Three Words: BIG. BOY. BED.

We've been doing some mid-summer cleaning and decided the spare bed needed to get out of the guest room to make room for other stuff. We talked to Jack about sleeping on a big boy bed and when given the choice between his crib and the big boy bed, he chose the bed. We were mega-worried when we put him to bed tonight but made sure he was extremely tired before we headed to his room. He laid right down and didn't fuss once. I did turn his turtle on (it makes stars on the ceiling; Heidi and Tori know what I'm talkin' bout) and he watched the stars to fall asleep. We were beside ourselves with worry tonight and it might be a long night checking on him all the time. We'll see...
We were cheesing while Mommy put the jammers on him. His shirt is from uncle Jake. It reads: "Dude! Your Girlfriend Keeps Checking Me Out!" Classy.
Hanging out, bein' a cowboy on his big boy bed.
He just started getting that whole say-cheese-and-mug-for-the-camera thang.
You can just hear him saying 'cheese', cantcha?

A Very Timely 4th Of July Post

Okay, I'm aware that these pix are kinda small, but for the sake of time, I had to post them this way 'cuz there are so many. If you want to see any of them closer, just click on them. Above, Matt teaches Peyton and Jackles the ninja art of lawn croquet. They were very good students and there was only one injury: when Jack winged his mallet around and smacked himself in his shoulder. No tears were shed.
This is our cousin Sabrina. She's completely adorb, no? She is my cousin Josh's daughter.
Again, Mr. Miyagi with his students.
The crew at Grandma V's house. On the left is my Broseph. He's 30 now. Poor guy. He has no idea yet what he's in for.
My dad appears as though he's being pushy, but he would never do that. He must be showin' off his guns. Yeah, that's it.
This is Sarah. We took photos of each other taking pictures of each other. 'Cuz we're awesome.
This is Grace, Sabrina's sister. She's sweet.
Peyton and Jack playing by Uncle Keith-er Sutherland and Grammy Tami. I bet you 100 million dollars Keith was saying something weird or gross or funny. It's kinda his 'thang'.
Jack got plenty of fluids. Fear not.
Ryan is obsessed with fireworks. He and I are not alike in that way.

Jack loved the snap pops. For about 30 seconds then he got distracted.
Julie and Grace. Geez, Jules, ix-nay on the ile-smay.
Jack and Tori await the fireworks show.
Grandma Elaine got Jack's attention for a moment. And it didn't even require candy! She's amazing!
Joe and Sarah. He's old. She's not. You do the math.

Joe and Jack. He's very old compared to Jack. But a little less mature... tee hee! (Just kidding. Joe's rad. He really is, but he needs and deserves as much crap as possible...always.)
The crew from the night. Stay tuned for photos of the cheeser contest.
Julie and Jack were BFF's that night. When she disappeared after fireworks, Jack was running around saying "where Juey go?" for quite a while. Even on the way back to Granny Janny's.
A little Sierra Mist Free never hurt anyone. (Okay, I don't know how accurate that statement is. I have no proof at all, but I assume it's never really hurt anyone SERIOUSLY at least. I'll look into it, k?)
Where Juey go? She's right there! I played volleyball with her that day and we got to play three games in the double elimination tourney. You do the math. (We lost 'cuz we kinda drank a little bit. Don't tell our moms...cuz they already know...it would be pointless and a waste of YOUR time.)

I love this pic of Jack and Peytunia enjoying the fireworks on the blankie. Culbertson has the best fireworks show ev. Hands down. No if's, and's or but's about it. Don't argue this point with me. You will lose.
See, here's proof. Nanna nanna boo boo.
Jack at Granny Janny's house. Sometimes you've just gotta stop and smell the daylilies.
Jack and Hank were BFF's too. In fact, if he didn't know where Hank was at all times, may Lawd have mercy. Seriously. It was whack. We stayed at Rick's house and got the royal treatment with our own master bed and bath. We're special I guess.
Hathead McGee during an introspective moment at Rick's house that weekend. Jack's parents (me and Amy for those of you not paying attention) celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 5th of July...with a 5th of Jack (that last part is a lie). We had a great weekend, much like the last five years, and Granny Janny even watched Jack while we went to a movie. And at the risk of going all Ebert and Roeper on ya, "Wanted" was pretty good. In case you wondered.

WANTED

WANTED:

The Macaroni 'N Cheese Bandit

for stealin' hearts, bein' sassy, not lettin' Ma and Pa sleep in, skippin' the veggies on his plate, reckless drivin' on his scooter, avoidin' bedtime and general troublemakin' and orneriness.

These are the most recent known photos of the rascal. Click them all to see full view.
If ya know this wily sucker's whereabouts or how to ketch him (other than lettin' on that you have Diego yogurt cups in yer fridge), tell his Pa posthaste.
He's known to be armed but harmless, so go easy on 'im, will ya?

Mega Randomness

We were goofing off at Grandma's the other day. His laugh makes me laugh.
I'm always cracking him up.
Can you believe how big he looks in this picture? Like a real boy, Gipetto! A real boy!
This is the blank, vacant stare we get during those rare moments when we divert his attention from "Max and Ruby" momentarily.
We snagged this table set for five bucks. Worth all 500 pennies, I tell ya! Jack agree-eth.

O'er The Course O' The Weekend

Okay, first off I should probably explain why the lack of posts lately. Well, it's quite simple. We cancelled internet because we were paying an arm and a leg since no longer getting the bundle discount with Charter when we cancelled cable. We were picking up a wicked awesome signal from a neighbor, so made the decision to just be moochers and use their internet. Not so fast. The minute we disconnected, that signal disappeared too. And it took two weeks to finally get hooked up with internet again. Yowch. Lesson learned.

Needless to say, I have A LOT of updating to get done, including 4th of July! So, I'm taking it bits and pieces at a time (thankfully Amy updated some this afternoon; see her posts below). And as Jack's shirt above states, "That's How I Roll." Profound.

Yes, Jack is wearing Aunt Emily's snakeskin pumps in this photo. And yes, we think it's funny. He is obsessed with all kinds of shoes and these were the first that stuck on his little feet (and they made clompy sounds when he stepped). A lot more fun for him than dad's flip flops. Speaking of which, about a month ago, Amy was helping Jack put on his Thomas sandals. She said something about the Thomas shoes, and he looked up, serious as ever, and said, "My Thomas Shoes. They're best shoes." That they are, Jack. That they are.

Classy heels.

We had Amy's brother Jake, sister Emily and Papa Tom at the house this weekend. It definitely called for the pool to be filled. Jack took the lead on that one...

Jacob demonstrating his might.
Uncle Jake and Jack. They had a wee tiff on Saturday, but it ended quickly.
Nothin' says summer like an box of generic AJ.
What a sharp kid. Look at that blond hair!
He and Jake were goofing. Either that or this is when I was singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and making the last word of each line sound really goofy. Yeah, I think that was it actually.

He's freaking adorb.
Emmy and Jack playing with his cop car.
Jack convinced Emily to hang out with him on Mom and Dad's bed and watch "Max and Ruby". Okay, the show is fine and all and it's very age appropriate, but Jack is completely obsessed with this show. For about a week it was all he wanted to do. He'd just say "Max. Urby." over and over all day long. We'd give in but only after he played outside a while. And with this gnarly humidity, I can't say I blame him for wanting to chill inside.
Jakey sleepy.
Papa Tom took Jack for a walk in the park the other day just the two of them. A pleasant trip enjoyed by both of them...and all of us at the house who didn't have to watch "Max and Ruby" for an hour. Bless you, Gramps. Bless you.