We love Uncle Joe! And other randomness

Uncle Joe came to visit a few weeks ago and we loved having him!  Amelia was pretty much in heaven. 

Amelia's favorite request these days is, "Tell me a story!"  She asks me to tell her stories all day every day.  Sometimes I tell her ones like The Three Bears or Little Red Riding Hood and sometimes I make up something really creative about a princess named Amelia who learns to be nice to her brother (or some other moral I want her to start implementing) and sometimes I just say, "No!  My brain is going to explode if I have to tell another story!"

Uncle Joe brought the story-telling to a whole new level.  He told her about the time huge red fire ants bit him on the bum when he was going pee in the woods in Ecuador, and about the time he saw a shark and a whale while surfing, and about the time he knocked Andrew's teeth out in a pillow fight, and about the time Grandma won an essay contest and a trip to Hawaii for the whole family...He also made up stories about Uncle Joe the giant Cheeto-eating chicken...And the best part was he told her the stories again and again and again and again...I think he told the bum-biting ants story about 100 times over the week!  Oh, she was his little story-requesting shadow all week.

He also read her stories

And shared his special "Uncle Joe juice" (crystal light lemonade) which they chugged all week long

And his oatmeal

And he played in the sprinklers

And he danced and flipped these two kids all over the room

It took William a couple of days to warm up, but by the end he was all aboard the "Uncle Joe is Awesome train" :)

Do kids get any luckier than having an uncle like this come to visit?  I think not.  We love you Uncle Joe and hope you come visit again soon!



And, here are some random photos from our life these days.

Amelia making a bubble beard so she can look like Papa Checketts!

Playing in shaving cream in the backyard

Playing in mud in the backyard.  This is a daily occurrence at our house.  They love it and believe it or not, I love it too.  Sure, there is some muddy clean-up involved, but they are so happy (read: self-entertained and quiet) that it makes it so worth it!  Plus, I just read "Last Child in the Woods" so I pretty much feel like Super Mom for letting them do this :)  Highly, highly, highly recommend that book to any and every mom out there.  Such a good read that has enriched and changed my parenting and my life.

I even bought them a play kitchen at a garage sale to put in the mud so now they spend their days making mud pies and mud tea.  It is awesome.  And muddy.  And still awesome.

Sharing dad's oatmeal.  These two little munch mouths love food and if you try to eat when they are not, just expect to share.

Okay, this may be the most random thing that has happened in a while...We went to the beach with some friends and we buried Amelia in the sand.  She asked for a hat for her head....

And then to bury her arms...

And then she stayed here for at least 30 minutes!!  I kept asking her if she wanted to get out and she kept saying no.  We couldn't believe it, but it did make me think I need a sandbox in my backyard!  I can see it now, "Amelia, I need to make a phone call.  Go bury yourself in the sandbox."  :)



And to further horrify my mother in regards to how I let my daughter dress herself, here is a picture of her one Sunday morning.  It was 78 degrees that day yet she insisted on wearing the long-sleeve striped shirt, the white leggings, and the winter boots.  She got lots of compliments at church.

And, I did the worst job in the world taking pictures this year, but here are a few pictures from Amelia's 3rd birthday!  She is SUCH a fun 3 year old.  We love this little spunky, social, energetic girl so much.

This little boy is such a cutie.  I love watching him learn and grow and I love his sweet talking.  He always says please and thank you and it melts my heart.  I also love his "muah" kisses!  The sound is kind of muted, so turn up your volume but here is a little clip.  Cuter in person.  Come and visit.