June was HUGE!

Wow! One month of unemployment has impacted my June folder of pictures. I don't think I've had any other month full of pictures such as this (excluding WDW). We've been busy; we've been out and about; and I've been snapping away! And here comes July!

We ended June with ... you guessed it, a playdate at the splashground! Andrew and Luke will be off next week camping so we had to get our fill in before they go. Thankfully I've got other stuff planned that week to keep us busy, but I'm sure we'll have some withdrawals from those silly boys.

Bianca joined us this time and the kids adored her addition to our playdate. Thanks Bianca for joining us ... what'cha doing next week?

I had fun trying to get some good pictures. Of course, it takes the right kid at the right time and in the right place to take one. Apparently Luke was my target today. The stinker! Soon enough, he and Devin will be getting lost with the older boys in these huge play structures.

The 3-Ds meet up with the 3-As today

For a good time, call...

1-800-THE-BOYS

Luke and Andrew

We met up with 3 of the Fantastic 4 again today.
As you can see, we had a ball!

Dad's Day

What Are Fathers Made Of?
(Paul Harvey)

• A father is a person that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic.
• A father is a person that growls when he feels good...and laughs out loud when scared half to death.
• A father never feels worthy of the worship in a child's eyes.
• A father is a person who gets angry when the first school grades aren't as good as he thinks they should be. He scolds his son...though he knows it's the teacher's fault.

A Dad with his boys.

Starting the Summer with a 5K

Summer is upon us and what is better to do on a Saturday morning than welcome in summer with a 5K? Benefiting Shriner's Hospital, our Moms in Motion group were off and running again. This was the culminating event for the Spring session. It wasn't too crowded as I know these events can be, but yet there were quite a few die-hard athletes out there trying to improve their time in the 5K or 8K events. Our mamas were quite HOT out there, if I do say so myself. I came trailing along with the girls supporting me, yet finished 1 minute/2 seconds more than the last 5K. I guess there's always next time. However, just crossing that finish line is enough of a reward for me. That evening, us mamas celebrated our victories with dinner and some girl cackling at Paesano's. Yum! The Tortellini Formaggio was awesome, as well as the Caesar Salad and Polenta Fries. I came out of there reeking of garlic. It's all good.

Kymm and I are ready to roll.

Tamiko, Corina and Wendy (our fearless leader) enjoying some Sangria.

Just some of our women here celebrating our success.

Playdate con las primas bonitas!

How's that for a bilingual blog?.... It stops here.

Friday morning, I got the cutest call from the twin girls. Sydney wanted to go to the park. Mom took the day off, so what ever the girls wanted to do, they did! Peyton called me back after I chatted with Kristie about meeting up at the park. She had to confirm the details of the spontaneous trip. The girls were ready; my boys were still in their PJs and one was taking a nap. Two hours later, we had lunch at the park with our favorite cousins and a wet and wild time in the sprayground. The boys miss seeing their cousins everyday at daycare ... and vice versa. It was adorable getting them together for some fun. Thanks girls for a splashin' good time.

3 out of 5 looking at the camera is pretty good!
(Peyton, Devin, Dominic, Donovan, Sydney)

Just hanging out.

Water brings out the "boogie" in some of us.

Thirsty Sydney?

... and this one's just right!

"Hold still Devin, this curl is out of place!"

Hanging out... it's what we do best.

The three amigos

Devin had a blast. Can you tell?

Donovan tests his center of balance.

Don't let that curl fall to the ground!

needing some text in the yellow, but still cute!

Yes, I had to do it! There's just some magnetism to his hair. The girls have their fingers in it all the time; Donovan rubs his nose in it; food gets stuck in it... it reminds me of Bill Murray or Michael Keaton. Can you say "Beetlejuice"? Sure, it's just adorable right out of the bath, but the end of the day was a bit gross. So, nothing major, no tears shed by me OR Devin. He was content with his fire engine chair and was well behaved for his first "haircut". We even got a few curls to bring home with us!

Big brothers got their hair cut too!

... then we took a stroll in the park.

Taking a break. This walking stuff is tiring!

The best part of the entire day...

... had to have a first Tootsie-Pop to go with the first haircut.

Suckers!

Photos and Tootsie-Pops provided by Grandma!

Sprinkler Time!

I'm not sure who was more excited to play
in the sprinklers today, the kids or the dog?

A Wild Wednesday

Okay, so loading 3 kids in the car with their essentials, there's bound to be items left behind, right? Hey, I remembered the kids! We had a FANTASTIC Wednesday morning with our cousins at the park. I especially love these playdates where there's no whining, but the kids are having such a great time that they don't want to leave. Really, at this age, I've managed to somehow get them back in the car eventually. Devin passed out on the way home; Donovan unloaded his shoes full of sand in the car (ARRRRGH!) and Dominic just was exhausted (but never slept!). I'm ready for the next outing! Thanks Fantastic 4 for the Fruit Loops, the apple slices, the temporary driver's licenses and for just a plain ol' good time!

This is better than Fred and Wilma's car!

...if it blows my hair, I'm good!

Stink face? I'm sensitive to the sun too Luke!

Andrew and Dominic after rolling down the hill.

This is the life!

And this is why I have two shoe-fulls of sand in my car!

A playdate without playmates

Here it is, Day 1 of what is sure to be many days unemployed and home with The Wild Ones. Donovan and Devin are now out of daycare and we are all under one roof trying to figure this "Stay at Home Mom" thing out. Knowing I'd be pulling my hair out by the end of the day, I planned to take the boys out to one of Elk Grove's newest parks to meet up with others in my Mom's Group. Oddly, no one else showed up! The boys had a great time anyway and surprisingly didn't want to leave.

Dominic heads for higher ground

Devin wants one of these at home!

Donovan gets wet

You can never be sure where the water will pop up next!

Lovin' that wind!

Me thinks it's time for a haircut.

Nope, this is it Mom. I want one of these!

Donovan shows Devin how it's done.

Wonder where he gets this from? Lord help me!

The Suite Life on Sunday

An acquaintance through my former employer offered my family tickets to our local Rivercats Baseball. She insisted I take the boys and have a good time. To my surprise, we were given an entire SUITE of tickets. Feeling a bit selfish having the seats all to myself, I invited my friend (and coworker) Terra to join us with her family. It was fantastic! I don't think the kids would have enjoyed themselves without the freedom to roam within the confined suite we had and without the company of other kids to enjoy the game (and cotton candy) with. We had a BALL! (... and almost caught a few too!)

After the game, we went to pick up Devin at the inlaws and enjoyed the great weather we've been having.

Sydney, Peyton, Donovan and Dominic

A Walk in the Park

I'm going crazy in this house listening to Spongebob over and over and the squawk of "Starly" on Dominic's DS game. Wednesday's "out" was a nice break for me, so I decided to take Dominic out to do something again together. After grabbing a not-so-healthy lunch, we went to Effie Yeaw Nature Center and ate underneath the oak trees in the company of 6 wild turkeys. The weather was perfect for a little hike along the many trails they had. Of course, I couldn't convince Dominic this was enjoyable until I told him to "be on the lookout for Wild Grass-type Pokemon". He was all over it! Let's go!

Just a few of our lunch mates.

Dominic pointed at something for me to look at. Naturally, I looked off into the distance hoping to see a deer or rabbit, only to find that what he was pointing to was this lovely display of black flies! Ewww, gross!

Besides these fine-feathered friends, we spotted a couple rabbits, lots of squirrels, birds, two lizards, two quail and a lot of butterflies. They were all too quick to sit still for a picture, much like Dominic.

If Dominic were a Condor...