The best investment!

We have decided the best investment we've made for the kids is our new pool. Seriously, they have had more fun in this than we ever imagined! I love that my boys want to stay home & love to hang out here. I love that their friends like to come here to hang out. I love that there is entertainment in our back yard & that I don't have to load everything up to go to a neighborhood pool with a friend's key card. I love that we now have a partially finished deck out there that I can put my comfy chair on so I can get some sun & take some pics. I'm now officially, ready for school to be out so summer can start!

Prince Charming came home yesterday & headed out to clean the pool. Of course, Princess & I decided to "help" (Ummm, I set up my chairs on the deck & then watched him). After the pool was all pretty & clean, we headed out front to wash both cars. At this point, it was HOT, but almost time to go pick the boys up. That didn't stop Prince Charming from jumping into the pool to cool off! Since he was going in, the Princess decided SHE needed to get in also. She was a little hesitant at first, but knowing she was safe in daddy's arms helped & it wasn't long before she was off on her own having a BLAST!







Once the boys all got home, the jumped in to join the fun. The 2 older boys had friends over & they all took turns jumping in & learning how to do back flips off the deck. We had 8 people in there at once & never once did it feel crowded at all. I can't wait to spend my days out in the cool clear water! Ahhh, summer is almost here!

School Talent Show

Last night Bubby was in his school Talent Show. He had come home a few weeks ago, all excited telling us all about his "talent". We tried so hard to convince him to do something else, nope, he would have nothing to do with changing. He knew exactly what he wanted to do & that's what he was doing, end of story! He had his "Plan of Action" all written up & he was ready to go. He had tryouts & was excited that he "made it" (They all did lol). So, last night was the big night. He got all ready & off we went, camera & video camera in hand. We had not seen him practice, but he assured us he was ready!

When his time came, he walked right up on stage, went to the microphone, introduced himself & explained what he would be doing.


He showed off his basketball skills. He did different passes (he had his BFF up there with him for this part to help). He did crossovers, dribbling etc.




Next up, he showed how he could dribble behind his back, & also between his legs. At this point, the audience started cheering & clapping for him. He stopped what he was doing, walked right back up to that microphone & announced (quite loudly) "I'M NOT DONE YET". He then waited patiently for everyone to quiet back down, then he went back & finished what he was trying to show us when he was so "rudely" interrupted. LOL He finished off by spinning the ball on his finger. Needless to say, he got a big ol loud applause after that!

The funniest part was it was SO Bubby to "tell it like it is". When it was all over, everyone kept talking about him & his "I'M NOT DONE YET" comment, he just didn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal about it. THAT was the best part!!!




It ended up being a great night with plenty of entertainment & lots of laughs! I think Bub's "talent" will be long remembered, & not just because of his basketball skills either! Funny little boy!

Post 1 of 6

I know, I've been slackin on the blog front, sorry!  Things have been insanely crazy here.  Instead of taking the time to write everything out, I decided to post tons of pics in 6 different posts, that way, you can kind of get a glimpse of what we've been up to (this way, you don't have to read all the boring stuff either). ;)

Last Friday, the Princess got to attend her very first "real" birthday party for a friend.  She was SO excited.  Her & I headed to Target on Thurs so she could pick out the gift.  I think she had just as much fun picking things out as she did at the actual party. 

Here she is as we're getting ready to leave...

"Come on Mom, I can't be late!"


"It's too heavy!"

Post 2 of 6

We FINALLY got some nice weather over the weekend so the boys took full advantage of it by jumping in the pool. They only lasted about 30 min before they decided the water was still too cold, but I can tell you right now, this pool is going to be a life saver this summer. It will DEFINITELY get LOTS of use!

B & his friend...


Bubby...


C-Man...


Bonez (look at his 6 pack)...


All the boys playing...

Post 3 of 6...

Next up, Family Party for C-Man...

This first pic is probably my favorite. C wanted to go shopping at the Nike outlet, so instead of gifts, he got cold hard cash from family members. Uncle Mikey (always wanting to be the favorite & a total jokester) pulled out his wallet & tried to give C a 1 dollar bill. Aunt Debie was standing behind him & without saying anything, just pointed up as if to say "GIVE HIM MORE $:. This kept going on until she felt it was the "right" amount. It was HILARIOUS! I couldn't even tell you how much he got from them, I was too busy watching Uncle Mikey & Aunt Debie!



Uncle Mikey trying to score more points in the favorite Uncle category by giving some of his older Laker memorabilia.


I LOVE this pic of C! He gets SO embarrassed being the center of attention, esp when everyone is singing to him!


His new Kobe Fathead, already up on the wall of his new room...



He said he had a GREAT birthday!

Post 4 of 6...

Ok, so we no longer have a band room here at the house. We decided it was time for each of the boys to have their own rooms. Bonez, being the oldest, got the choice of what room he wanted & he now has the "band room". That of course, meant Izzi (his iguana) had to move with him. Personally, I think this was just PC's "excuse" to build her a new cage. LOL Anyway, here is what He's been working on this last week...

A work in progress...





Close up of the waterfall...


A masterpiece!


Izzi's completed cage...


Yep, he did it all by hand. It turned out AWESOME & Izzi seems to have adjusted to her new home very nicely. He has informed us that he isn't "completely" done yet, he still has a few more things he wants to add, not paint wise, but a big silk plant/tree thing, more "carpeting", climbing boards etc. LOL

Post 5 of 6...

Here are a few pics of B's new room...

The bed area...


Because it's "un finished" drywall, we told B he could do whatever he wanted on this back wall. He drew the Laker logo alone with the Nike swish & the Kobe logo. He painted the Kobe part, but needs to finish painting the rest. It'll look sweet when it's all done!


His dresser...



He absolutely LOVES it in there! He doesn't have a TV in there yet, but eventually he will. He also thinks it's pretty cool that he has a full size fridge in his room, I keep reminding him that while that may be very cool, that does NOT mean everything in there is his! LOL

Post 6 of 6...

Last post of the day! These were all taken today. Since B "moved out", C-Man & Bubby decided to switch rooms also. Ayi yi yi, what was I thinking?! This has been more work that I ever imagined! As I spent the morning (& most of the afternoon) going through piles & boxes of clothes, the Princess decided to keep busy by playing hairdresser... on me! It was hilarious! If I was moving too much, she would wrap her little legs around me & tell me to "STOP MOVING MOMMY, I DOIN YOUR HAIR"! She had SO much fun spraying "hairspray" (water) & then putting in pretties, flowers & bows in my "ponytail". It was such a great bonding time, definitely something we'll be doing more often now that she can "work the bows". LOL

Her just being cute...


Mommy's hair with all the pretties in it...


All Done!



After I "really" did my hair for the day (she was playing with it while it was still wet from the shower), she decided an empty box looked like lots of fun. She kept telling me it was her "house". Too cute!

Another giveaway!

OMGosh, I SO want to win this dress for the Princess!  Go check it out & hey, you can enter & if you REALLY want to (hint hint) you can even try to win it for me! LOL  Anyway, here is her blog ***Megan's Closet***  She has some of the cutest dresses & hairbows I've ever seen!  Really, what are you waiting for?  My Princess NEEDS this dress, go sign up to win!

Give away

You need to go check this blog out, she has the CUTEST tote she's giving away, it is DARLING, I absolutely love it!  Anyway, here's her blog ***clicky***.

Birthday season comes to an end...

Yesterday was C-Man's 11th birthday & that marks the end of what we lovingly call Birthday Season here at our house.  We celebrate 4 out of our 6 b days within 6 weeks, then if you add in my parents & my sister, oh, & Prince Charming's dad, that's 8 b days!  I'm about all partied out at this point, (well, will be after Saturday's family party anyway). 

  

C-Man's day didn't start out like it normally does on a b day & of course I felt so bad & kept apologizing (& he kept rolling his eyes at me).  I get a mylar b day balloon the night before each child's b day, then sneak & put it by their bed so it's the first thing they see when they wake in the morning.  I went & bought him the balloon & because it was early in the day, I kept it in my car (NOT a good idea).  I went to get it out that night after he was asleep.  Well... let's just say, there wasn't much "air" left in it at that point!  I felt so bad, but C was cool, his response to me was "Mom, it's a balloon, it doesn't matter, the important this is I got the candy tied to the bottom, that's all that matters".  Well alrighty then! LOL

So, after school, the partying began.  The boys started out playing basketball outside, then we packed them all up & headed to a friend's house to use their indoor court.  The boys had a BLAST!  Thanks J & K!

Next up, was cake & ice cream time (we had a couple of boys that had to leave early, so we cut the hoops short)

followed by presents.

After their fill of the "good stuff", they headed back outside for more basketball.

Once all the boys had left, we had a super yummy dinner that was requested by the b day boy (steaks, rice, corn, & jello).  We finally decided to let him "out of his misery" & told him he could open his gifts from us.


No, I don't normally give my kids a package of cookies as a b day gift, but he literally BEGGED for a pkg that he wouldn't have to share. If asked what he wanted for his b day, he ALWAYS said "my own pack of Oreos". How could I not get them LOL
His "BIG" gift from us this year was a Fathead, he picked it out, but had NO idea it was had been delivered. I was sneaky & told him it wouldn't be here until AFTER his b day. Daddy, when asked about it, told him he knew nothing about it & didn't order it because he didn't know that's what he wanted. I think C was a little nervous hee hee!



All in all, it was a great day & he was happy, that's all that matters!
Here's a pic of my & my birthday boy.

 C, I want you to know how much I love you. I am so proud of you, of the friends you choose, the good choices you make & of the wonderful person you are. You will forever be "MY" boy & I love you!

Young Author's Night

Each year the elementary school my boys go to holds a "special" night for the students to "show off" some of their writing. This is one of the few "extra" activities I actually enjoy attending. (Yes, I am one that HATES the plays, musicals, etc, but that's not the point of this post, so I'll move on). Each teacher does things just a little different. C-Man's had each student write some kind of story that had to have something to do with Oregon. Bubby's (I have to say, these were my FAVORITE to listen to) made their own book of poetry. They actually used "real" (blank) board books & glued the child's poems on each page, I LOVE this & plan on getting clear contact paper so it'll last. LOVE it! Anyway, the student is "set up" at a desk & you just go around to random kids & they read their story, book etc to you. Such a wide variety & so much fun. It's a great way to get to spend a little bit of time with different students. Their personalities really shine through in these stories/poems. VERY FUN night! Each child has a comment sheet that you can sign & leave a fun comment for them on.

Anyway, here are a few pics of MY "Young Authors" on their special night.

C-Man getting ready to read...

His award...
C reading to a "fan"...
We couldn't leave out C-Man's BFF reading a book to the Princess...
Bubby reading to a "fan"...
Bub's award...


I know first hand how much work & time is put into this night, I hope the teachers know how much it's appreciated!

What happens when kids are left alone...

So, the night of the pageant, the boys were here alone for the evening.  They were all in bed (2 even sound asleep) when we got home.  I got the Princess to bed &  walked downstairs, into the family room.  I stopped & asked Prince Charming if he knew anything about what I was staring at.  "Nope, must have been "created" after I left for the school...".  I have got to give my boys credit here.  You see, they aren't allowed outside when we aren't home. They know this.  I guess they were bored & decided to come up with something that would entertain them all, something they could do, indoors.  So, what exactly did they come up with you're wondering... well, their very own PUTTING GREEN of course!

Here are a few pics of them practicing the next day.  This provided hours of fun for them.  UNTIL I got sick of picking up little green "pieces" that kept falling off. 

B's turn...

C-Man's turn...

Next up... Bubby

I can't wait to see what they come up with next time they're left alone!