Ry Would Kill Me For Posting This But I Think It's Too Cute To Keep Hush Hush...

...Plus he doesn't know I have a blog.  So there.

A recent convo with Ry:

Me: What did you do at recess today?
Ry: I don't want to talk about it.
Me: Uh oh.  Did you do something to get into trouble?
Ry: No. I just don't want to talk about it - it's embarrassing.
Me: It's okay to tell me.
Ry: Well I played with Sarah.
Me: Aaaaand....
Ry: And it starts with an "F".
Me: *Gulp*
Ry: Faaair...
Me: Oh, did you play fairies with Sarah?
Ry: Yeah, but fairies and princesses are for girls, so I was a nurse.

Just like daddy. LOVE IT.

Questions

There’s a new trend in Big Blue (the name our boys gave the mini van).

The car has turned into a reflective space for our Coley, and he’s been using the drive time to ponder life’s big questions.  Almost every time we’re driving he’ll call something out from the backseat that really stretches my brain muscles.  I’ve been jotting them down (not while driving, of course) and here are some of the latest:

• Why don’t kids live by themselves?
• How do tornadoes get started?
• Why does water put out fire?
• Which states do bears live in?
• What does sofa mean?

Yesterday we were driving home from church and he said, “What does ‘true potential’ mean?”  I replied back, “Aw, did you learn about that in Sunday School?” and he said, “No, I heard it in a Ninjago cartoon.”

No matter where he's learning it from I'm just glad that he’s got his thinking cap on.  Also, I’m really glad that google exists.

One Picture A Day - April

The Worry Box

It’s so interesting to observe all of our kids – especially because they’re so very different yet so much alike.

Ryan is introspective, thoughtful, and emotional.  Cole is a tell-it-like-it-is kid with a heart of gold and a need for constant attention.  Charlie is a lovebug who will always curl up in your lap for a snuggle.  Dean is the firecracker who will have no problem holding his own on the playgrounds of the future.

Ry has always craved information and reads everything he can get his hands on.  One of the problems with this is that although he can read on a high level, he still processes the information like a 7 year old. 

Lately he's been expressing a lot of anxiety about things he was learning about:

• What if a black hole sucks up the earth? We won’t be able to escape
• What if the sun explodes?  We would all get vaporized immediately
• What if modern pirates drove their speedboats away from Somalia and got closer to the US?

Enter the Worry Box.

The goal of the Worry Box is to give him an outlet for all of these things that keep him up at night.  Write it out and let it go.  The first night he dropped this in the box:

Okay…I got this…aliens will not take over the earth.  No way no how.  Or at least I mumbled my way through some logical explanation.

The next night:

Really?  So don’t break any laws and you won’t end up in juvie.  Seems simple enough.

The third night:

Okay now this is getting a little ridiculous.  I’m all for talking you through things but now we’re worried that the worry box is going to explode??

This is why I blog...because one day I'll look back on all of this drama and laugh, cry, and wish for these days back.  At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Gloves Off. Hike Time.

Remember that amazing Flyers playoff game the other day?  The one with a zillion fights and total hockey awesomeness?  Oh and also remember that Phil is a huge gigantic Flyers fan?

Well I chose that afternoon to go out for a hike at Ridley Creek.  I offered for Phil to stay home but he insisted that he wanted to go.  Oops, my bad.

Running away. As usual.

Boys + Mud = Joy

Phil was Mr. Tough Guy climbing out on this tree that had fallen across the creek.  Until he got out onto the middle of it.  Yikes.

Phil spend most of the time trying to get reception in the woods to check the score. I spent most of the time trying to keep the kids from throwing themselves in the river.  Ahh, family time.

One Picture A Day

Dear March,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for turning warm.  You have completely changed my life. 

You allowed us to get 4 very stir-crazy kids outside to go on hikes, explore new parks, ride bikes, play baseball, and just plain leave the confines of the house.

You also brought us awesome birthdays for Ryan, Grammy & Poppy.  Love you, March.

Kind Regards,
The Kerper Family

Date Nights

As the parents of 4 young boys, there are lots of things that come easily. Organizing a hockey game. Feeding them pizza. Dishing out hugs.

On the flip side, there are lots of things that don’t come quite so easily – most notably giving them the individual attention that they so love and deserve.

So we came up with a plan. Each boy gets one night per month of pure 1-on-1 time. They get to pick what we do and who goes with them, and for the past 2 months I’ve been the lucky recipient of Cole’s night out.

Up first was a trip to Chick-Fil-A and the park. Just committing to hanging with him at the park (when I would usually be “watching” from afar while I checked email from a bench) made him light up. We chased each other, played hide & seek, and he even got me to slide down the fireman’s pole. All together it was a great time and at the end he declared, “This has been the best night of my life.”

This past weekend we went to the Phillies game together. Despite the fact that we were in the second to last row (hey, at least it wasn’t the last row) and the Phils lost miserably, Cole was just happy to have me all to himself (and to eat the gigantic helmet of ice cream I bought him).

Speaking of which, we had this convo on the way home which I wanted to document for posterity:

Cole: Is white a color in the rainbow?
Me: No.
Cole: Then why were there white sprinkles mixed into the rainbow sprinkles?
Me: *palm slap to forehead*

Smiling with a mouth full of Cracker Jacks

My vision for the pic of Cole with the field in the background didn't work out as planned.  He kept saying, "Mommy it feels like my neck is getting all twisted up."  He's yet to learn we sometimes need to suffer for our art.

I’m hoping we keep up with this…more importantly I’m hoping Ry picks Dad for the roller skating adventure he’s been talking about…

Out-Of-The-Box Easter

Since we came home from Florida on Saturday, there wasn't much time to make detailed plans for Easter Sunday.  So we woke up in the morning and had jelly beans for breakfast, went for a hike in the afternoon, then topped it off with burgers, fries & frosties for dinner.

Here's a sequence of Cole taking pictures of Phil and me in burst mode.  Ahh, young love.

A holiday as untraditional as the family.  L'chaim.

Floriday Vacay - Last Day (Sniff Sniff, Sob Sob)

The last day in sunny Florida ended exactly as it began - the boys in the pool, the dog running laps, and the grown ups watching from the comfy pool chairs.

Thanks to Nelly for actually listening and smiling in the picture.  Our boys...not so much.

This was one of the best vacations we've been on.  I won't go back to the utter & extreme sappiness from my first Florida post, but I'll just wrap by saying I love you guys and can't wait to come back soon.  xoxo

Florida Vacay - Day 5

Thursday was our last full day and it started off in the most surprising way. My dear old friend Jyl from LA was in town shooting an awesome show so we got to catch up for breakfast.  However traffic and timing kept us from our gourmet breakfast so we caught up for an early Wendy's lunch instead.  Love you Jyl-O.

Another great surprise was getting to catch up with our friends from Georgia.  They were also in town visiting (and putting an offer in on a house - keep your fingers crossed blogworld) so we spent the day together at Sea World.

If you've been to Sea World then you've probably seen Clyde & Seamore Take Pirate Island.  Hysterical.  For those that haven't seen it I won't ruin it for you, but I will say that when Cole saw the seals for the first time, his face was absolutely priceless.

In typical theme park style, you can pay a zillion dollars for something that costs a dime normally in order to participate in a fun activity.  And so went Ry getting some dead fish to feed the sharks.  Good times!

And here's a shot from the end of a long, hot day.  No one was in the mood to smile, but Charlie's face is just priceless.  He looks so maniacal it's funny...muah ha ha ha!!!!

And then came the ride home.  After almost 2 hours in the car, we were about 5 minutes from home.  The boys were totally stir crazy and Ry threw something at my head (a granola bar, I believe).  After a stern lecture, we forged ahead.

About a minute later, he said, "Can you give me back the dolphin I threw at you?"  Turns out that the granola hit my head but the dolphin went out the open window.  After many drama-filled moments, the mini van turned around and Mr. Dolphin was found on the side of the road. 

You're welcome dear son.

P.S. Don't throw anything else at my head.