Missing a Tooth

Trace pulled his own tooth this weekend. That tooth has been loose for SOOOO long! We were driving along and he said, "I just pulled my own tooth!" He was so excited...and so was I. He knows how losing teeth grosses me out. He kept asking me if I wanted to see the hole in his mouth. ICK!

Spring Break

Trace is taking Flat Stanley everywhere he goes over Spring Break. We are to take pictures of Stanley doing whatever Trace does. Poor Stanley will probably never leave the house this week...Kinsey has announced she wants to play soccer. Ugh. Add another sport to the list. At least it's in the fall.

You may notice what I thought was a gigantic tube of red lipstick in Stanley's hand. In fact, it's a light saber. Should've guessed. Trace also made a girlfriend for Stanley. For some reason, he doesn't want her in any of the pictures.

The kids spent about two hours on the trampoline this afternoon. This picture shows a pirate and a cowgirl playing tea party. Originally, Kinsey was going to be a princess, but she couldn't find her high heels, so she settled for a cowgirl. Initially, Trace was a Jedi Warrior, but he changed to his pirate get-up. I don't know what made him change. The robe that wouldn't stay closed in front probably had a lot to do with it. No self-respecting Jedi Warrior can have his underwear showing. Is there anything better than a tent made using bar stools and kitchen chairs? As I type, the kids have been in there for a FULL HOUR! Without fighting! They are listening to Mrs. Piggle Wiggle on CD and are happy as they can be. And so am I!!!!

The Bathtub for Your Feet

Last week Kinsey asked if we could go to the place with the bathtub for your feet. What kind of mom would I be if I said no to something with such a great description?!?! The funny thing about it is that she doesn't want the water or the foot rub or the massage chair. So, really, I paid $14 for her to have her toenails and fingernails painted. When I could have done it at home for nothing!

Our Saturday

We had a nice, easy Saturday. The weather was beautiful. I wore capri pants and flip flops! YIPPEE!!! We started our day with an impromptu garage sale. Brook had a garage sale across the street so I rounded up a few things and sat outside at 7am. We made enough to buy dinner out somewhere and I can walk in my guestroom again, so I say it was worth it!

Knowing how much junk food they would have today, after lunch, for dessert they had fruit. I put Trace to work rinsing grapes. He looks like he's enjoying it, but I'm sure it was just he and Kinsey talking about bathroom issues...a new favorite topic at our house. It's lovely.

Who can eat strawberries without a shot of whipped cream in a can...sprayed straight into your mouth? It's mandatory at our house!

Kinsey was invited to Ethan, her boyfriend's, birthday party today. Here she is giving him a congratulatory hug!

Trace got a strike!!!

After the birthday party, the weather was fabulous so we spent the afternoon outside. We bought these giant styrofoam airplanes for the kids for Christmas but couldn't take them to Colorado, then just forgot they were in the closet. I ran across them today and they occupied us for quite a while.

This happened to Kinsey's a lot...

We have no plans for our Sunday...and I'm very happy about that!

Best Buds

Trace and Katie are two peas in a pod...full of ENERGY!!! Katie likes to wake Trace up in the mornings by jumping up on his bed and giving him a smooch. Usually she is well received, but on those grouchy morning, she gets the boot. Literally. He pushes her off the bed...with his foot.

After keeping it all together for 8 hours at school, when Trace gets home he's generally wound up up up and Katie is so excited to see him that she is also pretty wiggly. So they head off to the trampoline and jump jump jump the wiggles away. Katie even likes to play basketball with Trace. She's always on defense and talks lots of trash. I'm sure our neighbors LOVE it. She chases after him when he rides his scooter and barks away while he keeps her at bay with his light saber.
And they are both so happy, relaxed, and at home at the camphouse. They run hay bales together, chase birds, and love roaming around the pastures. Trace on the 4 wheeler and his faithful sidekick running alongside. I will admit, there was a period of time after bringing her home that I thought I'd made the biggest mistake of my life when I stopped in the Wal-Mart parking lot last April. The barking and the tt on the carpet and the chewing...remember when I wanted a shock collar? But, and I say this with MUCH relief, she has turned out to be a great dog. And an amazing best buddy for my favorite little man!

Ice Cream Fixes Everything

I had a check-up and had blood drawn today. Kinsey does not have school on Thursdays, so she went with me to have my blood drawn. She had lots of questions...Are they going to take ALL of your blood? Are you scared? Is it going to hurt?...When the nurse rubbed my arm with alcohol, Kinsey, with a very concerned look on her face, patted my leg and looked me square in the eye and said, in a most sympathetic voice, "Don't worry, we'll go get ice cream after this. It will be ok."

She couldn't understand why I really just wanted some breakfast! All day she kept asking why we STILL hadn't had ice cream.

We went to the library after school today for a little change of scenery. Trace love love loves the Hank the Cowdog series. The library has a handful of the books on tape and CD. The author reads the books and he is amazing! He does such a great job making that oblivious, overconfident cowdog come to life. Trace was laying there laughing out loud. It was so funny to hear him from across the shelves.
Kinsey was pleased, to say the least, to find her betrothed, Ethan, at the library, too. When she saw him walk in, her face lit up and actually turned red! They sat and looked at frog, bug, and dinosaur books for about 30 minutes. Precious.

What Boredom Gets You

Here's what a bored 4 year old does while sitting in a realtor's office. I spared you from all the pictures of the carpet, ceiling and the up my nose shots she took. No, we're not moving, just looking for some land.

I Want to Ride my Bicycle

We took advantage of the beautiful weather on Sunday and took a spin around the block. It took two different occassions of tears and refusal before we finally talked Kinsey into trying to ride on the pull behind bike. Once we finally got her on there, she LOVED it and wants to ride daily.

Look at that wheelie!

Makeovers

It was a cold, rainy, lazy day Monday, so I kept Kinsey home from school. She decided we needed to do makeovers. Her words, not mine. So I got out all my makeup and let her go to town. I was shocked, as I'm sure you are, at the lack of beautifrul (awful) makeup you see on my face. Evidently, having her makeup done turned her into a model. These are the pictures we took post makeover. She's giving me bunny ears in the last one.