Walk the plank!

We went for a walk a couple of days ago and the little guy found a stick.
In his three year old mind, it was a great sword!
This gorgeous little face was the face of bad scalawag!
A sword fight broke out!

Pirate peg leg Lincoln, claimed victory!

The mean boy is THREE!!!

My baby is three!!! Where did the time go?? Today, we took two cookie cakes to school. Ethan was so bummed that he was not going to get any. When I got to school, I ran as quickly as I could to take Ethan down to celebrate with Link and his class. I learned that Link's teacher had already gotten Ethan and he was able to enjoy the cake with Link. They were finished partying, so Ethan went back to his class. So, E and I went down to pick Link up and boy was he MAD!!! He was sitting in his teacher's lap pouting because Ethan left him! When I told him we were going to open presents, he cheered right up!This was MY favorite gift! I found a handmade pirate blanket on etsy.com!
Ethan was thrilled that Granny had gotten him a gift, too!
Granny and Papa John got Lincoln Toy Story toys and he loved them. He loved Buzz!
Ethan's pirate gift to Link was his favorite!
He wanted the "pirate stuff" on right away!
He even used his sword to open the rest of the gifts.

We need to work on blowing the candles out before the party on Saturday. I don't think the guests will want spit on their cake!

Big boy buzz cut

Before:After:

I took the first picture this morning because Link was in absolute heaven with his new Hi-ho men shirt! Every single person he ran into today he told about his shirt!
I took them to get their hair cut after work. I asked for Link's hair to be shorter and boy did she deliver! I love it!!!

The stars aligned for me this morning. The boys got dressed all by themselves. They both got their shoes on. I was so excited that we had so much time I got the tripod out for pictures. We took some great pictures. Then, we were late for church! HA!

Family Favorite?

I found a recipe for honey chicken teriyaki on Foodnetwork.com under the heading Family Favorite! Lincoln definitely agreed that the chicken was a favorite. He gobbled it and his rice right up. We bargained for the brocoli. He ate it with the promise of some swedish fish!
Ethan suddenly acquired a stomach ache the minute that the plate hit the table. I quickly grabbed my jacket and shoes and told him to run to the car so we could head to the Emergency Room. For some odd reason, the ache started to go away. He ate every bite and told me it was ok. I guess they should change the heading to Most of the Family's Favorite.
For those of you who are concerned about Ethan's stomach ache....it was so much better after dinner he had time to jump around playing Wii.

Rest

The boys were playing in the bathtub tonight.
Ethan: Mom, I want to get out now.
Me: Why?
Ethan: I don't want water to get in my nose.
Me: Why would you get water in your nose?
Ethan: I need some rest and if I lay down in the bathtub I will get water in my nose. Can't I just get out and lay down in your bed!!!
Me: OF COURSE!!

Lincoln: Well, I don't want to get out!
Me: Why?
Lincoln: These pirates in this bathtub need me!!!
Me: Well, fine! Stay in!

I can taste it!

Nate's deployment is almost over. I think we have three to four weeks left. There are so many signs that he's coming home soon. Marilyn is finishing up her last visit while he is gone. The weather is getting warmer. Link's b/day is next week! I hate to rush time.....but hurry up already!!!!

Reinforcement

I am so thankful that reinforcement has arrivedbecause the children think I am the enemy. They are trying to take me out!

Decisions

Overheard while they were in the bathtub.

Ethan: I have a great idea. Let's play a game I made up.
Lincoln: No, I don't want to.
Ethan: No one likes my decisions.
Lincoln: Nope.
Ethan: When people don't do what I say, they are not listening.
Lincoln: Nope. I not listening.
Ethan: When you don't play my game, you are not doing what I say.
Lincoln: Nope. I not listening to you.
Ethan: Fine. If you are not going to play my game, then you are just being mean.
Lincoln smiles
Lincoln: YES. I a mean, mean boy!

For some odd reason, that boy LOVES to be the bad guy, the mean pirate, and the mean boy! It's so bizarre!

See you tomorrow, girl

We have a deck that is sandwiched between our two neighbors decks. They are so close you can almost touch them. There is a really cute five year old girl that lives next door to us. This past week, she has been out on her deck when we have been eating dinner/lunch on our deck. The boys have been making googly eyes and crazy noises at her every night and she just stares back....but they will NOT talk to her. It's so weird. Yesterday, I overheard Ethan ask Link if he thought she was cute. This afternoon, Ethan kept going to the window to see if she was out. At dinner time, the boys went out to the deck and she was there. I took their plates out and came in for mine. When I came back out, I heard them FINALLY talking to her. They talked to her all night! They also made lots of googly eyes and funny noises, but they actually talked to her! When we went in, Ethan yelled, "See you tomorrow, girl!"

The pink tree

There are two PINK trees when you come in and out of our neighborhood. Ethan has been asking to down to them and take pictures! (I raised that boy right!) We made it down this afternoon. Ethan actually posed this picture!
This tree is really pink!
He is so cute!

You would never know that he is really sick! He has a terrible cold!

Zing Zang Flop

Today was the day we have been waiting for! We were going to the Ringling Bros. Circus, Zing Zang Zoom. We were so excited! Notice I said..."were." It started last night when I put Link down. He cried, and cried, and cried. He woke up three or four times. I thought he was too excited to sleep and then I realized he was getting sick. Then this morning, Ethan woke up on the wrong side of the bed. He was in the foulest mood I have I seen in a while. I got everyone ready and drove all the way to Baltimore for the circus. When we got into the arena, I realized I left my camera in the car. In hindsight....it was not a bad thing. The boys were miserble. Lincoln layed on me and cried. Ethan layed on me and whined. We actually left early because I couldn't take them anymore! I think that actually overbooked my children this week! We are staying in the weekend! We may not even get out of our jammies tomorrow!! The weather was so nice this week. We ate on the deck twice. Maybe we can do that again this weekend!

A new kind of workout

It's HOT! Today, it got up to 95. I've had the air on for a few weeks, but it's still HOT! I suggested to the boys that we go for a walk/bike ride to get some air!
There is a MASSIVE hill down the street and there is no way that E could ride his bike down or up the hill. He promised me he could push his bike down the hill....and he actually did!
He rode his bike on the path and I pushed Link in the stroller. We got out at the creek and the boys threw rocks.
Lincoln decided he wanted "fum excise." So, he and E had a little race. Lincoln kept running and E got back on his bike.

When we got back to the big hill, E pushed the empty stroller. Link said, "I got a great idea. I ride E-hans bike up the hill." Which actually meant....Mommy, I am going to sit on the bike and you are going to push me all the way up the hill. Talk about a workout!!!

more video from the Easter Egg Roll

2010 White House Easter Egg Roll

We finally made it to the Easter Egg Roll. I feel like it's been weeks that we have been talking about it! We were up at 4:30 this morning getting ready! We made it to the White House at 7:00 am, and sat in line with these pretty people anxiously waiting to get in!
The fellas were not too happy to have to wait in line. I had bad news for them. There were going to be lines all day! It took awhile for them to get over it!There were the nicest people volunteering at the event. It seemed there was always someone near by asking if you wanted your picture taken.
The boys mood took a drastic turn for the better when they saw the football station. Yes, there was a line, but it wasn't too bad. Ethan watched the entire time we were in line to figure out just how to play. He got it down perfectly.
The funniest part was when Lincoln got ready. Three girls came over to help and they screamed and cheered him on. I have to say he was stinking cute today!
There were so many characters walking around. Ethan yelled when he saw Curious George. He ran over as fast as he could for me to get his picture. After I snapped the picture, I realized he was injured and was going to First Aid. I don't think Ethan figured it out though! :)
This was one of my favorite pictures of the day!
We moved over to the Egg Roll station after football. The boys really didn't want to do this. (Because they didn't know what it was). The line was really long, but curved right near the white house. The President and his family waited until the 11:00 group to come out and say hello. I don't blame them for not popping out when we were there....it was EARLY!
We got this close!!
Once they figured out what to do they were super excited!
Here's a little video of it.
Once we finished the egg roll, they asked to do it again.....until I reminded them of the line! :) We walked down the hill and I heard my best friends from Glee singing!! I watched a few minutes and the boys chased each other around a huge old tree....which I can assure you was there when the White House was built!
They wanted to move on to something "fun." So, I said goodbye to my Glee friends and we went to play baseball. This was hilarious! Lincoln wanted to be a big boy and throw the REAL baseball and this poor girl was terrified. She kept trying to give him the soft balls, but he would not have it!
Ethan threw all the balls and did a great job.
The next few stations were an obstacle course, soccer, and golf. The kids loved all the sporty activities.
Linco was fading fast on me. I knew we better end on a high note. So, we went back to football and tried the other side of the field.
Once again, Lincoln was a hit and the girls came to help him again.
The boys ran to the finish line and we were FINISHED! It was great that there was so much activity and movement, but it also wore my kiddos out!! Lincoln wanted me to carry him all the way back to the metro. I may not have to workout all week! HA! We had an amazing time! Next time, we want Daddy to go with us!