More gifts and a trip to Freeport…

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach."
-Anne Spencer

 

Since James wanted a kids party this year, we weren’t able to have a family party on the same weekend.  We had a few visitors the following weekend though, starting with Grandma who brought over a few presents and something to organize all his small collectibles that he seems to be such a fan of.

 

Pepa also came over for breakfast and James was excited to open his very own scooter.  No more riding around on the princess scooters for James!

With the long weekend we decided it would be fun take to take the kids down to Freeport to see all the family.  It was a long trip, not without its challenges, but we made it.  The kids immediately took over Aunt Elaine and Uncle Leo’s house.  Swings and trees were not safe from the kids, but luckily nothing was permanently hurt from all the craziness.

It wouldn’t be a trip to Freeport without going to the beach, so the next morning after arriving we piled all the kids in the van and made the journey to the ocean.  Isla was a little nervous about the waves, but Ashlyn and James jumped right in.  We couldn’t keep James out of the water, in fact more often than not we were running out to bring him back closer to shore.  They had an amazing time, and it made the road trip more than worth it.

Tune in next week for part 2…

James turns 5!

"If you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm."
-Bruce Barton

James turned 5 this weekend, and this was the first year he wanted to have a party with his friends instead of the traditional family gathering.  While Ashlyn helped prepare snacks for the party, James taught himself how to tie his shoes.  He was very excited about it.

James had a great time at his party.  He kept going back and forth on what he wanted the theme of his party to be, so we ended up going with no theme at all.  Instead we filled our backyard with pools, bounce houses, various squirt guns, and spraying water toys.  The kids had fun running around spraying water everywhere, and the adults managed to stay mostly dry.

On James’ actual birthday we told him he could do whatever he wanted.  He chose Captain Underpants, Chuck E. Cheese, and McDonald's.  I feel like I’m not doing something right as a parent if those are the choices he made, but it was his birthday and who am I to question it?

Happy birthday little buddy, you’ve come a long way in 5 years!

Happy Father’s Day!

"Without my dad, I wouldn't be here."
-Maria Sharapova

Ashlyn made her first dish from scratch this week.  From garden to table, a tomato and cucumber salad fully prepared by Chef Ashlyn.  She added a little salad dressing to it for flavor, and that was it.  Simple, tasty, and homemade.  I have no idea what the picture with the flower is about, but it was on the camera right next to the picture with the salad so I’m going to assume it’s there for a reason.

Its Father’s Day weekend and we started it off with a trip to Nina and Papa’s to play with grandparents and cousins.  We spent most of the time in the pool, so we didn’t take many pictures.  But I can say we had a great time and the kids were worn out when we got back home.

PePa came over Sunday morning so we could take him to a Father’s Day breakfast at Old West Café, one of our favorite breakfast spots.  We got there early so we didn’t have to wait, and before we knew it the table was filled with pancakes, eggs, and bacon.  And we didn’t have to do dishes afterwards, which was nice.

Father’s Day came to our house too of course, and the kids were excited to give me some gifts they picked out.  They were all good, although I would have been happy with a few hugs.  When dinner came around, Ashlyn helped make mushrooms while Isla sprayed James in the face as he tried to jump on the trampoline.  James thought it was fun, so no harm done I suppose.

I found this on my phone, and it made me realize that the time for these kinds of pictures won’t last forever.  Before I know it, instead of laughing at my jokes they will roll their eyes and instead of running to say hi when I get home they’ll turn the volume up on the headphones.  But I have the smiles now, and I’m content with that.  To all the Dads whose corny jokes brightened our childhoods, Happy Father’s Day!

Ice, frogs, and watermelon…

"Theories pass. The frog remains."
-Jean Rostand

When the kids said they were going to get a snack, we didn’t know they were going to get bowls and plates of ice water.  It wouldn’t normally be our first choice for a kid snack, but its sugar and fat free so I guess there are worse things to eat.  And the kids seem to enjoy it, so that’s nice.

A friend of ours had a birthday party for her 3 year old out at a park in Southlake.  We took another friend with us and all the kids had a great time.  I think they had waaaay too much sugar, and we may have to go sugar free for a week to get the kids back to normal.

The tadpole grew into a frog, and it was time to take it to its new home at the top of our pond.  Ashlyn cheerfully let it go and watched it hop around before we headed back to the house.  I was surprised it went as easy as it did, maybe it was the promise of replacing the frog with fish that helped.  We did get fish, and as I type this Mommy is cleaning out the fish tank after Isla somehow emptied the entire bottle of fish food into the aquarium.

When she’s not trying to kill fish, Isla’s favorite toy is still the Magna Tiles.  Her new game is to stack them by colors before she knocks them over.

You summer is here when the watermelon starts coming out.  The kids are old enough now to help with the preparation process.  However, they don’t seem to be old enough to help with the cleaning.