Puppet Show

Not only was the delivery of bunk beds an exciting time here in Kerper land - almost equally as cool was the arrival of the mattresses.  Because they came in a really. big. box.  And boxes are fun for little kids.

The boys asked me to turn it into a puppet show theater - or "Pubd show" as phonetically spelled by our master decorator Cole.

Cole worked dilligently on his puppet - a groundhog named "Groundhog."  The kid's got talent and originality.  Nice.

From there they fought over who would put on the show and who would watch, the puppet's real name (Cole insisted it was "Groundhog" but Ry wasn't buying it), whether the audience (me) should clap before or after the performance, etc. etc. 

So here's all of my hard work (I even gave it a door with a knob) quarantined in the kitchen because I couldn't stand to hear anymore fighting.

Family bonding at its finest. 



Seriously. When. Did. He. Grow. Up?

I know it sounds so cliche - but wasn't I just holding him in my arms as a little baby? Sigh...our family motto proves itself true time and time again: "The days are long and the years are short."

Here's my little peanut before his first day of 1st Grade.


Cole was not amused when we were waiting for the kids to get off the bus...I think he was in serious big brother withdrawl.


This theory was proved accurate when Charlie tried to kiss him and Cole recoiled like Cha's lips were coated in poison. This 1st grade thing is going to take getting used to (for everybody).


We started this awesome tradition last year (at least I hope it continues as a tradition) of holding an ice cream party in the alley when the kids get off the bus on their first day. It's a great treat to look forward to, and not a bad perk to throw leftovers into our freezer.


So just when I was getting used to all of this growing up...after the second day of school Ry hopped on his 2-wheeler and started cruising. Just like that. He might as well have his driver's license....double sigh...

Vacay Day 6

There's this awesome shop on the OC boardwalk (if only I remembered the name of it...) that's filled from top to bottom with pirate paraphanalia. Perfect booty for little boys that are about to go on a pirate adventure...


On the way to said adventure, there were people giving free pony rides in a parking lot. Random!


Onto the adventure. There's this company called Pirate Voyages that takes kids around the bay and does all sorts of piratey things with them. This is also known as heaven for the 4-6 year old crowd.

There were flags to be hoisted...


Treasure maps to be decoded...


And this weirdly masked guy named Pirate Pete floating in the water, leaving messages in bottles and shooting them with "seagull pee." Awesome.



After a day of pillaging on the high seas, we drove over to Wildwood to have a dip in Granny & Pop-Pop's pool and share a pizza on the boardwalk.


The evening ended with the sun setting over the ocean as we walked hand-in-hand with our family. The kids couldn't stop thanking us for everything we did for them, and we all happily laughed about the magical memories we shared that day.

Oh wait - strike that - in reality Cole had a tantrum on the boardwalk because his ice cream cone was melting too fast. Darn you reality.

Catching Up On Pics: Cole

Oh my sweet, sweet Coley. I swear this kid is having constant conversations with the devil and angel on each shoulder.

He's wrestling his brothers one minute then begging me to snuggle with him on the couch the next minute. Doing flips on the trampoline then saying both of his legs are broken. Eating a bowl of ice cream then asking for dessert. Putting on Crocs then saying he wants to wear sneakers.

I wonder where he gets all of that from?

Catching Up On Pics: Charlie

Chooch, Cha-Cha, Mooch-Magooch...he doesn't care what you call him as long as you're making him laugh. He's turning into a little jokester and always has that little twinkle of mischief behind his eyes.

Cha can usually be found digging in the refrigerator, pantry, or someone's plate (hence his nickname of Mooch). He still hasn't gotten all of his teeth so we're on double-teething duty this summer. Cheese!

Catching Up On Pics: Dean

Dean graduated from scooting to sprinting in what seemed like seconds. Granted, he's crawl-sprinting, but on the move nonetheless.

He can pull himself up to standing position and also excels at laughing, clapping, smiling, blowing raspberries, and teething.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day started out like any other…sitting on the side of the road with 15 kids ages 6 to 6 weeks waiting for the annual parade to start.


I said to the kids, “Anyone named ‘KERPER’ raise your flag!” When most of them waved Cole got completely confused. “Mommy, they all raised their flags when you said Kerper, but MY name is Kerper!”

I soon discovered that trying to explain the concept of cousins to a 4 year old is almost as challenging as wrangling 15 kids.

We went to the park for the after-parade festivities. It was hot. So hot. But better than the snow IMHO.

Everybody Loves Dean

Dean always rides in the front of the double stroller. He's quite the chick magnet, and people are always stopping us to comment on his smile or his cute little teeth.

The other day we were walking in town, and a random woman started to talk with him. As she was leaving, she said, "Oh he was just put on this earth to bring joy to people, wasn't he?"

Based off how much everyone loves my little Deanbo, I'd say she was right.

It turns out he's also the new reigning decision maker in the family - just another party trick to keep Mom entertained. This video is dark because it was shot in the car last night, but you'll still get the point.

Next time you're looking to get out of something, just call me up and I'll get Dean to tell you no.

Me And My Teddy Bear...Have No Worries Have No Cares

We went to a birthday party this weekend for our niece Maya. Ironically, we don't have any pictures of Maya, but trust me, she was cute.




Charlie plopped himself into the biggest bag he could find and was perfectly content in there for almost 10 minutes. I immediately ran out and bought a neverending supply of big party bags.


We went to the park after the party to shake out any excess energy. Dean was so happy to be on the swings...doesn't he look totally grown up?


On the walk home Ry and Cole kept running ahead. They would fall down at the intersection and hold each other while Ry pet Cole's head. He later explained that he liked the feel of Cole's hair (he had gotten a haircut that morning) and was pretending he was his teddy bear.

I know I've said this before...you just can't make this stuff up.