the joys of being a mama to little boys....

Little girls' mamas get tea parties and cute clothes and things like that--here is the exciting life and times of little boys! This is really not that funny, but it struck me on this particular day. So we have this bucket of Lincoln Logs and the bucket has always been a source of great entertainment in and of itself. A drum, a treasure chest, a bucket for blocks, cars, food,snacks--you name it, it has been in this bucket. Well Luke decided it would be a great hat (he told me later he was trying to be a silly clown in the circus) except when he tried to take it off. It was on at such an angle that it was caught across his forehead and the rounded part on the back of his head and I could not get it off. Literally, if I tried to pull it off, his feet came off the ground and he came with it. I twisted and turned and pushed and pulled and it would not come off!


Luke was quite upset that I took this picture--I think he was embarrassed. I gave up on salvaging the bucket and tried to just get it off of him since he was starting to get anxious about it ("Am I going to have to wear this to school tomorrow?") It was such thick cardboard that scissors would not cut it. So I ended up having to get tin snips and literally cut it enough in little strips to weaken it so I could tear it. I couldn't just cut it up and down because his head was so wedged.

Poor Lincoln Log bucket. We'll miss you.

my first day of pre-K....

This is him, pretending to walk to school with his backpack...

"I will help Henry at school, Mommy. I promise."

"See?" Hugs!!

Surprise from Daddy...

We have been reading Curious George and some other books about amusement parks, so when Luke learned this morning that we were going to Six Flags, he was so excited!! Daddy planned this as a last day of summer hoorah. He really wanted to ride the bumper cars (a la Oscar the Grouch), try a roller coaster and to fly in a boat like Peter Pan!!

Driving a big rig together...

You ok back there?

This, we had to ride twice since it was Peter Pan-ish...

On the way on his first real roller coaster...

Finally the bumper cars...

The horses on the 100-yr old carousel were a little high, so Luke needed a hand...

All smiles today...

This is not really amusement park relevant but was just humorous.
This is Luke making his monster face...

and this is a silly monster face...

and this is a sad monster face...

And an ice cream treat on the way home...
"What a perfect day, Mommy" he told me.

visiting the "biggest ship in the whole world"

Instead of going to the beach, we did some local fun stuff, like go to the USS Alabama, a WWII battleship in Mobile Bay. Luke loved all the levels, "like a maze" he called it. And he liked seeing how this ship was home to thousands of men for months. We saw the laundry, the "police station" and jail, the store, the kitchen and bakery, the mailroom, the hospital and best of all, the soda and ice cream shop!!

Sitting on the giant chain holding one or two huge anchors...

Peeking out of one of the...well, I don't know what it is called, but it where they shot huge guns from...

I am in the Navy now....

Luke and Big Pop checking things out on deck...

One of the dining areas or "mess halls"--named with boys in mind, obviously...

Triple-decker bunk beds!! Nothing like sleeping in a room with 40-50 of your closet friends...

Finding Auntie Beth...

Hugs!!!

In the brig with ya both....Can I get a home model?

Tight fit....yikes.