Do you want to make a chart for Walter?

(Why?) Because he's whining a lot lately and it really hurts my ears.

This is what Owen asked and told me this afternoon. We had to have a discussion with Owen about being sassy and using kind words today and we came up with a reward system for using kind, big boy words. A few minutes later, Walter started crying about something, so Owen asked this! In time, it will work for Walter, too.

Owen had a big dream come true yesterday, he participated in his first run. He was so excited to run and particularly drink his Gatorade before and after. It was part of a new festival in our neighborhood, the Monarch Festival, which celebrates the monarch's journey from MN to Mexico. Lake Nokomis has a nice butterfly garden and we saw quite a few flying free after Owen flew to the finish line. There was also information on planting your own butterfly garden, something we intend to do this fall, so it was great to get some good reading, too.

We have been enjoying our lovely verdant back yard daily. I have realized I don't have to wash my floors as frequently, however, I do seem to be doing more laundry, as the boys tend to get soaked in the sprinkler roughly once a day! I'll gladly take this swap! We finally finished painted the fence today and now its just another reason to go stare at our beautiful yard! 

Jer took the boys bowling this afternoon. He started a bowling league at work last week, so now Owen is crazy about bowling! The last time we went bowling was a total nightmare as Walter didn't want to wait his turn and let everyone know about it. Jer said it was much better this time around. Owen got a 95 and Walter got a 55.