This and that

Early in the summer...when the grass was still green.

Just a few things from the summer I thought I would share and memorialize. 

First off, Lane having good 'ole fashion fun without his Wii, Nintendo DS, iPod, the television, a motorized vehicle, etc.  He actually found something to do without any of the above!  Water and dirt was all that was required! 

Like a roller coaster - no hands!

I love it when he finds stuff like this to do...except I was super nervous he would break an ankle.  Sometimes it's better for mom not to watch, you know.  Good to see those Tonka trucks he's outgrown being put to good use too!  Little messy, but nothing a hose didn't fix.

The year of the Under Armour clothing

Poor, poor Madolyn.  We never seem to be home on her birthday anymore.  It's just during a busy time, I guess.  This year we spent her 12th birthday at the State Fair.  I don't think she minded really, but she keeps asking when she can have her girlfriend birthday party...soon, we say, soon.

I was with it this year and wrapped her presents so that she would have some to open on her actual birthday.   It killed her knowing they were in the back of the truck and she couldn't touch them.  Ha.

Neat cupcake carrier Grandma Barbara found.

I baked cupcakes before we left home, stored them in her super-cool cupcake carrier and brought along the can of frosting to frost them right before we chowed down. 

Funny thing, in the chaos of trying to pack everything and get food organized, etc, I put the cupcakes in the oven to bake, turned around to clean up my kitchen mess and saw the 1/3 cup of oil on the counter...oops.  Guess what?  No one noticed.  They were a healthier version!  And sitting in the heat for two days gave them some extra moisture :)

Yum-yum

Some puppy love...which Hank the Tank is all about.  Unfortunately for Lane (mostly) his 'love' can equal pain.  He is such a big doofus and gets so caught up in 'lovin' his best little friend ever, he'll overdo it and there are screams and tears.  We just keep telling Lane that it's because Hank loves him so much and he wants to eat him because he tastes so good.  Hank's favorite flavor is flesh.

We're not sure why, but all of a sudden this past week, Hank went on a destruction spree and chewed up Lane's good boots and a brand-new pool floatie thing I bought for my niece and nephew to use at our house.  I guess we had wrongly assumed that he may be over that destructive phase.  Wrong-o.  He did make it past his first birthday though - Wahoo!

You know Jay always teases me about how big my nostrils are when I flare them.  I guess in this picture of Hank & I, "My, what big nostrils you have" might come to mind.  It's so flattering, isn't it?