junk drawer

Okay, it's been a while since the last post, but, in my defense, my week blew up last week. It started late Sunday evening with a call from the office that turned into be pulling out some pretty intense hours in only a few short days.

Be that as it may, we'll start from Easter and work our way forward. Easter was pretty low-key at Casa Bunker. We don't Easter Bunny, but we had a special Family Home Evening (on Sunday morning, I know, we're weird) on Easter. When asked the question "why doesn't the Easter Bunny come to our house?" I simply answered, "because Mom called him and asked him not to come." My kids are little, this is working for now. Next year, they'll probably ask me where I found his phone number.

Anyways, so Easter I dressed the kids up and attempted to take pictures. (They follow, don't worry, but hold on.) We're out in the front by the tulips (those bad boys have had a tough go - 70's, snow, 70's, snow, repeat.) So Will doesn't want to take pictures, he's two, do you blame him? The only time he wants his picture taken is when I'm trying to pose Abby. Anyways. So, he decides in the middle of the "shoot" that he's had ENOUGH of pictures and takes off running down the street.

We interrupt this story to mention that my neighbor a few houses down fertilized his grass the day before Easter. He used REAL fertilizer. You know, the kind that comes out of the south end of an animal. Yeah. Nice.

We rejoin our story with Will tearing off down the street toward said fertilized yard. Now, anyone who knows Will knows that if you chase him he runs faster AND that if he runs faster he is at any moment going to fall down. probably face first. Are you getting the visual here?

So here's Mommy trucking after Will shouting, NO!! As I see him giggle with the joy of the chase, heading straight for, to put it bluntly, a yard full of crap. Thankfully, he took his header about three inches before the yard and I grabbed him before he nose dived (in his church clothes). PHEW!

So, pictures commenced for a few more minutes and then we finished getting ready for church and Sam, Jake, and I went to choir. We're about to go into the chapel to practice when someone pulls the fire alarm. I must say that in my almost 30 years as a church member I have never experienced that. So we had choir practice outside while my kids camped out to "keep watch" by the fire trucks.

Life has progressed steadily since then, with Steve taking finals, Sam having spring break, us registering the kids for soccer, Abby teething, etc. Now, since you've been so patient, here's the pictures and some funnies for each of the kids. Much love, MDB
SAM
Down to only the last month of school, Sam has recently come home decorated with Farrer Elementary PE Student of the Year for his kindergarten class. He got a big purple ribbon he's very proud of. I think after this photo shoot I've decided he's too big for the "potty stool." But notice his untied shoes - this is their perpetual state - and what's left of the oh-so-gnarly bruise on his right cheek. He fell in the shower two weeks ago and is still getting over it. When it first happened it looked like he'd been bludgeoned in the face with a 2x4. This is the only picture from the day where he doesn't look like he's being pinched. Will calls Sam "ding-dong" which is short for "Sam-a-lama-ding-dong." Thank you, Uncle Ryan.


JAKE
When I asked Jake recently how he knew something, he answered seriously, "Because I'm smart." I confirmed that, yes, he was, and he added, "I'm even smarter than the bear on tv, Mom." (Referring to Special Agent Oso the bear on the Disney Channel. I think Will is probably smarter than the bear on the tv, hence we've stopped watching that show.) Jake finally decided he likes his new primary teachers - Michelle and Brother Michelle. (They are lovely people and I think they have a last name and Brother Michelle is actually Preston.) His most commonly used phrase of the day is "I'm hungry" followed directly by "Mom, I think I'm going to skip my nap." He has also learned to say "Dang-it" with the same emphasis as the person who taught him to say it. Thank you, Uncle Joe.

WILL
You can tell by the look in his eyes he's going to bolt, can't you? Will runs from the moment he gets up until the moment he collapses in bed - usually under duress. He's obsessed with busses and since about 100 school busses go down our street everyday and we're in a city with three times that many city buses, I spend a great deal of my day nodding and saying, "yes, a bus." Or, yes, a helicopter. Or, yes, an airplane. Or, yes, the garbage man. I think I can safely say we've got transportation covered. He also says bandit when he means band-aid and whenever he sees someone without a shirt on (like runners/bikers) he yells NUDE-Y BOOD-Y! Which is, you know, fun, when the topic of dicussion can hear him. And oddly enough the words stinky and cookie sound a lot alike. I'll let you ponder that one.

ABBY
Okay, this face just makes my day. I don't know how I won the baby lottery, but I did. This girl is the sweetest baby who sleeps practically on-command. She is ready with a smile, even when she's tired or hungry - which is funny sometimes because she's crying and then you talk to her and she starts to smile and then she remembers she's mad and forces herself to cry again. My most commonly used phrase around Abby is "I've got SOOOOOO much honey, the bees envy me. I've got a sweeter song than the birds in the trees. I guess, you say, what can make me feel this way? ABBY!" I painted her toenails now that it's warmer. Now she can have cute feet, since she won't keep socks on. I swear, she has 20 left socks.

And finally, the gang.
PS, Daddy took this picture, which is why the VAN and not the tree/flowers is in the background. Don't we have a very nice van?