Michigan Fun

We've been busy up here in Michigan! Lots of swimming going on and I am currently trying to keep JP from the lake since it's super windy and quite chilly. Maybe a swim later this afternoon will be in order. Yesterday the wind was pushing him further and further away from the dock but he swam all the way back! Don't worry everyone.. he's wearing a life jacket!

We went to see Wall-E on Friday. It was cute but pretty long for a G movie. JP really liked it and would narrate as the movie went on... cute but not so cute when the theater was quiet! It was fun and he enjoyed his popcorn.

We went to the zoo yesterday and he got to ride the preying mantis on the carrousel. He loves that thing! More fun in Africa as we fed the giraffes and did lots of exploring. We spent over 3 hours walking around so he konked out in the car on the way home so then he was up past 10 last night. Oh well.

The highlight of last night was fishing for a splinter in the bottom of his foot. He did pretty good once we got out some gummy bears as a distraction. He was very happy once it was out.

We just came in from some outside play.. .he loves playing in the log cabin playhouse! OH.. and did I mention that JP is a baseball stud? We don't do t-ball anymore... NO.. I have to pitch the ball to him so he can hit it that way. He does pretty darn good for a 3 year old! I hope he's not bored next year on the tball team! LOL He does need to work on his fielding.

OK.. off to fetch the busy boy some lunch!

Tall Trees

We were driving through the woods today and mom pointed out the really tall trees to JP. She told him to look up and see how tall they were and he said, "They're not tall, Grandma.... they are HUMUNGOUS!!!!" I love it when he uses a word that I didn't even realize he knew!

Is it a real word anyway????

Cute conversation...

A cute conversation JP was having with Hayden this morning at school. Hayden showed up with a new haircut. A mohawk. Not a faux-hawk but it's a real mohawk. Hayden's mom said that if he wanted one that now is the time to do it and maybe it'll get out of his system? I guess his big brother has one because all of the football players have them on his team. Oh joy!

SO.. JP went up to Hayden and said:

JP: Hi Hayden! I like your haircut!
Hayden: Thanks.
JP: I have hair all over my head (as he takes off his hat) but I'm wearing my hat. Do you have this hat?
H: No... I don't have that hat.
JP: You don't like my hat?
H: I like your hat I just don't have that hat.

LOL!
Then they took off and were frog hopping across the floor, doing somersaults and then they stood up and it looked like they were giving each other a big hug but they then fell to the floor so I guess they were tackling each other. Boys will be boys! When I left school JP and Hayden were sitting next to each other at the keyboards in the classroom. So cute!

And NO... JP won't be getting a mohawk.

He's how old?

I went to get JP out of the childcare center yesterday at the gym after my workout. He was outside on the playground and as we were leaving one of the workers was talking to him and telling me that JP is one of her "favorites." She was saying how much he made her laugh and she loves the conversations they have. Then this:

Lisa: He's such a funny and sweet kid. He cracks me up!

Me: I know... I don't know where he gets some of the stuff he comes up with... especially since he's just 3!

Lisa: What? Did you say he was 3?

Me: Yep... 3!

Lisa: I don't believe you! I thought he was 6!

Me: Nope... I swear he was born on 10/8/2004! I was there!

Lisa: I still don't believe it... he looks so much older and he's huge! My sister teaches 2nd grade and he could be in her class!


We get these comments on an almost daily basis.... maybe he should wear a sign that says his real age all the time???!!!???



School today and then we are hitting the road for Michigan! We are driving to the Quad Cities tonight so we'll be a little over halfway there. YAY!

Midnight Visitor

JP decided to come down in the middle of the night and sneak into our bed. He's so cute when he does this and I'm usually half asleep so we don't always chase him off. This morning I said to JP:

Me: "JP, did you come to our bed last night?"
JP: "Yes!"
Me: "Why did you get up and come downstairs?"

Usually he says that he had a bad dream or something... today it was: " Because I'm smart!" LOL!!!

JP's Adventures Part 3

This is great.. thanks, Kat for sending these! You gotta love the belly laughs!

Awwww!

JP's Adventures Part 2

Here are some pictures from JP's big adventure!

Driving the skid loader:
Spraying "Hawk".. this involved lots of belly laughing

JP loves the kittens! "They're so cuuuute!"
JP and "Grandpa G":
JP and "Grandma P":

Craft time!
This is what happens after you spend a weekend at Aunt Kat's and Uncle Steve's:

JP's Adventure

JP is home! I guess Aunt Kat and Uncle Steve really wore him out because when we went to pick him up in Ottawa he was crashed out in their car! He did lots of fun things including:

Water fights and spraying Hawk with the hose
Walkie Talkies
Hot Wheels
Making pizza
Crafts of some sort but it didn't last long...
Reading books and playing with toys
Climbing on LOTS of tractors and tractor rides
Sleeping in Aunt Kat's bed
Playing with kittens and cats

and many more fun things! He had lots of fun and told Aunt Kat a few funnies like:

Kat: JP.. wash your hands!
JP: I don't have to!!!!
I guess that was an ongoing battle as it is here!

JP: My daddy laughs at my mommy all the time.
TRUE!

JP: I have 3 grandmas and 3 grandpas!
They went to Uncle Steve's parents house so now he has more grandparents. :)

Kat got some good pics and some video... I hope to post some soon!

KAT! Thanks for taking him... he had so much fun and I'm sure will be excited to come back!

Jim and I got to do some fun things like fish, boat and golf together. We also got some of the bathroom finished and mowing as well. It was a busy weekend for everyone!

Empty Nest

Wow.. it sure is quiet around here! JP went to Aunt Kat and Uncle Steve's for the day/night/day and it's pretty strange not having him around. We've been pretty productive though and now we are getting ready to grab a bite to eat and then we're heading over to the club for some fishing on the lake. Should be a nice evening! Tomorrow morning we are playing golf! WOO HOO! Jim's first outing of the year. We have a 6:48 tee time and I hope I beat him!

So we can cross these things off our list:

Grout the tile... looks great!
Mow
Wash the mower
Pull out 2 dead trees... return 1 of them for a credit
There's more but my brain is leaving me. 2 Smirnoff Arctic Berry drinks will do that to you!

I'm glad JP is having fun... I'm sure we'll get some good stories tomorrow!

He did WHAT???!!!???

Kate, JP and I went to the KC Zoo today... we had fun! We spent our morning in Africa and saw lots of cool animals. Kate's favorite was the hippo and JP's favorites were the rhino ("it's a rhinocerous.. not a rhino!"), giraffes and zebras. He was imitating the cheetah and running around africa and then would be the turtle so we could catch up. LOL!

We took the zebra tram back to the main entrance since we had been walking around for 3 hours and I knew JP wouldn't make it all the way back since it was uphill and I wasn't about to carry 45 pounds that far... it's a hike!

Here is the excitement of the day... or should I say embarassment? We were in the gift shop and JP had to go to the bathroom so we went. We went back to the gift shop and finished our shopping (Kate got a hippo and JP got a rhino) and not even 10 minutes had passed and we were walking through the entrance area right outside the gift shop/restaurant, etc and JP stops, runs over to some grass and proceeds to pull down his shorts and pee. Yes... in front of everyone and everything. The otters even got a show. I proceeded to yell, " JP!!!!" and of course that brought more attention to him and I ran over and was hoping he'd quit but come on... can a 3 year old stop mid-stream and go to the bathroom and finish? I don't think so. So he finished his business and I tried to hurry him along amongst a whole lot of laughter. I was very embarassed and Kate was laughing as were many others so I just laughed it off. What can you do? I only caught 1 dirty look from some lady pushing a stroller. Oh well. He's 3!!!!!!!!!!!

We did have fun and then hit the pool for a bit but here are a few pics from the zoo. Enjoy!!!!

T-Bones WIN!

At least I think they did! We stayed until the bottom of the 8th inning... it was 10 o'clock on a school night! LOL We had a great time... JP has a favorite player (Steve Trout... I wonder why he chose him? LOL) and Kate likes Ken Harvey and he hit a 2 run homer in the 7th! After some pre-game play in right field on the playground and slides we found our seats and enjoyed our evening. Here are some pics!

JP and Kate

Jim, JP and Kate... JP! Are you still hungry after eating 4 hotdogs and a pretzel? Here... have a lunchbox!
JP's new batting helmet... he loves it! You can't beat $5.00. And the back... number 16 is Steve Trout... the kid is obsessed!
JP's "mean" baseball face... Mr. Tough Guy!

We all had a great time and are planning on going to another game or 2 this season. Go T-Bones!

Shape Up!

Me: JP! You need to shape up or you're not going to the baseball game tonight.

JP: I don't want to shape up.... I need to shape down.


Mom and Kate look at each other and cover our mouths for fear of laughing.

Kate Likes Cake

Actually.... she really likes the icing. Check it out!

Do you think Kate's mom will be mad that this is all we feed her when she comes to visit?

Bwwaaa haaa haaaaaaa!!! Just kidding, Kat!

We are going to shoot some hoops today while JP is at camp. Tonight all of us are going to the T-Bones Baseball game. Should be a fun day!

Practice Round

What do you bet that the photo shoot today goes better than this? We were getting JP "ready" for Sarah...

"MEAN FACE"

"SILLY FACE"

"I LOVE MOMMY FACE"
"HMMM.. THINK, THINK, THINK FACE"
"I have an Idea! FACE"

Silly boy! I can't wait for Sarah to work her magic! YAY!!!!

Kate is here!

YAY! Kate is here! JP is so happy... he loves playing with her and goofing around together. I heard they had a big afternoon while I played golf and we'll have lots of fun this week too. JP does have a mega bump on the back of his head and we have NO idea where it came from. I actually looks like a golf ball is coming out of his head! First he said, "I hit it on headboard".. then, "I fell down without my helmet".. then, " I fell off the wall at Loch Lloyd." (that was last week where he scraped his elbows, arm and bruised his pelvic bone. Who knows but he doesn't seem bothered by it.

Tomorrow is a BIG day! Sarah is here and she's doing a photography session with JP! YAY!!! I am SO excited as she does such incredible work. Her photos are beautiful! Can't wait till tomorrow!!!!!

With that... Kate says HI and we're off to look at the T-Bones website!

A few funnies...

I know... it's been awhile! We had a great weekend trout fishing and we are HOME! I've got loads of laundry to tackle but here are a couple of funnies from the weekend:

JP looking through an animal book... sees a bee and says: " There's a bee! I don't like bees. They get on my nerves." LOL

I went for a walk with JP while he rode his bigwheel and we got to the back of the campground where there was a hiking trail. We decided to hike a bit but JP wanted to pee first. There was a little bathroom there and and he went to open the door and said, " Peeee Ewwww! This bathroom stinks. I'm not going in there!" Yes.. it did. In a really bad way. I didn't blame him one bit! Off to the grass we went.

And just a few minutes ago while wrestling with daddy: "OOPS! I forgot to poop today! I'm going to go take a dump. Mommmmm! I'm going to take a dump now!"

Heading Out!

Off we go to Southern Missouri for some trout fishing and camping. Oh... and swimming! The pool is open now. YAY! Sorry I won't have any posts to share for the next few days... you'll have to find your entertainment elsewhere! LOL

JP wanted to pack his "Dump Truck" (John Deere Gator) but I had to say no since it won't really fit in the camper. He's content with his scooter and bigwheel though! We like to leave his big boy bike at home since it's a bigger fall and we don't want to have to visit any emergency rooms in Cassville, MO. Where? Yeah.

We'll be back sometime on Sunday.... if the tornadoes don't get us! :-)

Bad things always come in 3's....

Right? So we're done... we have to be!

I accidentally washed Jim's new cell phone in the washer on Monday... so I got to replace that. Today JP and I came home from errands/school and the garage door on the house wouldn't go up. The spring broke. Jim can't fix it because of the kind it is so the garage people have to do it. Then about 20 minutes later Jim called me back and told me that my front 2 struts on my car were shot so they have to be replaced and they can't do it at Shore Tire. So Jim gets to mess with the dealership tomorrow. Nice. More $$ down the toilet. UGH! This has to be it for awhile!!!!!

Good news... JP loved his day at summer camp. He was so happy to be back at school again with his friends. He kept asking about Zachary since he wasn't there and told me, "Zachary is at home and he's mad." I asked him why was he mad? and JP replied, "Because he didn't get to go to summer camp." I told him that maybe he went on another day.

JP was super lovey today with Jim since it was his birthday. Jim got about 100 hugs and even got snuggles at dinner. It was pretty cute but he was acting like a clown! He gets extra silly when he's tired.

SO... JP is in bed and Jim is mowing and we're hoping to get out of here tomorrow night for a weekend of camping and trout fishing. We need to keep our eye on the weather though!

Life Lessons

So.. JP was telling Jim about his day tonight while we were eating dinner. He went swimming, went to "mommy's gym", etc. Then he said that he cried at mommy's gym. (news to me!) So we asked him why he cried and he said, "a boy in a red shirt with glasses pushed me in the back." Hmmmm...... OK, what happened JP? "I was sitting on my tugboat and he came up and pushed me so I cried."

SO... we had a talk about what to do when someone does something you don't like. We told him to say, "Please don't push me anymore... I don't like that." Then if they do it again to say it more firmly... use words. Don't cry. So then...........


Jim says that if they do it a third time to....

Punch them in the nose and say, "Back off!"

OMG. Nice one, honey.



Now I'm waiting for the "Heather Moore please return to the child center" page for when JP slugs someone.

Why did you hit him, JP???? Because my daddy said to do it.

Sneaky Boy

This is hilarious. For about the past week JP has been trying to "sneak" downstairs and into our bed without us hearing or seeing him. He pretends he can't hear us. This is how it goes:

I put JP to bed around 8 or 8:15. Sometime around 8:45 I hear the door open and he slowly comes downstairs. Step... step... step... listen. Step... step... You get the idea. Usually we are in the family room relaxing while this is going on. Once he hits the bottom and gets on the hardwood he puts his hands up over his ears (with Froggy and Mr. X crammed under each arm) and RUNS back to our bedroom, shuts the door, gets into bed and under the covers. Why are his ears covered? So he doesn't "hear" us telling him to go back upstairs! So I then enter our bedroom to giggles and grins and he tries to hide from me under the covers. I tell him that he needs to go back to his bed and he obliges but insists on being carried back upstairs. Let me tell you.... it's not easy to carry 45 pounds up the stairs but I do it anyway. How can I turn away the cuddle/nuzzle???

It is actually pretty funny. The covering of the ears is what really gets us going. He can be such a character!!!!

OH.. and he snuck into our bed the other night when I was outside in the shop and when I went back to our bedroom and the lights were off I about had a heart attack when he said, "Hiiiiiiiii! MOM!" I had no clue he was in there!

Look at him go!

Another fun time was had by all at Old Shawnee Days today! JP got to experience some new things but the highlight for him was the harnessed trampoline. He sure went "high in the sky!" He also participated in the Tractor Pull (pedal tractor) with the 5 year olds.. he loved it even though he didn't win! LOL Lots of dancing going on while we listened to some bluegrass music and of course the slides and obstacle courses.... He was in heaven! Here are a few pics...

In a hurry to get to the top!
Coming down fast! This was a TALL one...
Climbing a wall in an obstacle course:
Jumping high on the trampoline!
Look at me!

We had a great time and JP is excited to do the tractor pull again next year... he'll be the "legal" age! We just missed the 4 year old competition so that's why he raced with the 5 year olds.

N-A-P Spells............

NAP! Is that what he's doing? Of course he's napping... he was up until almost 11pm and then went swimming today after NOT sleeping in. Hallelujah! Notice that Froggy is being held with one hand and Mr. X is being held with the other? Awwww!

I wonder how I can get one of those N-A-P's?????

A Late Night!

Little did I know that it was time for the annual Old Shawnee Days again! Where does the time go? We have taken JP every year since he was 8 months old but we have never ventured out on a Friday night. *gasp* We didn't get home until 10:30!

We got there about 6:30 and immediately went to the rides. JP wanted to ride the Merry Go Round and then he wanted to try his luck at the horse race game where you roll the golf ball up the ramp and if you get in the top hole the horse goes the farthest, next hole down... not so far, etc. I knew he didn't have a chance with everyone else playing so I played next to him (I never lose this game. Seriously!) So we played and yes... I won. JP got a cute alligator that he has named "Mr. X-Ray Machine" or "Mr. X" for short. Where does he come up with these things?

It was time to move on to the moonbounce. Always fun for JP! He loves those. Then he wanted to try the mega-fast super inflatable slide. I didn't think he'd like it since the last time he did it (last fall) he was one and done. Nope! He loved them. So he went over... and over... and over. We used up all of our tickets on the different super slides except for the obstacle course super slide. He was all over that but had a tough time getting over the high wall where you climb with a rope. I'll give him credit... he didn't give up! He finally made it.. GO JP! Then he got to go down the mega slide on the other side.

Our night ended with a concert. Ever heard of The Marshall Tucker Band? Yes... the same band that's been around for about 40 years. They were pretty good and JP entertained us with his "dancing". We enjoyed the music but cut it short so we left about 10pm. Now both boys are asleep and I'm here! Aren't you glad?

OH! Yes.... we had a funnel cake!

Meet Froggy...

This is the One and Only... FROGGY!Froggy is JP's "lovey" and boy has he been loved! Froggy isn't allowed to leave the house unless we are traveling so he has gotten to see many places on our many trips... and he's a great traveler on airplanes, too! He washes up pretty good and keeps to himself...No backtalk! He's getting pretty worn out but we do have a Froggy Doctor on hand.... Grandma Judy! *PHEW!*

I think it's a Love/Love relationship... Don't you?

Splish Splash

So my kid loves the water. I mean he REALLY loves the water. Even if it's cold. Right out of the faucet cold! Check out what he loves to do:


Check out this expression! Brrrr!
The new pirate pool... that is supposed to be a slide but he thinks it's a platform for jumping in. Whatever he wants it to be! And I was told: "I'm having the best time, Matey!"


Thumbs Up!

The best part was when I was trying to tie down the slide in the base of the pool (with my clothes on) and JP took the hose and put it over my head from behind. Niiiice!

Sports Mania!

JP has gone to 2 of the 5 days of Sports Mania summercamp at Lifetime Fitness. He absolutely loves it! Yesterday they played soccer and floor hockey and today they played volleyball, basketball and baseball. JP says his favorite is baseball... so far! His instructor said that he did really well at baseball and basketball and really got into it today. Yesterday he spent the first 20 minutes covering his ears because of the echo in the squash court where they were playing. It is extremely loud and I don't blame him for being caught off guard. There are 5 kids in his camp...ages 3,4,5,6 and 7 and even though JP is the youngest he is hanging in there with the older kids... a bonus to being super tall for his age!

I think they are going to play some football tomorrow and I know JP is really excited about that since he's been talking about wanting to play it every day. He said he's going to "go to the helmet store to pick out a helmet to wear." HA! I don't think they'll get into tackling, JP!

A little funny....

Jim was installing our new shower today and each wall piece needed to be hung separately. (We got a Corian shower) He was using a tube gun to apply all of the adhesive on the back of the last wall and JP saw him putting the goop on all of the X's that Jim had marked on the back. Then JP said.... " I'm not an X! Don't glue me, daddy!" LOL

Did you know that M&M's are called: NEM- NEMEEEES?????

2nd Place, Baby!

Oh yeah... it's a great feeling to be a winner! Our team got 2nd place in our flight this week in our golf tournament. We missed 1st by 2 strokes. Oh well. We had a blast and were so excited to do so well! It was fun to be with good friends for 3 days.... golfing, eating, drinking... WOOHOO!

I met Jim and JP out at Hillsdale Lake last night for a bit of camping. We were going to stay tonight as well but they are calling for storms and it's not fun at all to break camp in storms so we just got home. We had fun and JP and I did some swimming this afternoon in the lake. He definately prefers the pool or a "clear" lake when you can see the bottom but he had fun! I'm sure he'll get used to the "murky" lakes in time.

JP starts his Sports Mania camp tomorrow at Lifetime. I hope he loves it! He'll go 10-12 every day this week and next week he'll start his Wed/Thurs camp at preschool. Now that I KNOW he'll love! He's been asking to go to school ever since they got out!

I better get started on some laundry! Happy June 1st!