I hear the Train, Mommy.

"Thank you, Joplin and good night!"

That is Liam's favorite thing to say now... I use to worry about the trains going thru Downtown. You can hear them here. Not loudly, but enough. The sound actually calms down Liam. He will tell the whole house that he can hear the train. He will even hold his hand up to his ear and tell you to hear it. He loves to rattle off what is a train, truck, or bus. On the weekends, if we get held up by the train anywhere in Joplin, Liam is a happy camper the rest of the day. Off main street, there is now a stationary train that people can climb into and walk around. It is a great place near the old tracks. Ben took Liam and Marq last Tuesday there. The photos are from his phone... Nice huh?!

Cousins

Destroying Uncle Beej's raked leaves.

The kids playing in Mom's front yard.

Care and Marq

Caroline and Mark Anthony came up this week with Sally. Sadly, I was very ill and did not get to spend a lot of time with her and the kids. I really wish this week turned out better. I was looking forward to it for the last several weeks. The kids at least got to see each other. And Marq finally got a haircut! (Skater style)

Big Boy Steps

At the Elementary school nearby, Liam wanted to go up the play area by himself. He did a great job going up the steps and going down the big kids slides like a big boy. He is growing up too fast. Hard to imagine that he is only 2 years old.

Springfield or Bust... it was a bust

Pythian Castle

Last week was spring break so we took Marq to Springfield to do a little site seeing. First stop was Pythian Castle. Springfield's own haunted castle. Sadly, it was closed for renovation. So we did not get to go inside. They hold Murder Mystery Theater and tours so we hope to head back there again in a couple of months. We went to the Military and Artillery Museum...closed... That bites. I wish these places posted their schedule on the visitor's site. So when all else fails, go to Bass Pro Shop and the mall. Ben gave Marq some pointers on shooting (at Bass Pro) and they decided that they would take up paint balling this summer. There are a few places out here that I am looking forward to them trying that out. We had some fun. It was just nice to get out and spend the day with Marq. He has been such a great big brother but I'm sure liked a break from chasing Liam around for the day.

See that space... Up against your shoulder...

Science Fair

This week Marq was in the Science Fair at his middle school. The project was regarding what surface a rubber ball would bounce the highest on. His findings were, that the ball would bounce the highest on wood. He used metal, foam, wood, and carpet. He placed 3rd in the school and is invited to attend the MSSU Fair on March 31st. Winner of that Fair gets a MSSU $2000 scholarship (renewable) and $500 Savings Bond.

Random thoughts of Will

I just came home from Mom's and Beej was working on his computer.... Just like dad. Mom got him memory for his PC. The other year I recall him getting a new video card. So this is very Beej. Beej is not so much our little brother but he still is our baby brother. He has influenced Marq very much.(in a good way...) I remember torturing him when he was little and making him watch the "Chuckie" movies when mom bought him a My Buddy. Apparently he has not held that against me since we have a common bond in gaming. (And he still loves me!) I think we can sit there for hours and talk about. He can defiantly keep me awake on a trip to TX chatting away about stats and weaponry for a "toon." When he was about 5yrs old, we use to tell him if he lied he would get another freckle on his nose. But then we really did not care if he got away with anything. Fib or no fib. He would take naps in our rooms, even if we did not want him in there. Roles have now reversed, 15 years later. When we go to mom's house, it would not be surprising if you found one of us asleep in his room during a visit. Which does not seem to bother him one bit.

The one of the best parts about having my own boys, is remembering Beej. I can see Beej in Marq at age 12. Being over 10 years different gives me that advantage of remembering him when he was that young. I asked my dad after I had Marq, if he would rather have had more boys. He said he would not have it any other way. I was glad having 4 girls and that one boy made him happy. Then again, I could not imagine my life with more than one favorite little baby brother. (Better late than never) Happy Birthday, Will.

Blog ideas

I constantly was trying to figure out combinations for my blog designs. Mixing papers and matching my headers with them. It was tons of work. I saw Sally's blog and thought it looks so simple yet classic. I love how her header looked to but I could not get mine that large. I do just love how my title looks like it it floating in and out of the photos though. The black looks great, especially with the vintage photo and old paper filters I was using. No fuss, just simple.

Mr. How To

"Let's get started."


"Mommy, Paint these blue and yellow."

"Let me show you."


"All done!"

We went to Home Depot to buy tile for the bathroom. It happened to be the kids workshop time. We started to work on the project there. Liam got a little tired, so we had to call it quits. Round two was this morning. He helped me paint the wood. It was funny. He told me how to paint the wood and glue to pieces together. He picked the colors too! He is a quick learner. He picked up a lot. I find it amazing how much he figures out. He was spot on with the painting and where he had to put them so they could dry. It was forever to wait for him to finish painting but it was fun to see him discover what he could accomplish.

Wall Art

These are the cutest art pieces from falldowntree.etsy.com. They are about $15.00 each for a 10x10 print. They also give you great ideas for your kids room. We have been debating about Liam's room forever. These have been my favorite ones. We just have Handy Manny and trains on the brain around here in the house.

Grandma's Birthday

We went over mom's house for her birthday. It was a little dinner party. Mom made her knockout beef brisket. Allan took care of the sides. We brought over some dinner rolls and the kids... No photos but we had a nice dinner. Everythig was yummy all around. It was the middle of the week and all of us had work the next day. We hung out for a bit. Beej of course hinted he wanted to go watch a movie. Watchmen was having a midnight showing and they were debating to go. We opt out since the kids had school and we have to work so early. Kazu "helped" Allen make mom's cake by jumping on Allen when he took it out of the oven. So we had a crumbled cake with ice cream. It was actually really good. It was like a Birthday Sunday. We got mom a couple of pairs of dark blue jeans. Marq went over there this weekend too. Hopefully he can help her out get ready for the Texans coming over for Spring Break!