Summer Continues...

Today we went to the parking lot at Ben's school to practice rollerblading and for Gabe to practice riding his bike without training wheels. As you can see Gabe was more intent on playing Power Ranger (OK- I FORGOT his bike!) Ben did a great job, but is still a little nervous. Check out the safety gear. I would have been happy with the helmet and wrist guards but - you have to FEEL protected!!! Tonight Ben had another art lesson. His art teacher is amazing. Look at that tropical bird. By the way, his name is Perry. The bird not the teacher.

Daddy is Home

Kevin has been gone since Wednesday and oh my, was his absence felt!! Although Kevin's travel schedule has picked up, normally, it is bearable while he is away. This time however, it was difficult. People will sometimes say to me, "you are so LUCKY Kevin has such a great work schedule. Let me tell you something. There is no LUCK involved. Kevin made a very CONSCIENCE decision when we had kids that he would be there for them. Weather it is a a coach, playmate, teacher or friend. He has sacrificed a lot so that he can be an ACTIVE part of their lives. SOOOO when he is away, it seems to make it more difficult not only for them but for me as well. No, I am not "spoiled" as people say. I married a great man so I like to think of myself not as "spoiled" but "smart" Kevin's trip was something we awarded him for fathers day. He went to golf the weekend with a friend he has not seen since we moved here. He ended up leaving on Wednesday because he helped to move his Dad into an assisted living facility(Not fun at ALL)
While Kevin was gone we....
*Swam
*Saw the movie Toy Story 3 (WARNING: If you are in the process of having your children get rid of old toys, this is NOT the movie for you!)
*Went bungee jumping at the mall.
*Spent a long time at Barnes and Noble where Ben has decided he LOVES The Magic Tree House books- Merlin's Mission Series (Thank you for the introduction to these Simone!) Ben read 3 of these while Kevin was gone!
*Went to Red Robin with friends
*Spent a lot of time in the basement because of the weather and because we were doing a MAJOR toy purge. Let me just give you a hint: If you know anyone who loves Thomas the Train- do not miss our next sale! Ben put together all of his sets (Is it scary I still had all of the manuals and collector cards to put with each set?)
*We purchased a water slide (It was Kevin's idea, not mine!) The boys had to wait 4 PAINFUL days for Daddy to return before they got to use the slide.
Welcome Home Kevin!!!!

Landscape

The landscapers have left the house!!!!! It has been a long process because of all of the rain and bad weather. But it is done(well-almost- Kevin has to put the flagstone pathways in.) It is very nice to look at trees instead of cars and houses. It feels good that we are able to FINALLY check this project off our list. We have been talking about this landscape project since we bought this house.

FATHERS DAY 2010

We had a fun filled Fathers Day at our house. We hope everyone had a great day as well. Kevin woke up to cinnamon rolls and presents. We went to church and even let Kevin take a nap after we returned home. This evening we went golfing. I went ONLY because it was Fathers Day. I made Kevin take a picture to PROVE I went. I did, however, only hit the ball twice and then became the official "tour" photographer. The boys had a GREAT time. I think Kevin has been dreaming of this day since the boys were born( minus the complaining wife)!!!!

Weather Lessons

Kevin an I learned a few valuable lessons last night. 1. Plans change quickly. At 6:00 the plans were boys to a baseball game. Me to a movie! 2. Summer weather is sometimes just as bad as the winter. The sky turned black so quickly we are actually glad we were all home. I was baking cookies and the boys were playing.( My heels were killing me and my apron too tight- but all was well!) Sure, the weather radio was going crazy, but even the meteorologists on TV were not sounding very alarmed. 3. If you decided to go to the basement really the WHOLE family should go. The boys were tucked safely downstairs but Kevin and I were watching the storm out the patio door. A big gust of wind took some of the sectional cushions right out from under the cover. I screamed "Oh No! My cushions" and my superhero husband sprang into action. 4. Kevin has been fooling us all. He is fast AND his hand eye coordination is great! Picture Kevin dodging furniture, throwing cushions in the house, watching for broken glass all in what they were saying were "hurricane force winds" All the furniture against the grill was almost on top of Kevin. He actually dove into the house to avoid that disaster. Oh yes! He really did! 5. Our new patio is hurricane proof! The patio Kevin worked so hard on actually saved the furniture. So we learned we did not just build a patio, we built a tiny storm shelter for the furniture. (I know that is a stretch.) After the storm passed we surveyed the damage, which was actually minimal for us. ALL cushions saved, Broken table tiles, broken flower jars, various toys and furniture blown or overturned. Our neighbors full sized trampoline ended up 4 doors down, and we have neighbors shingles and a piece of siding in our yard. Next time Kevin and I will be joining our children IN THE BASEMENT!

Relax

Do you know what is so significant about this picture? My feet are up, I am relaxed, enjoying my children and the sunny day. Our pool was closed today for a swim meet so our neighbors let us enjoy their pool (Thanks Trish and Bob!) As I was lying there reading and RELAXING I thought AGAIN- as I do pretty much every day- wouldn't it be nice to have one of these in OUR yard? Kevin, are you reading? Since we have not asked you for a really long time- Can WE have one of these? PLEASE!!! Think Christmas, birthday, anniversary... PLEASE
Oh- and on a COMPLETELY different note- What is up with my camera? Did you notice in the pictures my kids look like I am starving them? Their ribs are sticking out. Believe me- at 75lbs and 45lbs they should not have rib pictures!!!!! Now- if I can only get the camera to make ME look like that!