Who needs toys?

Today Cole and Joey decided that they were going to pull all the blankets out of their closet and make a "bed" I told Cole that they were going to have to pick it all up and put the blankets away when they were done. Of course he said he would..... So the bed then turned into some sort of soft pile of cushions that was perfect for jumping into. So Gracie joined in the fun and started jumping off the bed onto the pile of blankets. Why I wonder do I buy my kids any toys at all? They have more fun with blankets and cushions than with any toy they have. : )

Well clean up didn't go exactly as expected but with Mommy's help it got done!

Hey I'm innocent!

Call of Duty Jump!

For those of you who have husbands who love to game, first of all I feel for you! Mike has a game called Call of Duty. It's a game where he can play online with other people, so when he is playing that game the TV is taken over and our Internet is to slow to handle that and me doing anything on it. Well a while back Cole invented his own game. Mike was playing and Cole was bored so he said "I'm gonna play call of duty jump!" He started by pulling all of the couch cushions off and then jumping around on them. This started about three or four months ago and is now a daily game in our house! Pretty much every morning he says "Mom, can I play call of duty jump" how can I say no, he has so much fun doing it! Joey has started playing too, and it entertains them for hours! They love to jump on the cushions and build forts out of them. Unfortunately they aren't the greatest at picking up the cushions and putting them back yet when they are done. : ) Today the game was call of duty jump hot lava! A little twist to the original. So if you weren't' on a cushion you were being burned by hot lava, oh and there was an evil cushion, if you stepped on it you were the evil bad guy!

Oh my.....

Wow Joey, what have you gotten into now? So I was taking a quick break on the couch, you know how those go? I'm always asking for trouble if I decide to tune out for a few. Anyway, I was watching one of my favorite shows John and Kate Plus Eight ( I like to watch it because it makes me feel sane!) Anyway around the corner comes quite little Joey and oh man he found Gracie's new lip gloss/lipstick. Luckily he decided to come straight to show Mommy, I think he was proud of himself. I was amazed it wasn't rubbed all over the carpet or walls yet. I'm sure glad I only have one this age and not six!

The Vader Family

Joey came out of the play room wearing this today. We were cracking up. Then everyone wanted a turn. We have been re-watching the Star Wars movies lately and I guess Joey is even joining in the fun!

Baby Isley #4 AKA "Ace in the hole"

Nothing revealed! We like to keep secrets in this family! : O) We were sure to tell her that we didn't want to know what we were having so she didn't spoil any surprises for us, but she did say that even if I wanted to know really really bad, she would not have been able to tell us because the baby was sitting on it's legs!

Ace is so cute though (see side for Ace explanation)! Gracie came with me and was sure that it was a girl. The top picture is the baby with it's fist against his/her cheek. So cute. Growing well and beautiful the ultrasound tech said. She did say " ooooh this baby has such cute collar bones! Heee Hee. It was fun! I love to see what is going on inside! Can't wait until September! I'll keep you all posted!

Summer already?

What a beautiful weekend we had! We decided it was really time to get the yard ready for spring! Gracie and I potted some flowers while Mike and Cole worked on the fence they are building around the pool, and Joey was fascinated by the dirt. It kept him entertained for hours! Cole woke up that morning before anyone else and when I came out he was sitting on the couch with his "work-a-do" overalls on and said he was ready to work with Dad! "I'm gonna help him build the fence" I hope he always wants to work with Dad!

After the flowers were all planted the kids started getting hot and decided it was time for a swim. I cleaned the sandbox out and filled it with water and they had a blast! We ended the night with a BBQ and roasting marshmallows in the fire pit! Summer felt like it was right around the corner!

On Sunday Mike decided he was going to tackle another huge project that we need to get done. The cottonwood tree has to go! When the cotton starts dropping in late May/early June it is like Snow in the summer. It's such a nuisance. So he climbed the tree with is chain saw and started going to town. His plan it to leave enough tree for a really cool tree house. We'll see. After bringing down the first three huge branches successfully the fourth crashed into the fence. Another thing to add to our list today! The neighbors were all so excited they didn't care how much fence came down! They were all standing by willing to lend a hand! Well the tree is half way down. The really hard stuff remains. But I will post some pictures when it's all done! The kids were a little scared when Daddy was in the tree, and I have to say I was too. So we all decided to pray that Daddy would not get hurt! With the sun going down and the fence repaired we called it a day! I think we were all exhausted! So it was quite a weekend! And then we woke up today to rain. Weird weather!

Weekend with cousins!

Earlier this week Em and I loaded the kids plus our friend Desi in the car and headed up to Newport, WA to visit our cousin Mo. We were welcomed by a foot of snow in their front yard! The kids were thrilled as they love the snow! During the few days we were there it snowed and rained and snowed and rained again and again. The kids would get bundled up to go out and it wold snow or rain on them. They didn't seem to mind as they came in soaked but smiling every time. On Tuesday we headed to a nearby indoor water park. When we got there we found out that all the kid slides and play stuff was under cleaning and repairs. Bummer, oh well they still got to swim! Joey and Avery played some hoops in the water and loved it! We were hoping for a stop at River Front Park in Spokane, but of course both times we drove through it was raining. Oh well... We had a great time with the cousins! There was never a dull moment with three 13-14 month olds, two four year old a six year old and a 10 year old! I think everyone had a great time! Thanks Mo and Rick for your hospitality!

Joey, Berg and Avery having some fun in the tub! Joey smiled every time I pulled out the camera, but Avery and Berg were more interested in the water and toys!

Lilly, Cole, Gracie and Desi ready to swim!

Gracie reading a book to Lilly

Playing in the snow!