You think your bedtime routine is tough?!? Most people just have to get their kids in bed, not quell a fully armed uprising; at least we still have Hazel.

While Chris was at SOS last month the kids and I drove to California to visit with family and friends. My mom was brave enough to fly out to Abq and drive with me. It was an adventure. The drive over there included a stop in Colorado Springs to see some friends, a trip to the emergency room when Calvin got both his legs full of splinters and an almost towing when Jonah managed to silently render the passenger side door of my van unclosable. Fortunately Mario at the Reno Kia service center was able to help me fix it over the phone. We were so close to Elk Grove we didn’t know if we could stand taking the rest of the day to get towed to Reno (from nowheretown, NV) and get the car fixed. After three days in the car with three kids and a dog I never thought I’d say “I’m so glad to be driving again!” But I did. So here are some random pictures, possibly in no particular order. If I feel like it I’ll do another post later with more pictures.

The boys took swimming lessons while we were there (I got the idea from reading sirmaxalot when Christen took her boys to swimming lessons in WA.)

Jonah is the one floating.

Calvin and I did a class together.

The last day of the class the kids were offered the chance to jump off the diving board. The boys were so excited to do it. There were not many kids that wanted to, so they each got to go a few times.

While the boys swam Hazel hung out with my mom and snacked it up. (more…)

Chris helped me find an easier way to do posts. My Mac was not wanting to work with our website, so I was having a really hard time doing quick posts and so I wasn’t doing it. So here are few pictures to get the ball rolling.

Chris and Hazel having a conversation.

The boys being cute.

Ellie wanted to sit on Hazel’s lap. Turns out babies don’t have much lap to work with, but she found a comfy spot.

I like this one because Hazel looks so serious and you can see her little toes sticking out from under Ellie’s collar.

So excited!

Sometimes there are ninja fights before bedtime. Naturally they must wear their goggles.

We’ve been swimming as much as possible. Hazel gets tuckered out. (So do we!)

Here’s just some random pictures from this week

We went bowling. As you can see I still didn’t win, but I at least beat Jonah this time. I’m not sure if that’s more sad for me or happy for him that beating him is a step up for me.

The boys took turns holding Hazel while we bowled, sometimes arguing over who got to hold her. They sure do love their sister.

Calvin isn’t quite ready to hold her on his own (well, at home he can, but somewhere like the bowling alley, not so much) so he sat on Chris’s lap and she sat on his lap.


Silly faces at breakfast.

A friends and her daughter came over the other day. She and Hazel did a good job entertaining each other.

Hazel sleeping with the teddy bear her Aunt Rayna and Uncle Noah got her for Christmas. She often rolls onto her side when I put her in bed and reaches out so she can feel the bear. Then she’ll go to sleep.

Batman and Robin are so last year, these two bring a superfighting team that transcends even copyrights.  As long as you’re open to it, things have a way of working out.  Last Saturday I had really been looking forward to going to Home Depot with the boys to do a kid project they have once a month, but we ended up having a slower morning and didn’t make it.  When the kids came with me to walk down the street to send back our Netflix, we found a big cardboard box with an arrow pointing down the street.  Well, of course in the land of two and four year-olds such a thing demands to be followed lest one miss out out buried treasure or something better.  It turned out to be a garage sale which is apparently the most exciting thing ever.  The boys got the two costumes, a dinosaur book, a star wars book, and a DVD about tractors all for $3!  Suffice it to say the rest of the day was spent saving the day from evil villians (which turned out to be me in most cases).  So, today’s tip for kids and adults alike, if you’re walking down a path and there’s an mysterious arrow, follow it – you don’t want to miss out on superpowers.

It’s funny how fast kids can go up and down.  As you can see in the previous post Calvin was spending half the day cracking up and running around the house just the other day.  Even this morning he was enjoying a good old fashioned playground run.  Then all of the sudden in the middle of the day his defenses apparently went down just long enough for some nefarious virus to make its way through.  Suffice it to say the rest of the day was split between hysterical crying with little catnaps in between when he used up all his energy.  He finally lost it just before bedtime as you can see in the picture;  he just sat there rosy cheeked, limp and quiet while I changed his diaper and put on his pj’s.  When I asked him if he wanted to hear a bedtime story he just shook his head, pointed down the hall and sadly said “Bed”. I hope you wake up feeling better tomorrow buddy, I miss my partner in crime already.

So Calvin doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with Chris without Jonah.  Which is not to say that the three of them spending time together is a bad thing, but I know Calvin enjoys one-on-one time when he can get it.  Today, since Chris has the day off but Jonah has school, Calvin has been enjoying some of that rare Papa to himself time.  Which has resulted in some adorable videos that I have posted here for your viewing pleasure.  First there was some tickling, then more tickling, then Calvin tickling Papa.  Then for some reason he decided he must run down the hall and back.  Calvin loves to just run around the house, either in circles or up and down the hall.  When Jonah is here they will often chase each other.  Next we have a little conversation about what he could see out the window, and him playing with my nursing pillow (which I remember Jonah doing around this same age when he found it out for Calvin). So, if at least one of these videos doesn’t give you a good laugh, I don’t know what will.

So, August was a super crazy month, and September has been equally ridiculous.  This weekend was the first since early August that we weren’t sick, moving, or traveling.  Because, really, what makes moving easier than going out of town the weekend before and after you move?   So here, finally, are some updates, stories, and info about us and (shockingly) the kiddos.  I have felt quite shamed lately by the ability of some others (namely one in particular) to keep up with pictures and updates despite being considerable more busy than I.  I think if Christen can take care of two kids on her own while being pregnant, have the baby, and then take care of THREE kids and still put up almost daily posts, we could try to do one at least one a week.  I think part of my problem is that once we wait too long then there is too much to post and I feel overwhelmed by the amount of information I should be putting up.  Side note: This post only has pictures of Calvin because all of the new pictures I have of Jonah involve things Chris wants to post about.  So if you want to see more pictures of Jonah bug Chris to get his post done.

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Others may vie for the Random Sleeping Crown, but none come close to the all-time champion Little Nemo Calvin. (NOTE: If anyone is interested, I’m in the proccess of patenting my ingenious ‘In-Car Infant Head Support System’ pictured here twice)

Sometimes a day can go so well that everything is literally tied up with a bow in the end. I hereby submit the following daily itinerary for this last Monday as evidence as to why IHJ posting has continued to lag even though we have no more excuses of work and unpacking out here on vacation. As you can see we have managed to pack so many good times into each day there really isn’t time for anything else. I’d apologize, but I’m making it my goal to continue to squeeze every last ounce of fun out of our families before we leave so that we can ride the good times high until we can escape New Mexico once again. So, let’s start with breakfast… (more…)