Saturday afternoon

The boys had their first basketball games of the season this morning.  Now it's just a typical Saturday afternoon.  I finished my run, Brian's at the gym, Sam is watching sports, Harper is self-entertaining and Ben is playing all things Mario.  

Beach Weekend

We had a fun weekend away at the beach! It was cloudy with some sprinkles but warm and there was NO wind. We were able to play out on the beach for hours at a time without any complaints about being cold. The only bummer was the first night Sam woke up with a fever and wasn't feeling great the last couple of days. He still managed to play hard, eat well, and stay happy. The kids loved playing ball on the beach, digging holes, flying kites, building fires and playing with their cousins. I don't have many shots of the whole group - there was 15 of us... hoping to get a few from Lisa and Lacey. We made it home by noon and everything is unpacked, laundry is in the washer and boys are napping - yippee!

Building a mountain...

Stomp it!
Digging for clams...Hanging out in the hot tub... in their undies...

Just waking up.
Popcorn!
Happy little guy!
Digging away...
Boys being silly...
Heather, Lisa and Mad Dog...
Racing...
Getting the fire ready for smores.
Exploring...
Puddles!
Sam climbing!

Weekend

Our little family is heading to the beach this weekend. We will be hanging out with Brian's parents and his two sisters and their families. It feels like we have packed for a week - extra clothes, food, beach toys etc. Let's hope the sun comes out!

We survived another busy weekend

Brian had his annual high school guys beach trip this weekend. Of course we had 2 swimming lessons, a tball game and a birthday party on Saturday. Since I am supposed to be "taking it easy" for a while... mom and dad came over to help me shuttle the kids here and there and keep me sane. Brian got home today and had UP graduation this afternoon followed by a softball game so things haven't really slowed down. I took the boys to watch the game and they loved kicking their soccer ball, rolling down hills and playing at the playground. May is our crazy month - it seems every weekend is packed... all good things but looking forward to life slowing down a bit in June. Here's hoping!

Busy Weekend

We had a crazy but good weekend... tball practice, swimming lessons, time with friends, 2 BBQs etc. One of the highlights for the kids was feeding corn to the cows on a friend's farm. Sam actually "hit" the cows with a few ears of corn - oops!

The boys missed their dad this weekend...

He was at the beach with his friends... playing golf and poker, drinking beer, building bonfires and just hanging out doing whatever it is guys do. We kept busy here...the boys played with their cousins, helped Caden celebrate his 1st birthday, had swimming lessons and played outside. We had a huge storm Saturday - lightening, wind, rain...trees were down, power was out etc. Yesterday Brian got home and spent the afternoon at the UP graduation. Both of my softball games were rained out - ARG! I had our end of year MOPS steering dinner and the boys went to the park, rode bikes and played in the water table. Another busy week this week - Sam, Brian and Mom all have birthdays! Sam is counting down the days...

Christmas and Cousins

Sam and I went out today and found Christmas presents for Ben and Brian. He kept getting distracted finding all kinds of things he would like to have... He even tried to convince me that Brian needed some crazy martian-toy-watch-thingy that he thought was cool.

He was so excited to help me wrap the two gifts he bought. He did all of the tape, bows and wrote his own gift tags.

Ellen and Colin went to a Christmas concert tonight and the kiddos came over to play. They have such a great time together...

Lizzie is such a little mommy to the others. I turned the lights out and put on Thomas... a few minutes later she was snuggling with Ben. I don't think she was too impressed with our movie selection... A Toy Story, Thomas, Cars... I think she was hoping for something more exciting... Cinderella, Snow White, Mulan perhaps? Anything with a princess??

We have snow!

Our weather guys were right! We got snow today - and it is brrrrr cold! It has been snowing most of the day and it is crazy windy out there. We went out a couple of times to play... but even Sam who loves snow didn't like the snow blowing right in his face... They have already canceled school for tomorrow and several events today! It doesn't look like the snow is going anywhere soon, as it is only supposed to be in the 20s most of the week. Brian already started getting cabin fever and trekked about a mile to get a coffee this afternoon.
This was Ben's first time out playing in the snow... he wasn't quite sure what to think at first!

Brian's snowman...

A little windy...

One of our snowdogs. Not many photos of Reilly well because... he is white and hard to see in the snow... and he was so excited it was hard to catch him in a photo!

Ben on the sled with Brian...

Here I am flying down the hill... Mac is chasing me. The dogs had such a blast chasing all of the kids sledding! We are hoping for less wind tomorrow so we can enjoy it some more!

Let it Snow...

They are predicting a big storm in Portland this weekend! Woohoo! Everyone is excited except for Brian. He doesn't like to be stuck in the house for more than a couple of hours. Sam is hoping for enough snow to pull out my dad's old Yankee Clipper sled! I went to the store tonight to get milk and a few other things... just in case. I am hoping our weather guys are right this time!

Happy Friday

We have had a busy week and our weekend is looking just as busy. Sam had a good week at preschool this week... they are learning about Thanksgiving and got to participate in a special tea with the St. Matthew Friendly Club (seniors group). The kids made placemats, learned special songs and decorated cookies to share.

Wednesday I took Sam to the dentist. To my surprise he did awesome. Ben was quite busy running around the office, climbing on chairs, talking to the staff etc. Sam had his teeth cleaned and was thrilled with his prizes - a new toothbrush, beaded necklace and spiderman sticker. These items have become some of his special "treasures"... he has been sleeping with them along with his blanket, Woody, Woody's hat, and a flashlight and two CDs. We go through the routine at bedtime and naptime rounding up all of his "stuff" as he calls it.

Our bathroom is gutted and I started painting tonight. It took forever for me to finally decide on the color. The kids and I went to pick it up this afternoon (I hope we are allowed back after they both ran wild through the store chasing each other). The ceiling is done as well as the edges and corners...so tomorrow I just have to roll the walls and we are done. Tiling will be done Monday and then just need to put in the sink and the "new potty" as the boys are calling it.

Tomorrow night Brian's two sisters and brother and their families are all coming over for dinner. It will be fun to catch up and see all of the kiddos and how much they have grown.

Below - photos of my little picassos. Sam is always asking to paint and do art. I wish I was creative and crafty! I am going to try and do better with having art supplies and projects for them to work on.

More updates and photos tomorrow. Off to bed!

Little Helpers

The boys were excited to help Brian clean up the yard today. Sam didn't want anyone messing with his leaves...

Ben was more interested in running and jumping into the leaves, riding his bike through Sam's leaf pile and getting dirty...

Into November...

Our weekend:

1. A great time Trick-or-Treating Friday night
2. Saturday we cleaned up the yard and cleaned out our office - yeah!
3. Brian and I had a date Saturday night. The kids played at Papa and Mimi's house while we enjoyed some delicious Thai food.
4. We took the boys to get haircuts on Sunday (Ben refused)... and then headed to our neighborhood library to pick out new books.
5. Long naps Sunday afternoon
6. A great time over at Lee and Dee's Sunday night. Dee made a yummy taco salad and some cute little burritos. The kids had a great time playing with the Goldens, Ned, Lisa, Heather, Maddox, and Papa Erv.

They are both very excited about their new library books. Sam is very serious about his...a certain little brother isn't allowed to touch them, and he took all five to bed tonight.

The boys playing their caterpillar in a cocoon game.

Sam reading with Aunt Dee.

Watching a little football with Grandpa Erv.