Happy Mom's Day!

What a wonderful Mother's Day it has been! The flu bug hit our family hard this week, so it was nice to be back on the go again! The boys treated Jami to the traditional breakfast out at the Wildhorse Pass Resort for Mom's Day.

"Mom, can you make my chocolate milk at home like this? It's fancy!"


"I'm serious about showing Mom a fun time today!"

Water, water everywhere.

Once upon a time there was a father left to take care of two young lads while their mother got her hair cut. The father was making an earnest attempt to get the boys dressed, cleaned up, and out the door for their dinner plans with their mother. The older boy -- a spirited 3-year-old -- was taking his final restroom stop before heading out the door. Since it was taking longer than usual, the father checked on the son, only to discover that an entire roll of toilet paper had mysteriously worked its way into the toilet. The father, also an expert plumber, got the plunger to assist with the situation. Thinking the issue was resolved, Plumber Pops flushed the toilet ... only to have the water spewing over the toilet bowl onto the bathroom floor. Water, water everywhere.

The father (along with the son's feeble attempts to help) began sopping up the water with multiple towels as quickly as possible. In the midst of the clean-up efforts, the smoke alarm began to resonate a shrill piercing sound throughout the house. This then activated the shrill piercing cry of the younger 6-month-old son. Upon further investigation, there was no smoke causing the alarm to sound, so the father placed Priority 1 on cleaning up the overflow and Priority 2 on turning off the smoke alarm. (The father also figured that Priority 3 of calming the baby would be accomplished when Priority 2 was resolved.) With Step 1 complete, the father moved on to taking down the smoke alarm from the vaulted ceiling with a ladder (a rake was another tool used but it proved to be unsuccessful). A few peaceful seconds passed, but then a 2nd smoke alarm started its all too familiar sound downstairs! The father raced downstairs to find water dripping through the AC vents from the toilet incident. The smoke detector was hooked to the main wiring in the house that had gotten wet and set both of them off. Water, water everywhere.

The father then proceeded to call the mother starting off the conversation with, "Someday this is something we will laugh about..."

Facelift to the front yard.

The front yard at 337 S. Ocean Drive is looking a little better these days. There were a few freezing winter nights that got the best of our bushes and trees, so out with the old and in with the new! We put some rock in our side yard by our driveway, planted 2 new Chinese elm trees, and replaced some of the sidewalk leading up to our front door. Now, if we can just keep the new trees thriving through the ultra hot summer...

Campout.

Scott and Luke went on a father/son camping trip with our friends the Wellings, including dad Kenn and sons Christian, Truman, and Nate. They journeyed out to the Superstition Mountains east of the city. One highlight of the trip was taking a nature walk this morning with the park ranger. Luke even received an honorary park ranger badge!

The clean-up crew tidies up the tent. From left: Luke sweeps, Truman & Kenn supervise, and Christian rolls up a sleeping bag.

A little water will make you sprout.

Luke must have thought that Reid needed a little water to make him grow ... or else that it was fun to spray baby brother with the hose. Probably the latter! Luke is sporting his new swimwear for the season. Reid got stuck with some Luke hand-me-down trunks. Surf's up!

"No, I don't want to..."

Ah ... we are finally understanding what those wiser parents who have gone before us now mean when they say that "three's" are much more difficult than the "terrible two's." Luke is exercising full rights on using the word "no" and on telling us when he does not want to do something. There's absolutely no reasoning with a 3-year-old who is simply saying no because he wants to do the exact opposite of what's being asked of him ... even when it comes to his favorite activities. If it's not his idea, then tough luck! So he's been spending a lot of time-outs in his room lately. We know it's just a phase, but one we'd like to not be stuck in too terribly long.

Say cheese!

Fishing with Lexi.

Luke and his gal pal Lexi met for a playdate at Islands Park today. We spent a little time fishing, feeding the ducks, and playing at the park. It was nice to be outside, but it got a little toasty in the hot sun!

Say a prayer for monster trucks.

Tonight Luke learned a little bit about bedtime prayers from Mom. We practiced kneeling beside the bed and making "prayer hands." Then we talked a bit about what to say when praying. Mom explained to Luke that he should be thankful for the good things that happened that day. Here's the conversation that followed...

Mom: "Luke, what was the favorite part of your day that you'd like to say thanks for?"
Luke: "Hmmmm, I liked those monster trucks at the park. They zoomed around and had big tires and that man made them drive fast! And me and Thomas we ran after them and it was fun!"
By this point, Mom realized she left that question very open to interpretation so really any answer should be fair game. Side note: Luke didn't go to a monster truck rally ... some guy had a remote control truck at the park today.
Mom: "Okay, Luke that sounds like a great thing to pray about. So let's start...
Lord, thank you for the monster trucks at the park today and all my family and friends. Amen."

Luke repeated it and off to bed he went.

So before you go to bed tonight, say a prayer for all the little things in life that make you happy ... even remote-control monster trucks!

The Screech.

As the boys begin to play more together, it is entertaining to see the dynamics develop between the two of them. Reid is a very mellow baby, but if something sets him off, he can go from 0-60 in no time flat and is steaming mad!! (Perhaps he inherited a little Swedish temper!) Reid is pretty patient with some of Luke's well-meaning antics, but he reaches a point where he loses his cool and just blows his top! As Luke gets a little overenthusiastic in his playtime with his brother, Reid sounds his warning signal -- we've fondly nicknamed it "the screech" -- to let Luke know he's crossed over the line. The piercing sound can be heard throughout the house. We can't help but laugh at how the brotherly bond is forming already...

On Cloud 9.

We have been on Cloud 9 this week with the great weather. We know the hot, hot, hot weather is on its way so we are frequenting the park often now! Here are the boys taking a silly photo.

Tree hugger.

We met Eric & Charity at the Farm today for lunch ... their first time, our bzillionth time to go! It was the most perfect of days to spend outside. Luke even braved the heights by climbing the pecan trees (with a little assistance). He talked Charity into helping him pull a chair over so he could climb up this tree! "Charity, can you tell me how to get down from here?"

Mr. Bubble.

Small boy, big bubbles. Who says you can't wear bubbles as a hat?!

The many perks of being 6 months old.

Reid just celebrated his half birthday, and with that milestone occasion, many new doors have opened for the young lad.

- Sitting up and taking notice. Reid can sit up for long periods of time without toppling over which means he has a whole new perspective on playing with his toys. It also means Luke is excited to play "with" him more.

- Goodbye baby bathtub. Hello bathing in the big tub!

- New flavors to savor. The rice cereal diet has now expanded into sweet potatoes, carrots, and more.

Spring wedding.

We attended the wedding of our friends Mike & Emily last night. It was a beautiful spring wedding and a super fun reception downtown.

The bunco girls with the bride! Jami, Emily, and Jenny sneak a pic.
Celebrating at the reception at the Wyndham ... what a fun night out for us! Luke and Reid enjoyed time at home with Theta babysitter Sara.

The boys of summer.

Luke and Reid paid a visit to Mom's Barber Shop today for some haircuts. After the cuts, we took some photos in our backyard. Here's a favorite.

Batter up.

Scott's first day back at work after a weeklong vacation was a challenging one ... he played in a company softball tournament at Tempe Diablo Stadium (one of the spring training facilities). He was all too happy to enjoy the warm weather and sunshine after spending 7 days back in the freezing temps and rain in KS. Perhaps the scouts were checking out his skills.

The Family Tree.

Our KS trip has been filled with many fabulous family memories. Luke and Reid have been able to spend time with Great-Grandma Eleanor, both sets of grandparents, all their aunts and uncles, and their cousins, too. Here are a few pics from our climb in the family tree.


Cousins Sawyer, Reid, and Luke take time out from playing trains for a photo.

Look what the Easter bunny brought ... everyone together on Easter Sunday: Sawyer, Paul, Juli, Ted, Margie, Scott, Luke, Reid, Jami, Charity, and Eric.

Cousins Dalton and Reid will party till the cows come home in these hats!

Four generations of the Nelson family pose for this picture. Luke, Papa Jim, Reid, Great-Grandma Eleanor, and Jami.

Proud Aunt Jami.

One of the first stops on the Kansas Whirlwind Tour was for Aunt Jami to visit her new nephew Dalton, who was born in February. Jami dropped off Scott, Luke, and Reid in Kansas City and jetted for a quick overnight trip to Wamego for some one-on-one spoil time with the newest addition. Dalton and Reid will be quite the pair - both strong, active little guys!

Two in tow.

We are off on our first major trek with two in tow and spending a week in Kansas visiting friends and family over the Easter holiday. Luke is a seasoned traveler, but this was Reid's first time flying the friendly skies. Both boys were amazing on the flight here. The tough part was the amount of "stuff" we had to haul with us. You do the math ...

5 checked bags + 2 car seats + 1 stroller + 3 carry-on bags + 2 small boys = 2 tired parents