At Least They Are Honest...

The boys get excited about a lot of things, but jumping on the bed when mom and dad get home from work is definitely on their top 5 list. Followed closely by pushing every button on my alarm clock. If I don't double check my alarm clock before I go to bed at night, the chances of it going off at the intended time in the morning is practically zero.

So when I asked them last night when I got home if they had been "good boys or naughty boys" they were kind enough to tell the truth.

A few notes:

• I swear...I usually make my bed every morning...
• These t-shirts went directly into the "too small" pile at the end of the night! Seriously!!
• Did you notice my good catch?
• Can you imagine the thought of replacing the boys' cribs with beds? Um - NO!! Not for a very very very long time!

Monkeys Jumping on the Bed from K Schultes on Vimeo.

No-No!

For as many times in any given day that the boys hear the word "no", I shouldn't be surprised that it is P's new favorite word.

No-No! from K Schultes on Vimeo.

Some "no's" the boys have been hearing lately include (but are not limited to) the following:

- No, you can't stand on the kitchen table

- No, playing in the toilet is yucky

- No running on the couch (or standing)

- No eating crayons. That's why your teeth are bright orange.

- No, intentionally hitting your brother on the head with a bat is naughty

- No, mommy was actually folding those clothes

- No throwing your food (please!!?!)

It's hilarious when Prior says it - and impossible not to crack a smile. Hence the reason he does it (it didn't take him long to figure out that we think it's funny!)

My Future's So Bright...

When we get out the shades, the boys' different personalities shine brightly (ha ha).

Mason takes his sunglasses off immediately, hands them back to you saying "pease" for you to put them back on. Only for him to immediately take them back off again. He would repeat that process for hours on end. Hence, the pictures below are all of Prior. (And, I don't feel bad because recent post have definitely included more of Mason).

Prior on the other hand...he keeps them on, leans back in the wagon, relaxes, and is totally chill. If you try to make him smile he purposefully tries to not let himself crack a smile. And if he can't hold it in and starts to smile, he corrects it and is quickly back to his "tough guy" image. It's hilarious. But if you take them off before he's ready to have them off, it's a stage 5 meltdown.

Broccoli Pancakes and Strawberry Milk

M/P

Mason eating his broccoli pancakes.

Mason drinking his strawberry milk

Noi makes the best Pad Thai around. But, making sure I eat my my meals is not a big concern around this house! I've always said the boys are good eaters, but they sometimes need a little help.

By the time I get home from work, the boys are distracted (because mom and dad are home) and tired (because going to the park is hard work). So they would much rather throw their arms in the air and sign and say "all done" than eat their meal.

Noi knows their tricks and has a few of her own. For example, P&M (Mostly M) would probably eat pancakes for every single meal - breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It started with banana pancakes, but quickly spread. Noi started making the boys broccoli pancakes. Yes - broccoli pancakes. And strawberry pancakes, and blueberry pancakes, and carrot pancakes, and pretty much anything healthy you can put in a pancake. And guess what? They love them them all.

She's also found that with their current napping schedule (around 11:00 am for about 0-3 hours), they sleep better if they have a snack before their nap. And since they are down to 1 nap a day, it is a very important one! So Noi makes them strawberry milk before they go down. She throws milk and some frozen strawberries we picked earlier this summer into the blender and the boys LOVE it. Their eyes light up as soon as they see the blender come out of the pantry. P&M each chug a huge 8 oz. glass right before their nap and sleep like little babies.

Brotherly Love

Unfortunatley for Mason, since the boys aren't in daycare, there aren't many other people to blame for these bright red bite marks on Prior's arm.

State Baseball

P/M posing at home in their Kuemper shirts before heading south!

We recently made a trip back to Des Moines, IA for the boys high school state baseball class 2A championship game. Uncle Jake and the Carroll Kuemper Knights matched up against Solon for a great game. We all dressed in our red and gold to support the Knights (thanks Grandma Barbie for the Kuemper shirts!) It's special enough to make it to state let alone the championship game! While the Knights weren't able to pull off the win, we had a fantastic time.

Prior wearing Dad's hat

Dad and Mase cheering on the Knights

Uncle Jake and the Carroll Kuemper Knights

Mason and Great-Aunt Shell on the jumbo-tron! I can't believe Noi was able to get such a good shot of this!

Dad and Mason

Mason

Mason and Alli playing piano

Mason after about 422 strawberries

Dad, Mason, and Kennedy in the pool

Our attempt at a "cousins" picture. Notice my children are the only two that required a "prop" (a remote)

4 of the 6 jumped on uncle Jake for a picture - didn't work so well! I love the look on Alli's face!

Jake - we'll plan on another trip to State baseball at this time next year!

Nordic Fest 2010

The boys recently celebrated their Norwegian heritage at Nordic Fest in Decorah, IA. Last year the boys were taking 2-3 naps per day and also eating every 3-4 hours which cut into our "Festing". So this year was awesome! They love their wagon from Grandpa and we put some serious miles on it over the course of the weekend. They ate their first "varme polsa" - which is my absolute favorite Norwegian food (other than lefsa of course). For those of you that don't know, varme polsa is sausage wrapped in lefsa. And I don't even like meat! Strange I know. But so good! On Saturday morning we walked in the Elvelopet 5k walk/run. They boys had a blast in their stroller. Auntie Cara ran the 15k so we cheered her on after were were done. And we followed up the walk with a pancake breakfast at the fire station. It doesn't get much better than that! P&M dominated 4 pancakes in a matter of seconds. Stroller riding is hard work! They loved the parade! Oh - and we got Happy Joe's Taco Pizza for dinner on Saturday. The best pizza ever. Period! Noi came along so mommy and daddy even got some time out on the town - we had a blast!

P&M sporting their "I Lefsa My Heart in Decorah Iowa" baby blue t-shirts.

Everyone that cleaned their plate at the pancake breakfast got a free tour of the fire trucks! "Truck" happens to be one of the boys' favorite words these days. ("Mama" is number one of course).

This kind of stuff happens all the time these days. Prior's really good at making it look like an "accident".

Prior at the parade. We got to see lots of tractors and lots of horses.

This is Mason looking at me like "Mom - they clearly threw that candy at ME!

Why can't I have any!?"

It was definitely a sleeveless morning at the parade.

Like Daddy says: "Suns out - Guns out".

Prior at Dunning's Springs

Mason at Dunning's Springs

The boys were very intrigued by the water and wanted to get in. I let them put their toes in and then they changed their mind. Spring water is cold!

Guess who forgot their camera during this trip!? Luckily Noi had her camera along to capture all of our fun!