Fourth of July 2015

Happy Fourth of July weekend!!!

I love holiday's (you knew that) and The fourth of July definitely ranks up there for me. There's just something so patriotic and special about it. This year L asked a lot of questions about what we were celebrating and I felt proud to be able to tell him about our country and our soldiers. I'm feeling especially proud after the monumental SCOTUS decision last week, and I'm thrilled to live in a country where we can love whoever we choose to love.

We had a pretty low key day. Friends that we would normally celebrate with were out of town, so we spent the day relaxing at the pool. All three boys are such water babies this summer, so it's been really funny. Even L2, who used to be pretty tentative around water, is now all about jumping in!

(Those faces!!!!)

We ate lunch at the pool and then brought the boys home for naps. We decided to stay home and cook up some nice steaks for dinner, and then catch the fireworks show from our driveway.

(This is the reality of what trying to take a picture with all three of them looks like!)

L was super anxious to see the fireworks, and the wait between dinner and when we actually went outside was hard for him! Last year was the first year we bought our own fireworks and he's been looking forward to doing them again ever since.

 (We don't do anything crazy, just some poppers and a few small sparkler type fireworks!)

They had a blast hanging out in the front yard and helping Daddy light the fireworks. R got a little freaked out when our neighbors started shooting off some bigger, louder ones, but as long as we were holding him he was OK!

We stayed up way past the kids bedtimes, but it was worth it to see the excitement and wonder on their faces. And we were also hopeful that a late bedtime might mean they would sleep in, but that didn't happen!!!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Enjoying: A big long post and a family visit

Hi all! I know I've been MIA this month, but I have a good reason! Between school getting out and figuring out how to spend our summer days, and then a big visit from my sister and her family, and my parents, I feel like we have been going a million miles a minute! I actually cannot believe that this month is almost over!

My sister and her family come to visit every year, but it's usually in March or April. This year her kids and her husbands spring breaks didn't line up, so it was moved to June. To say my poor Wisconsin family was a little shocked by the 115 degree weather is an understatement! But we had such a good time, it didn't matter!

This year they all stayed with us instead of staying at my parents house. It just made more sense and we wanted to the kids to spend as much time together as possible. It was cramped, but well worth it!

So here's a quick recap of our adventure over the last ten days. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of great pictures as I was just pulling out my iPhone when I remembered. I'm sure my brother-in-law got a ton of great ones thought, so when he sends me those I'll post some!.

Swimming days:

Most of our time was spent at the pool. It's such a novelty for my nephews and niece, and it was so hot it was almost a necessity! L is doing so great at swimming, and being around his big cousin really helped L2 get comfortable. Before this visit we were still pretty much dragging him in the water and he was scared, but now he is jumping in and ever "Swimming" to the step. R is our water baby and he is all about jumping in!

The Children's museum:

My nephews are obsessed with this place. It's always on our must do list, and this year was no exception. I admit, we have a great Children's Museum, and this trip was especially nice because it was not crowded at all! It felt like we practically had the place to ourselves! I think we must have hit that sweet spot where school is out so there were no field trips, but the summer camps hadn't started yet!

(R getting a ride from cousin A!)

(Brothers!)

(two of my three boys!)

Science Museum:

This year we decided to check out the science museum too. I knew my older nephews would love it, and I felt like our boys were finally old enough to enjoy it. I was right, and we also had a good time! 

I was worried that R might be too young to get much out of it, but he enjoyed it just as much as the other kids did!

(Grandma, Gramps, L and cousin A!)

(I love my little family!)

(whose that handsome guy?!?!)

A birthday celebration:

My oldest nephew turned 11 while he was here, so we all got to celebrate his birthday together. We actually did the science museum on that day, and then ordered some pizza for dinner and ate cake and ice cream!

(Make a wish!!!!)

(It's not a great picture, but all the kiddos waiting for cake and ice cream!)

And just a few random pictures. We spent a lot of time relaxing and hanging out and letting the kids play, and even took everyone over to the bowling alley and arcade one day. It was such a great trip and L and I shed lots of tears yesterday when everyone left. Our house feels very quiet and empty now, but the visit was amazing!

A pool day with family

You know what the best thing in the world is? Having family that you love, and getting to spend time with them. Last week my cousin and his family, who I haven't seen in probably 5 or 6 years, came into to town and we spent the day with them. It was so fun. Their youngest daughter, who is now eleven, was the flower girl in my wedding! It's crazy to see them all grown up now, and none of them had met any of my kiddos!

They were staying at one of the resorts in Phoenix, so we spent the day hanging out at the pool and just catching up and letting the kids play.

Unfortunately, L2 wasn't feeling great so he just kind of hung out, but L had a blast hanging out with his big cousins (I guess they are technically his second cousins!) and of course R was charming everybody!

(all the kids!!)

I wish we could have spent more time, but we talked seriously about us coming up to Colorado to visit them!  It was a great way to kick off the first week of our summer vacation!

Last day of school!

We've had a busy week here as we wrapped up the school year! I cannot believe that L is on his way to kindergarten next year, and L2 has one year of pre-school under his belt! (He has two left, since he is an October birthday!)

It's amazing to look back on this year and see how much they have both grown and changed. L2  was so sad on his first day of school. He was scared and didn't want to go. When I left him in the classroom I could hear him chase after me as he cried and called for me and banged on the door. It just about broke my hear, all I wanted to do was rush back in and take him home with me. Thank goodness I didn't, because now he loves school and I get nothing but glowing reviews from his teacher!

L2 didn't have any kind of ceremony or anything, since he is going back to preschool next year, but L had a full "graduation" as his class and him got promoted to kindergarten. It was an emotion day for me, I'm not going to lie. I can't believe he is almost six and on his way to "real school" in August. He is growing into such a little boy, I can't even believe he used to be a little baby.

Pre-K has been amazing for L. He has an awesome teacher and I loved watching as he learned so many new things. He is so inquisitive and funny and kind and I just love him more and more everyday.

I got our sweet neighbor to watch L2 and R for me today so I could spend the day with L at his school for his graduation ceremony and party. You could tell he was really excited about it, being the oldest of three we don't get a ton of one on one time these days. I loved being able to focus solely on him for a few hours and let him know how proud I was of him. The ceremony was sweet. The kids sung a few songs and then received their "diplomas" and then there was a slide show from the school year and their teacher made a speech. I'm not going to lie, but the end I was a mess and totally in tears.

It's hard to believe how big he is getting. I am so incredibly proud him. This year he has really shown how big hearted and inclusive he is with all the kids in his class, and I think that is so important.

(Him and his best school friend!)

(Miss Tanya, an amazing teacher!!)

(His diploma!)

I'm so proud of both of my boys and how well they did this school year, and I am looking forward to summer vacation! 

May happenings!!!

How is May halfway over? does anyone else feel like this is one of the busiest times of year for them? (I mean, besides the holiday, of course!) Maybe it's just because we are now in the time where we have two kiddos in school so we are dealing with all the end of the year stuff, but I just feel like we have been going a mile a minute with no breaks!

L and L2 are both done with school next week. I have to say, I"m excited to have a bit more of a relaxed schedule and not having to rush around and drag everyone out of bed in the morning. It's going to be an adjustment having all three of them home all day, but I"m already trying to plan fun stuff that we can do to keep busy! I may have mentioned this before, but L is starting kindergarten next year (!) and he got into a really good charter school that is incredibly hard to get into. I can't believe my baby is starting "real" school, but we are so excited about next year and the opportunities he is going to have at this school. And, as an added bonus, one of his best friends got in too! This makes me very happy because his friends mom and I are very good friends, so we are going to get to spend even more time together! L2 still has two years left of preschool. (since he's an October birthday he has an extra year before kindergarten). We weren't super thrilled with the school he went to this year. He goes to the public school pre-school since he is receiving speech therapy, but we were not impressed. I think we're gong to give it another try next year, but for his last year I"m thinking we will pull him out and put him in the preschool the L went to this year.

Let's see…. what else? We had a wonderful Mother's Day. My parents were in town to we had brunch over at their new house and then spent the day lounging by the pool and relaxing. Pretty much a perfect day in my book!

The kids and S made sure to make me feel special and loved, and I really appreciated how much effort they put into it. S made me a nice dinner of steak and lobster that we ate while watching Game of Thrones after the boys were in bed, and they got me a few nice gifts. (Flowers, a massage, and a gift card for a "paint and wine" date night for S and I!)

In other news, R has decided it's time to master the art of using silverware. He's actually doing pretty good, and it's funny because he now refuses to eat anything unless you give him a spoon to eat it with. (this included foods like sandwiches!) He just turned 18 months and is developing quite the personality. He's pretty much the sweetest, cuddliest kids ever, but he also has no problem voicing his opinion if he doesn't like what is going on!!

And I'll leave you with a few pictures of L's field day he had at his preschool a few weeks ago. As excited as I am about his new school for next year, I loved this school and we are going to miss all the friends we've made!!