Murr-land

For some reason, Joe and I think it is wildly hilarious to pronounce Maryland "Murr-land".

Yesterday after church we made the long, arduous drive to Maryland to visit our friends the Wiles. Jason had outpatient-ish surgery on the back of his knee Tuesday and we went to help* with the recovery. (*by bringing Pioneer Woman's meatloaf, mashed taters, a bottle of Jack, a toddler, and a newborn) And oh dear, we had fun.

We went to the pool for the first time this summer, gorged ourselves on good food, watched Friday Night Lights (whoop!), played with toys, went strawberry pickin', ran through the sprinkler, and washed cars. I should mention that not all members present participated in all of the above-mentioned activities.

It should be noted that these days when we travel it doesn't matter if we are leaving for one night or one month- we take the same amount of stuff. Just fair warning to those of you who will be welcoming us and all of our glory into your homes this summer.

Anyway.

Because Jason was semi out of commission, he was the designated baby holder for much of the weekend


This is the post-pool, before-bedtime viewing of Mickey. A little scandalous because it appears G is naked under the blanket.


The first time Taylor has ever held a baby. This picture illustrates how big Joshua is. At 2, T is in the 75th percentile (I think). It is hilarious how "in to" the baby she is compared to G. And don't those pigtails just slay you?

On to the picking of the strawberries. We should have known the strawberry picking was over before it started when Grayson discovered this:




"Taylor! Look at Mommy! Taylor! Say 'holiday'!" "ha-ye-day!"
While everyone else picked berries,


Grayson somehow talked gimpy Jason into pulling him around in the wagon. While his wound OOZED. Not acceptable for either of them.
One of the many times we tried to trick Grayson into tasting the strawberries

He also did some aimless wandering while I followed behind. Until we got into the asparagus that was weedy, which made me think SNAKES, and then I grabbed him and hightailed it out of there despite the tantrum.

99 degrees outside

Those Dickersons

Those Wileses


Love them. Thanks for showing us a great time!
Happy beginning of summer to everyone- hope we see YOU in the next few months!

What Up?

"What up?" has always been my lame attempt to put my own original spin on "What's up?"

End of post.

Just kidding.

So it has now been roughly a month since I last posted. Because my free time has been drastically reduced since our new little friend arrive on the scene, I am finding it more difficult to sit down at the computer long enough to write a post. The fact that my computer is not just on its last leg, but its last toe has not been helping matters. The screen is all pixelated (word? not sure), it is ridiculously slow, and I have to physically hold the power cord into the battery slot in just the right place and with the right amount of pressure for the computer to stay on. HOWEVER, husband bought me an iPad for Mother's Day that should be arriving any day. Ahem, Apple. Very excited about that.

Most of our time now is spent taking care of little boys. Which is a joy and always an adventure. I know we've had some extra fun times in the last few weeks, but my memory is gone and I am now literally sitting here looking back at my calendar to see what we've done. Must have been some crazy stuff.

Since we last spoke Hope and Billy came for a weekend visit (I think I may do a separate post about this if I can ever get my act together), had the Wiles for a weekend visit, gone to various Dr. appts (always), and started mentoring a newly engaged couple. Joy of joys, this past weekend I had an all-day shopping trip with DeSalvo (Michelle, not Daniel). I wasn't wildly successful on the clothes front, but the company was great. And nobody was pulling on my leg or spitting up, so extra points there. We had date night out with our boyfriends later that evening, and since our high school age neighbor backed out on the babysitting his father, Robert, came instead! Bless his heart. His excuse was that we had HD for him to watch the Mavericks game, and the boys slept the whole time so it was a little better than being at home. Before we left we pointed out where a few things were just in case, where to reach us, etc. and he just chuckled and kept shaking his head, reminding us that he had four. Many of you have met Robert and I'm sure you'll get a laugh thinking of him sitting on our couch watching the game holding Joshua in his swaddle blanket.

Here's a recent pic of that boy-growing up too quickly.


We have finally joined a church up here after 5 shameful years of church hopping. It's a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, but there is no "transferring your letter" here. Oh no, there is a class with the pastor, an interview with an elder and then the congregation has to vote you in. (We made it in by the skin of our teeth). Those that are being baptized are required to give their testimony during a church service and then afterward everyone gathers around the baptismal tub in the parking lot. Joe and I have been baptized so that wasn't us, but I thought I would throw that part in there for my Worldwide friends-holler! Of course we turned our backs for a second and Grayson was halfway into the tub- anything for water. I believe! So here's lookin' at you Guilford Baptist Church. Oh, and I don't think anyone has ever not been voted in. But it all sounds very dramatic.

The other exciting thing that comes to mind is this evening when Joe walked past my nightstand.

"Are you reading a romance novel??" (incredulously)

"Um, no dear"

"Then why is this book called Pillar of Indulgence?"

"Well, it's actually an Anne of Green Gables book that I am re-reading. And the title is Rilla of Ingleside"

And that, my friends, is the danger of making assumptions when you have taken out your contacts and haven't yet made it across the room to your glasses.

Thank you, and goodnight.