Tis The Season

Ahh, the joy of family traditions. When we say it out loud it sounds so nice: "We go to a farm every year to cut down our own Christmas Tree."

The reality of this adventure includes 4 crazy boys, a maze of trees to get lost in, old dull saws, and an unfortunate situation of having to go uphill both ways (still haven't figured that one out).

Before we even made it out to the field, Cole got put in time out for fighting with Ry over who would pull the cart.



He snapped out of it quickly since it was his year to pick the tree. He chose this beaut which didn't seem so big out in the field...until we brought it home and realized it was taller than the ceiling.


Charlie was truly trying to help...


...Ry was not.


And here she is all decorated and lit up in the front window.


These videos are so classic Kerper - chaos and whining mixed in with laughter and love. Wishing you the latter as you celebrate your own holiday traditions.

Coley, Defined.

My dear, sweet, headstrong Cole. No one's going to tell him how to have his fun.

Exhibit A: At the end of a recent Cub Scout hayride, there was a big bonfire. Everyone gathered round to toast marshmallows and have a Coombaya kinda night. Cole, instead, sat on this here log.


Exhibit B: During a recent trip to the zoo the lion was feeling photogenic and plopped himself right in front of the viewing window. Charlie, Ryan, and Dean were understandably glued to the glass. Cole, on the other hand, was too busy reading the zoo map to notice.


Exhibit C: Tonight he had a choice: let me cut his nails or sit in Time Out. He chose to sit in time out for almost an hour, and finally relented with: "Oh fine - I'll let you cut my nails now."

Raising this child takes lots of deep breaths...but his nails are cut. Oh yes, his nails are cut (a.k.a. I won.)

Straight From The Art History Books

Phil took the boys to Ridley Creek State Park on a recent Daddy Day. I'm not sure what they did there, but based on the pictures he downloaded I can assume that it involved a lot standing on picnic tables and screaming.



Apparently riding on this thing-a-ma-jig takes a lot of concentration - the boys had their tongues hanging out as they rode the day away.



Posing as an old retired man in his windbreaker and white sneaks, Dean strolled around the park looking for trouble.



This picture cracked me up. I couldn't put my finger on why I thought it was so funny, then I realized it reminded me of the American Gothic painting.


May they grow old together like these other crazy cats!

Warming Up

It's not easy to survive the Northeast winters. Forget the snow and ice - the worst of it is being trapped inside with 4 energetic boys.

Now that the sun is shining and the weather is warming up, we get out and about whenever we can.

Thankfully there's a park just a few blocks from our house. Around this time the trees are all in bloom and it's absolutely beautiful. Just like Phil and me.

Here's a pic from Ry when he was one and also from a few weeks ago. As you can see, not much has changed.

Another advantage of getting outside - so many interesting options for Time Out. Here Charlie takes it like a man (even with his thumb in his mouth). Ah, sweet springtime.