Happy Birthday. And Grossness.

We had a joint birthday party for our youngest guys and Phil's friend from The Big Bug Show came out to wow the crowd.



I think that the kids both loved it and were horrified by it at the same time - as evidenced from this picture below.


Part of the show had the kids eating bugs - a few ate the larvae worms and Ry ate a chocolate-covered cricket. Um, ew.


Although she's dressed like a princess, she's eating a worm. Now that's my kind of princess.

My two-year-old chowing down on the cake (bug-free)...

And my almost-one-year-old living the dream in Icingville.

At the end of the day we asked our friends to take a family picture. I wouldn't say that we're in full compliance, but we're getting there.

Happy birthday to my youngest babies! P.S. Please stop growing up so fast.

13th Annual Outing

Every July the Kerpers gather up in beautiful (aka rustic) Northern PA for a family reunion (even though we pretty much see each other all the time anyway...it's just a good excuse to get away).

This year was the 13th annual "Kerper Outing" (named after the outhouse in the woods) and our first experience up there with the 4 kids. We had to stop about 2 hours into the 3 1/2 hour trip to run laps. Seriously.


When we arrived we realized that our cousins had set up a tent the size of our first floor at home (it had a bedroom). Our 5 person tent paled in comparison.


The first morning was dewy and cool - perfect conditions for going salamander hunting. The little critters were out and about and we saw tons of lizards and a few snakes too (ew).


Dean, on the other hand...not so into by the wildlife. Kids are so hard to impress these days.

That afternoon the kids were looking for entertainment, so we fired up the hose and filled some water balloons. The grown ups soon realized that there was a sling shot, so we knocked the kids out of the way so we could have our own fun.

In the midst of all this excitement, Charlie fell onto the pole of The Palace (our cousin's tent) and ended up looking like Nelly for the rest of the trip.

Once the kids got the taste of the hunt, it was off to the mud hole to dive for salamanders. I don't need to tell you how this ended up - use your imagination then multiply that mess by 5.



The fam recently got this hauler / tree-cutting-down-thinger and Eric took some of the crew for a ride. He ended up needing to chop something down in the middle of the path and the kids marveled at his burly manliness (with their hands over their ears).



Here's a picture of the kids (minus the 2 baby munchkins who were inside napping). Just a few years ago we were hanging out with GG trying to kick the keg...now we're chasing after kids and diving into mud puddles.

At least there was still a keg!

Caution: Toilet Humor Ahead

What started out as the terrible twos soon spiraled into the even-more-terrible threes. So when Cole's 4th birthday rolled around, we celebrated with a vengeance.

The day of his party was double-booked. We had another shindig for his buddy at the firehouse, and Cole got to ride on the truck and shoot off the hose.


While we were at the party, I texted Phil to see what they were up to. He sent me back this picture - you go Ry!

After a long morning we finally got to kick off Cole's party in classic style. He asked for a bowling party, so we found the only joint in town that allowed us to bring beer in coolers. Classy.

Cole LOVES to hear the story of his birth. He'll go up to strangers on the street to tell them, "When I was born my mommy's water broke over the toilet." Even more classy.

But that's just part of the unmistakable Cole charm. It's taken 4 years, but he's growing into a hysterical, sweet, loveable, energetic little man. He keeps us on our toes, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Love you Coley.

Overheard

As I was getting dressed this morning, I overheard the boys in the bathroom:

Ry: I'm gonna give you an ATOMIC WEDGIE!!!
Cole: Thanks Ry-Ry. Does that mean I'm getting a big hug and kiss?
Ry: [slaps hand against forehead] Ohhhh, brother

St. Rebecca

This Saturday we went to the Delaware Museum Of Natural History to check out their tarantula exhibit. I'm not sure what was freakier: The exhibit itself, watching Charlie bang on every cage while I pictured the spiders escaping through the broken glass, or Phil sneaking behind me to tickle my neck while screaming, "TARANTULA!!!"


Ry was, in a word, impressed. He ran from cage to cage to read the information, then raced over to me breathless with fun facts. He kept asking to get his picture taken with every spider - here he does a Dr. Evil impression without even knowing it.

Charlie on the other hand - not so impressed.

This picture doesn't really have a story behind it - Phil snapped it as we were leaving and Cha seems to have a "come hither" look that I thought was funny.

As I look ahead to my life with 4 boys, I forsee many more of these types of outings in my future. Between spider exhibits, wrestling matches, and bodily functions...I figure I'm headed toward sainthood for sure.