Job Security

I would like to thank Paxton for my ever increasing job security.

Citi Kitty

Oh yes, people. It's happening. Be prepared for some serious tales of adventure.

Amish Country

When Aimee was visiting we opted to head out to Amish Country. It was fun to see all the horse buggies. We found an Amish shop that had a few Amish made goods along with a restaurant. I wish we would have eaten there but we didn't have time.

Colton and Paxton found these dinosaurs in the Amish store (not Amish made) and they wouldn't put them down.

An Amish stop sign.

Babcocks! Does this doll bring back memories?!

Colton found this little doll bench and it made him really happy!

Paxton thought this was a real dog...

Alyssa ended the night reading to my boys!

Kirtland with Aimee

Parker's sister, Aimee, drove over from Virginia to escape hurricane Irene (which didn't end up affecting her house--phew!). We had a great time with Aimee and her two girls, Ashley and Alyssa. Our first stop was Kirtland, a historical place to those of us of the Latter Day Saint religion (or as you may know it, Mormon religion).

Fun at the Fair

Last Friday we went to the Lake County fair. The boys went on a few rides. We ate awful fair food. Laughed a lot. Cried a little. But mostly, we had a great time being together as a family. It was a great afternoon, one for the books.

Colton was so excited to go on this dragon roller coaster. His face started like this...

and ended like this.

Pax enjoyed watching the rides from a distance. He did one ride and that was it for him.

Daddy and Colton.

We let the boys play a "game". The game went like this: pay a lady three bucks, pick a duck, instant win a prize of your choice. Kind of nice to have an instant win... not so nice to pay $3 for inflatable swords that I have wanted to pop since the moment we got them.

We ended our evening watching the cowboys ride and race their horses. The boys loved it.

Buddies

I hope these two stay buddies. Forever.

Grandma and Grandpa B.

My parents have been on an epic road trip and we were fortunate that they made Cleveland one of their pit stops. We got them for two days and had loads of fun. I am kicking myself for only getting the camera out once, but hey, at least I have some pictures! We went to this train "museum" that one of my friends really talked up. To the museum's credit, they were in the middle of packing up and moving locations, BUT it was just a warehouse where train enthusiasts could set up their trains..... and children were not allowed to touch ANYTHING. Not a great idea with two boys. However, the kids thought it was great but I will not be going back anytime soon. I think they only thing that made it fun was my parents being there.

Done, Done, DONE!

It's official. I finished my degree. It was just an associates degree (in communications) but I feel really good about completing a degree while having two kids. I fully intend to get a bachelors once all my kids are in school. But for now I am going to enjoy being home with my kids without any homework!

Got a Cold?

A few weeks ago I was doing some homework while Colton played and watched a show shortly before bed. I realized I hadn't heard him for a few minutes which is always bad sign. I started walking toward him when I was overwhelmed by the smell of vapor rub. I was so confused. I started walking much faster. I got over to Colton to see him COVERED in vapor rub. He found the jar and smeared it all over himself AND my window. Because vapor rub is oil based it is hard to clean up. I put Colton in the bath which only amplified the smell. Our apartment smelled like it got a cold for several days. Not what I had in mind for finals week!

Lost in Translation

Last night was looonnngggg. I will post on why a little later. At the end of the day I was helping Colton say his prayers and they went like this:

Mom: "Thank you for the Gospel."
Colton: "I love hospitals."

That made me chuckle!

Colton's Third Birthday

We celebrated Colton's third birthday shortly after moving to Ohio. We asked Colton what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said "Put the money in and play games!" so, we took him to
Chuck-E-Cheese where he could play arcade games. Colton and Paxton enjoyed some pizza and a few games before we headed to our next stop, WalMart. Colton requested a bike for his birthday so that is what he got! He loves his shiny, red, Lightening McQueen bike and helmet. He is still figuring out how to pedal and steer at the same time. We finished off the day with a Babcock family tradition a cake from Dairy Queen (anyone remember how mad Lynds got when Shelly and I picked out a Lamb Chops DQ cake for her 17th birthday?!). A perfect ending to a perfect day. I can't believe he is already three!

Colton's birthday fell on a Sunday so we opted to celebrate Saturday. After dinner on Sunday we had some cake and Colton requested that we sing to him again so he could blow out candles... again!

Happy Graduation!

Here are pictures from Parker's graduation. I didn't want to post them until I had pictures of him with the kids in his gown. Ya, we took those pictures with the kid two days before we left.

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