This morning I took the boys to play tennis at the park. They all had a great time. Noah and I played on one court and Will and Ethan played on the court next to us. Here is an action shot of Noah.
The tennis stars!

How much can a bike basket hold? A lot! Three water bottles, three tennis rackets, a can of tennis balls, a Blockbuster movie, a camera, an extra tennis ball, and my phone!

Perhaps we loaded it a bit too much! I love my wooden basket, but with all the groceries and junk that we carry in it, I might have to break down and get a wire one for when I am out with the boys.

Will enjoyed the slide!
Noah was more into swinging.
Ethan spent almost the entire time at the playground talking to love bugs!
We have been thinking about Kate this week. She had her surgery on Tuesday and all went well. I believe she has been keeping up with her pain meds and is doing quite well. She is too proud to complain anyway!

Our dear, sweet Hanzie turned 9 this week! His birthday was on Monday and went by without much fanfare. The boys were not at all pleased by the lack of birthday excitement and felt that we needed to celebrate properly. We ride to Blockbuster daily to exchange movies which is in a shopping center with Publix. Yesterday the boys convinced me that we also needed to stop in Publix to get all the goodies to make cupcakes. Since we couldn't have chocolate, they decided to get him orange cupcakes with vanilla icing. They also picked out various treats for him. By the time we were finished my bike basket was filled! Hanzie seemed to enjoy all 3 seconds of consuming his cupcake. He did spend a good 2 minutes licking all the icing out of the roof of his mouth.

Besides Hanzie's exciting birthday celebration, yesterday was fairly low key. I took the boys to see Over the Hedge at the $1 summer kids' movie. We came home, had lunch, and rode our bikes to do our daily errands. After bike riding they played with a friend for most of the afternoon and watched a bit of the movie they rented. After dinner they all swam with Chris while I went bike riding. I saw something on my ride that was pretty funny. Smack in the middle of someones garden (obviously a transplant from the North) was a gigantic snow shovel carefully painted with "NEVER AGAIN!" I bet their garage is filled with tarps, hurricane shutters, a generator, etc. I don't know which is worse! On a gross note, I think a love bug flew up my nose while I was riding last night. On one street I looked down and I was covered in them. Then just a few minutes later I felt something fly up my nose. Nothing ever exited so I am hoping that there is no love bug making its way through my nose/ear/throat system!

A memorable day for the boys

Well, the boys had a blast this Memorial Day. They didn't realize exactly why their Dad had off work today, they just know that I did and they couldn't have been happier that the whole family was home together.

The boys woke up at their usual early time this morning, but instead of playing with toys or watching TV, they had a brand new drum set to play with!! As much as Jen and I wanted to sleep in today, it didn't quite work out for us. Even kid-sized drums are loud. After breakfast, we hung out for a while and then rode our bikes to Blockbuster.

Lunch crept up on us before we knew it, which I made while Jen rode her bike some. Afterwards, we all took a short nap to get ready for the rest of the day. I finished up some yard work while Jen and the boys swam and then I joined in after I was finished. We swam until it was time to get ready for dinner - in other words a very long time.

We cooked out on the grill and ate outside too since was such a nice day. After dinner, I loaded up all the bikes on my car and we were off to the beach to do some riding. I didn't realize that it was high tide though, so the little beach that was there was filled with people laying out. We decided to ride on Riverside Drive instead and then end up at the park to finish the ride. Jen rode home from there while the boys and I played at the park. We didn't stay too long, but I did get a few pictures of them before we left. Anyway, that was our day. Not too exciting to read about, but I assure you it was fun while living it.

We love summer vacation and we haven't even had our first true day off yet! Yesterday we completely emptied the garage and reorganized it. That took the entire first half of the day! We swam all afternoon. After dinner, Chris and the boys finished Zelda. Ah, no more Zelda talk!!! This morning we went to the beach nice and early. We got there before all the inland people made their way there. We spent well over 2 hours there and then headed over to 7-Eleven to get the boys Slurpees. By the time we left the beach it was a madhouse!

I'll spin you round, round baby...

Sophia kept asking Chris, "Can we play the spinning game?" She loved it. I think it was better than a Universal ride to her!

Here is a picture of one of their many drip castles. The water is still too chilly for us. They all finally got drenched right before we left.

Here are a few pictures from their bash last night...

Noah was straight from the Wild, Wild East!
Here they are surveying all the waffle toppings! They made a poster to decorate. It is hanging behind Sophi's head.
The production line...
I believe this is the waffle equivalent to the volcano at Rainforest Cafe.

Now, just how to stuff this volcano in.
Noah creating his masterpiece.

School is out for summer! To celebrate I took Ethan to Mi Mexico for lunch. He really likes that restaurant and Will and Noah aren't big fans. We had a nice quiet lunch and then walked across the street to the beach and played some tag. Ethan got back in the van and instantly fell asleep. We picked up Will and Noah after their Water Day/Pizza Party. I think they all had an enjoyable last day! They are napping now to prep themselves for the big First Day of Summer Break Bash tonight. Any excuse to party! The girls are coming over. I'm sure pictures will be up later tonight!
Ethan enjoyed our game of tag after lunch.

Today was the last day of school for students. It was interesting to see how different students reacted to the last day. Some were beside themselves with excitement and others were depressed to see the school year ending. Of course it was sad seeing the 5th graders leaving campus for the last time in their elementary career. Some left by bus, some by bike, some by car, and many by limo. Today was just the end of any other day for Ethan. Perhaps because the people he misses the most are the teachers and he still has two days to mingle with them. He is really sad that his teacher is moving. Ms. Piazza was absolutely fabulous and Ethan loved being in her class. She is getting married and moving further south in Florida. Whatever school gets her will truly luck out! Will and Noah still have two more days of school. It will be interesting to see their reaction to the last day. Considering they have had four teachers this school year alone, I don't think they will be that upset. For selfish reasons I am excited that they will finally be at school with me! It is a treat to get to "run into" your child several times during the day!

Last night Chris and the boys decided to let Zelda rest (they have been playing a lot lately as they are nearly finished the game) and bike with me. It turned out to be an interesting event. We went just over 5 miles. It started with Will crashing twice. The first time Noah ran over his arm. The second time Noah ran over his leg. Somehow he managed to just hop up and get right back on his bike. Then Ethan fell. Also very uneventful. And then there was Noah! The first fall he screamed and wailed. I picked him up and he said, "My hand, my hand, my hand! The rock left a mark." I looked him over carefully and to my surprise (and relief) there was no blood and not even a trace of the horrible mark. When we were on our way home Noah fell one last time. Once again, screaming and wailing instantly followed the fall. This time he did scrape and bruise his knee. He spent the rest of the night and this morning walking in an interesting fashion. He described his knee as feeling frozen! Well, that bike ride was filled with enough drama to last me for a few weeks! The next one will be to the park and back.

Well, Kate is scheduled to have her gall bladder removed next Tuesday. Mike apparently wanted to join the Non Vital Organ Removal Club and unexpectedly had his appendix removed yesterday. Perhaps they can trade stories next Tuesday night when Kate gets out of surgery. I personally plan to keep all of my non vital organs in place. The closest I ever care to be to an operation is the game!

We had a fun weekend. For once it didn't seem to fly by. Friday night we had a little graduation celebration for Will and Noah with the girls. Really it was just an excuse to allow them to eat pancakes for dinner and immediately eat cake after! Melissa had to take Emma to a birthday party on Canal Street. I decided that I would ride my bike there and have her bring me home. What I did not realize was how hard the wind was blowing. Now, it would have been nice if the wind was working with me. That was not the case. I was pedaling so hard and going so slow! Sadly, it was 80 degrees out and my ears were burning from the wind by the time I got there! Chris went mountain bike riding Saturday morning and then we took the boys back to their new favorite park. Today the boys played outside all morning and then took a two hour nap! I went for a nice long bike ride while they slept. The boys were so tired and cranky before their nap that I needed to bike to regain my sanity! After nap we went over to the Eagney's for a cook-out. The boys spent the entire time on the trampoline. Noah did take the time out to pose like a rock star with Chris. After dinner Melissa and I went out for another long bike ride. On my way home I saw the funniest thing. Someone had put a recliner out on the curb for trash pick-up. The recliner had quite obviously been clawed by a cat. Sitting on the recliner, also out for the trash, was a scratching post! I wish I had my camera with me. Tomorrow starts the last week of school. Will and Noah are excited because Melissa will be their teacher all week.

Knocking on Kindergarten's Door!
Congratulations to Will and Noah for making it through their last year of preschool. Here are some pictures of their graduation today. It's kind of late right now, so for now I am just putting the pictures up. I'm sure Jen will go into more detail tomorrow.

Will anxiously awaiting the start.

Here they are coming into the church.

Noah happily accepting his diploma.

Will dreaming big of what's to come...

It's party time!

Will and Noah after the ceremony, posing with Ethan

They were both so excited about their new shoes that Jen bought them earlier in the day. Noah was quick to point them out to everyone. He was even bragging to Jen that he had his work clothes on.

It's official, and Noah has the paper to prove it.

And so does Will.

This picture is of my beautiful Mother's Day cake. We ran out of time on Sunday so we didn't get to eat it until Monday. I requested an angel food cake, aka my guilt-free cake. It was delicious!
After school yesterday the girls and Emily came over after school for a swim. They all had fun. I had to promise them that they could watch an episode of the Naked Brothers Band to get them out of the pool.
Tomorrow is Will and Noah's graduation night! It is the highly anticipated end to their preschool careers.

Congratulations Ethan!!
This morning was the 1st grade awards ceremony where the teachers gave recognition to the students for their accomplishments throughout the year. Ethan was recognized for every possible category but one. He received a Music Achievement Certificate, an Art Achievement Certificate, an Athletic Award in Physical Education, and the coveted Blue Star Award in the Reading Counts program. I'm not 100% sure of the criteria they use to determine who gets what award, but I can tell you that not many kids received as many as Ethan did. The only thing that he did not earn was the Perfect Attendance award. Anyway, here are a few pictures that I took. Before I know it, these photos will morph into high school graduation photos (sob, sob). My boys are growing up so fast!!

Looks like no one is here, but actually the entire auditorium is filled!

Here is Ethan with his teacher, Ms. Piazza.
Here is Ethan doing his best to pose for a picture in front of everyone!

I just had to tell this story before I went to bed, because I have been laughing about it all day. Once it happened, I immediately thought of all the dumb e-mails I receive on a daily basis where some person that I don't know tells of some funny story about how their child did this or did that. Usually, I am like, "Oh yeah, whatever. People just make that stuff up!"

This morning right after Jen woke up, I was telling the boys that they had to be good all day long because of Mother's Day. I told them, "It's called Mother's Day for a reason. You have to be extra nice to your mother on Mother's Day. It's not called Father's Day, is it? And it's not called Son Day, is it?" Immediately all three of them picked up on my oversight, and quickly corrected me. "Uh...actually...today is Sunday Daddy!"

Anyway, although it does sound like some stupid, made-up anecdote to be passed around in e-mails to prove how cute kids are, I can verify that this one is in fact true.

Happy Mother's Day! Today was a relaxing day. The boys let me sleep in until 8:00! We did a little shopping and took the boys out to lunch. We also took them out for ice cream and for a quick stop at the beach. This evening Chris took the boys on a hike through the woods. They saw a big black snake and a raccoon. They were very excited. While they went on their hike I rode my bike to Blockbuster and the grocery store. On my ride home I ran into them. Will and Noah decided to run home with me while I biked. I couldn't believe that they actually made it all the way home! I was riding slow, but still, it was quite a distance even for a jog. Noah decided to be a paleontologist today...
As well as an architect...
They decided to build on the pool deck since Chris and I were outside doing pool chores. I'm not sure how the robot monkey and socks fit into the design! Tomorrow starts the 10 day countdown for school!

Today was Sophia's birthday party. She had a pool party with various themes. The kids all seemed to have a great time! Here they are in the pool...
Sophia has some help opening her presents from her Uncle Greg.

Sophia blows the candles out on her Supergirl cake.

Will crashed on the chair immediately after walking in the house from the party. He only got to sleep for 10 minutes before his brothers woke him up!Despite all the action today, Noah still somehow had enough energy to ride his bike to Blockbuster with me.

Earlier today we took the boys to All Children's Playground. It is gIgAnTiC! The boys ran around for 90 minutes and we still had to drag them away! They had a blast. Will was leaping over these tires in record time by the time we left. I was nervous because he kept skipping tires!
There was a tunnel/bridge at the back of the playground. That seemed to be the hit. There is a tunnel and on top of the tunnel there is a bridge that you can go across. Since the bridge was so high of the ground this was there meeting point.
This picture actually shows less than half of the playground. It was quite funny because the boys kept getting lost in it.
Noah could swing on these bars just like a monkey! And, yes Kate, tongue work was required to complete the task!

Will takes a rest in the middle of all the action.
They went completely nuts on this tire swing. They were spinning in circles so fast. Chris and I couldn't wait for them to stop. We were hoping that they would get off and try to walk. They both looked green when they finally stopped spinning!
They also got to watch a huge woodpecker do his thing. He was all black with a bright red head. Luckily he was pecking away at a palm tree and not at the playground! This afternoon is Sophia's birthday pool party. I'm quite certain the boys will sleep well tonight.