I was so sad.

Jeff and the boys went over to his parents' today since the whole family is in town. A statement was made, "Everyone's here." I was at work. Thankfully, Jeff noticed and mentioned my absence. He then asked the boys why I wasn't there, to which Liam replied "Mom has to work." Jeff asked, "Can't I work?" When Liam replied no, Jeff asked why, and Liam said "because you weren't trained to be a doctor."

Cole was recounting the conversation for me and mentioned that he had come home and he was alone with Liam and Daddy. I think he said, "but you were not here. I was so sad." It was so very cute. It's nice to know that I'm occasionally missed.

My Favorite Goalie

It's no secret that I have a thing for goalies. My sons are named after two of my favorites: Liam (unwavering protector) Patrick (Roy) and Cole (victory of the people) Martin (Brodeur). My favorite goalie, by far, though, is Jeff. He has had a very good week. His team won last Wednesday night. He got to play with his little brother at the Barn on Sunday, and today he got to play twice!

His first game today was the alumni game in LeSueur. It was the recent (<5 years) grads versus the old guys, and Jeff was the second oldest there. His team smoked the other one, winning by 7 or 8 or some especially large margin. Jeff had some beautiful saves, including the one pictured, for which he needed to skate back from right field (or so it seemed).

His second game was his usual Wednesday evening game. I thought his team would kick the Sewer Dogs' butts, since they had twice as many players, but it was reasonably close. Jeff's team won 7-3 or so.

People assume that we want our boys to play in the NHL. Why anyone would want that or even dream of it for children is beyond me, so no, that's not our goal. Mine is for our boys to develop a love of activity or exercise or sport. Jeff's is to someday play bar league hockey with his boys. What a lovely idea.

Naughty Cole!

It was so nice this morning to just lay in bed. School was cancelled due to the wind. I didn't have to get up for an admission. The boys woke up and asked to go play downstairs and they were being remarkably quiet. Then Liam came up and ratted out Cole.

Our lovely younger son decided this morning to see what was in all the bags in the den/craft room. Yes, that's a pretty stupid place to put presents, but with the guest room in use for the weekend and paltry closet space, it was the best place. They had also been there for weeks. I wouldn't have minded so much if he just wanted to look, but no, he wanted them all open! We came in to find the puzzle boxes torn open, the plastic part of one of Olivia's present cut open (and I still haven't found the missing piece), the Lego stocking stuffers apart and even started.

I had planned to start wrapping the gifts and putting them under the tree, but I suspect that would be a recipe for disaster. Do they build houses with gift-wrapping/gift storage rooms?

Miraculous!

Liam was perfectly fine this morning, but then started complaining of belly pain after climbing on the bed. At first, he should winced a bit, but still ate breakfast okay. We tried Motrin, ice, and lying around, but when he started not being able to walk except slowly on tiptoes, and didn't want to be bumped, we figured it was time he saw a doctor. (Why does this happen on Sundays?)

So we headed off to the ER. He complained about the bumps, didn't want to walk at all, and even the triage nurse thought he didn't look right. The very kind ER doctor saw him, thought he probably knew what it was, and went out to order the X-ray. Within a couple minutes, Liam was again perfectly fine. What do you think the ER will charge for spontaneous improvement?

I broke my clavicle.

Liam was having a pretty good day today until recess. He was playing football with some other kids when an older kid tackled him. He fell onto his right shoulder and hit it on a rock (but not one with points, which would have been bad). He didn't want to move his shoulder or have anyone touch him, so his teacher called me.

This is the first time I'd been to his classroom during school, and it's a pretty busy place. He was tearful when I first arrived, but that didn't last. I checked him out while a few other kids hovered. His friend Alex seemed quite concerned, especially when I decided to bring him to clinic for a visit.

Dr Solaiman saw him and ordered some x-rays. Liam did great and was very interested in what the pictures looked like. We really only would have needed the first one, which showed a greenstick fracture of his right clavicle. Jeff wasn't back in town yet, so we plopped Liam in between Nurse Angie and Nurse Roz. He had a great time eating pudding, popcorn, and chocolate, and really didn't seem all that bothered by having a broken bone. On the way out, his favorite nurse Renee asked how he was. He told her, "I broke my clavicle." What a cutie!

I am so proud of my little guy! He's wearing a sling, but using his hand to play and eat. He's been working on writing left-handed. He won't get to play hockey for a while, but he's okay with that. He's drinking lots of milk to help the healing, and was very surprised to learn that it started healing as soon as it broke. We moved his mattress onto the floor so he doesn't have to climb into his bunk and he seems pretty delighted by that.

Five little speckled frogs

Since Liam returned home from tae kwon do this evening, he has mostly been singing the same song: "Five little speckled frogs Sitting on a speckled log Eating the most delicious bugs Yum yum. One jumped into the pool Where it was nice and cool Now there's only four speckled frogs . . ." After one round, I asked him what 5-4 was and 4-3, etcetera. He got them all right, not surprisingly. I then asked him some addition questions, because we've done them before. I first asked, using my fingers to help, "What is 1 plus 1?" His response? "Eleven."

Celebrating Grandpa & Grandma's 60th Anniversary

Today, we celebrated my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. How cool is that? When they were married (at age 20), they had a party line (with a rotary phone), lap-style seat belts (3-points didn't come out until ten years later and then only in Volvos originally), and black-and-white photography. They raised 5 kids in a succession of communities, camped for real (tarps spread over a clothesline for a tent sometimes), traveled when they could, spent frugally, saved wisely and loved immensely.

Grandma now owns a digital camera (a gift from the grandkids), but couldn't believe how well she could hear me when I called her this summer from Alaska. They have 15 grandkids (plus spouses) and 10 great-grandkids (and of course their 5 kids and spouses) who spend as much time as possible hanging out with them, because they're really cool.

I think it's safe to say that each of us hopes to one day be just like them, having spent decades with the one they love, surrounded by the family they raised.

Perspective

I think I've mentioned this before, but Liam absolutely loves to draw. He will sit at his table or stand at mine and draw page after page after page. We have books of animals, monsters, dinosaurs, soldiers, airplanes. Today, he drew a picture of a pirate with a ship in the ocean, treasure chest with treasure. He was a little annoyed when Cole came up and drew a horse, but got over it quickly. We then had a very interesting conversation.

He showed me all the parts of his picture and ended with the horse. He said, "That's a horse, but it's far away." I asked, "How do you know that?" to which he replied, "because it's little. When things are far away, they're little, and if they're big, then they're close." When I asked who taught him that, he said Mrs Wettergren. I had no idea that they teach perspective in kindergarten, but I was very impressed.

(The horse, by the way, is the little purple squiggle on the bottom, by the pirate's right foot.)

Get low and go

Today must have been fire safety day at the schools, because both boys have talked of nothing else all evening.

Liam tells us there was a fireman at school today and they saw his fire truck on the way home. They were taught that if their clothes catch fire, they should "stop, drop, and roll" and proceeded to show me how that's done. He also told us that if you see smoke you should "get low and go" so that the bad air doesn't get in your lungs. He has inspected our house to make sure there are fire detectors and has decided that we should gather at the back of JoEllen's house. He doesn't seem convinced that the front would be better. He's a little worried that there will be a fire tonight before we can buy a ladder for their window and come up with a family emergency plan, but I think we'll be okay.

Cole seems to be getting into this, too. He told me as Liam was climbing into bed that we should stop and grow. Yes, I would like to stop growing, but I don't think that's what he meant.

We also talked about 911 this evening. Liam knows the number well. When I asked him where he lived, he said, "the white house next to the brown house." Then he decided that we should call JoEllen next door in case of an emergency to find out where Matt was. I think I got him back to 911. We're still working on the address though.

Cover your cough

All of us, aside from perhaps Sadie, have had a cold. Jeff never really got much of it, and I'm basically over it, but the boys still have the sniffles.

Yesterday at dinner, Liam announced that he had the flu and needed to be done eating. Very rarely he complains of a tummy ache and gets nauseated, so I thought that's what he meant. Not two minutes later, though, he announced that eating and sleeping is what would make him feel better, so he finished dinner and then went to bed (at 5:40). This morning, he announced that his flu was gone. (I certainly hope influenza, should he get it, treats him as well.)

Cole, on the other hand, has been coughing more today than before. At preschool, they've been working very hard at covering coughs and washing hands, so I was very impressed this afternoon when I caught him coughing into his elbow. He told me, "I catched it in my arm. See, there's more cough in there. My tummy is not full."

76 Trombones

Anyone who knows my father-in-law would not be surprised to know that my sons know the tune to "76 Trombones". Liam even knows many of the words to the first verse and sang them to me yesterday.

Jeff has talked for awhile about letting the boys watch The Music Man, but we finally got around to it today. Liam sat through most of it before getting bored, but Cole spent most of his time being in the marching band. When I got home, he was a trumpet player, or perhaps trombone. He stopped before I found the camera, and wouldn't do it again, but did pretend to play flute for awhile.

I'm a doctor!

I don't usually have my stethoscope lying around, but it was this afternoon, which caught Cole's attention. He picked it up, announced he was a doctor, and headed off to find his first patient. Daddy was the first person, but fortunately only needed to have his lungs listened to. I was the second, but only needed my heart listened to. Liam is the unfortunate last patient. Liam's pants are now down around his ankles and he's gotten a dozen or more "shots". I don't know what happened to the stethoscope.

Liam doesn't seem to be minding, which is good, since he told me not 5 minutes ago, "I don't like doctors anymore." When I asked why, he said it was because doctors give you shots. "Actually, that's not true," I said. "Who gives you shots?" "Nurses!" he said, but he apparently doesn't dislike them. He thinks Nurse Carol is great, even drawing her a picture for her birthday last week and giving her many hugs. Nurse Renee also did a great job this year with the flu shots. I think it erased the trauma from the kindergarten shots (5!) last month.

I want to believe you.

We were eating breakfast this morning at the kitchen counter. Everything was fine, and then Liam said, "I'm not going to watch the fire video again." It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about. Yesterday evening I for some reason watched a video about an experiment with kids and marshmallows. Wait and get a second or just eat the first. Liam came over to watch and then requested more videos. We watched a campfire, some Mavericks, etcetera, until supper was ready.

Anyway, he then told me, "I want to believe you when you tell me there are no monsters, but in the fire video it sounded like a monster [it was an owl]. So, I'll watch the marshmallow video again, but no more campfires."

I hope he's still okay with actual campfires when we're outdoors. I suppose we should test that before we go camping again.

PS - This evening, I told him I was posting this story on the blog. After a discussion about what a blog is, he told me I had gotten the story wrong. He tells me that he actually said, "When I was three, I believed you when you told me there were no monsters. But I heard a monster in the video, so I thought you were wrong. Now I believe you again."

An Afternoon at the Bank

As everyone in Minnesota has probably heard, the Gophers are back on campus. TCF Bank Stadium is a great place to watch a football game, as we found out last week and again this afternoon. Jeff & I watched a very entertaining game between Minnesota and California, at least until the false start penalty on Cal that nullified the big sack in the fourth quarter. I'm certain our boys, despite being in the stadium with us, were watching something completely different:

Pre-game (Liam): I'm going to pretend we're watching the W's. They're the ones in white. (We sit on the 50-yard line, but behind the visitor bench.)

Q1 06:50 (Liam): We want to win the game because the Gophers are the best. They're the best in the whole universe. (At the time, the Gophers were down 0-14.)

Q2 13:25 (Cole): Let's go home. (The Gophers had recently scored to make it 7-14.)

H (Liam): After this I want to leave and go to Grandpa & Grandma's. (14-21)

Q3 12:42 (Liam to me): You feel hot. I'm going to take your temperature. (He then spent most of the third quarter taking my temp and blood pressure. Cole spent most of it not quite falling asleep.)

Q4 10:59 (Liam): I'm sick of being out here all evening. I just want to go home and go to Grandpa & Grandma's. I just want a touchdown to happen. I want to go home right now. (21-21, looking like the Gophers had a chance to win)

Hip to be Square?

Jeff and his family used to square dance when he was a pre-teen, although he probably doesn't advertise that much. His parents stopped when they got too busy with boys in sports, but started again a decade or so ago. Tonight they hosted a special "anniversary" square dance and invited us to attend.

It was past the boys' bedtime, but they were absolutely enthralled watching Grandpa & Grandma dance. I don't think they even moved for the whole first set. Once their cousins showed up, though, they didn't pay any attention. We didn't stay long.

Judy keeps trying to convince us that we should start square-dancing. It's interesting to watch, but I just don't see it happening.

First Project

Cole still doesn't talk much about school, but is obviously thrilled. Today, he did tell us that they made projects. I wanted to post his very first official pre-school project. He chose pale pastels, so it may be a little hard to see. He (and we) are quite proud!

A Day without Liam

Being without Liam is a new thing for Cole, obviously. Prior to school, there have probably been less than half a dozen times that Cole has had Dad (or us) all to himself. I figured today was a good day to figure out what he does without anyone hassling him all day.

8:30: He finally woke up and had breakfast. It's a good thing today wasn't a pre-school day, or he would've been an absolute bear.

8:45: Worked on the star he was supposed to bring to pre-school yesterday. I suppose this is the start of the second child stuff. We also forgot the tuition payment. Markers didn't work. Crayons didn't work. Paint did.

9:30: Play-dough. He actually wanted a "kid show", but there was no way I was popping him in front of the TV that early in the morning.

10:15: Got dressed and played make-believe. Johnny the Tractor did some work and then Cole became a ghost pirate.

11:00: Played outside. Sandbox, playset, whatever. No one to decide for him!

12:00: Got ready for lunch. Watched Mom cut the peanut butter and jelly sandwich into the wrong shaped pieces, threw a huge hissy fit and went to bed.

12:05-3:15: Napped.

3:20: Had a snack with Liam.

All in all, I think this was a pretty good day. (One huge tantrum is fantastic compared to some days.)

Cole's Big Day

Cole is now officially a pre-schooler. (Jeff is going to get so much done with his six free hours per week!) We have never had any worries about separation anxiety with Cole, but I was a little disappointed in the drop-off experience today. We took the obligatory picture (he, grudgingly) and went in to class. He dropped off his bag and coat, got his name tag, and was off. No "bye, Mom". No "love you, Mom". Not even a hug! Oh, well.

After school, he waited in line for the bus like all the other kids (even though he doesn't actually ride the bus). His teachers said, "Look who's here." Cole looked at them, looked at the bus, looked at the other kids, and could not have cared less about Jeff. When asked if he liked school, he "vigorously nodded," according to Jeff.

This evening, he told me that he went to gym. They bounced balls and Mister Terry had a black whistle and when she blew it they put the balls away. He told me they had doughnuts and milk for a snack and that he had a great time. I think that's a successful first day.

He's lovin' it

Liam continues to love school, particularly the books they're reading and the projects they get to do. (I think he also really enjoyed hot lunch today, since he barely ate supper.) He's very good about telling me what his drawings are. When I asked about this one, though, I was a little concerned. Do we eat at McDonald's too much?

First Day

Jeff & Cole walked Liam home from school today and called me on the way. Liam said, "School was really great. We did more projects than ever." It was very cute.

After I got home, I asked him to tell me about his day. He wasn't terribly forthcoming, so I tried to coax it out of him. He said that they read some books, but they were a secret, as was the identity of the book they'll be reading tomorrow. He told me he ate both a cold lunch and a hot lunch, which I doubt is true. He did tell me that he got to wash the table after snack, because he was the helper today, and that he loved to go to music.

Ready for School

Liam is so excited to be starting kindergarten. He wanted to pack his backpack weeks ago, but we made him wait until yesterday. Today, he had his conference with his teacher, and they're going to get along great. He brought all his stuff, found his locker and his desk, had his picture taken (we'll be doing another photo shoot elsewhere), and got even more excited. Honestly, I'm not sure he'll sleep at all tonight.

I noticed that I haven't blogged since July. I'm going to follow Dobo's example and start blogging more than I did this summer, hopefully.

Tooth be gone

Last month, while camping with the extended family, Liam complained of his tooth being loose after eating corn on the cob. I felt it and nothing moved, so we told him he was fine.

The same thing happened again this month, also while camping and after eating corn on the cob. This time, though, his tooth really was loose. He's only just barely 5! He kept playing with it, of course, but I figured we had a little time. He apparently got sick of it, because last night he grabbed hold of it and pulled it out himself.

This morning, he looked at the glass where we put his tooth last night and said "The tooth fairy really really came!" I am so glad he's excited. This picture isn't great, but he was about to fall asleep and it's hard to show the missing tooth.

Bedtime

Our boys have never had a great bedtime ritual. When we were in Alaska, it worsened substantially. Since we've been back, though, I think we found our answer. Cole doesn't get a nap. He goes to bed first at 7 or so, and then Liam goes to bed after Cole's asleep.

This evening, Jeff and the boys were talking about the routing. Jeff told Cole to play for a little bit before going to bed. Cole asked, "I have to go to bed again?!" incredulously. He and Jeff then had a bit of an argument about whether or not that was true. He did, though, and fell asleep within 5 minutes. Yeah!

I've only got one more thing to learn

A couple months ago, Liam and I were talking about the things he'd need to learn before going off to kindergarten (1st day is 85 days away!). It wasn't a long list, but quite important. The first on his list was wiping after pooping. Yes, he should be able to do that, but he rarely wants to. I made him this afternoon and he immediately said the title sentence. There's no time like the present, so I sat him down to learn how to tie his shoes.

I'm not a great teacher, but he was pretty interested. He got the hang of doing the initial tie in just a couple tries. We then moved on to the looping part and he actually did that pretty well, too. He thinks he's ready now, but I suspect a few more practice sessions will be required. I'm just glad he's excited to learn. Of course, he may need to add a few things to his list.

Gymnast Liam

We decided to sign our boys up for "stuff" this summer. Cole is still too young for most things, but Liam is going to be busy. This week, he is going to gymnastics every morning for about an hour. He has been walking on balance beams of various heights, learning to tumble (somersaults and log rolls), doing a bear walk, and hanging on the high bar. Monday evening, he was still awake when we were getting ready for bed and he couldn't stop talking about what he had done. He wanted to show me everything and was even looking for a place in the house that he could use as a high bar. Fortunately, we got him back in bed before he found one.

Jeff's only gripe about Monday's session was that he brought my camera and not his good one. He rectified that today, so we have some really cute pictures of Liam on all the equipment. I think this might be something we continue in the fall, because he seems to love it.

a bird story

Jeff, Liam & Cole were out in the backyard today when Jeff noticed Cole and Sadie paying very close attention to something. When he walked over, he saw Cole pick up a bird by its leg or wing or something. (Not gently, the way we'd all hope our kids would.) Anyway, the bird tweeted at him and flapped its wings at him. Cole promptly dropped him and the bird flew away, fortunately.

The story, as told by Cole, has been developing throughout the day. He has told me at various times that it was a big bird, that it bit him, that he actually caught it. He told me at one point the bird should be in the dungeon.

I really wish I had a photo of that moment. Unfortunately, noone has developed a downloading process for actual memory!

'Tect my cereal

Cole has been very big into imperative sentences lately. I suppose that's typical for a 2-year-old, but he's come up with some good ones. "Stop, Liam" is frequent. Jeff & I have become quite certain that Liam isn't doing much of anything when we hear those two words. We'll never know for sure, of course. Cole also is fond of "By myself." Yesterday, I was helping him get dressed before Jonah's birthday party and we came to his socks. He told me he wanted to do it and then sat down with the socks. He looked at me, looked at the socks and said "Not my job. Your job." Okay then.

This morning, he was for all intents and purposes done with his cereal. I sat down next to his bowl to eat my own while he headed off to the bathroom. He looked back at me and said "'tect my cereal". (Sadie believes that all food left within her reach is fair game, so Liam frequently tells us to protect his food.) I was fairly certain Sadie wasn't interested in mushy Raisin Bran, but then Cole said what he really meant: "Don't eat my cereal, Mom."

Hi big birdie!

Our big adventure today was a trip to the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago. The boys had a great time seeing all the animals. We came up to the Andean condor enclosure and Cole stepped up to the fence and said "Hi big birdie." Unfortunately, big birdie didn't respond, not even by showing us his extraordinary wings. Oh, well. We at least got to see a baboon pee, dinosaurs roar, a polar bear splash in the water.

Water temples and stagelmites

This evening, Jeff was digging a spot for a new lilac. He had to move a bunch of rocks and then get at the dirt. Liam came over to see what he was doing and said, "Oh, you're digging down to the water temple. Look at how dark it is?" I didn't even know he knew what a water table was!

Later, after dinner, he started telling us about stagelmites. They are rocks that grow horizontally across caves. He told us that he's never been in a cave that had them, but he thought they might grow in the bat cave at Carlsbad Caverns. Cole agreed.

Mummy and mommy are kind of similar

Liam, Cole and I went to the library this morning in between hospital rounds, dental appointments and Cole's well child. They mostly wanted to play with the trains, but did finally decide to pick out books. Liam's choice was Franklin's Class Trip. At the end, Franklin isn't scared of a mummy because he has one at home. Liam didn't get it at first, but then told me "You know, mummy and mommy are kind of similar." How many 4-year-olds use "similar" correctly?

I want weeks and weeks more of preschool

Today was Liam's last day of preschool at Little Saints Preschool. He has spent two years there and has adored both of his teachers, Miss Terry and Miss Libby. He has learned to cut and count and write and do all sorts of amazing things. He met his best friend Anna there. So when I told him this morning to have a good day at preschool, he replied, "I'm not going to have a very good day." When asked why, he said he wanted "weeks and weeks more." I felt sad for him, but we know he'll love kindergarten and he'll still get to see many of his friends.

You'll never catch me

This morning, Jeff and I were slow to get out of bed. Liam and Cole had both climbed in, but Cole decided it was time to get down and crawled over the end. He said "You'll never catch me. Ha ha ha ha (with his cute little devil laugh)." The funnier thing was when Liam responded, "I don't know where he learned that." Oh, really. It couldn't be from his older brother, could it?

Quiet, Momma. I build.

We picked up Liam from preschool today and headed for Panera. On the way there, I was trying to read an article from Sports Illustrated to Jeff. I hadn't said three words when Cole said "Quiet, Momma. Quiet, Momma. I build." For a minute, any time I said anything, I was being too loud. It's okay for him to be loud, though!

Where engine?

We are 101 miles from home, thank goodness. We have been in the car for 5,421 miles so far. Occasionally, time has passed quickly (like while reading 4 books in 4 days). Other times, not so much. One of the activities has been listening to music from Jeff’s phone. Today, Cole started asking “where engine?” Engine wasn’t the right word. Indian wasn’t the right word, so he clarified “Engine Jones. After next.” Oh, right. Liam has frequently requested Indiana Jones music which is not, of course, Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra, but rather The Raiders March. So I am looking for this particular piece of music to make my boys happy. Perhaps it will also make them sleep. Twice, Liam has requested this and fallen asleep within 5 minutes. It would be great if they slept the rest of the way home!

PS: Cole was asleep before the end of the piece.

Hold tight

I don't think Jeff and I necessarily drive any faster than many of the rest of the people on the road, but we've been on some nasty windy roads this week. The boys learned long ago to say "wa-aa-aa-aaah" when one of us drives around a curve any too fast. Now Cole has started grabbing hold of the seat belt and saying "hold tight." Maybe I'll pull out this post when he starts driving 13 1/2 years from now.

Pepper doctor juice

(30 April 2009) We are currently in “go mode.” We had planned to stay in Texas until Saturday and then drive straight through to home. Of course, at the time, we weren’t planning on the potential swine flu pandemic starting last week in Mexico nor of it being 99o right now. So, we’re heading home. Jeff & I tend to sugar up while driving and so right now we have Dr Pepper, Aquafina and Sugar Babies at hand, with sugar worms for the boys as a reward. Cole starting saying “pepper doctor juice” with an occasional please, while smiling that cute smile of his. After he said it five times or something, we finally figured out what he was talking about. Not that he’s getting any of it!

Too sunny

(29 April 2009) Cole seems more sensitive to light than Liam. Maybe it’s because he’s blond. Maybe it’s because he’s a little odd (like me). For whatever reason, he doesn’t like bright lights and will often say “too sunny” or “too bright” and cover his eyes. I wouldn’t have been that surprised when he said it this morning—“Too sunny. I cover my eyes.”—except we were 755 feet below the earth’s surface in the Big Room at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Silly boy!

It's not the right temperature

Liam told us a few days ago that he wanted to see the Grand Canyon. Jeff and I have already been there and weren’t planning to go this trip, but we figured what the heck. We were going to be in Flagstaff anyway.

It was 98 two days ago in Scottsdale, so we’re thinking summer. We arrived at Grand Canyon this afternoon after slaloming down the highway (it’s a bit windy). After discovering the temperature was 50, we decided to dig out the jeans, sweatshirts and windbreakers. We finally found a place to park at Yavapai Point and Liam and I hopped out to have a potty break while Jeff finished with Cole. On the way back to the car, Liam told me, “I don’t want to see the Grand Canyon. It’s the wrong temperature.” Fortunately, we convinced him otherwise and led him to the overlook. His primary word was “Cool” and then he was ready to be done. Yup, he’s definitely an Engelhardt. 100 miles out of the way (one way) and he’s good with spending 15 minutes.

But we don't have God's phone number

(23 April 2009) It is hot right now in Scottsdale. Jeff and the boys ran around doing a few things before lunch and when I met up with them, Liam and Cole were terribly flushed. We at lunch at Scottsdale BBQ Company (yummy) and they cooled off a bit with their lemonade, but Liam was still not happy about the weather. He told me God needed to not make another hot day. And then he pointed out that we didn't have his phone number. That prompted a discussion about what God could or could not do and how he should be contacted.

Do you have chocolate milk?

Liam loves Cracker Barrel (CB), more than any other restaurant except perhaps Panera. Since I had a (fabulous) lecture over lunch today, Jeff decided to take the boys to a nearby CB. The waitress stopped by as Jeff was getting Cole strapped into his high chair. Liam, who is one of the least shy 4 year olds I know, asked if they had chocolate milk. She said yes, to which he replied, "I love chocolate milk." She asked if he wanted some and he replied yes. He then said, "I want the little shrimp." She apparently then turned to Jeff who hadn't even had a chance to look at the menu. Pretty soon I guess Liam will be ordering for all of us!

Beep Beep On the way

(21 April 2009) Cole was a pill today for Jeff, but seems to sense that he needs to be good for the trip. We had barely pulled out of the driveway when he started saying beep beep on the way over and over. So it's not just Jeff and me who are excited.

Thank you, door

A little background: the person who built this house was not a good planner (or something). They had to expand the size of a wall because he forgot to put a spot for the furnace to vent. He also put the light switch for the garage light on the left side of the door, even though that's where the hinge is. Late last year, Jeff had the brilliant idea to put a motion-sensing light in the garage, which has been fabulous.

Anyway, Jeff & Cole went out to do a little shopping this morning when Liam was at preschool. Cole made it out the door first and said "Turn the light on." He took a few steps in which triggered the light. He then said "Thank you, door." What a polite boy.

Cole and Liam have also very much been enjoying having Grandpa Beecher around many evenings. Cole's big thing is wrapping himself tight around Grandpa's calf and telling him that he's stuck.

No, you are

Cole and Liam have been running around this evening, actually being really well behaved compared to what they were earlier. Cole has been reading Sleeping Beauty a lot with Jeff and walks around saying "old lady" and "taste it, my dear" in a really great old lady voice. He just came running out to me and said "old lady". I asked if he was an old lady and Liam responded, "No, you are." That's two out of the last three days!

I'm hiding

The boys have had a good day, I think. They woke much earlier than I would've liked (6:30). We had lunch at Lorrin & Linda's so the boys could play with Olivia. Neither one really wanted to leave. They came home and Jeff let Liam watch a movie while Cole napped (and then I let him watch a second). They played with moon sand, too, but finally had to come in for supper. Cole decided he wanted to play hide and seek. Obviously, he hasn't quite figured out what a good hiding spot is.

Like 16 or 30

We told Liam today at dinner that we're going to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend. The Field Museum has a pirate exhibit, and he loves pirates. Well, maybe not as much recently since the US Navy is having to deal with some. But anyway, he was talking about pirates and dinosaurs and what else he might see there. He told us "They (not sure if it was pirates or dinosaurs at this point) might be old. Like 16. Or 30." I didn't actually feel old until now!

Ladybugs scare me

We are having issues with asian ladybeetles, although not nearly as bad as some years. (Only hundreds, not thousands in the house). Last week, Cole decided to start scrunching them, although he blames Liam. This afternoon, Liam told Jeff after coming down the slide that he had squished a bunch with his butt, but he was okay. While eating supper tonight, Cole announced, "Ladybugs scare me. I hide." Silly boys.

Don't aggravate the angry fart

Liam was a Storm Trooper today. He cut out the mask and the gloves and, of course, his hockey stick was a gun. In doing so, he made a complete mess of the craft room, but I guess that's not all that new. Usually, Jeff gets them to clean up a bit, but it didn't happen today.

The new #1 rule in our house is "Don't make Mom mad." Liam is very good at saying this when asked, but Jeff wants to teach him to say "Don't aggravate the matriarch." Liam's interpretation: "Don't aggravate the angry fart." I guess that's my new nickname.

Blue

This morning, Cole came in to hand me my faded yellow and white striped towel. He said "Pink towel" to which I responded, "Nope. What color is it?" His answers were then blue and green. I told him it was a yellow towel and asked him to say yellow. "Lellow," he said. "Say yellow." "Lellow." "Say yellow." "Blue."

When I grow up, I'm gonna be a rock star

While Cole has been napping, Liam has been playing Tonka Search & Rescue. He sang many, many songs to himself about the dangerous fire and what needed to be done. Jeff mentioned that I thought he was going to be a singer, but then asked if he was already a singer. Liam replied, "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a rock star. Rock stars sing."

The photo has nothing to do with being a rock star, except perhaps as inspiration for face paint. Liam went to a birthday party last night and received a blow pop, which made a huge mess when he ate it this afternoon.

Only Daddy read

I got home from work today and heard Cole asking "Read." I offered to read to him but he said, "Daddy read. Only Daddy read." Well, okay then. After Jeff read Arthur's Underpants to him, he went off to finish supper and then Cole wanted me to read. I asked if I was okay only if Daddy wasn't available, to which he replied "Yup". It's so nice to be loved.

Nice shot!

We recently rediscovered our Wii. Tonight, Liam and Jeff are golfing. Jeff hit a lovely shot, to which Cole exclaimed "Nice shot!" I wish I could do just audio, because it was really cute. The best part of the match, though? Liam is a lefty :)! We need to find him a new set of clubs.

Is Tiger real?

Liam has been very busy today making his piggy bank and filling it with "money" with which to buy toys in Alaska. He spent more time cutting and labeling money than creating the bank. After we explained that he'll need actual money, though, he emptied it aside from the real $2 from Grandpa and Grandma last weekend, and set it up on a shelf away from Cole's very interested hands.

After dinner, we sat down to watch the end of the Bay Hill Invitational. After Tiger made his birdie putt, I mentioned that he's a lot more fun to watch since becoming a dad and recovering from his knee surgery. In response, Liam asked, "Is Tiger real?"