The Mergenthaler Family

Sean here with another quick message to toddlers and preschoolers with older siblings.  I have two older sisters and two older brothers.  All of them are involved in at least one sport which means that I'm the "tag along."  Usually, at these events, my mom isn't too focused on what I'm doing because she is trying to watch the older sibling.  Sometimes I test whether or not she is paying attention by running into the parking lot or trying to drink a stranger's water bottle.  But most of the time, I try to be a good boy and find my own harmless entertainment. Imagine my surprise and delight at soccer practice last week when I discovered a pile of dress-up clothes left on the side of the field for me to play with. I was busy for at least a half hour trying different color combinations.  Now that's entertainment!  My outfit was perfect when I found a pile of hats next to the dress-up clothes. Boy, do I look good!!

Yesterday, I celebrated my 33rd birthday.  Overall, it was a good day.  In the morning, I got some grocery shopping done and went to the mall to check out the clearance at Old Navy.  Andrew told the cashier that I was celebrating my 13th birthday.  When she laughed, Andrew realized he said something wrong and quickly corrected himself.  "Actually, she isn't turning 13 because yesterday she was 32." After the mall, we went to Wilson Apple Orchard with a group from church.  I know you have seen tons of pictures of this place because we go multiple times a year, but you haven't seen pumpkins there yet . . . The following picture might be familiar.  If I was more organized/creative/crafty, I would remember to take a picture of the kids by the apple every year to record their growth.  Unfortunately, I think I only have a few of Andrew.  But this year, Sean snuck into the picture.  After the apple orchard, the little boys ...

I have a random collection of stories and pictures that don't fit into any particular category.  When I hear something cute, I write it down.  When I see something cute, I take a picture (if I have a camera handy). Some of the stories are almost a year old, but the pictures are from within the last couple months.  Enjoy the collage . . .  Andrew says, "Sean needs a friend.  I will go and give him one."  He marches over to Sean and says, "Hi Sean.  I'm your friend."  Emily asks, "How old were you when you got a cell phone?"  Ricky can't stand to have a loose tooth.  If a tooth is just a tiny bit wiggly, he pulls it out by the next day.  As a result, his smile resembles a Jack-O-Lantern. Andrew loves listening to music, but sometimes he doesn't get the lyrics quite right.  When he was listening to Shania Twain's "I Feel Like I Woman,"  I heard him singing, "I look like a woman."  When he was singing alo...

Those who have experienced school as a child or parent know about those homework assignments that, though intended for the children, are often completed by adults.  I've experienced a few of those assignments:  building a model of the Taj Mahal out of clay; creating a motorized boat from a bleach bottle, balloons, and straws; countless posterboard projects, etc.  As our children get older, I find these "projects" occur more often and I do not look forward to them.  Emily is less than 3 weeks into junior high and I found myself completing a homework assignment already!  However, this kind of assignment was right up my alley.  First of all, it was directed specifically to the parents (not one of those projects that requires parental "support").  My assignment was to write an essay about Emily to be read to her class so that they could get to know her a little better.  The essay follows below: (My new phone has lots of cool picture-taking modes...

Are you ready for a TON of pictures?  School started last week, and after a fun-filled and active summer, I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye.  The best way to say good bye to somebody or something is by sharing memories, so maybe I'll feel a little better sharing some of these fun summer memories with you. I'll start with one of the more common summer occurrences . . . . swimming. We spent the beginning of the summer playing in the backyard in the little inflatable pool set up on the deck. The kids also took swimming lessons.  Some of the lessons were indoors and some were outdoors.  As usual, Ricky makes friends wherever he goes . . . Makayla moved up to Level 4 and her teachers say she is a strong and talented swimmer. Andrew was able to take a week of swimming lessons after he got his cast off.  Yes, that is a huge bruise on his head.  You should have seen the one the week before on the other side of his head.  These nasty bruises were from...