Little Patriots

(Grant-top, Liam-bottom)

Hadn't shared these pictures yet and thought they were too cute to hold back!

Outdoor Picnic

Not sure what it is about outdoor dining, but it always gets the kids really excited. I really like it because the clean up is much easier! We really love this picnic table!

Where's the fire?

Fireman Liam

Garden Bounty

This year's garden has been a bit disappointing, but we do have quite a few cucumbers so far and many more to come. We have so many cucumbers; I made homemade pickles last week. The recipe was actually fairly easy, although a bit salty so I definitely have to adjust on the next batch. Jackson and Mia love pickles and cucumbers, so they have been happy to indulge in our garden bounty. We failed to grow any green beans or peas (total bummer), but have lots of tomatoes, a couple of promising looking watermelon plants, cilantro, and I believe we may have some raspberries soon. Not too shabby, but we will definitely try again next year. I really wanted to have some beans and peas to can for the winter, but for now we will enjoy what we do have!

Throwback Thursday

This picture is classic Jackson at around 20 months. It really shows how much the twins look like Jackson.

Jackson's Piano Playing

More Grandpa Trip Pics

Compassionate Kids

Our kids can fight with each other, that's for sure, but they totally surprise me with their compassion for each other at times. I caught Mia "babying" Jackson the other day when he had hit his head outside. She was asking him if he was ok, rubbing his head, and then asked him where it hurt and kissed it for him. Had to share the pictures!

Grandpa Capper and Angie Adventure

This past weekend, my Dad and Angie took all 4 kids to their house in Rochester. From the looks of the pictures, it seems like they had a great time! Arts and crafts, swimming, going to the park, riding on the tire swing, reading books, eating smore's, picking flowers, and playing with their animals. They even took all of them to the Indiana Dunes on Sunday (they are brave!) and I think they all had a good time. I'm sure they were exhausted from the long weekend, but Matt and I definitely appreciated the quiet house and alone time! We went out to eat Friday and Saturday night to two new restaurants with different friends each night, saw a hilarious movie, and slept in! Thanks for the break and the adventure for the kids!

Fashion "don't"

Jackson and Mia both pick out their out attire daily. Sometimes I offer suggestions for change (especially if we are going somewhere for the day), but mostly I let them pick out what they desire. Jackson selected this little number a couple of days ago. Both green and blue and white, both plaid, but clearly not a match. Obviously we did not leave the house this day. Although he still looks stinkin' adorable to me!

Our little "Smooth Criminals"

Matt took this video of the kids dancing while I was working last night. Since Michael Jackson's death, Matt and I have been reminiscing and playing the old MJ videos (brought to us by AT&T U-verse). Jackson and Mia love "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" the best and LOVE to dance to his music. I thought this video was hilarious, but I am their mother. I love that they all start dancing right when the music starts. We need to get Miss Amelia signed up for dancing lessons...she is a dancing maniac! They have definitely been enjoying the MJ throwbacks, well, all except "Thriller." Bad idea to show that to a 3 year old. We will not be winning any "Parent of the Year" awards for that one. I forgot how scary it was. Somehow I don't think she will be scarred for life, but she definitely doesn't want to see "the werewolf" video ever again. Ever.

Best. Pajamas. Ever.

My mother-in-law, Kathy, got these way cool PJ's (or jamamas as Mia calls them) for the twins for their birthday. I have never seen cuter jammies ever. I love the capes. We started singing the Wonder Pets theme song for them and they would dance and spin around with their capes. They LOVE them! They were pretty mad when I took the capes off to sleep, but when daddy got them up in the morning he put them back on and they were off again to save the day! So adorable!

Celebrating Aunt Kelly's B-day

We celebrated Aunt Kelly's birthday with some yummy mexican food this past week. I got some fairly good photos from the trip and it was actually a very enjoyable dining experience (total shocker). We are still though resorting to the paci use with the twins to help keep the peace, but I think we may try to give them up cold turkey next week. Pray for me...it is bound to get ugly and loud. Maybe not next week, but sometime fairly soon. Yikes! Anyway, hope you had a great birthday Kelly! We had a good time celebrating with you!