Act 3 - Monday

Compared to the rest of the weekend, Monday was pretty boring. Mostly we just played outside all day. The neighbors were having a cookout, so Taye had even more friends to play with. He basically came inside to eat, if we were lucky. Other than that he completely ran Daddy into the ground outside.

We did take a break in the middle of the day and headed to the ice cream place. There is one near our house that has goats, mini horses, and donkeys that you can see and feed.


This horse was waiting for Darius to share some ice cream:


They also had a llama which we had never seen before, maybe because it seemed to prefer hiding.


Our visit to the animals gave the boys a whole new idea for how to play once we got home:


Another fun day came to a close...

Act 2 - Sunday

Sunday morning we indulged Taye's latest obsession with a trip to the flea market. This one was in Hubbardston, which is not too far from us. We had never been there before, and it was huge! We actually had to buy an umbrella stroller about a third of the way through, since we were not prepared, and Taye was too tired to keep walking. Luckily it was a flea market, so the stroller cost us a whopping $3. Other than that and the usual assortment of Matchbox cars, all we got was a small Buzz Lightyear toy to keep Taye's Woody toy company.

When we got home it was time to prepare for our annual (not really) Memorial Day barbeque. It was a big party - the four of us, plus Nana and Jim. Before we could actually cook anything, the new grill had to be assembled:


Then it was time to prep the food. Since there were 6 of us (and you know how those toddlers can eat) we had BBQ chicken, steak tips, and Italian sausage with roasted asparagus, corn on the cob, and baked potatos. I'm surprised there were any leftovers at all with such a measly spread.

This is just Darius being cute (assisted by Petunia).

Darius pretty much crashed and burned after dinner, so I brought him up to bed. I can't imagine why, with the weekend he had, and the fact that he doesn't nap any more...

Taye continued the night with us, playing with the neighbors, performing acrobatics,

lighting sparklers, and making s'mores.


After which he promptly crashed as well, and with his good friends Woody and Buzz, went to bed.

Memorial Day weekend in three parts: Act 1: Saturday

Saturday we went to Buppa's house so that Luis could help pack up all their junk, I mean stuff. :o) The boys and I stayed for a while, but eventually they got bored with the stuff they could do, and just wanted to get into the stuff they couldn't. So we hopped in the car and went to the playground for an hour or so. When we were leaving, we talked to Buppa on the phone, and decided to meet everyone at McD's for lunch. After we ate, the boys and I hung around and played on that playground for a while. When we (I) just couldn't take any more, we went back to Buppa's to play.

The highlight of Darius' day was most definitely the inch worms. We found two at the playground, and at least two more at Buppa's house. Darius loves bugs, and inch worms are the perfect temporary pet, he had a blast with them.



After a while, I suggested he let them go home. He put them down in the driveway, and would check on them every few minutes to see how far they had gone.



For Taye, the highlight was definitely the ride in Buppa's wheelbarrow that he had been waiting for.


On the way home we decided to stop and get some dinner. By the time we made it to Friendly's, both boys were asleep. Since they generally wake up easily, we thought nothing of bringing them in to eat. Unfortunately, Taye was not happy with us, and after ordering we decided it would be best to take our food to go. We decided to go to the park near our house and picnic there.

The food was quickly forgotten as there was so much to see and do. Taye and Daddy found a fallen tree that went out into the water. Of course, Taye needed to climb on it, and took Daddy along for the ride.



I couldn't help but notice that Daddy's shoe was untied, but I didn't think it would be the right time to mention it. They did manage to make it out of the park completely dry :o)

They also found a snail:


The boys went down to the water and threw in rocks. Daddy tried to skip some (the key word being tried.)

That was also when we saw the snake swimming by...

So I guess we all know where I'll never be swimming this summer (or ever). Buppa's house, two playgrounds, and the park - you could say it was a very full (and very fun) day.

I know he's yummy, but...

what is it with bugs and Taye's eyes? Every year he gets bitten on, or very near his eyelids. It has happened twice this year already. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it, but it looks awful. I'm surprised we haven't been picked up by DSS yet!

This was Taye on Sunday morning:

This was two years ago, I couldn't find any pictures from last year, but I know it happened!

M.I.T.

Mechanics in Training. Today my three boys did oil changes in both our cars. I kind of think Daddy is a superhero because he took the boys out without me, and no one kicked the jack stand over and dropped the car on anyone else. Or maybe I'm just being overly dramastic. It looked like a lot of fun anyway.

(No Comment)

Darius was standing at the kitchen table playing with their thermos bottles by sticking them under his shirt. At one point he looked down at them and said...

"That my boobies in there!"

Our New Kittens

Saturday morning I was sleeping in when the bedroom door slammed open. By the time I turned to look, no one was there. I leaned over, peeked out the door, and saw Taye standing at the top of the stairs. I could hear Darius coming up chanting, "Let's.go.see.MAMA!" as he went. When he reached the top and said it again, Taye said, "She's sleeping. Let's not wake her up. Let's go in our room." Sometimes I just can't stand him. :o)

For just pennies a day...

you can feed this hungry child. Won't you help?

Mr. Potato Face

(note: not in his mouth...)

Yesterday we went back to the river. While we were there Luis found a shiny rock, and showed it to Taye. He asked Taye if he wanted to keep it, and Taye did, so Luis told him to put it in his pocket. To which Taye said, "No, my pockets are for money!"

The other day we were at the playground in town. One of the climbing structures is very high off the ground, and Darius can't get up onto the first step himself. He was heading over there, and I lifted him onto the first step as I usually do, only to get yelled at - "Don't help me!" I said OK, and he continued up the rest of the stairs, adding "I do it myself!"

My ball! My ball!

Last week we went bowling with the Dorsaymonds. It was the first time either of the boys had been, and you could say Darius liked it...a little. First of all, they had bowling shoes in his size, which was one of the cutest things I've ever seen, and he liked them too. He liked them so much, in fact, that he did not want to part with them when it was time to leave. From the time he put them on, he was ready to go. He spent the duration running around and yelling about his ball. "My ball!! My ball!! I throw my ball! (throws ball) Get my ball!!" On and on it went, he was hysterical.

Taye was more interested in the inner workings of the ball return mechanism. In his quest for knowledge, he suffered minor head trauma when a returning ball smacked him in the back of the head. He learned that he shouldn't stick his head down to look into the hole where the balls went. I learned to watch him better. :o)

Oh, and there were some other people bowling too. You may recognize them from these pictures.

More wacky neighbors

Last year I introduced you to Joshua, now meet Kevin and Rebecca. They come to our house every morning before school, and as an added bonus, they came over last week on a half day. I was supposed to be babysitting, but it was more like I had hired 2 for my own kids. Not a bad deal! They all had fun too.