My Kids & Me

He loves his pacifier!

Thought you might enjoy this video. You might recognize the guy beginning around the 8th minute. I got to speak at this conference as well, but I don't think it was recorded. If you have trouble playing the video, install Flash Player from this link .

Some of my favorite pictures so far. Day 1 pictures can be found here . Day 2 pictures can be found here . Seattle is an interesting city. Very different from the other cities I have visited this year. The sun rises before 6am and doesn't set until after 9:30pm. There are people singing all over the place and I've seen many more homeless people. Sunset from the top of the Space Needle Space Needle Olympic Sculpture Park View from my room -- To the right is the Puget Sound. Safeco Field -- This is the 4th MLB stadium I've had the chance to visit this year. I'm heading to Houston, Denver and St. Louis in August. I'll try to go to those as well. This picture only cost me $1. I wonder what he did with that dollar.

She's been asking for at least 3 years now and we finally let her have her wish.  Elizabeth got her ears pierced today.  She was so excited, but she said she was nervous too.  Oscar was so happy for her.  She's the happiest kid in the world right now.

Oscar and Elizabeth had their birthday party at BounceU this year. They take care of literally everything. It was really, really nice to have someone else do all of the work. Heck, they even wrote down who gave which presents. Pictures of the party

Michael has been at an all day camp this week. It's one of those outdoor rustic kind of camps. Anyway, he had $5 to spend this week at the camp store. It's their chance to get a cool snack during these hot days. He told us a story last night that made Beth and I feel oh so good. Michael and a few boys from his group went to the camp store and bought ice pops. Michael hadn't spent any money at the store this week, knew he had 2 days left, so he went ahead and bought 3. He goes on to tell us that there is the "very, very nice boy" in his group that didn't have any money and wasn't able to buy anything. So, Michael gave him one of his ice pops. Needless to say, Beth was near tears; I was pretty choked up too. Acts like this from your children make you feel like you are truly raising them the right way. We have a great church that stresses helping others and it's obvious now that Michael listens and gets the message. We are so proud of him!

It's hard to believe, but Oscar & Elizabeth are now 6. It seems like just the other day that they were born, though the first year was a complete blur. Beth made them a cake tonight and they opened their presents. Their birthday party is on Thursday night. Oscar loves his new scooter. He was working hard to get the hang of it. He tried calling his cousin Charlie to tell him about it, but as usual, no one answered. Elizabeth is going to get her ears pierced. She has been waiting for this FOREVER! Beth made the cutest card for her that had a picture of Elizabeth with fake earrings on when she was 3 (and looking like she was full of attitude). Beth and I thought this picture reminded us of American Gothic. The rest of the pictures .

Video games and TV have taken over for a while this summer.  It leads to crankiness, irritable and general overall nastiness.  Beth had this incredible idea, incredible in its simplicity as well. The kids have to earn video game and TV time by, get this, READING!!!  Day 1 has been all but flawless.  In addition, this keeps Mrs. Burgamy from getting onto us about them keeping up with their summer book lists. Rules: 1 minute of reading = 2 minutes of video game or TV time Mom & Dad may give bonus time as a reward. If you ask Mom & Dad to give you bonus time, you lose 5 minutes. If you argue with anyone in the house, you lose 2 minutes (Michael liked 2 minutes since it was the same as a hockey penalty.). If you hit anyone in the house, you lose 5 minutes. If you make mean faces or use mean words, you lose 2 minutes. Give it a shot.  Heck, Michael even let me cut his hair tonight with minimal fuss.

We had a wonderful time in PA. The kids are asking all the time when we can go back and they say they want to live near their cousins. Dave just needs to find me a job up there. We got a bonus day when Delta canceled our flight Sunday night, but that's another story all together. Thanks everyone for making it so memorable! AndyFest pictures From 35,000 feet (taken by Oscar) Best buddies (taken by Beth) Pop Pop and his Grandsons (minus Henry) Dad, Dave & I Citizens Bank Park (Want a large print of this Dave?)

Beth can make him smile at the drop of a hat. I'm still working on my technique. He gave us this big grin while up in PA.

Ellie is an absolute doll.  I tried to pack her in the trunk, but her brothers caught me.  Who can blame me?

Hi my name is Elizabeth! Last night, I like twisted my tooth and did some things with it. And it came out. When I went to bed, the tooth fairy hid the $3 in the tooth fairy box.

I've made it through 72 days. I've found that I now see picture opportunities everywhere. Best of all, I'm having fun. Check it out