A Typical Day

Just a typical homeschool day in the Robbins' household. These are from last month, but it shows how different my boys are. Elijah wakes up and immediately begins to draw and work on school. He's obsessed with reading now, too.

Lazarus wakes up and immediately begins performing, but he doesn't care if there is an audience. Every joke, dance move and silly sound is for his own enjoyment.

So far, I'm feeling like our family is pretty balanced. I can't wait to see what this girl will bring to the family!!

Happy Fall Y'all!

 

FIRE!!!

Last week, we visited a fire station in our neighborhood. All of the trucks and ambulances were lined up and  open for us to explore! The boys came prepared in their gear, ready to work.

Lazarus was obsessed with making sure every seat belt was clipped properly.

The boys got a lesson about  going to the ER in an ambulance. They were fascinated.

Ever since our visit to the first station, EVERYTHING has been on fire in our house. Thankfully, I've got two strong boys who know how to put a fire out! :)

Kids Say the Darndest Things - Fighting

A year ago, I swear I couldn't take a sip of water without getting interrupted with screams, crying and bite marks all over my boys. They were enemies!! I don't know where the credit lies (I'd like to think it was me, but I know better than to pat myself on the back for parenting...) but suddenly, these two are besties! They start most days playing in their room, making plans and goofing off. Not only am I thankful the fights have lessened, but it's just in the nick of time! I need them to happily entertain each other while I tend to a tiny new human.

Lest you think our home is always peaceful and happy, I've got a hilarious "fight" to share with you.

The other day, I heard the boys growling, then yelling, then crying. Yup, a fight broke out and there was probably biting, hitting, wrestling, etc involved. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and yelled for them to come see me. They both sat at the top of the stairs, looking down with teary eyes.

Me : "So, sounds like something really frustrating happened. I want you to each confess to me what you did wrong."

Lazarus : "I not bite him, but I just break his car."

Elijah : "And that just made me so so angry! And I had no self control because my body was so angry and so my body pinched him really hard on his arm."

{Sure, blame it on your body...}

Lazarus : "Yeah, like this." and then he pinched himself really hard on his own arm, ha!

Me : "Wow, that sounds really sad. Sounds like y'all weren't very kind to each other."

Elijah : "Yeah, I repaid evil for evil."

They suddenly looked at each other and started apologizing, without any prompting from me! After they hugged, Elijah looked down at me and said happily 

"Mom! We just reconciliation-ed!!"

Yes, you did my boys. Yes, you did.

Bloopers!

I haven't done a bloopers post in a while...been saving these for a rainy day:

Having a blast at the Greek festival. Maybe we'll go all three days next year.

"Alright, show me your lollipops and look happy!"

How to make your kids look ugly - give 'em two cherry tomatoes, one for each cheek.

Not amused.

"It's too windy mom! My eyes are burning."

 "Lazzy, look at mama. No, not through the binoculars..."

Pickin' Blueberries!

There are so many farms near us in Bellingham. Many of them are U-Pick with great prices. Blueberry season is in full swing here, so the boys and I went on an adventure. Of course, I instructed them to put on long dark pants and find a dark shirt to wear. They came downstairs, proudly dressed in khakis and white shirts with ties on. Although they were SO HANDSOME, we had to compromise:

Elijah was very diligent about picking. He refused to eat any of his harvest until we weighed them all. He was convinced he could pick 500 lbs, ha! Imagine his disappointment when we learned he had picked only half a pound. Lazarus, on the other hand, ate every single blueberry he picked and brought none home, ha!

It was such a nice way to spend the morning with my boys. We took home 3.5 lbs of blueberries for only $4, got to chat and snack all morning and be outside. I think we'll go it again next week, too!

Great American Road Trip - Part 1

We've been on the road 5 days now. The first bit of our trip has been about traveling south (yes, wrong direction, we know.) to visit friends and family. It's been awesome, especially since everyone has a pool! Swimming is the perfect way to end a long day spent in the car.

This is how we roll:

...naturally.

Thankful that the weather has been great for the most part. I love watching the storms in the west though.

Also thankful for random restaurants with giant sand boxes in Mobile Alabama.

Last night was our first night alone as a family in weeks. We camped in Texas at THE noisiest campsite in the world! Yes, it was fourth of July, so the fireworks went on until 1am, but we were also next to a highway AND trains which ran all night. Oh, and the wind was howling and shaking our tent. I felt like the Bernstein Bears when the dad tries to find the perfect picnic spot....anyways, I sure am thankful for my boys who just don't care and will sleep no matter what is going on outside, even when they are wedged between the bed and the tent.

We did the s'more thing and even were generously gifted some pop rockets and sparklers to further enjoy the 4th of July.

Today, we drove through New Mexico to Arizona. We stopped by the Billy The Kid Museum - the only perfect place for photos, potty breaks and post cards in the middle of New Mexico.

The kids are doing great. We've had 3 days of driving 5-6 hours and one long day of 9 hours across 7 states so far. We've been able to do without movies for the most part. Lots of "Hey! Look out the window, another train!" or "Boys, let's just be quiet for a while and count cows."

 We keep a daily routine of drawing activities in the morning, lunch time, naps then rap music and giggling until we reach our destination. When things get real tough, this happens:

Me : "Boys, close your eyes and go to sleep."

Laz : "Kay"'

40 seconds later:

Tonight, we are in the cheapest hotel in America, showered and sleeping in beds. Tomorrow is our shortest drive of only 2 ours, woo hoo! We head to the Grand Canyon, then Moab, Dinosaur National Monument (I know you're curious!) and then two nights in Yellowstone before arriving in Seattle for a few days. We've got 5 nights of camping and lots of adventures ahead of us!

St. Louis Stay-Cation

Just soaking it in, one stay-cation morning at a time. Citygarden is a favorite that we couldn't forget about before moving. An entire city block of nice cold water. 

Run boys, run!!!

"Hey Goliath!:

Enjoyed the large (and uncrowded!) wading pool until the old ice cream fire truck arrived. Priorities people!

Leaving was pretty dramatic, as you can imagine. I hope we can go again before we move!