SUMMER

Today is the official 1st day of summer. Hopefully this means that there will be more days full of sunshine. I know there will be more time spent in the kitchen hopefully teaching the boys to cook. Johnnie & Jimmy already show a big interest, helping me make pancakes this past weekend. All the while Joey enjoyed his alone time with daddy watching Saturday morning cartoons & I think he would like to spend his entire summer doing more of that. There will also be lots of time painting & I get the feeling there are going to be lots of photos that I take where I notice pieces of clothing missing when I download them on to my computer. Funny Joey! There will be a lot of time spent playing in the water. There will be tons of hours spent bouncing in the trampoline by the kiddos & some adults. And Rick is very happy that Johnnie & Joey are showing huge interest in his favorite sport, Lacrosse. And I think he will happily spend endless hours teaching them how to play. Welcome summer. Stay awhile.

Daddy Day

Today we celebrated the wonderful dads in our lives. I am constantly surrounded by two. My loving husband who has so much patience for all our boys (most of the time) & gives so much of himself to make them happy! And my own dad who is not only wonderful to his 3 daughters but so loved by his 3 grandsons.Thank you for all you do & for all the love you give! We love you both very much!

Spring Photos

1. Johnnie & Joey often fight these days. But I'm so happy when I'm lucky enough to catch a photo of them loving each other.2. This year we had an annual pass to the Los Angeles Zoo & the boys loved it. We went at least every other month & each person in my family took a turn coming with us. Today it was grandpa's turn. Here he is showing Jimmy the giraffes.3. And of course Johnnie & Joey had to climb up for a better view as well.4. As the weather gets warmer we spend more & more hours in our backyard . Joey loves the tunnels & even though his eyes are closed I just love how happy he looks here.5. Jimmy is all about mimicking. He repeats the last words of every sentence we say or read. He sings along to songs. He does whatever his older brothers do & on this afternoon he wanted to be like daddy so when daddy started drilling the table Jimmy ran inside to get his drill & join in.6. On all of these nice days we also like to play baseball & recently Johnnie has really gotten in to it.7. This weekend I bought a watermelon & I was actually worried that the boys wouldn't eat it. I'm not sure why since Joey & Jimmy ate 1/2 a watermelon in one sitting. And this photo shows how dirty Joey likes to get in the backyard.8. And Jimmy even offered to share with me.9. Johnnie has a crush on the girl who lives next door. Her name is Madelyn & she also has a crush on my baby boy. Everyday when we get home he runs out to the backyard to yell her name & she happily yells back & then they end up in the same yard playing until dinner is ready. 10. Hello 3rd Trimester. Only 11 more weeks until we get to meet you baby girl since you will be joining our family 1 week before your due date.

Birthday Celebration

Tonight I got together with 3 of my girlfriends to celebrate all of our birthdays. 1 birthday in February, 2 of us in April & 1 in May leads to a night out to share a meal, laughs & new memories! We don't get together as often as we like but I hope these friends know how much these evenings spent with them means to me.

1st Movie Night

We often sit down & watch movies with our boys but a few months back we made a special event with all 3 of them for the 1st time. After choosing the movie we decided to add popcorn to the evening. So we pulled out the popcorn maker & set it up on the island. At first the boys were really frightened by the noise. (Notice Johnnie's face). But once the popcorn started pouring out of the machine the boys started screaming with excitement, especially Joey. And after one bite they all climbed on to the counter & started filling up the popcorn containers with handfuls of popcorn. A few minutes later we were settled on the couch & ready to watch Tangled. We didn't actually finish the movie because the boys got too tired but overall it was a great night & we can't wait for our next movie night.

Noodle Time

Our picky boy discovered why his mama loves noodles. Once his daddy wrapped a rubber band around his chopsticks & we removed all the liquid it was go time. With a little practice & some concentration he successfully got a lot of noodles in his mouth. And now happily gets excited when noodles for dinner are mentioned.

Jam Packed

I thought turning 37 would be awful because it is that much closer to 40. But to tell the truth I have so much to be happy for that I just find myself smiling when I look at the pictures from this weekend. It was 3 days full of jam packed fun. Friday was my actual birthday. I spent it pampering my 5 1/2 month pregnant self with a facial, a massage & a haircut. Then a lovely dinner of lasagna followed by cupcakes & singing with my boys (big & small). And thanks to my sisters Rick & I spent the rest of the weekend in Newport Beach celebrating 13 years together & 7 years of marriage. 2 days of alone time. Shopping at South Coast Plaza, a romantic dinner an anniversary brunch & laying by the pool. I love you Rick! I can't wait to see what the next 7 years holds for us.

Easter Hunt

Easter was a beautiful day! The boys started their day with baskets left behind by the Easter bunny. (I will post some pics later this week.) Then after nap time the boys spent the afternoon searching for eggs in the backyard. Some of the eggs were well hidden to give Johnnie & Joey a challenge while others were in obvious places for Jimmy to find. They all had a wonderful time for very different reasons.

Jimmy just liked having grandpa show him where all the eggs were & he also loved dumping the contents of each one out to eat some. Joey started the hunt with a lot of excitement but once he realized there was candy inside he was done hunting. He just wanted to sit down & EAT all the candy. That was okay with me though because it meant I got some snuggle time. And Johnnie was all about searching for the eggs. He was really proud of himself for finding them. And because he was so happy he was willing to take photos with mama & his aunties. And the boys were so happy to show daddy everything they found. We ended the egg search & candy eating extravaganza with a family photo before heading in for Easter dinner. Thankful for such a blessed day!

Another Visit Over Already

The boys grandparents were here over the last 2 weeks & once again time went by way too quickly. There were lots of snuggles, lots of kisses, singing & LOTS of bubbles. We already miss you & can't wait for our next visit.