I have a 10 year old boy!

Well, not yet, but we did have Kyle's birthday party on Saturday. His birthday is officially Tuesday, but it's going to be pretty boring as he got all his gifts yesterday. ;) We had his party at this place that sells outdoor play equipment...swing sets, basketball hoops, etc. They let you use all of their stuff indoors and they have a party room. He had a great time and he had a pretty good turn out. I was a little worried that he wouldn't have very many classmates show as he's only been in school with them one year, but he had about 6 from school and then some other/playgroup friends. I made cupcakes this year as his theme was Yu Gi Oh and no one has that in cakes...at least around here. I was a little shocked when 2 or 3 of the kids declined a cupcake. What kid doesn't like cupcakes? Anyway, Kyle had 2, so I think the birthday boy liked them. Here are some pictures. One is of me and Kyle and of course, my brother had to put his "rabbit ears" fingers behind Kyle's head.

Check this nastiness out

Gladiolus

I planted some gladiolus by our new little tree this spring. They were just random bulbs, so I had no idea what colors they might turn out to be. Check this one out, all cute and orange-y:

Swimming pics

Finally some summertime pictures of the kids at the pool. Actually it's at the splash pad right next to the pool, but you get the idea.

Funniest Ebay auction I've seen in a long time

Can anyone say narcissist? Check out the photos with the decorative borders that really showcse his abilitly to pose in a cloud of chalk dust. GAG!

Emma's television debut

I took the kids to the Science Center in Des Moines today. After going through the "star" room they wanted to go over to the "rock/animal" room. Which is also where they do the live weather reports for our local NBC channel. Right as we walked in, the meteorolgist, JerriAnn Ritter was doing a live report. Emma ran right in front of her. I was so embarrassed and I couldn't yell, so I just stood there. Later on I apologized and she was cool saying that it happens all the time, etc. Emma was completely clueless that she'd interrupted anything. So if you happened to be watching Des Moines Channel 13 at about 12:55 right before Days of Our Lives you might have caught 2 seconds of a running Emma during the weather. ;)

Back home again

Where were we you ask? In Minnesota visiting my sister and BIL. Rob stayed home because he had to work, but the kids and I left on Friday and came back yesterday. My dad came there on Sat. and we barbecued. We also took Kyle to see the new Transformers movie. He thought it was great. It was hotter than hell most of the weekend. Like 100 degrees in the shade. Ugh! It's nice to be back home, but our poor lawn is so dry that it's even more brown than when we left. Rob even ran the sprinklers while I was gone too. That water bill is going to bite my ass! Here are a few random pictures of Kyle fishing in Canada last month, just cuz I like to post pictures. ;)

July 4th photos

As expected, I've got some photos from yesterday to share. The first ones are from the Urbandale parade and the last ones are from the kids doing sparklers at our house.

Once per week?

I remember a time when I had something to say every day, and now I can only come up with something to blog about once a week? That's pathetic of me! ;) I just don't have anything new to say. It is almost July 4th, though, so I'll have some pics from that coming up at least.
We've been going to the pool, hanging out, nothing really out of the ordinary. Emma did say something funny the other day. She likes to tell stories that start with "Once Upon a Time", but in Emma speak it's "Pon a time". The other night, as a bribe to get her to finish her dinner, I told her that I would take her to the park when she was done. That started the storytelling.

Emma: Pon a time, there was a wittle girl and she went to the park. There was a wake and she went swimming in the wake. There was a croc-e-dile and it ate her 'til she died.
Me: That's a terrible story.
Emma: No, it's not.
Me: Yes, it is.....a little girl gets eaten by a crocodile? That's not nice.

A little while later she was getting her shoes on and she must have decided to try and make her story seem happier because she said:

Emma: No, the girl not get eaten, it was her dog.
Me: That doesn't make it any better, it's still a terrible story.

So then, the next day I was talking to my mom and telling her the crocodile story and Emma over heard me. That started her in on a new story:

Emma: Pon a time there was a girl and she went to the park. She got a stick and it hit her in the head and she bleeded.
Me: Is there any story of yours that doesn't end in bloodshed?!