Happy Birthday!

Does time fly or what? K is 5 now!

We had a wonderful birthday party yesterday. the kids all had a blast- I think the grown ups did too! K had a Diego party- he colored Diego coloring pages for decorations, put together Diego goodie bags for his friends, and made and decorated Diego island cake. James did a great job decorating the Diego cake. The kids loved playing in the pools and slip n slide.

"Happy Birthday K" or "Happy to you" as T sings

this is definitely C- fits his giving everything his all

T was glad to be cuddled and warmed up by Grandma
KG spent lots of time with Pops Leon

Thankfully T didn't hit anyone- he was trying out his tennis skills in the pool
one of the few times the kids were still in the pool- they got a big whirlpool going in it
Didn't James do an awesome job on decorating the cake!
and K did a great job on Diego Island. I should add a map legend since he can't explain on the blog- but the blue is the water, light brown at the bottom the beach, brown up top the mountains and Diego's house, and the gray is the town- pretty creative!

New at this

We got so spoiled living driving distance from Janelle where she could bring of some of her super yummy jams and relishes and all sorts of good canned things. So... time to learn. After being inspired by a friend bringing me blueberry jam and assuring me it's not too hard. We began our canning! We had a great trip picking blueberries Monday with James and then this morning picked blackberries with a friend. I've always liked to go to pick strawberries but blueberries & blackberries rock! way yummy and no bending over! Now the only question is what all to make!

We've done some other fun stuff lately- James and I went to lunch on the motorcycle all by ourselves- thanks to Grandma watching the kids. We timed it carefully between KG's feedings since she is still sure she needs her food directly from the source. I even gave in and bought another bottle to see if she liked it better.

We also went to the zoo or the Z-O-O as K likes to call it. The first trip where C walked the whole time and T got to walk some. here's the boys climbing in the playground

it was a great day for seeing animals- this elephant put on quite the bathtime show
the boys were hard at work painting- I need one of those walls
last fall little T didn't get to be in the picture of boys watching buffalo
we've taken pics of the boys watching the polar bears in this spot starting when K was almost 18 months and C in my tummy

More Fun

So we're sitting outside watching three boys do the slip and slide- all in their different ways. K has been telling me that C broke the rules (which I'm sure is right but he's having a blast doing it.) T is doing his own thing in an almost 2 year old way and KG is thankfully taking a good nap so I thought this would be a good time to catch up on the blog. Here's a few pics from our fun summer. Here are the boys in Morocco (actually the Marbles museum in Raleigh for Father's Day.our family about the walk the gang plank :) actually a rare moment of all 6 of us awake and in the picture together

the boys paused long enough in their sock hockey game for me to get this pic
here's sweet baby girl already 3 months old!

I think what's hard about digital cameras is you get so many good pics- it's hard to figure out which ones to use. I think June Cleaver's house wouldn't have been so perfect if she had digital pics, facebook, flickr, and email to keep up with! (I may have to add that to my facebook status- forget my messy kitchen!)

Refreshed

We got home Friday night from a week at Sandy Cove, MD which was wonderful. We were blessed to get to go on Operation Oasis (a program through Sandy Cove Ministries to thank veterans and their families for their service by giving them a FREE 5 night get away.) We had such a good time. We met such terrific people, ate wonderful food (which I didn't have to cook or clean!), heard good messages, enjoyed time together as a family & together as a couple (they have a terrific Club Cove program where the kids go to class which lets adults go their class and have time together.) We played tennis (once all of us & once James and I), swam every day, played frisbee golf, played putt-putt golf, ... lots of fun but also lots of relaxing. We came away refreshed and refilled. We went to the homeschool week and heard a couple who are missionaries in Bolivia speak.

the big boys and I did some paddle boating
the only way we could keep floaties on him
this boy loves his sister
the boys loved swimming- they're getting good. We even got KG in one time.

What a view- we saw this gorgeous sunset every night after dinner
T in his quad stroller cruising around Sandy Cove

worn out from a great week!

Summertime Fun

So June seems to be flying by. we've been staying very busy with fun things. The big boys started swimming lessons last week and are doing great. They're also practicing for the preschool performers play at the library. The big play is next Tuesday night. We had a great outing to the Durham Life Science museum last week with good friends who we are so sad are moving away soon!

We also got to have a diaper party with friends. K was a little scared when I told him that everyone wears diapers at a diaper party so he was very relieved to find out it just means you're giving diapers to someone.

We did make time to do some swimming in the backyard on the new deck that James built. Well, he did have some helpers!

Growing Kids

It sure is easy to let a few weeks go by without posting now that I have an adult to talk to at night! (and the fact that my hands seem to be busy changing diapers more often- I think I changed 6 before 9 this morning!) We are doing well. KG is already over 9 pounds and more and more alert. She's started grinning at a brother and quickly has two more beside her wanting to get a grin. We went to see Grandma and Uncle Brian recently. We surprisingly all fit in the truck- we've filled up all the seats a good many times lately- I guess we fill 6 with just us! We went to see Great Grandma and Aunt Velma too. Great Grandma held KG for a long time and wasn't sure she wanted to give her back (although I think KG would have let her know soon she was ready to go- especially since she doesn't seem to want a bottle!) 

James put together a gazebo which the boys helped move over the table so we can eat outside lots this summer! We're finding more times where the boys "help" is actually helping get things done not just helping them stay busy! We've already gotten a lot of us out of the gazebo- we've had dinners there most nights and had a couple Fun Fridays cookouts with lots of kids there. the house sure gets nice and quiet when all the kids are outside. The slip and slide was a big hit this weekend.