Reaping the Whirlwind

Fun with Dirt

Micah was so proud of himself. He climbed up the high-chair, sat on the food tray, and insisted that Stephanie take a picture.

The Buck men are getting ready to get back to work on the reason why there is so much fun dirt to play in…

Warren's new Shop. You're seeing the lower garage level. The actual woodshop will be the same size, but one floor up. WOW!

The final two pictures were taken during a recent edition of "sanity supper". What's a sanity supper, you ask? Well, it's basically what happens when the kids go crazy, drive mamma crazier, and all that dad can think of to feed the kids, extract mamma from the assylum that the house has become, and to spend family time together. And that usually boils down to a few options: Playland or Perkins. This time, it was Perkins.

Something Old and Something New

We went back to the park near my work and the boys loved it. They were just running around through the equipment to make sure that they saw it all…

Well, Micah was exploring and Noah was trying to keep up.

A few times during the experience, Micah looked and acted like a much bigger boy than when we realize. His climbing up this "silly ladder" was one of those times.

Stephanie saw this one and said that she thought that it was a good picture of Micah. She said that he looks sweet, innocent, and curious. I agree, he does look pretty stinkin' cute here.

This second trip to the park was a much dirtier one…we explored the sand implements

"explored" is the right word only if you think about a burrowing animal. Micah liked burying things (like his "flippy" sandal).

Our "neck injury" baby…she always sleeps so cock-eyed in her carrier.

This was a fun picture for me because I could get all three of the active players in one frame.

Just before I took this picture, Micah was buried in that sand. His flippie still is mostly buried.

Noah went back to his mainstay of entertainment…the bridges. And I was lucky enough to catch him in mid slip-n-fall…

…and the giggling aftermath.

He was contemplating where to go next…. I didn't pose him for this shot.

I did pose him for this one…he didn't really like hanging like that.

The Zoo is what's new. See the cool sunglasses gang?

The young -n- hip members of the gang.

We first went to see the gorillas.

I just found this sign funny…mainly because of what the "Gorilla's" failed to mention that they throw around. Yuck.

More gazing at the monkeys.

Micah climbed on the fences whenever possible to get a better look at the animals.

This shot was a comparison shot, more than anything. When we took Micah to Como Zoo a few years ago, it was closed and the only animal that we got to see was this turtle statue.

Seeing the Sea lions

Noah didn't get out of his stroller - because if he did, he'd have been in the worst possible cage/exhibit before I could blink - but he definitely sat up and tried to take everything in.

Micah really liked the lions. We saw some in the open and these two in the enclosed inside exhibit.

Of all of the things that Micah wanted to see, he was always looking forward to the Giraffes. As a matter of fact, when I asked him what his favorite animals from today were, he quickly listed off the Giraffes and the Zebras.

One Van, Two Crazy Boys, Three Locations, Four Days, Five Pots of Coffee, Six Grandparents, and hundreds of miles...

So, Micah's new thing is to put his clothes on…well, upside down.

And he likes to be very silly and pose for his family…crazy boy

Noah is infatuated with his belly button and his nose…. The similarity is that he likes to stick things in both places. It's hilarious

Hannah doing one of her four best things (I don't have a picture of her other three telents: pooping, eating, or pooping).

Micah sure loves his sister…it's pretty cute to see them interact.

This was an over-the-shoulder shot in the car ride down to Iowa. We decided to put both boys way in the back in an effort to make them happier for the ride. It worked, for the most part. But when it didn't work…it REALLY didn't work. Oh well.

Noah's trying to fill his big brother's shoes (he also tries to fill mine, Steph's, and anyone else who leaves their footwear unattended).

Micah was going crazy outside! He would spin all around throwing the ball.

Grandma's favorite thing to do with her grandchildren.

Adventures on different terrains in the back of some friend's house.

Sometimes the adventures turned to a wrestling match…and frequently, Noah doesn't like that too much.

But when grandpa Johnson gets involved, then it's a blast.

Stephanie and I went on a date on Saturday night. The waitress at Lollies East Side was surprised that we were married because we were holding hands. It was pretty fun to hear that.

Grandpa and the boys went to Hy-Vee for doughnuts on Sunday morning.

Micah bult many creations, so I had to include one of the pictures that he comissioned.

Grandpa Johnson lives for this…

…and this too.

Hannah was introduced to two of her Great-Grandmas this weekend.

Don't grandma's just look beautiful with their great-grand daughter?

Can't you just hear Noah's squeal of excitement and see his desire to chase Micah?

I just thought that this pic was cute because of the lighting…