Where have I been?

I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted and it's even harder to believe that no one has sent me an email wondering where I've been. It feels like we've been busy, but I can't really tell you with what....

We have been taking advantage of the awesome weather. The humidity is down, the temps are down, and the sun has been up. Last weekend, we spent an entire day out in town enjoying the weather, the people and the shopping.

Of course, Riley still gets so much attention when we walk outside the gate.

The boys love the sun.

And love having fun in the sun.

Caleb made a couple of purchases

but his "Thomas the Train" calendar find was his favorite.

Park Fun

Typhoon Melor has passed along with the rain that had covered us for the last 2 weeks. The air seems to be clean and crisp now and you can detect in it that Autumn is on it's way.

The beautiful weather inspired Amy and I to get the boys out of the house and to our favorite park. The boys had been so cooped up with the weather and being sick that this was probably their first play date outside in a month. And we needed it as much as the boys did.

For those of you with boys, you know and understand what happens when they don't have the opportunity to express their energy. For those of you without boys, they become MONSTERS when too much energy has been stored for too long.

Zachary did not want to share the Fire Truck with Riley.

But, Caleb was more than happy to share the plane with Riley. And gave Riley the ride of this life.

Helping to disinfect

Our house has been infested with the flu bug. It started with Riley running a temp of 103 and then two days later Caleb vomiting in the car. So when everyone started feeling better this morning, I decided it was time to disinfect EVERYTHING! I was cleaning door handles and water facets with Lysol spray and cleaning the couches with Lysol wipes. I must have appeared to be having lots of fun disinfecting because the boys couldn't wait to help.

Caleb was really concentrating on his cleaning. And he was wiping everything in his sights.

I'm so lucky to have such great helpers!

Yunessun II

On Saturday, Amy and I decided to take our boys to Yunessun Hot Springs. You may remember me talking about the relaxing, luxurious, Yunessun in an older post, but this time was MUCH different.

Six hours on a bus, six hours at the hot springs, with 3 boys under the age of 4. It was a bit exhausting and chaotic. The best decision Amy and I made was taking along, Christine, who babysits the boys on occasion.

I must tell you that the boys did extremely well, much better than I had ever expected! I was waiting for several outbursts on the bus or uncontrollable crying, but not a peep. I was so proud of them.

It took awhile for Caleb to get use to the temperature of the water, but once he did, he loved it!

Riley on the other hand, loved the water from the moment he touched it.

This was the only cold water tub and Caleb got in with this father and son like he belonged to their family.

We had a good time, but...

I'm so exhausted from the walking and carrying of Riley up and down stairs and in and out of pools and tubs that my back aches and my muscles burn. I think I'm going to wait for Shawn to get back before we take anymore big excursions.

I did it!

I just wanted everyone to know that I got a flat tire today and I changed it! By myself, while two Japanese men watched me! Caleb was very impressed with my skills. As was I... considering what was in the trunk to work with. All the directions written on the jack are in Japanese.

TP Abuse

WARNING: A roll of toilet paper was destroyed in the making of this clip.

And then, my other wonderful son cleaned up the toilet paper without me ever asking him to.

That's right, Caleb is like his mother and Riley is like..... his uncle Eddie.

Blogger vs. Facebook

I am having trouble keeping up with both my blog and facebook. Facebook is too easy because it's quick and you just write a sentence or two. Blogging takes so much more time, but I like that it's more personal and I can share more with less people. UGH. I have got to figure out how to spend more time blogging. I miss it. And I miss catching up on everyone else's blog. I feel guilty going to others' blogs when I haven't posted anything on mine. Like I need to give some some to get some... Is anyone else out there having trouble keeping up with all the ways to keep in touch?

My usual time for blogging is at night, after the kiddos have gone to bed. But I have been so tired lately that I just want to veg out in front of the t.v. and not think about anything. Is that plain laziness or what?