OREOS

What is Boston eating you ask?

Yeah... an Oreo...

Who said an 8 1/2 month old baby should eat an Oreo?

It wasn't me...

This one is all Dad's fault!

I might have introduced the Popsicle...

but I didn't realize I was leaving it open for him to try anything already...

The morning started...

everyone was fed and doing their own thing...

I decided now would be a good time to start on the truffles that I need to get done for the orders that have come in...

Speaking of real quick...

If you haven't ordered some yet, you should!

Tye and Shawn were begging for an Oreo...

I couldn't spare any... I need them in the recipe.

Shawn and Tye drive to store...

buy their own bags of Oreos and the three boys sat at the table to enjoy.

Oh my...

Well needless to say...

all three boys were so happy to have had their cookies and milk

they went about their day and didn't bother me again about the truffles I was making!

Lairmore Blood Runs Deep!

I want my Baby Back, Baby Back!

Oh my Grandpa Lairmore would be proud!

When we were on our little road trip to Reno we found this little restaurant that looked interesting. So, we went to check it out... it was a BBQ type place.

We go through the menu with the kids and Tye says he is going to have ribs... Humm... ok son... but you haven't every really eaten them before... Ade what do you want... Grilled Cheese like Uncle Kyle makes... ok... that is a safe choice for her. Not that I have ever seen her eat a grilled cheese sandwich before, but apparently when she was staying with Uncle Kyle he would make them for her for lunch.

Well, lunch came out and she decided she wanted to try a rib... Shawn gave her one and the girl ate it and cleaned the bone!

It was kind of a proud moment in my history! My Grandma and Grandpa Lairmore used to take us to Long Beach where we would love to go and eat at the rib shack! the Lairmore family loves their BBQ and they love their ribs!

So Here is to you Grandpa Lairmore... Hope you were looking down from Heaven and just smiling at this little girl as she devoured her baby back rib!

We decided when Poppy comes to visit we will take him to have BBQ at Lucille's so that he can see his little granddaughter eat some baby back ribs!

AdeLynne... Our Stinkerbelly!

AdeLynne... It is no secret that I love you to pieces... That I cherish every day I spend with you... but can I tell you a secret? You just kill me! You are such a little lover and then in a split instant you can be such a stinker! Hence your nickname... Stinkerbelly! From the time you were in my belly Daddy and I have called you that. I would go to the doctor every week and every week you would be stuck in the same position, never turning to where you belong! I knew then that you belonged to me!

Tonight you got a chance to play with Boston and be the "oldest" kiddo awake... Daddy and I watched you and just giggled as we saw you interact with Boston. You were playing like you were at Church and you had left your cabbage patch in the nursery... then you were in the terribly messy toy room playing with Boston... After you had dumped every toy bucket out on the floor... You decided you would be in the laundry basket. You love to put things in a container and push them around the house. I was pretty sure that if you could lift Boston you would have put him in the basket and pushed him! But I don't think you quite have that plan together! I am not sure what you were playing, but you were having a great time all alone!

I just love to watch you play! You talk to yourself and have a great imagination... You pick up some of the most random things to play with... You still love to put toys in your mouth, which is a hard habit we are trying to break...

We don't always get to see much of you playing alone and using your ideas... because if you and Tye are playing he seems to be the leader! That is alright... but we sure love to get to have times where you are the oldest playing and can make your own choices and games!

So tonight Ade... I sit and think about the time we have had with you and look forward to many more years of watching you!

We cherish you for all your little quirks... We love you for every little feature of who you are... Our little klutz... the one Daddy calls a window licker... our beautiful little girl... May the joys continue and your dreams be filled... May you dream of Flutterbys! We love you, Our Stinkerbelly!

First of Many!

For about 3 years... We have waited for the day that Tye could play baseball... Well, organized baseball... because he has seriously been playing baseball since he was a year old and could hold a ball and bat!
Yesterday... Shawn and Tye had a Father and Son bonding moment! They went to the sports store and got to pick out all the gear that Tye needs to play T-Ball...
His very first game is on July 11th... don't worry, there will be plenty of pictures!
There are certain moments that we get really excited and sentimental with each kid... With Tye it is very obvious that he LOVES baseball. I kid you not, this boy walks around the house as Justin Upton... He pitches as if he was Brandon Webb... He doesn't want a hair cut so that he can look like Eric Byrnes... Can nearly tell you all the players and their field positions. He plays ball all day long! He would wear a Diamondback shirt everyday if he still had enough of them!
I am sure we have encouraged the behavior... but he has picked it up all on his own. He was born while the World Series was playing in the background! If the Diamondbacks could see him play... at this point he might even be better than the team is! We are just waiting to see him play on the field and see if he likes it as much as he likes his "home" games!
We will be sure to keep you posted!

Sprague Family Evenings!

This is generally what a Sprague Family Evening looks like! Have you ever wondered where all their energy comes from? I don't give them much sugar... They play outside most of the morning... and then they take this wonderful nap from 12:00 - 3:00... When Shawn is doing house chores and I am working... They are getting fully refueled and we are getting more tired by the minute! Then all of a sudden after dinner or while i am cooking... This action breaks out! The best part recently is that Boston has caught on quickly to how this works!
Tye loves to wrestle with Daddy... They could seriously spend hours rolling on the floor and tickling...
Ade learned that if you wanted to play with the boys in the house... you better learn how to wrestle too! So she has gotten right in the mix!
Boston only 8 1/2 months old has decided he wants to play too! My favorite part is that he goes straight for Shawn's nose! We tease him that is kind of big... and Boston uses it to his advantage! Oh he looks so innocent! Good work Bo Si!
After the photos were taken and the camera was securely put away... I too was attacked by these 4! All of them lead by Shawn... He better be careful! I don't know when it happened... but somewhere they decided that mom is supposed to wrestle too! And not only is she supposed to wrestle, she is supposed to be ganged up on and dog piled! I can't tell a lie... I really do love it! I say I lost... but Shawn is always the one to get hurt... Tonight... he had a bleeding lip! Oops... pretty sure that was mom's elbow!
Who couldn't love this chaos! I am sure that is a good reason why we have kids when we are young! We sure enjoy them... I hate to think about the day they decided they are too old for this! Not sure when that is since my dad and brother still wrestle!

Our Short Road Trip!

A few months ago I thought it would be a great idea if we went to check out one of my communities in Reno, Nevada. I thought... It is summer... Reno is north... It should be cooler there... Can't be that bad...

Then about three days before we are supposed to embark on this fun family road trip (with 3 little kids mind you) people are now deciding to tell us what a not so great idea I had! We heard that the drive was terrible, we heard there was no where to stop, we heard it was not going to be a good idea!

Well people... let me tell you God was with us! When we take a 5 hour drive to Arizona the kids can't handle more than 3 hours... Reno is a good 8 hours from our house... The kids were amazing! Sometimes I turned around just to make sure we didn't leave them on the highway! They listened to iPods, colored, ate snacks, and slept! We had a good ride!

We get there... find out the hotel isn't what we planned (long story that isn't interesting!) the kids are patient and really are good sports about the whole thing!

I go check out my community there... wanted to introduce myself, do some camera adjustments, replace their DAP... ok... for most of you that is boring! So onto Saturday...

We get up... get packed up... go by the community to do any last touch ups... Then we decided to drive an hour to go check out Lake Tahoe... Oh are we glad we did! It is just such beautiful country there. We walked along the south shore of the lake... which looked like an ocean! Enjoyed a great day there...

Hopped back in the car and drove home... Again... blessed by God that our kids were wonderful!

We have decided we will have to do that road trip again with a little more time to spend exploring!

The Lake goes as far as you can see... We walked out on a dock where they do all the boat rentals and get people set up for paddle boats and stuff... We wanted to see if it felt like we were standing in the middle of the lake! We let Tye lay down and look into the water to see if he could find any little fish! I think it was a little overwhelming for him to look over into so much water... but that didn't stop him!

Shawn and I laughed hysterically watching AdeLynne try to get to the water from the buggy... She was trying to dodge all the duck poop! she had her little hands out trying to get someone to carry her to the water! She didn't seem to love the sand on her feet really! I never knew she was "Such a Girl!" Well... maybe a little!

We enjoyed watching the kids play on the shore like it was the beach! Tye loves the beach... I need to find time to get him back... Ade is going for the first time this summer... just her and mommy! I am so excited! We watched them play in the sand, toss it in the water... watched their amazement as they would dig a little hole and as soon as the water would come it would fill in... you could just see their mice spinning!

For Uncle Kyle!

Uncle Kyle... This one is just for you!

So many memories our kids have of you even though they are so young... It is funny and random what they remember... But this is one we will never forget... Anyone can be a cookie... it takes someone extra special like you to get to be a cupcake! It also helps that your wife makes such wonderful ones!

So here is Boston in his Uncle Kyle Cupcake shirt!

What do you do for work?

Me freezing in Monterrey, CA to program this reader...

This is how the residents access the community...
Not above getting my hands dirty!
Pouring concrete for a camera post!
Community in CA... Programming tags and
Well... Most people just don't understand what it is that I do for work... They don't understand even after I tell them what I do! Let me see if I can make it a little more clear!

I work for a company called QuickPass... We are a visitor management system for gated communities (high rise, mid rise, community center... things gated!) We are a software that the guards use at a gate to check in visitors for residents that live behind the gates. We support hardware that our system operates on and we support the users! We also are a system to gain access into buildings and gates that don't have guards... that is about as simple as I can make it! We all wear many hats there... It is the best job I have ever had! Most days it doesn't seem like work! It is so wonderful to be around the group I work with that it feels kind of like family! I am technically a project manager... but I also install... I train guards and community administrators how to operate the system... I do tech support... I help in creating and developing the program and changes that we are going to make... and anything else that is asked of me! We have our system in a few states... Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and New Mexico... working on several more! I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with this group... to learn so much while working... and to love it! Thank you QuickPass! Here is just a peek!