Krispy Kreme Kousins and a milestone for Little B

A couple of months ago, Little B approached me with a question.  Mom Mom and Pop Pop were visiting, and they wanted Little B to come up to Delaware for a week this summer.  Daddy had already given his approval, but apparently, I was the weak link.  Surprising them, I agreed.  I mean, even I could see, despite my oldest traveling 8 hours away, that it was time for Brant to spend some alone time in Delaware.  Besides, Little B had already asked me a million times if he could, before Mom Mom brought it up. 

So, the day has finally come.  Mom Mom, Pop Pop and cousin Hadley drove down to pick up Brant last night.  We had a great family dinner (thanks Daddy!) and some fun play time.  The last time Hadley was down, Brant was Henry's age.  So she enjoyed checking out all the NC family's stuff.  She and Brant played hard.  And when they found the Krispy Kreme hats we had picked up this week, they decided to open a donut shop.  Brant's playhouse was the perfect store, and the donuts were soon ready for purchase!!

Mom Mom is getting hers...they were of the dark mud variety!

Grandma's order was up!

"Pop Pop, you have to have one!"

Cutest little donut worker around...

and the other cutest!

Meanwhile, Henry went to sleep.  He missed out on the donuts

 So, after a sleepover in Brant's room, it was time to head on the road this morning.  I think Brant was going to implode if he had to wait any longer.  He was so excited we barely got hugs, and when we reminded him to mind his manners and listen well, we got a very mature (and sassy) "MOOOOM,I know!!!"

Henry had to get some good by love from Pop Pop

And some kisses from Mom Mom

And love from Haddles

And a sandwich kiss

Loaded up and ready to go for a week of adventure and fun!

So watch out Delaware, we've sent a piece of NC to you for the week!  He's raring to go and can't wait to get there! (and I'll be surprised if he even realizes we aren't there!)

A double dose of doctor's appointments

Today Brant and Henry had their 7 year old and 15 month checkups, respectively.  

Let's start with Brant.  Well, nurses and doctor alike (who we LOVE!!) couldn't believe how tall he was!  51 3/4 inches and 62 lbs.  His percentile chart has always been in perfect proportion, except for the one time chunk out he had at 6-9 months.  Losing teeth left and right, the doctor commented that he was as big as some 4th graders!  All was good for him, and he was especially glad that he didn't have to get any shots, for two more years, at that! 

Henry also grew a lot. He grew 3 inches and is now 30 1/4 inches long.  He weighs 22lbs and 8 oz.  His  head is 47.8 cm.  He's been more at the bottom of the percentile charts, as Brant always topped them out.  He's almost caught up with Brant in height, for the age, but it will be interesting to see how he grows, tall or short...O'Day or Tobin?

Henry had to get 3 shots.  Other than a "what the heck did you do to me?" look and a squawk, he didn't make a sound.  Daddy said his name should be "tough cookie!"   He even walked out the room, down the hall and smiled at all the nurses. 

So thankful we have a doctor we love and trust and healthy, happy boys.  Shoot, when the doctor just laughs at your boys roughhousing in the exam room, you know you have a lot to be thankful for!

Gettin' crafty!

Our local Parks and Rec started a new program this summer called Kids art in the Park.  Taking place just down the road from us, we jumped right on it, as we can walk there.  We've had other activities the rest of the weeks, so this was the first we made it to.  We invited our friend JM to go, and G and L from scouts were there too!  It was a fun morning where the kids learned to make god's eyes. 

The craft crew

Those god's eyes are tricky.  

But the boys had a good start. 

Working hard!

That yarn gets tricky sometimes!

But Mom was there to help, right L?

Henry was trying hard to stay awake.  Grandma was there to stroll him around, which was good because it was a very hands on activity.

All done!  The boys wanted to use them like frisbees!

Everybody finished!

Mentos, Diet Coke and a weedy garden

We got a Scouting activity coming up and needed some two liter bottles. So I bought a few on sale at Target, but then realized there was NO WAY we could drink all that soda in a few days, nor did I even want to.  So then Daddy realized that we could try the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment.  You've all seen the videos, the MythBusters even did it...but what about the O'Days?!   So, we purchased some mint Mentos at the store, and after dinner tonight we went outside. 

Ready??

A diet Coke geyser!  We couldn't believe it!  One Mentos made it shoot taller than Daddy!

So then, we sort of just hung around outside for a bit. I had the camera, and took some shots of our overgrown garden.  Actually, I tried to take some shots without it being evident how bad it is.  It's just too hot. or too wet.  or too busy.

Little B's corn, just thrown out and covered up, is doing well.  

And we've got a load of blueberries on our bushes

Yum?  well, the next face was a pucker...they are a bit sour still

Getting taller!

We love summer nights!

A honey of a summertime field trip

Last night our friend Meredith invited us to go out to a local beekeeper's home to see how honey is processed.  As if you couldn't tell by the other things we do, we are all about our boys having as many experiences we can give them.  So of course we joined right in!  Between Meredith and I we had 5 boys, under the age of 7, but better kiddos you couldn't ask for.  JM is one of Brant's baseball buddies, so they were like two peas in a pod, pretending to be fighter jets, and then getting into the honey process. 

The man in the blue suit (as opposed to the Man in the Yellow Hat! :-) ), was the beekeeper.  He's been keeping bees for 30 + years, and is the president of the local beekeeping association.  He gave us a walk through of what they do, and then fielded questions from the moms and boys. 

These guys were his former students from the beekeeping class.  They were there to help him process his honey.
Don't know why it surprised me, but there were a few bees flying around the basement. 

The honey, dripping out of the centrifuge.  It took all my self control to not stick my finger in it.  The boys didn't either.

Explaining that there has to be at least 75% of the cells capped to process.  The wax is the white part, and it was suprisingly hard. 

Yum!  He said this was how he got paid!

This tool took off the rest of the wax that the knife didn't get.  It's how the honey is released.
The honey you buy at the store has been strained through what is essentially coffee filters, so there is no
pollen in it.  We were told that you could take local honey, spin it and extract the pollen and tell what plants the bees went to.  It's why it recommended to eat local honey, it helps your body not react to the allergens in your area. 

Yum!  we all got to chew on some honeycomb and beeswax, still dripping with honey!

The bucket filled up while we were there, so he got a new one ready.

The boys were mesmerized by the golden goodness. 

Such fun!  Meredith and I want to find some more local places to show our boys...any suggestions?