The kids painted murals.
We ate and drank foods that were green.
There was even a contest to see who could wear the most green. The boys seemed to turn this hammock into a boat.
Needless to say there was a lot of shooting going on! Nathan was trying to figure out how to blend in with the big boys. He's getting the shooting noises down pat but aiming is another subject.
Ryan shares his birthday with my grandfather. As he enters his 5th year my grandfather begins is 91st year. It's such a blessing that we get to celebrate the day together!
Ryan is a cowboy at heart; he's been one for a while but just hasn't ha the outfit to prove it. Well, he's all decked out and ready to fight the outlaws.
I have to admit that in my 8 1/2 years of motherhood these are the first two toy guns that have entered our possession. Sure we have light sabers and a clone trooper gun thing- but these are the first click and shoot guns. I'm afraid to admit but I will be buying a few more for a certain 1 year old that loves to have possession of the weapon.
I'm glad my grandparents have good stable hearts because when we show up to visit we certainly cause a little bit of a disturbance from their normal quiet routine!
I hope that we have will have many more birthdays to share together!
they measured distances
and tried hard not to eat all of them.
I have to say that I have had a great week. In many ways it felt like a 'staycation'. My parents graciously offered to take Peter and Emma for the week. While the older two were away writing books for this year's PBS Kids writing contest, I had room to breathe. I didn't really know that I needed room to breathe until it was given to me. When strangers or friends comment to me about 4 kids being a lot of work my token response is, "If you can handle two you can handle 4". Though I still believe that, I was pleasantly reminded that there is a huge difference between 2 and 4 kids. 
We all had room to breathe. Ryan had room to be the big man on campus. He had room to climb to new heights and shoulder the responsibility of being a big brother. We had tea parties, baked cookies, went the the park, made it to story time and read lots of books.
there just didn't seem to be quite as much! I am looking forward to returning to a family of 6. I hope to find a way to keep the peace, fun and room to breathe that we found this week.
