Happy Father's Day

Make a Smilebox postcard

Little Red Motorcyle

Tonight Caleb was playing with his toy motorcycles. I picked up the little red one and started pushing it around.
"Who rides a red motorcycle?" I asked, "Is it Travis Pastrana?"
"No, he rides a yellow one," Caleb replied.
"Oh. Is it Ricky Carmichael?" I asked.
"No. He has yellow, too. Plus, he doesn't jump," was his matter-of-fact response.
Okay, so I'm getting pretty impressed and amused with Caleb's knowledge. Of course I have no idea of its accuracy, but I decide to stump him.
"So, does Tony Hawk have a red one?"
"MOM, he's a skateboarder."
DUH! I did know that.
"How about Rocky Balboa?"
"WRESTLER. In a movie."
"What about Aronold Schwarznegger? Is it him?" I inquire.
"Mom, Arnold Schwarznegger? Arnold Schwarznegger invented KFC."
Then he paused for a minute and asked, "Did Ronald Reagan ride a motorcycle?"

I'll do just about anything to make dinner more exciting!

I'm cooking some scrambled eggs the other night and decide to save washing another dish and grate the cheese right into the skillet. I'm standing there grating away and thinking that something about these scrambled eggs is not smelling right. That's when I look down and notice I am on fire! Stop, Drop and Roll! Smother the flames! How many times have those sayings been drilled into my head? Like so much other valuable information, they didn't stick. I Screamed, "I'm on FIRE!", Panicked and Ran! I made it to the sink and was so out of my mind that I couldn't get it turned on. The flames were quickly burning their way up my shirt. Luckily, I was able to get the water on and the fire out. Miraculously I wasn't burned although my abdomen stung like a sunburn would.
After changing out of my burned clothing, I decided to inspect and see whether I'd lost an Old Navy, Gap or Banana Republic t-shirt (different degrees of disappointment). Turns out it was Liz Lange. Yep. It was a maternity t-shirt I'd been wearing all day. Maybe that extra fabric in front had something to do with dangling into the flame. That morning when I was getting dressed I remember thinking, "I should not have eaten those guacamole chips last night 'cause this shirt is not doing me any favors in the Flatter Department." Little did I know, it almost had me calling the Fire Department!
This is the shirt.

Funny Faces

Who's that hiding behind the burned shirt?





Peek-a-boo! It's Chloe!Hey, why let a perfectly good, burned maternity t-shirt go to waste?

Chloe is cutting teeth and pulls some of the funniest faces. I was able to capture a few of them here.




Please pardon the drool and squash on her face.

The Ace of the Base

Today we went to Uncle Jim's military base where he told us all about the A10 he flies.

Caleb and James were in awe with what they saw and heard.
The rest of us were awestruck that a 6'5" guy like Jim could fit in this cockpit! Especially on a flight that could last as long as 10 hours!
Thanks for telling us about this opportunity at the base, Aunt Karin. It was a great way to start off our summer break.
WE HAD
SO MUCH FUN
SCOPING
ALL THIS STUFF OUT!
When Jim asked us if we wanted "tickets to the gun show" we didn't know he meant this!
This was an amazing way to spend an afternoon. The other military men also did such a great job explaining what their jobs are. It's hard to believe how much all their gear weighs. Just the vest Corbin has on is 26 lbs. That's without all the ammo, protective plates, weaponry, etc. Imagine packing that around in over 100 degree weather. We are very grateful for all our soldiers do.

Thanks for letting us visit your base today, Major Hawkes.

Way to go, Chase!

I am so proud of Chase and was thrilled to celebrate his achievement with him!

Pictured below is Chase with his teacher, Mrs. Lowry.
We received a letter a few weeks ago inviting us to an awards ceremony at Chase's school. We were asked to keep it a surprise.
Chase was one of just a handful of fifth graders selected to receive the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. He received a special certificate and letter signed by President Bush and a gold pin.
We are so proud of Chase.