Cousin Orion

My cousin, Orion was visiting Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike for 2 weeks, so we got to spend some time playing with him while his parents went to Figi on vacation!  Orion stayed at our house for a sleepover one night, and he and Ethan had "Popcorn and a Movie" night (the movie selection was "Garbage Day").

We also went to McDonald's Play land.  Orion and Ethan had fun climbing in the tunnels and going down the slides, and Macie had a great time playing with the Lego. 

Orion is a wonderful big cousin for the kiddos!

Teddy Bear Park

Today we took a drive to Stillwater where we met our good friends:  Theresa, Isaac, and Lily, Kyra and Evan.  The kids had a really great time playing, and the moms even had a chance to chat, as all the kids were so well-behaved!

Isaac and Ethan climbed a BIG rock!

Isaac brought this super cool scooper truck.  Thanks for sharing with us!!!

And here's the final group shot.  It's the best we could do after 3 hours of play time! 

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday the kids and I took a trip up to the lake to spend some time with cousins Lauren and Orion, and Grandma and  Grandpa.

Grandpa took us on a pontoon ride!  Ethan was so calm and he loved it - a very nice change from last year.  Macie also loved the ride . . .

Today we spent time with Daddy and Great Grandpa Glenn  -

After our visit with Grandpa, we had a picnic - Ethan especially loved the watermelon.

To end the day, we did some gardening in our undies.  Of course.

Take me out to the Ball Game

I decided to take the kiddos to see daddy, Auntie Jenny, and Auntie Michelle play softball.  They all play on the same co-ed team.  Ethan was so excited to see daddy in action!

Macie had fun playing with her cousins, or hanging out in her stroller enjoying her crackers.

Ethan always loves a chance to play in the dirt - especially with cousin Victor!

Spectrum Shuffle

On Saturday we had a bunch of Ethan's wonderful family and friends join is for a walk for autism awareness.  We had so much fun!

This is my good friend, Katherine, and our little cuties, Evy and Macie!

Ethan enjoyed some good swinging time, getting pushed by his buddy Lily.

Auntie Jen and Oliver

Bryan, Kyra, Theresa, Jane, and Ethan were VERY excited to finish the grueling 5K!

On the walking trail

Here's the whole gang at our house following the race!

We are so blessed to have such supportive friends and family!  If you couldn't make it this year, we'd love to have you come next year!!

Night Owl

Trav's band played tonight for a retirement party.  The woman retiring was one of my teachers and now a co-worker and  friend, so I decided to have a night out and listen to Trav play while getting some socializing in as well.  (By the way, it was such a treat to hear Trav's band - they're so good!)  When I got home at 10:45, Macie was STILL AWAKE - as in she never went to bed.  When I left at 6:00 I told the sitter that she was having a rough time teething, but she should fall asleep by 7.  Yikes.  Macie gave poor Kelly (our awesome baby-sitter) a run for her money tonight!!!  On the bright side, she was in a great mood at 11:00 and went right to sleep when I laid her down.    And on another bright side, Ethan was awesome for her!  He went right to sleep at 7:45. Yay, Ethan!

Tomorrow morning we're doing the "Spectrum Shuffle" right away at 8:00 - we'll see what kind of mood little miss night owl is in then!

Summer is ALMOST here!

Today is my last day of work for the summer!  I'm so excited!  I get to see what it's like to be a stay-at-home mom for 3 months.  It will be a nice change . . . I've been missing my kids while I'm at school.

First item on my summer agenda is to get a new camera.  Mine got ruined at the beach.  I've been wanting a better quality one for awhile anyway . . . Hopefully new pictures will be posted soon!

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was fun!  Some highlights were a McDonald's picnic at a park on Saturday night, Sunday morning at Altoona Beach (beautiful!) and a picnic with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Michelle, and Victor at Carson Park on Memorial Day (unfortunately, my camera went on the fritz after beach day - hopefully it's not ruined!!) 

We also celebrated grandma's birthday today!  Happy Birthday, Grandma Mary!  We love you!

PS Just for the record, even though I write on my blog about how cute and fun my kids are, they are definitely challenging too.  Like tonight at Grandma's party - There isn't much cute or funny I could say about their behavior.  They are at very challenging ages.  However, when I remember this time in their lives, I hope to mostly remember the fun times . . . .