A few photos of the weekend...

Canyon has a new addiction. The boy is insanely attached to fishing poles now. If he sees one, he will start freaking out and screaming until he gets to hold and play with it. This afternoon he saw a pole in the floor of the car and was in hysterics until we got out of the car and he was removed from the temptation. What am I in for??!!

Here are a few shots of him with the pole by the river this weekend:



Here is one of Carl with Arden sleeping (maybe just laying) on his back while he fished:


And just a few of my dreads:

Long day...

The viewing for DM was today, we drove up from NC to WV this morning, and it wasn't a bad trip overall. The kids enjoyed themselves at the viewing, and I think people enjoyed having them there.

The boys really do light up people around them. Little Canyon had a book with him that he kept taking up to people yelling "book" and trying to get people to look at it with him! It was so cute...

Anyway, I hope all is well with you all and will see many of you tomorrow.

Disproportionate responses...

Today we went to the Nature Center in the morning, and while we were driving home, Carl and I were talking about lunch. Rory interrupted with a, "Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Can I have tea with lunch?"
Me (teasing him) "Well, I don't know... Dad do you think he is allowed to have tea?"
Dad (joking as well) "No, Rory, you can't have tea."
Rory responds with "I can't have tea? SWORD FIGHT!!!" as he begins waving around a plastic sword he uses with his pirate costume.

How in the world is that a proportionate reaction?! And where did that violence come from? Needless to say, Carl and I found it hilarious and were laughing for a while.

We also went to the river today. We caught some fish, hung out, played on the cobblestone shore, and just enjoyed our Sunday!

Here are a few photos:

Arden, again.

Yikes!!!!

Look at what I found in my living room this morning!

Isn't his hair just sickly gorgeous?

Happy Halloween from the boys!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

We got out despite the rain, (although it did cut the night very short overall). The kids had a blast and I think made out better because they braved the rainy night!

Here are our little Trick-or-Treaters... could they get any cuter?!

(Edited to add: I am not sure what is going on with the uploader on here, but the photos are not this grainy and blotchy.)

Just a few snapshots

What happend to fall?

We knew it was going to be a bit cold this morning, but what I didn't expect was having to break out the ice scraper to scrape off frost, and for some windows to still be frosted after returning from dropping Rory off at school!

Here is a shot of one of the Tonka trucks in our yard:


What happened to fall?!?! We live in the freaking south!!!!

I finally charged my camera. It has been sitting uncharged for weeks. So you can expect photos/blog entries soon!

How do you say my name?

So, I had the oddest conversation with Rory this week...

"Hey mom?"

"Yeah Rory?"

"How do you say my name?"

I was not sure I heard him right, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"My name, how do you say it?"

"Rory, Roar (like a lion) E."

"Oh..." long pause.

At this point I am a little confused, "Why honey?"

"Well, I thought it was War-E, like war."

"You did?"

"Yeah, but you are sure it is roar-e?"

"Yup, I'm sure."

"OK."

So for the past 3 years my son has thought he was saying his name correctly, and I just thought that his pronunciation of the letter R was a little off. What in the world?!?! At least he can say his name now, LOL!

Just a pic of Can-man

Taken by Sonya Stone :) He is such a cutie, don't you guys think?

The weather is changing...

and fall is already here! I can't believe that the summer passed by so quickly. My boys are growing up fast.

Recently there have been a few funny stories coming from our oldest son, and before I forget them, I want to write them down.

I acknowledge that these stories may not be funny to you readers, but they are to me and I want to preserve them!

Story #1.) My son, the master of the obvious.

So Rory has been doing great in school. The teaching style is not exactly the same as the public schools, and is more art based. It really is cool. Rory has ALWAYS been a "master of the obvious" and a few nights ago solidified that for us...

Rory: "Hey mom, dad, can we watch a movie? I want to watch Evan Almighty."
Dad: "Sure, but we are going to bed right after."
Rory: "Great! I'll get out the DVD. Oh, guess what, I can spell DVD!"
~~long pause~~
Rory: "D... ummm..... V...... D? I think that is how it is spelled."

Rory proceeds to get the movie from the box, and I hear, "DVD! I spelled it right mom! I can spell DVD!".


Story #2.) Not mastering the obvious...
So Rory is still getting to know the names of the kids in his school, actually, I think he knows them all now, but he was having a hard time the first week. Two of the boys in his class are Van and Miles.

We were sitting around the campfire with friends one night chatting, and Rory was talking about the kids at school. We asked him what their names were, and he couldn't remember.

So, since we drive a van, I figured I would make it easy and help him remember the name of Van.

I said, "Rory, what do we drive?"
Rory's response: "Miles... OH! Miles is in my class!!"
My response, "Ok, yes, Miles is in your class, and we do drive miles, but what to do we drive miles on?"
Rory: "The road." (Which was said with a "DUH" tone).
Me: "OK, so we drive miles on the road in what...." trying my hardest to lead him into the answer "Van".
Rory: "In the van, mom."
Silence.
Me: "Right Rory... and who is in your class?"
Rory: "Miles."
2-3 minutes pass by... and I hear "Oh MOM! Van is in my class too! Another boy in my class is Van!"

He was totally NOT mastering the obvious this time.

Just because I like them...

I have been taking a few photos of my dreads lately... some other mamas were curious about things, so I was documenting the care for them... so here are a few photos of my dreads.

My beads are all beads that have been given to me, quite a few are cool recycled glass beads from my mother-in-law. I put beads in my hair as reminders to pray and think about those around me who need support and uplifting.

They are super tight and after cutting out about a foot of length in May, the ends are locking up again.

To answer a few basic questions:

YES I do wash my hair, regularly in fact ;) You have to have clean hair to get locs.
No, they are not dirty nor do they have bugs.
Yup, that is my hair.
They are easy to care for.
I got them for me, not because I am a rasta or anything of that sort. They are my view of beauty. It is nice to be/feel beautiful without having to modify myself to society's version of beauty.

I'm here, I promise!

I have seriously been thinking about blogging, but man, with three boys who are all VERY energetic and busy, I can't seem to find the time. I have so many funny stories to tell over the next week or so!

That being said, I am going to try to make the effort to get on here more and get you all fresh photos!

Updates:

Rory is LOVING school and doing great. He has made a ton of friends and really likes to go every day. He still struggles with not getting enough sleep, but we are working on that and getting more used to having a schedule. We got his school photos back yesterday. It is AMAZING how much like Carl he looks. I will scan them in and show you guys later in the week.

Arden is... well... Arden! He is a riot. He has lately gotten VERY independent and will tell Carl "I don't want you here, get out." Or he will refuse to let Carl help him with things. So far (knock on wood) he is still my little mama's boy and hasn't been mean to me yet!

His hair is getting longer and longer. The longer it gets, the more sure he is that he doesn't want it cut. He tells us that "I like my big hair. It doesn't need a cut, it is BIG hair!" And he is right, it is BIG hair! I figure at some point he will get tired of fighting about his gender and will want a cut.

This brings us to Canyon. Canyon is doing GREAT!!! He has been off his tube for about 2 weeks now, and has continued with a good weight gain, and is EATING FOOD, not just drinking enough formula/breastmilk to make his calories, but EATING anything and everything he can get his hands on! He will throw a fit and go to his chair when he gets hungry.

My wonderful hubbie celebrated his 40th birthday this past weekend. He took the milestone in stride and is still the young man I knew years ago. Carl's dad recently brought the Ghia down from WV, it is such a cool little car. I added a few pics in our photos of it.

Me, well I have been super busy chasing my boys around, knitting, and doing some home studies. I have been taking a few photos here and there.

We went to the fair last week, had a blast. The kids were of course thrilled to go. Even Canyon was amazed with the lights and noises.

Here are a few photos that are recent, I plan on taking some more this week.

Just me...

Just a pic of me that a friend grabbed at LAAFF: