The boys and I spent a good chunk of time over the last few days cleaning the house, and this is what we've ended up with:
This is note-worthy because we actually swept behind the couch.
This major cleaning spree started as a result of going in to Seth's closet to put something away and gazing upon a scene which could have literally passed for the top of a dumpster. Three trash bags later to the actual dumpster and one of old toys that no one played with anymore and we could actually see the carpet to vacuum. Progress!
It did push memories of my own messy rooms as a child to the forefront. I remember I was going to dazzle my mom during one of my room cleanings by organizing every last thing in my room, down to what was in my drawers. This of course meant I had to dump out all my drawers to begin to organize them. And that of course meant a mess across the floor of my room 1/3 of the way up the wall that was simply too big for a kid to tackle. Which of course leads to a child laying despondently on a messy bed while a mom pokes her head into check on progress and loses it because the mess has quadrupled in size. Unfortunately, Ollie's method somewhat resembled my methods from childhood.
During the cleaning, Seth found 8 or so playing cards from his magic deck. "Mom! I found some cards! I bet this is why none of my tricks have been working!" (Me: snort.)
Seth is still working hard on tricks. He completely refuses to learn a trick, only wants to come up with his own brand new trick/idea. I try to take lots of deep breaths during failed 12 minute tricks; I know this determination and ingenuity will someday serve him well.
Ollie's magic makes us all laugh out loud because he blatantly cheats, but his tricks are over in under 30 seconds so they are crowd pleasers. Plus he is just so dang cute in that hat.
The boys' most captive audience!
We've also been birthday party junkies lately. James, Addis, Claire, and Mason have all been celebrated with plenty of sugar and sweat. Ollie can't wait to be next.
Jump n Jungle
James, Ollie, and Seth
Addis turns nine!
West Texas outdoor birthdays.... ain't no way those candles are staying lit.
Mason turns six!
This party didn't have such a happy ending as Seth's knee made contact with Micah's eye for an epic black eye. (Micah not shown, I believe he is off to the side dealing with an ice pack.)
It's been a brutally hot summer. I really don't remember other Lubbock summers being so dang hot. We've spent plenty of time in July at pools, eating pizza, or the ultimate kid best day ever: eating pizza at pools.
I'm guessing Noley Poley is part of the reason why I think this summer has been so hot. I feel so bad for him when we are out and about and he is sweating like crazy while napping or stuck in his car seat. Well, that and the 100+ degree days.
Check out that hair!
A couple of Seths and an Ollie.
(There were two other Seths at this party not pictured. Crazy, huh?)
Our good buddy Robyn came to stay with us for a weekish and it was lovely. She comes and goes as she pleases to visit other Lubbock friends and Ollie has been stymied by this the past two summers. What do you mean she is going to see other friends?! Why doesn't she want to spend all her time with us!!?
Robyn has taught and done loads of administration work at a Christian Missions school in Papua New Guinea the last five years. It's been so neat to see her come back each year and hear about the evolution of both the school and what God is doing in her.
Plus she got to meet Noley!
Robyn is also good friends with the Hohbeins and we all cowed it up one day for free chicken sammies at Chick Fil A.
Ollie, typically a ham, also makes a good cow.
The Moo Crew.
Funny story, we got rear ended on the way to CFA for lunch. Okay, not laugh out loud funny. It was pretty minor and no one was really hurt. After we got her insurance info we got back in the van and it seemed like we were headed in the same direction as our rear ender.
Me: Do you think she's going to CFA too? Wouldn't that just be too weird?
Robyn: But she didn't look like she was dressed as a cow!!
Turns out, in fact, we were headed to the same place. I felt bad for the poor lady, who felt the need to come up to us several times at CFA and apologize again.
What are the odds?
Seth also spent the last couple weeks at a morning summer camp: Camp Invention! He had an absolute blast and made all kinds of cool stuff. This is a solar powered cricket bot.
Meanwhile, Ollie stayed home and found winter pjs in a pile of hand me downs and felt the need to wear them in the heat. He ran around outside all morning and I would see him unzip them down to his belly for a little breeze. I don't know if I can really explain why, but this would completely crack me up.
Seth's gotten into the book series The Magic Treehouse and has started to read some nights before bed. This melted my heart to see him with books spread out around him, light still on, and fast asleep.
We tried out the new rage Pokémon Go! If I'm being 100% honest, I think I like it more than the boys. I'm prone to being super lazy, and as I said before, it is hoooot outside, so it's nice to have a reason to get out of the house and go for a walk. We've pushed Noey around in the stroller some mornings and the boys have ridden their bikes while we pursue elusive Pokémon. I've been surprised, you walk quite a bit farther than you would expect to find them so it does turn out to be relatively good exercise.
Robyn got in the action with us one day as well.
And here's a good bit of cuteness to end a super long blog post on:
Noley's first play date. :)
