And what were we doing when we weren't at VBS?

We were hanging out with the family. And having a good time at Nana's.
Trevor and Tyler came over to play the day we got Tovi. But before we left- the boys did their homework.

Trevor was a big boy with his sunglasses and headphones.

Jennifer and the boys came over and we played cards. We had a good week. The boys and I should have lots of funs taking Tovi to parks and hanging out. So, I will be having more pics to post.

The most loved craft.

This craft was probably loved the most by all the kids. It was a little tough for some of the kids and even adults to get it to whistle. I thought a video did a better job of showing it than a pic. Keep in mind this is just 3- Eli's class had over 50 kids. I still hear it in my sleep.

VBS

So, its the end of the week instead of the beginning. But Oh, well. I screwed up the order of the pic, but don't really have the time to fix it. So, my mom and I helped in crafts. I always prefer to help in a area that all the boys go to that way I get to see them each at some point. Snacks didn't need help-so crafts it was.
This pic is of the finished craft from monday nite. It was a lantern and they put glo-sticks in them. It was pretty cool, but kinda tricky to put together and all the holes had to be poked out to let the light shine.

Lucas wanted his initials. The "L" wasn't exactly right- but he was happy w/it.

Eli thought it would be easier to poke out the holes before putting it together. Unfortunately, time was an issue-so mostly the kids put them together before poking out the wholes.

Eli was going for an "E".

Noah was glad some friends from camp were at VBS- so he was pretty excited.

Lucas was having a good time.

For the missions night, the kids made "comfort critters" for kids around the US that were in a disaster. Every night we learned about some kids that had floods, hurricanes, and tornados.

We were afraid of running out of stuffing-so when the last group came-we realized that we had plenty. So, Noah's class's critters were super stuffed.

Along with the critters, the kids signed a survival booklet. The kids were to write or draw something on the back. I sometimes leave notes in the boys' lunch- ie crosswords, word scrambles, jokes etc. So, the boys all wanted me to do something like that for their booklets. I made a maze for Lucas, a word scramble for Noah, and above is the crossword for Eli. All the boys at his table helped come up w/the words for the puzzle- which is why I wrote all their names on the back.

Bath time

Tovi's first bath

Time to dry off. . . .

Nap time. . . . .

Tovi was completely worn out after park and bath time. This is were he stayed for nearly an hour! I checked on him a couple times because I had not seen him so still.
I hope to get the rest of the week's pic posted the beginning of next week, but since I have to work sun-mon-tues- I make no promises.

We LOVE our dog!

Here are the pics you have been waiting for. The boys and I had a full week with VBS and getting the dog and visiting with cousins. But I know the dog was the high point of the week. So, here are the pics. For those of you who don't know my parents also have a black schnauzer Primrose. They wanted her to have puppies but have had trouble finding a "husband " ( as Lucas says). And I told the boys a LONG time ago, that maybe when Primrose had puppies we would get one. And unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, she never did. So, about 1 1/2-2yrs ago, I thought I could be a boy puppy that could be Primrose's "husband". And like I posted earlier, the lady that breeds the black schnauzers, didn't have a male that fit that qualification last year but did have this litter in April that would work. All that to say- we told the boys Thursday that we were going to look at a dog that maybe Primrose's "husband". We were going to check him out and see if we thought we was suitable.
Oh, did I mention Trevor and Tyler came along w/us. LOTS of BOYS! The husband of the breeder thought they were ALL mine. I set that straight really quick. So, the boys were surprised that the dog was a puppy.

Here is a pic to "show Papa what the dog looked like"- the boys still don't know he is theirs. Karla (the breeder) brought her whole family (including her 3 kids). So the boys are asking them "What's his name?" And her kids did a great job of not spoiling the surprise.

Oh its a present. . . . . . wonder what it is? HHHHHHMMMMMM????

A picture frame that says "I LOVE MY DOG!". Nice Mom. And they still don't understand that he is theirs.

But now they finally get it. After 5min of "but you said . . . .", they understand that the puppy is ours. Well, Lucas still was asking on Friday if he would come home with us. Since I was at my mom's for the week and I work all weekend, Tovi (the dog's name) is staying with my mom. So, I understand that that made it more confusing.

Since he is black, he is hard to see. But Noah has him on his lap during his first car ride.

On Friday, the boys wanted to take him to the park. We had to go early since we knew it was going to be HOT! He lasted about 20min, and then he was tuckered out!

The boys were trying to keep him in the shade. Eli is behind the tree.

There Eli is, running around with Tovi.

There is plenty of LOVE to give, but not always enough dog. But they are all doing a great job w/him. Noah is in charge of training him. Eli is in charge of taking him to the bathroom. And Lucas is in charge of feeding him, and making sure he has enough water.

The boys did play while Tovi rested.

But Tovi wasn't left for long.

Less than an hour after getting to the park, we decided Tovi need to go home and get a bath.

Come back and check out the video of Tovi's first bath!

Shhhhh. . . . . . . Can you keep a secret?

This little cutie is going to be a new member of the fam. I have been wanting to get a pup for the boys for about 1yr now. I was hoping that it would work out last fall, but the puppy lady didn't have what I needed. But last month she had a litter and I went last week to check them out. He is 6weeks old and I will be picking him up this week. Tomorrow in fact. The boys don't know and it is KILLING me not to share the surprise. They will be THRILLED. I have a few names in mind, but want the boys to be apart of naming him. Stay tuned for more pics of this little one.
Here he is with his sisters. He is in the middle. Not exactly in the pic mood.

Monkey see, Monkey do!

Okay, I am updating on my Mom's computer and can't get the above pic to move down-so I can write. WHATEVER! My dad emailed me some zoo pics so here goes. They took the boys to the IMAX Under the Sea in 3D which the boys said had a sea lion kissed them at the end :). They really love 3D movies.

I assume that this was always on its side. Because I figure you break-you-bought applies. However, that applies to the checkbook belonging to the adult or adults who took the kids on the activity. :)
Eli and his new buddy.
They rode on the skyfari to see rhino, giraffes, ostriches and jaguar.
Hopefully this guy didn't give the boys and ideas.
Lucas look out for the shark!
Not sure what fish Eli was posing with, hmmmm?
Noah thinks the jellyfish were cool.
This is the under water tunnel in the aquarium. The boys that it was cool!
The gang's ALL here. Well, minus Trevor and Tyler. Why oh, Why does Noah look so happy. I mean he is so excited you can read it all over his face. He claims that he thought they had already taken the pic. He said the camera was too confusing. Um, Okay.
And finally swimming in the hotel pool. They LOVE staying in a hotel. All in all despite everyone being tired, they had fun.

What . . . . . no bush babies?

Every summer my parents take the grandboys on Nana/Papa adventures. They usually do it with the 2 oldest grandboys, then the next 2 oldest and so on. Well, this year they tried something different. They took the 5 oldest grandboys to the zoo in Omaha, NE. All the kids were SO excited. So, excited that they hardly slept the night before. Brave Nana and Papa! When looking at the zoo website, Lucas and I saw they had bush babies-so I asked him to have Papa take a pic. Unfortunately, their exhibit was closed. I hope to get a few pics from my parents to post. But I thought I would post a pic of bush babies for now.

Cars and Crafts!

On, Saturday the boys and I went to a car show and craft fair downtown. It is nice to be able to walk. Lucas and Eli really liked looking at all the cars.
This was one of Lucas' fav. But truthfully he liked too many for a fav. :)

Eli and I liked the Jayhawk that this car sported.

We thought this car's hood made it look like a mouth.

Not sure what that is but Lucas loved seeing his name.

We then moved on to the craft fair. I saw this photo and thought of my Dad.

The boys had some $ and HAD to spend it. Lucas got a bow and arrow. Eli got to make 2 stuffed animals and dress them. Noah made a long tube of sugar. He rainbow of colors and flavors. Anywhere from sweet lemonade to extra sour green apple.

Ocean's of Fun

The boys and I went to Ocean's of Fun on Thursday. It was cool and cloudy but eventually the sun came out and warmed us up.
This is Paradise Cove and the water was FREEZING! I mean take your breath away cold. Lucas didn't last very long and Eli decided it was too cold for him too. And I braved a few slides myself.

Noah didn't seem to mind the COLD water.

We then searched for warmer waters. The wave pool was going so we went to see if it was warm. It was warmer but not warm enough for Lucas. He got in for a few minutes and then was done. I didn't get any pic since I was in the water with the other 2. After the waves were done we moved on to see what else was at Ocean's of Fun.

That's Noah sitting on the snake. At this point Lucas was D-O-N-E with Ocean's of Fun. He wanted to go to World's of Fun. But when I pulled some snacks out of my bag, he was pretty content. We just sat and watched the other boys play. We had fun. But hopefully next it will be warmer.