Our brand-new sandbox!!! Andy is beside himself with excitement! It is big 5' x5' and 10" deep and it has built-in seats. Rob and his friend built it. Way to go, Guys! This little addition should really bring some easiness to our days. We are really loving having Daddy home this week. Today, I took a 2.5 hour nap with Noah. Rob worked on organizing and decluttering. He sure is good at that; I get distracted by the boys (and various other projects).

Fast week!

Phew! That went by quickly. Rob finished finals, climbed part of the Grand Teton and is home now-happily!!! We have a week straight together before he has to start the fall term. Our big plan is to build a sandbox for Andy. Andy is very excited, his 3 yr birthday is coming up. It is going to be a Tractor Party! I made the invites on my scrapbooking program, which BTW, I love! I will try to post them later.

Last night, we made the MOST delicious apple pie! I will have to share the recipe:

Combine in a bowl:

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c cornstarch

1 tsp cinnamon and some nutmeg

mix w dry ing:

6 c tart apples

1 T lemon juice

Put in pie shell.

Sprinkle the apples w this crumb topping:

1/2 c butter

1/2 c oats

1/2 c flour

1/2 c brn sugar

Bake in 350 oven for 75-90 minutes. Check it so you don't burn the crust. mmmmm-delish!

Our cute little Chub, Chub weighs almost 18#!!! He is 4 months old now. He is laughing and grabbing for toys we hold in front of him. What a joy! We found a Bumbo Baby Sitter at a garage sale yesterday. Andy gets a kick out of making Noah smile/giggle. They are going to be a great pair!

Another trying day!

Andy is still so whiney!!! I need prayers for patience! Whining and throwing fits ALL day llllloooonnnnggggggg! ugh

We were out early this am-went for a walk and came upon the John Deere with Bale Skoop. SO we promptly pulled out snacks (granola bar and fresh apples) and sat down for a snack-picnic next to the GIANT tires. Andy said, 'This is my bestest picnic ever, ever, I ever seed!' I wish I had the camera for that outing! The wheels were twice as tall as Andy. He stood so proudly next to them.

This evening after Rob came home, he played outside with Andy. They played soccer, karate, gymnastics. After they came in, Andy was just simply lit up! So easy-going and polite. Getting him ready for bed was a dream....maybe he just needed Daddy-time. We all do. Rob's Finals are this week,he was the High-score on his Final today-YEA! Then he is off to climb The Grand Teton after finals. Hopefully I am still calm, cool, and collected by the time he reenters family-life. He only has 12 days off, so I am sure it will fly by.

Tough Week!

Phew! Noah and Andy are finally asleep-I don't know what has been going on. We are all so exhausted and I was getting worried that Noah wasn't the easy baby I have come to expect. I think Noah was 'just' having a growth spurt, he nursed every two hours-24 hours/day-for 3 days straight. Andy, on the other hand, has been SO fussy and whiny. I think (hope) he was that way bc Noah's crying was stressful. I am just hoping it stops soon!

Noah rolled over today! Here is a pic of him working on it:

On Fri ., we went to Centennial Party at the little town of Joliet. It is just down the road from us-very quiet and peaceful. They have a beautiful park and Andy chewed his first piece of gum. Extra-Superberry (?). He kept telling me-I'm not swallowing it! It's de-yicious! Then we went for some fresh-baked pie at the Hospitality Room. I am glad we found it, because that is where I will vote. We also found a John Deere ride-on tractor for Andy, but it had been run-over by a truck, so it was cracked. She said they bought it new for $250! It's plastic!!! She still wanted $40, even though the axel was bent. I said that was that was too much. She said she really wanted Andy to have it, so we could work out a price. I think it should be Free for the Hauling-don't you?!

Beautiful 2

Today, Andy said to Rob, 'Daddy, it's beautiful when you are here.'

We made Currant Jam today...Delicious on fresh, homemade whole wheat bread!!!!!

Beautiful Day!

We had a Down by the River Party today. We had planned to going tubing in the river, using our friend's jet-boat. He had to go to the ER bc he sliced off the tip of his finger when unloading the boat!!! YIKES! Also, my mom had a major injury-she was weed eating just before the BBQ and a goose egg sized rock was thrown into her ankle by the blade of the weed-eater. So, she was barely able to walk and in tons of pain! She may have chipped the bone. Everyone else seemed to have lots of fun. The weather was cool and sprinkling. No tubing or swimming. My dad had that bean bag toss game and all the kids loved it. Andy was a little fussy-kins, everytime he spoke to me, he was on the verge of tears. I don't think he slept well last night-woke up twice. I was suprised that it was so cool, after being 100+ for practically the whole month of July.

I am so in love with Noah. He is so preciously soft and round. He weighs nearly 17# and isn't even 4 months yet! I already miss his newborn stage. I love it when your baby needs to be cuddled all of the time. He is already growing out of that. Of course, he always wants to snuggle when he is tired or hungry. He is very efficient when it comes to nursing and is done with his meal in less than 5 minutes. Then, he wants to talk and smile with me (or daddy) and if you don't, he yells. He doesn't waste much energy on crying, but he will get going if I take advantage of his good-natured personality and finish 'just one more thing'.

Humid!!!

Can't believe I can say that! It is usually so dry here and everything is burning! This year we are almost 2" ahead in rainfall! It is wonderful. This weekend is the Baloon Festival, last year we went at 5 am, with hopes of a ride...they weren't giving them anymore. We got some great pics though. And went out for a delicious breakfast at McCormick's Cafe.

Here is another pic from last year that I want to do a Scrap Layout on. Every year, there is a Huge Regional Auction for big machines. We stopped by on our way home from my parents' house and Andy was in HEAVEN! Maybe I need to make him a birthday book with these pics...

First cool day of August

Felt like fall today, cool and breezy. Went jogging w Andy in the jogging stroller this morning. That was my first run, post-Noah. Felt good, very short! Noah is sleeping on my lap as I type before putting to bed. He is such an angel! Rarely fussy and so easy to get to sleep. I feel like I have become a lazy mama! With Andy, it was real work to soothe him and get him to sleep. We feel SO blessed!!!

I still haven't gotten to do the fun, creative things I would like to do during the boys' naps-because, I am taking one too! I have saved to disk all of my pictures and scrapbooking folders so I can work on the laptop in the living room, while the boys play. Although that is probably wishful thinking bc I will use that time for chores. Tonight I was vacuuming at 8 pm, I have always thought of chores as day-time work. Oh well-have to do it here and there! Does feel good to wake up to a clean home! Better get to bed.