{Westward bound}

My mom called early this morning.
They are moving.
Today they head out west to look for a house.
& as my parents put the car in reverse
to pull out of their driveway,
(most likely the last time my dad is at that house)
my father became nostalgic &
worried he wont see the boys as much anymore.
so...my mother added a stop to their busy itinerary.
Our house...

What is this second grade?!
but seriously...I love her so much!

My dad chased the big boys around with the camera.
I attempted to document my parents & my children myself.

Tre wanted to be like opah. so out came one of my many dead cameras.

Im still not sold on this moving business.
But im sure glad they stopped by today!
Tre hasnt stopped coloring pictures for them since
they pulled away to continue westward!
I just know my mom is going to find the
perfect house!

{Brunch bunch}

best part?
Rod called mid-brunch...
saying he was coming home for the night.
& he did.
He is out for a moment, but will be back soon.
Life feels normal again...
for tonight at least!
Im thrilled!
(can you tell?!)
In honor of his spontaneity
I spontaneously threw together a peach & blueberry pie.
It is in the oven & smells oh so good!

{On The Homefront}

I took some pictures of a moment
big brother T & his littlest brother, Mads
were having.
They may all appear the same, but to a trained eye
(or the eye of T & Mads Mom)
they are very different indeed!
Follow me for a moment...
In this one I have the focus of 2 well behaved & happy boys.

While in this version taken only seconds later, Mads has put
a rather grumpy expression across his face. This boy has quiet the
diverse variety of expressions.
You never know what your gonna get.

while here T is gazing out the window at heaven knows what &
Mads is getting sleepier & sleepier as 6:30pm approaches.
tic-toc-tic-toc.
(Don't worry Madsy, I'm counting down too! Its been a wild day!)

& again, we wrap up the pictures with 2 content boys willing
to appease their mom's need for pictures.

After all, they wont be 4yrs. & 8 mos. forever.

But where is Britty?

he is busy with his brand-spankin' new
Little Einstein figures
fresh from the Disney Store.
He just loved them to pieces.

As a special treat he got to watch
Little Einsteins Huge Adventure
& eat Cheeze-itz on T's bed.
I love the part when they finally get butterflies invitation
& make it to the butterfly family picnic.
wooh-hooo! One lucky boy!

We again wrapped up the day with a family prayer
via video conference.

*****
Dear Mom & Dad,
after further consideration of your exciting news....
I have deliberated.
You cannot move to AZ.
here are my reasons:
1) Ill miss you too dang much
2) the boys will miss you too dang much
3) we loved seeing mema & papa when we visited you.
4) We really enjoyed the pool
5) we really enjoyed the boat & buffets at the yacht club
6) Charlotte was fun with yummy food & adventures
7) I loved your house & the boy's room there.
8) Your not just a drive away.
9) no more instant & enthusiastic Sclater sitters
10) JUST DON'T LEAVE!
waaahhhhhhh....

Mom don't you dare start crying!!
I just want you to know I'm going to miss having you only 5 hours away.
Thank goodness for airplanes.
I am really happy for you. I know this is what you guys have been wanting.
But selfishly...I hate it!
Just means I need to start planning a trip to Arizona!
'cause we all know I cant go more then 6 weeks without my Mom.

{its 12:25am}

& I am not sleeping.
Because I am missing this guy...

1 month down...23 to go!
We so got this rotation thing!

{Surviving Sunday}

{I love the Finkleas & Whitings. I just do!}

We went to the Zoo with The Finkleas & Whitings
on Saturday.
Id be lost without these people.
My children love their children.
My husband loves their husbands,
& I love the girls! They are amazing!
Im not looking forward to the day we all move away from each other.
But lets not get me started on that...






After the Zoo we had the Whitings over for dinner.
Simple coney dogs from Michigan & some chips.

****
Now the weekend is over.
after church I packed up Rod again.
& Hes on his way to the dorms.

{Friday Night Dinner Party}

For the past 3 months we have been attending a marriage class after church.
As a fun way to wrap up the class,
we planned to have all the couples & teachers over for dinner & socializing.
Rod wore his fancy new coveralls for Trey & Sandy.
We got a good chuckle out of his attire & all the fun stories.
Sandy made those irresistible chicken rolls again. Heaven help me!

Trey & his daughter telling a story. Those Smiths sure can tell a tale!

Britton wearing a lincoln log container. why not?!

Fun with Daddy!

Sweet Payton girl. always cute.

Coveralls & Maddox. my man's favorite accessories!

Jax, Charity with her Grandmother, Sandy, Mads, Payton, Ashton, Tre with Millie, & Britty.
The gangs all here!

We had a good time that's for sure!

{Sweetheart}

The Man of the house is home this weekend!

& he arrived bearing gifts.
sweeheart.

{Girls Night}

another girls night....



another good time!

****
Rod got his boards score back.
he passed!
way to go Hott Rod!
IM SO PROUD OF YOU!

{Dancing in the Streets}

I strapped T, Britt & Mads into the car for a day trip to
Kingsport TN.
(but by 8:30pm Id wished Id packed jammies & toothbrushes to stay the night.)
Rod has been staying there while wrapping up his psyche rotation.
(next comes pediatrics.)
We went to Bristol for diner & a stroll downtown.






The boys danced pretty much the
entire night.
I can only imagine they offered many
passing drivers a good laugh.




bust a move T!










I just recently reconnected with my love for musical theatre.
Annie was a favorite as a kid.





It was not fun to kiss the man of the house goodnight & drive away while he stood on the sidewalk watching us turn the corner.

Ill be glad to have him home on Friday night.
Ill do his laundry, feed him dinner...Life will be back to normal.

*******
A quick bit about Britt:
Britt is 2 years & 2 months...almost.
He can string words togethere like nobodys business.
2 of the sentences us sclaters just laugh about are:
1) "push the triangle button"
(which means its time to push play on the car dvd player)
2) "I have that monster truck"
(which is said when he sees a monster truck
that he has on monster jam.yup--
the boys watch monster jam. haha)

I love when kids learn to talk!! Its darling!