You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

We've been saying "hello" and "goodbye" to a variety of things during this past month. Here's the rundown:

Hello Awesome New Camera
Thanks to Oma's early Christmas present we were able to finally get an awesome camera! Did I mention that it is orange and we even found a stylish matching orange-lined camera bag? (Eat your heart out Gina.) We are really excited- but don't expect fabulous pictures just yet. I'm still learning how to use the new-fangled thing.

Goodbye Old Camera
We bid thee farewell old camera... you served us for many years despite your often blurry pictures and tendency to randomly shut down at any moment. We will miss your rabbit-chewed camera case and strap.
Hello Flyswatter
This isn't actually new, more like newly rediscovered. Move over Mr. Miyagi, instead of catching flies one-at-a-time with chopsticks, I took out 50 in one session with this baby.

Goodbye Flies
Warning- the next picture is slightly graphic in nature. This is a message to all of you flies out there. My house is now a no-fly zone (please forgive the terrible pun). I am tired of you coming in uninvited and breaking the maximum occupancy rules for my house. I am pretty sure 25 individuals are not allowed to reside in one window sill- this is a serious fire hazard. I will no longer tolerate you landing on my food, making Elijah scream "Ahhh! Mommy, a bug! It scares me!" or tempting Gabe to try and smash you (what I am talking about- succeeding in smashing you) with his toothbrush. Enough said.
Hello Super-Bright Chalk
My Mom found this amazing sidewalk chalk for the boys to draw with. We had a great time with the bright colors and it kept my monsters busy for a whole afternoon while Marc was on call. They are crayola brand if anyone is interested in finding some.

Goodbye Clean Pants
Of course, the downside of chalk is that it gets EVERYWHERE. Luckily, this stuff is washable.

Hello School Year
Okay, so none of my kids are starting school for a while, but my friends kids are so it still affects who we can play with and it means the school playground down the street will be unavailable during school hours. I have to admit I feel a little jealous of those parents whose lives will be getting "back-to-normal" when school starts. Anyway, here is a picture of my guys enjoying a huge pile of books in preparation for future school studies.

Goodbye Summer Preschool
I really had a great time with this summer preschool. It reminded me that I do have a non-mommy skill set and I miss teaching in some ways. I even got a gift from my "students" aka their moms of some yummy candy and Kohls gift card. Woo hoo! Friday was our last day. I'm thinking about starting a joy school group in the fall or winter. Maybe after we've mastered potty training...
Hello Deer
Marc was on call AGAIN today (after being on call Friday) and David John started running a fever Friday afternoon so we've all been cooped up inside without Daddy. Today we couldn't go to church, but I had to get out of the house so we drove to a park with a stroller-friendly trail. The boys were thrilled to spot a family of four deer. We only got a picture of two of them but they sure were beautiful.
Goodbye Deer
Here is the last deer just before they all ran away through the woods. After the deer left, the boys asked, "Mommy, now we gonna see some cows and goats?" Obviously we have some work to do on categorizing woodland versus farm animals.