Our Little Neighborhood Hero

The other night, Rob and the boys were playing soccer in the back yard. Jay heard a strange noise that he said "sounded like fire." They went to investigate and the neighbor's AC unit was on fire (the house two doors down, next to Ronnie's). Rob said the flames were about as tall as he is, and there was thick black smoke filling the air. Jay ran back to our house and told me there was a fire outside. After my initial heart attack, he assured me it wasn't our house.

Rob called 911 and soon two firetrucks with lights flashing and two fire station SUVs pulled up. Thankfully, they were able to put out the fire before it spread. I imagine if it had burned longer, the house would have caught fire too.

The man who lives there was home, but in the garage so he didn't hear Rob knocking. It was only when a fireman burst into the house and yelled that he realized there was a problem.

Later that evening, he came over to say thanks and shake Jay's hand. The next day Jay was excited to tell his class all about it (actually he wanted me to tell), so I went into the classroom with him and told the story. Unfortunately, everyone was busy with morning work, so there wasn't much of a reaction.

All in all, a very exciting evening for us!

Jay Sparring

Robyn sent me a sweet, adorable video of Sophia at ballet class. To prepare her for when Noah gets a little older, here's The Joys of My Boys equivalent...

Cole's 8th Birthday!

Cole wanted a party with just family for his 8th birthday. He picked Moe's for dinner, than cupcakes and ice cream at home. We all had fun spending the evening with just us. The best presents were the Lego Hogwarts castle from Harry Potter. (The gift certificate and money from the grandparents were used to buy...more legos!)

Our Party Animal

This is an old post that I found in my drafts. It's about a year old, but I could see it happening today!

Jay showed his party animal side recently when we went to going away party for an intern at Rob's company. It was at someone's house and when we arrived, we did the typical "do we ring the doorbell or just walk in" debate. Before we could decide, Jay said "oh, let's just go in" and grabbed the doorknob and walked right in.

People hung out in the kitchen/dining room area and in the porch. Not long after our arrival, we realized we didn't see Jay anywhere. We looked around, then saw a little blond head on the porch talking with Rob's boss David, and two women. He stayed for a little while, then came back inside looking for food.

He has a blue button-down shirt with white and yellow flowers on it that he calls his "party shirt." He was around 3 when he started wearing it to his friends' birthday parties and it was quite big on him. Now, after two years, it is starting to get to small. He insists that it still fits because he can still button it, but his belly shows a bit and he can't move his arms very well.

He really wants to wear it to school, but the dress code specifies solid red, white, or blue shirts. When I told him he had to wear a uniform shirt, he said, "But I want to look nice. It's my nicest shirt." After two weeks of school, he still sadly sighs about not being able to wear it. Last year they had Fabulous Fridays where you could dress out of uniform if you bring a dollar for whatever cause they collect for. I hope one is coming up; otherwise, I may need to let him go to school out of uniform.

Our New Tiger Cub

This year Jay joined Cub Scouts, while Cole ended his scouting career. We were disappointed Cole didn't want to continue, but it is nice not to have to juggle two den meetings. Rob elected not to be the den leader this year, but is still very involved.

At the second pack meeting (the pack includes all scouts from Belle Hall from 1st to 5th grade), the boys had already earned the Bobcat Badge and kickball belt loop. They all went on stage to receive the awards and shake the pack leader's hand. Jay and his buddies were literally jumping up and down. I imagine they are all blurs in the photos. They looked so cute in their too-big uniform shirts and baseball caps. The den leader is certainly going to be challenged by the energy of this group!

The first camping trip was last weekend. Jay came home filthy, which seems to be the sign of a good time! Cole and I stayed home and had a really nice time together. I think we both enjoyed the quiet, but Cole really missed Jay by the afternoon.

The campers cheated a little this year and brought the air mattress. Rob said he is never going camping again without it. Knowing that, I may be willing to go next time!

Halloween 2012

We started October at Boone Hall Pumpkin Patch, which is an annual tradition. Besides pumpkins, it has a hayride, corn maze, jump castles and pillows, play structures, and a new spider web.

Spider Web

I think we're lost!

"It's not too heavy!"

"If you're gonna take my picture, I'm gonna look goofy!

We had fun carving the pumpkins!

And finally... HALLOWEEN! Rob and I felt very safe walking the streets of our neighborhood with two ninjas to protect us!

The boys got a big haul, most of it thanks to Jay who asked each person, "How many can we take?" When we returned home, Cole built Mt. Chocomore, and Jay got a candy bar's worth of chocolate on his face! Two signs of a great Halloween!

Halloween 2011

This year we decided to get creative and use stuff from around the house as costumes. Cole was a detective and Jay was an angry bird.