Swim and Hike

Well, mostly this post is about our hike through the 7 Bridges at the park, but I couldn't resist posting this pic of Moo and Fia in their new swim caps. They start swim lessons in mid-June and have to have caps for their longer hair. They ran around the house wearing them all day, inspired by the movie Hop to yell "We are the Pink Berets!"

Tonight after a nearly free dinner at TGI Friday's (we had a terrible experience with burnt kids meals once and they gave us a bunch of free credits for our next visit), we took a family hike through the park. Our favorite spot is the 7 Bridges, Pander always wants to count the bridges to see if we crossed them all, while Noodle prefers to do all the steps on his own and yell "I did it!" at the bottom of each set. Here are some pictures of us at the bridges, and a few pictures of the trees I thought turned out well.

Here is Jeff with the Crazies, Pander is trying to peek around the tree like Dada.

Here is Noodle, so proud of walking the crooked steps by himself!



 A nice woman offered to take a family picture, so nice!

Me and the hubby on a bridge.

Moo, Fia, Pander, Noodle and Mama!

One of my favorite pics from the walk, I love the tree branch in the middle, what beautiful creation!

Last pic! Praise God for the wonderful gifts of beauty he gave for our family to enjoy together.

Crayola Crime

Today, we faced a challenge above and beyond the normal daily tasks of caring for the 4 crazies. We experienced a Crayola Crime. There are 4 suspects, but no confession. What exactly was the crime? One of the kids placed a blue crayon in their pocket, put said pocket into the laundry basket, there by allowing Daddy to place the crayon into the washing machine and finally, into the dryer. This resulted in the death of several towels and children's summer clothes. Someone in my household is a murderer of clothing, by way of negligence.

Instead of teaching homeschool this morning, I ended up sorting a load of laundry into piles- trash, crayon spots with possibility of salvage, and crayon-free. Then I made a nifty mix of Goo-gone and dish soap and proceeded to scrub the living daylights out of the spots of dark blue crayon on the items I thought we could save while being heckled by Fia saying "That's my FAVORITE shirt, save it Mommy!" about every single item of hers in the load. Moo, who lost the most in the load, was less worried and very excited about the new pack of underoos and shirts I promised her for replacements.

My husband spent the morning going to buy supplies to clean out the dryer and then scrubbing all the leftover crayon out of the dryer. Needless to say, he wasn't very pleased about spending his time cleaning the dryer, and I don't blame him. I believe he is committed to checking all pockets when running a load of laundry now, though!

Through the course of the inspection, I believe that Moo and Fia have the greatest chance of guilt, since they are the only 2 with pants or shirts with pockets in the load. My inclination is toward Moo being guilty, since Fia is such a neat-nick that I can't imagine her putting a crayon in her pocket instead of back into the box, into her school box, and finally into her desk. But, we have no hard evidence, so the Crayola Crime will most likely become a cold case, never to be resolved.

What's in a name?

So many people are having crazies of their own! I am excited that so many women I know are having babies, and I love hearing the names they pick, along with the reasons or meanings behind their names. So, while I don't share Pander, Fia, Moo and Noodle's real names, I thought I would share the meanings of their names and why we chose them.

I chose 2 names for Pander and let my husband choose from them. The name we didn't pick was Owen- in the end, we both didn't like the idea of having a short first name with no nickname options. As you can tell, we are really into nicknames! The name we decided on was my favorite of the two anyway. It means "Stands in the place of those who defend men." It is one of my greatest prayers that my eldest son will stand up, take a place as a defender of those who cannot defend themselves. I want him to be strong, to protect the weak, to do right when others do not.

Fia's name was also my choice. I wanted a fancy-sounding, beautiful name for my first little lady. We don't use many nicknames for Fia, because we love her pretty first name! It means "God is gracious and wise" and I pray she will grow in faith, knowing that God is indeed wise and always gracious in his love and forgiveness.

Moo's name was chosen by Jeff. We actually chose a nickname for her, and then searched backward for a more formal, longer, first name. Her middle name is a combination of her grandmothers' names, Linda and Kathleen. Her name means "Pure work of God." She is certainly an original work of art by the Creator, and her pure heart is full of joy.

Noodle's name was a combination of the first name we liked had Moo been a boy, and the middle name I had chosen to go with Owen for Pander. It also happens that Noodle's first name is the middle name of his uncle on Daddy's side. Together his names mean "Gift of God, bearer of Christ." He is certainly a gift from God, and I pray that he is a bearer of Christ throughout his life.

Crazy Quotes

Here are some quotes from the crazies in the last few weeks, enjoy!

Noodle- "I had a bad dweam! Monster ate me! Monster ate my head! It not okay, it skeery!"
When told to eat his peas- "I not eat peepees! Peepees gwoss, peepees potty talk!"
"That's me!" No, its not, you are not that dark. "YES I AM BLACK!"

Fia- "Momma is Milady and we are her servants, so we GET TO clean for her!"
"When I go potty, I just feel SO relaxed! That's why it's called a rest room."

Pander- "The best 2 things about Easter are Jesus is alive, and candy!"
"God the Father, God the Son and God the Ghost of Holies."
"Yes we can put elbows on the table for dinner, our house doesn't count, we're not fancy!"

And a group effort:
Pander- "I wish Daddy was home."
Fia- "Why? 'Cause he cooks better?"
Pander- (nodding) "I'm not going to say that, it might hurt Mommy's feelings."