So the other day the boys and I were at the grocery store, and they started begging me for lemons and oranges to make lemonade and orange juice. I thought they just wanted an excuse to use the juicer, but they really wanted to set up a lemonade stand. Connor made a sign, and they set up in the front yard. Since we live basically on a dead-end street, I didn't think they would sell any, but I forgot about the cute factor. Even though they did sell a cup to me and one to Aaron, and a couple to the grandparents, they sold out in a few minutes. Now I know who will be supporting us in our old age. Our little entrepreneurs!
Aaron always complains that I write posts and never mention him. Well here you go honey, a post just for you! We cruised up to Boyne Mountain ski resort this past weekend so Aaron and our friend Chris P. and six other guys could compete in the 24 hours of Boyne, a mountain bike race on a really hard course that goes up the side of a mountain and back down again, 1200 feet of elevation gain in a 9.3 mile loop. Basically the members of your team take turns doing laps, as many as they can, for 24 hours. Now, I am not this crazy. I was content to help make food and take the kids to the waterpark while the guys sweated and cursed their way up the hill. Aaron set up a sweet spot on pit row, with two easy-ups for shade and a big tent for naps. It was a pretty sweet setup, except for the thousands of caterpillars which crawled all over everything, including your feet if you stood still too long. Aaron's 4-man team took first place in their class and I think, despite all the complaining, everybody had a great time. I am so proud of Aaron, he did 5 laps on the really hard course, even going out one more time after insisting he was done.
Here's a little video that I put together courtesy of my new camera baby, the Canon 5D Mark II:
After the race, we headed over to Drummond Island for the night. The next day we took the boat out, and the water was not as icy as we had expected. Still not warm enough for me or Meagan, but the boys took a dip!
The Bakers are Jill, Aaron, Katie, Meagan, Rachael, Riley and Connor. The idea was to have a place to share our adventures with our friends and family all over the country. Enjoy!
"You stink of meanness." — Connor, after I complained about his incredibly stinky feet.
Aaron: "Garter snakes don't bite." Riley: "Well, maybe if you take some of the stuff they're guarding..."
"She's cute, like a mouse." —Riley, talking about Connor's "girlfriend," Calihan.
"Horses don't have armpits. They just have legs."
—Connor, once again spot-on.
"Do brown cows spray chocolate milk?" —Riley, inquisitively, at dinner one night.
"If you just open up this door, we won't kill you." —Connor to Rachael. He and Riley had chased Rachael into her room and she had locked the door.
"Life is very good." — Riley, while eating dinner after a long day of playing and swimming in Key West.
"This music is making my brain fall apart." —Riley, while listening to "First Noel" on the way back from picking out our Christmas tree.
"Mommy, you buy the best corn dogs in the whole universe!" — Riley, enjoying the pseudo-meat bought in a moment of weakness.
"Mommy, I don't think I need any more candy." — Connor, obviously delirious, on Halloween night.
"Hey mommy, you know what? You're the best mommy in the whole world."
—Obviously this is my favorite! Connor, while we were on a bike ride, just the two of us. And no, I didn't pay him to say it either!
"That's a lot of poop for just one man."
—Connor, just observing his bathroom activities.
"Hey Mommy, you're a pretty good juice girl. That's what we call people who give us juice."
—Riley, always giving compliments.
"What the hell is a bad word?"
—Riley, just looking for clarification.
"Hey, why are you just sitting there taking a break instead of making pancakes?"
—Connor, wanting to know why Grandma didn't jump when he snapped his fingers....
"Mommy, you forgot socks. I'm really, really mad at you!"
—Connor, complete with teary voice and finger wagging, after he realized in the morning that I had forgotten to put socks on him before bed. These are the times when I find it hard not to laugh at my children. Hey, at least he is using his words, right?
"I want to watch Annie Annie Joes!"
—Connor's request to watch an Indiana Jones movie.
"Mommy, how does grass stay up?"
—A rather thoughtful question from Riley, 4:42 a.m. Apparently burning questions like these keep him up at night.
"You guys are driving me nuts!"
— Connor, while riding in the car and trying to talk over a conversation Riley and I were having. I can't imagine where he got that one from ;)
"What is all this crap over here?"
— Connor talking about a box of junk in our entryway. Now I KNOW this one isn't my fault!
"No date for you!"
—Thanks to Dad for reminding me about this one. Connor turned into the Date Nazi because he was upset that Aaron and I were going out.
"You know what Mommy? I want to marry you."
—Connor, right before bed. Riley also chimed in and said he wanted to marry me.
"Daddy, come in here. We had an emergency! I didn't make it to the toilet!"
—Oooo- I can't wait to see what that means! (It means a lot of paper towel)
"When I get bigger, I am going to be a mommy and be in charge of all my babies and kids!"
— Riley, at dinner last night. They are on a big kick of wanting to be "bigger" so they can do things we don't let them do. He didn't really have a good explanation as to why he wanted to be a mommy instead of a daddy though.
