The Great Backyard Campout

A few weeks ago we slept in the backyard....er...Tim, Kaden, & Jack slept in the backyard. Kyler and I tried but about 12:15 am  Tim said he was too crowded. I took that opportunity to take Kyler inside and sleep in the house. But, I did participate well past all 3 boys falling asleep. I guess our family of 5 has outgrown our 2 man tent.

Kyler was so tired and didn't really understand what we were doing. He wanted to go inside and get in his crib. He finally gave in and went to sleep.

Lunch Dates

Last week Tim took both Kaden and Jack out for lunch by themselves on separate days. They each went to McDonald's and LOVED their special trip to town to eat with just their dad.  But, it did leave me with some issues to resolve:

* Why when we only have 1 of a certain Happy Meal toy does it have to be the coolest thing my boys have ever laid eyes on but when we get 3 of any happy meal toy they hold their interest for like 30 seconds?

* And then why must our McDonald's  change the toy to a toy that, even I admit, is much less cool than the previous toy before child #2 gets there 24 hours later?

Nothing like learning life lessons from our Happy Meal toys!

At the end of the week it was my turn! We didn't go to McDonald's though. I don't know why but I think lunch dates are some of the most fun. It may be because it gives me such a nice break in the middle of the day. Here we are:

Next time I am going to have to have Tim take a picture of his lunch with the boys. 

Summertime and the Living is Easy

Summer - just the way it should be: Swimsuits all day, popsicles, splurging on soft drinks, bare foot, and dirty.  All these things make for happy little boys! And those happy little boys make my heart smile!

Ky's Summer

In June Kyler spent his time at 5 swim meets and 16 t-ball games or practices. July has been a little better for him.  His brothers owe him big time!

T-Ball...Jack Style

For the most part Jack hated t-ball. I have talked to several of my friends and that seems to be pretty common for a lot of the 3 year olds. It was also soooo hot! By the last week he started doing really well and actually participated and maybe even liked it a little... but that wasn't the week I was there with my camera.

Here we go.

"Let's go sit in the shade"

Another First

Kaden lost his first tooth! I love his new smile! 

The tooth fairy came and gave him $5. He was disappointed because he only wanted $1! I told him I thought the tooth fairy gave him a little extra because it was his first tooth and the next ones will probably be less, which made him happy. Weird kid!

Fly Baby

Back in the day... when Tim and I were first married and without kids. I used a website called the Fly Lady and followed her routine for cleaning. We were busy as students and parents to our beagle and it worked pretty well - although I have to admit it shouldn't have been a hard time to keep things clean. We had a small apartment and let me rephrase NO KIDS.  Well, somewhere between that time and the time Jack was born I pretty much lost all memory of the Fly Lady or really any method of keeping the house clean and picked up. Let's not even talk about once Kyler came along. I mean it wasn't horrible (most days)  just enough to cause me anxiety and I almost always had enough dirty laundry I feared it could come to life and take over our whole house. 

Then a friend of mine posted about the fly lady and how much it has improved her household. Immediately, I was back on board and to say it has been a blessing would be an understatement. The fly lady has really improved her site in the last several years. I now get emails everyday outlining the plan for today.  It has lots of things that I would never think to do and they make the biggest difference. 

Anyway, in the fly lady spirit we cleaned out the garage and I feel so much better knowing that there isn't a monster lurking waiting to attack me when I open the door. So here are some pics from the day. 

All cleaned out

Our new patio art - oh wait this all has to go back in!

Taking a break. Can you believe we had a whole truck full of trash and a whole truck full of give away!

Jack with his treasured safety glasses he found.

Kaden

Kyler...

You won't find a picture of me because I looked more like Kyler then I care to admit.

And the final result... 

It looked really good until we added our kids vehicles...and no we don't park our real cars in there. There is no way they would fit! Oh, and see my little craft area...I can spray paint and mod podge to my heart's content...I am so excited!!!

Swim Team...Season in Review

This was Kaden's first year on the swim team and he LOVED it! He did really well and improved his swimming a lot. He also learned a lot about being on a team, competition, winning, and losing.  His coaches were great as were the older kids on the team!  

He swam freestyle, breaststroke, and he was on a freestyle relay.  The breaststroke was his favorite and the one he was the best at. 

Ready to go in his lane assignment

Diving in...Kaden, Harrison, Josh (L to R)

(Top to bottom) Josh, Harrison, Kaden

(top - bottom) Josh, Harrison, Kaden


There was always a bigger kid in the water with them for the freestyle relay. It was their last event and the 5 & 6 year olds were TIRED.

And at Finals Kaden got 2nd in both the breaststroke and Freestyle. His freestyle relay also got 1st.

Tim and I learned a lot about what our future will look like with 3 active boys and I have to say I am SCARED! And to put it in perspective I wasn't ever worried about what to do with a new baby but the thought of all 3 boys busy with sports/activities makes me nervous!

I remember when Kaden was a newborn and I was shopping in Kohl's. There were two other ladies shopping that had just run into each other. They quickly caught up with each other's families and then I heard this statement that has haunted me ever since. "Don't you remember when the kids were in preschool. We thought we were soooo busy! Wow, that was nothing compared to them being in jr. high!" 

And to think I barely have 1 out of that preschool set. Oh Brother! Tim and I are getting in shape so we can handle our future busy schedule! Ha! Seriously, after Kaden's first swim meet we were exhausted. Probably due to a combination of a very early morning, a long time in the sun, wrestling Jack & Ky through the meet, and of course cheering for our little swimmer. Plus we had two t-ball games still to go that night. The kids however, were not tired at all which of course wore us out even more! Fun Times!

Tagged

I was tagged by one of my fellow boy mamas Diane awhile back and am finally getting to it.

1. What's my staple meal?
Probably Salsa Chicken because it is so easy and there are so many things I can do with it. I just put chicken breasts and a jar of salsa in the crock pot in the morning and let it cook all day. Then at dinner we either eat them over rice topped with cheese and sour cream, or shred it for tacos, wraps, etc. and I usually make enough that I can put leftovers on salads or sandwiches for lunch. We eat some variation of this about once a week year round.

2. What do you want to be when you grow-up?

 Still happily married and "mothering" my kiddos for sure. As far as career...I don't know.

3. What book are you reading at the moment?
I am reading "The short second life of Bree Tanner" (a twilight book). I am listening to "The Shack" as a refresher for our Sunday school class. And I have a ton of books waiting for me to read them. This is the next one up.  I am so excited.

4. How do you relax?
Books, movies, Girls nights out, Anything while my kids are sleeping

5. What color are your interior walls?
Most of them are yellow. One room is khaki, one is blue, and one is khaki and green. The kids rooms are the colorful ones.  Yellow wouldn't be my first choice but I didn't do it and they look okay so they are going to stay awhile, plus they are textured so it will not be an easy painting job.

6. What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Probably the Internet. I spend too much time on here even though I feel like I can justify it!  Or it could be the twilight series. I am not as crazy as some twilight moms but I have also waited in line for a midnight showing or two!

7. What time is bedtime/get up?
Bedtime: Usually 11- maybe a little before.

Get up: Well, I am desperately trying to get in the habit of getting up at 5:30 to workout and it is happening occasionally. The rest of the days it is usually between 6:30 and 7:00.

8. How long do you spend reading blogs?
Probably 30-45 minutes a day ---maybe some days a little longer. I LOVE reading friends blogs, especially the ones I don't see often. I also have found so many GREAT and encouraging ones that I love as well. Here is one of my new favorites: The MOB Society 

By the way, both the book I am getting ready to read and that last blog are recommendations from girls I went to college with and haven't seen (in real life) since college.  Yet, I know what they have been up to and have seen pics of their kids and get advice from them. Now if that doesn't justify reading blogs I don't know what does!

I am not tagging anyone. I know....party pooper.  Anyone who hasn't done this feel free to tag yourself.

Bedtime

I took these about 20 minutes after we put the kids to bed. Does it look like they will be going to sleep anytime soon?