November 2007

stinkerpot.com

bond boy adventures

::back to adorable photos

nearly november
		Reagan is THREE!
		This year, we're doing family activities for the birthdays. I'd gladly show you Riley's Mario party and zoo outing, but Reagan swiped the camera and my time since then has really been spent on that. We went to Build-A-Bear on a friend's recommendation, and it was wonderful. We had a ball. This is not the world's greatest picture, but it really shows how relaxed they were--if Riley looks like this, you KNOW they are having fun. By this time, Reagan got so pooped he popped back into the stroller and just hung out. You can also see Cam's giant thigh here, which cracks me up. They were busy bathing the bears in the post-sewing stages. We left with a puppy for Tal, a blue bear that makes monkey noises for Riley, and an adorable bear with a ferocious (not) roar for Reagan. Each with a $5 beating heart. It really was a fabulous time.

		Happy Bee-Day
		Today Reagan is three, and we started out with a Bee theme. Today is the opening of The Bee Movie, and we were planning on going to it but had so much fun that we ran out of time. We're going to stretch out the birthday fun and go tomorrow. The birthday cake is another home-grown one from our kitchen. It is a chocolate bee hive with yellow frosting and a little bee at the opening. Not exactly Williams-Sonoma catalog material, but we had fun. We also played some games--my whole life I've had trouble getting people to play along, but now I have Tal, who is always 100% ready to participate. He has always been excited about everything--even a relay with fake bugs on flyswatters.
		NaBlaPoMo (or something like that)
		The blog sensation is fantastic. I didn't even intend for this to be a blog...mostly just wanted an easier way to share kid photos. Then, of course, the commentary started. It just can't be helped. I need to find some software so I can do this from other computers, as it is a lot more inundating than regular Blogspot posting, and my server has high-security FTP, so I can't use standard protocols to upload. I'm Lisa Bond/pseudonym Stinkerpot on there if you want to add me. www.nablapomo.com. November is my worst month of the year, so I'm not blogging faithfully. At all. We saw The Bee Movie yesterday and loved it. Highly recommend...it is Seinfeld funny. Also replaced my beloved camera with a new & improved one (early Christmas present), so you will see lots more pictures here. Finally put in the Stat Counter! We've been live for over a year now and have no idea how many hits we've had, but it is way more than we ever expected. This has been a ton of fun...the Internet has allowed us to stay in touch with so many far away friends (and some close-by ones, too).
Happy Thanksgiving! Gratefulisms...
Our family. All half-dozen of us, and Potter and Gamma and Poppa and Nanny and the rest of our crazy family--I just assume all families are this nutty! Four boys, because a girl would have totally messed everything up Mom and Brenda, for hosting Thanksgiving and letting me destroy my house in an attempt to decorate for Christmas Travis, for putting up the heinous 14' tree without even being prodded (and for coming up with the idea of assembling the top part from the balcony) Camden's head is still growing, as of last week's checkup, and no further tests will ever be needed! In spite of the daily brotherly spats, the boys are amazingly loving to each other Travis has been so much more understanding this year and is amazing when I am stressed--he has been helping so much with baths, bedtime, and the dreaded (and never-ending) laundry Another year of health and safety for everyone I lost 36 pounds and have not found them My girlfriends and my mom...having a support system when dealing with kids, work, and a money pit house has saved my life I never thought I'd say I'm grateful for living in Florida, but I am. We spent almost every day of the summer in the pool, and now the weather is so beautiful the kids are enjoying the driveway and playground daily, and we are taking lots of walks. Tal says he is thankful for his Wii, and thankful to our friend Andrew for noting the short supply of Wii consoles. Said Wii will be in the Idlewild Christmas program in two weeks! Tal said, "I can play my game and give honor to God at the same time!" Riley says he is thankful for Mario and chocolate. In spite of working SO much and being SO stressed, we have had some major accomplishments this year, including being selected by the American Academy of Pediatrics and Microsoft (the Microsoft) for some things, and hitting some milestones like that and working with people who are intelligent, funny, sarcastic, and encouraging has made it palletable and a bit fun. Travis and I appreciate the people who make the bad days good and the good days sweet. My Savior, who gives us a reason to be here now and eternal security in Heaven.
		Happy 9th Birthday, Tal!
		In the lane, snow is glistening...that is the theme of the birthday bash today. More pictures to come, but here is a cute snap of our outing for last-minute supplies (at my SuperTarget, mais oui). More birthday festivities will include bowling and snow at Channelside later. Fun! Most of all, we can't believe we've had you for nine whole years. You are truly the joy of our lives...you make everything we do interesting and fun. And we never have to read directions anymore. We love you, Tal!
		Bowling is Fun
		...Channelside snow is NOT. It is gross and wet and makes kids cry. The kids had a blast at Splitsville. Who knew that ten frames could take two hours? Sometimes the balls went so slowly that they would actually stop between the pins! The ladies next to us asked if we put away their balls, but then we realized all the balls got jammed from us trying to push the stuck balls through. Everyone had a blast
		...and he is NINE!
		So we made it back from bowling and had time for baths and cake before collapsing. Of course the highlight of MY day was making a theme cake. I also found out that Tal likes to participate in the decorating and preparations, but not on HIS birthday...big mistake not having that ready first thing. But it was a fun day, and our mega family activity days this year were a blast for everyone.