In the summertime when the weather is hot...

We have picnics and Popsicles!!

We (now) eat watermelon the easy way - stick form!

We play a lot outside!

We play with bubbles as much as possible.

We keep a close eye on those pop-up summer storms.

And we always watch for the rainbows to show up afterwards. If we are lucky, there might even be two!

Happy summer!

Lazy May Days

While I am working on the boys "Year Books" - organizing pictures and such, here's a look at what we have been up to during these lazy days of May. Enjoy!

 We kicked off May with one of best friend's birthday parties! 

 Austin has decide that he is definitely a big kid...

...and can drive a car. 

We had MANY wonderful days of sunshine! Which, of course made for MANY great picnics!

 Peanut butter and honey? Yes, please!

Lunch with a best friend? Absolutely!

Dinner outside, too? Why not?

Of course we had MANY bike rides, as well. 

 Sometimes just after breakfast to beat the heat.

Or just after dinner to beast the heat (but i won't complain...not after our winter...)

And, when we aren't eating outside or riding bikes, the boys are in the sand box.

Or enjoying the heat from the inside:

 He's my little kitten :)

 

 Hope everyone is having an awesome start to their summer!!

Weekly Goals & Menu Plan {Back to School - Week 2}

WHOA! Time out!

Back to school...week 2?!

That's right! This mama has 2 days to actually get things done! Without little people running around asking for numerous things that they may or may not actually need...most of the time it is not a need.

But, hang on! Before we get going on that business, let take a look back at last week's happenings.

 {MONDAY}

 Andrew worked on his project for the 1st day of school :) We had to add pictures and things showing why he is special. When he was finished and we talked about it. He said, "Wow. I have a lot of big boys that are uncles." I said, "You do! That must be one of the things that makes you special, huh?" He said, "I think maybe so. And, I'm almost 4! I get to have big boy legos!" Haha! 

{TUESDAY}

 

 Top left: Andrew's first day of school!!

Top right two: Alex and Mommy's morning out / Andrew's apples that he drew at school

Bottom: We headed to the park for lunch and some fun in the sun after pick up time. 

{WEDNESDAY}

 

 I'm usually very worried if it is too quiet in the house... But when I looked around the corner to see just what was going on, I found the sweetest thing... They were working on a puzzle together!

{FRIDAY}

 

 Andrew came home with a yucky cough and nasty nose on Thursday...fun. Happy back-to-school, right?! Well, luckily, it only lasted through Sunday morning. But he rested up most of the day Friday and is MUCH better now! 

 After his long nap Friday afternoon, he woke up to a parking lot in the living room. Gotta love that! 

 And, after the tape was set up...Mama needed an afternoon pick-me-up iced vanilla coffee (which I'm making in just a moment again!)

We also got in a family game night on Friday, too! Love me some Candyland. But, BOO! What is up with the new version of Candyland. I need the original. It is QUEEN Frostine...not Princess Frostine.. Why did she get demoted?! Ugh...lame... But, apparently, I am the only one that cares about the issue with the characters being far from right... 

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 Last Week's Goals:

 

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Andrew! Re-read our back-to-school books this week. Bed by 7:30pm / Up at 6:30am
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed Andrew knows all of this prayer now!!! Alex has most of it :) YAY!!

Personal Goals:
4. Rise and shine! Waking up at 5:15 now due to school this week. Ok, only 1/2 of this happened. Really it was 530 not 515. And, I "slept in" on Friday. But, I'm crossing that one off anyway! ;)
5. Keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.
6. Finish up getting hospital bag together. Didn't even touch this thing on the to do list...

Home Goals:
7. Crafting: Start working on football scarf / If fabric comes in this week for Austin's quilt, then I hope to start on that, too. Ok, the scarf is just not going to happen... But!! My mom sent me a bunch of batting that she had and it came this week. And! The fabric is here, too! So I am doing this tomorrow!!
8. Organize: Laundry room / under our bathroom sinks My laundry room is evil... I gotta come up with a way to make this area stop getting out of hand. It also acts as a "mudroom" of sorts... Suggestions?

Bonus Goals:
9. Austin's room to-do list/timeline YES! Now to just start crossing things off!
10. Freezer cooking to-do list/time line Now I just have to get to baking :)
 

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This Week's Goals:

 

Family Goals:
1. School starts this week for Alex! And, lunches will need to be packed this week for them, too!
2. Family game night - Yay!
3. Continue working on the "Glory Be" with the boys before bed

Personal Goals:
4. Wake up at 5:30 to keep reading through Catholic Mom's Cafe, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy, and Glorious Grace in the morning.

5. Finish up getting hospital bag together.

Home Goals:
6. Start gathering items for Andrew's birthday party!

7. Crafting: Austin's quilt!!

8. Organize: Laundry room 

Bonus Goals:
9. Purchase party supplies for Andrew's birthday

10.Bake 3 of the breakfast items on freezer list

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Menu Plan!

 

Monday: Labor Day! Brats, potato salad, and cookies!!

Tuesday: Fall Harvest Bake (recipe) and Monster Cookies for Alex's first day of school!

Wednesday: Chili in the Crock Pot

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza, Popcorn, Movie Night

Saturday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia, Green beans, Carrots (recipe)

Sunday: Cheeseburger Casserole, Salad (recipe)

 

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What a week! hope y'all have a great one!

 

 

 

 

Weekly Rewind: August 5-10

Well, I can finally say (after hitting the "publish" button...) that I am caught up on posting pictures! Whew! I take too many pictures... Nah, I don't think so!

{MONDAY}

Chilling in the pool in the shade 

 

  Awesome little Frisbee throwers! Can I just say how excited I am!!!??? I can't wait to take them to play disc golf!! I wish it said my name, Shaun's, and the others whole helped in the making of this, but here is the course we designed! So cool, huh? Eh, at least I have all the paperwork from it still ;)

 Ok, you have to look very closely to see...but Andrew is chasing this dragonfly that keeps coming to our yard. He's pretty big, too! It is just to the right of his head. 

{TUESDAY}

 

Spelling their names with Super Why! Alpha-Bits Cereal at breakfast!

{WEDNESDAY}

 

Zoo Day!!

 Letting Mommy rest make a menu plan/grocery list while watching "The Cat in the Hat"

Making a puzzle while I make dinner

{THURSDAY}

 Putting together Jason's lunch one morning. I put a surprise message in his lunchbox! Gotta love it!

 Look where I found the smaller one during nap time - love him!

 Another cute moment captured while making dinner

{FRIDAY}

 UGH! Laundry day... At least I have some super cute helper boys who think that making a laundry train is the best thing ever. :) 

 2 boys, a bug, and a dump truck. Sweet. 

 Of course the outside play didn't last long...rain! But, we did see a great surprise out the window afterwards! Love rainbows!

 They were pretty impressed, too!

 Once the rainbow faded away, they had to get back to their puzzle making. This puzzle (similar) is so LONG!

{SATURDAY}

Jason's company picnic was Saturday. It was a lot of fun! The boys thought that the boat was the coolest thing there (except the great food!). Thanks, again, Mr. Ken, for letting the boys hang out in your boat and giving them a ride! They LOVED it!!!

 Checking out the boat

 So pretty! 

 Headed out for a little ride (and, yes...they had their puddle jumpers on at this point)

 I enjoyed the bits of sunshine on the dock as they headed out. 

What a great week!! Hope y'all had a good one, too!

 

House Happenings

Well, this was quite the week at the House!! Alex is learning to ride his trike, Andrew is done with school and moving up to PreK-3 in the Fall, and SUMMER is here! Eh, calendar schmalendar... Summer is here when school is out. That is just how it goes. Though, I'm sure you'll hear me say, "What?! School?! The summer isn't over until the calendar says so!" Gotta love it. Anyway, we are gearing up for a super fun Memorial Day Weekend. Hope yours is a great one!!

{Sunday}

 Check it out! Alex has a set of wheels! His favorite color, too - Green!! And, the best part? $20 on Craigslist. I saw this exact one at the toys store. They wanted $160 for it...um, what?! Are you kidding me? I don't think so. Andrew has been using his for about a year now and he is ready for big boy bike. Maybe for his birthday? We will see. He is very particular about which one he wants. LOL Boys and their toys, right? Anyway, $160 is just ridiculous for the amount of time that he is going to use it. And, he loves it. Just look at that face!!

{Monday}

 Check it out. We are ready for the summer with a book full of awesome coupons. Woot! I remember having to sell these kinds of books for school fundraisers (which I hated - but, now that I'm a mom...where are the kids selling these? I had to get mine online. At least it was 1/2 off because 1/2 of the year is gone now). These are based on city - so grab one!

{Tuesday}

 Last day of school!!!

Top: Breakfast surprise! I left each of them a Batman toy at their spot on the table. Alex will get to start school next year, so he got one, too. 

Middle: Ice Cream treat after school!!

Bottom: Hot dog sprinkler party for dinner! 

Mud-putt golf, anyone?

 

 

Sprinkler fun before dinner

 While Andrew was at school, Alex and I ran the rest of our errands, got lunch, and headed to the park. He LOVED climbing all over the "big big big" rocks.

{Wednesday}

We played outside all morning and had our lunch outside. There was a so-called "chance" of rain for the afternoon, so we picked up and headed indoors the rest of the day. Where was that rain? Never came. Interesting...

 While the boys were taking a nap and having quiet time, I worked on Andrew's photo book of all his projects he did this year. If you are interested in seeing it, let me know. I will share the link with family and close friends only, however.

 {Thursday}

Another day of playing in the sunshine!

{Friday}

Hello, Memorial Day Weekend sales! We headed out to the outlets today. Check out Alex's favorite purchase - new sunglasses!

 You know, cuz his future's so bright! ;)

 Daddy came home early as we were just getting ready to go outside. And, yep. ALL of us were trying to get that rock out. Still. I swear...the boys have been working on getting that boulder out (where Jason is digging) for about 1 year or so now. It's pretty big...I don't know if they will actually get it out before we end up moving. Too funny!

After dinner treat? Frozen GoGurts!! Yeah!! 

Time to get ready for the weekend!! We hope everyone has a safe and fun Memorial Day!!