Today

Should have been the halfway mark. We were scheduled to have our 'regular' ultasound today. Why do I remember that? Because it is Christopher's birthday. So, is it a good idea to schedule things like this on days that already have a special meaning? Well, yes and no. No because in this circumstance I have a constant reminder of what we did not get to do today. But yes because there was still something special about today and helped keep my mind off of it. I only thought about it once today - unfortunately, it was in the middle of music class at VBS this morning.
Noah hasn't mentioned the baby in a while but Benjamin has made a number of comments this week. He wants me to get a bike trailer for my bike so the boys can ride with daddy and I can pull Abby and 'Benjamin Scott Campbell Frank.' (That is the name he had picked out for the baby.) He also has been laying his head on my tummy during nap time. He says he can hear the baby in there talking to him. It's cute but a little upsetting at the same time. Sunday we were at the zoo having ice cream and a lady close by had a tiny, tiny baby in her arms. Benjamin rummaged through his imaginary backpack, found a 'tiny baby', and pushed it into my tummy. "There, Mommy, now you have a baby again." If only it were really that easy, sweet boy.
So, that is where we are today.

My Tweet

If I had a twitter account or facebook, my post for today would read as follows:

This evening while finishing his dinner, Benjamin started screaming about a fly in the kitchen window. "Mom, you have to get him out of there! Doesn't he know I just cleaned that?"

Oh, if only it were that easy, my Benjamin... Imagine how fun our house would be if no one could go in to any crevice I had just** cleaned. **In Benjamin's case, "just" meaning within the last two weeks.

Fun with Daddy

Father's Day weekend. Calls for a lot of celebrating, right? I mean, we want daddy to know exactly what he means to us. Just telling him? Well, sure, that could probably work. BUT, how fun would that be? Let's start at the beginning. (Warning - LOTS of pictures headed at ya.) The boys and I decided it would be fun to take daddy camping. Or, I should say, the boys could take daddy camping - in the backyard.

Unfortunately, the tent just isn't big enough for all of us. Abby and I had to sleep inside. While daddy and I erected the tent, the boys chased lightening bugs.

I had this great idea that we could take a computer in to the tent and watch a movie. Everyone agreed on Wall-E.

I made some popcorn and everyone enjoyed the flick.

Now daddy had been concerned about getting the boys to sleep in the tent. Turns out watching the movie was actually just the thing they needed. I think he said they even asked to turn it off before it was over "Because they were tired." I'm sorry, what? I've never heard of such a thing. Anyway, they all went to sleep. I ended up going and bringing them all in just after midnight. Eminent thunderstorms made me think it would be better to drag them in before it started pouring. The boys didn't know until they woke up that they had been brought inside. Man, I wish I could sleep like that... The next day we headed to Dinosaurs Revealed at Union Station.

The kids loved seeing all the dinosaurs.

Unfortunately, they look a lot faster than daddy could read all the facts.

It was a quick run-through but I think everyone enjoyed it.

Nice photo with dad? Check.

Could probably be used on a calendar for Father's Day or something, right? And who can be down at Crown Center without hitting Fritz's for lunch.

The boys want to put a delivery train in to our house. I have given the okay for this project when they are old enough to figure it out on their own. We went to the kids' area for the Clifford display and that was BIG fun - pun intended.

But we didn't stay too long because the real fun was outside.

Boy, do our kids love water fountains! Well, except Bum-bum.

He was happier to sit curled up on the nice warm sidewalk.

Either way, it was a super fun day. Happy Father's Day, Daddy!! PS. Good chance that next year will have a little less activity. But I promise it doesn't mean we love you any less. Ok? Ok.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a very busy Memorial Day weekend. We started off by getting together with some of Christopher's high school friends. While most of them live here in town, we never really get to see them unless their friend Lisa is in town from Colorado - she's the one that sets up the get-togethers. (You'll have to excuse our pictures. It appears we got more backs than anything else.) So here are some shots. (L -> R) Lisa, Karin, and Steve.

Steve's wife, Jen, and their new baby girl, Hayes. (I'm afraid we missed getting a picture of their daughter Hattie. Sorry, Hattie!)

Here is Noah playing with Lisa's son Tyler and Karin's son, Timmy.

And here is Abby playing with Lisa's daughter, Ally.

This was one of the few times we've had all the kids together as well. It was fun to watch them all interact. (I love to see how easygoing children are - they can make friends everywhere. I wish it were that easy for us!) Once the playing was out of the way, it was time to get down to business.

When Christopher bought our house 10 years ago, it was pretty nicely landscaped. We managed to ruin all that pretty quickly and have never done anything to replace it. Hoping to sell the house someday, we thought we better get started. So, we spent the rest of the weekend weeding, selecting flowers, arranging, and planting. And while we worked, the boys played.

This was a monumental weekend in that this is the first time Benjamin actually played in the sprinkler. Oh, he is all about getting on his bathing suit and standing out in the yard with Noah. But usually he is doing just that - standing. For some reason he decided today was the day. And he had a blast!

(Again with the back-only pictures - man, I hate that!) And what could be better than playing in the sprinkler?

Drying off while watching the boob tube - and not really caring that mom would rather take pictures than bring us clothes. And that sums up our weekend - work AND play. The perfect combination.