Photomania...

For some reason, I feel like the last few weeks have actually lasted a year... so many things have happened, and praise the Lord that He has been with us through them all!

(See Amy's blog for details... thanks for keeping things updated, Ames!)

So... this is a fun update of some activities that have made me smile, and has (please gasp in amazement) eighteen... that's right... eighteen photos for your viewing pleasure... ;)

Recommended reading: In two or three sittings, maybe??? lol...

Eduardo after eating pudding... perhaps "eating pudding" is too tame, and "consuming," "wallowing-in," or "liberally smearing" are more fitted to the sight... lol

The other afternoon Jenean had started watering one of the trees in the yard (and the yard itself), and it made this fabulous water-hole. Jenna decided that the boys needed to go swimming... and so they did! Who needs a Slip-n-slide when you can just have a pond from the hose??? ;) I'll try to describe the pics above:

1. After "swimming" - the pants were sagging, the diapers were showing, and this is what our CVE hoodlums look like... pretty ferocious, huh??? lol...
2. Off to a running start - the four boys (minus Edi) charge through the water, splashing and then inevitably crashing facedown into the small lake...
3. Saturation - the boys seemed to enjoy the novel sensation of their diapers filling up with water... maybe that's not such a "novel" sensation... lol
4. "Horsie" - Timi was making horse-snorting noises and crawling around on his hands and knees in the water... I caught him mid-snort in this photo... ;)

Doo-Raggedy-ness: A pink handkerchief came out the other night, and naturally the camera followed! I actually have many, many incriminating pictures of Joel wearing this pink accessory (since the girls were having a great time "decorating" him), but made the decision to only include the "best"... lol. Pictured above:

1. Cowboy up - Eduardo sits on Jenna's lap, wearing his "cowboy" kerchief...
2. Joel and Eli - the "elfin" pose of the photo shoot, and probably (I don't think I'm too far off here) the pose that best describes Joel's nature... ;)
3. Joel again - I have no comments... please just enjoy the novelty of him looking like this... lol
4. Seth found another use for the doo-rag; and we promise no one was seriously hurt in the taking or making of this photo... lol

The Flower Boys:
Today Jenna headed up to Tucson to pick up her brother, and I was able to spend some time with the five little guys. Coming back outside with a cup of coffee, I found handfuls of flower petals on my chair, and looking around I saw five little bodies, ten little hands clutched full of flower petals and buds, running toward me from the rose bushes along the fence.
There is a reason flowers do not grow here... lol.
They picked the flowers to give to me, and so I sat down and watched as mutilated petal after petal was placed in my lap, and winced a little as flower buds, twigs, and petals were entwined in my hair to make it "pretty." Suggesting that we should share this wealth with someone else (I think they might have ripped off about 10 flowers and 15 or so new buds), I sent them to the school-room to give flowers to Denise as well...
And although the manner was rather brutal... they were beautiful flowers to receive... lol... and Jenna is going to kill me because her rose bushes are never going to bloom now... ;)

Crowned with flowers... how lucky can you be??? lol...

After the flower incident, the boys decided to play with the geranium flower pots... which of course make better hats than pots any day! Above, Timi and Moises pose with their "hats" on, as Eduardo sits in the background eating catfood...

Pictured above:
1. Eduardo with his "hat"... this was taken right before he stuck his head through the fence, the "hat" fell off, his ears got stuck coming back through and he couldn't move, and... I must admit I laughed hysterically... lol
2. I would like to title this, "Trouble" since I am sure that in the future it will be... Timi and Moises were insistent that we needed more water today to help the flowers... or to help the flowers drown, I think...
3. Vegetarians in the making... the boys all gathered up weeds to "cook" and had an assembly line of the vegetarian platters; all while wearing their flower pots... life is beautiful... ;)
4. There weren't enough geranium pots, so Gabriel resorted to a parts box... whatever works, right?!?

Andres quickly found a new use for his geranium pot... it helped hold on his hair!
"We are girls," he told Seth as we walked around outside and he and Timi and Gabriel draped rags atop their little heads under the flower pots... to which Seth replied, "Ummm... yeah, I think they need some masculine influence!"

Whatever for??? ;)