Memorial Day Weekend

We had a nice weekend.  Mostly, we just played with the boys.  On Friday, John got home early--which was nice.  We tried to get all the boring chores out of the way (the laundry, the yard), so we could enjoy the rest of the weekend. 

It's always fun to get the boys in the morning!  They are always so happy to see us, so they can get out of their cribs and play!  Here are a couple of great shots of Will and Dada.  

 Our 6th anniversary was on Saturday, so we were able to go out to eat in Vintage Park.  We ate at an Italian restaurant called Mia Bella.  It was really good, but John and I both decided we like Macaroni Grill just as well.   

The rest of the weekend was pretty typical, although we did get to spend some time at the neighborhood park.  The boys were having the time of their life sliding down the slides and jumping up and down on the wobbly bridge.  They also discovered the sand, which they really enjoyed throwing.  Sam, especially, enjoyed throwing the sand up in the air.  We didn't really capture a picture, because we were trying to discourage it--knowing how hard it would be to get out of their hair--haha!  Here are a few pictures on the play set and the swings.

Will

Sam, Will, and Andrew with Dada

Sam, Will and Andrew with Mama

 The neighborhood high school put flags out for Memorial Day as a fundraiser.  I thought they looked really cool.  I am not sure the picture does them justice.  We enjoyed seeing them on all of our walks.  I believe we were on our way to the park in the picture.  We also got to go to Aunt Ruth's to grill hamburgers and hot dogs.  The boys had a fun time playing with their cousins.

All in all, the weekend was very good except for Will falling on his head (poor little guy) and Andrew eating too many hot dogs.  I will spare the details.

This last picture is random, but it makes me laugh.  When I pull out the nail clippers to clip the boys' nails, Andrew always wants to sit in my lap.  He really enjoys getting his hands and toes clipped.  It's kinda funny!  I think he's just interested in the gadget.  He's very interested in things like that.  

Speaking of the boys, I believe I hear one or two getting up from their nap.  

Memorial Day Weekend

We 

Another good day...

This morning Andrew woke up pretty early.  He wanted to be held, so I tried to sleep while holding him.  That didn't work out to well, so we ended up getting up early.  I can't complain--it's always really special to get a little individual time with the boys.

All the boys had cereal hats, but the only one that kept it on long enough for a picture was Andoobers!

After we ate breakfast, the ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) came out to reevaluate the boys.  They were proud of the boys growth, and they thought the boys could benefit from a little coaching from their specialist.  I am excited about them coming a couple of times a month.  I think it's more to teach the parent how to better instruct.  I am going to be all ears, because I know they seemed to have a lot of good tips.

After ECI left, the boys went down for a nap.  While they were napping, I worked on making some chocolate covered caramels (Nicole's recipe) and mini cheeseballs (mom's recipe) for the shower tomorrow.  After the boy's got up and had lunch, we went on a walk to play on the tennis courts with L&R.  We didn't stay too long, since it was pretty hot.

Here are a few pictures from the day...

Will

Sam

Andrew

Happy Birthday, Sandra!

Kate Nixon with the boys in Ball World

This morning we went for a walk to Walgreens with L&R.  It was so nice outside--the breeze was heavenly!  After the walk, we went home and Julia and Kate came for a visit.  We are getting sad about them moving to Boston in a few weeks.  :(

The boys had fun playing with Kate, and Julia and I had a great time catching up on everything.  The boys went down for a late nap after K&J left.  Then, I had a visit from Cynthia Gluth.  She is one of my visiting teacher's from church, and it's always great to get to visit with  her.

After the two visits, I made homemade caramels.  It's my first time making them, and I hope they turn out as well as Nicole's.  She made some and brought them to me for Easter.  They were delicious!  The boys woke up right after I finished--perfect timing.  Then, we met L&R for at the tennis courts to play.  It was much warmer outside, but it was still nice and windy.  It felt great!

Tonight, I am going with Ruth to visit Abbey Powell and Jeanette Moss for visiting teaching.  It's certainly been a day of visiting.

Here's a picture of Andrew playing with the Frisbee for the first time.

Andrew with Frisbee

By the way, I just realized that my camera setting was wrong, and all of my pictures have been with a very low resolution.  The pictures should be much better from now on--hopefully.

One last picture of the boys shooting hoops.  They are getting really good!

Catching up....

Excuses, excuses--I have a lot of excuses for my delay in posting.  We have had a rough time getting everyone healthy and cold-free.  I think we are all feeling great these days, so that's a wonderful thing!
Also, we were lucky enough to have a couple NYC friends visit last week.  I guess we've been having too much fun to worry about posting on the blog.  :)
I just loaded some pictures that I have taken over the last few weeks.  The first picture is of Andrew hugging Sam.  We've caught Andrew hugging his brothers a few times.  He seems to be very tender hearted, and he will try to hug his brothers when they are upset.  Of course, that is very heart warming to a mother.  I hope they will always want to be there for each other.

Andrew giving Sam a hug

The next couple of pictures are from Jimmy and Ali's visit.  We had such a great time!  We had a ton to catch up on, so we sat outside on the patio eating sandwiches, chips, and disgusting root bear Mike & Ike Candy (we think it was 20 year old candy--yuck!) and talking.  We got to grill out a couple of nights, and we did some American Idol watching.  We also took a trip to eat at Freebirds one day and Snowflake donut another day.  They were an awesome help with the babies, and they didn't mind the fact that we didn't have a lot of excitement planned.  For me, it was very exciting to have them here!  I missed them as soon as I dropped them at the airport!

Everyone gets a baby!  Ali with Andrew, Bonnie with Will, and Jimmy with Sam

Ali, Jimmy, and Bonnie take the boys for a stroll 

Here is a cute picture of the boys with John.  They had just finished watching Barefoot Books on You Tube.  This was a link of the day from Jennifer.  I am glad she showed us, because we have watched several of the videos online, and they really love them!

John with the boys

Lastly, I love this picture of Will eating his cotton candy!  This was the first time that he had ever had it.  All the boys were getting a kick out of cotton candy, but this picture really made me smile!

Will eating cotton candy-yum!

Trip to Mississippi for Easter

I am sad that our trip to MS is already over! I never want to leave my mom.  One of these days, the stars will align, and we will live in the same town again.  That is my hope and prayer.

The boys did a great job on the trip there and back, considering they were sick going and coming.  Luckily, we planned the drive during a large chunk of their nap time.  When they weren't napping, they were eating or watching a video or playing with a toy.  I sat in the back seat, when they were awake, so that I could hold the video player.  We haven't invested in an entertainment system for the car, so I devised a way to hold up the laptop.  It worked out okay.  Most importantly, they were pretty entertained while watching it.

The boys have never been so entertained!  They were able to go to THREE Easter eggs hunts.  The first hunt was at Lion's Club Park in Clinton.  The church had organized a wonderful hunt, and the boys enjoyed shaking their baskets around until all the eggs fell out onto the ground.  I was able to visit with a lot of people I hadn't seen in a while.  People were very nice to give us a hand with the boys when they saw that we needed help.

The second hunt was at Bonnie Barlow's house.  We went over to the Barlow's after church for Easter lunch.  There were tons of people there, and it was great getting to see the Barlow Family!  The boys got to hunt more eggs, and they also go to swing in a hammock by the lake.  It was a beautiful day!

After that, we headed over to the Cronin's for our final hunt.  Jennifer had invited us to her mom's house for the annual hunt.  The boys had a great time jumping on a trampoline for the first time, climbing and sliding on the play set, and hunting more eggs!  They also live near lakes, so the setting was so beautiful.  The weather was so nice that day.

There were many other highlights to the trip.  Nicole got to come by a couple of times.  The second time, she brought Reese and Cameron, and we all walked around the lake with the boys.  Nicole commented how weird it was that we were walking our children around the lake.  It seemed not long ago, when we were five years old and riding our bikes around the lake.  Eek--time flies!

Another highlight was getting to see Missy, Chandler, and Mackenzie.  It was a short visit, but it was such a great one!  I am so glad that they were able to take the time to come by the house while they were in the area.  The boys had a good time with them.  I hope we'll get to visit again, soon.

Mama and I took the boys to Mazzios one night, but other than that--we didn't do a lot during the week.  Since the boys were under the weather, they were happy to stay around the house.  They really loved trying to get into everything in "Leen's" house.  They weren't used to all of the new surroundings, so they had to check everything out, themselves.

Just talking about the trip makes me miss being there.  I hope we get to go back very, very soon!

Mother's Day

I am finally sitting down to load some pictures onto the computer.  I will probably try to do a couple of posts today, so that I can highlight some of the MS trip.

Today has been a nice day and a nice weekend.  On Friday night, Mother's Day came early for me with a favorite dinner of sushi.  We rarely have it, so it's always a nice treat.  John ordered and picked it up from Waza across the street.  It was excellent!  Today, John made me a grilled cheese for lunch and the boys gave me a very funny monkey card.  They each signed it, so it was very special!  I also had several texts wishing me a Happy Mother's Day, so it was a very nice day.

The boys still have a few symptoms from their colds, but I believe they are at the tail end.  John and I are also on the mend.  We will celebrate once all the medicine is finished and everyone is all better!

Sam, Andrew, Will, & Mama

Mama loves her little boys so much!

Even though it's Mother's Day, I guess Dada can have a picture, too!

Trip to MS for Easter

The MS trip was a lot of fun!  The boys did very well on the car ride there and back.