"The Rashes"

My boys got to experience the fun of Fifth's Disease this summer. Or better known to Ethan as "the rashes". Really, out of all the viruses they could get, this one really wasn't that bad. Ethan had it first. It started as a very light rash on his face and chest. I didn't think too much of it until we were outside a few hours later. Apparently heat aggravates it. We went inside Kroger and I looked at him and he looked awful! Just from walking from the car to the store. It was all over his face, arms, and legs. I freaked out and went straight back to the car and called the pedi. We went in a few hours later and she confirmed that it was Fifth's Disease, aka: "slapped cheek" virus. It's just a virus that causes a rash. Sometimes it is accompanied by a low grade fever and fatigue. I guess Ethan was a little more tired than usual but nothing major.

He had this lovely rash for a few days so we were quarantined to the house. That was the worst part. No church, no friends, no fun. :-(

He still managed a smile. We stayed away from everyone for about a week. The rash went away and all was well. Then we waited for Caleb to get it...


I thought we were in the clear. Caleb's didn't show up for about 2 weeks. Then the rash appeared on his face. It didn't get quite as bad as Ethan's. But, we were trapped inside again waiting out "the rashes".

I'm grateful that they had this virus instead of a puking one. But it sure was no fun to spend two weeks of the summer trapped inside a boring house!

Caleb Videos

I think this is the one of him saying "Mahna Mahna". He requests that muppet song all the time on YouTube.

I think this is the one of him requesting to watch "Peppa Pig" on tv. I love the way he snorts.

The Secret Hideout

The "secret hideout" has been a huge hit for summer fun. I remember making forts out of chairs and blankets when I was growing up. It was always such fun to bring in all of my stuffed animals and whatever else I could find. I've only taken the secret hideout down a few times to vacuum and uncover missing toys. When the kids come in and find the room clean they whine again for their secret hideout...and they usually get it. :-)

Hmmm....what could be hiding in there?

They love watching movies in there on the portable DVD player. It usually buys me some quiet time...until they start fighting and knocking down blankets.

One of the first nights it was up, Ethan said he wanted to sleep in it. I didn't think it would happen. I laid down with him for a few minutes then got up to shower. I thought he'd last a few minutes then bolt to my room. Nope. He fell asleep all by himself in the secret hideout! I left him in there for a few hours. Then I went to check on him and found him wadded up in a little ball uncovered. He looked really uncomfortable so Mondo moved him to his bed.

Robby the Wren

Although he is no longer with us, I thought he still deserved a blog post. Meet Robby the Wren. He was a tiny baby bird who kept falling out of his nest in my parent's garage. The mom finally quit coming back so of course I had to swoop in and rescue him. He was literally knocking on death's door when I got to him. He was cold and barely breathing. I took him home and wrapped him in a heating pad , forcefed him water with a syringe, and prayed for him to come back to life. It worked! In about 30 minutes he perked up and was screeching for food.

He lived for 4 days. I went to sleep on a Saturday after work and he was fine. Mondo said he was acting normal and screechy all morning. He left at noon to go run some errands. When I woke up around 4:30 poor Robby was a goner. I'm not sure what happened. My dad said he didn't think he was going to make it anyway. He had a bad leg...well more of a stump. I think he broke it during one of his falls. It kind of whithered away. Maybe he had a systemic infection? Anyway, I was more traumatized than I thought I would be. I had grown attached to the little booger. He was like a little preemie. We buried him in the pet cemetary in my parent's backyard.

See how tiny he was? So cute!

He looks dead in this picture but he was actually sound asleep. All snuggly and warm in his heating pad.

Syringe feeding him.

See his jacked up leg? That was probably the cause of death.

Caleb even helped me take care of him. Every time he would start screeching he would say "Mommy, the birdy is hungry!"

He liked to sleep all squished up in my hand. Goodbye Robby the Wren. Sorry I couldn't save you. :-(

Mini Music Camp

There have been several church activities for the kids this summer. One of them was a mini music camp. They went to church for a couple of hours 2 days in a row then performed their "musical" on the second night. The boys missed the first day because they had dentist appointments. It was pretty cute and I was pleasantly suprised that Caleb tried to sing some of the songs. I didn't think he would even stay on the stage!

The pictures are a little dark because I was far away. Caleb is in the middle with the red hands on his shirt. My neice Hailey is next to him in the pigtails. Ethan is on the far right with blue hand prints next to Will.

After it was over we went downstairs for some ice cream sundaes! It was extra nice because the air was not working in the auditorium so we were hot!

Caleb's wasn't much of a sundae since he wanted it "plain".

A little video of one of the songs called "Three Friends".

Dinner at Colton's

We had a family night at Colton's a few weeks ago. The kids swam in the blow up pool, searched for bugs, played in the sand table, and stayed outside until it was too dark. It was a great summer night. Ethan always has a great time with his buddy Colton. I wish we lived closer. :-(

Caleb and Carson were really the only ones in the pool. I think the older two were bored with the kiddie pool. Ethan has become a pool snob and only likes "real" pools.

Ethan and Colton catching bugs.

The sand table was a big hit.

Even the big boys played in it.

Aww...best buddies.

Not sure what this face was about.

And of course sweet little Ashlyn was there...always surrounded by wild boys.

Bluebonnet Pics

I forgot to post these way back when I took them. This was the first year I've even attempted bluebonnet pics. It went about as well as I expected. I didn't get "the one" of both of them but I did get some cute ones. I went on two different days because the first day was so sunny their eyes were all squinty. The second day was nice and cloudy.

Random Pics

I compiled a bunch of random pictures from the last few months. Here they are in no particular order:

Ethan wearing Daddy's sunglasses listening to Daddy's iPod. I don't know, he might be a daddy's boy.

This is the only picture I could get from Caleb's first trip to the dentist. Luckily it was uneventful. They encourage the kids to go in alone so I didn't get any pics of him in the chair. They said he did great!

Colton came over for a play date and we went to my mom's to swim.

Caleb eating chippies and Daddy's home made hot sauce.

Playing outside at church.

Gracie being held down...I mean...cuddled for a photo. Poor dog.

The kids made a birthday cake out of playdoh and guys. Pretty cute.

I took this one with my phone when we were eating at Olive Garden.

Ethan and one of his favorite adults, Scotty.

He's probably squirting a bug...in his Darth Vader cape.

They took turns walking Lexie (the tan one). She's a lot slower than Gracie. :-)

It's not a towel, it's a cape! He wore this to pick Ethan up from school one day. Yes, we got some looks.

What other dad gets in the pool with the kids...in his work clothes? Only the cool dads...

Then he threw buckets of water in the air and let it fall on them. Quite entertaining.

Ethan and his cousin Hailey being silly.

Of course you can still swing when it's freezing outside!

This is how they eat lunch most of the time. And yes, the dogs are always at their feet. They know how to get the good stuff.

I don't remember what this angry face was all about.

Being Spiderman. He saw a kid do it on the internet and he practiced literally for months until he could do it.

This was at my mom's. I'm not sure if he did this to himself or if his brother helped.

Aww...they do love each other sometimes.

He helped me clean up the flowerbed in the backyard...in his pj's.

Crazy hair!

Aww...another nice moment of them getting along.

Ethan has been working on Gracie for a long time. She finally likes him. He says she is his dog and Lexie is Caleb's dog.