Ups and Downs and All Around!

This morning Otto and I decided to tackled the weeds that had overtaken the kids little play area in the back of the yard next to the shed. I was pulling, he was playing, it was going really well. He went inside mumbling about a drink and potty and after about 10 minutes and him not coming back out, I went in. And found this...but no Otto. I called for him, ran all through the house looking for him, went out front yelling for him. I was as close to freaking out as one can be without actually freaking out...I came back in and he was casually standing in the family room. He informed me that he had been hiding in a closet. I asked him what he did and he told me he dumped chemicals. I enlisted the help of my mom to FaceTime sit while I cleaned up the mess. This kid is A LOT!

After the impromptu floor washing I took Otto back out to the porch and put up the round swing he's been asking for. When he found out he could stand on it he was soooo excited! He was not happy to take a break to go get Lincoln but was happy when Lincoln wanted to stand up on the swing with him. Happy guys - at least temporarily! After school today the kids all got their wish and our neighbor got to come over and play with them! It was so nice! All 4 kids played so well together and I was able to clean rooms!!

Cats on a Dark Car Roof

Our neighbor's cat Lucky is a frequent star of the security cameras but tonight he was joined by a costar. There was a bit of a stare down on the roof and eventually the other cat took off, but it was amusing to watch the whole interaction and our neighbor thought it was hilarious!

Pedaling

Her lock arrived and she's off! Nora was soooo excited to ride her bike to school today. She left before I took Lincoln and we passed her on her way up the hill, cheering her on as we went by. She's doing all these new things!!!

Clean Get Away

I've been working my way through the house this week trying to organize and clean things up a bit. It only does so much though...today we got our butts in gear and tackled the back porch...which mean Kyle first had to tough it out in the shed to make room to move a bunch of tools and stuff off the porch. We enlisted the help of the kids, and after a hard days work it isn't perfect by any means but it's A LOT better than it was! One down side to our porch clean up...while I was changing out the water in the turtle tank, the kids convinced me to let both of them play out in the yard - they were going to watch them. They did watch them for a while...then there wasn't a Sheldon sighting for a bit...and now there hasn't been a Sheldon sighting for hours and as over grown as the yard is...and as many hiding places as there are, I'm somewhat convinced he took advantage of the Aardvark's burrow under the fence and has hightailed it to freedom. Scoonie is safely back in the tank but I think our days of caring for Sheldon are over...a turtle wants what a turtle wants. The good news is, there's a creek in the backyards across the street and it is home to A LOT of turtles just like Sheldon. Hopefully they'll welcome him with open...shells?

Going on a Bike Ride!

We were not quite as productive today as I would have liked to be, but we made it out and had some fun. While Otto was napping Kyle took Nora and Lincoln up to the school to ride bikes and when Otto woke up (5.8 minutes after they left) he wanted to go too...in jeans! Lincoln is still honing his bike riding skills but look at that look of proud determination and his work to get up the hill! With everyone hot and sweaty we headed home to relax a bit.

Family Night Out

We closed out the first week of school with one of Nora's favorite events. After she came home from school and passed out for a bit we got ready and headed out! Kyle's work hosts a family night at the Science Center each year. After the center is closed to the public, employees and their families get the run of the place. It is something my kids look forward to and ask about it multiple times a year. Tonight we shut the place down. Nora went in with a list of things she wanted to do and I'm pretty sure she, as she tends to do, checked every box! Being there reminded me that I need to put our pass to more use in the coming months before it expires. The kids always have so much fun there and it really isn't a tough place to manage them in. Mom goal! I hope everyone has a good weekend! It'll be our first weekend at home in ooohhh 2.5 months so we're going to try our darndest to get somethings put back together.

Running with Scissors...

There are some fun updates coming soon - I'm working on getting all caught up with a lot of backed pictures and albums (like since February) but thought I would pop on to discuss today's adventures. Lincoln was pulled out of the car crying at school drop off this morning - always my favorite way to start the day! Then, back at the homestead it was just me and Otto. With the two bigs being in school I have no additional eyes on Otto in the mornings - thus actually making accomplishing ANYTHING (including cleaning up after him) even harder. So today after he swam in a bucket of vinegar & Dawn water I was using to wash the stroller he sunscreened the carpet in the game room and while I was using the carpet cleaner in attempts to clean that up he got into a baking drawer and stole a still boxed lemon extract, unboxed it and dumped it in Lincoln's room. After we picked Lincoln up from school Otto napped and Lincoln painted while I had a phone call. Turns out, Lincoln eventually abandoned the paints and Otto woke up...I'll let you guess what happened. Luckily all of the paint dumping was contained to the table - AKA I caught him JUST in time! We walked to pick Nora up from school and got caught in the giantest of rain storms - SHEETS of absolute POURING rain that started just after they released all the walkers. To say we were sopping would be a gross understatement. The afternoon is continuing with Otto repeatedly running with scissors, stealing jelly out of the fridge to drink or dump & threatening to pee everywhere. Then there's Nora trying to entertain me with her new found ability to make spit bubbles. So there ya have it. Just another Thursday in paradise!!