Snuggles with Nana

For the past four months, Ramsey and I have been helping Nana Karen sort, pack, sell, and move her things, as she transitions out of her home to a new apartment (the big move days are July 8th and 9th). 

It may be hectic, his bedtime has gotten screwed up, but there's been a constant through the process; Ramsey and Nana get a lot of cuddle time.

Catfish Fever!

Eric had a "good week", catching catfish off the dock.  He caught three on consecutive nights!  All were really nice size.   The smallest was estimated at 18" long and the largest was about 24".

Eric informed me that they're territorial creatures and they protect their own area.  It seems that when one would get caught, another would move into its place.

Cleaning catfish is a little more complicated and time-consuming than cleaning a perch.  As you can imagine, Eric was happy to catch them, but grumbled a bit when it was time to clean them!

Ramsey had fun.  After Daddy cut off the "whiskers", Ramsey took hold of the wire cutters and thought he'd tinker around.

We soon realized that Ramsey shouldn't be trusted with sharp tools, so we took them away.  He promptly went into the living room to grab his play pliers!

And when that didn't seem to be quite enough fun, he thought he needed to attack the fish with his bubble wand (aka "light saber").

 Good job, Daddy... we'll be having a fish fry soon!

Buddies - Then & Now

We had an overnight guest last night; one of Connor's best friends, Jared. 

We've known Jared forever.  He and Connor have gone to school together, been on the same soccer teams, worked together, etc.  They've been buddies nearly their entire lives.

I couldn't believe how grown up the boys are, so I took a picture when they were downstairs playing (even included Ramsey, how sweet!).

Then, I found one from 2012.  *shocked face!!!*

Fun little side story:  After they had their fun inside, they went fishing at dusk.  At 10:15, they came in and announced they needed to show me something.

They'd caught a big ol' catfish and hauled it up to the house in a net!  Connor was brave (or crazy!) enough to pick it up so I could try to get a good picture.  Unfortunately, it was dark and the darn thing was stinging the heck out of him. 

Another good fishing story.

Q&A with Ramsey for Father's Day

For Father's Day, Q&A from the littlest human in the household:

1) What is something Daddy always says to you?
"He loves all of us!"

2) What makes Daddy happy?
"When I giggle, like this...."  making weird "blether blether blether" noises, sticking his tongue in and out.

3) What makes Daddy sad?
"As I run away when I'm naked." 

4) How does Daddy make you laugh?
"Cartoon Ghostbusters. He watches with me."

5) What was Daddy like as a little boy?
"He went crazy!"

6) How old is Daddy?
"He's 55."

7) How tall is Daddy?
"He's this inch," making his fingers stretch to about two inches.

8) What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
"His favorite thing to do is catch bad guys."

9) What does Daddy do when you're not around?
"He snores. He comes down to my bed and snores as loud as he can."

10) What is  Daddy really good at?
Ramsey: "Catching bad guys!!!"
Me: "How does he catch bad guys?"
Ramsey: "He just does so good!"

11) What is Dad not very good at?
"He's not very good at fighting because he drops his light sabers sometimes."

12) What does Daddy do for a job?
"He catches bad guys."

13) What is Daddy's favorite food?
"It's whisky."
Me:  Can't.... control... the laughter!!!!!

14) What makes you proud of Daddy?
"He gets bad guys and puts them to jail."

15) If  Daddy was a movie or cartoon character, who would I be?
"He would be a cartoon Ghostbuster; Peter Venkman!"

16) What do you and Daddy do together?
"We both play with swords. Psssssshhhhhhhhhhhhooooooooo!"

17) How do you know Daddy loves you?
"Um, he kisses me."

18) What does Daddy like most about Mommy?
Ramsey: "Camping."
Me: "You think I like to camp?" 
Ramsey: "Ya."    (Maybe he's thinking "firecamping"??!?!?)

19) Where is Dad's favorite place to go?
"At home!"

20) How old was  Daddy when you were born?
"He' was 33-1.  He was 100."

21) If  Daddy would become famous, what would he be famous for?
"Because he will be a Ghostbuster!!!"   (He's really into Ghostbusters lately, thanks to a cute little blond on the playground who asked him if he'd heard of it.)

22) How are you and Daddy the same?
"Um, because we play."

23) How are you and Daddy different?
"Because I play building blocks and Daddy works at the police department."

24) What's your favorite thing to do with  Dad?
"I like say 'rar rar rar rar rar'!  Get it?!?"

25) What's your favorite thing about Daddy?
"I said I'd be surprised about him!  Get it?!?!  No more questions!!!"

For the Love of Bluegill

The bluegills just started to bite on the lake here.

 Ramsey loves bluegill.  Apparently.

My Birthday Weekend

My birthday this year was a relaxing, chill event.  After having pushed it to get ready for a huge rummage sale at Mom's, I was ready to take a few days off and really not do much of anything!  I'm not going to lie, I did some light housework and menial chores, but I had my family around me and made sure to stop and enjoy it all.

Sunday evening, we planned to go firecamping.   Eric was out mowing and I sent the boys outside to play.  When I came outside, I found the boys playing so nicely.  Connor had come up with a fun and rather ingenius idea to "summer sled".

Ramsey was in heaven!

Then, he decided it was his turn to pull Big Brubby around.

To Connor's amazement, Ramsey actually budged him a bit!

But, then decided it was more feasible for Ramsey to be the passenger.

The other four-year-old couldn't be neglected, so Connor hit the tennis ball for Riggsy.

And while Riggs retrieved, played with Ramsey.   

Connor was the victor in the duel.

And, for some additional entertainment, Ramsey sang his "Stay Calm" song.  And uh... at the end, gave us a little shock.  Wait for it.....

Somewhere in all of the action, Connor found a turtle by the lake.  And, somehow Ramsey hurt his knee.

And on the night of my big day, instead of putting on "real clothes" and make-up, I voted for a nice relaxing boat ride on the lake instead!

Ramsey entertained by showing us his barbell routine.

And I happily took in the gorgeous evening and felt grateful for my family.

Making the Best of Moving (Nana)

It's no secret, moving isn't fun!!    While Ramsey and I have been up North to Mom's the last few months, we've just "made adjustments".    For being a youngster with "sort-of" a routine, Ramsey's done relatively well adjusting.    No matter what, fun has been found in many forms!

Usually, he hangs out with Nana Karen during the day.  Sometimes, after work, we  go to the park to play for a few minutes (with Riggsy too).  Then, at night, he helps me box and sort (usually getting into anything and everything).  Unfortunately, late nights and bedtimes have become a new routine (yes, I'm a terrible mother). 

The days leading up to the city-wide rummage/Mom's moving sale, Mom had to go to the doctor.  I was frantic with much to do.   I got an unexpected visitor in the garage one afternoon; Auntie Shana's mom, Ranae, came with a beer (for me) in one hand and a big hug (wasn't expecting the beer! lol).  Seeing that I was pressed, she took Ramsey's hand and said she wanted to take him to the park. 

And she did.  They went to both parks, the gym (to run around mad and play ball), back to her house (to play Legos, eat ridiculous amounts of peanut butter, and visit with Ranae's husband Bob), and stopped back at Mom's house to check in.

 Ramsey didn't want to leave her side, so she took him back to her house for more play!  He was literally with them for hours!

"Granny Nae Nae" and "Grandpa Bob" had new nomenclature from a little boy they'd met only a few times before.  They were instant family!   

Later that evening, Ranae and oldest daughter Kris came back to the house to visit everyone again.

I never ask for help and I rarely accept it.  In this case, I am so glad that I did (and so was Ramsey)!   Such a blessing to have such a great "family".

Little Super Hero

Ramsey is a lover of super heroes.  I bought the Batman PJs for him months ago and he refused to wear them.   Then, out of the blue, he snagged them out of the drawer and put them on.  Then, retreated downstairs.

When he came back up, he was wearing his Batman gloves, cape, and helmet.  He thought he was a pretty cool and tough character!

 When that wasn't enough, he went and got his Iron Man helmet  and Captain America shield.

 He had nearly every super hero power covered!