Counting to 230......

216. Tire Swings
217.  Boyish legs peeking out of shorts
218.  The syle of a 6 yr. old...red shorts + orange shirt + navy tie
219. Compassionate voice on the other end of the phone
220. A plan to help Granny
221. "Quiet time" in the car...listening to sounds of distant cars, wind and birds
222.  A boy writing in the sand
223. Trash trucks and how they captivate a boy
224. Boyhood!
225. Ebay and making progree on cleaning out the closets.
226. Dump Dates with my husband
227. Pepsi
228. Antibiotics
229. Mucinex D
230. Y Swimming pools

I never knew they made this kind of kids clothing.....

So we went to the Mulberry Bush Consignment Sale today.
This can be such a fun sale.  I went on Thursday and found some great deals.  Today was 1/2 price day. 
The girls went with me. 
I really wished I had brought my camera.  I forgot that my phone would have worked too.
But in girls' size 3 we found this tag:
size 3
Gap Strip Shorts

To which Fun Girl chokes and pokes me.  Asks me, "What are strip shorts?"
HA!  HA!  I was, also, on the phone chatting with Dara.  Cause we used to do this sale together and I was missing her company.  Vicariously, shopping with her via phone. :) 

"Strip shorts...the kind of shorts that are easy for a 3 year to take off," I tell her.
Badda bing, badda boom.
Several moms in the area are laughing.  Dara is laughing.  She reminded us those were Brylee's favorite kind of shorts a few years back.  They were Little Princess's favorites as well.

Then the bubble burst and we are corrected.  They aren't STRIP shorts, the are stripE shorts.  Hence, the stripes on the shorts.  Bummer, cause I was trying to think of a little girl I knew that would like to have a pair of strip shorts

A Boy's Best Caddy in Training

When the outside temperature is warm enough and Hockey Player can't be found inside, I only need to look in the backyard.  This has become one of my favorite scenes around my yard.  If Hockey Player can't be on the ice doing what he loves, he turns his focus onto golf. 

Gus loves it! 
I am not sure he will be allowed to Caddy on the pro-circuit!
Only time will tell.

anticipating the tee off !

Yahoo!

Again!  Again!  I think you need to work on your swing!!

Again ! Again!!!

Yes, yes, yes!!! Swing !

Glorious flying ball!

Returning the prize to do it all over again!

Hockey Player would never ask but.....

So one rainy afternoon, Fun Girl comes to me. 
Mom, I know Hockey Player would never ask but I thought I would tell you. 
You know those Grandma sales you never like to go to. 
Grandma sales...the ones with the glass cabinetry, shelves things.
They are always at the Grandma sales.
Well maybe you could think about getting one for Hockey Player. 
He has so many trophies now, they are falling off his shelf. 
I talked to him and he said he wanted one. 
But he would never ask. 

Of course not, can you imagine any hockey player, much less THE Hockey Player ask for me to go to a Grandma sale and shop for  him.  Who knows what else I would come home with for him???  Next thing you know they will be asking me to bring home a Grandma chair cause they are really comfortable. !

For You Dara ~ He doesn't look like Big Bird

Hockey Player circled this shirt on our most recent shopping spree in Wisconsin.  I kinda missed what was going on with Hockey Player and the shirt.  Fun Girl was keeping me a bit preoccupied with her collection of things to try on.  But Ms. Dara did not miss a beat.  She pulled me off to the side and said I had to buy it.  Hockey Player had been circling the rack and had picked it up to look at a couple of times.  Okay!
Hockey Player rarely speaks up.  So I was really glad Dara said something, 'cause Hockey Player is really picky about clothes.  He has definite likes and dislikes.  I know he likes compression shirts.  But I would never have guessed he would have gravitated to one this color. 

You know what?  I think it looks pretty good on him. 
Ms. Dara has asked for pictures several times.  In her words, "Only Hockey Player could wear this shirt and not look like Big Bird!" 
She's right. 

My Name Is..........

He may be a shorty but he makes up for it in personality.

He is so stinking adorable and hilarious.  He has us in stitches all the time.

When Fun Girl entered high school, she was known as "The Man's Big Sister" in youth group.

Just a little backwards, normally kids are known by their older siblings.

When he turned 5 he asked to go to Olive Garden.

He proceeded to flirt with the waitress like no other.  He was nose to nose chatting with her about who knows what and she was captivated by his charm.  He ended up asking her to write her name on his to go box.

She did.  He then asked for her phone number and extracted a promise that she would wait for him to get a little bit older!   Really?

That is just one of many stories we could tell.

He loves the girls.  He loves that he has a teenager sister and all her friends think he is adorable.  He has a hockey team of big brothers who think he is hysterical and they include him in everything.

So when we were in Wisconsin he found this T-Shirt.

It was a must buy.

Now he says,

 "That's me, Ladies Man, all the ladies love me."  

&  

"Cause, I always get the ladies!"

And he is correct.

 Cause when all the youth group girls stop to give you their undivided attention cause you are so stinking adorable, you rule the roost. 

 

He will even tell you,

"They all go "The Mannnnnn"  in their high sweet girly voices."

I just wanted one good photo. 

He required a photo shoot and a promise I would share all the photos,

so that I could even get the one I wanted. 

Oh brother !

Are you a Knucklehead? or A Yellow Belly Chicken Liver?

We promised the kids some fun if they let Fun Girl and the Moms have some fun shopping.
Shopping wasn't all bad.  We did take the boys to the Nike store.  That is always a big hit for my boys.

After the Moms had their fun we headed on over to Knuckleheads!
Fortunately for us, we shopped so long we arrived at Knuckleheads for the discounted evening rate.  We had the place almost to ourselves.  Lots of fun to be had.
It all started well.

They were jumping for joy!

Then we saw this ride. All but one was excited.  Miss Brylee was unconvinced in the fun to be had.
She skipped all the rides...

That is until I asked her if she was a Yellow Belly Chicken Liver?  The gantlet was thrown down and she was out to prove me wrong. Not once, not twice...but somewhere in the double digits I heard again and again for this ride.  Since I had the chaperone bracelet, I was her chaperone.  And ride I did.  I am all for getting my money's worth and by the end of the evening I did.

I really did have fun on the above ride.  Giggled and giggled all the way through it.  Again and again.

When we were done here, she was out to prove she was not a Yellow Belly Chicken Liver and she rode this one.

It was great and fun, until I closed my eyes as the ride was slowing down.  The Pepsi I just finished was not settling too well.
No time to stop cause she was ready to ride the roller coaster.  Did I mention I was the chaperone?

So I rode this one as well.  Again and Again until I cried Bumper Cars and 4D Ride.  No Chaperones allowed.  Beautiful... Time to let my stomache rest.

But my break didn't last long.  Cause she was fired up and making up for lost time.

Off to ride this one again.

This time Fun Girl wasn't there.  It was just Brylee, Me and Little Princess.  

The bigger kids were all off riding the Go-Karts.  The Man was riding the 4D theatre through the Haunted Mine.  Dara was standing nearby for him.  Afterall,

I had the Chaperone bracelet.  So nice of her to share in my fun.

Unfortunately, my stomach hadn't settled much.  2 times around and I couldn't spin the girls anymore.

Barely made it off the ride.  The Operator asked if I was okay as I quickly walked across the building to the bathroom.  Little Princess was asking if I was okay.
She followed me all the way in the bathroom and I sent her back to Brylee.

Fortunately, there were only dry heaves.

But I was done.

Little Princess asked me what was wrong later.

She hadn't even put it together when Brylee went running across to the room yelling to her mom, Dara,
Ms. Heather is throwing up, Ms. Heather is throwing up.
I sense some triumph in her declaration.
Since, I cried, "UNCLE! and NO more rides"
I became a Yellow Belly Chicken Liver by the newest Knucklehead.

Road Trip to Dells

The next day we decide a trip to the Dells was in order.
The fun started in the drive way.
Well for everyone but The Man.
He ended up being the odd man out. He was stuck riding with the little sisters while the older boys were in the middle. See his angry face there in the back row?

The biggest brothers sat together and were as cool as big brothers can possibly be for Nerds!
Nerds that we love!
Both of the packed homework to do during the 1.5 hour drive.  Really????

It didn't last long.  By the time we were out of town, Brett had pulled out a Halo magazine and the school books were forgotten.

The Middle Brothers rode in style.  They enjoyed their time by eating cheddar popcorn.

With this many kids it was no surprise that 1/2 hour out of town a potty break was called.  Really the moms thought?  Funny part it was one needing to go and four of them got out to go.  We almost forgot the little sisters.  Dara was quick to notice them walking out the door as I started to drive.
So glad we didn't lose them, cause they were sooo much fun later in the day.

Pizza Doctor

Our first night in Wisconsin we went to Pizza Doctor.  Not your typical pizza place.  It has been featured on the food network.  Nothing could of prepared me for this place.   Dara tried.  She told me they had Skittle Pizza.  They had Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza.  Still did not prepare me for our trip.   

I did call ahead and check on the food allergy issue.  They told me there was no way we should let The Man eat there.  I asked and got permission to bring in a small pizza from elsewhere for him.  They provided him a clean plate to eat off and even warmed his pizza up for him in a clean microwave.  All of that was enough to get them a thumbs ups.  I love places that will work around food allergies and make dining a fun family affair.  We did get some looks, but hey that is okay.  We had fun and my boy didn't feel left out. 

Here's his dinner. Well at least half of what is left when I thought to take a picture. 

While he was munching happily on his cheese pizza., the rest of us were being fed more than we could imagine.  This isn't your normal buffet.  As pizza comes out of the oven, the wait staff plays host/hostess like you have never seen.  Each person in the restaurant is invited to sample the new pizza as it comes out of the oven.  Which means before you can finish one slice, they are back with more.  There is a system to survive their hospitality.  I definitely did not catch on to this too quick.  You take a bite or two, if it isn't a favorite, eat no more.  I got the giggles and was sooo full by the time the "dessert" pizzas came around.  I could fathom eating any more and they just kept coming around.  We were trying to pack up and leave and they kept offering us more.  The kids caught on real quick.  One or two bites of the "good for you" pizza.  They had lots of room for finishing off the dessert pizza slices.....

Some kind of chocolaty pizza with sprinkles

 Skittles + marshmallows

1/2 skittle ~ 1/2 Oreo

Reese's Peanut Butter pieces + Peanut Butter + Choc Chips
M and M's + Peanut Butter

This is what was left when we finally were able to slip out.

 The Man ate almost his whole pizza! 

 I don't think he has ever eaten that much pizza before in one sitting.

 Check out the salad in the upper right had corner.
Fun Girl discovered the dessert pizzas and forgot all about her salad.

Once home, I showed Big O Daddy O our trip pictures.  I had only showed him 2 from Pizza Doctor and he started to go into shock.  Carbs, Sugar, Blood Sugar Nightmares were all he could think of while looking at the pictures.  I was laughing over all the choices.  

Spaghetti, Macaroni and Cheese
Cheeseburger
Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo
Seafood
When we got to the dessert pizzas he thought I had really lost my mind.  Couldn't believe I actually let the children eat all of it.  

Guess I am cooler than him as a parent.  

Ha Ha 

When I got to this picture of The Man later in the night,

he wasn't surprised. 

"Drop in blood sugar," he said.

I think it was just a really fun day!