Jettin' Thru June

I’ve really been looking forward to a little less chaos, although I’m wondering when exactly that will happen. Ever since school finished, this family has been going-GOING-going. June is a busy month with two birthdays, Father’s Day and an anniversary, not to mention Summer Spectacular, the start of a new baseball season and weekends at the water park. Despite the pandemonium, I’ve actually done well with snapping some photos and videos along the way…..

This year, d1’s 7th birthday landed smack dab in the middle of Summer Spectacular {i.e. vacation bible school} but that didn’t stop the excitement. The night before his actual birthday, he invited two friends to the water park and for a slumber party. I made a tasty ice cream cake that the boys devoured. I can’t really take credit for it – I got the recipe online. Nonetheless, it turned out awesome and at a fraction of the cost of a retail version.



d2’s birthday also came mid-week this year and his celebration of choice was Chuck E Cheese with two friends. We also did a family birthday dinner for him at Red Robin where he was serenaded rather LOUDLY and presented with a sweet treat. I also surprised him with cupcakes at his baseball practice where all his friends sang to him. He felt pretty special. All these opportunities and yet I didn't take one flippin' photo. Way to go, Mom.

Before you start thinking that our kids got ripped off on birthday parties, I have two ridiculously expensive words for you. Disney World. We leave in three weeks and we're still saving. Maybe I'm just incredibly cheap but I happen to think that three days in the Magic Kingdom is a pretty amazing birthday gift so forgive me if I remind them of it every day, all day while we're there…..and if they insist on having some of those un-original, overpriced rodent ears, we might splurge on a couple pairs, although something tells me my boys would rather have edible gifts.....

I mentioned the water park. It pretty much rocks. It’s local and small enough that all three boys enjoy themselves and we really don’t have to chase the older two around. The depths are perfect for them and they know their boundaries. And it's great people watching for us adults. Now d3 - well, he's a different story. It is rather exhausting with him but, at this age, what isn’t? Here’s his new favorite thing to do and really all he talks about when he’s not riding it…..



And then we had Father’s Day last week. I took the boys to Home Depot the day before to make D1 a mini-tool box during one of their little workshops. I was really impressed with d1 and d2’s ability to take simple directions and work independently. This was key because had I been required to help them hammer and glue each piece, we would have had to finish them in the parking lot after d3 was confined to his car seat. Every time I would turn around to check on one of them, d3 took those few seconds as opportunity to high tail it to the nearest exit. In the end, we left with two complete projects and their daddy loved them…..





Don’t buy into that innocent, baby face. This boy is sneaky and, at times, quite naughty. Even at home, if we don’t hear him, there’s a reason. It’s not because he’s playing quietly by himself. It’s because he’s hiding in the pantry, eating whole wheat flour or ripping all of the straws off of the Capri Suns, both of which have happened more times than I care to admit. Yes, we’ve finally moved the flour to a different shelf.

Though this video is a little random, I think it’s also quite relevant to the above statements. Naughty little feller. Listen carefully for my sigh. Good thing the audio ended there…..