Summer Break: Week 1

As I have done in the past couple summers.... I will attempt to do a weekly recap of our summer break adventures.  It will probably be mostly pictures and few words as we are trying to soak up as much summertime as possible together!  

1.)  We have spent many days at at the pool this week.  Even if it is just for an hour, the kids love going and it seems to be a lot of fun for all of us.  (Except one day when Zander needed to poop TWICE and we spent most of the time in the bathroom rather than at the pool.  I was trying to keep Maddox from touching or sitting on every yucky surface in there and it was just not a pleasant experience!)  I am hopeful that most of our bathroom needs can be taken care of before or after our pool time!

 2.)  We have been able to FaceTime our new nephew a few times.  The boys love seeing Henry (and Uncle Jay and Aunt A!)

 3.)  Grammy and I took all three kids to the Science Center and then met Aunt Lindsey for lunch after our fun morning!

 4.)  I got my car detailed (as I do once a year!).  I love having a freshly waxed car and they even vacuum out the inside so I don't have to do that for awhile!  Maddox was not a fan of the car wash part before we left the car and visited Great Grandpa and Great Grandma that live right down the street! It was the perfect amount of time to keep the kids occupied while my car was getting pretty. ;)

 5.)  Zander and I went camping in the backyard!  The weather was perfect and Zander made it all night!! I think I even got a few hours of sleep!

 (Zander couldn't keep his eyes open with the flash on! haha!)

 6.)  Maddox went to the doctor for a follow up after his 4th ear infection and his ears are clear!! (probably for the first time since February)  It seems the stronger medicine helped and we are not heading to ENT at this time... stay tuned! ;)

 7.)  We played at the playground near the doctor's office and enjoyed the 70 degree weather!  The kids loved swinging and all of us going down the slide many times!

 8.)  We attended my grandparents' 4th of July celebration that night.  It is always fun to see Grandpa Bobby stand to be recognized for being in the Air Force and to watch Grandma Nancy singing along to all the tunes!  The Bakewells, Kennedys, and Houstons were all in attendance!

#34 and Henry is Here!

I have had the BEST birthday week of my life (so far)!  It all started last weekend when Zack and I were able to have a dinner date... thank you Grammy!  It is incredible how much time we are able to spend talking when two adorable little boys are not vying for our attention!  The dinner was great and the company was even better!

On Sunday (which was also Father's Day), we went to lunch to celebrate all the dads in our lives and fit in a birthday celebration as well.  My parents gave me this new shirt.... I think I will be wearing it a lot this winter!

On Monday, Zack came home with my FAVORITE flavor of custard.... salted caramel.... "just because".... little did he know that while he was working late, I had been peed on by Maddox as he was getting out of the tub and prior to that had tried to wrangle my three boys (Burke included) for one lap around the neighborhood (about 0.5 miles) amidst sprinkling rain and some lightning and thunder.... it came up so quick I was nearly sprinting to get back home!  We finished off about half of this quart after the kids were in bed!

The BEST part of my birthday week happened on Wednesday at 6:26 p.m.  This adorable little boy entered this world at 7 lb 7 oz. and a full head of hair!  My first nephew, Henry Alexander, was born and even though I haven't met him yet, I love him so much already!  Here are some pictures with the new parents and Grannie!  I am counting down the days until I get to cuddle this cutie!  Aunt A and Uncle Jay better keep the pictures coming! (I might have already requested one every day of his life so far!)

On Thursday, I finished up my school year and got to have a delicious lunch out with my co-workers. Here are my principal and assistant principal and we met two of my other favorite people, our lead secretary and data manager for some yummy Mexican food!

I took the picture below when I picked up my boys Thursday afternoon.... knowing I am getting 6 weeks of fun with them to look forward to!

On Friday, we went to the pool for the day with some friends......both boys are a little timid around the water.  I am hoping by having a good deal of exposure this summer, we can cure them of any anxiety around water!

Today, we celebrated my birthday with a trip to the zoo with my whole family!  The boys loved holding hands on the drive down..... I thought it was the sweetest thing!  And while it was a hot day, everyone had a blast which made for the best birthday!  One of my favorite parts of the day (and something we will be laughing at for years to come I am sure) is that my mom had everyone in the little food court area sing happy birthday to me while I had my birthday cupcake!  Uncle Boomer and Zack agree that since she birthed me she is entitled to do whatever she wants.... it still makes me smile to think of how embarrassed I was at that moment when complete strangers at the zoo were singing to me!  (Side note:  I think they thought it was a kid's birthday... not a 34-year old grown up they were singing to when they committed to helping my mom with the birthday celebrations! ;))

 Look how much Zander has grown in two years since we last went to the zoo with the Kennedys!  My sister hasn't aged at all.... she has just added the title "mommy" since the first picture was taken!  (and yes... Maddox wore the same shirt today that Zander wore two years ago!)

 We ate dinner at a yummy Japanese restaurant.... the boys loved seeing them cook the food in front of us!! It was perfect because I was able to eat my dinner uninterrupted!  We might be splurging on dinner more often if this is the case! ;)