Pix

Jennie at the zoo. She's had some work done and is really unrecognizable.

Boys on tiger.

Noah burnt his foot on our lawnmower (quite seriously, actually.) Daddy is comforting him.

We love our Grandma!

The birthday boy!

Opening the presents.

Young Dilly Pickle.

My 3 year old pirate.

Our kitchen floor was damaged when our fridge leaked and the water sat for a couple days. Never a dull moment! What a good use for Jeff's bonus, because we really didn't have anything else we wanted to spend that money on besides a brand new kitchen floor. I'm not bitter.

Presents!

Jeff & Jennie decorated this. Good job!

I did the cake. Kidding. Thanks, Albertsons.

Bradley in our lake in the yard during a rainstorm.

This is a favorite. Makes me laugh. Look at their faces.

Pickles and I.

Dinosaur madness.

Ahoy, you frickin dude. (Actual Noah quote.)

I'm BAAAAACK!

So I haven't posted in almost a month. My bad, Amanda, my bad. I bin bizzy. My MIL Paula (Mother-in-law, for the uninitiated) and SIL Jennie and GIL Hazel (Grandmother-in-law...I just make this stuff up as I go along) and Noah's cousin, Bradley, have all been visting us for about 2 weeks, right after Adrianne left. Yay for me! When I was younger and living with a bunch of other people I used to imagine that I was a real 'loner', that I loved to be alone. NOT SO MUCH. I just liked to be alone because I knew that there was always going to be someone there when I wanted them...it was a "safe" alone. I love company, and I need to be around people.
ANNYYWAY.....they came and it was fun. We did all the usual things, eating out, movie rentals, etc. We went to the water park and Western Playland again. FUN! We also went to the zoo and got rained out. Kinda cozy, actually, since we sat it out in their cafeteria and ate junk food.

Water park story, part II: I went down a new water slide this time around, the closed Tubular Slide of Death. This is not to be confused with the open Tubular Slide of Death. The closed slide is just that, closed, so it's dark and you feel like you're going to break the sound barrier with how fast you get going since you have no way to gauge how fast you're really going. FUN! I made Jennie ride it with me. I literally made her. I used all the bossiness at my command and forced her up the rickety, rusting stairs that looked like they were going to collapse at any moment, and we went down together, screaming all the way. Good times.
You notice that I write these accounts of, like, the one ride I went on at a given park. That's because when you have 2 kids, you may only get to do one or two fun things for yourself...the other fun stuff is with the kids. It's alright, though, cuz you end up REALLY enjoying the one thing you do. Like Amber says, we take our fun where we can find it.

Noah had a birthday while they were here, too. Turned 3. We went completely overboard, as usual, and had a Dinosaur-themed party for him at the house. He got all sorts of presents from family and friends. I'll tell you, that kid has more toys by himself than all six of us had all our lives put together. Sigh. Mixed feelings on that. But he really enjoyed himself. We chose an unfortunate time to sing "Happy Birthday" to him, tho. We're bringing out the cake, it's his big moment, everyone's singing, and he is curled up in a fetal position on his chair, hiding his face. I couldn't figure it out. I kept encouraging him to sit up...no avail. Then someone let me in on the secret...he had been sitting there pooping in his diaper the whole time. (Older kids that still "go" in their diapers often hide when they do it. I guess their version of closing the bathroom door.) Perhaps it's time to revisit the potty training.

Now everyone's gone & it's just me and the boys at home. Come visit us, somebody! I've been spoiled with company for a month and it's a let down when they all go, let me tell you. We love you, Grandma and Jennie & Bradley and Gi Gi, thanks for coming to see us! Pix to follow in the next post.

The son of God

So Noah has said to me for 2 mornings in a row now: "Mama, Dillon is the son of God." This always conicides with Dillon falling down on the floor from a sitting position. I have no idea what this means. Could it be some sort of genetic coding passed down from father to son? Because Jeff used to ask me, quite seriously, when I was pregnant with Noah, if I thought that maybe Noah was going to be the 2nd coming of Jesus. And I know he thinks he's God. :)

Happy Birthday Daddiya!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddya. I love you tons and pray & hope for all the best things for you for this, your 78th birthday. Oh no, sorry. :)
Seriously, I love that we're in better contact now than ever, and your replies to the blog postings are always much anticipated! I have such a longing to see you all, and I really hope that it can be realized as soon as possible. But in the meantime, know that I love you VERY much. Happy Birthday!

Video of Noah viewing fireworks:

Noah was VERY excited about the fireworks. We had this bucket of popcorn, and, of his own accord, he started taking handfulls of it & throwing it in the air by way of expressing his joy. Also, he would intermittently (sp?) turn to Adrianne & Jeff & shove large handfulls of it into their mouths, to share the love. Also, Adrianne reports that he turned to her and asked, seriously, "Can everybody else see this too?"

Pics

What's wrong with this picture?

(You're a good sport, Aunty Adie!)

Dillon on his first-ever ride. Notice the foot.

A cotton candy pig-out!

Some of Adrianne's creative photography at sunset. The weather was perfect, about 80 degrees.

Noah on the much-loved "bug" ride. He was very intense on every ride, as you can see, and focused really hard on keeping the vehicle on track. He'll be a good driver someday.

Our good daddy, holding Noah, who, overcome by sun and surf, passed out for a nap right there.

Dillon & A. Adie at the wave pool

Mommy & Dillon at the water park

Pretty Aunty Adie and the boys on her first day visiting.

4th of July

So Adrianne was here from Wednesday until Sunday. So FUN! We had a terrific visit. She actually arrived late at night on Tuesday, and Jeff, bless his heart, went to the airport at 12:00 at night to get her and then went to work the next day. So this is what we did, for inquiring minds:


Wednesday: Going to the mall was the big outing today. Adrianne got her yearly fix of BCBG clothing...she swears by it. Says that only here, in El Paso (land of the 100 degree weather, home of the $5 an hour minimum wage) can she afford these clothes because they go on sale for, like, 70% off. This is because no one in El Paso can afford a $300 shirt. Anyway, it all works together for Adrianne. Of course, anyone that knows the Rudows knows that the shopping expedition had to go something like this:


(Adrianne in the dressing room:)


Are you sure you're alright? Is Dillon alright?


Me: Yes, take your time.


Adrianne:


Me:


Adrianne: Thank you so much for waiting for me like this. Is Dillon really alright?


Me: Yes, we're good. Don't worry.


Adrianne: Ok. I'm hurrying just as fast as I can.


Me: It's ok!


Adrianne: .The kids are so good! Are you sure you're alright? ......Ad infinitum.


Adrianne, I'm picking on you because I love you. YOU KNOW we all do this. Some more than others. (Ahem, Mother?)


Anyway...that day was good. We took the kids to the mall rides, and Adrianne treated Noah to a ride on the mini-train, which he loves. Yay for Aunty Adie!





Thursday: Went to a water park! The only water park around here, which looks as though it was built in the 1960s, soley by Mexican design, and never touched since. However, we had a very good time. Hope to go back there again, maybe with more people, to be able to really enjoy the 'adult' portion of the park. Also, since I'm losing weight, maybe next time I go back I won't almost die. You know those water rides where you ride a big inner tube down an open-air chute and get going faster and faster till it spits you out in a pool? Well, friends, I was sure on some of those bends that I was a goner. You've heard the saying, "The bigger they come, the harder they fall"? This is true in a different way of slides. The bigger they come, the faster they slide. On my 2nd time down I asked the petite Mexican girl who was dragging my ass over to the chute, "So, does anyone ever go over the edge...ha ha ha" (not). She giggles, sort of embarrased, and says, "Is not possible". Hmm. Wanna bet? I also almost ran over this 20 lb eight year old girl in front of me, I caught up to her so quickly. That was some bad decision making on the part of the employee of the park, lemme tell you, putting me in back of her. She went down like a good couple minutes before me & then almost to the finish line I could see her and her tube and I went "oh man, this will not end well". It ended up ok, tho. Thank God. ANNNYYYWAY.





Friday: 4th of July! We went out for a group Starbucks, which was a treat for all of us. Noah is a young disciple of the way, begging for sips of our coffee and calling it "Starbys" like an old hand. He always gets chocolate milk and those Madeline cookies.


Then we went back and forth & finally decided, later on that day, to go to Western Playland, an amusement park. They have one of the only fireworks shows around and we usually go & sit in their parking lot & watch the fireworks. However, the percussion waves from the fireworks make car alarms go off, so it's very annoying to sit in the parking lot listening to those things go crazy while you try to enjoy yourself. That's why we opted to go in the park itself. It's very reasonably priced and we all had a great time! Noah did the rides like a trooper...loved em all. Dillon was a VERY good boy and, even though he was very tired, stayed awake quietly watching the whole time. We took turns riding & staying with him. The fireworks were spectacular. I don't consider myself particularly patriotic, but for some reason the 4th is my favorite American holiday after C'mas.





Saturday: We went to breakfast at IHOP & afterward wandered the Mall a little more. The trip ended abruptly with a frantic Aunty Adie trying to find her ATM card. Seems she accidentally left it at the concession stand in Western Playland. We call W.P & sure enough, they have it. Crisis averted. We go pick it up. Horray for El Paso, lowest crime rate around. Watched some movies later on in the PM. Packing and good byes later.





All this to say: We miss you Aunty Adie! We love you! Thanks for coming & for such a good time! Our place seems to light up when you're here.
P.S: Please see next post for pics. I can't seem to get this d--m thing to put the pics where I want them.