Foozle

J sharing his "binky" with Foozle

J is amost 2 1/2 years old

J's "Foozle" sweater, made by Grandma Marie

J being silly with Foozle

LEGO Foozle

Foozle eating breakfast

Foozle practicing piano

Foozle doing his scripture study (Good Foozle!!)

Okay, what is Foozle, you ask?? Foozle joined our family Christmas Eve, 2001. He was given to J by a distant relative, and J took to him right away. Since we had no idea (still don't) what IT is, G came up with the name Foozle, and it suits him fine. He used to have more yellow hair, but that' s been pulled off. He has a little pink ball for a tail, and that's been sewn back on countless times. Foozle is highly guarded because when J was younger, he couldn't (or wouldn't) go to sleep without him. Once, we took Foozle on a walk to the school to pick up his brothers, and discovered at bedtime that Foozle was missing. We tore the house apart -- literally! We retraced everything we did that day, and when I said we went on a walk to school earlier, we panicked! Where in the world could we get another one? We've never seen one before and haven't seen another one since. Foozle was patiently waiting on the sidewalk for more than 7 hours, not too far from our house. Let me just say that our prayers were answered. We all were so grateful, especially knowng how special he is to J. Since then, Foozle does NOT go on walks. He rarely goes out of the house (only on vacations under special guard!) I'm so glad that he's so brightly colored because it has made him easier to spot in the house. He's so special, that even Dad has made up a boogie-type song about him and sings it almost every night, sometimes while playing the piano. Like I said, he's been a big presence in our home. Did I mention that Foozle has even driven our van??? Scary, huh!

Buzz!

T with his new hair-do. He's got his toy scissors in hand

We lined the boys up for haircuts again. We really buzzed T's hair this time. He looks so much older now! The other boys just look trimmed up, but T looks so different. I'm sure we collected a pound of hair from our boys' heads. It was a scary sight in our garbage can!!

Soccer Time

J getting into position as defender

J taking a break

Today was the first soccer game of the season for both J & B. We had to divide and conquer because their game times overlapped. I had the camera, so I only have pictures of J this time. I'm hoping to go to B's game next week. J's team won 5-2, and that was even accidentally giving the other team a goal! Our goalie stopped the ball, but when he tried to kick the ball out, it swerved back into the goal. Oops! J stopped several balls from getting too close to the goal. He had a great time. B was goalie the entire time for his team, and G said he did really good. B is fearless when the ball is hauling right for him. He blocks it with any part of his body and has been quite successful. I just bought him his very own pair of goalie gloves. His coach is glad to have him -- no one else wants to be goalie! His team lost 0-2. Apparently, B's defenders kept disappearing. Coach said he knew exactly what B's team would be working on during the week!!

It's been SO busy over here. We're settling into our new routine with school and all of the trimmings. Things are still a little crazy, but it's beginning to run smoother (Can you say Slow Cooker Meals!!?) I'm ready for the cooler weather. I'm looking forward to my Bunko night coming up. I'm looking forward to my scrapbook night, too. Just my chance to have time with my friends -- whom I'm so grateful for!!

More From our Adventures in the Sequoias

Happy Birthday, Ali!

My sister, Allison with T

Allison is my younger sister, who is also a great friend! Wish we didn't live 2 states away from each other. We hope to come up there for a visit this spring or summer. She's got her hands full with 2 boys herself -- 3 if you count Russ! (j.k.), and she does a great job running everything. Ali, hope you've had a great day -- you deserve it.

Saturday is a Special Day ....

I know my boys have a love/hate relationship with Saturdays. They don't have to get up early for school, but yet they are up at the crack of dawn (eagerly, I might add). Since they don't have school, they usually don't have any homework. However, the dreaded chores creep up on them. It's amazing how quickly the house gets messy. One mess gets cleaned up, and I turn around and there's another mess that just appears out of no where! If I ever find "Not Me", I'm going to have to restrain myself!!!! It did take all day for B&N to have their room pass inspection. No surprise there. But, the boys spent a lot of time organizing their Legos. We bought several different sized storage containers to separate all of the different types of Legos. I can actually walk to my craft table today! No mine field of Legos waiting to jab into my feet. Exciting, huh?!

We took a dip in our pool today. We almost took the pool down two weeks ago. We were not expecting this heat wave. The water sure felt good! Still not as awesome as Lisa's pool, though!!! But it cooled us off nicely, and for that I am grateful.