Fun with Chuck E.

Here is a fact that many people do not know. Chuck E. Cheeses opens at 9 Am every morning. On days like this when it is cold we have found that the boys and I can go and have the place to ourselves for a good hour and a half. They do all the mazes, ride all the toys, and in general burn off a ton of energy.

I love laughing with these boys. We have a great time crawling through those tubes (I have got to get knee pads) and watching Chuck E. sing. All of the things you can enjoy for free :)! It is also so fun to pull in the parking lot and hear Benjamin yell, "Chunky" and clap his hands.

I love this stage where they are so happy to play with each other. Last night as I was dressing them for bed Payton said, "Hey Benj- you're my best friend right? " Benjamin smiled and shook his head yes. I soak up days like this praying the Lord will allow me to absorb every moment.





















This a machine where you put a token in dial a number and then Chuck E. Cheese answers the phone. Now obviously Chuck E. is not really on the phone. He has pre-recorded answers that he just goes through I am sure thinking most kids will never figure out he is not really talking to them. I took this picture because Payton was really giving it to Chuck E. saying in a respectful tone, "Chucky, you are not answering my questions. What are you saying? Listen to me and then answer...Chucky, Come on!" He makes us laugh.

Benjamin loves this Bob the Builder ride. I love watching him laugh at loud while he is on it!


Payton and Benjamin love riding on this ride/game. I love this one because they think they are riding it even without putting any tokens in. They will sit on this thing and rock back forth for ever yelling "yahoo" at the top of their lungs.

The Boys at Baird

The boys were mesmerized by Tony walking around in the water in these boots. So was I, He's cute!

Benjamin loves his union suit. He wears this thing everywhere when we are at the ranch. Its hard not to smile when he walks by in it.


This is Andy and Tony in Baird lifting up the Trot line in Baird. Supposedly there are some 50 pound catfish in this tank. They spent awhile baiting this thing and then we left it overnight. We were all excited to see it in the morning...we did the big countdown to picking it up expecting there to be some massive catfish dangling off of it...no such luck. We laughed when there was nothing and went on with the excitement of the morning. Tony and Andy had caught 4 rattlesnakes the day before and wanted the boys and I to go see them in the cage. Payton would yell "make em rattle dad!!" and loved it when they would. Benjamin wanted down to look closer. There are certain "Wild at heart" experiences that moms should not be included in.

Brothers

Payton has become obsessed with his hair. I took this picture to document for him that his hair looks great. He was not convinced. I have had to in the last week tell him we will only use gel once a day. I think this might be one of the hazards of being told how cute you are all the time. I finally told him sometimes a solution when you don't like your hair is to wear a hat. He said, " I love my hair, I just need it to look right." He then went and got a baseball hat that he wore when he was Benjamin's age...It did not fit back then. Payton got the Jeffrey head...needless to say, He will follow in his mothers (and uncles) footsteps and be special ordering his graduation cap.
Benjamin loves this car. This is where he has his daily quiet time. He will sit there for 30 minute watching the
dog, looking for planes, Singing "joy, joy, joy" (those are the only words he has so far but he does have the tune and it is precious) and just enjoying life. He is happy in this car...then we let Payton outside.
Anything that Benjamin enjoys Payton feels as if he can enhance it by ripping his shirt off, poking him, or just in general roughing him up.This is of course something we continue to work on...meanwhile Benjamin's pain tolerance continues to grow...as well as his ability to count it all joy.
This hat is making me smile...Perhaps Payton can single handedly bring back the beanie...
Here are the boys at their "goldfish picnic" They love eating outside...Don't worry they had all their servings of fruits and vegetables prior to this picture being taken! :)

Why I love Google!

This past Monday a gel-ink pen made its way into our dryer...The accused shall remain nameless (I think it was me.) Anyway- the entire load of clothes was completely dalmation. I washed it all again but to no avail. I then googled "remove ink stains from dryer pen burst" . There I learned that if you boil your clothes for 45 minutes in powdered Biz the ink will come out...I knew I needed to get a massive stock pot so that I could boil all of Tony's jeans. We are now the owners of a 30 gallon pot, that says on the side, "Excellent for Menudo, Make it for the entire Family." However, all of our clothes look great and are once again ink-free! I am thrilled.

Come on over for some Menudo...Once I get the recipe I should be able to feed you and 400 others.