We Aren't In California Anymore . . .

So, I thought that our transition to Midwest suburbanites was complete when Dennis bought a riding mower but apparently I'm still adjusting to our new location. Today, Danny and I attempted to go for a run along a trail in our neighborhood. I didn't get 4 minutes into our run before we came upon a raccoon acting very weird. Now, I guess that I don't really know how a raccoon is supposed to act but there were some other people trying to scare it off of the trail and it refused to move. Then it started arching it's back and walking in circles. Since I had Danny with me in the jogger, I decided that it was time for us to leave. We ended up meeting a friend a for a workout and she convinced me to call animal control. Now, this is the part where I realized that I wasn't in California anymore - I was informed that I should "knock it over the head with something and dispose of it." Apparently I sounded unsure when provided with this advice because I was then told that I could ask a friend or a neighbor to do it!?!

A Couple of Videos and A Random Observation

So, for those of our friends who are military families, have any of you ever been swimming in an outdoor pool on base when the play the National Anthem? How come on Army Wives they don't show everyone jump out of the pool and stand next to it dripping wet, facing the direction of the flag (even though you can't see it), with hand over heart? It certainly makes sense but it was a bit surreal the first time that it happened to us this week. However, I must say that Cameron looked cute standing there in his swimsuit trying to figure out which hand to put over his heart! And speaking of military life, when you play store with your kids, do you first have to pretend to drive past the guard and show your ID to get on base before you can go to the pretend commissary?

So, my brother is the king of cool birthday gifts for little boys. I think it's because he's still a kid at heart! He got Cameron this hovercraft/UFO thing that flies around the house for his birthday. It's entertaining even for adults and it's perfect for rainy days.

While we were in Fresno, my brother also got this short clip of Danny's first birthday . . .

And Danny and Vince both practiced their communication skills (those years of speech therapy really paid off Vince!). . .

Summer Fun

Well, summer is officially here as of tomorrow but we have been experiencing some high temperatures lately and lots of water fun. Cameron finished two weeks of swim lessons on Thursday, and Danny has discovered that he LOVES playing in water fountains - shocking for a little boy who screamed during every bath for the first ten months of his life!

Boy I Am I Glad that May is Over!!

So apparently I took a blogging break for the entire month of May. It was an insanely hectic month for us: Danny's turned 1 (where did the time go!); my Granny, who was a very special lady, unfortunately passed away so we took a a trip to California to attend her funeral and stayed for a week to visit family and friends before attending a family wedding and returning; the boys suffered from a couple of ear infections, bronchitis and an unexplained hand injury resulting in multiple trips to the doctor and two trips to the ER (my mother-in-law warned me that I would be in the ER often with two boys); and I can't even remember what else, all I know is that I haven't checked my email or my blog in about a month!

However, we did have family pictures taken on Memorial Day weekend so here are some cute pics of our two troublemakers!!

Easter & Cameron's Pirate Party

It's been awhile so here's a little update . . .

Mama and Papa came to town and celebrated Easter with us last week. Mama and Cameron dyed Easter eggs for an egg hunt with the neighbors. The next morning, the kids were excited to find that the Easter Bunny had visited!

So our baby is officially a 4 year old! Mama, Papa, Grammy, Grandpa and Aunt Catherine all came to Cameron's big pirate party on Saturday.

Papa and Grandpa were especially good sports with Cameron's repeated requests for his party guests to "walk the plank!"

With the help of a few of Cameron's favorite birthday presents, it quickly became a Pirate/Snorkeler/Travis Pastrana party weekend.

Finally, today, we took Cameron on a birthday adventure to the St. Louis Zoo with Grammy, Aunt Catherine and Danny.

Man vs. Wild

So, for those of you who have seen the show, Cameron has spent the past few days running around the house pretending to be Bear Grylls. Lord help me!! He has been wearing his backpack and binoculars nonstop, is constantly on the lookout for larvae to eat, and is convinced that there is a volcano in the woods behind our house. So, here are a few pictures of our adventurer . . .













. . . and one of his troublemaker little brother. My mom came to visit last week and within 20 minutes Danny unplugged Cameron's nightlight twice and took it apart, took an outlet cover off of an outlet (?!/#) and set off a carbon monoxide detector!

A Little Game of Who's Who

We recently had Danny's 9 month pictures taken in the same shirt that Cameron wore for his 9 month pictures. Can you guess who is who?

I'll give you a little hint - Cameron had more teeth at 9 months than Danny!