope to get for our house. I'm thinking it was built by the same developer as our house in the 30's because it has neary the exact same lay out but smaller and brick. Our kitchen is updated so maybe that's enough to compensate for the weathered wood siding. I really hope they get close to their asking price and sell sooner rather then later.

Sunroom Update

Need I say more?

Thought not - But I will point out - yes that's duct tape holding the storm window in that Hurrican Ike blew in. Ohio is not made for 80 mile an hour winds but that's all the damage we had and we never lost power so I can't complain. You know the saying "if you can't Duct it ****it". Oh and don't worry that nasty ceiling will be going too. Just not making much headway...as you can see.

Hoodies

OK I admit it. I'm a sucker for hooded towels and blankets. When the kids were wee little things we had our fair share of hooded towels but they quickly out grew them. With Leah's shared affection for them, they didn't get retired until just recently. I've had my eye on these oversized hooded towels from Kohl's for well over a year but being as cheap as I am I refused to pay full price for them. Murphy's law whenever birthdays or x-mas rolled around they wouldn't be on sale. Until July! I snapped them up 50% off weeks ahead of Leah's birthday. I had bought the frog for Tyler (being the prince he is) but Leah has staked claim on it. You know after all, everything that is his is hers first. Hey it works for now so I'll go with the flow until he starts noticing she's got all the cool things. You should feel how soft they are too. Speaking of soft things....I couldn't resist these hood blankets when I saw them at Bed Bath and Beyond. As much as it pains me to admit it, I paid full price...But they're really really soft and so so cute.

At It Again

I've continued my passive window shopping and had this house flagged just to track how long it sat on the market and what the final sale price was....you know just so I can be better prepared when we are seriously in the market. I swear that's really the only reason. ...it's not like I'm obsessed with looking at houses or anything. What? You don't beleive me? Ok! You caught me! Any how I noticed they dropped the price and had an open house scheduled for today so I couldn't resist and stopped by during the kids nap time. It's smaller then the last house I looked at but I could actually picture us living here. I do have qualms about the garage, kitchen and the "master bedroom". Not really sure how anything that small could be called "master" but I guess realitors think naming a room something specific gives it more a appeal. To each their own. Anyhow I think their asking price as very reasonable and I would hope it sells long before we're really in the market but it will remain on my short list for now. The strange thing is as much as I want to move and did like the house I came home again to realize how much room we really do have in our "starter" home. I really wish I could pick the interior of our house up and cast it into a brick shell in a better school district. Ho Hum the grass is always greener...even when the grass is brown from the lack of rain.

Big Sis Avery

We were lucky enough to spend sometime with our dear friend's the Turners this weekend. Kara has been a friend since the 7th grade and was our room mate before there was "Scott and Liz". They had been stationed overseas for several years since they got married and in the past few years have bounced around the U.S. and are currently just outside of St Louis. Just a 9 hour drive! 1 1/2 hour flight! They are expecting number 2 in November so Leah was teaching Avery all about being a big sister and gave her some hand-me down books to prepare her for the big event. Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet up with them again and meet the new little man before too long.

Holding Hands

Holding Hands, originally uploaded by echeasley.

I was just going through some old photos and found this one. Brings a smile to my face.

Happy 4th Birthday

Well it's about 10 days late (I'm been quite the slacker lately) but Happy Birthday my sweet angel. For Leah's Birthday we went on our traditional Zoo outing, only we were fortunate enough to have Aria and her mom Vanessa join us. I think the girls enjoyed themselves and I had a blast getting to chat to another mom with similar concerns about CH/UH school district and what we'll do come next year. Scott got a little uneasy when the lions got a little too affectionate for his liking but hey that what nature is about right? I discovered a giraffes was born during our visit and I think we might go to meet the newbie this weekend when we go to the trunk party to say goodbye to our favorite elephants, which are headed to the Columbus zoo for a few years while The Cleveland Metropark Zoo makes a new habitat for them.

My Beach Vacation

Since we went to the Mountains this year for vacation I declared that I wasn't giving up my beach vacation and was going to have it one way or another. On Saturday, Scott and I packed a picnic and the kids up and headed to the beach. Now granted it's not the sunny beaches of North Carolina but the beaches of the North Coast really aren't a bad alternative. I hate to admit it but it's been well over a decade since I've gone to a beach on Lake Erie. We literally lived 1/2 block from the lake during our Euclid day's, fresh out of school and I think during our time there we only managed to walk down the cliff at the end of the block, down to the lake twice. I used to live on the lake every weekend from Memorial to Labor day and it wasn't until I heard those waves that I realized how much I miss it. What a shame to live so close to such a fantastic resource and rarely utilize it. I think we'll be making a point of visiting a bit more often now.

It was a cool breezy morning so we pretty much had the beach to ourselves. I thought the kids might get bored but they were content to play in the sand.

So sweet - The bugs just can't get enough

Mingo Falls, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Seems Leah has inherited my mother's sweet blood. Well actually I believe it's technically the emitance of more CO then the average person. Anyhow seems the bugs have taken quite a liking to her this year. The past several weeks I've noticed a new bite on her each day. Going to the mountains I was torn with what type of repellant to use. I thought deet was a no no but if you find something without deet it doesn't seem to faze the bugs in the least. On Monday I picked her up from school and her teacher pointed out a strange mark on her arm and we concluded it was about 3 bites really close together. Yesterday I picked her up and the same area looked like a bulls eye. A little nervous it was ring worm, I covered it up with a big band aid and decided to wait and see what it looked like in the morning. This morning the bulls eye was enormous and she had another bulls eye on her ankle, several little bumps on her other arm, a big bump on her forearm, a nice big bite right on her knee, on her forehead, above her eye and another bump on her hand and a strange mark on her shin. So I took her into the dr and the 1st dr was stumped. We waited for a second opinion and we're working under the assumption it's not contagious (no ring worm thankfully) and that her body is having a serve reaction to every little nip. Hopefully a couple days of hydrocortisone and Benadryl will clear things up. If not it's on to antibiotics in case it's Lyme disease. I'm certain I would have noticed a tick on her arm and ankle so I'm pretty comfortable in dismissing the Lyme disease theory but I feel bad for my itchy, bumpy little girl. Shew fly don't bother her.

Gatlinburg Aquarium

Gatlinburg Aquarium, originally uploaded by echeasley.

I've never much been into fish but I could spend hours in the Gatlinburg Aquarium. We visited the Aquarium in 2005 and decided it was so nice and we had so much fun it was worth braving the traffic in Gatlinburg. This time we were smart and drove through the park to avoid Pigeon Forge (As much as I loved our trip to the Smokey's I'm still struggling to think of something nice about Pigeon Forge. Well I guess I could say the scenic drive to avoid Pigeon Forge is beautiful....is that saying something nice?) . After having lunch on the terrace we walked down to Ober Gatlinburg and rode the Tram. I think the kids enjoyed the ride. We were so exhausted by the time we got there we didn't really do anything short of play in the arcade and go to the bathroom before we decided to ride the tram back down. Leah got a Nascar beanie bear with some driver I've never heard of (not that's hard) to remember the occasion.

View from Clingman's Dome

view from Clingman's Dome, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Ok so Murphy's law...I get a new camera and some really great pictures and our phone and DSL go out. Gotta love AT&T.

I just have to share this picture from the peak at Clingman's Dome, the highest peak in the Smokies at over 6,400 feet. Silly me forgot to put sunscreen on and despite freezing my tushy off got quite a nice sun burn. The dead Fraser Firs are the result of a European invader. Although this picture doesn't show many dead trees, it's a eerie getting up there and seeing what an effect the introduction of foreign species can have. In the photo you can see the blue haze that gives the Smokies their name. It's the white haze above the blue that is man made. It's great to get a bird's eye view and get high enough to see the layers but it's disturbing all the same.

Smokey Mountains

We've returned from our Smokey Mountain vacation and plenty of pictures are to follow. Scott bought the camera I've had my eye on for sometime for my birthday last week. As soon as I picked the camera up I realized it's been 15 years since I've done photography to any extent. I didn't have a clue what any of the buttons were for and fished my old Pentax 35mm out to see if it felt as foreign to me. To my relief it felt like it belonged in my hands and I realized I just needed to get used to the digital aspect of a SLR. There's certainly plenty yet for me to figure out but I'm really happy with the pictures I got. I certainly had a beautiful subject to focus my lense on. The Tennessee Smokies are just breath taking.

Best Buds

July 2008 (18), originally uploaded by echeasley.

Well as promised here's a pic of Leah with her best friend Aria. Can you believe Leah actually found a friend smaller then her? Don't let their size fool you. These two have more spunk per ounce then one might think is possible. My best friend and I became playmates at 3 years of age and I felt bad that Leah didn't really have much of an opportunity to meet other kids have play dates outside of school so I was so happy when I noticed the bond Leah was forming with Aria. Aria is a great friend that sticks by Leah's side. They give each other support when dealing with some of the bigger more assertive kids (to put it nicely) in their class and each evening when I pick Leah up, Aria insists on a hug before she'll let Leah leave. Their friendship really is heartwarming to see. I had been debating getting Aria's number to set up a play date in hopes that she didn't live across town. When Leah received an invitation to Aria's 4th birthday party I was delighted to learn she literally lives just around the corner. Hopefully we'll find time to set up lots of future play dates outside of school.

Holiday Weekend

Wow! What a fabulous Holiday weekend we had! Scott for years has moaned about his birthday being on the 4th because everyone always has other plans or is too busy to celebrate his birthday. Jokes about setting off fireworks to celebrate his birthday are just about enough to send him off running. Now I get not liking your birthday...it's really not something most of us look forward to once we hit 25 or so but I couldn't understand not liking the 4th of July. I have such fond memories and wanted Scott to enjoy the holiday as much as I do. We haven't gone to see fireworks in 4 years since becoming parents and this just wasn't cutting it anymore. We took a gamble and recreated one my fondest memory of 4th of July in northeast Ohio. Grammy came up from Cincinnati to visit and we packed a picnic and loaded everyone (including my parents) up for a night listening to the Cleveland Orchestra under the stars at Blossom Music Center. Tyler loved the music and was a little ham getting everyone near us to laugh. At each interlude he'd start clapping and cheer "YEAH!" to which we'd all hushed him and told him the piece wasn't over yet. The canon during the overture of 1812 made the kids a bit uneasy but there were no breakdowns and fireworks followed. I think Tyler might of had a little sensory overload where his brain decided...ok too much going on...must shut down...now, because he fell asleep during the fireworks then woke after words on our walk back to the van. The whole experience was a blast and I just so impressed with how well the kids did given the hour. I think Scott enjoyed himself too...at least he said something about starting a new Heasley family tradition for 4th of July.




On Saturday Leah's best friend Aria had her 4th birthday party at Memphis Kiddie Park on the west side. One of those places I always heard about growing up but had never ventured to that side of the Cuyahoga to visit. It's a fun little park where you have to be under 50 inches to ride. The children of Kindercare had a blast. I'll post a pic of Leah and the Birthday girl in another post (currently having issues with the upload feature).

18 Months

I forgot how much I love this age. When Leah was little I remember thinking each age was my favorite. It just kept getting better as she learned more about the world and became more able.

A few weeks ago it occurred to me that Tyler is the same age Leah was when we decided to try for a second (two months later we learned T was on the way). When I realized this I took a look at him and thought no sir! I'm not ready for another anytime soon! Then a week or so passes and Tyler hits this wonderful irresistible stage. Every thing is funny. Everything is interesting. Everything brings a big devilish smile. Everything is irresistibly adorable. Right until it's not and the melt downs and tantrum kick in. I think God knew what he was doing making them so adorable at this age. Otherwise how could you get through what is yet to come? In all honesty T's tantrums don't even faze me. I often wonder if it's because Leah beat it out of me. Was she really that bad or was I just a 1st time mother that didn't know how to deal with the tantrums. I'm sure it's a bit of both. Anyhow I'm just loving every minute of this age and admit I've found myself thinking another might not be too horrid. But don't be holding your breath for any announcements any time soon. I haven't lost all sense of reality.

Mental Health Day

Yesterday after 4 days of voir dire, trail and deliberation we wrapped up and handed in our verdict. Shortly after we returned to the Jury assembly room we were told to complete a questionnaire and to stick around, that we would be pleasantly surprised by what they were about to announce. We were released from the rest of our obligation a day and a 1/2 early. I can't really pin point what it is about jury duty that is so draining but it really is taxing, so rather then returning to work I decided I needed a mental health day and played hooky. I called my mom and met her for lunch then went to collect the kids from daycare and headed to the pool. We just picked up pool passes over the weekend and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to check the pool out. The kids behaved well considering I had selfishly awoken them from their naps early. Being that I generally avoid going any where with the kids by myself I'm really proud of myself deciding to attempt the pool with 2 small children by myself. I suppose I'm even more proud that neither of them drowned. Tyler is just a little dare devil and would walk until the water was over his head if I let him. Leah kept telling me how much she loved going to the pool and while she wanted to venture into deeper water and explore the fountain she was very understanding when I told her I couldn't do that while watching both her and Tyler. It was such a high and a perfect mental health day.

Fergie Fans

June 2008 008, originally uploaded by echeasley.

Seems we have some Fergie Fans on our hands. Who knew?

June 2008 027

June 2008 027, originally uploaded by echeasley.

My Monkeys with the Monkeys

June 2008 026, originally uploaded by echeasley.

We had a great weekend. Originally we planned to go strawberry picking in Geauga County but after driving out there and arriving at 9:30 we discovered the field had already been picked out for the day. Rather then letting that ruin our day we improvised and headed over to the farmers market to pick up apple pie, strawberries, cream soda and root beer. After a walk on an old golf course we called it a day and head home.

Sunday we headed to the zoo for the morning. Tyler was much more cooperative this time and rather then crying each time we left each animal he simply waved good bye and then wave hello to the next.

I so Wanted to Enjoy Myself

I swear I did. I feel a bit like Debbie Downer and probably complain more then I should given all the wonderful things I have going for me...but everything was conspiring against me last night.

Scott and I went to see Jack Johnson in concert. We had been planning this for months. It's been years since we've gone to a concert and really felt like we were in for a special treat. I promptly left work at 5:00 to pick Scott up from the Clinic and we headed on our way to Blossom Music Center. A drive that usually only takes 35 minutes took 3 1/2 hours! Our car nearly over heated so we had the heat blasting to pull the heat off the engine and when we finally arrived 2 hours after the opening acts started, we were in the last lot of the complex. It took nearly 30 minutes to walk to the gate. We arrived at the gate at 9:00 just as Jack Johnson started to play. After standing in line for bathrooms, food, $10 beers and ATM's (why don't they take debit cards at venues?) I think we managed to watch about 20 minutes of the show. I love Jack Johnson and perhaps my mood was just too foul at this point to think anything was good but it was just a so-so performance. The volume was too low and although I know most of the words I couldn't hear them. The big screen behind him was weak at best and when he spoke he might as well have been signing because again, I couldn't hear "Jack" (excuse the pun). Being that we were parked so far away we left a little early in hope of beating the traffic so we could get home at a decent hour and relieve my parents. On the walk back to the car a flood of cars started leaving honking and yelling at pedestrians to get out of their way. Pedestrians that didn't have anywhere else to walk given the wet grass (oh I didn't mention the rain did I....well it rained). I kept wondering why every one was so angry. They were in their cars. Imagine if they were still walking like us. Aren't Jack Johnson fans supposed to be relaxed, earth and people loving individuals? We might as well have been leaving a NIN or Rage concert (ok I'm sure I'm showing my age with that). 1 1/2 hours later we were finally out of the lot and on the road making decent time when we came to a dead shop on I271. There we are at 1:30 am sitting on the highway in a traffic jam. I'm near tears at this point. 1:30 am! How is there a traffic jam at 1:30 am! ODOT that's how! Repaving 271 for what seems like the umpteen time in the past 3 years. Now I understand and appreciate that they do the bulk of their work at night but did traffic honestly need to come to a dead halt? After watching the kids in the car in front of us play Frisbee with another car and grab what I can only assume was beer from a cooler in the trunk multiple times I was mildly grateful we were only averaging 10 miles an hour.

Finally at 2:00 we got home to relieve my parents. All in all we drove 6 1/2 hours for a 1 1/2 hour concert. Feeling rather guilty for not buying my carbon emissions credit with my tickets. Needless to say I don't see us attending any more concerts together in the near future. Scott, Love ya, but you can go to Radiohead on your own.

Father's Day

I asked Leah to make her Daddy a Father's day card and I'll admit it was actually a ploy to get a few minutes of quite. A few minute's past and while I was expecting to look up and see a bunch of scribbles (spider webs as she calls them), this is what I found. Now I'm sure at 1st glance one is likely to think it's just another so so drawing done by some kid with backwards letters but this is really cool. Not only is this the first time she's drawn some thing which actually looks like something (a butterfly) but she wrote "DAD" all on her own! She didn't even ask me how to spell it. I'm sorry but this Mama is gushing. My baby can spell! That's pretty dang impressive for a 3 year old isn't it?
We went to the Tribe game for the annual Cleveland Clinic Family day. It was a beautiful day and the kids did as well as kids can be expected to do. Leah got a special Cleveland Clinic - Travis Hafner bat to remember the occasion. I couldn't figure out if Tyler was really into the game and all the going ons or if he was afraid of heights being in the nose bleed section. $60 in hotdogs, soda and ice cream later we headed home and feasted on fillets and twice baked cheesey potatoes from Omaha Steaks. It was a nice day and I think Scott is enjoying his new Pilot MP3 player. Note to self...buy Pop a hat that fit's.

Quest for a Cute Pic

I've said this before but it's next to impossible to get a cute picture of the kids together. They love each other to peices and are so adorable you wouldn't think it would be so hard. Yet every picture I take either looks like one is trying to kill the other or they won't look at the camera. Here's a couple close to not quite pics.
Helicopter's on the Nose - Tyler's to quick snatching it off
What is that she's doing with her teeth?

How much do you love hanging out with your brother Leah?

Well if nothing else here's Tylers new manners