"Speedy Racer"

Wednesday, our clan rented a boat for a few hours and took everyone out in shifts for a ride and a little water skiing. Owie could hardly wait for his boating experience!

All set to go!


Nicholas and O got to go down for late naps so they could take a turn on the boat. It's hard to cozy up for a hug with such bulky life jackets on!

"I spy, with my little eye...," spyglass and all!

Posing for Mommy (for once!)

Owen looked like this for most of the riding time. I worried that maybe he wasn't enjoying the boat. When I asked him if he was having fun, he replied with eyes squeezed shut and a huge grin, "Oh yes! It's super windy on this speedy racer!" He held on to that hat for dear life!

Boyish Opinions of the Lake

All the smaller cousins had a blast splashing, swimming, sliding into the lake. Surely our kids would love it too! Tuesday afternoon, we woke Owie up early from his nap so we could enjoy some wonderful, relaxing family swim time.

From the get-go, No-nos was very uncertain. Maybe he doesn't appreciate the fashion statement screamed out by neon life jackets?

Owie psyched himself up to charge down the slide with Daddy

He was pumped! Surely Spiderman wouldn't let him down!

Oh, but once he was seated at the top of the slide, anxiety, and then screams of terror, set in. He did not like it one bit. We thought surely once he'd experienced the thrill, he'd be hooked. Sadly, this was not the case. Pictured is O's solitary plummet into the lake.

Hey, maybe Noah's our more lake-ish Boy? He's always up for anything...

...Not so much. Shrill screams from him too.

And so the unanimous verdict on lake swimming? Two thumbs down! We got the hint and remained on shore after that.

Sniper

Armed and dangerous!

Yippy Skippy!

Introductions

Now introducing the wonderful Rupp clan!

How warm and welcoming these amazing people were to us! Almost 20 years have passed since I have seen most of this crew (not to mention the many new additions I had never met), and yet they greeted us with open arms and ready smiles. From the very first night, we were accepted and made to feel right at home. We could not have asked for more!

A hallmark event:

The entire group actually seated together at one time

Grammy and Grampa Rupp toasted to their 60th anniversary while we were all gathered together

Their daughters:

Auntie MaryAnn and my Mom, Linda

MaryAnn's daughter Cabrini, husband Tom

Nicholas and Charlotte

MaryAnn's youngest son, Carl, wife Libby (with new addition on board)

Henry and Ava

My Mom's sister Theresa's oldest daughter Katy (with darling Ava)
This is one of my fave pics from the whole trip

Theresa's younger daughter Abbey, husband Eric
These newlyweds win the award for most photogenic! Unfortunately for them, the prize is just some really good snapshots.

I was so sad that a few were missing this year, people I would love to get reacquainted with. Next year, Guys!

The Trip North

So here we are, at the crack of dawn Sunday morning, filled with excitement about our adventure: our long-anticipated trip to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri to hang out with my Mom's side of the family. Kudos to Jeremy, who miraculously managed to squeeze every single item I deemed necessary into our already bursting car.

The ride itself was really fun and I think it met Jeremy's expectations for a family road trip. We sang songs, told stories, munched on snacks, napped a bit. The only hitch had to do with poor Nosy's tummy troubles from all the antibiotics. He managed to leak through every emergency outfit I had packed (3 total!). Thankfully, there was a washing machine in our cabin so I could toss in a load once we arrived.

StickerFest 2008

Jeremy actually took O into a gas station restroom adorned with around 100 Dora stickers. He was met with quite a few odd looks and even a few chuckles. Anything to pass the time in the car!

The blank stare. We got this look a lot from Nosy-Posy.

This McDonald's is built over the highway. We just had to stop and see what it was all about!

Owie watching the semis zoom right underneath him.

Uh-oh? Benadryl overdose?

No, just two tuckered out kiddos. They took great naps and woke up about 45 minutes before we arrived at the lake. They did superbly on the drive!

More to come...

Gifts of Love from Owie

Father's Day was drawing near. What kind of gift could O and I create for Daddy, Papa and Gramps? We headed to Michael's for inspiration. We found something exactly perfect! Unfinished wood picture frames (I had just the photo to put in the frame!), paints and wooden decorations. We enthusiastically set to work!

Owie painted the frames beautifully and completely, leaving nary a spot untouched. It took a few days for the multiple layers of gloppy paint to fully dry.

Next, I provided O with a bag of foamie letters. After reviewing how each guy we love spells his name, O dug around in the bag to find just the right letters for each one. Then, he arranged them and stuck them on himself.

(Something I am learning along the way, especially with gift-making: Every inclination I have wants to help or go back and re-do when O isn't looking, or at the very least guide O's little boy, rather unsteady hand, but it is so important that he do it all by himself. The look of pride that washes over his face when presenting these gifts that he created all on his own is priceless. Plus, I am sure it means so much more to the gift recipient that he does it himself. A gift made by me would not mean nearly as much as something crafted from O's heart. And so I sit back, squash the desire to offer assistance, and just let O create as he feels led. And by golly, he does a terrific job...all on his own!)

The finished products

O selected (after inspecting every single decoration Michael's had!) tiny wooden pictures to decorate each frame. Daddy was rewarded with a bright, shiny sunshine. I had not even thought of including Nosy in the process, but after he carried a soccer ball around saying, "Da-dy!!" the whole time we were in the store, I finally got the clue. The soccer ball was the finishing touch to Daddy's frame.

Love for Nosy-Posy

Oddly enough, Owie was adamant that Papa wanted a bright blue ice skate on his frame. Guess what? Papa loved it!

And Gramps? Well, Gramps was honored with a lavender butterfly. It reminded O of Chuckie. Gramps couldn't have loved anything more!

We love all three of you guys so much and are so blessed to have you in our lives!

After Awhile, Crocodile!

Tomorrow, bright and early, we're hitting the road for our adventure to Sunrise Beach, Missouri. We are all super-excited, and oddly enough, Jeremy is looking forward to the drive. He has great memories of road trips when he was growing up and is excited to experience one with his Boys. I sure hope they do well and his high expectations for a great time are met. We'll soon see...

So, more than likely no news from me for awhile, unless someone lends me their laptop. I'm sure I will be full of fun-filled stories when we return!

Signing off!

The Bugs Are Back!

Yep. It's sad, but true. Poor Nosy has double ear "polections" yet again. First dose of antibiotic given at noon. Fountains of poo began around 5:00. Just great. Especially when we are facing a 10 hour car ride to Missouri on Sunday. My sweet, pitiful Boy. I just pray these meds work and that he will finally start to feel like himself again.

Oh! And I think I finally solved the mystery of Owie's all-night-long wakefulness. His very first two year molar is just starting to peek through his gums. After his third time to wake up crying in three hours, it dawned on me to dose him with Motrin. Not another peep all night!

So He Thinks He Can Dance

Back on Track

It seems like it's been weeks now that we have been merely surviving, making it through the day. All the bugs that have overtaken our house have left us exhausted and with no motivation to attempt the above and beyond. I hate being that kind of Mom. The kind that just bides her time until nap or bed time...playing with the kids, of course, but not having engaging things planned out for us to work on together. I love to have an agenda, special crafts or outings planned, set aside learning fun with O, dedicated Bible and computer time. None of that has gone on while we have all felt so puny...and I miss it. I miss being purposeful with my time. I am a steward of these two precious minds, and I have let too many days dwindle away. So although I still don't feel up to snuff (started another round of antibiotics today), I was determined to make good use of my time. Today we had a very long over-due changing of the verse ceremony. It felt great to be focusing my energy with Owie on something worthwhile and meaningful again.

The verse we chose together this time:

Hebrews 13:16

"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

Sweet O has already applied the verse several times in his dealings with Baby Brother. "Watch me, Mommy! I am pleasing God by sharing with No-Nos!" And he asks multiple times a day if he is pleasing God with his behavior. It is so awesome to me that he cares if he is pleasing to God. (Don't get me wrong, though. There are times when pleasing God or Mom is the last thing on his fit-throwing mind!)

So here's to more purposeful days as we at The House of Halpin get back on track.

Just checked on Nosy, who is in bed coughing his head off. Fever...again. What is going on?! I am so discouraged! Are we ever going to get over all this sickness? I guess we're in for yet another sleepless night!

Letters, Letters Everywhere!

Our whole world seems to revolve around the alphabet lately.

"How do you spell...?" is the most FAQ.

O is sounding out three, four, sometimes five letter words with pretty good accuracy. (It amazes me how fast these little guys learn!)

He makes up songs to sing about letters.

He is constantly attempting to write as many letters as he can on his "pads." Even when he is just doodling, he tries to find letters hidden among the squiggles and lines he draws. And oh, the excitement when he comes across one!

Just this morning, he came and got me twice while I was getting ready to show me letters he had "built" out of random objects.

What a pleasure you are to teach, Owie. I hope you always love to learn as much as you do right now!

Horton Hears...

...Owie?

We took O to his first movie today: "Horton Hears a Who."

(Well, to be totally honest, he did attend a movie when he was about Nosy's age, but this was his first real,

filled with anticipation,

can't wait to taste the popcorn,

oh, can I hold my own ticket,

is it really super dark

movie.)

The first step: background prep. O and I checked out Horton Hears a Who from our library. I wanted O to be familiar with the plot, and I also wanted to prepare him that there was a villain in the story, a not very nice bird. We read and read and loved the book. Saturday morning, after we got all of our Saturday work done around the house, Jeremy and I packed up the kiddos and headed to the dollar movie theater. O was so excited, and his enthusiasm was definitely contagious! We could all hardly wait! (Even J and I were pumped for the movie theater experience. We have not been to a movie in months!)

We got a popcorn to share and carefully selected the perfect seats. The house lights dimmed, the crowd was hushed, and the movie began.

What a cute, sweet show it was! O loved it and barely moved a muscle the entire hour and a half. Nosy did really well...for the first 30 minutes. He fed me a lot of popcorn, kernel by kernel, but even that gets old after a bit for a tiny Boy. He and I spent the last part of the movie exploring the hallways and drinking out of the water fountain. (Who knew that could be so entertaining?!)

Later, Jeremy told me the cutest story. There is a part of the movie when all of the Who's in Whoville are shouting, "WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE!," struggling to make their presence known to the outside world. Evidently, Owie, always the cheerful helper, thought he could be of assistance and joined in shouting right along with all of the Who's. "WE ARE HERE! WE ARE HERE!" he shouted with fervor!! Priceless!

What a Guy

Our friend Scott...

What a guy he is!

A true friend and the ultimate handyman.

We were replacing our front door, and by the way of a very long, convoluted set of happenings, we ran into some trouble, pretty major trouble. Scott to the rescue! He sacrificially spent an entire day at our house, lending us his hands, his tools and his wisdom to rescue our door from the brink of the dumpster. We are so grateful.

Owen summed it up so well:
"Scott is a nice friend. And the new door is very nice."

Slave Labor

This is the way we do things around The House of Halpin. No one is too young to avoid pitching in. All must do their part to contribute to the household. Nosy's chore: scrub the kitchen floor on hands and knees. Use a toothbrush, if necessary. The floor must be spotless! I run that kind of camp.

Just kidding!! Had you worried for a second there, didn't I? Were you already looking up the number for CPS?

The true story: I was attempting to get the grimy kitchen floor somewhat clean. Jeremy's job was to keep Noah contained in the playroom while I scrubbed. I knew the bucket of bubbly water would be way too tempting for curious No-nos. Alas, he kept escaping, and so eventually I resigned myself to the fact that although the floor would not get clean, at least we could have some fun. Noah dove right in and had a blast. Take note of the oceans of water he is floating in.