Rats and New Doos!

The boys have been asking for a pet for awhile now. Anything from a pet dog to a gold fish to ants. Now that they are almost 7 we thought that they were ready for it. It's a great opportunity for the boys to learn some more responsibility. Matt and I had long discussions about what type of pet would be best for our family. We weren't ready for a dog- too much work. Too many of our friends are allergic to cats. Alex wanted a turtle but after googling them, they don't make the best of pets. Josh wanted a "orange fish" but Matt and I wanted a pet with a tad more interaction. So we thought about a gerbil or hamster or guinea pig. We took the boys to the pet store to look at them and to see if the boys would want one. They of course did. And after talking to the pet store person, she suggested rats. I was all ewww NO! So we left. The more I thought about it, googled it, and discussed it with Matt- it did make sense. They are smart, trainable, clean, and of the rodents bite the least. Oh, and they have personalities. They are also social so we needed more than one. Hmmm....need to let the idea of having rats in the house sink in. It did and I am ok with it so GROSS OUT ALERT- we have 2 pet girl rats!

Meet Ginger- a dumbo eared rat:

and Steve- normal pet rat:
Note: Most of these pictures are blurry because rats don't sit still and are speedy little critters and don't seem to care that I am trying to get a cute picture of them. :)
And yes you read that right Steve and Ginger are girls. The boys named them. It makes me laugh. And to answer your other question- no the cage is not kept in the kitchen! It is still safe to come over for dinner! :)
I have to admit- they are pretty cute. I like them. I had gerbils and hamsters as a kid- so rodents never bothered me. My only rule was NO RED EYES (CREEPY!) and it had to have fur. No naked rats. EWE! And yes they do have them. They are as gross looking as the hairless cats!
Steve seems to be a snuggler. She likes to be around people and sit with us. She will wait at the cage door waiting for someone to come play with her.
Ginger is a mover and a shaker. She likes to explore and play. She will come out of her cage if there isn't a ton of people around. And once she is out she like to be on the go.

Our only problem now is not letting the boys love them TOO much. If you know what I mean. Like that cartoon of "And I will love him and squeeze him" Yeah, its a little like that. But we are working on it and it gets better each day. Perfect pet for our family!!

In other news- the boys got new haircuts- which really isn't news. Other than the fact that we let them choose their doos this time. Zach went first:

Then Alex. He chose a mohawk:

He was PUMPED! -as you can see. Once Josh saw Alex he was all about the mohawk too! Here is Josh:
They think they are pretty cool- which they are! :)


I asked Zach if he wished he would have gotten a mohawk too and he said "Um NO! They are crazy!!" So good news for all you out there- another way to tell Josh and Zach apart- Josh has the mohawk.

7 Days: Day 7

Last week the boys had golf. They love it! I love it too! Not only do I get to chat with my friends again, but it is fun watching them.

However this week the weather was cold and windy. Last year I got a nice tan....this year I was bundled up in jeans and a jacket! And almost every time after the lesson was over we drove through Starbucks on the way home just to warm up.
And some days it looked like it was going to rain on us, but luckily the rain waited until our lesson was over!
Each day they had a new skill to work on. Whether it was hitting long shots, or
putting....they learned a lot and I think they are ready to play a round of golf! Now the question is am I ready to play a round with them? :)

This is my day 7 of 7 Days shot:

7 Days: Day 6

Um....Anyone out there know what this is? Got another veggie from the farmer's market and I have no clue what it is or what to do with it! Well....other than making it my Day 6 of 7 days shot that is.

7 Days: Day 5: White

I struggled with today's theme of white...

This is what I came up with.
It's laundry day! Not very exciting I know. Maybe I will be more creative tomorrow.

7 Days: Day 4

This is how I spent my night. The boys had Judo and I got to read the new Janet Evanovich book. Not a horrible way to spend the evening.

7 Days: Day 3

Today we had the pleasure of going to Woodcliff Lake for some boating, swimming and fun! And fun it is! We LOVE going! We always have a really great time!

Bill and Linda (the people who invited us out) fed us some delicious lunch of grilled burgers! Bill makes awesome burgers! So yummy! Then it was off in the boat we went. The weather was perfect today!

At the lake there is a sand hill that the boys love playing on.
So we stayed a while and "sledded" down it on a zip sled.

After awhile we got back on the boat to do some skiing and zip sledding. Zach and Josh did it last year. This year Zach,
Josh
AND Alex all did it.
They loved it!

Matthew (another kid out there- not my Matthew) went skiing for the first time! He did AWESOME!!

After boating around the lake for a while we went back to the beach and played around. Things like Swimming and burring each other....

It was so much fun!!

Here is my 7 Days, Day 3 shot:

7 Days: Day 2: Black

Today the theme was black. I tried to be creative. So I took a picture of myself in a shiny black TV. Here it is:
It's ok. Not my favorite. But it will do.

Today was also Father's Day. We had my parents and Matt's parents over for dinner. We munched on a few appetizers. And chatted away.
Matt wanted brats (ewe). So we boiled them in beer and onions then grilled them up. GROSS! I had a hot dog, as did the few of us who didn't like brats.
I think everyone had a decent time. It's nice to be able to get together.
The dad's in the picture are really wonderful and I feel blessed to have each of them in my life!

Flooding

7 Days is here again!! Woot!! Get ready for a snippet into our lives for the next 7 Days!

Last night Matt and I celebrated our 12 anniversary a day early since our actual anniversary falls on Father's Day this year. Ronna and Larry (Matt's parents) were nice enough to watch the boys for us while we went out to celebrate 12 great years of marriage!

We went out to dinner at Blue Agave. It is a new to us Mexican restaurant and it was yummy! They came to our table and made fresh guacamole that was really good! And their margaritas were pretty tasty too!!
Cheers!!

After dinner we decided to go to the casinos. Plus we wanted to check out the flooding of the big Mo. We checked it out a week or so ago and wanted to see where it was at this week. Plus we wanted to hit the JACKPOT at the casinos. We did see the floods....we did NOT hit the jackpot. Unless you call me winning $10 a jackpot. Yeah- me neither.

We went to Ameristar- and both decided we should have gone to Harrahs. However the flooding there was sad. This is the view going into the parking garage.

We parked on the second level of the parking garage because below it was flooded- like this:
This is looking out at the parking lot:

And this is my 7 Days: Day 1 shot:


It's so sad. I feel for all the people and businesses that are getting flooded! It's a big mess!!

Summer Fun

School has let out for the summer and we have had a blast so far! WOOO HOOO! I have been meaning to blog about what we have been up to each time we have done something fun, but somehow time is getting away from me and if I don't start blogging about something soon summer will be over!

Last day of kindergarten

So school let out just before Memorial day. I had a little bit of a hard time with it. Not because my boys will be home all the time now- I am really looking forward to spending time with them! I had mixed feelings because Kindergarten was over. They are no longer little kids. They grew up right before my eyes. I went from praying to make it through the day to praying that time will SLOW DOWN now. They are so much fun!! I really do cherish every moment with them.

OK, back to the last day of school- we decided to celebrate by going out to lunch with Matt and then we went to Build-A-Bear workshop. Alex had been begging to go for awhile and so I decided now was a good time as any to go. I had no idea how involved this process was. It wasn't just a pick a teddy bear and stuff him. It was much more involved.
They had to warm this little heart they stuffed inside the bear. They "bathed" them. They dressed them. We got birth certificates. I have to admit it was kind of cool. I would have totally been into this if I was their age!
Our summer was officially off to a great start!!

Another day I took the boys to paint pottery. Each kid chose something different to paint. Zach chose to paint a mug in stripes. Josh painted a rainbow scene on a plate. And Alex chose a car box to keep his special treasures in.
It was fun. I do have to admit I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut- telling them what colors to paint where, what would look best, etc. But I did. After all- it is their art not mine!

We have been judo weekly. They are LOVING it!! Especially now that they have their uniforms.
Look out everyone- they think they are professionals now! In the picture its Josh, Alex and Zach- just in case you were wondering.

This week they have been doing tennis. I love this tennis camp that we do. We did it last year too. The coaches do a really great job teaching the kids AND making it fun!! Everyone smiles and laughs the whole time. As do I- as I get to hang out with some of my friends too!!
Alex has another wiggly tooth (number 2) and every time I look at him lately- no matter what he is doing- he has his hand in his mouth wiggling it away! :)

They also started their art classes. Zach and Josh are doing a general art class. **BRAG ALERT** I was sitting out in the hall waiting for their class to finish up and their teacher came out and told me how GIFTED they are in art!! Not that I didn't know this- they are REALLY creative. Zach tells everyone he wants to be an artist when he grows up- but it is nice to hear from an art teacher that they are gifted!!

Alex, of course, wanted NOTHING to do with that type of art- so he is taking drum lessons. Not sure that was the wisest parenting decision but he LOVES it!! That's all that matters right?

Today we went bowling. I think everyone had fun. Josh and Zach got a tad jealous that Alex got a spare and they didn't but that's ok. It's not like they will never get one themselves! They have in the past they will do it again I am sure!
As you can see we are having a blast! And this doesn't include all the playing with the neighborhood kids (or other various play dates)! Have I mentioned lately how much I love our new neighborhood? I really do. The kids get along so great and have so much fun! It's heaven!! I think this may just be the best summer yet!

Who Am I?

So Josh and Zach have discovered that they are identical and are now fully taking advantage of that.

The other morning they came down looking like this:
Then started giggling and asking "Mom, guess who I am!?!?"

They would then run to the other room, switch around and come back giggling and again asking "MOM! Guess who is who!"

99% of the time I do know who is who. They look different to me. The other 1% of the time I am either exhausted, sick, overwhelmed or all three. Do you know who is who? I'll give you a hint. Josh is in blue and Zach has plaid shorts on. :)
Just kidding. In each picture Zach is on the left and Josh is on the right!

Be warned! They are going to have FUN with this!! :)