4 Years Ago Today

I posted this picture on Facebook 4 years ago today. It was Isaac's Father's Day picture - the first picture of him with all three of his boys.

I just marvel at how much all of them have changed. I'm fairly certain that there's no way the four of them could fit on that chair together now! :)

Summer Bucket List 2015 - Cursive Writing

Jason started working on his summer goal today. He is bound and determined to learn how to write in cursive. He can't wait until he can write like a grownup!

Remote Controlled

Jason drove...Jack chased.

They both loved it!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

Because he's too cute!

Oh These Two

Oh these two...

How they make my heart smile!

Jumping Around

We spent some time jumping on the trampoline. I can't tell you how happy this makes me!!!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

The Trio of Trouble!

Love!

Conversations With 7 Year Olds

To be fair, his father had just upset him by not allowing him to do what he wanted:

"Mom, I love you more than cars, even more than a Ferrari! Dad...I love you more than a....um, a Volkswagen. Yeah. I love you more than a Volkswagen."

Our Little Firefighter

He even made himself some fire to put out. :)

Happy Father's Day!

Today, we celebrated this guy...

The boys did a little art project for him...

And made him a card...

Jason and daddy even went to the car show. (Those of us not so interested in cars went to Target.)

It was a nice quiet day celebrating the best daddy in all the land. We're very lucky he's ours!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

Outdoor fun...

Friday Five

Today was our first full day of vacation. We spent most of the day in our pjs before heading outside for a little play. Perfect.

Here's to about 8+ more weeks of lazy summer days ahead of us!

~~~

I asked the boys what they wanted to do this summer...

Jason wants to learn how to write in cursive. I bought him a workbook that teaches how to write all the letters. He thinks it is the coolest thing ever.

Shawn wants to pick fruit and see animals. I'm fairly certain we can make that happen. :)

Jack says he wants to play. That will be an easy one. I play on giving the boys plenty of play time!

~~~

The next door neighbors are having a get together today. They played lots of music, including Mariachi music, which the boys heard while we were outside playing.

Him: " I can tell that's Mariachi music."

Me: "Oh you can? How?"

Him: "It's easy. It's cuz they're speaking French."

Lol!

~~~

Our trip to Toys R Us yesterday was a mind blowing experience for our guys. They have only been once or twice before, so all the choices they had available was somewhat overwhelming for them.

Jack was mesmerized by a display of tiny wind up toys. He had a blast looking at all the different toys, winding them up, and watching what they did. I think he could have stayed there all day long. lol. He liked taking things off the shelves and putting them into the basket as his brothers shopped, too. In the end, he selected a Buzz Light Year stuffed doll.

Jason had one destination in his mind when we entered the store. We perused the Lego aisles, but I think he had pretty much seen all the offerings at Target. That wasn't that big of a deal.

He wanted, instead, to go to the cars aisles. Once he was there, it took him forever to make up his mind on what he wanted to get. His concern was what would happen if he couldn't decide on something! He did finally decide on three things: a police car with doors that open, a pack of 5 muscle cars he had been coveting, and a flatbed tow truck for his cars.

Shawn, on the other hand, found his favorite aisle right away. He was in love with an aisle that had all kinds of resin animals and dinosaurs. He looked at every single one, took them down, and then talked to them all. lol. I finally got him to choose two of them before we headed over to where Jason, Jack, and Isaac were. That's when he found an aisle that had other things he loves; Toy Story figures and Cars characters. Ultimately, he ditched the two animals and selected 2 Toy Story Figures (Hamm and Rex) and 1 Cars character package (Luigi and Guido).

~~~

The boys got their report cards. They did very well. We've got some smart cookies on our hands! :)

Grade One Is in the Books!

Today was the boys' (and mine!) last day of school and their last day as first graders. Believe it or not, and I sometimes can't, we now have two SECOND graders on our hands! Wow!

The day started with two invaders in our bed...

Get up you lazy boys! It's the last day of school!!!

We commemorated the day with a "last day of school" pictures.

Yea for the last day of school!

Standing up nice and tall!

For comparison, here is Shawn's first day and last day pics. He looks so grown up now!

The same, but oh so different! Wow!

Who is this big kid in the picture?!

After school, we took the boys on our annual trip to Toys R Us to celebrate!

Shawn holding his loot from the trip!

Jason nearly collapsed from the possibilities. He
managed to make a decision ... finally.

Jack got to pick out a toy, too!

Now it's time to start the summer celebrations! Woo to the double hoo!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - Picnic At the Park

The boys had a picnic in the park with their class today. Lots of fun!

Conversations With 7 Year Olds

Why do you like school?

S: There are lots of boys and girls and I learn stuff.

J: Because I get to see all my friends and be with my teacher.

Summer Bucket List 2015

Well, somehow the time has gotten away from me, and we are now only three, count them THREE, days away from the start of our summer vacation! And, as we all know, with the start of summer comes doing things on our annual bucket list!

I love how these lists get me thinking and, more importantly, planning so we can make the summer fun. We manage to do about half of our list each year. I think that is pretty amazing. More importantly, the boys end up having a lot of fun.

This is what I have for year's list, which includes some carryovers from last year.

Without any further ado, I present our list.

~~~

Summer Bucket List 2015

*Shawn wants to pick fruit and see animals
*Jason wants to learn to write in handwriting
*Jack wants to play
Plant a garden
Santa Paula agricultural museum
Sub Zero ice cream made with nitrogen
Lemonade stand
Have a water balloon fight
Make a family tree
Make Popsicles
Have a scavenger hunt
Visit a Firehouse
Paint something
Donate something to the needy
Record ourselves reading our favorite book
Swim
Go to the beach
Make butter in a jar
Go on a boat
Go on a picnic
Do some crafts
Create a family tradition
Watch a movie at the movie theater
Have a sleepover in the living room
Go camping
Play in the backyard
See an animal we've never seen
Do a random-act-of-kindness 
Go to the park
Go on a nature hike
Lie in the backyard and look at the stars
See fireworks 
Go to the zoo
Go see the jets at the airport
Visit friends 
Go to the fairTake the train
Go to the zoo at the local college
Go to an aquarium
Go to a water park
Cook something for a meal with mommy and daddy
Create a back yard slip and slide
Learn to skip rocks
Read a chapter book together
Do a special project with daddy
Catch a frog

~~~

I can't wait to make some great memories for the boys. Nothing would make me happier than them talking about what we did this summer for the rest of the year like they did the last.

Conversations With 7 Year Olds

Him1: "You're going to work at my school tomorrow?"

Me: "No, I'm going to go to my school, and you guys are going to your school."

Him2: "I wish you would work at my school."

Me: "Aww, you do?"

Him2: "Yeah."

Me: "Well, that's really nice. Why do you wish I worked at your school?"

Him2: "I think maybe you'd be nicer about homework if you did."

Me: "..."

So much for that heart warming moment. Lol. Besides, I hate to tell him, but I probably wouldn't be! ;)

Cute Big Boy Saturday

He hooked his Minifigs to a string and created a zip line...

Friday Five

Four. More. Days.

We are all feeling it. We're all ready for summer vacation.

~~~

This week, the big boys got to go to their school's book fair. You'd have thought they were about to win the lottery, they were so excited. They were both quite pleased with their selections when they got home, too. :)

~~~

This kid always makes me smile...

~~~

Despite not getting their homework packets until Wednesday, I am happy to report that said homework was finished (times 2) and turned in. So long to the last homework of first grade!!!

~~~

Speaking of four days, how can it be that we have two almost second graders in the house?! 

The Kind of Milestone You Don't Want

He did it.

It took us over 7 years, but we have officially hit a new milestone.

Today the boy flushed a toy down the toilet.

Sigh.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

How could this even be comfortable?!

Um...Okay Then

Someone found the iPad and helped himself to a few videos.

He just made himself at home, too!

Conversations With 7 Year Olds

"Mom, did you know that my feet are like a cooler? When I get hot, I just stick them out of my blanket and I cool down! Just like that!"

Lol. He's just like his mom, too. :)

Swoosh!

Working on his game.

Not Your Usual Cute Big Boy Saturday

So.

Today is Cute Big Boy Saturday, and I usually post a picture of the boys doing something cute. 

Except.

While the boys were as cute as normal, I haven't been feeling very well. That translated to a lack of picture thing because lying horizontal and taking pictures don't exactly mix. Sigh.

Then.

When in the past I might have just looked back through my thousands of pictures and posted a type of throw back Cute Baby Saturday picture, that is not possible at the moment because my poor hard drive has taken a turn for the worse after an unfortunate rendezvous between my laptop and the floor this week.

Well.

I guess I could draw you something...

But to be honest, I am not a very talented artist. 

Nothing.

Sadly that takes us full circle. Today is Cute Big Boy Saturday and I shall have to leave you wanting until my body and the couch are no longer best buddies and my head doesn't feel as if it will explode at any given moment. 

Hopefully that will be soon (tomorrow would be nice) because the whole sick thing gets old super fast. 

And, most importantly, I'd rather my head not really explode. I'm kind of attached to it and all. ;)

Friday Five

One of Jack's new favorite nursery rhymes is Humpty Dumpty. It's kind of funny to watch him align various "Humpties" on various "walls" before he makes them fall to their unavoidable doom. It's also pretty entertaining to watch him rescue said Humpty Dumpties from their unfortunate accidents. LOL

~~~

While outside today, Isaac asked the boys, "Who wants to come in now?"

Without missing a beat, Shawn replied, "Jason does!" Ha! Jasn didn't find the exchange nearly as funny as I did.

~~~

During an outdoor rock collecting expedition in the backyard, the boys were gathering their rocks. Jack had a number of rocks that were smooth and round which he added to his growing pile. At one point, however, he found a rock that was darker and different from the rest. He picked it up, studied it for a minute, and said, "Huh. Dinosaur poop." before he chucked it over his shoulder and moved on. Too funny!

~~~

Shawn wrote a paragraph about me at school today:

"I love to have fun with my mom. My mom and I like to go to the grocery store. We like to stay home. We like to recycle together. My mom is amazing."

How would that not put a smile on my face? :)

~~~

Jason has started playing with Lego play sets and mini figures, or MiniFigs, as Jay calls them. He is particularly fond of the cops and robbers mini figures because of their accessories--a crowbar, handcuffs, money, and a safe. lol. He sets up the figures all over the house.

I got a box of extra figures a few weeks ago. Every so often, I'll add a new figure into his bag of toys. It is hilarious listening to him find a new one and wonder where the heck it came from. He's asked up over and over again if we know where they are coming from, but we deny knowing anything. Too funny!

What?

The boy LOVES lemons. LOVES them. :)

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - Hip Hop Boy!

Jason rocked out during his class's hip hop dance this afternoon! He was so good! :)

The kids danced to three different songs. It was pretty impressive to watch, especially when you consider they had only practiced for the last three Wednesdays! They all did really well and were very excited about the performance.

Sadly, Shawn didn't get to dance today. It had somehow worked out that he had missed the practices because he was sick those days. :(