IF EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT...

we wouldn't have a broken driveway with all these huge cracks... and the cracks wouldn't catch water and we wouldn't be able to play in the puddles...
and if the lawn was perfect,
we wouldn't be able to easily scoop up dirt and create something muddy and fun...
but when the afternoon showers roll in and there isn't any thunder,
it all seems quite perfect to us...

SIGNING SULLY

It's hard to believe that Sully turned four today. I just stared at him in disbelief...and also bursting with pride because he is such an awesome little fellow. Things have just been a blur since he came along. I don't think it has to do with Sully as much as Harrison starting school, people moving, illness, and so on. So much has changed.

It is also hard to believe that he stopped using sign language almost two years ago. It disappeared shortly after his second birthday. Lolly mentioned the other day the time I bought him a Barbie tricycle and he would stop and sign thank you over and over. I had forgotten all about it. (If you are wondering why he had a Barbie trike- it was because he would go after the girls' bikes at the park because they had streamers and really were just more attractive. So I found one at a yard sale....along with a Britax for $12...yard sales rock!) anyway...I decided to look back for some photos of him signing. They say not to make them sign for show, but I seemed to get a few...

this was his first sign at 8 months...no surprise...look how big he is!
eat

and also just has handy-
more

help!

thank you
I guess for letting him color the inside of his nostrils... apple
he also used to do banana a lot. Lolly would say,
"He's pointing his finger...what do I do?"
fire or hot
gentle
please
I loved it when he would combine more fish please when he wanted goldfish crackers. And dance was always really cute, too. Or doing where in his sleep when he heard a train whistle with Lolly and Pop-Pop. And hurt when he was teething. He would also ask for a bath or tell me when he was cold. One of my favorites was rain. He would get so excited and his hands would start flying when I opened the carport door. I started doing it for fun, but it really was more helpful than I ever imagined...and so sweet.

I really miss my signing Sully...

Happy Birthday Big Guy!

INSTALLATION ART

I present to you...

Fire with Farting Lemons I don't make this stuff up...they do!

SUPER FUN DAY!!

we had an afternoon on the town trying to wrap up our list of things to do this summer. we didn't get them all accomplished, but we put a pretty big dent in it. we took sully to camp and harrison and I hit the ground running. we purchased school shoes, new lunchboxes, restaurant bowls from crate and barrel (that was for me), chick-fil-a for lunch and registered harrison for school!

first stop after picking sully up from camp was the children's museum. I expected fernbank with rounded corners, but it was like a big playground....but it was air conditioned and that's all that matters sometimes. if you are interested, we got tickets at the half price ticket booth at lenox.

we ran into one of sully's school friends and his little brother

I didn't understand why a seal was doing the cat pose and the bear was the camel?? isn't this place supposed to educational...this just confused me. ;)

harrison at work at the moon sand table... harrison's...ummm...statue.... sully getting comfortable so I could read him a book and a little more comfortable...
and a little more comfortable...
(it was a long book)
then we went fishing...
and tumbling...
and swinging... and building...
and ball dumping...

and then they closed...
so we started on our next project-
drum roll please!

the mom and dad history tour!

first stop:
where dad went to college and mom worked as a liaison officer for AOB during the '96 games. fyi- they were much more impressed by my watching men beat each other senseless for gold than bob's silly accomplishments.

next stop, as granny would say:
where we set up housekeeping.
oh how the old neighborhood has changed!

and so has the house. here is a peak from the
backdoor into the kitchen...
you know you wanted to look, too!I left out parts of the story, but did tell them if we ever own pet
rats, they will be appropriately named leary and hillestad... harrison was relieved to see the dancing mailbox made it through the construction and many renovations... if you care to know the back story- pop-pop and bob sent me on a mission to depot to get a mailbox. this one was really warped... I identified with it. I said it looked like it was dancing. pop-pop was born with an internal plumb line and level. so they thought I was crazy!
...imagine that?
next stop:
the church where we got married.
we looked through the windows there, too. sully said, "wow! I think God might be in that place." I wish I could have shown them the sanctuary. It really is beautiful.
we passed the location of our first date, r. thomas,
and then to mama fu's!

and super fun day totally lived up to its name!!

IN THE WORDS OF SULLY...

"Do you know why I like lemons?
Because they make me dance."

-

when I wouldn't let him dump pasta in the
pot of boiling water because he wasn't listening:
"I took my brat ears off and put my listening ears on."

-

when he was grumpy, I told him I was going to
squeeze him until I squeezed the grumpy out-
like icing from a tube. after two attempts:
"My brain has invincibility."

-

when I was hanging clothes on the line and he
wanted a cookie with sprinkles.
"I want to help hang clothes, too.
I think that would be wonderful."

-

when I told him that he was going to
have a great day at camp:
"I think it's going to be phenomenal."
when I told him ms. georgia said he had a good day:
"Why didn't she say it was phenomenal?"

-

when I told him we were going to kellie's house
for dinner and asked if he remembered when she babysat:
"Yes. She has brown hair, but it's not too dark. And
she had a black shirt, right? And blue jeans? And pink skin?"

-

when I asked him why he liked to eat werewolf fur:
"Because it taste good. It has lots of chemicals on it."

-

when I told him that I was going to start
calling him "shockey" because he liked to
tell stories and shock people:

he didn't say anything...he flashed me.

$76.47 and a lot of sleepless nights for 12 oz of organic blueberries

a group from sully's school invited us to go blueberry picking at an organic farm. it was a drive, but we cover dixie like the dew anyway...so what the heck...it will be fun. we went the second day of blueberry season. there was big crowd the first day and we really had to search for our berries. here are the boys waiting to get started...can you feel the excitement? and we're off!
and we're back because someone had to go to the potty and there were spiders in the potty and the spiders were fascinating and there was raspberry soap in the potty and it smelled so good that we had to go back and potty again just for the soap and getting the goods isn't as easy the second time around, so we had to be patient because someone we know isn't going to give up or admit defeat...then we finally went out for more picking...ummm...I mean scavenging...

but we had to stop first so harrison
could take a picture of me and sully...

then sully had to take a
picture of me and harrison...
then we were back in the blueberry bushes. do you notice something? I didn't until I had climbed through it a few times seeking the elusive blueberry that was actually blue...
hint- it's on the left side...pointy leaves...poison ivy...

the fruits of our labor
the berries were yummy, but after the minute clinic visit, prednisone, benadryl spray, and blueberry weigh-in we spent $76.47!

GIRL TOYS?!

sully was a little miffed when he discovered a girl snake in his happy meal. heaven forbid! I don't allow the bashing of the girl things around here. I'm quick to point out that I'm a girl and ultimately the boss of all toys...boy or so-called girl. So he accepted the girl snake and went to his room... and in typical sully fashion, he found a way to rectify the situation....

-

-

-

-

nice, huh?
with three gun wielding cowboys,
he dares you to call if a girl toy now...