Invisible Poop

One of my favorite things about Jonah is his ability to tell a story. Honestly, there are times that I wish he would just cut to the chase. I don't need to know every last detail. But I have to remember, no matter how insignificant it seems to me, it is absolutely critical to his 5, almost 6, year old mind. Today, I was grateful that I had the patience to listen to this story, because if I had cut him short, the story simply would not have even been remotely as hilarious as this one he told me over lunch today. Bear with me as I try to share it with you as it was shared with me:

"Mom, you know what happened on the playground today? I had to go potty, and I felt a little bit of poop come out. (I'm silently saying "Oh no.." in my head) So I went to the bathroom and pulled down my pants but there was nothing there! But I could still feel it! When I pulled down my pants again, there was something glowing! And ya know what? I think it was invisible poop!"

The only thing lacking in this retelling is the expressions on his face as he told this tale. He told it with such conviction that I was actually thinking, "Wow, invisible poop. Who knew?"

Go Lightning Lions!!

Ok, I think we are up to fun thing number 4: Jonah started soccer! I had no idea that they made cleats, balls and shin guards so small. Jonah's first game was last Saturday and these boys were the picture of good sports. The team that they played from Longfellow Elementary had very obviously been playing for a while and were more than likely quite a bit older. "Slaughter" is the word that comes to mind when I think of the score. But I have to hand it to the self named Lightning Lions. They ran out there and had an awesome time. Practices have also been fun as they have played "games" with Coach Nate to teach them the basics. Jonah is confident, excited and continuing to learn how great it is to be on a team.

Here, the Lightning Lions are checking out the other team, trying to figure out their stragedy, I mean strategy.

Getting their game faces on...

Jonah helping his team mate, Jonah (yes there are two of them!) on the field.

Way to go Jonah!!

Well, Cole is down for a nap and Jonah is playing Lego Indiana Jones, which makes now the perfect time to blog. Ok, time for fun thing number three: My birthday! I have to admit, I feel a little funny blogging about my own birthday, but we had so much fun I just have to share. My birthday was on the 1st, which was Labor Day, which allowed for a little extra fun. My brother David was in town (fun to the extreme) and my awesome husband planned a great party for me and some of our closest buds: My parents and brother, The Schultz Family, the Egbert Family (who only partially came due to illness :( ) and the Ricks Family. We played fun games with the kids and had cake and ice cream.
But we didn't want the fun to end and since there was no school or work the next day the Ricks and Schultz spent the night!! We just rolled out sleeping bags and blankets and let the kids fall where they were. It was great. The whole night simply proved even more that you don't need booze to have a fabulous time.
The first game was an egg race with small wiffle balls instead of eggs. Sorry, groceries are just too expensive to waste. Here the teams ready themselves for the whistle.

Chip Schultz, as usual, does everything with style and grace. Fortunately, no bones were broken with this one.

Even when the game was over, the Tommy and Jonah would not give up. I love how they insisted on following the rules of not touching the "egg."

Speaking of style and grace, here is my brother David with my Dad getting ready for the three-legged race. Look at the length of those legs! Hardly a fair contest when compared with their competitors.

And these were the competitors: Jonah and Jack...

The birthday girl trying not to be too embarrassed that everyone in the house was singing to her and taking her picture...
I'm not sure who was more excited that I got a Wii: Me or the boys. Let's put it this way; it was in the house for two days before I had a turn to play it.

One of the finest gifts I have ever received in my life was given to me on this, my 31st birthday. It was a photo bag, but not just any photo bag. The Schultz family took time, love and care to put truly priceless photos in the bag for me. Photos that would make me laugh, cry and reminisce. Photos of Chip half naked when he was a teenager. No, I'm not kidding; your just going to have to believe me. Don't ask me to see it. I have been sworn to secrecy and was also asked to surrender said photos at the end of the evening. But the memory will live on forever. I know because the images are permanently burned into my cornea...

Thank you everyone for an awesome night. I will never forget it and am so grateful that I could share it with you. An especially big hug and kiss to my sweetie for giving me the best birthday gift ever: time with people I love.

Horray for the Big K!

OK friends. Time for fun thing number two: Jonah started Kindergarten. As many of you know, it was much harder on me than it was on him to leave Jonah that first day at the "big kid school." However, he ran out of class the first day and immediately asked me when he could ride the bus by himself. Apparently there is no separation anxiety there. My answer? "Heck No!"

Jonah's teacher is Mrs. Young and we already love her. She only stands about as tall as my shoulder and she is a firm believer in teaching the kids independence. Very cool.

I was a little embarrassed about asking Mrs. Young if I could take her picture, but she assured me that I was not the first one to ask.

Many moons ago when I started the first grade, my mom took my picture on the front porch of our apartment with my arm around my little brother. I just couldn't help but try to recreate the moment with my little guys.

Go White Pine Timberwolves! Kindergarten Rocks!!

Where to begin...

I have become so consumed with all that is going on around me that I don't even know where to begin when it comes to filling everyone in about the last 3 weeks. However, I'm going to give it a shot and will try to post something new and fun over the next few days. Too put it all in one post would make my head, and yours, explode.

So, fun thing number one: Our yearly camping trip with the Ricks family. This year it was in Stanley, Idaho. Did you know that even in the dead of August, when all around the country people are sweltering and sweating in 100 degree heat, the nights in Stanley get down to 28 degrees?! Can I just say @#$%^&*!! I like cool weather probably more than most, but give me a freaking break! So imagine with me, if you will, two families, 8 people: 4 adults, 4 children hopped up on s'mores and Capri Sun crammed into one small trailer. Add to that three children (Jonah, Tommy and Taylor) sleeping in the overhead bunk, Taylor sleeping perilously close to the edge. If you think any of us got a lick of real recuperative sleep, you are smoking crack. But let me tell ya, we had more fun than that proverbial barrel of monkeys. Enjoy the following pictures. I sure enjoyed taking them.

The kids went to a "Junior Rangers" class Saturday morning and learned about the local wildlife as well as "respecting nature." Here Tommy and Jonah hold their "warm fuzzies" that they made in class.

Here Cole accurately portrays how unbelievably cold the water was on the lake.

Jonah loves the water so much, by the end of the morning he was almost naked, only in his underwear, wading around and catching fish in a plastic cup. He'd bring them in to shore to show us moms sitting in lawn chairs in the sand, the cup shaking so badly from his shivering that some of the fish actually jumped out of the cup. Be free fishies!!

And of course, Nude Taylor, putting sand in her hair. She is such a little mermaid, you can't help but smile when she plays.