Christmas is Complete

Making reindeer cookies (and eating M&Ms)

Spy Kid Travis

Tyler and his Transformer Devastator

We had a very enjoyable Christmas this year at the Pope house. One of our traditions includes making reindeer (not moose) cookies on Christmas Eve to give to Santa. Santa always loves them! Christmas morning the boys were pleased with their Santa gifts...Spy Gear 360 for Travis and the Transformer Devastator for Tyler. Jeremy got the AB Rocket to work on bringing those abs back to life and I got the Wii Fit to hopefully restore my curves once again. I knew Jeremy had gotten it for me because he left the search up on his computer. Hee! Hee! I guess Travis is not the only spy in this household. We hope your Christmas was complete as well. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Tree Lane

Tyler with the Clauses

Travis with the Clauses

Me and my smiley boy, Ty-Ty

This past Wednesday our children finally got to see Santa at Christmas Tree Lane in Dover after a failed attempt at the mall. (A three hour line to tell a bearded man what you desire for Christmas...seriously?) Christmas Tree Lane is a private residence with an overwhelming number of animated holiday decorations. I thought I was prepared for what my children were going to ask for but as we know children are full of surprises. They both asked Santa for the Spy Gear ATV 360. After Travis told Santa his wish, Santa looked at Mrs. Claus and said, "His brother just asked for that!" Santa made a quick recovery and told Travis, "Well if one of you gets it, then you can share." Santa is not only jolly and giving but wise as well.

Grandpa Lloyd

The week of Thanksgiving we drove to Fort Myers to visit Jeremy's grandpa. He is a vibrant 95 years old! He and the workers at his assisted living facility tell us he never misses Happy Hour. Even though he did not show us his dancing moves while we were there, apparently he takes charge of the dance floor each day during these few select hours. Amazing! It was great to see him again and be around his positive energy.

Flag Football

(Don't you love how high they "hike" their shorts up?)

Tyler and Travis started flag football at the local YMCA last month. Can you guess who got sucked into being the Coach? Yes, but really Jeremy absolutely loves it! He is truly talented when it comes to working with children.

Okay, I bet you can't wait to see these boys in action. Here they are... Watch how syncronized they are in their movements.



Our little Travis is a focused one. Watch him use his agility to weave through the other players. Try to ignore the proud mother shouting in the background. Sometimes I forget I'm holding the camera.



Besides these two clips, our boys have very specialized talents, each their own. Tyler's talents include grabbing his opponents' flags and cheering for his team (and sometimes the other team) while he is in the middle of a play. Travis's talents include running full speed with the ball to make a touchdown and playing tag on the sidelines.

Nonetheless, it is an entertaining sport to watch. It is especially enjoyable to see how a 6 and 7 year-old interpret the game of football vs. how a grown man interprets it. We'll call him 'Dad'. Hee! Can't wait for tomorrow!!! Go LIGHTNING BOLTS!!!

Donuts

Donut #1

Donut #2

Beta fish are great pets. They are quiet, create little mess, and are fun to watch. That's why Jeremy and I were very sad when Travis's pet fish Donut died. Travis had been wanting a pet for quite some time. We told him any animal he could catch outside, he could keep as a pet. He chased squirrels, rabbits, and birds to no avail. Soon, he learned he could catch lizards and frogs. After numerous little critters made their way into our home, we finally broke down and bought him the easiest pet we could think of...a beta fish. No filters. No chemicals. Just water in a bowl and occassional flakes of food.

Travis thought it was great. He carried his fish home and named him Donut. Why? Because he likes donuts, of course. The first few days, we taught Travis that fish needed water to survive. Many times I caught him holding his fish gently in the palm of one hand while stroking it with the other saying things like, "It's okay Donut. It's me Travis. I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna pet you." Travis's love for his fish caused part of his tail to fall off.

All was well for a while until I cleaned its bowl. Who knew beta fish needed distilled water? The next day he was belly up. I quickly put the bowl on top of the refrigerator so the boys couldn't see. I called Jeremy at work and asked him to buy another fish to replace the one I had killed. "Make sure it's a blue one with a little red," I told him. That night Jeremy came home and we made the exchange. I looked closer at the fish swimming in the bowl. "Jeremy! It's red! The boys will know it's a different fish."

I did my best to disguise the loss of Donut #1. One morning Tyler said, "Mom, why is Donut red?" Uh-oh! "What?!" I asked shocked. "Oh, he must have changed colors." Satisfied, he left it at that. Next Travis approached the fish bowl. Surely the boy who held his little friend would know the difference. "Mom! Look!" I waited. "Donut's tail is growing back!" "I guess it is," I lied. We kept that fish for a number of months. This leads me to yesterday.

On Sunday Jeremy cleaned the fish bowl and filled it up to the rim. As I left for work yesterday morning I noticed him swimming happily around the edge. When I got home I spotted an unfamiliar object on my kitchen counter. At first I thought it was a roach. Then, a dried up leaf. Neither. It was Donut #2 all dried up on the counter. With the water so high, he must have jumped out. I buried him in a napkin and threw him in the trash.

Tomorrow I shall buy Donut #3.

A Hot and Humid Happy Halloween

The Bounty Hunters from Star Wars
Tyler as Bubba Fet

Travis as Jango Fet

Some of you probably already know that Halloween is my favorite holiday. Yes, it even trumps Christmas for me. One of the reasons I love it so much is because the weather changes. It begins to cool down to where it is not too hot and not too cold. Well, not this year!!! It was wickedly hot during the day. In the evening as we walked the neighborhood, we all wished we'd have packed some mosquito repellent. Even with the heat, it's still my favorite because I get to watch my little cuties dress up and say, "Trick or Treat" with their eyes fixed on the next treat to be dropped into their bags. Oh...and I get to eat lots of chocolate!!! Happy Halloween! I hope you are enjoying your treats too!

The Fab Vocab Parade

Our school does not participate in Halloween activities. Fortunately, around the same time the kids get to dress up to illustrate a vocabulary word. This year the second graders could be "adjectives" or "similes". I gave Tyler a few choices. When I mentioned SWEET AS PIE, he giggled and said, "I like that one." So I made him a shirt with a pie on it. Jeremy thought it was a girl's shirt. He says next time I should give him only manly choices. We'll see who's in charge of the costume next year, right?!

I had a difficult time thinking of a creative idea for myself, especially since dressing up is not my thing. At the last minute, I decided to be PRETTY AS A PICTURE. I grabbed a gold frame from my closet and held it in front of my face. Surprisingly, everyone else liked it. Mission accomplished. It really was a fun way to celebrate words and phrases.

The Toothless Wonder

Two Sundays ago on the way to church Travis burst with excitement. "It's true! I have a loose tooth!" I turned around to get a glimpse of his reaction. He held his hands in front of his face as he bounced up and down, trying unsuccessfully to disguise the pure joy a little boy feels when such a thing happens.

Well, this past Monday before school, Travis casually walked into my room with tooth in hand. "My tooth came out." He sealed it in a ziplock baggie and announced he was going to take it to school to show his teacher. (Believe me, his teacher has seen stranger things.)

That night under the pillow it went. Travis was pleased to wake up and find that the Tooth Fairy left him one dollar bill and four quarters.

My little spender now has 3 quarters left. So what did he purchase? 4 gumballs for himself, his brother, and his cousins and a handful of M&Ms. Guess he's trying to rot the other teeth so they'll fall out too. What a strategy!!!

The NEED for SPEED!

The Troublesome Trio

Ty-Ty and Sonic are ready for action

Sonic passes Jammer (left) The race is over! (right)

This weekend our beloved Daddy and Husband came home. He had been in Atlanta for the past two weeks. We missed his fun, spirited self around here. So when my energetic husband suggested we go Go-Kart racing in St. Pete on Saturday, I should not have been surprised. He was ready to play...hard!

We piled in the van and made a few pit stops along the way before reaching our destination. We turned in the parking lot with hearts pounding. It was closed. The lot was empty. No go-karts were in sight. "We've moved to another location." We piled in the van again and drove another 5 miles. Soon we were greeted by black and white checkered flags.

As we entered I couldn't help but feel some of the excitement wear off on me too. The boys bounced up and down, gazing at the speed wagons just outside the back door. Jeremy tried to underplay his enthusiasm but failed. As he handed over his bank card, his joker smile appeared. Who says you can't buy a little piece of Heaven?

I was nervous at first. I prefer safe driving. Yet once I hit the track I too turned into a crazy, aggressive speed demon. My husband (a.k.a. Jammer) was proud. Travis (nicknamed Sonic) kept up with his daddy the best he could, passing him once with the inherited joker smile. It seems Tyler (or Ty-Ty) takes after his mother...a cautious driver. The majority of his first race, he hugged and kissed the barriers (a few times because of mom...ops!). I felt so terrible he was having such a hard time. After the race he took his helmet off, smiled, and said, "Let's go again!" By the end of the day, he joined the rest of the "road raged" gang.

It's not always easy being the only girl in a household full of boys, but on days like these it's definitely worth it!

Friends

I've always been blessed with wonderful friends in my life who cheer for me, cry with me, listen to me, offer advice, teach me, make me laugh, and show me great generosity. This past week I was fortunate to spend time with some of these friends.

We love having friends over. A few weekends ago we invited some friends and their kids over to swim, play ping pong, and play games. The highlight of the evening was a game called MOOSE MOOSE (a Pope favorite). If you haven't ever heard of it, it is exactly what it looks like...a bunch of people gathered around making fools of themselves.
Here's Michael trying to remember what he is supposed to do next while the rest of us look just as confused.

I worked with Lynn at my previous school. Describing her as an animal lover would be an understatement. Every time I see her she tells me about another animal she's rescued. This day, it was a kitten. I found a sand dollar in the water while we were there. It was a great find! But to appease Lynn I returned the sea creature to its natural habitat. She said something like, "You can't keep that! It's alive. If you take it out of the water, it will die."

So it lives until a tourist keeps it as a souvenir.

The boys had a fun time at the beach with their new friends Mya and Kelly (Lynn's nieces).

Here's Travis ice skating with Heather (my neighbor from several years ago). When Travis was a baby, he loved to be held. PROBLEM...Mommy did not want to hold him ALL day. So sometimes I would call Heather and say, "Would you like to hold a baby?" She would respond, "Are you kidding?! I would love to hold that precious baby." HURRAY! Tired Mommy was rescued again. She can't hold our baby any more but she sure does spoil him with big hugs.

Tyler and Mommy gave ice skating a try too. Heather is very athletic...Mommy is not. Tyler picked up speed with Heather's guidance after a short time though.

I look forward to creating many more memories with you friends.

The Little Things

It's the little things my boys do that make me smile, make me realize how great it is to be their mom. Yesterday little pink sticky notes with drawn on hearts slid under my door one by one. That's all it took to win me over. Thank you for the little things which are to me the greatest things.

Up to our EARS

...in corn! It's taken a while but we are finally reaping the benefits of Jeremy's hard work. Last weekend he picked a whole pot full of corn

and cooked it. YUM!SHUCKS!
Can I eat it now?

How to Give Your Dog a Bath

First, you will need a sunny day, a pool, a ball,

and two willing volunteers. Check!

Next, throw the ball into the pool (after some begging, of course).

Third, let the dog jump into the water to retrieve the ball.The result: Wet dog! Next time, we'll use some shampoo.

Goodbye Little Friend

Yesterday the boys discovered one of their little finches was acting funny. He was laying still, eyes closed in his food dish. Travis picked him up gently and set him on the bottom of the cage. The boys then notified me, "Mom, what happens when a bird is just sitting still and not moving?" He was dead. My sensitive Tyler began crying immediately. Travis nudged me to confirm what he thought he heard. True. The little bird he named Orange was returned to Heaven.

Today we buried our little pet. We put him in a small box. Tyler used a brick to make a tombstone. He wrote a tear-jerking message on it with permanent marker. What a tender heart he has.

Travis dug a hole by the tree and placed the box inside. He then offered a prayer, "Dear Heavenly Father, please help Orange have a good day in Heaven and please help him be good today in Heaven."

Tyler laid his contribution on the shallow grave. We will miss him but we are glad Jesus let us take care of the bird for a little while.

Where does butter come from?

Why...BUTTERFLIES...of course!

(One liners courtesy of my inquisitive five-year old, Travis.)

Our energetic little Travis always delivers his knowledge (or lack thereof) with such confidence. He was sure his daddy would want to know the true source of his butter. He was a little disappointed when we told him it did not come from butterflies as he thought.

WANTED

...TWO FRONT TEETH!

Tyler just lost his second top front tooth. Isn't he cute? What's really funny is listening to him talk. (It turns out, your front teeth are important when it comes to speaking.) Tyler is not the least bit sad about them being gone because he is $4 richer thanks to the Tooth Fairy.

The Graduate

At the end of May, Travis finally graduated from Pre-K! He had been looking forward to this since his brother graduated two years ago. Not only was I excited for my bright, blue-eyed boy, but I was excited for ME! Perhaps I have been waiting even longer for this day to arrive. Do you realize what this means??? NO MORE DAYCARE FEES!!! HURRAY!

I am one happy, very proud mother.

I did ask Travis what he was supposed to wear for graduation. He said he needed to wear jeans to match the blue gown he would be wearing. I figured it didn't matter so much what he wore if it would be covered up anyway. But do you see a graduation gown on him? Nope. Me neither. Let's just say he was slightly underdress and next time I'll ask his teachers for clarification.

Here he is with his teacher Mrs. Karen.

Jeremy was out of town but we were supported by lots of other family members. Here are the boys with their cousin Braden. (Braden will be in kindergarten next year too.)

CONGRATULATIONS

TRAVIS MICHAEL!!!

When I Grow Up...

Our little Travis is a decisive child.

His latest decision is to be a "MAGIC TRICK" when he grows up. Gosh, I sure hope he doesn't disappear!

We would really miss him. HA!

Let it Rain! Let it Rain! Let it Rain!

The recent rain has everything in our garden

growing like CRAZY!

Take a PEEK...

Even the kids are growing like weeds.

It brought some other beautiful surprises!

Here are my favorites!

Thanks rain. Don't go away yet.

WALL OF FAME

Travis has been waiting years to add his photo to our family's wall of graduates. So you can imagine he was beside himself when he finally got to dress up in the long robe and tassel hat for his Pre-K graduation pictures. When we got home from school with his darling photos, I asked him to show Daddy. "Wait! Wait!" he shouted. He snatched the 8x10 out of my hands and ran full speed into the office. "Now we can put my picture on the wall too!" he announced proudly. Although temporarily on the floor, Travis is officially part of our WALL OF FAME.