Dog Days

Chutes n' Ladders

The boys have discovered the game closet,

and though the rules escape them,

they love to "play" nonetheless.

Now if I can only get over

my hatred for

"Chutes n' Ladders",

I can join in the "fun"!

They're only young once,

right?

Shoot!

Mall Grand Re-opening Review

Al-righty then...

Inner-City Jungle...A Rock-Throwers Paradise

On Samuel's day off, and with the girls in school, 

we took the boys to Miner's Ravine,

a sanctuary literally in the heart of Roseville.

This is a rock-thrower's paradise,

and since I had all my rock-throwers with me they

went crazy chucking everything into the water!

I love the shot of the sun through the trees,

it almost distracts you from seeing Samuel in the corner

getting ready to heave a mini boulder into the stream.

It was a perfect hike for our little guys. 

They ran, jumped, got dirty,

rode in the bike trailer, ate snacks, drank water

and then started the process all over again several times!

Great, great fun!

The Pillow Kings

Guess who can drag those pillows from all over the house

-no problem!-

but who is completely incabable

of putting them all back?

Sigh.

But I know I will miss this one day!

And so I'll smile instead...

But I'll sigh one more time first...

What's So Exciting?

A notorious toy in our household is the

big blue bouncy ball.

You know what kind of ball that is.

The one that's in every toy section of every story.

Seemingly millions of balls stuffed into a sky-high bin just

waiting, asking, and begging

for little kids to come and free them

so they can bounce them with abandon

throughout the store.

Yes,

one of those kinds of balls...

Anyway,

the kids LOVE to bounce it but it's off limits inside-

UNLESS they're down the hall.

In which case they go crazy launching it

from one end to the other at lightening speed,

and all under the watchful gaze of the Savior, who,

by some miracle,

has not been hit once.

The boys LOVE this game.

And THAT is what is so exciting!

Nephews...

Fun stuff...

Baby Birdie Moochers

The Ballfield

Taking advantage of the sunny weather,

Samuel's day off,

and having legs,

we hit the bikes hard

and pedaled like mad to the library.

My favorite part of the afternoon,

aside from watching Iris moping in the outfield,

and Owen pitching the ball,

was seeing the boys clamber around the bleachers.

They're both growing so fast,

and it's amazing to see their friendship and

brotherhood strengthen,

even now,

as just kids.

I'm grateful they have each other,

just as I'm grateful my daughters have one another too.

This family thing...

it's pretty amazing.

Life with Two Boys at Home

I still can't believe that in addition to being a mother to

three stunningly beautiful girls, 

I am also the mother of two very handsome boys!

What a blessed life!

This realization hit me the hardest when the school year started

and we saw the girls off to school. 

Then it was just me and the boys

looking at each other thinking, 

"Now what?"

Here's what I discovered:

Boys are very different then girls. 

Though I can't really explain how. 

It's not that they rough-house more-you should see our girls! 

Or that their personalities are different-

you should see the range in our daughters-it's like night & day. 

See.  Unexplainable.

 

Yet, very different. 

But, in a good way.

Like girls, however, they love being "helpers".

Where else is the process of unloading a dishwasher

a main event that causes you to drop what you're doing and come running?

More kisses than I ever expected.

Maybe it's the latin-blood in them,

but these boys love to smooch! 

Kisses are aplenty in this household,

and who could resist their outstreched arms and "mmmmm..."-ing?

In a nutshell,

life with two boys at home is...

Wonderful!

And the only thing that makes it even better,
is hearing the girls barreling down the hall after a full day at school,
and Samuel's keys jingling as he walks in the backdoor. 

That, is home.

Period.

A Boy and His Dad...

This is something I cherish.

A First.

A Rite of Passage.

Tradition.

Scardy Cats

Owen and Gabriel are so funny.

They are both terrified of swings!

Samuel and I are only allowed to push them very softly, and even still, after a few minutes, they're ready to move on.

I love my little scardy cats!

Mr. Potato Head is tasty...

So says Gabriel.

Owen's Storytime

Gabriel is one lucky boy! 

His big brother Owen loves to read to him, and oftentimes I'll find him talking softly to Gabriel and reading him stories.