A Long Time Coming...

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

It's only taken us 8 years, but
we are finally going on a honeymoon!
To be fair, I should admit that we did, indeed have a honeymoon when we got married. That honeymoon included a few days in an old motel 2 minutes away from Chris's hometown, a trip to Oregon where my parents, brother, and I were reporting on our missions, plus a week in a cabin ...with my entire family! Good for memories and storytelling, not so good for fun and romance. We have always said that we'd make up for it someday.
And now "someday" is tomorrow!! We fly to Jacksonville, FL, and go on a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas. We haven't cruised before, but we're pretty sure we'll love it. Chris loves eating out, but can be quite "frugal" (read: major tightwad), so what could be be better than eating around the clock without having to lay a finger on your wallet? I am just excited that for a few days I can wake up whenever I feel like it... and not to the sound of crying.
A big thanks to Chris's sister Brittany and her husband Ryan, for taking care our kids.

All Aboard!

IT'S OFFICIAL: Michael is obsessed with trains. They go everywhere with him. They sit on the table while he eats, they ride with him in the van, they even have their own place in his bed. He got his first few engines from Grandpa Ron (Clark) for Christmas, and we couldn't resist adding to the set a little bit. They are really a great toy to have. Michael literally plays with them every day for hours at a time. He simply does not get tired of them.

A few TRAIN TIPS:

• I recommend getting trains that connect magnetically, instead of with hooks. They stay together better, and even little hands can manage them. Added bonus: the trains can pull other metal objects. "Look Mommy! Thomas is pulling a spoon!" (even if it's covered in yogurt, which is now being spread all over your house).
• For small children, get a PLAY MAT with train tracks printed on it, instead of the tracks that have to be put together. As much as I love to play trains with the boys, I am glad they have the option of playing on their own, without me having to set up and fix broken tracks all day long.
  

When We're Helping, We're Happy!

Tommy is on a two-week spring break. So far I am sticking with my policy of only one hour a day of tv/computer. (Am I the only one who has a hard time with this?) Tommy discovered that he loves helping with the laundry. But only if he gets to do everything on his own. This includes pre-treating the clothes (and the counters, walls, and floor) with Spray 'N Wash, climbing into the washer to get the very last sock out, even cleaning the lint tray . What a helper!

At the Zoo

Here are the boys at the zoo playground. Chris isn't a huge fan of these hats, but they keep the sun out. I'm pretty sure he won't love that I am documenting them here, but this was the only photo where I could get all three boys to look at me. (See below)


Here's the shot I got after remembering to take the hats off, for Chris's sake... I actually took a lot of photos, trying to get them all looking, but I started feeling a bit conspicuous on the playground-- calling their names over and over, louder and louder, while they took turns looking away, making faces, closing their eyes, and falling. I had to give up.