The Bloody Guy

A recent Sunday conversation at the Pykles' dinner table:

Mom: "So Lincoln, tell me what you learned in your class today."

Lincoln:"Mom! It was so cool! Today we talked about that story about that bloody guy."

Mom: "Bloody guy?" (he's got my full attention now)

Lincoln: "Yeah, you know mom, the story where the guy gets all bloody and punched up and then falls on the side of the road. And then there is one guy who just walks right past him. And another big guy who goes clear to the other side of the road. And then there is this nice guy who brings him bandaids and helps him clean up all his blood. And then mom, the BEST part. Then... then they go to a HOTEL! I love that story mom!"

Mom: "Ah, the bloody guy story. Sometimes we call the Good Samaritan, but you did a good job remembering the whole story."

Lincoln: "Yeah, I really love it."

Mom: "Me too buddy. Me too." (I think I especially like it when you tell it.)

Beginning,Between,and End

Life moves fast. Very fast. Here I sit at the end of the first week of school and wonder how these days..
.
came and went so quickly.
In all our reality our summer was very short because of the move. In New York school ends at the end of June and begins the 2nd week of September. Here in Utah by the end of June they've already been out a month, so starting at end of August really snuck up on us. However, the kids were VERY anxious to begin this year and finally start meeting people! And met them they have.
Great 1st day of school (don't they just look so grown up- aaahhh!)

Great kids, great teachers, and what seems like a very good school. I especially love that they all leave the house together, walk up the street 1 block to the cross walk, cross the street and walk straight into the school field. It is the best!
And we are slowly getting settled in our house, although at the moment it feels a little like a demolition site. Someday...SOMEDAY I will post "before" and "after" pictures, but for now we are endlessly stuck in that "between" stage where every project is begun but waiting for just a few more things to finish. And those few finishing touches never seem to come because in the meantime something new has unraveled and created a new project. Ah! the joys of home improvement and updating. Despite this, we are getting close on the big things and looking forward to maybe hanging a picture or two.
Lots of new beginnings in our future and that makes us all excited.

Fathers and Sons

Fathers and Sons Campout: a first for Ben and the boys this year and a HUGE hit! Anyone would be hard pressed to convince my 3 boys that there is anything funner than a whole night camping out with just Dad. They had the time of their lives. And Ben lived to tell about it too! (He actually ended up having strep throat that weekend but a lot of Tylenol and caffeine seemed to be the wonder-potion for him. Camping with strep throat officially qualifies you for Dad of the Year award-ha, ha.)

But thanks Dad- they will never forget this!

Jamison turns 6

Jamison was SO excited for his birthday this year. It was rivaling Christmas. Especially when Jamison bounded into our room at 5:30am on the morning of his birthday asking if he could open his presents. It took all the "niceness" I could muster at that hour to gently urge him back to his bed for at least another 30 minutes. Like I said- SO excited!

We had a great day. He did treats for his class at school and a great party at home complete with a cake full of candy. Jamison's order. This kid loves candy!

Jamison continues to keep our lives moving with his endless energy and enthusiasm for life. He is super athletic and his main goal in life is to keep up with his older brother. They are best buddies and every morning they head out the door ready to take things on together. And Jamison's favorite thing: a back rub from his Dad. He'll do most anything for a good back rub. Love you buddy.

Two lips?

This past weekend we found ourselves with an entire Saturday open (largely because it was raining again). But these days an entire open day is truly miraculous and we've been feeling the sadness of leaving the area... so we found every piece of waterproof clothing we own, loaded up the car and headed to Ottawa for day to see the annual Tulip Festival.
I have to admit that the first few minutes of the car ride were some of my favorite as Lincoln tried to wrap his head around a "two-lip" festival!
Ben:" Are you excited to see all the Tulips everyone?"
Lincoln: "Two Lips! Two Lips? Hmmm- yeah, I'm excited!"
I can only imagine the images that were racing through his head. And I suppose it was a bit of a let-down when we introduced him to 1,000's of actual Tulips.

But they were gorgeous...

and the kids especially enjoyed the Korean 3D technology in the 'Tent of Nations'.
The surprise extra of the day was when we stumbled upon (Ben tried to drive in the private and heavily guarded driveway of the home! Oops, but our US plates got us off the hook) the home of the Governor General (Head of State) of Canada. We were able to take a tour of the home and learn all about Canadian government. It would be like taking a tour of the White House in DC. Emmy thought it was extra cool since she just finished her Canada unit at school- she filled in all the gaps for us.
I'm sure it will be our last visit to Canada for a long, long time. So glad we got to go one last time. It was a great day.

Easter sun

Another Happy Easter! And Lincoln's little bare toes are evidence that the sun does eventually return to the North Country. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.




Now if I could just get them to stop having fun! ;)

Dreams for the future

This was the conversation on the way to school this morning. I'm still laughing!

Ben: "Hey guys, look at those cool construction vehicles. That would be a cool job to do wouldn't it?"

Jamison: "Um sorry dad, but I'm going to be a circus clown when I grow up."

Ben: "A what?"

Jamison: "A circus clown!"

Ben: "Wow. A circus clown. When did you decide that?"

Jamison: "Last night. It's pretty much the most awesome job ever!"

Lincoln: " Me too, me too!"


At least they have ambitions!!