Deep Thoughts by Peter, age three

Here are a few of the recent funny ones....

"Mommy, when I get bigger will my voice change"?

"Mommy, I don't ever want to see a person get buried.... why can't they just bury the heart and brain and save the body"?

"Clara, why don't you like George Bush? he's the president"

"Mommy, how close is Baghdad? is it closer or farther from Yellowstone?"

"Mommy, when I get older after I'm an elephant dentist I'm going to be a a really strong wrestler and then when i get really strong and tough I want to be a Michigan football player because they really need our help"

"One touch with nature and the whole world is kin"

This Shakespeare quote was carved on a bench in a grove of trees at Redwood National Forest. I guess you could also state "One touch with nature and a family crammed in a mini van for miles on end still love each other and even more". We could not get enough National Parks! What started out as a day trip to Yellowstone and a weekend in Spokane visiting family turned into a great adventure of the pacific northwest. From mountains of Washington, Oregon coast, and northern California we were smitten by rustic log cabins, fragrant sea air and crashing waves, geothermal activity, sand dunes, scenic views, towering redwoods, and stars so bright you could practically grab them. I don't think my kids will ever have to experience Disneyland after this trip - it would be far too disappointing. What a joy it was to spend time together as a family connecting with something so real - nature.

Super DAD!!!!

Here's Paul carrying more than his share of the weight hiking around Redwood National Forest. He attracted just as much attention as the magestic trees themselves as several other hikers stopped to chat and chuckle about the commical site. We figured there was about 85 lbs. of additional weight hanging on him. That made Paul stop and think a moment how it great it would feel to shed a few of his own extra pounds. Paul sure loves our children though and is willing to work and sweat a little harder for them. Not only did he carry at least two kids on all of our hikes, Paul drove the entire 3,200 mile tour of the pacific northwest listening to the chronicles of Narnia, Wrinkle in Time, and Paddington Bear. Thanks Paul!

To Dye For!

The boys are all around hovering over this message and a bit nervous because they are taking the title very literally. Well these clothing items aren't really to die for but maybe worth losing a little bit of sleep for. We became quite obsessed and completed over a 100 items for family and friends. It is a messy task so most of the work was done after hours between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am so that no babies or toddlers would disrupt the process and then completely dye themselves and whatever they came into contact with as well. It felt like Christmas every time we opened and rinsed a new article of clothing......oh the joy of vibrant colors! If your life is feeling dull just slip on a tie dye t-shirt and awaken to a happy and carefree world. James has requested to do this again next spring. I don't know if I can wait that long. I think we may try batik in the meantime. FYI - I got the inspiration from Dharmingtradingco.com

Why I don't get around to posting

Maryanna keeps us all on our toes. Here she is showing off all sort of tricks. Doing pull ups on James and William's bunkbed. I don't know how she thought of that or where it came from. Certainly not by my example or the boys - she is the only one in this house doing pull ups. I'm just glad she happened to have her diaper on so I could take the picture. The breakfast shot of her feeding Clara is discrete enough to share. Maryanna likes to dress and undress quite often. She loves shoes and is wearing Xiao Xia's in the one picture with the stroller and mine in the other. I never know what to exspect when I check on her. Some mornings she is completely nude, others she'll have her pjs on inside out but her diaper off and sitting next to her in her crib. If I'm lucky I can catch a few crib acrobat stunts as pictured in this collage. Not pictured but just as note worthy are her episodes of dragging Clara across the floor, scooping up Archie's poop in the backyard, pouring her own Cheerios, eating out of the garbage, washing out her own potty chair, climbing out of her car seat, bullying her older brothers and pulling them down by their shirts, wearing Daddy's basketball shorts as a huge dress, putting her brother's boxers on her head, unraveling yards of dental floss throughout the house, pumping hand soap into my salad, decorating herself with a Sharpie.....I could go on and certainly will as this blog continues throughout the rest of the year. This just spells out why I may not seem as connected online anymore. I really can't turn my back for a minute. That is my excuse and I think it is a pretty good one. So sorry Marie'- you are really my only audiance here so I should also apologize for not sending you that really cute skirt pattern and posting pictures of it. Stay tuned.... I'll hopefully have that up soon and a pattern in the mail to you.

Fun Run! by James

At 7:30 am June 2 2007 we started the race. It was cold at the beginning when I was running so fast . Then I started to slow down . It took me 48 min 52 sec to finish the whole 3.2 miles. I was happy when I got popsicles after the race.

Thats my Life

Here's little MooMoo getting great practice putting her baby in the back of the car and then the stroller... and then back again. She missed those good ol' Philly days where our main form of transportation was simple- just walking.