the day we conquered BIG BERTHA.

scariest water slide 

we've ever faced.

sean was sent to clear the path.

we heard rumors it was really dark in the middle and that the house keeper's daughter once lost a toe nail in it.

so basically it scared the crap out of me.

never had any intentions of going down it myself.

fully planned on cheering on sean,

maybe encouraging brennan into it,

and calling it a day.

and then max went down right after sean.

which made brennan want to go.

followed by brennan bullying me into it.

using my own words against me.

ha!

"mom, if you don't go today, you'll never get to go.

you'll miss your chance, and you might regret it.

just do it. you'll be glad you did."

-brennan

and then i went down it 6 more times before my dad called us up for dinner.

we conquered bertha.

and she bettered our courage.

and it was such a great day.

a smooch while you're going round and round.

"i'm gonna be a wrestler that doesn't smoke."

-brennan {4 yrs & 358 days old}

...

yesterday afternoon we we ditched church and took grandpa to ride the ferris wheel at scheel's.

i learned that i might actually be afraid of heights.

who knew?!

and that i don't like ferris wheels anymore.

it's not the going around that gets me.

it's the stop and go at the tippy top.

i sat there squeezing max's hand with my sweaty left palm,

trying not to move.

and i'm pretty sure i stopped breathing all together at one point,

as they were loading people on at the bottom.

i turned around with my eyes really big to my dad in the chair behind us,

and he was all,

"are we done yet???"
and i was all, 

"i don't like this."

and he was all,

"it's just like a ski lift!"

and i was all,

"except for the whole rocking back and forth uncontrollably part."

and the kids were all, 

"hi gampa!!!"

"hi max!"

"hi BEEEEEAN-an!!!"

waving,

smiling,
leaning and turning from side the side.

happy as little clams.
i was so happy they were happy.
and not scared.

i could see sean and chase waving at me from the ground,

and i know sean could see how big my eyes were

{b/c he told me after that he could}.

and max told me she wasn't scared and didn't need to hold my hand,

but then i convinced her that she should.

{b/c i needed to hold hers. for me.}

and i kept thinking,

nobody move,

hold on,

and how on earth could this bar and seat belt be enough to hold us in?!?
and i was for sure we would tip upside down any minute.

and then we flew around two or three times in a row, 

and it wasn't so bad anymore, 

and then it was over.

and i'm pretty sure i don't ever want to go on a ferris wheel ever again.

unless i know i won't have to stop at the tippy top.

but the kids loved it.

barf!

 at the tippy top.

don't let our smiles fool you.

we are just a smiling people.

 it's just not a ferris wheel ride without a smooch while you're going round and round.

 

it is SO not going there,

but i might be able to be convinced to leave it until something breaks.

or until someone breaks blood on their forehead from the other wall's corner.

{picking up the rebound is risky business around here!}

b/c truth be told,

it's kind of fun to shoot hoops from the breakfast table.

happy monday:)

funnel

 {max asks to wear her swimming suit the minute she wakes up. every day. love her.}

can you see what she sees???

it was quite the spectacle in the yard last night.

the spider.

or the airplane races.

whichever. 

it built a funneled web like a tornado right down into the base of the grass.

and went up and down its tube as the kids leaned over to take a peak.

max kept squealing when it would move.

in true girl fashion.

brennan was mostly concerned that the spider was going to be mad at sean for cutting up his home tonight with the mower.

b/c then the spider might bite him.

such a tender little heart.

i didn't point out that the mower would probably cut up the spider before it had a chance to bite dad.

sad for the spider.

happy for me:)

making room for corn

 3 spiders with white sacks on their bums

nests of wolf spiders running under the fence
black widow in a hole

daddy long legs a'plenty

{did you know they are not spiders?}

{no venom and no silk=not a spider}

one garden snake

5 bags of weeds

and a partridge and a pear tree

{actually a pulled tree, or bush, whichever}

=

room for my corn

and two more pumpkin plants.

happy summer:)

and happy baby rototiller we borrowed from my 83 year old neighbor.

i'm an arachnophobe.

this picture might keep me from sleeping tonight.

really,

it's silly,

i know,

but i get goose bumps when i talk about spiders,

and my body turns to jelly when i see them.

it's a real fear.

don't judge.

...

also,

it appears we only had to suffer 3 days, not 10-12.

thank heavens.

{although neither sean nor i are too trusting that it's really gone for sure.

we are on 24 hours of all sickness FREE and counting.}

Roaches

Yep, my new best friend here.

I don't think I'm cut out for the tropics.

sharing with compliance

this is what was going on behind me. i was feeling so awesome.
best mom ever.
brennan and wilder were playing so great with the dino's.
no one was hitting.
everyone was sharing with compliance.
and then they learned how to open the tv armoire.
and they found the cars dvd.
and now i'm just the same mom today as i was yesterday.
the one that gives in and let's them watch a show b/c darn it, it's 16* outside, and a movie just sounds good.
today's fears:
1. my house will be messy after baby #2. it's not the mess i'm actually worried about. i can do messy. it's the worry that i will be so tired that it will bother me then, when it wouldn't bother me now.
2. that my toddler, who has recently become extremely destructive when he's bored, will tear my house apart. i think this is more of a control issue than anything else. i will be nursing a baby, unable to move, and my toddler will be getting into "mommy's drawers" in the kitchen, and i won't be able to do a dang thing about.
3. that i will be nursing a baby in the morning, just wanting to sleep, but my toddler will be demanding my attention right at that moment. how do i feed both babies?
4. that i will want to go somewhere, but that by the time we are all fed, dressed, and put together it will be time to feed someone again.
5. that nursing might be just as hard the second time around.
6. that i will want to put the baby back inside of me after a week and go back to just the 1.
7. that i will become a hermit.
8. that brennan will hurt the new baby.
9. that i will neglect someone. brennan, new baby, sean, me, friend. you name it, someone's getting left out at some point.
10. that all of the things i swear i will never do when i have 2 kids, i will end up doing.
11. that brennan will be completely bored out of his mind, and i will have no energy to do anything about it.
12. that everything is going to change. (i realize this is inevitable.)
13. that i have to get on the scale today at the doctor, and that it bothers me, when it never did when i was pregnant with brennan.
ok, i feel better now that that's all out:-)
...
the scout master has requested "more videos" on the blog.
i give you,
the egg game.
30 second peek of what we did for over half an hour.