Chucky Cheese pretty please

we have spent our last few weeks gallivanting around town redeeming our few last days of solitude before school lets out. cashing in on the virtual emptiness of childrens play areas during what i call the 'golden hours'. (the time of day most kids are in school).

mondays mood brought us to chucky cheese. another first for denver.

we had some old tokens left over from years ago. to my surprise they still worked. 

within minutes i found myself abandoned at the table. nev and denver took off in high pursuit. pockets full of bounty.

there seems to be a  unmistakable magnetic force between denver and trains. in all the games and rides throughout the whole place, he chose to spend most of his time at the train table. but that dont surprise me.

pretty soon i heard the death cry. i spied denver coming toward me at 100mph with a look of terror i cant say that ive ever seen before.  it was chucky. on the loose. in house.

evidently he roams the area every hour on the 30.

i didnt realize my guy was so terrified of overgrown stuffed.. animals?

but i guess that explains why we dont have easter bunny pics from this year. its all adding up.

he got over it though. luckily chucky dont lurk for long and bum was right back at it again in no time flat. out of sight, out of mind. whew.

despite the small mishap it ended up being a pretty joyful visit. and we even still left with a cup of tokens to use once school starts up again. as for summer vacation, i wish i could crawl under my covers and hibernate and skip the whole thing. im still looking for that perfect place where its fall all year round. so far, no such luck. maybe someday though.

 as for now, i just live for those 'golden hours'. during those 'golden months'. with my 'golden children'.

"To parents I say, above all else, don't let your home become some terrible miniature copy of the school. No lesson plans! No quizzes! No tests! No report cards! Even leaving your kids alone would be better; at least they could figure out some things on their own. Live together, as well as you can; enjoy life together, as much as you can." ~John Holt

Dear Denver

dear denver.

there are so many things i have to thank you for. thank you for showing me the beauty in so many things.

thank you for getting my butt out of the house and into nature where we make our endless discoveries.

thank you for continually making me laugh in everything you do and say.

 you are so good for my soul.

thank you for showing me that little boys are magical, remedial and gentle.

you speak for so many. you have changed my perspective for the better.

and by that you have made me a better person.

thank you for showing me the beauty in trains. your passion has opened up new doors and enlightened my world just a little more. you have taught me so much, especially how to spot a train from miles away.

i will forever appreciate them for the joy they have brought into your life. my life.

thank you for being the best little brother and big brother all at the same time.

you love these girls with all your heart and it shows.

you have the most gentle tone and touch when holding and playing with london and look up to nev like she is your hero. because she is.

thank you for your unconditional love.

you tender touch and unlimited kisses and hugs.

thank you for loving me and telling me.

 thank you for your trust in me.i know i can trust you too.

thank you for your respect and understanding and for knowing what i need right when i need it.

today out of the blue, you told me 'mom, im so glad your here'.

and im so glad your here too.

that kind of love is for real. like no other, and its all i need. better than gold or riches.... by far.

thank you for loving me even when im grumpy, or ugly. you see through me, straight into my soul.

 thank you for always being in your true colors, for showing me what little boys are all about.

thank you for cuddeling up and watching A Haunting with me for the zillionth time.

and for being the only one in the family who will eat my cooking, other than me.

thank you for today and thank you for tomorrow.

you are perfect proof that God does not give us what we want, but what we need.

we need you baby boy. i need you.

the whole wide world needs you.



Fun House

since our last trip to EnterTrainment Junction was a total flop, we decided to try again and do it right this time. same place, but different state of mind.

we just took our time and let bum lead the way. he got to decide where we went and for how long. no time limits or pressure. and the pottys in imagination station even had manuel flush toilets! win!

(nev left her phone in the car this time).

 it was the most fun i have had in ever. not kidding.

this place is amaaazing. we got to see and do everything this time thanks to mom for going along and holding the baby for us.

our strategy is going places on weekdays when kids are in school, so everywhere we go we have the place to ourselves. no waiting, no hassles. just pure bliss. 

the fun house was insane, especially the tilt room.
we thought we were alone and acted like complete idiots until someone came over the loud speaker telling nev to not climb on the bars. i was snapping a picture just as it happened and caught her expression.
slightly embarrassing, but pretty freaking funny none-the-less.

for the month of may, you get two free tickets to come back again when you buy an admission. there was a guy there from out of state who had 4 that he obviously couldnt use and he gave them to us. so we have 6 free tickets to use up. i foresee another trip here real soon. life is good. 

(doin the happy dance)

i pretty much just have two words that sums it up.

*CRAZY FUN*.

~ If there is no passion in your life, then have you really lived? Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it, and let it become you and you will find great things happen FOR you, TO you and BECAUSE of you. ~  T. Allen Armstrong.

mothers day special

i have been a horrible mother.

i am the mother of a little boy who is facinated by trains and i never even knew this train utopia existed until recently. how could i be so featherbrained. my poor little guy has suffered all this time because of my ignorance.

 i knew i had to make it right. i had to get my little guy there asap. i have already wasted too much time.

this morning across their fb page they announced that moms get free admission on mothers day! win!

 alllllllllll aboard!

(giddy laughter).

this is the same little guy who eats, sleeps, and dreams of trains daily. he knows every Thomas train and their numbers. can sing the songs word for word and rarely leaves his train table unless he is watching Thomas on tv. he is a boy with a one track mind (excuse the pun).

he has found his utopia.

a place where he knows no foreign land

a bum in his element

"peep peep"

we were in seventh heaven, gung ho, and eager to close the place down.

 until... disaster struck. it all happened during bathroom break where we were ambushed by the automatic flush toilets. the fact that nev dropped her phone in one toilet right before it flushed was a minor mishap compared to the 10 minutes i spent kneeling down trying to convince denver that the other toilet will not suck him in and gobble him up when he uses it. (due to his extreme fear of automatic flush). he wasnt buying. he was melting.

i am sure from the outside, the bathroom must have sounded like a torture chamber for the 20 minutes we were inside, and i can only imagine what people were thinking.

 but i was spent. done. in just under 2 hours i was headed toward the exit towing 2 kids in a frenzy. fail.

but its ok. its ok because thats not what mothers day is about. its about being with your kids, listening to them, holding them, kissing them, and loving them even though one flushed their cell phone down the toilet. its cuddleing in so close to them that you can hear the soft beat of their heart as your pressed againt their chest but still it don't seem close enough.

its stroking their cheeks and whispering in their ear how much they mean to you even though they are not listening. watching them sleep and breathe while tears stream down your face because you love them so much that it hurts. it must be mothers day an awful lot around here. im going to go cuddle up with my babies now. every one of them.

xoxo Happy Mother Day xoxo

~Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.  ~Charles R. Swindoll

Brownie points

Nev and Denver decided to whip up some tasty brownies on Tuesday to satisfy their "trent tooth".  i let Nev go at it on her own just to see what would happen.

sometimes the best way to learn something is to teach someone else how to do it, and she had a more than willing little student eager to learn, and taste.

i was surprised at how good everything turned out considering Nev has never done this by herself before. (she never wanted to). but it's amazing what you can do when you have the desire to do something, instead of being expected to, or knowing there are expectations. it feels good to have the freedom to experiement with something new on your own, how you want to, and not worry about the outcome. with this being said, her brownies turned out good. not great or perfect, just good. nothing a few more batches can't fix. each time will get better. and better. and maybe someday she might have the desire to start making dinner. Nev, if your reading this, i really love shake and bake chicken, baked potatos and brussel sprouts with butter and pepper:)  love ya, mean it. xoxo



Denver seen us rummaging through the apron's and wanted one of his own to wear. 5 minutes before these pics we're taken, he was running around in his birthday suit, his usual around the house attire.  

I'm the first to admit that Nev does a lot better than me in the kitchen. just yesterday i was trying a new awesome bean soup recipe in which you bake the beans instead of soaking them overnight. in light if the fact that i almost burned the house down (for the second time) I'd say they didn't turn out too shabby for my first try! Win! (at least this time we didnt have to call the fire department and alarm all the neighbors, thank goodness no one seen the smoke bellowing out our windows), i was able to maintain it, and gain control. yes! besides the fact that we all were choking on smoke and bearing burnt eyeballs that caused us to not be able to see where we were going for a bit, we were mostly ok.

hey wait a minute. as a matter of fact our smoke alarms didnt respond. ummm, i prolly better go check those things. that might be a good idea.

happy tuesday friends.

"I am learning all the time, the tombstone will be my diploma". ~Eartha Kitt