Innaugural Iowa River trip

Finally! We took our canoe north to a nice part of the Iowa River for a six-mile trip with some friends. This was our first river trip, and we had a great time!! We had a good current, and we saw lots of rocks, birds and one cool snake (I think we identified it as a fox snake).

On the way home, the wind nearly ripped the canoe off our car. In the paper this morning, I discovered that the storm that produced the killer tornado yesterday passed right where we had been, so I'm grateful wind was all we had to worry about. The town of Parkersburg was mostly destroyed. It wouldn't be Memorial Day without tornadoes around here.

Does this freak you out?

"What freaks me out...is that strawberries look like noses." - M4

Poem for Indy

Indy, oh Indy, how I love thee,
Even if you're in the AARP,
Alas, your movie by me can't be seen,
'Til I ditch the kids, cuz it's PG-13.

Warriors and weddings

The kids and M2 had a great time at Grandma and Grandpa's this past weekend with all the uncles and aunts! We visited for my cousin's wedding...unfortunately M1 had to stay home for Commencement.

The kids were inspired by Ninja Warrior to stage some competitions, and Aunt L and Aunt N devised some tricky tasks at the local park.


We also celebrated Aunt C's 30th birthday! Woo hoo!! Awww...you're still just a young chicky, C. We had a party on Grandma and Grandpa's fabulous porch.

The wedding was lots of fun, too, although I must admit it was the most tattooed wedding party I've ever seen! Guess I'm just getting old, man. My cuz was looking 40s glamorous, and I fully expect to see the groom on Top Chef one of these days!

It was a fun, exhausting weekend and over waaaaaaaaaaay too soon. I wish I could just shrink the distance between California and here!

Soviet youth

Took some pics and videos at gymnastics last week. The kids have a sweet Russian teacher named "Miss Olga."

Clever...and infuriating

At this time of year, there is a daily discussion (read: argument) with M3 over whether a tank top is appropriate outerwear. Personally, I think 50 degrees is not warm enough for spaghetti straps.

Anyway, yesterday I told M3 to throw on a sweatshirt over her tank top. She pretty much ignored me. A while later she came into the kitchen with a sweatshirt, put it on the floor and started throwing a ball onto it repeatedly. I asked her what she was doing, and she said, "Throwing on a sweatshirt!" Uh huh.

What a character...

M4 in reaction to something yesterday: "Man alive!" Who says that?

Also, have I mentioned his extreme germophobia as of late? I blame preschool and their obsessive focus on germs. It is to the point where he broke down into tears and asked me to wash his bedsheets because his friend L touched them without washing his hands after going to the bathroom. He drives me crazy asking if germs stick to this or that (the outside of the car, the inside of the car, stuffed animals, bottoms of shoes, etc.). He doesn't want my nose to touch him when I give him a kiss!! Sigh...I know he is just trying to process things, but I also worry for his mental health! And mine...