Laid Back Weekend

We had the BEST weekend!  Last Saturday, we had a day with NO plans and it was pretty fantastic!  Zack and I took the kids to a local park and spent a couple hours just enjoying the playground equipment and open land to run and explore.  I know there are WAY too many pictures from our time at the playground but I wanted to document all the fun we had while just enjoying being kids (and the parents of these sweet boys!)

When we got home, we had to work on a few chores.... one of them being vacuuming out my car.... both boys wanted to help and I can only hope they want to continue with these cleaning sprees as they get older and make bigger messes!  

Who doesn't love a cute baby in a tub?!  I had to include these of course!  The first one is Zander and the second picture is Maddox!  Daddy truly does the best with bath time!

 On Sunday, Grannie and GranDan came to visit us for Daddy's birthday.  We had a lot of fun!

 And a few more pictures from our week.... spaghetti night is always a night when the boys eat dinner in their underwear or diaper!

Zander started soccer a couple weeks ago at school and got his first soccer jersey!  He wants to wear it EVERY day! I have "convinced" him that he wears it on the day of his practices (rather than 7 days a week!)

Finally, I got to see Beauty and the Beast with the ones I saw the original with!  It was fantastic and it was so much fun going to the movies with my parents and sister (like old times) and we even got popcorn and drinks (something that we didn't do every time when we were younger!)  The whole evening was a special treat!

Special Visitors

First, daddy celebrated a birthday this past week! He has been really busy at work so while he was working last weekend, the boys worked on his birthday card.  We were able to grab dinner and dessert with him on his birthday which the boys loved!

My grandparents came to visit from Florida which was a special treat!  They came about this time last year and couldn't get over how much the boys (especially Maddox) have grown.  Maddox was just three months old when they met him so to see him walking around and interacting with them was a special time for everyone.  The boys loved visiting with them and we were able to get a few pictures while they were here... hopefully as the kids get older, it will be easier to capture their sweet smiles!

I also tried something new this week.... its called Dream Dinners.. and I am slightly hooked already.  I went with some friends to prepare some meals for the week.  Basically, you place your order of what you want to make and pick either 3 servings or 6.  Then, you go there and put all the ingredients together and store your meals in freezer bags or aluminum trays (depending on the entree).  Then, simply thaw the food from the freezer, follow some basic instructions for cooking the meal and dinner is served!  We have already had loaded chicken and potato soup this week (see picture below) and we are having layered ravioli for dinner tonight!  As you know, I am not much of a cook so to have all the ingredients there for you (without making a grocery trip) and not having to clean up any of your preparation materials (bowls, utensils,etc) was pretty fantastic!  I am going back in a couple weeks with another friend to prepare some more meals

Our boys are starting to do the sweetest things together..... from Zander getting a "snack" for both of them to eat or playing at the playground... it is so much fun to see this bond forming!

Sweet Boys

I just want to say.... I have the sweetest boys!  Some times our days are very busy and difficult (with three year old meltdowns, frustrations from a one year old that can't communicate what he wants at this point, and two full time working parents) but there are moments where I just sit back and think about how truly blessed I am with the FOUR boys in my life (Burke and Zack count too)!  So this post is just full of pictures of my boys!  First, our two youngest boys sported Marvel Comic bow ties for church on Sunday.  (We might need to get daddy one!)  While we were in Sunday School, I started getting pictures texted to me from a co-worker of Zander apparently on stage at children's church having a blast!

I think Zander has decided on a soccer themed birthday party after many options he has thrown out there.... including roller skates!  He has started soccer at school in the last two weeks, and he loves it when he can make a goal!  He is a lefty and has a pretty accurate and powerful kick!  We will see what the future holds for our little soccer star.  (As a side note, this mama has not a clue about most of the rules of soccer.... I was raised watching football so there might be a slight learning curve!)

I attended a field trip on Monday with our fifth graders..... I was able to zip line for the first time and had a blast!! We also had a pretty strenuous hike so I got my exercise that day for sure!

Zander had a fever (100.9) and threw up on Wednesday night/Thursday morning so we were able to have another sick day together.  I kept Maddox at home too!  We had some rough moments when both boys were fussy for different reasons but we tried to soak up our time together!

I just had to include this picture of Z..... he always finds the best time to poop is when mommy should be walking out the door for work! Gotta love it!

 Burke kept me company last night since Daddy was out of town visiting friends.  Zack has to work all weekend so we're trying to make the most of our time at home or out and about!

The kids were entertained for about an hour it seemed rolling cars (or anything with wheels) off the top of the slide.  It was so sweet seeing the boys playing together!

Finally, daddy's birthday is next week so we worked on his birthday card before naps today!  I just love these boys so much!