Dinner with Cousins

We had dinner with Evan's brother, Dennis, his wife Monica, and their 3 kids - Sophia, Tamara, and John tonight. We had such a nice time and the kids even behaved themselves relatively well. Ours that is...their kids are always good. Will be interesting to see how much spirit John has as he grows up - they swear he is alot like Ryan. If they are right, they'll be busy, that is for sure! :) The kids enjoyed their time with their cousins and the ever-entertaining Uncle Dennis!

Pond

It is a little tough to tell with this lighting (I took these pictures at 10 pm), but my pond is back up and running. Evan "took one for the team" and cleaned out the filthy pond last night, refilled it and got it up and running for the summer. I can't wait to get the fish back into their outside home. Their inside home, a 55 gallon aquarium in my laundry room is ready to be vacated (as soon as the weather warms up a bit!)

Bonfires are Back!

A sure sign of summer on Mankato Street is the return of our weekend bonfires with the neighbors. This is one of my favorite summer rituals. We typically start them right after dinner so the kids can enjoy and then we take the kids in for bed and return to the fireside with drinks and baby monitors in hand. Love it! :)

Batting Helmet

The kids were out playing and I looked over to see Carter wearing an innovative batting helmet. Kids! :)

Marino

Our neighbors have a new puppy, Marino. The kids love the puppy. I am so glad the kids have a puppy close by to play with because we do not need a puppy at our house right now!

Sunroof

This is what happened when I sent Ryan into the garage ahead of me for swimming lessons this afternoon. I had opened the sunroof on my truck this morning and it was still open. Thankfully my camera is never far away - it's shots like this that I love - the candid ones! I can prove to him someday what a stinker he was! :)

Gamer

I bought the Leapster for Ryan for our Disney trip and it has been a lifesaver. Here he was killing time last night while I finished Carter's bath. I am amazed how quickly the kids catch onto these games - he and Kyle can both beat me at most of them!!!

Spring Program

Ryan's spring program was tonight at preschool. The kids were so cute! I loved watching it. Ryan sang and did a good job, but I think Evan and I were both concentrating on his 'wardrobe malfunction'. Can you have those at age 4? If you can, he had one. His hands were pulling his zipper up and down, reaching inside his jeans, just couldn't figure out what to do with his hands. It was hilarious. The more I tried to get his attention to stop, the more he did it! After the program, we had an ice cream social. I snapped a picture with Mrs. Loftus, his class helper, and with his Mini Me.

Kiss Anyone?

The kids had so much fun eating leftover cupcakes for dessert today. You should have seen the kids, the counter, their chairs and the floor! What a mess! When you ask Carter - "Who made that mess?" He smiles and raises his hand "ME"! :)

Twins Game

Kyle, his friend Riley, Ryan, and Evan leaving for a Twins game. The kids were so excited - Evan had great tickets directly behind home plate - how fun! Go Twins!!!

Birthdays and Easter

We celebrated Kyle's and Carter's Birthday with my family today at our Easter dinner. They had a fishing cake and we sang Happy Birthday and all that good stuff! After the cake, we headed outside for the Easter egg hunt. The boys raced to fill their baskets with nearly 200 eggs between the 7 kids hunting. They all came away with a good share of eggs. A huge thank you to my Aunt and Uncle for hosting the great day today!

Happy Easter

He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed! Hallelujah!

Happy Easter everyone! We went to church services last night and the Easter Bunny found our house this morning. We are now headed up north to my Aunt's to celebrate Easter with my family as well as Carter's and Kyle's Birthday. What a busy weekend!!! Have a great day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Carter!

Carter turns 2 today. We had a dinner at Disney for Carter, along with a special dessert for him. We sang Happy Birthday and he blew out his candle. We will also be celebrating with our family tomorrow at Easter. What a busy weekend. Can he really be turning 2 already??? He had a malt for dinner - guess that is a perk when it is your birthday....as an ice cream lover, can't wait for my birthday! :)