Boys and guns

It's confirmed - obsession with boobies and guns have made it official, the toe nail polish is not softening him a bit. L is a boy, through and through.

I have no idea why (thinking about blaming it on a picnic we were at on Saturday and the boys were playing with sticks.. and I now realize, I think they were making the sticks be guns, because of course they are boys and that is what boys do). L has taken his hot wheel cars tracks and decided they make a good gun. He hands me a little car and tells me that is my gun (a girl gun). Then we run around the house shooting things. So... I guess you could say I am encouraging this delinquent behavior.

Oh well... could be worse and he could actually know how to hold a gun, as you can see from the picture below he thinks you shoot a gun from holding it up to your eyeballs/forehead (guess that's aiming). And his gun has lots of buttons (his other hand is on the buttons). And his gun puts out fires. And shoots boogers.

Check out the new tennis shoes for school! L came home from school a few weeks ago and told us his feet hurt because his shoes are too small. Oops. I promptly (two weeks later) waited for a deal plus a coupon and ran out to get my little man shoes that won't stump his feet growth.

Guitar boys

L has really gotten into playing the guitar lately. He discovered this little guitar.. I have no idea what the official name is, but this guitar that Leslie and Teri brought back from Greece for Pol.

He tried his daddy's guitar but it was too big. He tried his mommy's guitar, but it was invisible and out of tune. Then he tried the little Greek guitar and it fits just right.

We have many a song that he and his daddy have played together, but I just selected these two for you viewing pleasure.



ps. L never asks me to play and sing with him, I don't get it. :-)

The Freight Train, The Freight Train, The Freight Train

After Grandpa George's funeral we thought L needed to let off some energy and steam... heehee, get it.. steam... whew.. I am good with the puns. Don't worry, you will get it when you find out what we did. Keep reading.

Off we headed to the old train station in downtown Pleasant Hill, where we were welcomed by not one, not two, but three glorious trains. One even stopped up the ways so L took off to experience the train up close and personal.


And then glory of all glories happened, the train conductor waved at L. Y'all you need to understand the greatness of this epic event. It was as if someone had reached into L's personal wonderland and pulled out the most magical fantasy he could have ever dreamed to imagine.


Then L was jolted from his happy place by the horn on said freight train. Not sure if you have ever stood 30 ft from a train when it does it's chug chug deal... but it's loud. IT IS LOUD. L cried, I might have cried. And then we ran to a safe place where our bleeding ears could heal.


Perhaps not the safest way to watch for trains, but it makes for a cute picture.

Yes, L did have his shirt buttoned when it was needed, but by this point he was allowed to reveal his true self, Superman, no more disguises needed. After all, he is strong enough to stop a speeding train. Right here I think Superman is on the lookout for anyone in trouble on the tracks, or maybe he's mad at his mommy because she keeps snapping pictures.

Pleasant Hill's most handsome export.

The family, just hanging out at an old dusty train station all dressed up.. normal, right?

Wine Colored Roses

I will not do the man justice, as I did not know him nearly as well as I would have liked. I do know him through the influence he has left on Pol, as well as his entire family. Grandpa George always made me feel welcomed into the Bowman family, I was not only Pol's wife, but I was his granddaughter. And, of course, he never missed an opportunity to ask when we were we moving back home (back home being Pleasant Hill).

It really hit home this past weekend, seeing what seemed like the entire town lined up to say goodbye to this man, I got a tiny glimpse into how respected and loved he was to an entire community of family and friends.

Grandpa George, we will miss having you here on earth to chase Liam around the living room, but we know you are not gone, just in heaven excited for the rest of your family to arrive one day.

George Edward Bowman, 88, of Pleasant Hill, Missouri, was born Friday, August 4, 1922 in Carroll County, Arkansas, near Eureka Springs, the son of Henry Edward and Flossie Mae (Knox) Bowman. He departed this life at 11:05 a.m. on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at his home surrounded by his family.

At the age of 15, he lied about his age to join the CCC. After serving there, he enlisted in the Army where he served from 1942 until 1945. While in the Army he landed on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944, on D-Day. He also participated in the Battle of the Bulge and crossed Remagen Bridge.

On July 7, 1945 upon returning to Pleasant Hill, George was united in marriage to the love of his life Jennie C. Yadon in Harrisonville, Missouri, and they remained in the area the rest of his life.

He worked as a farmer and a factory worker, eventually settling into carpentry. Many people in the area still live in homes built by George. He also helped build much of the First Baptist Church in Pleasant Hill, where he has remained a member and deacon emeritus.

He was a former member of the Pleasant Hill Optimist Club, Bit & Spur Saddle Club, Quarterback Club (where he ran the chain gang at the high school football games for many years), the Boy Scouts and the Tribe of Mic-O-Say.

He was well known for his hard work and generosity. He had a love for babies and was known as the “Candy Man” to all the children as he always had a pocket full of candy.

He was preceded in death by his parents, infant twin sisters and a son-in-law, Chris Ford.

He is survived by his loving wife of 65 years Jennie of the home; two sons Glen Bowman and his wife Cindy of Raymore, Missouri, and Mike Bowman and his wife Karen of Pleasant Hill; two daughters Teri Melvin and her husband Jon, and Rhonda Ford, all of Pleasant Hill; 13 Grandchildren; 13 Great-Grandchildren; 2 Great-Great-Grandchildren; other relatives and many friends.

L and the girls

For school we need to take in family photos. I realized I have been a bad mother and do not have any recent photos of Liam and the girls... well intentional ones. I have plenty of photos with the girls in the background... they are always lurking waiting for attention or a morsel of food to drop from L's grubby little hands. Since the girls are L's older siblings.. only right we take pictures of them for his family collage.


Check out those two posing so well together! I promised them both M&Ms if they would sit still.


Scout is looking at L thinking "Kid, you better not hit me with that d*mn sword again or I am going to have to show you who is top dog in this house!"

Sometimes...

Sometimes your bed is a fire engine.


and
sometimes you just need your toes painted.

What L learns at school

Hello everybody. Pol here. Michelle did not want to post this video but I thought it was hilarious! Everybody should know before you watch this that he did not get this from me. Yes, yes, I know you can all imagine me doing this around the house, but I don't have any shirts that are big enough. We're not sure who he learned it from (probably from one his friends at school who's daddy has larger shirts and more spare time). When we ask him who he learned this new amazing trick from, it sounds like he's saying, "from the girls at school". Figures. Girls are always the gross ones. Hopefully it will phase out, but it's hard to teach your son that something is not funny when snot is coming out of your nose from laughing so hard.

What Liam learns at school from michelle buckingham on Vimeo.

L-I-am - juice

Conversation this morning:
L: Mommy, you drinking juice?
M: Yes, I am drinking Orange juice.
L: ORANGE JUICE?
M: Yes, you want some?
L: Noooooooooo.
M: Do you drink juice at school?
L: I only drink chocolate milk juice!
M: Good to know.

Guess that answers the question.. yes, L does drink chocolate milk.. the juice kind. I had no idea.

Will you accept this rose?

Y'all, you know I have the cutest kid in the world. But did you know I have the most talented husband who can fashion a rose out of construction paper?

AND did you know it could be THIS heart-melting-amazing when the two use their efforts for the good of Bachelorette happiness?

In case you have no idea what L is saying.. he's saying "Will you accept this rose?" At the end he says "I did a video!" Daddy promised him some M&M's if he would say this to me via the camera phone. I am not sure why this statement is so hard for him to spit out, but it gives me hope he will never be the Bachelor himself. Though, I would totally watch that season.

You also might be asking yourself why in the world did they even do this? Well, I might have left the boys to go to a Bachelorette Finale party.. that's right. I did. I loved it. Every single sweaty Roberto second of it (we watched it in HD, and folks.. you can see every single bead of water on that man's brow in high definition).

Pol was a little sad that I had "forced" him to watch all season and then I abandoned him for the final episode. He claims he didn't watch it. I think he secretly had a party where he invited Rob over and I think they cried when the rainbow appeared for Chris L.

I might have teared up for Chris.

And I might actually want Ali and Roberto to make this work and have lots of cute little Roberto's.