Bored

Okay, these aren't particularly flattering shots of my children but they are meant to convey an idea of how strange things get when the kids get bored and then find "that special thing" to do. Pictured above is one of the usual suspects. They load up a car seat with one of them, several stuffed animals, a plastic bag full of stuff and slide around the house on top of a towel. This is deliriously fun.


Is it weird that we take pictures of our wiener dog so much? We have another, normal looking dog whom we love too. But this dog, our "spare parts" dog as Brad likes to call him is WAY too much fun. I PROMISE Saki, we'll get you on the blog next time! Poor Saki.

Takin' the Crazy OUT

Sometimes you have to take the crazy out of the house so that you can conduct your family business in the safety of the public eye. In the public eye you will not screech at your children like you have no sense or run for the brand new half gallon of Breyers Raspberry Chocolate Chip ice cream. When you go out, you must pay mucho dinero for said ice cream and you might think better of it. I said might.Taking your children out also stimulates their minds, exposes them to new sights and experiences, and creates wonderful memories for your family to look back on for years to come. Fine, fine. It is an A-C-T-I-V-I-T-Y and every parent knows what that means. Engaged children = happy children=happy parents = no screaming, wine drinking, ice cream binging...
Morehead Planetarium
The kids took a sweet friend to see a show and play on the sundial.

Observation Park in Raleigh
Went to a birthday celebration of a dear friend and had a blast! The airplanes were cool but really, the one that made an emergency landing and found itself in a ditch was BY FAR the coolest. No injuries. I'm not THAT twisted people.
Eating birthday cupcakes. Now that I look at this picture, it's pretty gross.
Aww, and I didn't even have to threaten mine with removal of the cupcakes to get this shot.
Ayre Mount in Hillsborough


We learned long ago that boots are not only super easy to pull on and off squirmy children but they almost completely eliminate the need to say," Careful, watch out for [insert gross and moist matter]" over and over and over again, thereby ruining any chance of actual fun.

The Backyard
We have a sometimes creek in the back "woods" where the boys like to escape to for all kinds of mischief. I make it a point to not go back there unless I hear blood curdling screams. This is their special place of retreat and moms just mess up retreats with their rules. " No wrestling on top of that tree with sharp sticks in your hands!" and " Watch out for snakes for God's sake! They'll pop up where you least expect them! I promise you." These kinds of warnings go both unheard and unappreciated, so why bother? Pictured below is Jacob and a friend from the hood. They made a dam so that our backyard would be even more bog- like than ever before. I think this was part of the inspiration to tell the truth.

Pinewood Derby?

Pile-O-Cub Scouts
In lane number 5, Gavin raced Brad's childhood pinewood car. He and his dad (er, his dad) made it way back in the day for their Pinewood Derby. Both big and little Bannister are proud to report that while their car did not make it down the track to first place, it did make it down!
Third from the right is the old girl.
Check out that face. When we got home, Jacob put it on a high shelf on our hutch declaring that he would be saving it for when his children got big enough for their Pinewood Derby race.


Cub Scout activities include the annual Pinewood Derby Race. I know very little about it and I intend to keep it that way. But here's what I do know. We were a bit concerned that this task would get the best of us ( and by "us" I mean Brad because I was OUT OF IT). Thanks to a whole lot of eagerness on the part of our child and a healthy dose of anxiety around the real possibility that said child might be the only cub scout who would race an untouched block of wood, the Batmobile was completed. Can I hear a Hallelujah! Looks cool, huh? Oh, Gavin was NOT to be left out. He and Brad made his car afterwards. I'll post it once I snap a shot of it. It too is living on top of the hutch.