This week has flown by! I went with Melissa to pick up her brother, Greg, from the airport on Wednesday night. We got to have a nice peaceful dinner and then went to Universal. We only got to go on two rides because they kept being shut down due to lightning. We did get to go on The Hulk which is my favorite anyway! Yesterday the boys decided to be lazy and didn't want to do anything all day. I did yard work and then swam with them for a couple hours. Last night Chris went to see Superman with Mike, Melissa, Greg, Katie, and Jenna. Emma and Paige stayed here with me and the boys and had a sleep over. This morning we went to the beach for a bit. I know Chris is looking forward to watching soccer this weekend. We are going to try and see the launch tomorrow if the shuttle goes up. Our crape myrtle finally bloomed. Noah is very happy!

Happy Anniversary to us!!! Today Chris and I celebrated our 8th anniversary. The boys insisted on having an anniversary cake. They haven't had any yet, but it looks good! They also insisted on having wine with us at dinner. We filled their "toasting glasses" with fruit punch and had a nice toast at dinner. Noah went on to have a million other toasts. The launch is just a few days away, anyone interested in coming to see it??

Yesterday afternoon Melissa had a cook-out at her mom's house. Bobbie was nice enough to let all of the kids take over her house/pool for a few hours despite feeling awful! After the cook-out we headed off to the NSB fireworks. We were unsure how crowded it would be. The concert actually started at 2:00 and ran throughout the day. We showed up at 8:30, parked, and took a very short stroll to the park. Thank goodness for small towns! It was the first fireworks the boys had ever seen outside of Disney World.
Celebrating 4th of July a bit early!


Here we are listening to the band before the fireworks started at Riverside Park.

Noah thought that he would be afraid of the loud noise. He wasn't and loved the fireworks.
NSB fireworks!!!

Noah caring for his precious blue flowers this morning! It's so cute how much he loves gardening!

Some things NEVER change! Chris had to take a break from the rocks to show the boys his new Nintendo before bed. They weren't all that impressed! Unfortunately, Chris is. We have had to drag him from it to put the boys to bed, to watch a movie, and to eat breakfast! He's worse than the boys.

It was getting dark so I snapped this one before we finished putting the rock in. Our 4 tons was JUST enough! These are my adorable, cute, pink, dwarf oleanders (Noah has one next to Hanzie's poop pail as well)! I make Melissa tell me how cute they are every time she comes over!
Even more around the pool.
More around the pool.

This is where Noah planted his new, blue bushy thing. It is in the middle of the two lavenders.
Here is around the pool on "Hanzie's" side of the yard.
More of Noah's flowers. They don't hide Hanzie's poop pail very well!

This is just the palm out front. We planted a new crape myrtle just in front of the small palm on the far right of the plant bed.
This is entirely new. Our bed didn't previously come out in front of our sidewalk. We planted another crape myrtle here and some lavender bushes along with some of Noah's annual's. He is really into the flowers!

Last night Emma spent the night. They watched Aquamarine before bed. This morning they woke up, played for a bit, and then went for a swim. After lunch, I met Chris at Target so the boys could get a quick Daddy fix. I wanted to get a few more plants from there. After we headed off to the nursery. The boys BEGGED not to have to go into the nursery but loved it once they went in. They were amazed by the maze of plants. I went in to get three things and came out with four after Noah begged me to get this blue flowering bush thing. I'll have to get the proper name. I just finished planting a bunch more and tonight I will plant the rest while Chris finishes hauling the rocks. I'll post some pics tonight. It is starting to look better out there! Finally we don't have the lamest yard in the hood!

Well...I was flipping through Ethan's notepad and this is what I come across...

Yesterday was quite uneventful. I moved rocks and spread pesticide for the majority of the day. Chris wasn't happy with me since I wouldn't let him work out in the yard until he gets his epi pen. He doesn't understand my logic that he shouldn't be working in the yard when he runs the risk of dying! Hopefully he will get it filled today so he can haul some rocks tonight. I'm not big on moving 4 tons of rock on my own. Melissa and Sophia came over for a quick swim in the morning and Sophia watched Toy Story with the boys. Ethan was happy to have his favorite dinner. We haven't had it in over a month since we have had so many visitors. He ate two plates of baked chicken, rice, carrot, potatoes, and gravy! Last night Will and Noah had their first sleepover at Melissa's house. Ethan spent the night at Emily's. Yes, we were kid-free. What did I do with all of that spare time, hmm, let's see... I shoveled more rocks, gave Hanzie a bath, read my magazine, and went to sleep. Very thrilling!

Chris' Father's Day turned out to be quite eventful. I came home from grocery shopping and he was swollen beyond belief. His entire body was about 10 times it's normal size. Luckily Tim and Liz were still here and Tim whisked him off to the ER. Long story short, he is HIGHLY allergic to fire ants and now must carry an epi pen with him wherever he goes. He was still feeling strange today at work so he may be coming home early. Hopefully it doesn't represent like it did last night!

On our latest trip to the beach the kids were treated with sky divers that landed right in front of them and an airplane show. Caroline was convinced that they would keep dropping out of the sky if we just hung out for a bit longer.

Will tried out the skim board. He experienced a lot of crashes, but enjoyed it none the less.

The boys LOVED playing in the waves. They could have stayed out there the entire day.

We had a great visit with our old neighbors from Annapolis. Tim and Liz arrived Thursday afternoon with their kids, Colin and Caroline, after a stay at Disney. The kids all got along and seemed to keep each other busy their entire stay. We mostly did the beach/pool gig.
Chris' "Ah..." picture of Tim and Liz.
Colin and Will got along GREAT! They were more than happy to be the entertainers of the group. They would do just about anything to try to get a laugh out of everyone.
Miss Caroline wasn't too interested in the boys. She seemed to have a good time anyway. She liked the beach and pool and went shopping with the moms.

Today Melissa came over and helped me plant some more stuff in the yard. They were donations from her yard. It is starting to look much better out there. I'll post some pictures once we get our rocks in. My mom and sister left last night at bedtime. Mike and Melissa came over last night with some take-out for Chris' birthday and they watched the Germany World Cup game. Luckily they won in the last minute. Chris had his Deutscher jacket on for team support. Tim and Liz, our old neighbors from Annapolis, arrive tonight with their two kids. I'm sure the boys will have a blast during their last few days of visitors. They will probably be totally bored next week when everyone is gone.

That's a lot of fire!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CHRIS!! Tonight we celebrated Chris' birthday. We had a delicious cake with sparkler candles! The boys were very impatient and made him open his presents before he left for work. Hopefully he liked what we picked out. Aidan was the most anxious to get his cake. He sat patiently while we prepped everything and was ready to dig in!

They were all ready for a carriage ride in the rain!
Will chatted with Mary Poppins for a bit.
Alice was quite kind to the group. Aidan was more interested in the waffle that he was just pulled away from to have his picture taken with some strange lady.
Tigger was the funniest of the bunch. He made everyone at the table hug him!

Today we went to a character brunch at Disney World. We went to the Grand Floridian. The kids all had fun. Alina was initially scared of the characters, but seemed to tolerate them at the end. The one character she liked a lot was Alice. After breakfast Lori, my mom, Alina, Aidan, and Ethan went to Downtown Disney in the pouring rain. I took Will and Noah to Universal to ride Jimmy Nuetron and Shrek.

Aidan enjoyed his very yummy, very chocolate cake!
Aidan was a bit surprised to find out that he was one! He was shocked that he would have to face the pressures of being a 1-year-old.
Alina, Ethan, Will, Noah, Emma, Paige, and Sophia helped him celebrate!

Last night we celebrated Aidan's 1st birthday! He took quite a few steps to prove that he was a big boy. He nearly walked across the entire living room! And we must not forget that today is Pop-Pop Bob's (aka Dad's) birthday! hApPy BiRtHdAy!

Alina and Aidan are here! The boys are very excited to have Grandma Ann, Aunt Lori, Alina, and Aidan here. Today is Aidan's 1st birthday so we are going to party tonight! Last night we took a stroll on the beach and we spent the day in the pool.

Ethan posing for Daddy's camera.
Will enjoying his kite flying success!

Noah making a sand angel. A right of summer!


Last night we went to the beach to fly kites. It was the one time that it wasn't super windy. It was breezy enough to get the kite up a few times so Will and Noah each had a nice kite run. Of course Noah nearly landed our gigantic kite on a shuffle board court filled with people, but that is just klutzy Noah! Emily spent the night last night and then we woke up this morning, went swimming, and then headed off to the movies. The boys are anxiously awaiting Grandma Ann, Aunt Lori, Alina, and Aidan's arrival tomorrow morning!

Today has been so quiet it's almost eerie. Ethan has been at his friend Emily's house all morning so Will and Noah have had control of their day. They have been playing with Play-Doh, Plan City, etc with no interruptions or bullying. It's made for a peaceful day for me as well! (Kate- here are the new tables.)