Untle Ben

So thankful to have Ben here...or "Untle Ben" to Jack! He was greeted with giddy laughter from Calvin and Jack when he arrived Friday, and now 24 hours later, we are all exhausted...in the best kind of way!

Jack has been a chatterbox:  Untle Ben, do you like my balloon tiger? (Ben: yes) Thank you!
                                             Untle Ben, you take the door off your jeep?

Calvin has been acting like he's one of the guys, reporting to me with periodic updates as he watched Dan and Ben install the door this afternoon.

Luke has enjoyed the sweet attention, reaching out of my arms for Ben to hold him.

My favorite moment so far was when Ben and I were in QShack with the boys waiting for Dan to arrive from work.  Someone told us we had such a beautiful family. We both just looked at him and said "Thanks." What else do you say?

Maybe threatening to upstage Ben himself is his jeep! Today they got to watch him take the roof off and take a ride around town.

We've had a full day! Walked to the construction site...

...and went to Mapleview Farms for ice cream.

Plus some sweet time just being together!

Squished tire

I got a flat tire today. The guys loved it, and I was so thankful (once again) for Hockey coming to the rescue. Jack can't stop talking about the squished tire.

6 or 9 kids...

After spending time up in Front Royal, VA with my friend Amanda and her family, I have come to the conclusion that having 9 kids would actually be awesome.  Front Royal is different than Durham. It is a low-key mountain town,  and people just are who they are. I loved it! Many families had 6,7,8, or 9 kids. One of the 9-kid families offered up a couple of their kids to help babysit our 6 during a conference for Called To Obedience. These kids were amazing...so mature and at ease with all 5 of our kids! I really wanted to ask these 13 and 14 year-olds for some parenting advice!

9 kids is probably not in our future...but the 6 children between our 2 families was a lot of fun! My kids did not nap much, but they slept like crazy at night after playing hard during the day! The kids played outside with about any riding toy you can imagine and inside with about any truck you could hope for.  That plus Mac and Corrie....Calvin and Jack were in heaven!

Though Luke was soooo tired, he loved watching all the action!

And it was so sweet to return home to Dan!

Duke Gardens

Cook-Out is my new favorite family dining establishment.....$14.00 for 3 corn dogs, 2 fries, 2 burgers and 2 amazing milk shakes. And it is 5 minutes away from Duke Gardens! We had a fun picnic yesterday night. Times like this are so refreshing for me. So thankful!

Bear Crawling after dinner. 

Luke's Wave

Luke has started responding playfully with us....peek-a-boo and now waving. We all love him so much! Calvin said the other day, "Luke is the only one in the family I love." I don't think that is true, but I understand how this little guy steals your heart! I love that Calvin can feel it, too!

Jack's Kazam Bike Advertisement

We have spent a lot of time in the cul-de-sac this past week. Here is the result....zero to coasting in one week. Jack has put in a lot of work!  Proud of that little guy!

While Jack has been practicing, Calvin has been finding sticks (walking sticks and those that look like letters) and little gum ball burrs to throw into the drain. 

Luke has been working pretty hard himself...he now has 4 teeth. So glad those top teeth are through!

Trespassing again

A beautiful day at the construction site again!

My kind of Saturday

The sky was clear, Dan was home, Ace and Jeffy were visiting, and there was action at the construction site.....

I thought Ace was setting the boys up for disappointment when she suggested maybe we'd see a cement mixer truck.  They usually are only pouring cement ridiculously early in the morning, and certainly not on the weekend. Instead there were 3! And working right under our noses! They were pouring the curbs. At one point, Calvin said, "I always wondered how they made our street. Now I know!"

Luke was less than impressed, but quite content.

And we topped it off with some lunch and ice cream at Jason's Deli!