Attack of the Philadelphia Crack Mosquito III

Well, their back! Monica once again had a run in with a mosquito. This time, it got her in the eyebrow, which meant that it would settle in and around her eye. Of course, it did. The first picture is from Saturday afternoon, and she is not giving a thumbs up. The second is from Sunday morning. Fortunately, after several doses of Benadryl and some long naps over the weekend, she was able to open her eye by the end of Sunday.

We Got Tagged!

Tanner and Ella tagged Monica (a long time ago), but I thought it would be fun to get all the kids' answers. Here it goes--out of the mouth of babes:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Cameron: You have to clean up your room.
Trey: Stop playing games. (Video games)
Monica: Play basketball.

2. What makes mom happy?
Cameron: When I do stuff that you ask.
Trey: When I say "thank you" after lunch.
Monica: Chicken Nuggets.

3. What makes mom sad?
Cameron: When we stay up late. (Trey: "No, that makes you mad, not sad")
Trey: When you get hurt.
Monica: Your throat.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Cameron: Make Megan laugh, toot, and burp.
Trey: Tickle us in the neck.
Monica: Feel nice and happy.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Cameron: How should I know? Angry, mean, always crying, trying to get people's attention.
Trey: Like Megan.
Monica: Um, me.

6. How old is your mom?
Cameron: 36--older than our dad.
Trey: 36
Monica: 3

7. How tall is your mom?
Cameron: Really short. I'm up to her shoulder.
Trey: I don't know.
Monica: You're bigger like Grandma.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Cameron: Mess around with us.
Trey: Watch T.V.
Monica: Make pills for your throat.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Cameron: Make dinner with Monica's help.
Trey: Look for us.
Monica: Play hide and seek.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Cameron: Being angry at 10:00 at night. (Laughing)
Trey: When you're a rock star.
Monica: For my birthday party.

11. What is your mom really good at?
Cameron: I'd say, nothing. (Continuing to laugh)
Trey: Taking a shower.
Monica: Playing baseball.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Cameron: Everything. (Rolling on the floor laughing)
Trey: Playing baseball.
Monica: Playing soccer.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Cameron: Be our servant.
Trey: Yeah, be our servant.
Monica: Do dishes.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Cameron: Pig lips with chicken blood.
Trey: Uh, I don't know. Everything.
Monica: Corn.

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Cameron: When you don't boss us around.
Trey: Nothing.
Monica: Playing my soccer.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Cameron: Tom. Always crashing into stuff. (Tom & Jerry)
Trey: Spongebob
Monica: Spongebob Squarepants

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Cameron: Go to the store.
Trey: Go to the store.
Monica: Play soccer. You need to be on my team.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Cameron: We joke around a lot.
Trey: I don't know.
Monica: You've got a pink shirt.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Cameron: She's a girl, I'm a boy.
Trey: (Same answer)
Monica: Making a job.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Cameron: Only when she gives us Crock Pot Chicken and Chicken Nuggets.
Trey: When she kisses us.
Monica: When you make you a kiss.

We tag Tate and Kash Strasburg.

Mosquitos on Crack

Back in October of 2005, we loaded up the van and took the family to Scott's house in Philadelphia. During our visit, Trey was bit by a drug-induced mosquito that resulted in a trip to the emergency room. That is really when we learned just how allergic Trey is to mosquitoes. Fortunately, with some Benadryl and anti-biotics, his face returned to normal.


Well, we learned this past month that not only is Monica allergic to mosquitoes, but it appears that Cincinnati has been invaded by the infamous Philadelphia crack mosquitoes.


Don't believe me about the invasion? Here's more proof.


Trey and his cankle. Can you see the difference?

Fortunately, neither Monica or Trey had to go to the emergency room and the swelling has subsided. But we still can't find any repellent that says it will stop the crack mosquito.

Getting Older

Well, our week of birthdays is over for another year. It started on July 5th with a surprise birthday party for Christel who turned 60 this year. Jim planned and carried out a great party to celebrate the person who means so much to so many people. It was also a lot of fun because Melissa, Erin, Alex, and Justin flew into town for the long weekend to celebrate the birthdays. Their arrivals were supposed to be a surprise, but we learned that some people have a harder time keeping secrets than others.

Monica gets to share her birthday with her Grandma (July 6th), so on Sunday we had a great dinner, as always and topped it off with birthday cake. Monica then opened some presents. She is now 3 and wants to do EVERYTHING by herself. She is a sweet girl who loves primary songs, books, and playing with her brothers when they let her.

We got Monica this bike with the cute helmet, so she can be safe! She took off on her bike like she was a pro! She likes to ride her bike every evening now. She complains a little as she is going up the gradual hill on our street because "I can't go faster", but really enjoys it when we turn around and she picks up speed.

Another favorite gift she got was this guitar from Grandma and Grandpa. She calls it her "Guitar Hero" and rocks out to the songs that play when she pushes the buttons.

Treyton turned 6 on July 7th. All he wanted to do for his birthday was to have a few friends over and have water balloons in the backyard. We filled 300 water balloons and let them go to town. We didn't get all of the balloons filled before they started throwing them, so the kids took a break and played baseball while the parents filled the rest. They really had a good time using the launcher and seeing how high and how far they could get them to fly.

Trey got excited by several of his presents, but the one that seemed to excited him the most was the Nintendo DS that he has been wanting for months. However, I think I got a bigger hug from Cameron because he knew he has a good brother who will share.

We also celebrated (although much more subdued) Megan's 3 month milestone. Mostly we just said, "Wow, she's already 3 months" and took a picture. Although the 3 months have gone by fast and she has grown a ton, it seems like she has been in our family forever. We can't imagine life without her. Every morning when we come downstairs Monica announces, "Boys, Megan!" and everyone comes running to give her a hug, kiss or other smothering gesture. She makes our family complete.