Outdoor Fun

The past weekend was really hot, 100 degrees. To help the boys cool off, we pulled out the water slide. The only one who wasn't too sure about the water slide was Nathan. We also put a new battery in their gator and they had a blast!

Something I hope I don't see when they are teenagers!

The twins are so funny in the gator. They have figured out how to step on the "gas" pedal, but do not know how to steer. So, they basically go forward until they run into something. This time, it was the sandbox!

Jim was splashing the kids with water outside and I happened to get one of his drenchings on film:



Anytime is a good time for a water fight!

On Saturday, Tristan's ball team had their end of season party at Mayo Lake. All the boys had fun swimming in the lake and getting into water gun fights with the team. Another mom took pictures that I hope to get and post soon. Here is a picture of the cake I made for his team:



Here is another cake I made for a friend who was throwing a surprise birthday party for a teenager. This was the first time I worked with fondant, but it wasn't too hard, I had fun doing the cake and it is one of my favorite cakes so I had to share it here:




LOOK! Girls are at the Davis Household!

It looks like the only ones who can have girl babies at the Davis household are the dogs! Of course, we weren't looking to expand the family, so a good trip to the Vet might be in order to prevent such a recurrence.

Buster is Back!

The twins are on a "sleep strike". Dalton woke up at 6:00 a.m. and Nathan before 7:00. I quickly changed them and Tristan helped me get the wagon ready so I could pull them down to the end of the driveway for Tristan to catch the bus. Dalton waved and told Tristan "bye bye" which was very cute.

Tristan is such a good big brother. He has really started to help out with the twins and loves to hug on them and love them and has started to get really protective of them. Normally the twins are just waking up as I am returning from the bus pickup, so it was a little challenging getting everyone set and to the bus on time! Here are the cute little munchkins after our morning jaunt.



When we went outside we had a great surprise, Buster was visiting us! He lives down the road and we have not seen him for a couple of months. He was hurt pretty badly when some nasty dogs in the neighborhood attacked him. We called his "parents" and they came and got him a couple of months ago and we had not seen him since. We had started to worry that Buster was no longer with us. But today he returned looking better than ever. He was so excited to see us! Dalton loved him. Dalton would hold onto his back side and Buster would wag his entire back side with Dalton moving right along with him.

When Jim got home he and the kids fed Buster some animal crackers. Buster would speak and the kids would get just as excited as he did.

Abe Lincoln and His little brother

The night ended when Abe Lincoln and his sidekick showed up in the bathtub. What they don't think of!




Lady and the Tramp


It was a night of celebrities at the Davis household. Lady and the Tramp made their appearance on the deck. Much like the children, they wait until we are not looking to get into mischief.

A cute note

You may have to click on this image to fully read it. A couple of days ago Tristan asked me to take a small tackle box to school (but he wanted to fill it with toys). I told him I didn't think he was allowed to take toys to school and until Mrs. Johnson wrote me a note and told me otherwise, I would not let him take it. So, the note posted here was his solution. If he got Mrs. Johnson to agree, maybe mom would let him bring it :) Notice how the tackle box has now become a crayon box? I thought this was way too cute not to share. I didn't send the note to Mrs. Johnson, but I did let him take the box with some crayons in to school as my compromise. This just reminded me of one of those notes you pass in school "Do you like me, check yes or no." :)

Memorial Day weekend at Cousins

We went to the mountains for the weekend to be with cousins. We had a great trip. The weather was great, the kids got along fine, you could not ask for more. Here are some funny shots of the weekend:

I'm riding in your car....



You turn on the radio....Anyone remember this catchy little Olivia Newton John tune (at least I think it was her)? If not, you are way too young to be reading this blog (HEE HEE). The rest of that song does not apply, something about kissing and ooooh Fire...not with your cousins anyhow.. But seriously, how cute are these guys in the little Barbie jeep? Do you think their manhood will be threatened when they are teenagers and I pull out this photo of them in the Barbie Jeep? NOT, but wait there are more pictures to come...

Tristan's first Trout

Jim took the kids fishing a few times and they all had a blast. Tristan caught his first trout and was very proud. Daddy let him bring it home and cook it up which they thought was way cool, the boys especially liked preparing him for dinner (I will skip the details, but let's suffice it to say it was like Biology class all over again). Don't you just love how they are all holding up their hands to show their pride in the catch? :) Jim claims this is bigger than my previous trout, but I do not believe so. Of course it has been soooo many years since Mommy went Trout fishing (BK-before Kids), perhaps I will have to find some old fishing shots of myself and post here as proof, HMMM?

Don't hate us because we are beautiful

So, what was I doing when the big ones were off fishing? Having fun with the wee little ones of course. Nathan and Dalton decided baby Abby's hair bows were very fascinating and that it was not fair that she got to wear them:

Doesn't she look so cute? I called her Pebbles.

But then little Bam Bams said, let us join the fun. Of course I had to pull out the camera, what good mom let's a photo op like this pass by? Plus I had to make Jim cringe just a little :)

Happy Birthday Mrs. Johnson

Today was Tristan's teacher's birthday. Mrs. Johnson is an incredible teacher. She was meant to teach. Her patience, love, and ability to reach the children amaze me. I wish we could bring her along to every future grade. I am sad to see this year end as Tristan and I just love her and will miss her. I wanted to do something special for her, so I baked her this cake for her birthday. She loves gardening and this was my attempt at creating a "cake garden" for her. She cried when she saw it which of course made me cry. We both stood in front of the class crying when she read the card we gave her too. A student brought us a kleenex and I laughed. I told Tristan "Isn't it funny that some girls cry when they are so happy?" He laughed and agreed.

Here is a poem that I found that is very sweet about the bond that teachers and parents share:

Whose Child is This? Author unknown

"Whose child is this?" I asked one day

Seeing a little one out at play

"Mine", said the parent with a tender smile

"Mine to keep a little while

To bathe his hands and comb his hair

To tell him what he is to wear

To prepare him that he may always be good

And each day do the things he should"

"Whose child is this?" I asked again

As the door opened and someone came in

"Mine", said the teacher with the same tender smile

"Mine, to keep just for a little while

To teach him how to be gentle and kind

To train and direct his dear little mind

To help him live by every rule

And get the best he can from school"

"Whose child is this?" I asked once more

Just as the little one entered the door

"Ours" said the parent and the teacher as they smiled

And each took the hand of the little child

"Ours to love and train together

Ours this blessed task forever."

The Baseball Shuffle

Ignore the spot in the middle when you see the ground, Collin was shaking the fence that I had the camera resting on to be funny!

Take time to smell the roses (and the honeysuckle and hay)!

Yesterday morning was cold and damp and when it was time to go to the bus, I just wanted to hop in the van and drive Tristan to the end of the driveway as we often do on cold or rainy mornings. However, Tristan insisted on walking. I grumbled as I was tired and it would have been so much easier to drive. In this walk, I learned an important lesson. Our children often make us take time to "smell the roses." Had I not taken this walk, I would not have noticed the beauty that God had set before us that morning. The hay bales in the field in the morning sun and the smell of honeysuckle (one of my favorites). I grabbed the camera and took a picture of each to remind me of what we might miss each day if we are not careful.

The funny of the day:

What I never heard before becoming a mom:

"Come and look at my green stinky!"

From who, you guessed it, Collin last night!

A Safari Adventure

On Saturday, we had the van all loaded and Annette called to say that they heard on the news that the zoo was closed. Closed? It is usually only closed 1 day a year, this could not be! Yup, as they say "the best laid plans..." So, we quickly had to come up with Option B. Annette then suggested the Safari Park . I would definitely recommend this place to anyone. We had an absolute blast. First, we rode the horse drawn wagon, then later in the day, went through in our cars. I laughed so hard I cried and my stomach literally hurt at the end of the day. It is so amazing to see the animals up so close and personal. Collin's favorites were the pot bellied pigs. On our drive, Auntie had to stop at every pig so that Collin could feed them. Of course the funniest part to me was two very large, very hairy animals who stuck their heads in Carolyn's window and didn't want to leave! I'll post their pictures here as well. I was a little freaked out by the ostrichs and Carolyn took full advantage by shaking her bucket in front of me so they'd come up close and personal to me. Take a look at these funny shots of Collin feeding an Ostrich from the back seat. Doesn't his face just say "Don't eat me?"!

The babies had a great time as well. Every animal is a cat or "at" as Dalton calls them. He became very excited by the clydesdale type horses who drew the wagons. He kept yelling "At, At." When we finally got up close, he decided that cat was a bit larger than he imagined and drew back.

There were way too many funny moments to write about---Katie's hand being swallowed and then spit out by a cow, majorly bad breath and spit up from the hairy cow beasts, the zebras who tried to rob the feed buckets...these and so many more....We all left the place saying "this was way better than the zoo."