Baseball Day

Besides coming to see the boys, Nana and Grandad came here to go to the Rockies v. Red Sox game. The boys and I went with them for last night's game. Greg is out of town for a few days this week and wasn't able to go to the game, but his dad was able to come with us. We had a really good time and the boys loved it. Greg and his dad predicted they wouldn't last 2 innings, but they did fine and we stayed until the end. Part of getting them through the game were all of the "treats" that Grandad provided for them. Ryan really had a great time. He clapped and yelled when every one else did, even though he had no idea what was going on. Luke enjoyed spotting all of the food vendors and asking Grandad to get him something else. The first thing that came by was the cotton candy. He asked me if I had any dollars (his term) and when I said I didn't he wanted to know why (because no one has given me any dollars). Grandad took pity on him and the treat fest began.


The boys with their 2 grandfathers.

A hot and sweaty me with my boys (they didn't share their drinks with me).

Below- the culinary adventures of Ryan and Luke


Hot Dogs

Cotton Candy


Slurpies

Not pictured: peanuts and cracker jacks



Ryan loved playing with the binoculars.

Luke had thought that he was going to play at the baseball game. Grandad told him he was going to watch baseball - but since Luke has never played or watched baseball before we needed to give him a point of reference. Nana got a t-ball set and Grandad helped the boys learn how to hit. Ryan rocks at it - he can hit the crud out of the ball. Luke does pretty well - he doesn't have Ryan's patience to line up the bat and the ball, so he only hits it about half the time. Much to Greg's disappointment (mainly because he doesn't want to sit through Little League games), I can see Ryan being a baseball player - he likes to play and watch it.


Tomorrow we are heading to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. They have the best giraffe exhibit where you can feed them crackers. That was something my mom and I did often when I was about the boys, age and we lived in Colorado Springs. I am looking forward to seeing the boys' reaction when the giraffes stick out their long tongues at them to get the cracker.

Backyard Fun

We had quite a project this weekend. The boys got a new playground for their birthday from me and Greg and my parents. We actually got a good deal on Craigslist for a used high quality playset - Greg picked it up in 2 trips last weekend and Greg and I spent all day Saturday putting it together.

Before...


During...


After...

(too bad Greg didn't get a picture of me standing on top of the monkey bars to screw the top of the roof together - I got a really good look at all of the neighbors from up there)


The boys love it! They have had so much fun playing on it. I think the playset has been turned into a ship and they have been calling each other Captain Luke and Captain Ryan. The morning after it was put together, Ryan got up at 6 am and got his shoes on and went outside to play.


Other backyard fun has been playing on the slip and slide. I set it up on the hill in the hopes they could slide down it like they do on their sleds - it took some practice and coaxing but they finally tried it out.



On Sunday we went for a picnic in the mountains for Father's Day and then went to the see Toy Story 3 (which was so good). Greg is a wonderful husband and dad (evidenced by spending his whole Saturday putting together a very large playset and then taking his children to a Disney movie on Father's Day) and I am so thankful that he is the father of my children.


Video of the boys playing on the slip and slide.


The baseball cake that I made this past week.


Nana and Grandad have come to visit and we're going to the Rockies v. Red Sox game tomorrow night. Both boys are excited about going to the game, but Luke seems to think he is going to actually be able to play.

Swim Lessons

The boys started the second week in swim lessons today. I am amazed by the vast improvement over last year Luke has become totally comfortable in the water and Ryan has been practicing how long he can hold his breath under the water during bath time (7 seconds tonight). Luke is almost floating on his back and he is trying really hard to get the coordination down to swim on his own. Last year Ryan spent the first 2 days of swim lessons sitting by the pool but not getting in and he is now willing to do everything his swim teacher asks him to try.



For their birthday, Jeff and Cristy got the boys a slip and slide. Jeff said at the time that he expected to see bruises and scabs as a result. He will be happy to hear that I have the bloody knee to prove that I have been on it. I had to demonstrate to the boys how to run and jump on your stomach to slide down. They never had the courage to fall on their stomachs, but they had a good time running down it. Next time I'll set it up on the hill and push them down like I do when they sled.


Ryan and Davis have become pretty good friends. Ryan loves the animals and he is by far the best with them. Much to Ryan's joy, Davis has taken to taking a nap with him every day.

Luke has had a good time playing Harry Potter this week. He has been wearing his robe and glasses and he runs around the house saying things like " Wingardium Leviosa" which is the spell to make objects levitate.


Recent things:

Luke's latest favorite word is awesome. He likes to declare anything that he finds interesting or new as "awesome" or "really cool."

Both boys have become super sweet and affectionate with me. While I was sitting with Ryan last week during this nap he said, "Mama, I want to give you a big hug and a kiss." Last night, Luke said, "Mama, you're a real nice girl. I like you lots of days." They are both such sweet boys.

We have discovered that mornings are their best time of time in terms of getting along. They have allowed us to sleep in an hour or two longer a few times this past week while they play and create games downstairs by themselves.

Video of Luke today at swim lessons.


I made this soccer cake on Saturday for the US v. England World Cup game. I tried a new technique to create the seals for each country.


Greg and I have plans at home this week and weekend which you'll have to stay tuned for.

Happy Birthday!

I can't believe that my babies are 4 years old. Turning 3 didn't seem like such a big jump from 2, but 4 means that my babies are no longer babies, they are now little boys. We've had a good weekend with a family birthday party last night and then a busy day of swim lessons, riding bikes, extra pool time, dinner and more cake.


The boys and their Mickey Mouse cake. Luke requested that I do Mickey's whole body, not just his face.



The boys got new bicycles from their Papa and Grandma. Papa came over during nap to put them together. They had a great time today riding their new bikes. I took them to Target this morning to get new bike helmets and Luke told me he was going to get a Spiderman helmet (he has never seen Spiderman, but he talks about him all the time), and sure enough, Target had one. Ryan picked out a Hot Wheels helmet.





Flash back of the last 5 birthdays:







Happy Birthday to my sweet boys. You are my constant source of entertainment and joy. Luke - I love how you never miss anything and forget nothing. Your intelligence and creativity amazes me every day. Ryan you have the sweetest heart and funniest personality. I love how you strive to make us laugh through your jokes, mannerisms and enlightened conversations.

Birthday Party and Other News

It is time to catch this blog up to date. The boys had a wonderful birthday party with some of their friends at school. We had a space-themed party at our house before we left for California. As the kids came in, they decorated a rocket ship that Grandad made for the party. After that, we headed outside and had a moon rock hunt (think Easter egg hunt) and then the kids bobbed for strawberries. The kids also had a relay race with bouncer balls and attempted to break a rocket pinata. After cupcakes and presents, everyone finished off by decorating their own star cookie. I think the boys had a good time and the party came together nicely - everyone seemed to have a great time.

Decorating the rocket ship.

Moon rock hunt in the backyard.

Bobbing for strawberries - that was pretty funny.

Relay race.

Cupcakes - I am going to decorate a cake for their actual birthday and I knew with all of the other stuff going on that week that I didn't have time to decorate a cake for the party - besides I saw this idea online and thought it was cute and simple.

I had planned on decorating these cookies myself, but ran out of time - the day before the party I had the idea to let the kids decorate their own - I think that was a favorite activity for many.

Grandad, the boys and their rocket (post-party).


The boys also had their birthday celebrated at their school before we left, as well. Since they won't be in school this summer, their teachers offered to recognize their summer birthday.

The boys had their own separate celebration - above Ryan is helping to decorate his poster and Luke is below creating his poster with his teacher.

Their birthday at school is celebrated by circling the sun for each year and then blowing out a candle. Ryan's teacher gave him a plant, which he has been very proud of and he makes sure that I am taking care of it.


Sweet picture of the boys below.



One thing that I had going on the week of their party besides being the last week of school and getting ready for our vacation was to decorate cookies and a birthday cake for the auction winner from the boys' school. It turned out that the winner needed her cake the same day as the boys' party - this was for a 3 year old having a music themed party. The cake was huge - 4- 9X13 cakes were needed to construct this.



Two additional pictures from our vacation - I love the one of Luke running down Main Street USA at Disneyland. Ryan fell asleep on the plane within 2 minutes of taking off and the stayed asleep for almost the whole flight. Ryan had been a little sick while we were in CA and had been grumpy for a few days - I took him the doctor today because he told me last night (for the first time) that his ear was hurting - turns out he has a pretty nasty double ear infection - he must have gotten his cold from Greg who was sickly for most of the trip, as well.



2 videos of the boys' birthday celebration at their school.





In other news: I have a new job. I will be a full time middle school counselor next year. I am sad to leave my current school, but I am relieved to not have to teach next year.

We are having family over on Sunday to celebrate the boys' birthday and then we start our summer vacation at home on Monday. Plans for the summer: lots of time at the pool.