working with auntie

first of all, let it be known that brad has been gone just over 24 hours.  okay so it has been exactly 30 hours since brad left on his golf trip.  because i am counting and i am bad at being without him.  by bad i mean horrible, terrible, no good.  for all the times he thinks i am joking or kidding him when i tell him he is my superhero, the times without him prove that he is my hero.  he is my rock, he is my perspective when things are crazy but just fine.  he is my teammate, my coach and my cocaptain of parenting.  i am the first to admit that i am awfully dependent on the man, but i cant help it.  he is awesome.

but he is gone right now and we have to move forward.  so, last night, we did the only thing we could to assuage our remorse at missing daddy.  we visited beans at work. 



i navigated the veen down the streets of grand rapids to the sounds of my adorables demanding when we would arrive.  and, after a lengthy 45 minutes, we pulled into ameritemp.  upon arrival, maxer leapt out of the veen and immediately began peering in windows in hopes of spying his auntie.  bear bear joined in soon after.  ayla jo followed suit.  all their spying paid off as they spotted her sitting at her desk gesturing for us all to come on in.

lucky for us, beans was not the only one awaiting our arrival.  her whole office greeted us in the lobby.  what a welcome.  i almost signed up all three babes for temp work right then and there. 

the boys proudly reported their names, and baby blue repeated weston instead of saying her own because she was just a bit overwhelmed with all the adoration coming from the office girls.  the next moment, the boys started hauling things out of the backpacks they had packed with snacks and toys for the trip. 

the very first offering max whipped out to show and tell was a recorder.  brad's old school recorder from holland christian music class in middle school.  for real.  i died laughing in an ecouraging way.  he promptly sets said instrument to his lips and plays an original tune much to the delight of all present.  i fled the scene as cupcake suddenly decided she needed something to show auntie beans to.  and it was in the veen.


so i rushed back inside with my daughter's baby, whom she named ayla, and she showed all the ladies and they all were very excited.  bear, not to be left out of this crazy show and tell promptly pops a squat in the middle of the lobby and opens his backpack, which is oozing a reddish liquid, and begins shoveling combos into his mouth.  not to worry, he offered some to all present.




auntie beans took the snack break as an opportunity to give us a tour of the rest of the office.  the boys were drawn (pun intended) like a magnet to the whiteboard where they colored while trying not to erase all the important details already written on the board.  i seized those moments to actually pay attention to the tour and overall bask in pride as my little sis is so professional and successful at life.





with our last stop being auntie beans desk, the children quickly wreaked havoc over all she had and then found a large exercise ball to throw at one another until the office seemed entirely to small to fit all the daring happenings.



 uncle austin arrived and away we went to partake of some fine dining. arby's. some beef and cheddar, chicken tender, curly fries, mountain dew and chocolate shakes were inhaled and we set off to meet our newest cousin/nephew zeus the dog.

with some new bones and lots of enthusiasm, we became fast friends with zeus.  so friendly were we that we took the whole party on walk to a park.  until it rained and we walked faster back to the house.  maxer took charge of zeus and went ahead and let go of his leash allowing zeus to intimately meet a neighbor puppy.  bad noises were happening, but no pup was injured.  though i am not sure how friendly the neighbors are going to be at the next block party...

side note:  things in grap are a little different than in overisel.  max was quite concerned about the shoe and shirt adorning the zoerhof's yard that belonged to neither auntie or uncle.

all in all, we wrapped the amazing night up with a little tangled on tv and a littel white trash soap opera in the back yard.

thank you auntie beans and uncle austin for the evening of fun, we love you.

timing is everything

the time is approaching quickly when maxer begins his full time school career.  we are beyond blessed to live in a community that offers such a high caliber of educaiton within a loving atmosphere. anticipation is high for kindergarten.  much of the excitement is due to the awesome kindercamp program offered by sandy view and the outdoor discovery center.  for the last three afternoons, maxer has been chillin with his kindergarten class and teacher while learning all about animals and outdoors and other science type things.  today he came home with his cute nametag and a bean he planted. 


max volunteered a couple of his new friends' names: grant, brazillio, and cadalla were some of the ones he rememebered... interesting.

maxwell got home just in the nick of time.

my first impressions of mrs. pitcher ellicited feelings of adoration and appreciation for the darling girl. 

while max is away, bear and i get to play. 



ayla jo went right down for a nap upon our return home from dropping the oldest off, leaving me and my middle.  o how i cherish this one on one time with weston!! 



sidenote, we had his birthday party on sunday and while attempting to coach him in graciously accepting his presents i asked him what he should say when he got a present.  he replied thank you.  then i asked him what he should say if he didnt really love the present, he thought it over and said "no thank you".


today he wheeled around our newly poured concrete on a two wheeler.  he rarely broke eye contact with me as he circled my chair showing off his new skills.  bear bear wanted to be sure i was watching.




he regaled me with his exceptional talent and entertaining stories about when he was a little boy.  these tales are hilarious and this time revolved around a series of bleeds (injuries) he received when he was a little boy.  so. precious.




baby blue's timing was a little off this weekend, but only for family pics.  otherwise she is absolutely fabulous. 

proof that tiger is still alive.  this is a new record for our kittens

the photo session started with cupcake completely refusing to do anything suggested to her in the way of looking at the camera of smiling.  in the end, i do think we got some great pics.  my sons cranked out smile after smile and my daughter eventually giggled thanks to her helpful aunties and grandma peek a booing from behind the photographer.  i also resorted to piling m&m's on aylaroo's blankie for some other shots. 

sister is watching daddy get home. 

the prinpress currently always tells us she loves us cherry much.  and she attacks the boys with hugs when they wake up in the morning.  presh

so here we are, at eve of brad's golf trip.  only weeks before max's kindergarten days begin. 4 days before bear reunites with his fiance emma on a week long camp trip.  6 days until my girl turns 2. 



it is an incredible place to be.

mondays

we gratefully absorbed another beautiful summer weekend, knowing few remain this year before school enters the equation.  mama worked at teermans, daddy worked with the chickens, and the adorables played hard enough for all of us. 


friday night i spent selling spatulas and postcards and candles at teermans while bradley bonded with the babes.  i can never get home soon enough on these nights, coming home to see those sometimes sleeping children is just the most delightful part of working.  this night i opened the door to maxer watching some storage wars on the couch.  i peeked in on daddy and daughter snuggling and fast asleep in ayla jo's room then tucked max in.  brad found his way upstairs and i asked where bear bear was.  well, he didnt really know. so then we quick pulled back the covers in our bed and found him safe and sound and sleeping hard in our bed.  apparently he put himself to bed. we joined him under the covers.


saturday necessitated a trip to aldi.  then some gardening.  then some boston market with the whole fam.  menards was the grand finale of our family date night.  the togetherness continued on sunday, a true sabbath, set apart from the rest of the week by the deliberate decision to do the day together and recognize the giver of our abundance.

which brings us to monday.  after the chillaxin of the weekend, monday's busyness hits me full force first thing in the morning as i frantically try to shower before the darlings wake up, then schlepping the nest upstairs (4 loads of sleeping bags and blankets), and quick feeding all the littles some breakfast while trying to get any sticky on my work clothes which are very very different than my home clothes and limited in number.

by the time i get to work i am exhausted.  by the time i get home and settled and cuddled brad stops home and leaves for golf league.  suddenly the night seems long.

this monday we seized the opportunity to head to the library, not a place brad enjoys. after checking out some new dvds and books, and paying for one that harv attacked, we headed to our other monday night treat: mcdonalds.  unfortunately, brad totally caught us.  i mean, he really knows what all goes down when he leaves, but it is like an unspoken reality that we indulge in the heavenly tastes of mcdonalds while he golfs.  this night he called me while i was in the drive through.  we both laughed and then i partook of a number one.

my almost two year old enjoying her mama's smoothie.  now the boys always ask for a smoothie, but want a mcflurry. 

we had not long to wait before brad joined the fun and we tucked one and all in for the night with a sigh of contentment and togetherness. we made it through another monday without a snare. bring on the rest of the week!