One of the things he’s going to make is a display, with a display boards look like this:

Pretty standard, right?  Amazon has them, and since everyone has to do projects, I went ahead and ordered 4, so I’d have some in reserve.  I also get Amazon Prime shipping, so they show up in a couple of days.  I was surprised to see how they packaged them though:

That’s right:  instead of sticking them into one box, I got FOUR 5’x3’x8” boxes.  I was super excited when the UPS man brought them to the door, I thought it was Christmas until I saw what was inside them.  I bet they ended up losing money on that sale.

I cant believe that all FOUR of my kids are in school now.  I guess you can just cart me off to the old folks home.

then, we have Robert Earl Keen singing the greatest Christmas song of all time.

And finally, a picture of cute girl.  She’s sick today, so we’re taking it easy.  At least she didn’t throw up on me.

They say that July and August are the price you pay for the weather Charlotte has the rest of the year.  For some reason though, this year has been harder than the past ones.  I’m considering moving to Maine or something like that, because for the past week or so, the heat index has regularly hit about 110, and that is for the birds.  Luckily, we’ve been able to go to the pool most days, so we haven’t DIED.

The big news this summer is that both Izzy and Jake have learned how to swim enough that they don’t need floaties or life jackets or any of that foolishness to swim at the lake or at the neighborhood pool.  It’s awesome to see them have a great time, and I am glad I don’t have to worry quite as much anymore (although the worrying never really ends, no matter how big they are)

I’m trying to get back into blogging regularly, but the past year or so (since I’ve slowed WAY down in my posting) has been hard on me.  Hopefully, the worst is past, and I can get back to being the regular old HAPPY Bill that I like being.

One of the bad things about having everyone visit for Christmas was that Izzy got all used to people spoiling her.  Now that everyone has left, we’re trying to get her back into the habit of doing what we tell her to and sleeping in her room and in her bed.  When the grandparents were here, she’d pretty much do whatever she wanted and sleep wherever she wanted.  She takes after her mommy, so she doesn’t like it when I try to make her do something she doesn’t want to do.

This is how happy she was with me this evening as I made her go to her own room to sleep.

And this is what I’ve already done today:

1) Made scrambled eggs, toast and sausage for Jake’s breakfast.  (Jake stayed here ALL BY HIMSELF last night, because he likes to have 1:1 daddy time).

2) Cleaned up Jake’s puke (he did that BEFORE he ate my yummy eggs, I think he can hurl on command). 

3) Did the dishes

4) Fixed the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed the family room

5) Sent 3 emails to 3 different customers

6) Tried to figure out another customer’s problem, but I think I’ll have to find someone who knows what they are doing to fix it.

So now I’m tired, I think I need a nap.

This is what “sick” Jake looks like.  If I hadn’t seen him throw up with my own two eyes, I wouldn’t believe it.

Just like last year, we had the annual Lawson Neighborhood Yard Sale today, and Alex and Lauren ran a lemonade stand.  They had a lot of fun, but when I asked for a donut, it came with a bite out of it.  I hope they didn’t do that with all of their customers.

While Alex and Lauren were trying to make some extra cash, Izzy and Jake were just trying to be cute.  They are so much fun, but sometimes they tire me out. 

Izzy looks pensive here, but this is one of the few pictures where she is not smiling (or running her mouth).  Today, she helped Jennifer run her yard sale by selling juice boxes (for AT LEAST a penny) and gummy bears (mostly she ate them though).

I don’t even know what to say about Jake here.  He’s a nut.  Notice (if you view the zoomed-in version) that he has sand all over him.  I have no idea where it came from.

…but how can I refuse to let Izzy sleep with me when she’s this cute?  Someday, she’ll master sleeping in the proper direction.

She’ll be FIVE next month, and she will be “too cool” to want to be with me soon, so I am kind of savoring it while I can.  Her problem is that she wants to be RIGHT ON TOP OF YOU while she’s asleep.  It gets tiresome sometimes, but not TOO tiresome.

I know, what a surprise.  He was actually sick last Wednesday-Friday, but I thought he was better, until the school called because he didn’t feel well.  Jennifer and I figured that he was just goofing off because he didn’t want to go to school, so I made him stay in bed without watching TV until it was time to go to the doctor.  The doctor told us he had pneumonia.  BOY, did I feel bad.

In my defense, he doesn’t look all that sick, does he?  This is right before the doctor came to look at him.