Busy day...

We had a busy day today, I got to see my friends Michelle, her kids and Amy. Here are a few pictures of our day. We are leaving town tomorrow for vacation. I will try and update a few times while we are away if I can find wireless, the updates won't be as regular as they usually are. Stay tuned in to learn more about our time away...

Just Truckin' Along

I really do have a lot of other stuff I should be doing right now so I need to keep this short. I think I officially LOVE the jeep more then the boys do. It was given to us but it didn't work, so Nick ordered a few parts and got it running. Geremu can't reach the peddle so he can't drive it (this is a good thing, he would be a maniac behind the wheel) and Cullen just doesn't want to. So that leaves me as the all-time driver, a job I really enjoy! Here are some pictures of the boys and me truckin' along.
Yesterday I went out with my friend Katie. We went down to the outlet mall then out to eat, it was a nice little break for me. Afterwards, I stopped by my friend Amy's house to catch-up with her and today we went to the farmers market together. This evening the boys and me went to Katie and Billy's house for dinner. I wish I would have brought my camera, Cullen, Geremu and Carson are three peas in a pod.

Nick's Dad and his wife came to visit for the night on Friday, then Nick went north Saturday with them. His brother Dan also made the trek up for their outing.
This is Cullen after he stayed in his room for an hour reading because, "I not tired".

Cullen the Big Brother

Cullen has really stepped up to the challenge of becoming a big brother. He has grown up so much in the past few weeks, I can't believe how much he has changed. Cullen and Geremu have learned so much from each other that I can't believe they have only known each other 6 weeks.

How did Cullen end up with so much pudding on his face and clothes? Oh, this explains it...
Cullen blowing the debris off the deck from the storm.
After Cullen watched Nick and me rollerblading he wanted to try it, so I let him try mine.
Just hangin' around.

Stylin' Safety Glasses

Just hung around the house today, we did get out and about in the neighborhood but Cullen never actually got out of his pj's. He would wear them everyday all day if I let him (this was the first time I let him) because they are his "favorite". The boys went on a bug hunt today, they LOVE safety glasses as much as their mother and father do:)

Geremu wore his a bit off center (for 45 minutes) but it didn't seem to bother him.
Notice how Geremu's hands are on my butt? When we bike if his hands aren't on my butt then he sits back and kicks his feet up and rests them on my butt- yikes!
Does anyone know where I can get a set of chains for these wheels and a plow for the front of this thing? I want to be prepared when the snow starts a flying! Cullen does not like to ride in the jeep he only likes to chase it around the yard.
Cullen yells, "he-haw" while Geremu, "moo's" while riding on Nick's back.
A stormed came through the area this evening, we sat on the porch and watched it until the wind started blowing so hard that the rain was coming onto the porch. Here are some pictures from after the storm, the hail looked like snow in the yard.

To Market... Home Again, Home Again...

Today we came home from Granny and Pop's house. The kids had a great time during our stay, Geremu did well on his first road trip. Here are some pictures of Granny (my mother) spraying the kids down with the hose. This has sort of become an after dinner summer tradition. Mom makes us go run around outside. After the dishes are done then she comes out and sprays everyone (even the neighbor) down with the hose. The night ends with clean and tired kids. Geremu on the sidelines helping Granny!
Today when we got home I introduced Geremu to water balloons.
I couldn't seem to fill them fast enough.

More Lovin' for Granny Bird

Well Geremu still can't get enough of Granny Bird (this picture was taken at about 7:30am). We spent part of the morning running to pick a few things up for the bathroom my parents are redoing. Then just hung around the house playing with the new sprinkler (Mt. Tiki Soki)...

and the tent. Cullen begged me tonight to sleep outside with him in the tent, if it was bigger then 4'x4' I would consider it.

The boys helped Pop move the old bath tub/shower out of the house.

Geremu eating his first ice cream cone, he doesn't like ice cream so it really is just the cone.

The neighbor Rachel reading a story to Geremu.

First Road Trip

Yesterday we went to court and adopted Geremu in the US. When we first entered the court room Cullen looked at me and said, "Is dis a church?" Geremu went running to the front of the court room with Cullen following. Nick was able to snag Geremu before any damage was done but Cullen got a hold of a microphone in the front of the court room (witness stand) and started yelling into it- and it echoed! Here is a picture of Cullen getting his butt dragged down from the witness stand (he doesn't seem to feel bad about the incident).After we finished up at the court house we went to the park to play before heading to my parents house in La Crosse. Our friend's, Billy and Katie were in La Crosse for the week so we got to spend a little bit of time with them, here is a chase scene from the park today. This afternoon the boys played with play-dough during the rain storm.

Geremu was busy watching and laughing while Granny-bird teased him.Yesterday my Mom didn't think Geremu liked her, today he wouldn't leave her alone. He started the day by crawling into her robe (while she was in it), then in the afternoon he had progressed to lifting up her shirt to put his head under it, etc... All day he was attached to my Mom's leg, he even tried sucking on one of her toes (yuck). I just have to smile because he usually does this to me all day long.

The Pickle

Cullen's idea of funny these days is to close his eyes when I am going to take his picture. This isn't really a new idea, he was doing this when Nicole came to our house to take pictures of our family too. Don't let the pictures fool you people, he isn't blinking- his eyes are just shut. When he first started doing this is made me mad because frankly, there isn't much I can do to get him to open his eyes. But now that I have a lot of pictures of him with is eyes closed I'm starting to think it's down right funny (I'm not going to tell him this). But someday when he looks back there is going to be this month or so period in his life where he is smiling in all of his pictures but his eyes are shut.

Here is Cullen posing with a pickle he just "caught".

Now here Cullen is determined to keep his eyes closed despite the fact that he is now choking on the pickle. (I can assure you he is alive and well.)

On a completely different note, Geremu LOVES to be pegged off with the hose. He runs screaming and laughing to hide every time he is hit but he always comes back for more. Here he is "thinking" he is safe in the garage:)

Water Table

Yesterday marked 4-weeks since Geremu's arrival home and the time has just flown by. It is so fun watching him learn so much, so quickly (it's also amazing how much he has grown). Our days have mostly been filled with playing outside. Today was our weekly trip to the farmers market- yummy (this was the first week I saw raspberries and blueberries).

Today Nick spent a little time out back trying to teach the boys how to cast their fishing poles. It was actually more fun to watch Nick cast and reel the fake fish in while the boys ran after the fish trying to catch it.

We have a sand and water table that the boys LOVE to play in. The problem is that Geremu really likes to put the sand in his hair on purpose to be funny. Since he has such curly hair it doesn't come out very easily, so I have been finding the sand in random places throughout the house. I decided to get rid of the sand and just make it just a water table. They spent the afternoon playing in the mud and water table. Yep, they went around the yard (while I was obviously not playing close attention to them) and brought buckets full of dirt and weeds to the table to add to the water. I really didn't realize what they were doing until Cullen told me that Geremu and him were "giving the worms a bath". Did I mention they had a few worms and night crawlers in the water too?

I'm pretty sure I won't be finding sand in the house any more.
The boys soaking in the tub after a hard days work.

We had family pictures taken last week, if you would like to preview some of the pictures here is a link to check them out: http://www.nuphoto.blogspot.com/. We LOVED the photographer and highly recommend her if you live in the area. She was excellent and patient with young children.

This has sort of been a busy week for us. I'm teaching a 1-week summer school class with my good friend Billy (you might remember him from his short shorts picture) but today Nick taught for me and he is going to again tomorrow morning. The boys and I enjoyed our morning at the library then played outside for a bit. Amy stopped in to see how the boys were doing and brought a picture book for Geremu to look at (he loves it). Tonight we went to the YMCA to play in the play area, splash pad and pool with our friends Billy, Katie and their kids. The boys had a great time and crashed as soon as we got home.

I haven't been good about taking pictures the past few days, this is all I've got.

Here is me with the boys at our backyard campfire

Cullen practicing his future profession.

Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the past few days for your viewing pleasure.

Cullen enjoying his 4th of July with his cousins up north. They watched the fireworks and spent some time out on the lake.
Where is Geremu's? Oh, eating.
I smell trouble...
"Mom, I'm amazing!" Where does he get his confidence?

Scoot over bacon there is something leaner.

Rub-a-dub-dub two boys in a bucket.