Aunt Debb!

My awesome Aunt Debb came out this weekend from Chicago, and as always--we had a blast!As is Harp tradition, our fun time revolved around great food. We started with Giordano's pizza, straight from Chicago!

Followed by some Thai Spicy Beef with Sticky Rice (My aunt Terri is Thai--it's her fabulous recipe!)
Cant visit KC without BBQ, right? Jimmy had his first taste, too!
Then it was off to the water park. There is a cute little one in Tiffany Springs, and my friend had free tickets, so viola!

And since Debb is a city girl, she had to check out our downtown. The boys loved it, actually, especially the live lobsters and clams at the Asian market.

We stayed up late, watched movies, laughed, ate . . . we miss her already.

Keeping Busy

Things have finally cooled down--the boys loved the rainy days as they provided a little respite from the heat!
Cabela's Shooting Gallery

Cicada hunting finally paid off. Geez those things are loud and aggressive--Rob got attacked on multiple occasions!
Deanna Rose Farm. What a blast! This FREE farm reminds me of Thanksgiving Point and the boys loved it!
Projects. Rob found some old 2 x 4s in the garage and decided to make this rack just by sticking a few dowels in. So handy.
The boys got handy too, making butterfly houses at Home Depot

And so the busy schedule begins.Preschool Wednesdays and Fridays. Playgroup Wednesdays and Thursday. Soccer on Thursdays and Saturdays. Cub Scouts on Wednesdays (I'm the new den mom). Workout group on Thursdays. And we're just beginning. Still--life's to live, right? We're excited about the upcoming season!

Visitors!

Yay! Rob's Grandpa and Grandma Stuart swung by on their way home from Branson last week. It was great to see them and have a little sense of "home" in our new place.

Ty Can Swim!

We're so proud of our little fish! Ty just decided it was time to ditch the floaties one day--a huge feat considering he wouldn't even get his face under two months ago! So darling. We went and got him Superman goggles the next day and took this video. He's so proud in his pictures! And I must add that the video is missing what we like to call "Ty's Finesse." Right before he gets to me, he plunges into "finesse"--like a special pose of victory. His arms go to the side like he's flying, his toes are pointed and crossed at the ankle behind him and he just freezes, waiting for all of us to note his beautiful lap. Hilarious to watch! So theatrical!

Robbie is a big fish too. He successfully retrieved his torpedo dive stick from the deep end! Way to go boys!

Baby Kez

He still doesn't have a nickname that is sticking. The boys call him Jimmy. I call him Chunk-a-Munk and Baby Kez, Rob calls him James, Aunt Debbie calls him JK--and the best part about the name is that it versatile. He can decide what he wants to be called later, but for now, I just want to post pictures of the little guy. He is changing so fast! These pictures were all taken within a two week period--amazing all the changes. He's such a sweet boy. Like my other two, as long as he's entertained, he's happy as can be (aren't we all!). He's quick to laugh and quick to stop crying. He LOVES Mommy, is a little shy of Daddy, can't decide if he loves the brothers or fears them, and is starting to cry if anyone else looks at him (oh yes, the stranger anxiety is starting to set in!). He's sitting up now, weighs a ton, and still wakes up at night. He's healthy, though, and delightful. We're so glad he's ours! Here's a glimpse of his little personality.

Toy Room

So the major selling point of this house was the blue basement. Yes, we wanted to change it into the ultimate Boy Toy Room. They have a closet full of balls. Another closet is full of swords, bows and arrows, water guns . . . . The only problem: the kids won't play in it! They bring everything upstairs or want to watch movies--my plans are totally backfiring. Rob keeps rearranging it to make the toys more accessible and appealing and that usually works for a few days. Today was another reorganization day and . . . they are actually downstairs. We'll see how long it lasts!

Alumni Police

If I were BYU, I'd come after Rob. You see, he drives the most embarrassing car EVER!! The paint has completely oxidized and is all rubbed off; the seats are torn and grease-stained; it is so shrill and loud when it starts, squealing and squeaking, that it wakes the boys (and probably the neighbors) up at 5 a.m. when Rob leaves; and once it is finally on the road it is ridiculously loud (oh, and the air conditioning doesn't work so Rob actually wears EAR PLUGS to avoid deafness when driving in the LOUD car with the windows (manually)rolled down!)! Anyway, people have actually started pointing at him while driving on the freeway!!! He's like the laughing stock of the roads! So embarrassing! And the worst part, is he as a BYU sticker on the back. Seriously, if I were the school, I would force him to take the sticker off to make sure there was no affiliation there.

The upside of the car: it's as light as a tin can so it gets great gas mileage. Plus, it was free from Rob's parents. Oh, and he can't get a speeding ticked 'cause it maxes out at 60 mph. Oh, and I don't have to drive it!

Just now:

Ty: "Mom, I'm so hungry!"
K: "Good, 'cause I'm making dinner."
T: "Well I want something healthy."
K: "Great. Dinner is healthy!"
T: "Then I want something unhealthy."

Nice.

Nauvoo

To celebrate Rob's first day off in two weeks, we headed to Nauvoo for a fun little vacation. The boys loved the pioneer games! The best part was when they were playing baseball with a stick and twine ball. All the big kids could barely get a hit off it, and both my boys drilled it. Ty had spilled Gatorade all over his shirt, so batted shirtless, but his Batman undies hanging out gave him power, I guess. He knew he was supposed to run after hitting the ball, but had no idea where. Everyone was cracking up as this little naked child (this was where all the dads and teenage boys were playing besides my little guys) starts sprinting in random patterns all over the field. He finally slammed into my thighs (home plate to him)--his face beaming. He looks up with a huge smile, and kind of turns around to check out his adoring fans and then says, "Mom, I was flying out there! I was going so fast, that no one could even see me; everyone thought I was flying!" So cute.
Another highlight was when we went on the oxen ride and they got unyoked! One started running away, the other to the side and our wagon jerked and hopped. Kind of scary watching three old guys trying to maneuver the beasts back onto the yoke (while we were inside!).








Rob just had to show off his skills. I wish I had gotten a picture of when he tried to click his heals together midair. Hilarious!