how to do cousins camp.

1. game night is mandatory.

all ages included.

trent won apples to apples. fair and square.

2. good food.

chili bar.

and multiple trips to the ice cream barn & gelato store.

on the same day.

3.tire swinging.

4. trip to the playground.

we let trent play till he asked to go home.

I always wanted to do that.

5. presents. 

toy story book puppets for trent.

and little dresses and leggings for lila.

books for mom and dad.

6. crafts.

sorry uncle randy.

7. playing hooky from work.

8. laughing. (this should be no.1)

thanks to the best youtube has to offer. 

9. talking. lounging. loving.

the only thing we will change about next time, 

is to make it longer.

thanks heroes. and greats.

we love you.

all in a name.

we've had a great week.

the heroes came in to town.

heroes?

well, those are our cousins, rob & mandy.

when trent was born they were faced with what trent would call them.

not cousin. not aunt or uncle.

those just didn't seem to fit.

so they mutually decided on hero.

hero rob. hero mandy.

it couldn't be more fitting.

the above picture is my babies waiting by the window,

for the heroes to land.

more on cousins camp with the heroes to come...

happy friday.

happy friday.

for the girl.

who likes to growl. and laughs when she toots.

is always a little dirty.

and prefers donkeys and monster trucks to dolls.

who loves bacon and eggs.

and apparently dry dog food.

the most perfect little headband.

cute enough to convince anyone

she is quite the little lady.

the clubhouse.

trent has declared my our closet

he and lila's clubhouse.

clubhouse rules:

1. no clothes allowed.

except the ones hanging on hangers.

2. no parents allowed.

3. talk only about favorite colors.

and if you can't talk, laughing is an acceptable response.

burket style.

the half naked chef.

singing while his dinner cooks.

baby food.

reason #42 I love gelato.

gelato spoons just happen to be the perfect size

and the best colors

for teaching your baby to use a spoon.

happy monday.

life lessons from the zoo.

giraffes are big.

giraffes like 3 dollar crackers.

and 3 year old boys.

camels are hairy.

do not wear short shorts to ride a camel.

goats are crazy.

crazy babies like crazy goats.

back to school feast.

after drooling over nie nie's feasts for years.

I have been waiting to throw one of our own.

so last weekend we did just that.

the theme was sharing.

sharing. as in toys.

love. time. 

appreciation.

God's love.

we wanted a theme easy enough to apply.

and to remember.

the were decorations. candlelight.

and fancy crowns.

conversations. questions. and answers.

what-ifs. and way-to-gos.

the sweetest part was making one giant chocolate chip cookie

that we. yes, you guessed it. 

shared.

wednesday.

thursday used to be my favorite day.

all the excitement of the upcoming weekend together.

but now wednesdays are short days for kids. for teacher planning.

and that means wednesday is the new thursday.

and quite possibly my new favorite day.

happy wednesday.

first day of cool.

it went perfect.

he was so pumped he didn't nap.

we walked by the seawall and he went on and on.

about the rocket playground. the farm toy.

caroline. lauren. and his teacher.

and so it begins...

the night before preschool.

in less than twelve hours

my sweet trent

will officially be a preschooler.

our house is electric with excitement.

but I find myself sipping ginger ale

and having constant conversation with my God.

my prayer is that he will be a light in his school.

a joy. a good listener. a good friend.

and obey. 

that he will share. and laugh. 

and eat only the dairy free food I am sending along.

that he will remember to use the potty. and wash his hands.

that he will keep his clothes on.

and that he will find the awesomeness in learning. 

is that a word? if not. it should be.

and most of all. remember everything that happens. 

so he can share with me as soon as I get home.

labor day.

love him.

the following conversation took place at 6:06 pm today, on the couch.

(tom was showing trent pictures on his cell phone)

Trent: "Daddy do you have any pictures of God?"

Tom: “ Sorry bud, but I don’t have any.”

Trent: “ Maybe you could take some?”

Tom: “How do you think I could do that?”

Trent : “Maybe when you die you could take a picture of God.”

Tom: “ OK (laughs)”

Trent: “How are you going to get back?”

Tom: “ I don’t know bud, how am I going to get back?”

Trent: “probably an airplane”