MMMmmmmmmm.....

Gotta love fudge pops!

The Green Mongoose

Cade's present from us for his birthday was to be able to go and pick out his own bike. Yesterday, I made the trip to Wal-Mart (which I have not been to in a couple years probably) and first of all I was a little caught off guard at how sketchy it has become. I walked tall and confident with child in tow but deep inside I was hoping no one tried to snatch me or my purse. Anyway, probably just a bad crowd on the outer parts because once I was inside I saw some pretty normal, not scary people......for the most part. We got back to the bikes and we tried out several on one side. Then Cade made his way to the other side and was immediately taken by the Mongoose Racer X. It is green. It is ugly. It has silver foot stands on the front wheel to aid in tricking........like, bike tricking. I think I've seen it on MTV once or something. I'm not so sure how cool it is to "trick" when you have training wheels on the back but who am I to say??? It also happened to be his favorite bike in the whole store. I kid you not, this was the selling point.............the little padded doflahtchy on the front of the bike that proudly displays the "Racer X".
He commented to Grant at least 25 times that it was not only a bike, but a "Racer X". I'm sure Grant was very impressed. Grant was very happy to be given the hand-me-down Tonka bike. I'm sure, however, that by Friday he'll have a complex that his bike is just not as cool as the Green Mongoose Racer X that is tearing up and down our driveway.

Happy Birthday, Cade!

We actually celebrated Cade's sixth birthday last week. He had a great time playing water games with a few of his buddies. He wanted a sports cake this year and once again the cake lady provided.

We had a huge waterslide in the yard and thank goodness the weather decided to warm up. The week before had proven to be unseasonably cold. The boys loved this slide and we have had it up again since the party. I believe it to be a good investment for summer fun for us. Grant was going bonzo on the slide. I was just waiting for him to accidentally jump off the side straight to the ground.

Rhett talked himself into climbing up one, and only one, time. I can see the terror on his face in this picture. He just preferred to hang out in the pool below and shoot people with water guns.
I tried to organize a water balloon toss but it somehow got out of hand. No one was really following the suggested rules and it ended up being just a big water balloon fight. My dad became the unfortunate target for Cade. Look at him move! Even being 50 some odd years Cade's senior and he still can outrun him! We had a time getting the candles to stay lit with the breeze that was going but Bobby managed to keep at least one lit long enough for Cade to make a wish. I'm not sure why I thought I needed to provide blowing assistance here at the sixth birthday party. I must have reverted back to 5 years earlier when he couldn't fend for himself. Stop making fun and just let me be in the moment...........Happy Birthday, Cade! Hope your day was fabulous!

Those Were the Days

In an effort to keep my friend Big Nanny's endevor alive, I will reminisce back to 1996 and 1995 respectively and let you glimpse at the likes of us on our Senior portrait day. This is me in the slightly awkward and uncomfortable "casual" pose. I guess everyone gets this pose since you can see Ashley (who looks much more at ease than me) in her casual lying in the floor pose as well.
And the official for the yearbook. Thank goodness I only had to wear a sash and not a feather boa as so many did. Thank you, thank you CHS. And I couldn't forget Bobby. This was one of my fav photos of all time back in the day. I'm sure I slept with it under my pillow or something like that. Isn't he handsome? I think I just gave that shirt to the Goodwill about a month ago.

And the priceless yearbook shot. Hair: high and tight. Good times.

Thanks for peeking in!

Have You Seen the Boys?

Because their clothes are in the driveway. That leaves me concerned.
An. Should've known. As soon as we got home from dinner the sprinler system kicked on and it didn't take the boys any time to shed the clothes and act like it's summer. I know the neighbors think we're ridiculous but just about every evening last summer the boys could be seen running around the yard in their shorts just having a good ol' time. Hey, whatever works.
Little man doesn't let his diaper stop him. Hopefully by the end of the summer he will be done with all this diaper stuff.
I'm sure this is the one that suggested that they get wet tonight. I've known him for 4 years and 3 months and I can tell you that usually he is the instigator.

Bring on the summer fun! We're ready!

Flash Forward

Today marks the end of Cade's first year of "real" school. I had to endure the likes of a slideshow and kind words from his teacher intertwined with music that generally makes me cry on any given normal day. Today? Too much to handle. Lucky for me, Rhett decided to just drop the hammer (that is Bobby Terminology for making a really horrible #2) just as the lump in my throat became unbearable and I was quickly brought back to the here and now and able to supress my need for tears. Cade received his little diploma and a thoughtful gift from his teacher. And for the record, I have absolutely adored his teacher this year. She couldn't have been a more perfect match for him. Thank you, Lord for answered prayers! She has taught him to read, to write, and to do math. She has also taught him to follow directions and to be a good helper. And she taught him songs........a song for everything under the sun, songs about letters and seasons, and songs about songs! I've learned that each year just seems to move more quickly than the last and for the moment I just wish it would slow. For now though, I'll just keep up as I can and take it all in.........and then I'm going to blog it. Because, as some of you know, with each childbirth I lost a significant portion of my brain and unfortunately my memory was in one of those chunks. Thank goodness for whomever invented this handy little tool!

Job well done, Cade. I am so proud of you!

SLEEPOVER!!!

Cade has his first friend sleep over this past weekend. This picture was taken after a full day of running hard and playing non-stop so it was pretty easy to get them to go to bed. All went well through the night but I was wakened by the sound of gunfire (pretend, not real) WAY too early in the morning. Apparently there was a Star Wars figurine war going on. Both of them had a great time and I welcomed the extra playmate. Good times!

Alternate Usage

I had no idea there were so many uses for umbrellas. I knew of the usual to keep yourself dry. I've heard of using them as weapons in case of an attack. And maybe you could use it for a walking stick if say, your ankle was hurt. I have found out recently that they also make for a great fort in the driveway. You may be asking yourself, "Why do they have so many big umbrellas?" Can't answer that. I have no clue. But we do. And the boys love it. I think they played in the driveway for a good solid hour at least playing under these umbrellas. It was all great. All fun. Until I poked my head out and saw the stiff wind come through and start carrying them all over the neighborhood. I ran outside flailing and yelling for Grant to help me but basically he just stood there aghast. I did rally all of the umbrellas back and I was unscathed. Good times. I'm sure I provided as much entertainment for the folks on my street as the umbrella fort did for the boys.

Splish, Splash!

Mother's Day Out and Kindergarten both had Water Day today. I spent my entire free day running between the 2 schools trying to take pictures and make everyone feel special. It was a bit frigid outside for water play but no one seemed to mind too much. Rhett didn't want to take his shirt off because it was "coldie" outside. He was trying to walk through some little floppy sprinkler things that they had going on and I was just cracking up at his face! He was working so hard to keep it out of his eyes.....

"Bllllahhhhkkk!!!! "
"Ggggeesshhhh!!!!!"

"Ahhhhh. Finally. I'll just relax and let my tongue do the leading."
Grant had no idea it was cold. I snapped this just before he yelled "CANNONBALL" and jumped in the kiddie pool. Then, I headed to Cade's school to catch him in action. There were sloppy, wet kids everywhere and a crazy person with a water hose so I didn't get a ton of pictures there. I could just see my camera getting drenched and then me being on the front of the newspaper for tackling the crazed hose lady. This was one of my favorite pics. Cade and his best bud. How cute.

Like Father, Like Son

Cade was given an award last week by his guidance teacher. I just chuckled when I looked at it because it was the award for honesty. I laughed because in high school Bobby's buddies all called him "Honest Bob". Looks like Cade is not only monopolizing Bobby's physical genes but his personality traits as well. Good thing he's got such a good model to follow!

Way to go, Cade!

Mother's Day Photo

One quick snapshot to commemorate the day. Maybe next year I won't be the only brown haired, brown eyed girl in the picture!

Pimp My Ride

Are you allowed to use the word "pimp" on a family blog??? Not sure. But anyway, Grant had to make a car to WEAR to school. That translates as "Sonja had a project to complete while Grant played downstairs with his daddy". I spent the better half of a couple hours scouring my pantry and craft box and eventually came up with this. A little duct tape and aluminum foil can be your best friend when you have procrastinated and are in a pinch. And, please. Take note of the rims. If only I could have figured out a way to make them spin. That would have been the greatest.
Decked out with a license plate and everything! Grant thought it was the coolest thing ever. I guess that's all that matters. I must say that I was feeling pretty good about myself and my project until I walked into school with that kid who's parent apparently spent the last 3 weeks constructing their child's car and if I hadn't looked closely enough it could have been beside me on the interstate and I wouldn't have had a clue it was cardboard.
Let's just say my pride was quickly deflated............ but then, as I was leaving, I spotted a car way worse than mine. So, I didn't leave as humbled as I could've been. Nothing like having a preschool project try to teach you life lessons.

Conversation Piece

Grant: "See this?"

Me: "Oh. wow. Where did you get it?"

Grant: "I maked it. I maked it and I'm going to sell it to Jesus next time I see him."

Me: "Really? Hmmm."

Grant: " 'Cause next time I see him he's really gonna wanna buy it from me."


I found this to be a rather interesting conversation. I don't know what was more interestesting though. A) The fact that he thought he had anything Jesus would want to buy. B) The thought that Jesus BUYS things period. or C) The fact that he used "next time" twice as if he actually has face to face meetings with Jesus in his playroom or something.

I guess it could be happening..........I'm just sayin'...............

Bueno Vida

Ahhh..... The Good Life. Costa Rica treated us well this past week. We did a lot of just sitting on the beach reading, talking, and people watching. One of my favorite things to do. Our biggest laugh came on Friday when we were watching a marine seargent type black man run up and down the beach in his high-waisted speedo. Too funny. Even funnier was when he stopped to do push-ups and his behind was really high in the air. Kind of like an upside down "V"..........not the proper form (just fyi in case you were thinking of doing the same. Bobby would do the Rocky theme every time he passed by. Good times. We went on a Catamaran Sunset cruise on Wednesday. It was really beautiful and they fed us pineapples so that made me happy.

Wonderful to watch the sun set over the ocean. We were even followed by a group of dolphins for a long time. I could watch dolphins all day. They are so graceful.

My most favorite activity was the Zip Line Tour. We got to go on a total of 11. It was SO much fun. I pretty much already knew what I was doing since I watch so much "Go Diego, Go!" with the boys. I even screamed out a little "AYUDAME!!!" (Help Me! in spanish). Diego says it all the time. This is Bobby just coming in on one of the lines. I'm walking up a little hanging bridge thing to get to the top to take the next line. I will admit that the pulse was a bit more rapid than normal. By the time I got really used to it, it was over.
Just a quick view of the zip line. I'm on there somewhere if you look really closely. This particular one was half a mile long. The view was tremendous though. I loved this one. Costa Rica was very dry right now because the part of the country we were in was in the dry season. This is the last month of 6 that they will have no rain. It starts back up in June and then everything will be plush and green but they said that is their lowest tourist time due to the weather. We had such a great time and have come back renewed and refreshed. I was hoping to get to use a little more of my spanish while I was there but everyone on the resort spoke english! Bobby threw out a lot of "muy bueno".........everything was muy bueno. And I did use some of what I've learned. My only problem is that when confronted with a spanish speaker, I forget all I've learned and my pits just start sweating. Fortunately with the 100 degree weather and extreme humidity no one was the wiser.............

I took many more photos, but too many containing not enough clothing coverage for internet usage. Bobby wore loin cloths the whole time and I was in my bathing suit all week. You'll thank me later. Until next time.......................

P.S. He didn't really wear loin cloths but he threatened it.