perfect moments

today was beautiful!
it was the perfect day for some bunker beach fun!

it was the perfect day to meet up with some friends
and the perfect day to go strong
for the ENTIRE day!

it was the perfect day for the wave pool

the perfect day for the water slides



and the perfect day for A LOT of lazy river floating

it was the perfect day for
water basketball
the perfect day for rock climbing
AND
the perfect day for a curly fry and gatorade lunch
i know i know
you wish you could be as healthy of a mom as i am

it was the perfect day for playing in the sand

and the perfect day to
just enjoy being with friends



it was the perfect day to be reminded
that these perfect summer days are numbered
and that we need to enjoy each and every perfect moment while we have it

LIVE!

this afternoon a friend and i went to be part of the audience for twin cities live

an afternoon talk show here in the cities

i would love to show you pictures of how cute we looked

i would love to show you pictures of the hosts

and

i would love to show you pictures of the people in front of me that were slightly obssessed

and borderline stalkers

i would love to show you pictures of our free noodles and company

i would love to show you pictures of the puppy that visited the set

and

i would love to show you what a tv show looks like 'behind the scenes'

BUT

we were told 'no phones or cameras'

and today

we followed the rules

HOWEVER

we also learned that rules are made to be broken

SO

NEXT time

because we already decided there will be a next time

i'll show you pictures of the set

i'll show you pictures of the hosts

yes ... they even pose for the rule breakers

and

maybe i'll even show you some pictures of the best audience members ever ;)!

until then ...

tune your late night tvs to channel 5

watch for a rerun

and maybe

just maybe

you'll catch a glimpse of the top of my head

and my .01 seconds of twin cities fame

shhhh ...

did you hear that??

that is the sound of a house WITHOUT three boys
and
that is what we heard all weekend
or rather DIDN'T hear ;)

stacey and i knew we would be spending our saturday
helping a long time friend celebrate his wedding

SO ...
the boys spent the ENTIRE weekend with my mom!

we got to wake up slowly

we got to enjoy starbucks on the porch while playing words with friends

we got to eat dinner at our own pace

and we got to enjoy the peace that comes when grandma is in charge ;)

it was wonderful.

of course i love having the boys here

and i miss them when they are gone

BUT

having little chunks of time where we can recharge

together

and just enjoy being US

are rare

and blissfully sweet.

SO

thank you, mom!

and

more importantly - thank you andy for getting married so that we had the perfect excuse :)

the fun begins ...

 

pumped up

 

they're baaaack!

so ... i am a few days late in reporting
BUT ...
the boys are home!!

as expected ...
they had a BLAST at camp!
since the moment we picked them up we have been listening to stories
and i am loving sharing in their excitement.

when you pick your kids up ...
you aren't even 5 minutes away from camp ...
and one is crying because he misses camp so much
you know that they had an incredible week!

drew's higlights
* ziplining
he actually held my little camera and took a video while flying through the air ...
i'll have to post that
* riflery
* sharking
*the blob

ben's highlights
* using bb guns
* the water mat
* our cabin catching a turtle

they were at camp with 3 of the neighbor boys
and since they've been home we have been
listening to all of them talk
and watching them teach the other neighbors
the new games they've learned

they are already planning for next year
and are working on getting more of the neighbors to join them

for now though
we've spent the week getting back to our normal everyday life ...



or as normal as normal gets around here anyway ;)

simple joys

this morning alex, oliver and i took a quick trip to the zoo



i've said before that i could spend all day watching the orangutan's
specifically the 'baby'
and today was no different
we spent a good 15 minutes
watching him play with a t-shirt

funny how something so little can create so much entertainment

a temporary friend

this morning as alex and i were entering our neighborhood
we saw a turtle crossing the street
we decided to park at home and then walk back to see it.

after seeing it,
alex thought it would be fun to take it home to show his friends and stacey
SO ...
i figured 'why not?'

i'll let you envision the process
and i'll let you smile at the thought
of 2 people who refused to touch the turtle trying to get him in a bucket ;)
BUT ...
we did eventually catch him



alex got to enjoy him for the day
and then tonight after dinner
with a brave daddy's help ;)
we set 'bob the turtle' free



although the turtle was not nice ...
he was not fun to hold ...
or so it seemed to me ;) i never tried :)
and he did nothing but scratch at one corner of the bin trying to get out ...
he was a fun distraction from the 5 yr old shots alex got this morning.

i have a feeling his older brothers are going to be very impressed
and jealous ;)
AND
it won't be long before they start hoping - and searching -
for a turtle of their own

five years later

5 years ago ...

when we were back in our old neighborhood
i was pregnant - along with 3 neighbors/friends
we were all due within weeks of each other
and the babies ended up being born within a 3 week span of each other

SINCE THEN ...

all 4 of our families have moved to our new neighborhood

the boys have become MUCH bigger
and JUST a little more active ;)

they all just celebrated their birthdays

and we can now see the difference five years can make!!

night to unite

last night was 'night to unite' -
a night that all of the neighbors come out
and we have a 'get to know you' party at the park

this year we had a great turn out!
we have had so many new families move into our area
and this provides the perfect opportunity to get to meet them

it was also the perfect opportunity to try a new idea ;)

YUM!

as with each year ...

the highlight for the kids was

the police car and fire truck stopping by

we love our neighborhood!

some of our dearest friends live a stone's throw - or a laser pointer's distance - away ;)

and

i love how nights like this are just a sweet reminder of how SO blessed we are!