How much fun can you have with...

...a tube of toothpaste?

 

If you are 19-month-old Finnian, apparently you can have a lot of fun; well at least until your brothers tell Mommy that you are making a mess in the playroom!

 

He was having a great time - it's all over his arms, face, clothes and he managed to get quite a bit in his hair too.

 

 

How can such an angelic face be behind such a mess?!?

 

A minty fresh mess!

 

To look on the bright side, the whole incident was a good motivator to get all the toys picked up, sorted through (with some going into the trash without the boys' knowledge), and to get out my most favorite cleaning appliance - my Hoover SteamVac SpinScrub.  I love this machine, and since I have three young sons and live in a house with carpet, this appliance is mandatory for keeping the floors clean.  The playroom is now perfectly cleaned and organized - for the time being.  Needless to say, I haven't let the boys come back in because once I do, it will again look like a tornado has hit the place!

Robotics Camp 2012

In the middle of July Ronan attended "Robotics Camp".  It was four mornings, Monday through Thursday, and everyday he and his partner & friend, Cody, created a Lego masterpiece that was mechanized. 

The Lego creation in this photo is a monkey that can play a drum. Other creations included a crocodile that had a sensor so it would only close its jaw when something was in its mouth, a set of birds that would twirl around, and a "kicker leg" that would kick a ball.

The mechanics were controlled by a program on a laptop and Ronan had a great time.  He will definately be going back next summer!

Better Late than Never - Independence Day 2012

This year we had a wonderful Independence Day. We celebrated with lots of food, friends, family and fireworks!

 

Our yearly tradition, I baked our country a birthday cake, and the boys had fun decorating it with fresh strawberries and blueberries.

We set up a small pool in the yard to cool down the boys, and, I won't lie, there was some skinny-dipping going on in broad daylight!

The weather was perfect.

The stash!  We had a great time with these bad boys!

We had a great spread too, so no one left hungry.

Boy #2 and I watching the fireworks.

Ronan had been anticipating "firework day" for months and was so excited!

Happy Belated Independence Day!

Better Late than Never - Fishing Trip to the Murphy Lakes

Collin took Ronan & Latham on a fishing trip at the end of June.  He mentioned that he wanted to go for a week - I convinced him to go for only five days since the two can be quite a handful.  He texted me when they were almost home asking if we had any tylenol at home...apparently, Daddy had a headache! :)

The boys had a great time - spending time on the lake...

...going ATVing with Daddy...

...they even caught a fish or two!

Boys being boys

They stayed in Papa's toy hauler trailer.

The week after they returned home, Cousin Lauryn came to visit, and Collin, Ronan and her took off on the boat down to Anacortes and back.