The answer I got was astonishing

WARNING: Do not play the video below if you are easily grossed out.

I (Rob) was simply shooting video of Ridge last night. I sat him down to ask him a series of questions... I only asked Ridge one question before the... unexpected happened.

Rule Breaker Ridge

Ridge is a rule breaker. I know, I know, that's really hard to believe. Especially for me, since I woke up to his sweet voice coming out of the monitor this morning singing a very slow version of "Jesus Loves Me."

But alas, it is true. He is a genuine escape artist. He can be with me one minute & I can turn around to see him running around a corner. He gives me frequent "heart attacks" due to concern for his safety. He is found in restrooms, snack bars at t-ball fields, or hiding behind chairs.

At the last t-ball game, I thought I had him cornered in the dug out, but when I looked down, he was going down the bench "tasting" each of the players' water bottles.

His favorite rule to break is climbing into our football throw upstairs. He thinks it is his personal hammock. When his cousins were at our house, he convinced both of them to join him.

My little rascal, who is so full of life and mischief. Gotta love that little ham.

Muffins with Moms

Last week we had Muffins with Mom at Cobb & Charly's school. The teachers did such a great job of making all the moms feel special & loved by their children. I went Charly's class on Monday.

And all the stuff that Charly made me:

Here we are:

And here she is with her class singing to the mommies:

On Tuesday, I visited Cobb's classroom. Here's what he made:

My boy:

Cobb's teachers asked him some questions, most of which he got right. Here are some funny & cute ones. . .

How much does your mom weigh? 1 lb
What does your mom do that is funny? She tickles me
What is your mom's favorite TV show? High School Musical 3 because we have it!
What's your mom's favorite craft? Oh, (rolls eyes) her computer!
What does your mom do best? She makes cookies
What's your mom's favorite thing to do? . . .making cookies!
What makes your mom cry? When she gets in trouble sometimes when she yells at me***
What makes her laugh? My mom is ticklish
How do you know your mom loves you? Because of God. . . God made her heart!

***I think the source of this answer can be found in the post "Mommy You Mess Up A Lot." Click here to see it!

I am so privileged to be the mom of my three kids. They are such a treasure and a joy. I am truly blessed.

Babysitting Mia

Last night we had the privilege of babysitting Baby Mia. Ridge went to sleep early so it was just the big kids and Mia. They loved it.


At one point they brought her so many toys that she just wasn't sure what to do with all of them. They actually fought over Mia's attention so we had to give the poor girl a break from the big kids.

Cobb Plays Catcher

I think he enjoyed playing catcher.



But the pitcher's mound is is favorite b/c that's where all the balls go.


Watching the result of his throw:

Playing with sand during the down time.


Running into home plate; tongue out in concentration:



Ridge is a huge fan. He always says, "Go Cobbie Go! You can do it!"


Bella & Charly are also big fans of their brothers.

But occasionally they'll be distracted with other things. Here's Charly sliding down a hill in a box during a game. . .

Swimming, Turtles & Ice Cream

Weird title, I know. Just bare with me & you'll understand.

We just finished our first week of swimming lessons at Metroplex near our house.

We are taking M-Th with Cobb & Charly's friends Keeten & Bella Levin. Here's Charly & Bella after a successful first day:

Both Cobb & Charly are doing great, but there is a little fear factor going on with Charly. She had a great time on day 1 and 2, but yesterday she got a little scared & shed tears. Last night she came down after she was supposed to be asleep. She started crying telling her daddy that she didn't want to go to swimming again. But alas, her parents are mean, and we made her face her fear by going back again today. It was much better & we planned to go to Paciugo for ice cream to celebrate her bravery.

First we had to drop Bennett of at his house, and on the way, we almost ran over a little turtle! And yes, I stopped the car, got out, and put the turtle in our car. Who can pass up on letting the kids play with a turtle?? He was cute, and we named him Fred.

At Bennett's house, we tried to feed the turtle Spinach. . .

Then we all piled into the car (Stacey, Dayton, Bennett, Cobb, Charly, Ridge, & me) to take Fred back to his home. . .the pond. The kids enjoyed watching the turtle & talking to it.

Here Ridge & Charly are trying to convince Fred to go into the pond. . .

Finally, he went the other way & hid in some bushes. It was a great opportunity to talk about God's creativity. God created this little turtle with a shell to protect himself. Cobb pointed out that God gave us a house to protect us. And we talked about the markings on the shell and how it blends into the dirt so that the turtle can hide from things that might want to hurt it. It was a fun and unexpected adventure.

But the ice cream was not forgotten! After cleaning out hands with wipes & santizer, we headed to Paciugo. Ridge got Mint Chocolate Chip:

Charly got Vanilla & Chocolate:

And Cobb indulged with Chocolate & Rasberry. Charly told him his face was red. He kept wiping his face & asking if he had gotten the red off. I finally had to take this picture to show him what his face looked like.

Fun times.

CARS

Ridge's favorite things to play with are cars. His favorite movie is "Cars," and his favorite thing to talk about is cars. We really can't go anywhere without them, even to Cobb's baseball games.

So when the Disney Matinee Club had "Cars" showing in the theater two weeks ago, we just had to go. Despite a unkind man in the popcorn line, we had a really good time. Sweet Charly agreed to watch the movie again, and Ridge's reaction was well worth it.

She eventually got bored though and started taking pictures of the screen. Here's one. . .

Mother's Day Video

Igniter Media's new Mother's Day Video. Love it.

Bunnies & Flowers

Charly, Ridge, R's friend Bennett, and I pulled up to our house a little while ago, and this is how our conversation went:

Me: Oh no, the bunnies ate my flowers.
Bennett: Why?
Charly: Then I hate bunnies.
Ridge: I go get them (in a very serious & stern tone)
Me: Oh we don't want to hate the bunnies. They don't know they aren't supposed to eat the flowers.
Charly: But they ate the flowers, and so I'm mad
Me: We'll have to figure out how to stop them.
Ridge: Yeah! I go get them!
Charly: You can't Ridge. Bunnies are faster than you.

We get out of the car & Ridge runs to the front yard and starts looking around. Bennett is close behind him.

Me: Ridge, it's raining babe! Come back in!
Ridge: I need find bunnies! They in trouble!
Bennett: Yeah!