Nana and Opa Visit!

About a month ago, Nana and Opa came for a visit. Since they live 6 hrs away, we get to see them fairly often (once every 2-3 months), and we love it!! We kept the boys out of school one day so they could play with their grandparents, and these are some of the fun things we did:

We walked to a nearby park, had a picnic and played on the playground.

After the park, we walked over to the Children's Museum, and had tons of fun there. The kids especially love the "airplane" exhibit.

Here's Trevor flying an airplane:

Back at home, Nana and the boys spent a lot of time out in the yard. Trevor especially loved swinging with Nana.

The boys LOVE having Nana and Opa tuck them in at night--they get a MUCH longer storytime than Mom usually gives them! (Maybe that's because Opa tells 'whoppers' instead of reading stories, and those can get quite elaborate!)

Time with Opa wouldn't be complete without a game of "TickleBee" (notice Trevor running away in the background? :)

Before leaving, Opa paid Mikey's preschool class a visit and gave them a harmonica show! He also gave each of the kids their own harmonica, and then let them have at it. The kids went nuts when they heard Opa playing; I couldn't resist taking a quick video with my camera. You can barely hear the harmonica over their laughter! (p.s. The "woof" sounds are coming from the harmonica player!)

We sure had fun with you, Opa and Nana! Come back soon!!

Life is Beautiful

We just wrapped up a wonderful week: Jaron had the week off, and we got to spend lots of time with him!!! We stayed home most of the week, mostly because I needed to study and take a Personal Trainer Certification exam (which I did, and passed! phew!), but we managed to squeeze in a fun camping trip this weekend (fishing, rock climbing, hiking). Jaron also made some serious headway on stripping and staining our deck, and rode his bike a bunch. It was really fun having Jaron be a part of our daily routine--helping the boys get ready for school, walking Mikey to preschool, eating lunch with Spencer at school, and being there to play with when they get home. Jaron commented that he really enjoyed being with the boys at different times of the day, since he usually only sees them when they're tired and ready for bed. I know that they loved having Daddy around too, and we'll really miss him this week when he goes back to work!

Now that my months of studying-every-spare-minute are through, I feel light as a feather, and in honor of my recent light-ening, I vow to post like a mad-woman to get "caught up" on some of our family's highlights from the past several months. Beginning with this gem, which I entitle:

"What Happens When You Turn Your Back For A Second!"

I had just given Trevor his bath and put on his PJ's when I had to run downstairs to take muffins out of the oven. Suddenly, I heard the boys squealing and laughing upstairs, then yell, "Mom! Trevor is playing in the water!" I felt annoyed because I had asked the older boys to close the bathroom door when they went in to take a bath so Trevor wouldn't get in (because he LOVES to splash in the bathwater!). I ran upstairs, ready to reprimand the kids, took one look at this scene, then turned right around to get the camera, laughing to myself the whole way. When I came back in to take pictures of Trevor, he giggled and splashed--so pleased with himself and his cleverness! He's definitely entered the "mischievous" stage, where we have to know where he is and what he's up to at all times! But his cute-ness makes up for the headaches he gives us!